Tips and Ideas for Being More Active in the House

by with No Comment entertainmentfitnesshealthinspirationmental healthtips and trickswellness

In light of coronavirus, millions of people across the world are working from home. While working from home may have countless benefits, it also poses some challenges. While working from home, you perform most of the tasks while sitting in one spot either from your laptop or smartphone. Staying in one place for extended periods can lead to a sedentary and unhealthy lifestyle.

So, to ensure that you stay active while indoors, here are some essential tips to help you stay fit.

Take a Walk Daily

Make it a part of your routine and a necessity to walk for at least fifteen minutes daily. Just walk around your neighborhood, either before you start working or after work. Walking enhances the pumping of blood and also boosts metabolism. Experts also say that regular walks boost your moods and help in weight management.

Use a Fitness Application to Exercise

Just like other endeavors, keeping track of your fitness program when having to stay indoors all the time can be difficult. But today there are so many options online hat will help you stay on track. On the app store there are many fitness apps to choose from, one of them being the 30 Day Fitness Challenge that has a variety of different workouts you can do, like this slim waist workout at home for example. A combination of working out regularly and healthy eating, will help you stay on top of your fitness game.

Involve Yourself in Cleaning Activities

Cleaning your house is a win-win situation. Going up and downstairs, lifting laundry, and being on the feet from time to time is a good way of exercising. Also, having a clean house improves your mental health too.

Use Household Tools as Weights

You can improvise the household items if you’re used to going to the gym regularly. For example, you can use a pack of rice as weights or even water bottles. Besides, you can run up and down the stairs for a couple of times, and try to make the run as much intensity as possible. This will get you sweating in a matter of minutes.

Dance

Put on some music and make your living room a dance hall. Dancing is a good way of keeping yourself active while indoors, as well a great mood-improving activity. Dance is proven to be a useful type of workout that burns as many excess calories as bike riding, walking, or even swimming. But the intensity of dance, the effort you integrate, and length of the dance determines the calories you burn.

Walk around during Calls

If you are not on a call that needs you to use a webcam or laptop, consider standing and strolling around while on the call. This is undoubtedly an incredible way of performing some stretches and getting some extra steps in.

Include Online Yoga Classes

Yoga isn’t only essential for your overall physical health; it is also a fantastic way of boosting your general wellness. The reason for this is that yoga lowers stress and improves your emotional health and sleep patterns. Besides, it reduces neck pain, low-back pain, and manages depressive and anxiety symptoms.

These are just some ideas for staying active during a time we are encouraged to leave our homes less as possible. Do you have any useful suggestions to add to this list? What have you been doing to stay active? I’d love to know!

 

xoxo- Jess

Discovering Torrance – Best Western Plus Avita Suites- Cheers to venturing more in 2020!

by with No Comment adventurefitnessfoodholidayholidaysleisurelifestylemom lifereviewsself care sundaytips and trickstravelwellness

It’s a new decade darlings, can you believe it?! Welcome to 2020… we’re in it and we’re also just coming off of a two week break where we didn’t know what day it was, what time it was, and if we were ever going to change out of footed pj’s. So now that we’re back into the full swing of things I want to share a few of my personal goals with you. I think it’s so wonderful when we can get real with each other and spark creativity in one another. I read a great quote the other day that had so many meanings to me, “one year closes so another can open”. 

So good right? So one of my goals this year is to travel more, to hit reset on my mind and my heart when I need it, and to not feel guilty about it. Even if it’s just jumping in my car and visiting a neighboring city, I’ve got to do it in the name of adventure. I was inspired to take more time to explore my own city when Discover Torrance reached out to me for a staycation. ‘Ummm yes please’, is what I think I responded with. 

The idea of a staycation always encourages me to relax without worrying about taking a flight out or being too far away from family and financial responsibilities. So I packed my bags and headed to the Best Western Plus Avita Suites in Torrance. Sweet Suites, it’s an award-winning-all-suite boutique hotel and was so close to everything I wanted to do during my stay I couldn’t wait to get there. So with my itinerary in hand I checked into my suite and found it very difficult to peel myself from the cozy bed to hit the town on our night one haha. 

