We are featured on Weddingmix!

I'm featured on Weddingmix Media sharing our wedding highlight with you!
 Go check it out! (As well as the video)

Rehearsal + Rehearsal Dinner

Every wedding calls for a wedding rehearsal.  You know, it's like the walk through before the big production! We chose to have our rehearsal the day before, that way it would be fresh in our minds and we were already booked to stay at our hotel that evening.  I started off the morning laying out by the pool.  I mean why not, the weather was fabulous!

 Then got ready for the evening.  My beautiful friend Jewel did my hair.

The wedding rehearsal has begun!  

Best Man & MOH

Walking with daddy..

"This rehearsal is like a kindergarten fire drill"..... and that it was.

 

Officiate: Don Johnson

It was not easy getting everyone to pay attention and do what was asked.  (Mostly the guys).  It seriously felt like a kindergarten firedrill with little kids running all over the place.  Luckily it only took about 45 minutes to go over everything twice so everyone could remember where to go, what to do, and so on.

We chose to have our rehearsal dinner at Yard House (which was perfect because it was walking distance across the street from our venue.)  I custom designed menus and chose certain food options for our guests to choose from. 

My mother in-law bought custom cake pops for everyone with our wedding colors (Tiffany Blue & Coral) and one Bride and Groom one too! They were a hit and so adorable!

Bestie  MOH

After din din with my blondies

We came back to our room after dinner and of course had a photo shoot on one of our balconies.  The skies looked gorgeous how could we not?  Then my wonderful maid of honor pressed all of the girls dresses and robes that I gifted them so they would be pressed and perfect for my wedding day.  I went to bed early so I would be well rested and ready to take on the day!

 

Wedding Banner Giveaway

I cannot believe that in 4 days I will become a Mrs!! Since I am away from the blog for a short while while I do all the fun wedding festivities and while I am away on my honeymoon, I thought it would be nice to host a giveaway! And today is your lucky day, because Lauren @ The Family Tree - Hydebanners has offered to giveaway  an amazingly cute burlap Mr. and Mrs. Banner which you can customize it with your color of choice to one lucky bride!  The Family Tree creates burlap banners which are a hit for special events like bridal showers, weddings, birthdays, photo sessions, and any other decor you can come up with!

Check out a few of her banners she's created for weddings, holidays, and household banners: 

 

 Her banners would make a great engagement gift for the newly engaged couple!

They would also make great gifts for bridal showers too!

I personally love the Mr. and Mrs. Banner which you can use twice! Once at your bridal shower and you can have it displayed at your wedding too!  

It's like having two banners for the price of one! I love reusing items, because you 

get more bang for your buck!

Plus look at how cute this Mini card banner is: 

And, wouldn't this burlap Bride sash make a cute gift for the Bride 

To Be to wear on her Bachelorette?

Lauren also creates gorgeous window and wall art too, so make sure to check out her facebook page!  Now for the fun part, the giveaway!

This Mr. & Mrs. Banner is what Lauren is Giving Away:
With the color of your choice!

Good luck!
This giveaway will run until July 29th, so make sure to tell all your friends to enter!
& While I am absent becoming a Mrs., you can  follow along on my instagram.

  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Memorial Weekend Recap

Hey everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Weekend! I am co-hosting with the wonderful Bella from Dateless in Dallas today for our weekly Weekend Recap linkup!
 Be as creative as you wish, we would love you to spread the word 
about our linkup to your followers!

I am still currently out of town, so I will update my weekend when I arrive home!

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<a href="http://www.showeredwithdesign.blogspot.com" title="Showered With Design"><img src="http://i1317.photobucket.com/albums/t640/lisanmcdermott/weekendrecap_zps495d0cdc.png" alt="Showered With Design" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

ModCloth Dress

Many of you asked where I got my dress for my bridal shower and I was so bummed when they sold out of them so quickly. But you are in luck, the dress is now back in stock! I ordered my dress from Modcloth, which is a super cute online fashion website and everything is very reasonably priced.  I love shopping Modcloth online because it's convenient and they have so many unique items that I could have never found in stores.

I had always wanted to purchase something from Modcloth, but never had a good reason until my bridal shower.  I originally was looking for a white, lacey dress.  Then, I came across this Lovely as a Lychee dress from Modcloth and immediately fell in love.  I wasn't sure whether or not to try it out, because I am really hesitant with online shopping.  Some things look better in pictures than they do when you try it on.  I am so glad I decided to take a leap and buy the dress, because I checked back a week later, and all sizes were sold out!

When I received the dress, I immediately tried it on (who wouldn't?)  I fell in love instantly and was so excited to wear it at my bridal shower! It fit so perfectly!  I knew I wanted to buy a mint/tiffany blue necklace to go with it, and of course I found a rad deal on jane.com. (Who I am also affiliated with) If you do end up purchasing from jane or groopdealz, they do sell out fast! So check back often for new items as they add new ones every day!

