January 2014 – Page 3 – Girl Who Would be KING on Life, Style and INSPIRATION.

Words – how HAPPY are you right now?

Perhaps if one really knew when one was happy one would know the things that were necessary for one’s life. – Joanna Field

I re-discovered this book titled “Simple Abundance” by Sarah Ban Breathnach – “A Daybook of Comfort and Joy” given to me by a dear friend 14 years ago. She inscribed on the inside cover “I hope that each day begins and ends with as much enlightenment and divine guidance as found in these pages. I had read excerpts from the book every day right until the end and just started re-reading through it once more – so much wisdom to be found on every page that I just had to share something for the New Year. Beginning with this paragraph by Margaret Young:

Often people attempt to live their lives backwards: they try to have more things, or more money, in order to do more of what they want so that they will be happier. The way it actually works is the reverse. You must first be who you really are, then, do what you need to do, in order to have what you want.

Here is a sampling from one of the January pages:

So, how happy you are right now? Do you even know? Most people know what makes their parents, partners or children happy. When it comes to an awareness about the little, specific things in life that bring a smile to our faces and contentment to our own hearts, we often come up short. What is missing from many of our days is a true sense that we are enjoying the lives we are living. It’s difficult to experience moments of happiness if we’re not aware of what it is we genuinely love.

We must learn to savor small, authentic moments that bring us contentment. Experiment with a new cookie recipe. Take the time to slowly arrange a bouquet of flowers in order to appreciate their colors, fragrance, and beauty. Sip a cup of tea, pause for a few minutes to pet a purring cat. Simple pleasures waiting to be enjoyed. Simple pleasures often overlooked.

An good example: In 1926 a young Englishwoman, Joanna Field, began to feel that she was not living a truly authentic life, that she did not know what made her truly happy. To remedy this she kept a journal in order to discover what specifically triggered the feeling of delight in her daily life. The journal, A Life of One’s Own, was published in 1934. It was written, she confided, in the spirit of a detective who searches through the minutiae of the mundane in hopes of finding clues for what was missing in her life.

Joanna Field discovered that she delighted in red shoes, good food, sudden bursts of laughter, reading in French, answering letters, loitering in a crowd at a fair and “a new life when first it was grasped.”

Let us each grasp a new idea this year – the awareness of what it is that makes us truly happy.

even if it's just a happy finger. — even if it’s just a happy finger.

Let us consider our personal preferences and learn how to recognize, then embrace, moments of happiness that are uniquely our own.

FUN

health MATTERS – Winter Whites

Permission to fill your plate with a little less color.

For years we’ve been told to “eat the rainbow,” on the theory that the more colorful our fruits and vegetables, the more nutrient-rich they are. While that advice still holds, research reveals that certain pale foods – like cauliflower and celery root – have a lot to offer too, from helping ward off heart disease to boosting bone health. And because many of these veggies are in peak season during cooler months, now is a great time to lighten up.

Let’s take three for now:

Celery Root – whether you boil it or eat it raw, this root vegetable offers more than twice the iron of a boiled potato, and at least 35 percent more fiber per cup. Also contains more than 70% of your daily recommended intake of vitamin K.

Cauliflower – one cup of this cruciferous veggie packs 68 percent of your daily recommended allowance of Vitamin C. The white florets also contain the nutrient choline, which the brain converts into a chemical that researchers believe may help to slow age-related memory loss.

Parsnips – a cup of cooked parsnips satisfies nearly 30 percent of the daily vitamin C needs and delivers more than 20 percent of the suggested intake of the mineral Manganese. They also contain nearly 6 grams of fiber per cup (more than 22 percent of the daily recommended intake), helping you stay full a little longer.

Other great whites – garlic and horseradish.

So for tonight – mix your greens with white!

Taken from an article by Ashley Gartland – Feeling Good

FUN

Fab Fashion Folios – To Me

THE BEST FASHION BOOKS

In Chinese Astrology, 2014 is the Year of the Horse. In the style world, it seems to be the year of the fashion tome. Penned by It girls and icons, these titles will look lovely on the coffee table of any style junkie.

Know any?

Find more books of interest on Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/intrigueimports/under-the-covers-attention-grabbing-books/

FUN

beauty biz – YSL TOUCHE ÉCLAT

WHAT IS IT?

TOUCHE ÉCLAT – Radiant Touch – by Yves Saint Laurent

A luminizing pen that brings light and radiance to the skin, immediately erases any signs of fatigue, and brightens the complexion.

This is what they have to say:

What it does:
Loved by models, makeup artists, celebrities, and women everywhere, the award-winning Yves Saint Laurent TOUCHE ÉCLAT Radiant Touch is like eight hours of sleep and an instant pick-me-up in a magic wand. With a few strategically placed strokes of TOUCHE ÉCLAT, the complexion immediately looks rested, rejuvenated, and radiant.

