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Juggling motherhood with running a business from home

18/12/2014 by Karen

motherhood-self-employment
My life–both work and personal–has changed so much in the past couple of years with the appearance of my darling daughter, Sacha, now 13 months old, and the birth of the fast-growing  Smashing  The Glass, just 18 short months ago. I’ve had to strive for a gold medal in  multi-tasking whilst also trying to instil some semblance of balance in my life. And when you work from home, your productivity in all areas is both accelerated  and impeded.

I define myself as a: Wife, Mother, Daughter, Career-Woman, Blogger, Designer, and Adorer of Wonderful People In My Life. With each of those identities comes responsibilities and duties, but  most importantly I’m also blessed to say that they come with a hell of a lot of  fun and fulfilment!  At the grand old age of 39 (yes I turned the big 40-minus-one a couple of months ago), and with the birth of Sacha, I feel like I’ve designed a life where I revel in  every minute and  am surrounded by, and immersed in,  people and  projects I love.

In all honesty  I’m exhausted most of the time but I  also feel extremely privileged  to  have such a satisfying  career and home  life. I know that my daughter will only be little for so long, and I am lucky to get to spend the extra time with her that I do.  I  have part-time child-care but  I’m running  a full-time business so it’s a constant juggle and shifting of priorities. I’m often working around the clock, in the evenings  once  Sacha  is in bed, on weekends whilst  she’s  napping, and pretty much anytime I’m waiting, walking or  watching TV  thanks to my multitude of Apple gadgets.

Karen Cinnamon

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Talia & Indra | Colourful fusion Jewish Hindu ‘HinJew’ wedding at The Wit, Chicago, IL, USA

16/12/2014 by Karen

hinjew-hindu-jewish-wedding
As a fan of bold colour, multi-cultural weddings are such a visual treat for me. So I’m totally thrilled to be blogging this afternoon’s fusion Jewish Hindu or ‘HinJew’ wedding that’s an all-out explosion of colour and fun. From the bride’s multi-coloured hair to her stunning dress, vivid jewellery and wonderful mix of flowers, to the groom’s hip style and snazzy bejewelled shoes!

This wedding really shows how to perfectly amalgamate cultures, rituals, merrymaking, and personality! Talia and Indra made sure that amongst all their combined traditions they didn’t forget to let their personalities shine through. One of my favourite (and oh-so-simple) party details is that they had a design-your-own-‘mac-and-cheese-bar’ , because Talia is obsessed with this dish!

I absolutely adore Talia’s colourful dress and accessories which suit her down to the ground and I think that it’s safe to say that Talia’s dad agrees too. The emotional photo of him when he sees her for the first time gave me a lump in my throat…

So settle down and enjoy Talia’s infectiously fun words, alongside some super stunning imagery from Roots of Life Photography.

Colourful fusion Hindu Jewish 'HinJew' wedding at theWit, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Colourful fusion Hindu Jewish 'HinJew' wedding at theWit, Chicago, Illinois, USA
a colourful city chic venue

Talia, the Bride: We chose theWit in Chicago, as we wanted a unique and colourful wedding venue with a city feel within easy walking distance to fun things to do before and after the wedding. And in terms of Chicago, there is definitely a significance there. We knew we were going to be a destination wedding for most people no matter where we had it, since we had guests traveling from South Carolina, North Carolina, Indiana, Texas, Canada, India, etc. So we chose to go with our favourite US city, which earned a special place in our hearts since we had our first date there. It made the whole event that much more meaningful to be able

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My obsession with Monica Vinader

12/12/2014 by Karen

Monica-Vinader
My poor husband. Back in October 2011, just four weeks  after our blind date,  my 36th birthday popped up  and my new man  was tasked with  buying me a birthday present. Would he  get it right after just a few weeks of dating? I’m not one for acts of gushing  over-eagerness, yet because I was really  into him I’ll admit  I would have been upset if he’d chosen  something  that he might have bought  for any old mate.

As it happens  my handsome new boyfriend got it just right.  He bought me  the  Monica Vinader  Fiji Chain Braceletwhich I adored, and still very much treasure  to this day.

My obsession with  Monica Vinader  jewellery was born and the  soon-to-be Mr. STG  subsequently bought me  the most beautiful engraved  Ava Button Necklace  for Valentine’s Day 2012 and so it goes on…

I’ve yet to mention Monica Vinader  on the blog, but with the gift-giving (and receiving!) holiday season in full swing, it’s time to inspire you with my current hot picks. And it’s not just my husband and I with fabulous taste (I jest),  The Duchess of Cambridge, Emma Watson, Cheryl Fernandez Versini and Cara Delevingne  are all super fans of Monica’s too.

