Vote!

This presidential election has been VERY different from ones in the past. With the economy so bad voting this year is more important then ever! I just registered under my married name yesterday....all of you please make sure to register. It is super simple at http://www.rockthevote.com/home.html. Do it now it only takes a few minutes and you could be apart of making history. I saw the debate last week and am interested to see the results of Thursday's VP update.

Mini Books

My grandmother is the eldest of 8 sisters and 2 brothers and my wedding was a chance for 9 out of 10 of those siblings to get together! The picture above is all 8 sisters together for the first time since my grandmother got married! Can you imagine?? With my great grandparents passing away in the last year all of them have had such a hard few months leading up to the wedding and I knew that even though they were getting together for a happy occasion emotions would be hard to control over such a great loss....
When I found out they all would be coming I wanted to do something special commemorating my great grandparents for each of them. I brain stormed ideas but nothing really came together until I found a tutorial on how to make a mini album using one 12x12 piece of paper. I don't remember whose blog I saw it on but I sincerely thank you for posting the tutorial. The book was the perfect gift because it was small enough for them to carry it with them daily, and whenever they felt a loss they could pull it out and look at it. There were tears when I handed them out but they all loved them! These pictures aren't that great because I only had a few seconds to take them since my henna party was going on downstairs! (Each one had the their initial on the front.)

After the wedding I made a few more of these per request. My mom didn't want the ribbon in hers so I made hers with a magnet so it stays shut in her purse.

I made two others which I don't have pictures of one for me and one for my cousin Amy which are similar to the first ones I made....I love having a little piece of them with me whenever I feel like I need them......I only met my great grandfather twice, once one I was very young and then again a few years ago. I was lucky enough to be able to spend my great grandmothers last few days with her and to have her bless all of my wedding outfits. Despite having such little time with them their personalities were so loving that not a day goes by that I don't remember them, and I wore the bangles they blessed for me at every event of the wedding. Not a day goes by that I don't think of them and I know they are looking over me from wherever they are....

Style???

So for almost always my style has been pretty classic, not anything too bold just colors that I felt suited me, interesting necklines, and overall subtle. I don't know if I've been watching too much Gossip Girl or what lately but latest purchases seem to be drifting far away from classic and subtle!

I use this to carry my camera so it doesn't get all banged up in my purse....

I never wear yellow but this sweater was super cute and warm!

I bought this jacket in the pinkish magenta version.....

I am still not sure about this wallet, sometimes I like it and sometimes I feel like it's too much...what do you guys think?? Lastly this pretty coach wristlet my friend bought me for my birthday....it's the perfect size to fit your camera, cell phone, and some lip gloss for a day out in the city!

As I was posting this I remembered a post I read over at Jeune Marie....I totally think that part of my being a bit bolder with my clothes now is the fact that Jay completely loves it when I choose something a little on the funky side instead of sticking with the classic looks! It definitely encourages me to try out something new and fun instead of the boring basics!

Quickie

When we first moved into my mom's house a few years ago every wall, closet, bathroom, etc was an insane shade of peach!

That wasn't going to work for us and we poured over paint catalogues looking for just the right colors! Since the living room and the dining room were really more like one big room in order to create separation we thought we would paint the living room portion maroon and the dining room portion an olive green....this involved having to paint one wall two different colors! My cousins that were helping us did not let me hear the end of it when we spent the whole day painting! They made so much fun of me for wanting to paint one wall two different colors! It actually came out pretty cool after it was all done....you can kinda see it in this picture....

The day we were painting I wanted to take pictures to document our turn around and happened to get ones of my two cousins taken at two different times away from one another in the same pose....I found this clearance frame and as a "thank you" gift to them I painted it half green and half maroon!

Whenever they see it, it brings back memories from a fun, tiring day!

Maybe she's born with it....

Maybe it's makeup....After a quick stop in Sephora this weekend Jay and I started talking about how girls really have the upper hand....See if we're tired, or pale, or feeling a little under the weather with a few quick flourishes we can look like a million bucks! Guys don't have that option and what you see is what you get! So here are some of my favorites....