What else you need to know:
TOUCHE ÉCLAT banishes shadows and tired-looking eyes by adding light and creating an instant lift to the eye area. TOUCHE ÉCLAT widens eyes when used between the eyebrows and along the sides of the nose, and creates fuller looking lips when used in the hollow of the chin and around the contour of the lips. It’s formulated for all skin types and for anyone who wants instant radiance, luminosity, and lift.

And who doesn’t?

Watch the light battle at:

http://www.yslbeautyus.com/Touche-eclat/141YSL,default,pd.html

Have you tried it? Let me know what you think.

STYLE

Style & Substance – some girls

TODAY, instead of focusing on one particular style topic I want to share some photos of women whose STYLE I ADMIRE…..starting with Audrey. Some you will know, some you will not, but they’re all a lovely lot. Each with their own individual style (of course personal stylists & an abundance of cash always helps) but these women have plenty of fashion sense and charismatic personal flair.

Swedish blogger Elin Kling. Her resume includes Fashion Director of Swedish Magazine STYLEBY and Creative Director of Elin Kling, which has evolved from her own personal blog she started seven years ago to a daily fashion journal. Nowhere is her clothing line. I love her clean, simple lines and perfect blond hair.

Victoria Beckham. NO matter what you want to say (jealousy aside) about her – there’s no denying her total put together STYLE package!

Musicians as models…

We have Sky Ferreira and Daft Punk for Saint Laurent, David Bowie for Louis Vuitton and Lady Gaga for Versace.

I like Rhianna because she’s young & fearless. And her mom is adorable! Hers is not my personal style choice but then again, I’m not a rock chick. It doesn’t matter what she wears she always looks beautiful.

Diane Von Furstenburg. She created the wrap dress eons ago that still goes strong but she is still evolving. — **Diane Von Furstenburg**. She created the wrap dress in 1974 & it’s still going strong but her style is always evolving.

Amanda de Cadenet photo: annie levowitz — “The Conversation” Web Host **Amanda de Cadenet.** She’s not a skinny girl but embraces her body type & encourages other women to do so too.
photo: Annie Leibovitz.

**Gwyneth Paltrow** rarely if ever seems to make a wrong move. She looks good in everything.

SJP - because she's quirky a lot of the time but it suits her. — **SJP** – because she’s quirky a lot of the time but it suits her. She somehow manages to pull it off where as other women (like me) wouldn’t dare.

Kate Moss....there's nothing more to say. Save the BEST FOR LAST! — **Kate Moss**….there’s nothing more to say. Save the BEST FOR LAST!

Check out our Style board on PINterest at: https://www.pinterest.com/intrigueimports/style-inspiration/

Whose style do you admire most?

Food + Drink

simply satisfying – gourmet Mac and Cheese

First off…let’s just talk about good cheese in general. There are so many great varieties. Just when you think you’ve tried them all…there’s a new kid on the block (or cheeseboard). Today I sampled a bunch of Beecher’s Handmade Cheese at Pike Place Market in Seattle. So good that I decided to do a whole blog dedicated to only cheese….but then decided I’d post a recipe of a gourmet version of Macaroni and Cheese instead.

You can watch them making Curd Cheese

Sometimes you just want a good old Mac’ n Cheese. This one has a little bite to it and the croutons provide a crispy topping.

To make croutons – 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter, 4 slices white bread, cut into ½ inch squares, kosher salt, 21 seasoning salute (or something similar). In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add bread; stir until golden. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate and season with a pinch of salt & seasoning. Set aside.

Recipe

Unsalted butter, for greasing pan

2 cups elbow pasta

8 ounces each – Monterey Jack, Cheddar and Manchego (or you can use Colby) cheese, all shredded.

2 tsp. all-purpose flour

¼ tsp. kosher salt

½ tsp. ground black pepper

½ tsp. cayenne pepper

½ tsp. dry mustard

1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg

¼ sour cream

1 large egg, beaten

¼ cup grated sweet onion

1 ½ cups half & half

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter a 9” x 13” baking dish. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta until almost al dente; drain, then return pasta to pot. In a medium bowl, combine all three cheeses. Then mix 2/3 of the cheese with pasta. Set aside. In a large bowl combine flour, salt, black pepper, cayenne, mustard, nutmeg, sour cream, egg, onion and the half & half. Pour over pasta and mix.

Transfer to baking dish and scatter remaining cheese over top. Bake uncovered until just beginning to brown, about 35 minutes. Top with croutons and bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes more. Let sit 15 minutes before serving. Makes approx. 10 servings.

