{Last Minute Gift Guide} The Techie

Today is the final day of my Last Minute Gift Guide, and I've made sure that they are the easiest items to pick up so close to Christmas.  Everything from today's guide can be purchased at Target.

1) The Nikon COOLPIX S01 10.1MP Digital Camera is super tiny, which makes it great for not only the novice photography, but also for the more experienced photographer who wants a camera they can throw in their bag to make sure they never miss a photo op.  

2) Apple In-Ear Headphones.  These came with the new iPhone, and they are SO much better then the old ones that used to make my ears hurt after an hour or so.  They would make a great gift for anyone with an older model iPod or iPhone.

3) Mobilexpressions Polka Dot Case.  This is the case that I have on my phone as I type this.  It is super cute, and it's super slim so it doesn't add extra bulk to your phone.  

4) I absolutely love this Crosley iDeco Universal iPod Doc.  It's not an eyesore like some of the other iPod speakers out there.  

5) Isotoner SmartTouch Glove.  It's so nice not having to take off your gloves to use your phone, and with emerald green being 2013's "it" color, they are stylish too!

6) The Mobilexpressions Chevron iPad Folio is super cute!  I actually have this too (someone bought themself too many Christmas presents this year), and I really like it.  It's not as fab as my Dodo case, but its like a third of the price so I can't complain.

Well that is it for my Last Minute Gift Guide.  I wish you all happy last minute shopping trips!

{Last Minute Gift Guide} The Fashionista

Madewell is the perfect place to pick up some fabulous items for The Fashionista in you life, and it has to be one of my all time favorite stores (I may have mentioned that before).

So let's get to the fabulous gift ideas...

1) Drifter Shades.  Every girl needs a great pair of sunglasses, and I just love the vintage vibe of these!

2) The Lovelock Clutch is a great classic bag that your Fashionista will be able to use for years to come.  

3) Bluestone Statement Necklace.  I saw this necklace in the store the other day, and it is crazy pretty! 

4) I love this Dotted Tux Shirt because it would look great with a pair of jeans, but it would also look great with a cute skirt or under a dress.  

5) The Frankie Pump.  The no white after Labor Day rule no longer applies.  This shoes would look awesome with a great pair of skinny jeans.  

6) Skinny Skinny Ankle Jean.  Speaking of skinny jeans, these are great.  Dark jeans like this are so versatile because you can dress them up or dress them down.

Only one more day of Last Minute Gift Ideas!  Are you all ready for Christmas yet?

{Last Minute Gift Guide} The Man

I don't know about the men in your life, but the men in mine are really hard to shop for.  Alas, you must try because they deserve fun gifts too, and so today's Last Minute Gift Guide is for The Man in your life.  Everything can be found at Urban Outfitters.

1) Maptote Boston Tee because most guys would prefer to just be lounging around in a comfy t-shirt.  

2) Fluid Big Ben Wood Watch.  A good watch is my husbands go to accessory, and this wood watch is  awesomely different!

3) Ray-Ban Folding Wayfarer.  I love that these sunglasses are both super stylish and convenient.  They can just fold them up and throw them in their pocket.   

4) Guitar Pick Punch.  Obviously this gift isn't for every guy, but any guy who's a guitar player is sure to like this awesome gift.  I couldn't even begin to count the amount of times I've watch my husband play with a quarter or a cut up credit card.

5) The North Face E-Tip Glove.  Practical and fun, now they can keep their fingers warm and still chuck those Angry Birds.  

6) Fred Perry Classic Overnight Bag.  Every guy should have a stylish overnight bag, and this one is stellar.  It reminds me of an awesome vintage bowling bag...in a good way of course!

Tomorrow I'll be back with a Last Minute Gift Guide for The Fashionista in your life.  I hope you all are having a great week so far!  

{Last Minute Gift Guide} Beauty Obsessed

Today's Last Minute Gift Guide is for the Beauty Obsessed, and you can find everything at Sephora.

Now on to the list...

1) Tocca Profumo Veloce Florence.  Oh my goodness do I love Tocca perfume, and this set is perfect to throw in your purse or to take when you're traveling.

2) butter LONDON Nail Lacquer in Macbeth.  Every beauty obsessed girl loves pretty nail polish, so it was a must to add to this list.  I love this peach coral color!

3) Clarisonic Mia2.  My Clarisonic is one of my top 5 must have beauty products.  I've been using it for about 10 months now and my skin has improved dramatically. 

