Wedding: Ikea buys

I mentioned in yesterdays post that we made a trip to Ikea. We’d been planning to go for weeks to pick up a few items for our wedding, and finally made the time two Saturdays before the wedding day.

The flowers that I have picked for my bouquet and the buttonholes are gerberas, or as I like to call them, gerbils, and I knew from previous purchases that IKEA sold artificial ones for less that 50p each, with bendy stems.  So a trip to Ikea was an obvious choice.

We also picked up a few jars and vases for the flowers to be arranged in, along with a few candles to scatter around to create the perfect atmosphere on the day.

In Ikea I did think, ‘what am I going to do with all these flowers once the wedding is over?’ I knew I wanted to keep a few as I already have one set in the living room and a few more scattered around the house would look great, but I had just bought over 40. The as I was taking all the tags off each individual flower (which took forever) I placed them all in one plant pot to keep organized… and I loved it.

So there we have it, all of the flowers for our wedding day and a lovely center piece for our coffee table once the wedding day is over. Dual purpose items rule.

 I love Ikea, and I'm so glad that all my ideas are finally coming together. 

Speak Soon, 

Katie

x

My Online Shopping List

For the past few weeks or so I've been meaning to pick up a few of my essentials. Every time I even go anywhere near Boots my mind goes absolutely blank and I cannot remember anything I need to buy, instead my brain is filled with a 'want cloud'. I always leave empty handed or with pretty things but lack the essential items I need to use along side them. So I came up with my online shopping list. 

My theory was that if I take the time to gather all the items I need, take a picture of them, edit the said picture, then post about them in their own blog post, then surely this would trigger my memory in a much greater way than trying to remember them all by myself. So here goes...

My Online Shopping List

These are all the products I have repurchased over and over again. My essentials.

Garnier Pure Toner, Garnier Fresh Essentials eye makeup remover, Boots Cotton Double Faced Oval Pads, BaBylliss Kirby grips.

♥ I have had a soft spot for Garnier facial products for many years now. This Garnier Fresh Essentials eye make-up remover was probably the first eye make-up remover I ever bought. And no matter which new product I'm recommended, without fail I always return to this one. It's also amazing for when I'm suffering with my allergies, and my eyes are the main culprit. To apply cotton pads soaked in this is the most soothing and refreshing treat for my eyes I could ever wish for. 

♥ This Garnier Pure Toner is also a new favourite. It''s only the second bottle I've ever bought, but believe me it's the best. It really does help with my spots, and best of all it doesn't break me out. It's probably not for everyone, but for me my face only ever feels really clean if it's slightly tight. I guess that's what you want when you live with oily skin. 

♥ These Boots Cotton Ovals are my absolute favourite. I must buy at least 3 packs at a time and usually they are on some sort of offer. I love that they do (or don't as the case my be) what they say on the tin - they really don't shead. 

♥ Babylliss Kirby Grips are my all time favourite. I always struggle when it comes to these. I go through so many as I seem to sprain them all the time. But these are very strong, sturdy, and stay in you hair. Pretty much exactly what you want from a hair grip. They also come in a handy container.

Aussie Miracle Hair Insurance Leave-in-Conditioner, Batiste Dry Shampoo in Blush

♥ I use this leave in conditioner by Aussie every time I get out of the shower. I love it. It makes brushing long hair an absolute doddle, and smells divine. 

♥ And Finally Batiste Dry Shampoo. This product needs no introduction. So many people rave about this product, and I am amongst them. Blush is by far my favourite scent though. 

Fingers crossed this little trick works. 

What are your essential items? I'd love to know! 

Speak Soon, 

Katie

x

Homemade: Wedding Invitations

As I sit/lay here making good friends with my hot water bottle, I thought that I'd post my wedding invites. I still have more to make, which have all been baked and just need sanding and painting.

I've been pretty determined to make our wedding 'us.' At first when we started planning, the details I chose were the standard items, which were not necessarily me, but more of the norm. 


For example, the first invites I made were pretty traditional. They were nice, but I became frustrated with them because I didn't actually like them. It them took me a good few months to come up with the idea of using salt dough. It was like a light bulb moment, and from that point there was no going back. They are relatively easy to make, just be warned that they can be rather temperamental, and can rise unexpectedly. The way I found to help with this was to turn the heat down and bake for longer. And to mask the awful baking smell... I used a Yankee Candle which worked a treat.


Heres how to make them. Of course you don't have to make wedding invites, they can make supper pretty decorations. I have made them in a few sizes for wedding decorations, so be creative, and you never know what you might come up with.

Salt Dough

2 cups plain flour

1 cup of salt

1 cup of water

2 tablespoons of oil

This was the first time I had worked with cups for measurements rather than weight, and it turned out to be so easy. I bought simple red ones from Asda a while back, so it was also nice to finally put them to use. I'm still on the look out for some heart shaped ones though. 

Step one - Preheat oven to roughly 120°C then mix all the ingredients together. 

Start by mixing the salt and plain flour. Once mixed add the oil, then gradually add the water until you have a clay like consistency. Don't be afraid you get your hands dirty... it's actually more fun that way.

