Merry, Merry, Oh so Merrry...

I wish all you lovely ladies and your families a wonderful holiday season and may you all be protected, comfy and cozy as you eat drink and be merry.
TTFN (ta ta for now).

Weigh-In Wednesdays

I am so frustrated. Can you believe I only lost one friggin pound? One pound! I worked so hard all week and the stupid scale tells me I only lost one pound. Maybe it's because Aunt Flo is visiting and i'm more bloated than a beached whale, I have to tell myself something otherwise i'm liable to give up prematurely. Alright, alright, I know it's only been one week but isn't that supposed to be your best week ( just watch Biggest Loser). It can get very discouraging when you don't see results for all your hard work. Oh well, I gues i'll just keep trying.
Is anyone else having issues with their weight loss progress? Well Ladies, TTFN (ta ta for now)

Project Updates

I've been a busy bee these last 2 days working on my cardbox. Remember I showed you a picture of the card box that I wanted fromThe Wedding Main Street, it costs $119 plus shipping and taxes. Well I decided that I didn't want to pay that amount of money for a cardbox, plus it just wasn't in the budget, so...

I thought that maybe I should try to make one myself considering how great a DIYer I am. (modest right?) So I shopped around for aqua wrapping paper cuz I didn't think I could paint or spray paint a box well enough. Anyway it turned out that I found Tiffany wrapping paper from Sophie's Favor's, a little on the pricey side at $11.99 but the boxes were free from the shoe store and I bought the ribbon from Michael's for about $2 and the rhinestones for $1 for a pack of 120. So all in all, it cost me about $15 for my pretty cardbox.
So ladies, tell me what you think. TTFN (ta ta for now)

OUCH, OUCH, OUCH!

I am so sore all over from my exercising. I am once again a novice at this and my whole body aches. Going down stairs or stepping down from the car or the bed is excruciating. I expected to feel this way however and I know it will get better over time so I'm hanging in there. On the plus side I have alot more in spite of it beimg only 2 days since I started.

I'm doing the Slim in 6 program and i'm loving it so far in spite of the soreness. I just might lick this yet.
Tell me what you are doing to get in shape for those pretty dresses, and how you are able to stick with it? In the mean time i'll go rest my aching bones. So ladies, TTFN (ta ta for now).

Week of Giveaways by Bride on a Budget

The last giveaway of the week is from Gifts in 24. They sent me some of their products to try out, so I could give you an honest review of the products they're offering for the giveaway. I was very pleased with everything they sent over.

The first one is their Couples 7 Tablet Set (retail $35). It includes 7 different pads of paper with different variations of yours and your fiance's names. Great way to write notes to family and friends after the wedding. They are many different colors to choose from.


The second one is the Couple's Monogram Notes (retails $50). These would be great to use as thank you cards after the wedding. There are multiple different ways to personalize these notecards.


You can enter to win both of these products, made to your customizations.


To enter the giveaway for the two note sets, visit Gifts in 24 and tell me your favorite thing on their site. This is required to be entered in the giveaway.

After you complete the first entry, you can get up to 6 more entries by doing the following. Please leave a different comment for each step you complete.
1. Be a follower of my blog
2. Follow me on twitter
3. Follow me on facebook
4. Blog about the giveaway
5. Follow Gifts in 24 on twitter
6. Follow Gifts in 24 on facebook

Make sure to leave a way to contact you in your comments (either your blog link or email address). This giveaway will end on December 23rd at 5pm EST.

Weigh-In Wednesdays

I NEED TO LOSE WEIGHT! Maybe if I say it three times while clicking my heels, it will actually happen. I used to be really skinny at one point in my life but now not so much. Since I brought my Darling Son into the world, everything has expanded. Now the funny part is that I didn't gain weight when I was carrying him (I was actually underweight thanks to morning sickness that was all-day sickness that turned out to be 9 month sickness (sigh). I just started all the bad eating habits after he was born, working and coming home tired then entertaining and just wanting to be with my little person had me making really bad choices for FH and myself, not him.

This is what I looked like before my Darling Son came along and added to Mommy's happiness and Girth.
(sorry about picture quality)

Do I look anything like that anymore? Nuh uh. Now he's 2 and I seriously can't keep using the poor little man as my excuse anymore. Enough already!

So this is what I decided to do about it. I have a little over 7 months till my wedding. I prefer not to show you what I look like now but I weighed myself and decided that I need to lose 30-35 lbs. Yeah I know, that's a ton but I think I can do it. I bought the "Slim in 6" workout videos and they came via UPS yesterday. In the box were a couple of DVDs, a resistance band, tons of literature to help keep me on track and a sort of progress journal so I can track my workouts. I'm sooooo excited!!! I'll keep you posted when I weigh in a la "Biggest Loser" every wednesday to see how much I've lost each week. So Ladies, TTFN (ta ta for now.

Lazy, Procrastinating Bride

I haven't posted any projects or updates in a little while. Why you ask? Well i'm just in a little "wedding-free planning zone" right now. I'm content to just browse the internet and other people's blogs. Right now, it's sunday night and my darling son is in bed as of a few hours ago, my darling FH is playing videogames (he's only allowed to play until our son is asleep, plus it's his birthday tomorrow) and i'm propped up on my bed reading blog after delicious blog. Some of you ladies are so funny and talented. I am cracking up here. The Broke-Ass Bride and Chocolate Lover are especially noteworthy.

