Hello Love Blog - a collaboration of love

santa barbara soiree

May

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{ megan hickman – parties }

Adam and I were pretty much a done deal from the moment we met. I had given up on dating and was set on remaining single for a while and focusing on my interior design career. A few hours in to our first meeting I felt there was something different and special about him. My feeling was strong enough that I immediately threw my single-and-fabulous plan to the wind and took a chance on this sweet guy. It was the best decision of my life. Three years later we have already been married seven months. We threw a wedding that was everything we wanted. It may not have been the biggest, or most blog-worthy, or meticulously styled (I’m a busy lady!) but it was a massive success. There were two main things that we deemed important. First , we wanted it to be extremely personal. We were married at home in the same spot as my parents, by the rabbi who married Adam’s parents, and every song we included in our ceremony had special meaning to us- having our first dance to “Walking in Memphis” was no accident! Second, we wanted it to be a great party. We served crowd-pleaser small plates, had two full open bars, and played music that had seriously everyone of all ages out on the dance floor. We kept the details simple, focusing on the big things that had deeper meaning to us on our day, and making sure our guests had an amazing evening. Since that day, we have been overwhelmed with the compliments on our wedding. Whether it was the overall atmosphere, the food, the ceremony, the music etc., we have heard over and over that our guests left with the takeaways we wanted: love, happiness, personality, so much fun, and full of good food! My wedding showed me what is at the heart of successful entertaining. Weddings take this to a whole other level to be sure, but what you want to accomplish is simple and straightforward, from the smallest get-together to the most extravagant soiree. Create an experience to share with the people you love, bring out the good eats, throw on some great jams and have a party!

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get fit

May

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{ adam rosenthal – fitness }

Adam is a little intro shy, so I decided to help him out and do his first post as an interview! Adam’s been my trainer for two years and he’s the most amazing trainer/therapist/motivator I’ve ever met. He helped me heal from a nasty back injury, reach my goals and then helped me set new goals and actually makes me excited to go to the gym. Long story short, I love the guy and so does everyone who meets him. So, without further ado, let’s meet Adam!

xoxo McKenzie

Q: So, you’re the only man on the Hello, Love team and we love that about you! You’re not intimidated by all these ladies?

A: Most of my clients happen to be ladies. I’ve always gotten along really well with women and I’m proud to be the only man on this site! Women rule.

Q: How long have you been professionally kicking people’s booties? Or in layman’s terms, how long have you been a personal trainer?

A: Four years. But I’ve always been into fitness, ever since I could walk.

Q: What got you into fitness and training?

A: I excelled at sports growing up and I loved anything physical, so fitness has always been part of my life. I decided to pursue it professionally after what I encountered on a daily basis in my last job. About seven years ago, I was an X-ray technologist. I worked with mostly elderly people with minimal movement, horrible posture and as a result, a decreased quality of life. I wanted to do something to make a positive change and keep these conditions from forming in the first place. Now I work with people that want to look good, feel good and be happy. That makes me happy!

Q: What’s your favorite thing about your job? Besides getting to see me all the time, obviously…

A: The energy. I love the energy i’m surrounded by on a daily basis.

Q: Can you give us a description of your clientele?

A: 70% female, 30% male. 100% awesome. The ladies come in all shapes, sizes and fitness levels. There’s a huge range in their goals – from brides to be, expectant moms, new moms and future athletic super stars – I don’t discriminate, as long as your willing to work hard, I’m in. Come one, come all.

Q: What are some of your favorite ways to exercise?

A: I like to make it easy to stay fit. It doesn’t take much to get a challenging full body workout. Your body is your number one piece of equipment. I really love using jump ropes, stretch bands, free weights and a TRX. They’re all things you can use at the gym, at your home or you can take them with you when you travel. I’m also a big supporter of incorporating things you love into your workout, so I surf, play beach volleyball with friends and hike with my fitness mascott, my pup Winston.

Q: What part do you think exercise plays in contributing to a happy life?

A: It’s a huge part. Fitness and movement release endorphins which make you happy, plain and simple.

Q: What are some of your best tips to get motivated and stay motivated?

A: Look back at times in your life where you were more fit than you currently are. Ask yourself if you were happier, find photos, use them as motivation. It’s so much better to use your own body as motivation, instead of someone else’s (like celebrities, models, etc.) If you already feel pretty fit, then it’s time to set some new goals. Sign up for a race, get your friends involved, join a run club, throw a frisbee.

Q: What do you think you can teach Hello, Love readers and what can we expect to see from you on the blog?

