Vacation, all I ever wanted!

I absolutely love to travel. I love being in an airport in the morning - the buzz of zillions of travelers on their way to a destination, the well-stocked magazine racks, the rumble of suitcase wheels, the crappy overpriced coffee. I love thumbing through my passport and reminiscing about all of the places I've been - eating warm croissants in Paris, hiking the mountains of Cinque Terre in Italy, spending the night on an uninhabited island in Panama. I love going to someplace new and trying to live like a local. Experiencing another culture is one of the most amazing things in the world, and I'm lucky to have had so many incredible trips to so many wonderful places.

That said, when Mr. M and I started planning our honeymoon, we both agreed that we wanted something completely different - an all-inclusive tropical vacation with nothing but sand, sun and an unlimited supply of fruity cocktails. Forget living like a local, forget about exploring and experiencing local culture - we wanted to plant ourselves at a swim up bar for a week or so and just chill out.

I did some research, consulted a bunch of friends for suggestions and looked at resort websites until I was cross-eyed. Did we want in-room whirlpools in Mexico? Swim-up suites in the Dominican Republic? Five days somewhere super luxurious or ten days in a cheaper version of paradise? After some discussion, we both agreed that our must-haves were an all-inclusive adults-only resort with good reviews and plenty of yummy food options. Oh, and that swim-up bar. Totally non-negotiable.

So as soon as we came across the Couples Resorts, we knew we'd hit paydirt - and booked our honeymoon at Couples Swept Away in Negril, Jamaica! Adults only? Check. Great reviews? Check. Swim-up bar? Oh, we've got your swim-up bar! The best part was that the prices were so reasonable, we were able to book the honeymoon of our dreams: ten days long. 

Photo from Couples.com website - hello, beautiful beach! Hello, hammock!

Ten days of palm trees and sand, of sunscreen and rum punch, of reading crappy novels on the beach and eating jerk chicken and having nothing to do but spend time with each other... oh man, I can't wait! 

The best part for us so far has been Couples' Love Away plan. We put down $100 to reserve our rates, and every month between now and next May, we put another $100 towards our balance. They also have a best price guarantee, which meant that when better rates popped up last month, I was able to call and immediately switch our package to the new cheaper rates. (We saved close to $700!) 

When I'm having a rough day at work now, I just pull up the Couples website and indulge in a little bit of daydreaming. I'm all, wedding? What wedding? I'm looking forward to the honeymoon! 

Hello, gorgeous!

I've never been much of a make-up girl. I'm envious of women who what to do with cosmetics - they always look so put together! My grooming standards tend to be a lot lower - as long as I've brushed my teeth and I'm wearing pants and a shirt, I'm pretty much ready to go. I've been trying to step it up a little bit more lately, putting some more thought into my outfits and making sure I blow out my hair in the morning and put on a little foundation, but I'm still an absolute beginner when it comes to the world of make-up. 

Which is why I was super grateful to meet Elizabeth Black, who came over this weekend to do a pre-wedding make-up trial. She really knows what she's doing! A little airbrush here, a few false eyelashes there, and I was a significantly prettier version of myself. Check it out:

Hello, gorgeous!

After thirty-something years of mostly seeing myself sans eyeliner, I was worried that the drama of wedding day make-up was going to make me feel like a drag queen. But Elizabeth's work was awesome - she made my blotchy skin look porcelain and just perfectly flushed, opened up my eyes and somehow magically found the only shade of lipstick that has ever actually looked good on me. Magic!

And check out those eyelashes!

When I win the lottery, I am so hiring her to come do my make-up every morning. Until then, I'll just have to look forward to seeing her again on my wedding day! 

Ta da!

My ring bearer's pillow is done!

And after the party, it's the...

... after party!

Since we're having a day time wedding, we thought it would be a nice idea to have a casual after party for people who felt like keeping the party going. It also gives Mr. M and I a chance to throw a wedding-related party that's a little more "us" than the formal reception. We're pretty laid back people, generally, and a great date night for us involves little more than some awesome cheap food, a couple of beers and a really excellent dessert. (Oh, bliss!) We also know that a lot of the time at our actual wedding reception will be spent taking pictures, greeting out of town guests and doing all of the cake cutting, Dad-dancing, bouquet-tossing wedding stuff that might keep us from spending quality time with our friends who come out to celebrate with us.

So we're planning on taking over a local bar for the evening and bringing in some of our favorite stuff, like the messy-but-delicious gravy soaked roast beef and mozzarella sandwiches from John's Deli and cupcakes from Robicelli's, a local husband-and-wife cupcake business. We'll open up a tab at the bar for our guests and hopefully have a relaxed, chill evening where people can swing by for a drink or a sandwich and just hang out with us! 

Best roast beef sandwich EVER!

Although I know that at the end of the day, I might want nothing more than to collapse into bed at the swanky hotel where we're spending our wedding night, I'm really excited about having an opportunity to get some quality time with our guests - and that sandwich! 

Felt-o-rama!

A few weeks ago, in one of my Pinterest-Etsy-Blogspot wedding sprees, I came across a seriously gorgeous ring bearer pillow from Hey Miemie on Etsy. It was made out of felt and covered with gorgeous felt flowers and pretty ribbons. Loved it! But instead of just ordering a custom one, I decided to make one for myself. Being a former Girl Scout and chronically bored child of a very creative mother, there are few things in the world I love more than crafting. Origami? Bring it on! Knitting and sewing? I'm your girl! But I had somehow made it through thirty one years on the planet without ever making flowers out of felt.

About seventy five tutorials later, I did it! Though I still have to pick up some embroidery thread and a hot glue gun for the finishing touches, here's what I've got so far:

Kind of cute, right? (Despite the blurry camera-phone photograph.) The felt dahlias were purchased from Michael's, but the other flowers are all homemade. I've got to work on evening out the edges, and I'm planning on embroidering some details on the leaves - oh yeah, and sewing the ribbon on for the rings! - but I kind of love it already.

Update! I finished stitching the leaves and flowers... and I think I might like it better with everything all clustered together in the center like this. What do you think?