Philadelphia Bridal Expo

Yesterday I spent most of the afternoon with my Bride-to-Be older sister, my dear mom, and my sister's official first bridesmaid at the Philadelphia Bridal Expo!! It was so much fun and there were quite a bit of vendors there showing off their products and such. For example, check out the group of 3 photos to the right. The Bride-to-Be (BTB) reallllllly wants a photobooth for her wedding and I have to say, they are so much fun. The BTB (in the pink and black masquerade mask), Bridesmaid (middle), and little ole Maid of Honor me (on the right) couldn't help but take advantage of a photo op. Love how it came out! So cute!

I have to say though, we were all a tad disappointed in the Bridal Fashion Show they had planned. The venue had a stage and would have been perfect for the modeling of the bridal gowns but instead they had the brides walk through the crowd (which not everyone could see). The BTB was disappointed and asked "Where are the lights?! Where is the music?!" I have to agree.

 

In case anyone is still unaware, my older sister is engaged and will be getting married in 2015 (as blogged about so far here, here, and here). Well, I have been asked to be her "MOH"...Maid of Honor!! I'm so excited =) I had been campaigning pretty hard (just kidding) and she finally asked me when I was home over Labor Day weekend! Wahoo! She always does things in style so she had created a little package (the wrapping is the black and white sheet behind the blue glitter photo book) to ask me. The card asked me to be her Maid of Honor and then the other things were little goodies: a tiny bottle of champagne (which we'll pop next time she's over), a photo book filled with some preliminary wedding info, a beautiful book on Paris that she bought the day they got engaged in New York, and a nail polish (how perfect?!) in a shade she's considering for her bridesmaids gowns. Naturally, a manicure was in store!

Also, because you can't really see the polish in the picture (it looks a lot more blue than gray in the photo) here is a closer look:

See? Much less blue.

Color Run Philly 5k

Today's post celebrates a little something my sister and I did today....we did in the Color Run Philadelphia!! My sister recently hopped on the fitness train and I couldn't be more proud of her progress and how far she's come. We completed 3.1 miles (ok we didn't run the whole thing) in our first 5k. It was so much fun and I am seriously covered in paint right now! It truly is "the happiest 5k on the planet," seriously!!

Next up, a 10k Tough Mudder Race! ...or a nap.

Quick Update

Sorry to have been MIA for a while. As usual I have no excuse other than I'm lazy. But I have some exciting news: (1) spring 2013 grades came out and I did A-okay! so I'm still able to continue on with law school (YAY!). But that's not all! (2) my internship is going well...I got a judge to grant one of my motions!! My first real-world motion accepted and granted by a real-world judge! But that's not all! (3) Boyfriend graduated this past Saturday from his college/grad school. I include both because he was in one of those fancy schmancy programs that give you your bachelors degree AND your masters degree in less time. It usually would take 6ish years to get to a masters level but for boyfriend it only took 5 (and that was with co-op employment placements for experience and summers). Yeah, the boy works hard. And he's so darn intelligent!! (He graduated with a cumulative GPA of 4.0) I know. Who does that?! He's showing off and making us all look bad. I always knew he was smart but geeeeez, academic perfection. And he's so nonchalant about it. He just shrugs his shoulders and dodges it. Personally, I think on the inside he's jumping up and down like a  5 year old on Christmas morning. I know I would be.  

Happy Father's Day!

We're spending Father's Day on the lake. We don't use the canoes often but today we will!

Work it Girl

Celebrating My Sister's Engagement

Yesterday night the families got together to officially celebrate my sister's engagement. It was at this beautiful manor restaurant and the food was mmmmm so good! It was nice to see his side of the family and catch up with them. I hadn't seen them in a while. 

I was in charge of the favors so my mom and I devised a plan for diamond decorated cupcakes. The cupcakes were vanilla with pink buttercream icing accented with a diamond decoration on top and served in a peek-a-boo box (so you could see the diamond) with a seal and message. 

They were a big hit and everyone loved the idea. I do believe I heard whispering of my soon-to-be brother in law's mom using the idea for another occasion in fact! What can I say, my family lives to inspire. 

Also, since it was on my Aunt's birthday I wanted to incorporate something to celebrate that too so I used some pink striped cupcake liners I had from a present she had given me a year or so ago. They went perfectly with the pink of the icing!

