Rent the Runway

A friend introduced me to Rent the Runway a few weeks back and I'm not going to lie, I'm obsessed. It's an online rental service where you can rent designer clothes, jewelry, and other accessories at a very affordable rate. 

I first rented a dress, earrings and a necklace for dinner in the city for my birthday. The thing I loved most about the whole experience is that I was much more adventurous in what I chose. The dress I chose was all sparkles and that's not something I would ever wear. The earrings and necklace were huge statement pieces that 1. I never wear and 2. are usually priced more than what I'd be willing to spend on something I would rarely wear.  

Then, three days before I  was set to go to a wedding (that was the day after my birthday), the dress that I had ordered weeks ago from Modcloth still hadn't come in so I hopped on to Rent the Runway and ordered this gorgeous dress that was green sparkles on the bottom. Again, not something I would typically buy but renting it made it so much easier to try it out. Since the wedding was the day after my birthday I was able to wear the jewelry pieces I rented again.

Both rentals came in a really nice gown bag that folded into a smaller, more compact size and you got to keep the hangers!  I wasn't paid for this review or anything, I won't get any kind of credit if you check them out but if you are in need of a dress or some jewelry, or even a clutch, for an event, definitely check them out! 

How to Have the Best Lip Sync Battle Party

A few Friday nights ago was my lip sync battle themed 30th birthday party. To say it was fun would be an understatement. Of course in all the excitement I didn't take the time to take proper pictures of the set up (just me and my friends rocking it out), but I still wanted to share with you what I did to pull off this fun party. 

First things first, most importantly you need music! What I did was have as many friends as possible give me the songs they planned to sing at the party and created a YouTube playlist but I also left it open for friends to sign up for songs the night of since many of them saw how much fun it was and wanted to participate. 
I was lucky enough that I had a friend who was a DJ and I borrowed her equipment for the party BUT there are so many other options if you don't have DJ equipment or want to spend the money on a DJ. For example, speakers like this one project amazing sound as well and can be set up for Bluetooth so you can just use your phone!

The next important item on your list is props. You can't have a lip sync battle without microphones (I purchased a pack of toy ones off of amazon)  but you also need fun props for your lip-syncers and the crowd to have too. I went to the dollar store and just walked around and grabbed random items like bead necklaces, glow stick bracelets, glow stick clappers, noisemakers, crowns , feather boas and so much more. I also purchased a 12 pack of sunglasses for everyone to grab while performing or taking pictures. 

The biggest hits of the night were definitely the glow stick hand clappers I bought from the dollar store. If you can't find them, these would work out good too, since my friends just seem to like to make noise. I encouraged everyone to grab some kind of noisemaker at the start of the evening and made sure to make noise after each lip-syncer went so that everyone encouraged everyone else on. 

Lastly, what's a party without party favors? Everyone got one of these  party favors, because everyone participated, those who chose not to lip sync got to be the judges to determine who won the award that I bought for the winner, which wasn't the greatest of awards but it was still pretty fantastic. 

Throw in some good food and drinks, fun friends, and good music and I promise you will have the best lip sync party ever! 

Birthday Wish List

It's official, my birthday is less than two weeks away. It all depends on what day you ask me whether or not I'm okay with the idea of turning 30. The one thing I am okay with is dreaming up a list of all the things I'd put on my gift wish list for my birthday. It's completely self fulfilling, I know but it's my birthday and I'll blog about all the gifts if I want to (I hope you heard the song in your head....that was the intention haha).

Cards Against Humanity

I'm all about board games and luckily I have friends that are too. I have yet to be able to play this game but everyone who has raves about it and it looks so funny. Plus, this would give me a great game to play during game night with my friends and laugh our asses off. 

Cast Iron Skillet

I made it to 30 without owning a cast iron skillet. Is that even legal? I have Le Cruset's dutch oven in Caribbean and its one of my favorite pieces of equipment in the kitchen. I think it needs a partner. 

Jewelry Racks

I have been lusting after these jewelry racks on Etsy for a long time. Dave could probably make them but it would take a lot of whining and grovelling on my part first before it happened. 

Kate Spade Glitter Studs

Oh Kate Spade how I adore thee. I haven't had a chance to really talk about it yet but I recently purchased a Kate Spade purse which ended up being quite literally the most perfect purse in the world for me. If you remember a little while back, I was looking for the perfect purse and Kate's bag fit the bill. Anyway, I'm now just slightly obsessed and these studs are looked at on a daily basis. Someday they will be in my ears, someday. 

Sizzix Cutting Machine

There are so many new quilts I could create with this machine, including one that's been bopping around in my head for months. I'll end up purchasing it  in the future if I don't get it soon from someone else anyway, since I need it to create circles and if there's one thing this girl can't do, it's cut a decent circle in fabric. 

