Traditional weddings typically have the ceremony in a church, synagogue, temple or in a designated place in a banquet hall. However there are many different venue locations to have a wedding ceremony and reception.

Cavern and Caves – Wouldn’t it be lovely to celebrate the official marriage of you and your partner inside of mother earth? If you’ve ever visited a cave or cavern they typically have tour guides that walk you through and show you around. Some places have areas designed for couples to be married. There is usually beautiful lighting set up already to showcase the caves key features and you can pretty much hold off on decorating with the natural lovely formations  such as the hanging icicle-like stalactites from the top of the cave and spiraling stalagmites that rise up from the ground.

If you are preparing for your wedding day and you are the bride to be, choosing a dress can be a little stressful but also a lot a of fun. All eyes will be on you – and –  you’ll only be having this experience one time (well, hopefully!) With an eye for beauty, design and fashion, some of the most lovely wedding dresses I’ve seen have been made of silk and satin fabrics like chiffon and charmeuse. These fabric types especially on gowns and dresses flows elegantly and flatter the form of a woman’s body especially as she moves in it making her graceful and absolutely stunning.

We all have different body types but we all want to look lovely on our wedding day. Whether you are curvaceous and voluptuous, large around the waist and mid section or extremely thin there is a wedding dress made for you.

Straight neckline lace top with an open back and a layered chiffon skirt with a silk ribbon tied around the waist

It’s really easy to make natural hygiene products using a few simple ingredients that is better for health as you know what its made from and has less artificial ingredients plus it is more cost efficient and better for you too!

It can be a real challenge to get your little ones to eat healthy snacks especially when the bad stuff comes in such colorful and entertaining packages. I mean, have you ever seen those cereal boxes? The back of the box features games, cartoons and other fun things – it even makes me want to eat it while knowing the sugar content is out of control! Kids, like adults need sustainable energy, anything with a boat load of artificial sugar is only going to make them crash and burn, but how to get them to eat boring old carrots or string beans? Make the snacks look cool and tasty you have a way better chance of getting them to at least try it!

Vroom Vroom Race Car Fruit Snacks

If you want to whip up something extra tasty for the night and make a dish everyone can enjoy (vegetarian or not!) why not make classic eggplant parmesan? I recommend making this fresh, although another great part of this dish is enjoying the leftovers the next day!

What You’ll Need:

• Eggplant
• Seasoned Bread Crumbs (Italian style)
• Eggs
• Vegetable Oil
• Red Sauce (pasta sauce – something tasty)
• Mozzarella Cheese
• Fresh basil (optional)

Peel the eggplant and slice it thin in long strips.

Beat 3 – 4 eggs in a bowl.

Grab a plate and shake 2 – 3 cups of bread crumbs on it.

Take a casserole dish or deep baking dish and lightly grease with vegetable oil.

Take the thin slices of eggplant and dip in the beaten eggs on both sides, then place in the bread crumbs flipping on both sides evenly to fully coat the eggplant.

Add vegetable oil to a large frying pan on medium high heat.

Preheat the oven to 350 F degrees. Continue coating your eggplant as the vegetable oil heats up. Add your eggplant to the heated oil, allowing to fry in the pan. You can tell they are ready, if they are a golden color on both sides. Flip occasionally, allowing them to fry evenly on both sides.

Add the fried eggplant to the casserole or baking dish.

Once all of your eggplants are in the dish pour your red sauce on top of them spreading it out. Add as much as you’d like. I like to add a medium amount so I can still taste the eggplant.

Place in the oven for 10 minutes. You want the eggplant to bake in the sauce.

Take out of the oven, add shredded or thinly slice mozzarella cheese on top. Place basil on top.

Place in the oven for about 5 minutes. Check to see if the cheese is melted. Place for another 2 – 3 minutes if its not. Check periodically. You don’t want your cheese to burn, you just want your eggplants to simmer in the sauce and allow the cheese to melt!

If you love spending time in the outdoors and if you to craft, there is a fun way to combine interests to make beautiful natural accents that can be worn as accessories or used as decorations for your home.

What you’ll need:

• Natural materials – collect and gather items in nature (twigs, leaves, flowers, branches, etc.)
• Hairspray or epoxy resin (epoxy is best for creations you want to preserve for a very long period of time and is best for wearable accessories)
• Your imagination!

