The Little White Dress

Here's the deal: since our venue is located in a cute little residential neighborhood, there is a noise ordinance in effect all nights, weekends included. Thus, our reception needs to be over by 9:30pm.

Foxy and I both decided that this was much too early to end the evening. This wedding will be over 2 years in the making - we want to enjoy the day and the night as much as humanly possible! Wouldn't you?! Enter: the after party.

Apparently this is a very common thing at the Vandiver. 99% of newlyweds and their guests head the whole three blocks over to "downtown" Havre de Grace after their reception to continue partying the night away with participating friends and family. Having visited the two main bars in the area several times, we've decided on a place to go that we will have our DJ announce shortly before the reception is over, as well as have our DOC call the bar and warn them a wedding fiesta is coming their way. I'm incredibly stoked about it all.

The only issue this presents is that of my wedding dress. I asked Foxy if he thought I should just wear it out to the bar, which he didn't think was a very good idea. I don't think he realized it at the time, but he basically told me to get another dress. Boom. ;)

So I've been looking high and low online for some little white dresses to change into after the reception. My criteria were that it had to be sassy but simple enough to still "go" with my wedding day hair/jewelry/shoes, short, white, and not expensive. Which is not as easy as it may seem (or as I thought it would be).

While I did find some reaaaally cute dresses (and all under $100!), none seem to be exactly what I'm looking for or wanting.

This one I puffy heart love, but I think it's too lacy for the rest of my look.

ASOS Lace Dress with Scalloped Neck

This one is okay.. a little basic, though. And I can't find a picture of the supposed "cutout back" anywhere, which makes me cautious.

As U Wish Cap Sleeve Sequin Scoop Neck Cutout Back Mini

This one I can't decide on .. I kind of love it, but I don't know how I'd look in it or if it's the look I'm going for on my wedding eve.

ModCloth Bold As Ice Dress

This last one, I actually bought. It seems to have everything - especially the simply sassy thing - but it fits me kind of funny. Let's just say I don't exactly look the way the model does in it.

Victoria's Secret One Shoulder Dress | Image via Lovelyish

I know I still have time to look some more, but I'm honestly getting a bit discouraged. And the more I think about it, the more I'm wondering if maybe I should just wear my wedding dress. It's not a big, heavy dress and, more importantly, when will I ever wear it again? N.e.v.e.r. So why not sport that hot piece of dress for as long as I possibly can? Ohhh, the decisions.

Did you do a dress change at some point on your wedding day? What are your thoughts on a little white dress for an after party?

Crazy for Bubbles. Or Just Crazy.

So remember my new found love affair with ribbons? Ribbon chandeliers, chair ribbons, ribbons on bouquets, ribbon backdrops.. ugh, it's all just so. good. Ribbon-tastic, if you will. Some of you were awesome enough to point out that I didn't mention ribbon wands - how silly of me to forget those! They're fun, festive, and make for fabulous photo ops.

Image via Hey Gorgeous

Image via Ruffled | Photo by The Schultzes

Image via Project: 10k Wedding

After seeing detail/action shots like these, I decided that I wanted needed to make ribbon wands for everyone to wave as Foxy and I walk back down the aisle as hubbers and wifey for the first time. Fortunately, I took a hot minute to think and decided to consult the man on the idea - more-so to hear him (hopefully) say "sure thing babe, do whatever". Except that didn't happen. Even after showing him pictures like the above, he was adamantly against them - I think the ribbon wands remind him of the Olympics, and not in the most favorable way. Harumph. Goodbye, nonexistent ribbon wands.

Not one to completely surrender, I also mentioned the idea that people could blow bubbles as opposed to waving ribbon wands. A few inspiration pictures later..

Image via Luster Studios

Image via Jared Wilson Photography

..and Foxy was on board. Bubbles it is (since sparklers - my total dream and lust - are more of a send-off type thing to take place at night, and this is just for the mid-afternoon recessional; plus I don't know if our venue even does sparklers). However.

As many a bride has mentioned both on the blog and the boards, I'm not so crazy about the little bubble containers.

Image via WeddingAccessories.net

I did find myself being a bit intrigued by the test tube version, though. I've seen people really spruce these up and make them look super cute!

