LilSugar

Tell Mommy: What Was Your Child's First Word?

LilSugar — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 14:00:12 PDT

"Dada" often comes out of the mouths of babes before "Mama," but for every child whose first word is "mommy" or "daddy," it seems there's another tot that picks a random one like "truck" or "ravioli." Both my daughter and son's first words were "Hi," which leads me to believe that they will be incredibly friendly people, or just that my husband and I use the greeting all too often. As parents we eagerly await the thoughts that spill out our children's mouths. What was your child's first word?

Source

Marc Jacobs Fall 2012

FabSugar — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 20:18:17 PST

One thing's for sure - nothing is off limits or out of the realm of possibility when Marc Jacobs is at the helm. Set in a storybook-inspired castle-in-ruins wonderland, he presented his Fall '12 lineup with more than just a little fashion fanfare. The first word that comes to mind? Hats! And lots of them; each one more wonderfully whimsical than the one before. These wild toppers, in addition to the parade of rich brocade overcoats, giant safety pin closures, bejeweled pilgrim-like shoes, and more, served as a serious testament to Marc's vivid imagination. Our full runway report is coming soon, but in the meantime, click through to see all of Marc Jacobs's Mad Hatter wares now.

Experts Say Sexism Keeps Women Out of Military Combat Roles

Annie Scudder — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 12:06:25 PST

Ask GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum why women shouldn't be allowed to serve in combat roles, and he will give you various reasons. First off, a man's emotions. Santorum believes men will try to save their fellow female soldiers, explaining this weekend: "instead of focused on the mission, they may be more concerned about protecting someone who may be in a vulnerable position, a woman in a vulnerable position." In addition to chivalry, Rick says "You throw on top of that just simply physical strength and capabilities," and women simply can't handle the job. Fortunately, the military, which recently opened 14,000 combat jobs up to women including tank mechanic and front-line intelligence, doesn't completely agree with Rick, and experts say "sexist" attitudes are responsible for a policy against trained female soldiers serving in combat positions.

Sociologist Ryan Kelty, who specializes in studying the military, tells LiveScience that the old-fashioned belief that women must be protected is not a good enough reason to exclude women who want to and are capable of serving their country. In other words, chivalry is not a legitimate basis to deny a woman employment, especially when there is no evidence that professional and highly trained male and female soldiers are incapable of carrying out their missions. Kelty explains the military should employ gender-neutral, objective requirements. For example, a soldier should be able to carry 100 pounds for eight hours, regardless of gender.

There may be back and forth, but the truth is that women already serve in these combat roles. In Iraq and Afghanistan, 144 women have lost their lives, 60 of them in combat, while 865 have been wounded. And countries including Canada, Israel, and Australia already allow women in close-combat roles. Despite the slow evolution of American rules on women serving, it can be said that the US military doesn't have the most retro policy. In China, women recruits must display a talent like singing or dancing and Russia holds a Miss Russian Army beauty pageant.

Victoria Beckham Fall 2012

Brittney Stephens — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 12:10:44 PST

Victoria Beckham's Fall collection can easily be described in one word: strong. The designer offered up her usual sleek, body-conscious dresses, but this time with a decidedly utilitarian touch. The military-chic collection was sexy, without being aggressively so, and was punctuated by belted waists, elbow-length sleeves, and high, collared necklines. Her signature slim-fitting vibe was still there, as were subtle nods to her family - Victoria mused that she "was in the kitchen one day" when son Romeo ran in with his baseball uniform on. "That's what inspired those bright sporty collars on the dresses," she told the Telegraph. Also, the loose beanies "were inspired by the ones David is always wearing," and there was even a handbag named after young daughter Harper. For the first time ever, David Beckham was front row for his wife's show, looking proud and excited while seated next to Anna Wintour. Get the full breakdown of the collection below.

Trends: Colorblocking, epaulets and gold buttons, belting, canvas panels.
Colors: Black, red, cornflower, moss, khaki.
Key Piece: The bright cornflower-blue zip-back dress; the dark khaki trench coat lined with python.
Accessories: Structured satchels, baggy knit hats, lace-up, combat-style boots with chunky baseball socks.
Who Would Wear It: Blake Lively, Kate Winslet, and, of course, Victoria herself.

Linguine With Sea Urchin and Caviar

OnSugar Blog — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 06:01:25 PST

Sea urchin is often a polarizing ingredient. Yoo Eatz encourages us to muster some courage and embrace this culinary adventure in the form of pasta.

What's so gross about sea urchin? Even some of the most adventurous eaters I know will make the most horrific faces when the topic comes up.

