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Get Ready for Your Next Big Event

March 31, 2010 by Madeline C. | Comments (1)

Event planning can be a tough job with high-stress, but somebody’s got to do it! We applaud those who bravely tackle weddings, auctions, galas, etc. without breaking a sweat. And for those of us hiring these superhuman beings here’s a list of whom you should call next time you need a little behind-the-scenes magic.

Bash Eco Events
Often, events can get so lavish and extravagant that we begin to think about everything else. Not Paige Appel. At Bash Eco Events, clients are encouraged to use sustainable caterers, to have recycling and compost at events, and to create their invites from recycled paper. Also, your event will help the environment in your city because a portion of the fees will be donated to A Million Trees LA to keep LA green. We love being able to have a fabulous event while keeping our environment in mind.

A Gadsby Affair
Dynamic Duo Hillary Gadsby and Kristall Lutz have come together to form an amazing event-planning service, A Gadsby Affair, which specializes in corporate events. For anyone looking to boost their marketing by hosting a great party, this is the team to call! They take care of everything from the invites to the venue to catering and you’ll hardly have to lift a finger.

Mindy Weiss
As one of the big names in event planning, we are lucky to have Mindy Weiss in our own backyard. Her creativity and calm demeanor are amazing attributes that make for smooth sailing to the event of your dreams. From beautiful weddings to memorable birthdays, Mindy Weiss does it all. Not to mention, she’s full of everyday lifestyle tips, which she shares through her blog, and she even has an e-store where you can find the perfect touches to add to your own event!

Add More ~ing To Your Life

March 29, 2010 by Sarah Clise | Comments (0)

In her debut book, Add More ~ing To Your Life, motivational speaker and life coach Gabrielle Bernstein takes readers on a fun and fulfilling journey to happiness in 30 days. She promotes writing, meditation, and movement as ways to combat ego and release romantic illusions. For every goal in her book, she lays out an Equation with multiple steps packed with reflection and perspective. Some of her unique blues-blasting concepts include compiling a Compassion List, creating a Personal-Shift Statement, and ceasing to Future Trip. By the end of the book she’s created an arsenal of happiness-promoting exercises to conquer negative thinking and create personal change. Read on to learn more about this gifted guru and what she craves.

What is your motto, slogan, or theme song?
Expect Miracles

What’s the best advice you’ve been given?
The best advice I was ever given was from my mother when she told me that meditation would guide me to serenity.

In a past life you were…
A preacher in South America.

How do you get ready to write?
I clean my desk. Then I meditate. Following my meditation I write an outline. I’m a mess without an outline. I turn off my phone and I unplug the Internet. Then I start writing.

What’s a place that inspires you and why?
The place where I’m most inspired is in Abadiania Brazil. I travel to Abadiania, the home of psychic surgeon and spiritual healer John of God. When I am in Brazil with John of God and his team of mediums I feel my strongest sense of inspiration.

What makes you feel most CRAVE – able?
My authenticity. What you see is what you get.

What’s a cause you are passionate about and why?
I feel deeply connected to helping people overcome addiction and more specifically the issue of teenage suicide due to prescription drugs. I am a recovering drug addict and I am very transparent about my sobriety in order to help others recover. I plan to write a book on overcoming addiction in all areas of life.

What makes you laugh so hard you cry?
So many things. I don’t know where to begin


In 10 years you want to be…
In 10 years I plan to be known as the messenger for happiness for the next generation. I will have a television show and several published books. I will be a mother and dwell in New York City and in a warm weather climate.

Describe yourself in 5 words.
I am spirited, loquacious, alive, connected, love

* This publication was sent to the CRAVEcompany for review

Interview with Milena of Milena’s Boutique

March 26, 2010 by Megan S. | Comments (0)

We CRAVE candles. We love chocolate scented candles, think floral scented candles are fabulous, and lust after sugary candles. Milena Popovich, owner of Milena’s Boutique  loves candles too, but wanted to make candles that are not only yummy, but healthy and eco-friendly. This fabulous entrepreness crafts handmade candles which are made of 100% kosher vegetable soy, non-toxic, non-carcinogenic and are biodegradable. The candles go beyond just smelling fantastic; for additional pampering, the vegetable soy can be dabbed on rough areas of the skin as a moisturizer. The luxe items in this boutique feature 200 scents of candles as well as luxe spa products. Let’s thank Milena for creating a candle that is entirely good for you as we talk with her about her boutique.

