The antidote to a cheap wedding, The Broke-Ass Bride delivers bad-ass wedding inspiration to turn your budget wedding into a kick-ass and totally unique wedding… because its not about how much you spend, its how you spend it!
Kicking off month 2, yo! I can’t believe its been so long. And its been such a rough month, I kinda feel like I could use a mental makeover more than a body one right now. But that’s another post for another day…
Weeks 3 & 4 went quite well, I’ve gotta say! I’m definitely rocking a whittled waist, little by little. Or should I say whittle by whittle? Ha! Let’s take a look-see, shall we?
The Food:
Gobble Green kept it real with some new and tasty morsels for my mouth… Highlights included the “steak” with collard greens and sweet potatoes (soul food goodness), and an incredibly soft and moist banana nut muffin and (gasp) even Mac N Cheese! Lowlights included the tempeh stir-fry (snoozefest) and the southwest salad (a mixture of quinoa and veggies that left me cold). Hunter’s broccoli latkes and potato knish brought the party to his mouth, but the carrot muffin tasted like chalky pepto bismol. No bueno. The convenience of having all this food prepared is really great, and I lurve the relief from cooking in a hot kitchen and messing with all them dishes, but it is hard sometimes to “pack” a hot lunch when out and about, so we’ve had to stray from time to time.
Overall, we’re really pleased with our month of Gobble Green meal delivery. Its very sad to say goodbye to it. I highly recommend it for folks strained with a busy schedule and looking for a convenient way to keep their meals healthy without the hassle, or brides wanting to shed a few inches before their big day. Its also a great way for folks wanting to experiment with or transition to a vegan diet – you can learn a lot about balancing meals and explore the tasty varieties out there. Sometimes its hard to keep a balanced diet when testing a new lifestyle, and Gobble Green keeps things in check for you. I definitely experienced weight loss and enjoyed a more well-rounded diet without feeling deprived! Score!
They also offer catering service, which is great news for our vegan brides and grooms out there. Your guests will never miss the meat, and the variety they offer is fantastic. Thanks for everything, Gobble Green! I’ll miss ya!
I did manage to keep my diet coke consumption to a minimum for the whole month, though – which I’m pretty farking proud of. Now I’m just a weekend user, and hope to keep paring down my use until its just a once-in-a-while treat! Alls I got to say is, thanks be to jeebus for iced tea!
The Fitness:
We were challenged to find much time for workouts this time, thanks to a whirlwind apartment hunt and preparation for a 2 week trip. The good news is, we found a place! (more on that later) We did manage to work in brief forays into fitness, and Shredded it a couple times, but ultimately, we slacked it pretty fiercely in favor of work. Its just the worst when I have to choose work over workouts, but hey, only one pays the bills!
Now we’re out in Santa Fe visiting Hunter’s family, and I brought The Shred with me so we’ll squeeze in some Jillian action and long walks in the arroyo to help balance out all the delicious new mexican food we’re surrounded by. I’m shooting a TV segment in a couple of weeks and have to keep my momentum up so I don’t feel like a stuffed sausage in front of the camera! That’s pretty good motivation, even if I am on vacation. Starting tomorrow, I am determined to at least log as many push-ups and crunches as I can muster each day. I’ll be tweeting the results, anyone care to join me?
When we get back to LA, we’ll have 10 days to pack house and move, so I’m looking forward to all that activity and heavy lifting. I am such a huge puss about working out, man. It was so much easier when I had a personal trainer. I know, waah waaaaah, right?
How’s your Flab to Fab going? Hearing about your journeys is always so motivating, so keep me posted in the comments!
Oh my… another week gone already?!? I’m seriously concerned over how quickly time is passing. Am I the only one who feels like we’re being swept along in the riptide of time? No bueno.
I’m feeling much better about progress this week… mainly because I can tell that I’ve been losing weight! My belly feels flatter, my face is definitely slimmer, and my waistline is more defined than I’ve seen her in a while. Its such a good feeling, and it keeps me wanting more… I call it deflation motivation, yo! So now that I’m rocking some noticeable results, week 3 is going to be all about building fitness endurance and stamina… because whew man, I am out of shape!
