Choosing Your Ideal Wedding Flowers

As well as everything else to be planned for your big day, you need to choose your wedding flowers, which for many brides is one of the most enjoyable selections they get to make while arranging their wedding. While some women prefer to have a very personalized bridal bouquet, others see their wedding flowers as a chance to keep their overall wedding theme running through every aspect of the ceremony.

A wedding bouquet is the finishing touch to your bridal dress, and a well designed one will enhance your ensemble, bring out your best features and coloring and complement your bridesmaid dresses as well. Wedding flowers are also one of the most prominent features in photographs, so make sure you are happy with them as they will be in your memory for a long time.

There are whole galleries online of wedding flower ideas to help inspire you, and some places allow you to buy bridal bouquets online directly for delivery on the day, which can be very convenient and cost-effective. There are plenty of forums and florists on the Internet which can give you starting points for flower arrangements and color ideas, and you can also look at photos of other weddings, bridal magazines and even in the window of your local florist to get your imagination going.

If you have a wedding theme idea, think how to integrate that into your bridal bouquet and other flowers. For example, you could add some shells to a beach wedding theme, or some sprigs of holly for a Christmas wedding theme. For colors, it is a good idea to have a swatch of your bridesmaid dresses to make sure you can get matching or complementing colors for both the blooms themselves and any wraps or ribbons.

You might want to pick one or two types of special flowers which you would like to feature; perhaps they have a special meaning for you or are associated with memories of yourself and your groom, or others in your family. However it is still a good idea to work within the seasons depending on when you are having your wedding party. Although popular choices like roses and lilies are usually available all year, many other flowers are seasonal so prices will fluctuate. If you want an out of season flower in your bridal bouquet you could have it imported but this can be very expensive so it is best to stick to locally sourced blooms if you can.

Recreating Vintage Fashion Styles

Vintage clothing is all the rage having gone from being a quirky trend to mainstream fashion. The celebs are doing it and so the masses have turned to it too.

To do the vintage look right you’ve got to have the makeup to match the clothes. If you don’t pay attention to what works on the makeup side of things, you could end up looking like a vintage disaster. Take a look at this guide to see how to successfully pull-off the complete vintage look.

Vintage Fashion Has Gone Mainstream

The world of fashion has fallen in love with the vintage look all over again. Models strut in exotic and elaborate vintage designs and designers are doing their best to create the old-fashioned feel by designing vintage clothes and accessories.

Vintage fashion does not stop there. Even makeup is getting the vintage makeover. Every decade has its own makeup trends and vintage fashion is now incorporating the appropriate trend to get the perfect look.

Retro glamour is the coolest thing now and celebrities like Adele and Dita Von Teese have popularized old-fashioned makeup and vintage trends for the masses.

It All Began In The 1920s

Makeup became a popular phenomenon in the 1920s. This era was characterized by the Flapper style, featuring a pale look contrasted by bright red lips. This vintage trend was punctuated with kohl eye-shadow and mascara for the dark eyes.

The 1920s was also the age of glorious rebellion. Models wore scandalously short hemlines rising to the knees in Boardwalk Empire shows. Women began showing off not just their legs, but their arms and hips also. Do not be stingy with the lipstick and eye-shadow when trying to recreate the vintage fashion look of the 1920s.

1930s – The Sophisticated Look Is In

The 30s saw makeup becoming more sophisticated and refined. Bow-shaped lips went out of fashion and focusing on the upper lip became the next vintage trend. The upper eyelashes received generous quantities of eye-shadow while the lower ones were left untouched. Pencil-thin eyebrows made sure that the heavy and made up look of the 20s was replaced by something more elegant.

The simple and sophisticated look dominated Hollywood, symbolized by the glamorous long gowns that helped enhance the overall elegant and sensual feel of vintage fashion in the 30s.

1940s – Functional Styling

Not surprisingly, vintage fashion in the 1940s was dominated by the military look. Dark foundation makeup and strong eyebrows were in vogue. Light red with a hint of orange was preferred for the lips.

1950s Vintage Fashion Gets A Makeover

The 50s saw Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn give way to Parisian couture trends dominated by designers like Jacques Fath, Balenciaga and Dior.

Post war, the feminine look was back in fashion and pink dominated the vintage makeup trends. Lips were given a voluptuous look with rouge and pastel colors applied with a lip liner to extend the natural border of the mouth.

How To Approach Vintage Fashion

If you are thinking of replicating vintage fashion trends, then make sure you choose your decade carefully.

