Did you know that one of my favorite wedding websites, www.theknot.com, also publishes a gorgeous n’ glossy magazine? In fact, I’m featured in the current issue of The Knot: Southern California(on newsstands now through August 2013) and you can find my advice, along with a few other industry experts, in the STYLE section, in an article called, “6 Ways to Style Your Wedding”.
The photography that accompanies the article is really cute. I hope you’ll pick up a copy the next time you’re out! Here’s a sneak peek at the rest of the feature…
You’ll have to buy a copy of the magazine to read my advice, since the text is a bit too small to read here! I just wanted to give you all a heads up and give you a feel for the layout of the feature. Make it a great day, everyone! -Brian
Today, I’m sharing my best advice for staying healthy over the holidays because let’s face it, with the cold weather, the stress, traveling, and all the binge eating and drinking, it’s pretty darn easy to get sick this time of year!
1) Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated. Water is essential for good health. Alcohol and warm holiday drinks function like diuretics so make sure to drink lots of water to reduce your chances of getting sick.
2) Get a flu shot. Flu season last until spring, so there is plenty of time to deep the benefits of a flu shot to help keep you from getting sick, especially when you will be interacting and socializing more than usual and coming in contact with lots and lots of people.
3) Get plenty of sleep! The holidays bring on the added pressure of not only your everyday job and life, but attending holiday parties, shopping, entertaining guests, etc… so maintain a regular sleep schedule as much as possible. Schedule a 15 – 30 minute power nap during the day to help you stay refreshed.
4) Kick up the Vitamins. Add a little extra Vitamin C to your daily intake, some B-12 and even a multivitamin to help boost your immune system. With all the processed foods and sweets that you may be adding to your diet during the holidays, a little vitamin boost can do wonders!
5) Don’t starve and binge. The idea that you will skip breakfast to indulge at the holiday party that evening is not healthy. Keep your routine for three meals a day rather than saving them all for one sitting. Eat healthy, nutritious foods and try to splurge in moderation. This is the most difficult one for me, I have the world’s worst sweet tooth and I want to try everything, a couple times over. LOL! Enjoy the foods you love… and LOVE every minute of it! Savor the flavor! Sugar also weakens the immune system.
6) Avoid stress! Don’t try to conquer the world during the holidays, avoid taking on too much and keep your life as on schedule and streamlined as possible. Shop online rather than dealing with the crowds at the mall and the crazy parking lots. Attend parties that you really want to attend rather than the ones you feel obligated to attend so that you can keep yourself from feeling fatigued.
7) Keep up with your exercise routine. Exercise is the first thing to go when life starts to get hectic, so make time in your day, even if only for 30 minutes to take a walk, hit the stair master, or pump a few weights. Also, don’t over overtax your body, if you do that can also cause your body to shut down, making you more susceptible to fatigue and getting sick. Moderation is key, just because you ate your way through every holiday party you were invited to, does not mean you have to kill yourself in the gym trying to work it all off.
Bonus Tip: Wash your hands often and use hand-sanitizer while traveling. What’s your BEST tip for staying healthy over the holidays?
If you do end up getting sick, I prescribe a lot of hot cocoa, chicken noodle soup and a movie marathon of all your fav holiday movies. (Click HERE for My Top 7 Holiday Movie List!) Be well my friends! -Brian
It always seems like such a great idea to gather all your friends together for a big holiday party this time of year… but once you’ve actually sent out the invitations and you have to start planning and getting ready for your guests to arrive, the stress kicks in and many hosts start to second guess their joyous holiday gesture! So, here are my Top 10 ideas that will make throwing your holiday party a lot more enjoyable.
1) Send an evite or digital invitation throughwww.paperlesspost.com or cocdot.com. With all the running around that we do during the holidays, forget about dropping invitations in the mail and handwriting them (save that for your thank you notes!). Instead, with a few strokes of your keyboard, you will have a holiday inspired invitation ready for the masses to help you celebrate.
