What's In My Bag - March 2013

I'm carrying my Coach MFF Daisy Pop C Print Tote (AKA Poppy Glam Tote) this month with my bright multi lozenge hangtag charm and my tourmaline tassel charm.

So what am I carrying in my bag today? Well not a whole lot, i'm not one that likes to carry a bunch of items that are not going to be needed.

Items in my bag:
1. Liquid gloss zip clutch - has my keys in it, so my keys don't tear up the silk lining)
2. My signature print umbrella
3. My Vera Bradley wristlet with a ton of change in it
4. My ocelot business card case that i turned into a small wallet.
Not pictured - my cellphone, since when i'm home it stays out of my bag, near me. Also not pictured my USB drive I normally carry with me for my classes.

Calling All Myrtle Beach Brides and Brides to Be!

For all of you getting married in Myrtle Beach SC, I have some information and recommendations you might be interested in. My husband and I got married in Myrtle Beach SC in July 2010. We actually got married at Myrtle Beach State Park on the beach during the evening. We also had my day after the wedding trash the dress photos done at Huntington Beach State Park and we had our honeymoon in Myrtle Beach as well. I was obviously a destination bride, because we didn't live anywhere near SC. We had a small wedding, just immediate family members  and a small reception after the wedding, in a picnic area at MBSP. I planned our wedding myself and I thought I might share some information and who I used for our wedding and give some reviews. Keep in mind I planned our wedding from a long way away, without ever meeting anyone I hired for our wedding, face to face until a few days before the wedding.

There are some things I can not help with because I bought these items before going to Myrtle.
Dress - By PC Marys, bought from local bridal shop (Yes I got married on the beach in a big ball gown)
Rings - Local Jewelry Store
Bride Gear - bride tank top, honeymoon flip flops, bridal bag to carry around for appoints the day of the wedding and so on - Classy Bride (can shop online or through catalog)
Veil - Davids Bridal
Tiara - Davids Bridal
Bridal Flip Flops - Davids Bridal (which i only wore to and from the wedding, went barefoot during the wedding. I wanted my feet in the sand when I said I do)
Suit, shoes, tie, shirt - bought locally
Serving Set - Things Remembered
Other Jewelry - I owned or borrowed
Garter - Ordered online

The Flowers:
I had to have a bouquet, even thought we had a small wedding I just couldn't do without a bouquet. My bouquet actually meant a whole lot to me, at the time I was heavily into flowers and worked at a florist shop myself back home. I had always wanted a beautiful bouquet and I had a special way I wanted my bouquet laid out, from the colors, numbers of type of flowers, and flower types and even the type of greenery. We also got my husbands boutineer there as well. I actually did a lot of research on florist shops in Myrtle. I wore Google out, called places, gauged places by how I was treated on the phone, got price quotes and so on. After many weeks of research for just the bouquet I finally ended up going with...

North Myrtle Beach Florist
http://www.northmyrtlebeachflorist.com/

I picked NMB florist for several reasons:
1. I read about everyone experience and given that and some other information I had read about, that was a big seller for me.
2. He charged me the highest price of everyone I contacted. You are probably going wait....WHAT?! Yeah i picked NMB florist based on the highest price. I've always heard the term you get what you pay for, I didn't want my bouquet messed up and I decided to go with a florist based on the highest price. Remember cheaper isn't always better, you really do get what you pay for. Remember  going in without seeing or knowing anything about the business, I figured it would help to insure the quality of my bouquet.
3. When I called they treated me well, with respect. They didn't make me feel like it was too much trouble. There was a few florists I called that made me feel like they was doing me a favor by doing my bouquet, made me feel like it was just too much trouble. Not at NMB florist, they took down what I wanted, how I wanted it done, and was very patient with me and friendly. I will admit I called a lot, to change some things, double check and recheck and make sure all the information was correct, and they were always friendly.

It was a bit of a drive from where I was staying, about a half hour or so to go pick it up. However when I saw it, it was well worth the money i paid for it. The bouquet was simply stunning, it was just beautiful! They did an amazing job with the bouquet and I had a great experience with North Myrtle Beach Florist  I highly recommend that everyone go there to get their flowers done!

They fixed it in a box to I could travel with it. Here is what my bouquet looked like..

The Photographer:
I did a ton of research on this as well. I again just had to have a photographer, because I didn't want crappy wedding photos from throw away camera family brought. I wanted beautiful photos and exotic trash the dress photos. One day when I was searching Google I ran into the photographer I ended up using. I was impressed by their work and even more impressed when I contacted them. They were super friendly and they gave me a very good price. I got our wedding day photos and my trash the dress photos for only $750.00. On this I didn't necessarily go by highest price, but went more by the quality of work on the website and  how comfortable I was contacting them. I'm not usually one to enjoy having photos made, I usually feel self conscious so I took my comfort level into account when I chose them. I ended up going with...

