April Grove Collaborative Unboxing

Just like that it's Monday again! Today I'm sharing my Grove Collaborative order that arrived over the weekend. As I've shared before I love buying cleaning supplies from Grove because they are natural products that work well. I have recommended them to so many people and everyone loves this company!

Here's what I picked up this month...

First let's chat about the duster in the center. This Full Circle Dust Whisperer Filament Duster will be great to use on my blinds! I can't remember which YouTuber recommend it but I obviously listen to all their suggestions! Side note: If you are looking for great YouTubers who do cleaning videos check out LoveMeg, Kelly Marie, Beauty and The Beastons, and Erica Lee. They are all great!

I picked up another container of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda which I leave open in my fridge to keep any bad smells at bay.

As my VIP gift I was sent a free hand lotion in bergamot orange which is currently out of stock. I will certainly give this a shot.

I ordered another dish soap from Mrs. Meyers, this time in the basil scent which I think so far is my all-time favorite scent! I love having back-stock of dish soap so I never have to worry about running out!

Another item I don't like to run out of is sponges so I picked up a two pack of Grove Walnut Scrubber Sponges which are neutral colored so they look fine out on a countertop and they work great. They don't fall apart as quickly as the cheap ones from the store which I also appreciate!

Lastly the priciest item of the bunch was the Caldrea Room and Linen Spray in Pear Blossom Agave. I wanted to get it in the Sea Salt Neroli since it smells amazing but this one smells great too! Since we spend so much time on our couch and laying on our pillows I wanted a quick way to get everything smelling great on a daily basis. Also it will be great to mask cooking smells since our apartment tends to hold onto those!

If you are interested in placing an order with Grove click here! You'll get $10 towards your first order with the link and you'll be able to try a VIP trial for three months for free! That means free shipping! Grove really has amazing products at great prices I can't recommend it enough!

Our Engagement Photos!

Guys I am dying over here! Our engagement photos came in and I'm obsessed! Tim and I had the best time with Carissa on a super cold Sunday in Newport and I think the pictures came out great! She did such an amazing job on our photos and we are thrilled with how they came out. We don't even look cold!

Today I'm sharing some of my favorites with you guys!

See what I mean? Obsessed!!

March Empties

March is one of those months that always drags for me- but this year it flew by! I feel like I blinked and the month ended- and now I'm here with all my empties to share with you :)

It was a pretty good month for empties however they were mostly household items. I backed off a lot of makeup wearing this month since I'm desperately trying to get my skin under control. My skin has been super dry and red and I really don't want to anger it anymore then I already have.

Only three chapsticks were finished up this month! That might be a new record low for me because I absolutely love this Cake Batter flavor. I felt it was time to end my use three of my eye products since I know the three months recommended for use has definitely gone by. Benefit Rollerlash Mascara is amazing! I will definitely continue to purchase this even though it's more expensive then drugstore mascara. I really liked the L'Oreal Telescopic Liquid Eyeliner but I will be trying some other liquid liners. Lastly in this category I haven of my favorite products of all time: Diorshow Maximizer Mascara Primer! This product makes my lashes SO long and SO full it's amazing! I can use it under any mascara and it's incredible. I hate when I don't have it!

I finished up a body spray from Bath and Body Works in Oahu Coconut Sunset which I thought was nice. I definitely wouldn't repurchase it in the future just because I have many other scents I do prefer over this one. I decided to toss these Pacifica Deodorant Wipes since I've had them forever and never use them. I originally bought them for Disney World but only used one or two. They work okay but not for a long period of time- so don't expect to use them in place of deodorant! Next up is Bath and Body Works Tiki Mango Mai Tai shower gel which even Tim was using because it smelled so amazing! I will definitely repurchase this in the future!

We finished two hand soaps this month. The first is from Bath and Body Works in Frosted Cranberry. This was a good scent but not one I feel the need to repurchase in the future. The second is Softsoap Orchid Petals and Mint Water. I didn't love this scent either and wouldn't repurchase it.

The one candle I finished up was from a Fundraiser for a girl who passed away suddenly in my community. Not a candle to repurchase regularly but I'm glad that I purchased it to help fund scholarships in her memory.

I have been LOVING Mrs. Meyers for my household products lately. I order all of mine through Grove Collaborative and their service is superb. Getting my shipment once a month means I don't have to run out and pick up any cleaning products at the store because I'm running low- I'm always stocked up! Use this link and get $10 off your first order!!

