A little Grooming...goes a long way

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For his birthday Dave visited the barber and we followed up with a selection of great grooming products that he can use at home. He is a sucker for well designed packaging and while he loves his Hunter range these few new items hit the spot.
Vegan, cruelty-free and also free of most nasty ingredients the Hudson Made products are a great natural option for the hairy man your life. It also adds a little bit of NYC to our home.
My fave city in the whole wide world… I used to live there and still have many precious memories.
The products also smell rather amazing. Husband has enjoyed them a lot.

Happy birthday, hubby! And happy grooming.

Postpartum Healing- My journey tips & tricks

I made a little video, trying to sum up the things that helped me postpartum...
I hope when you are watching this you might have some time on your hands, waiting for your bub to arrive. I failed to be brief... and even after this long video there were still things I forgot to mention, but I had to stop myself eventually!
I really hope this is helpful!


I have also copied the links of my pregnancy posts below:

3rd Trimester http://www.livlifemag.com/livwell/201...
2nd Trimester: http://www.livlifemag.com/livwell/201...
1st Trimester: http://www.livlifemag.com/livwell/201...

Mindfully Wed- THE Eco Wedding Fair

Have you heard of Mindfully Wed? It's a boutique eco-wedding fair here in Sydney.
And it is happening THIS WEEKEND!
I was lucky to team up with a whole bunch of their select "green" & ethical vendors for a photo-shoot lately and let me tell you: This event is not to be missed!
Get your tickets and meet a lot of talented, passionate, like-minded people that can help you realise your green goddess bridal dream and create a wedding that doesn't cost the earth!

The event itself is going to be quite something, with live music, nibbles and some useful planning tools included in the tickets, this will make wedding planning as fun as it should be.

(I won't be able to be there in person (insert sad face) as I am still having all hands full with baby Faye and work right now, but you can find other great green vendors & I highly recommend that you will check it out!)

For some more ideas and inspo check out Eco-Stylists Faye De Lanty's green wedding ideas.

Happy Planning!


 

Thoughts On Wedding Planning for White Magazine

For the latest issue of White Magazine I got asked to share my thoughts on wedding planning, as an insider in the wedding world. It was really fun sitting down, pondering about it all and writing down my thoughts. You can read my final article below: And don't forget to buy the issue with many more amazing articles and beautiful imgages, as always completely honest and inspiring!

How did we handle the flood of over-inspiration that blogs, pinterest & co deliver?

Planning a wedding in the age of Pinterest & CO

Have you set a date yet? What is your dress going to look like? What sort of flowers were you thinking of getting? - Immediately after getting engaged well meaning friends and family bombarded us with questions, even before we had a chance to decide if we wanted a wedding or simply elope. We just wanted to be married and live happily ever after, we hadn't thought about a wedding.It seemed like everyone around us had pretty high expectations of what our wedding day would look like, maybe because we are both working in creative jobs and are surrounded by wonderful vendors all the time. We dived right into the abundance of inspiration, hoping to feel the same excitement about this event than everyone around us. Looking at beautiful blogs, magazines and of course Instagram and Pinterest, there was all this deliciousness from amazing fellow vendors, beautifully photographed.Lost in a picture perfect Pinterest wedding world filled with DIY projects, services and products we felt that most of it was meaningless and irrelevant to us personally. Were we over-inspired? Was all the goodness just too much to take and overwhelming? Ok, back to the drawing board...we took a deep breath, pen and paper and made notes about the things that really mattered to us. We focused on why we wanted a wedding in the first place and who we really wanted to share this special day with. We made a must-have and nice-to-have list to keep us on track and stick to our own ideas. The outcome was a clear feeling and a blurry vision of a small, intimate wedding, with our nearest and dearest including our puppy Dalston, a “on-holiday- feel” with lot's of fun, eating and dancing. We wanted it to be low key and high fun. We strongly felt less is more. No need for a theme or a colour scheme. What we DID need was a place that made us and our guests feel welcome, plenty of food, good music, drinks and some simple off-the-rack outfits. Easier said than done... Many of the “alternative” venues we contacted seemed to be colder than expected and replied with way too many rules, regulations and restrictions than my free spirited self could digest. Our must have list quickly ruled out pretty much any venue within NSW and it seemed like the only option left was camping- no wait, even the campsite did not allow dogs. (Besides that my lovely future mother in law would possibly be mad at me forever if I make her camp on our wedding.) While we really stuck to our guns with the venue and overall feel, we gave in at other points of planning. The “don't-care-ready-to-wear” dress idea turned into a custom design couture gown (whoops...). As my former fashion designer self took over and I rediscovered how much fun the process of creating it from scratch would be, there was no turning back from the quality fabrics and great craftsmanship. Turned out that overall trying to keeping it simple and real is sometimes harder than just going with a more traditional option. Letting the magic of wedding planning take over from time to time actually feels good. Now we can't wait.

