Pretty Little Beauty Swap reveal

Before I start anything, just watch this video. I promise it will brighten up your day. Someday I hope to have as much confidence and pizzazz as her!

Alright, on to the goodies!

About a month ago I signed up for the Pretty Little Beauty Swap that Justine and Chelsee hosted. I was paired up with Rachel at Rachel's Country Roots who is such a sweetheart!  We're both pretty busy gals so we didn't chat as much as we would have liked, but everything I know about her I love. Her blog is real and funny, plus she runs the most adorable online boutique - in her spare time! Be sure to stop by her store, Country Couture, and check out her great fall sale.  Just click on her button in my sidebar. Personally, I can't wait to get my hands on one of her infinity scarves.

Backstory: I signed up for Ispy a few months ago because I saw that one month they had the most adorable leopard bag.  I didn't care about the makeup, I just wanted that bag.  I was put in a waitlist or something (not a fan of that) and by the time I was approved, I realized that there was no way I'd get the same leopard bag from months ago so I cancelled my account before ever receiving anything. 

And lo and behold, what did I spy when I opened my AMAZING beauty swap package from Rachel?

That's right ladies - LEOPARD! Ignore my study mess in the background. Girl's gotta caffeinate! Then I practically clawed my way into the package to see what other goodies were in there because I knew it was going to be fantastic.

BB cream, dry shampoo, and leopard? Seriously, this package could have stopped right here and I would have been thrilled! But there were even more goodies inside the fabulous leopard pouch.

Contents:

OLAY fresh effects BB cream

Serge Normant dry shampoo

BigSexyHair weather proof humidity resistant spray

Michael Todd Jojoba Charcoal Facial Scrub

NYX rouge cream blush

Starlooks lip pencil

Mirenesse glossy Kiss

Chella eyebrow pencil

Chella highlighter pencil

Leopard Ipsy bag

For the record, as I unpacked all the items I just kept saying to myself "She knows me so well!"  I didn't even know that BigSexyHair made humidity resistant spray but I was just complaining the other day about how the humidity in Galveston wrecks havoc on my hair.  Hello, little angel, you're going straight into my school bag!

And I LOVE dry shampoo.  I've had big hits and some awful misses on various brands so I cannot wait to try out this new one.  And the blush? The color not only looks perfect for me but I actually just lost my blush this week. How does someone lose their blush when they always put on makeup in their bathroom? Who knows. But it is gone and my cheekbones will be oh so grateful for this new replacement.  As for the various lip/brow/eye pencils, I cannot wait to give them a try and update my look.  I'll be sure to report back on everything!

On a more serious note, Rachel experienced a horrible family tragedy this weekend.  If you could find it in your heart to leave her a kind word or just say a prayer for her and her family, I know she would appreciate it while they navigate through a difficult time.  She is a kind person with a beautiful soul who doesn't deserve this kind of heartbreak.

Do you subscribe to any beauty bags? Any favorites you've discovered along the way? 

xoxo,

Cait

moley moley moley

Anyone else think of Austin Powers when you read the title?

via

I had big plans when I went to bed last night. And NONE of those plans happened today.

Let me back up for a bit. I visited a dermatologist a few months ago because I was having breakouts and couldn't get them under control. I was angry and frustrated that at 27 years old I had pimples. And, hello, I'm getting married next spring! The meds I was precribed at first did NOT agree with me. My skin was red, and super dry - I'm talking big flakes.  So I took the matter into my own hands and gave myself a ghetto at-home microderm abrasion followed by a few days of neosporin.

I DO NOT recommend doing this! It ended up working out but it also could have really scarred my skin. Once I recovered I continued with my meds and lots of moisturizer.

Fast forward to this Thursday...

I had an appointment with my dermatologist at 8am, so I set my alarm for 6:05 thinking I would get a nice, cool morning run in before heading off to my appointment.  Or, if I happened to sleep in (like I tend to do), I would go for a run at Rice University after my appointment.

If you live in Houston, you know how great the running trail is at Rice University AND how close it is to the med center.  Win win.

Well, you know that saying about making plans and God laughing? The old man upstairs had quite the gutbuster today.

I woke up at 7:28am for my appointment.  Which was at 8:00am. 25 miles away. In terrible traffic.

I threw on running clothes (still thinking things will work out, folks) and headed out the door.  No makeup? No problem - it's a derm appointment. She needs to see my skin. 

My skin is much improved but there are still zits hiding there.  Don't worry, you'll see them.  And THANK BABY JESUS for eyelash extensions!

What I was not thinking about what the fact that I was also getting a mole removed. See that mole under my right eye? Yup, got that sucker cut right off.

I had no idea that a tiny little mole would sidetrack my day. But oh, how it did.

No more mole! And lashes all globbed up with neosporin.  Can you spot the zits still lingering around?

The local anesthetic made me feel so weird. It was a tiny procedure but it really took it out of me.  My whole eye area was completely numb, the neosporin was gooping up my eye (and lashes!), plus it was starting to swell and bruise. 

So I headed home and napped. For 5 hours. And then went to the movies and got Chinese takeout. Because that's what you do when it looks like you got punched in face.

Great day for taking it easy and not having to wear makeup.  Not such a great day for working out and eating healthy.

But hey, there's always tomorrow. Right?

Any of you ever have those days where you can't accomplish anything?

xoxo,

Cait 

PS - Have you entered the $25 Target giveaway from Sam yet?  Well, what are you waiting for??

stds and website

Did you think this would be a pervy post? Shame on you!