Image via The Knot

Plus, Michael's even had turquoise colored ones which I temporarily contemplated. That is, until I saw pictures like this:

Image via Hostess with the Mostess

Image via The Pretty Blog

..and, as if you didn't see this coming.. just like that, I've decided to DIY my bubbles. There is no rhyme or reason to this other than the fact that I'm a bit cray cray and also a bit excited about using pipe cleaners as bubble wands. I mean.. it's genius.

Am I giving myself more work than I need to? Yes. Will it end up being a bit pricier than just buying bubbles at the store? Yes. But if it means having something I love vs. something I'd likely very much not love, I think it's worth a few extra minutes and a few extra dollars.

I'm sorry if this seemed to be a really long story about not much, but I pinky-swear-promise that I will have a little DIY of my bubbles soon(ish). I figure the sooner I get these babies out of the way, the better!

Have you ever found yourself DIY'ing unnecessarily for any reason? Was it worth it?

I like 'em long

Earrings, that is. I like long earrings. Don't be gross.

I've seen a lot of pictures and articles lately about big statement necklaces to go with wedding day ensembles (like Miss Opposum's!), but not so much about big statement earrings to go with your look. And I? I'm a total hussy for huge, big, statement earrings, a la Lady Duff here.

Image via Dina's Days

They're classy, fun, bold; the perfect accessory, if you ask me. And nine times out of ten, you'll find me sporting some version of big ear bling myself.

(Prepare for several gratuitous photos of yours truly, mostly because I don't feel like laying out my earrings and taking pictures of them. And because earrings look better, you know, in ears.)

I have a bunch more, of course, but I'm pretty sure you get the idea. I wear them so much that people associate me with my ear bling, which I'm totally ok with and absolutely love. So much so that I feel like I must represent my earring passion on our wedding day!

I'll admit that Foxy Mama isn't the biggest fan of this idea - I think she's more in the camp of a simple necklace and simple earrings. But where's the fun in that? I say, skip the necklace and bring on the big, long, hopefully sparkly earrings. Seeing as my dress is strapless with just a touch of bling on the front, I think a nice pair of shoulder duster earrings would go just perfectly. Now I just need to find them.. and that is presenting itself to be a challenge. So far, the following have stood out the most in my eyes:

Morgan Ashleigh Rose Goldplated Brown Crystal 6 inch Modern Fringe Earrings

Image via Overstock.com

Morgan Ashleigh Brown-plated Bronze Glass Bead Earrings

Image via Overstock.com

CZ by Kenneth Jay Lane, Style KE174

Image via Zappos

I feel like I really want a nice mix of all three of these - as in, classy but colorful - but alas, I have not been able to find that yet. While they all definitely have the length, I'm not sure they have the style I'm going for. I'm not even exactly sure what I want, but I'm hoping for that "I'll know it when I see it" moment. Le sigh.

Any other earring lovers out there with suggestions of where to look? If not earrings, what's your favorite wedding day accessory?

Cake me.

I've been waiting (not so) patiently for our cake tasting ever since we made the appointment back in October (or, to be honest, since we got engaged). I mean.. it's cake. It's hard to go wrong.

Unless you're like Foxy and don't eat sweets, cake included. Needless to say, this was not his favorite wedding related task. (Not to mention, we combined it with a flower consultation on the same day - poor Foxy, he's a trooper!) However, as luck would have it, Foxy Mama was able to make the drive down from NY to meet up with us again, as she did for our linens/room assignment meeting. Having her there was a total life saver.

But back to the cake: one of the awesome things about our venue is that said cake is included in the catering cost. They commission it out to a wonderful, little local place called Desserts by Rita; thank goodness, too, because I really didn't feel like having to research local bakers and be continuously shocked at how much people can charge per slice or as a cake cutting fee. The easier, the better, I say! I was ready to get this party started.

First thing's first: flavors and the official tasting.

If you ask me, they were ALL delicious. Just.. beyond.

I clearly needed a minute alone with fiesta that was happening in my mouth.

I think we did a pretty good job, seeing as my mom and I were the only two really "tasting". To be fair, Foxy did have a tiny bite of the red velvet, though he seemed none too thrilled. It's ok. More for me!