TIP: you can also use store bought croutons and just crumble them in place of the homemade ones.Check out our Food Board for more fabulous recipes on PINterest at: https://www.pinterest.com/intrigueimports/foodsavour-taste-flavor-relish-palate-enjoyment/

Art & Culture

pop ART/celebrity CULTURE/cool ADS

This is the man who turned his creative eye towards consumerism in a brilliant manner. I just came back from a mini vacation in Palm Springs where Warhol’s works inhabits many galleries including the Palm Springs Art Museum. His influence is felt everywhere. Which brings me to:

The Warhol Museum

Over the course of his career, Andy Warhol transformed contemporary art. Employing mass-production techniques to create works, Warhol challenged preconceived notions about the nature of art and erased traditional distinctions between fine art and popular culture. The Andy Warhol Museum’s permanent collection is comprised of more than 8,000 works of art by Warhol including paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, sculpture, film, videotapes, and extensive archives that consists of ephemera, records, source material for works of art, and other documents of the artist’s life. Together, the art and archives make The Andy Warhol Museum the most comprehensive single-artist museum in the world.

In 1964 one visitor upon seeing Andy Warhol’s Brillo Boxes at the Stable Gallery questioned “Is this an art gallery or supermarket warehouse?”

The Andy Warhol Museum is located at: 117 Sandusky St, Pittsburgh, PA – USA. It is the largest museum in the country dedicated to a single artist.

For those who want a little piece:

All of these FAB Warhol ART books were spotted at Just Fabulous – Palm Springs.

book at Just Fabulous — *Just Fabulous* BOOKS

Check out our book board in PINterest at: http://www.pinterest.com/intrigueimports/under-the-covers-attention-grabbing-books/

FUN

Words…what works!

Here’s THE MOST SENSIBLE DIET TIP EVER (if you choose a SPECIFIC diet):

“The diet that works is the diet you stick with” – end of story! It doesn’t matter which one you follow. Of course portion is key and exercise also important. – Gayle King interviewing Dawn Zier, CEO of Nutri System on “CBS This Morning” Jan/03/2014.

Diets, like clothes, should be tailored to you – Joan Rivers

More die in the United States of too much food than of too little. ~John Kenneth Galbraith, The Affluent Society. Sad but true.

SPOILER Alert: Albert Einstein, who discovered that a tiny amount of mass is equal to a huge amount of energy, which explains why, as Einstein himself so eloquently put it in a famous 1939 speech to the Physics Department at Princeton, “You have to exercise for a week to work off the thigh fat from a single Snickers.” ~Dave Barry

My Favourite:

No diet will remove all the fat from your body because the brain is entirely fat. Without a brain, you might look good, but all you could do is run for public office. ~George Bernard Shaw

I’m not dieting, I’m just changing my eating habits”

Choose what works for YOU!

FUN

Health MATTERS – Garcinia Cambogia

“The Holy Grail of weight loss” — this is how Doctor Oz describes Garcinia cambogia extract, a supplement that has taken the diet world by storm.

Ah, the infamous resolutions to eat healthy and exercise regularly, code words for “lose weight.” Generally, people use the holiday season as an excuse to binge one last time before the New Year. Indulging in food & drink is one of life’s big pleasures but the after effects of over-indulging are not pleasureable. So we scramble to find the quickest fix possible.

But if you ask me, there’s really only one way to lose weight and keep it off, and that’s to adopt a healthy lifestyle. That includes eating nutritious meals and exercising daily.

However there are plenty of marketers out there who would vehemently disagree – because magic pills make money. Acai berry, green tea extract and capsaicin all had their time in the spotlight.

Now, let’s explore a supplement that has exploded on the weight loss scene more recently: Garcinia cambogia – a natural appetite suppressant with amazing fat-blocking properties. The extract’s key ingredient promotes natural weight loss with no apparent side effects.

Where does it come from? Garcinia cambogia is a small, pumpkin-shaped fruit. You may know it as tamarind. The extract of the fruit is called hydroxycitric acid, and that is what the “magic pills” are made from. Do they work? Only time will tell.

The fruit Garcinia cambogia was once just the less popular cousin of a trendy fruit, the mangosteen. But now, nutritional supplements containing Garcinia cambogia extract have become the rage, touted for their purported ability to curb appetite and stop weight gain.

People have long used the dried rinds (gambooge) for chutneys or curries, and sometimes as an aid for stomach problems. But in the late 1960s, scientists identified a substance in the rind of the fruit called hydroxycitric acid, or HCA, which has some potentially attractive qualities.

If you do decide to hop on the latest bandwagon, whether it is garcinia cambogia or some other plant-based extract, proceed with caution. If you’re taking any prescription medications, talk to your doctor before adding any herbal supplement. There may be dangerous interactions or consequences to taking large doses.

Until we have more research to draw from, we can’t know what is truly safe.

Credit: Deborah Herlax Enos is a certified nutritionist and a health coach and weight loss expert in the Seattle area with more than 20 years of experience. Some of this was taken from LiveScience. Read more tips on her blog, Health in a Hurry!

FUN

Personally speaking – nothing is impossible…

…and everything “Just Fabulous”

Featuring MoMA Books & Gifts, the Jonathan Adler Collection & Assouline (the famous French publishing house based in Paris).

515 North Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs, Calif.

bjustfabulous.com

check out our book folder in PINterest at: http://www.pinterest.com/intrigueimports/under-the-covers-attention-grabbing-books/

photos: debbie king