nylon magazine reports La Belle Femme Journal and Camilla Belle, Dakota Fanning are showing what Quelle Belle really means in french: what a fox! Gabriella Cilmi says she loves the shoes La Belle Femme is highlighting. She wears Prada and struts her stiletto style.
HauteShopping - Join Marie Claire’s HauteShopping.com for exclusive deals and chic steals in fashion, accessories, and beauty. HauteShopping.com

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Holidays Decorating - Pretty And Eco Friendly

How do you balance the economy, gift giving and the environment? It's a task, we're learning as we go, but here's some ideas that you can toss around under your floppy, felt, red Santa Cap.



We're almost all tempted to go shopping for new ornaments and stockings every year, but there are ways to create a new look without shopping for new decor.

Reuse your decor - many of us do this anyway, at least with some of our ornaments for sentiment sake and/or economy - but this year appreciate what you are doing because it is good for the environment.

* Buy craft paint and change the color of some of your ornaments.
* Try using a string of white lights instead of multi-colored.
* Wrap those candle holders in some festive ribbon.
* Personalize some of your ornaments with monograms. This was actually shown on HGTV’s 24-Hour Design recently. If you have plain glass bulb ornaments that are either white or transparent, get a couple of small bottles of non-toxic craft paint in a variety of colors from your nearest craft store. Take the cap off the top, and squeeze a few drops of 2 colors inside the bulb. Use your finger to cover the opening and shake the bulb until the colors mix and cover the inside of the entire bulb. You have a “new” ornament, and a great, simple craft project.


Make your own decor - Your kitchen and back yard are great places to start when you want to make your own ornaments. String popcorn (unsalted and with no butter) to create a festive, natural garland. Collect fallen pine cones and decorate them with paint and other items.

Stick with sustainable or Fair Trade products - If you are going to buy new holiday decor, try to stick with ornaments made of recycled, natural and sustainable materials. Recycled glass ornaments are easy to come by if you take the time to look at the packaging. There are also ornaments made of recycled cardboard or metals, organic cotton, bamboo, reclaimed wood, and more. Here are some options:

Shown in the photograph above, a clever star burst design incorporates recycled copper wire and tiny gold balls and is fashioned into a multi-rayed astral delight. The Hunger Site will fund 25.0 cups of food for each of these Handmade Copper Wire Star Ornament purchased.

Cute cute cute, these eco friendly ornaments are from Amenity Modern Organic Living. They're printed by hand with non-toxic, water-based, eco friendly inks on a premium fabric made from hemp and blended with organic cotton. Each one is filled with spun, recycled plastic bottles. Printed and sewn locally, in Los Angeles.

Integrate Year-Round Decorative Items Into A Seasonal Scheme - This star bowl shown below from Rockett St. George makes a great table top centerpiece year round but is also fun during the holidays.


Also from Rockett St. George, these love, peace and harmony storage tins come as a set of three in matt white and are adorable regular decor items that can do double duty at the holidays, and double duty is always good.
Enjoy the holidays and enjoy our world, be eco friendly to our environment. That is a way bring cheer to men of good will.

Friday, December 5, 2008

Green Revolution Contest Winner For November - Jan Herbert

Jan Herbert of the Rockford Park District and Projects/Environment Coordinator for Rockford is the winner of November's Green Revolution Giveaway Contest! (For more info on Jan Herbert, read below.)

I'd made a pledge to myself that if I was going to go green (no car!) that in tiny ways I would encourage others to go green also. So, the Green Revolution Giveaway Contest was born.

Jan Herbert will receive this darling canvas bag which she can use and take to the grocery store - instead of ca-ca plastic bags (which we all know take 32 ga-zillions of billions of years to disintegrate). The canvas bag is my own design, click here 'La Vert Sachet,' for more information on the bag.

And ........ to get info for the December contest - click here. This contest is worth $100! Don't pass it up!

So, Missy Jan Herbert, your La Vert Sachet canvas 'green bag in French' is on its way! La Dee Dah!