Waynes View Photography
http://www.waynesviewphotography.com/home

I had a wonderful experience with them and my photos turned out beautifully! I was very pleased with their work and enjoyed having them take our photos. I liked their work so much I'm going to have them do our anniversary photos in the future. I had zero problems with them or their work and highly recommend them if you are looking for a photographer. I would post some of our wedding photos but I don't want our faces online, i'm just private like that.


Hair & Makeup:
After more research I ended up going with Shannon at The Spa on Broadway. I liked the fact that it was a spa and when I talked to her she was super friendly. I knew when I contacted her she would be perfect to do my hair and makeup so I went with her. I was super pleased with her work and pricing, again no trouble to report. Need your hair done for the big day? Head over to the Spa on Broadway! I know if I ever need my hair done in MB again, I'll be heading over there.

Here is a shot of how my hair looked after she did it!

The Locations:
As I said earlier we chose Myrtle Beach State Park for the wedding and Huntington Beach State Park for the trash the dress photos.

Myrtle Beach State Park:
When I chose MBSP I hadn't actually ever been there before. I explained what I was looking for which was to have the wedding on the beach and was given the suggestion of MBSP. I did some research on it and looked at a ton of photos online, in the end the photos sold me. Myrtle Beach State Park is really pretty. There is a pier there, picnic areas, and so on. It's a nice place to hold a wedding, esp if you want to have a outdoor reception. If your not big on fancy stuff and just want something small and normal for a reception, the picnic shelters are a nice place for a reception. However be sure and book your reception site, they go fast!

Huntington Beach State Park:
Again I hadn't been to HBSP before but my photographer suggested it for the TTD photos. If I hadn't already planned for MBSP for the wedding I would have had the wedding there in a heartbeat. Huntington Beach State Park is absolutely stunning! It's beautiful, online photos really don't do it justice. There is a castle there (Atalaya) and it has palm trees all around and there is a beach there as well, obviously. I highly recommend this place for weddings and TTD photos, the place is breathtaking. If memory serves me correctly you can rent out the castle and have your wedding in the little yard, inside the castle walls. I think there is also tours of the castle as well for a small fee. I didn't get a chance to tour the castle but I did have photos made around the castle and on the beach. The photos turned out just beautifully and I had a great time that evening!


The Cake:
I had heard a lot about the place I chose to have my cake made, but had never been there or ate food from there. I ended up picking the place based mostly on popularity and things I had heard. They quoted me a decent price on the size cake we picked. The only complaints I have is that the pink color on the cake didn't turn out to be as bright as I wanted it to be, it was more of a bubblegum color then a hot pink. The other complaint I have was that the bow on the cake fell, but that wasn't the bakers fault. The bow when I picked the cake up was beautiful, it was tall and it just made the cake. The second we took the cake out into the 90 degree humid evening the bow just fell flatter then a sheet of paper. That was my fault, I should have planned for that better and didn't take into account the humid day. The cake its self no matter how it looked was the best cake I ever put into my mouth (not counting my mommas red velvet cake, NOTHING can top that!) My family still talks about that cake 3 years later, about how good it was and that they never tasted such a good cake in all their life. When we have anniversary photos made, I'm considering having the top part of the cake remade again for us to enjoy on our anniversary.The place we chose for our cake was...

Croisants Bistro & Bakery
http://www.croissants.net/

My husband and I loved the cake so much, and highly recommend that place if you ever need a cake, super yummy! Ignore the flat bow, and here is what the cake looked like...

The Officiant:
This I was not super picky about, I only really had two requirements and one was that they was nice people and easy to be around. We ended up choosing..

A Southern Belle Wedding

A southern belle was great and I have no complaints. They were helpful, friendly and charged a fair amount, the price was good. I do recommend them for your wedding esp if you are looking for a non denominational wedding.


Where we staid:

The Holiday Inn at the Pavilion.

I have been staying at the hotel for years and chose to stay in it for our wedding and honeymoon. It's nothing super fancy but it is nice and it's right in downtown, in fact it's right across from the slingshot and the skywheel. I've always enjoyed staying there over the years and on our honeymoon was no different. We didn't do a super fancy room for the HM we just had a normal room, but we had a great time. They have 2 pools, a hot tub and a lazy river as well as a pool bar and it's ocean front! It's clean, and it's quiet so both those are a huge deal to me. I do recommend staying there any time you need a room, not just on your wedding or honeymoon.

