CRAVE CRUSH the urban girl's blog to all that you CRAVE

Bride-To-Be in DC? Read Me!

January 27, 2010 by Sarah Clise | Comments (0)

Icicle lights and shiny ornaments added sparkle over the holidays, but that’s all been replaced by a plethora of blinding ring-finger bling! The holidays are by far the most popular time to get engaged, so odds are you or someone you know is sporting a new rock and has a wedding on the way! (If so, congratulations from CRAVE!) Below find some of our DC-area picks for brides and their best gals!

Hitched (hitchedsalon.com)
202.333.6162
Promising a highly personal experience for brides, maids, and moms, Hitched Bridal Couture + Planning Salon is about so much more than finding the right dress. Offering myriad resources for all things bridal, Hitched was founded by Julia Lichtman Kepniss and Carin Rosenberg Levine, two local ladies who have been friends since the 7th grade.

Punk Rock Bride (punkrockbride.com)
202.506.3126
Brides will look stunning in these elegant, non-traditional dresses no matter how they spend the big day- from daintily sipping a champagne cocktail to moodily leaning against graffiti-strewn concrete (check the website for pictures). Founder/designer Stephanie Ward is a RISD grad with simple, statement-making designs.

Bobbie’s Bridal (bobbiesbridal.com)
703.273.2629
Bobbie began her bridal business in her basement in 1986, and it has since blossomed into a full-blown boutique (how’s that for alliteration!). Along with dresses for brides and their maids, you can also find accessories, gifts, tuxes, shoes, and evening wear for other special occasions like proms and pageants. Bobbie’s Bridal is truly a one stop shop!

Local Sisters Savor The SWEET Taste of Success

January 27, 2010 by Sarah Clise | Comments (5)

Once upon a time, a wise person observed that little girls are, in fact, made of sugar, spice and everything nice. Lucky for us, some of those little girls grew up into savvy business women who took that adage to heart right here in the DC area. Crafting delicious confections that make our mouths water (and our jeans quiver with fear), these three pairs of local sisters founded their own companies and put out some truly CRAVE-able treats.

Capital City Cheesecake (capitalcitycheesecakes.com)

One look at the Capital City Cheesecake website is all it takes to know you MUST try Caitlin and Meaghan Murphy’s truly divine cheesecake. From Original to Red Velvet to Creme Brulee, their decadent flavors will send you to another realm and leave you wanting more (and more!). The Murphy sisters even create miniature (2″) and petite (4.5″) cheesecakes so you won’t feel guilty ordering each “Perfect Every Bite” flavor, if you are so inclined… We bet you will be.

Georgetown Cupcake (georgetowncupcake.com)
3301 M St. NW, Washington, DC 20007

One of DC’s most popular gourmet cupcake shops, Georgetown Cupcake was founded by entrepreneur sisters Katharine Kallinis and Sophie LaMontagne. Their impressive cupcake menu boasts dozens of flavors as delicious as they are artistic, with rotating daily selections and specials like Chocolate Coconut, Honey Banana, Toffee Crunch, Lava Fudge, and Lemon Berry. Made fresh daily with top-notch, exquisite ingredients, who could say no to these indulgent little cakes?

The Sugar Cube (thesugarcube.typepad.com)
210 North Lee St., Alexandria, VA 22314

Founders of The Sugar Cube, Kim and Alyssa Theodore are in the business of putting smiles on their customers faces. Their huge variety of sweet treats includes artisan truffles, sweet and savory gourmet confections, over three dozen kinds of panned chocolate, and even Jelly Beans! With the ideal morsel for everyone in the family, this sweets boutique is the perfect place to go for fun, unique, and tasty goodies.

Witness the Fitness: Tips from DC’s Fittest Ladies

January 13, 2010 by Sarah Clise | Comments (1)

Admit it. After months of Egg Nog lattes, shortbread, and tummy-hiding sweaters, it’s not easy to get back in the swing of working out. Lucky for us, there are some local wonder women whose lives are devoted to physical fitness. Below find some tips from the fittest ladies in town to starting off the new year on the right, well-toned foot.

Sarah Stanley, Endurance Athlete, Blogger & Inspirational Speaker

Sarah blogs about her amazing fitness feats like 100 mile races to inspire others to lead healthy lives. She particiaptes in and speaks at events to encourage people of all ages to be fit, starting today. Sarah says:

1. Set realistic goals
2. Start small, build your way up (don’t bite off more than you can chew).
3. Only drink water. Sugary drinks do nothing for you, only add weight and headaches.
4. Make fitness and a healthy life style a part of your life. It can be done.
5. Be patient. Results happen over a period of time

Stephanie Dignan, Founder of The Boot Camp Girl

A personal trainer, Stephanie is a fitness guru who started her own company after teaching boot camp classes at a local gym for just four months. She puts the responsibility on the individual (aka YOU!) to develop healthy habits and attitudes when it comes to physical fitness. Stephanie says:

1. Make your first priority for 2010 to take full and complete responsibility for your 2009 health and fitness results. Study and learn from your results…the good and the bad.  The good news is that if you want to be different in 2010, you have the choice to do things differently, and thus get different results. Don’t try to ignore, forget or bury 2009 until you learn all of the profitable lessons you can from some deeper examination.  Face reality and decide to make some changes. Be honest with yourself about what’s working and what’s not working.  Better results require better actions!
2. Write down your short term and long term goals for 2010 .  Have a monthly and a yearly goal. Also write down longer term goals. Don’t forget goals unrelated to fitness.  Post this in a place that you can see it and tell other people about it.
3. Write down your action plan to achieve your goals.  Determine what it is that you need to do in order to achieve your goals.  Make a very specific plan with a time schedule.
4. Be held accountable.  Find someone else to be accountable to.  This may be a friend, personal trainer, group, etc.  If it’s a friend, make sure this person is serious about holding you accountable. Maybe you can hold each other accountable.  In this way you can also be helping someone else achieve their goals.

Karla Adams, Owner of MindbodyFitness

Karla is a former professional classical dancer who advocated the need for work outs to engage the body AND the mind. Her studio offers a number of services, including Pilates classes and Perinatal Fitness. Karla says:

1. Complete your workout first thing in the morning, before going to work. It’s not only going to give you more energy to get through the day, but you also will have it over with, so you won’t need to worry about trying to squeeze it in at the end of the day. Not a morning person ? Trick yourself into getting up by setting your alarm far away from your bed(that way you can’t keep hitting snooze !) Another trick, lay out your workout clothes the night before. I even have some clients who sleep in their workout attire!
2. Never skip breakfast ! Breakfast literally means “breaking the fast”. You have been asleep for 6 to hopefully 8 or 9 hours, (side note,never underestimate the power of sleep, especially when it come to weight loss and weight management) During your period of rest, you haven’t taken  in any calories. We need good clean calories for our bodies systems to work efficiently. Think of food as gas for your car. You car won’t run if the tank is on empty. Don’t think breakfast has to be “breakfast food”. A deli sliced turkey sandwich on whole grain bread with mustard is a great way to start the day, and it’s portable (yes, in DC it’s always about eating in the car or en route to somewhere)!
3. Find an activity you truly enjoy and make that activity part of your lifestyle. Think about something you can do for an hour, and you have no idea where the time went because you were having so much fun. Research has shown that those who lose weight and keep it off combine good clean calories with activities they CONSISTENTLY engage in that make them feel good.

There you have it. Craving a better body and a new lease on life? Follow the advice of these strong and savvy ladies and make 2010 your best year ever!