Want affordable flowers...think Krogers

Picture found on honeymoon on Mackinac Island. Table cloth I made. Drinking pitcher given as gift by my Mother and  Flowers from mark down section at Krogers. Don't they look fake, but they are real :0)

Do you need nice flowers for a special event or an inexpensive pick me up? Think Krogers! If you aren't too picky in the style of flower you want you may want to check out what your local Krogers grocery store has to offer. I've had good luck even in the mark down section. I go the day before my event and see what they have to offer. I usually can find something that can work and is affordable. People were amazed at what we were able to purchase for our house warming party. Sure they may not look so pretty taking the bunches home in plastic but once home tear open that packaging and place them in dollar store finds, vases, juice glasses, jars pitchers you name it and waa-la instant pretty :0) 

Dollar store bird. Birdcage from Krogers that we later painted and used as part of our center pieces for our wedding. Vase was an oversize coca-cola glass from the dollar store.  And last but not least...flowers from Kroger

Purchased for Christmas party at home. Reused wedding vases and  birdcage votive candles.

Macy's Furniture Delivery

Picture taken in show room of Macy's Department Store

My husband and I have a hard time agreeing on how to decorate our home. So when we find something we like we have to act on it and get it right then and there. In September we started our quest to purchase living room furniture. We looked all around and ended up in Macy's.

I use to love when our Macy's store use to be Hudson's and Marshall Field's department stores. It seemed like they offered better service and were more affordable etc. The Westland store in Michigan is behind the times a bit in the way their store is decorated etc. Not up to date or remodeled like other stores. It hasn't exactly caught up to speed with other Macy's stores that are out there. In my opinion the service is awful at the Westland store. I would say the first floor or main floor has the worst customer service. Service for whatever reason on the upper floor in housewares is better and their furniture division is also acceptable. However once I am burned in a bad way by a department store it is really hard to get me to come back or purchase regularly from that store. I no longer purchase Clinque products  due to the awful and embarrassing service at their make up counter at the Westland Macy's. I rarely buy anything there unless I absolutely can not find it some place else. They have severely lost my business. So when we finally found a Living room furniture set at Macy's I was a little hesitant. Macy's furniture seemed to be of the best quality that was in our price range and happened to be on sale. I am not sure how well our couch or chair will fair wear wise, but it's better than having no furniture like we had before. What I will say is that the delivery of our furniture was absolutely awesome. They took care of our house like it was their own. They were careful unloading our furniture. The delivery guys took their shoes off and put booties on. They took care of not hitting the walls or scratching our hard wood floors and they didn't track up all over our yard. The delivery guys were friendly and on time. Very pleased with the furniture and the the delivery, set up and purchase process from the Furniture Department at Macy's Westland. However I am still hardheaded and still refuse to purchase on a regular basis from them for my everyday needs.

What's in my Make Up Bag you ask??? Let's take a peek...

I love the "What's in your Make Up Bag" videos and blogs so I thought I'd share what is currently in my Make Up Bag.

I included a few items I normally don't carry with me as well. Everything shown makes up my everyday face. 

What I don't carry in my purse:

Neurtrogena-Rapid Wrinkle Repair Serum

Cover Girl-Professional Loose Powder #105 w/ Bare Escentuals brush

Neutrogena-Healthy Skin Liquid Make Up SPF20 #10 classic ivory

Eye Lash Curler

What I do carry in my purse:

Make Up Bag- Sonia Kashuk

Eye Shadow- Jane Iredale- Perfectly Nude-use brush that comes with it and a Essence of Beauty Brush

Blush- Palladio Herbal Mosaic Powder- Desert Rose with random blush brush

Metal Pencil Sharpener

Eyeliner- For upper lash line-L'Oreal Infallible Lacquer Liner 24H #171 blackest black gel liner w/brush

Silver Mirror Compact

Mascara- Maybelline- The Falsies Volum' Express Waterproof -Very Black

Lip Liner-Urban Decay 24/7 Naked

Eyeliner- For lower lash line- Urban Decay 24/7 Bourbon

Lip Gloss- Palladio- Dreamy

All of these products I absolutely love. So there you have it...What's in your bag? :0)

