Utterly Fabulous Network

While they’ve never gone out of style, pearls have always waxed and waned in popularity.  What’s cool about this is that pearl jewelry, from pearl studs to layered pearl bracelets and uber-elegant three-strand necklaces, always seem fresh and oddly exciting.  And because pearls have traditionally been associated with an older crowd, there’s an ironic twist that makes them seem edgy when younger women wear them.  While there’s really no “wrong” way to wear pearls (I mean it, they truly defy trends and styles), here are some very cool pearl trends.

Crave Chocolate

Chocolate pearls are incredibly sexy and strike a perfect balance between making a splash and being overstated.  With these pieces, let the color steal the show; don’t worry about unique styles and unusual settings.  Classic 16-inch strands and single pearl rings and earrings are gorgeously subtle and still eye-catching.

Mix Colors

You can go beyond the classic white pearls and combine golden, peach, pink, and even lavender pearls for a fresh take that’s wonderfully youthful.  While multiple colors on a single strand can be attractive and eye-catching, you run the risk of looking “precious.” Instead, you might opt for combining a few strands that are each a different color.

Blend Different Pearl Sizes

Rather than wearing a few strands of the same size, try wearing a strand of small pearls with a shorter strand of large pearls and a few strands of medium sized pearls of varying lengths.  The look is hip and slightly bohemian (well, as bohemian as pearls can be).  For an extra dose of style, wear a few pearl necklaces with a few beaded necklaces.

Add in Gemstones

There’s no need to write off colored gemstones just because you’re in the mood for pearls. Earrings–and more commonly, cocktail rings–blend stones such as amethysts, emeralds, sapphires, topaz, and more with delicious pearls.

Try Unusual Pearl Shapes

Freshwater pearls, produced by mussels, can come in shapes ranging from teardrops to rice-shaped, oval and more.  These unique shapes can add a ton of interest to a simple necklace (picture a single pearl drop on a gold chain). In fact, one of the most famous pearls of all time, Elizabeth Taylor’s La Peregrina pearl, isn’t perfectly rounded, and its drop shape simply adds to its charm.

How do you wear pearls? Share your ideas in the comments!

photo credit: Fruitanimal

Pregnancy is a wonderfully unique time, sometimes crazy and always beautiful (well, except for the temporary morning sickness).  It’s no surprise that pregnancy has spawned dozens of myths over they years.  What’s more surprising is how many have persisted to modern times. Some of these pregnancy myths are these are downright funny, but others make a difference in your prenatal health.  Here are some common, uncommon, and wildly wacky pregnancy myths exposed.

Sleeping on Your Back Is Dangerous

Total myth! This sleeping position is healthy, and does not cause a decrease in blood flow to the placenta. (In the case of high risk pregnancies, though, sleeping on the left side is recommended.) So, sleep how you’re comfortable and throw this myth out the window. However, do keep in mind that laboring on your back can harm your baby’s health by compromising blood flow.

Spicy Foods Are Labor-Inducing

Not true!  While they may give you heartburn (which does not correllate with a full head of baby hair, by the way), spicy foods won’t kickstart contractions. However, you may want to keep away from unpasteurized cheeses; they can contain lysteria, a bacteria that can cause early labor or even miscarriage.

Sex Should Be Avoided During Pregnancy

Thankfully, not factual! In almost all situations, engaging in sex will not harm your baby. (And to dispell another old myth, rough or passionate sex is not likely to kickstart labor.) In fact, sex may be more enjoyable during pregnancy (from the increased blood flow to the pelvic area).  Plus, consider the benefits of sex: improved mood and mom-and-dad bonding!

You Shouldn’t Raise Your Arms Above Your Head

Straight-up untrue! As myth goes, this could cut off circulation to your baby, or, according to a scarier myth, cause the umbilical cord to tangle. Take comfort in the fact that even though upwards of 25 percent of babies have their umbilical cords wrapped around their necks, there’s nothing you could do to cause this. So, feel to raise your hand, give a wave, or even do the YMCA without worrying about your baby.

What crazy pregnancy rumors, myths, and urban legends have you heard? Let’s debunk them here!

photo credit: G u i d o

Are you looking for signs that the dude you’ve been crushing on is interested in you? There’s no definitive list; after all, every guy is different. Still, if the object of your affection is displaying the following signs, there’s a good chance he’s interested in you:

1. Clue into his body language. Body language can send clearer signals than words. Watch for the following to see if your fella’s digging you:

The head tilt–This gesture shows that not only is he showing an interest in what you’re saying, he’s letting his guard down a bit.

The hair fuss–If he’s messing with his ‘do, he’s absentmindedly grooming himself–to look good for you. This move can also be a sign of nervousness from shy guys.

