The Perfect Diva Den

Pierre Cardin Attributed Bar Stool from Chairish

Just like a man, a woman needs a personal room, or "cave" to get away and relax! So Chairish, an online consignment marketplace for sellers and buyers of designer home goods, invited me to style a board, depicting the perfect Diva Den, and I'm happy to offer a few ideas.

 Whether your Diva Den is a small apartment, or cubbyhole within a big house, here are six helpful design tips:

1) In a room, empty space is as valuable as any object that fills it - So buy to fit the space. Spareness is good, while clutter (and crowding) is always bad. Don't buy anything that is too big or too small; and never, ever overbuy.
2) Surround yourself with beautiful furniture and objects you love - The pieces should make you happy.
3) Select articles that are practical, comfortable and multi-functional - If you do, you'll get lots of bang for the buck!
4) Be organized and tidy - Everything should have its place.
5) Don't be afraid to mix and match high-end with low-end home decor.
6) Remember to use vertical, as well as, horizontal space.

And now, for my style board of the perfect Diva Den ... imagine one room in a house, or a small apartment: I have mixed furniture from Chairish's website with a few inexpensive items:

  Southern Living Leather Sofa	Vintage Schatz Royal Mariner Eight Day Ship Cloak
Nerisa Chrome Crystal Flush Mount Chandelier- from Overstock.com	Altra Ladder Desk and Bookcase (also available in red) from Walmart.com

My favorite stools have soft upholstery with a supportive back (there are many like these on Chairish.com	 SUKI 2-4 Seat Black Folding Round Dinning Table from Habitat.co.uk.
   Brass Barstool With Blue Upholstered Seat	       Taylored Daybed with Bolster Cushions

As you can see, my Diva Den has lots of comfortable seats. (I mean, who plans to stand in a Woman's Cave? No one!) The daybed acts as a cozy sitting area, or place to snooze. Bar stools offer colorful accents, or a compact seat without taking up much space. While the chandelier adds good lighting to read and work, it's also a sparkling thing of beauty. Finally, my Diva Den is classic and modern. There is a mix of rich textures, soft upholstery, leather, pretty metal and warm wood, as well as, several pops of color. With nine pieces ... a lovely blend of comfort and style!

How would you design your Diva Den?

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Puritan's Pride Beauty Products

I can't praise Puritan's Pride enough. The e-company offers top vitamin and nutritional supplements, as well as, organic and natural body care products at discount prices. You can afford to use them every single day!

Recently, I added two more of Puritan's Pride products to my beauty arsenal. Previously I used the company's seven ounce Coconut Oil For Skin and Hair, which I still love, but its larger 16 ounce Extra Virgin Coconut Oil is the same value per ounce, and you can use this 2nd one in your cooking and baking too. So I will continue to buy it from now on. I keep a tub of the Extra Virgin Coconut Oil in my bathroom to moisterize skin, hair and nails after a shower. It feels and smells lovely!

Next up: Nature's Gate Pomegrante's Sunflower Hair Defense Conditioner has seven healthy hair nutrients - panthenol, soy proteins, vegetable proteins, jojoba oil, borage flower seed oil, vitamin C and vitamin E. 

I bought a bottle mainly because of it's generous 18 ounce size. Hair conditioner (like shampoo) needs to last for a while. This formula does, plus more importantly, it works to untangle and tame my long locks. The conditioner does everything I want it to do: It leaves my hair feeling light, clean and healthy. The true test: If I don't feel a residue on my hands, I know there won't be any left in my hair to weigh it down. The conditioner is a thick consistency and has no harmful chemicals. At $5.99 for 18 ounces, it's a keeper!

Two fabulous beauty finds without breaking the bank! (For a roundup of other inexpensive botanicals, click the links below.)

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Target's Very Own Nail Polish

On January 17 Target launches it's own line of makeup. First up: nail polish. Called defy & INSPIRE, it sells for $7.49 a bottle. Target's defy & Inspire collection is a patented, chip resistant formula that goes on wet to dry without the fuss of lights or heat. Ordinary nail polish remover wipes off the lacquer. The gorgeous 38 colors in the collection are high tech, created to be high gloss and long lasting. 

With trendy shades and a shine to rival expensive luxury brands, Target's new nail polish collection includes protective base and top coats. 

Target has your digits covered in durable and affordable colors!