One small organizational accomplishment...Whoo hoo give me a medal lol

Oh how I long to be a version of Martha Stewart (minus the jail time) and live in a Pottery Barn house. I have moments of feeling organized but somehow the home just doesn't stay picture perfect. My family loves the idea of these things but isn't always so happy to help achieve the lifestyle. Most days after work I don't feel the need either. So I put Martha Stewart on snooze and dream of what my home could be like. With that being said I still attempt small organizing projects here and there and this one so far this year is working. It has stayed nice and tidy and we use everything daily. This makes me smile. One lovely kitchen cupboard all nice and neat. Sometimes I open and close the cupboard just to look at it and feel a sense of accomplishment lol It's like I have to do it several times just to make sure it doesn't magically turn into a mess...could be that or my OCD. I should have taken a before photo, but honestly I didn't think our cupboard would stay this nice for this long lol. I will paint you a picture instead...We had vitamin bottles, medicine, a bunch of thermos bottles, a mish-mash of everything. I did switch out our dishes and put the others in the basement so that helped. I've been taking pictures on my Ipod because my camera has been out of commission so I apologize for the quality of it. Don't get me started about Best Buy and their warranties/ Geek squad ugh! Now don't you feel like rearranging your cupboards lol

Casablanca...it's not the whole story but it's a start as to where my frustrations came from

The following are snippets from my email conversations with the Casablanca Dress Manufacturer. In between these emails I was made to speak directly with the Retailer. I essentially got the brush off. Outcome between the Retailer and Manufacturer has been unsuccessful. Mind you I ordered my dress in Feb 2012 with my Wedding date of  August 2012 and did not receive my dress until two days prior to my wedding. The dress was not to satisfaction. I ended up having to find a seamstress at the last minute to make the dress acceptable to wear on my wedding day. I officially got my dress the day before my wedding. It was the most stressful and unhappy experience I have ever had. Also for note I asked only for monies regarding customization of dress and alterations to be refunded. I did not ask for a free dress. I wanted to pay what was fair. We have received no compensation in any way for the dress or the distress it caused. And no apology. All letters from Manufacturer were general form letters received. Notes are my opinions and feelings and as everyone knows everyone has one. I am not looking for any negative feedback for my posting. I believe this experience gave me all the negative and then some for a lifetime. Thank you.


Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2012 
To: Casablanca

URGENT! I am in desperate need of help. I purchased a dress from Diane's Dream Brides. I ordered my dress back in Feb and it was due in the first week of July. My dress came in yesterday 7/17. My Wedding date is August 17, 2012. The owner of shop is on vacation and I don't feel the person/Manager in charge is being proactive. I believe the dress that came in could be someone else's or a terrible mistake has happened. I had custom sleeves attached to my dress and the dress that came in is the wrong color and wrong sleeves totally. Not the design at all. I saw the sketch that was sent to Casablanca and it was correct what I got is no where near the sketch. The placement of sleeves is incorrect, material is incorrect and I can not fit my arms in the holes.  My dress should have been ivory and this one is white. My dress is Casablanca 2035. Please contact me with what my options are. The dress was fully paid for prior to receipt of dress. I need to know how quickly this can be resolved. I am a very stressed Bride. Thank you in advance for any help. 

*In regards to Manager at Diane's I did receive an acceptable and what I feel heart felt apology from her. Much more had transpired during my fitting. 

Response Received July 18, 2012

Congratulations on your engagement and thank you for selecting a Casablanca Bridal Gown!  Since we're the manufacturer, we work strictly with our authorized retailers.  We've contacted the store and asked them to assist you and to call us if they need our help.  We are happy to assist them on your behalf.  Just have the store call us if they need our help. (Please note this store is closed on Wednesdays).  Thanks again for choosing a Casablanca Bridal gown.  We wish you all the best on your special day!

