Post-It Note Tuesday

Being Eco-Friendly

unPaper Towels

I am slowly but surely trying my best to get my household more Eco-Friendly. One of the first things I have done is to use more environmentally safe cleaners around the house. I am a HUGE fan of Vinegar & Baking Soda so I use these products hand in hand, together for a number of household things.

Here's a very inspiring "Ode to Vinegar & Baking Soda" Blog post from author Jaye, from Eco-Friendly & Frugal. The Eco-Friendly & Frugal Blog is very informative. Not only does Jaye share with her readers some awesome ways to become Eco-Friendly, she also combines tips on how you can be frugal in doing so!

It's thru Jaye that I learned about 'family cloth' and unPaperTowels. I've read different articles and such on what exactly unPaperTowels are, but in all honesty, to me, they're just dish cloths. Don't get me wrong, I think they are WONDERFUL. As a matter of fact, I purchased some from Jaye's Eco-Friendly & Frugal Etsy Shop!

The photo at the top of this post is the unPaperTowels that I purchased from her Etsy Shop. I am going to use them in my kitchen as a dish towel. Wiping up spills, wiping down the counter, as a napkin during meals, etc. They will be put to good use, that's for sure. And, the best part of it is that I don't have to throw it away! I can just throw them in the laundry! Love it!

On another note, yesterday, I made some Chocolate Starfish and Sea Shells. I was 'practicing' for when I make my cake for the Receptions. I've made Chocolate Candies before, however I just purchased these particular molds a couple of weeks ago and I wanted to test them out.

I'm satisfied with the way they turned out, but I want to play around with the colors a little. I'm wanting to see the Starfish a little more 'natural' looking. For the most part, I think they all came out okay!

And.........FINALLY......... I've finished the Cruise Cabin Door Hangers!! Well, actually, I only completed ONE of them, but that's the 'model' one now. I purchased all of the supplies needed (ha ha, just ribbon) and will ensure that all 18 of them are completed by the end of the day today!

I like the ribbon way better than the door knob hole! I think I'll maybe add a littl 'flair' to them somehow, but not too sure. I don't want to overwhelm it you know?

Let's switch gears here one more time. I am starting (or re-starting I should say) my weight loss efforts. I am going to start today since it's the beginning of the week, and also because it's the beginning of a new month. (Just about, at least). With that being said, here's a list of my newfound goals for this adventure:

• Journal my starting weight


• Journal my measurements of my hips, stomach area and thighs and re-measure weekly
• Walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes a day
  
• Shred with Jillian every day
  
• Prepare and eat healthy meals

Wish me luck my bloggy friends! I do need to squeeze my tushie into my already purchased wedding dress! I know if I keep myself disiplined enough, I can achieve my goals! I've been inspired by a fellow DW Bride who got married last September ~ Sarah ~ and here's the post on her blog, It's the Bergmans!! that really made me aware of the fact that I CAN DO IT!!!

In fact, here's her before and after 3 the weeks picture:

Tell me this is not MOTIVATIONAL! After three weeks of waking up every morning doing the 30 day shred with Jillian Michaels made a HUGE difference.

With that being said.... off I go to have a field day with Ms. Jillian! Wish me luck!

Hope you all have an amazing Sunday!

ELEVEN...EIGHTY FOUR...EIGHTY SIX...

ELEVEN

Mondays left.

EIGHTY FOUR

Days until we sail.

EIGHTY SIX

Days until our vows.

Can you all start freaking out with me please?!? I haven't even ordered my bouquet yet. Nor have I ordered the gals' bouquet. Or the the guys' bouts. What is with me?!? I mean seriously shouldn't these have been done already? Especially since these have to be Silk Flowers? Aye Carrumba!!! I'll be working on that today for sure!! :)

Book Goal

Did you guys noticed that over the weekend, I finished book number 9. I'm very excited! I love to read and can lounge around all day if I could and just read, read, read!

A friend of mine, who is also a Destination Wedding Bride to Be told me about this website called PaperBack Swap. It's a web site where you can trade your books that you have at home. So, if you have books sitting at home collecting dust and you want to 'recycle' them, you can swap them for another book with other readers. You list your available books and other members will be able to see what's in your library. You'll have to mail it to that person who requests it, but in the same token, when you request a book, it'll be mailed to you at the shipper's expense. I just recently signed up, but haven't had the opportunity to actually 'swap' anything just yet. I'll definitely be taking advantage of that today though. It's something worth checking out!!!

Well, I just finished my 'Quiet Time', reflecting on today's Verse of the Day along with my morning Fruit Smoothie, so now it's time to let Jillian do what she wants with me. I know I'll be hurting later this afternoon, but remember.......... I only have 86 days left until I need to fit properly in this:

So, with that being said....let the Shredding begin!

Happy Monday!!!

The most Awesome Over-Night Road Trip Ever!!!

For an overnight trip, I had an amazing time! We drove over 700 miles on this little venture, and it was well worth it!! Of course, I wised we could have spent more than two days looking at all the amazing beaches, quaint shops and awesome sunsets/sunrises!

As we were coming into the San Luis Obispo area, the sun was getting ready to set. I was able to capture several beautiful photos of it while Brian was driving! I'll share a couple of them with you.





While in Pismo, we got to go to the downtown area and walk along the long pier that they have. It was very beautiful! It was between 7 and 8 p.m. and I was able to take a picture of one of the last surfers coming in for the night. I aksed if he minded if I took a picture of him and he obliged! (You know me, I have no shame!!) I was totally amazed that there were people still surfing at this time of the night! Not to mention, back home, it was in the 40's ~ and here it was in the low 70's. So flabbergasted!



