I have run into a lot of friends that like me after their wedding gained some weight.  They like me, looked fine, but longed to be in better shape.  We are all professionals with busy lives, obligations and lots of plans to juggle.  Sometimes the gym is just the luxury that when push comes to shove gets dropped off your daily calendar.  And while a wedding is fantastic motivation, daily life often is not.

But, for me, the benefits of working out are absolutely crucial.  For one it is one of the few ways I can mentally break from my work and transition into home life.  It makes me feel good generally and about myself.  It relieves stress.  And obviously it is good for me physically, as well.  It has also aided me in dealing with all my stomach issues.

On recommendation of two of my friends I started going to crossfit at Trident Crossfit in Alexandria.  I was so intimidated by the in shape girls, the big guys lifting big weights, and the whole military style workout setting.  BUT I soon learned to love it.  I don’t have to make one class time per day on a certain week, they teach the same class all day, and if you miss a day just come the next.  They scale the work out to your ability and there is a great mix of cardio and weight lifting.  I love the trainers, they push me and support me.  And you get to know the other people at the gym, there is always a really positive vibe.

It is a bit pricier than a normal gym membership, but for me the benefits of having someone there watching my form, pushing me harder is worth it.  Thinking of my monthly expenses the one that keeps me physically and mentally healthy is a priority.  So if you are out there looking for a gym, a solution and are a bit scared or intimidated, give it a try.  You might get hooked just like me.

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So….

If you know me then you know that my dog is absolutely spoiled rotten.  And living in Northern Virginia there are a lot of options for all your doggie needs.  But sometimes it is hard to find the best shops for different services.  In particular it took me a while to find a really good groomer for Max.  He is mostly Bichon and I wanted to find a groomer that could do a show cut, that didn’t have a waiting list and was convenient.

As I was picking up some cupcakes at Buzz Bakery on Slaters Lane in Alexandria I found Hairy Situations.  They have a window where you can see pets getting groomed and I noticed how nice the dog being groomed looked.  So I stopped in and found management exceedingly nice and helpful.

Their philosophy is on a gentle grooming process that puts your pets needs first.  You and your pet develop a relationship with the groomer and they take their time so your pet isn’t as nervous or stressed.  At my old groomer, Max would be nervous and happy to get the heck out of there, but when coming out of Hairy Situations he was calm and happy.  Being a Bichon he is very people oriented and doesn’t really like being left with strangers, but he was very good with the groomer.

Plus the end result is fantastic.  I would highly recommend them if you have a breed of dog that you want a specific or show cut for, or a breed that needs more intricate grooming.  They take care to make sure your dog looks really good.  And for once he came home with a bandana that was appropriate for a boy dog!  I was so surprised that not only was so the grooming so much better in quality, but the price was similar to most other inferior groomers.

When we came home Max was on top of the world because he knew he looked good and was getting all sorts of attention.  Look at my little guy as happy as a clam, and the pictures don’t even do him justice.

FYI- They also do teeth cleaning, and on their website they have a coupon for dog teeth cleaning during March.

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Luckily for you all these trips have given me all sorts of inspiration.

Last weekend was Adam and Rita, my brother and sister in law’s wedding in beautiful Garrett County, Maryland.  It was really a lovely wedding, and everything they wanted.  The weather held up nicely, too, always a bit of a question this time of year in Garrett County.

The venue was Chanteclaire Farm in Friendsville, Maryland.  This is a lovely farm that has been remodeled to fit all the needs you have for a special occasion.  The food was fantastic thanks to Christiana and Fred Bergheim and their great skill with French cooking and baking.  There are real bathrooms, they have a new hardwood floor for the barn, so no tripping or having to watch your step.  The barn is beautifully decorated.  There are nice outside spots for pictures.  And there are other small buildings for getting ready.  A few pictures below:

My only qualm is that I wish the walkway to the ceremony location was dug out and the stones cemented in to make it a little easier to walk down, but that is a minor quibble.

Another highlight was Karlo Gesner’s photography, site here.  Karlo took amazing pictures that really captured the essence and personality of my Brother and Sister, without being intrusive.  I have seen a lot of wedding photos, but these really had an amazing artistic quality to them and were much better than many I have seen. My brother and sister had a vintage themed wedding and the pictures had an amazing vintage quality to them while still being crisp and fresh.

I would highly recommend Karlo.  Check out his gallery on his site, I will post a couple pictures he took of Adam and Rita when I get them, with their permission.  And by the time the reception was taking place he had edited the best photos and had them up on his iMac so that guests could view them which was really neat.  There are a lot of photographers that can capture great photos, but I think some wedding photographers such as Karlo and Dominique Attaway (who took my pictures) can really capture so much more in a photo and it is worth seeking those people out, as their prices are really the same.  And when you are paying that much for a wedding package, you really should get the best.