My next article will share in detail all of my recommendations for where to go, what to do, things to eat, best desserts to find, and local favorites in Torrance. Today I want to share my experience at this beautiful hotel and share that you can book with them here! 

I wouldn’t usually describe lobbies as inviting and beautiful but let me tell you, this lobby was inviting, comfortable, and beautiful. I actually blurted out at the front desk, “how pretty is this?! I have to take some photos before I check in”. 

It was bright and festive, the staff was so welcoming… and so was this cushy bed! Every room is a suite so they each have a seating area, office area, and kitchenette. Here’s a fun walk through…more like dance through of my room! Imagine Mariah Carey’s voice singing as I dance you about the suite.

Once I settled in and unpacked… P.S. am I the only one who get SO excited about hotels that I have to unpack all of my belongings before doing anything else? AKA I hang my clothes in the closet, utilize the robe, put my keys in the safe, and place all of my toiletries out ha! I’m saving the rest of my excitement to share all of the things we did, the foods we ate, the drinks we drank, the desserts we hunted, ALL the things that we took in during our time in Torrance.

For today you get to hear me dish all about these digs and the hospitality and generosity we were shown while on our staycation at the Best Western Plus Avita Suites in Torrance. Can we just talk about how much joy complimentary breakfasts bring us all? Haha talk about breakfast, this was a full blown buffet with options like home-made waffles, a yogurt and bagel station, fresh fruit, and every cereal and topping you can imagine. 

I indulged and had a little bit of everything Cafe Avita had to offer, here’s a peek above. After all that yummy food I had to get some cardio in and build energy for the day’s events to eat our way through the town! It’s so nice when the place you’re staying at has a gym, it encourages you to stick with your goals, and it completely helps that they have weights and not just a standard treadmill…yayy options! 

It was truly so relaxing to stay at this destination for two nights and made coming back after a fun filled day of adventures and foodie times just all the more spectacular. I do hope you get a chance to visit our home away from home, Torrance which is just a town over from us. The staff, the amenities, the views, the food, all of it … I’m so grateful to have been able to relax for a few days before heading back to reality of the grind and hustle. 

This was just before the holidays and could not have come at a more necessary time. Please scroll back through and enjoy the images, I hope you loved my dancing walk through of our suite, and come back on Monday for my complete guide to Torrance <3

Staycations… you ever been on one? What is a destination close to home that you’ve been dreaming of visiting? I hope Los Angeles is on your list and I hope you check out Torrance and where I stayed while you’re here! 

I’m including links for you here because that’s love haha xx 
https://discovertorrance.com/stay/
https://discovertorrance.com/hotels/best-western-avita-suites/

 

 

 

Vacation body care and hair care product hacks!

by with No Comment adventurebeautybridalget the lookhoneymoonlifestylemom lifereviewsskin caretips and trickstravel

I say hacks because with these products you won’t have to do much to look done up. So here we are, midway through our nearly 24 hour travel day to get to Bali and I’m happy to report that all things considered, my skin is looking refreshed and pretty normal … can’t say the same for my sleep schedule though! Here’s to hoping jet lag doesn’t kick my butt when we settle in. I had all the time in the world to draft this post for you where I share my top body care and hair care products for your next vacation! I’m all about convenience and versatility, the less I have to do with my appearance, the better. Oh and the smell, you know I’m all about how products smell 😉

