Late at night when all the world is sleeping, I stay up...

Raise your hand if you have trouble sleeping🙋🙋 for the past couple of years I have had trouble both falling asleep and staying asleep. I know that my sleeping issues amplify when my own anxiety is high and I am overwhelmed (my brain is just like nope, were going to think about that decision you made in middle school). I do have a few tips that have helped me so I thought I'd share with you lovelies.

I am lucky enough to have friends that care about my lack of sleep and have given me most of the tricks I have for a good nights sleep.

Sweet dreams oil blend // One of my good friends Sammi actually had her friend make me an oil blend to help with sleeping. I love my oil blend so much I use it every night. I love the smell and I do think it has helped me with relaxing and falling asleep. I am not sure what is in the oil blend but I plan to try and find out so I can start making it myself. I apply the oil to the bottoms of my feet, the inside of my wrists, and behind my ears. I've also read that it is good to rub it on the back of your neck and your temples.

Lincy had to sneak in a pic. 

Hot/cold eye-mask // This was also gifted to me by my sweet friend Alex! I love love this mask. I do not use it every night but when I know I am going to have a rough night sleeping this is my go to. All I do is heat it up in the microwave and then place it on my eyes. The warmth helps relax my eyes which in turns helps me feel more ready for sleep. PRO tip: If you put the mask in the fridge or freezer the cooling sensation helps with migraines.

Yoga // I have the most caring friends because my other friend Tina actually sent me this yoga youtube video. This is not an every night thing but when I know I'm going to have a rough time falling asleep this is a great option.

Calm app // I recently started using the calm app and under the meditation button you can pick a 7 days of sleep option. I have done two nights so far and I have felt very very relaxed after using the app. 

Well Rested herbal tea // I got this tea from Trader Joe's. Tea has a way of making me feel warm and fuzzy inside. This herbal tea gets me all cozy and ready for a good nights sleep.  



There are a couple of tricks that I haven't tried yet but thinking about.. The first is setting a consistent schedule before bed i.e. putting my phone away 30 min- 1 hr. before bed and maybe reading before bed instead of t.v. Another trick I'm considering is a weighted blanket. I have heard very mixed reviews. I've heard people say its life changing and others say they do not care for it. 

I hope some of these tips help all of you who struggle with sleep like me.  



P.S. If your didn't realize the title was yet again song lyrics..Enjoy the song of the day by Selena Quintanilla!

Have a great week friends!!


xoxo

A

The taste of love is sweet..

HAPPY MONDAY! Woah take it easy on the caps. Sorry not sorry :) I thought I'd do a little recap of the weekend because it was a good one.

On Saturday, my girlfriends and I threw our bestie a bridal shower. She LOVED it and that was the goal. She is the best to shower with love. I've been lucky enough to watch their love grow from the beginning. Adam fits in perfectly with our group and such a good match for our Jacq. I loved being able to celebrate them and cant wait for the big day! But lets not get ahead of ourselves because the bach is next month! 

Getting their practice in :)

Bloody Mary Bar

Our friends mom made all of this! She is amazing!

GREAT SCOTT!

 Alex has a very talented friend who made these favors of our brides cats 😻

On Sunday, The fun continued with a Cubs game. Cory and I met up with Jacqueline(the bride-to-be) and her Fiance, Adam, our girlfriend Sammi, and Jacqueline's brothers. We didn't get the W but we had a good time at the game. After the game we went to Tuco and Blondie, they had awesome margs. I'd go back just to drink and eat fried ice cream. Please enjoy these pictures and let it be a reminder to not ask your husband to take pictures after he has been drinking 🙈.

What a wonderful weekend. I hope you all have a great week ahead! Dont mind me I'll just be over here opening a sun crusher and watching some Netflix with the hubs. Peaceloverockandroll

xoxo

A

I remember..

..I blogged the whole thing. #creedthoughts Where are my Office fans at?! 

Last weekend was filled to the brim and so much fun I wanted to do a recap. But Alicia, it's already almost the weekend. I know I know but still wanted to share. So happy hump day everybody! I hope you are all having a great first half of your week! 

Last Friday started with lunch with two of my girlfriends, which is always therapeutic. After lunch we took a trip to half priced books. My girlfriend Alex (who also happens to be a blogger, she's my favorite. Go read her blog.) is my favorite to go book shopping with. She knows it ALL. I ended up getting The Last Tycoon..because F. Scott Fitzgerald.. AND I bought Sweetbitter. I just watched the first season not knowing it was a book so I'm excited to read it. Friday night the fam jam had a cookout at my parents. This was a really nice start to my weekend.

On Saturday, Cory and I went to his sister and her girlfriends place in the city. We went to Bad Axe Throwing in Lakeview. Axe throwing was terrifying and super fun at the same time. After a couple throws you get the hang of it, but it still scared me a little. No big deal I just hit the target twice! I also won a game we were playing that was kind like darts but with axes. I don't ever usually win so this was a big deal! haha I'm also the annoying one who kept yelling "this is for Peeta!" If you've never read or seen Hunger Games theeen you along with the other people at Bad Axe probably think I'm crazy. After axe Throwing we headed to DMK Burger Bar which was SO good! If you're in Chicago and want a good burger I highly recommend DMK. I got a BBQ burger along with parmesan truffle fries and black pepper/sea salt fries that I shared with Cory. mmmm just thinking about it makes my mouth water.