Seeing as we'll be having a three tier cake, we decided to do different flavors on each tier. The bottom/largest tier will be the raspberry devils cake (you have NO IDEA how good that stuff is), raspberry icing, and vanilla cake. The middle tier will be lemon cake, vanilla icing, vanilla cake, and the top/smallest tier will be red velvet cake with vanilla icing (Foxy's choice). I'm so very pleased and so very excited about it all! The best part was that Foxy Mama treated us to a take home treat of cupcakes in all the flavors we chose.

You will notice how I already ate half of the vanilla cupcake, as well as took a swipe of icing off of each of the others. It was a good breakfast, let me tell you.

Now for the tricky part.. what will this flavor explosion of a cake look like? I have of course been collecting inspiration pictures for months, liking this and loving that but never really making a commitment to anything. I kept leaning towards the more simplistic cakes with textured icing.

Image via The Bridal District

Image via Style Me Pretty | Photo by KT Merry

Image via My Sweet and Saucy | Photo by Frenzel Photography

However, I wasn't quite sold on just having a textured cake with a flower or two on it. While I adore the look, I was just looking for something.. more. Which is exactly what I found on Pinterest, the night before our cake tasting.

Image via My Sweet and Saucy | Photo by Gabriel Ryan Photography

How unbelievably cute is this cake?! I think I love it even more because the petals are conveniently more or less our colors. When I saw this picture, I just swooned. And I just knew. It was seriously like the feeling I had when I tried on my dress. Is that weird..?

Either way, I am thrilled to announce that our cake will ultimately have the best of both worlds.. a nice, textured buttercream icing with colorful fondant petals on each tier. Now to decide on a cake topper!

How did you decide on the look of your cake? Did you eventually "just know", or was it a process?

Registry #fail

Back at Thanksgiving, Foxy Mama was meandering around the kitchen looking for something she clearly could not find. She then stopped, looked at Foxy and I, and said "You really need a shower". I kid you not.

A few choice comments later, it turns out she meant that I needed a bridal shower. I was also urged to get off my lazy bum and actually register for things so that she could indeed throw me said shower. While I've been thinking about registering for pretty new things since the day we got engaged, it eventually became one of those things that I kept putting off, thinking it was too early to do so. And then I realized we only had five months left. Best get on that registering, no?

So this past Monday, Foxy and I headed out to Bed Bath & Beyond, seeing as it's the one store we both absolutely adore and literally want everything from. Will we register at other stores? I say maybe. Foxy says maybe not. Our loyalty to that store runs deep, yo.

Anyway, once we got to BBB, we had to fill out some forms before getting our fun little scanner gun.

I've heard from other folks that BBB is notorious for having a sales associate go around the store with you while you register, but for a brief second, I thought we were in the clear. I prefer to do things independently, especially when I need to meander and think and am not exactly sure what I'm even looking for. Foxy and I started to make our way towards the dinnerware on our own.. and then James entered the picture.

Now don't get me wrong, James was a very nice guy and did prove to be very accommodating in helping us choose what toaster and coffee pot we wanted. But he also gave us a half hour speech on a soda making machine thingy that we had no interest in. I know way too much about what piercings he has and used to have. I know that he apparently makes a delicious spicy cornbread with jalapeños for his entire family at Christmastime. I know that he gets an obnoxious discount on things from BBB that kind of made me hate him a little.

I digress.

Despite everything, James is actually a very good salesman - he pointed us towards all of this insanely pricey stuff without us even noticing. Once he talked something up enough and we decided we just had to have it, Foxy would scan it in.

Not until after the scan would we realize what we just registered for. Example: we apparently registered for $200 sheets. Yes, you read that right. According to James, they are the "Underarmor of sheets," and regardless of how amazingly soft they are and how much I can see myself sleeping not in my bed, but in heaven, I'm pretty sure we need to remove them from the list. Or keep them on and see if some sucker buys 'em for us. Either way.

We also managed to register for two decorative pillows that come in at $50 each, when we don't even use decorative pillows. Other prizewinners on our list include travel sized luggage for $230 a pop and a bathmat made out of memory foam for $70. I mean.. really?! Who needs that?? (We do, apparently.)

Needless to say, our registry list needs some pruning and readjusting. We'll also be doing the remainder of our registering online, from the comfort of our own home, sans James (sorry, buddy).

The trip wasn't a total bust, though - we were able to register for some really shnazzy place settings (at a reasonable price, too!)!

