I did it!

I closed it! Here is everything crammed in:

Cruise Packing List - Attempting to fit 95 Items into One Backpack and One Carry-On Suitcase

Adam and I are excited to be going on our honeymoon cruise! We have decided to do a 7 day cruise to the Mexican Riviera. It's perfect timing weather-wise. In Utah, it hit a whopping 34 degrees today.

My goal is to fit all of my clothes, toiletries, electronics and snacks into one carry-on suitcase and one backpack. Why pay extra when you can travel light? There are 95 items in total. Here's hoping!

The Toiletries, Electronics and Snacks 

Items shown above:

1. Hand Cream

2. Face Wash

3. Face Moisturizer

4. Perfume

5. Stain Remover Wipe

6. Tweezers

7. Anti-perspirant Wipes

8. Make up Remover Wipes

9. 1 Headband

10. Bobby pins, hair clips, spin pins

11. Sunscreen

12. Comb

13. Sunscreen Face Stick

14. Cotton Balls / Cotton Swabs

15. Toothbrush, Toothpaste, Floss

16. Extra Ear Plugs

17. Laundry Detergent

18. Hair brush and Curling Iron

19. Room Spray

20. Aloe Gel

21. Body Wash

22. Shampoo

23. Conditioner

24. Deodorant

25. Shave Gel and Razor

26. Hair sprays and Frizz-Ease

27. Disinfectant Spray

28. Heavy-duty clips (8)

29. Quart-Sized Toiletry Bag

30. Additional Toiletry Bag

Items shown above:

31. Headphone splitter

32. Earbuds

33. iPod

34. Charging cable

35. Wallet

36. Eye mask and Ear Plugs

37. Thank you cards and Pen

38. Water-proof pouch

Items shown above:

39. Jewelry and bag

40. Makeup bag(s)

41. Gold Eyeshadow kit

42. Lipsticks (2)

43. Travel Makeup Brush set

44. Blush

45. Mascara

46. Bronzer

47. Concealer

48. Brown Eyeshadow kit

Items shown above:

49. Coconut Chips

50. First Aid Kit: Includes band-aids, moleskin, and OTC pills.

51. Granola Bars and Re-usable Snack Bag

52. Somersaults

Clothing

Below are the items of clothing that I am taking and images of all of the packed up toiletries and snacks:

Items shown above (right side of image):

53. 1 pair of shorts

54. 1 cardigan

55. 1 Sweatshirt

56. Hard to see, but there is 1 Swimsuit

Items shown above (left side of image):

57. 2 Casual Tops

58. 2 Dressy Tops

59. 1 Nice Dress

60. 1 Casual Dress

61. 2 Skirts

Items shown above:

62. Backpack

63. Sandals

64. Flip Flops

65. Purse

66. Passport

Items not pictured:

67. Underwear

68. Feminine Hygiene Products

69. 2 Undershirts

70. Power Strip

71. Night Light

72. Black Suede Flats

73. 1 Pair of Jeans

74. 1 Pair of Yoga Pants

75. Small Magnet for our Cabin Door

76. Collapsible Tote Bag

77. 1 Extra Swimsuit

78. iPad

79. iPhone

80. Wet Bag for Swimsuits

81. Water Bottle

Check back soon to see if this is a success!

Vanity Organization

Today was cabinet organizing day! My bathroom cabinet was a mess with ugly bottles all over the place. I needed to consult one of my favorite magazines, Domino, for some help:

The Before:

It's not bad, just not great. You can see all of my pills, creams and sprays all over the shelves. There are no clear "zones" for getting ready in the morning.

The After:

 Check out the zones I've added:

Now everything is logically grouped.

Products Used:

1. West Elm Mercury Tealight Holders, $5 each
2. Jamali Garden 4 1/2 inch Brass Julep Cups, $8.99 each
3. Muji Polypropylene Box, $2.75
4. J.Crew Cosmetic Bag
5. World Market Egg Cup, $3.96 for 4

6. Amazon Pill Organizer, $4.99

Thanks for reading!

