KEEP collective jewelry

I love basic everyday jewelry!  For me a bracelet that can go with everything because it can be dressed up or down, is a worthwhile investment.  Always a fan for items of sentimentality KEEP collective has found a special place on my wrist.

How did I discover these great pieces?  It's all thanks to my best friend Melanie who became a KEEP consultant and introduced me and has gotten me addicted.  But instead of me raving about it, figured she could more accurately share just what makes KEEP so special.

First here is a peek into one of my latest obsessions!
 

 Little note about what these mean to me and why I love wearing them!!!

 - Mrs : for my hubby and me,

 - Stacked Hearts: for my most valued relationships (hubby and I, best friend Melanie and I, my parents, my brother and I, etc..)

 - Mrs W : I'm a teacher

 - U.S. Map : US History teacher, Geography teacher, goal to travel to all 50 states

 - Blessed : constant reminder of how blessed I am in all facets of my life, God looking out for me

 - Arrow : goals to attain, journeying ahead

























Hi everyone! My name is Melanie, and as Marie said above I am a KEEP consultant.  Today I want to share with you more about why Marie and I both love KEEP, and why we think you'll love this arm candy too! 

The idea behind KEEP is that YOU get to create YOUR jewelry.  KEEP what matters to you close at hand. Share who or what you love. What's YOUR story?

The reason I joined KEEP is because I love their mission to spread happy.  I was first drawn in because of the amazing jewelry (I had a wish list that was a mile long!).  I wanted to earn some free product and commission to help fund my new-found obsession.  As I began to design pieces, I heard stories from women about the things that were most precious to them.  It is so inspiring and such a privilege to have conversations about aspirations, loss, and family. It's a dream that I get paid to help people tell the stories of their one-of-a-kind

lives!  There is so much cruelty and tragedy in the world, and I want to be part of something that helps people keep their joy and happiness close at hand.  KEEP helps remind us of what's most important in life and that each of us is truly blessed.


Just like Marie, I have a few favorite KEEP keys I wanted to share.

- Palm leaf : represents growth and honor. I wear it to remind me that life is a process and to find lessons in each day.

 - Hearts bar : I wear this to represent my two daughters.

 - Knot : represents my marriage and "tying the knot."  It helps me remember that when things get tough, our bond only gets tighter.

 - Arrow : I wear this one just about every single day! for me, it represents moving forward and the quote, "When life seems to be pulling you back, it means you will soon be launched into something great."

 - Color bar : I wear the blue bar for the thin blue line in support of my husband as a policy officer.

 - Key : when I wear the key, it helps me to think about the "keys to my heart and happiness" and to keep those things at the forefront of everything I do.

Steps to creating your KEEP story.

Step 1 - Check out my online catalog here: www.keepcollective.com/with/melaniegriffith

Step 2 - Choose your keeper! Bracelet or necklace? Metal or leather? Single or double? Silver, gold, or rose gold?

Step 3 - Choose your keys! Keys are charms that tell your story. They slide on and off your keeper and fit snugly so they stay in place while you move.

Step 4 - Place your order or ask me to make a mock-up of your design so you can see it before purchasing. Your beautiful package will arrive at your doorstep in 4-7 days!

If you are new to KEEP and want to learn more, this is a great video to watch:  www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-Xcy0afOrE 

Join the fun and design your own KEEP bracelet today.  It's time to share your story.

OUR Bride & Bridesmaid Bouquets

For something that lives so shortly it's amazing how happy flowers can make us.  We love growing them in gardens, using them to brighten up the house, and receiving them on special occasions.  But the big showcase of flowers is of course on your wedding day.

Bride's take careful consideration in what flowers we want to use on our wedding day, because the flowers we choose of course are a representation of us. Are you bold? Traditional? Love color? Appreciate simplicity? What are the wedding colors? Do you have a favorite flower? And so on.  And of course for a lot of us flowers are what can eat into the wedding budget, which makes the choice even more important. Since Lisa and I were both married recently we can atest to the time it spent to choose the right flowers that would pop, but not overpower us ladies. It's harder than you may think. 

Lisa and I who are so very similar (notice choice of our hairstyles, aren't they cute?) are also unique, which is clearly seen in our wedding flowers.  We chose our bouquets to tie in our wedding colors (Lisa's fave of purple and for mine the white popped on the turquoise dresses). Both of us brought our favorite flowers into the bouquets. Mine are my 3 traditional favorites and Lisa's is a variety, and just like her is pulled together beautifully.

We're letting you have a peek at the bouquets we made for our special days. Blessed to have shared them together, we're thrilled to share them with you!

