Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Three Years Ago TODAY I Became A Wife!

Three years ago today, I had the opportunity to.....


SAY I DO in the church I grew up in....


Put on a pretty white dress....


Have my brother give me away....

Eat reeeeeealllly yummy cake....



Walk down the aisle to Highland Cathedral....


Be spoiled by constant drink replinshers....

Get lost in the moment.....


Eat (yes I actually ate!!!) my wedding food....


Be surrounded by family and friends....



Wear my Mama's veil....



Dance the night away....



Marry my best friend....


Celebrate family traditions....


Toast to our new future....


And walk away with my HAPPILY EVER AFTER....




Here's to many more...and if any of you out there in blogland are celebrating yours today as well...Here's to you!




Monday, September 19, 2011

Willow House Love

Recently I hosted a Willow House party for my sweet friend Callie and it was a great success! I love their items and I was able to score some really really great things for myself....I could have kept going but thankfully (for my husband's sake!) we are in the process of redoing our kitchen (no, tweet peeps we are STILL NOT DONE) and so ordering things from my party rewards were mainly geared towards my kitchen...but I did not want to order too many things since I am still sitting on my central piece/focal point/main design jumping off....which, I may have found this weekend, but that's another story.

So here are my steals! And I say steals because with my hostess rewards they were LITERALLY steals!


Simone Old Fashioned



When we got married, I was just never in LOVE with our glasses....they were perfectly fine, but if I recall it was one of those things that Raymond just loved, and it was a battle I cared little over fighting. They are nice glasses, but these jumped right out at me...the scrolls on the glasses seem to flow nicely with my everyday china and when they came in, I knew I made the right decision....thank goodness Junior League Clean Sweep is around the corner and my old glasses helped check off a chunk of my quota!


Simone Highball


I had to get the highballs to complete the set of course! So this has replaced my original set of glasses....there was a little tear that I was giving something away that was from our registry, but these glasses dried those tears right up! In the 3 years we've been married, we've replaced other things, including adding/changing my everyday china from the ones we originally registered for, so this is one of the least sentimental things I've updated!

Lady Jane Bottleneck Vase


Right now I have this in my kitchen....and I am just trying to test it out to see if it works...there are a few other places in my house I can easily fit it into, and it was just too good too pass up...Callie said she puts her wine corks in it! Brill! Regardless of where this beauty ends up, I will treasure it...it's even more gorgeous in person.

French Wire Convertible Baskets


We have a SERIOUS mail problem in our house....I have finally broken my husband of throwing it on the dining room table....only for it now to land on my kitchen counter. With a new kitchen comes a new sheriff in town and I am going on Operation: Mail Crackdown. (SERIOUSLY, there is no need to keep all the junk circulars! Just throw them away before even making it inside!!) I am hoping that one of these will fit underneath my chalkboard to collect the mail...if all else fails, I may be getting more gourmet as the picture encourages and storing fresh produce in them....it just seems way too sophisticated for me...so we will see! I will surely post pictures.

Thank you Callie for all of your help! You were so sweet and I sincerely hope the show was a success for you. I HIGHLY recommend any of you throw one of these....especially now that the Holiday's are approaching!!!!


I know that I am off to a major D+ (on a good day) to getting back into blogging, but I do have a few posts lined up so I will make sure that I check back in more often....


Toodles!



Thursday, September 1, 2011

Favorite Products Right Now

This is THE magic potion!!! The Isotonix OPC3 Beauty Blend is an amazing supplement that you take each morning. It contains a multitude of potent free scavengers, a variety of vitamins including everything a woman needs for everything from osteoporosis to her hair, skin, face and nails!
I am a BIG believer in Probiotics and even have Georgia on one that she takes every day. This one is gentle on your stomach and I swear it is the reason I have not come down with any sicknesses or ailments in a looooooooooong time! I also recommend an infant/toddler probiotic, especially if you have a sickly child, or one prone to frequent illnesses. Even with Georgia going to daycare, she doesn't have the "day care sniffles" and has been so healthy and bounced back quickly from any potential oncoming colds! I will do another post about the one that I have her on....

LATISSE WHAT?!?!?! So Latisse is not covered under insurance and will run you about $100 for a month's supply. Since I was not blessed with healthy, lush lashes, This FIXX lash extend has become my best friend. For $24.95, you CANNOT beat it! I use it every night across my eyelid and I am seeing amazing results from it (and no, no darkening of my eyelid has resulted like they warn in the Latisse commercial)




This is currently the skin regime that I am using. It is AWESOME for people with sensitive skin or issues such as eczema (ahem, yours truly) or rosacea or any other allergies. It's soothing, calm, based on aromatherapy so it smells amazing and my skin feels the best and looks the best (also gotta give props to the OPC3 Beauty Blend up top for that one) that is has in years! And the price is SO reasonable. The entire kit is only 99.95 for all of this.....I've had mine for several weeks and have barely put a dent into it.



