BuzzSugar

Singer to Watch: Yelle

BuzzSugar — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 14:00:00 PDT

Hey, wasn't I just talking about songs with lyrics I don't understand? My lovely friend Bella sent this adorable French electropop artist my way and implored me to check her out. And holy wow, I can't stop listening (or looking, for that matter!). Her name is Yelle and she's becoming a pretty big deal in France already. I'm not sure she has any cross-over plans in the near future, but I'm going to help her start her US takeover campaign right now by posting a video for her song "Ce Jeu."

She is apparently quite witty with her words, so if any of your high school or college French comes back as you're listening and you want to translate, please do so in the comments! As for me, this is one time when I can just smile and enjoy this tune's infectiousness. To check out the video,

The Non-Football Fan's Guide to Enjoying the Super Bowl

Emily Co — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 03:05:02 PST

Last year, an average of 111 million viewers tuned in to watch the Super Bowl. Many of you non-football fans will be attending some sort of Super Bowl party, so to prevent yourself from being the wallflower, read these tips that might make your Sunday a little more fun.

Read up a little on the star players. Before you know what you're getting into, read up a little bit on the teams and the star players. I found this nice cheat sheet by Rumpus.net that features minibiographies of some of the stars. Once you've read up on them and know who's who, memorize several of their numbers so you know who you're following.
Learn key football terms. Yes! Touchdown! Wait . . . does that mean we won? To better follow along what's happening and to prevent confusion about the football terms being thrown around by commentators, try to learn what the terms mean. The Bleacher Report has a basic list of football terms for those who need the breakdown.
Pick a team. Now that you've read up a bit on football, it's time to pick your team! You can pick it based on the star players, the team your friends are rooting for, or any other reason you choose. Once you have a team in mind, your competitive nature might start showing, and that's when the fun really begins.

Read on for more tips.

Go Inside Jason Wu For Target's Star-Studded Shopping Party

Allison McNamara — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:20:16 PST

The Jason Wu for Target collection hits stores on Sunday, Feb. 5, and celebrities like Blake Lively, Jaime King, and Chloe Moretz stepped out for the private shopping event at the Skylight Soho in New York City last night to celebrate. Our FabSugar editors were on hand at the soiree, where guests were able to preshop the coveted collection, all while sipping champagne, eating yummy Ladurée macaroons, and being treated to a performance by Yelle. Watch today's Fab Flash for all the insider scoop from the fashionable affair. On Allison: Topshop blouse.

Blake Lively Pitches in to Help Launch Jason Wu For Target

Allie Merriam — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 06:40:02 PST

Blake Lively was among the starlets who stepped out in NYC last night to celebrate the launch of Jason Wu For Target. She joined the designer on the red carpet, which also hosted Chloë Moretz and Jaime King. French singer Yelle was on hand to entertain the attendees, who snacked on Laduree macarons. Jason later tweeted his appreciation for the turnout. He wrote, "Can I just say having Chloe Moretz and Jaime King at my Jason Wu for Target party meant the world to me."

The bash was Blake's second public appearance of the day after celebrating Gossip Girl's 100th episode in Queens with her small screen costars Ed Westwick and Penn Badgley. Mayor Michael Bloomberg was there to issue a special proclamation in honor of the series, which has brought many jobs to the Big Apple area during its five-year run.

Reader Asks: Should I List My Current Job?

Savvy Community — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 10:20:53 PST

This reader wants to know if she should list her current job since she hasn't been there long. For more career questions, check out the Ask Savvy community group.

I was working as a legal assistant for five years, but due to lack of raises and a cut of hours I was forced to look for employment. I have bills and rent to pay.

The new job is a paralegal position, which I minored in college. I hate my new job. The people are rude. The hours are terrible and my boss yells at me and everyone else for everything. It's unlike anything I expected and I have responsibilities that aren't even considered in my job description!

My friend works for the state and has told me about a position that has opened up for a legal secretary; the pay is actually MORE than my paralegal job now and it's 10 minutes away from my house. My friend is a head supervisor and said she is going to try her best to get me in. Since the job was not posted on any public sites, I feel like I have a good chance of getting an interview.