The secret to making a success of any fashion style is to make sure you are comfortable with how you look, especially when venturing to new territory. Don’t be afraid to try new styles like the vintage look, but be sure that you still feel good. Any lack in confidence about your appearance will convey itself in your demeanour and is sure to result in failure.

3 Easy Steps To Learn English Grammar With Mini-Stories

While most English students struggle to learn English grammar, mini-stories instantly turned Rinaldo Guerreiro into a fluent English speaker. Now an English speaking maven, this former English student of mine now teaches others students just like himself in several different English schools. And he now creates his own mini-stories to teach his English students.

Junior is not a language geek. He was not ‘holed’ up in a cave 14 hours a day to learn English. He is just a normal, small-town person his English students can relate to. You too, can become an English speaking maven — and even teach others too — when you follow my grammar learning strategies below.

My Fool-Proof Plan to Mastering English Grammar With Mini-Stories
There are two major problems that English students face when studying grammar. The first is they spend way too much time focusing on the exceptions and waste time that could be used more profitably.

The second problem is that when they want to talk in English, they have to pause to remember all the rules and exceptions to the rules before they can say anything. That kills your fluency and makes you stumble over your words and sentences.

Using mini-stories and following these three simple steps will help you overcome both of these problems that most English students face with a single blow.

Step 1: Listen To Your English Mini-Story
Once you have a mini-story that focuses on the English grammar structure that you want to learn, you need to listen to it many times. This will allow you to begin assimilating the grammar structure before you begin to study the grammar rules. This will make it much easier to understand.

Listen to your English mini-story several times a day. And do this for several days. It is important that you understand the story well and grasp its internal structure implicitly before you try to memorize any of the rules. Otherwise the rules just won’t make sense.

Instead you want to use the grammar rules to explain what you have already seen in the story because that is how children learn to speak their mother-tongue. First they learn how to talk. Then they go to school to study grammar. So, why learn English any differently?

Step 2: Study Your Grammar Lesson
So, after you have listened to the mini-story several times and understand it, now it is time to study your grammar lesson. Now this is where most English student make the fatal mistake of getting bogged down in the details.

Most want to learn all the rules and exceptions to each rule…and waste lots of time where it isn’t profitable. At this point in you English learning process you want to speak English fluently like a native. And native speakers make lots of ‘grammar’ mistakes…which means that if you speak too perfectly you won’t sound like a native.

There is nothing wrong with that…if you are the head English professor in some fancy language university where you want to impress everyone. But if you’re like 99% of the English students I know — you just want to be able to express yourself clearly and easily.

So, don’t get bogged down in the details and all the exceptions to the grammar rules. Instead of spending weeks trying to learn how the grammar doesn’t work…you can spend just five minutes watching a quick video to understand how it does work.

Focusing on the basics…means that you can spend your effort and energy on what is most important — developing your fluency.

Step 3: Do Your Grammar Exercises
Now that you understand the basic concepts of the grammar structure…it’s time to put your skills into practice. So, this is where you want to do some basic English grammar exercises.

Not only will you be practicing what you are learning…but you will also be testing yourself which means that you will be able to evaluate if you really understood what you learned correctly.

Okay! I know I promised you three steps…but I wanted to give you an extra bonus step here that will really help you master the grammar structures that you are learning.

Bonus Step: Listen To The Grammar Mini-Story
For best results when learning something, you must compare it to something else. That way you can look at the similarities and differences between each one. So, what I always recommend that you do is listen to your original mini-story again…but this time with a different grammar structure.

For example, if your original mini-story was in the present continuous…you would now want to hear it in the past continuous or the present perfect. That way you can observe what changes between the structures and what remains the same.

Follow these steps, and you will master the English grammar structures quickly and easily so you can speak English fluently and proficiently like a native speaker in the least amount of time.

Is It Safe To Use Natural Health Medicine On Toddlers?

Most parents who have toddlers know how often they come home from kindergarten or day care with a runny nose.

That is because our children often catch illnesses from other children in these closed environments. This is why administering natural health medicine on your toddler can be beneficial in more than one way; not only will it help cure those minor illnesses that appear from time to time, but it will also bolster your child’s immune system to prevent them before they even take root.

Natural health medicine can give your toddler that extra boost he needs to avoid illness. Natural health medicine is made in a way that ensures that the growing toddler recovers fast and is not held down by the common cold or runny nose.

