September 2012 – Girl Who Would be KING on Life, Style and INSPIRATION.

beauty

Beauty – the tool kit.

TOOLS WOMEN SHOULD NOT BE WITHOUT:

Let’s Talk “Tools of the Trade.” Not only makeup artists require these.

How many of you have most or all of the items listed below?

1: Tweezers – fine edge and slightly pointed tip work best. “Tweezerman” made in Germany is my favorite.

2: Sponges – good for blending foundation and getting into tiny creases around the nose and eyes.

3: Eyelash Comb – the fine tooth comb prevents lashes from turning into a clumpy mess.

4: Eyebrow Brush – one of the most underused makeup tools. Simply brushing the eyebrows upward can open up the eye area and reveal hairs that need tweezing.

5: Huge Powder Brush – buffing the face after powdering or bronzing removes any excess powder.

6: Blush Brush – bristles should be soft. The ones that usually come with the compact are too small and too hard.

7: Lip Brush – applying straight from the tube doesn’t always allow for control over application.

8: Sponge-tip Applicator – for applying eye makeup, evening out eyeliner and under browbone.

9: Eyelash Curler – an essential for me. Shu Uemura from Japan or Chanel precision curlers are my favorites. Begin by applying the curler as close to the base of the lashes as possible. Softly squeeze the curler and then gently walk it outwards. Apply mascara as needed. Currently loving “DIORSHOW” electric blue mascara, Hard Candy Ginormous Lash in Purple Haze and for black it’s still MicaBella mineral mascara.

10/11/12: Eye Shadow Brushes – different kinds for applying eye makeup to lids and browbone. Slanted is great for dipping into powder when slightly damp for eyeliner.

13: Contour Brush – this may seem a rather peripheral tool but many women use it for blending and to shape the face. I never use this but if you have a wider face you can use a darker shade of powder foundation or bronzer and apply it directly to the outer part of cheeks to create the illusion of a slimmer face.

14: Scissors – cuticle scissors with slightly curved points are good for trimming false eyelashes and brows.

Cleaning your brushes: I dip them in a solution from “MAC” mixed with warm water then rinse in regular water & leave on paper towels to dry completely. Best done every couple of weeks.

Did I miss anything?

FUN

AWay with Words – beautiful quotes!

IS BEAUTY “ONLY” SKIN DEEP?

The average woman would rather have beauty than brains, because the average man can see better than he can think ~anonymous~

BEAUTY is only skin deep, but it’s a valuable asset if you’re poor or haven’t any sense. – Kin Hubbard

Ugliness is in a way superior to beauty because it lasts – Serge Gainsbourg

The problem with beauty is that it’s like being born rich and getting poorer – Joan Collins

I’m tired of all this nonsense about beauty being only skin-deep. That’s deep enough. What do you want, an adorable pancreas? – Jean Kerr

One man’s POV: Beauty is all very well at first sight, but who ever looks at it when it has been in the house three days? – George Bernard Shaw

Do you love me because i’m beautiful, or am I beautiful because you love me? – Oscar Hammerstein, II

FUN

Home décor – tacTile ideas

Armenian israeli tile2 — Armenian hand painted tile from the old city in Jerusalem

Tiles as Art? Why Not?

Sometimes you want to bring a souvenir art piece back from certain travels but they’re too cumbersome.

imbedded outside as tile mat — Mexican tiles imbedded outside front door to resemble a decorative door mat

Consider nice hand painted tiles that are little pieces of artwork that represent a country you’ve visited instead.

They’re easier to pack and will adhere to the wall with tile cement quite easily. Granted, if you move it will be harder to take them off but at least you didn’t invest much in the first place.

Also it’s another excuse to go back and get more.

Ackee (jamaican fruit) kitchen tile — From Jamaica – **ackee** is the national fruit of Jamaica – over stove top cooking elements

Indian — Tile on upper deck bought at Home Sense

frame1 — Framed Mexican tile on upper deck

outdoor tile — Live one day at a time – outside

trivet1 — Pretty & Useful – on tumbled Italian marble kitchen countertop.

