ELIZABETH: Picnic Themed Prenup (What to Bring?)

First of, you gotta think of a theme. This post is about all the things you gotta bring when, like me, you finally decided to do it outdoors - picnic, garden, park, whatever you call it. I decided to do it outdoor because I want to use natural light - the sun. Not the fake lights inside an air-conditioned no-sweat studio- where's the fun in that?

Mind you, this location aside from the A-mazing natural light means (these are the cons) we have to deal with the perfect weather, we needed to come back because the first time we've been here, it's drizzling.The picture below which is the second time - was scorching hot! Slap on that sunblock, honey!

Can you imagine myself smiling while inside I'm squirming because my dress' is too thick, lacey-itchy and sticks to my skin? No problemo, I used  Dove Underarm roll on, my sweat smells divine!

Tip: Under that wedding dress is my Converse. Do not attempt to run in heels when you're on hills. (hey, it rhymes!)

Another tip: This converse also walked down the stairs.

If you choose to add stairs on your red carpet moment, Converse is your comfort.

The grass is so deliciously green and the soil, well, yeah, some went under our toenails but no matter, I painted it anyways. So yeah, there's the cons and pros. I just state it here because I still choose to step on soil and get a little sweaty and a little dirty and have awesome photos and not complain about it because I know what to expect. So choose your location and theme wisely, brides. :)

This is one of my DIY props! hehe :)
-1 balloon stick snapped in two to make my cartonlina-art stand. Letterings here are made of good 'ole crayola and pentel pens lying on my desk somewhere...


This is also my DIY props, our most awaited date!
straws + cartolina + creativity = Art, personalized art that is. :)


And this are the props that we brought:
picnic mat
Teddy bear- 4th anniversary gift from my hubby when we're still bf and gf
basket
picnic basket
guitar
flowers
tea cup
my handbag from kimbel
sparkle wine and champagne
wine glass
chocolate pie
apple and orange fruit
french bread
plate (2 sets)
spoon, fork and knife (2 sets)
black brim hat for my hubby
straw hat for me


we also bring styro with this message..

Live, Love, Laugh,

Beth

ELIZABETH: Prenup Makeup (When You Want to Look Fresh Under The Sun)

This post is all about the things I did to make our prenup shoot fun, amazing and awesome! :D

Note that this post is not about bragging but it's about having your dream "prenup" come true without hurting your pocket, or your fiance's pocket for that matter. hehe

About me: I pamper myself the day he asked for my hand in marriage. (So, I could flash my best smile on the big day) aside from that I'm proud to say that I didn't hire anyone for my hair and makeup. Youtube is your bff and google is your sister! Aside from having a sweet fiance, I'm lucky to be blessed to have a girly girl for a mother-in-law (which is a plus if you're doing your own makeup!). She (my then future mom-in-law) helped me straighten my rebonded hair and on choosing the right kind of falsies and the rest was on me. I put my makeup on!

The sun is scorching hot and my secrets?

-Keep it light. You have to look like yourself - the best version of you. Highlight the assets and hide the flaws.

-Primer. Myra E Sunblock. Revlon Primer. Ever Bilena BB Cream and Maybelline Oil Control Powder. Yes, you don't have to buy the most expensive to be your best, you just gotta go and find your HG (holy grail - the product that works best with your skin). If you are doing DIYs, maximize what you have and since you're aiming to be just you, why not use product you use everyday? ;)

-Be yourself. Smile. Not the fake smile that's holding your stomach in or sucking your double chin in smile,smile your genuine smile. Smile like there's no camera following you around and flirt! Flirt because you have all the right! This is where you should do the PDA master's degree level! Hahaha

Other products:

Eyebrows: In2It eyebrow palette

Lips: Simply Pretty balm, NYX lipliner and ELF lipstick in pink

Cheeks: Careline blush in pink

See my nails? No, I didn't let anyone touch my nails, it's pure DIY baby. Stay around to find out how!

Live, Love, Laugh,

Beth

ELIZABETH: My DIY Wedding Invitations :)

Hi! These are the final output of our wedding invitations with black and white motif! :)

Live, Love, Laugh,

Beth :)

How to Preserve Fresh Flowers + DIY Recycled Vase

I received a bouquet from my hubby one random night just because and now, I want to preserve it as long as I could and maybe preserve some petals for sake keeping, frames and maybe to be an ornament for my scrapbook project too... I used to use aspirin to make the flowers fresh but since we don't have any in the house, I use what is available.

Materials you need:

• sugar
• vinegar
• tablespoon
• beaker/glass/bowl - something to hold the mixture
• vase
• warm water

Since we don't do white sugar in the house, I have to settle for brown but it is preferred to use white so that the water won't have discoloration. The green Nestle tumbler would be my improvised case for this bouquet if you are wondering what is that doing on the photos.

Put a spoonful of sugar to the glass and pour vinegar.

Mix well and add warm water. I mix hot water with tap water to get the right temperature. Not to hot, just right that the water won't feel cool.

Put that on the vase and it's good to go. I noticed that the morning after, the flowers "bloom" or "stand" straighter than the night before. It last me another week. :)

Well, the green Nestle tumbler can't hold this much flowers so the hubby DIY a vase out of a water container. :)

Cut the plastic gallon in half.