For Daily Wear:

This is the best concealer I have used by far! As long as I remember not to rub my eyes all day and take it off!

It's a little ridiculous how much of this lipgloss I own but it's awesome!! I love the minty taste and it keeps my lips super soft!! I currently have the following four tubes floating around in my purse...

This Bronzer is perfect to add a little color to my super light skin....

For Fun:

MAC Fluidline Eyeliner

I have it in Blitz & Glitz, Rich Ground, and Macroviolet....I find applying eyeliner with a brush makes it a lot less likely for me to come out looking like a raccoon!! I have really big eyes....

MAC Mineral Eyeshadow

not in this color but some fun ones they had out last year....

and lastly this Mascara: (something about the British Accent on the commercials just makes you want you want to buy them!)

Since I am normally pretty minimal when it comes to my makeup unless it is a special occassion or I happen to have a little time in the morning ( I normally NEVER have time in the morning) I picked up this set of brushes which is pretty cheap but works well and is compact for easy pack-up.....

I also have the angeled eyeliner brush that makes applying eyeliner a breeze....

So what's in your bag of tricks??

Snips and snails, and puppy dogs tails

So along with the arrival of a baby girl we also had the addition of a sweet little boy to the group...Since his older brother is only two I thought it would be nice to take a little present for him to when we went to visit....

I basically covered a childrens board book with scrapbooking paper and then used the Making Memories Childs Play line for the lettering....I was pretty pleased with it UNTIL I tried to seal it....Has anyone else used the Modge Podge Paper Product Sealer?? Even though it was sitting outside drying for like a day and a half some of the pages stuck together...and I had to do some touch ups before I could give it to them...does anyone have any suggestions on a better way to seal things? I don't normally however since this was for a two year old I thought I should so he would be able to carry it around wherever he wanted...Any ideas for the next time around??

Sorry I had to cut out the pictures because I wasn't sure they would want them posted! Happy Friday!!!

Video Update

Here is the video of the other couple


While I wouldn't dream of doing anything like that for fear of giving my granparents a heart attack....we did do something similar we started off dancing to Edwin McCain's "I Could Not ask for More" and the second half was parts of the following song....We basically just copied the steps from the video....it really was a lot of fun :)

Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice

I saw these on Elizabeth Kartchner's blog awhile ago and was dying to try making them but couldn't think of any girls....our family and friend circle seems to be pretty dominated by BOYS!!! So when Jay's good friend just had a baby girl I knew exactly what part of her gift would be! I think they came out pretty cute and it was fun to make them! Thanks for the cute idea!!

My Brain is Mush!

Here are some thoughts that are wondering around in my head today.....

*Squats are BAD incase I didn't make it clear enough yesterday. My legs are still in pain! This resulted in me skipping the gym yesterday and getting a lecture from the husband about working out and the importance of stretching etc. YAY!

*Since I did skip the gym yesterday I was able to work some on our engagement album, yes that's right from the engagement party that took place on 07/07/2007. I finished three pages none of which I am entirely happy with but I guess it will take some time to get back into it.

*The new 90210 wasn't horrible last night but what was with the short shorts?? Not everyone can pull them off and last night is proof!

*Dylan is the father of Kelly's son....Wonder if this means he'll come back to the show.

*Is it bad that 9:30 AM this morning while I made my whole grain toast what I really wanted to eat was Reese's Peanut butter Cups?

Squats

I firmly believe squats are a horrible excercise and nobody should have to do them EVER! My legs are killing me from yesterday!!!

Why I love my photographer....

