honeymoon...

I have been away from my blog for a good week or more. My focus has been the task of the honeymoon. My travel agent gave me wonderful suggestions and I am sure any of the 5 star resorts that were recommended would have made for a memorable honeymoon. After weighing what was important to me, err, us...it was narrowed down to 6 resorts.

Topping the list all resorts are adults only, all-inclusive resort, offering direct flights from St. Louis and the destination being close to the airport.

Secrets Silversands

{Secrets Silver Sands}

My travel agent recommended Silver Sands and boy am I glad that she did! I love how modern this resort is. It is so awesome and such a trendy way to spend your first few days as newlyweds! I just could not get over how hip and cool it was and not really very "Mexico". I totally want to visit this resort, but in the end, I decided it was not the best choice for us at this moment....It is definitely on the short list for our first anniversary trip! :)

Secrets Maroma Beach

{Secrets Maroma Beach}

This resort is the perfect balance of "we are honeymooning in Mexico" and "we love modern"! Why did it not get selected? Trip advisor rates this new gem at #28 out 170 Cancun hotels. Hmmm.....give it a few years. It just opened in August 2008. Check out the website. I love all the details and the decor in the bars and restaurants! Also, love the tub!
I was most interested in Maroma's swim out suite. Off of your patio there are steps right into the lazy river pool. You share this pool with the other swim out suites around you...heaven at your back door!

El Dorado Royale
El Dorado Royal would have been a fabulous choice...totally safe, and we would have totally loved it I am sure. Who would not want to dine on your "Gourmet Inclusive" options? seriously. you cannot go wrong here. Alas, not the right fit for us.

El Dorado Maroma
El Dorado Maroma is so quaint and definitely on the smaller side of all the options. This is why it got cut in the early rounds, just not enough options for dining with only 3 restaurants...a girl needs more choices than that!

Excellence Riviera Cancun: The runner up!

{Excellence Riviera Cancun}

This came so highly recommended by recent visitors...and my travel agent was just there too! We loved the variety of restaurants (8), bars (11), and activities at the resort. Close to Cancun airport is such a plus! We have heard nothing but good things from everyone who has visited this resort. I just wanted more in a room. Something with more pizazz! Trip advisor did rate this resort at #2 out of 170 hotels in Cancun. Not too shabby. Must truly be excellent!

And for our honeymoon destination...drum roll please!

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Excellence Playa Mujeres

{Excellence Playa Mujeres}

When I was searching for a resort, I was kinda surprised at how all the beds faced sideways? Why? Why? I always envisioned the bed facing out towards the view....whether it be ocean, spa, pool, etc...it just seems more romantic to me! No surprise that the rooms that I was most drawn to had either a window/french door facing bed or really elegant looking bed linens. 2 of every kind of pillow in this bed? Excessive? Me likey.

This room instantly calms me and seems like a relaxing place to spend some lazy mornings, afternoons, or evenings! The spacious L-shaped sofa is so cozy with all the pillows and the room even has a small table to enjoy a meal or snack from the 24 hour room service. Chris is forcing me to be budget conscious so we opted to not upgrade to the Excellence Club level which offers extra amenities. Here are a few perks of this all-inclusive resort:

~8 a la carte dining options
~11 bars
~mini bar stocked daily with water, soda, juice, beer and snacks
~activities such as bicycles, hobie cats, cooking lessons, Spanish lessons, dancing lessons, darts, billiards, board games, archery, air rifle shooting...just to name a few!

I am sure my most popular activity will be sunbathing, napping, and indulging in all that Playa Mujeres has to offer! I instantly fell in love when I came across Playa Mujeres roof top terrace suite! to. die. for. From the website, "Each of these rooftop terraces comes outfitted with a private HydroSpa pool, and offers stunning views and comfortable lounge furniture. On the inside, our commodious rooms and suites are outfitted with the latest amenities to ensure that your stay is as relaxing and satisfying as possible."

There are even some roof top terraces that are actually not roof top and just have a bigger balcony....I would love one of these! In the end, it does not matter. I so love that hydrospa pool....I can imagine myself lounging on the terrace and taking a cool dip in our private pool. This idea of the roof top terrace and private (albeit small) pool, in so ingenious....simply bril.

As guests of the resort, we will also be partaking in honeymoon perks...
Basket of fresh fruits in room upon arrival
A bottle of sparkling wine
One special romantic dinner
Rose Petals in the room upon arrival
Special turn down service
Champagne breakfast in bed (once per stay; reservation must be made in advance with concierge)
15% discount on all Spa treatments

Cannot wait to visit Excellence Playa Mujeres roof top terrace for our 7 night honeymoon. I am already trying to see what spa treatments I can arrange while there. So fab.

if it exists, its on etsy!

