April 2010

Cheat Sheet: 4 Things You Maybe Missed This Week

April 30, 2010 at 4:13 pm, by Catherine LeFebvre

1. Sandra Bullock Adopted a Baby Boy
The actress told People she is the proud mother of Louis Bardo Bullock, 3 1/2 months old, born in New Orleans. “It’s like he’s always been a part of our lives,” she said. Bullock began the adoption process with husband Jesse James four years ago, but in light of the couple’s recent separation, she is finalizing the adoption as a single parent.

2. The American Family’s Finances
Meet the average American family. Their house is worth $160,000. They make $43,000 a year. But the combined personal debt of all Americans is $2 trillion. That’s the same as the GDP of England. There are tons of other fascinating stats on this infographic from Visual Economics.

3. Telephone, the Army Version

Members of the 82nd Airborne Division in Afghanistan put together a camouflage-friendly remake of Lady Gaga’s “Telephone” video. For what limited resources they have, the set and costumes are pretty impressive. It can’t help but make you proud of the MacGuyvers who are serving our country.

4. It’s Almost Derby Day!
The field is set. Churchill Downs is already in Derby mode. But since the forecast calls for buckets of rain on Saturday, it’s probably better that you put on your derby hat, whip up a batch of mint juleps and watch it from your couch. (And if anyone out there is a betting lady, my money’s on Devil May Care.)

---

Country Spotlight: Jo Dee Messina

April 30, 2010 at 10:24 am, by Ron Kelly

I first became a grateful “Red Head”—that is, a Jo Dee Messina fan—back in the late 80s. It was during Nashville’s Fan Fair, the CMA Music Festival’s former incarnation. Jo Dee was a rising country music star and I was in the TNN booth as a guest of the now defunct music channel. After sneaking up behind an up-and-coming male artist (who shall remain nameless) Jo Dee playfully jabbed his backside with her pen, turned to me, caught my eye and let out her awesomely raspy, trademark laugh. Good times! I knew back then she was one to look out for—both literally and figuratively—and nearly 12 years later, she’s still turning heads.

This Tuesday marked the release of Unmistakable: Love, the first of three Jo Dee Trilogy EPs set to drop this year, with Drive and Inspiration to follow. Love offers seven new tracks and two live acoustic favorites (“Because You Love Me” and “Stand Beside Me”). It’s great to have Jo Dee’s distinctive vocals (and laugh) back on the scene after a frustratingly long six-year absence, and I’m particularly digging the slow-build on “Think About Us” and the buoyant and fresh-sounding waltz, “Unmistakable.”

I sat down to chat with Jo Dee before a recent show during a weeklong gig at New York’s Feinstein’s at Loews Regency club in March. We talked about her marriage, her baby boy Noah, her pregnancy ritual of watching Live! With Regis and Kelly and even her desire to run this year’s NYC marathon. But in the end, we kept coming back to the music. Now, Jo Dee isn’t shy about her struggles with the “business” side of the music business. And it’s a shame that a talent like hers has been lost in the shuffle for the better part of the past six years. When she hit the stage that night, though—man, did she sound good. Plus, she’s funny, able to laugh at herself and clearly dedicated to her music and her fans, both on and off the stage. (Check out her frequent Make Something of It call-in video podcasts.)

Let’s hope Trilogy puts the music industry on red (head) alert that Jo Dee is back and sounding as strong as ever. Highlights from our interview, after the jump.

Read more

---

A Supermodel-Approved Five-Minute Beauty Routine

April 28, 2010 at 12:23 pm, by Mandy Hendrix

It’s easy to look good when you have a team of hair stylists and makeup artists planning for any weather catastrophe and lighting situation, but how do supermodels get ready when left to their own devices? I recently met Victoria’s Secret Angels Alessandra Ambrosio, Candice Swanepoel and Miranda Kerr at the launch of the new Heavenly Flowers fragrance. The trio gave me their day-off tips for looking good with minimal effort.

Alessandra said she can get out the door in five minutes with a little concealer, blush and mascara. Her favorite trick, though, doesn’t involve makeup at all, but an eyelash curler for a wide-awake look.

Candice pulls her hair back into a cute pony tail or bun because she doesn’t like to mess with her hair when she’s not working. She laments the abuse her hair receives while she’s on-duty and prefers to go au naturel on her free time.

