Epicurious Runner

Doing My Own Wedding Makeup

*Note: Some of the next few entries are going to be catch up posts. I didn’t blog a lot before (or after) the wedding, but I would still love to get everything in here, so please bear with me and enjoy some of these posts from the past.

2 weeks before the wedding, the last time I was in NH before the big weekend was when I did my makeup trial with my sister Kerri. She did the following makeup for me based on what I was looking for.

I knew I wanted shades of brown shadow with brown liner. I wear eye makeup well and I wasn’t scared to go a little bolder. Kerri was worried that it would be too dark, but after the trial, I think she was convinced. This was very close to what I was looking for and I was happy with the results.

When I was back in New York, I made a date with my friend Megan to hit up Sephora for some materials. I love makeup, especially good quality makeup, but damn it’s expensive! I made the decision to do my own makeup to save money, I’m not sure if I saved any money, but I at least got to keep all of the makeup that I used on the wedding day as opposed to paying $60 to $100 for just the application.

This is the makeup I used to achieve my wedding day look. Missing is the lip gloss/lipstick I used and the eyebrow pencil because I borrowed them from my sister and I don’t have them anymore. I spent about $100 on makeup, but it was worth it because I am still using it today.

Like I said in previous posts, I don’t have my professional wedding photos yet, so this is the best picture I have of what my makeup looked like. I have to say though, I was extremely happy with how it all came out. I thought I did a great job and it looked nice and natural.

A Sneak Peak!

I’ve been off getting married!!! Sorry I haven’t blogged, well I guess I’m not that sorry because I really haven’t had time, but I wanted to put up a few pictures, especially for my friend Katie who does not have Facebook and is dying to see some, so here are a few to hopefully sate you.

I can’t believe I’m married and the wedding is over! It was absolutely perfect and it was without a doubt the best weekend of my life! Now we are off to Denver! Here we come Great American Beer Fest!

Crunch Time + Makeup!

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I’m doing my own makeup for the wedding. I know some may think it’s crazy, but I feel completely confident that I can do an amazing job! I’m pretty good at doing my own makeup and I know what I can pull off and what I can’t. I haven’t bought the makeup yet, but I think I am about ready to go ahead and make the plunge. I’ve been doing lots of research, or rather picture hunting to help me make my decision on what I want it to look like.

I’m going with an overall brown theme. I love these pictures here, I think the top picture is my favorite. I love the eyeshadow! I like that it’s shimmery, but a little bold at the same time. I don’t think I’m going to use black liner, I think I will stick with brown, so it’s a little more subtle. I am going to practice with both black and brown though just to make sure I get my desired look.

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I like these other two pictures, but I think the top picture is a combination of these two, which is why I like it the best. It may seem a little dark to some, but in my opinion I pull off eye makeup really well and I’m not afraid to go a little bold. I don’t think it will be too much. That’s what the practicing is for anyway. I will be sure to update you and take pictures when I do actually do my trials. Probably sometime this week!

Anyway, it’s Labor Day and I had a super lazy day yesterday, so today Derek and I are ready to get down to business and knock out some more wedding tasks.

I had THE BEST bachelorette party anyone could’ve asked for! I went out with an amazing group of ladies who I absolutely LOVE so much and we had the BEST time ever! I got way too drunk and literally spent 12 hours yesterday recovering. I will be sure to recap ASAP!

19 days till the wedding!!!

Hope you all have a good Labor Day!

23 Days Until I Have A Husband

Seeing as though I blogged a whopping total of 4 times in the month of August, I think I owe you guys a recap. I haven’t been blogging because I’ve pretty much been feeling like this cat.

Where to start?

I went to NH the weekend of the 20th and Derek and I got a ton of wedding stuff done.

Saturday started with my final wedding dress fitting! It went well and I am officially picking up my dress, Friday the 23rd.

Next up were the wedding bands! Derek and I went down to Cardin’s where Derek’s mom works and we picked out our bands. Derek’s is going to cost more! Who would’ve thought?

We then went to AC Moore (craft store) and picked up a few supplies including frames, material for Bongo’s tux and some fake fall leaves. After this, we split up. Derek went to his tux fitting and I met up with Derek’s mom to pick out all of the flowers.

Flower stuff was fun and I am happy with all of the decisions made. Bongo is even getting a tiny flower

Sunday consisted of a wedding hair trial at my friend Christina’s. I think it went well and I was able to make a final decision with how I want my hair done on the day of the wedding.

Here are a few pictures of how my hair won’t be on the day. Everything was loosely done anyway, the trial was more about the placement of where I wanted my hair on my head.

