Wedding Wednesday- Wedding Planning Update

Hey everyone! As I plan my wedding, I've decided to do an update each month of where I stand. Hopefully this will be helpful to you guys as you plan your own weddings. I'll say this- wedding planning is hard! There are so many variables and opinions and just when you think you know what you want or other people want, a wrench gets thrown in and you get all confused again. The advice I've been getting so far is to do only what you want and not listen to what anyone else says. So that's my focus for right now! 

Accomplishments:

Engagement party has been planned and is now complete! It was so much fun to plan and do. You can see the post here and how I planned it here.

Engagement photo shoot- complete! I didn't really plan to do one of these, but a few people on Facebook did one and they looked like fun. Plus we hired a photographer for the engagement party so we wrapped it up in that. Hopefully we'll get the photos back soon!

Wedding dress shopping was attempted. I found some really great ones and I thought I found "the one", but I was afraid it might be a little much. Seeing my MIL and sister's faces kinda cemented that fear for me, so that was a HUGE bummer. Like, I could cry tears of stress bummer. I've bounced back though and I'm so excited to try on more pretty dresses and find the real "one"! (Update: it was this one, and I loved the one I chose in the end SO much better!)

Needs to get done:

Wedding venue needs to be booked! This is priority #1 for me. Picking a venue has been really, really hard! Between budget restrictions and differing opinions, finding a venue has been an uphill battle. They say that if you can have a short engagement, you should and I'm starting to understand why! Now that we are seemingly running out of time, I think that we will be more motivated to make the tough decisions. Even just narrowing down a geographical location would help! My wedding is about a year away and I have no idea exactly where or when it'll be. This is a huge stress factor but I plan to at least have solid options, if not a decision, at the end of this month.

To bridesmaid or not to bridesmaid? I'm currently conflicted between having bridesmaids or only having my sister up there with me. Several people have suggested just keeping my sister, which is probably the route I will take to avoid added stress, but it seems so odd not to have my girls with me. 

Save the dates and wedding invitations need to be planned out. I'm thinking of having my sister create these for me, so I need to get her some inspiration so she can start working on it. I want them to be ready to go for when we finally pick a venue!

Such a long list of things to do, and although it feels like I have loads of time, I know it'll creep up on me! What's on your wedding to-do list?

Be sure to follow my colorful wedding ideas Pinterest board for gorgeous bouquets, amazing centerpieces, and more!

How to Stay Organized During a Move

This year, my fiancé and I moved out of our one-bedroom apartment into our three-bedroom house.  Despite doing as much research as possible beforehand to ensure the process went smoothly, we still hit a few snags. Here's my advice for getting through a move the most organized way possible while keeping your sanity. 

Consider making a moving binder. I decided to make a moving binder and it was SUPER helpful! I had all my labels, packing lists, receipts, etc. all in one place. This meant that if I ever needed anything, I just had to find the binder. For me, this was so important because things got chaotic and it was much easier to find an entire binder than just one piece of paper.

Get a storage unit near your new home. Since our apartment was super crowded, we knew we wouldn't have enough room to pack and pile boxes. We decided to get a storage unit near our new house.  Even though we had to drive an hour away to store the items, we were unable to fit anything more in the moving truck at our apartment and had to make a separate trip to the storage unit after unloading it. 

Label everything well. Notice I didn't just say to label everything.  It's important to be thorough! I tried so hard to do this on my recent move, and I thought I did a great job. That is, until my movers (aka my MIL and her friend) asked for coffee, and I had no idea where the sugar was. I had to open every single kitchen box until I found it for them. Do yourself a favor, and be as detailed as possible.

Be specific. This goes along with my last point. Don't write kitchen, write "plates and bowls". Don't write cups, write "drinking glasses" or "mugs". It will be extremely helpful once you're in the new home and just really want a glass of wine out of a proper glass, or need to find a scarf on a chilly day!

Face all the labels outwards. This is pretty obvious, but if you're enlisting relatives to help, make sure they are aware of this and adhere to it. Nothing like trying to rotate a 3-box-high pile to see what's in the bottom one. 

Start early. To ensure you don't go into panic mode, start packing as early as you can. Begin with things you know you won't be needing. For us, this meant books, artwork, and rarely used appliances.  This is also a great time to go through stuff and toss out trash, so be sure to leave enough time to de-clutter instead of just tossing everything in a box and moving junk you don't need. 

