Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Must Dos & Don'ts on Your Wedding Day, According to J.Starr Vol.1

Good Morning Beautiful People,

Little Hannah Bug woke up at 5am this morning, she had one arm and one leg completely sticking out of her swaddle...silly little monkey. So we've been up jamming pretty early today.  I thought I might take a few moments to discuss MUST DOs on your wedding day...

Must Dos:

Be a Guest at Your Own Wedding
When the big day arrives....try your best to RELAX and ENJOY.  All of your planning is done, it's time to reap the rewards of your hard work.  Take a moment to stop and look around, FEEL the moment, embrace.  Admire your hard work in all the details...the sights, the sounds, the smells.  And if things don't go exactly as planned, LET IT GO...trust in the professionals (Your Wedding Planner) to take care of any hiccups that might occur.  And some of the BEST wedding day stories come from "hiccups" that happen.  Let your story unwind by itself on the day, you can't control life and all of it's surprises.

Hire a Great Photographer
If you've been following my blog for awhile, you KNOW how incredibly passionate I am about this.  When it's all over, all you have left is your photos and memories.....and they become even more precious as time passes.  CLICK HERE to read a past post on this. 
Make Sure You Still Feel and Look Like Yourself
Yes you want to look stunning, no doubt about that. But don't choose a dress, hair style or make up that makes you look TOO different.  You want to look back and see YOU, not some cartoon version of yourself.  BE SURE to do trials when it comes to your hair and make up.  Take a photo, be sure you LOVE what you see and you feel BEAUTIFUL.
Think Outside the Box
I LOVE weddings that are different!  Make it yours! There are no rules.  If you want to get married in the middle of the forest...DO IT.  If you want to serve gourmet pizza for dinner DO IT.  If you want to hire break dancers for your reception DO IT.  Make if different, make it YOURS.

Take a Day or Two to Decompress after Your Wedding
I've never understood couples who leave their reception early to jump on a plane.  Please don't underestimate how emotionally exhausted you'll be the next day, you'll be in a total daze.  Just relax.....treat yourself to a mini honeymoon at a nice resort for a few days to unwind and soak it all in.




Monday, April 15, 2013

Manic Monday 4.15.13

Favorite Photo of the Week
{See Additional Photos Below}

~MANIC MONDAY~
Highlights of last week included:
~Working with a few brand new J.Starr Brides! Wahoo! Love it!
~Catching up with my dear friend Tiffany over the phone
~Finally, after living here since November....thanks to My Aunt Chris, the interior design process on my home has become!!
~Loved having Addie and Derrick over for dinner Sunday night.
I Learned:
~Reminder to myself, I HAVE to remember to check my entire outfit for baby spit up before going out.
~Costco pricing on baby formula is the BEST! And the "Kirkland's" Brand is almost exactly the same as Similac!

Yes This Actually Happened:
~Treated myself to a trendy new manicure and matching pedicure...that I thought was cool, Justin called it ghetto.
~Shopped at Costco (with Justin) and it required three shopping carts total. One for each baby/groceries, plus and additional one just for groceries.
~Dropped my replacement cell phone ( as I dropped my brand new first one at a wedding and cracked the screen) at least 4 more times this past week....good thing the case Justin ordered for me should arrive tomorrow.
~Was feeling super ambitious and attempted grocery shopping ALONE with the babies. I was so proud of myself if I do say do. I didn't get a photo but I think you'd be impressed. I used the double seat stroller and the bottom of it for groceries and also attached two plastic grocery baskets to each cart handle...and was able to get 75% of my grocery shopping done.

Feeling Appreciative:

~For my Cousin Bri and all the great baby items she's let us borrow
~For my Aunt Chris, she has fabulous interior design talent, and she spent her Friday with me....turning my house into a home. So happy!

Confessions:
~I may or may not have driven around the block a few extra times on my way home one night just to able to listen to Snoop Dogg's Gin and Juice.

