2013

Wishing you good health, happiness, and success in the coming year and always .May joy, peace, and harmony be yours throughout the year ahead. Have a blissful New Year

What Is Your Core Strategy For 2013

Why You Should Wake-up Earlier

I read an amazing article on why you should get up earlier. As you know, the first hours of the day are crucial to the rest of your day. Not just the first hours.. actually i’d like to say the first 10 minutes will make up how the rest of your day will go. Wake-up with a positive mind-set and your day will amazingly..full of happiness and peacefulness. Wake-up with negative thoughts and you will miss opportunities in front of you, lose your temper and you know the rest.
The most successful people know how to leverage those early hours to accomplish more. Studies have shown that early risers are more likely to be optimistic, have better performance, greater career success and higher wages.

Here are the morning routines of 10 successful people that I hope will inspire you:
1. Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief, Vogue
The infamous fashion editor wakes up every day pre-dawn to get her adrenaline pumping. At 6:45 a.m., she’s already played an hour of tennis, then it’s off to have her hair styled into her signature bob. She’s in the office by 9 a.m.

2. David Karp, founder, Tumblr
At 25 years old, Karp is the founder and CEO of Tumblr, a growing microblogging platform that has reached over 26.9 million users. As demanding as his schedule is, Karp makes sure he doesn’t check his email until he gets in the office around 9:30 a.m. As quoted in Inc. Magazine, “Reading e-mails at home never feels good or productive . If something urgently needs my attention, someone will call or text me.”

3. Tony Robbins, self-help writer and motivational speaker
As a self-help guru, Robbins helps motivate people to become better leaders and achieve greater success. He says that the thing that changed his life was when he decided he wasn’t living up to his standard, so he changed his habits and way of thinking. His advice is to do an “Hour of Power ” every morning, which includes motivational sayings and visualization.

4. Matt Ouimet, president and CEO, Cedar Fair Entertainment Company
Ouimet was president of Disneyland Resort then Starwood Hotels & Resorts before becoming CEO of the North American amusement park company. Like many CEOs, he wakes up early to get a head start at work. He’s at the office by 6 a.m., when it’s quiet, to answer emails.

5. Craig Newmark, founder,Craigslist
The internet entrepreneur founded the classified advertisement website that has grown to service over 50 countries since 1995. According to a Fast Companyarticle, Newmark starts his day focusing on customer service and answering complaints, which he says anchors him to reality.
6. Obie Mackenzie, managing director, BlackRock
The award-winning business executive spends 84 minutes every morning chatting with his wife on their morning commute. He says, “It keeps us connected all day.”

7. Steve Reinemund, former Chairman and CEO, Pepsi
According to What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast , the now business school dean does a four mile run at 5 a.m. every morning, followed by prayer, reading the news and breakfast with his teenage kids.

8. Michelle Gass, president, Starbucks
For over 15 years, the coffee queen has woken up each morning at 4:30 a.m. to go running. She believes her morning routine has helped boost her happiness and business success .

9. Steve Jobs, late Apple CEO
Jobs spent his mornings re-evaluating his work and desires. In his speech to a graduating class at Stanford , Jobs said, “For the past 33 years I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: ‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?’ And whenever the answer has been ‘No’ for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.”

10. Jane Francisco, editor-in-chief, Chatelaine
Jane wakes up every morning at 6:30 a.m. and spends half an hour doing work before her son wakes up at 7 a.m. Between 7 a.m. and 7:30 a.m., she spends quality time with her son (cuddles in bed!) before getting him dressed and ready herself. By 8:30 a.m., she’s out the door for a 9 a.m. office start.

By Caroline Cakebread

Red Velvet Cake History

Often used as an alternative to the traditional birthday cake, the classic red velvet cake is a rich, layered dessert consisting of a mild chocolate flavor with a distinctive red color, and white frosting that both fills between the layers and covers the cake, usually made of cream cheese or butter cream.

The Mystery of the Red Velvet Cake Origin

The true origin of the Red Velvet Cake is a mystery. The earliest story or documentation involving this decadent chocolate cake was believed to be around 1959, when a woman dining at the elegant Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York City was served the dessert. She was so pleased with this early Red Velvet Cake that she asked for the recipe. The kitchen obliged to her request, but she found out later she was charged $100 (or $200, depending on the version of the story) for the recipe itself.