But don't start too early. I was so ready for this whole moving thing and we timed everything perfectly. Unfortunately, we had a delay with our mortgage bank and were unable to close on the original date. This would have been ok except that someone (cough, fiancé, cough) decided to pack all our pots and pans, most of our dry goods and our DVD player! Be sure to leave certain items out until you're 100% sure of your moving date. 

Make a first day box. We made a first day box, and packed an overnight bag with important items, toiletries, and clothes.  This was really helpful that first night when we were exhausted from the move. You'll be so glad you had everything you needed easily accessible, and this makes the first night feel kinda like a hotel stay!

Know when to wing it. On moving day, there's always those last few items that haven't been packed. Additionally, you'll feel as though everyone needs something from you and you're being pulled in all directions. At this point, it's ok to give up on being totally organized and just toss everything left over into one big box until you get to the new house. Try to label its contents, but sometimes just writing "last minute items" will have to do! 

Be sure to follow my organization Pinterest board for tons of ways to keep your new home clean and organized!

And those are my top tips for staying organized during a move! How did you stay organized for your move?

Easy Swiffer Cleaning Hack

Morning lovelies! I hope you all had a great Memorial Day weekend. We have some family staying with us this week, and I wanted to clean the guest bathroom before they had to use it. I hate cleaning, especially showers, so I took one look at all the tiles and sighed. I usually use bleach wipes to clean the shower because they do a surprisingly good job at getting the grime off with minimal effort. I also had my Swiffer handy so that I could clean the floors after, and that's when I had a genius idea. Why not put the bleach wipes on the Swiffer and use it to clean the shower? I'd be able to clean the wall easily without having to climb in the shower and stand on the side of the tub. I decided to put my theory to the test.

First, I put two bleach wipes vertically onto the Swiffer and tucked them into the holders. They overlapped a bit and sometimes folded, but overall it didn't hinder their use. If the top one folded, the one underneath picked up the slack.

Whoa nelly! Check out that dirt. Yikes! I think this was from sanding the wall before we painted. We don't use this bathroom at all, so I never really noticed all the dirt. Whoopsies!

And that's all there is to it! I hope this little hack is helpful so you can get the tub cleaned and enjoy the beautiful summer weather!

Be sure to check out my organization board on Pinterest for more cleaning and organization hacks!

What are your cleaning hacks to save time?

Related: How to Organize on a Dime

My Sugar Sweet 27th Birthday Party

A month ago I celebrated my 27th birthday with a super fun Sugar Sweet Birthday Party. Armed with my pinterest board and list of tutorials, I created a DIY party that would satisfy any sweet tooth! I unfortunately had a really bad cold that day, which turned out to be sinusitis (and left me in bed for a week!) but I had SO MUCH fun planning this party and celebrating!

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I bought some pink balloons and made them into donuts using this tutorial. I painted the sprinkles on instead of using tissue paper to save some time. The balloons were a huge hit. Everyone loved them and was amazed by the shape, and that I made them myself!

We have some hooks in our living room that the previous homeowners had left, so I hung up some lanterns and a disco ball. The party never transitioned into a dance party like I had hoped, but since I was super sick, I didn't really mind that.

Over the fireplace, I hung a DIY tassle garland. It was super easy to make and added a fun touch.

And what's a Sugar Sweet party without a candy bar?! I kept mine small since there weren't any kids, and I knew my friends wouldn't be eating too much candy. I still have a lot left! To create your own dollar store candy bar, check out my tutorial.

I loved making this donut platter.  It was a super fun and easy tutorial, and the tray can be used again and again.

We rimmed some champagne glasses with sprinkles and added some cotton candy for a cute and a tasty beverage! Just pour some champagne over the cotton candy and enjoy.

I made the festive 27 using sprinkles, mod podge, and cardboard numbers from the craft store. Everyone thought they were edible cookies!

For some fun, we played drinking games using these donut playing cards. How stinking cute are these?!

To add some color to the walls, I hung up paper fans all around the house. We don't really have much artwork up yet, so this helped make the room more festive. It also ended up being a great photobooth backdrop!

I also got these inflatable ice cream cones that served as decor and photobooth props. They were inexpensive and well worth it! To set up the photobooth, I propped up my camera on my tripod and we hit the timer button.  I really wish my clicker had arrived in time!

I had a really great birthday, despite being so so sick. I just love planning parties! 

Be sure to follow my Sugar Sweet Party Pinterest board for more great ideas!