Next week something that seems to be a problem- good wedding cake toppers.

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This Wednesday I am dealing with a post-wedding issue.  My Mother loves the pictures taken at my wedding- thanks Dominique Attaway you are fantastic- but asked me about getting one turned into an oil portrait.  I really hadn’t known about this service until I ran across OilPortraits.com.  But apparently, even Hubby and I can be turned into masterpieces of art and you can too!

Pricing goes by the number of subjects and they will paint people or pets.  I think their black and whites are extremely good looking. And they have a 100% satisfaction guarantee, so they seem like the right company for my business, I don’t like to take risks when it comes to me on display.   So anyone looking for this service should check them out.  And they were on OneKingsLane.com with a discounted price about a month ago, so you may watch and see if they ever pop back up.

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Planning a wedding is hectic.  There is no getting around that.   It seems like every weekend is just filled with making sure this thing happens.  So being able to plan on the go is pretty handy.

I am not huge on the iphone apps.  I tend to download them, then not use them or forget about them.  BUT I do approve Wedding Wire’s iphone app.  Had it been out while I was planning our wedding I would have used it.  Luckily for us there weren’t many vendors to manage, but knowing what a good friend went through dealing with so many vendors I know you can use some major help and advice.  We also had the benefit of the Greenbrier sending us a sample budget through excel that we could edit and use, and I know that is not the norm.

Wedding Wire itself not only has vendor ratings, but many useful planning tools like managing budgets, timelines, guests and vendors.  We used it for our very complicated seating chart.  I think a detailed and easy to use budget application itself is really nice and beats creating your own on excel.

Their iphone app let’s you follow your checklist and complete items on the go- for those who don’t have an account the checklists are very detailed and divided into categories, so it is well organized and easy to use.  You can also manage your budget and check out vendors through the i phone application so if you are meeting with vendors or making last minute decisions all the major information you need is right there.

And if you have a high tech Husband this will help him stay involved and on track because he can follow everything on his iphone or computer.   Wedding Wire is so useful, if I was doing it all over again I would have used it from the very beginning to manage more of our wedding.  After checking out a few of the other wedding planning sites, this one is by far the best and now it is even better.

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She taught commercial transactions, in the afternoon right after lunch in a room where the sun poured in and napping would be prime.  The subject matter was dull, and in the great scheme of things very few of us would be working for banks or need to know the in and outs of the midnight deadline, but I remember her vividly for her leather boots.  She had great leather boots, the type of boots that only women with a strong presence can handle the pressure of because when you put boots like those on, well you can expect to turn some heads.  And when she wore those boots everyone paid more attention, class was more pleasant, I even stopped instant messaging for a moment or two.

She also had a leather skirt.  Not as glorious as the leather boots, but equally luxurious. And when you own leather goods that are that glorious, well they need to be taken care of, just like the women of substance who wear them- with care and attention to detail.

For my leather goods I trust Bedo’s Leatherworks, Inc.

It is located in Fall’s Church just beyond an office building and is easy to miss, but go slow, turn fast and be rewarded.  They strive for customer satisfaction and attention to detail.  They can reupholster furniture, repair leather jackets, repair leather shoes, as well as, luggage, handbag and briefcases.

I can attest that I just took 5 pairs of shoes in, a couple needed new insoles (one of which is a vintage shoe that people don’t like to work with, one other pair were my vintage real alligator RL Black Label shoes which I stole from my Mother a long time ago), one needed the front re-dyed blue and other just needed some general repairs- all came back repaired beautifully and in a much much better condition ready for months of hostile attcks by the brutal elements of the DC metro area sidewalks.

They will also stretch and fit new shoes to your foot, put non-slip soles on them and professionally waterproof them.  They also do custom leatherwork big and small.

So invest in those beautiful head turning leather boots, but take good care of them, don’t just trust them to any old cobbler, because you want your money’s worth.

P.S.  The Bedo’s website has a price list on general repairs that is quite handy.

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Any really well dressed woman will tell you that the key is picking out timeless pieces that look really good on you.  What she won’t tell you is that after she bought that piece of clothing before it was worn it was edited by her tailor.

Now maybe it was just hemmed, or the shoulders or waist just taken up a bit, or a few darts were put in, but these small details make quite a bit of difference in the appearance of a garment on the body.  I like vintage clothes, I like stealing clothes from my Mother and Aunt in general, but these often need edits to fit my body shape which is quite a bit different that the original wearers- again and again there are reasons for which you find yourself in need of a good tailor.  Well here they are Reeds Custom Tailors:

Located on Lee Highway before the Harris Shopping Center (in the same strip as very good briyani chicken and Carribean Grill).  This little shop does really good work.