Put the top portion inside the lower portion. The opening whole will act as the stem holder while still allowing the flowers to bend forward to all direction just as you could see in the pictures.

You could paint your DIY vase too.

You could also attached strings on its side to hang it.

Be creative. :)

Flowers and recycling together is a good combo, I tell you. Ciao.

Food Trip: Homemade Carrot Siomai + Carrot Juice

What I missed most about staying in Baguio was that all the vegetables are fresh, plus the price is way much cheaper than the limp veggies I see on the wet market here in Manila - there really IS a big difference! If you wanna live well, you have to start eating right, and eating right starts with fruits and vegetables - the usual left behind food blocks in the food pyramid! Today, in this blogpost, I will share to you my mom's homemade carrot siomai! :D

Ingredients and Materials for Carrot Siomai, Carrot Juice and Siomai Sauce:

• 1 kilo fresh carrots
• 2 cans of tuna in oil flakes or corned tuna
• siomai wrappers
• salt
• pepper
• stalk of celery
• flour
• 5 medium-sized eggs
• Juicer
• Steamer
• 5 pieces calamansi
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• a spoonful of chili sauce
• Olive oil

fresh from the steam pot! :D

Clean the celery and carrots and lightly peel the surface. Cut the carrots in medium size and process both the carrots and the celery stalks in the juicer. Measure 1/4 of the carrot-celery juice on the cup and put the rest in the fridge to chill.

Put the carrot fiber in a big bowl, add the following ingredients-

1/4 carrot juice,

tuna in flakes,

a spoon of flour (add more if necessary),

salt and pepper to taste

Crack the eggs in a small bowl, leave a spoonful of egg whites in a saucer.

Beat the eggs and mix it to the ingredients. Mix well.

Prepare the siomai wrapper.

Individually wrap the mix in the siomai wrapper and use the white eggs to seal the tip.

Cover the steam pot with a thin layer of olive oil (you could also add/use butter, if you like *wink).

Place the siomai inside and steam for 15 to 20  minutes.

Cut the calamansi and squeexe the juice in a small bowl, add soy sauce and chili sauce.

Enjoy!

That is how we do it at home. Don't forget to put some ice on the Carrot Juice and shake it well before serving. Carrot is a good source of vitamin A. It can also melt small tumors and lumps inside the body. You can replace the tuna with grinned beef or chicken as well, but our favorite is the tuna flavored carrot siomai! Mouth-watering labor of love! All those wrapping is really well worth it!

What are your favorite carrot dish and dimsum?

ELIZABETH: DIY Avocado Mask

Hello everyone! How are you? I would like to share to you my DIY Avocado mask! So, if you are experiencing some dryness on your skin, you could do a natural remedies! :) Let's start! We'll be needing the following ingredients:

  

AVOCADOS - sliced it into two as you can see on the picture...then scoop it into the bowl and smashed it, but you can also use your blender to do it quickly. :) 

After that, put a two tablespoon of milk, I used ALASKA EVAPORADA but you can also use fresh milk except condensed milk.. :)

Then put one tablespoon of GLYCERINE OIL, you can purchased this at Mercury drugstore but you can also use Baby Oil as an alternative.. :)

So, this is the mixture of my Avocado Mask! Put it on your face and make sure that  your not wearing any make-up. You can also apply these on your body... Leave it for about 15 to 30 minutes but the longer the better! :) 

Can I pass as the girl version of "The Mask"? :P hahaha!

So, after washing your face..rub at least 2 ice cubes to tighten the pores :)

I can feel that my skin is so soft and smooth! :) I really love Avocado.. This facial helps stimulate the growth of new skin cells and blood circulation in the skin. It's a natural way to nurture and replenish our skin without any chemicals. Avocados also has antioxidant that help to get rid of toxins that promote premature aging and wrinkling on the skin. A lot of  the toxins on our facial skin are residue of our make-up and other cosmetics. So, applying this facial mask will help to remove these toxins! :) 

live, love, laugh,

Beth

Photo Blog #6: Instagood Dates, Meeting and Pinterest Whatnots

Been longing to post some photos and guess what? It always slip my mind. But hey, finally, it comes forward just as I'm about to log out... :P

New favorite hot spot - Icings! #killdiet

New coffee madness - Cape de Lipa #beastly

PS - thank you to our friend from Fullybooked! :)

Makes sense, right? #Pinterest

Always been wanting to make one of this! #Pinterest #knickknacks #memoirs

Throughout the year, write down memories that made you smile. On wedding anniversary, open it up and reread all of the good stuff that made the year wonderful! Awesome tradition to start!

Ciao! ;)

Want more Photo Blogs? :D

ELIZABETH: Turtle-back Nail Art Design

Hey guys! How are you? I just wanna show you my latest nail art design!