The Food:
First of all, check this out. I saw my eye specialist yesterday for the first time in the 6 months since going vegan, only to discover that not only is my disease quiet as a mouse, but my eye pressure (glaucoma) is lower than ever before even though I’ve been off my drops for a month or so (my broke-ass ran out and they ’spensive). Could it be the vegan diet is actually making the difference I hoped it would? Holy crap, y’all… either way it’s freaking great news.
Speaking of vegan food…Gobble Green stepped it up this week and gave us some really good grub. My favorite meal of the week was Black Pepper “Steak” with (gasp) mashed potatoes! People, I haven’t had mashed potatoes in far too long and this meal was so comforting and satisfying, I loved every bite. The other big winner? Now bear with me, because this one sounds narsty, but the lemon “fish” fillets and broccoli were mindblowingly delish. I really wish I knew how to recreate these at home. I’d eat them all the time.
I had more scrambled eggy type breakfasts this week, which I really enjoyed. Especially since I discovered these amazing condiments, thanks to this smart lady!
Sooooo delicious on evvvvvverything! Go get you some!
Other highlights include the “chicken” salad which is great wrapped in lettuce, and the banana nut muffin which rocked my tastebuds with great flavor and texture. My lowlight of the week is still the steamed vegetables (always mushy, except the broccoli stems which were tough).
Hunter had a great week, too… pancakes, a yummy steakburger and fries (!), lasagna, and a stuffed mushroom that was probably the best we’ve ever had. His lowlights? The fruit crunch breakfast (too sweet) and the fruit salad (kind of a soupy mess, but good for dipping muffin parts into). Leave it to Hunter to object to fruit.
We must be getting used to the serving sizes because we’re much less hungry between meals and feel generally more satisfied. Are our stomachs shrinking? Maybe its the 90 oz of water I’m trying to guzzle every day. Who knows? But, I’m proud to report that my diet coke consumption is a shadow of its former self! That’s some serious diet soda detox action, but thanks to sun-brewed iced tea I barely even miss it! Have you ever brewed tea in the sun? Its the jam, you should try it. Our next Gobble Green delivery should arrive any minute, and we can’t wait to see what this week holds.
The Fitness:
Slowly but surely getting there. My stamina and patience are both pretty weak… and I have to keep reminding myself that I’m practically starting over, so I shouldn’t expect to be as strong or go as long as I used to be able to do. I don’t know why, but I always expect just to pick up where I left off. Getting hit with my monthly visitor a week early left me feeling like I’d been hit by a bus (what is that about?!)… but I’ve been working hard to keep my motivation up and take baby steps.
We’re sweating it out at Bikram yoga this morning and I think that will really help kick my metabolism into high gear after such a long, sound slumber. I’m also focusing a lot on push-ups and sit-ups to help strengthen my core and improve my scarily pathetic posture… but don’t get it twisted, I do knee-push-ups. Start small, right? But it definitely helps me feel like I’m making progress on my sausage arms.
Overall I’m feeling way more excited about the exercise portion of my plan now. That must be a good sign, right? Because for reals, I look forward to a lot in life… exercise is rarely one of them.
How did your week go? Any celebrations or setbacks you want to share?
Week one is ovah, m-fers! And, if I’m honest, I pretty much sucked it. GAHHH.
The Food:
Our Gobble Green meal delivery service is pretty bad-ass so far. We came home to two huuuuge boxes of frozen foods galore last Tuesday night, and had a field day picking through the vacuum sealed baggies and matching meals to our printed menus. We even got T-shirts!
I didn’t have the heart to tell Hunter, you can’t smell the food through the plastic!
I signed up for The Challenge, which basically means a nutritionist is tailoring my meals to help me lose weight. Translation? Very few carbs… and the few I get are mostly scheduled for lunchtime or breakfast. For the most part, I’m down with that. I understand the value of abstaining from the starchiness close to bedtime.
