photo diary: i planned my bff's bachelorette

Some people say "you'll only be a bride once," but the only thing I know for sure at this point is that I'm only gonna be a Maid of Honor, for my lifelong best friend, one time. I've gotta go all out! 

I've been planning her bachelorette party for several months now, and of course I was like "OMG this is gonna look so cute and I'm gonna take so many pictures and it's gonna be such a good blog." Then real life happens and I live in the moment and I forget about work and well- I have crappy phone pics again. 

Crappy phone pics > No pics... and this first one is pretty damn good to be honest.

This is our semi-new trademark pose, which was obviously perfect for this.

Kelly and I used to carpool to gym every day for like a decade or something. We've been through a lot of life changes, struggles, moves, and everything else life throws at you, but never fought. Her first kiss was the first love of my life [in preteen years] and I didn't even start a slam book against her. That's real friendship. 

Now she's engaged to a man who lets her stay young and happy, what we've always said we'll always be... and it's time to celebrate that!

As a lover of everything 'Merica and red, white and blue, I knew that had to be the theme. I've seen some for "Red, White, and Bride," but that doesn't even make sense. The bride is white, ya stupids! I went with "Red, BRIDE, and Blue," had her dress in white, the rest of us in red and blue. Because she had people coming from literally every corner and coast of the US, we went with a fun place in the middle: Austin. 

I've never had to plan something to suit a diverse group of unknowns and holy bleep, I'm glad I'm only doing this once. In the end, I figured the best way to do a little bit of everything and keep the bride happy was to have an awesome party house to hang at one day, and city activities planned for the next. 

AirBNB is the best way to go, and I found some lists of suggested houses on the Google machine, and ultimately decided on this "MANSION IN BUDA," complete with a pool, game room, and beds for a solid 14 people.

It wasn't the cleanest house you'll ever step in, but the owners sure know how to throw a party. Look at this addition/game room/club!

Opposite side views. Be sure to note the "Sex Beds" on the bottom right.

The pool had tons of rocks to jump off of, perfect for a group of gymnasts.

As for decor, I bought a ton of balloons, lanterns, a pin the peen on Willy game, and other little things from this party store straight outta China. I ordered a few months in advance so they came with plenty of time, and the balloons were only about $1-1.50 a piece, even for large letters that said BRIDE. I bought a helium tank once I got to Texas, but turns out those tanks aren't strong enough to make the foil balloons float, I guess. PINTEREST FAIL. I also splurged on some coozies from etsy, and didn't catch the spelling error until Kel saw them. Go figure. 

I also created a pretty simple Snapchat filter that I had activated for a few of the locations I knew we'd be at during a certain time. [Click here if you wanna see/download it]

Now, the bride loves her some water hangs, and Austin was perfect for that. We started the weekend [after they made a stop in Waco to visit the home of Chip and Joanna] at Barton Springs Pool. I am SO JEALOUS this place doesn't exist near me. It's a fresh, clean, natural spring with huge lawns surrounding it, and even a diving board. No picture did it justice. 

Dinner was at a nearby food truck park, because Austin, then a house party full of real Beirut, air hockey, pool, and dancing under a disco ball.

Day two was spent by the pool before heading to the city. In 2017, one must visit as many murals as possible for the most shareable pics. I found a list here, starred them on Google, and made the rounds. The two most famous [i love you so much and Austin] were a little outside of downtown, but worth it. 

We had dinner downtown before heading to a pedal tavern, which took us to the tiniest bar in Texas and a ton of other bars that are perfect for a group and/or anyone with ADD; They have games and food and dancing and the best of all the worlds. If you saw my Snaps, that's good. You saw the party. This blog will not. 

It was a Bachelorette party with only a little bit of cheese, a noticeable theme without being obnoxious, and as much of the bride's favorite things and people as possible. If it were mine, I would have had way more peen and obnoxiousness, but I tried to remember what I learned before. 

And now, I can breathe a little. Kinda. For like a week until I need to put all the finishing plans on my 30th birthday party that happens one month from today.

love,
elizabethany


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what i wore this wedding season 2017

Friends getting married > friends having babies. I'm all for the dancing and eating and the open bars and the reason to go shopping and get all dressed up and make personalized gifts [more on that later]. Sometimes I'm even all for the traveling it requires.

This year was a good year. THE best friend got married and so did some of his best friends and his brother. SO MUCH PRESSURE.

There has never once been a time that I felt like the best dressed guest at a wedding, but I learn each time... kinda. Still, I seem to think you care about what I wear to these events so here I am posting these terrible cell phone pics again. I'm such a professional.

WEDDING ONE, on the water in MD, in May: #darrlybeloved

I'm pretty obsessed with this dress from Forever 21 [and the Charlotte Russe shoes that I wear to every wedding every year], even though it seemed pretty out of my norm. It's the right amount of trendy and appropriate for a wedding. It may have been better for the more fall-season wedding, and maybe I shouldn't have looked like one of the bridesmaids in navy blue... but damn if my make-up wasn't on point...

For each wedding, I just did a blend of the NAKED3 palette and an awkward attempt at contouring.