I'm dreaming of the day when I can set my table to look this good. Speaking of which.. is it appropriate to register for a dining room table? Because we kind of don't have one. But that's neither here nor there. ;)

What was your first registry experience like? Did anything a little crazy end up on there (like.. I don't know.. $200 sheets)?

The Rings Are In!

First, I wanted to reiterate what Mrs. Sparkler recently mentioned: In terms of wedding planning, do whatever you can, as early as you can.

Hearing it from a married woman made me feel instantly better about my obsession with with getting things done way too early (like booking everything two years out). It turns out, though, that it's really not all that crazy of a notion. A few personal examples:

1. Our DJ. We booked him just short of two years out; in the time between when we met with him and when we actually put a deposit down (about a month), he informed us that another couple wanted to book him on the same day. We still had first dibs, so we jumped on that. Had we not met with him so obnoxiously early, we wouldn't be having the fantastic DJ that we will (at a great price, to boot).

2. My dress. Told you all about that one. Had I waited until a "normal" time to start looking/actually buy something, I would have been stressing out a lot (I mean.. a lot) more than I did.

3. Our rings. Jared's told us we didn't need to start seriously thinking about them or order anything, even a custom band, until about 2 months out. Seeing as it took exactly two months to get my ring and about three months to get Foxy's.. I'd say it's a good thing we got started early.

Now onto the good stuff.

About 3 weeks after my last ring post, I got the call from Jared's. They've gotten pretty used to my name and my face (or really, my ring) over the last few months - the woman who called was almost (almost) more excited than I was that the ring was finally ready. Lucky for me, I was off that day and was able to be at the store within the hour. (Sidenote: it is never a good idea to go to a jewelry store {or any store, really} on a Saturday one week before Christmas.) I arrived, chased an associate down, and got not just my custom wedding band, but my precious, precious e-ring back as well. Fina-freakin-ly. And they are perfect together - the fit, the size, the just-right amount of sparkle.

Boom. I'm so in love!!

In my selfish giddiness, I didn't even think to ask about Foxy's ring. So I left, wearing my band all the way home (obvs). It finally occurred to me later that day that we ordered his ring at the same time we ordered mine, and his wasn't a custom. It did have to be uniquely made for his size since it's tungsten, but it should not be taking longer than my ring. I called about it the next day, and lo and behold, it was ready. But they never called, as before.

Long story short: I tried to pick up the ring on my own, but since the account is under Foxy's name, they wouldn't let me. Good thing, too, because when we were both finally able to go in about two weeks later, the ring was a half size too big. Word on the street is that the titanium and tungsten rings tend to "run large", so Foxy should have been sized with a women's ring sizer (which he wasn't). So they had to reorder his ring, which took another month.

Fortunately, he was able to pick it up a few days ago - we finally have a "matching" set of rings!!

By the way, you know what the sexiest thing in the world is? Seeing Foxy with a wedding band on his finger. So hot.

I cannot wait for the the day when we we can finally wear these all the time. Are you just as excited as I am to wear your band(s)? Do you cheat (like I may or may not do) and slip it on at home from time to time?

Sh*t Brides Say

Have you heard of the little web series called "Shit Girls Say" on YouTube? If not, go here. It's hysterical. There have been all sorts of versions and varieties made on this concept - one of my recent favorites is "Shit Ballerinas Say". Having been a dancer for many years, 90% of it rang all. too. true. (OMG, it's whole milk.)

So imagine my surprise and complete delight when I saw the newest edition.

Yes, it is none other than "Shit Brides Say". Watch it. Laugh at it. Love it.

Oh.. and pin it. ;)

I don't know about you, but this was a wonderful little pick-me-up that cracked me up because of its depictions and, most importantly, its truth. We've all been there, done that, said that. (Right..?!)

What other typical bridal quotes should we add to the list? I vote for a Wedding Wednesday reference. And a STD one, as well, of course!

Look good, feel good

This past Wednesday, Project Wedding sent me their daily email (where they count down every. single. day. - gotta give 'em credit) with the title "Start Building Your Immunity Now." At first I laughed - this? thrown in among the reasons buttercream tastes better than fondant and what to gift your bridesmaids and how to find a photographer? - but a second thought made me stifle that laugh. We all focus on wanting to look our best for the big day, but what about feeling our best, physically? I'd say that should rank pretty high, as well.