4) Too Faced Better Than False Lashes.  You may remember me obsessing over this mascara a few months ago, and at $35 it's the perfect gift that she may not be buying herself.  

5) T3 Source Showerhead Filter.  We replaced our shower head this summer with one of these, and I love it.  Definitely helps with the frizz!

6) Lancome Artliner Eyeliner.  Perfect for the ladies out there that want to try all those fun new eyeliner techniques popping up on Pinterest.

Well that's it for the Beauty Obsessed.  I'll be back tomorrow with another fabulous Last Minute Gift Guide!  Happy shopping!

{Last Minute Gift Guide} The Hostess

My first Last Minute Gift Guide was carefully picked for The Hostess in your life.  This was a fun one for me to put together because oh my do I like to host.  I would be super excited to receive anything shown!  

There are obviously lots of places to buy gifts for the hostess on your list, but Anthropologie is such a great one stop shop for gifts that are a little more unique.  Here is the scoop on all the items.

1) The Stripes Abound Apron because every hostess needs a cute apron.
2) The Chipper & Sprite Serving Set, vintage meets modern with this cute serving set.
3) The Illume Mercury Dot Candle comes in 5 different scents/shades.  The spiced Amber is my fave.
4) How cute is this Peony Portrait Platter!  I love the hand drawn look of the pattern.  So pretty!
5) Color Pop Coffee Pot.  I have one of these, and I love it.  I wish that mine was this colorful!
6) The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook because a hostess can't host without good food!

Hopefully that will help you check the hostess of your list.  I'll be back tomorrow with another Last Minute Gift Guide!  

{Holidays} Last Minute Gift Guide

I don't know about you guys, but this holiday season has really gotten away from me!  I usually plan ahead and I'm generally done Christmas shopping weeks in advance.  This year is a whole different story.  I basically just started last Friday....yikes!  Luckily, I've found out that procrastination seems to pay off.  There are way more deals out there the closer it gets to Christmas!

I thought this week I would try to help out all you last minute shoppers with some great gift ideas.  I will have a particular recipient in mind each day and all items will come from one store because if you a running short on time the fewer stops the better.

Check back tomorrow for my first batch of ideas!

{Lovely Pins} A Dash of Twinkle

Image Sources (clockwise from top left): 1, 2, 3, 4

One of my favorite things this time of year is seeing all of the twinkling lights, so I thought it would be the perfect theme for this week's Lovely Pins.  I know that this time of year is busy (it's been crazy for me) and it's hard to find time to do anything extra, but make sure you stop and take time to take in the twinkle.  It'll be next year before you know it!  

I hope you all have a great rest of the week!  I'll be back next week with some great last minute gift ideas for all of your loved ones!   

{Giveaway} Minted Print

Last week I announced that I would be giving away a lovely Minted print to one of my fabulous readers.  Well luckily for the ladies that entered, it seems that the rest my readers were a little busy this last week, so they had a 1 in 5 chance of winning!  So with out further ado, the winner is...  

Audrey from Stuff Audrey Says!  Congratulations Audrey!  Please send me a message to let me know where to send your print.

Thank you so much to the other ladies that entered!  

{Lovely Pins} Emerald

Image Sources (clockwise from top left): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Emerald green and I have a love hate relationship.  For some reason I wasn't particularly fond of it growing up, and even now most of the time it's not really my go to color.  That being said, the last few years during fall I've been loving all the jewel tones, and thus I've actually been starting to enjoy the lovely shade of green.  I'm actually currently obsessing over a green gown that I want to wear for New Years Eve.  

Don't forget to register for the Minted print I'm giving away!  In case you missed it you can go here for the details.  I hope you all had a fabulous week!     

{Giveaway} Minted Print

A Very Vintage Holiday board by Jessica. See more Minted.com

You may or may not have heard that I won the $1000 grand prize for Minted's first ever Holiday Inspiration Board Challenge.  I was super excited and wanted to do something to thank all of my readers that went and added my board as one of their favorites (I'm currently the most "favorited" of all the boards on there), so I thought I would give away a print.

Image sources: Minted

The winner will get an 11x14 print, and will get to choose between the two pictured above.  You can enter by posting in the comments section below, and I will use a randomizer to choose the winner next Wednesday.

Good luck everybody and have a fabulous rest of the day!

{Lovely Pins} Unconventional Christmas Trees

Image Sources (clockwise from top left): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Nothing excites me more than picking out our Christmas tree every year.  That being said,

I've loved seeing all the unconventional Christmas trees that have been popping up on Pinterest!  It's so fun to see all the creative ideas people come up with.  I love getting a fresh tree, but I might have to do another "fun" tree down stairs.   