New Fab Finds:
~Keek! Okay, I know I've mentioned this before....but I think it's kinda cool. Bummed I still don't know anyone else doing it yet. I hope it's the next cool thing and I'm a pioneer. To view my first keek staring my love bugs click here. To view my second keek with me sounding lonely click here. Here's another one with Justin. And another with me, wearing some ridiculous blue feather earrings. And another about Sunday Funday.
~I found a consignment store called "Kid to Kid"{in Gilbert, off of Higley & Baseline...same complex as Thrive {reminder, the Acai Bowls?}  and wondering why no one ever told me about it before. I then proceeded to buy a few necessities for the babies including 2 sets of butterfly wings for them to wear.
~Quinoa,  (I buy it from Trader Joes}kinda loving this at the moment. Even cooked it as a side for my Sunday dinner...it's so much for the body then white rice.
~Have you heard of the Out of Milk AppGood Stuff.
~Last week I was able to join a fellow Wedding Industry gal pal Krista Puruhito, with Puruhito Photography at the Botanical Gardens for a play date. She recently had a beautiful little boy who as born when she was only 24 weeks pregnant, he was 1lb and 12ozs! After 101 days in the hospital he's doing wonderful. Here's his website to follow his amazing story and watch him grow.
 
Baby Moments I Want to Remember:
~Babies LOVE music! It instantly calms them! They especially like the pandora stations: Cold Play & Family Folk Songs
~Hannah has now rolled from her tummy to her back 3 times. I, nor her Daddy has seen it in person...but her Uncle Chase has witnessed each time, apparently she only does her tricks for him.
~They both smile and "talk" {make noises, vowel sounds, squeal in delight} a ton, it's the cutest.
~Still continuing to sleep through the night beautifully.
~The BEST feeling in the world is walking into the nursery each morning and having them smile up at us....it MELTS me.
~They like looking the mirror at themselves
~Emma does this goofy thing when I lay her down on a pillow to give her a bottle...she trys to "sit" up.
~They're really starting to "look" at each other
~If they're laying side by side on the ground one will "hit" her sister in the face with her hand, and her sister gets all mad and fussy...it's hilarious.
 
If My Life Were a Soundtrack, Last Week Would Sound Like This:
Summer Nights, Iration
Pork And Beans, Weezer
Echo, Incubus
Lazy Afternoon, Rebelution
Buzzin, Shwayze
Waiting in Vain, Bob Marley & The Wailers
By the Way, Red Hot Chili Peppers
All Around the World, Justin Bieber & Ludacris
I Hate Myself for Loving You, Joan Jett
Gin and Juice, Snoop Dogg
 
And of course, last week's highlights.....
The Bugs

 An Invite to the Ritz for a Bridal Tea Party for Wedding Planners

Emma

Shopping at Costco with Twins


Hannah

Fab? or Ghetto Fab?

Me and My Emma

Don't They Look Like Little Owl Babies?

My Interior Decorator

Ready, Set, Go.....

Their Gramps and Grammie spent Saturday and night smoochin on H &E
 
Chicken Breasts, Pears, Portabello Shrooms, Balsamic Vinegar, Splash of White Wine

 
Dinner with Addie & Derrick 
Hannah getting her signature pedicure. Since she was born, we've always painted her two big toes pink...just to make sure we don't ever mix them up :)

Snuggles with Mommy after bath time.... the BEST



Friday, April 12, 2013

"Progress, not Perfection"


{One of Justin's favorite photos...all of his girls}

Happy Friday Peeps!  How we doing today??? Excellent!  I have ten minutes to write a quick little blog here.  I've been asked by a handful of sweet readers this question....."How are you able to run your business, while you have newborn twins?" 

 And that my friends, is an excellent question and one that I ask myself about ten times a day. And the answer is: I don't know, I'm still figuring it out. 

Things I have learned in the past three months about this topic:

1.) I can no longer be a perfectionist freak about things that I used to be a freak about.  Example: In the past you would never see a "non professional" photo hit my blog. I was {still am}" a photo snob".  Professional photos make everything look SO MUCH more professional.  But, this blog isn't just about my business it's about my life.  And well, my life isn't professional all the time.  And the truth is....the readers...don't really care.  They like knowing what's going on, in real time.  So that's why you've seen such and increase in non professional photos....however they have all at least gone through the "instagram" filter, so I am still a half freak.

