Back from the Wedding Induced Hiatus!

Happy Fall, Y'all! 

It only seems fitting to say "Happy Fall", since the weather feels totally gorg! Ok, so maybe it is raining and cloudy outside, but the temperature? Spot. On. Of course, I did just get back from Cancun, Mexico so I am eating up this amazing late September weather change. I've even got my Scentsy plugged in with the Glade Fall Hayride scent, and a Kirkland's Cinnamon and Brown Sugar candle lit right beside me, my pups cuddled up at my feet, my husband {yes you heard correctly, I am officially Mrs. Charles Alley} cuddled beside me, and football on the television. Throw in the sound of rain beating on the windows and we have hit the Welcome Home jackpot!

Anyhow, I have to apologize for my brief hiatus. I swore to myself that I would keep up with my blogging the week of the wedding, and then I don't know what better explanation to give you other than, life happened, plain and simple. 

As a treat to you all for my unexcused absence, I will bombard you will posts this week! Are you as excited as I am? Good. 

I cannot tell you how THRILLED I am to finally be married to my best friend. My heart skips a beat when I hear my husband call me his wife. It's an incredible feeling, a true bond. I am blessed beyond measure. 

Something I am on the hunt for is a daily devotional for my new wives. I have looked and looked and I keep finding some amazing looking devotional, and it has been incredibly hard to choose. If any of you new {or "seasoned"} wives have some suggestions, do share! 

"Too much talk leads to sin," so let's get started with some pictures of the past few weeks! I'll do more in detail posts of the honeymoon, the wedding, the reception, etc. in due time, and it will be a whole Wedding Mini Series. Until then, here's a few sneak peaks of my life the past few weeks via pictures...

A little rehearsal dinner fun! It rained ALL day {I was a nervous wreck about it pouring during the dinner} and it cleared up in time for a gorgeous sunset <3

Groomsmen gifts! Crown Royal is the only way to go for our boys!

My BFF Sydney and I getting ready in our oversized monogramed men's shirts! Get them here!

An Arkansas Bride has to watch the HOG game before walking down the aisle!

My two best men on the day I promised "Forever" to Charles<3 

First thing we did as husband and wife was made a trip to the fair for a Gyro! We have the BEST gyro stand in the spring, and the owner makes an appearance again at the fair in the Fall, so we HAD to go get one! Delicious!

Honeymoon at the Riu Palace Peninsula in Cancun, Mexico!  We had a BLAST and were treated like royalty by the people at the Riu Palace. Planning a trip to Mexico? Visit the Riu website! We will absolutely be back, so here's a HUGE shout out to the people at Riu Palace Peninsula.

I've really had a whirlwind of a few weeks, and I mean that in the best sense of the phrase! I'm off to catch up on my recorded episode of Nashville {boy oh boy I can't wait to find out what happens during the season premiere, yet another reason to heart fall} and try to fight with American Airlines until the find the two bags of my luggage they lost, which so far, nobody we have spoken with has been helpful, and we are starting to get furious with their whole company. It's as if they don't even care that all of our luggage {which contains IMPORTANT and NECESSARY personal items} is floating around somewhere unknown to them. It's time to bust out my writing skills and write a highly worded email to their customer service department and give them an earful. 

I hope you have all had a FABULOUS few weeks without me, and get ready to hear from me nonstop. I love you all!

Xoxo, Michele Alley {I know, I'm annoying, but I CAN'T get enough of my new last name}

P.S. Don't forget about the Season Three premiere of Revenge tomorrow. You're welcome <3  

Tales of a Grown Up

Well the Labor Day holiday has passed and it is time to start prepping for fall (MY FAVORITE, in case you couldn’t have guessed by all of my other fall themed posts.) I have all of my fall candles / scents out and I fully anticipate putting out my fall decorations this week! It’s just a wonderful time of year. Starbucks has their Pumpkin Spice Latte’s back (granted I have never tried one, mental note to at least try one of these things that everyone talks about like it’s nectar from God...), the sun goes down earlier, and the weather cools off!

This fall is particularly special. The wedding is just 17 days away, y’all!!! Not to mention, September 1^st is when Charles and I celebrate our 5 year anniversary as a couple. I am embarrassed to say that we both forgot our anniversary this year (that makes two years in a row…I’m not old enough to start forgetting things, no excuses!)

Regardless of forgotten anniversaries and holiday weekends, we still managed to have a blast! Charles headed down to the lake Saturday morning, and I ventured down on Sunday morning. Saturday, I spent doing some shopping (Charles wasn’t home to keep me from shopping, I’m weak, what can I say?) and watched the Arkansas Razorback football game with my parents!  I snagged this ADORABLE razorback cooler from one of my favorite local shops in town, Inscriptions. Isn’t it fabulous? What have I told you guys about shopping local?

