Join me in supporting the March for Babies

This year I will be participating in my 8th March for Babies for the March of Dimes. During my freshman year of college I volunteered at the Cincinnati, Ohio March of Dimes and assisted with their spring 2002 neighborhood walks. It was an amazing experience and I have supported the cause through my own walk ever since.

 Becky, Matt & Henry at M4B 2011

Today in the U.S., 1 in every 8 babies will be born prematurely. Some of them won't survive, and others will have health problems that could last a lifetime. The funds we raise in WalkAmerica support research that saves babies' lives. The mission of March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality.

I`m very excited to be a part of March for Babies again this year. If you sponsored my walk last year - THANK YOU! With your help, I set a personal record and raised over $500! Please help me reach my goal again this year by making a donation to my walk. You can make a secure online gift at my personal walk page.

Your gift will fund March of Dimes research and programs that help moms have full-term pregnancies and babies begin healthy lives. And it will be used to bring comfort and information to families with a baby in newborn intensive care.

Thank you for helping me give all babies a healthy start!

Presents for the Parents of the Bride & Groom

A few posts back I shared how to use Etsy's Alchemy feature for personalized wedding items. Unfortunately, Etsy has decided to close Alchemy for the time being. Since my experience was quite successful, the news was disappointing and I hope they come up with a new and improved version soon. We used Alchemy to purchase our parent gifts.

I posted a request for picture frames personalized with our names and the date of our wedding and received MANY bids from talented ETSY vendors. These are the frames we "commissioned."

These beautiful frames came from Etsy Seller Mehndiart09. We are so thrilled with how they turned out and hope our parents love them too!

Bridesmaid's Gifts on a Budget

I can't say enough how amazing my bridesmaids were throughout the wedding process. They threw me two FABULOUS parties. They helped multiple DIY projects including our photo booth and flowers. They handled every bump along the way without stressing me with the details. Most importantly, the put up with bridezille-to-be-me for months.

And they coordinated their rehearsal dinner dresses without even meaning to! LOVE!

I wanted to be sure that my gifts for them were functional, fun and unique for each girl, without breaking the bank. After scouring the internet and giving it lots of thought, here is what I came up with!

- Turquoise pashmina from Amazon.com (for obvious & practical reasons... a February wedding is bound to be cold!)
- Beauty Rush lip gloss from Victoria's Secret (in a color they could wear the day-of and every day!)
- Candle (I found these about a year prior on clearance and grabbed them!)
- Lolita martini or wine glass (I LOVE these glasses. They come in fun themes, are hand-painted and each comes with a yummy drink recipe on the bottom. I saw them long before the wedding and knew I wanted to get them for my maids! Each girl received a different glass.)

I had been keeping an eye out for Lolita glasses for about a year, but never saw them priced below $25. I lucked out when I found one glass on clearance and the rest at Macy's where I was able to use my 15% off coupon. In all I spent about $30 per bridesmaid, which was a deal and I think they all loved their gifts (I hope!!). They deserved them and so much more!!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today is my birthday and I received the loveliest present. My photographer, Jessica Miller, sent me a sneak peak at our pictures. Eeeeeeeeee! She gave me TWO photos on facebook and I can't WAIT to see the rest.