Here's a picture of myself, Amanda and I that my cousin took of us on the pier. I absolutely loved the fact that here we were, all bundled up and the locals who were out and about were in shorts and short sleeved shirts! As mentioned above, there were even people just coming in from the ocean. Absolutely crazy!! The air was so fresh, the ocean so vast. It was truly an amazing experience!

There was this little cafe on the boardwalk there that is most famous for their award winning Clam Chowder. It's called the Splash Cafe. In fact, their Clam Chowder is sooooo amazingly good that the local Costco is several surrounding cities all the way up to Frenso, now carries their Clam Chowder in their frozen food department! WOW!! They even ship orders if you'd like!!! I have to share with you one of their shirts that they have for sale. Yes, Brian HAD TO have this shirt ~ so we bought it.

Interesting huh?!? Another interesting thing I found while browsing all the shops along the boardwalk was this delicasy:

This was just one of the many different flavors of Crickettes they had available!!!! You can find these and their famous Lollipops with worms in their at HotLix Candy Store.

Thursday morning as we were heading into Los Angeles, we caught the sun rising up over the ocean and that made for some awesome photos as well.



Can I just tell you guys that driving along the coast of California is such an awesome experience! I've lived in California for decades, and have gone to a beach here, a beach there, but to just drive down the Pacific Coast Highway and take in the vastness of the Pacific Ocean was truly breathtaking! Looking out over the ocean, it was never ending!



On our way back to the wonderful Central Valley of California, (he he he) we drove to Beverly Hills, down Wilshire Blvd.

And of course, I just had to drive down Rodeo Drive! :) Being there reminded me so much of the movie "Pretty Woman" ~ one of Brian and my favorites!



While our friends in the Central Valley was suffering through the cold wintery weather, I was very, very, surprised that the weather in down South was much warmer! Especially by the ocean, you would think it would be a little more on the chilly side. NOPE. Not on this day. It was 76 degrees! OMG!! 76! It was very comfortable weather!!!

Now, we're back at home where the weather is gloomy. As I write this post, it's 9 a.m. and 40 degrees. But wait...there's good news! It's going to warm up! The high for the day is going to be a big whopping 47 degrees. Now that's something to be grateful for huh?!? ::: total sarcasm intended :::

So, as I wind down from my whirlwind of a mini vacation, I have to get back in the reality of every day life. I have a wedding cake to prep for tomorrow. Not a very big order, (thank God) but a wedding cake nonetheless. Also, I have to resume my daily butt kicking from Ms. Jillian Michaels and her 30 Day Shred. So not looking forward to those at all!

Have a wonderful Friday and enjoy your weekend!!

Wedding Woes at 14 Weeks Out

Nothing like receiving daily updates reminding you that you have so many days before the big day. Take this morning for instance. I log on to my Email and there's an update from a Wedding Website that tells me that I have "107 days before the Wedding". I log on to that website itself and right there on the home page is a huge flashing banner that's staring me in the face telling me I have 107 days to get all my un-checked projects done. (Which, by the way, according to this website amounts to 372 items to do and 150 items over due ~ lucky me)

Um....okay....do ya need to rub it in my face that I'm sooooo behind?!?

I've had several people ask me what I'm going to do, personally, for our OOT Bags. (Out of Town Bags) Well, we're not doing OOT bags so to speak since everyone cruising with us are essentially Out of Towners. :) We're doing Welcome Bags. Here's a photo of the bags we've got (as of right now....but I may change my mind.....)

Sorry that the lighting in the photo is off, but I'm not a very good picture taker! :) In the bags, we're going to have an assortment of things. Here's a list of what we're putting in them (the stuff crossed off is the items we've already purchased):

Trial Sizes of:

• 
  
  Hand Sanitizer


• 
  
  Kleenex


• 
  
  Advil and/or Tylenol


• 
  
  Shout Wipes


• 
  
  Tums


• 
  
  Sunscreen


• 
  
  First Aid Kits


• 
  
  Extension Cord


• 
  
  Night light


• 
  
  Room Deoderizor


• 
  
  Sewing Kit


• 
  
  Playing Cards


• 
  
  Travel Mugs


• 
  
  Gum


• 
  
  Crystal Light Packetts


• 
  
  Snacks ~ Raisins, Crackers, Beef Jerky, Pretzels, Gum, etc.


• 
  
  Some sort of Survival / Hangover remedy Kit :)

Also inserted in the bags will be a Welcome Brochure, Photo Share Card, Wedding Day Timeline and maybe a "Who's Who" type of brochure...not sure about that yet.

My Photo Share Card and Wedding Day Timeline Card was created for me by an awesome DW Bride and I absolutely love the way it turned out! Amazing! Let me share them with you!!! Please note, the colors in the photo below are really off! The greenish/blueish color is actually more of a Caribbean / Tiffany Blue, and the other is more of a Fushia color.

Of course, these pictures do not do the real thing justice at all! I love, love, love the way these turned out and am excited to be using these come April, May and June! :)

I will be making tags for the Welcome bags, and I think I'm just going to use our Monogram for the tags. Nothing fancy or anything, but just something cute and simple.

So today, after my butt kicking session with Jillian Michaels, I will be devoting the remainder of my day to doing nothing but Wedding Related tasks. Heck, I even think I need to make a run to Starbucks ~ because you know a little Caramel Frappicinno ALWAYS helps you think better. :)

Enjoy your Monday everyone!!!