Image via Project Wedding

Of course I was extra sensitive to this whole immunity/feel-your-best stuff since I just went through a pretty terrible bought of food poisoning on Monday (fabulous way to lose 5 pounds, by the way). I distinctly remember a moment, in the midst of all the grossness, that I thought "god HELP me if I get food poisoning the night before the wedding", or heck - even the week of the wedding. There was no way in hell I could have smiled and faked it and made it through.. anything. Now of course food poisoning is rather severe and random and doesn't have much to do with immunity per se, but a quick look back at these last few years made me realize how much more often I've been sick lately as compared to my younger years. I blame it on stress.

I rarely used to get sick - cold, flu, or otherwise - and if I did, I recovered in a heartbeat. Not so much the case anymore; I believe I've gotten some form of the flu every winter for the last three years, and have had several terrible cold attacks. My migraines have come more frequently (you know.. those debilitating ones) and I have developed the worst springtime allergies (although I hear that's a DC thing). I don't have an explanation for all of this, except for the aforementioned stress. You know, the kind that comes from being an adult and having loads more responsibility. Whether or not this is truly the case, I've found that self-care is becoming increasingly important as I get older. I like to think that I usually take relatively good care of myself, but I definitely feel the need to do more - for the wedding, but also just for myself. Just to feel better, overall.

The article talked a lot about eating the right foods and getting your nutrients from either fruits and veggies or supplements. I'm already aboard this train - I take my B12  and vitamin C supplements daily and am currently looking for another multivitamin to add to the mix. However, I personally find that there is also a mental and physical piece to my well being; I try and do some form of yoga at least once week, and stretch daily. I also try and get a massage at least once a month as a part of my wellness routine - I can honestly tell a huge difference in my body and my state of mind after I've had one (and that's not just because I'm a massage therapist!).

Hard at work, doing my thang.

While this all sounds well and good on paper, the trick is being consistent and finding time, which I kind of suck at. I am always telling people about the importance of self-care when I really should be taking my own advice a bit more. I know for a fact that my body - and my immunity - gets a huge boost from proper self-care. So one of my resolutions for the next five months (and beyond) is to be and continue to stay healthy. No runny nose or digestive issues for this girl on the big day. I hope.

What kind of self-care works best for you? Do you find some things work better than others?

Informing the Bridal Party

It was a process, but once Foxy and I finally made the decision on what we wanted our respective bridal party halves to wear, we kind of.. stalled. More accurately, I was the one stalling. My ever present indecisiveness needed to be extra, extra, extra sure that was 110% settled on what we wanted folks to wear before getting the word out. Once November rolled around and the Save the Dates were sent and I realized I still hadn't formally clued anyone in, I realized it was probably time to: 1. let everyone know what we want for ensembles, and 2. remind everyone they actually are in our wedding, seeing as we've been pretty hands off up to this point. Reminders are good, yes? ;)

A nice email would have been fine, but I had this itch to amp it up and make it an email with an attachment. Ooooh.

For the ladies:

And for the men:

I also created a third attachment with basic information about the rehearsal dinner, accommodations, etc, and sent everything out in one massive email so people could see who everyone else is and what they will be sporting down the aisle.

We are now just short of 5 months out and as far as I know, no one has ordered anything yet.. which makes sense, seeing as I asked them to get stuff ordered by late January/early February. I just hope they all have better luck getting everything than Foxy and I have had (see: dress, rings)! Speaking of which, we should really order Foxy's suit...

How did you spread the word about wedding party ensembles? About how far out did people end up purchasing?

The Drink That Wasn't

I won 't keep you in suspense. It's beer.

Delicious, homebrewed beer.

A little under a year ago, Foxy decided to buy a starter at-home beer brewing kit.

The goal was to start by using the the all-inclusive beer kits (that small box at the bottom), which have all the ingredients you need to make whatever kind of beer you select, along with detailed directions on how to do so. We eventually aimed to become proficient enough to experiment with making our own beers - as in, instead of using a kit, we'd chose what grains and what yeast and how long to boil it all, etc and so forth. No directions. 'Cause we don't follow anyone's rules, not even our own. (Reference?!)

So.. what's the point in all of this? Wonderful question! The point is that we ultimately wanted to craft our own beer to serve at the wedding. Seeing as we are only having a beer and wine open bar, we thought it would be faboush to include a homebrew in that selection. The thought was to possibly have one type at the rehearsal dinner and name it something dorky like Still Single Stout (Foxy gets credit for that one), and another one at the reception named something along the lines of Happily Ever After Hefeweizen. We could slap fun labels on them, people would drink and be happy, we'd have a fun, unique element - perfect, right?

