Do It Yourself: Wedding Welcome Bags

Happy Sunday everyone! 

Welcome back to my blog, today I thought I would share with you one of the creative DIY projects I took on for our wedding in Mexico. With a destination wedding you hand over a lot of control to the hotel wedding coordinator, I made sure that the things I could focus my attention on were really unique and special. I came up with a wedding theme or logo, a starfish, and made sure to bring that detail throughout the whole wedding. We chose decor items that were light and easy to transport and wouldn't be too breakable to pack in a suitcase. I will continue to share more about destination wedding planning on my blog but today's post is specifically all about creating a "Welcome Bag". 

I found this idea on Pinterest when searching "Destination Weddings". The concept is to provide your guests with a little goodie bag filled with items that set the tone of the wedding, are native to the area where the wedding is held or will be helpful in making them feel at home or comfortable. Instead of doing favours I thought it would be really fun to give every guest a bag filled with items that they may want to have in Mexico. I merged the idea of an emergency kit and a welcome bag together and gave guests helpful information, useful toiletries and little gifts.

Below is an image of some of the items I put in the bag for ladies, I did a separate one for the guys.

The first photo includes the bag itself. A lightweight cream canvas bag which I had printed with a starfish logo and our names, wedding location and wedding date in a teal font to match our wedding colours. I ordered the bags from a company called the Wedding Chicks, below is the link to our specific bag but there are tons of other awesome designs to choose from on their shop:

http://shop.weddingchicks.com/little-sea-star-wedding-tote-minimum-of-20/

The totes were an awesome idea, everyone loved them, they were sturdy and durable to hold all the goodies and our guests used them as beach bags to transport their towels, sunscreen and magazines to the beach!

The next item on the top left of both photos is a vintage Mexican postcard that I ordered from Tesoros Trading Company: https://secure14.inno-tech.com/tesoros/results_lg.php?productid=2544 

It has an image of the country and cute little graphics showing what each region is called. Originally these were ordered a few years prior to our wedding when I had the idea that a Save the Date on a real postcard would be fun. Later we ended up choosing paper packages for the invitations that included save the date cards that matched so we didn't use the postcards. I wanted to make use of and incorporate these unique postcards so I decided to write a little personalized welcome note to our guests thanking them for joining us in Mexico and signed it from myself and my husband. It was a little keepsake from the trip that everyone could keep with their photo albums or scrapbooks. We also included a map of the resort, our wedding coordinator provided us with a PDF version that I printed off, and a wedding week itinerary that I had created. The itinerary had a weeklong detailed schedule that had everything from when and where to meet for meals, what days we planned to go into town or do an offsite activity, the bachelorette/bachelor night at the disco and the wedding day timeline. Of course these plans slightly changed as the week went on, but it gave guests a good frame of reference for what we had in store. If you do take the time to create an itinerary, be aware that things will change and people will want to do things differently, so do not get stressed out by this. I was told by several guests that they did appreciate the itinerary, even if it was only followed loosely, because it kept everyone fairly organized.

Each bag had a little label that I hand stamped with a starfish and wrote the Spanish word for hello, hola, and on the other side was their name. I tied these tags onto the strap of the bag with jute rope to keep it nautical and beachy. I purchased the rope, teal Sharpie, teal ink pad and tags from Michael's. The starfish stamp was purchased from a stamp company on Etsy. 

The girls got Eos Lipbalm in mint, band aids, Emergen-C packet of vitamin C and Kleenex. The guys got a few different items in place of the Lipbalm: Tums, Advil and a mini shave cream and aftershave. I wish I had photographed the men's bag too but sadly I wasn't thinking that I would be writing this blog! I put the guys emergency kit items inside a plastic tumbler drinking cup and than wrapped them in tissue paper and rope so that these things didn't spill out everywhere. I picked up most of these items from Target (when Canada had these stores!) and the dollar store.

Everyone, guys and girls, got a pair of brightly coloured Ray Ban-style sunglasses. This was a fun way to incorporate colour and the glasses looked cute in photos. I picked these up from Ardene in a 5 for $10 deal. The ladies also got a pashmina, which you can see folded up behind the sunglasses. I picked up three different colours that went with the wedding colours: mint, aqua and teal (The first image is of the darker teal one and the second image is of the aqua). These were also purchased from Ardene as part of a bundle deal. 