To get her revenge on the NYC Hotel, she shared the kitchen’s Red Velvet Cake recipe in the form of chain letters, which she sent to hundreds of individuals, therefore exposing the “secret” and exploding the popularity of and demand for the Red Velvet Cake as a birthday cake and elegant dessert.

Although it’s possible that the first recipe for the Red Velvet Cake was created at the Waldorf Astoria, others believe that its story began at the bakery of the Eaton’s department store in Canada, even though the first Eaton’s documentation appeared in a 1961 newspaper announcing the “new” Red Velvet Cake, which would position Eaton’s as the second “founder” of this desired dessert.

Still others say that it is a U.S. Southern creation that grew into a tradition, spurring hundreds of bakers and dessert enthusiasts to dive into the recipe and adapt it to craft their own, custom-made version of the ruby colored cake to use as their own birthday cakes, or to be featured in their bakeries.

Today's Red Velvet Cake Popularity

 Regardless of where it first appeared, the Red Velvet Cake is suddenly all the rage. If they didn’t already offer it at one time, bakeries all over the United States are beginning to add this treat to their dessert and birthday cake menus, tweaking the original recipe to fit their own personal style, and attempting to keep up with the demand. In New York City, the Red Velvet Cake is threatening to take over the cheesecake’s place as the traditional city cake favorite.

February 29.... Wedding

I am so excited to be having a February wedding. I would like to have my wedding on 2/29/2012. I just love the idea of a winter wedding, with all of your wedding pictures including snow :)

 February is such a rare month for weddings/anniversaries/birthdays it's so awesome I love it! Also, i've heard the prices are lower, so why would anyone want to go for something cliché

Try something different from everyone else, that is my advice for everyone! I'm sure i'll be one of the only people who is getting married in February 29, just because it's a very original idea - but I just love Feb…. Sahsa Abdullah

Having a New Years Eve Wedding

Here are some ideas to make it as festive and memorable as possible!

There cannot be a more a romantic way to ring in a new year than with a celebration of marriage! We put together some ideas and tips to help plan your New Years Eve Wedding.
Attire:
Have your guests wear their most elegant attire by making it a special black tie event. The bride would look beautiful wearing a Long Satin Gown with shimmering sequins and a glittery tiara. The bridesmaids can wear long black velvet gowns and the groomsmen in all black tuxedos.

Flowers:

All red roses are an elegant choice for a black tie event, you can also mix in some white roses too.

Invitations:

Send out "save the date" cards as soon as you know the date, and send out your invites three months in advance instead of two just to give your guests plenty of time since it is a holiday.
For the invitation style, choose white and gold or white and silver. Also to make the wording special by adding a phrase like, "A new year, a new beginning" or "A countdown to the rest of our lives"

Favors:

Small bottles of champagne with personalized labels, chocolate covered fortune cookies with a new years fortune, a cd with your favorite hits from the past year with a personalized label, bells with a label that says "ring in the new year with your names", have someone take each guests instant photo as they arrive and place the photo in a personalized frame for them to take home with them when they leave.

Colors:

New years eve colors are typically black and silver or gold and silver.

Decorations:

To make a festive atmosphere, place noise makers , Party hats , candles, and confetti on the tables. Place balloons, white lights, and glittery snowflakes throughout. Place a large clock right behind the DJ to countdown, or have a large screen tv to watch the ball drop! Also, place balloons in netting over the dancefloor to drop down at the stroke of midnight.

Time:

Try to make it a late event, starting around 8:00pm. You want your guests to stay through the stroke of midnight to ring in the new year!

Food:

If you decide to serve a full meal, remind guests to have something light to eat before the event since they will be eating dinner later than usual(if your event starts at 8PM), but let them know you will be serving a full meal and to come hungry!

You may want to skip having a full meal and opt for hot appetizers offered throughout the night. You can serve hot wings, chicken/beef sticks, scallops and bacon, etc. Or, you can have stations set up so guests can help themselves.

Be sure to have plenty of coffee available throughout the night, or consider a coffee station when serving dessert.

These are just a few ideas to make your New Years Eve wedding special, but there are so many more possibilities to use your own creativity to add something unique to your special day.