Weekly Top 5 - Back to School

So I'm kind of a crazy person, because even though I am no longer in school, I get pumped up for back to school sales and items. Maybe it's because it means fall is coming, and I love the cool crisp weather - or maybe it's just because I love organizing and a whole slew of new products come out this time of year. Here are my top picks for back to school 2014:

Palomino Blackwing Pencils, from Jack Spade

I love the eraser shape. Choose between black or white.

Der Reisende Scheduler, from Mochi Things

These are undated, so you can start at any time. I love the available pattern options.

Herschel Supply Co. 'Settlement' Backpack, at Nordstrom

This backpack makes me thing of a swanky English boarding school.

Parisienne Pencil Case, at Anthropologie

Add some french flair to your desk.

And the Brass Desk Clip, also at Anthropologie

I love the classic color of this clip.

Good luck to everyone going back to school!

Beauty Crush: Jordana 12 Hour Made to Last Eye Pencil

I discovered these at Walgreens a few weeks ago and purchased them in Stay-On Black and Continuous Almond. I am in love! The pigment is great. I have been using the black for smokey eyes and the beige color as a base and a highlighter. At only $3.99 each, they are a steal!

Image Credit: Vampy Varnish

Purchase them online at Jordana Cosmetics or in store at Walgreens.

Virginia Reception

Adam and I just attended our reception in Virginia last Saturday. We reused a lot of the decor items, with a different set of flowers and pictures. Here's how it turned out:

We swapped out our engagement photos for wedding photos and used hydrangeas and white roses.

My favorite part was the cupcake display:

I loved the idea of displaying my cake from the other reception to show what it looked like.

Hope you like it!

Top 10 Travel Essentials

1. Week Pill Case from Target: You can pop out a few of the days or bring the full case, depending on the length of your trip. You can use extra days to store earrings or other jewelry.

2. Goody Ouchless Headbands: I pack one of these in my carry on and one in my purse, to give my hair a chic look after a long flight.

3. LA Fresh Anti-Perspirant Wipes: Perfect for day trips when you are nowhere near your hotel and they get through security with no trouble.

4. DownEast Basics Classic Tee: I bring at least one of these on my trips. Great to wear under thin tees to add warmth or you can wear it alone and it looks great with jeans or a skirt.

5. Sephora Slim Brush Set: This set has a few brushes to cover powders, blushes, bronzers and the rest can be used to create any eye look.

6. Eye Mask: This particular mask has a flap that holds earplugs (included). Wearing this will make you forget that you are on a plane.

7. Neutral Flats from J.Crew: Flats are a must if you are walking anywhere. I like a neutral color, to match any articles of clothing I pack. You can dress these up or down to save space in your bag.

8. Foldable Tote Bag from Kate Spade: This can be carried around to hold souvenirs, for use in your hotel room to organize beauty supplies, or it can even hold laundry.

9. Moisturizer: I like to slather this stuff on my face, including my lips, to fight dry air on planes. They also make one with SPF.

10. Shawl Cardigan: This can be used to fend off chilly planes and air conditioned rooms.

Nightstand Organization

Last time, I showed you how I organized my electronics, but I did not have the right items to organize inside the drawer. I purchase an acrylic drawer organizer which made the job so much easier!

Here's the before:

Inside the drawer

The top of the nightstand. Note the new lamp!

Full view of the nightstand. My pajamas are stored in the basket on the bottom shelf.

 After:

Full view of the nightstand. No more alarm clock!

Inside the drawer, with the new organizer

I decided that my alarm clock is no longer needed, since I have a wonderful app on my phone. It freed up more space on top of the nightstand - and made the top look sleeker.

Items purchased:
Acrylic Drawer Organizer at HauteLook, similar here at Amazon.
Threshold™ Double Gourd Glass Lamp Base at Target
Room Essentials™ Modified Drum Accent Lamp Shade at Target

Thanks for reading!

Recent Purchases

Francesca's had a sale online and in stores yesterday, so I picked up a couple of items. Check it out!

Delta Cutout Bootie by Pink and Pepper Shoes

In black

8x8 Plaque

"Kindness is always fashionable"

You too can purchase these items here and here. Thanks for reading!

Reception Centerpieces

This may be a little late, but I wanted to show you how my table centerpieces turned out. Remember the draft I drew?

