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Elena
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16 Monday Apr 2012
Posted in fitness
Creative Solution for Storing Makeup Brushes
06 Friday Apr 2012
Posted in Tip of the day
I’m tired of losing my makeup brushes!
Here’s a perfect solution! Take a glass vase and fill it with coffee beans. Then stick your makeup brushes in it. It’s such a great way to store them and it looks very cute on your counter. This mini project is so easy, economical, and useful!
Truth be told, I do not drink coffee but I like the aroma of it.
Don’t want to use coffee beans? Use marbles, dried beans or jewels!
PHOTOS: Makeup brushes in coffee beans photo found here. Face/eyes makeup brushes holder photo found here.
Simple and Delicious Oven-baked Salmon
17 Saturday Mar 2012
Posted in YAM
A simple recipe that goes from oven to table in just minutes, but will have your dinner guests begging for more. This flavorful fish is a nutritional powerhouse; it is full of healthy omega-3 fats and bursting with flavor. Try this 5-star oven-baked salmon recipe.
Thaw 1 salmon fillet
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F
Cut fillet into 2 pieces. Season salmon with salt, pepper and lemon juice. 
Place salmon, skin side down, on a non-stick baking sheet or in a non-stick pan with an oven-proof handle. Bake until salmon is cooked through, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Serve with fresh vegetables and couscous for a memorable and comforting meal.
- Total Time: 25 min.
- Prep. 5 minutes
- Cook 20 min
Coffee Stain Portrait
16 Friday Mar 2012
Posted in ART
Hong Yi, the artist, who is also known as Red, created a portrait of singer Jay Chou, made entirely from the rings formed under a cup of hot coffee on an artist’s canvas.
Such an inspiration!!!
The One Hundred: A Guide to the Pieces Every Stylish Woman Must Own
13 Tuesday Mar 2012
Posted in IN STYLE
The One Hundred: A Guide to the Pieces Every Stylish Woman Must Own by Nina Garcia
Couple days ago I found this book with fabulous illustrations and I was very impressed with its compilation of 100 key essentials for a woman’s wardrobe. This is definitely a book every stylish woman should own. While this book does not tell you how to wear clothing, it does give you a list of items that should be in your closet to help you find your own personal style.
“In characters, in manner, in style, in all things, the supreme excellence is simplicity.”- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
“Some people think luxury is the opposite of poverty. It is not. It is the opposite of vulgarity.”- Coco Chanel
“Luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it is not luxury.” – Coco Chanel
“There are no ugly women, only lazy ones.” – Helena Rubinstein
“The key to wearing a bikini is confidence, confidence, confidence.”
“A waist is a terrible thing to waste.”
“Jewelry takes people’s minds off your wrinkles.”- Sonja Henie
“Where should one wear perfume? Wherever one wants to be kissed.” Coco Chanel
“Elegance is good taste plus a dash of daring.” – Carmel Snow
Enjoy the book!!!
Photos by Elena
Happiest Animals In The World
13 Tuesday Mar 2012
Posted in IN STYLE
Hope this puts a smile on your face today!
This Elephant
Secret To Happiness: Ability to blow water out of nose; having no particular place to be.
Favorite Thing: Hurrying anyway.
Via: utterlycute.com
2. Boo, The Pomeranian
Secret To Happiness: Seizing the day; seeing the silver lining; dressing up like a bear occasionally.
Favorite Thing: Literally everything.
Via: facebook.com
3. This Rabbit
Secret To Happiness: Looking adversity in the face and squawking contentedly at it.
Favorite Thing: Apartment-grade carpeting.
Via: stuffistolefromtheinternet.com
4. This Seal
Secret To Happiness: An abiding awareness that life is a series of profound absurdities that are beyond his control and, more importantly, not his fault.
Favorite Thing: Mostly just seal stuff.
5. This Cat
Secret To Happiness: A high-minded and esoteric sense of humor.
Favorite Thing: Cat food.
Via: flickr.com
6. This Crocodile
Secret To Happiness: Lives in a river.
Favorite Thing: Probably biting things.
Via: ianimal.ru
7. This Dog
Secret To Happiness: An unshakeable belief that the simple things in life require all of our attention all of the time.
Favorite Thing: Drooling.
Via: pieski.net
8. This Stoat
Secret To Happiness: Advanced hopping/pouncing ability.
Favorite Thing: Eating small rodents.
Via: newswhip.com
9. This Sloth
Secret To Happiness: Strong sense of self worth.
Favorite Thing: Looking smug.
10. This Squirrel
Secret To Happiness: Hard work; simple, old-fashioned, American values.
Favorite Thing: Being a homeowner.
Via: blogs.roanoke.com
11. This Seal
Secret To Happiness: Lives on the beach.
Favorite Thing: Jokes.
Via: animal-animal-animal.blogspot.com
12. This Anteater
Secret To Happiness: Welcomes each new opportunity with open arms and a glad heart.
Favorite Thing: Ants, probably.
Via: captiontool.com
13. These Meerkats
Secret To Happiness: Delight in companionship.
Favorite Thing: Eating small rodents.
Via: freakymartin.com
14. This Elephant Seal
Secret To Happiness: Good humor, kindness, relentless optimism, and a long floppy nose-like facial appendage.
Favorite Thing: Calamari.