OUR BRIDAL BOUQUETS:

Lisa's: Dahlias, Roses, Calla Lilies, Blue Globe Thistle
           -purchased at downtown farmers market & Sam's Club and assembled by florist

Marie's: Roses, Hydrangeas, Carnations
              -ordered through Flowerama

OUR BRIDESMAID'S BOUQUETS:

Marie's: White Hydrangeas
          -purchased at Sam's Club in bulk and assembled ourselves

Lisa's: Dahlias, Calla Lilies, Roses
          -purchased at downtown farmers market & lilies from Sam's Club, then assembled by florist

Nail Polish Investment

Some of the 2015 goals in the Murphy household include more exercise, eating healthier, more prayer time and a couple of trips together this year. While all of these goals are in progress, we are trying to find ways to cut down expenses in preparation for traveling costs. We are keeping track of spending, bringing coffees and lunches to work from home and cooking dinner instead of eating out.

One thing that I have completely halted for the past several months has been getting my nails done. Manicures and pedicures are lovely but it is definitely a money saver in the long run. A couple weeks ago, I went to paint my nails at home and realized that nearly every bottle of nail polish that I own had dried up. It was time to invest in some nice nail polish!

These OPI beauties are great because they are the mini-sized bottles. I will be able to use these up over the next year or two. Plus, I can discover my favorite colors so that when it is time to re-buy, I can purchase full-sized bottles. Both the "Neon Revolution" and "Take Ten" sets are from Amazon and cost about $2 per bottle. I found that Amazon had almost every mini-sized OPI set imaginable for anywhere from $5-$10 cheaper than the price you'd find in a beauty store and most came with free shipping. 

I started with these two since they came with many classic colors but added several to my Amazon Wish List for later. Next time, I will be looking at ordering "Shades of Love" or "Skyfall/James Bond" mini set. 

With a suggestion from one of my best friends, I also did some searching at my local Marshalls, TJ Maxx and Saks Off 5th Ave. I ended up finding some beautiful OPI, Essie and Butter nail polishes for about half of the standard cost. I will say though that most of the colors were about a season behind. I had to shift through a lot of flashy glitter polishes to find some more classic bottles.

Cajun Shrimp by OPI was the perfect manicure for Valentine's Day and I am keeping on for my birthday week! I used two coats of polish and covered it with OPI's top coat. I can already tell the quality of the polish and will share more manicures as I try more color options. Best of all, the price for ALL of these nail polishes was less than what one manicure would have cost!!

Daily Deal Websites

I have discovered a few websites lately that I am just giddy about sharing! Of course, I have to preface this by disclosing that none of these sites have offered anything for me to talk about them. I am sharing because I really think they are just that awesome! Check them out and let me know what you think!!

Thred Up

I stumbled on this website after clicking a side ad (who does that?!). I am so glad that I clicked! This website is super cool. It advertises itself as the “largest online consignment store.”

I spent a few weeks looking through the website before I tried buying something. They have great brands and list exactly what kind of condition each piece is in. Once you put something in your cart, you usually get 24 hours before it expires and is available to others again. It was helpful that the brands were familiar since I am pretty certain of my size for well-known stores. For example, I knew that generally, I am a size small at Gap and J. Crew. For the price, it was definitely worth a little risk.

To make it even sweeter, they sent out a 40% off coupon for new customers! I purchased three sweaters, two shirts and two dresses from Gap, Old Navy and J.Crew all for just $52. Plus, I received free shipping since my purchase was over $50. To top it off, the presentation of how everything is shipped and packaged is classy, pretty and clean. Total steal if you ask me!!

Brickyard Buffalo

My lovely cousin Brianna tuned me into this website. She has a great fashion blog and is always wearing affordable and adorable outfits! 

Brickyard Buffalo is similar to a Nomorerack or Groopdealz website (also one of my daily guilty website look-throughs). They have daily deals but unlike others, their volume of deals is fairly small. But I have already purchased a few amazing finds! Check out my BB scarves that I just love.

Scarf: Brickyard Buffalo
Dress: Thred Up (Gap)
Fur-Lined Leggings: Groopdealz
Boots: Target

Darby Smart

I think this company is just brilliant. They specialize in “project” boxes where you pick a project and they send everything you need to complete it. 

In a time where DIY is trendy and oh-so-cool, this makes it very easy to be able to complete some projects with step by step directions. While I definitely suffer from abundant amounts of DIY ideas, even I found some projects that I would love a full box of supplies for. 

They offered $10 off for a new customer’s first purchase. I bought a kit for making soy candles, something that I have been wanting to do for a while. For those of you who find Pinterest projects that you do not have the confidence or supplies to complete, check out Darby Smart!

I had enough supplies for two candles! Easy and made great Christmas gifts.

Little Wedding Details

If you have followed our blog at all, you have probably read my love of little details. I am such a sucker for details. As I have shared in some of my previous wedding posts, I found the little details to be a huge part of making our wedding day special.

