So You're Engaged...Planning Your Engagement Party

I'm back for a second week of: So You're Engaged, Now What?

Besides picking our date (which we didn't stick with anyway), planning our engagement party was the very first thing I did when we got engaged. I knew my bridesmaids, but Iman wasn't sure on the number of his groomsmen and I really didn't want the number to be uneven. #ocdproblems

Now, give me a party to throw and I'm you're girl. I can throw together an impromptu party within an hour (complete with food, guests and some sort of decoration or theme). I can also spend forever picking out the perfect theme and creating everything.

My family is a party family. When we have parties it's not a little dinky dinner party (that's like, my ultimate goal), but a full blown occasion. Let's just say our birthday parties were "small" if there were only 75 people there - hence why our wedding was so large.

Note, take more pictures than I did. I literally have NONE with family

I spent quite some time agonizing over our engagement party before deciding: simple is better.

At least for me, I'm not a crazy glitter person, though I love to throw those parties for other people.

When you decide to plan your engagement party the first thing you need to think about is: How simple do you want it and who do you want to invite?

For us, we really wanted to get all of our family together to meet each other, finally. We also wanted to invite some friends. We looked at our engagement party as a chance to celebrate with some people who may not make the wedding guest list because of our budget. Some people send out wedding announcements for this, but we prefer to tell you in person.

Tiffany was my first friend. We don't talk often but I'm so happy she made it to the party! 

While we kept it simple (I really don't think there were any decorations), we  got creative with the food. I had some Pinterest recipes I wanted to try. Of course, I was still making food when our first guests arrived...but that's pretty typical of a Mexican family so no one minded.

TIP: Carry around a notepad and get everyone's addresses.

We used word of mouth and social media to invite people to our engagement party, although looking back, it would have been awesome to make real invitations and thank you cards. That stuff can get expensive though, amiright?

Creating a custom stamp for our wedding would have saved so much money! Think about it, if you have one "Thank you" stamp with your initials, you can put it on every card - with a personal note of course. It creates a unified theme!

When Diva Gone Domestic contacted me for a giveaway I was ecstatic - but sad that I had missed the window of my own wedding. So I got a stamp for my WQ letters to test it out. They also offer custom address stamps - which I want so badly, but I have no idea if we will be moving in the next 9 months, and that would be such a waste!

Diva Gone Domestic was started by Tara and is a full design studio - including wedding invitations and graphic design. Currently, they're doing 25 days of giveaways - so head on over to their blog to find more giveaways!

These stamps are the popular vintage wood-handle stamps, which makes it so easy to use! You definitely want to kiss the paper, instead of stamping it super hard. A little bit goes a long way!

I received this product complimentary to review. All opinions are my own.

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Transcendence Designs Review + Giveaway

I received this product complimentary to review.

This post is almost a week late, but we are going to pretend that I'm posting it right on time. Mostly because I can't believe I waited this long to share these earrings with you. I'm in love with them!!

Most of my jewelry is silver, but I've been trying to branch out lately to have a variety. When Tiffany asked if I wanted to be a part of this review and giveaway I started jumping up and down because I love, love, love pearls and these ones are so pretty.

Last year, Elora opened up an Etsy Shop named Transcendence Designs and began selling her homemade jewelry.

This quote from her shop is amazing.

 "I love seeing how different people, cultures, portray themselves--even through jewelry. What we wear says something about us. So I turned this passion into a business. I make jewelry that reflects a time, or place--whether it's very specific, or an idea."

I believe that you can feel the amount of care and love in each piece of jewelry.

I probably tried on more than 5 outfits to wear with these earrings. It wasn't because none of them looked good, it was because I couldn't decide. These clearly are going to be my newest go-to earrings. I mean, I can wear them to work because they aren't super fancy, but I can also wear them to a nice night out or a wedding.

Yes, I realize it might be weird that I planned a whole outfit around an accessory, but I know I'm not the only girl who does this. (Usually, everything is planned around my shoes).

I am definitely wearing this outfit to work on Wednesday. Maxi skirts are perfect for my days going from my hot car in LA to my super cold computer lab. Iman's grandmother gave me the top, and I absolutely love it, except it is a little short. The headband is from Carpenter's Daughter - my cousin-in-law's Etsy shop. I think it's perfect for fall!

You could win a pair of earrings to match mine! Enter the Rafflecopter below:

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Neocell Beauty Review

I received this product as compensation for this review. All opinions are my own. 

This is officially my first full-blown product review and I'm really excited. Not only because I have a giveaway at the end, but because I loved these products.

