Boxycharm | January

I just got my Boxycharm box for this month, so I thought I would share what I got in it with you all!  The theme of this box is 'Celebrate in Style', so it's supposed to be things for the New Year, but honestly, maybe it's just that I'm just still thinking about the cruise, but I think these items will be great for spring and summer!

The first item I pulled out were these Pur-lisse Skin Sparkle Flash Tattoos, and these always remind me of the beach.  Maybe it's the sparkly, sandy gold that reminds me of walking in hot sand, maybe it's the fact that if you look up flash tattoos on Pinterest or Google, about the only thing that comes up are gorgeous beachy pictures like the one below.  Either way, I'm looking forward to playing with these guys!

Picture from here

To continue this summery trend, Boxycharm included a FULL SIZE of the Tarte Maracuja Bronzing Serum, which I got really excited about!  I've tried the original Tarte Maracuja Serum, and loved it, so I'm sure I'll love this one that also has a gradual self-tanner in it!  Who knows?  Maybe this porcelain doll will have some color in the future!

There were also two products from Beauty for Real, the first being a lip liner that is supposed to be the 'only lip liner you will ever need.'  Honestly, I wasn't too excited about this particular item, since I really don't use lip liners all that often, but it might still be interesting to try out.

The other Beauty for Real item is a little more exciting.  It's a True Color Lip Cream in 'Always There' that is essentially a lip cream that looks pretty much exactly like every other lip color that I own: kind of a dusty pink.  However, the packaging on this thing is crazy.  It has a mirror on the side so you can see what you're doing, and there's a button on top of the wand that turns on a light so you can basically touch up your lips in the dark.  Pretty amazing, right?

Finally, they included a face primer from Mirabella that I was excited about simply because I don't even know the last time I had a face primer.  Yes, I prime my eyes every time I do my makeup, but my face doesn't exactly get the same attention.  This one seems really nice and smooth, so I'm hoping that it will smooth out my skin nicely, and help to create a nice, even canvas!

So, that's everything that I got in this month's Boxycharm!  If you guys have tried any of these products before, please let me know!  I would love to know what you thought of them, and if you have any tips on using them, I would love to hear those, as well!  I hope you are having an amazing day, and I'll talk to you, soon!  Also, if you haven't signed up for Boxycharm, yet, feel free to use my link here!

xoxo,

Megan

How to Knit a Hat Pattern

Anyone remember when I put up my last knitting pattern?  I know it's been a while, and this particular pattern is not going to be quite as complicated as most of the patterns I post here.  In fact, it's actually a pattern for a beginner's floppy hat.  Over on my YouTube channel, I decided to start making videos to teach people how to knit, and after making one on How to Knit a Scarf, I figured a hat would be a good second project!  I hope you guys enjoy it, and make sure to send me pictures if you try it out!

Materials
1 skein Caron Simply Soft in Burgundy
Size 8 needles
1 Lion Brand pompom
yarn needle

Cast on 88 sts.
Rows 1-16: work k2, p2 ribbing.
Row 17: knit.
Row 18: purl.
Repeat Rows 17-18 for 38 more times.
Next Row: k2tog to end.
Next Row: p2tog to end.
Next Row: k2tog to end.
Next Row: p2tog to last st, p1.

To finish, cut yarn and thread through remaining stitches.  Seam the side, and add pompom to top.  Enjoy!

Chase's Cruise Diary

Last week, as those of you that follow my YouTube channel or Twitter already know, my entire family and I went on an Eastern Caribbean cruise with Carnival.  Now, I know a lot of internet personalities like to do a video montage of their vacations, or vlog the entire thing, but I kind of wanted to keep things a little more private.  However, we have this little mouse named Chase that likes to go on vacation with us, and thought he could tell you a little about the trip!

We boarded the Carnival Breeze on January 3rd, and were some of the last folks to board the ship.  I think this was because our flight into Miami (where our port was), ran a little late, we forgot our boarding passes at home, and couldn't figure out where our luggage was supposed to go.  None of this mattered in the end, though, since we still got on the ship.

There was plenty of food on board, and one of our favorite things to eat was pizza!  I think we got pizza at least once a day, sometimes more.  They had quite a few different options as far as toppings went, but just like at home, we mostly stuck with plain cheese or pepperoni.

Every night, our steward surprised us with a different towel animal.  This one, (I think it's a bulldog?) was one of my favorites, but we also had a monkey, swan, and several other animals!

The first couple days we were at sea, which was very relaxing.  We got to just sit in the sun, and catch some amazing shows.  Then, on the third day we got to our first port: St. Thomas.  This is where we went snorkeling and relaxed on the beach.  Everybody had a ton of fun, but I think some people weren't incredibly enthusiastic about the salt water.  It's hard to get used to when you're only around freshwater!

We went to another port the next day: Antigua.  From what I've heard, we should have gone to the beach here, but we didn't know any better, so instead we just hung around the city, doing a little shopping, then going back to the ship to nap for a while.  I suppose it wasn't the most exciting day of our trip, but at least now we know to hit the beach if we get back there!

The next day we were in San Juan, and I think it's safe to say that this was our favorite stop.  First, we journeyed to the Bacardi Distillery, which was pretty amazing.  We learned about the history of the family, how they ended up with a fruit bat logo, got a free piña colada, and try a sample of 30+ year old rum!  It was definitely one of the highlights of our trip.

We also wondered around San Juan for a while, which was really cool.  I don't even know how to describe it apart from gorgeous, but quite busy.  I definitely want to go back sometime and look around more.  Maybe even spend a couple days there.

We did also go to Nassau in the Bahamas, but wouldn't you know it?  We forgot our camera on the ship, and then proceeded to forget to take any more pictures.  In Nassau, we went over to Cabbage Beach, and just hung out there the entire day, floating in the ocean, relaxing on the beach, and chasing a few seagulls.  It was an amazing trip, and even though I'm glad to be home in freezing cold Minnesota, I do miss the sunshine!

Our Wedding Pictures

While we are enjoying a wonderful vacation at sea with my family, I thought I'd share a very personal and highly anticipated post: our wedding pictures!  We got them back the night before we left, and I had to look at all of them right away...quite a few times.  I'm not going to say a whole lot about each picture, like I did in Our Engagement Pictures post, since weddings are pretty self explanatory, but I thought you'd enjoy looking through them, anyway!

The Bride

The Groom

The Guys

The Girls

The Dress

Getting Ready

Getting up close and personal with my church mentor!

The Ceremony

Lighting the unity candle

First kiss as husband and wife!

We're MARRIED!!!!

The Reception

We used WedPics for an I Spy game at the reception - it was amazing!

Toasts!

Clink!  Clink!  Clink!

Signing our marriage license at the end of the night  - it got wine spilled on it, ripped, but it still went through!

Our photo wall!  Our venue actually BOUGHT it from us, they thought it was so cool!

Thank you so much to everyone that was able to join Joe and I for our special day.  It truly was magical!  I also want to thank our dear friend, Dana, from Dana J Photography for taking our pictures, and Karisa from Karisa Joy Photography for being her second shooter!  If you have any questions about the wedding, feel free to ask in the comments below!  I'll respond when I get home!