| Photo: Thinkstock |
I have a friend who religiously packs her Clarisonic face brush alongside her lantern, s'more supplies, and sleeping bag on camping trips. She may not have running water or a toilet, but she definitely has clean pores and smooth skin. It sounds a bit crazy, but who am I to judge? I have a poster hanging in room that says "I love not camping." In fact, the last time I spent the night in a tent I was seven, on a family trip in Yellowstone National Park, and I begged my father to take me to a hotel on day two. But for those of you who have plans to head to the great outdoors this weekend, these five beauty must-haves will help you feel a bit more pampered while you get in touch with Mother Nature.
Next: Get your beauty essentials checklist.
 | One of the secrets of a happy life is continuous small treats. — Iris Murdoch |  |
Raising four kids—including one set of twins—is challenging enough. But when we heard about the Manning's family struggles once their premie 3-pound son developed a bacterial infection that resulted in a stroke and seizures, two million dollars in medical bills, and a host of other seemingly insurmountable family problems, from lost jobs to marital issues, we were astounded not just by how these folks survived, but how and why they thrived.
As Alice Manning speaks, there is so much to be inspired by, including how she used her creativity to reflect on her experiences and how her Los Angeles community rallied around her family. But note what Manning says at the very end: "The biggest lesson for me is that it's not about the future. You know, it's not about 'I'm going to be so happy when this is over'...because we experienced everything else being taken away, and when everything else is taken away, I have to see that there is only one thing left...and that's the option to love, the option to see my circumstances as an opportunity."
Thank you, Alice, for reminding us once again: Love is not just a feeling. It's also a choice.
I have spent far too much time studying the cats in my house and wondering—deeply, for long, embarrassing periods of time—how I could possibly turn into one and spend the rest of my life napping in the pool of sunlight on the warm, beige carpet, not so that I don't have to go to work or don't have to fix the broken water purifier in the kitchen or don't have to beat myself up for not learning Spanish or even taking a self-improving pottery class....but so that I don't have to exercise again. It's not that I am lazy. I am tired. I am busy. Most of all, I am uninspired about slapping on some jiggle-enhancing Lycra pants and lugging myself over to the dreaded giant purple ball over which I am supposed drape myself and engage in stomach-firming crunches.
Meanwhile, miles and miles away in Brooklyn, a 15-year-old boy is keeping busy watching a different kind of animal. Henry Lim, who, as the New York Times reported won a Young Naturalist Award from the American Museum of Natural History, has been observing the troop of six baboons who live in 4,000 square foot rock enclosure at the Prospect Park Zoo. Baboons, apparently, have 67 previously identified behaviors observed in the wild, which include: approach, look, grunt, lip smack, carry on back, genital inspect, eyebrow raise, short running attack, grimace, and sleep. But as young Henry told the Times, there is a "60 percent chance that a baboon will spend time sitting."
In addition, he produced a stopwatch for the reporter and recorded the following observations of one particular male baboon:
2:00pm: Sitting
2:30pm: Sitting/shake fur
3:00pm: Sitting/scratching
3:30pm: Sitting
Reading this, it dawned on me that I no longer have to wish I were a cat. For all intents and purposes, minus the hair, I am a baboon.
3:00pm: Sitting/scratching
3:30pm: Sitting
Reading this, it dawned on me that I no longer have to wish I were a cat. For all intents and purposes, minus the hair, I am a baboon.
Every week, we'll be letting you know about new releases the editors at O and Oprah.com couldn't stop reading. On sale
The heart-breaking setup: Pregnant, motherless, 14-year-old Esch lives with her 3 brothers in the hardscrabble deep country of Mississippi.
today, the novel:
By Jesmyn Ward
The heart-breaking setup: Pregnant, motherless, 14-year-old Esch lives with her 3 brothers in the hardscrabble deep country of Mississippi.
The plot twist: Hurricane Katrina is gathering steam off the Gulf of Mexico—while the family fails to prepare for its arrival, focusing instead of a new batch of pit bulls that may (or may not) bring them $800.
