Tuesday, January 18, 2011

every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end

Hi Dolls!!!
I hope you all had a great 3 day weekend, and for those of you who worked...sorry :(


I have some super exciting news, I GOT A NEW JOB!!!!  I don't want to give too many details yet, until I am actually there, working and getting paid by them it won't seem real. But get excited!!!


I received a Sephora gift card for Christmas, and was out of my fantastic eye cream, so I decided to see what Sephora had to offer. I found a new eye cream that I love 10 times more than my last Olay one.
I found Clinique's repairwear, and I am now pretty obsessed with it. It moisturizes way more than Olay, it is so hydrating that it has worked wonders on my dark circles. I now look rested and all glowey and dewy. I will definitely be buying it again, and I highly recommend it to any bride to be who needs wedding ready eyes.
Repairwear Intensive Eye Cream
In other wedding news, I booked the bridal suite for the weekend of the wedding, yay!
The hotel our reception is being held in has contacted me to put together a room block. They have had a conference reach out to them to book 200 rooms, and prior to letting anyone else book for the weekend of my wedding they have given me exclusive reservation rights until February 4th! This is AHHH MAZING, it means I can get my room block together and that way when my guests go to make their reservations the rooms will be available for them at a preferred price point. Conference 0, Amanda 1.


I lost 1.5 lbs this week for my weight loss challenge, then had a set back and ate 3/4 of a bag of cookies....womp womp. So back to the gym it is, I went Monday, today and I am planning on going the rest of the week as well. Next weigh in is on Saturday morning, and I want to lose not maintain (yet). Cross your fingers and put a good word into the skinny bride fairy for me :)


That's all I have for you today, have a great week!!
xoxo,
amanda

Sunday, January 9, 2011

2 down, 4 to go!

Hi Dolls!!!


I hope you are all sticking to those New Year's resolutions, one week in!! 
I have been better about my spending, still not where I want to be but this resolution is a work in progress. I have also taken on a January Weight Loss Challenge on my favorite wedding site Project Wedding. My goal is to lose 6 lbs in the month of January, I have already lost 2...great start in my book. I have a fantastic partner, who has had amazing success on the South Beach Diet, she has already lost 10 lbs (jaw drops). I will keep you posted on my less impressive, but still better than nothing progress :)


Other wedding news, I found a hair piece that I like even more than the last one I posted. Fiance likes it too, I am 99.9% sure I will be ordering this within the next month:
Sale - - Bridal rhinestone crystal headband----Summer sale,Free Swarovski Rhinestone studs earring
...except the ribbon would be white. What are your thoughts?? Does it work with the dress??
I think it will look amazing with all of the blingtastic details on my gown, I drool over this headpiece bit time!!!


I have also found what I think would be a great ring bearer pillow/guest book set for us. One of the amazing ladies on Project Wedding posted it:
GLAM Wedding Accessories photo 1
If we got this I would go with the guestbook and pen, still 50/50 on the pillow (I may want to use a ring bowl instead). David's Bridal sells the set in separates which is perfect for me, now I just have to wait for a coupon or sale...heavy sigh...


In other news, Jersey Shore Season 3 started this week and I got my fist pump back in action. If you have ever watched it you might agree with this, I hate Sammy she is a B word, a C word and a snot. Snookie is still as hilarious as ever. If you have never seen it, stay away, its like a car accident, once you see it you can't turn away and it becomes addicting. 


It snowed here again this weekend....not enough for fiance to go out and plow, so it was more of an inconvenience for us....grrrrr, no plowing = no extra money, double grrrr.


That is all I have for you today.
I hope you had/have a great weekend!
xoxo,
amanda

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Happy 2011!

Hi Dolls,
I know that I have been super MIA on here and on fb lately, and I need to apologize for that. I had a super busy holiday season, but I am back, and I am hoping that 2011 will be a much better year.
Since I last logged in a ton of stuff has happened....
I went to the Alex and Ani sample sale and stood outside for an hour and a half at 7am on a Saturday morning in 20 degree weather. All to score some deals. I was able to get bangles for $10.00 each EEPPPPP! I got one for my Mom, my BFF and myself. YAY!!! So now I have successfully hooked 3 people, my Mom, BFF and me. 
Thanksgiving was very relaxing this year.
Christmas was a great time, but also hectic. Both of my parents are remarried and Fiance has a huge family, so sometimes it feels like we spend more of Christmas weekend in the car. Have you ever seen the movie Four Christmas'???? That's us, but we don't have a Range Rover :)


What many of you don't know is that I got onto the world's worst insurance plan in 2010. I had to pay for everything, EVERYTHING, out of pocket...we are talking $200 a Dr's visit....$235 for my lady appointment....$200/mo in prescriptions....WHAT THE FRENCH!!!!!
This year I am pleased to announce that I got on a regular, normal plan with deductibles, insert HUGH sigh of relief here.


This is the time of year to make New Year's resolutions. Mine: stop wasting money. 
At this point you are probably asking yourself how a bride to be, at an entry level position with a mortgage, car payment, and student loans could even afford to waste money now. Well, I can't and that is why I need to stop. So, I will not be buying lunch at work anymore unless we legitimately have nothing in the house. Every time I go to the mall I will ask myself, is this something I need or want? If the answer is want, then I will put it on a list somewhere and when I get a bonus at work or when it's my birthday I will revisit that list and make some decisions. No more buying food at the market that will end up going bad. I will make a list ahead of time and go in with a budget. I will also start using cash more for day to day purchases. I have found that I am much more likely to use my debit card than cash. I think twice before handing over 3 $20.00 bills, but I don't think twice about using my debit card for $60.00.


I also promise not to abandon you for  over a month again :)


What are your New Year's resolutions?
How do you plan to keep them?


xoxo,
amanda