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Shopping At Zara

Zara is the queen of fast fashion retailers. The style, quality and sheer volume of inventory beats competitors, such as H&M and Forever 21. Topshop is as designer inspired, but the apparel, accessories and shoes cost much more.

According to Forbes, Zara delivers new goods to it's 2000 stores (in 88 countries) twice a week and only takes 10 to 15 days for it to go from design stage into its retail shops. So if you need a new dress, trousers or coat browse often.

I have mixed feelings about fast fashion. I'm all for a wide selection of fashion-forward clothing at budget-friendly prices. Who doesn't appreciate modern, chic and edgy pieces for less? I just worry about over consumption. It is best to shop only when you truly need something and not because you're stressed, bored or depressed. Always shop with your head leading your heart.

Over the years, I've gotten very good at separating my needs from my wants. Now I tend to be an under buyer. But if I need something like a new blazer, winter hat or pair of boots, I do buy it when I see it at a good price.

So at Zara, get to know the various collections and focus on the styles you like. Read the labels and zero in on the fabrics you like. 

In general, the scarves are flattering, and the dresses are classy and up-to-the-minute. Jackets for both men and women are especially vogue: Although many are unlined and a blend of fabrics, Zara's blazers are substantial enough for the price. You can score a signature piece at an unbeatable value during frequent sales ... and that is the time to pounce!

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How to Make Kombucha Tea

Photo: drivethedistrict.com

In recent years I replaced drinking diet soda with diet Arizona tea. Admittedly, I should give up diet drinks altogether, but sometimes a person wants something refreshing to drink besides water. So that's where Kombucha, a fermented, carbonated tea comes in. Reportedly, the drink contains healthy bacteria and yeast that have a myriad of health benefits. Keeping your digestive tract loaded with good bacteria, you get B vitamins and other nutrients also.

The 16 ounce bottle I bought at my local health food store costs $3, and I had to buy a glass bottle to fill, priced at $1.50. So to keep drinking it, the cost needs to come down. For that reason, I decided to try making a batch of the fermented, sweeten (black and green) tea at home.

Before we begin, know that you will need to get a starter kit, which is a scoby floating in a cup of the fermented tea. A scoby is a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast that ferments the sweet tea. I ordered a scoby from a reputable seller at Amazon.com for $6.99. Once you have a scoby, here are the steps:

Homemade Kombucka

Photo: Williams-Sonoma

Ingredients:

3 quarts + 3 cups water (15 cups total)
1 cup sugar (I cut the sugar to 3/4 cup, but any less stops fermentation from happening. The scopy needs to be feed!)
8 tea bags (I use 4 black and 4 green)
1 scoby with starter Kombucha

Directions:  (They may read complicated, but are fairly simple to follow.)

1) Boil 3 quarts + 3 cups (15 cups total) of water for 10 minutes. Tap water works after boiling it. All water, except distilled water, should be boiled to ensure that it doesn't have any elements that would prevent fermentation. (Heck, I'd boil distilled water too. Why take a chance of the Kombucha not turning out?)

2) Add one cup of white sugar to the water and stir it with a wooden spoon until the sugar is dissolved. (Many sources warn against using a metal or plastic spoon.) Also, there is no need to worry about the calories from the white sugar. The scoby feeds off it, and there won't be much sugar left to metabolize once the sweet tea turns into Kombucha (= 30 calories per cup). The same applies to caffeine -- less then in a cup of coffee.

3) Steep 8 tea bags (I use 4 black and 4 green) for 10 minutes in the water. (Don't use Earl Grey or herbal teas; they have oils that interfere with fermentation. You can use white and oolong tea, but decaffeinated tea will not ferment either.) After you know what you're doing, you can experiment with the amount of tea bags in your brew to suit your taste: You may prefer to cut back to fewer or more tea bags to your liking. You might like to brew all black tea, or a mix of black and green teas, etc. You can also adjust the sugar to your taste, but nothing drastic because the scoby needs the sugar for fermentation. 

4) Let the sweet tea cool to about 98 degrees F (or human body temperature), then pour into a clean glass jar. Next drop the scoby with the starter tea into it. (If the water is too hot, it kills the culture.)  Also several sources stress the importance of using a glass jar, or if you must, a porcelain, or wooden container. You don't want the chemicals from plastic to leak into your Kombucha and ruin your colony.