Take a nature walk, a hike or step right into your own backyard to find the materials you need. I do suggest looking for vines, corn husks, thick long grass or any other material that is both strong and bendable – something that can be used to naturally wrap and tie your different materials together and keep them in place.

Once you’ve picked everything you think you might use, start creating! Have fun with it. Piece together items you think look nice based on color, shape, pattern. Really anything you want to place together – these are your handpicked, handmade accents!

Spray your pieces using hairspray or coat in an epoxy resin to preserve them.

If you want to turn these into wearable brooches or pins, you can go to a local craft store and pick up loose clasps and glue them on back using a strong glue like guerilla glue.

Whether you make them into large scale interior decorations or small scale fashion accessories, you can have a lot of fun making these and gifting them to friends and family members!

The rest is here: sixdifferentways.com

If you are a first time camper and want to be prepared for your camping adventure without overdoing it, below is a camping checklist for some of the basic camping essentials!

Backpack:

This is a crucial item if you hiking to a faraway campsite or destination. A backpack built for hiking may be costly but it is worth the investment. Get one that is durable, waterproof and preferably one that is able to hold all of your gear including a spot for your sleeping bag. You can always use bungee cords to secure your sleeping bag to your backpack if necessary.

Tent+ essentials:

• sleeping bag
• 2 – 3 tarps for under the tent, above the tent or covering items in case of rain
• lantern

nice to have but not essential:

• pillow
• air mattress or a yoga mat to place under the sleep bag

Safety gear:

• first aid kit
• flash light – solar powered, rechargeable or one that works by winding up
• swiss army or pocket knife
• bungee cords and / or rope

Cookware:

• Fork, knife, spoon, bowl, plate  – bring only a few of these – opt for the heavy duty plastic, you can reuse them, they are more lightweight and they won’t break!
• Bring a pot and a frying pan to cook in or purchase a few of those aluminum serving dishes, the ones you see at catered events, buffets or continental breakfasts
• Garbage bags – clean up, plus they come in handy as ponchos

Food + Beverage:

• Pack plenty of energizing snacks –  fruits, veggies, granola, rice and anything you think would taste good over an open fire
• Water purifier (you can find online suppliers who create products where you can take water from a stream, pond, river or lake and make it drinkable water) iodine tablets can also purifier water or you can boil water and allow it to cool. If you aren’t parked too far from your campsite, you can bring water jugs filled with purified water.
• Fire starters, coals, matches, lighter
• Cooler with ice- this is helpful if you plan to bring things that need to stay cool or if you are only camping for a few nights.

Clothing (obviously adjust based on weather conditions):

• A good pair of sneakers and / or hiking boots
• Bring lots of socks and underwear – for some reason whenever I go camping, this is the one thing I wish I brought more of
• 1 heavy duty warm sweater with a hood
• 1 lightweight and waterproof jacket like a windbreaker
• 2 long sleeve shirts
• 2 short sleeve shirts
• 1 pair of shorts
• 1 pair of jeans
• 1 pair of sweatpants

Don’t over pack on clothes.

Toiletries:

• Toothbrush with a protective plastic top
• Toothpaste
• Soap (keep it in one of those plastic soap containers)
• NOTE: You can always opt for individual plastic ziplock bags to keep your stuff protected as well.
• 1 towel, 1 dish rag, 2 wash cloths
• Toilet paper (lots of it)
• Hair ties or a bandana – good to keep hair and sweat off your face and neck

Documents:

• leave any important documents locked somewhere safe in your car or at home – keep your license or ID with you in case of an emergency, place it in a protective, enclosed and sealed location.

Key Clip:

• If you are the driver, attach your keys to a clip that you can clip inside of your tent or inside of your backpack securely. I don’t recommend attaching it to your jeans or pants as the keys make jingle around, loosen and fall off.