Here's how it turned out:

The differences:

As you can see, there are a few differences between the concept and how was executed. We had a few limitations that prevented the full concept from coming to life. We weren't able to find birch logs that were wide enough to make into pedestals and candle holders, so we bought smaller branches and tied them together with green ribbon and olive branches as its own centerpiece instead. Also, tulip season barely passed, so we were not able to find white tulips for the ivory vases. Instead, we grabbed peach and orange roses.

Sometimes the execution is way better than the plan. I love the way it turned out. What do you think?

New Purse Accessory

On Saturday, I had dinner with my sisters-in-law accompanied with a little bit of shopping. We hit Bath & Body Works, which I have a little beef with, but that's another story. I came across the cutest PocketBac holder. I have been looking for one to have easy access to my hand sanitizer, without having to spend three minutes digging through my purse. I finally found one that was chic enough to display. In the past, most (all) of them have been a bit juvenile for my taste.

Behold, the glam PocketBac holder!

There are so many things I love about this one. The studs are modern, the color matches any bag I carry, and the little tassel makes it classy.

Right now, it's not available online, but you can pick one up at your nearest store. Happy shopping!

Coralling Cords: A Charging Solution

I've been struggling to find a solution for charging my iPad, iPhone and iPod on the surface of/or in the drawer of my new nightstand. Side-note, my husband and I bought matching nightstands for the master a few weeks ago. I rarely shop Kmart, but these had high reviews and match our dresser perfectly.

But back to my problem. I have three devices I need to charge frequently. To get ideas, I browsed Pinterest of course! I came across this idea that intrigued me:

Image Credit: Driven by Decor

I liked the concept of placing the charging station on the table surface rather than in a drawer. I also had an existing desktop organizer that was perfect for the job, because it already has holes in the design.

Right now, it works as a potentially temporary solution for this nightstand, because I haven't asked my husband to drill a hole in the back of the nightstand for the cords yet. Currently, we are still working on a lot of bigger projects around the house.

Here's how it looks:

New nightstand - the whole view.

Close-up of charging station.

Check back for more updates on our new house!

Simple Luxuries: The Waldorf Astoria, Park City, Utah

This past weekend, my husband and I stayed at the Waldorf Astoria in Park City. Not only were the interiors visually breathtaking, but I was impressed with the thought they put into the little details around our room. These simple luxuries are easy to recreate around your house, if you just want to enjoy relaxing or to impress your house guests.

Below are a few images of the hotel and how to recreate these elements in your own home.

The Lobby - my favorite element is the wide-sweeping staircase.

The room we stayed in.

The Simple Luxuries:

1. The Door Hanger - "Privacy Please"

The door hanger at the Waldorf Astoria was made of black leather and silver scripting. I found an affordable option at World Market:

2. Carafe and Glasses

It was so refreshing to have ice water on the nightstand to fend off thirsty nights. I recommend this set from Crate & Barrel for your own home:

3. Fur Throw Blanket

The bed was dressed with a beautiful brown fur blanket. On chilly evenings, it comes in handy. I found a similar one you can purchase at Amazon:

4. Robe and Slipper Set

No hotel stay would be complete without a fluffy robe and slippers. The Waldorf Astoria hooked us up:

Purchase a similar set at Gilden Tree:

5. Salvatore Ferragamo Toiletries

The most pleasant surprise from this trip were the lovely toiletries in the bathroom. They were all "Tuscan Soul" by Salvatore Ferragamo:

You can actually purchase these on eBay.

6. Bonus: Outdoor Gas Firepit

Near the front entrance to the lobby, there was a gorgeous open gas fire pit. It is really tempting to purchase a mini version of my own, like this one at Woodland Direct:

Wedding Day

On June 20, 2014, I married the love of my life.

Wedding Beauty

This past weekend, I headed down to Red Scarlett to do a test of my hair and makeup for my wedding day. She is super talented and fun to be around. You can view my wedding beauty Pinterest board here for a look at my ideas we played with during the trial.

Here is how it turned out:

I wanted to do a variation on a classic French Twist.

Side view of the hair.

I went with golds around the eyes, a peach cheek and a coral-pink lip.

Close-up of the makeup.

Can't wait for the big day!