  • Nelson’s Beverly Hills surf spray– free of parabens and alcohol, this beach spray smells fresh and gives your locks some body and texture. The less I have to do with my hair on vacation the better, and this spray gives you that undone tousled beachy look without having to curl, set, toss, spray.
  • Oribe dry texturing spray– for those days that I don’t feel like washing my hair (most days) but want it to feel and smell clean I use this spray. The surf spray I use as almost a spray on mousse after I’ve washed my hair, replacing styling. This Oribe is more for in between washes to refresh and give your hair tons of volume and tons of vavavoom smell goodness!
  • Coola SPF 50 sport– light and silky smooth, this spf is my go-to! It’s absorbed quickly but still gives you that dewy youthful glow. And like everything else I listed here, smells so good! I don’t like fragrant skincare and this Coola is light and clean smelling like fresh cucumber water.
  • Brazillian Crush body mist– I 100% care about how I smell 100% of the time and this body mist is so sultry and sexy- it’s vanilla but not too vanilla-y if you know what I’m saying. It smells like hot Havana nights I swear! I love this scent so much and it’s light enough to wear daily. And how do I pack it you may ask? In this awesome and super cute Scentbird atomizer! It’s sleek and just the right size to slip into your clutch and in this case, your carry on.
  • Coola Body SPF 50– it’s all about the mango guava baby! My all time favorite scent, this spf is light and never gives your skin that heavy, greasy feeling a lot of SPFs do. Trust me, you’ll love this!
  • Native all natural deodorant–  my favorite scents are coconut vanilla and lavender rose! I never thought I’d be the person to say that going all natural with a deodorant was the way to go, but it is and here I am telling you to switch! It’s free of all the icky things you don’t want going into your body and won’t stop your body from doing the natural thing- which is to sweat and rid your body of toxins. You’ll sweat with this deodorant but you won’t smell. If you perspire heavily, you may want to apply a few times throughout the day but I stand behind this product and all it’s naturalness.
  • Proplenish collagen powder– call me crazy but if I’m gonna age I’m gonna age at the slowest rate possibly and graceful as hell haha. So this is me ingesting collagen, straight up putting collagen powder in my tea every morning. I’ve been doing this on and off for the past few years- when I remember to purchase the to go sachets (I like the lemon flavored ones and I mix it into an early grey and chai tea) and I they make my skin look all plump and rejuvenated!
  • Bliss hand cream: for all the times you’ll wash your hands at the airport and during flight (because germy) your hands will be thank you for the quench of hydration. It also smells citrusy which is refreshing for any long haul and isn’t thick and greasy. Do you see the trend here? lol

I love all things that smell like an island vacation, that’s hydrating without the heaviness, and all mostly natural.

I hope this list helps you pack for your next vacation or trip and up next I’ll be sharing how I packed 2 weeks into a carry-on and backpack, AND how you can travel comfortably and still be cute!

What are your go-to body care/ hair styling tricks for travel? 

 

 

 

 

 

Travel Skincare Routine – For The Long Haul

by with No Comment adventurebeautyhoneymoonlifestylereviewsskin caretips and trickstravelwellness

Bali bound baby!!! In just a few hours we’ll be boarding a two part, nearly 24 hour long flight to Bali in celebration of our honeymoon! Two weeks of blissfulness and my face may just fall off from all the excessive smiling, also my hair may just fall out from all the stress. You know the drill, with packing and preparing to leave your home for a few weeks- the laundry, the cleaning, and did I mention the packing?

As you know, the air on an airplane is not the best for your skin and as you also know I really really care about skin care lol So I’ve packed some of my all time favorite skin soothing, healing, and hydrating products so that when we land, I may be tired but my skin will look rested, refreshed, and ready to party! I wanted to share with you here my travel skin care routine – for the long haul. It’s a long one so jot these down and lets do this!


Body care: first, I showered like it would be my last shower for a few days because it would be, and I splurged on the Laura Mercier Almond Coconut Milk Scrub. It’s super luxurious and will make your skin feel like silk. Just put it on your Christmas wish list 😀  Then I moisturized by mixing a bit of Shea Moisture Argan Oil with shea butter body lotion and guys my skin was pure satin I tell you.

