thank you 2010.

This year was definetely one to remember.

 

I got to go to New York City and had the most amazing weekend with a few of my bridesmaids in my favorite city.Then the most unimaginable thing happened one month before the wedding, Nicholas's lung collapsed. On a positive note- it brought us to a level of closeness most couples never experience in a relationship- we helped eachother pull through and keep optimistic (with the help of the best friends ever as well).Then the wedding. The rain stopped just in time for me to walk down the aisle. Every moment was perfection and I attirbute half of it to my planning skills and the other half to my wondeful mom, sister and family members who knew how to make my dream wedding a reality.

A dreamy honeymoon in Dominican Republic.

 

Then BACK to reality. But I love my reality.

Even though I don't have any elaborate wedding plans of my own to look foward to in 2011- I get almost just as excited thinking about my best friends who are brides-to-be this year. As for my loves who are no where near marriage- don't let yourself think there's some deadline. Live it up ladies. Don't rush into a relationship because you think your clock is ticking.  You can still have kids in your late 30's. 

You'll be wiser and ready (I'm speaking to myself here too).

 

I am determined in life to make each year better than the previous. 2011- you better bring it.

 

Happy new year my little blog readers. I love you all!

glamorus gloss.

oh no.
i have found a new obsession. 
i have already purchased 4 tubes of the stuff!

Revlon Super Lustrous Lip Gloss with SPF 15.

 

Love the scent, love the moisturizing, love the COLORS! 

 

I initially purchased Lilac Pastelle thinking I may wear it for my Gaga costume- not dramatic enough! But wonderful for everyday wear. It's not too outrageous at all. It's fun and young looking.

 Next I purchased Coral Reef because I'm in love with all things coral. This is such a great color and even when you feel like you don't have any left on your lips- the color is still there! Great for brightening your skin tone without looking like you are wearing much.

 My favorite may be Nude Lustre. It is simply the most perfect nude lip ever. I highly recommend to my fellow nude lip lovers (Alicia and Leslee).

 Finally, Firecracker, because I can't get enough red this season. The color in this tube isn't as heavy as I expected. Layering it on top of my Revlon "In the Red" lipstick looks AMAZING. Probably rocking that look at my 25th birthday party.
 
It costs just under $6 and a little bit goes a long way. The fact that there's SPF 15 in it makes it almost necessary- your lips do get sun damage after all.
 
I hope everyone has a really wonderful Christmas. Peace be with you.

 

black swan.

Regardless of the fact that I KNEW it'd be my favorite movie EVER before I saw it- this is my new favorite movie made to date. 

It has every aspect I love in a movie: Great music (the entire soundtrack is Tsychovski's Swan Lake. I've been listening to this since I was in middle school). The sound of creaking point shoes being broken in and torn apart. Beautiful scenes of dancers rehearsing in the studio over and over and over.  Feather head pieces. Gorgeous tutus. Hotties dressed in leotards and tights. Not to mention the fabulous acting and the extremely dark, genius plot. 

You should probably go see it ASAP. 

I'm currently listening to Swan Lake trying to figure out how many times I can go before it's out of theaters.  

Thank you Darren Aronofsky for bringing me this and another favorite, Requiem for a Dream. You have just joined the ranks of Sofia Coppola  and Quentin Tarantino.

Miracle concealer

Two week test is just about up. . .I have been dying to tell you lovelies about this new Physician's Formula Dark Circle Control Concealer I just discovered! It has Haloxyl in it to help reduce the appearance of dark circles in supposedly two weeks. I do see a slight difference already. I think it may take time for it to build up in my system though. It doesn't help with puffiness at all however and lately my Clinique Eye Roller Gel has been making my eyes irritated so I've had to stop using one of my favorites.  Even without the benefit of the Haloxyl, it is a great concealer in the yellow shade to brighten your under eye area. Goes on smoothly and stays on all day. I read and article in Lucky from a Beauty Editor (dream job) and she layers her under eye concealer since her circles are so bad. Just don't forget to BLEND or you'll look like a raccoon instead of a well rested beauty.  

Wedding Wednesday

I have a FEELING a lot of ladies I know are about to get engaged- which makes me super excited and reminds me that I was supposed to do "Wedding Wednesdays" every now and then.
 
Here is one tip that really helped me out from the beginning to planning to the very end (thank you notes). I made an excel spreadsheet (one of my favorite things on EARTH) to make the guest list. This was a great way to count the number of guests. It helped me organizing them into an A and B list and decide who would ultimately be invited since most of the time you just can't invite everyone you know. This also provided a place to store their address. After invitation was sent, I would indicate it in a column on the spreadsheet and when I received a response back, I would put it in another column. When gifts came in, I would write the gift beside the name of the guest and then when a thank you note went out, I would mark that as well.  The guest list (and seating chart) were the only stressful things I found about wedding planning. Keeping everything organized will really help with it though- here are the columns I used for mine:
 
full guest name
role(bridesmaid, family, hometown friend, college friend etc.-this really helped when it came to the seating chart)
number invited
invitation sent?
rehearsal dinner invite?
guest RSVP
RSVP rehearsal dinner
address
gift
thank you letter sent?
 
Excel can also really help with budgeting wedding expenses (and in everyday life!). If you need some help setting up a spreadsheet please just email me katbeckdesigns@gmail.com and I'd love to get you started.

face moisturizers

It seems like everyone has a go-to favorite facial moisturizer- but I like to play around with quite a few different brands.  However, my skin is VERY sensitive so I have to be cautious of what I am putting on my face. One week before my bridal portraits I put a sample lotion from Sephora on top of Cetaphil daily moisturizer. I got contact dermatitis - aka a rash and swollen face for 2 days. The worst part was how TIGHT it made my face- I couldn't make any expressions.

Lesson learned- don't use a new product when you have a photo shoot in a week.

I used Cetaphil daily moisturizer for years. It kept my skin pretty clear but it kind of stung when I put it on. So I switched to Cetaphil's all over cream. I REALLY love this product. It is extremely moisturizing and doesn't clog your pores. I usually combine it with Jergen's Natural Glow Healthy Complexion Daily Moisturizer.  Another favorite is Clinique's Dramatically Different Lotion. This stuff is rather expensive but a really great lotion. Keeps you hydrated all day and doesn't make you look oily. I also occasionally use Aveeno's Positively Radiant daily moisturizer. This may actually be my favorite. It has SPF 15 and brings out our skin's natural radiance with light reflectors.

You should choose a moisturizer based on your skin type. Hydrating your skin will help prevent drying and wrinkles from occurring over time.

I am terrified of turning 25.

It seems like everyone I know over the age of 25 has told me that 25 is when they actually had to start trying really hard not to gain weight. 

Bye bye metabolism of your early twenties.This horrifies me.

I am a control freak and I really hate that I cannot control my hormonal functions at all.  The only time I have kind of observed my calorie intake was during wedding planning. I hated it though and it didn't really do any good. It made me obsessed and not in a positive way; I felt like an eating disorder was right around the corner. So I stopped. But I realize that I HAVE to change my daily diet if I want to maintain my weight.  So- I am cutting out fast food the day I turn 25 (this does not include Zaxbys or Subway).  I don't eat it very often but I read an article about how fatty, processed foods can cause you to store fat in the future.  

I have one month to say PEACE OUT to french fries and $1 cheeseburgers. 

I think I am ready for it too.  Anyone else want to join?