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I am, in some cases, a true girly girl. I love beauty products. Lotions, lip glosses, body washes, perfumes, I love them all. I had totes of them stored in my closet because I ran out of room. And I probably had enough to open up my own drugstore.
You’ll notice I said “I had”. I have recently started thinking long and hard about all of my beauty products, what was in them, and really what they meant to me. I knew I had way more than I needed, but I really liked having the option of scent and color on a daily basis. But after doing some research I soon discovered that maybe my beauty products weren’t all that healthy for me.
So I purged. And I purged big time. I got rid off a lot of stuff, some that I had forgotten that I even had! And if I didn’t know I had it, I obviously didn’t need it.
So now I’ve gone organic. Lotions, shampoo, make up. The whole nine yards. It wasn’t easy. For me, gone are the days when I would just pick up whatever was on sale. I have now become an avid label reader and on line shopper. I get excited when I discover a new company or product that is all organic.
I’ll be sharing tips and secrets to going organic and why you should. But don’t worry, I won’t be climbing up onto any soapboxes and preaching from the gospel of organic. I just want to let you in on some information and you can decide for yourself.
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Why Guys Can’t Ignore Valentine’s Day
Posted by Vicky Lane Categories: Advice, Editorials, Humor, Marriage, Relationships, Sex,
No matter how silly and ultimately meaningless this “hallmark holiday” is, every girl hopes that someone will acknowledge her on Valentine’s Day. When I was a single girl, I dreaded Valentine’s Day (and most holidays for that matter). But like most single girls, I still hoped and prayed that some secret admirer would send me flowers, candy, or some cute stuffed bear wearing a red tee shirt with some cheesy phrase like “be mine” on it . Hey, I’d even settle for a card. I just wanted something that day. Just to feel loved, appreciated, alive. And sometimes I would get something. There are some sensitive gems out there that are willing to play along. I had a male boss who always brought a single pink rose to every woman in the office as a gesture of appreciation. And of course there’s Dad. Even a Garfield or Snoopy card from Dad could cheer me up on a day that depressed the hell out of me.
I think the majority of men think Valentine’s Day is just plain stupid. But the bottom line is no matter how cool the girl plays it, she is most likely desperate for some offering on this day. She’s actually waiting and waiting for that moment to happen. When the delivery man comes to her desk at work with a huge monstrosity of roses, instead of passing her by and delivering to her neighbor, she is completely elated. Having flowers delivered may seem overboard for some guys but if she works in an office environment with a ton of women, you best be sending flowers. And mind you they don’t have to be roses. If you ask a woman what her favorite flower is chances are it’s not a rose. Whatever the flower arrangement is though, the worst thing that can happen is being surrounded by bouquets that aren’t for you. Even if you have a night out planned, send the flowers! You’ll have a much better evening if you do. (In order to make this even easier for you, here’s a ProFlowers coupon for 20% off any order + free vase - or you can enter to win one of five $70 ProFlowers gift certificates we are giving away, just in time for Valentine’s Day.)
Click to continue reading Why Guys Can’t Ignore Valentine’s Day
Easy Ideas for Cheap Dating
Posted by Vicky Lane Categories: Advice, How To, Humor, Marriage, Relationships, Sex,
In these times of economic crisis, people everywhere are looking for ways to cutback. This week, Netflix reported their highest sales growth in years. Could it be that those ridiculously high movie tickets are just too much of an expense these days? Last week Husband and I spent $30 on a trip to the theatre. Now while it’s not something we ultimately want to cut from our budget, signing up for a DVD rental program is a great way for us to save some cash. It’s also a really great way to spend an evening. Making a good dinner, putting comfy PJ’s on, and curling up on the couch to a good flick can be romantic and relaxing after a hectic work week. It’s also an excellent way to finally watch those movies you’ve wanted to see but never got around to. We’re renting some classics now like Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Lawrence of Arabia (which will take up your entire evening).
There are tons of ways to create “cheap dates” besides succumbing to the all you can eat buffet or the Mickey D’s drive through. For example, going to lunch instead of dinner is a great, cheap way to try a new restaurant. Or, how about taking advantage of the local scenery? We headed to the big Shedd Aquarium here in Chicago last weekend and it was fun and inexpensive. Museums, zoo’s, etc. in general are usually priced pretty low. Plus, it’s a great way to spend time with each other, get out of the house, and experience cool things right in your own backyard. A friend of mine just told me she and her husband toured the Anheuser Busch brewery in Jacksonville, FL for the first time even though they’ve lived there for at least 8 years. It’s amazing how we sometimes overlook our local attractions.
