Absolute Living

Absolute Living MAY 2020

LOVE

IS ALL YOU NEED A VISIT WITH ADRIENNE LOVE AT THE WEDDING STUDIO

HOMESCHOOLING TIPS & RESOURCES

WEDDING GALLERY

DESIGNING YOUR IDEAL WORKSPACE

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May/2020

CONTENTS

Photography By Gabrielle Cheikh Noel

24

LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED

A Visit with Adrienne Love at The Wedding Studio

12

CALMING BEAUTY PRODUCTS TO HELP YOU BANISH STRESS AND ANXIETY

18

HOMESCHOOLING TIPS & RESOURCES

We're all home educators now. Onward and forward with our children's education!

34

WEDDING GALLERY

44

DESIGNING YOUR IDEAL WORKSPACE

Don't let a pandemic stop you from planning your perfect ceremony--because life and love will go on!

Whether you're a seasoned veteran of the home office or brand new to the game, we provide tips for creating the perfect work environment.

Volume 13. Issue 04. (#149

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By Justyna Pena

ALMING BEAUTY PRODUCTS TO HELP YOU BANISH STRESS AND ANXIETY Spritz, Soak and Breathe Your Stress Away

Life—especially nowadays—presents a serious struggle.

Juggling a career and a life outside work, navigating social media, and even watching the news can all give your emotional well-being a bit of a battering, leaving you feeling anxious, stressed and, well, over it. Add a global pandemic to the situation and it's all too easy to feel overwhelmed. If ever there was a time to give yourself a break, this is it.

From essential oils and soothing balms, to sprays dedicated to aligning your chakras (don't knock ‘em ‘til you've tried ‘em), beauty products abound, promising to help kick anxiety, stress, bad moods and even insomnia, to the curb. And, believe it or not, it's not just a matter of the placebo effect.

Photo by Kinga Cichewicz on Unsplash

“Essential oils, in general, have known constituents which are proven to be beneficial through traditional and ethnobotanical evidence,” says Luke Taylor, Master Blender at Aromatherapy Associates. He adds that choosing the right oil for you depends on your personal memories and the feelings one scent or other might evoke for you.

Check out our pick of the very latest and best calming sprays, candles, skincare products and more.

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Aveda Stress Fix Soaking Salt Sometimes it just takes a long, hot soak in the tub to cure your blues. Soak away stress with these sugar and mineralrich bath salts infused with an aroma proven to reduce feelings of stress. aveda.com Clarins Relax Body Treatment Oil Luxurious and nourishing, this delicious smelling oil will not only make your skin happy, but your mind, too. Best applied by someone else, using massaging strokes—if you can find a volunteer. macys.com Origins Peace of Mind On-the-spot Relief When you need an instant escape, dot a little dose of this remedy behind the ears or on the temples and breathe in the zesty aroma to reground. Also great for headaches, the teeny bottle will handily fit in your handbag. sephora.com Aveda Chakra-1 Balancing Body Mist For times when you feel a bit all over the place, pick up Aveda's Chakra-1. Taking inspo from the ancient healing art of India, a single spritz of this vetiver and patchouli-packed body mist has the clever ability to cut through nervous tension and stuffy office or home-office air, bringing you right back down to earth. Spray a cloud above your head and let it work its magic. aveda.com

Byredo Parfums Cotton Poplin Scented Candle This cotton-scented candle is like diving headfirst into a pile of clean laundry. A subtle and sophisticated duo of linen and chamomile work to dispel that fog of stress that hangs over you after a difficult day of work—and it has an impressive 60 hours of burn time. shop.nordstroom.com Mio Liquid Yoga Restorative Bath Soak Been on your feet all day? Treat your bathwater to a generous dash of this. Mineral salts, herbs and arnica unravel tight, knotted muscles in a matter of moments, while spearmint slays stress and helps you breathe easy—no yoga mat or downward dog pose required. overstock.com Uma Pure Calm Wellness Oil Noisy housemates ruining your zen? A drop or two of UMA's Wellness Oil provides you with a few moments of me-time, whether you pop a little into your bath or massage into your skin. Jasmine essential oil soothes the senses, clary sage promotes peacefulness, and chamomile delivers a wave of calm. revolve.com Thisworks Deep Sleep Pillow Spray A best-selling deep sleep spray to help you enjoy a peaceful night's sleep. Not too strong in scent, it helps your mind slow down and your body relax into dream town. shop.nordstrom.com

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TEQUILA | BITES | COCKTAILS

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By Hope Amor

HOMESCHOOLING TIPS & RESOURCES

Photo by Josh Applegate

During this global pandemic, you may find yourself homeschooling for the first time. Good news: there is an entire community who has been doing this for a long time. Following are tips and resources from a local homeschool parent and teacher turned school administrator that can help keep everyone sane in your household.