{Causes} #GivingTuesday Spreading Holiday Cheer

Now that Thanksgiving in over and we've completed our Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping, we have moved into decorating and holiday shopping mode.  #GivingTuesday is a campaign created to encourage people to give back.  Their moto is simple...we have a day for giving thanks, we have two days for getting deals, and now it's time to have a day to give back. 

What better way to give back then to help those that were recently affected by Hurricane Sandy.  I would like to take a moment to thank all of you that have already donated, and to encourage the rest of you to help us out.  You can help us raise money by going to one of two places.  You can either click the "Donate Now" button on the right side of the page, or you can click here to go directly to our fundraising page.  All of the funds raised will go directly to the American Red Cross which has been very instrumental in the recovery process.  

If you are a blogger, I have designed  a pretty little button (also on the right side of the page) for you to post on your blog to help spread the word to others.  Please make sure you copy and past the code just as it is, so that we can assure that people end up on the fundraising page.  

Thank you all so much for your support!

{Holiday Finds} Girly Obsessions Girly Gift Guide

Courtesy of Girly Obsessions

One of my favorite blog friends, Ashley from Girly Obsessions, has curated the cutest Girly Gift Guide for the holidays!  She will be posting all kinds of goodies throughout the next couple weeks, but if you just can't wait (like me) you can check out the complete gift guide here.  Today's goodies were ideas for Stocking Stuffers, and they are all fabulous!  

{Causes} Help the Victims of Hurricane Sandy

This is that wonderful time of year when we all get excited for the holidays.  We decorate our houses with pretty things and start to think about presents for our loved ones.  Unfortunately, a lot of the victims of Hurricane Sandy don't have that luxury.  Many of them won't have a home to decorate, or the funds or time to even think about buying their loved ones gifts.

It's the perfect time of the year to give back to those who are less fortunate, and that is why I'm teaming up with some great bloggers to raise money to help the victims of Hurricane Sandy.  All of the funds raised will go to the American Red Cross which has been very instrumental in the recovery process.  You can help us raise money by going to one of two places.  You can either click the "Donate Now" button on the right side of the page, or you can click here to go directly to our fundraising page.  Every little bit counts and is much appreciated!

Once you have donated, I have designed a pretty little button for you to post on your blog/website to help spread the word to others.  Please make sure you copy and paste the code just as is, so that we can assure that people end up on the fundraising page.

Thank you all so much for your support!    

{Lovely Pins} Black and White

Image Sources (clockwise from top left): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

There is something about black and white that just screams elegance.  This weeks Lovely Pins started with the top left photo, which if you're a regular reader you know tulle is one of my current Fashion Obsessions, and from there it was easy...well kind of.  There were SO many fabulous black and white pins that I think I could make at least 5 more boards, so I might just have to revisit good ole black and white in the future sometime.  

Happy Friday everybody!  Have a great weekend!

{Fashion Obsessed} Twin Cities Madewell

Image Sources: Madewell

Madewell is one of my top 5 favorite stores, so when I found out a few months ago they were coming to the Twin Cities, I was thrilled!  I first discovered it (many, many years ago) while shopping in Vegas, which is also where I discovered Anthropoligie (long before we had any) by the way, and I loved it.  It has become my go to place for sweaters, since it seems like all of my favorites are from there, and a must stop (often many times) when I'm in a town that has one.  

For those of you that live in the area (or have one in your area) and like J.Crew (Madewell is J.Crew brand), you have to check it out.  As for me, I will be heading there today, and might just have to buy a few of the items pictured.  We do have holiday card photos coming up.  ;)  They opened today at Southdale in Edina.    

{Random Things} Holiday Legos

Photo Credits: Lego

Yes you read that title right "Holiday Legos."  I was obsessed with Legos when I was little, but back then all they had were sets of plain ole Legos.  I used to spend hours making little Lego houses and cars.  Very often while strolling through the toy section at Target I think to myself, "I wish they had that when I was a kid," but never as much as I do for Legos.  They have so many fun options now.  I love the architecture series, the cute girly ones, and now they have these fun holiday sets.  I hope my future children love Legos as much as I do so I get a chance to play with them again.  

{Lovely Pins} Thanksgiving

Image Sources (clockwise from top left): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

This Sunday we are hosting a little Thanksgiving with our friends that live in the area and my family (since they will be visiting).  These are just a few of the lovely ideas I found while scouring Pinterest.