Photo of a scoby colony: thewholedaily.com.au

5) Cover the glass jar with a coffee filter, or a white cotton towel and secure with a rubber band. (The rubber band stops insects from getting into the batch and laying eggs on the scoby. Yuck!) The scoby needs to breathe in order to ferment. Let it sit at room temperature for 7-10 days. Make sure it is out of direct sunlight. Also, don't mess or jostle the tea while it is fermenting. Wow, what a temperamental little scoby!

6) After the 7-10 days, remove the scoby along with a cup of fermented tea to store in a glass jar. This becomes the starter to make your next batch of Kombucha. As it turns out, another layer of scoby grows with each new batch ... "a mother and baby." So after a few batches, you can give a scoby (culture) starter kit to a friend for free. (If you don't make another batch of kombucha immediately read how to store your scoby here.)

At this stage, you can drink the Kombucha, but for it to be bubbly and favored there are a few more steps ...

7) To flavor Kombucha, fill a glass jar with 1/5 of fruit juice (or crush some blueberries, raspberries etc.). and pour the Kombucha you just made into the jar. Cover up again with the coffee filter (or white cotton towel) secured with a rubber band, letting the tea breathe. After flavoring and bottling, let the komacha set for at least 2 more days to carbonate. 

Here's how I usually flavor my Komacha:

8) Usually a funnel, pour the finished Kombucha into glass bottles with stoppers (like the example to the right) or swew tops. I  cut a wedge of ginger and put it in a bottle with Kombucka, after setting the filled and sealed bottles aside for another 3-7 days for the Kombucha to carbonate. After it has time to carbonate, I put it in the refrigerator to drink cold. You want to refrigerate it after it carbonates because if fermentation isn't slowed down, the bottles might explode. Also it's refreshing as a cold drink.

I don't know if I feel like a chemist; brewer; or earth mother, but it's cool to try new things. And, it's illuminating to discover how cheap and easy a more exotic tea is when brewing it yourself! At 1st Kombucha has an earthy taste. After you get used to it, you start to like it, like acquiring a taste for anything new, brewed and healthy!

Watch this YouTube video if still confused about the process. Extra Kombucha making tips are here. I also love this Tim Anderson video from Instructables (so much fun to watch!)

Extra tips: 

* For some reason, gallon sized canning jars cost $13 - $18, so buy a gallon of pickles for $5 and use its jar.
* Bottle kombucha in old wine bottles and cork it. Saves money!
* Purists will be upset but I sometimes bottle Kombucha in 16 oz plastic water bottles if I intend to drink them soon. I do use recycled glass Lorina sparkling lemonade bottles for long-term storage. Since we can't avoid plastics altogether in our world, I don't worry about the chemicals in plastic for short-term storage. However, I never, ever expose the scoby culture to plastics. The scoby only sits in glass jars. So that's how I do it.

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DIY: Eyeshadow Primer Recipe

Photo: www.beautylish.com

As previously mentioned, I rarely wear eyeshadow, but perhaps that is about to change. I like eyeshadow when it is freshly applied ... yet several hours later, not so much. But! Recently I learned how to extend the staying power of eyeshadow by making a DIY eyeshadow primer. It only requires two ingredients; and chances are you may have them at home. Allow me to share the new makeup hack with you:

Homemade Eyeshadow Primer

Ingredients:

Any face primer (I used L'oreal's Revitalift Miracle Blur.)
Any under eye concealer (I used a fair beige by CoverGirl.)

Directions:

Scoop/quirt a tiny dab of each product into a cap, or the palm of your hand. Using a makeup brush, blend together until uniform. Apply the mixture to your eyelids.

I like the nude color all by itself. It defines the eyes with a polished look. Hence, I've been wearing it solo this week. Topped with eyeshadow, the color stays put all day!  

When next we meet, people may not recognize me. Smoky eyes, here I come!

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A Happy New Year

Photo: TheCircleLine

Today I made Hoppin' John, a Southern black eyed peas and rice dish. Made with the Holy Trinity: onions, celery and bell peppers, it is often flavored with bacon, ham hock or smoked sausage. 

Normally, I would forgo the fat and simply dice lean ham for the dish, but on New Year's Day I used hot and spicy Italian sausage that I got from Fairway, a fancy New York City deli. I don't even want to know how many calories are in the fresh sausage, but the day after New Year's, I'm back to eating lean meat. 