2.) "Start Where You Are, Use What You Have, Do What You Can".  This is my favorite quote right now, for this time in my life.  In the past if something wasn't just right, often times I would draaaag my feet on a project.....taking forever to finish.  I just don't have that luxury anymore, my family needs me. 

3.) Right now, I'm working part time.  My J.Starr office hours are a dedicated 20 hours a week on Wednesday, Thursday, and Fridays {and of course more on the weekends when I have scheduled events}.  During those hours I have hired help to take care of my sweet little loves, and I have the amazing luxury of working at home from my {soon to be awesome....still unpacking and decorating} home studio.  I love my business and love growing it! But right now, I can only do that on a part time basis, and I have to be okay with that.  My little bunnies will only be little for a short time, I have to soak up as much as possible.

4.)  Write it down!  I have to write everything down.  I'm a list making machine...it's the only way I can relax my brain and be able to fully invest in my daily activities { business projects, time with the babies, working out, date nights, social time with friends, cleaning and errands, and on and on}. 

5.) I don't beat myself up so much.  I can be pretty critical of myself (as most women are) If things don't go as planned all the time, that's okay...I usually have a back up plan. 

And that's where I'm at right now, I'm sure this will change 100 more times this year.  But I feel pretty good about it.  "It's about progress, not perfection." 


 






Thursday, April 11, 2013

Manic Monday 4.8.13



My Life in Photos {according to my cell phone}
Last Week:

No time for writing today.... "Start Where You Are, Use What You Have, Do What You Can".












 








Keek? Anyone into this? Kinda cool.

 
 
Have you all heard of keek?  I kinda can't stop coming back to it.  It's just like instagram but with video clips.  The videos can only be 36 little clips, so they're short and sweet.  I only have two BIG questions about keek, that I can't seem to get answered.....
 
#1. How can I make my keek profile private, so that I have to approve my fellow keeker followers? 
 
 #2. How do I save my video clips?  Like can I save them to my computer to I can have them forever and ever.
 
Once I get these two little questions answered I might just start "keeking" all the time.
 
 
Click My Video Link Here:   #hikeekers http://www.keek.com/!NvzFbab
 
 

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Christina & Dustin's Starr Style Wedding Day!


Happy Tuesday Party People!!!

How are you all doing today?  It's a dark overcast morning here in the valley of the sun today...and I love it when it's like this.  My little love bugs slept again another night through the entire night..we're going on a week now.  I was even able to get in a cup of coffee and a bowl of oatmeal before they work up, my little sleepy girls.

And right now, they're both sitting here next to me...Hannah in her Fisher Price little  bassinet  and Emma in her little bouncie seat. We've got the music on... and we're three little peas in a pod.  Justin got home super late last night so he wasn't able to fix my "photo" transfer situation, so my Manic Monday post will have to wait yet another day.  So how about instead we talk about my most recent J.Starr Stylized Wedding?  Okay, here we go......

Christina and Dustin we're so much fun to work with!!!
 
 
Still Life Studios captured the beauty of their day. 

 
J.Starr Stylized Weddings' Floral Design Team: Renata & Ania enhanced the day so romantically by providing all the floral.
 
 
AZ Celebrity DJ provided the DJ services.
 

 
Catering & Venue Provided By: Superstition Springs Golf Club 
 


The day was just perfect, Congratulations to the brand new, Mr. and Mrs. Watts!
 
 


Monday, April 8, 2013

Humor Me A Little...Vol 7.


Happy Monday All!

Yes, I know typically I would post a Manic Monday post...BUT...I switched out my phone {well actually Justin did} last night...and some of the photos didn't transfer over.  All because I dropped it at a past wedding, while checking the timeline and CRACKED the screen UGGGH.

So, I'll have to ask Justin how to fix this photo problem....

Until then...here's some randomness that made me smile.


I don't normally drink ice tea, but if I saw this in person I would HAVE to!
 
Ha! For real.
 
Sad, but true... this world is moving way too fast.
 
What if instead of losing weight we could "work on" getting taller?

Awesome. Sure to be a future "Starr" Christmas card

YES!
 
Big Willie Style.


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