My favorite part was the peek a boo box. 

Maybe I'll open my own bakery some day! LOL

Do you like to bake?

Have you hosted an engagement party?

REQUESTED BY CAITLYN: TUXEDO NAILS

 Aw, my nails are dressed to the nines today! This manicure is pulling double duty today as the second installment in my Requested by Caitlyn series AND to further celebrate my sister's engagement.

To make these fancy fingers yours, it's super simple: paint your nails white (I used Zoya Snow White) and then use black (Orly Liquid Vinyl) for the rest of the design.

Here Comes the Bride! My Sister is Engaged!

My sister is engaged!!

Made Dean's List!!

God Bless my Mom! She is so sweet and so giving. I made Dean’s List at law school for this past semester and there is a reception on Wednesday. I came home today to a package in my box!! The card is so adorable and my mom had added “Every great lawyer needs a great pair of pearls!" I couldn’t even believe it! I looooove them! They’re absolutely gorgeous and will look perfect! I know she doesn’t read this but…thank you Mom!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Five (I think it was five years ago...) years ago on Valentine's Day I was heading with my five best college friends to all make Build-A-Bear stuffed animals and trade them with each other. We were all single and...as such...didn't have any strapping young lads to spoil us with candy, chocolates, stuffed animals, or flowers. I'm pretty sure my mom was the only one who sent me anything for Valentine's Day that year (how sad! Loved it though Mom!) Now, for the FOURTH Valentine's Day in a row, *warning this is where I get all mushy* I have the most incredible, handsome, loving, and caring sweetheart in the world to spoil me on Valentine's Day! I love him so much and I hope he has a wonderful day today, even when we can't be together. I can't wait until this weekend when I get to see him! I feel so lucky to have him as my Valentine again this year =D Thank you for always being by my side, having my back, and just generally being there for me. He is the best boyfriend EVER. And I mean that. <3

Fun fact about my relationship: We have never celebrated Valentine's Day on February 14th in person. I decided it will be our tradition to celebrate Valentine's Day either late/early...whatever works with our schedules. Ah, the life of two students.

Grades and Out and Summer Internships

Always something exciting going on over here! My grades came in from this past semester at law school and...I kicked butt if I do say so myself!! I'm very very pleased and it was such a relief to start my second semester already knowing my GPA wasn't going to be a worry. I am fifth in the class!

Anyway, after the results came in I decided to take a chance and I sent a bunch of cover letters and resumes to a few local law firms looking for a summer internship. Someone in Heaven is watching out for me and I got contacted by not one but TWO law firms to come in and interview!! Luckily, a huge part of my Christmas swag this year was professional attire so I knew just what to wear.

In law you pretty much live in suits I imagine so for an interview there's really no other option but a suit. I go with standard black because I think it's the most formal and conservative. 

Anyway, the suit must have brought me luck. Officially, I have been offered both internship opportunities...so now I have to decide! Yay!!

Of course, even MORE important than the clothes...the nails, lol. Because lawyers are conservative (boringgg) I took off my colorful manicure and replaced it with a simple French Manicure for the interviews. They came out clean and I'm still rocking them.

I've got a summer internship! WAHOO!

Post-Travel Gifts

My sister and her boyfriend went on vacation with his family to Hawaii this past week. I'm a little jealous because I love to chillax on a beach as much as the next person but I never get to go on vacation because I'm either broke or in school. Bummerrrr. Anyway, I love when she travels because she always spoils me with little goodies when she gets back. For her Hawaii trip she brought me some yummy chocolate macadamia cookies, chocolate coated macadamias, a hula girl pen, a sea glass bracelet, and hula girl post-its. Love it all!

Might be a Little Fancy for Running But....

This hairstyle is one of my "go to" favorites because it's sooo easy to do and takes literally five seconds (or however long it takes you to french braid your hair). If you're ever running late or short on time just give this a try. All you need is a tiny hair elastic (easier than a regular hair band) to hide when you flip the braid in) and a spin pin or two.

All you have to do is french braid your hair (secure it with the elastic) and then flip it (and secure with a spin pin or two to keep the hair turned under). See? It's that easy! I can do it without even looking in a mirror.