Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Easy Ways to Make Your Husband Feel Appreciated Every Day


Make Your Husband Feel Appreciated Every Day Photo: Getty Images
 
One of the easiest ways to make your husband happy is to show that you don't take him for granted — luckily, it's all-too-easy to make him feel appreciated and give your relationship an important boost each day. "Having a more meaningful, intimate marriage requires you to take care of each other," says relationship expert April Masini. "If you make him feel appreciated and not taken for granted, you're setting the stage for deeper intimacy, more fun, better sex, and a marriage that you're both happy to have — not one you feel you've defaulted into."

Bonus? When you whip out these four ways that make him feel good, he's likely to give them back, big time. "When he realizes how good he feels because you've complimented him, it's going to occur to him that he wants to do the same back to you," Masini explains. "It's human nature, and it's a good practice to get into for the sake of your happy marriage."

Give him tasks at which he'll excel.
"Don't give him things he'll fail at," says Masini. "Give him things that you know he's good at, whether it's automotive chores or heavy lifting, and be his fan club when he succeeds. Guys want to be your knight in shining armor, so give them opportunities to do so!"


Talk dirty — during the day!
"Make a phone call, send an e-mail, or tell him how hot he is so he can remember that you're the most amazing wife ever — and that means he must deserve the most amazing wife ever," says Masini. "Win, win."

Buy him a gift just because it's Tuesday.
"It can be cologne, a book, some cheese he especially likes — just gift wrap something with a little love note and leave it in his desk, his briefcase or send it to his office," Masini suggests.

Touch him.
"It's easy to stop holding hands, putting arms around each other's' waists, and stroking the back of his neck while he drives," says Masini. "But affection and touching mean so much to him. He wants to be touched, and not just in bed. Show him you love him by kissing him at breakfast, holding his hand while you're out doing errands and touching his forearm while you're talking about something that could be anything."

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

8 Steps to Amazing Wedding-Day Hair

Wedding Hair Tips
Photo: Jesse Pafundi of Golden Hour Studios
 
Just as you're prepping your skin, stepping up your workout game, and making a few more healthier eating choices to get ready for the big day, your hair could also use some extra attention too, so as to ensure that it's in tip-top shape when you walk down the aisle. Celebrity hairstylist Mark Townsend spills his top eight insider secrets on how to get longer, stronger, shinier, smoother, all-around-amazing hair by your wedding

1. Trim your hair to grow your hair.
We know, we know, you've heard it a million times — because it works. If you don't regularly cut the ends, they split, which can weaken them, causing breakage higher up the shaft, says Townsend. Get a "dusting" of the very tips every 10 weeks.

2. Deep condition.
Slather on a treatment mask for 10 to 30 minutes once a week to strengthen and soften. Tip: Adding a little heat from your blow-dryer while you condition helps it penetrate! We like Fekkai Essential Shea Riche Moisture Masque ($25).

3. Take your vitamins.
Celebs swear by Viviscal ($50 for a one-month supply), a hair-growth supplement with biotin, minerals, and marine proteins. "Hair grows about a quarter of an inch a month, but Viviscal can double that," says Townsend. "In three months, you start to see longer, thicker, more beautiful hair."

4. Change your pillowcase.
"Regular cotton absorbs moisture and causes friction, which pulls on your hair and causes tangles," says Townsend, "but if you switch to sateen, you'll have much smoother hair
in the morning."



5. Cool down on heat.
Just because a flatiron goes up to 450 degrees doesn't mean you should. "No one but a pro should use more than 375 degrees on your hair," says Townsend. Pre-treat with a heat protector (we like Nexxus Promend Heat Protecting Mist, $12), and work with one- to two-inch sections. Any bigger and you'll scorch the outer layers and not even reach the middle.

6. Upgrade your blow-dryer.
Switch to a high-powered ionic model, which alters the "charge" of your hair, making it smoother and shinier, and can reduce drying time. Our pick: T3 Featherweight Luxe 2i ($250).

7. Shine on.
In-salon gloss treatments leave a coating that "reflects light and looks amazing in photos," says Townsend. At home, try John Frieda Luminous Glaze Clear Shine Gloss ($7.99).

8. Smooth it out.
Got frizz? With in-salon keratin treatments, your stylist applies a solution, then uses a flatiron to seal it in, leaving hair significantly smoother. Try it a few months out to make sure you like how it looks. Then schedule a session one week before your wedding. DIY products like Tresemmé 7 Day Keratin Smooth Heat Activated Treatment ($6.99) provide similar — but less dramatic — results.

This Man Popped The Question With A Tailor-Made Monopoly Game

Justin Lebon and Michal Ott have been dating for four years. Two Christmases in a row, Michal thought Justin might propose -- but he didn't. 

On Christmas morning 2014, Justin more than made up for that when he popped the question with a custom-made Monopoly board -- Michal's favorite game -- tailoring the different spaces and cards to their love story.

He posted the photos and the story behind them to Reddit on Saturday, where they have since been viewed more than 475,000 times.

"As soon as she opened the corner, she was like, 'Oh my god. It's Monopoly. No f-ing way,'" Justin told The Huffington Post. "I knew how much she loved the original."

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"I gave her the tour [around the board] from start to finish because she was jumping all over the place looking at it," he said. "Match.com is where it starts, the first date was the very next spot, and they go in order from there."

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He also included different streets they've lived on and the locations of some of their favorite vacation spots.

Fun fact: The pair actually lived on the same street for a number of years when they were growing up in Fremont, California. But because they were four years apart in school, they didn't figure that out until much, much later when they connected on Match.com.

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After the initial Christmas morning excitement, Justin and Michal played a round of the game. She rolled first, not knowing that her boyfriend had rigged the dice so only sevens could be rolled.

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She landed on "Chance" -- just as Justin intended -- and picked up the special proposal card that he had stealthily placed on the top of the deck.

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Per the card's instructions, she then headed to the "Luxury Tax" space. That's when Justin got down on one knee and said those magical words. But when he reached into his pocket, he pulled out a wire key instead of a ring box.

"She was super confused," he told HuffPost. "I asked if she could help me with something really cool and she said yes. And that's when I popped open the trap door. And it was just like, 'Holy sh*t. You thought of everything.'"

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"By the time I was done, she was sobbing," he added.

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The brilliant proposal plan was first conceived in November 2014 while Justin was at work. He quickly enlisted the help of his friend Mark Becker -- who runs the Etsy store Old Redwood -- to craft the actual board. Five weeks later, everything was ready to go just in time for the proposal.

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"At the end, we were just sitting there laughing," Justin said. "She was still in shock and couldn't believe all the ups and downs. She was like, 'Wait how'd you know I was going to roll a seven? I told her to look at the dice and she was just like, Shut up!' She had them in her hand the whole time. It was really, really funny."

Monday, September 28, 2015

20 Awesome Photo Ideas For Wedding Parties Who Know How To Have Fun

All too often, brides and grooms get bogged down in big day B.S. and forget the most important ingredient of an awesome wedding (besides love, of course!): fun.

One way to increase your matrimonial fun quotient? By goofing off and letting loose with your besties and bros. Below are 20 wedding party photo ideas you'll definitely want to borrow.