I also included a little gift for all the ladies that attended. You will see a silver starfish pendant on a chain in the first photo and a small teal drawstring bag, which contains the chain, in the second. These sterling silver pendants and chains were purchased off EBay and the teal pouches came with each necklace. My mom, mother in law and grandma in law each got a personalized locket necklace in place of the starfish. The lockets were purchased from a company called South Hill Designs (not shown in the photos).

My girlfriends, that attended the wedding, each got a customized tank top in their bag. 

We did a combined bachelorette/bachelor night where we all went to the hotel disco and myself and my friends wore the custom tanks. 

I purchased the tank tops in an aqua colour from Old Navy for around $5 each.  I got the fabric glue and rhinestones from Miachael's and used a paper starfish template to trace the starfish on each tank. I rotated the starfish so that each tank was slightly unique and used different coloured rhinestones and patterns for each. I loved the result and I think my friends did too!

The wedding welcome bags were one of the most fun and creative projects I did for our wedding. It allowed me to be creative and thank our guests for flying down to Mexico, from Canada, for a week to celebrate with us. I tried to make each bag special, personalized and useful. I wanted a mix of practical and keepsake items. The map and itinerary were useful to all. The Tums and Advil were appreciated by many after nights of too many margaritas. The sunnies and starfish necklaces were keepsakes that were worn in many of our special photos. We had one child at our wedding so I included a few items just for him in his mom's bag: Spider-Man snorkel set, blow up beach toys and water bottle. I hope this is helpful for anyone planning a destination wedding or are having out of town guests come to their wedding and want to give them something special to thank them for travelling. Stay tuned for more wedding related blog posts and as always,

Teal next time....xoxo

Kathleen 

Review: Origins Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask

Good evening and happy Sunday! I have to be honest, I just spent the last few hours prepping dinner and some meals for the work week and I was going to skip today's post, but felt I should at least get a short one up!

This evening, before my shower, I'm doing an Origins face mask called Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask to Clear Pores.

It's charcoal or black in colour, thick and creamy in consistency and sets up like a clay mask. 

My dog seems to be a bit frightened of my appearance, I have caught her staring at me with wide eyes! I picked up the 10ml trial size from Sephora for $5 and have been able to get 3 full masks out of it and I still have enough for a fourth or a few spot treatments. 

Below is the product information found on the Sephora website:

What it is: 
A mask with activated charcoal to draw out deep-dwelling pore-cloggers. 

What it is formulated to do: 
When environmental toxins, dirt, and debris get under your skin, its waste-filtering system gets jammed, pores get clogged, and skin looks cloudy. Nature's complexion clean-up crew gets to the bottom of skin's overcast condition and clears the way for it to act its best. 

What it is formulated WITHOUT: 
- Parabens 
- Sulfates 
- Phthalates 

What else you need to know: 
Activated charcoal acts like a magnet to draw out deep-dwelling pore-cloggers. White China clay absorbs environmental toxins, and lecithin dissolves impurities. Without all that stuff down there, skin breathes a sigh of relief. Best for all skin types.

So now to give you my opinion: I have sensitive eczema prone skin so I have to be very careful of what goes on my face. This is the reason I purchased the trial size first to test it out. I had heard great things about the brand Origins but this is the first product I have tried. The mask goes on thick like any clay mask but has a bit of a gel feel so it is easy to spread over your face. Once it starts to set the colour fades to grey, from charcoal, and gets really tight. I prefer to put it on before I shower, I give it 15-30 minutes to harden and work its magic and than I wash it off in the shower, just seems easier and less messy this way. I have had no issues with this product causing any rashes or reactions. It has left my skin feeling soft and clean and refreshed. I do have some problem areas on my chin and nose where my pores are larger and dark, I have yet to notice a dramatic improvement or change in their appearance. I have only used this mask once a week for the last three weeks, so it is possible it may take a few more treatments to really get all the gunk out (ew sorry, yuck)! I will definitely purchase this product again. I have been very impressed at how many masks I have gotten out of the tester size, the next size up is a 50ml tube for $21 and I can imagine it would last you a very long time. I have read reviews that people do not like the scent of the mask but it is not an issue for me at all, it's not something I even noticed and seems like a subtle herbal smell. I like the way my skin feels after using this mask and hope that I do notice an improvement in my pores after continued use. I hope this review has helped you discover a new product or encourages you to do a face mask,