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For an Easy Hair Update, Go Old-School!
Posted by Katie Gutierrez Painter Categories: Advice, Celebrities, Fashion, How To,
Things I love about winter: boots, coats, hats, Christmas lights, steak (somehow, red meat tastes even better in cold weather), sidewalk cafes with heaters, and tamales. Definitely tamales.
Things I despise about winter: drafty houses (mine). MY HAIR!
Winter wreaks havoc on my otherwise moderately well-behaved hair. It’s the static. Mixed metaphors aside, my hair is a friggin’ lint trap for static. I can’t straighten it, I can’t wear it wavy. My only recourse, which I’ve been using for more than a decade, is The Messy Bun. Well, this season I rediscovered a more creative and infinitely chicer way to keep my crazy hair away from everybody’s eyes: The Braid. Now, before you whine, “But Katie, little kids wear braids!” let me at least make a case.
Sweet Side Braid 
On days—even in milder seasons—when my hair simply won’t be tamed (read: bangs channeling There’s Something About Mary), I turn to The Side Braid. Long-haired ladies, make a dramatic part in your hair—about a centimeter past the arch of your brow—and gather your locks over to the opposite shoulder. Begin your braid at the nape of your neck, and end it two to three inches from the tips of your hair. This prevents most shorter layers from haphazardly sticking out. Secure braid with a band the color of your hair. Check out Rebecca Romijn’s easy red-carpet ‘do, and for extra prettiness, clip a small bejeweled hairpin or barrette over the arch of the eyebrow on the opposite side of hair part.
Click to continue reading For an Easy Hair Update, Go Old-School!
Sometimes, having a drink on a date is a great way to calm your nerves. Having three, four, or even five can lead to disaster. The reason I bring this up is I recently had a conversation with a friend about one of her most recent disaster dates. While she is not a big drinker, she finds herself a little too tipsy when she’s out with a new guy. She truly is a “drunk dater”.
How she explains it to me is that after arriving at a restaurant the easiest way for her to relax is to order a drink. It puts her at ease and gives her something to do instead of fidgeting. If she’s having a good time with this guy and likes the look of him, her first drink goes down pretty quickly. If she really, really likes him, she could easily end up finishing three martinis in the first hour, yikes.
The problem is after the second drink she’s so tipsy that she could be having fun with anyone! The date becomes more of party and by the end of the night there’s a chance she could wind up lip locked (or worse) in the front seat of the car. Then she wonders why things didn’t work out. And by “work out” she means being taken seriously for a deeper relationship.
Click to continue reading Getting Drunk on a First Date
“Tell Me You Love Me” Should He Always Say It First?
Posted by Vicky Lane Categories: Advice, Humor, Marriage, Relationships, Sex,
If you haven’t figured it out yet, I’ve been in a handful of relationships prior to getting married. Most of them were meaningful and some of them were pretty intense. I have been in love more then once and yeah, I’ve said those three little words a few times. It is so funny to me how we (us girls) are so anxious about wanting to hear our man give in to his emotions and tell us he loves us. Sometimes we stare at them and repeat to ourselves “say it, say it, come on say it” (well, maybe us crazy ones). We really want to hear it because for one, it confirms that this guy is really serious about us and two, that he’s not going anywhere (at least for a little while).
Some of us go through many stages of anxiety in a relationship. The first stage, after a serious relationship is established, is the “when is he going to say ‘I love you’?” stage (by the way, the next stage is “when is he going to propose”). When you have completely fallen in love, all you want to do is say it. You want to tell him you love him everyday. But you won’t. And why? Because you want him to say it first, and in my opinion, he should. You really never, ever want to be in a situation where you profess your love to someone and then it not be returned. That’s harsh. But I said he should, not he must.
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How to Create Your Signature Style (Hint: You’re Already Halfway There)
Posted by Katie Gutierrez Painter Categories: Advice, Editorials, Entertainment, Fashion, How To,
Go ahead; ask. I’ve heard the question so many times, by friends, relatives, and relative strangers—all with the same look of bewildered desperation: “But how do I find a style of my own?” Paradoxically, the conundrum makes sense. No two women have the same body, taste, or lifestyle, and with Do’s, Don’ts, Classics, Freshes, and Tragics morphing into each other every season, who’s to say what’s right? You. You’re to say what’s right. Here’s how use your home, office—even your favorite TV show—to tap into your signature style… and keep it until you say it’s time for a change.