Hoppin' John is thought to have evolved from foods prepared in West Africa. It was brought to the South Carolina low country by slaves before spreading to the entire South. Hoppin' John is served on New Year's Day to bring luck. Ha ... like we need an excuse to eat this mish-mash of spicy deliciousness! Here is the recipe:

Hoppin' John

Ingredients: 
(Usually I half the recipe and still end up with a big pot.)

16 oz dried black eyed peas (I don't think you need to soak it, but you can.)
1 cup onions, diced
2 cups celery, diced
1 bell pepper (green or red), diced

Photo: Betty Crocker

3-4 cloves garlic, diced
4 cups water
2 large bouillon cubes (or 4 small cubes. Bouillon has salt, so you can omit salt.)
1/2 to 1 pound of hot sausage (or diced, lean ham)
spices to taste - I like:
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence
1 teaspoon Italian seasonings (basil, cilantro, rosemary, etc.)
1 teaspoon oregano
sprinkle of nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (If you use hot sausage, leave the hot spice out.)
a few turns of the black pepper mill
2 tablespoons of cider vinegar
A few sprinkles of Worcestershire sauce
Sprinkles of dried garlic, onion, celery
2 cups of rice 

Optional: A tomato if you have one. Skip it if you don't.

Directions: 

1) Dice and brown the meat (sausage today) in a skillet. If you produce a bit of grease, drain your pan.
2) Next stir fry the vegetables for 3-4 minutes in the same skillet: onion, celery, bell pepper and garlic.
3) Transfer the ingredients into a large soup pot (unless your skillet is huge).
4) Add the soaked, rinsed and drained black eyed peas and 4 cups of water.
5) Next add the spices, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce to the pot.
6) Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the black eyed peas are soft and done.

Make the rice separately according to the package directions. This time I used brown rice. (Another time, it can be white rice, or a different whole grain, though the rice + black eyed peas = the authentic Hoppin' John.) Most often I use brown rice and toss it into the pot letting everything cook together, but you can also cook the rice separately which I tend to do with white rice so it doesn't overcook. Brown rice and black-eyed peas both take about 30 minutes to soften, so can be in a single pot. {Another tip: The recipe can easily be reduced if you don't want leftovers. Only use 1/2 cup of dried black-eyed peas to 1/2 cup of brown rice to feed one, or two people. Easy-peasy}

Garnish a serving of Hoppin' John with diced chives, if you have them.
A side of kale or collard greens is perfection!

Here is an excellent history of the dish. Originally, it had just 3 ingredients: 1 pound of black eyed peas, 1 pound of rice and 1 pound of salted bacon. As the article explains, because the ingredients are processed differently today, Hoppin' John would taste bland if you fellowed the original recipe. It's impossible to reproduce the dish like it was back in the day. So that's why cooks add the Holy Trinity, seasonings and a bit of heat. Feel free to make this dish your own.

Happy New Year Everybody!

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NYX Cosmetics: Cheap And Fabulous

My friend, Clorinda, just returned from New Orleans, but she is upset after discovering she left her makeup behind at her hotel. It's a painful loss! 

I rarely take expensive makeup on vacations. The reason: Anything can happen when you're traveling. Cosmetics can melt, roll out of your bag, not make it passed homeland security, or be forgotten at your destination, as happened to Clorinda. A traveler has too many other things to think about. Minding costly belongings shouldn't be one of them.

NYX, the drugstore label that is pronounced like "Nicks," is perfect to take on trips. For just a few dollars, $6 for lipstick, $9 for blush, or $4 for eyeshadow, you get professional quality makeup. An all-in-one cosmetic palette runs about $12!

Named after the "Greek Goddess of the Night," NYX has oodles of choice for eyes, lips and complexions: Awesome colors; a moist and smooth consistency; all-day staying power.

Other budget friendly tricks I use for traveling include:

1) Save the free samples of pricey face serum, face primer, hair shampoo, hair conditioner and suntan lotion that retailers, such as Kiehl's, give out. Take the samples with you to go on vacation.

2) Multi-task products: In a pinch, talc powder works as face powder. Body lotion moisturizes skin, lips and hands, as well as, slicks down flyaway hair. Lipsticks can double as a cheek color; and cream blush can double as a lip color. A dollop of Vaseline is ultra versatile!

