FabSugar

Fab Read: The One Hundred by Nina Garcia

FabSugar — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 13:00:22 PDT

Nina Garcia is proving to be quite the authority on penning style. The Elle fashion director turned Marie Claire fashion director and Project Runway judge is also a Fab favorite - remember she answered all your burning fashion questions a while back? With her surely busy schedule, and following her first book, Nina has released The One Hundred: A Guide to the Pieces Every Stylish Woman Must Own ($15), available for preorder. Like her first book, Ruben Toledo illustrations accompany witty and exact writing. Unlike her first book, it's silver, denser, and yours truly is featured on page 29! How exciting is that? (Thanks, Nina)I've given it a good flip through and I already own many of her 100 suggested items to style salvation. Phew - knowing Nina she would have convinced me to get all 100. But what's cool is, even though I own a monokini, I did not know the Vatican denounced it in 1964. And these are the sort of fashion nuggets Nina shares. Make sure to add this one to your Summer reading list, stat.

12 Things You Should Never Buy Full-Price

Business Insider — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:15:25 PST

We're thrilled to present this smart Business Insider story here on Savvy!

With the Internet, helpful mobile phone apps, and retailers scrambling to keep consumers in their shops, there's no need to pay full-price for much of anything these days.

To give you a boost, we tapped a few savvy shoppers for their tips on all the ways you can save.

Theater tickets

"One of the greatest savings areas recently has been the theater ticket business," says Anna Aronovich, CEO of GovernmentAuctions.org.

Even if you're not going to be around NYC to score discount Broadway tickets this month, there are opportunities in nearly all cities to see shows on the cheap.

Some rewards programs like Optimum Rewards cost nothing to join and offer discounts on shows.

Beer

If you're looking to stock the fridge for your next poker night, don't hit the liquor store until you've checked out www.saveonbrew.com.

The company's been featured on a host of deals sites lately as one of the best ways to find discounts on brewski, says Jennifer Davidson, director of operations. (See some incredible uses for beer.)

Read on for more.

5 Strange Ways Chocolate Keeps You Healthy

Prevention — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 04:02:26 PST

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Prevention here on FitSugar!

This sweet treat may also boost brainpower, help you relax, and more!
By Mara Betsch, Prevention

Show your heart some love this Valentine’s Day by nibbling a few chocolates - and making them a regular treat throughout the year. A recent study found that those consuming the highest levels of chocolate had a 37 percent reduction in cardiovascular disease and a 29 percent reduction in stroke compared to those with lower chocolate intakes.

Though experts are quick to clarify that we should stick to moderate consumption of high-calorie chocolates, it’s hard to deny the cold, hard facts that chocolate can be a healthy addition to our diets.

Seven Surprising Ways to Sharpen Your Mind

Hundreds of studies have shown that dark chocolate is packed with antioxidants that promote heart health and may prevent many cardiovascular-related conditions, but we’ve dug up five more surprising health benefits. Read on for five new ways to justify your chocolate craving.

1. Chocolate May Help You With Math
Flavonols, compounds in chocolate with antioxidantlike properties, are thought to improve circulation, including blood flow to the brain. A 2009 study asked participants to count backward in groups of three from a number between 800 and 999. After drinking hot cocoa filled with flavonols, the participants were able to do calculations more quickly and accurately and were less likely to feel tired or mentally drained.

Learn a four more things chocolate can do for you after the break.

Mommy's Lil Helper: The Best Ways to Store Legos

LilSugar — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 03:16:10 PST

A favorite toy for generations, Legos are great for encouraging creativity, developing fine motor skills and problem-solving skills. What's not so great about them: the clean-up. Hundreds of little pieces scattered across the playroom floor can be a huge hassle . . . unless of course, you use one of these smart storage solutions. Check out our five favorite solutions for storing the building bricks!

Source: Flickr user bdesham

Save Thousands Just By Itemizing Deductions

LearnVest — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:15:01 PST

We're thrilled to present this smart LearnVest story here on Savvy!

Though we all groan about having to pay taxes, the government is nice enough not to tax us on the full amount of our earnings.

There are two big buckets of deductions the government gives us: the first is called above the line, and the second is called below the line, which we’ll cover here. (The “line” these deductions refer to is a literal line on your 1040 form for the Adjusted Gross Income.)

Below the Line Deductions

Below the line deductions come in two types: one is called the standard deduction, and the second is called itemized deductions.

The Standard Deduction

The standard deduction is an amount of income that the government will not tax any taxpayer on. Most people take the standard deduction on their returns, which is worth anywhere from $5,800 to $11,600, and opt out of the whole process of itemizing. It’s as simple as saying, “I’m a single person (or married filing singly or married filing jointly), and yes, I would like the standard deduction.” For some people, this is just fine. After all, that’s a lot of money, and taking just the standard deduction makes your taxes simpler and faster. What’s not to like?

Check out the chart below to find out what the standard deduction is for your filing status.

Questions to Ask Yourself Before Buying a Yoga Mat

Jenny Sugar — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:36:43 PST

Buying a yoga mat is like buying a new pair of running sneakers. It takes careful consideration and research to find the right fit. Since there are hundreds to ~~confuse you~~ choose from, narrow down your search by asking these important questions.

How Much Do I Want to Spend?
Your budget is a huge factor in the mat you end up with. Do you have the dough to lay down for the priciest one on the market or are you happy buying a cheaper mat? The upside of buying a more expensive mat, like the Manduka PRO Black Magic ($104), is durability, which will actually save you money over time.