I asked my husband about this - he generally recoils when I suggest that we share a pair of nigiri at the sushi bar - and he offered that it's a textural thing. Some people say it resembles phlegm (or worse), and I heard one person characterize the briny bits as "little orange tongues" (although, let's face it: the truth of what uni is may actually be harder to stomach!). But a lot of these same people will tell me that the flavor doesn't bother them; in fact, they find it quite pleasant.

For more, plus a recipe, keep reading!

Gear Review: Lululemon No Limit Top

Jenny Sugar — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:07:07 PST

I don't usually get very fancy with my yoga clothes. A fitted tank with a built-in sports bra is my usual go-to top. It keeps my girls covered and in place, and the fitted body stays put when I go upside down. But some days ~~you ate too many cookies~~ you just don't feel like wearing something tight. You could sport a loose shirt but it doesn't offer the most flattering look, and as soon as you start moving, it can end up exposing your belly even more than a tight tank. Enter the Lululemon No Limit Tank ($64). Sexy is the first word I thought when I saw it, but when I tried it in a yoga class, functional was the second.

Keep reading to hear more details about this unique Lululemon tank.

The Muppets' Music Man Bret McKenzie on His Oscar Nod and Taking a Silly Job Seriously

Lindsay Miller — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:50:41 PST

Bret McKenzie is up for an exceedingly rare honor this year, with his ballad "Man or Muppet" earning one of just two nominations in the Oscars' best song category. I caught up with The Muppets' musical supervisor today at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank to chat about the awards attention and the unique experience of penning music for Kermit and company. The New Zealand native talked about fighting the temptation to use the word "motherfrogger" in his songwriting and the roundabout way he came on board The Muppets project in the first place. Bret - who previously was best known as one half of the musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords - also shared his hopes of bringing FOC to the big screen. Check out our conversation below:

PopSugar: It's got to be an honor to be nominated for an Oscar, but also in a year when the Academy only bothered to nominate two songs.
Bret McKenzie: They barely nominated anyone! When I found out, it sounded like there'd been a mistake, and yeah, it's a huge honor. It's great and it's really exciting, and I'm not complaining that there's only two nominees the year I'm nominated. I mean, this is the best chance I'll have of winning an Oscar, ever. It couldn't have been better, unless there was just one nomination, and then it would be a very dull ceremony . . . There's a lot of legendary musicians - tunesmiths - in that list of possible nominations. So it's all very surreal to think that I got in ahead of Elton John.

PS: And Madonna. Those two had a little rivalry going on.
BM: I know. I got nervous about what Elton John's husband was going to say about me. It's crazy, and it's great for The Muppets film, because we're all really proud of the film and it wasn't ever really going to get a best actor. Hey, Jason's good, that's not what I mean, but Kermit, Miss Piggy - they can't win these awards - and comedies don't generally get recognized at these awards ceremonies, so it's kind of cool. It's almost like the film as a whole is being recognized with this category.

For more from our chat with Bret, including what he says about his plans for a Flight of the Conchords film, coaching Jason Segel, and the pressure he felt on the project, just