Well, yes, up until we brought it up to our DOC and she quickly nixed the idea. Unbeknownst to us, Maryland has some very silly rules and regulations on alcohol - both on what can be sold and what can be consumed. The gist of it is that you are not allowed to consume alcohol purchased outside of the venue; you can bring it, but it can't be opened. All alcohol has to be originally bought and provided by the venue itself. This rules out any hope of bringing our own beer, not to mention the fancy-shmancy bottle of champagne we've been specifically waiting to drink for the wedding/wedding night.

Major bummer.

The option is always there to possibly give a homebrew out as a favor, but there is no guarantee that people won't open them, and I really don't want to deal with any issues that may potentially arise from that. Also, I already have an amazeballs idea for favors(!).

Thus is the story of the drink that.. wasn't.

Does anyone else brew beer (or wine) (or moonshine) and hope to have it at your wedding? Have you run into any sticky issues when it comes to alcohol permits/laws?

Clear skin, please

Wedding countdown time has clearly begun, thus prompting all sorts of beauty preparations.

Grow hair longer: I'm trying (whyy won't it grow faster?!).
Whiten teeth: eventually.
Work out, get fit, lose arm fat: ehhh we'll see.
Get clear skin: totally very much almost there!

See, when I was a teen, I was blessed with very good skin. I was (am) pale as heck and couldn't (still can't) get a tan to save my life, but my skin was clear 99% of the time. Which, naturally, I took for granted at my young age. I never wore a ton of makeup because I just didn't have to. And then I reached my 20's and went on birth control. Cue breakouts. Constant, terrible breakouts for the past 4 years or so.

No matter what I've tried - different birth control, an array of face cleansing products, cutting back on alcohol (hey, I love my wine) - nothing helped. My skin would get slightly better for a few days each month (take a guess when), but it's been consistently.. not nice. While I hate it in general, I specifically hate it because of the upcoming wedding. Makeup can only do so much. HD cameras do more.

Foxy has mentioned Proactive a couple times - he used to use it when he was in college, but said that after some time it stopped working for him, which made me nervous. Plus, I hate their commercials, with their gorgeous celebrities with "skin problems". Maybe they really do (did) have skin problems, but they also have makeup artists and photoshop and airbrushing at their disposal. Either way, I found myself irrationally skeptical. Intrigued, but still skeptical.

So when I found myself at Sephora a few weeks before Christmas, I noticed the small Clinique Acne Solutions kit. You know, the one Miss Doe talked about a while back?

Image via Acne.org

I showed it to my shopping partner, brideslady G, who promptly said "Merry Christmas!" and bought for me. Thus is the story behind the best Christmas present ever.


I started using it that very night, and now, about 3 weeks later, my skin is honestly *glowing* (knock on wood). It hasn't been this clear and I haven't had pores this small in years. I'm kind of in utter shock. It is, without a doubt, fantastic.

The kit recommends doing all three steps twice a day, but I found that this tends to dry up my skin rather quickly. Also, I'm super lazy and hate washing my face with the cleanser at night before bed, so I created my own little regimen that happens to still work quite nicely:

Morning: I do all three steps (wash, toner, lotion) - easy peasy since I shower in the morning and can just do the face wash in the shower!

Evening: First I clean my face with Neutrogena Makeup Remover Wipes.

Image via Daily Glow

Then I proceed with the Clinique toner and lotion as usual. Occasionally I'll also use Neutrogena Oil Free Moisturizer for Sensitive Skin on my drier spots, or will use it instead of the Clinique lotion.

Image via Drugstore.com

This little regimen has worked out wonderfully so far. I've gone from using 5 different types of concealer on my face to just a light coat of sheer powder to reduce shine.. really! (Well, not counting what I use to cover my under eye circles - that's a different story entirely.)

Proudly sporting very minimal makeup on a recent night out with brideslady G!

Ooooh. Aaaaah.

At this rate, my skin should hopefully be soft, clear, and radiant for the big day. Granted I didn't just jinx myself ten times over.

How far out did you start any of your beauty regimens? Any other good skin tips?