Problem is, should I list my old job? Should I not? I don't want them to think I'm jumping from job to job. Help!

Ask anything budget-, etiquette-, or planning-related - well, almost anything - by posting your questions in the Ask Savvy group, and I'll find the right expert to help you out.

Tiger Moms Are So Last Year: Meet Lawnmower Mom, the Pushy Parent of 2012

Natasha Dantzig — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 08:32:00 PST

You thought Tiger Mom was tough and helicopter mom a bit overbearing. There's a new parenting style making the rounds, and it's not pretty. Meet Lawnmower Mom: she can be found lurking around the sidelines of her kids sporting events, ready to jump in and "mow" down anything - or anyone - who gets in the way of her lil one. Parents who are a little too invested in their kids' games, screaming and yelling at coaches and arguing with referees, aren't a new concept, but this new breed of aggressive parenting takes the whole inappropriate exchange to a violent, utterly unacceptable new level: there are reports of mothers going so far as to attack other children who they feel have wronged their child in some way.

The "lawnmower mom's" behavior isn't limited to the field; CBS reports that one mother actually encouraged her 12-year-old to brawl with her classmates, and then got in on the action herself, throwing punches. Like helicopter moms, the lawnmower mom believes it's up to her to shepherd her child through life, clearing their path of every obstacle - real or imagined.

Have you ever met a lawnmower parent? How did you handle it?

Reese Witherspoon Talks Meeting Jim Toth and Making Big Money in Elle

Lauren Turner — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 17:15:34 PST

Reese Witherspoon looks stunning in Giorgio Armani on the cover of Elle's February issue. She's prepping for the release of This Means War next month after closing out a big 2011 that included her wedding to Jim Toth. Reese opened up about meeting her now husband and how he changed her views on marrying again in the publication. She also shared her embarrassment over making so much money. Here's more from Reese in Elle:

On meeting Jim for the first time: "It happened out of the blue. This really drunk guy was hitting on me, making such an idiot of himself, yelling at me. He was like, [slurring, scowling, pointing finger in her face] ‘You don’t know me.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, I know. I don’t know you!’ Jim came over and said, ‘Please excuse my friend. He’s just broken up with someone.’ Jim was a really good friend, pulling him out of that situation. That’s just kind of who he is, a really good person."
On being embarrassed by her earnings: "Every time they call and talk to me about money, I get embarrassed about it. A couple of women finally made me feel better: ‘To get what you’re making, do you know how much money people are making off of you?’ I’m like, ‘Oh, oh, okay.’"
On Jim changing her mind about marrying again: "Jim said, ‘I’m gonna show you every day what a good partner is, what a good person is. I’m going to take care of you. I’m gonna do this so much that you’re gonna get used to it.’ I was like, ‘What are you talking about?’ I’ve never had anybody like that in my life."

When Do You Turn Off the Baby Monitor For Good?

BabyCenter — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 08:32:46 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 Kristina Sauerwein about outgrowing the baby monitor.

My friend posed this question on Facebook: “At what age did you detach yourself from the monitor with your child?” She was wondering if she should get rid of the baby monitor for her 4-year-old son who “sleeps with his door open…(and has been) talking/yelling in his sleep soooo much lately, (she) was up almost hourly to check on him.”

I left a comment telling her to retire the baby monitor. Honestly, I never really used our baby monitor much. My husband and I slept upstairs on the same floor as our kids, and I am the type of sleeper who would wake up if one of my baby’s coughed loudly. A monitor by my bedside would have revved my mind and kept me awake. Every little stir would have me evaluating my baby’s well-being and I would spiraled into an motherhood-OCD-worrywart hell.

Besides, as one mom said in my friend’s Facebook comments, if a baby’s stirs or cries are important enough, you’ll know.

That said, we did place a baby monitor in our basement since our baby slept two floors up. But even then, I could hear important cries sans monitor.