How NOT to Tell People You're Engaged

Welcome to Wedding Wednesdays! I figured I'd do something a little different this week and talk about our engagement story. This weekend marks my 5th anniversary with John, so it’s a good time to share the story, don'tcha think? Even though I had been politely asking (nagging) him for quite some time, I honestly had NO idea it was coming! Here's how it went down.

My foxy fiance, John, and I went to Chicago in October for Blythecon. The night before we left, we had the inspection for the house we put an offer on and eventually purchased. We were super excited about this next stage of home ownership, so that was all we could talk about. 

Once we arrived in Chicago, we planned to meet up with some friends before Blythecon. I was gathering up all my stuff to bring, and there was a lot (my camera, a jacket, 7 dolls!). Since I'm weak, I figured it would make sense to split the stuff I was bringing and have John carry half in his backpack. I picked up his bag and before I could even open the zipper, John came over. He was super defensive about his backpack, and insisted that I carry my stuff in my own bag, which I could then pass to him once I "really couldn't carry it anymore". Mhm, ok jerk... Turns out, the ring was in his backpack and he didn't want me to see it!

Me and John with the dolls he got me.

The next day was Blythecon, which was a super long day at the gorgeous Bridgeport Art Center. We were wandering around at all the sales tables, and I found a doll I liked. John asked if I wanted her, and I wasn't sure between her and another doll. For those that don't know, Blythe dolls, especially at the convention, aren't cheap. These aren't $20 Barbie dolls! So when John offered to buy me both, I was over the moon. He really doesn't buy me doll items, so when he does, I cherish them. As we walked away from the table, he told me I better like it because he wasn't going to ever buy me anything again. I told him I was super happy and that if he wanted to, he could just propose to me with the doll instead of buying a ring. He chuckled and said something like, "yea, right" and we went back to our table. Up until this point he was going with the whole "I'm not ready for marriage" lie.

John having oh-so much fun at Blythecon.

After a long day at Blythecon, we headed back to the hotel to drop off our stuff. John was trying to find a nice restaurant for us, but I'm a super picky eater. None of the nice restaurants had anything I liked, so he suggested Fridays and I got a little too excited. We went to Fridays and watched the Mets game, then headed back before it ended. Dinner went quickly, but I figured we were just tired.

Back at the hotel, we were sitting on the bed watching the end of the Mets game, and John started his speech. I can't remember exactly what he said but it was something like this.
John: "You know I love you, right?"
Me: "Yea."
J: "And you know I can't imagine my life without you, right?"
Me: (Semi-apathetically because he says that a lot) "Yea, where are you going with this?"
J: Chuckles nervously and reaches for the nightstand.
Me, in my head: What is he reaching for?? Is he going to ask me? Am I going crazy? Oh, he's not reaching for the nightstand, he's reaching for the remote. Well that's embarrassing. STOP BEING CRAZY CATHY!

At this point, he turns off the TV (huge deal, because it was the playoffs game for the World Series) and then opens the nightstand. He pulls out a little box and goes down on one knee and I am in complete shock. He asked me to marry him and I couldn't utter a word. Nothing was in my head, except racing thoughts that I had to say something, anything. All that I could squeak out was "Are you serious?" and he replied with a smile "No, it's just an elaborate joke." After staring at him for what seemed like an eternity (with my mind reminding me I needed to speak!), I finally said yes.

Selfie sticks for the win!

I thought I would cry when I got engaged, but I couldn't because I was in complete shock. My body was on fire and I was shaking. John seriously thought I was going to pass out. I really wanted to call my parents and tell them, but John said that in an effort to keep it a total surprise, he didn't tell anyone about his plans. So, for a few days, it was our little secret. 

When we got back to NY, we went to dinner with my parents and I decided the way I wanted to tell them was to give them the whole long elaborate story before sneaking in the news to surprise them. Take my advice... that is not the best way to do it! When I finally got to that part, it seemed so nonchalant that they didn't believe me for a minute.  They kept asking if I was joking and after we insisted we weren't, it finally sunk in. My mom was so excited about it, but my dad and sister were still in shock until the next day. When we told John's mom, she was super excited and kept saying "I knew it!"

The bed in the hotel room where we got engaged!

It's now been over 7 months that John and I have been engaged, and we are just starting to make headway on our wedding planning. We can get this wedding thing done in only a year, right?! After spending about 2 months disagreeing about where we should get married, we finally seem to be on the same page about geographical location. Now we just need to pick a venue and set a date! I know our guests are probably anxious to find out.

Was your engagement a surprise, or did you see it coming? I want to know!