The magnetized body–Does he keep his torso and feet pointed toward you? If his body stays lined up in your direction even as he talks to someone else and turns his head away, he may be looking to grab your attention.

2. See if he lingers. Next time you’re in a room together with others (break room, classroom, a party coming to a close), take an extra long time packing up your stuff and exiting the room. Does he wait and take his sweet time as well? Does he angle to get out the door at about the same time as you? He may be trying to steal a moment of your time!

3. Check the introductions. How does he introduce you to his friends? Do they seem to already know who you are? Do they ask you any questions or just let you fade into the background? Getting introduced to friends is a good sign, and pals with piqued interest is an even better one.

4. Ask for help. There’s no need to play the damsel in distress here. However, if you really do need help with something and bring it up in a group, does he volunteer to help out? This can be one of the signs that he’s interested in spending more time with you!

What signs do you notice? Leave your two cents in the comments!

photo credit: Ajda Gregorčič

Makeup is fabulous, fun, and affordable, making it easy to collect a small arsenal of eyeshadows, mascaras, blushes, bronzers, lipsticks, and more colors of lip and eye liner than Crayola.  The downside of this is that all makeup products have expiration dates.  Seriously. As much as I hate to waste lip gloss, it’s important not to use old makeup that’s outlasted its shelf life.

First, consider where it goes: your face.  Do you really want to push the frugal envelope with the condition of your skin at stake? If you’re prone to skin problems (hello me!), prune your collection and toss old makeup regularly; perifollicular irritation can be the result.

Plus, if you don’t toss your old makeup on a regular basis, you can end up with crappy makeup quality. Over time, the emulsifiers in your favorite cosmetics break down. This means that the oil and water based ingredients in your expired products aren’t combining properly (no matter how hard you shake it up!).  So, your makeup coverage and application is going to be less than ideal, plus you could be irritating your pores. There’s only one solution, and that’s to toss old make up once it has expired.

Here’s a quick breakdown of when to toss make up products:

• Mascara ages fast; toss it after three months whether the tube’s gone or not.
• Powder products like powder blushes, face powders, and powder eye shadows should get the heave-ho after one year.
• Liquid products like liquid eye liner, foundation, concealer, and multi-use sticks and creams need to be replaced after six months.
• Lip and eye pencils should get discarded after one year. (Sharpening them before each use can help extend the life of these cosmetic essentials.)
• Moisturizers and cleansing products also have expiration dates, and should get tossed after just six months.
• Lipsticks and lip glosses are marathon cosmetic products, lasting a full two years.

So, as you build up your makeup collection and try out new products, be sure to weed out the old stuff, for the sake of your skin’s health and your overall look. And look on the bright side: once you’ve cleaned out your cosmetics bag, you’ve got room for some great new products!

photo credit: vidrio

Anyone else remember those glory years when you couldn’t watch TV without seeing an ab device? You know, the vibrating belts that were supposed to take the place of  a workout? All results! No sweat! My ass!

After a few years of products that offered shortcuts to sexy abs but delivered few–if any–results, some folks are returning to the ab classic: the crunch. Effective crunches can help you tone your abs, bringing the core definition that most exercise enthusiasts are looking for. The rules of crunches have continued to evolve, but proper form is essential to getting the maximum fitness benefit from them. Here are some basic guidelines to keep you in top shape.

First, be sure not to place your hands behind your head; it can cause unnecessary strain on the back and neck.  (Hint: if your elbows are touching, that’s not good.) Instead, either cross your arms over your chest or keep them next to the sides of your head.

Next, keep your feet flat on the floor and position them so that they’re as wide as your hips.

While keeping your lower back firmly against the floor, lift your head, neck, and shoulders one to two inches off the floor by contracting your abdominals. Be sure to exhale as you contract, and keep your head parallel with the floor. You should not feel any strain in your neck; all the work should be exerted by your abdominals.

At the peak of the crunch, pause for a moment to breathe in and breathe out while squeezing your abs, then slowly lower yourself to the ground again.  Don’t let yourself just drop; keep your movements controlled the entire way down.

If you’re using proper form and keeping your abs contracted, 15 to 20 crunches should be enough to fatigue your muscles. (If you can do 100, you’re probably not using proper form. Christian Bale in American Psycho, I’m looking at you…) To take your ab workout up a notch, follow these guidelines but use an exercise ball.  By forcing your abdominal muscles to help your body balance, you’ll be getting an incredible core workout with visible results.

There’s debate about whether crunches are even the best ab exercise, so if you’ve got an opinion, please crunch on over to the comments and share!

photo credit: Robert McDon.

True story: a meth addict once stole my identity and racked up a few thousand in fees at a local company.  From that point on, I’ve been a huge advocate of checking your credit report before you get contacted by collection agencies who think you’re a 50 year old man who ran out on your debts.

