And That's A Wrap!!

     Ladies and Gentlemen ... I have made it through wedding season and survived with only a few scratches and bruises. Ready for the numbers?

     Six weddings, five dresses, four plane rides, two bachelorette parties, one visit to a foreign country, and an insane amount of hair product later ... and I NOW am ready for one long, macarena-free nap.

     After all that, I am ready to provide you with several tips for surviving your very own wedding season ... Whenever that may come along ...

FLATS!

     This one's for the ladies ... FOR REAL. Do not go to a wedding without comfortable shoes in tow. You can go for the shoeless look ... but some venues are not big on the cleanliness scale and you don't want to leave with some fungal infection.

IF THOU DRINKETH, EAT FOOD!

     People, this sounds like a no-brainer ... But apparently it's not! If you plan on drinking at a wedding, do yourself and everyone else a favor, and eat! Eat before you go and at the cocktail hour and at dinner and during dessert and during the after-party. I'm not saying you need to be a glutton ... I'm just saying you should eat a little every few hours so that you are not drinking on an empty stomach ... because, believe me ... It does not lead to happy outcomes.

SINGLE? ... SO WHAT?

     If you are single during wedding season, don't let that get you down! Own it! If you are invited with a date, bring a friend if someone if free. If you are invited on your own, that's fine too! Put on your best dress or your sleekest suit and get out on the dance floor when the music plays. Talk to the people at your table. ENJOY YOURSELF! It's a time to celebrate the couple! Just have fun!

BUDGET, BUDGET, BUDGET!

     If you have a bunch of weddings come up at one time or within a couple of months of each other, you need to understand that the showers, and bachelor(ette) parties, and weddings will take a giant hit on your wallet ... So don't feel like you need to purchase extravagant gifts or give large sums of money to every couple. Give what you can and move on ... A gift comes from the heart and that should be what matters.

LEAVE THE DRAMA FOR YOUR MAMA

     When friends get married, petty drama may come up ... maybe even more-than-petty drama ... But when family members get married, there's potential for HUGE drama to come to the table ... LISTEN, leave that stuff at home! The day is about the couple ... not about how your Aunt Lilly still owes you money or how Cousin Jane stole your boyfriend three years ago and brought him to the wedding today. Just leave all that stuff at the door ... and deal with it at Thanksgiving like everyone else!

     I could go on forever with more ways to survive wedding season (find a dress you can wear more than once ...) but I'm not going to ... Because I'm sure you can do it on your own. I have faith in you! Now go out and conquer that wedding world!

Going to the chapel and we're gonna get married, going to the chapel and we're gonna get married. Gee, I really love you and we're gonna get married going to the chapel of love. (Going To The Chapel Of Love, The Shirelles)

Why I Just Can't With Halloween Anymore

     So, I am about to drop some unpopular opinion on you right now ... This 27-year-old just can't with Halloween anymore ... and here's why ... in convenient list form (which I know you've come to appreciate).

1) October tends to be cold. Costumes tend to be tiny ... Like this one.

*** Side note: This girl will definitely get ebola ***

2) I don't have the time ... or the energy ... to go to a butt-load of parties. Actually, let's be honest, I'm not invited to a butt-load of parties anymore.

3) I want people to give me candy for free all the time. Come to think of it, I want people to give me lots of things for free when I ask for it. How about booze, clothes ... How about someone just hands me a full time job when I ask for it! Yeah, give me all that ... and candy!

4) Standing in line, in the cold, to get into a crowded bar with sweaty people doesn't sound half as great as sitting pantless on your couch watching "Hocus Pocus."

5) I've already dressed up as Cinderella and Hannah Montana and a witch and a gypsy and a clown ... There is nothing else I want to be ... So why waste my time and my money?

*** Imagine there is an embarrassing picture of me as 

Hannah Montana here that I won't show to anyone ever ***

It's too spooky, too spooky. It's much too spooky for me. I can't look. It's too spooky for me. (Too Spooky For Me, Halloween Song)

Happily Ever After ... With A Cheap Ring

     I don't know about anyone else, but maybe I'm simply at an age where all my friends seem to be getting engaged or married, week after week. This year alone, I will have attended six weddings. SIX! So, like any person, going to all these weddings, and seeing all the beautiful cakes and invitations, has got me thinking about wedding dresses and bouquets and rings.
     And, let's be honest (especially all you ladies reading this), how many times have you looked at one wedding Pinterest board and found yourself in a downward spiral that lasted hours? Personally, I know that I get sucked in and the next thing I know, it's dawn, and I've been blown away by beauty ... and by the price of EVERYTHING. But, there's hope!
     A new study may offer some relief to those who want lasting marriages, and some money left in the bank after planning a wedding.
     According to the study, there are a whole slew of factors that can affect the likelihood your marriage will end in divorce, including income, religious attendance, how long you've dated, the price of the engagement ring, and the price and size of your wedding. While the findings on income, faith, and dating as contributing factors to the longevity of a marriage seem to be almost commonsense, the findings on ring and wedding spending were surprising.

