For the boys - Bachelor Party Favors

Ben went on his bachelor party trip weeks ago (yes, I'm just now getting around to posting about this, things have been a bit crazy!). He and several of his best guy friends went to Chicago for a boys weekend. I wanted to send along something cute and fun for each of the guys, Lord knows Ben wasn't going to get creative. I made these little bachelor party favor boxes for each of them.

Making them was pretty simple. I upcycled my old Birchbox boxes (I save them all!), added some shredded paper filling and then a cigar, 2 mini bottles of bourbon, and a packet of advil to each box. I made the paper belly bands for the boxes in photoshop. I also made the little wraps for the advil packets in photoshop. I googled "pick your poison" and found this awesome drawing, which I printed small and cut out to use as a a tag.

The guys loved them and I had a lot of fun making them!

And because this is a post about the boys, here is my future husband on his bachelor party...yes, that is him on a romantic carriage ride with his best man. It was a fun trip, or so I hear!

Sun Tan City sunless tanning review

The folks over at Sun Tan City contacted me and asked me to try out their sunless tanning, aka spray tanning! I don't know about you all, but once I turned 25 I started noticing fine lines and an overall change in my skin, so I do not do the tanning bed thing. But I do love a nice tan without the harmful effect of UV, so spray tanning is the way to go!

I don't spray tan on a regular basis, usually just for special occasions when I want to have a nice glow. I had been going to a local salon that sprays you by hand and had found that I got a better, more even spray when it was done by hand rather than in a booth. However, it seems they have made some improvements in the world of spray tanning booths in the years since I had visited one because I got awesome results when I visited Sun Tan City! My tan turned out even, not orange, and dried quickly.

Sun Tan City is offering client's their first visit for free to give the sunless tanning a test drive. Seriously, go try it out. I don't think you will be disappointed. STC offers a few options, light, medium, or dark, and you can choose between a clear spray that develops over time, or a bronzer spray that gives you color immediately. What works best for me is the medium bronzer option. When I tried the medium clear spray it wasn't as dark (even after giving it 8 hours to set in) and didn't seem to last as long. I've found that with the bronzer spray I have some nice color for at least 5 days. Of course it does start to fade, but it fades evenly and doesn't like flake off.

Go give it a try! Your first visit is free, so it can't hurt! You can find STC on FB and Twitter too!

WWW - Invitations are en route!

I dropped the finished invitations off at the post office today. I slipped the postal worker a Sbux gift card to hand cancel them all. Here's to hoping they make it to their destinations in one piece!

It took me hours to assemble them. The whole ribbon tying bit was a doozy. Some people's ribbons have a much nicer knot than others, but I had just about had it and just wanted them out of my hands.

I let Ben make the final decision on which ribbon to use. He chose the dotted one, which was really my first choice anyways...I thought it was whimsical and still classic and pretty! I bought Michael's out of that one, so when I ran out of it I used the thin one at the bottom on a few.

I'll share the complete set with you all next week, after everyone has received them! They were definitely a labor of love and I"m thrilled with the end result! 

We're expecting!!

Well, Ben and I finally pulled the trigger and put a deposit down on a white lab puppy! I cannot tell you how excited I am!! He should be born in May and ready to come home sometime late July or early August. Obviously the new pup needs some personalized gear...I'm already on it! I better get going on his needlepoint collar, lord knows it will take me until he is about full grown to get it finished.  

Any suggestions for names? I like Mr. Darcey, Ben said no! He likes Darby, but I think that is too girly. I also like Remington since he will be a hunting dog, but Ben doesn't want people to call him Remy. I can't imagine how hard it will be to agree on a name for a child! 

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My Monograms & Mimosas Bridal Shower

Some of my lovely friends threw a fabulous bridal shower for me this past weekend at the Greentree Tearoom. The theme was Monograms and Mimosas (two things I love!). Everything was perfect! I loved all the little details and they put a lot of time into making everything super cute, the food was delish, and I was showered with wonderful monogrammed goodies! I'm a lucky bride-to-be!!

Thank you to all the ladies who attended, and a special thank you to to Brittany, Lauren and Lauren for hosting!!