Tip #1: Create a Routine Everyone thrives in a routine, and it takes 2-3 weeks for new habits to stick. If your entire family has been instructed to stay home, this could be a good time to listen to your bodies and find your natural circadian rhythms.

Some people are naturally night owls and some are early birds. Most people get their best work done between 9 to 10 a.m. when they are fresh, before decision fatigue sets in: kids included. Our brains are primed for analytical tasks (think math school work) in the morning and open-ended tasks (such as art and creative problem-solving) in the afternoon. Structure your day to take advantage of high-energy and high-creativity times.

A sample daily routine could look like this: 8:00-9:00 a.m. Wake up, get dressed, eat breakfast, brush teeth 9:00-10:00 a.m. Work time 10:00-10:30 a.m. Morning walk, outdoor play time, snack 10:30-11:00 a.m. House chores (laundry, clean) 11:00-12:00 p.m. Unstructured free time 12:00-1:00 p.m. Lunch 1:00-2:00 p.m. Creative play 2:00-3:00 p.m. Quiet time, nap, reading 3:00-5:00 p.m. Outdoor play 5:00-6:00 p.m. Dinner 6:00-8:00 p.m. Family time (game, puzzle, movie) 8:00-9:00 p.m. Prep for bedtime, reading Pro tip: Set up a large whiteboard in a common family area, such as the kitchen or living room, to track daily schedules and tasks. Your child may enjoy writing the items themselves or checking them off the list.

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Tip #2: Show Yourself Grace Unless you are a teacher by profession, homeschooling is probably uncharted territory for you. Take heart! You will not rob your child of life opportunities. The best thing you can easily do to keep them healthy and happy is to encourage outdoor play time. The best way to make your child’s teachers happy when they return to school is to read to them and continuously foster a love of learning. Children should have access to a variety of texts at home, and hardbacks can be supplemented by author read-alouds on YouTube and other online resources.

Show grace with the garb; no one is going to smite you if you wear pajamas all day. In fact, this is a great opportunity to build forts and create an indoor drive-in theater (think cardboard “cars” that the children decorate themselves in preparation for movie night)!

Photo by Aaron Burden

Photo by Jessica Lewis

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Photo by Annie Spratt

Photo by Patricia Prudente

Tip #3: Learn from the Pros Julie Wood of Carmel, Indiana, has homeschooled her 4 boys for 16 years. Her initial worry about the “weird homeschool kid” stereotype was lifted when she actually met a family that homeschooled. She quickly realized that “[the homeschool parents] were normal people and their kids were well-adjusted.” She encourages parents who are new with homeschooling to let go of perfectionism and embrace the change. “It’s a blessing to see what my kids are doing during the day...It’s ok if you can’t do everything. Don’t miss the forest for the trees.”

Julie insists that teaching is not her gift, but “you don’t have to have multiple degrees to teach your own kids. Working one-on-one with your child is a completely different thing [than leading a classroom full of students].” Homeschooling

has given her great appreciation for those who are teachers, but a lovely benefit to homeschooling is that “[the kids] aren’t lining up for the bathroom or for recess. Not as much time is spent in the classroom as in school.” In fact, Julie was shocked to realize how much content can be covered in such a short period of time. “For kindergarten, they can get all their stuff done in an hour and a half. It’s eye-opening!”

Despite all the benefits homeschool has provided her children, Julie was quick to mention, “My situation looks different [as a stay-at-home mom] so it wasn’t as big of an adjustment [to homeschool].” Parents who work outside the home and find themselves forced to homeschool during this time are likely feeling additional pressures.

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Photo by Kaleidico

Tip #4: Don’t Do It All Yourself It’s ok that you have other responsibilities to attend to; your child can benefit from a menagerie of online resources while you squeeze in a bit of work time or self-care.

● Newsela (newsela.com): This company is giving free access for the rest of this school year to their site full of current event articles that can be adjusted for your child’s reading level.

If your child’s school has not given work to complete or your child is not yet school-aged, here are some low- and no-cost resources to explore:

● P.E. with Joe or Yoga with Adriene (YouTube): Get your sweat on with these high-energy fitness gurus. Workouts are suitable for nearly any age.

● Busy Toddler (busytoddler.com): Susie Allison has created a treasure trove of low-prep, few-material activities that can engage your youngsters.

● IXL (ixl.com): This low-cost (starting at $9.95/ mo.) resource offers core curriculum aligned skill practice in Math, Language Arts, Science and/or Social Studies at every level (K-12).

● Epic! (getepic.com): This is a never-ending library of e-books that your child can listen to or read.

● Virtual Museum Tours (Google Arts & Culture): Your child can explore some of the world’s most famous museums, from the Guggenheim to the Musée d’Orsay, without leaving home.