Religious Attendance

C/O Randal Olson

Annual Household Income

C/O Randal Olson

Time Spent Dating Before Proposal

C/O Randal Olson

     When it came to the question of spending ... If you are planning on a happily ever after, I would suggest you shop around for a cheaper ring, and plan for a LARGE AND IN CHARGE, but cheaper wedding.
     The study found that spending over $2,000 on an engagement ring is significantly associated with a higher likelihood of divorce. Additionally, researchers found that couples that had weddings with 200 or more guests were 92% less likely to divorce than the relative average ... but 46% more likely to divorce if they had a wedding which cost more than $20,000. So, I guess you need to go big or go home ... but not spend a whole bundle?

     ... Based on the weddings I've been to lately, that is no easy task ... However, I am sure there is some way to make it happen ... I mean hasn't every Disney movie and love song taught us that love can conquer all? Even a super expensive platinum, three-stone diamond, antique ring ... and a super-elaborate, over-the-top, intimate wedding on a yacht? Right? Right. 

     Someone tell me I'm right (or else all my dreams will be crushed).

You are the one. I think I'm in love. Life has begun. I can see the two of us together. I know I'm gonna be with you forever. Love couldn't be any better. (When You Kiss Me, Shania Twain)

What's Wrong With The World Today: Activism Versus Slacktivism

     If you've been on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram lately, I'm sure you've noticed the increasing number of #IceBucketChallenge videos taking over your feeds ... Maybe you've even posted one ... But are you even aware of what the videos are even about?
     These videos are meant to bring awareness and raise money for various ALS foundations.

     Yes, that's right. You either accept the challenge within 24 hours and dump a bucket of ice water over your head or donate to an ALS foundation of your choice.
     Now I am all for a bit of fun and games, but how many people do you think are really donating towards ALS foundations? All this shenanigans seems a little self-congratulatory to me, just another way to get some likes on Facebook. I mean, why not donate either way, whether you choose to accept the challenge or not? It all seems like another giant case of SLACKTIVISM.
     I think as a generation, we (yes, I am no saint), have gotten pretty lazy when it comes to supporting social issues and causes that are supposedly important to us. We are happy to "like" a charity Facebook page, or retweet a celebrity when they are vocal about some timely issue, but we are so much less likely to actually go out and protest or fund raise for the very same causes.
     While there is a place for slacktivism, actual activism is also important for our generation. We want to change the world, but we cannot do it while continuously sitting in front of our computers and clicking and uploading - we need action, as well.
     It's time for you to get up and act and DO when it comes to the causes you care about ... So go ahead and do something, anything. Remember little things add up, and can help to make change.

If not us, then who? If not me and you? Right now, well, it's time for us to do something. If not now, then when? Will we see an end to all this pain? Oh, it's not enough to do nothing. It's time for us to do something. (Do Something, Matthew West)

You Can Have Your Own Night At The Museum

     If you are anything like me, ever since seeing "Night At The Museum," you've wondered if all those insane exhibits really do come to life at night ... Well, here's your chance, ladies and gentlemen!
     The Museum of Natural History is hosting its first ever ADULT-ONLY sleepover on Friday, August 1. The event is supposedly being capped at less than 200 people, and will feature special tours, food, music, and BEHIND-THE-SCENES ACCESS. What the behind-the-scenes access is ... I have no idea ... But I'm hoping it means something like this ...

     The event is pretty pricey, $375 per person (but you save $50 if you're a museum member), and you can get additional info here. 

     Some of the highlights of the evening include a three course meal, a midnight showing of Dark Universe, and a live animal exhibition. The event will run from 9:30 pm on Friday until 9:00 am on Saturday. 

     While every fiber in my being is pushing me to purchase tickets to this event ... It's a little out of my price range, but if you can afford it, I say go and enjoy ... and comment below and make me jealous with how great of an event I missed!

Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you got 'til it's gone? They paved Paradise and put up a parking lot. They took all the trees and put them in a tree museum and they charged the people a dollar and half to see them. Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you got 'til it's gone? They paved Paradise and put up a parking lot. (Big Yellow Taxi, Counting Crows)