First Wedding Meeting

Hello everyone! I hope you all enjoyed your holidays as much as I did! A couple of weeks ago I had my first Disney Fairytale wedding meeting at Franck's! It was actually a lot more fun than I thought it would be. I did go into it a little nervous, but that was an easy one. The purpose of this meeting was basically to see the different sites and officially reserve the venues for the specific date and time. It was also a great session to have questions answered. My biggest question was about the room block and how to even tackle it but our consultant was great. She explained it in detail. She sent us home with a packet of information that included photography and videography along with a preferred vendor list for officiants, beauty, and tux rentals. A timeline and a sample menu was also included among other things. We left the meeting with the understanding that as soon as we sent her the room block estimate back, she would get to work on the Letter of Agreement. Well, we recently received the LOA via email and are currently looking through it all. We then will sign it and send it back over and will be locked in! I am so excited! Here is a fun pic from Christmas Eve! 

Until next time! Stay beautiful inside and out! 

XOXO, Chris

Royal Icing and Sugar Cookies

Hey beautiful people! Today we are going to be talking about Royal Icing and Sugar cookies! Recipes are included after the jump! Making decorated cookies can be a tedious task but they are so much easier to make than they look. You can use them as party favors or decor for a party or gift them to someone you care about. You can even make royal icing creations on wax paper, wait till they dry, and transfer them to cookies, cupcakes, you name it rather than designing right on the cookie to begin with. Keep reading below for some easy and quick recipes to make  decorated sugar cookies.

I am back!

Happy Monday lovelies! I know I have been MIA lately. I have a lot of exciting and some not so exciting things going on. I wanted to come in and share some of them with you! I will be back to blogging on the regular now that the semester is over so let me know what you want to hear about in the comments section below! 

Wedding planning is in full swing! I officially asked my Maid of honor, 2 of my flower girls, and 3 of my bridesmaids to be a part of my wedding with these really cute "pop the question" gifts. So far, they all said yes. I have not asked all of my girls yet but as soon as I do, I will post about how I made them. I do not want to ruin the surprise. :) 

We also have officially confirmed our date and YES, it will be a Disney wedding. The best part about having a Disney wedding is that you get to make excuses to visit Disney World every chance you get. I am lucky to be in charge of my BeachBody coaching business otherwise all of these trips would not be possible. No other job let's you take off as often as I do. If you want to get more info about what being a coach is really about you can fill out a short form here and I will contact you to answer any questions.  Keep reading after the jump.

DIY Tassel Banner

Happy Monday! I have a fun little diy project for you all today! How to make a tassel banner! They are really easy to make but they can take a bit of time. There are also a couple of different ways to make them. I have tried them all but I will discuss my preferred method! Remember, you can create one to be as big or as little as you would like. Also, keep in mind the colors of your celebration so that it matches your party. Keep reading after the jump to learn how to make this festive little banner!

Julep Maven November

Happy Thursday my beauties! 

I do not know about you, but something about receiving a package in the mail makes me so happy. As most of you know, I am a huge fan of IPSY bags ($10 a month beauty subscription. You can learn more about ipsy here or here.) Today I am actually going to talk to you about a different monthly gift to myself! I am a Julep Maven! If you want to sign up or check it out you can do so here. Anyway, I love this particular subscription box because the products are really good quality. The nail polishes are 5-FREE meaning they are free of formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, toluene, DBP, camphor, and animal ingredients or byproducts making them also vegan! I am all for companies that take time to develop the quality of their products. They also carry other beauty products such as makeup and skin care products. Their monthly subscription costs about $25 and are nail polish heavy. Occasionally you will get different products but 75% of the time they stick to nail polish. The other thing I like is that you have the ability to earn points, and quickly. You can redeem the points on many things but I like to use them to get a free box and save myself $25 every couple of months. I also like how around the 20th of each month they allow you to go in and edit your box if you do not like some of the things they chose for you. You can swap polishes for different colors or completely different products. I am actually really impressed with their lip products as well. I love the lip crayon in cardinal! So pretty! Oh, another thing I LOVE is the box comes the 1st of the month. (Sometimes it may be a day or so late depending on what day of the week it falls on and if there is a holiday, but overall it is usually on time!) When you first sign up, there is a beauty bio you fill out which helps you choose what kind of box you will be receiving. I get the classic with a twist box but do opt for switching out colors occasionally. You also have the opportunity to shop for other items. You are not limited to just your monthly box. Lastly, my favorite part of all-- all products are full sized products. No samples here!!! 

Today I decided to have my nails start matching the season and opted for Michaela. She is part of the Boho Glam style collection. She is a deep purple/almost black color with fine glitter. I am wearing it in the photo above. The flash does bring the purple out more than it appears normally. Okay, so I want to hear from you! Do you have a favorite subscription box or are you a julep Maven too? Let me know! Enjoy the rest of your evening!