Revisit your old Crayola box
I drive a red car, wear red-framed sunglasses, obsess over my red BlackBerry, heat water in a red tea kettle, and relax in a red-walled bedroom when I visit my parents. The funny thing is, when I was asked a couple of years ago what my favorite color was, I had to mull the question over! My gravitation toward red, in all its delicious hues, is instant and unconscious. But I know why I love it: It’s vibrant, powerful, alive, playful, and sexy. All things I’d like to epitomize. If you don’t have a 72-box of crayons lying around, visit your nearest home improvement store and check out the paint aisle. There, let yourself pull out the first three samples that move or inspire you. Hang onto them. See if these aren’t colors you’re drawn to in other areas of your life—like the flowers you bring home from the grocery store or the font color of your e-mails or the jewelry box on your bathroom counter. (Mine’s red.) Voila! You have a signature color—and it’s okay if it’s beige, as long as you love it.
Click to continue reading How to Create Your Signature Style (Hint: You’re Already Halfway There)
For Better or For Worse: Life After the Wedding
Posted by Vicky Lane Categories: Advice, How To, Marriage, Relationships, Sex,
Some people have been asking me why I’m blogging so much about dating and ex-boyfriends now that I’m a married woman. Well, if you look at my life in segments, my dating life far exceeds my married life. I figure my first date happened at the age of 15 and I was married at 30. 15 years of dating versus just over one year of being married. I can no way claim to have knowledge about how to make a marriage work. But I can discuss what I’ve experienced so far, and steps I’ve taken to make my marriage successful.
So the wedding is over. It’s funny how the question that everyone asked went from “how’s the wedding planning?” to “how’s married life treating you?” or “so when are you having a baby?”. I find the one about married life the most interesting. I hear it the most from married people and am now starting to feel like maybe it’s a trick question. If I look closely, I can see them looking at me with a raised eyebrow and maybe thinking to themselves “ha ha sucker, so how is married life really”? It seemed innocent at first and I always answered “Great!” But I realized that they knew something that I didn’t, and were waiting for me to discover that being married is no walk in the park.
Click to continue reading For Better or For Worse: Life After the Wedding
15 Little Ways to Live Happier and Healther—Starting NOW!
Posted by Katie Gutierrez Painter Categories: Advice, Entertainment, Fashion, Health, How To, Humor, Relationships,
It’s the tenth day of the new year, and how many of us have already strayed from our resolutions? That may be because those goals we make each December 31 often revolve around breaking bad habits or spontaneously forming new, better ones. Who among us hasn’t vowed, at least once, to eat healthier, to work out three times a week, to drink less, to read more, to be spontaneous, and so on? While these resolutions may be noble, they’re also decidedly vague. (After all, doesn’t eating only one bowl of ice cream after dinner count as “eating healthier”?) So why not give yourself a chance to actually achieve your goals by making them smaller and more realistic? Below, 15 little ways to live healthier and happier—starting now.
Click to continue reading 15 Little Ways to Live Happier and Healther—Starting NOW!
Style Yourself Successful: Four looks that show you how
Posted by Katie Gutierrez Painter Categories: Advice, Editorials, Entertainment, Fashion, How To, Humor,
I have an unstylish little secret: Since I work from home, it’s not unusual for my husband to arrive in the afternoon and see me in the same clothes I woke up in that morning. In fact, yesterday he came home early and caught me in my pajamas, on the couch, cup of coffee in hand and watching the end of a Lifetime drama. It was three p.m. “I swear, I didn’t just wake up, and I haven’t been doing this all day!” I announced before I’d even said hello. My immediately defensiveness wasn’t because I thought he’d judge me. It was because I was kinda judging myself a little. What am I , I thought, some slobby kid home from college for the holidays? No. I own a business. I’ve published books. I write about beauty and health, for God’s sake!
This morning, I woke up, went straight into my closet, and pulled on a little red jersey dress. I did the fresh-face routine, brushed and styled my hair, and then made my cup of coffee and got to work. Fifteen minutes of my time, quite a simple look, and I suddenly felt like a professional again. The point is this: You can style yourself successful. The psychology is simple—looking good makes us feel good. Knowing that we appear put-together gives us confidence, with which we’re more apt to take on new projects, invite the boss to lunch, and impress clients. And it works both ways. The people around us take subtle cues about our personalities, capabilities, and desires from the clothes we wear—and they act on those cues. So, read on for a few looks that will help you achieve your daily goals.
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