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Carlie

5 Tips on Planning Your Dream Wedding

If you’re counting down the days until you’re able to call your fiancé your husband or your wife, you may be stressed out about the logistics of planning your fairytale wedding. If you’d love some help planning your upcoming wedding, simply continue reading to discover a few invaluable tips on planning the most important, memorable day of your life!

5 Tips on planning your dream wedding:

Opt for a unique wedding cake:

Instead of ordering a traditional wedding cake such as a chocolate cake or a fruit cake, why not order a unique, memorable wedding cake such as an eclair wedding cake. Especially if you prefer eating mouth watering fluffy chocolate and cream chocolate eclairs over traditional, heavy cakes that can leave you feeling bloated. If you’re shopping for the perfect wedding cake, it makes sense to opt for a wedding cake that is as unique and special as your relationship.

Allow your bridesmaids to choose dress styles that flatter their bodies:

Instead of getting all of your bridesmaids to wear the exact same style of dress, why not let your bridesmaids choose dress styles in the same color, which flatter their bodies. As your bridesmaids will be far more comfortable on the day of your wedding if they are confident about the way that they look. Also keep in mind that if you allow your bridesmaids to choose their own style of dress they’ll be more likely to be able to re-wear the dress which they choose, in the future.

Consider having brides men and best women:

If you’re a bride and have a close male friend or brother you may want them to serve as a brides man. As he’ll be able to simply wear a tie that matches the color which the rest of your bridal party are wearing. While if you’re a groom to be and have a close female friend, they may want to wear a black dress or a grey dress in order to match your best men. This is a great idea if you and your partner both have close friends of the opposite gender and are interested in planning a more contemporary wedding.

Make sure to write your own heartfelt vows:

As weddings should be personal, vows should be heartfelt and it’s a great idea to go to the effort of writing your own vows. In order to showcase how deeply you treasure your once in a lifetime love. If you suffer from writer’s block simply write about the things that you love about your relationship and the things which you’d love to promise to your bride or groom to be.

Choose a location that suits your personalities:

Some individuals prefer getting married in churches which they attend, while other individuals love the idea of having a beach front wedding or getting married in an opulently decorated hotel.

So if you’re counting down the days until your nuptials, it’s definitely well worth using all of the hints and tips listed above as inspiration for your wedding plans.

Working from Home Lifestyle Tips

If you’ve recently started telecommuting and working from home, it’s well worth continuing reading to discover a guide to working at home, which will help you create a brand new work routine. As while there are numerous benefits of working from home, working from home still requires a few adjustments to your work routine.

Working from Home Lifestyle Tips:

Consider getting into a morning routine:

One way to ensure that you get into a normal work day is to create a morning routine for yourself. As an example, you may want to replace your old morning commute to your workplace with a home workout or a run around your block. Alternatively you may want to complete a meditation session or a yoga flow before you sit down at your work desk.

Ensure that you have a dedicated work space:

Instead of working at your kitchen table or on your sofa, it’s a great idea to create a dedicated work space for yourself. If possible, turn one of the spare rooms in your home into a home office. Ideally your home office should be located in a quiet section of your home, where you’re unlikely to be interrupted by your room mates or family members. Especially if you’re a parent of young, boisterous children.

Invest in a high quality pair of wireless, noise cancelling headphones:

If you live in an area which gets plenty of traffic passing by or you live in a busy apartment complex, purchasing a high quality pair of noise cancelling, wireless headphones may be one of the best decisions which you make this year. As you’ll find it far easier to take important work calls and to be productive, if you’re able to cancel out any loud noises which may distract you from your work.

Ensure that you have a strong internet connection:

If you plan on taking part in video calls with your colleagues or clients, it’s important to ensure that your home boasts a strong internet connection. As the last thing that you want is for your video calls to freeze repeatedly. If your internet connection is slow it’s well worth speaking to your internet provider to see whether you require a different package for your needs or need to replace your modem with a newer, more advanced model.

Get into the habit of going for lunch time walks:

If you start working from home you may find it difficult to clock up steps and may become more sedentary. For this reason, it’s a nice idea to get into the habit of going for daily, lunch time walks. As a bonus, getting fresh air will also help you concentrate, when you return home and get back to work.

Ensure that you have a professional backdrop for your video calls:

You don’t want to appear on video calls with a messy home in your background. For this reason you should set up your work desk in a position which provides a clean, professional backdrop for your calls.

So if you’re still adjusting to the reality of working at home and are looking to get into a productive work routine, it’s definitely well worth testing out all of the tips which are listed above!

Baking Tips 101

If you’d love to take your baking to the next level and plan on wowing your friends and family members, simply continue reading to discover a handy guide to baking. As you may find a few baking tips which will instantly improve the quality of your home baking.

