Weddings & Family

So since tomorrow is the first day of August, I thought I should start discussing some of the ideas the fiance and I have come up with for the wedding with Mum. 

Now I kind of regret it.

My mother and I have never had the best relationship (though it's better now I live out of home) and she has always been super opinionated. I just knew she would have something negative to say about our plans so far. I'll give her points that she was actually pretty good, but it was still a kick in the guts in a way. All you want is your parents approval really, but I didn't get it.

There was the "well the wedding is still a while away, you might change your mind" line and the "well I would do things differently, but it's not my day" type lines which are just laced with "what on earth are you thinking?". I know she is more traditional than I am, but all I really wanted was something positive.

She hated the lolly bar idea, was very disappointed we veto-d sugared almonds, dislikes we have chosen a cocktail function, then went stingee as and suggest getting flower from woolies to make lapel pins for the men? I said I wanted to save money, not be a scrooge. 

Then there is this competition she is having with M's Mum. Though his Mum doesn't know it. She's a bit jealous I think.

On the plus side she liked my brooch bouquet idea and is more than willing to help with that.

Anyone got any tips to help deal with family? We're not going to budge on what we want (most things anyway), but ways to politely say that or anything?

Dress shopping will be interesting that is for sure.

BellaBox July 2012

My first thought when I got this box was wow. I'm actually rather impressed.

Though it's a cute little bella-bag, not a box.

Either way, there are a lot of full size or large samples (100ml sample? Don't mind if I do)

Carmex Moisturising Lip Balm

This is a full size product which is great, I had been curious about trying them before and to be honest, I'm kind of glad I didn't actually buy it. The smell is odd, kind of like play dough I think? And oh my gosh does it make your lips feel all tingly. It's nice and smooth on and not all sticky either.

Royal Moroccan Shampoo, Moisturizing Conditioner & Hair Serum Treatment.

These I thought would be interesting to try as I normally use Macadamia Oil but have heard lots of people that like the moroccan.

Okay so, the shampoo & conditioner don't smell the best but they did leave my hair lovely and soft. The treatment kind of smells like a cough medicine my mother would make me take when I was little. I used an amount about the size of a 5cent piece and it wasn't too sticky or anything. My hair does feel nice and soft.

My verdict: It's alright, but I wouldn't buy any. I will happily stick to my regular products.

Ulta 3 Nail Polish in Mulberry

Honestly, I'm not even going to try this. I hated the last Ulta I got in a Bellabox. Sure for the price it might be good, but it's not what I am after in a polish, I want long lasting, few chips so I shall stick with my OPI/China Glaze.

e.l.f Defining Eye Brush

I've recently discovered a hatred for a slanted blush brush I got - oh the reviews said it was amazing but it';s driven me nuts. So does not work how I want a blush brush to work at all. But anyway, this brush as you may have guessed is slanted. Hopefully since it's for eyeshadow it might not be so bad. Will test it out and see. The brush is only about $4.

Neutrogena Deep Clean Foaming Cleanser

This one I was hesitant to try as I had previously tried a grapefruit nueturogena product and my poor skin took a while to recover. I really should have read the back of the product because this is meant to make your skin tingle. I felt the tingle and was paranoid I'd hop out of the shower and have a bright red face. But no, it's meant to make your skin tingle and believe me it did for a good two or three minutes at least. My skin felt lovely and soft afterwards. And it really does come out like a foam. It's not something I would want to purchase again purely because I don't like the tingly sensation.

Nutri-Synergy Sensitive Skin Cleanser

I thought it was a bit odd to get two cleansing products in the one box, but of the two this one at first glance appears to be more for me - sensitive skin friendly.

I don't know if it's just me, but I felt like this left a residue on my skin. I ended up washing my face again with my usual cleanser. No reaction and was nice and soft with a fresh lemony scent.

Givenchy pi Neo

A sample for your Mr. I can't see the fiance trying it

You, Me & Everybody Shady Lady Daily Face Mix

First thoughts? I love the hot pink box and what a long name! It comes out of the tube really quiet fast and it's a pinkish colour. Very smooth feeling. Seems to work quiet well and no break outs yet. 

It's been a very good box. Way to restore our faith, Bellabox!

New Lippy & Blogger App

So since I upgraded my phone I decided I should do the tech thing and download the blogger ap. As far as I can see so far it only lets me look at and post to my own blogs. I was really hoping to get access to my reading list, or if you can I'm yet to work that out...