We sent out our Save the Dates (STDs) last week, which meant finally finalizing the wedding website.  That thing was sort of the thorn in my side.  I enjoyed doing parts of it (like our story) but for the life of me I couldn't get B to write up his parts about the groomsmen.  I ended up doing it, but I feel like know the stories are much less personal than the ones I wrote about my bridesmaids. You win some, you lose some.

Anywho, I'm not totally comfortable putting our wedding website out there for strangers to see because what if a crazy stalker booked a room at our hotel to murder us showed up at the ceremony? But here's a screen grab of the site:

I found lots of those wedding site services to be sort of crappy (no offense, the Knot!).  None of them really spoke to me and the feel I'm hoping to get with this wedding.  And I do not have the time or the know-how to build a website up from scratch.  Big props to you ladies out there that do! Way impressed over here! 

The template I ended up using was from WeddingWire and for a small fee I could buy our own domain name. Plus, it is set up to play music. Sold and sold!

BIG NEWS!

This coming Saturday I am having a trial run for hair and makeup! I'm pretty excited and I've been pinning inspiration like crazy.  I will definitely be updating on instagram, so feel free to follow me (@cregan85).  Hopefully I will get a full post up about it next week for Wedding Wednesday!

Lastly, since we're on the topic of weddings...

3 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Got Married

This article is well timed for all those brides to be out there. In a day and age where divorce is all too common, it certainly can't hurt to keep things in perspective when it comes to the "happily ever after" idea of marriage.  The story doesn't end at the wedding... it is just beginning.

Note: I'm not hating on divorcees out there. My parents split a long time ago. Both remarried and my stepparents are a wonderful blessing to me! But my concern is people who get married and then divorced 6 months later - maybe it wasn't that thought out? 

Nordstrom Bridal Style Video

I've watched this video a few hundred times and I love it.  The basis is a gorgeous simple wedding dress that has been styled in multiple ways. It's under 2 minutes and reinspired me for making my wedding "my own" without feeling the overwhelming pressure to "out-pinterest" other brides.  Ya catch my drift?

Taaarrrrrget Giiiiiiveaaawaaaaaaay! (Oprah voice)
My buddy Sam over at Sam Ispa Loquitur has just survived the bar exam and in celebration SHE is giving YOU (or me, cause I'm going to win that bish) a $25 Target giftcard.  Head on over and enter.  Plus, there aren't ninety-thousand ways to enter, which I greatly appreciate!
Contest ends Friday night, yo!

Go check out the Wedding Wednesday link up!

xoxo,
Cait 

 

New Hair and Product Love

First, I've got to give mad amazing props to my hair girl, Rondeann.  If you are in the Houston area and need the hook up, please contact her! She is at Thairapy Salon & Spa and you will not regret it.  Tell her I sent you over!

Alright, I tend to go through phases where I change my hair a lot and then I'll go a disgustingly long time without even so much as a trim.  You do that too, right? No? Just me, huh?

Here's a little walk down memory lane of my many hair styles:

Birth-2006                Feb 2007                  August 2007                 December 2007              April 2008

October 2008           December 2008            January 2009               August 2009               May 2011

October 2011              August 2012              December 2012            January 20013              March 2013

And the latest, thanks to Roandeann:

April 2013

I've been loving the ombré look lately and told her to take it even further than last time.  And she hit it out of the freaking park! I naturally identify with being a blonde, though truth be told I have no idea the exact shade of my natural hair.  And I'm 99% sure I want to be blonde again by our wedding which is next March.  So Rondeann is fulfilling my ombré needs while helping me slowly get back to blonde without totally killing my hair.  She is like a hair angel. A badass, tattooed, super talented hair angel!

And here are the other little babies that I rely on to keep my hair healthy and style it.  When I say my hair is fine, I mean like a baby.  It has no natural curl or wave or body to it.  Easy to take care of but not so easy to make it look amazing.

Left to right:

Garnier Frutis Triple Nutrition Shampoo

Shimmering Lights Shampoo Blonde & Silver (use one to two times/week)

Aussie 3 Minute MiracleComditioner

Keune Color Care Shampoo

Keune Color Care Conditioner

Big Sexy Hair Root Plump Plus

Big Sexy Hair Spray & Play
Prive Volumizing Dry Shampoo

Assuming I wash my hair everyday, I use the Garnier Shampoo and Aussie Conditioner about 3 times a week. I use the Shimmer Lights Shampoo once a week with the Aussie 3 Minute Miracle.  On the other days I use the Keune Color Care products, which I got from my salon.  It seems to be a nice mix for my hair to provide the color protection while also keeping it moisturized.

Since discovering the Prive Volumizing Dry Shampoo, I do not have to wash my hair every day and it is AMAZING.  I've tried what feels like a million dry shampoos and this one is by far the best out there.  It's a super powerful aerosol spray but the formula is a fine powder.  There are no flakes or chunks in your hair.  And if you're like me, with oily hair and skin, then usually if I don't wash my hair then I just feel like I'm masking the dirty with dry shampoo and I still feel gross. This actually makes my hair feel clean. And I can stretch a shampoo out to 2 or 3 days!

As mentioned, I've got fine hair. The root pump plus actually lifts it which has 2 wonderful benefits - gives my volume AND keeps it from getting oily fast.  Bonus!

Any other recommendations on hair products you guys can't live without? I'm a product junkie and always love trying new things! Comment below :)

xoxo,
YFG