January 2010

Cheat Sheet: 5 Things You Maybe Missed This Week

January 29, 2010 at 5:23 pm , by Catherine LeFebvre

1. The State of the Union
President Obama delivered the State of the Union Address this week, saying that “A new decade stretches before us. We don’t quit. I don’t quit. Let’s seize this moment – to start anew, to carry the dream forward, and to strengthen our union once more.” Obama focused on job creation for the middle class, tax cuts, and health care.

2. Apple Introduces the iPad
Yes, that’s what they’re calling it. Since the Wednesday announcement there’s been backlash about the new tablet/e-reader/giant iPod Touch, most commonly remarks made about the name’s resemblance to a popular feminine hygiene product. I’m hoping it helps save books and magazines, that it’s a tad more useful than the tech geeks are claiming, and that the one we’re ordering for the office gets to live in my cube.

3. J.D. Salinger, Howard Zinn Die
It almost seems fitting that the author of the great American novel passed the same week as the author of the history that changed America. Both men wrote topsy-turvy accounts of our country, showing us how different our perspectives were from reality. Thanks for opening our eyes, gentlemen.

4. Surprised Kitty

Just like last week, I think it’s only fair to follow heavy stories with a silly pet video :0)

5. Man Caught at Airport with 44 Lizards in His Underpants
As if there was anything more to say. Happy Friday, everyone!

Obama photo via the Whitehouse Flickr stream

---

A Hiccup in Marathon Prep

January 29, 2010 at 10:48 am , by Tom Claire

OUCH! Here I am, diligently (and at ever-greater lengths) preparing for my spring marathon (April 11, in Paris. I run two a year: in the spring and in the fall) and I just found out that Clif’s Shot Crisp Apple with Caffeine, my favorite electrolyte replacement, will no longer be available. I only have a half jar left and just ordered two more as backup but after that I’ll have to switch either to the CranApple or Lemonade flavors or — GASP — change drinks altogether.

One of the first things distance runners are told when training is to avoid sudden changes in diet. So here is my question, to any and all distance runners: What are your recommendations for electrolyte replacement drinks? Does anyone else like Clif’s Crisp Apple above all others? How about the GU2O product? I have tried this but prefer Clif. I see that the Vitamin Shoppe carries a few that also include protein—are they any good? Thanks, looking forward to hearing from you and good luck in all of your running . . .

---

Beauty For A Buck: Five Things To Do With Baking Soda

January 28, 2010 at 2:46 pm , by Mandy Hendrix

I recently met with the folks at Arm and Hammer, who clued me in on a few ways to keep my somewhat high-maintenance beauty routine more affordable. Guess what? It’s that box of baking soda that’s in my kitchen cupboard. All for a dollar! (Although check out this plastic shaker can–it’s great for the bathroom.) Here, a few great uses…

1. Create an exfoliating face cleanser. Add a sprinkle of baking soda with your face wash and lather up. You’ll notice smoother skin without any irritation.

2. Rid hair of product buildup. In your palm, mix together your everyday shampoo and a quarter-sized amount of baking soda. Good news for enhanced blondes, brunettes and redheads: This mixture is gentle enough for color treated hair.

3. Clean your tools. Hair brushes and combs work best when they’re free of product buildup, too. Clean off the goop by making a bath of warm water and one teaspoon of baking soda in a sink or small plastic tub. Clean brushes of hair, then let them soak in solution for a few minutes. Remove and allow to dry.

4. Get sparkling whites. Squirt toothpaste on your toothbrush then sprinkle baking soda onto the paste. This creates a gently abrasive scrub to remove surface stains without damaging enamel.

5. Scrub hands clean. Often, I’ll test waterproof eyeliners or lipgloss on my hand (hey, it’s part of the job!), but am left with telltale scribbles even after a good hand washing. Combine a little baking soda with your hand soap while washing and notice that the stains rinse off. The baking soda also gets rid of odors, a good trick when cooking with garlic or onions.

But my all-time favorite thing to do with baking soda? Make cookies.