I normally dislike writing reviews - I blame my journalism days and internship. At one point I got all reviewed out, which is why you haven't seen any reviews on my blog. If I'm writing a review, you know it's for something good!

At the end of June, I received Neocell's Beauty Bursts and Keratin Hair Volumizer. I was so excited to start the beauty bursts because - well - I love candy and that is exactly what they taste like!! I got the berry burst, because I had read in another review they tasted like Starbursts. I'm all about the Starbursts. Plus, if I can chew my vitamins, I am a happy girl. (Aka, when I found out they have gummy prenatals I decided I could get pregnant.)

I was super excited to see these Beauty Bursts at Sprouts, so that I can replenish my stock. A recommended dosage is 2 per day, and I can honestly say I looked forward to chewing them.

Not only did they taste delicious, but they saved my skin! I probably didn't mention it on here because I don't usually talk about my appearance, but for the past 6 months or so, I had a weird dry spot on my left cheek. No matter what I did, it would always come back. I think it's from my contact solution. But I tried everything my friends and I could think of and it always came back.

Before, notice the discoloration and bumps on my left cheek

Well now it is gone! My skin is SO soft and definitely not dry. Also, I'm sure my skin would look worlds better if I washed my face on a daily basis, but I suck at creating habits...so there's that.

After! Even skin tone, no more dry patch

The Keratin Hair Volumizer is a pill, which is not usually my cup of tea. I really suck at remembering to swallow pills, so I didn't take these as religiously. My hair is quite voluminous on its own though, so I wasn't super concerned. I was lucky enough to receive two bottles, and I gave one to my mom because she has thin hair (aka opposite of me). She hasn't started taking them yet, but she is saving them for when she is growing her hair back after chemo.

The Beauty Bursts do not contain gluten, soy, palm oil, or artificial colors or flavors.  They contain Hydrolyzed Collagen 1 & 3, Hyaluronic Acid, Vitamin C, rice syrup, dried cane syrup, sunflower lecithin and oil, citrus bioflavinoids.  40 calories per serving of two. 

The Keratin Hair Volumizer containst Cynatine HNS Solubilized Kerating, Hydrolyzed Super Collagen, Amla Extract and Vitamin C.

Now for the giveaway!! One lucky winner will receive both the Beauty Bursts (in Berry or Chocolate Mint) and Keratin Hair Volumizer! The winner will be notified by email and must reply within 48 hours. The prize will come directly from Neocell.

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Breakin' Dishes

Have you ever heard the song by Rhianna, "Breakin Dishes?"

I'm breakin' dishes up in here
All night (uh huh)
I ain't gonna stop until I see police lights (uh huh)
I'm a fight a man (tonight)
I'm a fight a man (tonight)
I'm a fight a man

It's one of the favorites off of the first Warrior Queen CD because nothing can quite satisfy that frustration like throwing dishes can! I never knew how exhilarating it could be until i went to Sarah's Smash Shack yesterday in San Diego. [[WHICH IS AMAZING, and I recommend it to anyone!]]

We first discovered Sarah's Smash Shack from a TV commercial and a recommendation from a friend who lives in San Diego. She has never gone, but she had heard about it. We've been planning a Smash Shack date since last October but it hasn't seemed to work out. Ideally, we would get all of the girls together to break dishes and have a party there [they do host events]. Although, we didn't quite get the RSVP's we had hoped for, my mom and a friend and her mom chose to accompany me to check out the Smash Shack. And BOY! was it a blast!!

Don't get me wrong, the Smash Shack, is by no means strictly for girls - it's just a place for anyone to go and break things [[almost anything you want, you can order off the menu or bring in your own stuff]] It's pretty affordable, we each paid 30 dollars for a "mystery box" of ten dishes (Thanks for paying for me momma!!).

The recommend making reservations if you're going in with more than a couple of people, so I called ahead. When we walked in we signed waivers and chose from their menu of things to break [[my favorite was the photo frames, but I didn't have any pictures to break]].

Next step? Putting on our safety gear! Sarah's Smash Shack provides you with jumpsuits, boots (if you don't wear proper closed-toe shoes), masks and gloves. Once you gear up they take you to the "Break Room" and let you have your way with the breakables. The coolest part about all of this? You can write whatever you want on them!! We wrote lyrics, feelings, drew pictures, etc!

Also, they let us take pictures throughout the session!!

Here's My Photo Album

So basically, if you're in downtown San Diego, Sarah's Smash Shack is a MUST visit!! Keep your eye out for our warrior queen day! =]