Many of Jan's articles about going green start out with this paragraph:

"Whether you were 'green' before the color
was fashionable, or are ready to find what "shade"
will work best for you, here is information
to help us all do just "one green thing."

Jan Herbert of the Rockford Park District and Projects/Environment Coordinator for The City Of Rockford has authored numerous articles including the following that have run in The Rock River Times and other newspapers. I highlighted her "Plastic Bag Abuse," article (click here to see it) and this drawing that I did of the girl holding the numerous plastic bags accompanied that article.

Recyclying Paper Is Easier Than You Think
Green News: Starting The New Year 'Green'
Eight Out Of Ten Water Bottles Become Garbage
One Green Thing: Being Green Is Good For You
One Green Thing: Let's Make It 'One Green Thing' We Can All Do
Deciding What to turn on and Off


Kudos, Jan!


Thursday, December 4, 2008

Green Revolution Giveaway Contest Info For December


About The Green Revolution Contest: I made a vow to myself when I went green (no car) that in little everyday ways I would encourage others to go green also. Viola! The Green Revolution Contest!
$100 Gift Certificate
Does it get any cooler than that?
What do you have to do? (It's easy!): Send me an email at PatriciaLynne12@aol.com saying how you are trying to go green and you are automatically entered in The Revolution, Green Giveaway Contest!
Example:
Patricia, I am separating my trash between regular and recycleable stuff. Enter me in the contest please!
Signed,
Suzie QT
You can send as many emails as you like that include a green effort you are doing and each email is an entry for the contest. WOW! That's it. REALLY! It ain't brain science - it's just a contest about going green. Good luck!

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Betsey Johnson Is A Total Freaking Rock Star

Last week at Fashion Forward, Betsey Johnson showed a collection of dresses that totally blew our minds.
Pop music blared,
lights flashed,
women with giant hair cascaded down the runway,
and all we wrote in our notebook
was: "Betsey Johnson is a total freaking rock star."
The good news is that we also took pictures. The above was the final look from the show, and was greeted with audible gasps from the audience. The astounding white dress moved like liquid and encapsulated the free, frenzied, fun spirit for which Betsey Johnson is known.







From Betsey Johnson: “Making clothes involves what I like…color, pattern, shape and movement…I like the everyday process…the people, the pressure, the surprise of seeing the work come alive walking and dancing around on strangers. Like red lipstick on the mouth, my products wake up and brighten and bring the wearer to life…drawing attention to her beauty and specialness…her moods and movements…her dreams and fantasies.”














As one journalist recently quoted, “If Betsey Johnson didn’t exist, we would have to invent her, simply to remind ourselves that fashion can be fun. She’s the original wild child and set to paint the town pink!”


For More Betsey (who could ever get enough?), read my article here, Surprise Surprise Betsey Johnson Loves Pink

Monday, November 24, 2008

Parenting Is So Very Hard - In Honor Of Chaundra





“When they called me and said they wanted to talk to me, I knew in my heart that it wasn’t what I wanted to hear,” said James Davis, 24 hours after learning of his daughter’s death.

Chaundra had been missing for fifteen days, since November 7. The neighborhood had actively passed out photos, fliers asking for any information about this woman. She was only 5'4" and a mother of three children.

I had seen the flier posted at the Downtown Pharmacy on Saturday, November 21. She was an attractive young woman, and the photos reflected someone who was loved. It was the very next day while walking my wonderful, but active Labrador/Great Dane dog named Christopher, that I very sadly found Chaundra.

I was to learn that Chaundra had recently moved into a new apartment with her children and was working in Rockford as a caregiver. Her friends and family described Chaundra as a great cook who loved the limelight. When I hear this, that is, that she was a great cook who loved the limelight, I automatically give a big smile and a 'You Go, Girl!'

I love to hear about women who have self confidence and know they have skill and this was Chaundra.

Her father James Davis had been concerned of late because of the people she was hanging out with, but he also knew, she was an adult and couldn't be watched 24/7.