I love the breakfasts (like scrambled ‘eggs’ made with tofu and ooooh, hashbrowns!) and the pumpkin pancakes were a great weekend treat. Sometimes the serving sizes are a bit shockingly small to my overeating eyes, but I’m learning that it doesn’t take as much as I thought to fill me up…. a necessary lesson! It takes a little clever supplementing, because I truly miss fresh veggies and fruit. That crunchy, juicy goodness is missing from Gobble Green’s grub. So I sneak some crisp in here and there… just a bit. But, I even get dessert! And while the lemon bar can go screw, that snickerdoodle saved my life.
Highlights this week included faux buffalo wings (yum, but where’s the sauce?), breaded eggplant sandwich, curried chili and chicken salad. Lowlights include steamed veggies (just like from your average frozen veg mix) with just about everything, the apple spice oatmeal (not my cup of tea) and the biggest lowlight of all? Watching Hunter unwrap his meals… since he’s not on the diet plan!
Hunter is such a trooper, y’all. This dude isn’t even a vegetarian, much less a vegan… and he’s taking the month-long switch like a champ! But of course, with shamazing meals like mac n’ cheese (what the cuss?! That’s MY fave!), meatloaf n’ mashed potatoes, and chicken sandwich with (gasp) french fries… it would be hard for him to be too bitter. Especially when he looks over and sees my diet meal So, yeah… Hunter’s food wins. But, I guess, so does my health. So take that, tubby tire! Poor Hunter got sick last week, and the only food that sounded good was pizza (yeah, he’s a true New Yorker)… so I sat and ate lentil soup while he chowed on some comfort ‘za. How strong am I, yo?!?
I’m proudest to report that I’ve cut back on my diet coke habit tremendously, and I’ve only had one (yup, ONE) in the past week! I’m killing it with hot tea, iced tea, soda water and plain water. My nutritionist says to drink at least 90 oz of water a day… and I’m holding strong!
The Fitness:
Welllllllll, we didn’t quite meet our goals this week. Hunter got pretty farking sick with a nasty chest cold (poor boy), and I was pretty deep into pity-party mode due to the bad news about my foot. So I’m disappointed, but I gave myself a stern talking-to today. But instead of abusing myself with criticism, resentment, and impatience per usual, I took a different approach. I figure, I don’t let other people speak to me that way… so why do I allow myself to get away with it every day? That’s not fair. No no no. No bueno. So this time, instead, I spoke to myself with love, with forgiveness, and with optimism. It was pretty fun!
Y’all should have seen my crazy ass in the car, jabbering away: “This is ridiculous, Dana. You are capable of so much! You can do this… You’ve done it before! There is nothing holding you back, but you. Get out of your way, Dana! Its time to live up to your potential. yo!” and y’know what? It kinda worked! As soon as I stopped beating myself up for not doing, and kindly reminding myself of what I can do, it brightened my mood and renewed my motivation. I know that every day is a new chance to succeed – which means tomorrow I have a hard-and-fast date with Jillian. I’m looking forward to her kicking my flabby ass with her tough love. She always knows just how to “shred”my shiz.
We also jumped on a couple great group buying deals from Social Buy and Groupon – scoring us each 5 Bikram Yoga classes for $5 total at a local studio ($1 a class? Usually its $15!), and 3 classes at Pop Physique for $20. I’m really looking forward to getting out of the house and into a class. Bikram Yoga is an old favorite of mine and a fat-blaster to be sure… and Pop Physique’s sexy branding had me at hello. Full reports to follow!
How is your Flab to Fab journey going? Any tips or questions for me? Hit me in the comments!
I wish we lived in a world where everyone could afford a videographer for their wedding, but we don’t. Of the nearly 2 million weddings that take place in the USA each year nearly 66% do not hire a professional videographer.
The truth is, we all would love to have one but, when trimming the budget, the first thing to go is often the videographer. People think: “we’re getting beautiful professional photos, so we’ll just have a guest bring a camcorder” – which is an understandable thought…. but you shouldn’t have to settle for a blurry shot of the ceremony that Uncle Harry the mouth breather filmed from the back (Sorry Uncle Harry, but it’s true), or just a bouncy Blair Witch style shot of the reception from your friend who is the life of the party.