I'm actually tempted to call in sick tomorrow to continue my "research". Alright just kidding, I might just leave after lunch. Ok, ok, i'm just kidding boss. I'll come to work, but for now, i'll just keep reading. FH is now going to bed and has asked me to get the computer out of the bed. "Big bossy blue boiler" like my son would say from watching "Thomas the tank Engine" for the millionth time. So ladies, TTFN! (ta ta for now)

Week of Giveaways by Bride on a Budget

The next giveaway up is a gorgeous garter from GarterLady on etsy. You can customize the colors of the majority of her garters. She also makes plus size garters for those ladies who can't fit in her normal 22" ones.

Here's some of my favorite garters from her shop:


Now on to the giveaway. GarterLady has offered up her Diamond's Are a Girl's Best Friend Garter (valued at $25) to one lucky reader. You get your choice of white, ivory, or tiffany blue.
To enter the giveaway for the garter, visit GarterLady and tell me your favorite thing on her site. This is required to be entered in the giveaway.

After you complete the first entry, you can get up to 3 more entries by doing the following. Please leave a different comment for each step you complete.
1. Be a follower of my blog
2. Follow me on twitter
3. Follow me on facebook
4. Blog about the giveaway
Make sure to leave a way to contact you in your comments (either your blog link or email address). This giveaway will end on December 20th at 5pm EST.

Week of Giveaways from Bride on a Budget

For day 4 of our giveaways, Design Alley is offering up a wonderful custom monogram for one of my lucky readers.

Her monograms are generally $10 and she sends you multiple designs to choose from.

To enter the giveaway for your own personalized monogram, visit Design Alley Studio and pick your favorite item from her gallery.

After you complete the first entry, you can get up to 4 more entries by doing the following. Please leave a different comment for each step you complete.
1. Be a follower of my blog
2. Follow me on twitter
3. Follow me on facebook
4. Blog about the giveaway

Make sure to leave a way to contact you in your comments (either your blog link or email address). This giveaway will end on December 19th at 5pm EST.

DIY Photobooth

I really, really want a photobooth but of course it's not within the budget so I thought I could make my own from the many posts i've read on the internet. When I find my venue (ha,ha) I'm going to set up a corner for the photobooth. It's not going to be a real booth in the true sense of the word but a little corner cordoned off. I will need a white cloth for a background, a few props like a mustache, feather boa, sunglasses, hats and the like.
Then I will have a camera set up to take pictures automatically of our guests. The only thing I haven't figured out yet is how to get the pictures printed on the spot so the guests can take them home.

Is there anyone doing a DIY photobooth. How would you get the pictures to the guests?

8 Months left and still no venue.

I live in NY and I haven't been able to find a place to have our reception yet and I only have 8 months till our date. I know, I know that was the first thing we should have done after we set a date but i'm working on it now. I need a place that will allow me to do everything myself. I need a blank slate so I can paint my masterpiece exactly as I want. I did find a few places but they were either too expensive, they insisted on catering, or the place was just plain wrong. Oh well, the hunt continues...

Favor Flavors

I've been racking my brain trying to think of what favors i'm going to give to my guests. Most of the favors i've received from weddings were pretty useless. I mean they were pretty and all but I just didn't have much use for them and they usually ended up in a drawer somewhere, so I didn't want ours to go the same route.
Here's my idea: I couldn't decide between CDs, coasters, candy or a small token to keep so I decided to do them all.

First, I found this really super idea from Style Me Pretty for these great DIY coasters,

they are soooo adorable. I decided to try them since I was totally in love with them and they were really affordable. These are the supplies I used: a 4 1/4" square tile from Home Depot (not pictured here), Mod Podge, Aleene's glue, felt cut to 4 1/4" square, Minwax polycrylic sealer, card stock cut into 4" squares, ribbon and brush.

I bought 4 cases of 80 tiles each for $12 a box from Home Depot,all the other suppplies came from Michael's.

I wanted to make at least 2 different types but after finding the aqua patterned paper, I couldn't find another color in my color palette that wasn't plain and boring so I kinda had to go outside my palette just for these. I found this really great damask at Michael's in the dollar bin. Here is the result of my very time consuming project. (I had to make 320, four for each guest).



So each guest will get 4 coasters a pair of each (aqua and damask) tied with ribbon; a take out box with silver hershey's kisses and aqua M&Ms; a CD of our wedding songs; a fridge magnet with our names and wedding date and they get to keep the dinner napkins onto which i'm embroidering our initials.

These will all be placed into a tiffany blue 6x6 box (I'm going to buy white boxes and paint them tiffany blue) and tied with a white ribbon which will be placed on each guest's chair and the greatest part is that they're all DIY projects.

So what about you, are your favors DIY projects?

April Showers Giverway!

April Showers Blog Design is having a HUGE giveaway and celebrating her OPEN waiting list that starts January 1st! April does not only blogs - but also invitations, announcements, calenders, cards, business cards, custom illustrations, and so much more! Just by placing this paragraph on my blog I'm a winner! www.aprilshowersblogdesign.com

A Little Diversion

So i've been away for a little while planning my son's 2nd birthday party. It went very well, if you can call 10 hyped up little people running around on a sugar high 'going well'. Actually it really wasn't bad at all. We had a Thomas theme and Thomas was everywhere. I played the movie and then they had a craft project to paint their wooden trains that I got from Michael's. That was the best part I think, the parents helped and i'm happy to say that there was no paint on my floors or furniture. So now that that's done, back to wedding planning.