I hope you all have wonderful plans to spend time with your loved ones this month for Thanksgiving!

{Fashion Obsessed} Tulle Skirts

Image Sources (clockwise from top): 1, 2, 3

Oh my goodness am I obsessing over tulle skirts lately.  I've been thinking about what to wear for our holiday card photo, and I'm thinking I might want to go for a toned down version of  the "look" pictured in the top photo.  However, I'm having a hard time finding a skirt that both fits well and isn't uber expensive (it's not exactly an everyday skirt).  I'm considering trying to make one myself, but I've never sewn a piece of clothing before.

I'll let you know what I end up with.  Hope you all are having a fabulous Thursday!  

{My Life} Inspiration Board Challenge Winner!

A Very Vintage Holiday board by Jessica. See more Minted.com

I'm super excited to announce that I am the winner this week's Editor's Pick for my inspiration board (pictured above) in Minted's Inspiration Board Challenge!  I can't wait to decide what to spend my prize on!    

{Holidays} Minted's Inspiration Board Challenge

A Very Vintage Holiday board by Jessica. See more Minted.com

I always look forward to getting emails from Minted (remember my ridiculously lengthy post when they started selling art prints?), so you can imagine how excited I was when I saw that they were doing an Inspiration Board Challenge!

The process was all pretty simple (you can find all the instructions here).  I chose one from my many favorite holiday cards, and then created a virtual mood board right on their website using other pictures I found around the web (mostly on Pinterest).  I think it all came together really well.  It also helped me zero in on how I want to decorate this year.  I can't wait to start decorating!  Is November 1st too soon?

If you love my board (pictured above), it would be awesome if you would "like" it for me.  You can do so by going to my board here, and then clicking on the heart.  They are selecting three winners weekly that will be given $200 to spend on Minted!  Be sure and let me know if you make one too!  I'd love to check it out!

I hope you all have had a fabulous weekend!  

{Lovely Pins} Orange

Image Sources (clockwise from top left): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

October is a month that screams orange.  It might be the changing leaves or all the pumpkins, but either way orange always makes me think of fall (which makes me happy because it's my favorite season hands down).

How do you all feel about the color orange?  

{My Life} Busy, Busy

You may notice that I'm a little MIA this week.  We are getting our house ready for an appraisal, so I have lots to do.  I also have lots going on with BYW Bootcamp.  The picture above is a photograph I took for a mood board assignment.  Anyway, I'll be back in full force next week.   

{Causes} Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2012

Last year during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, an amazing woman in our life was actually battling breast cancer herself.  I used this quote in my post last year because it reminded me so much of her.  She is always ready to tackle things head on, and rarely accepts no for an answer.

While her battle is slowly fading in the rearview mirror, it is never far from our minds.  It's a reminder of how quickly things can change, and how they often sneak up with little or no notice.  

The facts haven't changed a lot since last year.  1 in every 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.  70 - 80% of those women will have no history of breast cancer in their family.  The good news is that the mortality rates continue to go down every year because of awareness and early action.  There are currently 2.9 million breast cancer survivors in the United States.  

There are many ways you can get involved either by donating your time or your money.  If you don't have a lot of money to give but want to help somehow, the American Cancer Society and Susan G Komen have lots of great information on how you can do so.  

If you want to donate money straight to the cause, there are so many places out there that you can donate to.  Here are just a few: BreastCancer.org, the American Cancer Society (make sure to specify you want it to go to breast cancer), and Susan G Komen.

Another way to help is by buying products that donate to the cause.  There are lots of great companies out there that are donating part of the proceeds of certain products to breast cancer research.  I will warn you though that some companies are not so great and hardly give anything, so make sure you're reading the fine print.  Here is a little round up of some fun stuff I found out there.  

Image Credits (clockwise from top left): 1, 2, 3, 4

If you're a nail polish addict like me you might want to try Nails Inc's Pinkie Pink (meant to go on just your pinkie to raise awareness) or Ciate's pink duo.  I'm a huge sucker for Tocca's perfume, so I had to include this little set.  All the scents in it are fantastic, and they donate a whopping 50% of the proceeds to BrightPink.org!  Lastly, this mud mask sounds awesome.  I really want to try it!