WEDDING TWO: Maid of Honor in SC, in June. #partyharding

I've already posted all about this dress and all the dresses I tried on to pick it, but thanks to her photographer, I have better pics of my hair. 

Whenever I do an updo, I throw in some braids, then finish my make-up, then figure out how much time I have to create something with the rest that isn't in a braid. I had five minutes, so I did a quick topsy-tail, bobby pinned some pieces, and prayed it looked good because I never look at the back of my hair. After seeing these pics, I'm amazed by how good the rainbow looked! 

WEDDING THREE: Outside in upstate NY, in August. #hughesidos

Half the fun in getting dressed up is doing subtle matching, right?! Although, based on everyone's comments, I wasn't so subtle with the matching at this one. His $9 tie from TJ Maxx, $5 coral shirt from H&M, and my NastyGal dress were a match made in Heaven. The only issue was that my lady parts fell out when I walked until I put some safety pins near my hips to keep that wrap-over part together. Don't you hate the slutty girls at weddings??!? 

WEDDING FOUR: At Pinstripes in DC, in September. #yeswayjose

An Express dress that I thought was simple and fun enough for a wedding at a bowling alley, but with the amount of compliments I've gotten- I need to wear this more often! I finally switched up the shoes for blush wrap around heels from JustFab, and blush fringe earrings that I bought at Target 90 minutes before I went. I'm gonna need to update this post with a close-up of these things.

I normally allow myself an hour to get ready after a shower, and soon I'll need to admit to myself that's not enough time to do hair, make-up, put on the right jams, make some pre-wedding drinks, and gather my things before ordering an Uber. I did another version of a side braid then had to straighten the pony because I convinced myself that sleek was cute [and I was almost running late].


Maybe next year I'll re-wear some of these dresses for a wedding. lololol JK. A more realistic thing would be trying to find some friends who will trade with me. Isn't that a genius idea?! Swapping dresses you've worn for weddings?! WHO'S IN?!

love,
elizabethany

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these are all the dresses I tried on for my bff's wedding

I have two major problems in life: Shopping and making decisions. 

My best friend decided she wanted to let us all pick our dresses for her wedding, and even the color we wore, within a palette. When she dubbed me her Maid of Honor, I pretended like I was going to help out all of the other bridesmaids by ordering and trying on a ton of dresses, but it was a totally selfish act. I just wanted to try on ALL of the pretty dresses, in the comfort of my own home. 

The beauty in places like LuLu's and ASOS is that they have beautiful dresses, for fairly cheap, and free returns. I literally ordered 17 different dresses. I never planned on sharing these pics with the world, but I figure it could help you out if you're planning a wedding or looking for a dress. This is most of them: 

The "transformable" dresses in the top right two- you could change up the way the top was in infinite ways. I really like the satiny one, but it would have shown every lump in my body in pictures, I think.

Here are some links to the dresses that are still available/that I can find: 

• TRANSFORMABLE DRESS $78
• SHINY TRANSFORMABLE $58
• GOLD SPAGHETTI STRAP $94
• STRAPLESS $84
• PLEATED $74
• OFF THE SHOULDER DETAIL $179 [used to be cheaper :(]
• DEEP V WITH SLIT $84
• CRISS CROSS NECK $68
• LACE CRISS CROSS $84
• WEIRD BACK SATIN $96

It was from ASOS, when they were having a sale, so I got it for about $80. It's currently $119.

The TFNC brand on there has a lot of really pretty kind of matching but not totally dresses. I'd recommend it. :)

As for the finished product... I'd say we all did pretty damn good. I wish I had a better pic of everyone's dresses at the moment.

Now I have my birthday party and WHAT THE HELL WILL I PLAN FOR AFTER THAT?! 

I'm sure I'll figure something out... I guess. 

love,
elizabethany

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interview: eight questions with my bff's of karmin

Seeing as Amy and Nick from Karmin have been my favorite artists to hang with in the past [well, besides Trey Songz, of course.... yum.], I was SUPER pumped to get to talk to them again! Except this time was the first time I was actually sitting down with them and just chatting... not playing a game or doing a music video with them.

We didn't get to do it on camera, but I brought some spiffy audio equipment from 2002, we got real close, and talked about some fun things.

Some highlights: 

• I asked what color my maid of honor dress needed to be.. turns out they've already had to cancel one wedding, and another one is not even being planned yet. 
• They're in the middle of fixing up a house they bought from the inside out, thanks to their addiction to HGTV that I can totally relate to. 
• Paul McCartney once "pimp slapped" Nick, and Brandy made Amy cry.
• The moment they knew they were a thing was while joking about cheese at a college party.

Amy also told me my outfit was impeccable... which.. WOAH! Coming from her is pretty neat. Guess I'll need to post that soon.

I'm not sure why I keep doing boring smiles with these artists I interview... I need to quit that. Luckily I got a second chance with them.

I'm really excited that I'm going to be having more interview opportunities again. Most of them will be over the phone, but as you may know- my favorite part about my job is just interviewing people and asking questions.. whether they're famous or not. I still have a lot of practicing to do [and laughing to calm down with..], so I'm hoping the regular drop-by's and calls and co-hosts will put me on Ellen's level in no time! [or... a couple year's time...]

love,

elizabethany

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