.i'm back and feeling alive.

If you are a new friend or blog follower, you aren’t acquainted with my hair color history. I am a red head. Out of a box. It’s true. I will admit it and my stylist will allow me to admit it. She doesn’t take credit for the color…just the low lights.

Once I found Herbal Essences #44…my life changed forever and I have been defined by my hair color. Between that and my height, I easily stand out in a crowd. Because of the color, people remember me from the make up counter, the grocery store and the manicure place.

When I have coupons, I stock up. There was a time when it would have been safe to say that I had…..10-12 boxes stashed away. As someone who uses two boxes per coloring this lasts a decent amount of time.

Earlier this year, tragedy struck and I was unable to locate my color for quite some time. GASP!! So I found some others, they were decent….but a part of me was missing. Luckily, Wal-Mart (yea, yea I know…. You hate that place) seems to be carrying some in low quantities. When I spot them, I buy them. 2 boxes, four boxes, however many they may have.

If I play my cards right, there will be enough to carry me through our wedding in April.

This is great news because I’ve been feeling a little blah the past few months and now I feel complete again. Sounds weird and no, I shouldn’t be defined by a color, but it is so fabulous! It shines, it stands out and random people on the street stop to compliment me. It is a big of a confidence booster; it makes me feel sassy and invincible alive. And it covers the damn grey hair that I found.

Allow me to reintroduce you to Herbal Essences #44. DO NOT buy any of these from my local Wal-Mart. Said with love, of course…..

.my eyebrows.

As you may have read, this past Saturday was finally brow waxing day. Much overdo.

Here is the before:

Here is the after:

I LOVE my waxer. For real.

.vendor saturday.

Today is going to be one busy day....it doesn't help that I went to bed at 1 am and woke up just after 6 am. Why, you ask? When you find out, let me know.

FINALLY it is eyebrow wax time. Is it just me or does it seem like your hair grows twice as fast once you make the appointment? I made this appointment about 10 days ago, instead of styling my hair, I need to style my 'brows to keep them out of my face. They are so gawd awful right now that my sister commented on them being "rather full". How did she do this? Via webcam on Skype. Yes, you can tell from 2,500 miles away how in need they are of some grooming.

The brow obsession started back in about 6th grade when I realized that my brows resembled Bert's brows.

No, really, I mean it. And NO pre-teen should EVER attempt to fix her own brow. EVER. Doing that caused me about 18.5 years of uneven brows. So now I only trust them to Tessa, my esthetician. She's been caring for my hairs for coming up on four years. One of the few long term relationships I have here in Vegas, so that goes to show you how good she really, truly is.

Dear Tessa,

I am sorry for the beast who is coming to see you today, forgive me, Tessa for it has been about 8 weeks since my last brow wax.

Love,

The NearlyWed

Then.... I can come home, nap-- I should take my flab to the gym, but sweating for 24 hours while your pores are open from a wax is bad news, darn-- so then I will nap and head back out to meet an invite stationer and then a something super special and super secret for our wedding. What is it?? Well I may just crack and spill what it is..... lemme think about that one.

Tomorrow finds us meeting with out wedding planner to discuss what is left to do (a LOT!) in the next 3 months.... and then the final wrap ups that are due in the last three months. Wow.... only two quarters of a year until we get married. Where does the time go?

So I leave you with no exciting photos of today, but stay tuned for my invite inspiration and meeting recap. And maybe, just maybe I will share a secret with you!

.progress in the fashion area.

We made some progress in the fashion department over the past few weeks:

1. I bought my dad a tie. This compliments both the wedding and my mom's dress. I had originally found this on The Tie Bar and thought, "oh we have PLENTY of time"....well when I went to buy it.... it was gone. At J. Crew, I had seen one there and after finally making it to the local J. Crew Outlet, they had one left. One left in two colors: an olivey green and a brighter green. It looks like the tie below...except without the white. But now that I see the white...hmmmm.....

2. Flo bought some ties at the Tie Bar as well. We bought two green ties and matching pocket squares. Am loving the The Tie Bar, for serious. We haven't.... He hasn't decided on which tie her prefers. That will be his choice. He is fashion aware, as I like to call him and will give him that decision to make.

3. We are ordering the Zillaz dresses! Yay! M-Zilla and K-Zilla were able to try on the dress and both gave it three snaps up and a Z formation. So we moved forward with the order forms. I am hoping that the Zillaz all get them in and ordered by October 1. I had emailed all four of my Zillaz and heard back from one that she got it and has ordered her dress. But I have faith that all will be ordered on time. I know, it is me being crazy...but a "hey I got it." Or, "Hey I ordered it" would calm my neuroses.

