things that made me happy this week

1 // CAVS!!! I cannot even put into words how amazing it has been this whole week as a NE Ohio native and Cleveland sports fan. And icing on the cake, Aaron and I are from Akron, so we have major pride for our hometown hero, Mr. LeBron James. So many feels this week guys!!

2 // Finding dresses for both my bridal shower and bachelorette party - which are coming up in 2 weeks! Check and check.

3 // Got caught up on Game of Thrones - the most recent episode was insane! Not only was the story line wild, but visually I was just amazed with the way it was shot. Do any of you watch? 

4 // Beautycounter for Target - I am so excited to try out this clean and cruelty free line that will be available this fall. 

5 // Thunderstorms on Thursday that were much needed in Columbus... finally cooling things off a bit since it's been WAY too hot recently.

6 // I was introduced to a great new cruelty-free / organic brand the other day. Trying out some of their products now and can't wait to share with you all!

7 // Our second golf lesson is booked for this Saturday. This time I am going to try not to get totally sunburned (like last time).

8 // A quick visit from my sister and her boyfriend on their way down to Kentucky on Tuesday. Added bonus: they had their three foster rescue kittens with them <3

9 // Tea cookies from Whole Foods. I mean, have you tried the vegan gingersnaps??

10 // Cleveland. Who else has 1.3 million people turn up for a celebration parade in support of their sports team? Aaron and I were sooo bumming that we couldn't make it up. #clevelandrocks

things that made me happy this week

1 // My flower boxes filled with gerber daisies.

2 // This amazing man and his organization. Please consider donating or spreading the word.

3 // A little over 6 weeks until graduation.

4 // Having the time and opportunity to take a dance class this coming weekend. One of my good friends, that used to own a studio here in Columbus, moved to Atlanta last year...but she is in town for the weekend and teaching at a local studio! 

5 // These Banana Republic tanks – finally a classic, comfortable tank top that can be paired with anything!

6 // Finishing our wedding registry! It wasn’t an easy task – debates over what color KitchenAid Mixer to choose took nearly an hour ;) 

7 // Catching up on The Mindy Project on Hulu.

8 //  Only 109 days left until our wedding <3

9 // This blog - full of amazing vegetarian recipes. Can't wait to try the black bean burger!

10 // Car karaoke with the RHCP & James Corden is the best thing ever. Obsessed. 

On a somber note - I found out this morning that Emily Meyers (of The Freckled Fox) lost her husband, Martin, yesterday to cancer. I fought back tears as I read her post, "Goodbye My Love". I have been following them for years and he just found out about his cancer, I believe, less than a year ago. So heartbreaking...that's how fast it can take you. I'm mentioning this in case any of you follow Emily...please head over to her blog or her Facebook to leave some love for her and their five beautiful children. xx 

engagement photos // makeup

As promised, here is the breakdown of products for my engagement photos makeup look! All products mentioned are cruelty free, unless noted with an *. I am still working through some remaining products from my collection that are not cruelty free that I decided to finish them and not repurchase instead of throwing them out.  

Skin // 
Spray tan from GLOW Custom Airbrush Tanning

Face // 
Sonia Kashuk Perfecting Luminous Foundation in Cream
e.l.f. Under Eye Concealer in Light
Sonia Kashuk Shimmering Loose Mineral Bronzer
Wet n Wild Fergie Shimmer Palette in Rose Champagne Glow (similar here)
NYX HD Finishing Powder in Translucent

Eyes //
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk
bareMinerals Glimmer Eye shadow in Queen Phyllis 
*LORAC Eye shadow in Charming Copper (cruelty free dupe - bareMinerals In the Buff)
*MAC Eye shadow in Bronze (cruelty free dupe - Urban Decay Smog)
Sonia Kashuk Longwear Liner in Black Onyx 
Physician's Formula Lash Boosting Eyeliner in Black
NYX Doll Eye Mascara in Black
Ardell Lashes in Natural 135

Lips //
*L'Oreal Lip gloss in Soft Peach (cruelty free dupe - Urban Decay Nooner)

Hair //
Curled with conical wand and set with Paul Mitchell Hairspray
Floral Crown from Etsy - missstevimarie

Dress //
ASOS Kimono Plunge Maxi in Navy

engagement photos

They are here! So excited to share these picture with you all :)

I cannot rave enough about our photographer - Bethany Zadai Photography
She made the entire experience amazing and is so talented. Not to mention, she put up with the million reschedules we had to deal with due to weather issues. If you ever need a photographer in northeastern Ohio, definitely look her up! 