Skincare: I can’t express enough how important clean, hydrated skin is for your every day routine yet alone your travel routine. The air at 30K+ feet is cold and doesn’t hold moisture so here’s to making sure that your skin does <3

  • Ocean Cleansing Milk-Travel Size + Ocean Cleanser-Travel Size: one of my all time favorite brands, OSEA Malibu was the only skin care I packed because it’s organic, pure, and hydrating at its ultimate. They both cleanse your skin and leave it feeling hydrated without leaving behind any kind of residue. I couldn’t choose between the two so I packed them both! Pro-tip: you don’t need water with these, I simply rub a few pumps in between my fingertips and onto my face and then remove with a cotton round- super helpful when you don’t want to wash your face in the lavatory.
  • Sea Vitamin Boost-Travel Size: the perfect toner after cleansing it’s full of antioxidants, refreshing and hydrating. I just spritz my face 3-5 times in a clockwise kind of motion and boom you’re misty.
  • Hyaluronic Sea Serum: remember how I said you should move through your products from thinnest to thickest in formula … here we are 😀 This serum is everything, it protects and strengthens your skin’s moisture barrier for that dewy youthful glow! I pat a few pumps around my face and move on to my moisturizer.
  • Atmosphere Protection Cream + Undaria Argan Oil: a staple in my skin care routine, I roll the argan oil around my palm and then mix in a few pumps of the cream for legit deep moisture. The upside to mixing these two products (and using any product from this line for that matter) is that your skin won’t feel greasy or heavy afterwards. They absorb into your skin quickly leaving only behind that velvety feeling.
  • Undaria Algae Oil: I love to use this oil as an eye cream, lip moisturizer, and overall hydrating oil for any dryness I have i.e. cuticles and elbows! It’s smooth and full of antioxidants- also in my makeup bag at all times.
  • Red Algae Mask: I packed this baby right here because my skin is prone to breakouts during travel and also gets finicky, so this mask is perfect. It’s purifying and non-drying yet perfect for blemishes and the tea tree oil smells refreshing and kicks up the cleansing properties.
  • Lumion oxygen mist + Nano atomization facial mister: game changer! I’m such drama and if I can kick hydration up from a 10 to a 12 – you know I will! I fill the facial mister with the Lumion oxygen mist and use it throughout the day. The BEST for travel because it’s super refreshing and cooling. Also a must have for post workouts as it kills bacteria, hydrates, and illuminates! You’ll thank me for this one.
  • Oil free protein remover and primer: for all my eyelash extension babes this one’s for you, with lash extensions you have to avoid oil based products. The way you care for them and also environmental elements (aka Bali humidity) have an effect on the lifetime of our expensive habit. This primer is awesome to remove oil throughout the day and cleanse your lashes of any makeup residue. I just dip a qtip into the primer and allow the opening to remove excess product and then swipe it along my lash line. I got my lashes done for the wedding … on through the honeymoon … and honestly I don’t know that I can live without them now!

I think it goes without saying that I will be packing snacks, lots and lots of snacks! For me, raw almonds, toasted coconut chips, chocolate, and oats-to- go are my favorites! They’re protein packed (chocolate is like a veggie in my book) and satiating enough to tie you over until the food cart comes around haha.

Ok babes, now that your skin is all silky, smooth, clean, and most importantly- hydrated, you’re ready for the long haul! Oh yes and drink water, lots and lots of water <333

What’s your go-to for travel skin care routine? Do you up the hydration? The exfoliation? 

Coming up- packing body care products,  my honeymoon hair care routine, and how to travel comfortably and cute-ly! 😀

 

 

 

Finding Joy in the Stress of Wedding Planning!

by with No Comment inspirationparty ideasreviewstips and tricksweddingwedding planning

We’re less than 3 weeks out from our BIG day and I promised that I wouldn’t turn bridezilla on you. I can’t promise that I’ve kept that promise so here’s to sharing all my ups in the hopes of preventing all the break-downs!

I wouldn’t say that planning a wedding is fun necessarily, unless your idea of fun surrounds endless lists of to-do’s, spending an obscene amount of money on the raddest party of your life (okay that actually sounds fun), and making decisions you didn’t even know mattered. But you can find joy in the stress of wedding planning I promise!

