Fitness- 30 Day Arm Challenge

In preperation for my wedding day I want my arms looking GOOD! My sister mentioned she was doing a 30 day lunge challenge to work on her legs, so I looked into a 30 day arm challenge and I love it! Of course, I am only on day 2 but I can already feel that this will work. I will post before and after pics :)

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Daily Fashion Inspiration

Good Morning! Around the Chicago area its chilly! Finally feeling like Fall :). Here is an outfit that I love and am currently wearing something very similar to it today.

I bought my scarf and white tank at TJ Maxx and I am wearing a brown sweater from Charlotte Russe.


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Fitness

I was watching a show about Navy SEALs the other day and one instructor said that "Pain doesnt control you, you control the pain". I loved it and thought it was perfect for working out! Stay motivated! I have about 4 lbs to lose!

Wedding Task of The Day

Weddingwire.com has promptly reminded me that there are 94 days before my wedding- AH! Yesterday I ordered my invitations from Walmart.com- I highly recommend this to any future brides. They are adorable and CHEAP! I bought invitations, accommodation cards, and reception cards for a 100 person wedding for under $150. I ordered the Ornamental Love Invitations. They have several different color options and I chose the grey and pink which are my wedding colors :).

(This is the sample that Walmart provides)

Today's task it to figure out what kind of jewelry I would like my bridesmaids to wear.

Fishing Trip

I just returned from a four day fishing trip. If any of you know me you know that is totally NOT my thing!! I found that I really enjoyed it! Matt and I traveled to Fifield, Wisconsin and stayed at Boyd's Mason Lake Resort. Matt and his dad have been going there since he was a kid and he wanted nothing more than to bring me himself. Boyd's is awesome because included in your stay they serve you three meals a day. Breakfast is at 7:15, lunch at noon, and dinner at 6pm. The food was amazing! I am sure I gained a few pounds! Matt and I would wake up around 6:15 to take a walk around the woods, head to breakfast, and be out fishing by 8. The first morning fishing was kind of a challenge. Matt had to spend at least an hour teaching me how to cast and what not. Once I got the hang of it I had no problems! In fact, I caught a 13 in bass woohoo! I kept telling Matt that I was making a new fashion trend in the fishing world. Everyone there was decked out in camo, T-shirts, and camo boat shoes. I on the hand was decked on in pink hoodies and pink gym shoes everyday!! I am certain everyone there was wondering what in the world I was doing on a fishing trip.

Daily Fashion Inspiration

I just returned from a wonderful fishing trip (pictures to come later). Here is today's fashion inspiration! Since the cold weather is approaching I find this very fitting- if I only I could find where they sell this adorable coat!!

Daily Fashion Inspiration

Fall is here- at least for this morning in the Chicagoland area! I am totally inspired by this outfit. Time to break out the boots :)

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Craftastic

I finsihed making my letter "B". Matt and I moved into our new home this weekend and I was able to finish this project just in time to hang up on the stairs. I love it!!

Wedding Task of the Weekend

NONE!! Today and tomorrow my fiance and I are moving into our new home. The last thing I need to be doing is stressing over wedding details. Luckily this week I got my save the dates out, booked hair and makeup for me, my mom, and bridesmaids, decided on my centerpieces, and found a cute mason jar candle to work on. I consider that a success!! Next week I hope to order invitations, book our hotel room for the wedding night, and decide on if we want a limo or not! Have a wonderful and safe weekend! Picture of the house to come!

Daily Fashion Inspiration

Ah! How cute cute cute is this?! Good thing I already have a belt and brown boots just like that! This weekends mission: find an adorable striped skirt! I have never been an accessories type of girl, but after seeing this outfit I think I may need to put a little more effort in that area.

Daily Fashion Inspiration

Here is my daily fashion LOVE. I swear if I dont stop trying to find cute outfits I am going to go BROKE! I love how the yellow belt pulls this outfit together. I found a red one just like that at Target.

Wedding Task of the Day

Today I am on a mission to see what I can do with my recently cut hair. How should I style it for the wedding? So far I have found these styles which I LOVE!!

source: pinterest

I Cut My Hair Short Three Months BEFORE the Wedding! What the What?!

Hey! So, I have been growing my hair out for over a year now. I always used to wear it in the very stylish bob cut with short in the back and long in the front. Since having my ovary removed two months ago I haven’t felt good about myself- just yucky! And I had been thinking about how much I really want to look like myself on my wedding day, so I decided to go back to my old haircut and get it cut!!! I know its three months before the wedding but that's ok. I don’t have a picture of what it looks like yet but I can show you a picture from Google :). Here is what it looked like before (gross and nothing to it)

Here is what it looks like now :)- except thats an old pic but same style!!