read more! PS: What was the biggest unexpected challenge for you writing music for the film? I know you talked about one draft of a song where you referred to a Muppet as a piece of felt and were told you couldn't do that. BM: Yeah. Little piece of felt, and you couldn't say things like motherfrogger, even though it's very tempting. There were lots of hard parts to it. The Muppets can't sing certain notes. They can't sing too high or the voice changes and doesn't sound like the right character. There were so many weird things. I spent hours recording penguins and rats, and what's weird is that it's such a silly job, but you have to take it very seriously. So I would be in the studio for days, maybe a whole day recording penguins, and then I'm like, "I'm not happy with how the penguins are sounding! Where's penguin four?" You know, getting demanding. "We lost penguin track four! I can't hear the penguin!" PS: I was watching the movie again last night and watching Jason Segel's performance of "Man or Muppet." Did you coach him on any of his rockstar moves? Because he pretty much nailed it. BM: He nailed it. That's my favorite moment in the film. When he buckles down in the rain, that was one of my favorite shots. I was so proud of what James [Bobin, the director] and those guys achieved, because I wasn't there on set, I just saw them syncing the video, and I was like, "Wow, guys. You nailed it." What we did do in the studio, as Jason and I had a technique where I would sing a line, and he'd watch me through the window, and then he'd sing it back. So we did this thing where, I was really into the drama of it. So, I was like, "Am I a Muppppettt?" [balling his hands into fists] And he'd be like, OK, record. "Am I a Muppppettt!" So we kind of worked together to get that style. PS: Did it shatter some of your childhood illusions to have the guy that does Miss Piggy's voice come work with you [in the recording studio]? BM: Yeah. Well, it wasn't Frank Oz. The guy Eric, who does it now, yeah. That was strange. And the day that we recorded Kermit the Frog doing "Rainbow Connection" - I was sort of pinching myself, because that was probably one of the real moments for me where I realized that my world had really changed. That I'd come from New Zealand, I'd grown up with Kermit the Frog, and now I was in Hollywood in a studio recording Kermit the Frog. It felt like worlds had collided. PS: Was there pressure knowing there was already this great catalog of Muppet songs? To try to add to that or top it in some way? BM: I knew I wouldn't top "Rainbow Connection," but I was very intimidated, but the way I worked on the job was it actually started with me just writing one song, so I didn't feel the pressure of writing the whole movie. I think it would have been different if I'd been hired from the outset to do all the music. So I wrote one, then another, and gradually wrote more and more, so that helped. PS: What song did you write first? BM: The opening song. That's the one they needed, that's the one James asked me to write first. The script was probably on a second draft, and they were in preproduction, so I came in quite late. And the way they were doing it was, they got 100s of demos submitted from all sorts of songwriters, and surprisingly - even though they got some really great people to do demos - people weren't quite hitting the right tone. The Muppet tone. I'd just come off the Conchords tour and I had some time, and James asked if I was interested in doing that opening song, because he had a kind of specific thing he needed from that song. He needed it to be really Muppet-y, that song, and he had a great idea for the whole town joining in, it starting off small and becoming a big musical number, and that came together really well. PS: Is this experience maybe something you want to bring to a Flight of the Conchords movie? BM: Yeah, exactly. Having done this movie now, we're in a much better place to do a Conchords film, because James is more experienced - well, we're all more experienced. Not specifically, but James Bobin - well, we're all very keen to do another studio musical, because I really enjoyed being able to do comedy musical numbers on such a grand scale, and I think next time, I really think it will just get better and better. Because it's such a fun genre, and we've done like 50 songs for TV now, and now The Muppets movie, and I feel like we've accidentally sort of become musical comedy experts. PS: What do you imagine Bret and Jemaine from Flight of the Conchords are up to these days, in their universe? BM: In the Lower East Side? That's a good question. I reckon they probably got a regular gig now. Like, at a Chinese restaurant. Photo courtesy Disney

John Krasinski Impersonates Emily Blunt's Reaction to Meeting Obama

Tara Sharp — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:25:00 PST

On Conan last night, John Krasinski told an embarrassing (and hilarious) story of when he and wife Emily Blunt first met President Obama at the Kennedy Center Honors in December. He poked fun at Emily's super-giggly reaction to Obama's kind words, and then admitted his own reaction wasn't exactly cool and collected. Watch the cute clip now!

The Simply Surprising Reasons French Women Have Enviably Glowy Skin

Jaime Richards — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 05:02:00 PST

When Bertrand Thomas and his wife, Mathilde, (pictured above) launched Caudalie in 1995 with just three items on the roster, it was the first company to use the antiaging benefits of grape-seed polyphenols in skin care. Since then, the vinotheraphy-based brand has launched a full range of products, using practically all parts of the grape, from skin to stalk. In fact, its radiance-boosting Beauty Elixir ($16 to $46), which contains grape fruit extract, is so popular, even Victoria Beckham has been tweeting about it.

But what is it about French women that makes them seem so pleasantly content and perfectly complected? In the NYT best-seller, French Women Don't Get Fat, author Mireille Guiliano describes a lifestyle that is full of variety, where deprivation is replaced by savoring things to the fullest. And when it comes to beauty, Thomas explains it's a similar mindset: "Balance is the key word: French women balance food their food and balance their lifestyle." To see just what Thomas means on how French women get it right, keep reading.

11 Rules to Dramatically Increase Your Productivity

Wise Bread — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:35:04 PST

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

There's a problem with a lot of productivity advice out there, and it's this - your "rules" for personal productivity are often going to be different than mine. Sure, sometimes there's overlap. Sure, you can always learn from others.

But if you want to see a dramatic increase in your productivity, spend less time reading and memorizing other people's rules, and more time figuring out what your own rules are. You'll be more productive and in a way that works with who you are.

So I'm sharing a few of my personal productivity rules. Maybe some of them will work for you or inspire you to think of your own.

1. Small Daily Movements Become Big Accomplishments

I tend to think that I must have big blocks of time in order to get any forward movement. So I hesitate and procrastinate, waiting for that "open time" when I can really push and get a lot done on whatever the current project is.

Turns out, that's a waste of time. Small daily movements add up. It's just that the movements or steps themselves are so small, I think they don't count. They do.

I have to constantly remind myself that I don't need a whole day or a whole week to devote to some project. I just need to take the 10 or 20 minutes I have here and there and use them. I need to achieve a little bit of forward movement every day. That adds up, and it builds momentum, and pretty soon there's been quite a lot accomplished.

For more rules, read after the jump.