Via: break.com
15. This Owl
Secret To Happiness: Ability to see the fun side of everything; ability to rotate neck 270 degrees in either direction.
Favorite Thing: Eating small rodents.
16. This Dog
Secret To Happiness: Persistent, unmitigated enthusiasm without context.
Favorite Thing: Interrupting.
Via: picfor.me
17. This Rabbit
Secret To Happiness: Getting it. Just getting it.
Favorite Thing: Seeing the bigger picture.
Via: tehcute.com
18. This Owl
Secret To Happiness: Wisdom, grace, refinement, and a philosophical temperament.
Favorite Thing: Eating small rodents.
Via: damncoolpictures.com
19. This Owl
Secret To Happiness: An unabashed sense of wonder at the everyday marvels that the world has to offer.
Favorite Thing: Being a little owl.
Via: ohmyowls
20. This Puffer Fish
Secret To Happiness: Taking life as it comes.
Favorite Thing: Being the second-most poisonous vertebrate on the planet.
Via: fark.com
21. This Baby Elephant
Secret To Happiness: Seeing each new challenge as an opportunity.
Favorite Thing: Rolling in trash.
Via: keywordpicture.com
22. This Duckling
Secret To Happiness: Buoyancy, levity, and an enviable knack for discovering joy in the little things.
Favorite Thing: Actually being one of the little things.
Via: dominionpaper.ca
23. This Dog With Spaghetti On His Face
Secret To Happiness: A fierce, unshakeable hopefulness paired with a realistic understanding of his place in the world.
Favorite Thing: Licking spaghetti off own face.
Via: dooce.com
24. This Bulldog
Secret To Happiness: Stopping to smell the roses; stopping to smell everything else.
Favorite Thing: Smelling things.
Via: squee.icanhascheezburger.com
25. This Lamb
Secret To Happiness: Constant prancing.
Favorite Thing: Constant prancing.
Via: sanitaryum.com
Parsley to brighten dark under eye circles
12 Monday Mar 2012
Posted in Tip of the day
Tip of the day from Organic Spa Room.
Make an inexpensive eye mask using parsley to help brighten under-eye circles.
The skin under our eyes thins over time, which makes blood vessels more visible. And it is their slightly bluish color that gives the illusion of circles under the eyes. Parsley is an excellent sources of vitamin K, which can reduce blood flow to the eye area when applied.
Parsley Eye Mask
1 small handful of fresh parsley
2 Tbsp. of plain yogurt
Chop the fresh green leaves. Combine the parsley and yogurt. Gently apply to under-eye area, relax for 15- 20 minutes, and then wash off with warm water.
Try this once a week to brighten up your under-eye skin.
This place has been featured on Food Network’s “Best Thing I Ever Ate” for a reason… their traditional Peking duck.
10 Saturday Mar 2012
Posted in YAM
March 8 is an International Women’s Day, and we decided to have a nice dinner at Peking Gourmet Inn. I’ve never tasted Peking duck as good as at Peking Gourmet Inn. I’m not even a big fan of Peking duck, but this place makes me love this dish.
You would like the Fuji Volcano for two -one of those fancy bowl-style drinks with a flame.
When you order a duck, you also get pancakes, sauce, spring onion strips and cucumber strips at your request. Once you order, the chefs bring a whole golden brown Peking duck to your table and expertly carve the poultry onto small plates. Once they cut off the skin they take the knife and cut off all the fat from the skin. That makes it one delicious piece of crispy. They then wipe all the fat off the duck and thinly slice the meat.
Thin and crispy slices of skin are plated on top of thick and juicy cuts of meat.
Also we had a beef fried rice, that was really good.
After the main course, we had a glass of refreshing cucumber juice and then some green tea ice cream.
I would recommend to make a reservation.
So, try the Peking duck and share with us your experience.
Who’s Hungry for the Games?
07 Wednesday Mar 2012
Posted in IN STYLE
You can find a million books about the future and a million love stories but you wouldn’t be able to find the book like this one. “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins is a non-stop thriller good for a girl who wants a love story or a boy who loves action; it’s a very complex and well planned story that really plays with your emotions. When you start reading this book you can’t stop. So let’s talk about the movie. A film version written and produced by Collins herself and directed by Gary Ross, will be released March 23, 2012. A lot of people can say that they are too old for a book or movie like this, but wait a second; you are never too old for a STYLE. People who read the book know about the bizarre and eccentric style of the characters from the Capital, as well as the significance of stylist Cinna and the outfits he designs. For fans of The Hunger Games, a fashion-forward Tumblr account Capitol Couture gives readers a sneak peek at the amazingly crazy styles.
If you aren’t as excited as I am, start to read the book and I’m sure you wouldn’t be disappointed.
Recipes, reviews and mouthwatering collection of food photos.
05 Monday Mar 2012
Here is a place where you can find great recipes, reviews on dining in the Northern Virginia/Washington D.C. area and mouthwatering collection of food photos.
After our trip to Vietnam couple years ago, I fell in love with Vietnamese cuisine. For me a visit at Four Sisters is always a pleasure as I can taste the real perfection of the balance of homely, authentic and modernized dishes.
Spring Rolls
Short ribs in a pot
Grilled pepper beef
Fried banana ice cream
So to sum it up: the food is amazing, the service is fast the price is good and it’s authentic.