 3) Visit e.i.f -- i.e. eyes, lips, face -- to pick up cheap makeup brushes costing from $2 to $3 dollars each. In fact, I now use e.i.f's blush brush daily at home, and it works, as well as, my more expensive brushes. Had I bought the e.i.f blush brush first, I would have bought the entire set as my primary brushes. Expensive makeup brushes aren't supposed to shed; and yet, I keep picking bristles off my face!

4) Take a break from makeup: Who looks at us on vacation? Bring less and simplify your routine. You'll have more time to relax and have fun! 

NYX cosmetics and e.i.f brushes are fabulous finds. Save money without compromise. You may still be upset if you leave them behind, but the reason won't be because you spent lots of cash!

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Wishing You A Merry Christmas

Photo: Joseph's Studio by Roman Nativity

My friend, Margareta, said, "It's been hard getting into the Christmas spirit this year." I can understand the feeling. Likely, it's due to the solemn events that have occurred in the world so recently, as well as, losing people we care about at home. Several of my mother's longtime neighbors have died, which makes visiting home bittersweet. Every year there are one, or two fewer familiar faces to see.

We hope there is more to the world then the here and now. An ultimate good, a God who cares about us, a holy child who was born to return us to grace. Philosophers and theologians have argued for millenniums that there is more than just the physical world. Life has a meaning, a greater purpose.

We live on a globe. There are many paths to answer life's Ultimate Questions. Each person must find his or her own responses. In the end, how you live life and treat people matter.

St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York City [Photo: Wikepedia Commons]

Soon many families will gather to take a leap of faith that life goes on beyond what we can now see. Somehow remembering a humble, Holy Family, who slept in a stable helps believers deal with life's ups and downs. Worshipers are reminded to dig a little deeper; try a little harder; don't give up; and focus on what's truly important.

Cathedral of the Assumption, Louisville, Kentucky [Photo: Wikepedia]

Life is change. Children grow into adults. One generation passes onto the next. 

St. Cecilia Church before closing

St. Cecilia Church was a neighborhood parish for 175 years before shutting its doors. Modest and tidy, the parish ran a fish fry and bingo on Fridays, as well as, a yearly festival to support its school, and of course, held midnight Mass on Christmas Eve like local parishes elsewhere.🐑

Sometimes when I step inside an old church, or hear of one's closing, I think about its bygone generations of parishioners who attended. You don't need the Ghost of Christmas Past to know that on Christmas Eve, every seat in this little neighborhood church was filled.

Where on Earth does the time go? Missing are souls, with us for only a dash of time. Which brings us back to a humble holy child, whose birth we celebrate.

Wishing you lots of love, peace and joy, dear readers. Merry Christmas!🎄

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Know Your Body Mass Index This Holiday Season

Photo: londonaunaturale.com

With the holidays upon us, good luck maintaining your ideal weight. Although I avoid mindless eating, if someone offers me a homemade Christmas cookie, I will be gracious enough to eat it. Life is a balance, and I would not risk hurting a giving person's feelings by refusing his/her hospitality. Now if that someone tries to get me to eat a dozen homespun cookies (and you know who you are!), no matter how delicious they are, I must beg off, not to mention that I too bake Christmas cookies.

Knowledge is willpower. According to AARP, here's what we should weigh using our body mass index, or BMI.

The following formula should help us with discipline:

Woman: 100 pounds of body weight for the first 5 feet of height, plus 5 pounds for each additional inch. Example: An average frame 5'7'' woman = 135 pounds, ideally.

Men: 106 pounds of body weight for the first 5 feet of height, plus 6 pounds for each additional inch. Example: An average frame  6'1" man = 184 pounds, ideally.

If you have a small frame, subtract 10%, and if you have a large frame, add 10% to your total weight.
This is timely information as we face a festive period of constant temptation. Remember: Everything in moderation. Stay strong, peeps! For the holidays enjoy a few treats. Be festive, just don't be crazy, over indugent festive.

Since many of us will consume more sugar over the holidays, it helps to add some exercise to our routine. Walk wherever you can. Eat mostly balanced meals. Include fiber. Aim for single servings of treats. And for heaven's sake, try not to eat around the clock. Repeat: Thou shall not go up a trousers size!

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