We met up at the Seiberling Nature Realm in Akron, and even though it was a bit hot and muggy, we had a great time. The setting was just perfect - you can see in the photos there were gorgeous flowers everywhere, and the landscaping is exquisite. 

Looking at these pictures makes me so happy - I cannot wait to marry this handsome man! 
Get ready for pic-overload! xx

things that made me happy this week

via

And by this week, I mean last week ;) ...still playing catch-up over here!

1 // The four day work week - which actually turned into 3 days because I was sick on Wednesday.

2 // Getting the previews of our engagement photos <3

3 // All the sunshine that we have been having. It has been a little too hot for my liking, but I'll take it if it means pretty days with blue skies!

4 // Silicon Valley - if you have not seen this show on HBO, you really need to start watching. It is hilarious and honestly, probably my favorite show on TV right now. The acting and writing is stellar, and it is actually written by Mike Judge, who is the genius behind Office Space. 

5 // Summer fruit available in the grocery store. I can't get enough peaches, nectarines, and watermelon!

6 // All the beautiful pictures of peonies floating around right now. I know they don't bloom for long - but they are SO pretty. Makes me want to hop in the car and head here to pick some up for our house! 

7 // Etsy has been rocking my world recently. I have found so many great things for our wedding - guest book, welcome signs, card box banner, and wedding cake topper...just to name a few. I can't wait for everything to show up in the mail! 

8 // Our bedroom fans {both ceiling and free-standing}. No joke - our house has is a 3-story Victorian and was built in 1890. The third floor is sweltering in the summer months, and it just happens to be our master bedroom. No matter how hard we try, the AC just doesn't do its job up there. Give me all the fans. 

9 // Our 5 year anniversary was last Friday - and exactly 1 year since Aaron proposed :) He always spoils me, but this year the surprise he came up with was so amazing. I've been wanting window boxes for flowers ever since we moved into our house, and when I came home from work on Friday, I found he had spent the entire day making them for me... totally by hand and from scratch! #bestfianceaward

10 // Sonia Kashuk products. I don't know why this line of cosmetics doesn't get more attention - it is just amazing. I'll be sharing a post about my favorite items from the line soon! xx

memorial day weekend

Better late than never? ;)

I definitely failed at getting any blog posts up last week - so over the next few days I will catch up and share what has been going over the past couple of weeks! 

Memorial Day weekend was just awesome. Aaron and I head up to Akron, OH on Saturday and met up with our good friends for a round of golf. We are total beginners, and did pretty poorly - but it was so much fun! Although, I don't think Aaron is going to be allowed to drive the golf cart again any time soon...he treated it more like a go cart! Haha! 

After golf, we all went for dinner at a new place called The Merchant Tavern in an area of Akron we all refer to as "the valley". It was a really cute restaurant - a little pricey, but the food was delicious. I opted for panko crusted fish & chips, while Aaron got the goat cheese mac & cheese. I topped it off with my favorite drink - a Moscow mule.

On Sunday, we had our engagement picture session - finally! If you have been following my posts, we have been trying to get these pictures taken since January, but the weather was never cooperating, so we had multiple reschedules. It was so worth the wait though! Our photographer was AMAZING and despite being a little hot & muggy, we had a great time. And {spoiler} the pictures turned out better than I could have ever imagined :) I'll be sharing a whole post on them soon! 

Here is a sneak peek of my hair & makeup from the session - if you follow me on Instagram, you've probably already seen it. I'll be doing a whole post on how I created the look later this week! 

After pictures, we did a bit of shopping and grabbed ice cream at our favorite spot - Country Maid Ice Cream in Richfield. We had been invited to a Memorial Day cookout with our friends, but we were SO exhausted by late afternoon that we just ate an early dinner and went to bed! #oldfarts 

Monday morning we were up at 3:00 am...yes, you read that correctly. Aaron and his uncle had planned a fishing trip up on Lake Erie, and I was invited to join! His uncle Mark picked us up by 4:00 am and we drove up to Port Clinton. The boat took off at 7:00 am and the ride out was just beautiful. I love the water, so any excuse to be on the lake or ocean, I'll take it! Fishing was actually really fun, even though I was pretty crap at it. In the 7 hours that we were out (7:00 am - 2:00 pm) I caught TWO fish...and both of them were the kind you can't eat hahaha! Mark caught some Walleye though, so we were able to go home with at least something for dinner. 

Aaron and I had such a good time, I think we are planning to go back out again in a couple of weeks. We will do the afternoon trip next time though - no more waking up that early!

After getting back to Akron from fishing, we got right in the car and drove home to Columbus. It was such a great weekend - but we were SO tired! We finished off the holiday weekend snuggling with the dogs and watching Game of Thrones...nearly falling asleep on the couch ;)