Product Review: Sally Hansen Nail Polish in Lovely Lilac

As you may know, I have a bit of a love affair with nail polish. My never fail brand has been Sally Hansen for many, many years.

Last week, I had a coupon for Sally Hansen and took the opportunity to get myself a nice lilac shade. It just so happened that I didn't own one single lilac shade! Can you believe it? Me either.

I checked out what was available at CVS and decided that Lovely Lilac was closest to the color I had in mind.

I waited a couple of days before applying, but when I did I was a little surprised. The color was darker than what I anticipated it to be. Also, I'm not sure if I love it. I do like the color, but I guess I'm just not used to wearing cool tones on my nails. I'm always wearing pinks and reds or really dark colors. After a few days of having it on, it's grown on me, but I'm still not 100%.

The polish itself did not disappoint. It has all the qualities that we love about Sally Hansen. The brush is great, it dries quickly,lasts a full five days and you could probably even get away with just one coat of polish. I did two because I always do, but kind of wished I'd done only one. In actuality, just one shade is closer to the color that you see in the bottle.

All in all I still love Sally Hansen, it's a great quality product and I'll give it some more chances during the Summer months. Who knows, maybe I'll love it after a couple more wears.

Do you have any lilac colors in your collection? What do you think of them?

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10 Questions Wednesday

I saw this on Love, Lipstick and Pearls, and you know I always steal her posts that are about questions! She always has the best ones! Check over at Kristen's blog to see how she answered these same questions :)

1. If you could do one thing differently in your life, what would it be? 

Nothing. I'm a firm believer in the fact that everything in life has happened for a reason and has happened to get me to where I am today.

2. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 
Married to my wonderful Brandon, owning a home and hopefully have at least one child by then.

3. Do you honestly want kids? 
Yes. Ever since I was a little girl I wanted kids. I had two cabbage patch babies that I loved. For a while in my early twenties, I questioned whether I really did want children. I can say firmly that I absolutely do want kids. Brandon wants two, which as an only child I'm both skeptical about and happy about at the same time. One at a time though lol.

4. What has been the best moment of your life so far?
Christmas Day 2012 - the moment that I realized Brandon was proposing to me.

5. What is your life theme song? 
I don't think I have one! I love way too many songs and I'm always switching between them.

6. What is one thing you have yet to accomplish that you want to do before you die? 
Get married and celebrate a 50 or more anniversaries with my man, own our home, have children and watch them grow, take amazing vacations, work from home.

7. If you could choose one thing to be known for, what would it be? 
I'd like to be known for being a good person. For being kind and caring. For being a good daughter, wife and (someday) mother.

8. If you could do anything you wanted right in this very moment (no consequences, no fear, etc.) what would it be?
As much as I love my job, I'd love to be able to just be home and work on this blog or and creative projects. I'd love to just be able to go to the beach on a two week vacation too!

9. What has been the most challenging moment in your life? 
 I'll share one from seventh grade. That was a particularly difficult year for me. My group of friends all decided they didn't want me to be a part of their group and I was shunned. I didn't have anyone to eat lunch with or talk to. It was a tough time for me and it really brought down my self-esteem for many years. To this day it's hard for me to trust new friends. In the end, all's well that ends well!

10. Summarize yourself in one word. 
Family-centered

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CVS Coupon Haul Week of 5/5 - 5/11

If you're a long time follower of It's Sew My Style, then you already know that I love a good deal. I love to shop at the mall for the best bargains and that bargain hunting transfers over to groceries and toiletries as well.

Sometimes, when I get a really good haul, I like to share it with my readers and maybe inspire some of you to check for coupons and such too. You never know what there's going to be a coupon for and what kinds of sales there are going to be.

Ok let's get to it. I split my purchase up into 3 separate transactions. Ask your cashier if they are okay with it before you assume that they will be.