Baking Tips 101:

Ensure to take your eggs and butter out of your fridge several hours before you start baking:

In order to ensure that your eggs will be light and fluffy and that your butter will be beautifully creamed, it’s important to remember to take your eggs and your butter out of your fridge, several hours in advance. As an added bonus, you should find it easier to cut your butter if it has been sitting at room temperature for a few hours.

Purchase a glass mixing bowl:

It’s a great idea to purchase a handy glass mixing bowl, which will allow you to carefully measure out flour, milk or water. As well as purchasing a mixing bowl, ensure to purchase a set of accurate mixing cups and spoons which you’ll use each time that you bake.

Always use your oven’s middle rack:

If you place your baking trays in the middle rack inside your oven, the hot air in your oven will be able to circulate evenly around your trays. So if you want to ensure that your baking is cooked through properly, it’s well worth getting into the habit of always using your oven’s middle rack.

Don’t be tempted to open your oven door early:

If you routinely open your oven in order to check on the progress of your baking, your baking may flop and fall in on itself due to the rapid change of temperature. For this reason, you should never open your oven door early.

Set a timer on your smart watch:

Instead of relying on an old school timer, if you own a smart watch simply ask Siri or Alexa to set a timer for you. As you won’t forget about the cookies that you have baking in your oven if you get an alert on your smart watch that your baking is ready.

Purchase a metal skewer to check if your baking is cooked through properly:

Once you take your baking out of your oven, simply use a metal skewer to poke a hole through the center of your muffins, cupcakes or cake. If you take out your metal skewer and it’s still wet or has dough attached to it, your baking is not cooked through properly and should be placed back into your oven. However if your skewer comes out clean, your baking is cooked properly. If you don’t want to purchase a metal skewer, you also have the option of using a toothpick instead.

Always weigh each of your ingredients:

While you may be tempted to use rough guesses, if you want your recipe to work out, it’s a far better idea to weigh each of your ingredients. You may even want to purchase a digital scale, if you love baking and plan on baking on a regular basis.

So if are keen to take your home baking to the next level and would love to improve the quality of your muffins, cupcakes, cookies, cakes and slices, it’s well worth trying out all of the tips listed above!

A Guide to Learning to Cook

If you’re looking to become a more adept cook and want to be able to prepare all of your favorite foods at home, you’ve come to the right place. Just continue reading to discover a beginner’s guide to learning how to cook.

A Guide to Learning to Cook:

Watch YouTube videos to pick up new recipes and cooking techniques:

If you’re the type of person who learns best by observation, it’s a smart idea to start watching YouTube videos in order to learn handy new cooking techniques and to discover brand new recipes. Better yet, you can take things one step further and to cook alongside the videos which you watch. As you’ll be able to use the pause button to pause your video, when you need a little extra time to complete a step.

One of the bonuses of watching Youtube cooking demonstrations from popular home chefs is that you’ll be able to learn authentic international recipes from around the world. So if you enjoy experimenting with different cuisines it’s well worth subscribing to a few Youtube cooking channel.

Learn how to make a few sauces from scratch:

If you want to create flavorful dishes, it’s a great idea to learn how to make a few key sauces from scratch. Some of them which can be used to create glazes, marinades, stocks and soups. In order to get started, learn how to make béchamel sauce, hollandaise sauce and a tomato based sauce such as pomodoro.

Try to cook your way through an entire cook book:

If you’d love to be able to create a wide variety of entrees, sides, mains and desserts, it’s an excellent idea to set yourself the achievable challenge of cooking your way through an entire cook book. If you have little experience in the kitchen, you may want to opt for a cook book which was written specifically for beginners. Alternatively, if you already have a bit of booking experience under your belt, you may want to purchase a cook book from a celebrity chef whose recipes you enjoy.

Visit cooking blogs for free recipes:

If you don’t want to pay for entire cookbooks you also have the option of visiting popular cooking blogs, in order to find free recipes. One of the main advantages of finding recipes to follow from cooking bloggers is that you’ll be able to ask each blogger questions about their recipes. You may even find that other readers may leave helpful comments about ingredient substitutions that you may find handy. Especially if you have food allergies or intolerances or follow a vegan or vegetarian diet.

Ensure that you have all the ingredients which you need before you start following a recipe:

It’s always a wise idea to check off all the ingredients which you need to cook a particular dish, before you start prepping. As the last thing that you want to do is to get halfway through a recipe before finding out that you’re missing a critical ingredient.

So if you’d love to be able to prepare your favorite dishes for yourself, your family and your friends, it’s a great idea to get started by following the handy cooking guide above!

4 Healthy Foods To Add To Your Diet

In order to significantly decrease your chances of developing a serious, long term, health condition, it’s a wise idea to keep an eye on your diet. If you’re searching for new, healthy foods to add to your diet, continue reading to discover a few nutritious foods which offer plenty of benefits.

