Today's Obsessions

Posted: 07 Jun 2010 05:25 AM PDT

Now that it's definitely spring, you've probably thought about spring cleaning your house and your wardrobe, but have you scheduled spring cleaning for your love life? Spring has completely new love rules, so it's time to banish the winter blues and clean out your baggage…

1. Stop hibernating!

Photo Credit: Richard Upshur
Come out of the dark place you've been hiding for 6 months! While cold weather, jumpers and thick soup probably haven't filled you with confidence, it's time to get ready for spring, so ditch any old clothes and go and get some new spring dresses, skirts and heels. And get a wax, and a haircut… might as well have a full revamp, right?

2. Exercise

Photo Credit: scottnj
Finding confidence isn't easy, but it is vital. Go for gold and start playing a sport for at least half an hour a week. You'll get a feel-good rush, which will boost your confidence instantly! You could try tennis, swimming or running… the world is your oyster!

3. Go Outside!

Photo Credit: NejroN
Sun exposure boosts your mood, and makes you feel much happier. And it’s proven that happier people are much more attractive, so grab your dog, your neighbour’s dog, or just go on your own and enjoy the sunshine! You never know who you might meet….

7 Best YouTube Make-Up Tutorials …

Posted: 07 Jun 2010 04:50 AM PDT

I am not the best when it comes to applying makeup. It's hard sometimes getting to the MAC counter for tutorials. Here are some of the best makeup tutorial channels to guide you to looking beautiful! The best part? You can watch them anytime on YouTube!

1. AshleyVictoria – Daytime Makeup Look: Wearable Smokey Eye

AshleyVictoria is very thorough with her tutorials. She gives you a list of the products that she uses and shows you step by step how to achieve the looks in her tutorials. This is my favorite tutorial done by her, I've always wanted to know how to achieve the smoky eye look without looking beat up!

2. MakeUpGeek – Colorful Arabic Makeup

MakeUpGeek is my absolute favoritest YouTube makeup channel! Marlena is thorough and precise. Her presentation of all her tutorials makes you feel like you know her and that she knows you. I like this particular tutorial because she recreated the Arabic Middle Eastern look very well. This would look great with your fabulous LBD and some sexy heels on your night out.

3. MakeUPGeek – Alicia Keys Inspired Makeup

This tutorial is amazing. The colors she used to duplicate Alicia's look were perfect! Step by step easy instructions that help you to recreate this look on your own. You just can’t go wrong with all these makeup tips.

8 Songs to Dance Around the Room To …

Posted: 07 Jun 2010 03:58 AM PDT

Too shy to dance in a club? Sometimes it's great to just put on some music and let go of your inhibitions. Here are my favorite songs for bopping around my flat and not caring if anyone can see.

1. Hanson “MmmBop”

This is the one song guaranteed to get me dancing. Even in the most serious of situations, if some mischievous soul put this on, I would not be able to resist a good (Mmm)bop. Imagine it. 'Pleased to meet you, Your Majesty …'

2. Ricky Martin “Livin’ la Vida Loca”

Irresistible. How could anyone not do a suitably mad dance to this song?

3. House of Pain “Jump Around”

Go for it!

8 Historical Figures I’d Love to Meet …

Posted: 07 Jun 2010 01:51 AM PDT

I'm a big history buff (yeah, so you found it was boring at school. That's because of how it was taught!). There are some people I'd just love to meet, and find out what they were really like.

1. Anne Boleyn

Foxy chick who came from nowhere to marry Henry VIII of England. Smart, sassy and ballsy. Met an unfortunate end when Henry got fed up with her, and the Tudor court was a bit boring until …
Photo Credit: margin52

2. … Elizabeth I became queen

Elizabeth was Anne's daughter by Henry, and just as ballsy as her mother.
Photo Credit: theothertudorgirl

3. Richard III

King of England for a couple of years, before being betrayed and killed in battle by Henry Tudor, Henry VIII's father. Unfairly maligned by history and Shakespeare. I'd like to be able to drop him a few hints on how to win, although then we wouldn't have had the Tudor dynasty, which means no Elizabeth I … drat.
Photo Credit: RATAEDL

15 Best Fiction Books …

Posted: 06 Jun 2010 07:30 PM PDT

Looking for a good book to escape into? I love reading anything I can, but with the massive amount of new authors, new stories and rewritten classics, which one do you choose? Here are my top twelve fiction books, to make your choice a little easier…

1. Something Borrowed – Emily Giffin

Plot: Rachel Miller and Darcy Rhone have been best friends since childhood. They’ve shared birthdays, the horrors of high school and even boyfriends, but while Darcy is the sort of woman who breezes through life getting what she wants when she wants it, Rachel has always played by the rules and watched her stunning best friend steal the limelight. The one thing Rachel’s always had over Darcy is the four-month age-gap which meant she was first to being a teenager, first to drive, first to everything …but now she’s about to be first to thirty. And Darcy still has a charmed life.
On the eve of her thirtieth birthday, Rachel is shocked to find herself questioning the status quo. How come Darcy gets a glamorous job at a PR firm and the perfect boyfriend, while Rachel grinds away at her despised job as an attorney and remains painfully single. Is it just luck? Or, looking back at their friendship and their lives together, is it a bit more complicated than that?
Then an accidental fling complicated everything, and it’s time for Rachel to make a few hard choices. And she’s forced to learn that sometimes true love comes at a price…
My Opinion: Everyone has had a friend that they've been jealous of, but Rachel has more problems then most! This is a well written book that most women will relate too, and it contains a gritty, gripping love story too. Well worth a read!
Price: $5.58 at amazon.com

