Friday, July 31, 2009

I'M IN LOVE by jasmine schoch

The Best Creative Ways to Propose

Marriage proposals made over a romantic dinner at an elegant restaurant can be very romantic but they are not necessarily creative. Many women dream about the day that the man of their dreams proposes to them and hope that the day will be absolutely perfect in every way imaginable. In a recent study the majority of married women reported that they believe that their spouse spent a significant amount of money on their wedding proposal but that the lack of originality in the proposal had left the women feeling disappointed.

One creative way to propose for a couple involved in a long distance relationship is to plan a surprise visit and set up a scavenger hunt. You could have a friend pick you up from the airport so that your girlfriend doesn’t know that you are coming to visit and have the friend give your girlfriend instructions for the scavenger hunt. You could hide a number of small surprises such as candy, flowers and a CD as the first few stops on the scavenger hunt and then hide at the final location poised to propose when your girlfriend completes the game.

An outdoor enthusiast might appreciate a creative proposal during a camping trip. It’s a good idea to plan a quiet trip for just you and your girlfriend at a picturesque location. You could hide the ring in your sleeping bag to use in a surprise proposal. When it’s time to go to sleep after a long day of hiking and fishing, you could complain that there must be a rock or something underneath you and then pull out the ring and make your proposal. This creative proposal also contains the element of surprise as a camping trip is not a usual proposal location.

Another creative proposal idea is to place an ad in a local newspaper. You could place an outrageous ad in a newspaper asking anyone who was willing to get married to give you a call and include a fictitious phone number. Then when you and your girlfriend are reading the paper together, you could point out the ad as a joke and while she is reading the ad, seize the opportunity to pull out the engagement ring and let her know that you would love to marry her.

Proposing at a sporting event is a creative way to propose to a sports fan. For this proposal idea you could either arrange to have your proposal broadcast over the public address system or displayed on the large screen. If you are really adventurous, you could also contact the team’s public relations department and try to make arrangements to make your proposal on the field at halftime. They might be willing to help you stage a scenario where you are either chosen to win a prize or participate in a contest and while you are on the field, they would hand over the microphone to allow you to make your proposal.

Another creative marriage proposal idea is to purchase a book of poems and leave the first few pages intact and carve a heart into the remaining pages and sew the engagement ring to the back of the book. You could suggest taking turns reading the poems on each page and plan to have your girlfriend turn the final complete page to reveal the heart and ring that were hidden inside. This proposal idea is not only creative but also incredibly romantic.

Having the DJ of your girlfriend’s favorite radio program ask her if she will marry you is another creative proposal idea. You will want to make sure that you are aware of the exact time that the DJ will be sending your message so that you are able to ensure that you and your girlfriend are listening together when he makes the announcement. You could also arrange to have the DJ play a song that has a special meaning for you as a couple so that you can enjoy a dance together after she accepts your creative proposal.

Another creative way to propose is to include all of your family and friends in the event by inviting them all to a surprise party for your girlfriend. To make this proposal work, you would either convince your girlfriend that you want to have a quiet dinner at home or at a restaurant with just the two of you. Once you arrive at the destination all of the guests will reveal themselves and while all eyes are on the two of you, you could take the opportunity to profess your love and propose.

Still another creative way to propose is to hide the ring in an unexpected location. For example you could pretend to have a clogged sink and while you are working to fix the clog, you could reach into the sink and pull out the engagement ring. When your girlfriend is nearby, you could seize the opportunity to pull out the ring you had hidden earlier and say something to the effect of, “No wonder the sink is clogged, I’ll have to find another place to store this ring, how about your finger?” This whimsical proposal is both light-hearted and creative.

A variation on the traditional proposal at an elegant restaurant could be to have the waiter bring out the ring with the bill. You could have a little good natured fun with your girlfriend by going out of your way to drop hints that you would be proposing over dinner. If you keep up the act, she will be expecting your proposal with each course. After dessert you could tell her that you have something very important to ask and as she eagerly awaits your proposal, you could ask an inconsequential question about something completely irrelevant to your relationship. She will probably be furious at this point but her anger won’t last as the waiter arrives with the bill and the engagement ring and you let her know how much she means to you.

Finally a creative proposal idea is for the woman to ask the man to marry her, instead of waiting for him to propose. Many women anxiously await the day that the man in their life will propose but why not add your own creative twist by proposing to him instead. The woman is free to propose in any way that she finds truly romantic and can ensure that the proposal is both creative and romantic and that it’s a moment that they both will remember for the rest of their lives.

A great marriage proposal doesn’t have to be expensive or extravagant. Many women are more likely to cherish the memories of a proposal that was inexpensive but truly creative. The creativity is what makes the proposal so memorable and what makes it a great story to tell their friends.