Nothing too exciting has happened lately, though the other day I got home from work and freaked out that my dog didn't rush to great me as normal. 

This is how I found her.....

And whilst browsing Strawberrynet i noticed they had some lipsticks on sale. This is Estee Lauder Signature in Cherry Kiss. Cost me about $9. Score!

Week In Pictures

Another week has gone by pretty quicky. And this is part of my week in pictures:

 Woke up one morning to this fog.

As the sun rose a bit more it was still bad. Driving to work was rather scary, I could barely see the end of my car's bonnet!

It looks rather like smoke in this photo!

Hush Puppy boots I ordered for work. Not the cutest looking shoes but damn comfy. 

Plus no-one sees them under my pants so it doesn't matter.

Finally found some small bud like vases at a discount store.

The roses are from our garden. Did I mention how divine they smell?

This one is from this morning when the middle rose started to bloom.

 98% Fat Free Apple & Cinnamon muffins, or so the recipe claims.

Channel cut into the concrete of our kitchen floor courtesy of my lovely Dad.

Come Tueaday night we will finally have power to our island bench. And light in our bedroom (the bayonet fitting broke) as well as a few other odd electriciany jobs done. So excited!

Coffeeee! Have I mentioned how much I love our Nespresso machine? It's the best.

Puppy playing with her ball. The look on her face has me laughing every time I see this photo.

"Look Mum I hid the bone" 

Yes. My puppy thinks she can hide things buy putting bits of grass and sand on them. She's a little bit special. 

Outfit for today.

Pretty ring I got at Lovisa today. $10 wasn't too bad. 

..Any my priceline haul. Some essentails (Venus Embrace razors & Batiste Dry Shampoo) and some treats. Savvy by DB eyeshadow trio ($5), Savvy by DB ultra violet baked mineral eyeshadow ($9) both of which have a lovely shimmer too and Prestige Cosmetics Sunbaked Mineral Bronzing Powder -($29.95), it's my first time trying it but my friends all swear by it.

And as a bonus I'm finally able to eat almost properly again, I'm still err-ing on the side of caution until it all heals again, but foooood.

I lost two kilos whilst on that forced liquid diet and have only put 1kg back on since being able to eat properly so that is a plus.

Hope you are all having a great weekend. Off to a BBQ for a friend's birthday tonight. It's going to be soooo cold!

Bouquets

So in my recent Wedding choices there is another I have made. I'm not the biggest flower lover, but I do love jewellery. Hence it makes perfect sense to me to have a brooch bouquet. 

Photo: Etsy

I love the sparkle and that it's something different. 

The cost of these is quite insane however, so I'm thinking I will ask my mother to help me create one. She is very crafty so it should be right up her alley.

 Photo: Etsy

 Photo: Google Search 

Photo: Google Search

Have you been to a wedding and seen one of these before? Thoughts?

Lolly Buffets & Wedding Invites

It's a very quiet night and the fiance has had a tough week - yes, he is asleep already. 

So I decided to do some wedding research. 

Firstly, we're going to have a Lolly Buffet because I am a sweet tooth. I've gotten a few quotes and one was $800. I almost fainted. So I've decided to attempt it myself. 

Pink Frosting has a lot of goodies and I was thinking of trying one of those 'cash & carry' buy in bulk type places for the lollies.

 I am so getting these Mint to Be tins with mints. I love mints.

Poppy's Candy Buffet's. (Their photo) 

As for invites we want something simple, but classy. 

 I like the boarder on this one and the pattern at the bottom.

 I like me some damask, but the fiance will never go for it.

I love how this one has the invite and the rsvp as opposite colours. The pattern is simple but smart.

As for the colour scheme, we're going with a shade of blue, silver and blacks. Elegant but not too girly. I'm thinking of trying a local print company and keeping things quite basic to keep the costs down. I can't justify spending $10 on an invite that people will most likely just throw out afterwards AND after hand crafting our engagement party invites, I don't think I want to do that all over again!

You couldn't leave me off work and not expect me to buy something...

But I have been good and only bought a few things. 

Three quarter sleeve peplum top from Ally for $19.99

Knee high boots from Betts $69

These arrived today. It's safe to say I am in love.

Phone cover from eBay. $0.99. (Score)