Image Credits: Coach

Every year Coach does a line of products, and donates 20% of the proceeds to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Image Credits: Loft

Another company that does a line every year is Loft.  They have nine "pink pieces" in which they donate 25% of the purchase price to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.    They also do the Loft Cares Card.  90% of the price of the card ($25) goes to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, and with the card you get 20% off any purchase of $100 or more.

I hope all of this has you thinking about how you can help.  It seems like today most of us know someone that has been affected by breast cancer in some way.  Hopefully as the years go on we will get to see a cure.  

{Beauty Obsessed} Too Faced Better Than False Lashes

Photo Credits: Sephora

What's the one thing most of us won't leave the house without?  Well for me and a lot of women, it's mascara.  I feel like without it I look sleepy and drab.  A month or so ago I was at Sephora looking for a new mascara, and a girl that worked there told me I had to try Too Faced's Better Than False Lashes.  I picked some up, but I didn't really try it until this last weekend.  After getting it home I read through the instructions, and it just seemed overwhelming.  I wasn't expecting one of the tubes to be a powdery like substance (it's actually fibers).  Eventually I just kinda forgot I had it, and kept using my old standard Covergirl Lash Blast (If you're looking for an everyday cheap mascara, this stuff is awesome!).  Then the other day I saw it in the bathroom, and thought I should finally give it a try.  It is awesome!!!  I probably won't replace my everyday mascara, but when I want to go a little more glam, I will definitely do this over false lashes.  

Here is what I look like with no mascara...tired right!  

This is the mascara/primer before I put the fiber stuff on.

With the fibers on before I put the mascara on top.

This is after I put the top coat on and with one more coat of both...

the finished result.  Pretty awesome right.  It totally looks like I'm wearing false lashes.  It's a little strange when you take it off because it feels like you are loosing a ton of lashes, but it's really just the fibers.

I definitely recommend it, but like I said I don't know if I would use it everyday.  It's $35 compared to my $7 tube of lash blast, but for special occasions or days when you know you'll be in a lot of pictures, why not!

{My Life} My Lovely Little Blog and BYW Bootcamp

I don't know if you guys have noticed (I'm quite certain many of you have), but my blog has been a little sparse lately.  I'd love to blame it on the fact that it was summer and I was busy, but in all actuality I really was just lacking motivation and inspiration.  To be honest, I didn't really like the direction Serendipitous Things was going, and it was starting to become a chore to write posts.  I know a lot of you aren't bloggers, but I'm sure you can relate what I'm about to say to other situations in life.  I found myself constantly comparing myself to other bloggers out there.  Wanting, wishing, that I could be as interesting and talented as them.

Being the ocd person that I am, I was desperately trying to make my blog fit into what I thought was the "perfect blog" formula...structured, organized, and oh so commercial.  It's like I had it in my head that it had to read like a magazine or something.   Serendipitous Things has been lacking a very important thing, MY voice.  I've tried so hard to make it "perfect," that you don't really see me in my posts at all, and as result, it ended up being boring and blah.  So, I'm turing over a new leaf, and going forward I'm going to try really hard to just be myself on here.

The timing of my little epiphany couldn't have come at a better time because today I'm starting Blogging Your Way Bootcamp.  I've taken pretty much all of the BYW classes at this point (Holly is amazing!), but I feel like this one is coming at a different time for me.  I'm not a rookie blogger anymore, not that I'm a pro, but I feel like I know more about what I want to get out of blogging this time around.  I'm going to dive in head first this next month, and hopefully it'll bring some great improvements to my lovely little blog.

I hope you all have a fantastic week!       

{Beauty Obsessed} Caudalíe Paris Thé des Vignes

Photo Credits: Caudalíe

When doing a little after dinner shopping the other night with a friend, I stumbled upon this 

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G perfume at J Crew.  It's made by Caudalíe Paris, and it is called Thé des Vignes.  It has quickly replaced my all time favorite, Tocca's Cleopatra.  I love how unique it is.  It smells like a classic somehow, even though I don't really think I've ever smelt anything like it.  Caudalíe Paris describes it as combining "sensual notes of white musk and neroli with a hint of ginger liquor, with an infusion of orange blossom and jasmine."  I don't know what all that means, but I love it!  If you want to pick some up yourself, you can get it in J Crew stores or directly from the source on Caudalíe's website. 

{Lovely Pins} Japanese Washi Tape

Image Sources (clockwise from top left): 1, 2, 3

Happy Wednesday everybody, and Happy 31st Birthday to my amazing husband Jason!  I hope you all are having a wonderful week!  

