Saturday, October 25, 2008

Wedding Bell Blues?

A frazzled bride is very easy to find especially if it is the month of her wedding! Last minute changes, non responsive guests, family fiascoes and paying the final deposits to almost every vendor you have recruited can be a hassle, heartache and make you break the bank. If you are a bride and you have hit the point of no return on the stress meter here are a few ways that you can decompress without your fiancee and friends thinking you should be committed.

Sleep Tight
Create a firm stop time when all wedding talk ceases for the day. This will allow you to step away from the details that can be a pain and keep you up all hours of the night. A suggestion would be to stop at least 2 hours before your bedtime so that you can unwind, breathe and calm yourself for some much needed sleep. Many times when stress is piled on sleep is the first thing that is avoided. Try some calming tunes like jazz or a babbling brook to help you unwind and slip into dreamland.


Work Those Maids
From time to time we all feel that if we want something done right we need to do it ourselves, but in the case of impending nuptials and a rapidly depleting time schedule we could be our own worst enemy. Many brides find that within weeks of their big day the to-do list that they have gets longer rather than shorter. This is a good time to enlist your arsenal of bridesmaids. Yes they did commit to being your bridesmaid and support you through this special time so why not include them on a few tasks to complete too. Simple things such as picking up the guestbook or grabbing the flower girls shoes from the store shouldn't put them out too much.

Work It Out!
Hitting the gym for some cardio, taking a kickboxing class or even running can take the edge of and reduce your stress level. In addition to kicking stresses but you can also get yours into shape for the big day while you're at it. Working out releases endorphins and boost your mood, it is also a great way to leave some of that aggression behind before facing families or fiancees.


Keep Dating and Dining
Even though he is your soon to be husband don't forget that he is the cutie pie you swooned over before he put the ring on your finger. Don't forget to spend time with your soon-to-be by having a date night or do an activity that is totally non-wedding related. Make these times with your finacee completely void of wedding talk and just enjoy each others company. Another way to de-stress call your friends (throw in some that have nothing to do with your wedding too) and go out, it would be fabulous to get a group of friends together for dinner and a movie, shopping and brunch, or drinks and Sex and the City DVD's.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Getting Luxe with Lavender

Creating new spaces for fall and winter often brings warm rich tones and color palettes out. If you are looking for a new look for your abode and want to mix things up a bit a great color to work with this season is lavender. Already deep plums, royal purples and violets are exploding on the fashion scene as the new it color for the rest of the year so why not incorporate this regal and sophisticated hue into your home as well.




To some incorporating a color like lavender can be challenging because it may seem out of season being on the lighter side and with 25 shades it can be troublesome. Lavender brings a certain je ne sais quoi to a room when it is used so I encourage you to go the distance! When applying the color to your walls used a more muted tone to let your furniture and accent pieces in the room stand out in bold complimentary colors. A monochromatic look is another wonderful way to display this color. I would suggest using prints with a monochromatic scheme so that the patterns rather than the color is broken up. Another way is to use a juicer lavender color in the room and cross it with rich dark tones in the furniture such as mahogany and cherry.




If for some reason you aren't quite ready to turn your house upside down with the lavender approach you can always start small by bringing in the calming scent of lavender. It has been used for so long as a relaxing agent but also has a long list of other great uses for it. Don't worry if the lavender bug doesn't bite you, there's always 10 million other shades to be crazy about!