You Know You're From Maryland If...

Hey guys, I'm Kristin from Hopelessly Ever After. Today, while Michelle is off loving on her new husband, I'm going to take over her blog!

Since we're both Maryland chicks, I figured I'd fill you in on our kind. So...go grab a Natty Boh, sit back, and enjoy the ride!

You Know You're a "Mur-lander" If....

- "Going to The Yard" doesn't mean walking out your back door.

- you know it's pronounced "Ball - mer" or "Baw - di - more" not "Bal - ti - more".

- it's perfectly normal to use Old Bay or Wye River in every meal.



- you scream "OH" as loud as you can during the last line of the Star Spangled Banner.

- you can properly pick a crab. I said properly...

- "Cal" only refers to one person.
and you still remember this day...
- you know Washington D.C. is not our capital. And neither is Baltimore.

- you laugh at people from out of state who think bridges are scary.

- "______ County", or, "the shore" are legit explanations for where you live.

- it's pronounced "Shittsburgh"and you refuse to say the other.

- fries are bland without Old Bay and vinegar.



- you cringe every time someone talks about the Colts.

- "Ozzie" is not a member of Black Sabbath.

- you continue to root for the Orioles....even though we don't have the best track record.

- you still have a few Scopes keychains hanging around. 

from here

- you know what Rofo is.

- there's only one "Art".

- you can tell me where "Crabcakes and football - that's what Maryland does." comes from.

- you can pronounce "Haloti Ngata" correctly and know who he is.

- Boh knows best.

                                      

Wedding Blogger's Connect by Showered with Design


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Hi It's The New Twenty readers!  My name is Lisa and I blog over at Showered With Design.  My little blog started off as a design blog, to showcase my graphic design skills, and DIY projects.  After becoming engaged to my best friend in November of 2012, I decided to showcase my wedding planning process and all of the details along the way!  {Best decision I've ever made}  We are newbie newlyweds (July 12th!) Now, after all the wedding festivities are said and done, I will be able to look back at my struggles, and fun times while wedding planning.


I started a Wedding Bloggers Connect group which allows past and future Brides to be added to a database where other wedding bloggers can connect and network!  I thought it would be a great way to ask past wedding bloggers for advice or tips while in the planning process.  If you are a past or future bride to be and your blog includes some wedding information, we'd love you to come join us!  

Showered With Design

Also, if you are interested in Wedding Giveaways, then I have a few in store for you!  I have a Mr. and Mrs. Burlap banner giveaway going on right now that ends today! Make sure you enter, because you have a very good chance of winning! 

You can be sure to catch my wedding festivities on my instagram & Follow me via Google Friend Connect to see my post wedding posts! 

xoxo
Lisa { Showered With Design }

 

Beach Honeymoon Essentials by Martinis & Bikinis!

Hi readers of It's The New Twenty, I'm Emily from over at Martinis & Bikinis where I talk about my life in Florida, traveling to random places, yummy recipes and sometimes fashion & beauty.

I got married just over 2 years ago and we spent our honeymoon at an all-inclusive resort in Negril, Jamaica which was fantastic! Since Michelle is off to Cancun for her honeymoon (have fun girlie!), I thought I'd share some cute and customizable bride and groom stuff to pack for a beach honeymoon. 

Bride & Groom Beach Towels
 via
 

Drink Koozies
via


Luggage Tags
 via


Just Married Bikini
via


Wet Bikini Bag


Bride Flip Flops
via
 
Looking forward to hearing how Michelle's honeymoon went and see some photos of her trip to Cancun!

Feel free to stop over at my little blog to say HI! You can also find me on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Bachelorette Party Favors

A while back I shared all the fun events of my epic beach bachelorette party (Day 1, Day 2).  It was such a great weekend and I can’t even begin to explain how grateful I am to all of my bridesmaids for working it out to be there.  I know it’s tough with husbands, kids, and personal responsibilities, but they all made it happen somehow!  I wanted to be sure to give them a little favor to show my appreciation! 


I put together these goody bags filled with little beach and beauty treats.  I got these plain white 3-packs of gift bags from the dollar store and slapped on these hysterical stickers I got from the Bachelorette Superstore.  A little sharpie personalization and you’ve got a pretty cute little gift bag if I do say so myself.


OCMD = Ocean City, Maryland

So what’s inside?  Nothing expensive or crazy.  Just a handful of thoughtful items I thought may come in handy throughout the weekend.


1. Travel size sunblock. Assorted varieties and perfect purse size to keep on the go!



2. Girls weekend koozies.  I think I may have a koozie problem because unbeknownst to me, one of my bridesmaids actually bought us all personalized koozies for the occasion, but I had already ordered these and they are cute as well!  


3. Sunglasses from Claire’s.  These were on sale 2 for $5, in assorted colors, and are fashionable worn on Day 2 of the party!





4. Blistex Fruit Smoothies with SPF.  It’s so important to keep your lips protected when you’re out in the sun and nothing beats these tasty flavors!


5. Spring Fling lip balm from Ulta.  They came 2 to a pack, so I bought 3 and broke ‘em up!  


6. Assorted facial masks.  What better way to relax and rejuvenate?  Plus it will leave everyone’s skin glowing and wedding ready!


7. Bachelorette garters, also worn during Day 2 of the party.  Can’t have a bachelorette party without bachelorette flair!