Xo, Chris

Workout Wednesday : Fire Hydrants

Happy Hump Day lovely humans!

I don't know about you but my life is busy! My schedule is jam packed with things I have to do. However, one of my goals is to never let my health become a second priority. So, I try to find the time to get a work out in and if I can't find the time, I MAKE it happen! That is why I love the 21 day fix program. It just takes 30 minutes to complete, and you end the workout feeling depleted. That means it works! Some days I feel extra motivated and add in some extra moves to the end of my workout. If you want to try something new, try this out! In the video I show the moves but let me try and break them down for you. Do each move for a minute and then repeat on the opposite leg. Stretch your wrists before starting and between each set. 

First up are Fire Hydrants! These may feel funny to do but they are effective. If you will like a puppy using a fire hydrant to.. You know... Then, you are doing it right! (Sorry for the visual) Start on all fours and then, life one leg until it is parallel with the floor. Make sure it is bent. Then, come down and repeat until the minute is up. Tip, keep your back straight and your abs engaged. Never let the working leg touch the ground. The next move is the Hamstring curl: start with one leg lifted and parellel to the ground straight out behind you. Try to keep the thigh of your leg from moving and just move from the knee down. Bend until your leg makes a right angle with itself and then come back to the parallel line. Looks easier than it is! It will burn!! Lastly you can do simple leg lifts as shown or rainbows where you cross over to the opposite leg. These 2 moved can be done with a straight or a bent leg. 

*Add ankle weights or a resistance band to make it a bit more challenging only after you mastered the moves with proper form

Let me know if you try it. #buildingbootiesonedayatatime

Let's crush this week! 

Xo, Chris

Clean Your Brushes

Happy Beauty Tuesday!! Today I wanted to talk to you about makeup brushes. Do you notice that after a while, they stop applying makeup so smoothly? Well, it's because they have to be cleaned!! I do a deep cleaning once a month and spot clean every week or so. The easiest way to clean them is using a gentle shampoo mixed with an antibacterial soap. I know this is weird but.... I take a small bowl and pour a little of bath and body works antibacterial gentle foaming soap, a little bit of Johnson and johnson's baby shampoo, a splash of rubbing alcohol and a little bit of coconut oil. I then double the liquid by adding water and stir it up really nice. I find the coconut oil does a great job of removing the residue from the brushes. So I dip a brush (one at a time) into the mixture and then swirl it on my hand to remove the makeup. I rinse with clean water and repeat until I stop seeing makeup come out of it. Then I squeeze the excess water out and shape the bristles. Lay it down to dry.

Tip: never wet above the bristles (the ferrule) because it can loosen the glue and make your brush fall apart sooner than it should. This is why I lay them flat to dry because if you stand it up the water will leak into it as well. It takes a couple of hours to dry completely but once they are you can reuse and they feel like new! To spot clean I have a mixture of witch hazel, water and baby shampoo in a spray bottle. I shake it up really well and spritz it on a brush I've used for the week then wipe on a paper towel. I hope this helps you! I know the brand sigma sells a really cool brush cleaner. They actually have a few different types. I might purchase one in the future but for now this works for me. 

If you have a question, let me know. I want to hear how you clean your brushes! Post below

I hope you have a fabulous and squeaky clean day!

XO, Chris

New month, new goals! Day 1

Happy November 2nd everyone! Okay, so now that the novelty is starting to fade from my engagement (who am I kidding it will never fade hahaha), it is time to get to work! I officially started another round of the 21 day fix extreme today! Good news is, it is on special this month along with the original 21 day fix and my other fave DANCE program CIZE! This time, I am doing the countdown to competition meal plan to really push myself. Keep reading to see how day 1 is going so far. Also, I provide my day 1 meal plan :)

Me taking a break on the floor to catch my breath after ploy fix extreme!

DIY Glitter Jars

Happy Sunday beauties! So, I usually spend my weekends crafting. I love to help friends and families with party decor especially candy stations and sweet tables! Today I am going to show you a really simple project that looks super fancy and is really cheap to do! Glitter glass jars!

Keep Reading after the jump!

I AM ENGAGED!

Somebody PINCH me! On October 24th, 2015 at 4:18 pm I officially became a fiancée. It happened in the most magical place on earth too! Such a sweet moment. I am the happiest girl alive. Keep reading after the jump for the beginning of our new fairytale :)

Chicken Stuffed Bell Peppers

Happy Foodie Friday my lovelies! Today I am going to be sharing a recipe from the Fixate cookbook. This recipe is easy to make and is so yummy! Keep reading after the jump!