This ladies...is a face lift in a jar....and I can personally attest to you that it will give you that amazing, fresh from the derm's office look! I use this in combination with the Skintelligence as I ease into the whole AntiAging routine...I am fighting it. But it's here! So I am taking babysteps!



Cream Concealer....my best friend! I never leave the house without this or......



my Eye Base!! This will neutralize your palette and allow the vibrant colors to reveal themselves in your eyeshadow. On days I am feeling less than glam, I will wear just concealer, the eye base and my powder...swipe on some mascara and lip gloss and you're good to go!



This liquid mineral foundation is good for someone who likes a full coverage feeling. I have to feel like I am "covered up" but it won't leave you looking caked or New Jersey baked. Motives also has a different Ageless Renewal Foundation that is a little lighter and little more luminous if you rather that look and if so, email me and I will help you with that one. But this stuff is awesome!



Dual Perfection Powder Compact! The best thing I love about this...when I don't want to wear foundation...all I do is spritz a little water on my face and then apply my powder and it will give me a little bit heavier look! Great tip ladies!




Bronzer in Miami Glow....this will be my Winter STAPLE item Blush compact in So Peachy....gives me such a warm glow! I love it!



And to top it all off...the Lip Booster (think Angie's lips) in Riot....lush.


For all of these products and SO much more...go HERE!!!


love you girls!




It's good to be back bitches!!!

Heavens to Betsy!!! It has been FOREVER...almost a YEAR to be exact since I blogged. To be honest, I was burned out. I was tired of logging everything that I was doing in my life instead of just trying to LIVE those moments and soak them in....but I am ready to jump back in and I have LOTS to share! Some things have stayed the same...I am still a full time working mama trying to juggle it all, I still have the best and most amazing husband in the world but one huge blessing is that we have made and tightened our bond with some incredible people over the past year! Our family is so lucky to have such amazing support...

The first being that Georgiabelle turned TWO in June! TWO!!!! Can you believe it? When I started this blog she was not even born....so much time has passed. She is so grown up and is so intelligent and has so much love for the world, and everyone around her. She constantly wants to give hugs and kisses and for that, I am so thankful....have we entered the terrible two's? Absolutely. Have I bought stock in Two Buck Chuck? You betcha. But this age is so much fun and I am just soaking in every moment we have with her. Pictures to come....

Nice transition to my second life altering moment over the past year...our computer crashed...and a few days later, our external hard drive crashed. That was 4 years of pictures...of our lives....GONE. Vomit. Then we went to Best Buy and they said that they could try and fix it but all in all it would come out about $1100 in the end, and that wouldn't guarantee any pictures being recovered. Vomit. This is AFTER we paid them to restore our laptop. I loathe Best Buy. The Geek Squad can take their mouses and USBs and power cords that fail on me at least once a month and shove it. Luckily, my mom employs (apparently, and as he is now referred to in our house) as the COMPUTER GOD. He was able to restore EVERYTHING! For free! Well of course we will compensate him, but he would not give us an amount...all we had to do was buy a new hard drive. Hear that Geek Squad? So once we get that back I will put up some pictures of our life over the past year....lawdy mercy!

Thirdly, after surviving the said Puppy Invasion (yes, they all went to good homes and FAST - HALLELUJAH!) we put hardwoods down throughout our home....phew. Then I had another weak moment and let my husband REDO our entire kitchen. New Cabinets, Counters, Floors, everything. We are waiting on the final shipment of flooring to come in so it will match the rest but it is alllllllllmost done. And I l.o.v.e. it. I love it enough to almost want to start cooking in it. Disclaimer: almost.

In baby news...no no no get that out of your heads, we had another addition to our family! Our nephew Patrick "Whit"lock Hamilton, Jr. was born in March and Georgia is loving having a cousin and we are loving watching our family expand...(on someone else's dime!) It's such a joy to watch them interact and so that has subsided our baby fever for a while at least (I think I just heard the grandmother's gasp) but seriously it's been great having more babies join the clan....

And the biggest news of all....I have some new business ventures!!
A few months ago, I launched Unveiled...we are a wedding/event coordination company, we do day of coordination, and we do on site make up application for proms, pageants and most importantly, weddings! I have had SO much fun and have been staying busy as a bee! Working on a button now for the blog...and perhaps even an Unveiled blog...or at least a tab on mine and will start advertising on other blogs. Word of mouth is an amazing thing and I am booking weddings through May of next year so things are looking bright folks!
Combining my love for makeup and well, staying busy, (I'll never be able to not have something outside the home) I am the proud promoter for Motives makeup by Loren Ridinger, along with many other amazing products! Come shop with me at www.marketamerica.com/charlottehamilton. You can shop directly from my website or if you are close, I am happy to come do a party- it's a perfect girls night out! I will be doing routine posts about what I am loving from Market America right now! Check it out! Log in to become a preferred customer and take the skin analysis and nutriphysical and we can help you become the BEST version of you between makeup, skincare and vitamins! I am SO pumped about these lines and they have changed my life! On top of finding the best products for you, being a preferred customer will earn you CASH back for your purchases! Not just with Market America products, but with ALL of our partner stores!!! Come shop in the mall without walls!