... if you are planning a wedding too: Grab yourself an issue of White Magazine!

Holistic Bridal Beauty Prep: Hack For Happiness & Radiance

Don't we all want to be the best version of ourselves on our wedding day?

Besides getting fit, looking after your skin, getting healthy shiny hair and beautiful nails there is one more element to my bridal beauty prep. And this is possibly the most important for me: MEDITATION and self care. I want to feel happy and relaxed on the day, I want to be patient with my family and my partner. I want to feel comfortable in my skin, I want to be healthy and filled with energy. Marriage is a new exciting chapter in life and I want to feel ready for it.

In my job I have seen many brides that have burnt themselves out in the lead up to the wedding. Which so upsetting to see. Brides with severe breakouts, flu, colds, anxiety, stomach issues or anger and emotion overload, deprived of sleep and feeling anything but beautiful.

Just as important as our beauty routines are our thoughts and beliefs. We all know that stress can cause breakouts and other problematic skin conditions, therefore it is super important to take time out for little self love rituals along the way. Take a deep breath and take my advice: You can not afford NOT to do this. Meditation will change your life for the better. Taking only a few minutes a day it's the quick fix you have been waiting for. The benefits are even scientifically proven,just in case you are skeptic.

Benefits for the physical body:

 

Lowers high blood pressure Lowers the levels of blood lactate, reducing anxiety attacks Decreases any tension-related pain, such as, tension headaches, ulcers, insomnia, muscle and joint problems Increases serotonin production that improves mood and behavior Improves the immune system Increases the energy level, as you gain an inner source of energy

 

Meditation is probably the easiest and most amazing way to prevent stress from manifesting in your body. If you have trouble quieting your mind it can be a good idea to exercise prior to meditation. This is a great way to release tension first so that you can really relax during your quiet time. Another perfect time is first thing in the morning when you get out of bed. Meditation truly improves your stress related skin issues and overall helps to find your true and positive self image.

Mental Benefits of Meditation

Anxiety decreases Emotional stability improves Creativity increases Happiness increases Intuition develops Gain clarity and peace of mind Problems become smaller Meditation sharpens the mind by gaining focus and expands through relaxation A sharp mind without expansion causes tension, anger and frustration An expanded consciousness without sharpness can lead to lack of action/progress The balance of a sharp mind and an expanded consciousness brings perfection

In my freelance schedule it can be tough to take time out for myself, so believe me, I know it is a big commitment when you are busy, but it will serve you and save time in the long term. I found out that I just simply can't sign up for any regular classes, as my schedule changes often with very little notice. I signed up for an online yoga channel, which is genius. I can practice whenever I want, right here in my living room, which works extremely well for me. They also have great meditations and overall info on their website. I am sure there are many great similar sites, this is the one we are using: Gaia. Yes, my man uses it too. :)

If you are happier to join a live class, do a little search in your local area and ask around for recommendations. There are also some great guided meditations online for free or you can buy some audios by teachers that speak to you. You can also simply sit in stillness by yourself without any guidance, but most beginners find that a little tricky to start of with. Have you tried meditation yet? Feel free to share your experience.