---

Smart Money Moves

January 27, 2010 at 6:37 pm , by Margot Gilman

Every so often I am asked to appear on TV to talk about an article that’s run in LHJ. It’s always fun and exciting, but never so much as it was a few weeks ago when I went on the Today Show, because they wanted me to talk about one of my favorite subjects in the whole world: shopping. More specifically, I was there to talk about bargain shopping, which to me is shopping in its most transporting, exalted, rapturous form. It’s shopping with benefits: After all, the more you save, the more you can…shop! I consider myself to be a pretty astute bargain shopper, and have years and years of experience of not paying retail. In fact, as a small child growing up in New York City, my mother took me clothes shopping on Orchard Street on the Lower East Side. This is a street (long since morphed into a downtown hipster enclave) that used to be lined with dingy little clothing shops staffed by really obnoxious sales people. But oh, the bargains! These shops were filled with the kinds of pretty clothes that would delight a young girl’s heart for a fraction of the department-store price. Before there was TJMaxx or Marshall’s or Daffy’s or any of the others, there was Orchard Street. It’s where I learned to love the joy of the bargain hunt.

But I digress. On this, my first blog entry, I simply want to present my bargain shopping bona fides, what that they are, and let you know that I’ll be posting now and again with news and tips about how to save money, sometimes based on research, sometimes on my own experience. Incidentally, I’m also the editor at LHJ who handles most of our money pieces. So I know or thing or two and am really looking forward to sharing with you.

---

Cupcakes to Support Haiti Relief

January 27, 2010 at 6:25 pm , by Emily Chau

Check out this sweet deal offered by New York City’s famed Magnolia Bakery: The Red Cross Cupcake ($3). During the rest of January and February, Magnolia will donate $1 to the American Red Cross Haiti Relief Fund for every Red Cross cupcake sold.

The details: Red Cross Cupcake, Magnolia’s classic vanilla-vanilla cupcake (vanilla cake, vanilla buttercream frosting) topped with red sprinkles in the shape of the Red Cross logo.

Locations after the jump…

Read more

---

Ladies We Love: Daphne Brogdon

January 27, 2010 at 3:59 pm , by Sonia Harmon

CoolMom.com is one of the 10 most influential mom blogs in the country, and the woman behind it is Daphne Brogdon. She blogs about being a parent, and in addition to maintaining her blog, she’s also a stand up comic and television host on the TV Guide Channel—talk about a busy schedule! But it’s the blogging gig that keeps this mother of two young children close to home, where she can dish out advice to fellow moms over the web. One of her latest tips is to consider starting a college fund for your children, and she’s partnered with UPromise, MasterCard and Bank of America to promote a new credit card where one percent of your purchases go into a college savings account with no cap. Check out CoolMom.com for more from Daphne, including her blog and daily videos.

What makes me a lady: I try to always write thank you notes and never show up empty handed.  I also don’t call after 8 PM.

Favorite guilty pleasure: Reading tabloid magazines at the nail salon.

Three things on my life list: 1. Have beautiful babies (did that). 2. Take more time to travel. 3. Ride in a hot air balloon.

If I could have a superpower, it would be: To make gobs of money and to always be able to make people laugh.

Ladies I admire: Hillary Clinton, my mother, and all the mothers out there who soldier on, always doing their best.

---

Host a Give Back Get-together for Haiti

January 27, 2010 at 3:08 pm , by cdewet

One thing people seem to agree on these days is that Haiti needs our help—why not make the focus of your next dinner party an opportunity to do just that? Lifestyle Expert Mark Addison has some great ideas on how to pull it off.

1. Just serve water in recognition that 90 percent of the population of Haiti don’t have clean drinking water. Donate what you would have spent on beverages to a relief-based charity. PSI Safe Drinking Water Fund

2. Ask guests to bring a donated item from a list of needs (found UNICEF and Gifts That Give Back).

3. Only use items you have around the house for your party donate the money you would have spent to a Haiti Relief Fund, like the one set up by The Red Cross.

4. Find a local or national organization willing to ship or transport your collected items, like  Artists for Peace and Justice.

5. Or try hosting a care package party where guests prepare boxes of goods to be sent to victims.

---