Of all the decisions I’ve had to make and all the choices I’ve had to choose from, hands down the most fun part *besides picking out my wedding dress and marrying my best friend* has been the center piece making, and thank you cards/stationary creating!

 

I mean how magical are these Basic Invite thank you cards <3 Complete with our wedding colors in artistic subtle splashes and this simple yet classic script, I can’t wait to personalize these babies. Could there be gold glitter involved? We shall see 😉

What I enjoyed most was taking the time to pick out every detail from our color combination, to the specific slate grey I wanted for the writing. The Basic Invite site offers you an instant preview so I was able to play around with the design to try and match them to our stationary until they were exactly what we wanted.

We went with champagne envelopes of which they printed the names and addresses on for us (absolutely do this and save your grip for those honeymoon pina coladas! I mean, it’s FREE!) and I even got us ‘eternity’ stamps for the mail. We cute!

 

Although you wouldn’t be able to tell with the muted envelopes I chose, there are over 40 different color envelopes for your musings. Unfortunately for me, we found this service too late in our wedding planning game to order wedding invitations from them, but luckily for you I’m here to share!

Their wedding invitations are a part of a set and with their ‘try before you buy’ policy, they allow for a custom sample to be sent to you so, win win! Everything from Save The Dates to wedding programs and matching thank you cards (ahem me!) are available and they make it uber convenient with their free address collection service. I’ve thrown the word ‘free’ around a lot in this post but hey, if the shoe fits . . . get it in every color.

I’m so excited for these next few weeks to fly by so that I can wrap up all of our final plans, I leave on the 23rd which is in TWO weeks! TWO! So if you’re in the midst of wedding season like myself, than I hope this post helps you to find some joy in the hustle and bustle of it all and inspires you to get creative when it comes to dreaming up your first impressions as husband and wife.

Take some time to breath and get back to what really matters, which is marrying your person, but also to find joy in the stress of it all – they say we work best under pressure anyway! Also that’s for me to re-read and apply for myself 😉

Are you a stationary or personalized thank you card kind of person? Would you prefer to design your own table place cards and menus or are you like me and you’d rather click it, print it, and move on with it? 

 

 

THE RISE FESTIVAL – THE GOOD THE BAD THE BEAUTIFUL

by with 2 Comments adventurecommunityentertainmentfestivalsinspirationlifestyletips and trickstravel

Everything you need to know about having a successful launch at the Rise Festival from someone who maybe-almost-kind-of didn’t have a perfect night at the coveted lantern ceremony. Could have been disastrous.

It was on Miya’s bucket list to cross off the Rise festival from her to do’s this year, which is I believe, one of the most breath taking and spiritual events you can ever partake in. So of course I told her to count me IN! Our Rise Festival took place about 32 miles northeast of Las Vegas in the middle of the desert and was the perfect setting for what would be one of the most intense visceral experiences either one of us had ever felt! You’ll see!




1. Have your tickets mailed to you – if this is an option do it. Will Call was 45 minutes away from the event and completely out of the way unless you were already staying in Vegas. It would’ve been MUCH easier if they’d made tickets available ON site, in alphabetical order … ya know, the same way they distributed the lanterns and mats. LOLZ
2. Fuel up before entering the site – the location is sooo in the middle of the desert that you should enter Moapa Travel Center into your GPS as it’s on the Moapa River Reservation. If you’re parking in the lot instead of using the shuttle system (those never seem to be the best option for me) than you’re not going to want to fill up at 11pm in the middle of nowhere.
3. Arrive early – The earlier the better I think. We arrived at Will Call around 3pm and then got to the event around 4:30pm, which made for PERFECT timing. We were able to grab a drink, take some awesome photos during the most spectacular sunset, order food from the food trucks BEFORE all hell broke loose, and write our intentions onto our lanterns while there was still light out.
4. Layer up and tote a bandana– Did I mention we were in the desert? lol Once the sun went down it was actually kind of chilly and windy out. Layers will keep you warm and a bandana of some sort will keep the sand out of your nose. We were blowing chimneys out of our nostrils when we got back to our hotel later that night.
5. TO LIGHT THE LANTERN – the most important part right! To Actually getting your lantern to rise and be with the 10,000 others! So thankfully they passed out an extra lantern to all of the participants as we only purchased one lantern each. Well the wind decided to pick up JUST as we lit our torches, and as I lit the fuel cell, the flame burned holes throughout my lantern making the first two attempts a big fat fail. Also it was momentarily disastrous as lanterns flew by my head and flames zipped by my very heavily hair sprayed hair. But we ducked and dodged, and third time’s a charm! Here’s what we learned:

