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This will be my first year NOT playing, but I’m confident the brunettes can still dominate! This event is AWESOME to watch and be a part of, so DO IT! (it’s in just 2 weeks, get your tix now!!)
April 27, 2011
Blake Lively Goes Red! I almost freak out.
There is no female celebrity I love more than Blake Lively. I loved her in Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, I love her in Gossip Girl (my love for GG is well-documented on this blog), I love that Anna Wintour and Karl Lagerfeld both love her. I love her blonde hair, her fashion sense, and her fearlessness about showing some leg! I love that she’s now the face of Chanel handbags. In short, I love everything about her.
But at last night’s Time 100 Gala, she revealed a new hue: red! I thought I was going to hate it, but I kind of love it. It totally works, especially with the pale turquoise dress and minimalist makeup. To be fair, it’s a strawberry blonde, not a Rihanna-red, but it actually works! Lively revealed to PEOPLE that the change is for her role in the film Hick. Which I will undoubtedly watch and love.
Colorist Rona O’Connor transformed Lively’s locks about a month ago, PEOPLE reports. “I love it,” Lively gushed. “I feel like Ariel.”
I tried to dye my hair red once in college, but it came out that bad faux-maroon color that signals “box hair dye!” like no other color. I haven’t tried dying my own hair much since, but the people at Bigen’s sent this photo and suggested Bigen’s Semi-Permanent Hair Color in Intensive Red, a product formulated with four natural moisturizers (honey, sunflower, beeswax and shea butter) and without ammonia or hydrogen peroxide. Only $4.99, if you’re feeling adventurous and, um, lively, it’s cheap enough to give a shot!
April 27, 2011
T-spiration: Work Harder. Right Here. Right Now.
I LOVE these designs. Inspirational messages printed backward so you can read them in the mirror.
From I Am Athletics. My only gripe? This is my fave, why’s it only on a men’s tee??
… I guess I can order it and wear anyway, so it’s kinda unisex. But still.
I need a serious budget for all the awesome athletic tees I want.
April 22, 2011
Austin: Sophomore Fashion Show
My sophomore year in college, I might have been considered a bit of an overachiever. But the email I got recently might top even myself: It was from a sophomore at Texas State who is hosting a fashion show. For her line. That she sells on her website BeAllos.com. And the show benefits Love Is Respect!, a foundation for young adults and teenagers dealing with violence within their relationships.
Basically, this chick is an all-star. Check out her spring fashion show April 23rd at 7pm at the Beauty Bar. Here’s the flyer:
April 21, 2011
Your Coffee Life is About to Change: Chameleon Cold Brew
Yes, this little bottle will change your life.
Are you hip to the cold-brew trend? Cold brewing is all the rage in coffee circles, namely because it reportedly yields a cleaner taste with less acidity and less heartburn- and stomach-injury-inducing qualities than hot brews. Some say the antioxidants are much better, others aren’t so sure. Regardless of the health benefits, the flavor is totally different.
The super sweet folks at Chameleon Cold Brew recently let me try a bottle and let me tell you, I was instantly hooked. This stuff is amazing! Fresh, clean, strong. Chameleon Cold-Brew is steeped for 16 hours using only 100% organic, fair trade Arabica beans and filtered water. I tried it hot and cold; with cream and black; it’s delicious no matter what way you serve it.
The cold-brew coffee ($4-$5 for 16-ounce bottle and about $9 for 32-ounce) is available at Whip In, Fresh Plus Market on West Lynn, Thom’s Market, Hyde Park Grocery, Bennu Coffee, the Corner Market at the Domain and several Royal Blue Grocery stores. Soon it’ll be online (I can’t wait!), as soon as they figure out the right way to offset the environmental impact of shipping. Gotta love that in a company.
Want to cold-brew your own? Smitten Kitchen has the super-simple how-to.
http://www.chameleoncoldbrew.com/
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-08-18/coffees-dirty-little-secret/#
April 20, 2011
10 Minutes on the Vila Acupressure Mat
You know those days you’re so tired or stressed or have tension headaches or are just so sore from yesterday’s workout that you can hardly fathom getting off the couch? Or when you see ads for massages and think, I wish I had time for that, instead of how nice!
When Vila Mat announced its epynonymous Swedish accupressure mat, a 2′ by 3′ mat with crown-shaped plastic spikes purported to provide stress and muscle tension release, I naturally had to give it a shot. I’ll do anything to relax and relieve soreness!
The prescription? Just ten minutes laying on the mat, with the plastic crowns at your back. Reportedly, the crowns function as mini acupressure points, the contact pressure between the spikes and the body stimulating blood circulation, providing the body with more oxygen for healing muscles and organs. Pain signals are simultaneously sent to the brain that release endorphins, the body’s natural painkiller, alleviating muscle tension.
But how does it really feel? For the first few minutes, like you’re laying on these little plastic spikes (start with a t-shirt on before braving bare-backed). But after that, it just feels like there’s a warm sensation spreading across your back. Awesome!
Taking ten minutes out of your day to just relax would probably work a few wonders anyway, but taking those ten minutes on the Vila Acupressure Mat multiplies the benefits immensely.
Justin Steinhardt, co-founder of Vila, says, “All you have to do is lie on the Vila Mat, and you instantly feel better and more relaxed. It doesn’t get easier than that!”
Vila mats retail for just $40 at specialty stores and at vilanow.com.
April 20, 2011
Austin: More Benefits for Japan, Art & Food
Food: Foreign & Domestic $40 3-Course Meal
30% of the proceeds from the three-course menu will be donated to Doctors Without Borders
Chef/Owners Ned and Jodi Elliott of Foreign & Domestic, the North Loop restaurant that opened in May 2010 to rave reviews, have planned a special $40 for a Cause menu available from now through April 23rd, excluding Sunday Brunch.
$40 for a Cause Menu:
1st Course- Choice of Lamb Ribs with Celery, Yogurt, and Hot Sauce or Tofu and Endive Salad
2nd Course- Choice of Pork Pie or Risotto Vert
3rd Course- Choice of Chocolate Cream Pie with Salted Caramel Ice Cream or Coconut Cake with Strawberry Sauce
Foreign & Domestic / 306 E. 53rd St., Austin / Austin, TX 78751 / (512) 459-1010 / fndaustin.com
Art: Hope for Japan
Silent auction and free drinks and snacks
April 19, 2011
EXCLUSIVE JewelMint Discount Code!
Where can you buy something as edgy as earrings that are chained to a cuff AND something as whimsical as a stack of zig-zag multicolored bracelets?
Because I haven’t talked about JewelMint enough… (check out my Liberty Ring) NOW you can use the EXCLUSIVE thisislifeinaustin promo code to get 50% off your first order … that’s a smokin’ hot new piece of jewelry for just $14.99!
USE this Link: http://jmnt.co/i1cbtLand enter Promo Code: ThisIs50 (you must use that link for the promo code to work)
Reminder: JewelMint is collections are designed by actress Kate Bosworth and her stylist Cher Coulter. Each month you’ll receive personalized jewelry recommendations and style advice. Membership is just $29.99 per month. Shipping is FREE, returns are hassle-free and if you don’t find something you love, SKIP THE MONTH within the first five days FOR NO CHARGE. There’s no obligation ever.
Give it a shot: http://jmnt.co/i1cbtL & enter ThisIs50 at checkout. Let me know how it goes and what you buy!!
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