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LOVE

IS ALL YOU NEED A Visit with Adrienne Love at The Wedding Studio The wedding industry is eccentric and sprawling—full of so many beautiful facets that each draws so much attention.

Adrienne Love adores these details, but has chosen to cut through it all and focus her intimate shop on only one true love: The Bride.

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Five years ago Adrienne Love took a leap of faith and unexpectedly found her calling. “I never thought I would be in bridal,” she confesses, “but this is exactly where I was meant to be.”

Business wasn’t always booming, and many of Love’s successes were built upon original mistakes. “That first year was slow to start, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I had some big failures that I think were necessary for us to grow the way we did,” she explains.

But she also had some good resources and some great mentors, and by the next year she was ready to take off.

“I wanted to add more designers. I wanted to offer my brides every different kind of dress. If they came in and said ‘I want something bohemian,’ or ‘I want something

A-line with no lace,’ or ‘I want crepe,’ or ‘I want tons of lace and tons of glitter,’ I wanted to have every single option,” she says. In discovering all of the options, she realized her mission, and has worked every day since to create a unique experience for each bride that comes through her doors.

Brides need to feel beautiful and loved has become her mantra. “There is such a beautiful satisfaction and joy that comes with truly getting to know our brides and helping them. It is so fulfilling, even if we don’t get a sale…I honestly didn’t see that beauty in it at first, until we started figuring what our mission was and how it

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"Bridal is a different beast than any other retail,” Adrienne Love explains from one of the posh suites in her Carmel studio. She never dreamed of being in the wedding industry, and had a solid career in medical sales before this adventure, but she couldn’t pass up an opportunity to flex her creative muscles and entrepreneurial skills when it presented itself. When Adrienne opened her first shop five years ago, she made the best out of a 900-square-foot, second floor space in downtown Carmel. She only had two dressing rooms and squeezed 40 gowns on the showroom floor. Since then she has moved her flagship location to the Clay Terrace Mall, complete with several private suites that can hold an entire wedding party, and over 300 gowns on hand. Three years ago she opened a second location on the Southside of Indianapolis, in her hometown of Greenwood. This spring that shop is expanding too, going from 2000 to 5000 square feet, and will be the largest bridal store in the state of Indiana. Love says, “It is going to be wildly different with big pops of color and really fun areas for photo opportunities. It will be an attraction to people because it is so big and because we have such a great inventory that you can’t get anywhere else.”

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impacted people,” she reveals. She feels honored to play a role in a part of someone’s life that they will cherish forever.

Love is excited for this moment in her career because she finally considers herself settled enough in the industry to feel like she can truly tap into exactly what brides want and provide them with an experience they can’t get anywhere else. She offers private suites with a sitting room for friends and family—your entire bridal party if you want! She offers complimentary champagne, plenty of personal touches, and a fun atmosphere for making memories.

She also reveals, however, that wedding dress shopping can cause anxiety for many brides. At The Wedding Studio, she aims to put brides at ease. She tells all of her brides: “Just bring your-self, an open mind, and a good attitude.

We will provide you with every single thing that you need to feel comfortable in that wedding gown no matter what size you are. I don’t care where you came from or who you’re with, it does not matter. We are going to meet you where you are and make you feel beautiful.”

Not only does she offer high quality and more intricate dress options, but she also offers an experience unlike any other bridal store around.

Love makes sure that her team is prepared for each appointment and has several dresses pulled in advance. “Brides have an hourand-a-half of our full attention when they are here,” she explains. “It is a one-on-one experience that we are devoted to, and because of that

we can pinpoint exactly what they want pretty quickly.”

Love listens to her brides, and if she doesn’t have what they are looking for, she will find it.

She handpicks all of the gowns in her showroom, and is very meticulous—not only about the gown structure, but also about the materials used and how it is made. She is acutely aware of the quality control and the customer service of every designer she carries, and has worked hard to build good relationships with each one, so much so that many of the sales reps and design teams have become like family. Love knows how important this purchase is for her brides, and she makes sure that each gown is from a trustworthy bridal line.

Hundreds of raving, 5-star reviews on various platforms prove that many delighted brides have found an experience here like nowhere else. Love credits a lot of that to her staff. “I have been blessed with the sweetest team, and they really have a respect for this special time with our brides,” she gushes.

Between both locations, Love employs 15 professionally trained bridal stylists that are attentive and knowledgeable, but never pushy.

They are in tune with each bride’s own needs, and will do everything they can to meet those needs.