2) Create a theme for your party. You could throw a ‘Desserts Only Party’ that starts later in the evening so your bash is the last stop on the party schedule and all you have is a decadent display of holiday desserts for your guests to enjoy after they’ve eaten their way to your house! Or maybe you decide to host a ‘Wine and Cheese Party’, where you provide the wine and your guests are asked to bring their favorite cheese and crackers (or vise versa!). Maybe it’s even as simple as the always funny ‘Ugly Christmas Sweater Party’, where everyone wears the worst holiday sweater they can find and then votes on who’s outfit is the ugliest! Whatever you do, decide on a theme early, this will help to bring all the rest of the elements into play with time to spare.
3) Shop around your house first, then the holiday section at stores! The best place to shop is your house for various items you can easily re-purpose and use as holiday decor with a few minor tweaks. (CLICK HERE FOR A POST ALL ABOUT DOING JUST THIS!) After you have taken inventory of what you currently have, make a list, check it twice, and hit a local discount store to finish off your party shopping list!
4) Get organized right from the get-go, gather everything you need to set-up your party in one place. Storing all of your party supplies in the spare bedroom, a closet or even on the dining room table, will help you ensure that you have everything ready for the day of the party so you don’t have to scramble at the last minute to find what you need.
5) Use the food as decor and also a party favor! Be creative with the food you are serving and how you serve it because it can easily be used as decor and will allow for faster clean up at the end of the night, since everyone will have devoured all of the delicious treats you were serving. One year, I threw a holiday party for my friends and baked banana bread in holiday bread pans, wrapped them with cellophane and tied them with a bright colored bow! Then, I had them placed around the house, on the mantle, the coffee table, the buffet, and at the end of the night, each guest took one home and I killed two birds with one stone, decor and gifts all in one!
6) Create ambiance with lighting and music! Again, shop around your house, pull out all the cables, some twinkle lights, dim the lights and utilize your iPod to create the perfect playlist. You can also use Pandora or Spotify on your computer or the music stations that stream through your cable television. A little background music always helps to make for a festive holiday celebration.
7) Make your menu manageable! As the host, when you start to create the perfect holiday menu, remember that you should also be able to enjoy the evening as well. Don’t create a menu that will keep you cooped up in the kitchen, cooking and constantly replenishing food for the buffet. Finger foods and one-bite appetizers are always best to serve. Try to create a menu that requires minimal maintenance and if you need help, hire someone to lend a hand so that you can feel like a guest as well.
Image via marthastewart.com
8) What do you want to drink? When I throw a party at my house, I let my guests be their own bartender. For a small gathering of your friends, set up a table that acts as the bar, stock it with plenty of wine, soft drinks, alcohol, mixers or whatever you want to serve. If you really want to make it easy, choose to serve only wine and beer, or kick it up a notch by creating a festive holiday mixed drink with the recipe posted and ingredients labeled for use. Also, be sure to have soft drinks and water for those who are driving or just would rather not have alcohol. Hot cider and hot chocolate are also great to serve and will go a long way if you keep it in an insulated serving container.
9) Make clean up a snap! After all of your guests have gone home, the host is left with a memory and a mess! So, serve food items on recyclable festive plates, use paper napkins and throw the glasses in the dishwasher so that your clean up time is minimal. I think it is perfectly acceptable to use paper or plastic plates for this type of occasion, however, it is always nice to provide real glassware for the drinks. I went out and bought a couple dozen wine glasses and all purpose glasses that I keep stored in the box they came in, then, when I want to entertain, I pull them out and I am ready to party. Try IKEA or Target for budget-friendly glassware.
Image via stylemagazine.com
10) Be MERRY! It is the holidays and you have worked hard all year long, so make sure that you get to have fun and enjoy yourself at your own party. It can be difficult to do, but if you plan head and are organized and not afraid to ask for help, there is no reason that you, as the host, should not be able to have a merry old time! -Brian
Ever since I signed up for Pinterest, I’ve come across hundreds of brilliant ideas and tips that have made my life more beautiful and a lot easier too! I’ve decided to start sharing the best of these tips with all of you on a more regular basis, in the hope that you’ll do the same.
Since today is Labor Day, I thought I’d share a really great tip sure to make any cocktails you might be whipping up even more festive… h/t Alicia Cooper!