Source:

http://www.howigotengaged.com/TheBestCreativeWaysToPropose

Monday, July 27, 2009

GIRLY MONDAYS by jasmine schoch


Making Faces

I picked up this fantastic book entitled, "Making Faces," by Kevyn Aucoin, a book often referred to as 'the beauty bible' and thought I would start by sharing Aucoin's basic loose powder tips:

1. When using powder products such as eyeshadow or blush, a light application of loose or pressed powder first is the best way to ensure smooth blending. Powder eyeshadows or blushes applied directly to the skin will 'grab' in the oily areas, creating a blotchy application.

2. Loose powder, alone, can act as a sheer foundation, by toning down the shine and evening out the skin.

3. To avoid uneven distribution, shake off excess powder from the sponge or brush before applying to the face.

4. Adding extra loose powder just under the eye, down the bride of the nose and right under the bottom lip, at the start of your makeup application, can result in the subtle highlighting of these spots when you're finished. Powder, under the eye, also helps catch falling shadow and mascara, which can be easily brushed away when you're done.

Source:

"Making Faces." Kevyn Aucoin

http://evasitoe.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/0316286869_01_lzzzzzzz.jpg

Thursday, July 23, 2009

I'M IN LOVE by jasmine schoch


A Commercial Worth Watching

Since I will be out of town tomorrow for my Friday blog post, I thought I would update early and give you guys this sweet engagement story to check out:

Every Thursday night, my girlfriend and I would tape 'Friends', and then watch it together over the weekend.

I took the tape, and during a commercial on the tape, I edited in a 'Special News Bulletin' announcement that I took from another tape.

Right after the news bulletin announcement, I edited in a tape of myself, telling her how much I loved her, and that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.

While she was watching the taping that weekend, I excused myself to the bathroom a few minutes earlier and changed into the same tuxedo that I was wearing in the tape.

I got the ring ready, and walked back into the room just as my little speech was finishing, I bent to one knee, and asked her the question again… "Will you marry me?"

Her answer was an enthusiastic "YES!"

Source:

http://www.engagementringsandthings.com/weddingengagement_proposals_stories.htm

http://www.wedaholic.com/images/design/proposalclipart.jpg

Monday, July 20, 2009

GIRLY MONDAYS by jasmine schoch


Eyeliner Etiquette

Not all eyeliners are created equal; there are several things that you have to think about when you are purchasing eyeliner.  When you are purchasing your eyeliner you should think about things like the shape of your eyes, the weather, and the color of your eyes. While you are in the cosmetic aisle of your drugstore you will have to decide what type of eyeliner you want to use. Before you can even decide on the color of eyeliner you want, you need to decide if you want to use liquid eyeliner, a soft tipped eyeliner pencil, a felt tipped eyeliner, or a cake eyeliner.

Types of Eyeliners

If you have never used eyeliner before you should probably select a soft tipped eyeliner pencil. The pencils are easy to use and won’t smear as easily as the other types of eyeliners. One of the things that you can do to make using pencil eyeliner easier is to place it in your refrigerator before you try to sharpen it. Chilling the pencil first will prevent the pencil eyeliner from breaking.

Traditionally cake eyeliners were only used by professional makeup artist, but recently the cosmetic companies have noticed that an increasing number of woman have started adding the cake eyeliners to their own cosmetic cases.

Liquid eyeliners are a wonderful choice in eyeliner when you are getting ready to go out for the evening. The liquid eyeliner usually has more of a shimmering quality than the other types of liquid which draws even more attention to your eyes while also making them appear brighter, and full of energy.

Felt tipped eyeliners are easy to use. After using a felt tipped eyeliner you will be pleased with the bold outline along your lash line.

Using Your Eyeliner

When you are using your eyeliner pencil to outline your eyes you need to remember that the skin you are drawing on is extremely delicate. Make sure that you are very careful. Remember that your eyeliner should just glide across your eyelid; you shouldn’t have to exert any pressure at all.

A common mistake many novices make when they are applying their eyeliner, is assuming that they make one long stroke along their lash line. The best way to apply eyeliner is with short feathery strokes.

Source:

http://www.girlishh.com/tag/how-to-apply-eyeliner/

Friday, July 17, 2009

I'M IN LOVE by jasmine schoch


Painfully Engaged ;-)

Here is an engagement story to remember...

Felicia flew to Washington State to spend some time with Eric. They were going through the Ape Caves(pitch black caves with rocks to hike and climb and go down) with Eric's friend.

After a little ways through the cave Felicia stepped on a rock sending excruciating pain through the center of her foot. It was also caught between rocks, twisting her foot even more as she fell down.