– You need someone to help you hold the lantern upright so that the lantern walls stay open and don’t collapse onto your flame. Preferably all of your friends (make this a whole group event!) will hold your lantern up right until the heat has filled the lantern and it’s ready to rise on its own.
– Light the fuel cell with the tiki torch until the entire fuel cell is on fire, this takes a few minutes. Pro top: remove the paper wrapper surrounding the fuel cell BEFORE lighting it on fire.
– Once the fuel cell is red with fire, as your friends hold up the walls of your lantern, slowly take your lantern towards the ground. This will help to keep the wind out of your way and allow the flame a chance to create enough heat to fill your lantern with hot air.
– Once you feel your lantern start to naturally tug away and lift from your light grips, slowly stand up and allow the lantern to release! Boom, you did it!



It only took me THREE tries to get my lantern to rise, but when it did, I legit cried. It was so moving, symbolic, and serene! To watch your lantern float away among thousandssss of other lanterns, lighting up the night sky, it was so surreal!

Oh, and they had a live band playing on stage …  so imagine writing your hopes, dreams, and prayers onto this ‘intention lantern’ with thousands of other people, in the middle of the desert, enjoying the breeze, all WHILE being serenaded with beautiful music. Right?! Unbelievable.

I uploaded the video of my lantern and I (the ‘3rd one’s a charm’ one) and our festival moments onto my Instagram account if you want to experience it <333

P.S. oh and don’t bother waiting in the 183,821 person line to get your photo in front of the RISE sign. I mean you can if you’re into that kind of thing but Miya and I took ours behind the sign and didn’t have to wait for didly. Just tell people to mirror the image in their minds.

Have you ever heard of this kind of event? Have you been? Would you want to go? I hope this post was helpful if you do!

HOW TO STYLE BOOTS THIS FALL!

by with No Comment fall fashionget the lookholidaylifestylelook bookreviewstips and tricks

In most places around the country people are welcoming the Fall season with it’s fresh crisp air, leaves turning, and cozy weather. Here in Los Angeles we got a few days of cool-er weather but no leaves turning … hell, we got no leaves! We get the cozy weather symptoms but not the actual change in season, so wherever you are, I hope this season is a beautiful one for you!

Wether you’re in a colder place than L.A. or you live in a tropical place, with these Fall style inspirations you can layer them up and even dress them down. Here are my most favorite ways to style boots this Fall! From chic to casual, and somewhere in between, there’s something for everyone.

METALLIC MAMA!


There’s something magical about metallics! Corinne has these exact Wanted Angel Oxfords, in metallic silver and I swear every time she puts them on it’s like the Wizard of Oz except she’s the damn wizard. I love her style and 90% of what I wear or dream about wearing is inspired by my fashionista daughter. Chic, professional, and playful all in one outfit! White lacey socks, fancy pants that are high waisted and belted, a white ribboned button up, rose gold blazer, earrings to match, and a black crossbody.

 

ALL BLACK AND COGNAC!

There is a theme here 😉 Let me name something and I swear I’ll name everything! So if you know me than you know that black and grey make up about 99.9% of my wardrobe and I’m not even mad about it. Add some rich cognac colors and rose golds to the scene and baby you’re a firework. This outfit I wear (in variations) a LOT! DSW Crown Vintage Cognac boots, ripped black skinnies, loose fitting black tee, black moto jacket, aviators, cross body, some sparkle.