Adrienne Love confirms she could not meet many of those needs without her right-hand-gal, Andrea Greene. Andrea cold-called The Wedding Studio three-years ago on a whim and landed a Saturday

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position. She advanced quickly and is now the Director of Operations over both stores. Adrienne and Andrea have built a deep friendship, and the combination of their personalities has had a huge impact on the business. “She is the yin to my yang,” Love laughs. “I am creative. I am all over the place. I can come up with an idea, but she actually figures out how to attack it and make it happen. We have a really good thing.”

Greene chimes in, “We’ve got big dreams. Adrienne is a true entrepreneur, and I really enjoy trying to figure out how to implement all of her ideas.” This year they are especially focused on making a positive impact on the community here in Carmel, Indianapolis, and Greenwood. In order to do that, The Wedding Studio is investing in passion projects that are important to its team members, and is implementing projects so that they give back to the community together. In the essence of focusing on brides, they intend to support charities and foundations that empower women, like the Hope Center and Dress for Success.

Love wants to help as many brides as she can in the quest for the perfect wedding gown. She is focused on her current stores for now, but looks to grow in the future. Ultimately, Love wants The Wedding Studio to be a solid and successful business that has a reputation she can be proud of.

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Wedding Gallery

While the state of the world may be casting a pall on many aspects of our lives, no virus can stop spring's flowers from blooming, nor can it stop love from blossoming where it may. In this spirit, Absolute Living and staff photographer Gabrielle Cheikh Noel, of GC Photography, present the following gallery of recent newlyweds to serve as an inspiring reminder to our readers that love conquers all--and that Hoosiers will be blessed with weddings again before we know it.

Wedding Dress: Curvy Custom Bride Hair: AV Beauty Bar Makeup: AV Beauty Bar Flowers: Olive & Sage Venue: Hotel Covington

Rebecca + Tommy

Alex + Kolby

Wedding Dress: Bridal and Formal Hair: Wedding Hair Fairy Flowers: Molly and Myrtle Venue: Laurel Hall

Wedding Dress: Rue de Seine Hair: Lauren Burnside Makeup: Kate Shaw Venue: The Old Barn at Brown County

Carly + Matt

Inna + Sven

Flowers: Monarch Floral Garden Design Catering: Nancy Kelly Cake: Bella e Dolce

Stevi + Daniel Wedding Dress: Luxe Redux Bridal Hair: Rachael Duplantis Suarez Makeup: Jessica Carnley Flowers: Meg Catherine Flowers Venue: Can and Table

Lauren + Gavin

Wedding Dress: The Wedding Studio Flowers: Peggy Murphy Venue: 1899 Indy

Wedding Dress: Marie Gabriel Couture Bridal Hair: Jessica Ferguson-Haase Makeup: Artistry By Annette Flowers: Bloom Custom Floral Design Cake: Classic Cakes Venue: Indianapolis Artsgarden & Conrad Indianapolis

Julia + Kevin

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Photo by Vadim Sherbakov

DESIGNING YOUR IDEAL WORKSPACE

By Hope Amor

Focus and fortitude come from a well-designed workspace. From the cubicle to the cupboard, many people are making the switch to working from home. Following are some critical elements to consider as you create your home office.

Greenery Plants are the surest way to give life to your work area; quite literally, they will improve your air quality. Some of the most resilient, lowmaintenance indoor plants are the air plant, cactus, philodendron, fiddle leaf fig, spider plant and calathea.

Grouping the plants asymmetrically on or near your desk adds liveliness; alternatively, symmetric placement adds balance. Consider mixing types and heights of plants to spur visual interest.

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Photo by Minh Pham

Walls Frame an inspiring art print, hang photos of your loved ones, or write on the walls by hanging a large dry erase board.

Anything that can pin or clip important snippets is useful, including clipboards.

Curtains with a bold color or pattern can beautifully flank your windows and give the finishing touch to your space. Wallpaper has the same effect. ​ Consider peel & stick removable wallpaper to change-up styles with some frequency.

Photo by Annie Spratt

Lighting A light element can be purely functional, but the best ones exude joy. Natural light is your best bet because prolonged exposure to fluorescent light can cause migraines or sleep loss. Bulbs that mimic natural light are easier on your eyes, but nothing can replace a nearby window.

Photo by Domenico Loia

Desk

Photo by Minh Pham

Though central to the home office, your desk can be the star of the show or sophisticatedly understated.

It can be placed to command the center of the room or within reach of critical outlets. Corner desks are useful to keep paperwork and materials separated.

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Location, Location, Location Finally, ensure your desk location allows for private conversations and healthy boundaries.

Placing your home office in your bedroom can make it hard to separate work time from sleep time. Having your desk in a high-traffic area of the house can cause limitless distractions.

Think critically about where you will work best, and consider the following questions: Where will I get the most natural light? Where do I feel most happy in my home? What is the quietest part of the house? How can I find balance in my personal and professional life?

Photo by Nicole Wolf

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