Teal next time...xoxo

Kathleen

Sunday Soup

Happy Sunday! I hope everyone had a great weekend. Mine has been busy and fun. Friday night my husband and I had a late dinner and watched a movie with wine and Lindor chocolates (de-stressing from the week)! Saturday I did our weekly grocery shop and ran errands then visited my mom at her house. We took wine and potatoe chips down to the beach and sat and talked until the sun set and it got too chilly. Today I had a friend's baby shower to attend, such a beautiful event. I wasn't sure what to write today for the blog, it was a full weekend so I hadn't given it much thought. I decided I would share with you the soup that I planned to make and photograph the cooking process. A friend gave me this recipe from Skinny Kitchen: http://www.skinnykitchen.com/recipes/super-healthy-beef-vegetable-quinoa-stew/

I didn't follow the recipe exactly, however, it inspired me to make a soup with some spicy Italian pork sausage I had picked up. Below are the main ingredients I used, not pictured are salt and fresh baby spinach l added at the very end. 

I followed the recipe loosely, so have a look at the link for the full version and see my photos for my adaptations. I started by browning two spicy Italian sausages, with casings removed, in my teal Cuisinart cast iron dutch oven over medium heat. To that I added a small chopped cooking onion.

Then half of a large zucchini that I chopped into small pieces.

Then I added a chopped red pepper.

I used a can of fire roasted diced tomatoes, I thought they would add a nice smoky flavour.

Lastly went in a bottle of puréed tomatoes with basil. I used this instead of pasta sauce that the original recipe called for. 

The lid went on and I turned the heat down low and simmered for 25 minutes. While the soup was cooking, I cooked the quinoa in a separate pot, following regular directions. The very last step was to add the quinoa and fresh spinach. I put a large handful of spinach in, but I didn't measure it, just used up what I had. As the Italian sausage is already spicy and flavourful, the tomatoe sauce contained basil leaves, and the fire roasted tomatoes had added garlic, I didn't feel I needed to add any other herbs or seasoning except some salt. 

The finished product was a spicy, flavourful, hearty and thick soup. 

If you make this soup and try the recipe as is or change it up like I did, I would love to hear what you all thought. I love making a big pot of soup on Sunday to bring to work for lunch or for a quick weeknight dinner. Soup is comforting and satisfying and can pack a ton of healthy ingredients. I hope you enjoy!

Teal next time....xoxo

Kathleen

Live more, worry less

I have had a tough few weeks at work lately, excess stress and more worry than needed. It has gotten me thinking about how to cope with these feelings. The Dalai Lama said "if a problem can be solved it will be. If it can not be solved there is no use worrying about it." Somehow, most of us don't live by these words. We spend countless hours dwelling on the past or stressing about the future and not focusing on the present and coming to terms with the fact that worrying does not solve anything. What would it mean to be present and focus only on today? Not wondering what will be or recalling what was, but living today just for today. The act of meditation, relaxation and de-stressing helps us do just this: remove the weight of the world and just focus on the things you can control, like breathing. Something so automatic we often forget we are even doing it, but what if you focus on your breath and what it means to fill your lungs with air and than expel it. This simple practice allows you to be present and in the moment and in your body. Helping to ground you and get you back on track when your surroundings threaten to derail you. I find when I am really stressed or anxious I forget to breathe deeply and end up short of breath because I have been breathing shallowly or not at all and I catch myself holding my breath. 

Today is Sunday, my lazy day, the day I re-energize and rest and prepare myself for the coming week. I sleep in a little later, I remain in pajamas or comfy clothes. I make myself a coffee or two and I savour it and sip it for awhile. There is a slowness to the routine, there is no rush or hustle and bustle to be anywhere, at least not too early or quickly. Sunday is my favourite day of the week, it always has been. But what makes it so wonderful? Well, there's no alarm clock, no commuting long distances, no work, no set schedule. Sunday I am free to focus on me and I get to live more, stress less. I would like to take the time to remind myself, and encourage you to recognize and make your own list, of what I love so much about Sunday's and try and implement that into my everyday life. I have identified a few above, one being, I love the act of making and drinking coffee. It makes me happy, I love picking a mug, preparing my cup, and sitting back to enjoy.