How Thick Do I Want It?
If you're new to the mat-buying scene, you might not realize that mats come in different thicknesses. A quarter-inch is the standard mat thickness, probably like the one you've borrowed from your studio. Think about how your body feels on this mat in certain poses where your bones are pressing into the floor. If you've felt discomfort, splurge on a thicker mat, but make sure it's also dense. A thick squishy mat makes balancing postures more difficult.

Keep reading for more things to consider when purchasing a new yoga mat.

Healthy Dose Link Time: Women Lie About Diet 474 Times Per Year

Michele Foley — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:59:58 PST

Are you one of the women who lies about her diet hundreds of times per year? - Newser
Stop bloody noses with bacon (seriously!) - The Frisky
Because time is a commodity: quick breakfast ideas - Real Simple
Reasons people ignore their doctor's advice - Shape
Who needs meatballs? Try this tempeh bolognese instead - Vegetarian Times
Get moving with a challenging leg workout: 100 squats? No problem! - Peanut Butter Fingers
Yet another reason chocolate is good for you - HuffPost Lifestyle UK
What every woman can learn from Demi Moore's breakdown - The Stir

Udacity and 14 Other Free Sites For Online Learning

GeekSugar — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:51:42 PST

After seeing the success of a personal experiment offering a free Stanford University-certified artificial intelligence course (23,000 people completed the class!), Sebastian Thrun left his prestigious professor position to dedicate himself to teaching on a much larger scale. His new program, Udacity will offer free university-level computer science classes to anyone interested in advancing their tech knowledge.

The two courses currently up for the taking are "CS 101: Building a Search Engine" and "CS 373: Programming a Robotic Car." But that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to free online classes. Here, a list of places to point your web browser for free classes online, so you can soak up all the knowledge your brain can handle.

Yale Open Courses - Named one of Time magazine's top 50 websites of 2011, Yale's classes allow anyone to browse through lectures and course materials in subjects including engineering, chemistry, astronomy, sociology, Spanish, history, and more.
MIT OpenCourseWare - With over 2,000 courses available at your fingertips, MIT OpenCourseWare should be your first (and maybe your only) stop in online learning.
Online Education Database - This website offers up a list of 200 free classes you can take online. Take some physics classes and learn about the phenomenon of superconductivity, or retake that algebra class you struggled with in high school.
OpenCulture - This website offers up a list of free classes from top universities like Stanford and UC Berkeley, and even some video lectures you can find on YouTube.
Harvard Open Learning - Watch videos of lectures on computer science and abstract algebra, among others
Princeton Web Media - Browse through and take in archived lectures from Princeton's math, science, and engineering departments, and lots, lots more.

See more websites to get your online learning on after the break.

The Healthiest Drinks For Your Diet

Leta Shy — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:29:33 PST

When eating healthfully, a large focus may be on what not to drink: no sugary juices, sodas, or high-calorie cocktails. But many drinks can actually help you live a healthier lifestyle. We all know that drinking enough water is essential, but find out what other drinks should also be on your OK list below, and remember to enter our healthy living giveaway for a chance to win a $500 Under Armour gift card!

Coffee: The hot drink is the perfect accompaniment to a cold morning or a drowsy afternoon, but offering you a warm pick-me-up isn't its only advantage. Coffee has been proven to help improve memory, increase endurance, and ease muscle pain. The list doesn't stop there; read more about the health benefits of coffee here.

Watch for: The benefits of coffee don't always outweigh the risks, especially if you drink too much. Drinking too much java can cause you to become anxious or jittery, disrupt your sleep patterns, develop high blood pressure, or endure regular headaches. Stay attuned to caffeine's affect on your body and, in general, don't drink more than 300 milligrams a day (the average cup of coffee contains 100 milligrams of caffeine).

Red wine: All those studies about the health benefits of red wine makes me feel that much better about relaxing with a glass of Cab after work. Red wine contains a compound called resveratrol, which has been proven in studies to be beneficial to your health - everything from fighting cancer to antiaging, along with other disease-preventing benefits.

Watch for: The benefits of wine stop at one glass a day, so don't go overboard. You may be doing yourself more harm than good, especially since one glass of red wine usually runs around 127 calories. And while scientists have researched resveratrol in many lab studies, there have been few studies in humans - and let's not forget the recent news that a leading red wine researcher actually falsified data in dozens of studies on heart health and resveratrol.

Two more good-for-you drinks after the break!

The Detox Market Opens Its Doors in San Francisco

Miriam Lacey — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 10:01:00 PST

There are endless "natural" beauty and health brands out there making claims, and sometimes it feels like a second job just wading through all the information. Which is why The Detox Market is a great idea. The store's concept is simple: the founders curate one exemplary natural product in each beauty category (a sole lipstick, the best sunscreen, etc.) and sell everything in an uncluttered boutique. So instead of walking in and being overwhelmed by inconsistent labeling and hundreds of ingredient lists, you get a single high quality, prescreened option.

There are already two Detox Market locations in LA, but northern California just got its first, at 969 Valencia Street in San Francisco's Mission neighborhood. We paid a visit intending just to have a chat and a look around, but ended up buying half the store. As it turns out, most of the beauty selection includes stuff we already love or have been dying to try. They even carry some longtime Bella favorites, including sunscreen obsession, Suntegrity, and they were the first place we've seen actually carrying cult favorite Ilia lipstick, which we now can't stop applying. It might not be the store for people who love overwhelming variety, but for us, it made buying natural beauty fun again.