They do alterations and custom work.  They do fur repairs, as well.  And all work is done on sight by the tailors.  I had a vintage bathing suit altered last summer, this spring it was dresses galore.  They have altered suits for me, jackets, really anything I wear.  If it isn’t done just to your liking they will re-do it, as customer satisfaction is their top priority.

What I also like about Reeds is that they lend an eye when needed and will make suggestions on how to fix something, or how not to change something that they don’t think will turn out well.  I appreciate their honesty and eye for how fabric will respond to proposed alterations.  Turn around is normally a week, two if they are really busy.  You have to keep your ticket or they can get a bit grumpy searching for your clothes…( Just put it in your wallet ok?)

The best part about using Reeds is that it is really affordable.  Taking in the sides and sleeves of a jacket is around $35 and their other prices are equally reasonable.  That makes it more affordable to get items reworked than to buy something new.  And if you click this link you can get coupons for additional off.  (Me I get the regulars discount, but they do see me every couple months)

I highly reccomend finding a good tailor and forming a relationship with them as tailoring can mean the difference between looking really polished and looking well just ok.  Also Reeds does mens tailoring, as well, they have done a very good job on some of Hubby’s clothes fyi.

So if you want to really make your body look pleasing without a lot of pain or money then just find a good tailor and take their advice on alterations or custom work.  It’s a win-win.

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You can find her blog here.  She really worked with us so well and quickly could get really good photographs of hubby, friends, family and I.  I was delighted to see pictures of people laughing and smiling at our wedding.  You scrolled through the pictures and could just see the joy.  Her rates are very reasonable and I really think she has a way of matching your photographs towards your wedding.  We had a very formal wedding and the pictures really matched the theme well.  But if you look at her more casual weddings they also look so appropriate.  I have worked with a couple professional photgraphers and found that she photographed me better than many people could, so I was really happy.  She also has a list of other photographers she recommends in other areas.  Her portraits and photos of children and families are also great so if you can get down to Charlottesville, or need a great wedding photographer at a good price definitely investigate her site and blog.

I am not featuring any of her work here, as her sites really showcase it best.

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Wedding portraits last weekend, this weekend is an endless list of things to finish so this week Wedding Wednesday is going to be short and sweet:

Make-up.

You have a couple choices airbrushed make-up, having a salon or spa do your make-up, get it done at a cosmetic counter or do it yourself.

Air brushed make-up:

If you are going to do this make sure you get it done by someone with a good reputation.

In the DC area I suggest Rodney Pinion at Andre Chreky.  Pinion uses an airbrushing gun to gently spray tiny droplets of color onto your face. The results are very natural: Even those with a fear of foundation will love it. You can get base, blush, eyeshadow, and even brow tints, all of which last for ages, go on remarkably evenly, are hypoallergenic, and won’t clog pores.  The bonus is it photographs really well because of the even matte finish.

Having it done at a Salon or Spa:

I am not very good with make-up.  I don’t normally wear it and putting it on scares me a little.  So I trust the professionals.  Again reputation is key.  Not only should they have good make-up, but a good knowledge of what will photograph well.  Sparkly powder or eyeshadow with sheen does not photograph well.  I recommend splurging on this a little more than you regularly would.  Find someone who does this often, who has good credentials and does this often.  People that work often with people being photographed really helps.  I recommend when you do your make-up test to do some photographs, and really scrutinize the look.

Having it done by a cosmetic counter:

I really don’t recommend this unless you can test the results.  Although, I had a great experience last weekend at the Bobbi Brown counter at Belk in Charlottesville.  I didn’t have a salon to do my make-up for my wedding portrait because it was in Charlottesville, not the Greenbrier and I didn’t drive down from the city.  Luckily I found someone really experienced.  If you go this route, you want the make-up woman who is older and has worked there forever, not the young thing, but their make-up should look good. They will have done a lot of make-up, they will know the product and have a good eye.

Also choose the brand carefully.  You should probably go with what you normally use, but consider your look.  I find Bobbi Brown to be very natural.  They don’t have a lot of bright colors and that would look odd on me, who never wear make-up.  Really I think natural brides look best.  so unless you really want a “look” you might consider going that route.  Certainly don’t switch to a brand you have never used.  Many people are allergic to cosmetics.  Mom is allergic to blue eyeliner from Lancome, I am allergic to a lot of Clinique products.  But I think looking at the make-up and testing the products you will find something you can use.  this bonus is so you can learn how to apply it and use it for the honeymoon.

Make sure to ask if they have any sample products like these online that you get for free with an order:

Do it yourself:

Don’t… just don’t.  Unless you are getting married out in the middle of nowhere.  If you do go get your colors done and buy the products they recommend that you don’t have, especially correctors and concealers.  Practice, practice, practice.  But really you are going to be so stressed out, do you really want that added pressure?

So think about it, test it out and find what works for you.

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