I don't know what happened and how she died. All that I know is that she had gone missing, and I happened to be the person who found her body in the water, that is at the edge of Rock River, near the train bridge. This water edge abuts the parking lot of a long ago abandoned manufacturing plant.

Someone - some someone - probably drove into the well-known empty parking lot and dismissed her young body into the river, right where it dropped off into the dam. But a floating tree caught her and held her, and she clung close to the river's edge, never going anywhere.

Chaundra had three children: two sons, Javar, 19, and Jonathan, 13; and a daughter, Jamecia, 9. She had a family who loved her and who looked for her when she went missing and who ached and will ache for a long time.

As a mother myself of a child who was very well raised and yet at age 25 got involved in meth, but is now over three years clean, I have learned something: we birth children and it is our responsibility to raise them to be good citizens. That is all we have. We don't have the right to choose what they will do, whether it is good or bad, and we don't have any control really except to try to raise them well.

For Chaundra's parents, I send them wishes that they know their acts of discipline and child-rearing were well-done, well-intended and with God's grace, the best parenting that could have ever been given to her.

To Chaundra's children, I send them wishes to know they had a mother who was wonderfully beautiful in body and spirit, who intended for them to grow into good citizens. I sadly share that we don't know why they lost their mother, but I would charge them to become the kind of citizens that make the world a better place, to make their mother proud of them.



For information or donations, please write to James Davis (Chaundra's Father), at 3216 Blackstone Avenue, Rockford, Illinois, 61101, 815-703-1876

Donating Party Frocks For Enlisted Spouses Club


Battle of the Dresses
Belle of the Ball Donation Drive From Daily Candy

You used to love that sequined mermaid number. Now it’s more like body armor. And that slinky navy chiffon? You’d rather spend a night in a foxhole.

Give yesterday’s fancy things an honorable discharge: Donate your old cocktail dresses and evening gowns to Belle of the Ball, a new lending closet for military wives.

The Fort Hood Area Enlisted Spouses Club is gathering gently used party frocks and accessories (no shoes, please) to create a library of formal wear. The wives of enlisted men, officers, foreign force members assigned to the base, and activated National Guardsmen will check out and wear the dresses to military balls held before and after their husbands are deployed.

The service will be free for the ladies, who simply have to pay the cost of dry cleaning before they return their gowns.

Hut, two, three, four.

To make a donation, contact Rachel Dean at 254-539-9875 or momof3terrors@aol.com.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Lovemaking: H*lls Bells, Okay, Here's 'His & Hers' Lovemaking Suggestions & Fun


The book's name was: "500 Lovemaking Tips and Secrets!"

It promised so much: If you want a super sex life then… In five minutes (WOW!) you can have any of these proven secrets working for you even if you're shy or embarrassed ..........and on and on, such as:

* The biggest lovemaking mistakes - - * How to invigorate each other to make love - - * Ways to help cure premature ejaculation - - * Dozen of oral sex tips - - * Fun sex games - - * The best positions to make love - - * Unique places to make love - - * Secrets to give each other more pleasure - - * How to make sex more intimate and meaningful - - * Ways to incorporate food into lovemaking - -



So being intrigued by its promises (and I have NO DOUBT the book helps with lovemaking!), I wanted to play and share fun stuff and this ultimately turned into a His Version Article from a guy friend and a Her Version Article (me) about Lovemaking Suggestions and Fun.

