Our Wedding Jewelry

Lucky Elephant Bracelet that I won!!!

Shawnie in his handmade bunny plugs from etsy seller arksendeavors. She makes RAD plugs.

Close up of Shawn's jewelry with the bunny plugs!

Shawn's Nana's Necklace.

Shawn's mother wore this the day she was married (my to-be birthday years before) but we didn't realize it until after she let me borrow it.

Clockwise from upper left: Daisy ring from my parents for my 16th birthday; I wore it the night before when my ring was taken away for the wedding! My mother's grandmother's ring made of blood coral; Lucky Elephant bracelet again; wedding ring. PS: Yes, I did get a manicure but no, I did not wear fake nails! I just wanted them painted a nice light-almost-white pink.

Photo I took of our hotel-gift champagne cork; Shawn's pocket watch from his Papa in California; and my resting bouquet.

My "Something Old." Shawn's Grandma's hanky with my hand embroidery of the monogram and date in white. The pin is one of two that my mother's grandma gave to her. I wore one and mom had the other!

Nose ring! Or should I say Naath? I wish someone would have said "Come here..." and brushed my bangs out straight. Immediately after the wedding I started looking like myself, with disheveled hair, once again!

What do you guys think?!

My Solah Shringar : Chooriyan

Courtesy of The Lucky Elephant



Happy Monday, everyone.

After this weekend I'd prefer not to discuss what is all left to do. It's not that much but it overwhelms me just the same. We'll keep it positive by just saying that I am struggling with my wedding accessories meshing with the look of my gown. To help me with this, I have been notified by Diana that I have won the Lucky Elephant giveaway that she featured last week on AllWomenStalk! This made me cry happy tears because I have no more money or time for any more DIY projects or extra purchases. Now I still get my Hindu Chooriyan!!!

Each Lucky Elephant bracelet is handmade by etsy shop owner Jutta, who gives 10% of all the proceeds to Chicago's Urban Initiatives. I can't think of a more beautiful bracelet to wear on my wedding day.

Thank you Jutta and Diana. You've made my entire day!

My Solah Shringar : Bichuas

My Solah Shringar is going well!
I just got my hair cut and it is lovely!!! My hair lady is super-amazing and always does EXACTLY what I have in my head. Seriously, Nebraska, go see Kristin at John Edward's salon; she has been called innovative by Redken stylists at the hair shows I modeled for in the past!!! She even shampoo'd me with sulfate-free shampoo since I go no-poo/no-sulfate poo. AH-MAZING!

Haircut with Naath on display!

Shawn's momma Donna bought me my Bichuas toe ring! I was going to buy a toe ring/anklet set with a butterfly theme. Donna texted me last week "Do you wear toe rings?" I replied "Yes, I actually need to buy one for the wedding for my bare feet!" She sent me back a picture of this:

AMAZING! When Shawn and I were first dating before we became yellow and orange bunnays, were were green & blue puppies (remember the color book pages, Bun?!) So this is a perfect blend of old and new; plus it's freakin' pretty. I can't wait to wear it!!! What kind of anklet should I get? I kind of want a silver one to match. Any ideas on where to find it, too?!

Nature's Edge - Skin/Haircare for Natural Brides

Being an eco-friendly bride means that I don't use something unless it's the good stuff. By good stuff I mean no sulfates, no glycols, no dyes, artificial colors, animal testing, etc. When I found Nature's Edge shampoo and shared it with you all yesterday I had not used it yet. I used it this morning to try it out... OMG!

 

• The Smell - Strong but not overpowering. The kind of lingering, gentle and good smell that appeals to just about everyone. It's like when you take your freshly washed updo out and it smells strong of your shampoo, but this smell stays the whole day!
• Natural - 99.5% of the ingredients are natural and they will always list EVERYTHING in them so you can choose which products work best for you.
• Local - Well, it's local to me! They make the products in artisan batches out of Oakland, Nebraska. They sell it at our local Hyvee's in Omaha and Lincoln, among other locations.
• Price -  It's about 1/5th the price of other Emu-oil and Ostric-oil shampoos of comparable nature.
• Selection - They make lotions, soaps, shampoo, conditioner, lip balm, solid lotion that doubles as bug repellant, and more! Plus they have a website so it's easy to get this stuff from anywhere you are!
• If you order $14 or more in products either via phone or their website, your shipping is free.

I blew dry my hair but it has that air-dry softness and shine to it. Seriously... this stuff is amazing. Oh, and if you were wondering... no, this was not a sponsored post. I'm just very excited to share good products that I use personally that help our environment and local businesses. If you have any questions, email me!

Pre-Wedding Solah Shringar

Solah Shringar is a beautifying process that Hindu brides go through before their wedding. I am starting my Solah Shringar before the wedding by a month. It's my little beauty regimen to keep myself on track while the stress from everything is trying to push me off of it!
About 2 weeks ago I started washing my face religiously. EVERY night no matter how tired I am I will wash my face and put my hair up to keep it off my face while I sleep. NO exceptions after May 10, 2011 which is the 1 month to-go point. I have also made a rule that I am not to pick at my nails after this time! This is especially hard for me because I always pick my nails and cuticles. I'm going to help myself with this by buying a nail file to smooth and snags right away. That way I won't pull at them and lose all my progress.
I have also started to moisturize my skin more completely in addition to my well-moisurized face. If I wake up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, I reapply moisturizer to my face while I'm up! Try it!

You may/probably do not know that I don't use shampoo! I am what they call "no-poo." Basically if I use shampoo my scalp gets VERY dry from all the sulfates that irritate the sensitive skin up there. So every two days I use a mixture of baking soda and water to make a "shampoo" paste that I scrub my hair/scalp with. It is what the Egyptians used to make for shampoo I learned! After I rinse it with super-warm water I use a regular store-bought conditioner. In between washings I brush my hair with a natural bristle brush twice a day to distribute the natural oils.

I want to give my hair a nice shine, smell and feel on my wedding day. I've been looking for sulfate-free shampoos and found a shampoo and conditioner set this past weekend at the Omaha Health Expo. It has NO sulfates in it and contains cherry bark, almond and ostrich oil. It smells wonderful; I can't wait to use it!
I also have scheduled a body polish the day before the wedding, a facial for 2 weeks before the wedding and two tanning sessions at level IV for 4 days before and 2 weeks before the wedding!
The best thing is most of this I saved for and it's already paid! The second-best thing: My procedures I had to schedule are all under $100. Now that's what I'm talking about!

MASON JAR GLORY!

Captured in real time. This has not been edited.

I only rotated it clockwise. The glory was simply captured for all of those who know not the glory of the mason jar. Now: plans for said jar.
This beauty will be a "Buttons for the Bride" jar at the guestbook table and then moved to the bar area so if any family members who previously gifted or had wished to gift the HiLLjO buttons, there is ample opportunity to drop 'em in the jar at the wedding.
Christmas of 2009 my mom wrote and called friends and members of our family to put buttons in a jar for me since I collect them... and the only thing I love more than a jar is a jar of buttons. So for a few months, my family members and friends scoured drawers and pockets for plastic baggies of extra buttons or any loose strays. The result was the container you see here on top of the washer/dryer since the jar they were originally in broke. Now we have a new jar and hopefully more buttons for the bride!