Blogs

The sub-freezing weather makes me want to stay inside with comfort food and candlelight. Here are some ways to put a cozy spin on evenings at home. 

Le Creuset Heritage French Skillet
Growing up with this storied heavy-duty enameled cast iron cookware, the classic ombré-orange “Flame” was always my favorite color, but I’m now quite partial to “Quince,” pictured here (also available in “Flame” and “Cherry”). The skillet is based on a pan from Le Creuset’s design archives ($99.99, williamssonoma.com).

Dansk Kobenstyle Casserole
Vintage Kobenstyle pieces have been selling furiously on eBay, so thank goodness Dansk saw fit to bring back this groovy line of Danish cookware. Bonus points: The lid can also be used as a trivet for serving (from $80, dansk.com).

Birdkage Shibori Mini Bib Apron
These aprons are so gorgeous, I’d not only wear this for cooking, I’d keep it on for the finished meal — the perfect hostess-with-the-mostess wear ($90, birdkagestyle.com).

I am super excited to share that I lost another five pounds last week and broke through my plateau (finally!), bringing my total weight-loss to 50 pounds so far! I am officially more than halfway toward my goal of 135 pounds, and I couldn’t be happier. Now that spring time is just around the corner, it’s time to buckle down and complete my journey.

To break through my plateau, I just kept up with my workouts and have been eating healthy. I’ve also been trying to add strength training into my workouts, which I believe helped. I’ve been doing my routines from Bonne Marcus twice a week on top of our weekly training session. Diet-wise, I've continued trying to cut down on my carbs and sugar while making sure I get a ton of vegetables and proteins in. My favorite recipe from last week was Spinach and White Bean Soup from Fitness Magazine. It's so easy to make because all you need to do is throw everything into your slow cooker. It's the perfect meal to bring to work for lunch — it's full of vegetables and kept me full until I got home for dinner. 

Photo Credit: Elizabeth Messina / Courtesy of Lauren Conrad via Instagram

One thing we're most excited to see at Lauren Conrad's upcoming wedding is what she'll choose as her wedding gown. The former Hills star has made a name for herself as a fashion icon since the show went off the air, and she's a designer in her own right as well. She recently shared her top tips for finding your dream dress on her blog, and we couldn't agree more with her guidelines. Here, Conrad's three mantras:

1. Don't knock it 'til you try it
We hear this tip over and over from designers: A dress can look completely different on the rack than it does on your body. And even if you have your heart set on certain silhouette, keep an open mind and try on other styles as well — you never know what'll look best until you try it on. "I always imagined myself in an elegant ball gown with lots and lots of tulle. But just for fun, I decided to try on some sleeker, more sophisticated gowns when I was dress shopping," Conrad wrote. "I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked the sleeker dresses and realized that I should stay open-minded during my dress search."

A wedding may take months or even a few years to plan, but sometimes fate can lend a hand. Just ask Maria Simpson and Matthew Chamberlain, whose love story began at Bungalow, a bar in California, and culminated with a courthouse wedding in New York City. Their last-minute nuptials on Feb. 20th came together so serendipitously that it made us believe in fairy tales again.

The odds were stacked against them from the beginning, including a 13-year age difference (she's 22 and he's 35) and living thousands of miles apart (she's originally from California and is now based in New York; he's originally from England and now resides in Cali). What got this couple through all of these challenges (and then some) was the unwavering belief that they were destined to end up together — no matter what. 

When they began discussing their future, Matthew suggested that they apply for wedding competitions to help alleviate some of the financial stress that lay ahead. They were selected to compete in Bridal Guide's Race for the Rock cityHunt in NYC, which came as a relief, and Matthew made plans to fly out from Los Angeles. However, things got turned upside down when Maria's father had a heart attack a few days before the scavenger hunt was supposed to take place; Matthew rushed to his aid and spent the night in the hospital with him. Once Maria's dad was stable, they decided to move forward with the race.

How would you explain your career to a three-year-old? Wedding photographer Chris Thornton decided to stage a wedding photo shoot using his toddler's toys to help him understand!

The whole Toy Story gang joined Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head for their charming wedding celebration.

The 86th annual Academy Awards kicks off this Sunday and we’re looking forward to scoping out the evening’s glitziest looks and OMG-worthy moments: Which film will nab Best Picture? Who might get their Meryl Streep moment? Since Ellen DeGeneres is hosting, will we actually stay up until midnight this year?

Now, thanks to travel website Trivago.com, brides have another reason to get excited for the pinnacle of awards season — they’ve put together a list of hotels where a few of the movie contenders were filmed, and they’re perfect for stateside honeymoons.

American Hustle

Photo Credit: The Hollywood Reporter

Nominated for: Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Actress in a Leading Role, Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Best Costume Design, Best Directing, Best Film Editing, Best Production Design and Best Original Screenplay

Featured hotel: The Fairmont Copley Plaza (Boston, MA)

Since my fiancé Chris and I are currently living in different cities, I was feeling pretty lonely during the search for our perfect wedding venue. Each and every one of them was incredible but something was missing...Chris! Everything feels half as fun when he's not around, but I chose my new job as San Diego 6 News' evening anchor, so I just have to suck it up and learn to appreciate every blessing (and there are many). I just wish that my fiancé was here so that we could enjoy the planning process together...soon, I hope!

It was almost as if my best friend Katie could sense my sadness because she sent me a text (one of probably 200 that we send throughout each day) about Christina from OBSESSEDevents, a friend of hers who offered to help us plan our wedding. I couldn't have heard those words at a better time. (This experience has taught me that it's ok to ask for help. When you have a moment of sadness or are feeling worn down during wedding planning, please know that this is the time to reach out.)

Photo Credit: OBSESSEDevents