I was thinking that it would be so fun to have an anenome flower pin to add some sass to basic outfits. My love of anenome's is definitely expanding from the bridal bouquet to everything else. heh. So where do I search first to find one? Will I even find one? Well as the title of this post claims, it it exists, it is on etsy.....and yes virginia, they do exist! (or is that the line from the m&m's commercial? anyway...)

{etsy Smitten}

Here she is....her name is Gilda and boy is she purty!

what's in a name...

fiance....betrothed....intended? I prefer "soon-to-be". As we approach the anniversary of our engagement, I am thinking about the many different ways to refer to the "future husband".

"soon-to-be" has been by far my favorite. It just rolls off the tongue and sounds so natural. It still seems ackward to say fiance. It seems pretentious to me. I wonder why? Most of the time I revert to the comfortable "boyfriend" title. Is it equally difficult changing to "husband"? Hmmm...

santa came early...

{Dyson DC25}

Merry Christmas to me!

ode to maid of honor.

I am so in love with J's dress for the wedding that I would love to have one "just because"! I was so excited to find that the bridesmaids in Style Me Pretty's featured wedding are wearing the same dress as J will be.
How fabulous are those dresses! The little tie straps can be worn or not. This dress does not look as good on the Amsale website. Too bad because it is so adorable!

{Amsale}

kids are funny.

Last night I went and spent some much needed time with my nephews and my sister-in-law. I have been so busy with working out, taking classes, work, wedding planning...that I had been neglecting my "aunt" duties.

So Ty the 3 yr. old did not want me to leave he was so funny. He kept giving me kisses and bear hugs, I am lucky if I get a kiss and hug out of him these days! Now Nate the 1 1/2 yr. old is all about the hugs and kisses.

The funniest part of the evening was when Ty asks, "Auntie, when are you going to have a baby?" The whole room burst into laughs. Hilarious. No one knows where he got that idea from! So we asked if we could trade Frankie for Nate, and Ty was totally on board. Obviously a trade was not going to happen, but try and explain that to a 3 yr. old. He then asked if we would take him with us. Heh. Again, obviously we did not. It was a fun evening.

i heart nailtiques...

I have been using nailtiques on and off for 10 years or so. I love this product! Now that the wedding is about 6 months away, I need to focus on getting my nails in shape. I am very hard on my nails and tend to neglect them. So lots of awesome Sephora cuticle oil and my Nailtiques. It's a nice nightly routine....

obsessive...

I have been blogging/reading blogs/researching wedding stuff/surfing the net/ WAY TOO MUCH. Chris has brought this to my attention on many occasions. I am only allowing myself 30 minutes to blog/check email/catch up and that is it.....until later. I think this might work! Chris wonders what I will do after the wedding.....my response? home blogs or baby blogs. hehe.

I cannot help myself...

I am obsessed with candy...anyone know a good shrink for that?

parisian love...

Boy oh boy, I love damask! These parisian wallpaper inspired cake design is so fabulous. What would you think if you went to a wedding with a cake like that? hmmm....me likey.

{Photography by Anastassios Mentis via The Knot}

so gorgeous.

{via The Knot}

I have a seriously bad habit of finding pictures online and cluttering my desktop with them. Just came across this one for a recent venture searching for inspiration at The Knot. I have posted about Anenome's before. totally my fav flower right now. I read in the most recent issue of the Missouri & Kansas Knot that anenome's are the "it" flower now. is it still so wrong to love them so much! I totally loved them before they were so popular...just ask my florist! ;o)

chandelier...

I decided that I did not want to wear a necklace on the wedding day that was rhinestone-y. I randomly came up with this crazy idea that I was going to find vintage chandelier crystals to create a necklace...then saw the most gorgeous necklace worn by Ellen, an stlwed.com bride.

{We Dream In Color}

I so love it. So after I decided to investigate the chandelier idea, Ellen sent me the above website. I was so excited to find something so beautiful! BUT I had already found chandelier crystals and ordered many.....so many that the bridesmaids are getting earrings and bracelets out of chandelier crystals to wear too... Below is my "rough draft" of the necklace.


In October, I brought the necklace to try on with the sample dress and my mom *HATES* it. Oh yes...hates. what to do. She hated my blue shoe idea, my bird cage veil idea, and now my necklace. Is she just right, or too old school. not sure.

There is the chance that the necklace may be too much. I really will not know until the dress comes. Advice? Anything like this happen to you?

so.want.these.

{Betsey Johnson, Frey, in turquoise via Nordstrom}

Wouldn't you know....sold out. So I did some digging. Cannot find in any size larger than an 8.5....reviews say they run small. oh how perfect for the reception. desperate to find.