Who knew that the key to making those picture perfect clear ice cubes was boiling water?!?! Simply boil water for 5-10 minutes, let it cool, fill the tray and freeze!
If you decide to give this tip a try, here are some ideas for items to freeze inside your crystal clear cubes: raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, bananas, tiny plastic flags, small flowers, pineapple, cucumber, kiwi, lemon, lime, fig, rosemary, sage, mint, basil, lavender, honey, the sky is the limit! Just make sure your guests don’t choke on anything ; )
So, are you on Pinterest? (If so, follow me here: http://pinterest.com/brianworley). What’s the BEST tip you’ve learned from your fellow pinners? Let me know in the comment section below.
Since the summer is almost over, I thought I’d feature a few cool DIY solutions for lighting up everyone’s favorite place to spend a hot summer night: the patio!
Most of the projects I found require either a string of lights or votive candles, in addition to the materials you decide to accessorize with (many of which can be found around the house and up-cycled!).
Think Green: If you want to be more eco-friendly, opt for the projects that utilize candles and recycled items. If you decide to use string lights, be sure to purchase energy-efficient LED lights.
One thing is for sure, no matter which one of the projects below strikes your fancy, you’ll end up with lovely patio lighting that’s perfect for savoring what’s left of these hot summer nights under the stars. Enjoy!
Which one of these projects is your favorite? If you have any other fantastic ideas for DIY patio lighting, leave them in the comment section below. -Brian
I hope you’re all having a BLAST on this beautiful Independence Day! Feel free to share any photos from your Fourth of July festivities here, whether it be a snapshot from your BBQ, a yummy recipe or DIY craft project you made over the holiday!
Did any of you have a sixpence in your left shoe on your wedding day?!?! It’s supposed to represent good fortune…
Hey Ya’ll,
There are moments in your life that you hope will last forever… And for many women, their weddings are a day of unforgettable moments that will live on in their memories, cherished, revisited and relived long after the day has passed.
First and foremost, I always tell brides I work with to take the time to notice and enjoy everything about their wedding day because it races by and before they know it, the day is over. The second thing I tell every couple is that it is their wedding, not their mother’s or grandmother’s. Of course, there are traditions that should be considered and elements that will make a wedding timeless. But it is their wedding, and it is perfectly okay to shake things up, make traditions their own, and make their own rules.
With that said, I recently wrote an article for the Huffington Post on this very topic, in which I offered up five wedding traditions every couple should consider keeping. Click HERE to find out which ones I recommend saying “I Do” to and which ones you can throw out with the bathwater!
Did you skip or drastically alter any classic wedding traditions at your modern wedding? Let me know in the comment section below. -Brian
I love buying fresh berries from my local farmer’s market, but oftentimes my berries go bad before I even get the chance to eat them! Raspberries in particular seem to mold the moment I get them home from the market… and there’s nothing more frustrating then paying upwards of $4 a pint for berries, only to find them deflated and covered in fuzzy mold the next day.
So what’s a berry-lover to do? Wash your berries with vinegar to keep them fresh longer!
Image source: betterwithberries.com
When you get your berries home, prepare a mixture in a large bowl of one part vinegar (white or apple cider vinegar work best) and three parts water. Dump the berries into the mixture and swirl around. Drain, rinse with water, and then pat your berries dry and store them in your fridge in an air-tight container.
I know, you’re probably thinking, “Gross! I don’t want my berries to taste like vinegar!” But I assure you, the mixture is so diluted you can’t taste the vinegar. What the vinegar will do is kill any mold spores and other bacteria that might be on the surface of the fruit, which will make them last a lot longer.
After hearing about this awesome tip, I found an excellent photo tutorial documenting this exact process on a great blog called “Better with Berries”. Click HERE, for her step-by-step instructions.
Using this tip, your raspberries will last a week or more, and fresh strawberries will stay yummy for almost two weeks before getting moldy and soft. You’re berry welcome! -Brian
Since everyone seemed to really enjoy the “25 Clever Tips to Make Life Easier” that I re-blogged from The Daily Buzzon Monday, I thought I’d post their fabulous follow-up post here as well. So, without further ado, here’s 25 MORE ingenious household tips and organizational tricks that will once again have you saying, “Why didn’t I think of that?!”
