Happy Halloween Readers! I hope you all are enjoying this fall season and have a great Halloween weekend! I love the spooky spirit of Halloween and all the fun activities. One of our Details Details brides, Janice, brought us many great tips along with seasonal recipes for Halloween. Janice writes:

Healthy Halloween Tips from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (www.cspinet.org ):
Celebrating Halloween healthfully isn’t about giving up all the treats. It’s about bringing them into balance, especially since kids often have multiple celebrations: at school, at friends’ houses, at after care, and in the community. And then there’s trick-or-treating.

There’s more to Halloween than candy. There’s dressing up, having fun with friends, playing games, and doing crafts. With so many celebrations throughout the year, it’s important to enjoy each one without going overboard.

It is most important to work with children on healthy eating throughout the year. Encourage healthy eating but don’t battle over it. Instead, try to work something out, like allowing your children to eat what they want on Halloween night and then save 5 treats to eat over the next 5 days. Dispose of or put the rest out of sight.

Healthier Trick-or-Treating Giveaways
For younger kids, try small toys like:
• Temporary tattoos or stickers
• Small plastic spiders or ghosts
• Super bouncy balls
• Colorful pencils, erasers, or pencil toppers
• Spooky plastic rings or false teeth
• Bracelets or hair accessories
For food treats, try:
• Lunch- or snack-size bags of pretzels or crackers
• Individual packages of raisins
• 100% juice boxes
For candy, try:
• Sugar-free gum
• Fat-free candy like fruit snacks/gummies, SweeTarts,
Smarties, Twizzlers, or Skittles
• Lower-fat chocolate candies like York Peppermint
Patties, 3Musketeers, or Junior Mints
• Giving out the smallest size of the candy (the smaller
the bar/package, the lower the fat & calories).

Nutritious Halloween Recipes:
1) PUMPKIN MUFFINS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Sift together:
1¾ cups whole wheat pastry flour (or half whole wheat and half all purpose flour)
¾ teaspoon salt
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
Beat in a separate bowl:
2 eggs
Add to the eggs:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
¾ cup low-fat milk
1 cup canned pumpkin
Combine the wet and dry ingredients with a few swift strokes (don’t over mix). Fill greased muffin cups two- thirds of the way full and
bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Makes a dozen muffins.

2) Pumpkin Dip
(from the Dannon Institute)
Mix the following ingredients:
3 tablespoons canned pumpkin
1 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt
1 tablespoon orange juice concentrate (use 100% juice for more nutrients)
½ tsp of cinnamon (optional)
1 tbsp maple syrup (optional)
Dip in with graham crackers.

Janice H. Dada, MPH, RD, CSSD, CHES
Owner & Principal Dietitian, SoCal Nutrition & Wellness
Board Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics
Certified Health Education Specialist
janice@socalnw.com
(310) 270-8985

Same day Edit done by Elysium Productions! Nice work, as always…thanks Julie for letting us steal off your blog. Photos coming soon!

Debra and Calvin took their engagement photos in San Francisco, where they currently reside. Jesse take them through town from bus, to coffee shop to the water with the famous bridge in the background. Although the live in SF, they are planning to get married in OC at the Resort at Pelican Hill next month. Their talented photographer Jesse will be coming down with them.

Photos courtesy of Jesse Leake Photography

Gina and Ryan picked the Four Seasons Aviara because the setting was beautiful, and they made them feel so welcome. They wanted it to be a great party and for everyone to have a good time, with good music, good food and a great location…at the same time, they wanted it to be unforgettable, elegant and beautiful! With the help of Sunny from White Lilac Inc, they chose wedding colors to be a little unique and have a very modern/ vintage/ glam look. Sunny from White Lilac presented the color scheme to them and they knew it would be perfect. Gina’s wedding dress and veil were purchased at M Bride in La Jolla. (WE Love Michelle at MBride Salonl) Both were custom made by the talented designer Ines Di Santos. Her hair accessory was also purchased at M Bride, by Rachel Larraine -www.RachelLarraine.com. Gina also worked with one of our favorite invitation gals, Michelle Arnet from Creative Blu. And believe it or not Gina, knows the infamous Linda Goldsheft of the Cake Studio who made her wedding cake, which matched her paper goods. One of Brookes last events with us, well done!