Tell us about why you decided to create an eco friendly candle.

First and foremost, I am a vegan for health reasons. Thus, I was very concerned about of our environment long before the eco and green awareness. I love candles so I decided to make an eco, one of a kind candle. All of the scents were created in my own private laboratory in Los Angeles, California: a labor of love.

Who do you design these candles for?

I don’t design candles for any special clientele; however, my candles have a special appeal to everyone. Some notable celebrities such as: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Shriver, Jane Fonda, Danny Glover, Alicia Keys, and  The Pussycat Dolls continue to buy candles at my store.

People may be surprised to know


People may be surprised to know that each of my candles is handmade and individually packaged. The candles are made from the finest quality ingredients, and, my candles are the number #1 selling candle at Melina’s Boutique in Japan.

What is your favorite scent you have created?

While working I am constantly thinking of how I can make my customers happy by creating new fragrances for them to enjoy. Since I have created so many scents, I guess I can say that all of the scents are my favorites.

What is your indulgence?

In terms of indulgence, it’s taking time and care in creating the perfect candle for all to enjoy. I crave to be healthy in life, successful in business, and to create the best scented candle in the world.

Find Milena’s Boutique

323.655.9999
8302 W. 3rd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90048

Show a Little Love for Your Best Friend

March 24, 2010 by Madeline C. | Comments (0)

Animals bring so much joy and love into our worlds. Have you shown your pet any in return lately? From new toys to gourmet meals or maybe even a new addition to your family, these Los Angeles spots know how to treat animals well.

Animal Wellness Centers
Annie Harvilicz bases all treatment and products she uses on the “Lucy Test,” asking the question of whether or not she would use it on her own dog, Lucy. This personal approach to pet health is what makes Animal Wellness Centers a trusted place. They offer all kinds of services from nutritional analysis to acupuncture. Pets need great doctors too, you know, and you can count on Dr. Annie to help heal your best friend.

Pussy & Pooch
Not only does Janene Zakrajsek’s shop have a retail store, but Pussy & Pooch takes pampering your pet to a whole new level. Treat your pet to some delicious raw foods and treats at the Pawbar. From burgers to fro-yo to beer, the Pawbar’s menu is pet-friendly! Next, give your pet a nice bath and maybe even a haircut at the full-service salon. Looks like all dogs DO go to heaven—in the earthly form of Pussy & Pooch.

Woof Worx
Jamie Katz’s Woof Worx is a more traditional experience for your pet. They offer grooming and training for your puppy as well as treats and toys. Woof Worx carries organic pet foods to keep your best friend healthy and green, just like you! One thing you won’t see at Woof Worx is a cage full of puppies for sale. Supporters of the “Puppies Aren’t Products” Campaign, they adopt puppies from local shelters and keep them in their cage-free rescue space where they can play with toys and socialize. They are just waiting for you to bring them home!

Fashion Sense is a Relative Term

March 24, 2010 by Lynn Edwards | Comments (0)

In honor of the recent Fashion Week hoopla, I thought I’d share my fashion “sense” and I use that term quite loosely. For those of you that have read the CRAVE Crack Up blogs, you’ve quickly come to learn I am “challenged” in many areas of my life that include domestically, home interiorally, culinarily, and more. Fashion is no exception
.I have narrowly escaped being featured in the black-boxed face photo in many a fashion magazine.

Every Spring I am inspired to clean out the closet, buy some colorful shoes and skip around looking cute. I pledge to wear a pretty floral print dress just because they look so dang fun on the TV ads but then realize I would actually have to shave my legs.

I adore all the fabulous sunglasses but find myself still sporting the $3.99 pair I bought at the Ritzville AM/PM after a long night. I vowed to never buy expensive eyewear because I was sure I’d lose or break them
these signature shades I picked up near the corn dogs have lasted me five years, naturally!

Each April I travel to Las Vegas for some much needed girl fun. One year I committed myself to having the right “Vegas” shoes, so I splurged. I found just the right pair of smoking hot black strappy pumps. When I got there, I made it from my room to the elevator in the hotel before I had to return to the room for my flip flops. They looked super cute in the pre-func party pics though.

A southern friend once sent me a Spring purse set. By “set” I mean that it looked like one of those Christmas dolls that you open and find 15 more mini-Christmas dolls inside, only this had a matching wallet, sunglass case, etc., it had a million pieces. I had no idea what to do with all of them but they sure were cute. Don’t be surprised that I don’t have a purse “set”
I just recently realized you should have more than one bag for different seasons.