Her Version of Filling In The Blanks Of Lovemaking Suggestions & Fun

* The biggest lovemaking mistakes - Its never good to call the person by the wrong name.
* How to invigorate each other to make love - To me women's biggest invigorator would be if their man set aside special time. This is not the kinna' time like after she's worked all day, fed everyone, bathed the kids and climbed into bed exhausted. Ways to set aside that time might be hiring a babysitter that takes the kids somewhere else for the afternoon, performing extra chores so she has energy, you could go all out and set up his and hers massages at your home. Invest in your lovemaking, it pays good dividends.
* Ways to help cure premature ejaculation - Duhh-h-h-h, spend more time on her!
* Dozen of oral sex tips - Easy one, ask her what she likes, encourage her in loving and caring ways to discuss her and what pleases her. Similarly, share with her what you enjoy. Click here to go to two of my La Belle Femme articles: Oral Sex With Confidenceand Temple Tapping And Other Relaxation Tips For Good Sex.
* Fun sex games - Here's one that's as easy as pie!!!!!! Call him and tell him you're having chocolate pie dessert tonite. Leave a love note (when the kids aren't home of course) that tells him, to relax but hurry upstairs, that the chocolate pie awaits. Spread rose petals on the steps, leading to the bedroom. Post another love note on the (closed) bedroom door - this note could say something like, "Come In For A Delicious Time!" When he enters, he finds candles lit, soft music playing and you in your satin peignoir sitting next to large bakery box. The rules can vary: no utensils in the room, help him to undress before you 'dress' his penis (in chocolate pie .......). The games can end however you desire.
* The best positions to make love - Ask her, ask him. Make this part of lovemaking, your partner talks comfortably and teasingly about these things, and that he or she listens to you. Ask your partner about unusual positions he might have thought about, wondered about (watch him eyes, watch his face, allow him some laughter of love).
* Unique places to make love - Pfffffttttt, again. Easy. Kitchens! Elevators! Bathrooms of restaurants! (I'm not admitting to any of these, except perhaps well maybe one.)
* Secrets to give each other more pleasure - Pay attention. Be a kind and loving person to your partner in everyday ways. Leave rose petals even when you aren't looking for lovemaking, with a note that you think your partner is incredibly special.
* How to make sex more intimate and meaningful - Tell your partner that they are beautiful to you. Complement the many features that endear that person to you. Be specific with examples of those special characteristics. When your partner feels special and feels beautiful, they want to open up about lovemaking. Your partner wants to breathe you in, a feeling of tenderness and care is identified with you.
* Ways to incorporate food into lovemaking - Chocolate pie, you already got here. Whipped cream is an easy one. Ice cubes and any cold cold drink in the mouth and then applied to your mate is highly erotic. Another variety is grapes, or strawberries, fruit and perhaps a glass of wine that is combined with reading of a love poem or a short story you have written about each other.



OK I'll bite. I'm a guy, so I'll answer these questions from a guys standpoint.