 

BOOTIE STRUTIN’ STYLE!

Get it … bootie … booty … I’m 4. So I’m still not over styling denim with all the things. If you’re in colder weather you can throw some additional layers on and still keep this sexy, simplistic little number in tact. These Guess Golda booties are the sexy version of a combat boot to me. Bringing back the all black and adding in some silver flare and sheer tights for fun. Blazer and clutch finish the look off with a bit of class … because we’re classy chicks.

 

Would you wear any of these styles? What’s your favorite way to style boots this season? Do you prefer booties or boooooots???

 

BRIDE GUIDE: TOP 5 WEDDING PLAN TIPS!

by with 7 Comments bachelorette partybridalDIYget the lookgift ideasinspirationlifestyleparty planningpersonalspecial occassionstips and trickswedding planning

I’m so excited to share this series with you and I’m also creating videos for it on my YouTube channel! Welcome to the Bride Guide, from yours truly! Because, those that can’t do, teach and I’ll be the first to admit that I suck at planning! Like really I’d rather have someone else just tell me where to be and when ha! Realistically though I’m a control FREAK so I’m giving you my tips and tricks to staying bright and breathing and never turning into the huffing puffing bridezilla, from the control freak in me to the control freak in you!

So the part of wedding planning that I found to be the most stress inducing (ahem the entire ‘planning’ part of it duh) has become the most fun to do … once I relied on other sources to do it for me of course! Today I’m sharing with you my bride guide to planning your big day with ease, featuring some of the sites I’m currently using to prep, plan, style, and SAVE with my top 5 wedding planning tips!


1. Create a site– a landing page for guests and a place to get information surrounding your wedding. If I have a ton of questions I can’t imagine the questions my guests would have and creating a site for this puts it onto one place- the who, the where, the what, the when, the hows! You’ve probably heard of Martha Stewart weddings and The Knot, and I love checking in on those sites to see if I’m on track with the planning ‘time line’ (oh yeah, there’s a freaking time line to follow! No pressure!), but I’m using RileyGrey.com for my actual wedding site and reception hub. It feels daunting but it’s super user friendly and if I can navigate it, your tortoise probably can too! You design the page, you fill in the information, create your own personalized link, and boom, you’re like a pro baby!

2. Set a date and pick a location– I feel like these two go hand in hand because if you plan on a destination wedding *raises hands and feet* than timing becomes crucial depending on time of year, weather conditions, and travel. Also, when you set a date the next natural thing to do is pick your location which takes away 99.9% of stress, at least for me it did. I’m living and breathing by THIS blog by JetFete which caters to destination wedding planning, and helps you narrow down your options, sift through all the possibilities, and goes through every question you may have lingering when it comes to planning a wedding away from home.

3. Food, flowers, and such– choosing a vendor that offers prime location, handles decorating for you, and provides food AND beverage service is like a dream come true! But lets face it, most vendors aren’t all inclusive, thus you’re left to fend for yourself. I got your back though, CaratsAndCake is a site that allows you to shop your vendors ACCORDING TO LOCATION (whoa! and hence pick your location first) with the help of other brides who’ve already had their weddings and link you out to each of the services they used. Genius right?!?!?! So you go through the albums, it features photos from their wedding and the links to their vendors from food, to their dress, to decorations and flowers! These links are located at the bottom of the post which takes you to a page with other work the company has done, and from there you can contact the vendor directly.
G E N I U S

4. Take photos and send Save The Dates!– taking lovey dovey pictures are the fun part! You get to look all kissy and fishy faced with the love of your life … in front of strangers, and hold poses that seem awkward but look sexy! Then you send those to your family and friends as Save The Dates and RSVP cards 😀 Postable is like oxygen to me right now because it gathers the mailing address and contact information from all of your guests and puts them into one place for you. So when you’re ready to mail out your invitations simply upload or export that information to your stationary person or print them off yourself and you’re set! It’s a free service and you create a personalized link which you then email your guests with. It takes them to the landing page where they fill out their information and it goes directly to you, never shared (that was a big deal for me). You could use this for holidays, special occasions, and birthdays since you update the list yourself throughout the year.