My favorite scent that I've tried so far has got to be Basil! I thought it was a weird scent based on the name but the smell is incredible- I highly recommend it and will definitely purchase this multi surface spray again in the future.  I also finished two dish soaps from Mrs. Meyers- one in the limited edition Mint scent and one in Honeysuckle. I would repurchase both in the future but I didn't love either of them as much as I love the basil!

My last category for this month is laundry products. The laundry around here is never-ending! There are only two of us but some weeks I am in shock that we've gone through as many clothes as we have. I finished the last of my Purex Crystals. I love this product and I always think that my laundry smells SO MUCH BETTER when I use it! I haven't repurchased this yet just because I like to wait for a good deal/coupon but will definitely buy it again in the future!  I finished two Tide laundry soaps which I love. Tide is one of my favorite laundry products and it works great on getting out stains. The last laundry product is Xtra which was a coupon purchase from CVS. This laundry soap works just fine but I definitely wouldn't pay for it!

Those are all my empties for the month of March, what did you finish up this past month? What products are you loving/hating right now? Share in the comments!

Our Wedding: List Number One

Today I'm sharing a bit of wedding organization with you guys! We really hit the ground running since we are planning a wedding in eight months- we have less then seven months to go so I thought I would share how I'm organizing all my planning.

I decided to make three lists to split up my wedding tasks. The first list I am planning to complete before May, the second must be completed by the end of August and the third is the final list to be completed by our wedding day.  Today I want to share what was on list number one and what we've already completed, I will be sharing my next two lists in the upcoming months as well- don't worry I'm taking you along for every step of this journey!

Wedding To Do List #1

• Go to bridal expo  We really enjoyed this! It gave us quite a few ideas and we got a ton of free stuff! To see our day at the wedding expo you can check that out here.
• make bridesmaid proposal gifts and give them out  You can see my bridesmaid proposals here!
• meet and hire photographer We hired Carissa from Ella Grace Photography and are THRILLED with our decision- she is fantastic!
• meet with Peggy at The Rotunda We met up with Peggy one Saturday to view the inside. She was great and gave us some great insight on using the floor plan!
• make appointment at Davids Bridal I made an appointment for April 14th and I can't wait to spend quality time with Rachel and my mom trying on dresses
• engagement shoot We had the best time working with Carissa even though it was freezing on this day!
• insure ring this was super easy to do- I signed up through Jewelers Mutual and it was much cheaper then I thought and certainly gives me peace of mind!
• get ring resized again, super easy to do and I was just putting it off because I didn't want to give up my ring. I went to Simply Majestic and had a great experience- it was done so quickly!
• create wedding website I just used the free website TheKnot does and have started to put our information on there
• book Kayla for hair- I briefly spoke to her about this but want to make sure she is completely booked for my day! I actually will see her later today and plan on checking with her then
• book Laura for makeup I checked with Laura and we will be setting up my trial soon!
• book hotel for wedding night- Tim is currently working on this!
• block hotel rooms for guests done! The credit for this goes all to Tim- he has been dealing with the hotels which has been so helpful!
• book caterer Once again, the credit for this goes to Tim! I did put the deposit down for this and went with Tim to drop off the contract- so it was a team effort!
• order save the dates and get them mailed out- We are waiting for our pictures to come back and then this will get checked off- hopefully in the next couple of weeks!
• book videographer My brothers best friend will be our videographer for our wedding day! I'm happy to have someone we trust and know well to do this important task! 
• book DJ Another point for Tim- he's the one who contacted Dr Graeme and booked him. 
• register for gifts we have three registries going right now and although we will be revisiting them in the future to add I'm sure I'm counting this as done!

We've had a very busy first month planning and have almost this entire list crossed off! In a few weeks I'll share list number 2 as I start to work on that next!

What were the most important things on your wedding to do list?

Have a great day everybody!

Life Lately: Hiking, Ring Sizing and Birthday Celebrations

Happy Monday everyone! 

We were super busy this weekend- it all started with hiking adventures after work on Thursday and Friday.

On Thursday we headed to the gym but once we were in the parking lot it was clear that it was packed. Not wanting to have to fight for weights we decided to go for a hike at nearby Goddard Park instead!

It was a little chilly but we had a gorgeous walk along the water and it was nice to spend some time chatting with my favorite guy.

On Friday we decided to not even try the gym and go for a hike since it was so beautiful out.