Modern Rainbow Quilt Book and Cabin Fever Quilt Book

Quilting books, do I really need to say more? Haha I recently created a rainbow chevron quilt (see it here) and that created a current obsession with creating more colorful, modern quilts. 

Ribbon Ladder

I'm also beginning to create more rompers and bears, both of which require ribbons. I made a makeshift ribbon holder but it doesn't look at organized as this nor does it look as nice. This would look great in my sewing room. 

And there you have it, my birthday wish list! 

Mom's Surprise Party

On Saturday, my family and I threw a surprise 50th party for my mom. My aunt, sister and I agreed that the party should have a hot pink and gold theme, since hot pink is my mom's favorite color and gold is normally associated with 50. We then created a secret board (no longer secret! haha) on Pinterest for ideas.

For the centerpiece we really liked these two pins: 

                                      Pin 1                                                                                     Pin 2

So we decided to mix the two and created these mason jar ombre glitter center pieces. I'm normally not a fan of glitter but I fell in love with these and even took one home to put on my desk at work. 

For the guest book, we really liked this pin: 

So we recreated it, Dave cut a hole in the top of a shadow box for guests to put the heart in and I created the sign on picmonkey and used Snapfish to print the sign. My aunt painted the 5 and 0 in gold paint and glued it to the frame. 

We really liked the simplicity of the cake in this pin: 

so we decide to stay with that same general idea but make the frosting ombre and my aunt purchased a very simple but elegant cake topper for the cake:

There were a few extra touches like gold and pink plates, napkins, silverware, cups and straws. 

I think the biggest surprise of the night for my mom was the quilt that I made for her with the help of family and friends. I asked several family and friends to give me a shirt that would be symbolic of their relationship to my mom or would represent themselves so I could make a t-shirt quilt for her. I was so excited to give her the quilt, it was hard for me not to drag her over the the gift table the moment she walked in the door. 

My mom is normally the huge party planner (check out her work from my grad party here) so it was tough carrying out a party at this level without her but the hard work definitely paid off. My mom was very surprised and she definitely deserved a party of this caliber. Happy birthday ma!

Coveting

I was thinking about doing a currently post that you see every once in a while but then I figured I'd do a "coveting" post instead. I'll probably do the currently post next week, if you're disappointed, haha. These are all items I really want but for one reason or another I haven't had a chance to get it. 

1. Tarte Poppy Picnic Limited Edition Palette 

I love it when Tarte comes out with new palettes, in fact they have another brand new one out right now that I want to but it's exactly like the Rainforest After Dark palette that I already have so I'll "settle" for this one. I love the subtle eye colors and Tarte's blush is my absolute favorite. 

2. Accuquilt Go! Baby Fabric Cutter

I have been lusting after this cutter for months. I made the mistake of not buying it when it was on sale for $89.00. I just assumed it would go back on sale easily. A few months later, it's still sitting at the $129.99 price. I have a great quilt idea that I want to make using the circle pattern from this set and my fingers are itching to buy this and make it. 

3. Maskcara Custom Palette

I would love to buy this but I can't justify the $42 price tag for two reasons: 1. I'm an amateur at highlighting and contouring and I have tons of bronzer and highlighter products already and 2. I'm not a fan of cream products at all. I'd have to really get better at HAC and get more acclimated to cream products before I splurged on this. 

4. The perfect purse. 

There's no link or picture to this yet because I haven't found it. I can't explain what I'm looking for. I need a cute purse that is big enough to hold all my junk but not big enough that I can shove 3 books in it (my back can't take much more!). Right now I'm using a Michael Kors purse I borrowed from my mom and it's a very nice purse but it's not me. If you have any suggestions for good, inexpensive purses let me know, I'm on the lookout for "the one". 

Have you been coveting anything lately?

Holiday Wish List

It's that time again! I love creating these wish lists...now if only they (and my fashion board on pinterest) would magically just show up because I created it. 

1. Rose Bowl 

I love the look of flowers in a rose bowl. There's something that's so simple and yet elegant about it to me. Since I'm not currently in a position to buy things that I want "just because" this is one of those things that I would love to have for when Dave brings home flowers, but unless someone gets it for me it won't be a purchase I'll make anytime soon. 

2. Salt/Pepper Jars

I've mentioned how much I love my current salt jar here (and how it makes me feel like an adult). I've been on the hunt for a pepper jar that would match the salt one, but I've been coveting this pair for a few years now. 

3. Skirt

I don't own a ton of cute skirts, but I wish I did. This green skirt is peppered with flecks of yellow and would look amazing with a navy sweater I have. 