Speaking of seasons, when I lived in the south I was outcast due to my major faux pas of wearing white heels before Easter. Silly me, it had been 80 degrees since New Year’s Eve so I figured white shoes with my cute floral skirt would work. The fashion police literally showed up and locked me in a dressing room at Dillard’s until Easter for that high crime.

You might say I am a “function over form” kind of gal. I am all about comfort and all my jeans have to do is at least accommodate my cell phone and lip gloss.

I do love coats, it’s a strange addiction but I must have a hundred in my closet. Ok, 50% are fleece, but I do dig the outer layer action. Funny thing is I am always so warm, I rarely wear them, not just because most of them would look ridiculous with my floral dress but also because I don’t want to be bothered with carrying one around. I would probably leave it in some coat check somewhere and lose it
.like my $3.99 expensive eyewear.

Here’s to putting on a pretty floral dress and skipping around looking cute this Spring!

Do It Yourself Design Inspirations We CRAVE

March 22, 2010 by Lilla | Comments (0)

Spring is finally just around the corner. We are gearing up to do all our regular spring cleaning tasks – flip mattresses, wash curtains, and finally organize our junk drawers. One of the highlights of spring is rebirth and getting a new lease on life . Well, how about doing the same for your home or an old piece of furniture? Small changes are sure to make a large difference in any home! We love to turn to designspongeonline.com for inspiration and really love the before & after posts. Check out some of our favorite makeovers:

• From gloomy kitchen to apple green colored charmer
• From boring and granny-like rocking chair to modern rockin’ chic
• From an apartment that belongs in a Golden Girls flashback to a place that Carrie Bradshaw can call home!

Do you have any home DIYs plans for spring?

Floral Art: Interview with Jennifer McGarigle

March 19, 2010 by Megan S. | Comments (0)

CRAVE knows that the beauty of floral arrangements can enhance any room. A gift of a custom designed floral arrangement is enough to make any girl feel like a goddess. At Floral Art, located in the heart of Venice, owner Jennifer McGarigle has created a lush flower emporium offering floral arrangements, store installations, event décor, and home furnishings. We love the chic Floral Art signature vases that are paired with each custom designed arrangement. Come celebrate the power of flower as we talk to Jennifer!

What makes a beautiful home?
Flowers!  

What is the most memorable floral arrangement you have received?
A huge bouquet of Sweet Peas my mother picked from the garden, when I was ten.

People may be surprised to know

Flowers don’t have to be limited to a vase.

What do you think about when you are designing?
The natural shape, color, and innate style of individual flowers and how these characteristics translate to furniture.  I like to think of the inherit, graceful stems of a calla lily, for example, and how their natural shape lends themselves to the vertical design of a bench.

What is your indulgence?
Chairs: I have a fetish for them the way most women do for shoes. When I see one with a specific personality and charm, I can’t resist.

What do you CRAVE in business and in life?
To make beautiful things, work with people I enjoy, travel, and to eat good food.

Find Floral Art

310.392.1633
1338 Abbot Kinney Blvd
Venice California 90291

We CRAVE Local LA Blogs!

March 17, 2010 by Madeline C. | Comments (1)

You can find a blog about anything these days, and you can find just about anyone writing blogs too. But some blogs are more worth reading than others. CRAVE knows a good blog when it sees one. Do you subscribe to blogs? Well you should! Here are some local reasons why!

Your Daily Thread
Your Daily Thread is the LA guide to conscious living. Co-founders Tracy Hepler and Lauren Johanson blog about anything and everything cool and eco-friendly going on in the city. From eco-fashion to film festivals, YDT has plenty of events and suggestions that embrace sustainability and green living. We could all use a little more of that in our lives!

When Tara Met Blog
Tara Settembre’s blog is definitely one to follow. It’s not often that someone with a lifestyle blog gets named one of the Top 20 Most Influential People in Los Angeles. And by our standards, that’s amazing. Come on, there are a LOT of influential people in LA. Being one of the most influential people in LA opens many doors for Tara to blog about, and we just love reading! Attending an Alice in Wonderland Tea Part at the W hotel? If you want to live vicariously through someone’s blog, pick When Tara Met Blog. You won’t be disappointed.