Actually, I just invented this design and I will probably call it "Turtle-back"! haha :D

Obviously, you can't see it but the secret to have this turtle-ish effect is that I place big blotches of dark blue shade above the green apple shade background. Hence, the turquoise finish. Just to glamour things up, I decided to create another turtle-back design on my ring finger nail on different shade of mustard yellow and neon pink. :)

live, love, laugh,

Beth :)

ELIZABETH: Apple Green Stripes Nail art

Hi guys! How are you? I just wanna share my latest random nail art tutorial...

First is to apply a Neon Apple Green as a base coat... 

Then create a slanting french tip on the side of your nails, choose any shade that you think will compliment your base color, but for me, I decided to put a silky white shade...

After that, get your thin brush and start creating stripes with even interval, again, you can choose any color that compliment your tip. More vibrant colors, the better!

Put a dots below the tip to finish the design... 

I'm fond of experimenting designs and colors and I  ended up with this design... It's very easy, anyone can create this design in a matter of minutes... Hope you like it!  

live, love, laugh,

Beth :)

ELIZABETH: Etta's Compact Skin Whitening Powder

Hey guys! How are you? We've been so busy AND HAPPY we might throw a giveaway! hahaha It is so much harder to cook up a giveaway than I thought, but still... Anyways, I will be sharing to you my experience using this product ^(see the title post again). 

Presenting to you, the Etta's Compact Skin Whitening Powder! This is good for skin beauty lightening. As I say on my second post, I will be blogging about Etta's bleaching powder! How I came up to this is because I am preparing for my upcoming wedding! So, this product only cost Php.180 per box. I bought this at Market Market, but you can also purchase this at any Hortaleza shop.

One box of Etta's bleaching powder has 2 plastics inside.. 

This one is the Etta's Mixing Solution, hydrogen peroxide 10 volume. This product only cost Php.25 per bottle.

So, this is what it looks like when you mix the whitening powder and the mixing solution. You should stir it in one direction to trap the bubbles and expand the mixture, until it looks like a melted ice cream...

This is the texture of the bleach, applied wet on areas you wanna whitens...

Let it dry for about 10 to 15 minutes, when I first try this, It was actually too painfully irritating, I can't  bear the itchiness I feel, that I had to wash it off in less than two minutes! I can't keep myself from scratching my skin... I know patience is a virtue, I am a patient person but just not in that particular moment! :/

After washing it off, this is the result. Some marks of redness occur because of scratching. I tried this product for about two weeks but sometimes I washed it off even if its not dry yet because I can't bear the itchiness I feel, no scratch that, I suffer! This product is effective but I decided not to use this all over my body because of the pain I'll suffer! (insert maarte laugh here) hahaha...So, I will only use the left product for my dark areas such as elbows and knees! ;)

I hope this review helped you about Etta's bleaching powder.

P.S. That is my inner leg right there just in case you are wondering... #weirdangle
And you might wanna try this if you are looking for a more easier way of bleaching, and challenge yourself: Can you bear the itchy-monster?:)

And if you want to know how to prepare the bloody-hard-yet-effective Original Homemade Bleaching Mixture, I might share it with you! Just say "pretty you, pretty please with a cherry on top!"

live, love, laugh,

Beth :)

ELIZABETH: DIY Lip Palette

Hey everyone! How's your Wednesdays? Mine is so-so. I woke up late and rushed to get my morning routine done! Yay for me! cause I've done my things to do just after my 12 pm strucked. 

Meaning, I have time to blog! And now I will be showing you how I carry all my lipstick without hassle!

How I came up to this is because whenever I travel or go out, I encounter the same problem; how to fit all my lipsticks in my small purse.You can buy a ready made lip palette but I decided to create my own so that I could carry my all time favorites! I could choose the colors from nude to reds and lastly I could recycle and help mother nature. Another yay for me! Hahaha! :D Lets get started! 

We'll be needing an empty compact face powder,or if you have any eye shadow palette, you can also use that..But for me,I will be using an empty compact face powder from Avon. 

We also need some tissue, spoon, candle, pusher and a lighter or a match. 

And of course our lipsticks..

One of my favorite lipstick here is from Avon which is Amour Rose. I lost the cap during our driving lesson with my sis! So, as you can see the middle lipstick doesn't have a cap on it. 

First step is to scrape all the lipstick using the pusher and put it on the spoon...

TIP: If you wanna used up all of the product left inside the tube, use a lip brush to scrape it off.

Allow your lipstick to melt slowly, you can also stir it using the pusher..

You can now pour it to your empty compact face powder.. If you are planning to put several lip color, be careful not to stain the entire pan and slowly pour to avoid burnt fingers.

Just repeat all the steps until you are finished..

you could use your nail pusher or a toothpick to align the edges of your palette.

(Check out my nail tutorial here!)

Like I said, making your own lip palette is easy, cheaper, saves space, you could customize the colors, the amount of product you will put, the design and lastly you could put in an empty compact powder, or empty gel liner tube. :)

It's exciting to make too! Just be careful not to burn your fingers or your house! For that matter... If you know you can't do it alone, ask help of your parents or guardian for extra safety! :) Or maybe do it outside the house. :P You know.

Are you liking DIYs? I will be sharing another DIY soon! So stay tuned!

If you did try this, share your DIY lip palette on our facebook page and tag us!

live, love, laugh,

Beth :)