Well now there’s a cure! In less than an hour, Me & You Video will give anyone the knowledge they need to pull off a great DIY video of your wedding!
"She's the life of the party" but can she film the party?
Haynal Papp, owner and founder of Dolce Studio Films (winners every year since 2005 of Washington’s Best Videographer in Washington Bride & Groom) takes you through a step-by-step tutorial to give you the tools to capture a great wedding video, while staying under your budget.
When we asked Haynal if she was worried about undercutting her own videography business, she replied: “I created this product to help those people who don’t hire professionals either because they can’t afford to or don’t want to. I’ve spoken to so many people over the years that regret their decision to have a friend or family member film their wedding for them. I knew that I could impart highly useful information to save many people’s video memories from certain disaster.”
Haynal goes over the simple list of Do's & Don'ts
From personal experience I can say that we only have one regret from our wedding day. It was allowing an acquaintance to be our 2nd shooter. He was an amateur photographer and wanted to strengthen his portfolio. Despite many offers to just have him come as a guest, he insisted that he very much wanted to help. He took about 3 pictures from the ceremony and that was about it. As a result, we have no shots of our cocktail hour whatsoever. This guy isn’t a bad guy, he just didn’t have any experience or guidance, and he wasn’t prepared. His battery died during the ceremony and since he took a few pics he thought his job was done. If we had had a similar video like Me & You Video to play him before hand, he would have been just as good as any professional. He could take great pictures…. he just needed direction.
Meet Haynal and check out this preview of what her Me & You Video has to offer:
Let someone who knows what shots to get, where to stand, even who to ask for help guide you and your friend or family member to an awesome wedding day video. Compared to the thousands of dollars for a professional the investment is a drop in the bucket, but the knowledge that you’ll have a great document of one of the biggest days of your life is priceless.
Want more Previews? Just head over to Me & You Video and tell ‘em The Broke-Ass Bride Sent ya!
It’s important to make your wedding a personal experience. So why not start at one of our favorite parts of the wedding, the booze! Bottle Your Brand lets you take any wine bottle and make it your own personal brand which adds a special touch to your unique wedding. ‘Cause the best date to find on a wine label is your wedding date.
A bottle by no better name
But you don’t need to stop at wine bottles. Water bottles, beer bottles… if you’ve got a bottle, Bottleyourbrand.com has got a label. And the themes are practically limitless. Start your beach ceremony off drinking from water bottles with pictures of the two of you kissing on the beach, then the cocktail hour could use a few beers from the lovely couple’s brewery, and finally have dinner with wine from the vineyards of the Mr. and Mrs. Save a few bucks on the wine (hello, two buck chuck!) knowing that as long as it tastes good, everyone will be impressed with your selection.
The best kind of centerpiece, BOOZE... or sparkling cider
But don’t let your imagination stop with drinks…. How about favors? Imagine the Broke-Ass Brilliant and incredibly personal favor of your favorite homemade infused olive oil, bottled with your name.
If you can bottle it, they've got a label for it.
So head on over to Bottleyourbrand.com to add some fun and personal touches to your wedding. Tell ‘em The Broke Ass Bride sent ya, and when we reach for a cold one we’ll be thinking of you (at least if we’re at your wedding )
So here is a Broke-Ass predicament: How the heck do I get a personalized invitations if I’m having a budget wedding and want to stay on my strict budget, and how do I do it fast?
Totally fun, but I wish I could tweak it just a bit...
...like this...
...or this.
Here is a fun game. Click on this Link and start changing this card with the list of dropdown options. I’ve been playing with this for the past ten minutes. The only thing it lacks is a huge fro option
Holy crap! I just realized they have a stuff, stamp and mail option. If I was in a wedding day crunch, I don’t know if I would have the strength to resist this option.
So head on over to Storkie.com to play with some invite options and tell them the Broke-Ass Bride sent ya!