Kind regards,

Casablanca Bridal
Customer Service

Sent: Friday, August 31, 2012 
To: Casablanca

Dear Casablanca, I am sure your staff remembers me. I am the bride who wanted custom sleeves put on my dress. Yes, I am back from my honeymoon and no I have not forgotten about the nightmare that happened to my dress or to top it off the inexcusable treatment Marilee treated my mother to over the phone. I am still not pleased with your retail vendor. In the end I had to take the dress to another seamstress to fix the dress. The vendor seamstress was simply not equipped to make proper alterations. On top of it all I had to pay this out of my pocket!  Also the reasoning given to me regarding this design error (you will not take ownership of) is simply something to hide behind. Telling me that it is all in ”interpretation “ and how you feel the dress should look based on sketch is absolutely hilarious since your original dress that was produced was so far off from the sketch design I felt it to be someone else’s dress. Funny using the same sketch the second time around it was interpreted correctly. This whole situation caused unbelievable distress! Yes, I was able to get married. The fact of the matter is the treatment me and my Mother received. It was appalling! I am in shock that a manufacturer with such “great” reviews would have people representing them with such deplorable customer service skills. I realize you do not speak to the end user, however I believe it in your best interest to contact me as soon as possible and the person I should speak to should be of authority. 

*The basic jist of the response I received from the retailer was she is SO sorry  I can't get over the situation....REALLY
*My wording of what I heard in her email...this is the short version.

Response Received Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Thank you for taking the time to write to us regarding your custom-made gown and congratulations on your marriage!

We've shared your feedback with our management team.  However, you will need to contact your authorized retailer, Diane's Dream Brides, for further assistance regarding your gown.  Your transaction was with the retailer, so they are the party that you need to contact. 

Legally we cannot disclose information that is between Casablanca Bridal and our authorized dealer.  

Thanks again for your message.  We wish you and your Groom a lifetime of happy memories together.

Kind regards,

Casablanca Bridal
Customer Service

Sent: Tuesday, September 18, 2012 
To: Casablanca

I still wish to receive a call and I still would like retailer to refund me the additional alteration fees in full.

*FYI I don't feel $185 is so much for them to reimburse me for and make me feel better. The retailer offered me $100 and gave me a sad story of how she made nothing off my dress. Ok bottom line none of this was my fault. Why should I have to settle for less than what I wanted and paid for in full.  What I asked for was nothing outrageous etc. Retailer asked me for my address to send $100. REALLY... we've done business and you can not find my address... in the end I received NOTHING. The fault was started by Casablanca and the retailer was poor in all aspects in my opinion of service. I was given a dress that was not able to be worn on my wedding day and was left to find someone who could salvage it. Retailer's attitude was basically get over it...NEXT CUSTOMER!

Response Received September 19, 2012

We received your previous email message and shared your feedback with our Management Team.  However, you will need to contact your authorized retailer directly, (Diane's Dream Brides), regarding your gown.  Your transaction was with that retailer, so they are the party that you need to contact with your inquiry.

Wishing you all the best!

Casablanca Bridal

Customer Service

Now tell me this doesn't sound like a blow off. They got their money and they couldn't care less. In between these emails Casablanca DID take a phone call from my Mother (who happens to be the nicest person and non confrontational person you will ever meet.) and they were INCREDIBLY RUDE to her. Down right MEAN. 

Think twice before purchasing anything "custom" from Casablanca Bridal. If you buy your dress off the rack you may fair better than myself. It's really hard to swallow the treatment that occurred in all aspects of purchasing my dress. My parents paid for the dress and a family heirloom was sold to purchase it. This made it even harder to accept. We do not come from money and a large retailer with tons of money spit on us in my opinion. If one person reads this and decides against purchasing a gown from them I THANK YOU! Little people can make a difference. 

Addicted to Gurus!

I  have a serious addiction to watching Make Up Tutorials on You Tube. It happened one day while typing in random searches into You Tube when I discovered the world of Make Up Tutorials. I love jumping into someone's world for a bit and getting lost in their daily routine. I watch them while putting on my own make up and sometimes while eating breakfast or just to relax at the end of the night before bed. I know I don't know any of these people in the real world except for maybe interacting a little with them on Facebook but they become part of your life in a weird little way. I look forward to their ordinary daily life and I learn new things from their experiences. It's been a very positive thing for me to watch these snippets of others lives. There are so many gurus I love. I know if I write a list I'm sure to leave some off just from my brain racing to remember them all. But here goes ...and in no particular order.

