DIY Wednesday: Valentine's Day Nails by Asheville, NC Wedding & Portrait Photographer

Tomorrow is one of my favorite days of the year, Valentine's Day!! Now maybe it's just me, but on Valentine's Day (or really any holiday) I love to dress up, plan out my outfit days in advance, wear a special new lipstick, or style my hair a different way, basically anything to celebrate the day and make it a momentous occasion! I love having my nails done, but sometimes when I want to save some money I do an at-home-manicure. I am a girly girl and this year I am wearing a VERY feminine, sweet-as-pie dress from Modcloth and I thought a girly manicure with heart accents would be the perfect compliment to my outfit! I picked up some new sparkly pink glitter nail polish from Ulta and then the rest of the nail polishes I used were ones I had lying around at home. Check out the steps on how to recreate my DIY Valentine's Day manicure below!

Step 1.) Assemble all your supplies. 

Step 2.) Start with clean, clipped nails.

Step 3.) Paint your thumbnail and your ring fingernail with a nude color and let dry.

Step 4.) Paint your pinky nail and pointer fingernail with a gold color, and paint your middle fingernail with a cherry red color and let dry.

Step 5.) Paint pink glitter polish over two nails that you painted nude polish on and let dry.

Step 6: Let nails dry thoroughly and then paint any additional designs you may want on your nails! I chose to paint a silver heart on my nails, but a bow or polka dots would be cute as well!

Step 7.) Admire your beautiful nails!!

Hope you all have a Happy Valentine's Day with the ones you love!! xoxo!

 

DIY Wednesday: Eye Makeup Remover by Asheville, NC Portrait Photographer

Today I am excited to share my 2nd DIY Wednesday Post on how to make your own eye makeup remover.  :) I believe in giving credit where credit is due, so it is only right that I credit this wonderful blog kristanlynn with the recipe for this wonderful eye makeup remover.  I am always looking for ways to save money and live more simply, so I was delighted when I started discovering all of these wonderful DIY beauty recipes on pinterest. If you are a girl you know just how expensive makeup and beauty products can be, I don't remember a time that I ever paid less than $5.00 for makeup remover at the store.  If I did my math correctly (math has never been my forte lol), then you can make this eye makeup for less than $2.50 a jar!!!  The recipe for this eye makeup remover is quite simple and one of the great things about making your own beauty products is that you will know exactly what you are putting on your face when you go to use them.

You Will Need
1 1/2 tablespoon of baby shampoo or body wash (I bought mine from ALDI)
1/8 teaspoon of olive oil or coconut oil (I chose to use olive oil because I already had it at home)
1 cup of water
measuring spoons and cup
mixing bowl
spoon
bottle or jar to put finished product in

Step 1: Assemble all your supplies.

Step 2: In your mixing bowl measure out one cup of water and add it into the bowl.

Step 3: Measure out 1 1/2 tablespoon of baby shampoo/bodywash and pour into mixing bowl.

Step 4: Measure of 1/8 teaspoon of olive oil (or coconut oil) and add into mixing bowl.  Stir together all the ingredients.

  Step 5: Pour the mixture in your mixing bowl into a glass jar or container to store.  I used a mason jar I had lying around my kitchen and an empty pesto jar (if you are going to use a jar that had food in it previously, I recommend soaking it, so that it won't have a strange smell).

Last but not least, try it out and enjoy! ;)

Meal Planning on a Budget in 3 Easy Steps by Asheville, NC Portrait Photographer

When Stephen and I first got married I knew the basics of cooking such as how to boil water, make spaghetti noodles, and a few other easy things, but I didn't yet feel confident enough in the kitchen to cook dinner for him several times a week.  After nearly 3 years of marriage I have figured out some tips that make it easier for me to plan out the dinners I will make throughout the week, as well as ways that I  can stick to a weekly budget for my grocery shopping.  Here is how I plan my weekly meals: 

1.) First I decide what I want my budget for the week to be.  As someone that is self employed and is a young married I don't have a huge grocery shopping budget, but something that has helped me with sticking to my budget is planning my meals ahead of time, trying to utilize some of the same ingredients in each of the recipes I'm going to make that week, and shopping at a grocery store that is priced reasonably.  One of the grocery stores I shop at in my area is a German owned grocery chain called ALDI. Aldi isn't a fancy grocery store and they don't have many name brands typically, but they have very reasonable prices and they are a great place to shop at if you are trying to stick to a budget. Two things to remember with ALDI is to bring a quarter for your grocery cart and bring your own bags. My grocery budget for the week is usually between $60.00-$80.00.

2.) On Monday morning or sometimes in the afternoon I sit down at my computer and get out a notepad.  I go to my recipes to try board on pinterest and start browsing through and trying to decide 

what recipes to make for dinner that week. I like to stick with recipes that don't require more than 

8-10 ingredients and that don't take longer than 45 mins. to make or prep. Stephen isn't very picky, but he does like Mexican food and he usually likes to have some sort of meat for dinner, so I try to 

remember these things when planning out our meals. During a typical week I try to make dinner 2-3 

times and on Monday nights I always make something simple (like a frozen pizza) because that is the 

night I do all my grocery shopping for the week.

3.) The last thing I do is grocery shopping! I am one of those nerdy people that actually enjoys grocery shopping, I am an avid list maker and I just love crossing things off my list.  Before I go to the store I make a list of everything I will need for the week! Then I try to make sure that I have had a snack or eaten recently before taking my trip to the store.  I have found that going to the store on a totally empty stomach is a HUGE budget buster because when I am hungry I just want to buy everything I see haha. I make my weekly shopping trip and then come home and put all the groceries away! :) 

It is such a relief on Monday nights when I know that I have done my shopping for the week and have planned out several yummy meals to make for my hubby and ALL while on a budget we can afford. I am still no Rachael Ray in the kitchen, but through meal planning I manage to make sure my hubby  

doesn't starve (HA) and I actually have fun learning how to cook!

Jessica and Josh's Country Wedding by Asheville, NC Portrait Photographer

I am so happy to share Jessica and Josh's North Carolina Country Wedding today on the blog! Jessica and I grew up with each other, we used to tear around her Asheville neighborhood in a go-cart and run around like tomboys climbing trees and playing in the mud.  We have both grown up a considerable amount since those days and it truly has been a pleasure seeing the amazing woman she has become.  Jessica and Josh chose to go with a Country theme for their wedding due to their love of horseback riding and being outside having a good time.  They incorporated that theme in their wedding through the use of mason jars, burlap tablecloths, vintage lace, cowgirl boots, and sunflowers (Jessica's favorite flower).  Their wedding was held at The Rock Church in Candler, NC and it was so amazing to see all their friends and family come out and celebrate the marriage of such an amazing couple.  Congrats Jessica and Josh!