3 Day Refresh Review

Happy Monday my lovelies. Here is the promised and honest review about the 3 day refresh. I did it last Monday, September 21st - September 23rd. What I loved about this cleanse was that you are allowed to eat food. This is not like one of those juicing cleanses where all you can have is liquids. If it was, I probably would have quit the first day. I am proud of myself for sticking to the plan. I did not expect any miracles because it was only THREE days but I really needed a kickstart before I recommitted myself 100% back into my healthy eating and fitness routine. Since it it is on sale this month, I figured now is the best time to try! You basically get the whole program for $10 when you purchase a challenge pack and can get it here if you are interested. Price goes back up October 1st. Now, I will break down exactly how this all went down.

September Ipsy bag 2015

Hello lovelies!

My bright pink bubble Mailer arrived around the 12th this month! Yay! For those of you who are not familiar with IPSY, it is basically a $10.00 monthly subscription. When you first sign up you do a beauty "Test", to let them know what kind of things you are into and what you DO NOT WANT. I opted out of perfume samples because I could just get those at the department store. Each month IPSY sends you a cosmetic bag/ pouch filled with a mix of about 5 deluxe sampled and full sized products! You can subscribe here if you want to start getting little monthly surprises, too!

Disney Fashion Accessory Find

Happy Beauty Tuesday my lovelies! I am headed to Disney World next month and what better way to kick off my food and wine festival countdown than a beautiful disney find! SistersHead2Toe is a shop created by two beautiful sisters. Jennely covers the shoes and Jesselyn the ears! Okay, so I am OBSESSED. Everything is handmade! You can follow them on instagram @SistersHead2Toe and shop here.

I love how they work together to complete the whole look! They also do custom work and have AMAZING reviews. I am so happy I found them!

Shop For a Cause

I am participating in the 100 bracelet challenge. My goal is to help get 100 bracelets sold between now and the end of October in support of Breast Cancer Awareness and the Noreen Fraser Foundation. This year actor, Cobie Smulders, helped co-design the Resilience Cuff which was designed especially for this event. Every year, Stella & Dot raises more and more money to help this amazing cause. This year will you join the challenge by purchasing a bracelet in support? You can get your bracelet here along with the rest of the breast cancer awareness collection.

21 Day Fix Extreme Review

Most of you may already know this but I am a fitness coach. Today actually is my 3 month anniversary of signing up as a coach and because of this, I would like to open up my next challenge group to everyone! Before I give those details, I want to review the 21 day fix extreme program.

My boyfriend was kind enough to do it with me and he lost his BELLY!!!

Yummy Snack

I have decided to make Every Friday a foodie Friday because let's face it... I love food! Lol today I want to share with you one of my favorite snacks! It is just a simple rice cake (they come in many flavors and are low in calories but so yummy)! I add about a tablespoon of nut butter, today I used almond butter and then I top with sliced fruit. The apples give it a nice juicy and crisp bite while the butter gives it some warmth! It is filling and helps me get those cravings out of the way without eating a box of oreos!

ColourPop

Hello everyone! Happy Beauty Tuesday! Today, I am going to talk about one of my latest obsessions.

Laila

Here is your Beauty Tuesday of the week! 

This week I'm talking about fragrance! This particular perfume is not super popular or anything but it is one of my all-time faves! I discovered it many, many years ago at The Norwegian pavilion at EPCOT Center, in Walt Disney World. (Yes, I know this isn't a surprise. Everyone knows that I am slightly Disney obsessed... Okay not slightly, full on obsessed and having Disney withdrawals as you read this, but who is really keeping note anyway?) 

A couple of people have been asking me what a good post workout meal is. Since it is foodie Friday I thought I would share one of my faves! So, most of the time I just like to have my shakeology because it's quick, yummy, and fills me up. However, there are days where I really want to work on feeding my muscles (leg day anyone?). 

The Pegasus

Hello my lovelies! I am so sorry I have been absent the past couple of days but I had a family emergency. I did not forget about you!! Thank you for sticking by me!

So, today I'm going to talk about an easy way to dress up a simple tee!

August IPSY glam bag

Hello lovelies!

There is something about receiving a package in the mail that just brightens my day. Cue the bright pink bubble Mailer! Yay! I LOVE receiving my IPSY glam bag every month! For those of you who are not familiar with IPSY, it is basically a $10.00 monthly subscription. When you first sign up you do a beauty "Test", it is more of a poll.. to let them know what kind of things you are into and what you DO NOT WANT. I opted out of perfume samples because I could just get those at the department store. Each month IPSY sends you a cosmetic bag/ pouch filled with a mix of about 5 deluxe sampled and full sized products! You can subscribe here if you want to start getting little monthly surprises, too!