Transaction #1:
1 Bic Soleil Disposable Razors - on sale for $6.99 with $2 Extra Bucks for next purchase. I had a $3 coupon which would make this $3.99 out of pocket.
1 Pack of Mentos: $1.19
Total = $5.18 + $0.63 tax = $5.81 out of pocket plus $2 for my next purchase
Total Savings = $4.00

Transaction #2:
1 Sally Hansen Extreme Nail Polish: $3.19
1 Sally Hansen Extreme Nail Polish: $3.19
1 Sally Hansen Instant Dry Nail Polish: $5.49 - $4 Coupon = $1.49
Receive $5 Extra Bucks with the purchase of $10 of Sally Hansen
Total= $7.87 - $2 Extra Bucks from Transaction 1 = $5.87 + $0.92 tax = $6.79
Total Savings = $6.00

Transaction #3:
3 Garnier Fructis Pure Clean Shampoo: $2.99 each = $8.97
Buy 1 Get 1 Free Coupon deducted $3.99 (because that was the original price) = $4.98
Total = $4.98 - $5 Extra Bucks from Transaction 2 = $-0.02 + $0.70 tax = $0.68
Total Savings = $11.99

Total Spent = $13.28
Total Saved = $21.99

See how coupons really do make a difference?! Are you going to try couponing? 

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What to Wear: Fancy Dinner

Day Dresses
Platforms

Since we've made our new wedding plans, I have been thinking a lot about what kind of attire our guests should wear. I found this beautiful purple dress and thought, not only would it be appropriate for a guest to wear to our wedding, but would be great for anyone attending a nice dinner - be it a birthday celebration, an anniversary dinner, or just because. I absolutely love the zipper detail on this dress and the color is amazing. This deep jewel tone looks great with most skin tones too!

The best part is that this dress is under $50! I seriously could not believe that when I saw it. If you are interested in purchasing, just click on the picture above.


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What to Wear: Wedding Edition

Bridal Gowns
Evening Dresses

I've been on the lookout for pretty white dresses that would work as my wedding gown for the big day! Like I said yesterday, we're doing a fairly simple wedding, so my dress should be fairly simple too. I love all of these options but they're all sold out online so none will be my dress (although if #2 or #3 were available it would probably be one of those!). Anyway, I thought I'd share which direction I'm thinking of going in. I also have the option of getting a more simple dress for the ceremony and then wearing a long dress for the dinner. The possibilities are endless!

Which one is your favorite?


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Wedding Wednesday: Our Plans

After a lot of research and number crunching, Brandon and I came up with a plan that we both love and are extremely happy with.

At first we were planning a traditional wedding, with reception, but neither of us were loving that idea and it was going to cost a lot of money that neither of us really wanted to spend. I mean $400 for centerpieces that we're never going to use again?! We were both stressing about the guest list...invite these people that we only briefly know just because they're related to us somehow? It was getting to be too much.

In the meantime, every couple that's married that we talked to would say "we wish we would have just gone down to the courthouse instead of had that big wedding." "If we could do it over we would just go to the courthouse." I kid you not. Not one couple that we've talked to has said "If I could do it over I'd do it exactly the same." That got us thinking.

So we scaled down - big time. We have decided on a simple court house ceremony with an intimate dinner for just our immediate families afterward. Dinner will be at B's restaurant here in town which is one of the nicest here. It also has a lounge upstairs that we will retire to after the dinner. There we'll invite our friends to join us for drinks and dessert.

I can't even tell you how happy we are with this plan. We are able to have a nice, simple wedding with the people that are most important to us. We get to save money so that we can have a better honeymoon, and we get to save more money for a down payment on a house.

I'm still planning to wear a white dress - although more simple than the original plan called for (although that was going to be simple too). I'll still carry a small bouquet. We'll have a cake, a photographer, and favors for our guests. I'd like to have cupcakes for our friends when they join us upstairs.

So there you have it. Our new and improved plan. We are still looking at June 2014, but who knows, it may be sooner :)

Did you do a courthouse ceremony? Do you know anyone that did? Let me know how it went in the comments below.


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