Got an empty kitchen shelf? Feeling handy? Cut holes in a the bottom shelf and countersink dog food bowls for a cute and out-of-the-way dog feeding station.
Avoid messy dresser drawers by “filing” your clothing side-by-side instead of stacking items on top of each other. See the before and after at Apartment Therapy.
4. Remove scratches from a DVD
Has putting Toy Story on constant repeat finally taken its toll? Remove scratches from your favorite DVDs with a few household items, including peanut butter and toothpaste! Click HERE for the video tutorial.
Pre-bake your cakes and keep them fresh overnight by placing a slice of bread on top. In the morning your bread will be hard as a rock but the cake will remain moist, ready to ice. We have no idea how it works but Bree from Bake Bree swears by it! (Hot tip: check out her chocolate peanut butter cake while you’re there. OMG!)
For upholstery stain removal, whip it good! Apartment Therapy says, “Fill a container with half dish detergent, half water, and use a hand mixer to whip it up. Use a rag to rub the froth into the spot, and then rinse with water.”
Touch up your ironing job with a hair straighter. It’s great for getting in between buttons and smoothing our minor wrinkles when you don’t have time get your ironing board out. Go for a model with adjustable heat, set it low, and make sure there’s no residue hair product on the straightener first.
Here’s a pro tip for mid-week meals. Prepare all the ingredients for multiple slow cooker meals at once, then dump them in to bags and freeze. When you’re ready to cook, simply take a bag out, throw the ingredients in to the cooker and turn it on. When you come home from work, dinner is waiting. Find recipes and details at Mama and Baby Love.
16. Pack like a pro
This is called the “clown car” or “bundled” packing method, which involves layering and wrapping clothes around each other instead of the usual method of folding and stacking. It’s a little hard to describe in words, so watch the video to get the idea, or check out this diagram.
Put magnets inside a pen and stick it to the fridge and you’ll always have a pen handy. Unscrew the end of your pen, trim the ink straw a little with scissors and put a few small disc magnets inside.
So apparently, you don’t really need all those scented plug-ins, sprays, or automatic dispensers that look like space ships. This recipe couldn’t be easier. It’s just baking soda, with around 8 drops of your favorite essential oil. Give it a shake every now and then to refresh the scent.
Avoid wrestling with plastic wrap or cling film by using shower caps instead. The elastic conforms to the shape of your container and they’re reusable too.
It seems whatever way I pack my jewellery, it’s always a mess when I get to my destination. Until now! Stop necklaces from forming knots by undoing the clasp, threading a straw through and re-clasping. So clever! Just remember to take the straw off before you wear it …
If your precious iPhone takes an unexpected swim, all is not lost. Lots of people have had success in reviving their waterlogged tech gadgets with rice. Turn your phone off, take out the SIM card and place in a bag or bowl of rice for 48-72 hours. Check out video instructions here. Good luck!
Place mince meat in a large ziploc bag and flatten out evenly. Separate in to portions using a chopstick or skewer and then freeze. When it’s time to defrost, you can simply break off the amount you need and put the rest back in the freezer.
Using a knife and a spoon, here’s how to peel your kiwi fruit without a morsel wasted. Check out this video for instructions.
Once again, I need to be clear that these are NOT my ideas, but rather the work of an awesome site called The Daily Buzz (and shout-out to my mother, for turning me on to their genius posts!). If you haven’t already, check out their site at www.thedailybuzz.com.au, it’s chock full of brilliant posts that I know you’ll enjoy as much as I do! -Brian
Hey Ya’ll,
The photography that accompanies the article is really cute. I hope you’ll pick up a copy the next time you’re out! Here’s a sneak peek at the rest of the feature…
You’ll have to buy a copy of the magazine to read my advice, since the text is a bit too small to read here! I just wanted to give you all a heads up and give you a feel for the layout of the feature. Make it a great day, everyone!