I also love doing what I like, whenever I like to do it, on my own time and without a schedule. We are so programmed by routines during the work week that we often forget how to just sit back and enjoy ourselves. On Sunday I focus on reading, organizing, writing for my blog, catching up with friends and being with family. If we focused more on what is good and positive and makes us happy, than we would have less time to worry and stress. 

So next time you find yourself getting stressed at work or in your life, take a moment to breathe and ground yourself. Remember what it is you love about Sundays, or any day of the week or activity that makes you happy, and try to fit that into your everyday life. Take care of yourself, be kind to yourself and do not forget to live more, worry less

Lots of love and teal next time....xoxo

Kathleen

  

Smoothie Sunday

Happy Sunday and Happy Valentine's Day!! 

Hopefully you have all had a great day and weekend. It's been so rainy and dreary around here that it's been a movie marathon kind of weekend. And that is quite okay by me, staying cozy and watching movies is one of my favourite past times! Today's blog is short and sweet and all about smoothies. I go through phases where I am really into smoothies/shakes and than I stop making them. I am currently trying to get back into smoothies for breakfast. They are a great way to get protein, greens and nutrient dense foods packed all in an easy to digest liquid form. I usually stick with my favourite go-to: frozen blueberries, fresh spinach leaves, one or half a banana, plain almond milk and/or plain regular or Greek yogurt. Sometimes I change it up and skip the yogurt keeping it dairy free, adding seeds like chia, using chocolate almond milk or cocoa powder or peanut butter. There are so many different recipes and versions out there, I have lots of yummy looking ones on my healthy food board on Pinterest. Today I tried my standard smoothie with the addition of frozen peaches, delicious! 

I would love to hear what your favourite smoothie is or know which ones you have been thinking of trying. I would like to make a chocolate and peanut butter flavoured one next!

Thanks for visiting my blog and,

Teal next time....xoxo

Kathleen

DIY Wedding Shadow Box

Happy Monday!

Here in BC it's a stat holiday, Family Day, so I thought, why not post an extra blog this long weekend?! Today's blog will be about creating your own shadow box. The one I made was for my destination wedding, containing special items from the day, but you could create a box using any items you want to preserve. They make a beautiful piece of art in your home and would make an equally lovely gift as they are personal and filled with memories. I found this to be a really fun DIY project and I love the results.

A shadow box is typically made of wood, has a glass panel in the front to create a window, they are about two inches deep to allow the storage of three dimensional items (as opposed to a photograph), and the inside has cork board or fabric to allow you to pin items onto the surface. I found this box at HomeSense for around $20, purchased with a gift card we had received as a wedding present. They had so many different options for size and shape and colour. I chose this white box because it felt bridal and the inside fabric is a lovely blue and taupe damask pattern and it came with a handful of pearl-headed push pins. It would have been perfect if it was Teal or Aqua fabric to match our wedding colours but most of the inside gets covered so it doesn't really matter. I chose a long rectangular shaped box, but they had square as well. I think this store is the best place to look for your box as the pricing is affordable and they have so many beautiful choices.

To fill the inside think of your theme and collect items that will conjure a memory when you look at them, or choose items that are really special and you want to preserve and keep them safe. You could use items that belong to a friend, family member or pet. A baby's first outfit, bib or hospital certificate. I used items that would normally go in an album or scrapbook but ones I wanted to see on a daily basis. Put together a collection of more items than you may need, that way you can play around with what actually fits and looks best. I opened up my box and lay items inside, layering and moving them around, without pinning them yet. Once I determined which one-dimensional items would go on my bottom layer I pinned them in place and continued playing around with the rest. Once you determine the pattern that you want to create you can start pinning things in place, it's all changeable so you can't go wrong.