2. The Help – Kathryn Stockett

Plot: hat perfect timing for this optimistic, uplifting debut novel (and maiden publication of Amy Einhorn’s new imprint) set during the nascent civil rights movement in Jackson, Miss., where black women were trusted to raise white children but not to polish the household silver. Eugenia Skeeter Phelan is just home from college in 1962, and, anxious to become a writer, is advised to hone her chops by writing about what disturbs you.
The budding social activist begins to collect the stories of the black women on whom the country club sets relies and mistrusts enlisting the help of Aibileen, a maid who’s raised 17 children, and Aibileen’s best friend Minny, who’s found herself unemployed more than a few times after mouthing off to her white employers.
The book Skeeter puts together based on their stories is scathing and shocking, bringing pride and hope to the black community, while giving Skeeter the courage to break down her personal boundaries and pursue her dreams.
My Opinion: This is a brilliant book, with an unusual plot that is sure to keep you reading! This will definitely be a best seller, and I'll be keeping my eye out for Kathryn's next novel. Really worth the read!
Price: $10.00 at amazon.com

3. The Forgotten Garden – Kate Morton

Plot: In 1913, a little girl arrives in Brisbane, Australia, and is taken in by a dockmaster and his wife. She doesn't know her name, and the only clue to her identity is a book of fairy tales tucked inside a white suitcase.
When the girl, called Nell, grows up, she starts to piece together bits of her story, but just as she's on the verge of going to England to trace the mystery to its source, her grandaughter, Cassandra, is left in her care. When Nell dies, Cassandra finds herself the owner of a cottage in Cornwall, and makes the journey to England to finally solve the puzzle of Nell's origins.
Shifting back and forth over a span of nearly 100 years, this is a sprawling, old-fashioned novel, as well-cushioned as a Victorian country house, replete with family secrets, stories-within-stories, even a maze and a Dickensian rag-and-bone shop. All the pieces don't quite mesh, but it's a satisfying read overall, just the thing for readers who like multigenerational sagas with a touch of mystery.
-Mary Ellen Quinn
My Opinion: This book made me cry, laugh and fall in love with the main character, and by the end it feels like you were there every step of the journey. A brilliantly written and very inspiring book!
Price: $17.16 at amazon.com

5 Dishes to Cook This Week…

Posted: 06 Jun 2010 06:03 PM PDT

1. Baja Style Shrimp Tacos

This recipe is courtesy of Gwyneth Paltrow. The link has a video of her cooking so you might want to check that out. There is also a commentary that might just make your day.

2. Egg Drop Pasta

Have you ever tried making your own pasta? I have to admit that I have never done it. Thankfully, Suburban Grandma’s simple recipe is here to guide me into the wonderful world of pasta-making.

3. Baked Mushrooms with Lemon and Parsley

Wow, this looks like it smells yummy and tastes heavenly! I love me some portobello mushrooms and this recipe is so easy, it would be a sin not to try it.

4. Cranberry Applesauce

Oh the many meals you can have with your trusty cranberry applesauce. The recipe shared here is simple and yes, your sauce will last up to a year.

5. Whole Wheat Waffles

I have had breakfast but the thought of eating these whole wheat waffles is enough to make me hungry again. I really should buy a waffle iron.

3 Cool Monster World Rally Team Gifts For Your Man…

Posted: 06 Jun 2010 05:15 PM PDT

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of PacSun. All opinions are 100% mine.

Whether it’s your dad, your darling boyfriend or your little brother,I’m sure each of you has a man in your life who is a die hard fan of all things racing. Of course

the best gift to give someone like that would be tickets to a race but what if you can’t afford it? Fret not! We’ve got the next best deal for you. Created and

assembled by Ken Block Gear

, successful rally racer and co founder of DC shoes, the Monster World Rally Team’s aim is to not only to win the WRC but also become the best known team in the WRC and bring rally to the masses along the way.Here’s presenting 3 super cool Monster World Rally Team gifts for your man.

1. Pacific Sunwear Hat

What better way to show support for your favorite team than by sporting their hat? This would make the perfect gift for someone who is too old for say jerseys and

jackets because it’s cool without seeming like you’re trying too hard.

2. Pacific Sunwear Jersey

What guy doesn’t love a good, comfortable yet sporty jersey? I’ve got to say that I love the team’s colors. Black is sporty and chic and I love that neon green M! M for

M-Sport and M for Monster! Also adding to the cool factor is the ferocious skull…

3. Pacific Sunwear Jacket

This one is definitely my favorite of the three. Jackets always seem to add an instant element of sportiness to anyone, don’t they? And this specific jacket is very sexy!

Heck! I’d wear it myself even though I can’t really claim to understand head nor tail of rally racing.

This whole fantastically sporty line is available at PacSun.
Also, check out Ken Block Gear.They have amazing stuff for extreme sports lovers.Don’t forget to root for Ken Block and his team at the WRC and while you’re at it, tell me which of these do you think the men in your life would love?