In addition to being really effective, they rarely have any side effects, which as a parent is good to know. Most of them are based on soothing the body and will not make your toddler tired or sleepy.

But because they are ill, their bodies will need the rest so that they can recover quickly. Natural health medicine will also make them less prone to getting ill, which as a parent is definitely good news.

It is hard having a sick toddler because all you want to do is to take the pain away from them. And natural health medicine will help you do that so that your toddler is back on their feet in no time at all.

They will feel more energetic to continue exploring the wonders of the world; and their bodies will be able to sustain anything that they might throw at it.

A little research in the natural health medicine department will only be a benefit to you and your toddler.

Defining Your Personal Style

You may be wondering what exactly “personal style” means. Although the term extends far beyond clothes, we are referring to it in the context of fashion. Personal style is an artistic expression of yourself and your personality through appearance.

Each of us is unique. We have our own opinions, ideas and thoughts. That’s why finding your personal fashion style is important to create that distinctive look.

Creating your own personal style is one way to show people who are you, it’s like building your own brand. The clothes you wear say a lot about your personality. You want to create a look that is true about you to attract the people and attention that you want. Trends go in and out but your own personal style is something that defies the latest fad and endures over time.

Here are some tips to help you define your personal style:

Although everyone has personal style, not everyone knows how to express it. Think of the ideal you. Combine your taste, lifestyle, interest, desires, inspirations, aspiration and history together.

Next, try thinking of some words that you would use to describe yourself to someone who doesn’t know you or think of how you would like others to describe you. For instance, are you Conservative? Outgoing? Direct? Romantic? I call these your “style words.”

For instance, if you are especially romantic, you will probably find yourself drawn to ultra-feminine, tailored blouses and other items that have delicate lace, beading and handwork.

Now, take a look at your clothes. Do they match your personality or your “style words”? If so, you have defined your personal style. If not, you might need to go through the next step. Go through magazines such as Elle, InStyle, Marie Clare, Lucky, Harper’s Bazaar and even department store catalogs. Circle clothes and outfits that appeal to you. Now, using your words from above, determine if the clothes you like match those words or your personality. Go to the store, try on clothes that you think align with your personality. You will slowly begin to see how to make clothing choices that fit who you are.

By simply knowing what works for you will make your “what to wear” morning decision fun and easy. It will increase your feelings of confidence as you show the world who you really are. Having your own personal style allows you to set the trends among your friends. Being fashionable allows you to exude confidence and “own” whatever makes you look and feel your best.

Remember to have fun personalizing your unique look. Don’t be afraid to experiment a little and to be creative.

Every woman deserves to look Fashionable, Confident and Stylish. Are you ready to be “The Stylish You”?

Children Caring For Parents and Avoiding Medical Errors

Children caring for parents often assist in keeping track of their parent’s health records. This can be a daunting task as many seniors see multiple physicians who may prescribe several medications for a variety of conditions. Keeping good medication and medical records can help prevent dangerous medical and medication errors. Sometimes they do this by hiring a caregiver to come to their home, but others will often drop their parents off at a senior daycare on the way to their job and pick them up at days end.

There are many in home care services that are offered by independent companies who most often have to be licensed to provide senior assistance services in the home.

Those assisting seniors can help them keep an updated medication list (including over the counter medications) on a computer or in a notebook. An updated list makes it easier for everyone since the first question most doctors ask for is the patient’s list of medications and any changes since they were last seen. Even if they are not available for every appointment, the caregiver can ask about any changes and update and print this list for their parent. Expiration might also be followed to avoid trying to get a renewal for a much needed prescription.

Another good record those providing parent care will want to keep is a good medical history that includes conditions, past surgeries, hospitalizations, Dr.’s names numbers and emergency contact information. These types of lists are vital for emergency visits as well.

They can take these lists to every Dr.’s appointment along with a list of any other issues they or their family may want to address. These simple steps empower the medical professionals providing geriatric care, those caring for their parents and most importantly the seniors themselves.

Online Babysitting Services: How Do They Work and How To Choose The Right One For You

So you need someone to watch your children and have decided to look into online babysitting services. However, there are so many to choose from, including Sittercity, Care, Care4Hire.com, GoNannies, AuPairCare and 4Sitters.com, that it is overwhelming. To find the best fit for you and your family, you need to check out an assortment of sites. Each one will vary in everything from their fees and services, to their applicant filtering system and reputation, to the number of caregivers in their database. Some even provide contact information for pet sitters, housekeepers, tutors and eldercare services.