Felicia tried to assure Eric that she would be fine despite the pain. But after awhile she realized that it was much more serious than she had originally thought and could not even move. The panic set in, and she began crying uncontrollably.

Luckily, Eric's friend was trained as a military medic and immediately started searching for wood around the cave. After a few minutes, he came back with semi-petrified wood, took a knife Eric had in his survival backpack, and cut it in half with a rock as a hammer, and he made Felicia a splint!

Eric, being the overprepared man he is, had parachute rope to tie it on with. As they were tying the wood to Felicia's foot, Eric said "Here, hold this," and handed Felicia an engagement ring! He proposed to her right there while she was already crying from pain from her foot, and she started crying harder. His friend thought she was about to hit him from asking at a terrible time, but Felicia said "No, these are happy tears!!".

Eric later told Felicia that he was going to propose after they finished the hike through the Ape Caves but they had to turn back because Felicia's foot hurt too much. The new engagement combined with his friend's conversation gave Felicia the distraction she needed to walk on her ankle as well as crawl and slide up and down the rocks and boulders. Eric's friend was trying to distract Felicia from her pain and helpless claustrophobia by asking her random questions like what her job used to be like, how her cat's personality was like, and her favorite color and animal. All the while Eric went behind Felicia making sure she had light to see where to put her weight. After two grueling hours, they finally made it out of the cave.

While at the hospital, they found out that nothing was broken; just severely sprained. Eric had Felicia's return flight extended from June 16th to July 6th to not only give her foot some time to heal, but to give the newly engaged couple more time to spend together.

Source:

http://www.howigotengaged.com/engagement/story/injured_engaged

http://images.nextstop.com/7050404b-795d-453f-82e1-2d015f213e43_300sq

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Im Back -Nico Cervantes




After a little break from the blog, I am glad to say I am back! Jasmine has held down the fort while Ive been consumed with the contruction and remodel of our new design studios!!! Please Join us for an Opening Celebration on Wednesday July 22nd from 6-9. Pure Joy catering will be cooking the food, Dj Gavin will be spinning, Crumbs and Jessica Foster will cure our sweet tooth, and Discount Party Rentals will give us a place to sit! I am so excited , and hope everyone can make it!
Nico Designs and LBPS events
5390 overpass road
Santa Barbara, ca
93111
RSVP at Nico@nicodesigns.com

Monday, July 13, 2009

GIRLY MONDAYS by jasmine schoch


Some Basic Eye Do's and Don'ts for Brides to be:

DO

* Think seriously about hiring a makeup artist; everyday makeup is different from your wedding day needs.
* Take time to try a few different makeup artists and choose one who understands your personal tastes.
* Use eye drops if your eyes look red or tired on the day of (but stick with a brand you've used before to avoid unwelcome surprises).
* Get as much sleep as possible the night before the big day.
* Apply concealer to banish dark circles under your eyes.
* Use matte eye shadows (they won't reflect light or look too shiny).
* Use an off-white matte shadow along your brow bone if you have light skin, or peach if you have dark skin, to illuminate your eyes even more.
* Blend well, especially at the corners of your eyes, since cameras pick up visible makeup lines.
* Define your brows with a pencil or powder that matches your hair color.
* Wear at least two layers of mascara.
* Use an eyelash curler before and after applying your first coat of mascara.
* Prevent makeup meltdowns by using a smudge-proof or waterproof mascara. (If you really don't like its look or feel, use one coat of regular mascara overlaid with a light coat of waterproof mascara.)
* Buy a new mascara for your wedding day, but test it a few days before the wedding if it's a new brand.

DON'T

* Wear too much eye makeup: You'll look like a drag queen.
* Change your eye color with colored lenses (unless you always wear them).
* Try to be too trendy (that glitzy silver shadow may look silly ten years from now).
* Use an under-eye concealer that's too light for your skin tone (you'll look like a deer caught in headlights).
* Experiment with eye products you haven't tried before.
* Wear dark shadows like charcoal or dark brown (you'll look like you've been punched).
* Wear frosted, shiny, sparkly shadow (It creases easily and will reflect camera flashes).
* Forget about your eyebrows.
* Tweeze your brows at the last minute on your wedding morning.
* Wear false eyelashes if they're not 100% comfortable and you're not 200% confident they won't fall off.