4. We are ordering coordinating ties for our guys! We are going with the Dessy Group Satin ties and Pocket Squares in concord. They will coordinate with the Zillaz. So Groomsmaids and Zillaz are all set, for the most part.

5. MOB ordered her dress, had it shortened like I suggested (yay! It was optional, but it will look way cuter for the "theme"). She is going with a sassy navy dress. I haven't a clue what MIL will be wearing which is making me mildly nervous....but I can't control every detail. We haven't revisited her outfitting since showing me something white she'd like to wear. Again, my neuroses...

6. I ordered shoes. Yup. Finally. They are NOT the Louboutin's that I had dreamt about... but we DID change our venue and add quite a bit of $$$ to our budget for that. It's all good because I do love these.... and bought them for a great price. I actually love challenging myself to see what I can find for the lowest price. They are the "Giselle" by Liz Rene. Still debating on dyeing them to match Flo's tie tho....

.bridal body in the making.

It is neither a secret nor a wonder that I've been feeling rather blah since trying on the dress. The dress trying on comes with some funny outtakes too, which need to be posted. Anyway, to kick start the bridal body into motion, we started Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet. Yesterday was Day #1.

Three summers ago, I did this "diet" with great success, but it was HARD, and still is. Matter of fact, I am already dying for a glass of wine. I won't try to educate you here about the diet, you can read up on it. It actually is a little variance from the way that, as a diabetic, I should be eating.

In order to not be wasteful, I took my Omnipod off and went back to good ol' insulin pens. Yesterday, I took about 4 unites of insulin, compared to my normal of 15-20. My concern with that is going back on the pod, if it will just put weight on again.

Being a diabetic bride is not good times!! I was really digging my cute little bod that I had in January when I ran through the snow in tube socks and a bikini in Big Bear. No, no photos of that will be posted, but thanks for asking.

So onto day #2 we go! We both finished day #1 with flying colors.... let's see how the next 13 go!

Our goal is to turn this into a lifestyle change. Will there still be nites when we have smores for dessert? Yes. Nachos for dinner? Of course, it IS football season. Are there nites where I will have three glasses of wine instead of one? Yes- have you seen my life?! I need it.

I will update you after five days on how many pounds we've dropped. So stay tuned for that post to come Tuesday AM.

Be healthy.

.sample sale.

Wow! Cocktail Bling is having a sample sale. I am salivating over this:
The beading matches my dress perfectly; however, I am not feeling the pearls. Anyone wish to make me one without pearls??

Check out Cocktail Bling for sale pricing!!

.bridal beauty in the making, part dos.

This trip for the MOB and FOB has been quite productive. Since they booked their tix, I wanted MOB to have her hair turned fabu by my stylist, Andeen, and she obliged. MOB is a girlie girl like me, but she doesn't get to come out to play too often. So we took our before pic....and went to get our hairs did.

Andeen is the most talented hair guru I've ever met and what I enjoy the most is that she will take the time to ask what you normally do with your hair, how you normally style it and then create something new that will not conflict with your lifestyle or willingness to be high maintenance. She also takes the time to teach you how to curl, style, dry, whatever your hair. Everything that I've ever learned about cute hair was taught to me by Andeen. If you need a stylist here locally, she is who I recommend, hands down. Hair tools, will travel.

What she created for MOB was amazing.... And here is our "after" photo, before GNO (Girls Nite Out)

I also thought that it would be nice to start looking at shoes for MOB's dress. I should have known that the first pair she tries on would be the winner, just like her fabu dress. I will show pics of the shoes....but not the dress. Is it just me or are MOB dresses soooo matronly these days?? Anyway, I delivered several boxes of silvery shoes to MOB and she gracefully tried them on. Like with the dress, I will give my opinion but the decision truly comes down to what makes MOB feel the most glamorous and most comfortable. It will be a long day in a dress that constricts breathing and makes you squirm.

So I leave you with this..... some fabu shoes.... that quite possibly after the wedding will be a new, something old just for me!

.bridal beauty in the making.

Last week, I had my first hair appt since my engagement. Yes, I rarely cut my hair. Be not alarmed! My hair stylist is THAT fantastic where I only need three cuts per year, my last being in December. If she does give me something that needs maintenance she will either A. show me hot to do it (Had bangs for 4.5 months all trimmed by yours truly) B. make sure that it is cut in a way where it will grow out nicely. So what the average beautiful woman spends in one haircut, I probably spend in one year. Lucky me.

