LilSugar

What a Difference a Year Makes

babysugar — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 16:00:53 PST

A year ago, I was laid up in a hospital bed in the maternity ward ogling my little newborn. She was born exactly one year ago today and what a year it has been. From pushing to posting, my life has been forever changed. Here are some of the ways that motherhood has revealed herself:

An unconditional love and worry for a little being has overwhelmed me.
I can no longer sleep peacefully, unless I'm on vacation.
I know I have a little partner in crime (until she can speak at least).
I never eat alone.
My body will never be the same as it was when I was 18.
I prefer the smell of baby detergent over my own scented lotions.
I like to spend the night cuddling with my hubby on the couch instead of out on the town (most times).
Our friends and family don't care so much about us - just about her.

The thing is, I love and accept it 100 percent. I know there are times when it's hard, especially at the beginning. But it grows on you as your baby grows. I can't imagine life without her.

Guess How Much It Costs to Make a Nickel?

Emily Co — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 11:36:44 PST

The U.S. Mint produced 4.3 billion pennies and 914 million nickels last year. Believe it or not, producing those coins actually costs quite a pretty penny. The treasury is currently researching new metals to see if there are cheaper alternatives to the metal mix they currently use. Take this quick quiz to guess how much it cost to make a nickel in 2011!

Get the Dish: Carnegie Deli's Matzo Ball Soup

Susannah Chen — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 10:35:19 PST

Regardless of your current Winter weather conditions, it's impossible to ignore the warm revelation that is a good matzo ball soup. Referred to by many as "the Jewish penicillin," matzo ball soup is known for its cold-curing properties - and no one can attest to this more than the folks behind the Carnegie Deli. This midtown Manhattan institution, which has been open for 75 years, serves up a whopping 1,500 matzo balls daily! Find out the secrets to making a great matzo ball (hint: it's all in how you roll it!), and keep watching for the recipe.

Reese Witherspoon Admits to Having a Girl Crush on Jennifer Aniston

PopSugarTV — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 09:42:23 PST

Reese Witherspoon swung by Conan last night to chat up her new movie This Means War. In honor of Valentine's Day, conversation turned toward the many loves of Reese's life. She married Jim Toth last year, but Reese still has one crush that won't go away - and it's on her good friend Jennifer Aniston.

Crystal Renn Smolders in Her First-Ever Appearance in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition

Fashionista — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 09:21:34 PST

We're excited to bring you the best fashion finds, shopping stories, and style news from one of our favorite sites, Fashionista. Today, they're giving us a peek at Crystal Renn's Sports Illustrated swimsuit shoot.

YouTube sensation Kate Upton might have snagged the cover of Sports Illustrated‘s famed swimsuit edition this year (in the tiniest bikini bottoms we’ve ever seen), but one of our favorites, Crystal Renn, nabbed her first-ever spread in the mag. And she looks fecking amazing (you can vote for her for Rookie of the Year, hint hint). The spread was shot in Australia by Walter Iooss Jr. With Kate Upton on the cover and Crystal Renn inside, it sure is nice to see some girls with real asses and boobs on the glossy page.

Click over to Fashionista to see the whole shoot.

Elizabeth Banks Talks The Hunger Games and Says Harry Potter Is "Scary as Sh*t"

Becky Kirsch — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 05:30:00 PST

I got the chance to visit the set of What to Expect When You're Expecting last year, where I chatted with Elizabeth Banks about fake baby bumps, motherhood, and the star-studded comedy. Naturally, the conversation also turned to Banks's other big upcoming movie, The Hunger Games. Banks discussed how she feels about the dark subject matter now that she's a parent herself, compared the film to the likes of Harry Potter, and talked about how she got into the role of Effie.

As a parent, did you have any reservations about The Hunger Games's dark subject matter?
EB: The movie is going to be PG-13, and I think that's about right. My nephew's 11, and he read it and loves it. The book has adult themes, for sure. Gary Ross, the director, and Suzanne Collins [who wrote the novels] did a great job patrolling what happens visually in the movie, what we can show and what we can't show. But I remember taking my 6-year-old niece to a Harry Potter movie with those dark shadow things that were scary as sh*t, and the guy doesn't even have a f*cking nose. That's like nightmare stuff, in my opinion. This is a lot of hand-to-hand combat, but it's nothing you wouldn't see on a video game or an episode of CSI. We don't have guns.

What was it like making the transition from The Hunger Games to What to Expect When You're Expecting?
EB: They're just so different, it's literally night and day. I don't have the same voice, I don't have the same hair, I don't have the same anything. Literally nothing, it's completely and utterly opposite. The good thing about this is that it's a role much closer to myself, so it's easier.

What helps you get into character?
EB: Well what's great about both of these characters, Effie Trinket in The Hunger Games, and Wendy, is that there's so much external stuff to build the character with. Effie has the great wigs and the crazy clothes, and the accent, and all that. That's all something that really helps feed you. And this character has the boobs and the bump and the back pain, and the shoes that don't fit, and all of those things that really feed you in the moment, which is great. It's a lot easier than having to come up with a bunch of emotional sh*t that you have to deal with from internally. They're nice characters that you build from the outside in, instead of from the inside out.

Southern California Cool: Amber Lewis Take Us on a House Tour

Elka Karl — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 05:00:07 PST

My nominee for Elle Decor's Bloggers' Choice feature, Amber Lewis, is the founder of Amber Interiors, a design firm that mixes gorgeous textiles with one-of-a-kind pieces that reflect Amber's design philosophy that "chic should be comfortable and functional."

Amber started her career when she turned her love of mixing bold textures and patterns into a small textile and pillow company. After spending time at fashion school for textile design, Amber attended UCLA's Interior Design program and created her first interior design firm shortly thereafter.

