FabSugar

Wet n' Wild: Cut-Out One Pieces

FabSugar — Tue, 08 May 2007 13:55:11 PDT

For these I want you to envision yourself poolside in Palm Springs or the Hamptons - somewhere cool, calm and collected - not so much wet n' wild as Rio!. I have really come to appreciate cut-out one pieces over the years. Yes, they may create some of the funkiest tan lines but they are so Bond girl! Also, they are nice tummy hiders! I have a DKNY one that is neon green one shoulder with a side cut out & it really stands out amongst the crowd. I prefer these Bond girl suits in graphic prints or solids - let the peekaboo skin speak for itself.

Damsel Striped Cutaway One Piece, $88.

A couple more,

Armani Exchange Cut-Out Bathing Suit, $88.

Alloy polka dot cut out one piece, $44. Comes in more fun colors!

DIY: Learn How to Make This Quirky Clothespin Chandelier

Stylelist Home — Wed, 23 May 2012 12:00:20 PDT

We're happy to present a post from one of our favorite sites, Stylelist Home.

Ordinary clothespins become the basis for a stand-out chandelier with this Craft Of The Day. This light fixture, made entirely of clothespins, is a quirky, fun way to add oomph and texture to any room. We think it's a great accent to a living room or bedroom, but it would obviously be fitting in a laundry room too! Keep reading for the how to.

What You'll Need:

Light Kit (like this cord set from Ikea)
Ceiling Canopy (of your choice)
Wire Fencing (Simliar products available at Lowes)
White Gloss Spray Paint
22-gauge craft store wire
Gloves
Metal Snips (such as these metal snips from Grainger.com)
Eight bags of medium sized clothes pins
Three heavy-duty ceiling hooks

Keep reading to learn how to make this clothespin chandelier.

6 Handy Tips For Packing Work Lunches

Emily Co — Tue, 15 May 2012 09:28:28 PDT

Bringing lunch to work every day sure does save more than a few bucks and keeps you healthy at the same time. It's such an easy everyday saving trick, and it's a great option for those trying to cut costs on their daily expenses. Here are a few tips that get me through the week.

Mental Meal Plan: What do you want to eat for the rest of the week? Give it some thought before you make a trip to the grocery store to buy some ingredients. For inspiration, flip through Yum's list of delicious work lunches. While you're grocery shopping, read our savvy tricks for saving money at the supermarket.
Prep on Sunday: Buy all the ingredients you need on Sunday so that you won't have to desperately scramble around the night before. If you're planning on making one dish that you'll be eating all week (such as soup), you can either keep it refrigerated or, depending on what type of dish it is, you can also choose to freeze it in five ziploc packets that you can ration out throughout the week.
Keep It Separate: If you want to keep your lunch fresh, try to keep the pieces separate and assemble it right before you're having lunch. This works best for meals such as salads and sandwiches - soggy bread and vegetables are not appetizing!

Read on for more tips.

Hash It Out With Sweet Potatoes

Lauren Hendrickson — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 05:24:04 PDT

Everyone's had potato hash browns - either in patty form at McDonald's, from a mother's stove, or in an American diner where the dish is served up around the clock. One Sunday morning, I awoke with a hankering for hash browns, but I didn't have any potatoes on hand, only sweet potatoes. I figured sweet potatoes make great fries, so why not hash browns?

If you want to pay homage to your grandmother, you can grate the potatoes manually on a grater; for me, my trusty food processor made the job much easier. And with it already out, finely chopping my onions in it left me with less tears too.
With those two ingredients prepped, the cooking process was pretty simple. Don't be tempted to turn them over constantly: if you love a crispy hash brown, just let them sit. Once they start to turn golden brown, carefully flip them over in one pancakelike, solid piece to cook the other side. Since sweet potatoes have more sugar than conventional potatoes, I added ground pepper and thinly sliced chives to cut some of the sweetness. If you're a spicy and sweet fan, add a dash of hot sauce for a bit more kick. Serve alongside your favorite style of fried egg and oven-baked bacon for a perfect Sunday breakfast. Keep reading for this incredibly easy recipe.

Tribeca Takeaway: Hysteria

Allie Merriam — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 15:15:03 PDT

Hysteria, a movie from director Tanya Wexler, is currently screening at the Tribeca Film Festival before its theatrical release on May 18. The story, which is based on real-life events, centers on the 1880s-era doctor who invented the vibrator to treat hysterical female patients, and I had a chance to check out the film and bring you the details.

Who's behind it? The film was helmed by Wexler, who previously directed indie films Ball in the House and Finding North. Fun fact: Wexler, a graduate of Columbia's film school, is the half sister of Daryl Hannah. Hugh Dancy is the film's leading man, with Maggie Gyllenhaal, Rupert Everett, and Felicity Jones rounding out the cast.
What's it about? Dancy's Dr. Mortimer Granville is a cutting-edge doctor for his time, since he shocks colleagues by believing that germs exist. After being fired from one hospital after another for his radical views, he lands a last-ditch position as the assistant to society doctor Robert Dalrymple (Jonathan Pryce). Dalrymple is a specialist in "hysteria," which was a commonly diagnosed condition in women. His treatment involves a literal hands-on method, and Mortimer has to explore other options to ease the physical demands on the doctor. Mortimer also romances Dalrymple's daughter Emily (Felicity Jones) but is also captivated and confused by Robert's other daughter, volatile social activist Charlotte (Gyllenhaal).