The last one is the end to our "bollywood tribute"...We basically did something similar to the "I like big butts" couple from last year that I can't link to right now but will update later...I met Amish WAY before I was even engaged when I was doing some free lance modeling work....Once I stepped into his store to have some passport pics taken it was love at first sight!!! I knew when I got married I wouldn't be happy with anyone else but him...Infact my family teases that I planned my wedding around the photographer but I can't help it! I mean really you wear your outfit once you will treasure your pictures for the rest of your life! Now if only I can finish his testimonial for his website!! See more of his AMAZING work here http://www.studiokarishma.com/.

Happy Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday to my uncle who spent our entire childhood terrorizing us! We definitely wouldn't be as wacky as we are if we didn't have your example to follow! Although I do take comfort in the fact that you terrorize your own kid just as much as you did us if not more!!

A few months ago around fathers day I found these playing card tins that looked like a remote control, the back of the playing cards inside also had the same remote control image. The first time I looked at it I thought it was cute but I couldn't think of anything to use it for. A day or two later inspiration struck. I decided it would be perfect for a mini book with the front being "Dad you can't control everything in life". I decided a photo strip would work better so without further ado....

The last two pics say "but at least you can control the remote" and "OK maybe NOT!!" right on a picture of my cousin holding the remote with a sneaky smile on his face! Here's a close up of some of the details....(I had to remove one of the closer up pictures)

And finally the cute little tin that held the photo strip...I figured this way he had the option of either keeping it in the tin or hanging it up. I thought it came out pretty cute and my cousin was thrilled to rub it in his dads face that he controls the remote!! So I'm sure this has started many more battles in their house!! I am sooooo glad it's Friday :)

A Moment of Silence....

For all of those who lost their lives in the tragedy seven years ago today....I was in high school at the time far away from NY and remember being shell shocked as we watched the attack unfold on television. The very thought that someone would purposely do something that would harm so many was unthinkable. I clearly had a lot of growing up to do....

Now looking back on it, it seems like a very distant memory but the repercussions for our country have been lasting. Just recently my husband told me that he and his family were in NY at the time and faced that hysteria head on, thankfully they are all alive and well. But I imagine if just the thought that anyone of them would not be with us today causes me so much anguish then for those that lost someone the pain must have been and must still be unthinkable. So in honor of those who didn't survive that day, those who were just going about their work, those who were out sightseeing, those that fought and rescued survivors, and those that were on those two fatal planes....Let's have a moment of silence.

Product Red

How many of you have heard of Product (red) ?? Basically it is an organization set up last year by Bono and Bobby Shriver to raise awareness for AIDS and HIV for people in Africa. When I first heard about this I was really excited as both my parents and my husband were born and raised in Africa and I myself at a young age visited Africa and saw the effect of aids on the people there. I immediately rushed out and bought two of the Inspi(red) t-shirts one for me and one for the hubs. While I would normally not spend close to $30 just for a t-shirt the fact that half of it would be donated to charity motivated me. It is one of my favorite t-shirts though the material is super soft and I've worn and washed so many times and it's still as soft as the first the day I bought it.

Over the last year a few other companies joined this foundation Motorola, Apple, Georgio Armani, Converse, Dell, Windows, American Express, and Hallmark. While it is awesome that these companies are actively participating in this program I have to wonder how many people are actually purchasing these items. I definitely try to find a card from the Product Red section at Hallmark when I go, and I used the Treasu(red) bookmark as part of my pre-wedding bridesmaids gift. I have one of the Inspi(red) bookmarks at home too. When I spoke to my cousin in college yesterday she was asking more about it because she wanted to fill in her friends on the program but it seems all the companies involved are more on the higher end of the cost spectrum not exactly affordable for everyone! I hope that they are working on trying to get more companies involved that target your average consumer. In the meantime currently on my wish list are:

I'm also thinking instead of the Old Navy bags maybe I should have purchased this one....Half the money would have gone to charity!

They also have some SUPER CUTE baby gear which I couldn't find on GAP's website but that you can see here. http://www.joinred.com/products/gap/

I'll try and update later with pics of the bookmarks I couldn't find any good ones online but they are gorgeous!

Updated: Here is a pic of my pre-wedding gifts for my bridesmaids....