LA born and bred, Amber adores her home city. She notes, "I grew up in LA, at the beach to be precise, so I have a love/love relationship with this city. I have traveled all over and I always love coming home. There is something about the weather in LA that is like nowhere I have ever been. It is 74 degrees pretty much every day, 365 days a year. We live outside of LA so it feels a bit removed from the hustle and bustle, but I know I am a 30-minute drive from the city or the beach. It's really a special place."

Amber's currently crazy-busy with multiple projects, and she's launching an online shop soon that will sell pillows, rugs, and extraordinary finds. Make sure to keep checking her blog for the launch date!

Amber recently took us along on a hour tour of her gorgeous 1960's California ranch-style home, which she and her husband bought from the original owner. Amber admits, "the decor and layout was awful but now it's open and airy and just what we wanted." See how she adapted the house to meet her aesthetic (and to look fashionable even while living with pets and a toddler) when you keep clicking!

What I've Learned From Baby Number Two

Rebecca M Gruber — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 03:15:00 PST

We're excited to share this post from our partners at BabyCenter! Every week, we will be bringing you the best parenting and lifestyle stories from the experts at BabyCenter, including this post from Carolyn Robertson about lessons learned from a second child.

Motherhood has been a very humbling experience so far . . . which is a nice way of saying it’s knocked me on my ass many times over. I can’t even count the number of times I’ve been midconversation with another grown-up and suddenly realized that (a) my breasts are leaking, or (b) I have a crusty old food stain on my shirt, or (c) I am decorated with Little Mermaid tattoos and sparkly dinosaur stickers and Phineas & Ferb Band-Aids.

I assumed, though, that I would have a much better handle on things the second time around. Sleep issues, tantrums, separation anxiety, potty training: been there, done that, bring it on. And then I met my second daughter.

Here are a few things that I’ve learned from baby number two:

Sleep training doesn’t always work: I was one of those moms who swore by sleep training. CIO works, I’d tell my mom friends. It’s not fun, but if you stick with it, it works. My oldest, after all, started sleeping through the night and never stopped after we let her cry it out at 6 months old. Well, it turns out it doesn’t always work, after all. I did everything exactly the same with Amelia, but at 21 months old, she’s still not a great sleeper.
Sometimes babyproofing really is necessary: I read in some baby book that we do our kids no favors when we babyproof the home - they have to learn limits, after all. Made sense to me! So with our first, we did the bare minimum (baby gate on the stairs, potentially poisonous stuff out of reach) and took care of everything else with a firm “no touch!” and gentle redirection. Worked like a charm. We figured we’d do the same with our youngest, but as it turns out our little angel loves to body slam the window screens and climb into the fireplace. Everything - everything - goes in her mouth. We tell her "no," we redirect, and she laughs and becomes that much more determined. Our house is now so childproofed that even I have trouble getting into the kitchen cupboards.
No two kids are the same: My first is shy and cautious - my second would run into traffic to hug a stranger. My first is sensitive and gentle - my second is a crazy little steamroller. They are different in every way imaginable, and I’m starting to see that all those tried-and-true tricks that worked for one probably won’t work for the other.

One last thing I’ve learned? You really can love another baby as much as you love your first. I harbored secret fears that I would never be able to love any other child with the depth and intensity that I do my older daughter. I was wrong.

What did you learn from your second - third or fourth - child?

More great reads from BabyCenter:
What does a stay-at-home mom do all day?
Is Strawberry Shortcake looking a bit trampy these days?
Five children's books that celebrate Black History Month
Seven adorable mobiles for any nursery
Is a 6-year-old too young for boarding school?

Get Great Benefits by Taking on One of These 11 Part-Time Jobs

LearnVest — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 00:15:46 PST

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

“Underemployment” is a term that, compared to “unemployment,” more fully captures the lack of job opportunities.

The underemployed includes the unemployed as well as those employed part-time but wanting full-time work.

According to a recent poll, underemployment is currently at 18.1 percent. That’s down from 18.3 percent the month prior, and 19 percent a year ago. While these numbers are still high, there are opportunities to work part-time. You won’t make as much money as you would with a full-time job, but with many part-time positions, you’ll not only earn a salary but also score some great perks.

Related: the 10 Fastest-Growing Jobs

We’ve put together a list of 11 big-name companies that provide big benefits to its part-time workers. Whether they're offering free merchandise, health insurance benefits, or tuition aid, these employers certainly make it worth your while to work, even if you’re only putting in 20 hours a week.

Whole Foods

After part-timers have worked 400 hours, they get health, dental, and vision plans, as well as 401(k) retirement plans, paid time off, and a 20 percent employee discount. After working 6,000 hours, employees are offered stock options.

Target

Work at Target as few as two and a half days a week for six months, and you can become eligible for Target’s health care coverage. Employees also get access to other health benefits like free flu vaccinations, a 24-hour nurse hotline, and discounts for Weight Watchers.

Read on for more.

Runway Retrospective: Michael Kors

FabSugar — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:47:11 PST

New York Fashion Week is only days away from wrapping, and one of our favorite shows is coming up on February 15th - Michael Kors. With that in mind, we're taking a closer look at his impeccably classic, luxurious aesthetic.

Before we fell in love with him (again) for his honest critiques on Project Runway, we already knew Michael Kors as the quintessential all-American designer, with an affinity for the classics and collections inspired by his travels. For consistent sophistication and undeniably chic outerwear, women look to him for cozy cashmere turtlenecks, glam evening gowns, and ladylike trousers - all of which are impeccably tailored. Over the past 30 years, he has built one of the most famous lifestyle brands in fashion, and after looking through his memorable collections, you'll be a convert to the Kors tribe too. Catch up on Kors, get excited for what's to come for Fall '12, and stay tuned for our full runway report.