1.) Samantha Schuerman 
http://www.youtube.com/user/samanthaschuerman
I love her tutorials but it's the sharing of her and her family's life I love most. They make me wish they were my next door neighbors. Samantha and her Husband Jay and their kids will make you laugh out loud at their silly antics. Love Them!
2.) Emily Noel
http://www.youtube.com/emilynoel83
This former news anchor knows her beauty tricks and products. I could listen to her for hours describing products. When her Mom does cameo shots here and there I absolutely love her! She is adorable! And her husband is even great at reviews. Oh and did I mention her sister too...she is an amazing artist and just as fun to listen too. Emily's advice is invaluable. I've never been stung by purchasing a product she's recommended.
3.) Lisa
http://www.youtube.com/user/LisaLisaD1isa
I think Lisa is the sweetest person to watch and I can't figure out why there are so many hateful people hating on her. I get lost in all her shopping hauls. She finds and buys brands I've never heard of. I find watching her she keeps getting better and better with age.
4.) Marnie
http://www.youtube.com/user/MsGoldgirl
Marnie offers more than just Make Up Tutorials. She offers book reviews as well plus she has some pretty adorable dogs that wander into her videos.
5.) Jessica
http://www.youtube.com/user/LolaMarie7
I wish Jessica did more videos so it's a real treat when she gets on a roll and up loads a bunch of videos. She is hysterical. I love when she's in her car going off about a topic or doing a haul in there as well. She is fun to watch.
6.) Marnie and Mandi
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheBeautystand
Two quirky sisters I am loving right now. I watched a mini marathon of them they were so addicting.
7.) Elle and Blair Fowler
http://www.youtube.com/user/AllThatGlitters21
http://www.youtube.com/user/juicystar07
Two very organized sisters that are so fun to watch.
8.) Lorraine Stanick
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheCurrentCustom
I am addicted to all of her "Custom" videos...she has several channels to choose from and her Mom is hysterical.
9.) Leesha
http://www.youtube.com/user/xsparkage
Watching Leesha do make up is daring. She is so outside my comfort zone of applying make up. It's fantasy make up at it's best.
10.) Lauren Luke
http://www.youtube.com/user/panacea81
I could listen to Lauren's accent forever.  She is an artist with make up.
11.) Lindsay
http://www.youtube.com/user/LaFemme5278
Lindsay is so cute and I love her wedding tips and wedding video. She has opened my eyes to the new world of box subscribing. I have yet to try one but it's another fun option to try eventually.

There are so many Make Up Gurus I just can't list them all! Check out any one of them and I'm sure you will find them to be addictive too :)

Metivier Inn- Mackinac Island

Metivier Inn
PO Box 285
Mackinac Island, MI 49757
Ph# 1-866-847-6234
Email: info@metivierinn.com
http://www.metivierinn.com

Ahh The Metivier Inn on Mackinac Island. We happened upon this great establishment by chance. As I mentioned before we stayed two days at The Inn at Bay Harbor for our honeymoon. Our original plans were to stay two days at Bay Harbor and then three days at our economy location. We ended up staying two days at our economy location and the last day at the Metivier Inn. After staying at The Bay Harbor Resort our old economy vacation with inconsistent water pressure in the shower wasn't looking so good for our honeymoon. While visiting the Island we came across the Metivier Inn. We went and checked it out and our thinking was maybe next time we could afford to stay at this cute little bed and breakfast. After inquiring and speaking with the inn keepers they made us a fabulous offer. $100 off the turret room. I literally cried in front of them lol They said we deserved to have a great honeymoon! It was the perfect little honeymoon room too. Even with the floral decorations my husband loved it! We then decided to forfeit our money on our last day at the Beach House in Mackinaw City and take up the great offer at the Metivier to round out our honeymoon. We had such a great stay there. The Innkeepers David and Blanca made you feel like you were at home. They were so friendly and really wanted you to enjoy your stay with them. They even gave out their years of wisdom in conversation regarding marriage after hearing we had just gotten married. They are great people and their happiness is contagious. They offer a great breakfast too. Matter of fact both the Metivier and The Inn at Bay Harbor have excellent breakfasts. My husband and I dream of them. The grounds are perfect and the rooms are exceptionally clean. The actual owner of the Inn is an artist and she did all the renovations of the home and decorating. We actually bought as a keepsake one of her paintings of the Metivier. There are so many little details in the house. It's a step back in time yet you have modern conveniences as well. We've stayed on the island once before but this time we got to see the island's night life. Being so close to town was a plus. The regular businesses at night turn into clubs and you can hear all the fun they have there. Remember in the movie Dirty Dancing how much the help had fun...well something similar goes on there.  I've included a few pictures taken of the inn during our stay. Also from the backyard you can see the Grand Hotel.  We would stay here again and you should too :)