As for a video monitor, that would’ve wired me to no end so I never bothered. My friend said she used to watch it so obsessively, her dreams would be about her baby on the video monitor. Another friend said she watched the video monitor until she noticed her toddler boy could only get to sleep if he played with his private part and she just didn’t want to know that.

I will say there are two things I liked about the auditory baby monitor:

Once my husband and I heard another couple in our so-called perfect town fighting about stupid things such as his overgrown nose hairs and her annoying food-chomping habits. We had no idea who these people were so it was rather amusing and we took it as free entertainment. I know, it was immature and bad of us but it was a train-wreck-we-had-to-watch moment.
I never did this but I always wanted to turn the baby monitor on when my husband and his friends played cards, drank beer and watched back-to-back football games. After all the guys left, I’d ask my husband what they all talked about and he’d say “nothing.” Nothing? For six hours? I don’t buy it and so I always threatened to eavesdrop via baby monitor. My husband said all I’d hear is a lot of gas passing.

So tell me: Did you use a baby monitor? What kind? When did you ditch it? Did you ever eavesdrop on anyone or have any funny baby-monitor mishaps?

More great stories from BabyCenter.com:
3 simple holiday cookies to make with your kids
Do you force your baby to nap?
Does working make you a better mom?
9 Hanukkah crafts for kids
Kids birthday parties at home: Yay or Nay?

Source: Flickr User kona99

Group Therapy: My Mother Is Emotionally Abusive

Tres Community — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 03:05:00 PST

This question is from a Group Therapy post in our TrèsSugar Community. Add your advice in the comments!

I'm 26 years old and still live at home. I've never moved out and have always been close to both of my parents - even now. I don't drive so I go out with my parents almost every Sunday. I went to an all-girl high school so I never really had much interaction with guys until I got to college. I was never kissed or had a boyfriend until I was 18. After my first boyfriend and I broke up, I didn't date anyone again until I was 21. It was during that relationship where I would start to go out more and stay out later (I never really had many girl friends who liked to stay out late either). Well since I would stay out late, my mom would start calling me very hurtful names in Spanish that basically mean "slut." Even when I was younger, she would yell at me for the most mundane thing and call me things in Spanish like "b*tch." I've told her about this second name-calling being hurtful and she always says that she doesn't see those words as being bad words and that she doesn't really mean it but it still hurts.

Well now I've been dating my current boyfriend for six months. He's 28 and has his own apartment. I really want to spend the night at his place but I know how she's going to react if I do. There's times when I go out with him at 4 p.m. and come home at 11 and she scowls at me and says that I have no respect for her or myself. Both of my parents start texting me at 9 or 9:30 asking where I'm at and when I'm coming home. There was one time when I came home at midnight this past summer after spending the day with my boyfriend and she scowled and gave me the silent treatment. The next day she started calling me the "slut" names and when I tried to defend myself, both of us lost our tempers and she actually tried to hit me (I moved and she only hit my arm).

How can I get to stay over at his place without dealing with this intense anger from her? The only way I see of being able to sleep over his place is if there were a snowstorm that made it dangerous to drive on the expressway back to my house.

Have a dilemma of your own? Post it anonymously to Group Therapy for advice, and check out what else is happening in the TrèsSugar Community.

Meet Our New Guest Writer, Brett Freedman!

Guest Writer — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 03:03:51 PST

Celebrity makeup artist Brett Freedman has worked with stars such as Camilla Belle, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Emily Blunt, and Selena Gomez, and now he's here to share his best beauty advice with us. So get ready for some insider tips, makeup how-tos, and Brett's infectious personality. We're thrilled to present to you his introductory post! Take it away, Brett.

How fun it will be to write for BellaSugar for the next eight weeks! To ensure you're just as excited as I am, I'm going to give you a rundown on who I am and what I'm about. I'm a LA-based makeup artist, creator of Vanitymark Cosmetics (a boutiquey line of brow products), and all-around awesome guy - at least that's what my assistant says. And if you like my tips and product suggestions, maybe you'll think so, too. Learn more about the man behind the makeup when you read more.