*TIP: Tiles travel well and can double as trivets for hotplates or cooking utensils while cooking.

FUN

B Well – little healthful tidbits that go a long way

I love sugar so why won’t it love me back?

SUGAR (even the natural kind) is currently getting a bad rap from best-selling books, diet gurus and even mainstream doctors. Experts share what the real problems are and the smartest ways to cut back.

Take the following quiz below to find out if you’re hooked. Answer True or False for each question.

1) I crave something sweet after nearly every meal. 2) I have at least one soft drink (diet or regular) a day. 3) When I see something sweet, I have trouble passing it up. 4) I almost always have some sort of chocolate or candy every day. 5) I sometimes feel out of control when eating sweets.

If you answered TRUE TO THREE OR MORE questions, you’re under sugar’s spell and it might be time to start curbing your intake.

Guilty to numbers 1, 3 and 4. My correct score should really be 2 ½. I struggled with answering yes to #1 because I don’t always eat sweets after breakfast or lunch.

WHAT’S SO BAD

It can add belly bulge. Ab fat anyone? What you eat matters – counting calories are not the only thing that counts. Sugary foods are rapidly absorbed, precipitating insulin spikes that cause rebound hunger and elevated triglyceride levels (increasing your risk of heart disease). Scarier still, surplus fructose can build fat deep in the abdomen, which is the worst place in terms of health risks.

IT AGES YOU

Excess suger in your diet can trigger the formation of advanced glycation end-products, which can cause premature lines and wrinkles. WAIT: you can use sugar based products for your skin? Sugar actually works well as a topical exfoliant, gently sloughing off dead layers to reveal smoother, brighter skin. That’s great and all but will it still satisfy my craving for something sweet while it’s on my skin? I don’t think so! My question is can you eat sugar and then use wrinkle reducing products to wipe off the accumulated line damage after? – probably not! We’ll do skincare in another post then.

DON’T BE A FAKER

Satisfying your cravings with artificial substitutes isn’t a smart swap. People who drink diet sodas are more likely to gain extra pounds. One possible explanation? The faux stuff primes your palate to crave sweets, making it harder to scale back. Plus the fake stuff is even worse for you in general.

SUGAR GETS BUSTED

Since it’s publication in February, the “Blood Sugar Solution” has been generating a buzz and landing on the best-seller list for at least 12 weeks. Followers of Dr. Mark Hyman’s no-added-sugers edict are staving off what he calls “diabesity,” a cluster of symptoms that can lead to serious health issues. (Little Brown, $28; amazon.com)

Slashing Sugar Made Simple: some strategies to slowly step away from sweets without sacrificing taste or satiety.

Pick the finest fruit – few dietitians advise cutting out fruit entirely since it has fiber along with the natural sugars. Focus on low-sugar, high-fiber, and phytonutrient-rich choices like blueberries and peaches over super-sweet fruits like pineapple.

Beware of breakfast cereals – even the seemingly wholesome varieties can be laden with the white stuff. A serving of Kashi Go Lean Crunch has a whopping 13 grams of sugar. That is the main reason why I make my own granola. The only additional sugars is with added dried fruit.

Avoid Hidden Sugar – sweeteners go by many names and can be lurking where you least expect them. Common sources include breads, ketchup, pasta sauce, peanut butter, salad dressings and soups. Read the labels carefully. Bone up on the aliases you may find on labels, such as brown rice syrup, corn syrup, solids, dexrin, galactose, and malt syrup.

Sip Smarter – be wary of drinking too much juice. Juice might seem health savvy -witness the juice-cleanse craze. But most are high in sugar too. Eating the whole fruit is more filling for fewer calories or dilute your juice with some water. I love juicing but will add veggies like carrots, kale and cucumber to balance out the fruit intake. Watch out for the sugar intake in energy shakes too.

“Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.”

