While it might not feeling like spring for some of us, including myself, all of the spring clothing and accessories have hit the stores in full force. I am so excited because I absolutely love spring and all of the bright colors. It’s so fun to transition into spring clothing after the long winter months. I have rounded up all of my favorite spring clothing, shoes, and accessories from a bunch of different retailers, all with a variety of prices (mostly everything I linked is affordable, with a few splurge items here and there). I wanted to save you all time from sifting through different retailer’s websites and put it all in one easy, convenient place. I took a few Instagram polls last week and asked if you were all interested in seeing clothing from Amazon or boutiques. The results were pretty 50/50 so I included items from boutiques, Amazon, and other retailers as well. All you have to do is simply click on the desired image where you will then be redirected to a page to shop the item(s)!
This post is sponsored by Minted. All thoughts, opinions,and pictures are my own.
Choosing save the dates can be challenging, especially when you know it is the first item your wedding guests will see for your big day. I first went to the Minted website and fell in love with so many designs. Minted has various designers with diverse selections to ensure every couple finds the perfect save the date. I was torn between having multiple pictures on the front of the save the date or just having one picture on the front. We ended up choosing a save the date that had one picture on the front with a collage of pictures on the back, along with text for details. We also wanted a save the date that had gold foil on the front of our cards because we will have touches of gold incorporated in our wedding day, which is something Minted offers for many of their designs. The Minted gold foil is absolutely stunning and adds the perfect touch to every card.
I love how user friendly the Minted website is, it makes ordering invitations simple and easy. Once you choose the design you want, you can then customize your save the dates by choosing the card size, the quantity, the photo layout, whether you want to add gold foil text or not, the colors, the silhouette shape, the format, and paper type. Minted has so many beautiful paper types, including smooth signature, signature, recycled, pearlescent, doublethick, and triplethick. We chose the smooth signature paper and love the quality of the paper. You can also choose to print the artist’s mark on the back of your save the date to support the independent designer for your particular card. Once you choose all of your options, you can them customize your names, add your wedding date, add your wedding location, and anything else you may want to add to your save the dates. You then customize the back of your save the dates by leaving them blank, adding a design, adding pictures, or adding text with details. We chose to add a picture collage with our wedding website below. After customizing your save the dates, you then get to customize your envelopes by choosing white, speckletone kraft, or silver envelopes. You can also choose to add envelope liners to match your design. Next is my favorite part about the entire Minted process, it is honestly amazing… they will print all of your recipient addresses on your envelopes FOR FREE! Yes, you read that right, all for free. You can also choose to add your return address on all of the envelopes for $65 and custom stamps for an additional fee as well. Finally, you upload all of your addresses (I added mine by uploading an Excel sheet) and they do the rest for you, so simple and easy!
Once you have your save the dates personalized to your liking, you pay for your cards and wait for your proof to be sent to your email. A designer will look over your design and make suggestions for minor edits to ensure your cards are flawlessly printed. I received my proof in less than 24 hours and appreciated the edits my designer suggested. We then received our save the dates the following week and absolutely love everything about our cards!
Minted is currently having a sale until tomorrow, 2/25. By using the code: FEBWED19 at checkout, you can receive 30% off of your save the dates! Click here to see all of the amazing Minted designs and start customizing your save the dates!
Can you believe Valentine’s Day is next week?! I feel like January was the longest month ever and February has already been flying by. I put up all of my Valentine’s Day decorations up last weekend and have fresh roses on the counter. I love decorating for every holiday and try to make our apartment as festive as possible. I have been finding the CUTEST Valentine’s Day outfits and I want to buy all of the items I found! Even though I will be staying in for Valentine’s Day (it’s our tradition to order take out and stay in), I thought I would link a bunch of super cute Valentine’s Day outfits for those of you who will be going out or want to dress festive for the day!
All of my favorite picks are very affordable and versatile to wear for spring and summer. Shop my favorite Valentine’s Day themed picks below by simply clicking on the image where you will be redirected to a separate page to shop the item(s).
