Our trainer Bonne Marcus made some suggestions and modifications to my eating plan; I am cutting out starchy carbs, eliminating all sweets and sugar, and minimizing my alcohol intake. I'm going go try this new plan for at least the next three weeks, leading up to my engagement party, to see how it goes. The toughest part — cutting out fruit! I can eat raw nuts, though, which I’ll substitute for a little snack.

After work one day this week, I went with Rene to the new gym he joined, LA Fitness. They just opened up a new one near our apartment, and it is amazing. It's literally as big as a mall, with two sparkly clean floors and more fitness equipment I've ever seen in my whole life. The spin room had over 60 brand new bikes, which got me so excited! I’m not a big fan of my current gym, as they don’t offer classes, so I’m definitely considering switching over to this one. They offer a 5:45 a.m. spin class on weekdays, which works perfectly with my schedule.

Once I got over the initial shock of how cool it was, I spent a half hour on the elliptical and 15 minutes on the treadmill, sweated my butt off, and burned over 700 calories. I’d say that was a successful workout!

Photo Credit: Britt Chudleigh on Snippet and Ink via Lover.ly

Q: My fiancé and I are providing the alcohol for our wedding. With 75 guests, how many bottles of red and white wine and champagne should we purchase?

If you're anything like me, the mere thought of getting up in front of a room full of people and giving a speech makes you want to crawl under a table and hide. But as the matron of honor at my sister's wedding, I had to put on my big girl pants and give a toast. Luckily, I survived the experience and came out of it with some advice to share on how to execute your speech with confidence!

Photo Credit: Maria Angela Photography 

1. Don't Wait Until the Last Minute
The last thing you need to be doing the week before the wedding is fretting over your toast. I started working on mine about a year in advance; I read through Sharon Naylor's cheat sheet on writing your MOH speech at least five times and began jotting down any ideas as they came to me. Then, about a month before the big day, I sorted through my various ideas and worked them into a cohesive speech.

When my sister first showed me a picture of the bridesmaid dress she wanted us to wear for her wedding, one of my first thoughts — aside from that I loved the style — was, "Nice! I won't need a strapless bra!" But then she clued me in that the straps are actually sheer, and the back would've prevented wearing a regular bra anyway.

Jasmine B2 Style B143923

Finding a strapless bra that is comfortable, actually gives support, and will stay in place throughout the day is no easy task. After suffering through wearing uncomfortable bras at events past, I was determined to find one I'd actually like for my sister's wedding.