I'm guessing most of you are familiar with Japanese Washi Tape at this point.  If you're not, do yourself a favor, and order/buy some pronto.  Then hop on Pinterest to find lots of lovely projects to use your washi on.  

I had seen washi around, but really didn't get too excited about it until I took a few classes from Leslie Shewring at The Creative Connection last fall.  After that I was pretty much hooked.  Now I have more rolls than I can count, and probably use it everyday (seriously).  

Here are some more lovely washi pins.

Image Sources (clockwise from top left): 1, 2, 3, 4

 Washi is the best thing ever, if you're trying to spruce up a package.  I actually throw a little on every card that I send out.  Something Leslie had brought up was the idea that by making something pretty, you may actually end up brightening someone's day (think mail carrier).  I love this idea, and actually relate to it a lot.  Pretty things definitely make me happy.  

Image Sources (clockwise from top): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Party decorations are another fabulous way to use washi.  I've made lots of cake decorations already, and I love the use of it in this guest book.  

Image Sources (clockwise from top left): 1, 2, 3

It works great if you're trying to add a little fun to everyday objects.  A boring to-do list or calendar doesn't seem so mundane, when you add a little pop of color or a fun pattern.  

Image Sources (from left): 1, 2, 3

Here are a few more fun uses around the house.  Create a window in a windowless room, the illusion of a headboard, or the look wallpaper for next to nothing.   

Image Sources (from left): 1, 2

Lastly, think of all the fun things your kiddos could do with it.  I love this wall collage, and what a fun idea to make a racetrack for toy cars out of it!

So there you have it, lots of washi inspiration.  You can find it in many paper and craft stores now, but if you're having a problem getting some, you can always look online.  I've ordered a lot of mine from  Etsy.  

Well that's it for me today.  I hope you all enjoyed today's Lovely Pins and have a great rest of the week!  

{Fab Find} Three Bird Nest

Photo Credits: Three Bird Nest

Happy Friday blog friends!  I hope you all have had a lovely week.  

The other day I stumbled upon Three Bird Nest on Etsy while searching for something, and I fell in love.  I then went to their website to do some further research.  Everything is absolutely adorable.  I especially love the leg warmers and the beautiful bow scarf.  I can't wait to add a few pieces to my fall/winter wardrobe.  I also really appreciate the amazing product photos.  I think often times Etsy sellers overlook the importance of good pictures.

Well that's it for me today.  I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!  

{Lovely Pins} Fall Inspiration

Image Sources (clockwise from top left): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Happy September!  I hope you all are doing well!  

Every year as soon as August is over I have Fall on the brain.  It is my favorite season by far (go ahead...call me crazy...you wouldn't be the first).  I love everything about it.  Here are just a few of the many Lovely Pins that I saw on Pinterest that have me excited for Fall.  

Have a great weekend everybody!  

{Soirees} The Planning Process

Hey everybody!  I hope you all are having a fabulous July so far!  I certainly am.

I don't know about all of you, but when it comes to planning events, I love the planning process.  My husband thinks I'm absolutely crazy because to him all that "busy work" is the worst part.  I'm currently planning my Grandma's 90th Birthday with my Dad, sister, aunts, uncles, and cousins, and having been coined the "Cruise Director" by my Dad a few years ago, I have gladly took over planning most details of the party.  I thought that today I would share a little inside look into my personal planning process since it's something that tends to overwhelm a lot of people.      

The first step for me is to gather inspiration, and my favorite place to do that is, of course, Pinterest.

Once you know what kind of theme you're going for, the first thing you want to do is book your location (if it's not at your home).  This is very important to do right away because locations book up fast, and if you need to use a different venue, your ideas may no longer apply to the new place.  

After that I like string out all my favorite ideas and map out a plan.  This is very beneficial to me because I've found that if I don't have things mapped out, I forget key elements.  It also helps during the planning process if you have other individuals involved, so that they can see what you're thinking.  

I'm very visual, so when mapping out my events, I grab my favorite pen and a stack of paper.  Here is what it looks like (excuse the sloppy handwriting and drawings).  

This will also come in handy the day of for set up because not everyone will know how you visualized it in your head.

After this it's all pretty self explanatory...you execute your ideas.  I personally make a bunch of lists (guests, items I want to bring, items I need to purchase, menus, etc).   I also start to gather everything I want to use and items I've purchased in one area of my house.  That way everything is in one place, and I won't forget anything.

Well I hope that all of this will help you out a little next time you're planning your own event.  I honestly think that a little bit of planning makes events more fun and easier to execute.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!