*TIP: It may not be chocolate but for a healthy take on something sweet try baked sweet potatoes sprinkled with cinnamon.

**If you can’t CUT OUT then at least CUT DOWN. Eating sugar in desserts, ice cream, etc. is my guilty pleasure but I vow to cut down…..bit by bit (or bite by bite).

You might also be interested in: How YOU can become almost totally resistant to colds, influenza, and other infections with the bestselling author of SUPER IMMUNITY on Transforming Health with Brad King. VoiceAmerica.com – #1 internet radio station in North America. Listen to this and other health related issues with Brad King every Wednesday live at noon (pacific standard time) and 3:00 p.m. (EST).

FUN

One thing to another – transformations

To have and to hold: use a simple business card, fan or napkin holder for books and magazines:

recipe holder — useful for reading recipes

books on bus. card holder — plastic business card holders for some books

Joan with fan holder — A stand-up on typical fan holder

So you love Joan Rivers and you love jewelry – now you can have both!

I bought this hardcover book for a friend who has an appreciation for good humor and jewelry. She makes her own too.

The fan holder works for holding a cookbook open or holding your tablet.

Food + Drink

Key Lime Pie

KEY LIME PIE

I don’t know where the term “easy as pie” comes from because as a rule the crusts are never so easy to make (still working on it) – only the fillings. I think you`ll find this one surprisingly simple and one of the best tasting.

I picked up a basic recipe in Key West Florida – the birthplace of “key limes” but made it my own. While key limes are always the best to use they’re a pain to juice and you can’t get the exact same ones here. Substitute using Persian or regular limes. They’re less acidic so the recipe is adjusted for taste. Approx 6 large and a couple more for optional garnish.

Recipe:

Graham Cracker Crust: ¾ cup of graham cracker crumbs, 2 Tbsp. of melted butter and 1 Tbsp. of sugar. Mix together in the bottom of a 9” pyrex pie plate. Pat down and refrigerate. (this is the same crust used for making new york cheesecake).

Filling: 5 oz of lime juice (if you like it less tart then use 4 oz.) 1 can (14 oz.) of sweetened condensed milk 4 egg yolks Grate zest from limes and reserve

With electric mixer combine milk and eggs, then slowly add juice and some of the zest. Mix thoroughly.

Pour over top of the graham cracker crust. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes. Refrigerate. Usually best made the night before.

Top with meringue (made with the leftover egg whites) while filling is hot or with whipped cream when cold. Top either with grated lime zest and decorate with sliced limes and some fruit for appearance sake.

**TIP: Did you know that you can freeze limes? First zest them and freeze the zest in a separate container so you can use it when you need it.

If you make it let me know how it turns out.

FUN

aWay with Words – colorful quotes and words of wisdom

Fiction was invented the day Jonas arrived home and told his wife that he was three days late because he had been swallowed by a whale – Gabriel Garcia Marquez

From one of my favorite authors – Columbian born GABRIEL GARCIA MARQUEZ.

warning: this post is longer than usual but totally worth the time.

“It is not true that people stop pursuing dreams because they grow old, they grow old because they stop pursuing dreams.”

“What matters in life is not what happens to you but what you remember and how you remember it.” Gabriel Garcia Marquez

LoveInTheTimeOfCholera — aka Love in the time of cholera

“All human beings have three lives: public, private, and secret.” Gabriel García Márquez, a Life

“Injections are the best thing ever invented for feeding doctors“ – Gabriel Garcia Marquez

“sex is the consolation you have when you can’t have love” – Gabriel García Márquez

excerpts from some of his most famous books:

“The world must be all fucked up,” he said then, “when men travel first class and literature goes as freight.”― Gabriel García Márquez

“The adolescents of my generation, greedy for life, forgot in body and soul about their hopes for the future until reality taught them that tomorrow was not what they had dreamed, and they discovered nostalgia.”
― Gabriel García Márquez, Memories of My Melancholy Whores