There are two ways in which online babysitting services work. With the first method, parents post a job and then the sitters who are interested and nearby contact them. This may be done via email or telephone. The parents can then respond accordingly. With the other method, parents can look at the profiles of potential babysitters and then contact the best ones. When searching, you get immediate access to babysitters. Simply type in your zip code and a list of local sitters pops up. When you click on a sitter, you may get a brief bit of information or their entire profile.

Some sites will let you preview and look for sitters without registering, so you can see the options. However, if you want to get the contact information, you need to be a member. Subscriptions may be paid for on a monthly or yearly basis. The best sites will give you a free trial period, perhaps for a week, so you can try it out first. If you like it, you often have to pay an initial registration fee, in addition to the subscription costs.

Be aware that not all sites do the same things. Some may simply interview the babysitters to create a profile but do not check references. Others provide the option of doing extensive background checks. However, it may cost extra or require you to increase your membership level. The best sites will have a multi-step screening process. In addition, the online babysitting services should have comments or referrals from people the caregivers have worked for in the past.

Most online babysitting sites also have a search filter that lets the parents narrow down the candidates. For instance, if you have a child with special needs, you can locate a babysitter who has previous experience with this type of child or someone with specific medical certifications. This search filter will help you save time. They can also help you find back-up sitters at the last minute, in case the scheduled sitter gets sick or you get an unexpected dinner invitation. Some sites, like Sittercity, even offer nannycam and video monitoring options.

Alternative Health Treatment – 5 Questions and Answers

1. Why should I look at alternative health treatment as a realistic remedy for my ailment?

While Western medicine has advanced closely in tandem with knowledge of and experimentation with drugs as a way of treating disease and illness.

It’s not surprising, therefore, that it relies heavily on drugs and medications for treating disease. But drugs and medications are not natural to the human body, and invariably there are side-effects, often harmful.

Alternative health treatment is based wholly on natural cures not involving drugs or manufactured or processed materials. As such, it is invariably accepted by the body without resistance, so no energy is wasted in fighting it. It’s like swimming with the current rather than against it.

Besides, alternative health treatment has an excellent record in curing people of illness and disease, arguably a better record than Western medicine.

2. How does alternative health treatment differ in essentials from orthodox medical treatment?

Orthodox Western medicine depends largely on the administering of drugs and medicines, and unnatural procedures such as chemotherapy for cancer victims. It focuses largely on the symptoms rather than the underlying cause. A typical example is the taking of pain killers to cure a headache.

Alternative medicine acknowledges that the natural state of the body is one of good health, and that the body, mind and spirit are closely connected. It recognizes that all these components of the whole need to be in balance, and treats illness as a sign that they are out of balance. It therefore works to restore the natural balance and, thereby, good health. A headache would be cured by direct action on the area affected, e.g. by acupressure techniques.

3. Why don’t doctors and surgeons give more weight to alternative health treatment, and why hasn’t it made more progress in being accepted by the medical establishment?

The medical establishment consists largely of doctors and surgeons. Put yourself in the position of a doctor or surgeon. You spent seven gruelling and expensive years qualifying and passing difficult exams, and working long hours for at best mediocre pay. You now have an encyclopedic knowledge of medicines and medical drugs and procedures, and are enjoying a financially rewarding career in medicine.

Then you learn there is an alternative system of medicine based on herbs, and practices such as acupuncture that claim to be able to deal with medical conditions better than the medicine you learned at such cost in money and time. What would your feelings be towards these alternative medicines?

4. Isn’t alternative health treatment rooted in the past, and modern Western medicine with all its advanced technology the way ahead?

What matters more than anything else is what treatment will effectively cure your own particular ailment.

Just because skills such as acupuncture, acupressure and yoga have been practiced for thousands, of years in the Far East it doesn’t mean they are any less relevant today. On the contrary, it is evidence of their effectiveness.

Western medicine may have all the modern gleaming technology, but it is still a system developed and administered by humans and subject to all their faults and failings. Yes, it can and does produce some astonishing and greatly beneficial results, such as transplant surgery and artificial limbs, but in the case of common ailments and complaints, sometimes the simple methods are the best.

5. Which alternative health treatment is best – herbal, physical contact type treatment such as acupuncture or chiropractic, or supplements such as oils and enzymes?

