October 2009

Passionate Ladies: Terri Haskins

October 30, 2009 at 5:12 pm, by Joy Armstrong

Who says you can’t pursue your dream job in this bad economy?

Terri Haskins realized hers when she reinvented her 17-year career as an entertainment marketing executive and started her own interior design company, Presentations Elements of Design. She left her former life in the music biz, having worked with  performers in Hip-Hop, like Mary J. Blige and Will Smith, and enrolled back into college after 23 years to earn an associates’ degree in interior design.

A bold move in this recession? Yes. Worth the risk? Absolutely. ”Work has definitely slowed down because this is a luxury-based business,” says Haskins. “But that just motivates me to be more aggressive and proactive in gaining new clientele.”

And don’t think for a second that being your own boss makes it any easier. The hours are longer and tougher, and every move you make has to be weighed out by both sides of your brain. But the real reward is the finished product, a design drawn and drafted from your own ideas. “That’s a dream come true for me,” says Haskins.

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Bogged Down with Ace Of Cakes’ Duff Goldman

October 29, 2009 at 2:05 pm, by Arpita Joshi

Fear not – just because this post is about cranberries doesn’t mean it has anything to do with Thanksgiving (I know you already can’t get over the fact that Halloween is already here). I spent a chilly afternoon in Rockefeller Center, New York, to watching a taping of Food Network’s Ace of Cakes that will be airing tonight at 10pm/9c and 10:30pm/9:30c. For the episode, the host, Chef Duff Goldman of Charm City Cakes and his cake team (known for making elaborate, out-of-this world custom cakes) made a cake celebrating cranberries and appreciating the work of Ocean Spray’s growers – who were all on hand at the event to tell their stories about growing up in cranberry bogs and continuing generations of harvesting. While he stood in New York City’s very own” bog”, Duff told me about the event and the incredible cake commemorating it.

Before he became Food Network’s cake-making master, Duff Goldman grew up in Cape Cod – where he says the whole town was surrounded by cranberries and everyone grew up in a cranberry bog. “Bogs were like the cool place to hang out — we would hang out and drink beers there in highschool, we’d meet up there… it was just a huge part of the culture and I have a lot of memories. So it’s a very exciting thing for me, I really wanted to get involved and make a cake when I heard Food Network was partnering with Ocean Spray on this.”

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Homesick: Missing My Babies

October 29, 2009 at 10:56 am, by Sue Erneta

Funny picture, right? Here’s the really funny part: this wasn’t Halloween. It was a random Tuesday night last week. Because, this is what you do on a weeknight when you’re a working mom and you need to cram a whole day’s worth of fun and bonding into an hour or two each evening. And this is what I miss the most when I’m away from home -  like I am in this week.

Don’t feel too bad for me. I’m at a photo shoot at a beautiful resort called The Moorings in Islamorada, FL. But as great as it is to feel the sun on my shoulders and have a restful sleep without a toddler deciding to get up at 4 am, I still miss them, desperately.

My husband and I rarely take trips without the kids. One of the few times we’ve tried to, we went to Newport, Rhode Island and left Sophia with my parents for three days. I swear there had to have been a “cute 3-year-old girl convention” in Newport that weekend because everywhere I turned I saw a little girl that made me miss mine. So much for romance.

And what do I miss most right now? Sophia’s take-your-breath-away squeezing hugs. The way Lily says “meow” when you ask her what a cat says. (Note: It’s not the same over the phone. I know. I’ve tried.)  And the little smirks my husband gives me from across the room when the kids are being so damn cute we just can’t believe how lucky we are to have them.

In a few days I’ll be home and Sophia will misbehave and deserve a timeout and Lily will get up in the middle of the night, but I’ll still be happy to be there and I won’t want to change a thing.

So, tell me…how do you deal with time away from your kids?

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No More Exercise Excuses

October 29, 2009 at 9:46 am, by Emily Chau

The statistics are scary. Two-thirds of American adults are overweight or obese.  What’s worse: obesity is still on the rise.  Plus, the prevalence of diabetes has jumped 50 percent in the last 10 years. With all the cards seemingly stacked against us, what’s a girl to do?

We talked to The Biggest Loser’s Kim Lyons for tips on how to tackle some common exercise excuses.

The Excuse: I don’t have enough time to exercise
The Solution: Write it down in your day planner. “To be really consistent in your exercise, you have to intentionally schedule it into your day,” says Lyons.

The Excuse: I just don’t see any results
The Solution: Dedicate at least 21 days to develop a consistent routine. “I find that people usually don’t see results of a fitness routine because they’re not consistent,” says Lyons. “I think some people are looking for an easy way out, but the only way to see change is to make a habit of exercising.”

Do 30 minutes of exercise still sound like too much?  Try divvying your exercise into three 10-minute sections.  Here are some easy ideas to sneak in exercise:
-    March in place when you wake up
-    Walk for part of your lunch break
-    Walk your dog
-    Take the stairs instead of the elevator
-    Wash your car
-    Do your own gardening
-    Listen to some pump up music while cleaning
-    Stretch during commercials

Kim Lyons is a trainer on The Biggest Loser and author of Your Body, Your Life. She currently speaks out on diabetic nerve pain.