5. Register and receive– gifts! The super duper fun funners part! Well it’s all fun but I mean c’mon, wahooo gifts!!! Sites like The Knot, Honey Fund, and others also allow your nearest and dearest to either purchase a gift from your registry or contribute to your honeymoon. Since I will both register for gifts AND ask for honeymoon perks, I’m using NewlyWish. With group gifting options and a low cash fund fee, it was just the way to go for us. I also never know what I need or want- I want it all, but this site helps you skim through products and add them to your list with a click of a button . . . ummm yes please!

So I realllllly hope this post helped you if you’re planning a wedding, helping someone else plan theirs, or will be planning in the future! There are so many resources out there like Etsy and Pinterest that give you a plethora of options when it comes to story boards and sharing ideas, and gift giving! However these are the sites I’m currently using to organize my thoughts and plans for my own wedding and I wanted to share them with you before things start to get cray lol.

There are some key things left out of this article like dress shopping and timelines, which will be woven in between all of this, but these were the items that I needed to check off my list in order to settle the nerves and be able to function and get shit done in my life so there ya go! And cheers to you <333

Are there any sites or companies you use for planning a wedding or special occasion? 

 

 

TRAVEL GUIDE: TOP 3 PACKING HACKS!

by with One Comment adventurefashioninspirationlifestyleorganizationtips and trickstravel

Imagine if you will, 8 outfits, 3 pairs of shoes, 4 bikinis, and 4 cover ups all in ONE carry on bag! Not to mention the additional toiletries, cosmetics, and electronics! Yup, all the necessities into one bag! That’s exactly what I did when we went to Vegas for our 6 year anniversary a few weekends ago!

I carry that feat with great pride, like someone who carries 8 bags of groceries from the car to the garage all in one trip. *ahem also me! lol* So today I’m sharing with you my tried and tested, very professional top 3 packing hacks! And by professional I mean I’m winging it and so far it’s worked for me so I hope it works for you too so there.


  1. Roll it up baby! – Use the rolling method to pack all of your clothing, rolling the softer items and folding the heavier, bulkier pieces. If you’re unfamiliar with this method here is a step by step HERE. I was able to fit 8 outfits, 4 bikinis, and 4 corresponding wraps to go with because of it!
  2. Pack versatility into your wardrobe! – And your shoes! Shoes are bulky and take up so much space. Tote along a pair of shoes that can easily go with any of the outfits that you pack. Opting for a pair of flip flops that are a bit fancy can easily take you from the beach to brunch! Throw in a pair of wedges that are comfortable for sight seeing yet cute because, fashion! If you’d like to see the outfits I packed for this trip and how I coordinated them read all about it HERE! 
  3. Think ‘need’ over ‘want’!- Like, “I ‘want’ to bring all 5 of my perfumes but I ‘need’ to pack all of my other toiletries, so I’ll pick my favorite ONE!” Personally, I have the most trouble with this one because I like to pack everything but the kitchen sink, but in this case when you don’t want to check a bag or you just want to be able to roll and go, less is literally more! The less you pack, the more use you’ll get out of the things you did!

Pro Tip: Pack any items that could bust open or overflow out of their containers, into their own spill proof bag! Then, in the case of a shampoo or something else opening during travel, nothing in your suitcase is ruined! Wahooo!

It’s amazing the items you’ll actually use when you’re forced to consolidate! I especially found this helpful when I packed my cosmetic and skin care bag. I only brought along 1 of my 17 serums, makeup that were multi-purpose in use, and travel sized products for lotions and toiletries. I also hope you find this helpful for your next trip or vacation getaway!

What is your number one packing hack?! I love reading your comments and incorporating your tips, it’s like we’re really friends! You like me, you really really like me! *quick, where’s that from?!*