Because sometimes you just want a little BANG in your buck, we introduce to you:
The Splurge is our new fantasy shopping series dedicated to the finer things in life that we aspire to put on the registry, save up for, blow it all on, or just daydream about! It’s all about straight up fun window-shopping fantasy feasts for the eyes. ‘Cause sometimes ya know what your bank account says, but you’ve just gotta pop the cork on your champagne tastes and get high on the bubbles.You’ve got the urge. The urge to SPLURGE!!!
We are serious water snobs. I blame Dana. When it comes to water, she may have one of the most sensitive palettes in the land. My parents think she has a lime obsession, because her secret weapon to mask the taste of their tap water is to squeeze some citrus into every drop she drinks. So, when she saw the ultimate in water purifiers, The Athena, at a green products expo recently… her eyes went AWOOGA! Lucky for us, IonWays was kind enough to provide us with a complimentary review unit!
The price may well give you drymouth, at $2,195 big’uns, but this is no ordinary water purifier. It doesn’t just run your water through a charcoal filter like most household sytems. Instead, it separates it: dividing the acidic elements of your water from the alkaline elements, allowing you to closely monitor and adjust the levels according to your preference. I could go on about all the possible health benefits to this (and I will in a later post), but for now I’ll tell you the secret reason I love it: The filter talks when you turn it on! Hello future robot household appliance fantasy, here we come!!! Meet Hunter Jetson… and his filter, Athena…
When launching our cake collection with the Kick-Ass Cake Bash with Fantasy Frostings, an awesome spot for wedding cakes in Los Angeles, our goal was to pack the entire venue to the brim… with WOW. We had some amazing ideas for design, but really wanted to make sure it felt “Kick-Ass Wedding-y”… since we were, after all, launching an exclusive wedding cake line with Fantasy Frostings. Imagine our delight when the fantastic dressmakers of Alfred Angelo said they would like to be a part of our li’l shindig.
The Dollhouse girls did such a great job on hair & makeup!
Having Alfred Angelo come on as sponsors added a whole new dynamic to the party. NTA Models are stunning in just a t-shirt, but seeing them draped in gorgeous Alfred Angelo Wedding Gowns was like having a bounty of beautiful brides on parade.
Lovely ladies all in white
The NTA girls had so much fun playing bride for the day. You could tell that not only did they look amazing they felt amazing too. It is no wonder they were a few of the most popular ladies in attendance. Guests would just gaze in amazement as the brides would exclaim, “This cake is amaaaaazing!” I guess you don’t often see models consuming copious cake like it was crack
Everyone wanted a red carpet photo with the brides. It was so cute
Alfred Angelo just goes to show, that you don’t have to spend a million bucks to look and feel a million bucks, and the folks we worked with over there couldn’t have been nicer. Did ya know they just opened a big store in Beverly Hills? So check out Alfred Angelo dresses and tell ‘em The Broke Ass Bride sent ya!
Putting together a wedding requires calling in a lot of favors, so how better to thank your loved ones than by showering them with unique wedding favors as well. If your shopping for wedding favors & accessories than Wedding Favors Unlimited is a great place to start.
Sure I could tell you all about how you can shop by theme or season, or how they have a huuuuuge beach favor section…
It might be tempting but don't wear these candles
But what really gets my Broke-Ass sensors a buzzing is the the “Favors Under a Dollar” section. When you buy these favors in bulk, it’s easy to get a really great deal. I’m a sucker for a dollar store and this section is like the dollar-riffic superstore of awesome favors.
By a bunch and these lip balms are under a buck
With these personalized lipbalms your wedding guests will remember your special day every time they smack their lips. But that is just the beginning of all the items you can personalize. Check out these personalized Iced tea mixes…
I'm getting thirsty
There is a lot to worry about when putting together a wedding. So don’t stress over the favors, just head over to Wedding Favors Unlimited and tell them The Broke-Ass Bride sent ya!
So, yeah… Hunter’s food wins. But, I guess, so does my health. So take that, tubby tire! Poor Hunter got sick last week, and the only food that sounded good was pizza (yeah, he’s a true New Yorker)… so I sat and ate lentil soup while he chowed on some comfort ‘za. How strong am I, yo?!?
my shiz.