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Beauty To-Go: Packing My Makeup Bag

October 29, 2009 at 9:12 am, by Mandy Hendrix

On the eve of packing for a trip tomorrow, I’m running around my apartment like crazy trying to figure out which shoes will go with the dress I’m wearing to a wedding, deciding between a coat or a mid-weight jacket is more appropriate, and whether or not I can get away with jeans for a birthday dinner. Clothing is the hardest thing for me to figure out for a trip, but I have my beauty arsenal down to a science.

Here’s my short list of essentials:

• Tresemme Tres Two Hairspray; Somehow this manages hold but is never sticky.

• Fekkai Brilliant Glossing Shampoo and Conditioner To Go; I love traveling with my own shampoo and conditioner so I can predict how my hair will turn out, plus these smell amazing.

• Basis So Refreshing Facial Cleansing Cloths; For when you’re just too tired to wash your face. Bonus—they’re individually wrapped.

• Kiehl’s Crème de Corps Nurturing Body Washing Cream; hydrates well enough that I don’t need to pack body lotion.

• Avene Redness Relief Soothing Cream SPF 25; This is actually my daily moisturizer but it’s small size (and plastic tube) makes it ideal for travel. Honestly, I don’t know what I’d do without it.

I also love to experiment with fun, travel size items and different makeup. (Maybe you’re traveling to a new location, or catching up with old friends, why not have fun with your look?) I’ve enjoyed playing with these in my makeup bag:

• Trish McEvoy palette; Trish makes amazing organizers which have helped me pack as much makeup as I need in a one tiny, little compact.

• Maybelline Color Sensational Lipcolor; I’m usually traveling for some type of event and love a bright color on my lips.

• Jergens Natural Glow Healthy Complexion Daily Facial Moisturizer; My secret to coming back with a little color on beach vacations? It’s this Jergens moisturizer. The small size—and SPF—make it a perfect pick. No one knows the “tan” is fake except me.

Photo by Chispita 666.

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Ladies We Love: Gail Collins

October 28, 2009 at 11:13 am, by Sonia Harmon

Fifty years ago, many women were expected to follow the typical career path of either teacher, nurse, or secretary. Today, we can say that a woman was a serious contender for the American presidency. What happened over such a short period of time to cause so much change? Gail Collins tells us in her new book, When Everything Changed: The Amazing Journey of American Women from 1960 to the Present. Covering everything from politics to pop culture, Gail walks you through a fascinating five decades of history that shows just how far women have come.

What we love about Gail is that she’s set some milestones of her own: in 2001 she became the first female editorial page director for The New York Times, where she is now an op-ed columnist.

What makes me a lady: Knowing everybody around me feels comfortable.

Favorite guilty pleasure: Watching old reruns of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Three things on my life list: 1. Learn to speak Spanish 2. Write a novel 3. Buy a really, really expensive pair of shoes

If I could have a superpower, it would be: I guess flying, but actually I’d be satisfied with one of those StarTreky transporters—anything that would get me from one place to another without going through an airport!

Ladies I admire: Mukhtar Mai, the Pakistani woman who was gang raped and instead of responding by committing suicide, in the tradition of her rural village, went to court and prosecuted her assailants, creating an international incident and, eventually, a school and refuge for other women in need of aid. On the more local front, Elizabeth Blackburn and Carol Greider, the recent Nobel prize winners for medicine, Gloria Steinem, and my mother, Rita Gleason.

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The Recipe Club: A Tale of Food and Friendship

October 28, 2009 at 10:48 am, by Arpita Joshi

The Recipe Club: A Tale of Food and Friendship by Andrea Israel and Nancy Garfinkel is about two childhood best friends, Lilly and Val, who throughout their lives share letters and e-mails with each other, as well as recipes. Food plays an integral part in their relationship — their “recipe club” is made up of recipes that represent sentimental moments of both of their lives, good and bad. I thought the book had a really interesting concept and it even made me wish I had my own foodie pen-pal to trade recipes with.

The recipes appropriately correspond with the time in either girls’ life – when they are younger they share recipes like “Friday Night Fish Sticks” and “ First-Kiss Caramel Almond Kisses,” and as they mature, share things like “Forgiveness Tapenade” and “Good Karma Veggie Samosas.” Lilly and Val are similar yet different in so many ways, and their friendship is one deeply rooted in love but finds some really challenging obstacles as they get older and their personalities don’t mesh as much, and they don’t seem to agree on anything anymore.

I don’t want to give anything away, but the best part about this novel is that it is a cookbook at the same time it is an engaging and intense story about their relationship with each other and with food — you’ll laugh with them through their awkward high school moments and cry with them as they betray each other throughout the story — and at the end when they find something out that will change their relationship forever. And all the while, you’ll find yourself hungry and wanting to run to the kitchen to try out all their favorite recipes — get a copy of The Recipe Club for yourself and for your best girlfriend on Amazon.

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