Besides these, I also threw a bottle of water and Red bull into each bag, because with a weekend full of drinking, we’ll surely need both to survive.  Have any other ideas?  I’d love to hear ‘em!  Maybe use ‘em for the next friend to get hitched!? 

NC Belle In Boots





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Custom Clothing Just for YOU and My Favorite New Maxi


I have a love/hate relationship with maxi dresses.  I love how even the most casual maxi still has a sense of elegance and how they’re basically the most comfortable thing a girl can put on, but at 5’ 0” tall at best, finding a dress I am not tripping over can be a real challenge.  Even size small, or 2, often fits everywhere but still remains about 6 inches too long.  

Then I found eShakti.  This company is revolutionary in that it customizes every item to your size and height.  A lifesaver for little girls like me just trying to purchase something outside of the children’s department. I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical about how quality the dress would be when I found out how much they were willing to customize it for me, but I assure you, this dress is legit!!  It’s a lightweight cotton material that slips on over your head, but also has a zippered side, just incase you need a little more room to get in.   My favorite things about this dress are the eye catching pattern (how fun!) and the fact that it has deep pockets on both sides.  

Pockets!!

Simply styled with blue stone earrings and a simple yellow clutch.  The bracelets were actually a gift from one of my students whose parents brought them back from Morocco for me!  With a dress that pops like this, you don't need much else ;) 

Like I said, this dress was made for ME!  I first had to enter both my size and my height.  What a novel idea!  No more tripping for me! 
Step One: Size and Height

Do you like the dress, but think it’s a little too bare up top?  Wish you could get it shorter?  No problem!  The products on this site are fully customizable.  I got to choose my sleeve type, dress length, and neckline too!  




My mind is still boggled by the speed at which they could make something so custom and ship it out to me, but I got it in what seemed like no time at all.  And just in time for my upcoming vacations!  

Do yourself a favor and go check out their endless array of fashions for every occasion!  New users will get a $25 coupon when you register and because I love you so very much, you’ll get an extra 10% off when you use my coupon code: “newtwenties!  Just enter it in the promotional code box at check out and voila, the best clothing purchase of summer is on the way. Don't wait too long though, the code expires August 17th ;)

I know you won’t have any trouble finding your own obsessions, but here’s a few more I had my eye on.... 

Left: Draped toga dress, Middle: Floral print denim,  Right: Embroidered bib bird print




Alright “NEWTWENTIES”... Happy shopping!






Please note:
Code has to be entered in the ‘promotional code’ box.   It is not case-sensitive.  
Code can be used any number of times until August 17th. 
It can be clubbed with any other promotional offer, gift coupon or gift card in the same order unless explicitly specified otherwise in the offer conditions.
This discount code is not applicable on clearance / sale, gift cards & overstock categories.
Not applicable on previous purchases.

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The First Week of Marriage


Well, it was my first week as a married woman, and I have to say that marriage definitely suits me so far!  With so much family that came into town, it seemed the celebration continued for days, and we are having a ball reminiscing about the events of the past weekend.  Here are my favorite things that happened this week...

We went for crabs with the family and cousins that flew in from Florida.  They just had to get some before their flight left Monday evening!

Our New Orleans family came over for a BBQ on Wednesday.  It was a little chilly for me to go swimming, but the kids didn't seem to mind!  

We opened our gifts and cards together one quiet evening.  It was our first night alone on the couch with no activities and it was the perfect thing to do.  We even cracked our “wedding night” champagne from the engagement basket our friend got us.  Yes I know it wasn’t actually our wedding night, but trust me, I’d drank plenty that day ;)


We watched the all-star game with my husband’s softball team.  They were supposed to have a game, but were rained out, so it all worked out to be a good night for beer, wings, and team bonding!



I finally got back into the gym and bought some healthier groceries.  After nearly a week of social events and pigging out at various dinners and luncheons, it feels great to return to some sort of normalcy.  

Hope everyone else had as great of a week as I did! On to the weekend!




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After the Wedding

The cupcakes are eaten.  The beer is nearly gone.  The last of the roses are wilting, and I could have cried the other day when I finally put my dress back inside of the garment bag.  The wedding is over, and I feared I’d be terribly sad with a whole heck of a lot of financial remorse.  I have none of this.  Nearly a week afterward, I am still beaming, smiling from ear to ear, just thinking of what an amazing, perfect weekend it was.  We made so many memories this week with all of our favorite people in the entire world.  It was perfection and the only bit of sadness I have is that I wish we could do it all over again.  That or wear my dress out just because, but unfortunately that’s not socially acceptable ;)  

So here we are, 5 days newlyweds, and I can honestly say, we both feel different.  We’ve been living together for 2 years now and have basically been “married” for a while, meaning nothing’s really changed besides the extra ring on our fingers, but we both agree that it feels different somehow.  I mean I don’t even know how this is possible, but I swear I think I love him even more!  The amount of security, of settledness, of foreverness that I feel today is so much stronger than it was a week ago and I’m honestly pretty surprised about it. I didn’t think I could get any more smitten than I already was, but I am.  He is my hero and I couldn’t be happier to spend my life with him.  


I’ll be back in the weeks to come with more details and updates on what turned out to be a full 4 day affair, but for now, enjoy some of the shots I picked up from friends via facebook and IG.  It was the best day of my life!

On the way to the ceremony!

Walking out as husband and wife!

First dance.

All my girls!

Keeping it goin' at the after party!


Leggo O's!


The Grits Blog   NC Belle In Boots



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