Racked
Lisa Boosin’s Racked has everything you need to know about fashion in LA. From what to wear, where to shop, and coverage of any fashion-related event that’s out there, there’s always something useful for the fashionista. We could seriously spend hours on this site. We love the coverage of big designers at great prices, for example Liberty of London for Target, Christian Siriano for Payless. You don’t have to spend a fortune to find fashion, just follow Racked!

CRAVE up your St. Patrick’s Day

March 16, 2010 by Jade S. | Comments (0)

St. Patrick’s Day is tomorrow and whether you are of Irish heritage or not, it is a great excuse to dress up in green, drink Guinness and eat corned beef and cabbage. In case the traditional Irish feast isn’t your thing we have come up with a few cool ways that you can celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with your girlfriends. So grab your green, your “Kiss Me I’m Irish” sticker and a few gal pals and celebrate with us! Erin Go Bragh!

Coordinate a cocktail party with you gal pals using this fabulous party guide from Girlfriend Celebrations. Get cocktail creative with green drinks that aren’t beer. Pair these with fabulous green snacks and appetizers. Finish off the Irish ambiance by playing Celtic music in the background. As a fun party activity everyone can plant individual clovers and each guest can take home a pot to remind them of their fabulous friends.

Not into food and games? Coordinate a gift exchange with girlfriends and require that everyone purchase something that is authentically Irish. Set a spending limit so everyone gets something fun.

This year the holiday is celebrated on a Wednesday so if you aren’t in to going out and partying hard consider spending a night in watching movies. Use food coloring to dye your popcorn green and pop in a Irish “chick-flick” like PS I Love You, Tristan and Isolde , or Leap Year. All St. Patrick’s Day rules still apply so make sure your PJ’s are green!

If you want to go all out and spend the night on the town check out this fabulous St. Patrick’s Day event guide and find out what fun St. Patty’s festivities are happening in your area.

We wish you the “luck o’ the Irish” this year as you celebrate with friends. And no matter where or how you celebrate remember the old Irish adage “Before you call for one for the road be sure you know the road.” SlĂ inte

Interview with Rachel Winokur of eTTa designs

March 12, 2010 by Megan S. | Comments (0)

We love decorating and shopping, which means that being an interior designer would be a fabulous job! Interior Designer Rachel Winokur, owner of interior design boutique eTTa designs does this and more. Her firm showed us how eco-friendly design could fit any budget and style for both commercial and residential projects like the eco-friendly nail salon, Mani Pedi Cutie they recently planned. We spoke with Rachel and learned about incorporating eco-friendly design as much as possible to help preserve our beautiful environment. Read on for her perspective, and click here to check out her website!

What makes a beautiful home?

For me, a beautiful home means more than just beautiful aesthetics.  It means a home that’s inviting, comfortable, relaxing, balanced and functional with stunning design elements, both visually and to the touch.

In what ways do you practice living green? Why is living green important to you?

I promote living green with my clients by first looking for eco-friendly and sustainable design solutions as long as it satisfies the client’s needs like look/feel, function, budget, and timeframe.  I also live green myself whether it’s recycling, minimizing electricity, reducing water usage, re-purposing furnishings I already own vs. replacing, multi-functional items (like a sofa console that’s also a desk), printing my business cards on recycled paper with non-toxic ink, or speaking to groups educating them about ‘green’ design.  Living green especially makes sense since my middle name is Carson, and thus named after Rachel Carson, the Naturalist and author of Silent Spring, which essentially started the environmental movement!

What is your indulgence?

I love beautiful and sumptuous fabrics and could be drawn to them by color, texture and pattern.  A great way to inexpensively indulge in fabrics is to add lots of toss pillows on a bed or sofa since most toss pillows only require about a yard to make
.or even less if you use a plain fabric on the back side!

What has been your most fulfilling project?

I just completed decorating a room pro bono at a new family shelter in LA for Upward Bound House.  It feels so good to be part of a solution to eradicate homelessness and to provide a shelter that not only will be safe, but also beautiful, inviting, comfortable and special.  In addition, it was accomplished by the collaboration of at least 50 vendors and individuals who donated their product, talents, and time to decorating this room. 

What do you CRAVE? In business? In life?

I crave dining at Gjelina in Venice, chai with soy, dark chocolate, fresh organic produce from local farms, the beach and ocean (I love to sail and surf!), skiing, beautiful fabrics, fresh flowers and plants, and enjoying time connecting with friends and family in a properly appointed space topped off with candles, proper lighting, scents, and music through a good sound system.

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