Normally, when I get out of her chair, I am transformed into a fabulous, fierce beauty who loves to frolic, stare at myself and then take the self portrait in the car and send to everyone I know because I can hardly contain my excitement for my new style. This time, we just trimmed and cleaned up my hair. I am in a wedding in just a few short weeks (soo excited!!!) and want that hair to be style-able for someone who does not know my hair at all, so we didn’t go nuts. And there is only 11 months left until my stylist needs to create fabulosity on top of my head. If the average person’s hair goes ½ inch per month, I should be about 5 inches longer than where it is now. I vow to get trims every three months between now and the wedding date so my hair should probably be about three inches longer when all is said and done. Works for me.

My stylist knows me very well. She is the only person to touch my locks in years. I don’t need to show her photos of what I want. We sit. We talk. She tells me in all honestly what will and will not work. And then she shows me how to do it in several different ways. She is amazing. (here we are on my 30th birthday) And I love her. She is also a very, very dear friend to me. Allow me to introduce you to Andeen. For the wedding, I may or may not take photos to her, I almost feel as if I am offending her as both a friend and stylist if I do. We already talked dress styles and have a few fabulous ideas in mind. She understands my current obsession with sticking a feather in my hair and calling Bridalroni. I am obsessed with flowers and feathers. And the birdcage veil, but have convinced myself that I can not quite pull it off.

So I leave you with a few photos of my new loves…..

This would be fabulous for my bridesmaids, if they wear purple. They are going to think that I am nuts.... shhhhh don't tell them. Photo is courtesy of Etsy, MissRubySue.

This makes me think of soft waves, side swept, pinned low and behind the ear.... Photo courtesy of Etsy, loboheme

This would be fabulous on a bun, faux bob or other style with the hair pulled up or back.... sigh... Photo on Etsy, Jennypickle.

I can see this more up front than tucked behind and ear. For those who, like me, love the birdcage veil but are afraid of it! Love the netting. And the feathers. Love me some Etsy. Powderbluebijoux.

.just say ahhhhh.

Today, I treated myself to a little pre- engagement photo pedicure at a fabulous place called Futzpah 118. It is located inside of a podiatrist’s office and is just a-mazing! A little…ok a decent amount more expensive than your neighborhood nail place, but for me, it is worth it. They have a special pedi called “Unsugar my tootsies” and it is for diabetics. Being a Type 1 diabetic, the last, absolute last thing I need is a cut on my foot to lead an infection and thus ending in amputation. You see, everything always ends in the worse possible, dramatic way when I speak, think or write. So to save myself, I treat myself to the pedis on rare occasion. Last occasion was my birthday.

I think about taking my Zillaz here for pedis before the wedding, but they can only seat three people at a time and that means we would have to spend two hours there… hmmmm I will need to think about that. But while I was there, I found great inspiration for my e-pic hair and makeup. So far, I have taken photos of my outfits and will use them to show my hair and makeup gurus what I plan on wearing so that they can beautify as necessary. I’m thinking of starting with my hair up so that we do the formal, glam poses and then pull it down for the casual shots. Although I am not sure that I trust myself enough to do it seamlessly. I was thinking of a smokey grayish eye so that it will potentially match with everything. I can change up the lip color as necessary to match the looks of the photos. While enjoying my pedicure, I slyly ripped out two photos from an old US Weekly magazine! If my scanner was connected to my laptop, a photo would be posted here.

Back to feet-this, by the way, is the one thing that I hate most in this world. I have an awful anti-foot thing. I digress… I found some flip flops in the dollar section of Target last weekend. It is spring time, so time to throw in all of the spring bridal items and bachelorette party items. Most items were cheesy but they had these super cute flip flops, so I bought two pair.
One for pre-wedding and then the pair that says “Just Married.” And then I got to thinking… I want to have a “flip flop bin” at the wedding where the ladies can grab a pair, kick off their heels and dance/lounge in comfort. Who doesn’t cry barking dogs after hours of dancing? Oddly, Flo isn’t into this idea. My guess would be that he has never crunched his feet into a non conforming pair of ladies heels for more than 1 minute, yet alone four hours. I had an idea of buying out all of the pairs of flip flops from my local Target stores. Well our visit today turned up two pairs. Yes, count them folks, two pairs. Seemed rather pointless to buy them so we left and I now will search the wonderful world of Google, eBay and anywhere else that may sell bulk flops. As I get further into posting inspirational ideas and photos, more of this flip flop bin will be revealed.