4. Horseshoe Necklace

Sign of luck, silver, quaint, goes with just about any outfit, do I need to say more?

5. Boyfriend Pants

Dave bought me a pair of these pants last year for Christmas. They have been in my wash every single week since then. They are by far my most favorite item of clothing, warm, comfortable, I would own 100 of these pants if I could. 

6. Columbia Zenith Jacket

I currently own Columbia's omiheat fleece jacket and I love it. I wear it during the winter months and it's perfect because the omniheat keeps me warm by trapping in my body heat while the fleece allows me to be more mobile (I hate winter jackets that you can't move in!). The only problem with my fleece is that it's definitely a very casual jacket and I'd like to have something that looks nice for when I need to go to special events.

So what are some items on your wish list?

New Parent Gift Ideas

Finding the perfect gift for anyone can be a bit tricky. Finding a great gift that's also convenient for new parents can be even trickier. Hopefully, this post will help you get some ideas of what gifts you could bring to friends (or family) with a new little one.

At the hospital:

The important thing to remember when bringing gifts to the hospital is this: they have a ton of stuff to bring home and, most importantly, a baby. If you want to bring something when the new parents are at the hospital, don't bring balloons or flowers. While they're super nice gestures, the problem with flowers/balloons is that they aren't easy to bring home. So now the new parents are stuck with either throwing away your nice new gifts for them or trying to cart them home with a new baby. Instead try:

- Their favorite drink. My friend Becca just had her daughter and the one thing that anyone that knows Becs can tell you is that she LOVES pumpkin spice coffee. So on my way to visit her, I grabbed some from Starbucks. 

-Their favorite food. General consensus is that hospital food is terrible, but even if it isn't bringing your friend one of her favorite meals is going to make her very happy (well a little happier since she's probably already going to be ridiculously happy about her new baby). 

-Your camera. If you have a nice camera, bring it with you just in case mama didn't think about it, or hasn't had a chance to get some candid new family shots with papa and baby. 

At home:

-A home cooked meal. As in love with baby as the new parents are going to be, they are probably going to be way too tired to make a decent meal, and even if they are capable of making their own dinner, I'm sure they'd be glad to not have to make a meal. Bring them something that's already assembled and can easily be cooked in the oven, or put in the freezer in case dinner is already lined up. May I suggest Chicken and Rice Bake, or Cube Steak (which is still amazing re-heated so just bring it pre-cooked and ready to go!), or Hearty Taco Casserole?

-Something for mom. Everyone is going to be so focused on new baby (which is great!) that Momma may feel neglected. Bringing her something to help her relax, like Bath and Body Works Stress Relief Line or Sleep Spa Line, will make her feel loved and appreciated and will have the added effect of helping her relax a little.

-A personalized card. If you can't visit mama right away, sending her a sweet personalized card would be a really nice surprise. Treat by Shutterfly offers cute new baby cards that can be personalized and mailed out. Plus, if you brought your camera to the hospital with you, you could use pictures from that visit to send the new parents a card they'll cherish.

-Something un-purchased from their registry. Because unexpected gifts that are of necessity are the best. 

What are some things that you've brought new parents? Or, parents, what are some of your favorite received gifts?

I Had a Simpson's Themed Wedding

Based on this title, I know what some of you are thinking....EW who has a cartoon theme for their wedding?!? And that's fine, having a unique theme like The Simpsons isn't for everyone. Our wedding was, in my opinion, still elegant and classy, but with a touch of fun because that's what we are, fun. I didn't want a hoity-toity wedding, I wanted my guests to feel comfortable and have enjoy themselves. 

I've watched The Simpson's my entire life. I literally can't remember a time where I didn't watch them. They've always been one of my favorite shows (Squishee is even named after the drink from the show!). Luckily for me, Dave is also a fan and has been since he was a kid too, so for us, it was the perfect way to incorporate a little bit of us into our wedding. 

We didn't have a full blown nothing-but-Simpson's wedding. We had a few touches of Simpson's theme, along with a color theme, which was royal purple. 

I found a cake topper on eBay that was Homer and Marge in wedding attire, which sat atop our cake:

For seating table cards, my mom, mother in law, and I all searched high and low for Simpson's Pez dispensers and taped the guest's name to the body of the dispenser. 

Each table was named for a Simpson's character and each table had a picture along with a figurine. The table cards had a picture of the character and then the guests name, followed by the character's table name. So for example, you'd have a card that would say Joseph Smith followed by Moe Syszlak's Table. 

My mom, who is ridiculously talented, painted a pretzel tin to look like a Duff beer can, where guests could deposit cards. 

Finally, when Dave and I were introduced, they played Green Day's version of The Simpson's theme.

And that my friends is how I had a Simpson's themed wedding!