Interested in seeing more of our wedding photos? Check out my Pinterest board!
http://pinterest.com/CarolinaDreams/our-wedding/


If any of you have any questions about who I chose for the wedding or any other Myrtle Beach wedding and honeymoon related questions, feel free to ask me. I'll be more then happy to answer any questions you may have to the best of my ability.

DIY Seashell and Sand Decor Ideas

Have you ever wondered what to do with all the seashells you bring home from vacation? Well I have several ideas for all of those shells. I started doing this I would say maybe 8 years ago before I was ever married. My family used to take vacations to SC just about every year and of course I'd go with them and like most people I'd bring a ton of seashells home, but never really had anything to do with them. One year when we went I really had no desire to leave and was taking going back home pretty hard so I bought a little extra something home with me. I decided to fill 3 water bottles up with wet sand from the ocean to bring home with me because I thought I could kind of bottle of the sea water sent to have for a little while. Well after the vacation was over and done and i had adjusted to being back home, I was putting up my things from vacation and saw the sand and shells and got the bright idea to make some decorations out of it. When I looked around the house I found several empty vases and filled them half way with sand than laid shells on top of that until I was happy with how it looked and set them around the bedroom. Ever since then it's become a thing with me that every time I go to the beach I have to bring home bottles of sand and shells to make decorations out of for the house, I must have 20+ sand and shell decorations around the house now. I really went crazy with the whole sand and shell idea when my husband and I got married, we got married on the beach and now I have sand and shell decor around the house from our wedding / honeymoon. I think it's a great idea to showcase shells you find, and it's also a excellent way to remember vacations or special moments past. Below are some of the things I decided to do my my sand and shells. I'm sure there are lots of other creative ways to display sand and shells but these are a few of my ideas.

If you have a empty vase laying around the house, they work wonderfully for this purpose. As for the colored glass gems, those was my husbands idea to add a little color it.

You can even flip over larger shells to make votive holders out of them!

170 Things To Do In And Around Myrtle Beach South Carolina

Since Spring and Summer are not that far away and vacation time will be coming soon, I thought I might compile a list of things to do in and around Myrtle Beach SC. This wonderful beach in SC, is a favorite vacation spot for many. No matter if you are someone who has been there or someone who hasn't, this list will probably open your eyes to a few new and not so new things to do in and around Myrtle Beach SC.