Is the not THE cutest cooler? It even incorporates chevron, which Charles so thoughtfully pointed out!

 I then sang at an old friend’s wedding, and she was an absolute stunning bride. Sunday was spent catching up on the lake with old friends and enjoying some fun in the sun, because we won’t be able to go back down for about a month due to wedding activities and things of that nature. I then spent all day Sunday relaxing, looking through some wedding ideas, and watching old movies (thank you ABC Family for playing The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles, y’all made my day.)

Now I’m in major wedding GO mode. Guests arrive in two weeks, I still have a million tiny little details and things I need to get done. I have some craft projects that I have to work on (super excited about them, I’ll have to show you everything I make in the next few days) as well as finish putting together Thank You gifts for the bridesmaids, groomsmen, groom, parents, flower girls / ring bearers / ushers / etc. , get with the caterers and bakery / make props for the photo booth / purchase alcohol / pack for honeymoon / clean our house from top to bottom (because face it ladies, you don’t want to go into the week of your wedding with a messy house…you should be relaxed and getting PAMPERED. It is all about you right? Oh yeah...and the groom. It’s about the groom, too… =) You also don’t want to come home from your honeymoon to a messy house. I fully intend to start cleaning my house from top to bottom this week, and KEEPING it clean (that will be the hard part…).

I’m not sure about all of you, but it seems to me that when I have an overload of things to do, I do some of my best work! I get everything I need to get done completed if I have a lot to do; my time management skills are off the charts. I’m not exactly sure why I’m backwards like this, but if you’re the same way, let me know, so I don’t feel like a complete loner with these insanely backwards skills.

Now. The fun stuff. I’m searching for some new, products to bring to Mexico with me on the honeymoon. I want things that will allow me to pack light, yet still not have to suffer from the awful hotel shampoo / body wash experiences that I might otherwise have to endure.  I’ve been most concerned about my makeup. I don’t like to travel with my full set of more high-end makeup because so many things can go wrong! You can lose the makeup or drop it and break it, and not to mention it takes up a lot of room. I’ve been browsing around, looking for some small pallets to carry with me that don’t take up a lot of room, but will last me 5 days in Mexico.

One product I was most devastated about leaving behind is my Urban Decay “Naked” eye shadow pallet! I use this pallet daily, but it takes up room, and I would hate to lose it. I was thrilled when I went to Sephora and found this cute pallet by Urban Decay called the “Naked Basics” pallet. I was intrigued, so I picked it up and was even MORE thrilled when I saw that it was extremely compact (the perfect travel size) and it is a MATTE eye shadow pallet. I repeat, a MATTE eye shadow pallet. It seems as though every eye shadow I find as of late is shimmer based and makes me look shiny and oily. It only has a few of your more neutral, every day color, which is fine by me, I don’t anticipate needing any pink or blue eye shadow in Mexico (or ever, for that matter.) Think you’re sold on this product? Well let me sell you even more. Hold the applause..it is only $27! Shut the front door. I’m in love. If you’re thinking of traveling and need some new products, try this one out for size.

In her glory, here is the Urban Decay Naked Basics pallet. So compact and all the colors I need for a short trip

 

I’ll also be bringing my compact NARS blush / bronzer duo, which includes the Laguna bronzer and the Orgasm blush. I’m obsessed with this pallet on a day to day basis, and it is small enough for travel, so I think I’ll just bring it along. If you’re not feeling up to spending the money for this pallet for a travel blush / bronzer duo, try the ELF bronzer / blush dup (found at Target.) It is only $3 and it is so comparable it is scary. If you break this or lose this when travelling, I don’t think you’re going to beat yourself up over it, since it’s so budget friendly!

{Top} NARS laguna / orgasm duo
{Bottom} ELF duo
You can see how similar they are!!

 

As far as travel shampoos go, I really like the Ojon shampoo and conditioners, especially to go sized. They last a while, and they really help your hair settle down and feel silky smooth (with a pleasant scent..I can’t have my hair smell like over processed formula or like a foot..

Perfect travel sized shampoo / conditioner that will keep your hair feeling smooth and silky

I’ll be on the hunt the next few weeks for some new products to take with me and Charles on the honeymoon. If you have travel essentials, let me know in the comments! I’m always curious to see what everyone must have on a vacation, it’s how I find out about new products! I’ll be making a trip within the next few days to Ulta / Walgreens / Walmart to peruse through their new products.

I hope you all have fabulous plans for the week! I’ll keep you updated on the on-going madness that is my life for the next month.

Here’s a quote of the day for you! It is dedicated to Charles for the month of our wedding. “As soon as I saw you, I knew an adventure was going to happen” –Winnie the Pooh.

Until next time,

Michele