It’s horses for courses. Different kinds of treatment best suit different kinds of illness. A general malaise, such as weight loss or gain, can often best be treated through a change in diet and the administration of herbal remedies, plus an exercise regime, whereas constant muscular pain such as back ache is best treated by someone like a chiropractor or osteopath, who can manipulate the bones and muscles so as to remove the root cause of the pain.

Fashion Tips For Men Over 40

When you hit age 40, there is a good chance you will feel like you have a fulfilling and secure lifestyle. You feel secure about your career, your family, and even your style. Your unique sense of fashion may not be as secure as you think though. Over the past 20 years or so, styles have changed constantly, but you believe you have chosen a timeless and classic style to wear. However, even though the suits, chinos, and patterns you wore five years ago might have rocked, do they still work today?

Tips For Men’s Fashion

Finding the right sense of fashion after all these years can be difficult. Here are a few tips you should consider when you are trying to figure out if your style is right for today’s society.

  • Avoid the Fads – You have most likely seen ‘the best’ styles changes constantly from year to year. Even in today’s world, there are fashion marketing campaigns, urging you to dress a certain way. Don’t fall for these ploys. By the time you are 40, your style should be timeless, not set in time. Most fads are aimed at certain age demographics, so many of them may not even work well for your age group. For instance, you would probably not look great wearing light up sneakers and a pair of skinny jeans with holes in the knees, even if every magazine is telling you that is what is in style.
  • Business vs Style – Even though your crisp dress shirt, silk tie, and two piece navy blue herringbone suit is the epitome of fashion in the workplace, it may not be the best option for fun after hours and on the weekends. Don’t confuse the two. Instead of strutting through a club or nice restaurant in your suit, choose a nice pair of chinos and a blazer.
  • Let the Past Go – While it may be tempting to celebrate when old fashions come back in style, don’t be fooled into pulling out your old wardrobe from the back of the closet. Chances are, these fashions are not exactly what they used to be. They typically have been updated to make them more contemporary and stylish.
  • Simplify It – One of the best fashion tips for men over 40 is keeping your wardrobe simple. Gone are the days of being flamboyant. Leave that style for men in their 20s and 30s. Your style should now be timeless, subdued, and sophisticated. Keep a clean and simple appearance as well. Your clothes should also be crisp and impeccable.
  • Be Proud Of You – If you really want to look great during your 40s, be proud of your age and your looks. Don’t try to stay in your 20s and adopt that generation’s style. Wearing age-appropriate fitted clothing and keeping yourself well-groomed is the best way to show off your masculine sophistication and your extraordinary sense of style.

Styles come and go, so it is best not to fall for every new fad that comes along. Whether you are wearing a nice pair of chinos or a savvy suit, you can maintain your own fashionable style, age gracefully, and remain timeless.

Don’t Put Off Researching For The Right Family Healthcare Plan

Family health care plans or insurance can be extremely beneficial to the well being of the people you care the most about. Let’s be honest, our health is very important to us and as we age it becomes vitally important that we spend some time thoroughly researching the health insurance providers in order to find a family healthcare plan that protects the interest of our family’s health without costing us a fortune in health insurance premiums or monthly rates.

There are several reasons why researching a family healthcare plan is a good idea. First and foremost as I’m sure you are aware more and more companies are downsizing or eliminating the benefits they provide their employees. Unfortunately, reducing or completely doing away with health care benefits has become the norm as opposed to an exception to the rule. For this very reason it is imperative that you spend quality time now finding an adequate family healthcare plan that will provide outstanding family health insurance to your most precious of assets.

Guess what, accidents happen and they do so with enough frequency that should you need to take a trip to the emergency room or to the doctor’s office it’s better if you go knowing that you have a family healthcare plan that has you covered and will take care of any medical or health related bills that appear as a result of the hospitalization required due to the accident.

Being financially strapped for cash is no picnic and can be very stressful for many consumers. Having a family healthcare plan allows you to put aside any financial worries you may have in the event you find yourself or a family member needing attention or treatment at a local hospital. Having proper health insurance also affords you the opportunity to save money for other needed necessities in life because you won’t have to worry about having to cover any medical expenses or bills that may come up due to receiving medical attention from a hospital or doctor.

As you do your online research in order to find a family healthcare plan that fits your needs, wants and desires you will be able to compare price quotes between several different health insurance providers or companies. Always make sure to look at deductible costs, prescription costs and of course the doctor’s that you can choose to seek future medical treatment from. The time you invest in finding the best family healthcare plan will save you money and aggravation in all of your future medical emergencies.