Map:

• If you are in unfamiliar territory, it is always good to have a map handy especially if you are freestyle hiking or you lose sight of trail markers

Do your research:

• Learn about the area you are planning to camp in before you camp there. Are these hunting grounds? Is it heavily populated with dear or bears? You want to be smart and safe.
• Know what poisonous plants, trees, shrubs and berries look like – don’t eat anything you aren’t 100% sure what it is

I did my best to keep the camping essentials at a minimum but depending on where you are camping and how long, sometimes it can vary! Just play it smart and visualize yourself there before heading out on your journey. If you miss something along the way, remember, we used to survive without many of the luxuries we have today – have no fear, embrace nature and have a wonderful time!

Play no games, except when attempting to approach both men and women in a social setting. 

the joker approach: keep a small laminated photo of a baby goat in your wallet at all times and ask the unsuspecting yet intrigued contender “hey want to see a picture of my kid?” Watch a smile permanently ingrained upon their face for the rest of the night.

the performer approach: ask for three random objects in persons purse or wallet and begin juggling said objects, watch his or her eyes light up with excitement and confusion 

the artist approach: carry a sketch pad easel and beret and a small jar of beeswax with you, approach a beautiful man or woman and say “je te peindrai” which means “I will paint you.” Don’t ask in question form so they can’t say yes or no. Note: the small jar of beeswax is for men or more daring women who would like to curl their stache up on both sides to give it that full french effect. 

the classic approach: simply walk over and say hello, introduce yourself like a proper gentlemen. 

the bro approach: make sure this one doesn’t turn into a party fail, no homo bro but you’re gonna have to hold off the hair gel tonight as you will be perspiring more than normal and the axe body spray won’t save you, do the jersey shore shuffle right up into his or her posse begin shouting random things into their faces like “jager bombs” and “tequila shots” then offer a coconut oil massage, say “i want to be on you like white on rice” then hand them a coupon for a 2 for 1 special at the local barber / salon. 

the handyman approach (note: not to be confused with the bro approach, the handyman approach is basically the same only yields different results): carry a screw in your back pocket, approach your potential new friend, pull out the screw, look them dead in the eye and ask “wanna screw?” 

the knight in shining armor approach: literally show up in a suit of armor (mandatory), shine it up before you get there – keep it classy and be on horseback (optional), she’ll be oozing in the thrill of a seeing a horse at a bar, this is the deal sealer – keep your sword sheathed for the possible festivities at the end of the night.

the biggie approach: as soon as he buys that wine just creep up from behind, ask them what their interests are, who they be with, things to make them smile, what numbers to dial, then say “you gon be here for awhile? Ima call my crew, you gon call your crew, we can rendezvous at the bar around 2.” Then throw your keys to lil cease and then pull the truck upfront. 

the promoter approach:  take up all the air in the room, list off every project you are working on, every single project you and your family, your friends, your family friends dog is working on, then hand them like 5 stickers, 2 flyers, 1 coupon and your homies mixtape. Then say “its lit fam” stand awkwardly for a solid 30 seconds, hopefully they will be so impressed by all the things you said they will begin to stroke your ego or want to continue a conversation or maybe they show up at one of the 20 events you told them about.

Next time you are in a local pub or at your public library , use these fail proof approaches for starting conversation with unassuming prospects.

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Who doesn’t like to cozy up with a warm blanket on a cold winter night? Cuddle in style with this selection of comfy and chic blankets and throws.

Loverboy Fur Throw – Comes in a beautiful beige and white color, tawny fur on one side, wheat cotton on the other, Made in the USA.

Icelandic Sheepskin Throw – Made of 100% authentic and sustainable sourced sheepskin. Made in Poland.

Retreat Throw Blanket – Comes in your choice of gray, purple, beige, blue or blue. Made of 100% soft and durable linen with fringe accents. Made in India.

Aguiar Sherpa Throw –  Made of 100% thick polyester fabric made to resemble sheep skin in a modern black and white pattern.

Gianni Racoon Faux Fur Blanket – Made to resemble the intricate and beautiful patterns of real racoon fur, this animal-friendly throw is made of a soft acrylic plush.

Fox Faux Fur Throw – Comes in your choice of silver or chocolate faux fur on on side and chocolate shantung, made of 100% polyester and made in the USA.

Use these luxurious throws as multi-functional decor items to cuddle up with as ultra cozy blankest or keep your tootsies warm as ravishing rugs for your modern home and contemporary living space.