Pretty much the minute after I watched the Sh*t Girls SayYouTube video, I was left saying “oh my god, I say 90% of the things in this video,” just like every other twenty-something woman in America. The book launch party at Palihouse? Also amazing. Canadian writers Kyle Humphrey and Graydon Sheppard, wrote the wildly creative coffee table book. Selected from the authors’ favorite tweets, each punchy one-liner interacts with the visually stunning scene-scape, to create a book that is funny, bright, colorful and infinitely re-readable. If you don’t believe me, check out the photos below from the event.
If you haven’t already watched The Mindy Project, you need to. I actually got to watch the first episode a few weeks ago, for free on an airplane, and I was instantly hooked; Mindy’s charter (also named Mindy) is pretty much what every single late twenty-something/early thirty-something IS. She’s smart, funny and has absolutely no idea what she’s doing when it comes to dating.
“Men tend to not understand or like sequins very much. Men don’t like the wedge shoe. I have noticed men don’t tend to like the statement necklace or chunky tribal jewelry. These are all the things by the way that I love…In the Venn diagram of things that men hate for women to wear and the things that I love to wear, is almost a full overlap…which is unfortunate for me.”
The last eight or nine months have been taxing for me, to say the least. I lost my cat Angel, after having her in my life for almost 17 years. I had my first “your parents are going to die one day” wake up call with my mom’s heart attack last month. I decided to cut off a friend that I became close with really quickly, after discovering that he really wasn’t such a “friend” after all. And, on the less dramatic side of things, I’ve been fighting a nasty cold that turned into a sinus infection and post-nasal drip and, to top it off, my skin has been acting crazy. It seemed almost like FATE when I got an email with Dr. Murad’s tips on how to figure out what’s REALLY stressing you out, and how to manage stress. Um, hello, it’s like he could sense my level of anxiety lately.
According to Dr. Murad, “healthy skin is a reflection of overall wellness” so essentially, when the body is at optimal health, the skin will follow suit. Makes sense! Here are Dr. Murad’s tips to manage stress:
1- Get Connected: Get involved in community, events, exercise groups, book clubs, networking groups, etc.
2- Disconnect: There’s an odd duality to being attached to machines that allow us to connect with others around the world in an instant. In a nutshell, put down your phones! Take time at least twice a week to not check your phone or email. It’s a healthy mental break.
3- Start Your Day Off Right: Deficiencies in B vitamins, vitamin C, calcium and magnesium stress out your body and trigger and increase levels of cortisol, not to mention food cravings. Many people skip breakfast and can easily find themselves lacking these critical nutrients and, in turn, rely on caffeine to stay alert and productive throughout the day.
4- Eat “Brain Food”: About 2/3 of our brains are composed of fat so, in essence, we need fat to think and maintain healthy brain function, as well as normal growth and development. The omega-3 fats in salmon, as well as other cold-water fish, walnuts, flaxseed, and olives have numerous proven health benefits.
5- Exercise: Exercising regularly nourishes the skin with oxygen, while sweating flushes out toxins. It will also improve digestion and increase one’s metabolism and endocrine function so that the entire body is functioning at an optimal level.
I’ve never been much of a cook but ever since I moved to LA (3 years ago this month!), I’ve been making big strides in the way of my stove…and I’m actually pretty proud. This past weekend I made my absolute favorite summer salad that is not only super easy, but also amazing and healthy. What summer salads do you guys like?
Ingredients:
Arugula (or really any lettuce that you like)
Shrimp (sauteed for a few minutes; garnish with pepper and salt)
As I get older, it gets harder and harder to deal with everyone else around me getting engaged, married and pregnant. For years, I’ve tried to avoid growing up (hello, Los Angeles) but recently, I’ve realized that I’m eventually going to have to concede and maybe even get engaged, married and have babies myself. Sigh. BUT there are a few things in life that I’ve decided that I will never do and one of them is having to “ask” permission to do something. I’m a free bird! I do what I want! Always have been, always will be…and if I ever had to ASK someone permission to see a MOVIE, I might as well just die right then and there. I don’t mean to judge but I DO mean judge…in fact, I’m pretty sure that I’ve made the same face (and thought the same thing) as Kristen Wiig in the Bridesmaids scene above when friends have said “oh I can’t go cause ____ doesn’t want me to.” REALLY? That’s a sad story. You missed a good ____ cause, whatever it was/I did, I’m sure I had fun!
Anyway, this whole thing got me thinking to all of the fun man-repelling beauty and fashion things that I LOVE, that are known man-repellers. If you’re not familiar with The Man Repeller blog, you should be. Basically it proves that women love fashion trends and think they look hot but men…well, they don’t get it. Countless magazines will tell you exactly what men don’t like but I say, WHO CARES? Again, I do what I want…and here are my favorite man-repelling beauty products:
Crazy eyelashes: Sure, they’re kinda nuts to look at…and maybe they’re more for editorial but hey, I like eyelashes and these are REALLY fun.
Dark and neon nail polish: A few years back when black nail polish was at it’s point of chic-ness, I had a guy I knew actually ask me “what are you, goth now? Why are you wearing black nail polish?” WHY? Clearly you haven’t been reading every magazine and blog in AMERICA because it’s ALL ABOUT Chanel Black Satin, ok?
Sequins(!): I probably don’t even really have to explain this…men HATE sequins; they think sequins makes us look like disco balls. Girls LOVE sequins. That is all.
Bright lipstick: I think all of us have dreamed about looking like our Barbie dolls from back in the day, at one point or another…maybe that’s where this trend comes from (and I still love it).
I can’t even describe the joy that I get from dressing my three-year-old nephew. Lately Mark (the nephew) is obsessed with super heros so naturally, I was stoked to get him this Captain America t-shirt from The Children’s Place, and then even more stoked to answer him after he asked “where’s the head?”
When my girl Amber asked me to participate in her amazing “5 Rules” series, I was thrilled. Finally, an appropriate forum for me to tell people that they should never answer a call from a mystery phone number! We all know how I like to spout my wisdom, even when people don’t want to hear it. Click HERE to read my rules and let me know what you think.
The last eight or nine months have been taxing for me, to say the least. I lost my cat 