Miranda’s favorite out-the-door-in-seconds trick is using a scented body lotion to make her skin glowy and leave a faint trail of fragrance. Her new springtime favorite? Victoria’s Secret Heavenly Flowers Softening Body Lotion, $20, of course.

Find your new springy, sweet fragrance here.

---

A Sneak Peek at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

April 28, 2010 at 11:53 am, by Jennifer Castoro

Okay, muggles. You may say you want to bring your kids to check out the new Harry Potter theme park, opening at Universal Orlando this June, but we all know the truth. You’re more excited than they are, aren’t you? You can’t wait to step through the doors of Hogwarts and drink butterbeer and pretend to zoom through a game of Quidditch, right? You can admit it. And really, we can’t blame you. This place looks super cool!

Universal released the first images this week of some of the completed areas of the park. (That’s the entrance to Hogsmeade at right.) There’s some seriously high-tech wizardry at work: the Forbidden Journey ride uses live-action scenes from the movie that follow riders throughout the various scenes, like Dumbledore’s office and the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. The shops are authentic to the book, too: There’s Ollivander’s wand shop, where the wand chooses you, and Filch’s Emporium of Confiscated Goods. And the Hog’s Head restaurant will serve British pub food, plus butterbeer and pumpkin juice (though I’m not sure how appetizing those sound).

I’ve never read a word of a Harry Potter book, and even I’d want to check this place out! Seems like Mickey Mouse may have to up his game.

Click on Read More for more pictures.

Read more

---

Tie-Dye Cupcakes 101

April 28, 2010 at 11:46 am, by Sonia Harmon

One of our hippie-at-heart staffers (that’s you Lisa!) has two favorite things—tie-dye and cupcakes. So for her birthday, I decided to combine the two for the ultimate birthday surprise: tie-dye cupcakes! They’re actually pretty easy to make. Start by making plain vanilla cake batter as you normally would, and then evenly pour the batter into five different small bowls. Use food coloring to dye each bowl of cake batter a different color:

Now comes the time-consuming part; spoon about a tablespoon of each color into the cupcake tins. I started with purple on the bottom, then blue, green, yellow and finally, red. Once that’s done, pop them into the oven and bake them according to the instructions. Mine were in the oven at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. Here’s how they turned out: Read more

---

This Stuff Works: MAC Moisturecover Concealer

April 28, 2010 at 10:29 am, by shikmet

This Stuff Works: Products we love so much it can sound like we’re being paid to dish about them—but we’re totally not!

I’ve always had trouble with the black rings under my eyes. I tried to hide them by exaggerating my eyelashes or using foundation, but nothing seemed to work. Then I was introduced to MAC Select Moisturecover. Although I was skeptical at first that a tiny tube could do wonders for my always-present dark circles, I’m definitely a convert now. It’s the must-have item in my makeup bag because it really works. It conceals dark circles and also hides spots and blemishes, and the wand makes it easy to apply and blend. I love it so much I even call this concealer my “magic stick!”

Is there a beauty product you can’t live without? Tell us in the comments and you may be featured in an upcoming “This Stuff Works” column!

---

Ladies We Love: Molly Ringwald

April 28, 2010 at 10:19 am, by Sonia Harmon

Will we ever get enough of the late John Hughes classics The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles? Probably not—which is why we were excited to hear that one of the stars of those films, Molly Ringwald, has a new book out. Titled Getting the Pretty Back: Friendship, Family, and Finding the Perfect Lipstick, it’s a fun girl’s guide to life—touching on everything from friends to fashion—and Molly also shares her own personal stories along the way. And if you haven’t heard already, Molly, 40, graduated from her teen acting roots and now plays the mother of a teen mom on one of ABC Family’s most popular shows, The Secret Life of the American Teenager.

What makes me a lady: I say please and thank you, I’m proud of my achievements but I don’t flaunt them, and I never put on makeup in public (that’s what the rearview mirror is for!)

Favorite guilty pleasure: Cheese fondue paired with crusty french bread and a crisp sancerre.

Three things on my life list: Read The Odyssey in its original language, learn how to make my own puff pastry and visit Japan when the cherry blossoms are in bloom.

If I could have a superpower, it would be: The ability to actually complete every task in a given day…all while wearing heels.

Ladies I admire: Mary Oliver, Alice Waters and my six-year-old daughter, Mathilda.

---