A: Fitness is fun! Baby steps are fine, soon you’ll be leaping over buildings! You can expect lots of fitness tips, easy to follow routines, nutrition recommendations and a jolly good time.

Q: Last, but certainly not least, who’s your favorite client?

A: McKenzie Mitchell. I mean, I gotta say it, you’re staring me straight in the face…but seriously, I truely love all my clients, each and everyone is special to me. Now drop down and gimme twenty.

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a lovely love

May

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{ erin boyce – paper }

On a lovely day in March two years ago in Dallas, Texas, I married my wonderful husband Jack surrounded by our family and close friends. The wedding was held in a sweet old chapel in downtown and the reception afterwards at the Filter Building overlooking White Rock Lake. Our wedding was full of color, diy projects, southern food, great music, and lots of dancing! It was an absolutely perfect day!

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family fiesta

May

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{ alicia rico – flower }

I’m definitely a believer that how you throw a party is a really great indicator of your style. The party we threw for our three year old daughter’s birthday was fun, colorful, unique and relaxed. We like to incorporate a bit of culture and create an experience for everyone attending. This year, we decided to give a nod to our daughter’s mexican heritage (she was named after her 2 mexican great grandmothers- beatrice dorothy) by throwing a fiesta full of festive details. We decorated our backyard with papel picado garland flags and tissue paper flowers. We had a seven piece mariachi serenade the birthday girl and had a cake that looked like a pinata and was filled with candy. We served tecate, tamales, and pb+j tacos! Everyone had a blast celebrating the birthday girl and enjoyed an early cinco de mayo fiesta!

papel picado fiesta

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dia de los muertos party mask

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marfa magic

May

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{ emily allen – sweets }

My style incorporates a little bit from a variety of inspirations – I love color (almost every one), modernism, whimsy, feminine grace, masculine utilitarianism, nostalgic charm, unique details. My wedding is the best showing of this: a color explosion in the quirky desert town of Marfa, TX, our favorite place and where Colby and I took our first trip together five years ago. Our goals were to share all that we love about Marfa with our guests and to design an event inspired by the location, our interests, and our playful spirit. We packed creative details into our day: my mom and I created “hooray” flags for guests to wave at the recessional, Colby designed a public art testament to our love and had it installed in town, each guest took home a horseshoe art piece by a Tucson artist we came across on our engagement road trip, one friend made our “here comes the bride” sign, another surprised us with a song, and our friend (and fellow blogger) Alicia went to town on tablescapes of proteas, cacti, garden roses, thistle, dahlias, and ranunculus with found glass vessels, antlers and votives we painted. We wrote our own ceremony in a wild TX garden, dined on beautiful and sustainably sourced dishes from Maiya’s, danced the night away to a Buddy Holly cover band, and drove off into the Marfa night in the town art car. It really did feel like we celebrated our love in the most amazing way possible: in the place we love most, with all the people we love most, in a little microcosm we created full of our favorite things.

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glam squad

May

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{ tammy coleman – beauty }

When we started La Bichette, we set out with the belief that not only does the honest and true mom & pop business (well, in our case mom & daughter) still have a place in this wild world, but that it might just be exactly what the world needs right now. We are proud to be locally owned and operated and intend to keep it that way. We are from Dallas, for Dallas!

It all began with two redheads (my mom and me) talking about the days when grace, glamor, class and confidence all went hand in hand and the belief that a true modern woman must embody a balance of femininity and feminism. To be provocative and practical, lively and intelligent, beautiful and bold, you must first know and appreciate yourself. Being gorgeous has everything to do with feeling secure in your own skin. But let’s face it, looking and feeling extraordinary amidst life’s daily hurdles is no easy task. Taking care of yourself, or as the French say, souci de soi, is of the utmost importance. That’s where we come in!

But for these two redheads and devout animal enthusiasts, even life’s most simple pleasures should be conscious ones. That’s why at La Bichette, we are firmly against animal testing and do our best to use and support products that are made in the USA. Our hair product packaging is made from aluminum, an infinitely recyclable material, and is refillable in our atelier. We want looking gorgeous to be as guilt free as it is effortless. Come in and see for yourself!

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our revamp, revealed

May

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{ an all new Hello, Love!!! }

Hello, Love is happy to announce that there will be some changes to our site! There are new contributing editors, as well as new topics being introduced. We at Hello, Love think that one of the best parts of love is that it brings out the best in oneself. So, we’ve added Fitness Friday, Beauty Monday and Party Saturday (cause hey, having fun brings out the best in everyone!). We couldn’t be more excited to get started!

We hope you enjoy reading Hello, Love as much as we love creating it! Let’s end this first post of our new chapter with what we think are two of the most amazing mantras around!