things that made me happy this week

image via

Posting a bit early this week because Friday morning I will be on an airplane headed for Philadelphia for a weekend away with Aaron because...

1// I AM DONE WITH GRAD SCHOOL!! I cannot express how happy this makes me - those of you who have been following me the past couple years know it has been a long & challenging journey. Working full time, going to school in the evenings, all while simultaneously planning a wedding and taking care of my family. Thank you to everyone that supported and encouraged me though it all! As of Tuesday this week, I am officially Emily Storey, MBA. 

2// Packing for my long weekend in Philly with Aaron to celebrate! I'm skipping graduation in order to go see Coldplay instead ;) Not even a question in my book...send me that diploma in the mail haha!

3// Salmon. We've created so many great meals over the past week with some delicious salmon from a local Columbus market. I honestly used to hate this fish when I was young, but now it's quickly becoming one of my favorites. 

4// Rhian HY from Wife Life. I can't get enough! Love her YouTube channel, which is full of cruelty free beauty and vegan meal idea videos.

5// Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - picked up a copy of this for when I'm on the airplane over the weekend. Literally can't wait to start reading it!

6// This photo had me cracking up, but is also possibly something I would do too ;)   

7// I picked my wedding dress up over the weekend! It is so gorgeous and I love it just as much as the day I picked it out. Now time to find a place for alterations!

8// My new (vegan) Matt + Nat purse - which will get its own post soon because it's ah-may-zing. 

9// This eye palette - hope to get my hands on it soon...the shades looks gorgeous and I've heard great things about Makeup Geek products (and they are cruelty free).

10// Did I mention Coldplay?! I can't contain the excitement - only 55 hours until I'm watching my most favorite of all time in all their A Head Full of Dreams Tour glory <3  

     

new beauty loves // cruelty free

Happy Tuesday ladies!

I wanted to pop on here and share some current makeup favorites of mine that I've picked up recently. All items are cruelty free and come from companies that do not test on animals. 

The first is one is a mascara that I have heard other bloggers and beauty gurus rave about for years, and I don't know why it took me so long to purchase it - Too Faced "Better Than Sex" Mascara. Maybe because the $23 price tag scared me off, but honestly...it's totally worth it. 

This is ~hands down~ one of the best mascaras I have ever used. It gives full and lengthened lashes that look about as close to falsies as my natural lashes ever will, without actually applies falsies. It applies smoothly and can be built upon without clumping - I typically find myself putting about 2 layers on. It lasts throughout the day and doesn't flake or dry out. The only time I've noticed any issues is when I've been working out in the heat recently...there was a little mascara that smudged under my eyes. BUT...I won't hold that against it, because I was sweating my a** off and any mascara would have done that ;) 

Definitely get your hands on this one if you can!! 



The next items I got my hands on are the Becca Pressed Shimmering Skin Perfector in "Champagne Pop" and Too Faced Soleil Matte Bronzer in "Chocolate". 

Let me just rave about these two products - they are amazing. I have so much love for drugstore cosmetics, but sometimes, the higher prices are just worth it for the quality that higher end brands produce. 

I swatched each of them and took a picture in the daylight (see below) and you can see the color payoff. The Becca highlighter is gorgeous and gives your skin such a pretty sun-kissed glow. I will definitely need to check out the other Skin Perfector shades for the fall and winter when my skin is a bit lighter toned. The brozner is beautiful too - it is very blendable and can be used for a contour, or to bronze up your whole face. I also plan to pick up their lighter shade (Milk Chocolate) for the cooler months.

I'm so happy with my Becca and Too Faced purchases, and I love that they are both cruelty free companies! It just shows you, you can buy beautiful, high quality makeup without contributing to animal testing <3 

I'd love to try more products from both of these brands, so please share your favorites with me! xx 

things that made me happy this week

via

1// Our wedding RSVPs started showing up in the mail! Only 75 days to go!

2// Tootsie Pops - I forgot how good these are...I grabbed a bag at the store the other day and now can reach in the candy jar at home if I want a little treat.

3// This recipe from The Minimalist Baker. Going to try and recreate it this weekend!

4// Taking the dogs swimming for the first time {at the lake}. HILARIOUS. Literally was laughing my a** off at Dexter...I failed to get any pictures or video, but I think we are going to try and take them again this Sunday, so I will try and get photographic evidence of his hilarity then ;)

5// Refreshing summer cocktails like these - and only 100 calories! 

6// Our new game of "Guess Who is Playing Pokemon Go" when driving around Columbus. Also, this meme. 

7// National Ice Cream Day <3

8// Couples golf lessons that Aaron and I are taking together. I think I'm acutally getting better!

9// The Secret Life of Pets - so cute.

10// A big glass pitcher of iced green tea with mint in my fridge. 

midweek musings

Hiya everyone - thought I would stop in and share some recent happenings, as well as some things that I've been loving this week.