Our room we stayed in at the Metivier Inn.

Duel Purpose Wedding Items

I recently got married and while planning our wedding you realize how truly expensive things are. When looking for a venue and place to get married we looked for a place that had character. We figured the place itself would be our biggest decoration. Of course I would still need favors and additional decorations to pull everything together. I crafted a lot for our wedding to save on cost as well. But one of the things I also did to save money was to get our monies worth out of everything we used for the wedding. It took a little bit of thinking ahead but all our decorations were able to serve duel purposes in our home life as well and we've gotten our money back in the use of our decorations. Waste not want not I say :) We've used our wedding decorations as decorations in our home and have reused them for party decorations and even as Christmas ornaments. Even the left over advice postcards we were able to use as thank you cards for guests. And if you are lucky enough your venue will love your wall decorations so much they will purchase them from you! We were one of the lucky ones that our venue absolutely loved our decorations and wanted to purchase them from us to use always. Heck what were we going to do with these large and multiple wall decorations so it was a win win for us :) Pictures listed are just a few of our decorations and all were re-purposed. 

Drinking pitchers have been used repeatedly for flower vases. We love our guest book with all the pictures in it. We got it on Shutterfly and with coupons it was free with only paying shipping!

The bird cages have found a home in our living room. We stored all our wedding cards in them and advice cards. They are like a little scrapbook of our wedding we can pull out and look at anytime. We've used our votive candles multiple times. Even before the wedding we used them for our Housewarming party. We just repainted them.  The wreath found a home in our family room in our basement.

We use the jars in our kitchen. My husband recently got a Keurig Coffee maker and the large canister holds all his coffee perfectly. We use the other canisters and rotate out candies and cookies in them. 

Left over bird favors were used for our Christmas Tree and for a wreath I made in the fall. We also made wedding gift boxes for guests that could not attend our wedding and used our extras in them. 

We reused our baskets for rolls at our holiday party. 

Victoria's Secret Dryer Sheets

For Christmas my Mom got me some of the Victoria's Secret Dryer Sheets. I never even knew they existed! They have the most fabulous smell! I washed my new robe and used one of these dryer sheets and I just couldn't quit smelling myself lol! Now that I love them so much I checked the Victoria's Secret website and it appears they no longer carry any of the line. I have found that a box of 40 sheets can be purchased for $20 on ebay. Major bummer to find such a great item to no longer be available at Victoria's Secret. If this item was more easily accessible I would definitely make this a routine purchase.

Neat Receipts Portable Scanner

I am always striving for better organization in my home. Most days it feels as if I'm on a treadmill to no where in the pursuit of a household that virtually cleans itself. One of my family's biggest issues is excess paper. Receipts, credit card bills, documents etc. For Christmas my husband got me a Neat Receipts Scanner. I have just started using it. It's pretty simple to use, but i still need to play with it more to figure out how all the bells and whistles work on it. I'm pretty sure I will want to scan everything soon enough. It's going to take time to get our paper monster in control. I think the Neat Receipts is definitely a good organizing tool and something to check out. My only concern is that my computer is old and how much storage space it will use in my system, however it appears there is a trial offer for virtual cloud storage that could solve all of that. In the end any person who loves Martha Stewart and her everything in it's place outlook will love this tool. I also love that it is so small it takes up no space on a counter etc.