Every bride has her "thing." It is important to find what means the most to you and your future husband. For example, I see many brides who incorporate custom hangers for dresses with the bride's future last name and/or the bridesmaids' names. These are a sweet gift and make the dress pictures very fun! Obviously, jewelry is another big one since each bride has a different idea of how they want their jewelry to play into their wedding day look.

I wanted to share what a few little details from my wedding day. I still adore each of them!

Phone Case: Amazon
Earrings: J. Crew Factory
Shoes: Saks Off 5th Ave (Kate Spade)

Phone Case: Amazon
I really wanted a "wifey" article in my wedding day ensemble. I had seen t-shirts, sweatshirts and bags with "wifey" printed on them but were a bit pricey. I did a lot of research over several weeks and finally found this phone case! I loved that it was subtle but so fun.

Earrings: J. Crew Factory
As for my earrings, I didn't find these until about two weeks before our big day. I had purchased another pair of earrings that were close but not quite what I was looking for. I spent months looking for the perfect earrings that fit into my style and vision. I finally found them and they were worth the months of digging!

Shoes: Saks Off 5th Ave (Kate Spade)
These shoes were actually one of the pieces that I wasn't waiting for or intensely researching. I came across these as I was walking through Saks Off 5th Ave on a break from work. Saks Off 5th Ave has incredible prices on designers so I found these $250 shoes for a very affordable price that I could not resist. These beauties were my reception shoes.

Vows with a Cross

Sometimes brides do not have a lot of extra budget to spend on little things. Thankfully, some things money can't buy! The following are a couple wedding details that we made a part of our day that we did not have to account for in the wedding expenses.

Wooden Cross: Family Heirloom
We used a wooden cross that my dad had since coming to the faith during our wedding ceremony. We actually held the cross while we said our vows and now the cross hangs in our bedroom to remind us of the vows that we made that day. For better or for worse.

DIY Wine Cork Initial:
I loved our wine cork M and wrote a post with full instructions after the wedding, check it out here. We used corks from showers, friends' weddings, girls' nights and from friends and family. This was a special way to bring natural purple, our wedding color, into our reception decor and celebrate a new last name. It now is displayed proudly in our home.

Tie: Macys (Calvin Klein)
Shoes: DSW (Cole Haan)
Socks: Kohls (Marc Anthony)

If you need any ideas for your groom, I can attest to the tie, shoes and socks being some important details for my husband. He still feels (and looks!) like a million bucks when he wears his wedding shoes. While he initially complained about shoe shopping, once we found a few viable options, he was all on board. Make sure your hubby feels like he gets a few details of his own on the big day. Help to make him feel extra amazing because let's be honest, all eyes will glued to the bride!

Homemade DIY Lip Balm

I am currently stuck at home, dealing with a miserable cold. We all get one at some point during the terrible winter months, right? I decided to find the silver lining and use the time to try a new project that has been on my list for a couple of weeks: homemade lip balm.

I have seen a couple variations of this, some using Vaseline or even melted crayons for a more dramatic color. I opted for a more simple and subtle version. The only two ingredients that you need is coconut oil and some form of drink powder. I used pink lemonade powder and Arnie Palmer powder. But I also saw versions that used koolaid, emergency-C and Crystal Light. Find a flavor or color that works best for you!

Ingredients:

- 1 teaspoon of pre-sweetened drink powder mix

- 2 tablespoons of coconut oil

- Containers for lip gloss. I found mini-makeup containers on Amazon.

Directions:

1. I started by melting the coconut oil in the microwave for 30 seconds. Using a whisk, I stirred it until it was fully melted.

2. Add in powder and use whisk to beat sugar until it is dissolved.

3. Spoon it into contains. I put mine into the fridge so the oil would harden faster.

4. Secure the top on and add a label if desired. Enjoy! 

September Birchbox

 
I have reviewed Birchbox already on our blog but I am in LOVE with this last month's box and have to share these beauties with you all.

To start, it was BB's anniversary month and so the box itself was gorgeous. I believe their title was "It's time for a fresh coat of paint."

If you have not heard about Birchbox, it is an innovative way to try new makeup, perfume, lotion and other useful beauty product samples. Boxes are fulfilled through a subscription and sent once a month. They usually have at least five samples inside.

There have been a few products that I have purchased in full size after using my sample... anything from vitamins to eyeliner to BB cream. It is like a little Christmas present once a month and who doesn't like surprises?!




My last month's box included the following:

• Pixi by Petra Shea Butter Lip Balm
• Jouer Luminizing Moisture Tint Sunscreen
• Davines Absolute Beautifying Shampoo
• Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Starter Kit
• Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy Gold

Viva La Juicy is one of my all time favorite perfumes. Their "Gold" perfume is a yummy variation!