The true-life irony: Even in a time of impending disaster, we still care about the ordinary things: why the person we love doesn't love us back, why we still miss those who we have lost, and if (and when?) we will ever grow up and be the person we want to be.
The hard-to-face Southern poverty we all should know about: dog fights, squirrel hunting, black kids in white schools, warm sugar juice, dinners of raw Top Ramen noodles and "potted meat."
The natural Southern beauty we all need to see: "Bits of sunlight bite through the tops of the pines that murmur once and twice and are quiet...A rabbits sits, watching us as we make the halfway mark about the circle of the field...It twitches its ears, stares at us in profile, one large black eye like a wet marble in its face, wide and glazed as if it seeing something supernatural."
Read more:
Monday is too stressful. Wednesday is already hump day. But Tuesday is "you" day: a day when you have the energy to do—or plan—something fresh and unexpected that might just turn your whole week around.
Have fun (really) getting your kids ready for school. How to whip up a goofy but practical lunch-money change purse out of a child's sock whose match was (once again) eaten by the dryer.
Relax at your Labor Day barbecue. How to cook for the masses without stress (using the secrets of cruise ship chefs) and how to grill the world's easiest and most perfect main dish (hint: it uses only two ingredients).
Celebrate the other holiday that takes place on September 5th—also known as Be Late Day. How to let yourself be tardy and stop the crazy anxiety that comes from watching the clock.
Invested a little more than you want to in a iPhone or one of the new tablets? How to expedite the return of your portable electronics—easily, cheaply and greenly—in case they get lost.
What would it take
to change your life for the better? It may be less than you think—we’ve
got mini-makeovers to help you upgrade everything from your workout to
your weekend. #16: Raise your heartbeat in a whole new way.
To change up your sweat routine, give your yoga mat a break and try these new classics.
 |
| Illustration: Marcos Chin |
SoulCycle
Fans of this thigh-quaking class lift hand weights, do modified push-ups, and work their core with crunches—all while furiously peddling spinning bikes.
(soul-cycle.com)
Physique 57
Favored by celebrities like Kelly Ripa and Emmy Rossum, Physique 57 shifts between isometric exercises, like leg scissors and pulse squats, and deep stretches.
(physique57.com)
Fans of this thigh-quaking class lift hand weights, do modified push-ups, and work their core with crunches—all while furiously peddling spinning bikes.
(soul-cycle.com)
Physique 57
Favored by celebrities like Kelly Ripa and Emmy Rossum, Physique 57 shifts between isometric exercises, like leg scissors and pulse squats, and deep stretches.
(physique57.com)
| Photo: Thinkstock |
Avocado Oil: With a mild avocado flavor, this brilliant, emerald green oil can be used the same way you use extra-virgin olive oil: In salad dressing, drizzled on a finished dish, or in stir-frying, frying, sautéing or baking. It's nutty and thick, so a little goes a long way.
Roasted Almond Oil: This healthy oil adds a rich almond taste to salad dressing, pasta, grilled meat or fish, or baked pastries. It's a good substitute for olive oil in situations where walnut oil and hazelnut oil are just too powerful.
Apricot Kernel Oil: Thanks to the subtle fruity flavor in this oil—which is pressed from the dried kernels of the apricot tree—it's delicious in sweet baked goods, from fruit cobblers to biscuits. But it's suitable for frying or sautéing, too, and can even be used to add an aromatic element to homemade mayonnaise.
| Miracles sometimes happen, but more often they’re made of faith and will and hope and imagination to say nothing of sweat. — Tom Waldman | |
The TopChips chips maker is pretty much as low-tech as gadgets come. It's just a silicone tray with holes in it and a wavy bottom that keeps it elevated above the bottom of your microwave. It comes with a little mandoline that's so simple to operate, I can see myself abandoning my much fancier version, which I rarely use because it's such a production, with all its parts and blades. The slicer makes thin discs out of potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, apples, pears or mangoes (the company that makes TopChips, Mastrad, doesn't recommend any other fruits or vegetables, though thrillseekers might try parsnips or turnips). Then you place them in a single layer on the tray and microwave it for three to six minutes, depending on the food and your microwave.
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