1. Dolphin watch tours

2. Take a walk along the boardwalk

3. Parasailing

4. Look around the beach for sharks teeth

5. Take a dip in the ocean

6. Rent a umbrella and chair then chill out on the beach

7. Go shopping at the Gay Dolphin Gift Cove (favorite of mine, must see. Have the best selection of beach souvenirs)

8. take sailing lessons

9. Visit Myrtle Beach State Park

10. Take a moonlit walk along the beach

11. T.I.G.E.R.S

12. Check out the local beach stores

13. Darlington Raceway

14. Wakeboarding

15. Visit the town of Little River

17. Visit Huntington Beach State Park (Take a tour of Atalaya Castle it's beautiful, so is the beach.)

18. The Giant Crab seafood buffet

19. Go for a drive and look at beach homes

20. Barefoot Landing

21. Visit the Lazy Gator Gift Shop

22. Go to the Myrtle Beach flea market

23. Surfing

24. Rent a scooter / moped

25. Go fishing on one of the piers

26. Go shelling

27. Visit Springmaid Pier

28. Go for Helicopter Ride

29. Take a walk along Ocean Blvd

30. NASCAR Speed park

31. Go for a banana boat ride

32. Deep sea fishing

33. Broadway At The Beach

34. Go Golfing at one of the many golf courses in the area

35. Visit Surfside Beach

36. Take a bike ride

37. The Market Common

38. Have a picnic on the beach

39. Learn to shag dance

40. IMAX 3D theater

41. Wonder Works

42. Camping

43. Ron Jon Surf Shop

44. Apache Pier

45. Central Park in North Myrtle Beach

46. Sun Cruz Casino

47. Battleship NC in Wilmington NC

48. South of the Boarder

49. Grab a SC state symbol for your car in one of the local beach shops

50. Bike Week

51. Head over to Myrtle Waves Waterpark and splash around

52. Cruise down Ocean Blvd at night

53. Take part in Mustang week in late July

54. Visit North Myrtle Beach

55. Tanning

56. Build sandcastles

57. Buy some boiled peanuts

58. Visit Sparky's Fireworks

59. Buy some peaches

60. Tanger Outlet Hwy 17 (Coach, New Balance, Polo Ralph Lauren, Nautica, Yankee Candle, CROCS, Ben & Jerrys and more)

61.Watch fireworks at Broadway at the Beach

62. Sun Fun Festival

63. Myrtle Beach May Fest

64. Pavilion Nostalgia Park

65. Visit the Murrells Inlet Marsh Walk

66. House of Blues

67. Visit the town of Conway

68. Wild Water & Wheels

69. Family Kingdom Amusement and Water Park

70. Croissants Bistro & Bakery

71. Rent a jet ski

72. The Soar & Explore zipline and rope course

73. Visit Pawleys Island

74. Ripleys Aquarium

75. Brookgreen gardens

76. Governors Lighthouse

77. Hampton Plantation

78. Visit Georgetown

79. F.l.a.v.o.r event

80. Rent on Pontoon Boat

81. Dinner Cruise on the Barefoot Princess

82. Hard Rock Cafe

83. Check out the Intracoastal Waterway

84. Eat at the Sea Captins House

85. Tanger Outlet Mall Hwy 501 (Coach, Christmas at the Beach, Polo Ralph Lauren, Nike, Gap & more)

86.The Blue Crab Festival

87. Hawaiian Village mini golf

88. Visit one of the area nightclubs

89. Go to a local spa

90. Visit Litchfield Beach

91. Take a shelling & lighthouse cruise

92. Everything Under The Sun flea market

93. Visit Cherry Grove Pier

94. Pirates Voyage

95. Carolina Opry Theater

96. Visit Pier 14 Restaurant and the pier

97. Legends in Concert

98. Alabama Theater

99. Catch a movie

100. Lost Treasure Mirror Maze

101. OD Pavilion & Amusement Park

102. North Myrtle Beach Flea Market

103. Alligator Adventure

104. Visit Atlantic Beach

105. Coastal Grand Mall

106. Black Bike Week

107. Palace Theater

108. Plyer Park

109. Magiquest

110. Ripleys Believe It Or Not

111. Hawaiian Rumble Mini Golf

112. Ripleys 5D Moving Theater

113. Ripleys Marvolous Mirror Maze

114. Big M Casino

115. Car shows

116. SOS Festivals

117. Horseback riding

118. Horry County Museum

119. Beach Boogie & BBQ Festival

120. Myrtle Beach May Fest

121. Scuba diving

122. Myrtle Beach Mall

123. Eat at the Key West Grille

124. Watch the sunset on the beach

125. Watch fireworks on the beach

126. Margiritaville

127. Plantation tours

128. Landshark Bar & Grill

129.Ripleys Hunted Adventure

130.Watch the sunrise on the beach

131. Visit Garden City Beach

132. Jungle Lagoon mini golf

133. La Belle Amie Vineyard

134. Ingram Planetarium

135. Local art Museum / Galleries

136. The Long Bay symphony

137. Water skiing

138. Sounds of Summer concert series

139. Eat at Cheeseburger in Paradise

140. Go Karts

141. Summer Parrotthead Festival

142. Kayaking

143. Roller hockey

144. The Bowery Bar

145. Medieval Times

146. Buy a cheap beach chair, put it in the ocean waves and sit down. Let the ocean wash around you and relax.

147. Visit cherry Grove Beach

148. Eat at the Nacho Hippo

149. Watch a Myrtle Beach Pelicans game

150. Eat at Abuelo's Mexican Food Embassy

151. Ocean front zipline

152. NASCAR racing experence

153. Go sailing

154. Free fall jump off a 60 ft platform

155. Eat at The Original Benjamins Calabash Seafood

156. Play minigolf at Mount Atlanticus Minotaur

157. Take a day tour to Charlestion SC

158. Have a beach license plate made for your car

159. Hire a local photographer to follow you around for a few hours and snap photos

160. Boogie Boarding

161. Shop at Palmetto Moon @ Coastal Grand Mall

162. Ride the Skyscraper

163. Take a Catamaran Tour

164. Waccatee Zoo

165. Visit Cptn Dicks Marina

166. Water Walking Balls

167. Carolina Safari Jeep Tour

168. Hurricane simulator at Springmaid Pier

169. Sunset Sailing Charter

170.Take a ride on the Skywheel

For more ideas on what you can do while in Myrtle check out my Pinterest board! Lots of things to do, places to see, places to eat, and good shopping!
http://pinterest.com/LifeOnTheCoast/myrtle-beach/

Have you ever been to Myrtle Beach SC? If so what are your favorite things to do there? Did I overlook something that should be added to the list, let me know.