Source:

http://wedding.theknot.com/wedding-beauty-tips/bridal-beauty-secrets/articles/bridal-beauty-eye-dos-and-don-ts.aspx

http://www.helpfulhealthtips.com/how-to-apply-eye-make-up-tips-to-look-stunning/

I'M IN LOVE by jasmine schoch

A Strawberry Red Proposal

Here is another heart touching proposal story I have to share with you all:

My boyfriend of 5 1/2 years, Matt, took me out on a romantic date on January 6, 2009, because I would be leaving soon to spend a semester of school in Washington D.C. While at The Melting Pot, a well-known fondue restaurant, he got up to use the restroom. Really, he talked to our servers about getting a rose to give me my diamond ring on. They instead suggested that he give them the ring to put in my salad or to bring out with dessert. He chose to have them bring it out with dessert. So, after dinner, they brought our chocolate fondue out and put it on the table, and then one server said, "We have one more drink for you sir." Matt walked around the corner and came back to the table with a black tray filled with flower petals and strawberries cut into hearts. In the center of the tray there was a martini glass with more petals inside . . . along with a gorgeous diamond ring customized by Matt at Andrew's Jewelers. He had me scoot to the end of the booth where he was down on one knee, and he proposed! When we left, we danced along to a romantic song in the parking lot. It was perfect.

Source:

http://www.andrewsjewelers.com/rateproposal.php?id=29

Monday, July 6, 2009

GIRLY MONDAYS by jasmine schoch


Pucker Up

There will probably never come another day when there will be so much attention put on your lips as on your wedding day, so read these tips to make those lips look luscious and kissable:

1. Use Lip Primers

The key to great lips, as with soft skin, is exfoliation -- the sloughing off of dead surface skin. To combat chapping and flakes, exfoliate your mouth every day leading up to your wedding, but skip the morning of to avoid any unnecessary irritation (if you follow this regime, you won't need to anyway).
Try a lip-polishing product, or use this even simpler exfoliation option: just grab your toothbrush. Brushing your lips with a wet brush will help remove dead skin.

2. Apply Moisturizers

After you've primed your lips, treat them right with frequent applications of moisturizer.

3. Finish with Color

When it come to the lipstick itself, you'll want to find a non-drying color that stays put without fading or feathering, plus a dewy shine that looks natural.

Source:

http://wedding.theknot.com/wedding-beauty-tips/bridal-beauty-secrets/articles/getting-luscious-lips-for-your-wedding.aspx
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.giella.com/categoryImages/LIPS.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.giella.com/CategoryList.aspx%3Fc%3D259&usg=__GtNfvpJBrr6y137vlae_h16D1ak=&h=208&w=208&sz=33&hl=en&start=11&sig2=iwdWSDD3_XtccPIfWrqtxQ&um=1&tbnid=ZML_isksngnNbM:&tbnh=105&tbnw=105&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dlip%2Bprimer%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1G1GGLQ_ENUS279%26sa%3DG%26um%3D1&ei=Um1SSti4Mp2gtgOY76jpBQ

Friday, July 3, 2009

I'M IN LOVE by jasmine schoch













A Scientific Engagement

Happy Friday everyone! I thought this engagement story would make for a perfect way to start the weekend, so enjoy and have a happy 4th of July tomorrow:

My birthday fell on a Monday this year and being a high school teacher, there was no opportunity to celebrate that day having to wake up early the following morning. My birthday also falls during the Thanksgiving holiday break so my fiance decided that we would celebrate my birthday on that Friday, due to school being closed, by attending the Buffalo Museum of Science and then to a nice dinner. I have always enjoyed museums and was excited to go, especially because I had known he hadn't been to this particular museum since he was a young boy. We arrived at the museum and began walking around. It was a wonderful early afternoon, although chilly, as we walked around the different exhibitions. We came to the Rocks and Gemstones exhibit and I knew he would be excited to walk around there because he enjoys collecting fossils and geodes as a hobby. I walked along ahead looking at all the different stones and rocks. As I approached one of the long cases I realized that toward the end of the glass case there was some sparkle. I thought to myself, wow, they have a real diamond in here! I walked to that end of the case and looked in at a gorgeous diamond ring in this very beautiful silver ornate box. As I was admiring the ring I happened to glance at the small paper lying next to it, which was nothing out of the ordinary for this exhibit, and happened to fall upon my name and his name toward the bottom of the print. My heart skipped a beat and I turned to him in disbelief. While I fell into Adam's chest shaking slightly, the curator, who stood nearby, started to unlock the case to retrieve the box with my engagement ring as Adam asked me to marry him. I of course said yes and that was the beginning of the rest of our life together. I later found out that everyone on the museum staff knew about the plan and that Adam had set it up convincing the curator to help him and when I began to think back earlier that day at the museum it dawned on me that we were being followed by staff wondering if he had asked me! This was such a perfect day for me and I am so thrilled to become Adam's wife.

Source:

http://www.andrewsjewelers.com/rateproposal.php?id=32

http://ymandyuri.com/theproposal.jpg