May the odds be ever in your favor

On Sunday, I went to my cousins baby shower. I was able to catch up with cousins I don't see as much and it's always a good time when we are together. I also love seeing all the teeny tiny baby clothes, cute swaddles, and the tiny baby shoes! I cant wait for this little bundle of joy to join our family in August! We ended the weekend at Cory's parents house for dinner with his family. It was so nice to start and end the weekend with family.

Love them

I hope you all have a great rest of your week! Its almost Friday eve :) My girlfriends and I are throwing our Bestie's bridal shower on Saturday so I'll be busy organizing and preparing. Can't wait to share!! Oh, and I'll be finishing the last book of To All The Boys I've Loved Before trilogy. I'm OBSESSED. I think I'm late to the game but TEAM PETER always, always. Are you team Peter or Team John? Is that even a real question? To each their own, I guess. 😏

xoxo

A

#tacoloveslox-- YEAR 1

JUNE 30th 2019

I can't believe that I have been married for a year! This year flew by and I'd like to say we knocked it out of the park. Cory and I are really big on teamwork and making sure our decisions are made as a team.  We balance each other out so when one of us is too overwhelmed the other swoops in to offer help. We had some big life moments; we moved into a new apartment, I was accepted into an OT masters program, I had to leave my job due to my class schedule, Cory's starting to learn a different side to his work, bought a car, and we survived it all. It was a year of many firsts as a married couple and living in our own home; like holidays, birthdays, etc. Life is just better together. I love what we're building together and all while talking in movie/tv quotes (yeah, we get it) :)

For our anniversary we wanted to do something a lil different than the norm. We wanted to get tattoos. We thought hard and researched for what to get. We wanted something that would symbolize us. We decided on two triangles which represent strength and unity that sit on our wedding date in roman numerals which is the foundation of our marriage journey. Strength in numbers, two are stronger than one. 

ALSO just in case one of us gets lost ;)

We did the tattoos Saturday night. On Sunday, we started our day with egg in a frames because its our favorite breakfast that cory makes along with mimosas. It was a kinda gloomy day outside which was fine with us because we watched our wedding video (which I tried to upload here but it doesn't want to work) and we watched the unedited footage of the whole day along with speeches and dances. Watching all the footage filled my nostalgic heart. I wish I could go back to that day and relive it all but videos will have to do for now. We also ate (took bites) of our wedding cake that has been in the freezer for a year. Cory was pumped to have all the extra space in the freezer now #adulting. 

After all the nostalgia we traded gifts. We wanted to give each other a letter that looks back on the year.  We loved reading each others letters on our wedding day so we want to keep the tradition going each year. Our tattoos were a gift to each other but we did get each other additional gifts. Cory's gift was actually really sweet. I've worn the same $10 heart ring since high school and I've always told him one day I would upgrade it. Well he upgraded my ring to the Tiffany & Co.'s heart ring. I cried. It was such a thoughtful gift. Since the first year is "paper" I bought an etsy print of the 1 Corinthians quote which was in our ceremony. 

For dinner Cory made a reservation at RPM Steakhouse in the city. It was EVERYTHING! Best meal ever. I asked Cory if we could go there every Sunday. Everything is a la carte. We both got steak dinners with mushrooms and crispy brussel sprouts on the side. For dessert we got homemade donuts which were amazing. They also gave us a complimentary glass of champagne and their famous cotton candy. I highly recommend RPM Steakhouse. They also have a RPM Italian, which I want to try!

My Outfit for the night: I wore the same pearl earrings I wore on our wedding day 💖

Our drinks: Cory- Old Fashioned Me- "The Last Call"

Blessed with a wonderful year and looking forward to the next with my favorite.

xoxo

A

#tacoloveslox-- The details

NOW we get to the fun stuff! I loved finding little details and decor that went along with our theme. Especially since I was able to really hone in on the 20s and let my inner flapper out. This was probably one of my favorite parts of wedding planning.

Lets start at the beginning, INVITES. So invites were one of the things that we didn't mind saving money on. We knew gold would be incorporated with our colors. We made our invites through and online company and we loved how they turned out.

NEXT,  was the flowers. As I mentioned in our vision post, I wanted to have more greenery rather then flowers and I wanted white flowers. I wanted the feel to be boho and elegant. For my bridesmaids I went with some eucalyptus and baby's breath. For my bouquet I wanted eucalyptus with some baby's breath and white roses. 

Bridesmaid dresses- I knew I wanted the dresses to go with the theme. I love neutral so as soon as I found these Adrianna Papell dresses I knew they were perfect. I picked out three dresses and gave my bridesmaids the option of which one they would want to wear. They are champagne colored (duh, champagne) and had beading in a art deco design. For my flower girls I found gold sequin dresses, they were adorable. Not to toot my own horn but still obsessed with how my tribe looked.