Advice to the Brides to Be

Hey Ladies! I just sent out my Save the Dates today :). Anyways, if you are trying to save some money then I highly recommend creating your own wedding website on weddingwire.com. This way you can set up online RSVPs. Why would that save you money? POSTAGE! I went to the post office to buy stamps for my save the dates AND invitations and it cost me $80! I'm only inviting 100 people. The woman at the post office asked me if I was going to buy the "response" stamps as well and I was so confused. She said "you know for the RSVP" cards- you will need to give them a stamp so they can mail it back to you! THANK GOODNESS I decided to have everyone RSVP online otherwise I'd spend another $50-$80 on response stamps.

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check out my wedding website for ideas! http://www.weddingwire.com/nicmatt

Wedding Task of the Day

With 3.5 months before the wedding I am finding that I have little tasks to complete every day. Today I have decided on what I am going to do for my centerpieces. I love fun and anything that makes people happy. So I asked myself what would make me happy if I sat down at a wedding? CANDY! You are probably thinking a candy bar. But NO. I am going to have vases filled with candy at each table and display it as my centerpiece. I found some vases online at Walmart that I can use. I also looked on Bulk Candy store to find an assortment of candies that are gray and pink. I hope my centerpieces look like this!

For My Teacher Friends

I know I dont teach anymore but I am still filled with great ideas! Since Fire Safety Week is coming up in the beginning of October I thought I would share this project. The real purpose of this lesson was to get them to practice writing their "site words" for the week. So I decided to incorporate the fire safety theme with the words. The other great outcome of this lesson is fine motor skill practice. I found a fireman template on google- they are everywhere! With age-appropriate lined paper I made four blank lines (one for each of their site words) and I finished the rest of the sentence for them. We started our first drafts on Monday and continued to revise and edit until Friday for the final draft. We also worked on rough drafts for the coloring and cutting on Monday. In this picture I cut off the boots of the project because the students name was on them.

Craftastic

Since my fiancé and I will be moving this weekend I have decided to embark on a craft. I went to an engagement party last weekend and my friend had bought the letter of her future last name and wrapped it in yarn. Naturally, I fell in LOVE. So I went out and bought the letter of my future last name and began wrapping it in black yarn. It took me a while to get a system for how to wrap but I figured it out. Here is the letter so far. Keep posted for the finished product! (It will be embellished with a bow)

Here is what you will need:

·         *A letter big, med, or small from any craft store

·         *A pound of yarn (or several different colors)

·         *Some embellishment if you wish

·         *Tap

·         *Scissors

How to:

·         *Cut a long piece of yarn

·         *Tap one end of yarn to the bottom or back of the letter

·         *Begin to wrap the yarn around the letter (decide if you want to wrap vertically or horizontally)

·         *Wrap the entire letter once

·         *For your second round of wrapping use a hot glue gun to glue the yarn to the back of the letter

Here are a few tips:

·         *Don’t worry so much about the first round of wrapping- it can be messy because you will wrap it again

·         *Cut a long piece of string and fold it in half- that way when you wrap around the letter you are getting double the string

Daily Fashion Inspiration

I absolutely love the navy with the mustard! Again, I bought a top just like this at TJ Maxx- now is a great time to buy navy- its everywhere!!

Daily Fashion Inspiration

I LOVE LOVE LOVE polka dots! And pairing that with a pop of red is just what this needs! I just bought a polka dot shirt exactly like that at TJ MAXX. I am on the hunt for the perfect red cardigan.

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Exercise for my office job? YES PLEASE!

I have always been slim but not a particular workout freak or anything. When I started college I began working out on a regular basis- ok, if I am being totally honest it was mostly when I felt like it :). Anyways, as a teacher I got my workout in all day running around after all the kiddos. Now I sit at a desk for 8 hours and need to burn some fat before my butt starts to look like Kim Kardashian's. Here is a great little workout I found online and use about 3 times a day- maybe I'll be tone by my wedding?

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Wedding Task of the Day

I found these super cute mason jar candles on Pinterest and would love to make them for my pink and gray wedding!!

Source: http://pinterest.com/pin/138837600982047186/

Fall Beginnings

Hey all! This fall I am making a vow to new beginnings- starting with this blog! Last time this year I was entering my first year as a teacher, I was dating my now fiancé, I was living at home, I was healthy, and my sisters were away at school. This fall I am no longer teaching, I am engaged (getting married in Dec), moving out on my own this weekend, both my sisters are back at home, and I have been diagnosed with Endometriosis- a disease that essentially ruins your reproductive organs. As a result I had to move my wedding from May to Dec and I need to have kids ASAP! This past year I have learned quite a lot about myself. First of all, I learned that I am not emotionally strong enough to handle teaching. I couldn’t deal with the constant cut downs, second guessing by parents, and responsibility for the children's education. After leaving teaching I found myself working at a spa and now an insurance company. It has given me time to restart and refocus on myself. As the days pass I am finding out more about who I am. For instance, I really enjoy working with people, and I enjoy crafting! A lot will be taking place this year including my wedding, moving out, trying to have a baby, and an overall rediscovery of myself. What better way to document the journey then through a blog!