For my thoughts on the film, just keep reading.

Pull-Apart Cinnamon Rolls

OnSugar Blog — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 12:20:48 PDT

Just reading the words "pull-apart cinnamon rolls" gets our taste buds all excited. We're so grateful to Life Above the Clouds for providing us with this fantastic recipe.

I found a great looking recipe for Monkey Muffins using leftover bread dough or biscuit dough. I'm still not sure why it's called monkey bread, but I think it's absolutely decadent. It's coated in butter and you get to eat it with your hands! It came out more like a pull-apart cinnamon roll, but that's OK because I love cinnamon rolls too.

For the recipe, keep reading!

Capture 12 Years of Your Child's Life in Just 3 Minutes

LilSugar — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 11:52:46 PDT

When the traditional baby book just won't cut it . . . check out this absolutely beautiful video that one dad created to document the first 12 years of his daughter's life. Using short video clips, he pieced together stages of Lotte's life, capturing her every week, from infancy through adolescence.

Can't get enough? Check out Lotte's 9-year-old brother, Vince. What creative ways have you been capturing your kids' growth throughout the years?

How You Can Donate Your Hair to Patients in Need This Friday

BellaSugar — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 10:34:00 PDT

Is it time for your annual springtime cut? If you have long hair, don't let your strands go to waste; donate them to a good cause with the help of Pantene. This Friday the 27th, the hair care company will hold the first-ever National Donate Your Hair Day to benefit its Beautiful Lengths program. With the help of wig-makers HairUWear, Pantene builds real-hair pieces for women undergoing cancer treatment. The wigs are then distributed by the American Cancer Society wig banks for free. See how you can help by getting all the details now.

Adventures in Ingredients: Aloe Vera

Camilla Salem — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 10:42:59 PDT

For weeks, I'd been eying these spiky succulent leaves at Berkeley Bowl. I always knew that aloe vera came from this common plant, but never thought I would actually need or want the opportunity to work with it myself. And then there's the whole issue of cooking with it and how to harvest it. It's popular in coconut water these days, but other than that, ingesting it is somewhat uncommon. But those who regularly eat or drink this strange succulent rave about its supposed health benefits, from healing acne to curing cancer.

I did a quick scan of the Internet on how to cut and prepare fresh aloe vera right from the leaf. I found several recipes for smoothies featuring fresh aloe vera pieces and one that served it poached with lime juice. A smoothie sounded more appetizing. Honestly, I got a little bit nervous when I found out that the dark red sap that apparently seeps out should not be ingested or it will cause unpleasant digestive issues. Still, I went for it.

Filleting this piece of aloe vera was a strange experience: I was on the lookout for that dark red sap, though I didn't ever encounter it. The aloe vera gel looked sticky and mucous, not delicious (or even edible). I'd read in a few places that aloe vera on its own is kind of bitter, so of course, I immediately cut off a piece and took a bite. It tasted like nothing, but I did notice a strange sensation in my mouth and my tongue went a little numb. To find out what I did with the fresh fillet of aloe vera, keep reading.

9 Easy Tricks to Maximize Your Wardrobe

LearnVest — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 00:15:31 PDT

Despite what you think, you actually don't need more clothes. The trick is to just maximize your wardrobe. LearnVest shares how.

Whether you live for shopping the latest trends or wish you could spend every day in your favorite pair of jeans and a white t-shirt, your clothes project a message about who you are.

The great thing is that you have the power to control that message entirely - as long as what you already own isn’t standing in your way.

From having a wardrobe that’s bursting with every item of clothing you’ve had since childhood to owning a ton of pieces that you never wear (the definition of wasted money), these are the ways your closet can stop you from being the most stylish version of yourself.

To cut through the clutter and help you get the most from the items you already have, we polled everyone we know - including all of the LearnVest editors, who are definitely invested in looking their best on a budget, and one fashion expert - to come up with nine easy, inventive ways for you to make over the closet you have without spending a ton on new trends.

At least one of these strategies will dramatically change the way you feel about getting dressed in the morning.

1. Follow the Rainbow

This strategy comes courtesy of LearnVest reader Erin Greenbaum, who has used this technique for years with great success. Every day for a week, make sure that your ensemble includes an item of a certain color: week one is red, two is orange, three is yellow, etc. This will encourage you to search through your closet and actually wear the pieces that have been languishing, unloved, underneath your go-to items.

2. First In, Last Out

In her new book, You Are What You Wear, Dr. Jennifer Baumgartner says that the majority of people wear 20 percent of their closet 80 percent of the time. There are variations on this “first in, last out” wardrobe strategy, which prevent you from wearing a few pieces nonstop.

Instead of wearing the same small percentage of your closet every week, do what Assistant Editor Alden Wicker does: after wearing an outfit, she hangs it in the most remote corner of her closet, which forces her to see only pieces she hasn’t worn frequently. If she’s totally uninspired by a piece staring her right in the face, she has to decide whether to consign it or not. Another approach (which might be better if you like to organize by item type - dresses near dresses, shirts near shirts) is to hang each item inside out after you wear it (assuming you don’t have to wash it immediately). This way, you can easily see which pieces you’ve recently worn and which items you may have forgotten about.

Read on for more.