I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine’s Day with your loved ones! I will most likely be eating take out Thai or Chinese food, drinking rosé, and eating dark chocolate with my fiancé!
Happy Tuesday!! I can’t believe Charlie and I have been engaged for 6 months now! We are deep into wedding planning and have been spending the past 6 months researching and booking vendors for our big day. We will be getting married in Sedona, AZ (where I grew up) on September 14, 2019. Since we have been doing this whole wedding planning thing for 6 months now, I thought I would share some wedding planning tips for those of you who just got engaged and have no clue where to start or have been engaged for awhile and just feel overwhelmed.
Do your research, read reviews, and book reputable vendors. Nobody wants to put a down deposit on a vendor who doesn’t show up the day of the wedding.
It is never too early to start booking your vendors. These days, weddings are a big deal and people book their vendors a year to a year and a half in advance.
Budget, budget, budget! If you are paying for your wedding on your own or have parents helping you, make sure you set a budget at the beginning and stick to it. This will prevent unnecessary stress and will keep everyone on the same page.
Spend the money on a quality photographer. This is SO important. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard other brides tell me that they tried to save money and now hate all of their wedding pictures. At the end of the day, all you have are your wedding pictures and memories so be very selective when choosing a wedding photographer.
Ask for help. Since my schedule is overloaded, my mom so graciously offered to look at venues and meet with vendors for us. We are also getting married 45 minutes away from where we live and I didn’t have time to meet with vendors and venues during the week. If people are willing to help you, let them. Plus, everyone wants to be involved and at the end of the day, if you don’t like their idea, you can kindly tell them you have a different vision.
On that same note, include others. The first time I tried on wedding gowns, I included all of my bridesmaids, my mom, Charlie’s mom, and Charlie’s aunt. I have also been sending email updates to all of my bridesmaids to keep everyone in the loop. When Charlie and I tasted all of the food and cake for our big day, we included both of our parents and it was SO fun. You only get to plan your wedding once and it is more fun to share the planning memories with others.
Book a planner. I didn’t think I would need a planner, but everyone said getting a planner was the best money they ever spent. Planners are able to recommend vendors and help with the overall vision of the wedding. If you can’t/don’t want a wedding planner, I highly recommend getting a day of coordinator, especially if you are having a large wedding.
Choose the wedding dress YOU want. You want the dress that is going to make you feel the most confident and the most comfortable. It is good to get other people’s opinions, but you need to choose what YOU want to wear because you will be the one wearing it on your big day.
Use wedding websites such as zola.com, theknot.com, weddingwire.com. These websites have electronic wedding checklists, registry assistance, guest lists, and so much more! These websites are so helpful and keep you on track.
My last tip and this is the most important tip, enjoy this time! You will only be a fiancé for a short period of time so enjoy this moment! Don’t let all of the stress of planning get in the way of the excitement that comes along with planning.
Also, a big thank you to Shop at Bash for gifting me this super cute and soft bride tee! Shop at Bash has the cutest apparel for all occasions! If you are engaged and are looking for cute tees for yourself or for your bachelorette party, Shop at Bash has you covered! By clicking on the image of the bride shirt below, you will be redirected to their site. Shop the look below:
I hope all of these tips help you during your wedding planning journey!
Sandy Toes & Salty
Hair is officially 2 years old! Holy smokes, time flies when you’re
having fun! Who would have thought that my little hobby would turn into a
side business and huge passion of mine. I started
my blog have no clue what I was doing and thought my only readers would
be my mom and boyfriend at the time for the entire existence of my
blog. Everything you see on my blog is completely designed and created
by me (except my logo, theme and a couple of coding
details). Everything else was designed by me and I honestly had no idea
what I was doing when I created it all. I watched countless YouTube
videos, researched on Google, and learned from other bloggers so I am
very proud of myself for creating a website on
my own.