His Version of Filling In The Blanks Of Lovemaking Suggestions & Fun

* The biggest lovemaking mistakes - Mistakes, there are are no mistakes, it's all learning. There is good love making and there is sometimes not so good love making. You always learn something and if your smart and perceptive you will apply your lessons toward the future to the benefit of you and your partner. If I had to admit to any mistake in making love it would have to be allowing yourself to not make love for an extended period of time. That my friends is unforgivable.
* How to invigorate each other to make love - That's an easy one, pay attention to your women. If after years of being together you cannot tell when your partner is ready or desirous of slow loving or a quickie then you need to step back and reevaluate. You can reinvigorate your lovemaking through many different ways. It's up to you to observe what it is that is required, if you can read minds then you'll have it aced, if not ask her what makes her feel good. If you can't do that then drop back 30 and punt.
* Ways to help cure premature ejaculation - Another easy one. This is for you guys that think boner pills are the best thing since sliced cheese. The trick is don't worry about it and relax. When I say relax, that's exactly what I mean. If your just wanting to get your nut off, then don't waste a good woman's time and take it to your hand. If you try to force the issue you always have the same problems. If you think you have a medical condition then go seek help from a professional. Most problems people have with premature ejaculation are from anxiety or there inability to join there partner at an emotional level. So if you guys think that boner pills are the answer for you then be my guest. If you think that your women will reject you because you don't present a rock hard cock each and every time you make love then you are sadly mistaken and totally underestimate the love your women has for you. An erection can come and go many times while making love, if you totally focus on the state of your erection instead of the act of making love as a whole and the pleasure that it provides you both, then you are destined to fail.
* Dozen of oral sex tips - Try holding you lovers lower lip in your teeth while sucking on it very gently, dragging your teeth ever so slightly on the nape of your partners neck, sucking on a nipple and keeping it interesting, a gentle bite just above the ankle, sharing a cold grape from mouth to mouth, drizzling honey on a favorite body part then licking it off, having your partner eat her yogurt off of your cock, licking or nibbling the buttock where it meets the back side of the thigh, tantalizing the clitoris with your tongue, encouraging your partner to join you in oral gratification in a comfortable fashion. Be careful about receiving head while your driving cuz' cuming and going do not mix.
* Fun sex games - I never really played any sex games, but I could fantasize about meeting my lover in at a strange destination and pretending it was the first time we met.
* Unique places to make love - Oh this is fun, I can name a few favorites; the kitchen counter top, bent over the couch, in the shower on the banco, on a bale of hay in the horse trailer, in an elevator, anywhere outside on a sunny day (love those quickies). Haven't tried it in an airplane yet, but every time I go into an airplane lav, I look at it and wonder how anyone could get it on in there without making a helluv' a racket.
* The best positions to make love - I sometimes like it when my sweetie sits on top of me faced away from me and rides me as though I'm not even there. I like spooning and staying inside her all nite, but my all time favorite is missionary very slowly.
* Secrets to give each other more pleasure - Hah, you think I'm gonna give up my trades secrets that easily. Go fish. The trick is to give your partner as much pleasure as you possibly can with as little effort as possible. If I could get my baby to cum by just looking at her I would, and what fun it would be.
* How to make sex more intimate and meaningful - Stay with the program on an emotional level even during a quickie, if she wants to just use you, let it happen, just enjoy and know that you are loved. You don't have to be in control all the time, control is overrated.
* Ways to incorporate food into lovemaking - Smear in on and lick it off, it's that easy. As far as penetration with food, I suppose it's cool but there are certain hygienic rules that need to be adhered to so proceed with caution.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Bedrooms For Nurturing, Replenishing & Sex







We spend a third of our lives asleep, so it makes sense that our bedrooms should be places to indulge ourselves, places where we can preen, replenish and even allow for indulging in our most romantic fantasies.

Bedrooms are our most personal room, it should offer sanctuary from the day's cares - an oasis of calm, where we can rejuvenate and soothe.

When creating your bedroom retreat, add a sitting area for enjoying a good book. We all need a place where we can truely relax, where we won't be disturbed.

The bedroom during the day. It needs to work during the day as a place to hide away from whatever life throws at us, as well as at night. My suggestions:

* An upholstered chair for comfort

* A small table for a cup of coffee and a book or two

* Add a favorite photo and you'll never want to leave

* For the occasional cool day, have a throw available


The bed. It needs to be superbly comfortable, inviting and I believe seductive.
* Pretty bed linens (worth the investment - you'll wonder how you ever lived without them)
* A comfortable headboard that supports you when sitting (and make sure its sturdy, of course, lol)

* Flowers, scented candles and fine, sensual fabrics Finishing touches. Keep your eyes open when you are out shopping for the small items that really create the right setting. Use your own personal possessions: family photographs, favorite ornaments, much loved heirlooms, of course. But those perfect pillows when plumped up should draw you into your boudoir, your comfort and special slice of heaven.




Photographs From Boudoir, By Hilary Robertson

Sunday, November 9, 2008

PDA - Public Displays Of Affection

When you complete a profile of yourself for one of the online dating services such as Match.com or E.Harmony, you are asked your opinion on various behavior traits, PDA being one of them:

PDA: love or hate
Tattoos: love or hate
Sarcasm: love or hate

I love PDAs - public displays of affection - well, I love 'my comfort level' of PDAs, that is. If I pass by a couple of young lovers walking arm in arm I love it. In fact, I especially love to see an older couple walking arm in arm. There is nothing more romantic, to me, than walking along and having your loved one, stop, lean into you and kiss you. Wow! I have even been sung to in public and accompanied by being led in a small dance. Wow!

