BuzzSugar

Buzz In: What's On Your Summer Reading List?

BuzzSugar — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 06:30:43 PDT

If ever there's a time to get serious about reading, Summer's it! Whether it's because of the longer hours of daylight or the relaxing vacations, lots of folks start stacking up on good reads during the Summer months.

There are some good new books out just in time for beach reading, too. For those of you looking for a little beach-themed escapism, you might check out a couple of this year's books that are set in the Hamptons: How the Other Half Hamptons and LoveHampton. I'm currently having a great time reading my June book club selection, but am definitely adding books that have been getting high praise like The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and the brand new David Sedaris book When You Are Engulfed in Flames. I also like to add nonfiction to my lists, even if it's something a little darker, like Kathryn Harrison's While They Slept.

So, what's on your Summer reading list? Do you prefer light and fun or do you tackle something more challenging when the weather heats up? Anything you've promised yourself you'll pick up and complete before Labor Day?

Source

Ashley Madekwe Spills Her Ultimate Summer Shopping List

Hannah Weil — Thu, 24 May 2012 04:00:37 PDT

One season of Revenge later (did you see last night's finale?!) and we're totally addicted, not to mention completely smitten with the ever-adorable Ashley Madekwe. We know her best as the show's impeccably dressed Ashley Davenport, but the England-born actress is just as much of a style pro off screen, showcasing her styling expertise on her very own blog, Ring My Bell. Now she's dishing on her Summer must-haves and giving us an exclusive look at her ultimate seasonal shopping list. With a penchant for dip-dyed cutoffs, neoprene-injected jewels, and clear acetate shades, plus designer goodies from the likes of Proenza Schouler and Miu Miu, Ashley's list reads like a how-to in crafting cool-girl Summer style. Step inside for Ashley's awesome Summer essentials and why she's loving every piece.

Photo of Ashley Madekwe courtesy of Iddo Goldberg

Lease Leonardo DiCaprio's Malibu Beach House This Summer - For $150K a Month

Elka Karl — Mon, 21 May 2012 11:03:03 PDT

Sure, it may be some serious cash, but dedicated fans may find the price of admission worth it if they can live in Leonardo DiCaprio's Malibu beach house this Summer. Recently updated and ready for Summer parties, this seven-bedroom compound - it includes a main house, loft, and guest cottage - is perfect for hosting friends and family.

The listing reads:

Just completed a beautiful remodel in time for Summer! Unique property has a 4-bedroom main house on ocean front, a two bedroom detached guest house, and a third detached loft with gym, Media room, seventh bedroom, office area. The short term rate - less than 6 months is $150,000/month. Beautiful gardens and lawns very unique to the beach front!

For more information on DiCaprio's other properties, and how you can rent this property for less, check out Trulia's blog. To take a closer look at the property, just keep clicking!

Leonardo DiCaprio photos courtesy Getty

Real estate photos courtesy Arete Estates

A Cancer Survivor's Goal: 50 Triathlons by Her 50th Birthday

espnW — Fri, 04 May 2012 04:26:06 PDT

We are pumped to share one of our fave stories from espnW here on FitSugar!

By Julia Savacool

It's a good thing Jenn Sommermann discovered triathlons when she did. "I was turning 40 years old, and my friend and I were looking for a way to commemorate the occasion," Sommermann said. "We decided to train for a triathlon." Because Sommermann was on the East Coast and her friend was on the West, the two trained together virtually, exchanging workout notes and messages of encouragement. Several months later, they competed in the Danskin Women's Tri in Seattle.

"That was it, I was in love with triathlons," Sommermann said. Little did she know, two years later the fitness she gained through the sport would help her win a battle against ovarian cancer.

It was December 2006 when Sommermann received her diagnosis. She'd been feeling out of sorts for months, but had been reluctant to see her doctor.

The symptoms for ovarian cancer are subtle: Bloating, weight gain, fatigue and indigestion are all indicators for the disease, but they are also common symptoms for many women during their monthly cycle. The main difference with ovarian cancer, explained Sommermann, is the symptoms don't go away.

It was by chance she discovered the cancer - she was pressing on her stomach one night and came across a hard lump. "I called my husband over, and he felt it, too," she said. "I knew this wasn't good." She went to see her physician immediately, and an ultrasound revealed a tumor about the size of an eggplant. "I had Stage 3 ovarian cancer," said Sommermann. "I was in shock. The disease is 94 percent curable if you catch it by Stage 2. But after that, the numbers are not in your favor."