Since this weekend, I’ve stressed a lot, I procrastinated, I progressed and then Derek went to Montreal for his bachelor party.

Basically I have been an emotional wreck. I can literally cry on command and I have not felt like myself. I go through periods where I am ecstatic about the wedding and I cannot wait to be married! Other days I dread the whole wedding planning process, I wish I had more time and I want to have a meltdown and break something. I can’t sleep well either.

I also went through some stupid wedding drama a few weeks ago. I don’t really want to talk about it on the blog, but I’m over it now and I’m sure it will be discussed AFTER the wedding.

Let’s see. We’ve made many other decisions regarding the wedding, but nothing too exciting. We still have a TON to do and we are extremely overwhelmed. I know it will all work out in the end, but I am having trouble not getting consumed by the stress of it all.

Sigh.

This weekend is my bachelorette party and I couldn’t be more excited! A bunch of my friends are coming out and my sister/maid of honer and friend/bridesmaid are coming down from NH for the weekend. I DEFINITELY need the fun weekend out and I know it’s going to be a ton of fun.

One good thing that I haven’t been stressing about is my body and just the fact that this stress is not causing me to gain weight. I’ve actually managed to lose a couple pounds and I’ve been doing a really good job eating healthily.

In exactly 23 days I will have a husband! Eeek!

My Wedding Is Going to Cost How Much?

I know I’ve been gone for a while and I am sorry for that! I do have lots do update y’all on, but I have been STRESSED out. Whoever said wedding planning is fun is mostly full of shit, or rich enough to hire a wedding planner.

I will be back soon on a more positive note, I promise!

The Wedding Shower!

After cake tasting, I went back to my sister’s to change into my dress and get ready. I was stuffed with cake, but I knew I had a whole day of eating ahead of me!

After writing this post, I felt like I was about to give up! But, I ended up going out on my lunch break the very next day and eventually found this dress at Filene’s Basement. I loved it and it was exactly in my price range of $50! Yay!

So, just to be a little more vain, here are some more pictures of my “perfect” bridal shower dress!

And I wore these shoes….which I borrowed from my sister Kerri. She has a ton of shoes and I can always rely on her to find the perfect pair

The shower was held at Derek’s parents house on July 23rd (last weekend). There was some pretty amazing food at the shower. First up, homemade funfetti cupcakes! They were so good, I love funfetti and these were even better since they were homemade!

One of my good friends and bridesmaid showed up with these delicious homemade donuts! They tasted and looked extremely professional. She made glazed and jelly filled! Gosh, they were amazing and they got eaten up quickly! I made sure to grab a couple for Derek because I knew he would be bummed if he missed out on them. Laura, I need this recipe, Derek is demanding I make these!

We did have some ‘healthy’ foods, although technically these were made to be dipped in the chocolate fountain. There was also Sangria and Margaritas that I definitely had my fair share of.

I literally had to fight back tears when I opened this. Laura is an extremely talented artist and I’ve seen her evolve and grow with her work over the years. I’ve known her since Middle School and she’s been creating amazing artwork for a long time. I’ve always wanted a piece of her work! The painting is beautiful and Derek and I appreciate and love it very much! Thank you Laura!!!!

Sealed with a sticker of Derek and I

   

My bridal party! Everyone, except my sister Gina could make it! I was pretty bummed out that she couldn’t make it, I was really hoping to finally have my bridal party all together for once before the actual wedding. I love these women! I really am going to have a beautiful wedding party.

The wedding shower was put on by my maid of honor and best friend/sister, Kerri, Marissa, who is Derek’s little sister, and Derek’s mom Karen. I just want to thank you guys sooooo much! The shower was wonderful and truly special and memorable. I couldn’t ask for a more wonderful family.

Frederick’s Pastries: Wedding Cake Tasting

We were up in New Hampshire yet again this weekend. On Saturday at noon, we went to our scheduled cake tasting at Frederick’s Pastries in Amherst. I’ve never actually been inside here, but I have eaent many cakes from them!

Derek has been spoiled his whole life with most of his birthday cakes coming from this amazing pastry shop, so it was definitely on the top of the list when it came to the decision of where we wanted our cake from.

I want those cake ice cream cones!!!!

We admired a few cakes and treats before sitting down for our tasting.

Cake Flavors: White, Chocolate, and White Almond Pound

Fillings: Strawberry, Raspberry, Lemon, Chocolate Fudge, Peanut Butter, and Mocha

We tried a variety of cake and filling flavors and I must say they were all sooo good! It was hard to decide what we wanted and what we didn’t. Both of us liked the Almond cake the best out of the 3 cake flavors and personally my 2 favorite fillings were the peanut butter and the strawberry, but the cream cheese frosting was also amazing (unpictured).