I wish those were the ONLY four things that have gone on the past few months....but if you have followed me in the past you only know better! I will be following up with a post about some products I am loving right now, and if you have any questions about Unveiled or my Market America products, email me! I would love to talk to you!

Lastly, I am so happy to be back in blogland....I have stayed in touch with many of you via twitter but it's just not the same! I miss all of you and can't wait to catch up!!!

love to you all....

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Puppies! Puppies! Puppies!

The puppies are HERE!!!!! They were born 2 weeks ago at 4:30 in the morning....yes....you read that right...the way everything went down is actually quite comical. So I was having a girls slumber party, the Bug was at Swoozie's, and Raymond was hunting all weekend.....all of the girls kept asking me when she was due, and I honestly had no idea....I thought in the next week or so. But quite the contrary my blovies....I had NO idea what was about to unfold later that night...Oh yes, my best friend woke me up (after several repeated attempts from my drunken coma) to my dog's water breaking and then shortly thereafter shooting out her puppies.....in my kitchen....HOLY COW...yes, it was even more disgusting than I am describing it in case you were wondering....here is a girl who doesn't "do" outdoors and I am birthing puppies in my nightgown on my kitchen floor....the girls were awesome...everyone of them on their bberries googling dog birthing....HILARIOUS...so a short time later 8 beautiful puppies were snuggled up next to my sweet sweet Tellie..... The Mama!
The Daddy!
The boys...there are 4
They're so precious!!
Look at those smooshed faces!!
The ladies!!!! There are 4
Oh my darling!!
They are so cute...but it was still the most disgusting thing I have ever experienced.
The puppies will be ready December 18th but we are willing to keep them until Christmas Eve. We are in the Columbia area so if you, or anyone you know is interested, email me!! The puppies are all light in color (no reds), AKC registered and have incredible, papered bloodlines and the mama weighs in (pre pregnancy) 50 pounds and the daddy approx 85 pounds.
Exciting times in the Hamilton household!!!!!!! Blessings abound!!!!!








Wednesday, October 13, 2010

GUESS WHO'S PREGNANT?!?!?!?!?

.....I'll give my family that reads this a minute to let their hearts start beating again!!!.....

No loves! It's not me!!! It's our sweet sweet Tellie!!!!! My first born (furbaby, that is) is due in 2 weeks with her first litter!!! We have 7 or 8 puppies in there according to the vet and we could not be happier!! The list is piling up so my anxiety level has lowered some of having puppies left behind that if they stayed too long, I knew I would not be able to sell them.....

They are set to go home to their families December 22....what an amazing Christmas gift!!!!!

The proud Mama!!!!
She's getting so chubby!!!!

While this only partly explains me being MIA for almost a month, it has been absolutely INSANE around here....we have lots going on, not to mention that it's 4th quarter and in the insurance industry, that means HELL ON EARTH. 50 hour weeks, say what?!?!? Couple that with JL, gymmin it, Georgia turning 16 months old (WTF?!?!!), and Citadel football....and somewhere in there trying to find time to spend with my main squeeze....where there you have it my friends....the absolute chaos that is our normalcy.........
I promise to come back soon with more updates from my baby brother getting his RING from The Citadel (lots of tears, lots of emotion, lots of wine), updated pics of the Bug, tailgating tales, and baby/puppy news!!!!!!!

Monday, September 20, 2010

Happy Anniversary to the greatest man I know!!!

Two years ago we vowed to love, honor and obey..... The day’s come and gone, but the memories have stayed.....
Who would have thought an ole Citadel cadet......
Would be the one my heart could never forget.........
From those late night phone calls and your impending leave......
I fell in love with that heart you wear on your sleeve....
I never knew at 18, that you’d be “the one”......
But quickly I decided, no more looking, I’m done….
You swept me right up and promised me forever....
And to top it all, a surprise engagement? Oh aren’t you so clever.....
I'm so thankful I was able to marry the man of my dreams....
My love for you today is still bursting at the seams.....
You were the one I had waited and prayed for my whole life.....
I still melt every time I hear you call me your wife....
You put yourself aside, and never ask for anything in return.....
With this you’ll guide our children, and this from you they will learn....
Thank you for loving me, all the good with the bad..... Here's a toast to you, the most wonderful husband and dad.....
You're the center of our world......
Raymond, thank you so much for making these past years better than I could have ever asked for.....I know the best is yet to come.......
....first we had each other......
.....then we had her.......
.......now we have everything.......
Happy Anniversary to the one whom I'm lucky enough to call my better half...I love you