My Dress -- As soon as I tried on my dress I knew it was the one. The lace and little sparkle, I was swoon and knew it was perfect for our mansion wedding. I loved how I felt when I put it on. My advice when looking for a dress would be to try on everything. You never know what you will fall in love with. I never thought I would like a fitting dress but I did!

Cory's Tux and the groomsmen-- For Cory we wanted him to stand out from the groomsmen so we decided on a navy blue tux and have the groomsmen in black tuxes. It is a very subtle difference which we liked, oh and we did bow ties :) My hubby looks good!

Table center pieces-- We wanted to do a mix of two different center pieces. I wanted a mix of the Gatsby theme and greenery. First, to capture the greenery I picked bubble bowls that would have baby's breath and eucalyptus and another idea was having 3 different varying sizes of candles and greenery leaves surrounding the center piece. Now for each table I found Gold sequin table runners off amazon, pearl necklaces that would be laying in the center of the table. Lastly, for the table numbers I found different gold picture frames and printed art deco table numbers off of etsy. (etsy was a lot of help and I got to know the fed ex guys pretty well with all the printing I did)

 

Now for little details--

This was our welcome sign. I ordered a custom print off etsy and had it printed at fed ex.

 We had this picture and our first initials by it in the entryway of the mansion.

Instead of the traditional guest book I wanted to be able to see our guest from that night so we had two polaroid cameras and some cute signs and pearl necklaces to add to the pictures ( kind like a photo booth) We provided washi tape and sharpies so our guest could tape their pictures and sign :)

This was a custom made print off etsy again, for people to help find their seats.

As I've mentioned before my brother passed away almost 6 years ago. I couldn't imagine my day without him. I looked up different ways people include loved ones who have passed. I decided to get a pin of my brothers favorite bands logo. I added it to my bouquet so he could be with me right there in my hands. The pin also served as my something blue.

For our favors my dad brought home small dream catchers from Mexico. This made my boho heart happy. My sister and I made labels that said "Thanks for being part of our dream" A&C . My nieces passed out the dream catchers to all of our guest and they had so much fun doing it.

We did a first look and it was the best thing ever. I do not regret doing a first look at all. I loved having that special moment between just the two of us. 

BEST DAY EVER

My last piece of wisdom: Make sure you enjoy your day, it will fly by! I know everyone says it but it is true! Take a step back and just let it all sink in, oh and easy on the champagne. 

xoxo

A

#tacoloveslox-- Our Vision

So I meant to finish all my #tacoloveslox series before our 1 year anniversary but life just got in the way so here we are.  ENJOY

Venue

We went and saw a bunch of venues. We knew we wanted something unique. So we saw everything from mansions, barns,  banquets, and breweries. We were really close to a destination wedding because nothing spoke to us. Before the last venue we checked out we both were in agreement that if we didn't like it then we would have a destination wedding. Lehmann Mansion was everything we wanted. ✅ceremony space outside  ✅unique vibe ✅  nice spacious indoor reception space

Love the chandeliers

Isn't is dreamy?! I would get married all over again if I could.

After we found the venue then everything kinda came into place and I knew what theme/decor I wanted to go with. Since it was a mansion and Im Gatsby obsessed we went with a Gatsby/art deco/ greenery theme. Basically two of my favorite things Gatsby and boho.

Ceremony

 Okay we had the venue next was to figure out the ceremony.. Cory is Jewish and I am Christian  so we had to find a Rabbi and a Pastor that would be willing to do an interfaith marriage. We did end up finding a Rabbi and when he met with us he made us really comfortable in that he emphasized that his was our wedding and could add or take away anything from the Jewish ceremony. He went through the whole traditional jewish ceremony and asked our thought on what we wanted. He was so helpful through out the whole process and explained all the meanings behind the ceremony parts. Next, we had to find a pastor, My uncle happens to be a pastor and so I asked him if he would officiate with the Rabbi. He said he would and then we went over to his and my aunts home where they did some pre marital counseling with us. We rocked it :). He also explained the ceremony the meanings and what we could choose to make it more us. We chose some bible verses that spoke to us and our relationship. After meeting with both officiates Cory and I came up with a draft of our ceremony and which parts each religion would take. It felt like a lot of work but it was fun being able to pick and chose and create a ceremony with both of our religions.

We were under a little arch that kinda served as a Chuppah

For such a hot day this picture gives me a sense of calming.

Reception

We had cocktail hour inside which was awesome because it was so hot out! And then everyone head to the tent attached to the mansion for the reception. The room was decorated Gatsbyish ( I will share more decor in the next post). Our Goal was really to make sure everyone knew how much we appreciated them being there and everyone having a good time! 

Wedding planning can be overwhelming. My husband and I had a code word when we got too overwhelmed : PINEAPPLE ( feel free to use it :))

My Wisdom for this post is to really just tackle one thing at a time, otherwise it can be crippling thinking of everything that has to be done at once! Also, I used the knot planning book and the timeline checklist inside. I promise everything will come together!

xoxo

A