We met with Jen, the general manger there and she was a huge help and super friendly! We honestly didn’t have much of an idea of what we wanted our cake to look like, but I think we came out of there with a pretty solid plan. All I can say is that it may have something to do with beer and chocolate

What does your dream wedding cake consist of?

I USED to LOVE shopping, What Happened?

What happened? Maybe it’s NYC or maybe it’s my lack of money, but I definitely don’t enjoy shopping as much as I used to. I still love, love, love new clothes, but the act of walking around for hours getting lost in stores full of models is a huge turn off.

This was not me today.

I spent my time after work tonight shopping for the perfect Wedding Shower Dress. I don’t know how many stores I went into, but I tried H & M, Anthropologie, Filene’s Basement, Zara, Urban Outfitters, Gap and even more that I can’t remember. Guess what I found? NOTHING.

After every store, I was getting more and more frustrated. I found many things that I liked, but they were all over $100! I swear there is no middle ground. I know there are cheaper stores out there, like Forever 21 and Strawberry, but those stores are exactly that….cheap. The clothing is not good quality, period. I could buy something from there, whether it’s $20 or $80 and it would still fall apart after one wear. I am trying very hard to stay away from those types of stores.

So yeah, there is either super cheap or expensive like $150 for a dress and honestly I cannot afford that right now…or ever, probably.

The qualities I am looking for in the perfect dress:

• Not too dressy, not too casual.
• Somewhat colorful (not black).
• Has some type of print (no solid colors).

Is that too much to ask for? For $60 or less or even $80? Apparently.

I also, all of a sudden have this complex with shopping. I feel super self-conscious and out of place. I mean, I’m not the most feminine person; I fall during half marathons and scar up my legs (yes, I have scars) and I would much rather wear work out clothes any day, but I don’t think I have no fashion sense at all. I usually don’t care what people think, but for some reason, I feel like everyone is judging me when I’m shopping alone.

I knew I should’ve just bought a dress online, but at this point it’s too late. The shower is in 4 days and I have nothing to wear.

Rant over.

I plan on going to Macy’s tomorrow. Hopefully I can find something good there!

Know of any good dress stores that aren’t a trillion dollars too expensive?

Time Is (Quickly) Ticking Away

So, I’m getting married in like 3 months…holy crap! Time sure is ticking away and I can’t help but feel a little overwhelmed by everything that still has to be done. I know there are lots of family and friends to help me out, but still, 3 months? That’s like tomorrow!

Even closer than the wedding is the DRESS FITTING! Ahhh, I have 3 1/2 weeks till I get fitted for my wedding dress. I declared myself 4 full weeks from this past Monday to get into the best shape I can. I’m already off to a good start!

Monday: 5.75 mile run (Which was awful, BTW)

Tuesday: 2.25 mile run

Wednesday: 1st day of 30DayShred, 3 mile run

I hope to do a weekly recap on Sunday to highlight everything I did for the week. The pressures on!

Before Derek and I became poor for a couple weeks, we were making turkey burgers pretty often. This is my new favorite way to season ground turkey!

I received this bottle of Buffalo Marinade through the Foodbuzz tastemaker program and I couldn’t wait to try it out. I credit Derek with this idea.

We marinated a pound of ground turkey in the buffalo sauce and let it sit overnight (a couple hours would work too). We then formed patties and cooked them through until we had delicious turkey burgers.

The flavor was subtle, but extremely tasty! Turkey has a tendency to be blah and flavorless, but adding this buffalo sauce gave it an awesome kick. We topped them with cheese and a bit of blue cheese dressing and they were gooooood!

My Bridezilla Moment

Last weekend Derek and I traveled back to NH so that I could go bridesmaid dress shopping with my lovely bridesmaids. Kelly came up for the ride too and stayed with us over the weekend.

A Great Harvest opened up in Nashua recently and I have been dying to go, so we hit them up for breakfast early Saturday morning. None of their bread was ready yet, but I bought a bunch of pastries to try.

As soon as we walked in, we were offered lots of delicious samples. I tried the peach savannah bar and it was delicious, so I ended up buying one. I also got a cinnamon bun, and a chocolate pumpkin muffin. I brought these back to Derek so he could have a variety to choose from, but it ends up that he didn’t want any of them. I ate a piece of the savanna bar and half of the cinnamon roll for breakfast. Everything got eaten eventually though.

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