Surfing gets Anastasia Ashley through tough times

Read more about Jen's inspiring story after the break.

Style Guide: What to Wear to Prom

Lauren Conrad — Thu, 03 May 2012 07:59:07 PDT

We are thrilled to share this story from Lauren Conrad! The TV personality, writer, designer, and style maven has started LaurenConrad.com, a social networking site that features daily posts by Lauren on all of our favorite topics - fashion, beauty, food, party planning - and Lauren will be sharing her latest fashion finds with Fab every month. This week, she's sharing her dress picks for prom.

If you're in high school, there is only one thing on your mind right now: Prom! It's one of the quintessential high school experiences that will stick with you for a lifetime. For most of us, it's the first time you really get to dress up like a princess for a night. And because it is such a special night, it calls for a very special dress.

Back when I was in school, gowns were the go-to dress of choice. (Let me tell you, gowns can get pretty pricey.) Thankfully, prom trends have broadened and shorter hemlines have been embraced.

Without further ado, here are a few of my favorite looks for prom along with my top picks for each look listed below . . .

Alice + Olivia Tibby Petal Dress
LC Lauren Conrad Ruffle Chiffon Dress
Paper Crown Wilde Tiered Mini

For all of Lauren's perfect prom picks, keep reading

5 Fitness Myths That Mess With Results

Prevention — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 04:31:20 PDT

We are pumped to share one of our fave stories from Prevention here on FitSugar!

By Jenna Bergen, Prevention

With so many people offering advice on weight loss, it can be hard to separate fact from fiction. All too often I’ve overheard a hardworking gym-goer sharing a well-meaning but ill-informed tip with another exerciser. And I’m not the only one who’s heard fitness folklore being swapped on the training room floor. I spoke to top experts in the field to find out the common fitness myths they hear from clients. From the pseudo miracles of the "fat-burning" zone to the misguided magic of working out on an empty stomach, these fitness falsehoods should never be followed.

Nine Exercise Moves You're Doing Wrong

Myth No. One: Keep your heart rate in the fat-burning zone

If you've been exercising at 60 to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate in order to shed flab faster, you could be slowing your slim down. "The fat-burning zone is a complete myth," says Wayne Westcott, PhD, Prevention advisory board member and fitness research director at Quincy College. "While it's true that you burn a higher percentage of fat calories when exercising at a moderate pace, you burn fewer calories overall." For instance, if you get on a treadmill and walk at a 3.5 mph pace for 30 minutes, you might burn 250 calories. If you raise the speed to seven miles per hour, you’d burn 500. Bottom line? "It’s much better to go at the faster speed." Prefer the elliptical trainer? Make sure you're not making one of the top 10 elliptical trainer mistakes.

Myth No. Two: Boosting cardio is the best way to bypass a plateau

"The most effective way to lose weight is to include both cardio and weights in your routine," says Jari Love, star of the Get Extremely Ripped: 1000 Hardcore DVD. "One study found that when individuals cycled for 30 minutes a day, they lost three pounds of fat and gained a half pound of muscle in eight weeks. But individuals who cycled for 15 minutes and weight trained for 15 minutes a day lost 10 pounds of fat and gained two pounds of calorie-burning muscle."

Try This Workout to Drop Two Sizes by Summer!

Keep reading! We bust three more myths after the break.

8 Frugal Summer Vacation Ideas

Wise Bread — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 00:15:37 PDT

If you're thinking of forgoing your usual Summer travel plans due to high prices, you should consider these frugal trip ideas from Wise Bread.

The sky is brighter, the air is warming up, and the layers of clothes are getting peeled off. That can only mean one thing - summer is near.

One of the things that I love most about going on vacation is the chance to break out of my everyday routine, eat crappy foods guilt-free, and stay up blissfully late watching as much trashy reality TV as I please. Setting aside daily responsibilities, trying new things, being in a different space, and having carefree fun is refreshing. But while it’d be nice to go to Fiji or another distant tropical paradise, that just isn't reality for a lot of us.

So what do you do when money is tight, you don’t want to get further into debt, and you really need a vacation? You still take a vacation, but just a frugal one. One that your budget will love. Here are eight frugal summer vacation ideas to get you going.