4 Healthy Foods To Add To Your Diet:

Bok Choy:

If you’re interested in trying an alternative to traditional cabbage, it’s a great idea to experiment with bok choy which is a Chinese cruciferous vegetable that can be used in the place of cabbage. Bok Choy is a healthy food to add to your diet as it offers plenty of vitamin c, vitamin e and beta-carotene. Better yet, it also features selenium which is not found in the bulk of fruits and vegetables. Selenium is capable of boosting your immune system and regulating your thyroid. One of the best ways to consume bok choy is to use it to create a delicious, vegetable stir fry.

Blueberries:

Blueberries are a tasty, sweet superfood which you should add to your diet as soon as possible. As examples, you may want to sprinkle blueberries and a bit of greek yoghurt onto cereal for breakfast or you may want to add blueberries to your home made smoothies. Blueberries are a superfood as they are packed full of essential antioxidants, vitamin c and potassium. Not only can consuming blueberries decrease your risk of developing cancer or heart disease but blueberries are also anti-inflammatory food.

Tuna:

While you may be aware of the many health benefits associated with consuming salmon, if you’re looking for a most cost effective option, you may want to add tuna to your grocery cart. Why is tuna a great food to add to your diet? Firstly, it’s full of protein, iron, potassium, mangesium and and omega 3. Omega 3 is essential to your body’s health as it ensures that your heart remains healthy. Other ingredients which are found in tuna include vitamin A, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12. If you are anaemic and have issues with getting enough iron in your diet, it’s a smart idea to eat tuna on a regular basis.

If you’re looking for inspiration on how to serve up your tuna, you may want to serve tuna in a pita pocket with salad or to serve your tuna on a bed of rice. If you’re a huge fan of sushi, it’s well worth learning how to prepare your own sushi rolls which feature fresh tuna.

Tomatoes:

Tomatoes are a great source of lycopene. If you’ve never heard of lycopene, it’s one of the strongest antioxidants which you can ingest. It’s important to incorporate foods which are rich in antioxidants as antioxidants help protect your body’s cells from free radicals. One fun way to eat tomatoes is to create the much loved Italian dish bruschetta which is essentially toasted bread which is topped off with cheese, tomatoes and basil and drizzled with balsamic vinegar.

So if you want to increase your health by adding new foods to your diet that are packed full of essential vitamins and nutrients, it’s definitely a great idea to purchase the ingredients which are listed above!

Filed Under: DIY

7 Clever Home and Garden Tips

As your home should be your sanctuary, it’s a great idea to look out for new ways to keep your home and garden well maintained. To discover a few clever home and garden tips to test out, simply continue reading.

7 Clever Home and Garden Tips:

Create cleaning and maintenance lists for each room in your house:

In order to ensure that each room of your home is kept in pristine condition, it’s a great idea to create handy cleaning and maintenance lists for each room in your home. For example, you may want to list polishing hard wood floors in your bedroom as a task to complete to keep your bedroom in great condition.

Don’t be afraid to wash your shower curtain in your washing machine:

To avoid your shower curtain from becoming dirty, it’s a wise idea to wash your shower curtain in your washing machine. This is a great tip, if you usually throw your old shower curtains out, in favor of purchasing a brand new shower curtain.

Place a shoe rack next to your front door:

One way to keep your home’s floors in perfect condition is to place a small shoe rack next to the front door of your home. So that your guests will understand that your home has a no shoes policy. This is a particularly great idea if you feel slightly awkward about telling your friends to take their shoes off when they visit your home.

Don’t use generic potting mix:

Generic potting mixes aren’t nutrient rich. So it’s a wise idea to invest in soil which is specific for your needs. As an example you can buy soil which is formulated to help roses thrive or to produce healthy, vegetables.

Make sure that your plants get plenty of sunshine:

If you’re thinking about creating new flowerbeds in your garden, make sure to position your flowerbeds so that they get plenty of natural sunlight each day. Alternatively, if you’re interested in creating your own vegetable garden in order to eat healthier and to save money, also make sure to position your new vegetable garden so that it enjoys as much sun per day as possible. If in doubt, take note of which area in your garden enjoys the sun the longest and which areas are covered in shade by the later afternoon.

Consider planting mini vegetables:

If you want to sample your fresh produce in a short space of time, it’s a great idea to buy seedlings from your local garden center which grow miniature versions of your favorite vegetables. As examples, you may want to purchase seedlings to grow baby carrots, baby beetroot and miniature lettuce.

Find out which vegetables grow well next to each other:

It’s a brilliant idea to find out which vegetables grow well next to each other, to ensure that your vegetable garden thrives. As an example, carrots grow well next to green beans and tomatoes. While corn grows nicely beside cucumbers, pumpkins, peas and green beans.

So if you’re keen to turn your home and garden into your own private sanctuary and enjoy finding new ways to keep your property well maintained, it’s a great idea to test out the tips which are listed above.