Bet you never thought Michigan had a Resort like this!

3600 Village Harbor Drive, Bay Harbor, Michigan 49770
Ph# 1-800-462-6963
http://www.innatbayharbor.com

Everyone that looks at our honeymoon pictures swears we were someplace else, but nope it's in Michigan. Sure there are many exotic locations we could have went for our honeymoon but we chose to stay in our own state. Heck we still haven't seen all there is of Michigan. We couldn't have asked for better weather than we had for our honeymoon. The resort is pricey so we could only afford two days but it was the best two days we ever had! After always living the economy life it was nice to see how the richer people live and let me tell you  we now know what we've been missing and nothing compares. The Inn at Bay Harbor has awesome customer service. They are beyond friendly and not the fake sort of friendly it's the real deal! For me it was like a scene in a favorite movie to stay at the Inn at Bay Harbor. The scenery in Bay Harbor is beautiful. Take a drive in any direction and there's even more beauty to look at. Petoskey, Harbor Springs, Mackinaw City any one of these cities have something wonderful to offer so If you are thinking of taking a vacation and don't know where you would like to go definitely check out Michigan and the Upper Peninsula.

Negative Review regarding Diane's Dream Brides and Casablanca Wedding Dress Manufacturer

I will elaborate in a future blog when I feel I want to get my blood boiling more. In the meantime I would like to put out there that for several valid reasons I do not recommend anyone purchasing a bridal gown from Diane's Dream Brides in Livonia Michigan or a Casablanca gown. Regarding Diane's Dream Brides the negative review is based on the fact that the dress situation was never resolved to satisfaction and the Casablanca negative review is based on they do not understand the true concept of customization of a gown. Casablanca has extremely poor customer service...and that is being generous with words. BUYER BEWARE! I suggest brides RUN not walk from Diane's Dream Brides. More like a nightmare than a dream!

Looking for Bridal Make-Up product ideas...look no further :)

I have extremely sensitive skin and I knew the basic look I wanted for my wedding day. I decided to purchase all the items I would want for my big day and have my make up artist pick and choose what she thought would look ideal for my special day. One of the best investments I made was purchasing the Urban Decay Naked II eye shadow palette. Price for this palette is $50 and can be purchased at Ulta, Sephora or at many up scale department stores. There are so many combinations that can be made from this one palette. Definitely worth the money. I have hit pan on many of the shades. For lip liner I wish I would have discovered ahead of time the Urban Decay 24/7 liners. I purchased the color wicked. This color would have blended perfectly with my Aveda lip color I wore on my wedding day. Liner cost $19 and is well worth it with it's long lasting wear. My make up artist recommended Maybelline Volume Express -The Falsies Waterproof Mascara at $5.94 a tube this is by far the best bargain. I cried a lot during all my wedding activities and this stood up to the test for me. Another staple that I just couldn't believe how much I would love was gel liner. I purchased the L'Oreal Infallible Gel Lacquer Liner 24 Hour brand. I am addicted to this product and can no longer go without. Product cost approximately $9. Another option for an eye shadow palette would be the Jane Iredale Pure Pressed Eye Shadow Kit Perfectly Nude for $52. I found this eye shadow kit while on honeymoon. It would make a great natural bridal make up look. It is pricey however the colors are traditional and can be used with anything you may already have. I recommend bringing your foundation with you when meeting with your make up artist. My artist used my shade to blend a custom color in HD foundation. This method helped to keep my coloring as close to my natural daily make up look as possible and kept me from looking too made up. If you think you can not afford a make up artist think again. My artist fee was only $25 plus $10 eyelash application fee and was from an Aveda Salon. Also, get individual lashes, because if you are a crier you will only lose one lash at a time instead of the possibility of the whole lash strip coming unglued. If you prefer to do your own lashes the Katy Perry brand is pretty amazing. Even the thicker style look natural on. Hope this gave you a few ideas to help with your special day!