1. The All-American, Almighty Road-Trip Vacation

About 10 years ago, my husband was able to travel through 30 different states in the span of a month and a half with a friend in a $400 1982 Chevy Sprint. It’s an experience he’ll never forget, and while gas prices do get high in the summer, the road trip is still one of the cheapest options for frugal vacations. Grab a map, pack a large cooler, stop at grocery stores along the way, sing cheesy songs, tell stories you’ve never told before, watch the sun rise and set, and make yourself some memories. (This can be combined with the “I Had No Idea There Were Over 400 National Parks” vacation below, if you’re feeling adventurous.)

2. The Infamous Staycation Vacation

Set a time frame. If you can only get two to three days off from work (or less), that’s OK! This is how you do it - turn off the phones, put an auto reply on your email, turn off the computer (and really keep it off), don’t check your usual social media feeds, and really allow yourself a break from everyday life and the technology that comes along with it. Then go to the grocery store and get sundae supplies: ice cream, candy toppings, hot fudge, caramel, and whipped cream, and why not throw in some cherries too? You are on vacation after all! Rent those guilty-pleasure movies you’ve been wanting to see, and settle in for a movie marathon. Those books and magazines that have been stacking up? This is the time to read them! Those museum exhibits you’ve been dying to see but just don’t have the time for? Go check ‘em out! Hanging with friends on a patio on a random Tuesday night? Go for it! The point is to have fun, indulge in some pleasures you normally don’t get to, and get out of your normal routine.

Read on for more ideas.

Are Money Clubs the New Book Clubs?

LearnVest — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 00:15:41 PDT

Money clubs are a great and fun way to stay on top of your finances. With friends supporting you, you can conquer the world and money issues! LearnVest shares how you can start one.

Thea, 31, a lawyer, lives in Brooklyn, NY. Although her friends are, in her own words, “bright, savvy, awesome women,” many felt lost financially - much like she did. “In fact, almost all of them knew someone else who was in the same financially adrift boat,” she says.

That’s when she got the idea to start a money group.

“The first meeting was held in my studio apartment in Brooklyn,” she told LearnVest. She served pizza and Diet Coke as the group of women took turns airing their money issues and goals.

The women’s issues ranged from needing to pay down credit card debt after an amazing wedding to wondering how to invest in a 403(b) retirement account that she’d left empty for years. “We left that meeting,” she says, “with the same sense of empowerment we often feel in other areas of our lives, but that was usually missing when it came to our financial life.”

Although the women are still working through their money issues and goals, it is, as Thea puts it, “easier to take a journey with a group of amazing friends.”

Are Money Clubs the New Book Clubs?

There’s a reason Thea’s personal experience was so meaningful. Just like book clubs or wine clubs - or book clubs that double as wine clubs - money clubs are groups in which you can learn interesting stuff, discuss it, and get support from like-minded friends. And maybe even add alcohol to put people at ease.

In fact, while they’re now becoming popular again, money clubs have actually been around for a long time. Many groups of women in cities across the US meet up informally, but Candace Bahr, founder of the Women’s Institute For Financial Education, or WIFE, formalized the money club concept, creating the organization’s trademarked version back in 2004.

Read on for more.

15 Books to Read Before They're Adapted For the Screen

BuzzSugar — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 15:30:55 PDT

Summer presents an entertainment trade-off - there's not as much TV on, but there is time for other stuff you've been meaning to do, like my Netflix challenge, and reading. Whether you need beach reads or some more serious fare, I have a few recommendations for you to crack - and me being Buzz, they're all works that are currently being adapted for movies or TV shows. Check out your Summer reading list now!

21 Disposable Products You Can Reuse

Wise Bread — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 09:00:39 PDT

Even when the product is supposedly "disposable," you can always reuse it. Wise Bread shares awesome ways to reuse these 21 disposable products.

It’s said that we live in a disposable society. But the word "disposable" is a misnomer. Disposable is considered throwaway, something you use once and dump, regardless of the life that may be left in it. As a frugal shopper with a concern for the state of our environment, I think that just won’t do.

I often reuse many so-called “onetime-use” items, and I asked friends, family, and colleagues to tell me which disposable items they squeeze more life from. Here’s my list, including some of the surprising ideas I was given.

RELATED: 25 Things to Throw Out Today

1. Butter Wrappers

If you’re like most people, you unwrap your butter, pop the stick into your handy holder, and throw the wrapper away. But wait a second - instead of trashing the wrappers, keep them in a sandwich bag. The next time you need to grease a baking tray or dish, you’ve got something all ready to go.

Read on for more.