If you are a little timid about spending money to try new products, this is the prefect route for you. BB sends both name brands and some more lesser known brands for you to try. It is affordable, stylish and you're guaranteed to find a new beauty winner in the bunch!

Disclosure: I am not a Birchbox representative nor do they send me anything for writing about their product. I am just a fan of their stellar business model and the amazing products!!

Summer Makeup and Beauty Essentials

I want to tell you about a few new products that I have experimentally bought and am really digging at the moment.

Sally Hansen Nail Stickers:

I have tried this new innovative nail styling once before, a couple years ago. I took another stab at them for a personal shower that was animal print themed (more on that later). These are essentially thin stickers that you carefully put onto your nails and then file the access off of. They took me less than 10 minutes to apply and I am still rocking them as I write this, over a week later. They have hardly chipped or budged. Seems worth the $10 to me!
 
Essie Nail Polish:

If you are on Pinterest and have any interest in fashion, you have likely pinned an Essie nail polish pin. I had pinned a few myself and wanted to see what all the fuss was about. My cousin, Teresa, is quickly becoming my new personal beauty consultant and she suggested a color called "Turquoise and Caicos." Since that ties into my honeymoon plans, I used "wedding expenses" as an excuse to buy the very pretty bottle of nail polish. I hadn't realized how expensive they are but the colors are beautiful! I can't wait to rock some turquoise in Caicos on our honeymoon!

Benefit Eyeliner:

You might have seen my post talking about Benefit mascara. Best thing since sliced bread.  They have since come out with a new eyeliner and I had been dying to try it. Finally I caved and needless to say, I adore the eyeliner. It goes on clean and smooth. It doesn't smudge or budge, which is great for cat eyes and all day wear. Highly recommend this product!

Elf Makeup

I am a huge fan of Elf products. Elf can be found at your local Target store and offers an array of makeup products. The factor that sets it apart is that Elf is cheap. Not cheap as in quality, cheap as in incredibly inexpensive. Elf's mascara, liner and a few brushes are $1. You indeed read that correctly, only one dollar. The other amazing part is that the products work well! I bought a name brand liquid eye liner and it doesn't work any better than Elf's $1 liquid liner.


Lisa's top three Elf finds are the following:

Primer: Every girl should use primer. It is a great base for your makeup and keeps it set throughout the day. I had been using an expensive brand name primer until it ran out. Elf's primer is a mere $6 and works like a charm! They also make a spectacular eye shadow primer for $3.

Lip Shaper: Elf makes a great lip liner/shaper pencil. I use the nude side as a highlighter and shaper for right above the top lip. Makes the lip shape pop!

High Definition Powder: I did a lot of reading up on wedding makeup before doing some bridal makeup last summer and this was a big winner for setting powder. Throw a little on after your foundation and blush. Use this powder instead of a mineral powder if you are having high quality pictures taken.

Marie's top three Elf finds are the following:

Waterproof Liquid Liner- I use this liner more for everyday liquid liner due to the thicker brush and it being less dark then their other liquid liner.

Liquid Liner - Lisa was the one to share this with me and ever since it's been my go to liquid liner for those special occasions or night outs.  It's brush is incredibly thin and you'll get a sharp thin line out of it, so I usually apply a few coats. Doesn't run easily even thought it's not waterproof.

Flawless Eyeshadow - Beautiful Brown: $2  I like that all 4 brown shadows are in 1 container and that they give specifics for those make-up noobs like me who need help in the beauty application department.  They have 4 shadows and are ordered by base, lid, crease, line.  There are a few other color pack options: Tantalizing Taupe, Smokey, Happy Hour, Golden Goddess, Party Purple, & Sea Escape.

Other Elf Trials:
$1 Regular/Waterproof Mascara Duo: unimpressed
$2 Make-up Mist & Set: good
$3 Waterproof Lengthening & Volumizing Mascara: fine

Kentucky Derby Attire

This weekend is the annual Kentucky Derby. While I am posted up with the flu, I am dreaming of the big hats and beautiful dresses being worn today. One of my coworkers even borrowed my big black hat for her Derby party this weekend. In anticipation of writing this post, I did a little research into appropriate Derby outfits. Kentucky Derby has a whole webpage on their site about women's attire for the races. These suggestions include thoughts and ideas for hats and outfits. It seems that while the clubhouse sports more classy and fashionable hat styles, the infield hats take a more wild turn.

Kentucky Derby suggests either picking your dress first and making a custom hat with ribbons, flowers or other pieces around your house, or pick out a drop-dead-gorgeous hat and plan your outfit around that. Find something that fits your personality to stand out in when you are sipping the classic Derby drink, mint juleps.

Here are a few of my favorite Derby looks, find them on Pinterest! Whether you are looking to win the Best Dressed Hat contest or looking to bet on your favorite horse, good luck this weekend!