Step two - Next you want to roll out your dough. If you don't have a rolling pin, a wine bottle or a hairspray can works just as well. Just use your imagination. You want to make your hearts roughly 5mm thick, though trial and error, these worked out to be the best size. (always make sure to add flour to the counter to prevent the dough from sticking - this can turn into a nightmare without it)

Step three - Cut out your hearts. 

Step four - Place your hearts onto a floured baking tray ready to bake. Don't forget to make your holes before baking, so you can hang them later. You then want to bake them for at least an hour, or until these dough is hard with no soft spots. Mine took two hours in the oven each time. 

Step five - Once ready take them out of the oven and let them cool.

Step six - Sand all the edges, and top if necessary depending on how you want your hearts to look.

Preferably outside in the sun while listening to you favourite music

The top part of one of my batches did rise, so to save them I cut off all the bubbled parts, and sanded away to create a smooth finish. Now they just look like it was my desired effect. 

Now you are ready to paint.

Step seven - Paint and add text.

I chose white, but this may change as I've noticed that the paint has started to crack slightly (I'm a perfectionist when it comes to things like this.) I did make a batch for other decorations which I painted gold, and these have turned out perfectly. 

Step eight - Add a coat of varnish to keep your work looking amazing and fresh for years to come. 

Ignore the messy table - I like to keep things natural

Mine look slightly blurred in parts, but that's only where I've edited out our wedding reception venue. This is because ours is being held at my parents house, so it's not really fare to share their address with the world. 

Finally add a ribbon or some string to hang your decoration... and you're done. 

I also chose to add each guests name on the back of each invitation, and I will also add a little poem to each heart tied with a bow for that personal effect.

I can't wait to show you my other salt dough creations, so watch out for those.

Hope you enjoyed this post.

Speak Soon,

Katie 

x

Our budget plan.. budget for the future

As mentioned previously my partner and I are getting married in May. 10 weeks from now. 

Am I nervous? 

Yes, undoubtably. 

Not to spend the rest of my life with Michael, for nothing in this world fills me with greater joy than to know that each day that lies ahead we will spend together as a married couple, but for the actual day itself. 

Though even the thought of this is nothing more than I can handle. 

I like to be the centre of attention at least to some extent, I think every one of us does to some point and I don't see a point in denying it, but to walk down the aisle with all eyes on me just fills me with dread. 

Once the actual ceremony is over nothing worries me at all, I'll be free to enjoy the rest of the day. 

Mainly the things that scare me is the time before the ceremony and during. 

The times alone, away from Michael, my rock, and the times where all eyes are on us. 

Though thinking more clearly whilst typing this, the ceremony itself seems slightly less daunting at I will stood with Mike, and from previous experience I know that we could be in a room full of people, but somehow manage to block everything out effortlessly until it's just him and myself. 

Even the invites are coming together, at this rate our guest may get their invites after the wedding.lol.

Here's a little preview.

Up until this point another factor that terrified me was money. The cost of the wedding. And even with a wedding on such a small scale as ours, it's still more money than I've ever spent on any one thing. I can easily understand how people can get in such vast amounts of debt to have their dream day. Ours won't be so lavish as to pour us into such huge amounts of debt, but there will be some which we will have to work through after the wedding. 

Unlike many couples we didn't have much time to save up for our wedding day as unforeseen circumstances  meant that we needed to push our wedding day forward for reason I cannot yet go into, but will soon. They are more exciting reason, than bad. In total from the date of proposal we will have had less than one year to plan and save, and lets just say we aren't the best savers. Last minute springs to mind. I've also never been one to save for my wedding since being a child, as it's just not me. I don't want to 'count my chickens before they are laid.' So neither of us started to save for our wedding until we got engaged. 

Last night forced me to look at our finances and see how we were going to finish paying for the rest of our wedding. I'm proud with what I did, and overall feel a lot more confident, money wise when it comes to our big day. At first I was unsure whether to post pictures of our new budget plan, as it shows the rough amounts we get paid each month, and we are far from loaded. But then I though, I'm not ashamed of what we earn. Yes it would be nice to earn more, but we get by. We have nice things, we can afford food, to pay the bills, and we're happy, so what does it matter if we don't earn as much as someone reading this? 

So our budget is tight, but it's definitely manageable. I know for a fact if we left our selves short we would not do it, which would be the worst thing for us to do. From these plans it means we should be able to save roughly £500 from now up until the end of March / mid April. It's a special month, and if it wasn't due to four weekly pay we wouldn't be able to save that much, but this means the final purchases for our wedding should be paid for. Rings being an important one. 

And yes, I need everything has to be colour coded. I can't cope if not. We're also going to put this budget plan on our fire place. Not to burn it, but to put it in the most inconvenient place so we actually use it! 

I have still entered many competition to win things for our wedding, but it mean if I don't win all will not be lost. 

Currently I've entered one to win our rings, and the runners up could win money off their rings. 

I also sent an email off for glamour magazines free cash, where you could be the lucky winner of £500 to buy anything, you just have to tell them in 50 words or less why you deserve it. I personally don't, but I would love to buy my husband-to-be a wedding present (I can't say what yet as he might read this.) I've not had a reply so I pretty doubtful. 

I also enter a few to win our honeymoon. Haha. If I win, bonus, if not it's not the end of the world. 

Overall it's going to be a tough couple of months, but very worth while. I also need to do a car boot, so hopefully that will raise a bit of money, and clear out at lot of things we don't use.