Photos Courtesy of: Aaron Delesie

Sarah & John’s picture perfect beach wedding was very personal with their closest family and friends.  The wedding ceremony took place right on the sand at Diver’s Cove in Laguna Beach.  Guests took in the natural setting and ocean breeze as Sarah & John took their vows followed by a suprise butterfly release.  An ancient American Indian legend says that to make a wish come true is to whisper it to a butterfly.  Oh, how captivating it was!  A shaman performed the ceremony which brought their two beautiful families together.  This was the first time that I’ve worked with a Shaman and as you know, shamans have been described as spirtual mystics who know how to work with the energies of the universe, or “healers of the mind, body and circumstance”. 

Following the intimate ceremony, Mastro’s Ocean Club in Newport Coast was the setting for their dinner reception where guests dined on their renowned Seafood Tower and sumptuous entrees.  Sarah & John’s wedding vision was brought to life through Christopher Aldama and the talented team at Fiori Fresco.  Shades of lilac seem to be the popular color this summer.  Our paper goods were provided by Nichelle at Details a la Carte which ties in our theme so nicely.  The significance of the butterfly expressed Sarah & John’s eternal love for each other. 

Photos courtesy of: Baldemar Fierro

Here are some cheery wedding accessories by Maihar Designs. Marihar Designs was established by two sisters that together make a great team, one great with design and one great with business. The use of flowers incorporated into their accessories make precious pieces for flower girls and ring bears. Maihar Designs specializes in flower wands, ring bear pillows, and flower hair clips. All pieces are sure to please.
View maihardesign.com to learn more about these flowery accessories.

I love these decorative bird pillows found off of etsy. These birds have a vintage flare, great as a prop for an outdoor garden wedding. Each bird is made with your choice of patterned fabric and stuffed with 100% plastic bottles. Not only are these birds cute, but they are also eco friendly! I even think these pillows could make a different ring bear pillow or gift. All of the bird pillows are made by etsy vender sewingmomma. Sewingmomma is a huge fan of etsy and spends lots of her time searching all over for vintage fabric to use on her products.

Be sure to check out these birds and more of her creations at etsy.com

One of our favorite chocolatiers is at it again. Check out her new fall packaging but this is just a taste of it, she can customize her boxes to match your wedding décor. Diana’s latest project sounded very neat, Diana writes:

“I have new fall packaging to share as well as photos of a FAB project I just completed.  I was commissioned by an LA wardrobe stylist to concept and produce individual thank yous to fashion designers Linda Loudermilk, Louis Verdad, Lloyd Klein and Yotam Solomon, whose fashions she recently used in a celebrity photo shoot. Everything was done by hand: chocolates of course, building the boxes, stitching the labels – even choosing handmade papers to line the boxes that were indicative of certain aspects of each designers iconic style.”

I love it, these boxes celebrate the season! Visit dianaphillipschocolates.com

Mimi and Robert had their wedding at Segerstrom Hall, Orange County Performing Arts Center with Patina catering their wedding day feast. Mimi wanted a chic modern wedding and the Center was the perfect venue, with glass windows 5 stories high. A neutral palette to work with as vibrant shades of purples offset with bright white and hint of silver/grey filled the open space. The ceremony was on level one, dinner on the 2nd level and after dessert, purple and green dragons led the guests downstairs for dancing. Mimi was able to sneak away to change into her 2nd silver wedding gown by Enzoani.

Florist, Shawna Yamamoto created the most interesting bridal bouquet, an interpretation of a Robert Koene design. Palm leaves were split, cut and handcrafted into the design, painted and finished with Vanda orchids. The lampshade centerpieces were also made out of palm leaves, painted white and rested on a bed of floral. The art of flower construction here was  definitely a new dimension rarely seen in the everyday florist.  Letterpressed menus cards tucked inside napkins accompanied by wood table numbers. Amber Lin created much needed backdrop/drapes to hide the concession stands and added LED lighting for a more dramatic mood. Sunny of Filigree cakes took a piece of the lounge furniture fabric and designed the wedding cake with the exact same pattern, knowing that mini Mimi and Robert cake toppers from Nicole Wong would finish the cake.

Photos Courtesy of Joseph, from John & Joseph Photography: johnandjoseph.com

How adorable are these handcrafted ring bearer bowls? These bowls by Paloma’s Nest are both simple & sweet. Creator of Paloma’s Nest, Caroline Colom Vasquez, creates all of her pieces by hand, so each creation is made with care, passion, and pride. All of the Paloma’s Nest pieces are made to be passed down through generations. I love the idea of a ring bearer bowl being a family heirloom. Paloma’s Nest prides itself in the purity of the materials they use, making something so simple look so bold.

You have to check out Paloma’s Nest online to view the different collections that can be used in your wedding www.palomasnest.com