Your annual credit report is free, and there’s a few good reasons to check it:

• You can spot identify theft and stop it.
• You can check for inaccuracies and fix them.
• You can get a reality check on your credit usage.

Once you receive your annual credit report, make sure that all information listed is accurate. Check that the former addresses listed match up with your history and that your employment data is up to date. Next, check that each stated account is one that you actually opened. Open accounts that you don’t remember creating could be a sign of fraudulent activity. Each listed credit account or loan will show the the balance and credit limit, your pay status, the date opened (and closed if applicable), and a few more items.

You’ll also see boxes that indicate whether you’ve made any late payments in recent periods. Next, you’ll see boxes that indicate your payment history for the last 12 to 48 months. If you make your payments on time, the box for each month should show that. If not, they’ll likely list the amount of days the payment was overdue.

Who’s Been Pulling Your Credit History?

You’ll also find lists of Promotional Inquiries and Account Review Inquiries. Here, you’ll be able to find out who’s been checking your credit report. Most will be your credit card companies, loan agents, or other credit card companies who’ve sent you card offers. However, check for any unusual agents.

Somewhere on your annual credit report, there should also be a section where you can request an investigation and/or dispute an item. If you’ve discovered unusual activity that you feel is fraudulent, this is how you report it–this part is very important to restoring your good credit history if a thief has been abusing your credit.

To get your free annual credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com.  This is the real site where you can get free reports from all three providers: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.

photo credit: Fosforix

As more and more “green” products become widely available, it’s easier to find environmentally friendly products, and organic tampons are absolutely part of that trend. Marketed as better for the environment and better for women’s bodies, these tampons are causing some women to wonder what the differences are.

The major difference between organic tampons and traditional tampons is that organic ones are made of 100 percent cotton. While regular tampons—think Playtex, Tampax and Kotex—are made of cotton, this cotton has been treated.

The materials tampons are treated with are what organic fans are concerned about. For instance, most commercial tampons are bleached so that they have a clean, white appearance. (Natural cotton isn’t glistening white.) This bleach has been linked to dioxin, which has been associated with a range of health problems such as endometriosis. In addition, the rayon used in some tampons (for smoother application) has also been linked to greater dioxin exposure.

Are Organic Tampons Safer?

Organic tampons do not have dioxins, and they haven’t been sprayed with any pesticides like other 100 percent cotton non-organic tampons may have. As a result, organic tampons may be safer. However, the FDA noted in 1995 that the levels of dioxin exposure that traditional tampon wearers experience is not enough to present a serious risk. At this point, the choice between traditional tampons and organic tampons is simply a matter of preference and lifestyle.

photo credit: gierszewski

Sweet.  Delicious. Indulgent. Heart-healthy.  Yep, these words are all describing the Cadillac of desserts: chocolate. While most people love chocolate for the flavor and richness, chocolate is actually a top-secret health food! As if I needed them, here are some excellent reasons to love chocolate in all its incarnations:

It can improve blood flow by decreasing the chance of clotting. The flavenoids (healthy compounds commonly found in plant-based food) in chocolate can have essentially the same effects as aspirin by thinning the blood and preventing platelets from sticking together.  This helps prevent the chance of heart attacks and strokes—good news if I ever heard it!

The flavenoids responsible for thinning the blood also have an antioxidant effect. Antioxidants work to limit free radical damage within the body. In fact, chocolate’s Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity (the measure of an antioxidant’s strength) is greater than that of many typical health foods like blueberries!

Half the fat in chocolate is good fat! Oleic acid, which makes up 50 percent of the fat content in chocolate (which comes from cocoa butter) is monounsaturated fat, meaning it’s good for the heart, similar to olive oil. The downside is the other 50 percent is not so good, being composed of saturated fats—decidedly unhealthy.

The best news comes from Harvard University’s School of Public Health, which found that chocolate and sweet eaters enjoyed roughly an extra year of life compared to those who abstained entirely, provided they ate sweets and chocolate three times a month.  (I know, having to eat chocolate regularly—what a drag!)

The caveat:  dark chocolate offers far more health benefits than milk chocolate. The more sugar and additives that are put into chocolate, the more beneficial effects are diluted.  Also, chocolate should still be eaten in moderation—think of the health benefits as similar to red wine (the flavenoid factor is shared between the two); overindulgence can entirely negate any positive health effects. Researchers are still unsure of how much chocolate needs to be consumed (and in what form) to reap the full benefits.  Still, the overall news is good.  Cheers to the benefits of flavenoid-rich chocolate, my new favorite “health” food!

photo credit: Frank_BB

If meeting with friends for snacks, discussion, and gossip about outrageous and fictional people sounds fun, you might be ready to start a book club.  The pros?  No huge commitment, no pressure to hold the bash of the century.  The cons? Well, depending on how you like to spend your free time, the only con would be that you actually have to read the book.  Here’s a few quick ways to get a book club started:

• Find a book you absolutely love. Pre-reading is a great idea, since a stinker of a first pick could be the kiss of death for your club.  Something fun and light (and not too long) is recommended.