Happening...

// Throwing together simple summer cocktails.
This one is a combination of Mike's Hard Watermelon Lemonade, lots of ice, sparkling water, and lime juice. 

// Going to baseball games.
Aaron isn't playing this year due to his crazy travel schedule for work, but we still have managed to go see the team a couple times. This past weekend they got to play at the Minor League field in downtown Columbus, and a big group of us went out to cheer on our friend Mike because it was his birthday! 

// Sitting at soccer practice
Aubrey's club soccer team is back in the full swing of things after a couple months off. It was nice having a break from all of it, but the weather is nice and we love watching her play, so no complaints here. Talk to me again in a couple months and I might be singing a different tune ;)

Loving...

// Decor inspiration
This is from Liz Marie's gorgeous farm house. She & her husband just moved in and they are already making amazing progress on the renovations. 

// Silly Netflix movies 
Now that all the regular shows Aaron and I watch have ended for the season, I have been making my way through Netflix (mainly the romantic comedy section) in the evenings. Recently I've really liked Decoy Bride (a British romcom - can't get enough of these!) and An Unfinished Life (always love me some JLo). Any recommendations??

via

// Dream home inspiration
We got the green light on a home improvement loan recently - so there will be lots of renovation projects happening over the next few months! Can't wait to share it all with you - and I've been browsing all over the internet for inspiration now that some of these dream projects can actually become a reality! 


What have you been loving lately?? xx 

bachelorette & bridal shower weekend

My amazing friends and sister - the ones responsible for this perfect weekend!!

Brace yourself - it's a long one ;) 

It is hard to put into words how wonderful this past weekend was. All I know is that I have the best friends, sister, and Mum in the world. They put so much time and effort into making me feel special and gifting me with an outrageously fun bachelorette party and stunning bridal shower.

..:: SATURDAY ::..

I drove up to Akron and arrived around 2 pm. Alissa, Andrea, and I ran to the mall to pick up some makeup and I was in desperate need of an outfit for the night! I was able to find something at Express and we head back to Andrea's to do my trial makeup run for the wedding. Before long, all the other girls were showing up and the house was full of us running around getting ready! Andrea's dog (Max) was not impressed ;)

After getting ready, we head to Bricco in downtown Akron for dinner and drinks. I won't forget to mention the obscene gifts and party favors that were waiting for me when I got in the car haha! Those who know me, know that this MORTIFIED me, but they let me keep everything in the car...at least until later ;)

After dinner we did a little bar hopping...my friends had come up with really fun places to take me including The Northside Speakeasy (with secret door entrance), Chop & Swizzle (a specialty cocktail bar), and The Noisy Oyster (our old stomping ground). 

A little after midnight, we ended up at our favorite place - Square Bar, a gay nightclub in Highland Square. Once we were there, we danced for hours! We made it back to Andrea's... which is right around the corner... and sat on the back patio talking and drinking wine until almost 4 am. SUCH a good night with my best friends! 

The gorgeous mermaid crown was hand-made & gifted to me by my lovely friend Andrea (far right)

..:: SUNDAY ::..

Sunday morning I was up at 8 am (holy tired) and hung out at Andrea's until it was time to get ready for my bridal shower. We drove to the location and I almost died when I pulled up to it - it was an AMAZING old-world mansion in West Akron that has been turned into a bed & breakfast. This place was just stunning. It has so much character and a gorgeous garden surrounding the property.

The O'neil House

My friends and family had gone above and beyond - decorating and making everything just perfect. I am so blessed to have all of them in my life. It brought me to tears actually! The center piece was created by Andrea and the favors of homemade mint body scrub (in cute mason jars) were made by Abby. After a quick tour of the mansion... we ate a delicious meal, drank mimosas and topped it all off with cupcakes from Alissa. 

After the wonderful meal, we head into the great room for games and presents. My Mum had two fun games planned - a quiz about how well you know the bride and "Find the Groom"...which was hilarious. Here's a quick shot of "Aaron" and all the other "Grooms"! We all decided Rob Kardashian would be the worst ;)

I was overwhelmed with such thoughtful gifts from everyone, but my favorite (that made everyone burst into tears, starting with me) was when my Mum gave me her light blue garter from her wedding to my dad to use as my something old & something blue <3

After gifts we head outside (not for long because it was over 90 degrees!) for some pictures in the beautiful garden...

All my dance besties - Alissa, Abby, & Andrea

Mumsie xx

My little sister, Allison, Mum, & I

My Michelle - best friends since the 7th grade!

All these women made me feel so special and I can't thank them enough for giving me the perfect weekend. A few of my best friends were missed, as they live out of town - but they were there in spirit! Aaron had a great guy's weekend too - fishing and boating for 3 days up on Lake Erie with Andrea's husband! xx