I am a 'bring it on, kinna' girl and have been told therefore that I might enjoy Italy. Italians know how to experience pleasure, which is kind of the opposite of how many of the rest of us behave in this regard. Many of us have an inability to relax; and the concept of relaxing with sheer pleasure, are you fr*cken' kidding?


Some of us don't know how to just be.

Some of us don't know how to relax.


Italians are said to be the masters of il bel far niente, a sweet expression meaning, the beauty of doing nothing, the beauty of just being. This doesn't mean Italians don't work hard; they do. But even with all of their hard work, il bel far niente is the cherished Italian ideal. As in stop and smell the roses, you crazy distracted people. Notice the sunset. Enjoy the croissant, its flakiness, its wonderful aroma.

Rather, we are the land of Disneyland or Nintendo. We confuse fun with pleasure.

Regarding PDA, pleasure and affection I understand that even within Italian cities people show their PDA remarkably differently. Rome is known as the City of decadent sexiness - their definition breaks my PDA groundrules. Their version is very-very much publicly displayed, right on the benches, walkways and all over Rome; and is what most Americans would consider lewd behavior.


I'm not comfortable with 'bump and grind' PDA, here, Rome, or anywhere. Ghack! Its d*mn rude. I'm sorry, as they say, 'Get A Room!' and when you're in the room, door closed, go ahead and find out what's down inside the back of your partner's pants, cuz' frankly, I don't wanna' know.

But otherwise, if you and your loved one are both comfortable with it, I say bring on the steamy PDAs.



FYI: an Internet survey, webpoll, with 317 votes total about PDA:

Kissing in public is...
Wonderful (204) 64%
Acceptable (52) 16%
Don't Care (33) 10%
Inappropriate (18) 6%
Disgusting (10) 3%


Saturday, November 8, 2008

JimmyJane Recommends A Few Positions

This Article Is 100% From A Really Cute Shop Called JimmyJane - Be Brave And Go Find Some Holiday Gifts at THIS Shop!


LET’S HAVE A SHOW OF HANDS.

With the accelerated pace of our daily lives, we often forget some of the simplest pleasures – home cooking, a freshly made bed, a good bad joke, the Sunday Times and cashmere, to name a few. In days rife with text messages, headsets and hand sanitizer, it’s important to slow down and truly connect. Recently we’ve rediscovered the oh-so-subversive delight of holding hands. (Edgy, we know.) Here’s a reintroduction to the art for those of us who occasionally mistake our iPhones for lovers.


The Classic - A timeless favorite and a widely accepted PDA, The Classic communicates confidence and connection without insinuating co-dependency. Also great for crosswalk safety, but should not be considered a substitute for looking both ways.



The Weave - An embellishment on The Classic, The Weave demonstrates elevated intimacy, and hints at manual dexterity that might come in handy in other ways. Avoid combining with sunsets and/or seashores if allergic to cliche'.



The Recumbent - Suitable for use on any horizontal surface of sufficient size. Goes great with sunshine and grass and an occasional cumulus. May cause prolonged napping.







The Pinky Linky - An advanced technique, great for nauseating friends, family and innocent bystanders. Not to be confused with "Hanky-Panky" or "Spanky-Spanky," which are also advanced techniques. Combine with skipping only in the absence of clothing.



The Peacekeeper - Take the power struggle anywhere with this favorite of high-achieving couples. The Peacekeeper is an effective alternative to Roshambo for mission-critical decisions including who gets to choose the movie, who gets to do the dishes, and who gets to be on top.




The Handsie - More of a communication lifeline than a gesture of affection, this is an important technique to master in the formative "meet the parents" stage of a relationship. Tap once for "yes," twice for "no," and squeeze as hard as possible for "if you say what I think you're going to say,"I'll never do that thing that you like so much ever again. Capiche?" Note that while Footsie is sexier, Handsie is less likely to lead to inadvertent swinging.



Brought to you by JimmyJane, live a little - check out the shop. It is just for you and your loved one. Heeeee........