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Photo by Anna Spiro/ Absolutely Beautiful Things I equate summer with birthdays, holidays and fun.  Perhaps that's why despite the heat, I adore summer so!  In my family, we make a lot of cakes over the summer months, more than at other times of the year.  Is there anything better than a simple flavored, but moist vanilla cake?  You don't have to use the food coloring for the layers, but trust me, guests love it!  You will hear squeals from “kids” of all ages if you make the extra effort.  Go here for the original recipe.  Here are the ingredients I use: Vanilla Cake in  C o l o r : Ingredients : 3 cups flour [I use 2 cups all-purpose and 1 cup whole wheat], plus  ¼ cup   more if needed to get a just right (not too stiff, or runny) batter.  Eyeball it. 4 teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon salt 1 ½  cups sugar 1 ½ cups milk 5 eggs 2  sticks (16 tablespoons) butter 4 teaspoons vanilla [I like to taste the vanilla. ...

These brands are formulated For Western markets. BB Cream is a big makeup craze in Asia (with men too!), and it's quickly spreading to the West.  Created by German dermatologist, Dr. Christine Schrammek in the 50s, to protect and heal skin after laser surgeries, it eventually gained popularity in Japan, Korea and Southeast Asia and is now hitting markets in Europe and the US. "BB," short for  Blemish Balm , is sold as an all-in-one beauty cream.  Depending on the formula you buy, it works as a moisturizer, primer, foundation and sunblock with anti-aging effects.  Reportedly, the cream feels lightweight and looks completely natural.  It covers skin imperfections and gives you a radiant and dewy appearance.  Plus, BB cream absorbs into the skin for a matte finish.  Overtime, the product is supposed to improve your skin, making it smoother and minimizing some of the signs of aging with it's anti-inflammatory properties. Asian brands include Missha, The Fa...

When I was a child both of my parents worked, so once when my Dad went on a short trip out of town, he took me along, but Mom stayed home.  We left the family car with her, packed a single suitcase and took a Greyhound bus across the state to a small town. I was 4 years old at the time, but remember bits and pieces of the trip vividly.  It was before people were in the habit of carrying personal bottles of water, and on the bus ride, I remember telling Dad I was thirsty. He told me to chew a stick of Doublemint gum until we got to a rest stop, and indeed, it helped. After we arrived at our destination, we spent the afternoon hanging out downtown before later being picked up to spend the rest of our trip with my grandfather.  Man,  that was a fun afternoon!  Just Dad and me , bumming around a rustic, sloping, sleepy, concrete town.  We hung out at a soda joint, eating burgers and fries.  We played pinball, which turned out to be one of Dad's hidden ta...

People send me jokes, quotes and articles to read, which are often funny and interesting.  Today I'll share a few of the clean ones:  First Quarter 2012 Airport Screening Results From The Department of Homeland Security: Terrorists Discovered  -  0 Transvestites  -  133                                Hernias  -  1,485 Hemorrhoid Cases  -  3,172 Enlarged Prostates   -  8,249 Breast Implants  -  59,350 Natural Blondes  -  3 The Husband Store A store that sells new husbands has opened in New York City, where a woman can go to choose a husband. Among the instructions at the entrance is a description of how the store operates: You may visit this store ONLY ONCE! There are six floors and the value of the products increase as the shopper ascends the flights. The shopper may select any item from a particular floor, or may choose to go up...

Several months ago I wrote a post on the subject of Guilty Pleasure Songs , the songs you might be slightly embarrassed to admit to liking.  Well, today let's revisit the subject to come up with another list of songs.  But let's change it up a bit: This new list would not open you up to the laughter of friends like your previous Guilty Pleasure Songs might -- because the 2nd list will comprise songs that many critics agree, are well crafted songs.  Just for fun let's now come up with a list of songs we never, ever grow tired of listening to.  So the guilty pleasure element of my new list of songs (below) is this : Even though they have been around for a few years, I can still listen to them a sickening number of times.  I love listening to my list of songs, even though I have heard each and every song over and over and over again.  Someone else may think it obsessive, but I get the same pleasure out of playing them one more time.  ♬ ♪ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♪ ...