Also, if you use my links, I am an affiliate of all three online shops and get a percentage from them! 
If you do, message me and I will send you something via mail as a thank you :)
(And if you are an affiliate anywhere let me know, I purchase things online all the time and would love to help a sista out!)
 

 

I am not being compensated for this post.  All honest opinions are my own.  

I am an affiliate for Modcloth, and if you purchase any items by clicking my links, 

I do get compensated a percentage of the sale.

Bachelorette Party Style Guide

It is officially "Bachelorette Party" season as the Las Vegas pools have officially opened for summertime!  However, I am not going to Vegas for my bachelorette party. (Mostly because I frequent Vegas 2-3 times a year. For my bachelorette party, we are heading to a 3 day Ensenada cruise!  We leave this weekend, so I have been running around packing and getting final details for my bachelorette weekend!

Here are some styling tips and tricks that you may find helpful when you pack for your next vacation or bachelorette weekend! 
 

All vacations vary on what you need to pack, but since we are heading to Mexico, we need to pack for warm, beach weather. 
I have been checking the weather over 60 times a week to make sure we bring all the essentials to have a fun, safe trip.  The weather looks like it's gong to be about 75 degrees.  Not too hot, not to cold, but perfect for relaxing.  Let's hope it stays this way! We do need to keep in mind that it may be breezy in the evening so we will be packing some light sweaters to cover our shoulders when we get chilly. (Before we get some cocktails to warm us up!)

Swim suits are a necessity for any cruise.  No matter what the weather.  So we will also be packing some coverups to go along with our suits!  Sandals are a no-brainer as well! Easy to slip on or off when you are poolside. (and walking around- you never know what has touched that ground.)

When we transition to the evening, we will need to wear cocktail attire for dinner and to the club, shows, and entertainment!  Of course I am packing a white dress so I will stand out amongst my hot girlfriends for my bachelorette.  The girls are coordinating each evening for something fun! 

Of course, every Bachelorette needs her party gear.  We will be sporting some of the following:
-sashes
-bridal party pins
-penis straws
-tiaras
-veils
-blow up man dolls
-boas
You get the point?

The best part?  You can find all of these goodies via Bachelorette.com.  That's right!
It's the BEST bachelorette party store site and won't break the bank! If you use my link by 5/1/14, you will be entered to win a Starbucks gift card (for my readers only).  Not a bad deal if I do say so myself.  
PLUS If you spend over $50, you will get a free gift courtesy of Bachelorette.com.
 

This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. For questions about this blog, please contact me here. This blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation.  The compensation received will never influence the content, topics or posts made in this blog. All advertising is in the form of advertisements generated by a third party ad network or Affiliate Links. Those advertisements will not always be identified as paid advertisements.  The owner(s) of this blog is compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though the owner(s) of this blog receives compensation for our posts or advertisements, we always give our honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the bloggers' own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.  This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest. 

Fun With Customization!

Are you out of ideas for a great, unique, inexpensive personalized gift this year?  You can get your friends, family or colleagues this unique custom stamper kit from Wishing Tree Designs -- my absolute favorite sites for invitations and stationary.  Or get one for yourself!  You can get one for Holidays, such as Christmas-- Have it personalized with a cute Christmas Tree or a cute Owl.   IF you buy now, they are having a 50% off sale on all stamps, so you can get yours for only $19.98! Use code "AFFBESTSTAMP" at checkout!  It's such a cute way to address your letters or send off your invitations!  I love it! You not only need it for addresses, but you can use the stampers for Thank You cards, book stampers, Recipe cards, and monograms!
They have so many options to choose from!  Check out some of my favorites:

 I love the Holiday ones! And the cute Kitchen stamper!  What are your favorites?

Operation Gardening : The Ladybug Experiment

I have been growing my own vegetables for the past 4 months, and let me tell you-- it is such an excitement when your own vegetables spring up!  But when all of a sudden your precious plants become infested with aphids.. all hell breaks loose!  I didn't want to buy pesticides because I am trying to stay as organic as I can, since I will be consuming the vegetables myself.  I did my research and came to find out that ladybugs were a great way to get rid of those plant eating devils!  I purchased my own lady bugs and boy was that a thrill!  Here are some photos of my experiment:

Crawling around the pot

 

The result: No more plant eating aphids! It worked!

However, yes those pretty little ladies will soon fly off and venture into another garden, so you will need a backup plan:

Another method you can do if ladybugs aren't your forte, is 1/2 cup distilled vinegar with 1/2 cup water, mix it and put it in a spray bottle container. This will kill the aphids and larvae on contact.  Be careful- Some plants may react horribly with vinegar.

Hope that helps, friends!

P.S. While watching over my ladybug friends, I caught a bee on my basil flowers and had to snap a shot:


 
& here's a few of my garden plants, they are growing so fast!
I get so excited when I get to harvest more veggies!

Tomatoes

Cucumber

Basil

Jalapeno

Serrano Pepper

Lemon Tree

Bell Pepper

Little baby basil leaves

Do you have a garden? What is your favorite vegetable or fruit to grow?

xo- Lisa