“In all the houses keys to memorizing objects and feelings had been written. But the system demanded so much vigilance and moral strength that many succumbed to the spell of an imaginary reality, one invented by themselves, which was less practical for them but more comforting.”
― Gabriel García Márquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude

“Although some men who were easy with their words said that it was worth sacrificing one’s life for a night of love with such an arousing woman, the truth was that no one made any effort to do so. Perhaps, not only to attain her but also to conjure away her dangers, all that was needed was a feeling as primitive and as simple as that of love, but that was the only thing that did not occur to anyone.”
― Gabriel García Márquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude

“Tell me something, old friend: why are you fighting?”
What other reason could there be?” Colonel Gerineldo Marquez answered. “For the great Liberal party.”
You’re lucky because you know why,” he answered. “As far as I’m concerned, I’ve come to realize only just now that I’m fighting because of pride.”
That’s bad,” Colonel Gerineldo Marquez said.
Colonel Aureliano Buendia was amused at his alarm. “Naturally,” he said. “But in any case, it’s better than not knowing why you’re fighting.” He looked him in the eyes and added with a smile:
Or fighting, like you, for something that doesn’t have any meaning for anyone.”
― Gabriel García Márquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude

There is good reason why his books have been translated into almost every language.

“لا ينتسب الإنسان إلى أرض لا موتى له تحت ترابها”
― غابرييل غارثيا ماركيز, One Hundred Years of Solitude

“El secreto de una buena vejez no es mas que un pacto honrado con la soledad.”
― Gabriel García Márquez

“but he only found her in the image that saturated his private and terrible solitude.”
― Gabriel García Márquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude

“Tell him yes. Even if you are dying of fear, even if you are sorry later, because whatever you do, you will be sorry all the rest of your life if you say no.”
― Gabriel García Márquez, Love in the Time of Cholera

“Amputees suffer pains, cramps, itches in the leg that is no longer there. That is how she felt without him, feeling his presence where he no longer was.”
― Gabriel García Márquez, Love in the Time of Cholera

“He was still too young to know that the heart’s memory eliminates the bad and magnifies the good, and that thanks to this artifice we manage to endure the burden of the past.”
― Gabriel García Márquez, Love in the Time of Cholera

“To him she seemed so beautiful, so seductive, so different from ordinary people, that he could not understand why no one was as disturbed as he by the clicking of her heels on the paving stones, why no one else’s heart was wild with the breeze stirred by the sighs of her veils, why everyone did not go mad with the movements of her braid, the flight of her hands, the gold of her laughter. He had not missed a single one of her gestures, not one of the indications of her character, but he did not dare approach her for fear of destroying the spell.”
― Gabriel García Márquez, Love in the Time of Cholera

– The magic and wisdom of words –

FUN

B Well – time to spice things up!

In the kitchen that is…with the healing properties of spices!

Fall is here and winter is right around the corner so we all need to avoid getting colds. Spices can help us from getting sick.

If you’re anything like me then you love to cook and eat ethnic foods. Thai, Italian, Indian and Mexican to name just a few. For Chinese and Japanese we tend to mostly eat out but you can create some great little dishes at home (more in an upcoming recipe post). It’s fun to experiment.

By Drs. Mehmet Oz & Michael Roizen

WHAT DO SPICY INDIAN CURRY, ZESTY ITALIAN PESTO AND MEXICO’S RICH CHOCOLATE MOLE SAUCE HAVE IN COMMON? For starters they sure get your taste buds dancing. But they do a lot more than that.

Tasty ethnic cuisine all-stars like these deliver a heap of phytonutrients that make you younger by avoiding cancer, heart disease, high blood sugar, dementia and more. Time to visit ethnic street fairs and make creative use out of the herbs and spices hiding in your kitchen cabinet.

Don’t just eat ethnic sometimes – you can sprinkle more of this good stuff on the foods you eat every day. Think outside the box, as Dr. Mike does. He dusts steamed broccoli with cinnamon and spreads bright yellow-mustard (a great source of the super healthy spice tumeric) on everything from celery to grilled salmon.