Even though blogging is a huge
passion of mine, it hasn’t been all rainbows and unicorns every day. I’m
not going to lie to you, I thought about quitting numerous times, but I
am so happy that I stuck it out during the difficult
times. With changing Instagram algorithms and brands demanding numbers,
I have felt frustrated and defeated many days. I had to teach myself
that I’m not blogging for likes and I’m not even blogging for an income,
I simply blog because I love doing it. And
yes, it is nice getting paid and I am so thankful for all of the
collaborations I have had the past two years, but just like any other
job, you can’t only focus on the numbers and the money. If you genuinely
don’t enjoy doing something (including blogging),
it won’t be sustainable or enjoyable. Blogging takes a lot of time,
energy, creativity, and perseverance. I can’t tell you how many times I
have gone home on my lunch break to jump on a conference call with a
brand, shoot looks, and post on my stories to ensure
I am posting on time and pursuing new collaborations.
Since I constantly get
asked and I love all of your questions, I thought I would share some
blogging tips for those of you who are thinking about starting a blog,
just started a blog, or have been blogging for a
while. I try to be as transparent as possible with all of you and I
know I greatly appreciate when other bloggers share tips and advice with
me. I’m all about community over competition and if I can help just one
person feel confident in the blogging world,
then I will feel more fulfilled.
1. Be you and be authentic
I know it’s so cliche and everyone says it, but be authentic. There’s only one you so don’t be afraid to share your personality. You might be struggling with something that someone else is also struggling with and you might be the one thing to help them through their struggles. If you try to be like every other blogger out there, you’re going to miss so many opportunities. Plus, it’s exhausting trying to be like everyone else.
2. Numbers aren’t everything, don’t stress
Even though every collaboration I have done has relied on numbers, don’t get caught in the trap. If you only base your worth on the number of likes, comments, and followers you have, you’ll constantly feel defeated. I used to obsess over my numbers, but now I know that if a brand truly wants to work with me, they will see how hard I work and how engaged my community is. I also know that I work full time, am going to grad school, planning a wedding, and have a social life with my friends and family. I don’t beat myself up for not having hundreds of thousands of followers. I am thankful for the community I have and wouldn’t have it any other way.
3. Work with brands and companies that align with your brand
This is a huge lesson I learned when I first started blogging. I used to say yes to everything because I thought that is how I would grow. I was very wrong. I felt exhausted doing this and said yes to collaborations that I knew didn’t align with my brand, but I thought that was what I was supposed to do. This past year, I got really picky with collaborations and only chose to collaborate with brands that align with my brand, the mission of my blog, and my values as a person. Save yourself the exhaustion and just say no if it doesn’t align with you, no matter how much the brand is willing to pay.
4. Create a cohesive feed
You don’t need to go buy a $500+ camera to have a cohesive feed. I used to only use a DSLR and realized how impractical it was. First of all, you have to lug it around, learn how to use all of the settings, and transfer the photos to your computer. I still use my DSLR for some campaigns, but 95% of my pictures are taken on an iPhone now. My followers have told me that I feel more relatable when I share iPhone pictures and it is easier to recreate my looks. I’m definitely not saying don’t use a DSLR, do what is most comfortable for you and what aligns with your brand the most. I also recommend using a preset, it makes editing so much easier and helps your feed look more cohesive. I use the @dreamypresets Millennial Pink and absolutely love how easy it is to use!
5. Find your niche
I know it’s really hard to find just one thing to blog about and I am living proof of that because I call myself a fashion, lifestyle, and travel blogger. Even though I try to mainly focus on three categories, I sometimes blog about beauty products and fitness. Even though I blog about numerous things, I have a very specific style and try to use my style as my niche. If you are wanting to mainly focus on beauty or fitness, you will have a very specific niche with specific content. This means you will have a community full of members wanting to know more about that specific topic and will help you grow more. I’m honestly still trying to narrow down my niche, but I feel like I’m getting there. Like I tell myself, be consistent and stick with it.
I hope you all enjoyed my blogging tips and found value in this post. Cheers to two years of Sandy Toes & Salty Hair and here’s to many more!