• Talk to your friends to find out who’s interested. Tell them to ask their literary-minded friends as well.  You only need three to four people to get started, so don’t worry about developing a huge following.
• Collect emails and officially invite everyone. Let them know what book you’ll be dishing on and when the meeting will be. Also let them know that there will be free food! Give everyone at least a month to read the book. (You can adjust to make meetings more or less frequent as you go.)
• If you can find coupon codes for online bookstores, you’ll have more people willing to dive in.
• Keep emailing. People will forget or may lose interest if there’s no feeling of community along the way.  Create an email ring to pick a good time to have the discussion, talk about your initial impressions and how the reading’s going, gossip, share other favorite books, and more.  Email is also a great way for people who haven’t previously met to start getting to know each other.  Your first get-together will feel more like a reunion than an awkward first meeting.
• Don’t spam, though. One email a week is plenty if no one’s responding.  If they are, let it happen organically.  However, you may want to provide some email folder filtering suggestions for those who may not relish tons of email.

Before you know it, it’ll be time to have the actual party!  One of the best things about book club parties is that the entertaining end of it is easy.  Small talk is covered, so you just need to focus on having enough comfy seating and tasty refreshments.  Have coffee, tea, soda, and water available. Wine and cocktails are optional but encouraged. Cookies, small sandwiches, appetizers, and even pizza are all food options.  Base it on your crowd.  If they don’t seem like the tea and mini quiche crowd, don’t force it on them.

Once you get going, you can start creating theme parties.  Read a book by a Mexican writer?  Serve margaritas (have virgin drinks available, too) and nachos!  Into French lit this month?  Try cafe au lait and cream puffs.

Most importantly, don’t let your group get stuffy.  It doesn’t matter if no one has anything highbrow to say; don’t make them feel like they have to. Feel free to talk about who would make good casting choices if the book became a movie.  Talk about whether you would’ve done the same thing as the main character in a particular scene.  Hell, talk about whether the cover of the book is ugly or not.  If it’s interesting and fun, guess what? Your book club is a total success!

So what’s worked for you? What books would you recommend for a new club?

photo credit: ginnerobot

I have a friend who dated a guy for six months of emotional ups and downs and ended up getting her heart broken down the road. Crying, she told me, “He said he just didn’t feel like I was the right one for him and that he couldn’t see spending any more time with me.” She felt used, naive, and totally rejected. It took her two months to get over this guy, and along the way, she suffered many attacks of shame (”I’m so stupid for staying with him!”), self-doubt (”Why didn’t he like me? What’s wrong with me?”), and frustration (”Why aren’t there signals that guys are jerks?”).

And what I couldn’t bring myself to tell her was that there were signals–lots of them. In fact, I’d told her (way more bluntly than I usually would) after the first date that he wasn’t worth her time. In truth, I’d been there before and learned my lesson. If you’d like to avoid the heartbreak that goes along with bad boyfriends, you might watch for these warning signs:

He’s a Flake

If he flakes on his friends–even to be with you–the odds are that he’ll eventually flake on you. If he flakes on you, run for the hills. This man is giving you a clear indication of where his priorities lie, and they’re not with you.

His Buddies Are Creeps

The company a man keeps says a lot about him. A man surrounded by the kind of guys who cheat on their girlfriends, can’t hold down jobs, or are bullies is likely to share the same qualities–or at least not mind them. This isn’t a hard and fast rule, but it is a warning sign that he may not be mature enough for the kind of relationship you’re looking for.

He’s Rude to Others

If he berates a waitress, cops unreasonable attitude with another driver, or is condescending to your friends, there’s a good chance that he’s a jerk. Don’t be surprised if this guy eventually turns his guns on you in an argument, and it’s not going to be pretty.

Curious about which signal my broken-hearted friend was willing to overlook? Number one–her non-dream guy flaked on their first date (not even a call at the last minute!), then pleaded for a second chance. It was no surprise that eventually he had to plead for a third, a fifth, and more. He had showed her where she stood before they even dated with a signal as loud and clear as they get.

Again, these aren’t rules, they’re signs. Not every guy who flakes once or twice is a bad choice and not every guy with rowdy friends is a bad prospect. But smart women keep their eyes open–all the better to spot the future good boyfriends with!

What have the warning signs of bad boyfriends in your experience? Slide into the comments if you’ve got a story to share.

photo credit: furryscaly