Products worth the price

Some products are worth paying a premium for. Here are three products that I absolutely love and think are worth the price.

Living Proof No Frizz Straight Styling Cream
You might call me lazy; I just say I'm low-maintenance. I don't like messing with my hair in the morning - the most I'm willing to do is a 7 minute blow-dry where there may or may not be a brush involved. A small blob of this magical (and nice smelling!) cream takes care of all flyaways and gives my hair body, shine and luster. Additionally, my blow-outs last for 2 days without looking like a greasy mess.

California Baby Moisturizing Sunscreen
When you have sensitive skin, you are put in a slight quagmire: wreck your skin in the short term by using lotions that make you break out, or wreck your skin in the long-term by not moisturizing or wearing sunscreen. California Baby protects your skin from the sun and I haven't had any breakouts or bumps. Au contraire: every application makes my skin brighter and more dewy. The Calendula Cream is a perfect night cream to the sunscreen during the day. My only complaint about California Baby is that I've only been able to find it at Whole Foods.

Nars Lipgloss in Easy Lover
This color is beautiful and versatile. I've worn it to the grocery store and I've worn it to a formal event. It's pretty and fun and a must-have!

Nice to Meat You!

Several months ago heard about Why We Get Fat and What to Do About It by Gary Taubes. I was extremely skeptical about its core proposition: that the obesity issue is directly related to the amount of starches, sugars, and generally carbohydrates we eat. A high-fat, high-protein diet is a sustainable way to stay lean and healthy. It's Atkins, really, but as a lifestyle.

I had all kinds of objections to this idea, especially when I read that fruit was as bad as anything. I LOVE fruit. I want to eat pineapple, grapes, apples, and melon all the time. But I tried to keep my mind open to his arguments and I do think they really make sense. Hundreds of thousands of years of evolution shaped our bodies to eat leafy greens and animal products, rather than high-gluten wheat and overly-sweet apples.

Last week, I cleaned all the carbohydrate-laden foods from my fridge and stocked up on cheeses, eggs, sausages, ground beef, and heavy cream. So far, there have been a lot of upsides to this way of eating:

• I don't obsessively think about food


• I'm never hungry


• I've lost over 4 pounds in 10 days


• No late-afternoon fatigue

The downside: I have to start thinking of this:

As this:

Which is very, very sad for me.

Five Bridesmaid Tasks You Never Thought Of

A couple weeks ago, I was a bridesmaid in my dear friend Emily Jane's wedding at The Tarrytown House Estate in Tarrytown, New York. I had never been a bridesmaid before so I was working on all these assumptions about what it means to be a good bridesmaid...like, obviously, planning an awesome bachelorette party. I spent most of the week before the wedding with Emily and her family and I realized that there are really important things to do for your favorite bride as she's getting ready for her big day.

1. Make her laugh. Weddings are serious business and she's going to have a lot on her mind, so making sure she takes time to really enjoy herself. I took Emily, her mom, aunt, and sister-in-law to see Bridesmaids on the Saturday before the wedding and it. was. hilarious.

2. Share something new with her. I'm a huge fan of yoga and I dragged Em along to a Bikram yoga class and man, let me tell you, she was a champ. It's nice to remind your bride that there's a whole wide world of experiences and adventures waiting for her after the reception winds down and that you can still act like a fool as you're trying to become a Japanese Ham Sandwich even when you're officially a Mrs.

3. Take pictures. Emily had the most amazing photographer, Lindsay Docherty, there to capture all the special moments, and I am absolutely dying to see them. But those pictures aren't up quite yet so a lil bit of documentation can go a long way in satisfying the bride's appetite for pics until the professional ones are ready.

4. Make sure she gets her engagement ring cleaned! Yes, I am biased, and I think you should visit your local jeweler as much as humanly possible to make sure your diamond is as perfect as possible. But seriously. She'll be putting on the wedding band right up next to her engagement ring for the first time, so make sure she gets it cleaned.

5. Listen. Whether she's excited, scared, manic, mellow, or totally crazed...or all of the above...you're doing more for her than you could possibly know by sitting and listening to everything that's on her mindgrapes. She asked you to be a bridesmaid because she values your relationship and company, and nothing could represent that better than sitting and listening.