Spotlight on the Asian-Themed Wedding

Written by Blake Kritzberg


Asian-themed weddings are onrepparttar rise, and at first this might come as a surprise. After all, nothing could seem further fromrepparttar 130773 Laura Ashley vision we get when thinking of a wedding.

And in fact, that's one ofrepparttar 130774 forces behindrepparttar 130775 rising popularity ofrepparttar 130776 Asian-themed wedding: how it turns things upside-down. In fact, in a Chinese-style wedding, white is bad (it'srepparttar 130777 color of death) and red and black are good (they'rerepparttar 130778 colors of luck and prosperity).

You might wonder whether brides that plan Asian-themed weddings are Asian (or marrying someone who is). The answer is, sometimes. Surprisingly often, they aren't, andrepparttar 130779 choice is purely aesthetic.

Today's trends break down into two main types of Asian-themed weddings:repparttar 130780 Japanese or "Zen" style, which values simplicity and nature, andrepparttar 130781 more riotous Chinese style, which bristles with bright colors and shiny fabrics.

Although either choice may surprise some older guests,repparttar 130782 bride may find her personal values deeply expressed inrepparttar 130783 Asian-themed wedding. After all,repparttar 130784 usual wedding is a certain kind of pageant:repparttar 130785 couple pretends to be royalty for a day, and lavishly entertain a large party - seemingly without a care, though they rack up huge debt to do so.

Brides drawn torepparttar 130786 Zen-style ceremony often want to avoidrepparttar 130787 "royalty pageant" and simplifyrepparttar 130788 ceremony (ironically, this can result in greater elegance forrepparttar 130789 price tag). This type of bride might read "voluntary simplicity" books, care aboutrepparttar 130790 environment, enjoy an uncluttered house or apartment with a handful of Japanese accents (Shoji lanterns and screens, for example) and find herself attracted to natural materials. She may feel freed by a simpler wedding gown, and carry an unfussy bouquet of calla lilies. Her centerpieces might be lanterns surrounded by black and white stones. For favors, she might give out fortune cookies placed in take-out boxes and topped off with chopsticks.

Simple Weight Loss

Written by Heather Moreno, PeopleFit USA


Did you know that weight loss (and weight gain) is simple mathematics? For example, if you were to eat an extra 100 calories per day you would gain 10 lbs in one year. The good news is thatrepparttar opposite holds true too – burn 100 calories more per day than what you take in and byrepparttar 130771 end ofrepparttar 130772 year you can lose 10 lb. But why is it so much harder to lose weight than to gain it? Because it takes a matter of minutes (sometimes seconds) to eat 100 calories, but longer to burn it off.

Looking atrepparttar 130773 big picture of losing say 30 or 40 pounds can feel daunting, so give yourself a break. That is, break your goal down into small doable pieces. Accumulate a 100 calorie deficit per day – burn 100 calories more than you consume – and you will lose 10 pounds byrepparttar 130774 end ofrepparttar 130775 year. Double that and you’ve lost 20! It’s easier than you might think.

First, do you ever eat something just because it’s there? You can eat a couple hundred calories and not even realize it. The mayo or dressing on a deli sandwich,repparttar 130776 butter served withrepparttar 130777 bread basket or a cookie fromrepparttar 130778 office lunch room… before you know it you’ve eaten 100 calories. Pay attention to condiments and cheese that are added to most sandwiches. If you can take it or leave it, leave it. Watch out for snack plates atrepparttar 130779 office or home. It’s easy to eat 100 calories or more when you’re not even hungry. Look at your eating habits to see where you can carve unwanted items. My motto is, eat when you’re hungry and make it worthrepparttar 130780 calories!

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