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I received a pair of yoga toes at work, brought them home and forgot about them.  That is ... until two weeks ago.  Now I'm obsessed with trying them out to see if they are of any benefit.  Yoga toes are sold as a natural way to stretch your toes and exercise your feet.  Enthusiasts claim they make toes and ankles more flexible, feet stronger, improve the circulation of your legs, stretch your leg muscles, realign foot structure, improve your arches, alleviate stress and correct common foot problems, such as bunions, hammer toes and varicose veins. Well when you put a pair on, you definitely feel the lifting and spreading of your toes.  Yelp, that much is true.  The advise is, begin wearing yoga toes for 10 minutes, building up to one hour.  My tip is, slide your little toe into the stretcher-thingy first before the others. Although I could immediately wear mine for an hour, or longer [fell asleep on my couch with them on], as well as, walk around my...

It happened again.  I wore the shorter length of this classic Rock Fish dress  in pubic, and a pedestrian approached to tell me how cute it looks.  In fact, I receive more attention for this all cotton dress than for any other garment in my wardrobe.  The fish dress comes in several colors, styles and lengths.  Essentially, it's a big, comfortable t-shirt with tailored armholes and side slits.  The two dresses I have fall just above the knee.  They are summer staples I wear to work, on errands, or as a beach cover up.  The dresses are so versatile, I can dress them up or down with ballet flats, Mary Janes or flip flops.  The fish dress is a basic, I always pack for vacations also.    The fabric is very durable.  The dresses can be machine washed and dried many times over.  I don't even iron mine, and they still manage to look polished. Who would predict that a simple, practical dress could attract such public attention?...

  New York City: You are looking Uptown, East side; click to enlarge. Here in New York City you grow accustomed to seeing small apartments and weird configurations when you enter other people's homes (not to mention an occasional " only in New York"  fetish, it is best to overlook.   Ooh , that's an entirely different discussion).  But now Mayor Michael Bloomberg has launched a plan for a residential building in Kips Bay [at 335 East 27 th Street, near First Avenue] to develop teeny-tiny, cubical apartments, about half the size of a subway car.  According to local newspapers, he will have to suspend zoning laws in order to build the 80 proposed micro units, which are to be even smaller than what developers can now build.  Currently, apartments must be 400 square feet or larger. The proposed micro units will measure between 275 and 300 square feet.  The flats will only be 10-by-30 feet.  Bloomberg says it's the wave of the future.  Presently,...

Genetics are fascinating.  Often times when children are born, recessive genes win out.  Both of my parents had curly hair, but my hair is straight.  (My mom is still trying to understand how and why.)  My curly-haired friend, Cara S., also has a daughter with straight hair.  Some people said Lindsay looked like me, a remark that delighted her growing up, since I got to be the fun Auntie , who came for visits.  But I'm digressing. As a teenager, my mom thought I should have curly hair and encouraged me to roll it.  It's a good thing, I totally ignored her.  Curly ringlets are pretty, but I never once minded having straight hair.  Straight hair is an easy style to maintain, and yet, you can do a lot with it.  In the summer, it's fun to braid sections of it.  I love YouTube for its hair tutorials, showing you how to braid hair, step-by-step.  Right now, my favorites are a waterfall braid ( here ) and one called a same-side lace ...

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...