Giving your spice rack a workout ranks up there with eating fruit and veggies as “brilliant.”

Take Oregano. Prized in Italian and Greek cuisine, these tasty little leaves boast 30 times more polyphenols than potatoes, 12 times more than oranges and four times more than that powerful antioxidant called blueberries. Even a pinch of this herb packs a wallop. A tablespoon of fresh oregano’s got as much antioxidant power as a medium size apple.

There are others too numerous to mention in this blog but try Tumeric, Cinnamon, Ginger, Garlic and Rosemary for starters. They are super-spices!

Our lesson? Spice things up with whatever you’re cooking tonight.

*Useful tips: try adding a touch of cinnamon to your coffee in the morning

**Of course to really spice things up you can always wear lingerie while cooking.

While we’re on the subject of health: WHO DOESN’T WANT MORE HAPPINESS?

For the foremost up to the minute health information listen to “Transforming Health” with host Brad King – live every Wednesday noon (pacific time) and 3:00 p.m. (EST) for the best interviews with leading health professionals in their respective fields. All on Voice America.com – the leader in internet media. Learn to double your happiness at:

http://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/64054/double-your-happiness-learn-keys-to-double-your-happiness-no-matter-what-curve-balls-life-throws

Food + Drink

Fab Flatbread – if you build it they will love it.

FABULOUS FLATBREAD

Flatbread out of oven — Thin crust flatbread is healthy too

There is no actual recipe in making these delectable tasting appetizers. Much like a pizza you can put whatever topping you want.

The trick is getting a thin crust bread or even pita for that matter to start with.

Begin by painting on a thin base layer of either tomato or pesto sauce and build it from there.

Flatbread served — Cut into wedges, squares or triangles for serving.

Here are a few recent examples of vegetarian ones I’ve made – both delicious. Remember there are No Rules.

Pesto: Pesto sauce (use store bought if you don’t have fresh), sundried tomatoes, fresh basil, artichoke hearts, roasted garlic, parmesan, chilli peppers, lemon zest and olive oil.

Greek: strained tomato puree, thinly sliced onion, pitted kalamata olives, fresh spinach, fresh tomatoes, sprinkling of pinenuts, feta, dried oregano and olive oil.

Have fun making them and then receiving lots of compliments.

FUN

Scene in the City: Let’s celebrate

Street fairs and festivals. Vancouver is in fair festival frenzy. This past Saturday alone there were two good ones. So how come there was little or no advertising and then why two in one day?

Not that I’m complaining as I’m always looking for a party but it cut my day in half as I noticed a fair while on my way to a festival. Here’s a recap:MexicoFest in conjunction with Independence Day in Mexico took place outdoors at the new downtown Vancouver Convention Centre. Many people and what seemed like all of Vancouver’s Mexican population were there for the live shows (best mariachi I’ve heard in ages), food, arts & crafts and dancing. It was a wonderful opportunity to discover the diverse cuisine, musical tradition, artistic heritage, and tourism destinations of this fascinating county and its people.

It was a beautiful series of cultural, culinary and social events with a big centre stage and many rotating performances. I’m sorry to have missed the ballet Mexcaltital as I’m sure it was excellent.

Mexi 3 — View from Convention Center – Canada Place

west end fest2 — Kids enjoy making street grafitti- this is how it all starts.

West End Fest (formerly called Davie Days) took place all along Davie street which was closed to traffic from Burrard to Denman. White tented vendors lined the streets and there were several music stages with live performances and lots of food. Tiny bubbles, roller blading, buskers, animals and kids.

It’s always interesting along Davie at the best of times so this just made it that much more FUN.

Then it was off to Enigma restaurant on West 10^th to see Sybil Thrasher, our local entertaining jazz/blues singer extraordinaire! Our own Billy Holiday.

Until next year….