Hair Tutorial // Bubble Topsy Tail

 Every Thursday Chris and I play softball in a co-ed league with a team made up of his family and my brother. I really try to avoid wearing my hair in a pony tail because of my little baby hairs that fly up when my hair is pulled back. I usually wear my hair in a braid of some sorts and just pin back any loose hairs. Last week I tried out this hairstyle and really liked the look of it. The tightened topsy tail kind of reminds me of a fishtail braid but different, if that makes any sense? Anyway,  I thought I would share. It's quick and easy so give it a try this weekend.

 Pull hair to one side and loosely rubber band.

Place another rubber band about 2 inches down from first rubber band to create the first "bubble".

Start doing a topsy tail by splitting hair into two sections.

Pull hair through the hole. 

 Pull on hair to tighten your topsy tail.

Rubber band hair a little further down again and repeat steps.

 Keep going until you have a bunch of bubbles.

xoxo erica

Married // The Morning of the Wedding

 Hey everyone, I'm sooooo excited for this post. It's been a long time coming, but finally I'm sharing some of the wedding photos!!!! These are only from the morning of while getting ready, but I'll be sharing more soon.

The morning of the wedding, me and Chris actually had to pick up the flowers from the florist and I got up super early. The whole time leading up to the wedding, I don't ever remember feeling nervous about it all. When I woke up that morning my heart was pounding, like when people say they can feel their heart beating out of their chest, well that was totally it. My parents were already up, so I went to go talk to them to calm my nerves and then headed out to meet Chris to get the flowers and then set up the reception hall. The whole morning just went by so fast because we were so busy. We only had two hours to set up the hall...tables, chairs, linens, decorations, our sweetheart backdrop...everything. It was all very hectic but we couldn't have got it all done without all the help from people that love us so much. Having aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, brothers, sisters, and our parents there to help out made me feel so lucky. After all that, I couldn't have been any happier than to get to the fun stuff. Getting my hair and make up done, finally being able to put on my dress, and getting excited to walk down the aisle. Truth be told, I was actually 15 minutes late to the ceremony lol but I'll save that for next time.

xoxo erica

photos from the lovely Kimberly Genevieve

A Sweet Idea // Nutella and Banana French Toast Roll Ups

I've always considered myself to be a morning person, not quite an early bird but definitely a morning person. That being said, breakfast has always been a meal that I love...or maybe it's just that I wake up hungry lol. Chris on the other hand, is far from being a morning person and could totally be fine with skipping breakfast. Lately I've been trying to lure him out of bed with things like these french toast roll ups...it works.

1. Take off the crust from slices of bread.

2. Flatten out slices of bread with a rolling pin.

3. Add a spoonful of nutella and a few slices of bananas to one end of bread and roll up.

4. In a bowl mix one egg with 2 tlbs of milk (just a normal french toast mixture)

5. Dip the rolls into the egg mixture.

6. In a skillet on medium high, add a tlbs of butter and cook toast for about 2 minutes on each side.

7. Immediately after being cooked roll the french toast in a mixture of sugar and cinnamon.

These are completely fine with this sugary coating alone, but if you want, add a side of syrup to dip this deliciousness into.

xoxo erica

A Month of Florals // Tissue Paper Floral Garland

For my wedding, I made a whole wall of tissue paper flowers to use as a backdrop. It was so pretty and the tissue flowers are super easy to make. You can really knock these babies out while catching up on your favorite tv show...for me that's Pretty Little Liars! When I made the tissue flowers for my wedding we only stayed with the color scheme...pink and mint! I thought a smaller and more colorful version of what we did would be really pretty for a garland to hang up on the wall. I was so right!!!!

 To start off, you will need to cut a square piece of tissue paper. I just layered mine on top of each other and cut out 1/6 of a whole sheet. Then from that I folded it in half to cut it again. It really just depends on how big you want your flowers to be, so you can play around with the size.

1. Once you have your pieces, take 4 of them and lay them on top of each other. The inside color of your flower will be on the top and the outside on the bottom. 

2. Pleat the tissue like an accordion.

3. Take a piece of tape and cut in half lengthwise so it won't be too thick. 

Use that piece to wrap around the center of the piece of tissue.

You can either leave as is; and it will look like the purple flower in the photo below, or cut to create different looks to your flower like the blue and pink flowers.

To actually make the flower, all you have to do is pull up each layer of tissue paper from the center.

 Take some green tissue and cut into the shape of leaves. I pinched mine at the ends to add some dimension. Tape the one or two of the leaves to the back of the flowers.

 Using a glue gun add some hot glue to the back of your tissue flowers and attach your string to it. I used a strand of sequins for some extra sparkle but any kind of string will work. Twine, yarn, or ribbon are all good options for this project.

Hang up and add some pretty and color to your walls!!

If you make this show me on instagram #sobdamonthofflorals

xoxo erica

Silver Sparkler

 If there's anything better than a good black and white outfit it has to be a black and silver sequin outfit. I have this top in black as well, but the silver one is just more fun...I really feel like I'm bright and sparkling in this one. I wore this out not too long ago to have a few after work drinks with the girls. So obviously if you're hanging out with the girls over a few margaritas and delicious mexican food; then you have to show up for a party. Sequins are always a must for a good time in my book.

xoxo erica

Same Dress Different Day

 I've been wearing this dress for years now, it's a rotating favorite and it's always fun to see how many different ways I can style it. Paired with this bright floral is the way I went for date night last week. When I bought this top, I did the unusual and bought it without ever trying it on. I can't even believe myself on that one but it was right next to checkout and I'm not sure it's possible to pass up on such a pretty print. As it turns out  it fit me at a really weird length and I'm great procrastinator so I never returned it. Good thing I'm really loving it tied up as a crop top.

 Do you ever have those impulsive shopping decisions? Did they work out for you?

xoxo erica

Girl Talk // Red Lipstick

I think almost every girl has one good tube of red lipstick.. For me, red lipstick is all about confidence and having fun. It's pretty much a secret weapon to instantly take you from a blah kind of day to feeling amazing kind of day. I've been wearing red lipstick for years and wanted to share my current favorites with you...just a little girl talk.

1. Sephora Rouge // i love this one because it's a darker red which is nice compared to all my other bright reds. this is actually the color I wore on my wedding day so it has a special place in my heart. every time i put it on, it reminds me of all the good memories from that day.

2. MAC Ruby Woo // this is my favorite red. like ever. and to me it smells like cake batter...yum, so yeah I just checked all the other lip colors and this one smells the best lol. anyhow this one is more of a matte lipstick and is really long lasting on me...love it.

3. Urban Decay F-Bomb // i was completely surprised when chris bought me this lipstick as a gift. He's not crazy about red, but he knows i love it, so I was really happy when he gave it to me. this lipstick goes on like butter and is super moisturizing...i think chris did a good job on getting this one.

4. Maybelline Red Revival // this one is a long time favorite...i wore this one all the time in between the time i lost my ruby woo and bought a new one. when i run out, i always go back for more...this is actually my third tube.

Are you wearing your favorite red today? Do share what your favorites are.

xoxo erica

A Month of Florals // Rose Straw Topper + Printable

 With summer in full swing, the last few days have been feeling outrageously hot. So cooling up on  water has been an all day everyday kind of thing. Lemon and strawberry infused water has been a recent favorite to keep hydrated. I drew out these rose straw toppers to make my water just a bit more fun because that's how I do things around here.  

Want to make your drinks pretty too? Get the printable here

 xoxo erica