Our first hike was to explore the Davis Memorial Wildlife Refuge which was a short hike and only took us about 15 minutes so Tim suggested we head to Rome Point- a trail that leads to the beach and I was in!

What a cool shell right? We never find anything like that around Rhode Island. It was so cool how the whole beach was covered in shells. 

There were so many little trails along the way and so much so see. It's definitely a trail you could go back to and do different every time. I called it a choose your own adventure trail.

We also found this old car in the woods. It was so random but a cool discovery.

On Saturday morning we headed to Stonington CT to get my ring resized. I had planned on sending it back to James Allen but didn't like the idea of being away from my ring for two weeks. My friend Kirstin's older sister Jen works at Simply Majestic in Stonington and she said they could do it same day for me!

My hand was so lonely without my ring but within and hour and a half I had it back on my hand.

And it was super clean and shiny!

On Saturday night we had plans to brewery hop for Derek's birthday so we headed up to Foolproof in Pawtucket, RI where I ran into Jess who I haven't seen in forever!

It was so funny to bump into her so randomly but it was great to see her!

Derek got a t-shirt from Ally's sister with Drake on it. It was hilarious and he continued to wear it the rest of the night!

Next we headed to Long Live in Providence which I didn't take any pictures of but we mostly hung outside while we were there.

Finally we drove into Downtown Providence to go to Trinity Brewhouse for our 7pm dinner reservation! It was such a fun time hanging out with everyone.

The pulled pork sandwich was delicious! After spending time talking with everyone, eating dinner and having a couple of drinks we decided to head closer to home. 

We stopped at The Safehouse in East Greenwich and hung out awhile longer before eventually heading home.

On Sunday we had a special birthday party to attend.

Callan turned 7 this month and we celebrated with a bowling party!

I was having a good bowling day!

Callan got really good at bowling and ended up getting his first strike!

We had three lanes and our group had a ton of fun as well bowled, chatted and ate.

Callan was wiped out by the end of the party!

We had a great time and were ready to have a restful ending to our weekend by hanging out couch together. 

How was your weekend?!

Life Lately: Engagement Shoot, St Patricks Day, Hanging With Babies

Happy Wednesday!

Today I'm sharing what I've been up to lately- this past weekend was a busy one for us. The weekends seem to be filling up quickly and the weeks have been flying by (except when I'm at work of course)

On Saturday Tim had to run and get a haircut so I did a few errands. We had engagement pictures planned for Sunday so I needed to get underwear that wouldn't show up under my white dress and buy a football to write on.

When I got home I made this save the date football (Tim did the heart because I'm hopeless at making them even). I think it turned out great- not perfect- but neither of us is perfect and our handwriting certainly isn't so why stencil it when we can make it look perfect.

I also painted my nails with an Essie gel polish that I picked up so my hand would be ready to show off that gorgeous ring Tim gave me!

On Saturday evening we headed off to Harborside in East Greenwich to meet up with Derek, Ally and Ally's sister Krystal and her husband Woody. We had a great time with them and all their friends that met up with us. We had a couple of drinks and then headed to Krystal and Woody's apartment to hang out and play some games. On the way there Tim asked Derek to be his best man and I asked Ally to be my bridesmaid- and they both said yes!

We played some games- Adult Questions and Cards Against Humanity and had a great time!

The next morning we were up bright and early to head to Newport for our engagement shoot...

We did two different outfits- one in our football jerseys and another where Tim is wearing the shirt you see in the above picture and I'm wearing a white dress. Once I get the images back I will share them with you but for now the above picture is all I have! This was in between taking pictures at different locations. We were FREEZING in the 21 degree weather. The wind was blowing around like crazy and my hands were painful from using hand warmers on them.

After a very cold morning we headed to Phils in Wakefield for a delicious breakfast! It was so nice to drink some hot coffee and warm up our bodies.

We stopped by to see Tim's brother and nephews for a bit and had a great time chatting with Dan. We also were able to ask Kason and Callan if they would like to be our ring bearers and they said yes! Callan's mom also told me that he's been talking about the wedding since and is super excited- so cute :)

We headed to Brittni and Stephen's house next to get in a little cuddle time with baby Parker!

And a little play time with Emma! She is such a ham and kept us laughing as she spoke to us in her sweet little voice and loved on her baby sister.

And played in laundry baskets- because what is more fun then that?

And she's still obsessed with Tim!

We had a great weekend and I was bummed to go back to work on Monday- but we have another full weekend coming up- which I of course will be sharing with you guys!