Here's a list of what went into mine to help give you ideas:

-The hotel wristband where our destination wedding was held 

-Starfish paper cutouts that sat on the edge of water glasses at our reception table. I had purchased these from EBay as they helped bring a touch of our starfish theme to the dinner place settings

-Our formal invitation and save-the-date; something so special to display and keep because I wrote the passages and hand stamped them with a starfish, plus they contain key details of our day

-a mini card from a dear friend; how cute and small, it fit perfectly in this box

-a bouquet shaped card from family; this bouquet card symbolizes my bridal bouquet that I was unable to keep and preserve. Had I been able to bring it home with me from Mexico, I would have tried to dry it to put in this box, but the card is a pretty alternative. I did however keep the two crystal-headed pins that were used to hold the ribbon around the stem of my bouquet and I pinned those into the card's stem.

-Eat Cake cocktail napkin; this brings a bit of the teal colour into the display and is a small token from one of the pre-wedding parties we held.

-My garter a gift from a close friend

-Vintage turquoise hair comb; this was part of a set that my mom and I purchased online from an Etsy store, it was my "something blue" to go in my hair. The seller said the stones were aqua but they turned out to be clear and turquoise and still just as gorgeous. 

-Lastly, my lace "I Do" bridal panties; yes that's right my undies, they are just too pretty not to include!!

I hope you have enjoyed this shadow box tutorial and maybe it has given you a nudge towards creating your own. Maybe this will be your next long weekend project! Happy Family Day everyone and,

Teal next time....xoxo

Kathleen

❤️February Favourites❤️

Hello and welcome back to my blog, or welcome to any first time readers!

February is the month for love, hearts, and all things pink and red. With Valentine's Day coming up next Sunday, February 14th, I thought it would be fun to put together a list of my February Favourites. In all fairness, February has just begun, so these are also my winter favourites to keep me hydrated, glowing, and pretty, even when it's dreary outside. 

-Eos Visibly Soft Lip Balm Sphere in Vanilla Mint, let's just start with the scent and flavor, delicious, you will want to lick it off your lips! I love the other Eos Lipbalm flavours but the ones with swirls on the packaging seem to be supremely hydrating and luxurious. The formula is creamy and the sphere shape makes it easy to apply as much or as little as you desire. It helps heal my dry winter lips and keep them flake free so my lipsticks go on smoothly. 

-MAC Cremesheen Lipstick in Creme Cup, a gorgeous girly nude pink that suits all complexions. It's described as a blue pink and it's the most beautiful flattering and natural shade. I've seen it on friends with deeper olive and yellow toned skin and it is so pretty on them as well. I feel this is a classic pink that suits everyone. The formula is creamy and glides on smoothly and the colour is easy to wear as your everyday lip colour. At $20 it's affordable luxury or if you wear a lot of MAC products, once you have six empty containers you can take them to any MAC store in exchange for a free lipstick.

-NARS Blush in Orgasm, as the name suggests this shimmery coral pink will give you a sexy flush as though it's coming from within. It's a cult classic that is a must have in my opinion, it's been my go-to blush for the last six months (as you can see I'm in desperate need of a new one!) It's buildable with a mineralized shimmery finish. So pretty and natural and suits so many skin tones. I currently have a duo palette with Orgasm blush and Laguna bronzer. 

-Zoella Beauty Soak Opera Bath Soak and Shower Cream, Zoella is one of the women I enjoy watching on YouTube. She has a line of bath and skincare products that I recently found at Save On Foods. Zoella is a British YouTuber so I was really excited to stumble upon her product display while grocery shopping. I love her packaging, everything is very pretty with lace patterns and bows and really girly colours. The name of the shower cream is Soak Opera, how cute is that! It has a light, florally, refreshing scent. I find the formula thick and creamy and it suds up really well on my puff. I will definitely try some of her other products. 

-Vaseline Intensive Care-Advanced Repair (unscented), this lotion works on my dry, sensitive, eczema prone skin. Keeping it hydrated even after washing hands and I feel the more I use it, the more it promotes healing. It soaks in quite quickly for a thick and rich lotion. Great for keeping winter skin from becoming dry and rough.

I hope you have enjoyed my list of favourites and maybe it has inspired you to try something new. Wishing you a Happy Valentine's Day with your loved ones ❤️

Teal next time....xoxo

Kathleen