Don’t forget that many of Monica’s pieces can be personalised with custom engraving  so they also make the most perfect wedding day mementoes.

Choose your  favourites from my MV hot picks below, and get ready to rock the holiday season in smashing  style!

MONICA-VINADER-BRACELETS

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Jewish wedding catering: Ideas for kosher-style, or ‘non-offensive’ menus vs. strictly kosher food

12/12/2014 by Karen

Catering-for-a-Jewish-wedding
Image: Duncan Nicholls for Alison Price 

Those of you in the know will have no doubt heard of  Liesl Lamare from Lamare London, today’s guest blogger. She has created a brilliant bespoke wedding planning service tailored specifically to reflect luxury brides and grooms, and their vision for their wedding day.

She prides herself on going above and beyond to help her brides and grooms, and today she’s going to do just that for you with her advice and mouth-watering menu ideas for those of you that are choosing a ‘kosher-style’ or “non-offensive’ menu for your wedding, rather than a strictly kosher affair. Take it away Liesl!


Food for thought

It is fair to say that catering often plays a big part at a wedding, and can take up the bulk of your wedding budget too! Catering can contribute to your guests’ experience and enjoyment of your wedding — you can take it from us that well fed guests are happy guests! Critically, when planning a Jewish wedding, you may be considering whether or not you should hire a Kosher caterer.

The importance of having Kosher catering may depend on your family beliefs or the strict dietary requirements of your guests. Equally, you may need to consider whether Kosher catering at your chosen reception venue is even an option.

There are several venues that offer Kosher catering or have a relationship with a preferred Kosher caterer who is familiar with your reception venue’s kitchen. Often, in cases when opting for Kosher catering at your chosen venue, the contract is between the couple and the caterer as opposed to the couple and the venue.

Catering for a Jewish wedding Kosher vs. Kosher-Style or 'non-offensive’ menus
A ‘non-offensive’ menu by Alison Price — see menu 1 below for details on each dish). Imagery by Duncan Nicholls

One of the key Kosher rules is not to mix meat and dairy. Should you choose a Kosher-only venue, there will be a meat kitchen separate to a dairy kitchen. But if your venue doesn’t have a separate catering facility, the caterer will need to go into the kitchen to sterilise it to conform with the regulations of kashrut (Jewish dietary law). Catering staff will also only use food products that have been supervised by a rabbi. Kosher caterers will also need to bring in and use all their own equipment as they are unable to use the equipment at a non-Kosher venue. This includes not being able to use the venue’s dishwashers (!), unless they are for Kosher use only, meaning all the equipment must be washed back at the caterer’s own kitchen or by hand in bowls.

Kosher v Kosher-Style or “non-offensive’ catering

With all these regulations to follow, it may now make sense why hiring in a Kosher caterer can often sky-rocket the price per head to an eye-watering level when planning your Jewish wedding. But we are delighted to let you know that there is a more budget-friendly alternative for the Jewish Bride and Groom – Kosher-Style catering. This is also sometimes called “non-offensive catering”.

Catering for a Jewish wedding Kosher vs. Kosher-Style or 'non-offensive’ menus
A ‘non-offensive’ menu by Kalm Kitchen — see their menu below for details on each dish). Imagery by Kalm Kitchen

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Rochelle & Rich | Classic White City Chic Jewish wedding at Devonshire Terrace, in the heart of the City of London, UK

10/12/2014 by Karen

city-chic-wedding
Being my home city, I make no secret of how much I love  a London Wedding. And Rochelle and Rich’s indoor/outdoor venue of Devonshire Terrace right in the heart of the City and in the shadow of the Gherkin, is just about as spectacular as a London venue gets!

Rochelle is a super beautiful bride, all glowing skin and curly, glossy  locks, and  her and  Rich’s Jewish wedding is simple, elegant, relaxed, and  perfectly executed in Rochelle’s easy-going, laid back manner  (read her advice at the end if you want a stress-free wedding planning experience!).

Sit back with a cup of tea, peruse through her wedding report and enjoy all  of the  wonderful images taken by the  rather talented  Claudine Hartzel  Photography, one of Smashing The Glass’s esteemed  Smashing Suppliers.

Classic White City Chic Jewish wedding at Devonshire Terrace, in the heart of the City of London, UK

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