LuxBuzz

The snow is falling, and the temperature is sitting under twenty degrees.

While dressing up in nice, soft layers may be fun, winter presents other, less glamorous challenges.

Dry hands are the worst! Constantly applying lotion is such a task, and a very inconvenient one at that. Luckily, I believe I have found a cure!

L’Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream has a nice, neutral, clean scent and produces soft, moisturized hands, even under the harshest weather! It’s enriched with twenty percent shea butter and blended with honey, almond, and coconut oil.

Though a bit pricey at about $25 for 5.2 oz, it lasts a long time and you only need to apply it (generously) three or four times each week for amazing results!

Malcolm Gladwell’s rather psychological book explores the power of snap judgments. That is, thinking without thinking. Gladwell focused upon thin-slicing, “our ability to gauge what is really important from a very narrow period of experience. In other words, spontaneous decisions are often as good as—or even better than—carefully planned and considered ones.”

What did I think of the book?

While I learned quite a bit, the book basically was an explanation of more complicated stereotyping. And the author had some issues in his writing: at some points, he needed more information to support his claims, and at other points, he oversimplified and kept repeating himself.

I would rate “Blink” 7/10. Interesting, but certainly not a favorite.

There were several surprises and shockers in the 50th annual Grammy Awards. Of course, the performance everyone was looking forward to did, after much questioning, happen. You know the one I mean. The ever unpredictable Amy Winehouse (pictured during the performance below). Though she performed from London, she managed to score five Grammy awards!

A list of winners, nominees, and more may be found on www.grammy.com.

And of course we were all watching the red carpet! Amongst the most controversial were Rihanna, Miley Cyrus, and Beyonce.

Rihanna, who has been stirring the fashion pot lately, sported a bright blue dress with a really odd design that is making some fashionistas question her very taste!

Miley Cyrus, whom up until lately I thought of as just another tween idol, was looking all grown up at the Grammy’s, wearing loads and loads of makeup and a short, albeit age- appropriate sparkly Celine frock.

Beyonce showed off her newly blonde locks (see below). I wasn’t a fan. It just didn’t look natural! What do you think?

One thing that couldn’t go unnoticed was the behavior of our boy Kanye upon winning a Grammy. He kept ordering the prompt music to stop and proceeded (after a long speech, and my open jaw in place) to ignore his escort and walk briskly off the stage. Did NOT appreciate that diva attitude!!

It was a fun night, with appearances from Tina Turner and Aretha Franklin to Feist! The glamour of the Grammy awards is always anticipated, and this year was no exception!

After a nice break, LuxBuzz is back and ready to provide you with everything you want to know! All the usual topics will be covered daily, plus loads more, so be checking back all of the time for the latest and greatest!

Happy Holidays, everyone!  LuxBuzz is going on a holiday break, gearing up for the new year and getting ready to bring you the very latest in everything you need to know!  Also, expect some changes in the setup of the site!

So sit back, enjoy your time off, and we will be back very soon!

With all of the stress surrounding modern holidays, it is important to have an outlet for possible stress.

An added bonus is something productive, like knitting!  It’s no longer just for you grandmother and her friends.  Knitting is taking trendy young people by storm everywhere!

It isn’t difficult to learn.  Head over to grandma’s, a friend who has mastered the trade, or just grab a learn-to-knit book up at the library, Barnes and Noble, or amazon.com.

It is best to begin with the easiest, a scarf.  When you master that, attempt moving on to mittens, hats, even sweaters!

My knitting endeavor?  Well, it is…improving!  I’m making a scarf currently, and though it’s beginnings are incredibly messy, I’m beginning to get the hang of it and it’s starting to look a little professional.

Practice makes perfect, right?  So pick up some yarn and knitting needles, and bust that stress, and you will be left with something to keep you warm.  It’s a win-win!

We all love him… well, not all. Some prefer to love to hate him, as did I, before I actually really heard what he had to say out of the spotlight. He’s the co-host of UFC (I can’t even remember whatever the other dude’s name is), he’s a comedian, he was that guy that hosted Fear Factor, and until recently, I’ve discovered that he’s that famous blogger.

Joe Rogan, the Gaian sensation, is a very unique character. Once you see him on TV, you think he’s a total tool, but when you check out his blog (at http://www.joerogan.net/), he’s amazing. Seriously, whenever I listen to him comment on any UFC fight (yes, he’s a commentator too), he sounds like he’s taken it up the ass one too many times by Randy Couture. Then, when he was a host on Fear Factor, he just seemed like a gross man who was funny at times. However, I now know differently…

Honestly, I had a love/hate relationship with Joe until I looked at his blog. For example… you know how you used to think his loud voice was violently obnoxious? Well, now I see it in a different light: whenever I’m at a bar watching a UFC event, and whenever everyone’s screaming like a bunch of rampant gypsies (they honestly scream like gypsies each time their favourite guy takes down the opponent), I can always count on hearing one man: Joe  Rogan. Whenever I hear him acting like he’s been screwed over by Randy, I just can’t help but find it humorous. Joe’s just that kind of guy once you get to see the more personal side of him.  I’m loving this guy now!

Lastly, as a treat, here’s Joe Rogan’s reaction to the infamous “2Girls1Cup” video, and his friend’s reaction to the BME Pain Olympics: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhevNN1BDnQ

Links:

www.atwks.blogspot.com

(www.freewebs.com/ladyneedlez isn’t the official site anymore. The above link is)

Sidenote: If you’d like to be a writer at ATWKS, please e-mail an entry of at least 250 words to deep_secret1@msn.com. If I like it enough, you’re in.

R&B/Soul Artist Ledisi (that’s pronounced Led-i-see) has been nominated for 2 Grammy awards, Best New Artist and Best R&B Album. Before the nominees were announced, I’d never heard of her, but I was interested since she had been nominated. This year her third studio album was released. It was her first major label release, though. Other best new artist nominees Paramore and Amy Winehouse (whose 1st album was unavailable in US originally) have also had previous albums. Anyways, I listened to Ledisi’s album, Lost and Found a few times since the noms were announced. She is very soulful and her style is reminiscent of great R&B artists from the past, though she makes it her own. Most of her songs are about relationships and love. Her voice remains beautiful throughout the album. I rate Lost and Found a 4 of 5 - definitely worth a listen.

Ledisi’s other albums are titled Soul Singer and Feeling Orange But Sometimes Blue. She was also featured on the compilation album We All Love Ella a tribute to Ella Fitzgerald.

-Sheryl

Still searching for that elusive present — the one for that friend that has everything? Seek no more, my friend. I’ve got the perfect solution: a quote book.

A book of quotations is especially ideal for someone you don’t know well, or don’t want to offend with a gag gift (such as your boss!).

With many priced as low as $13, such as the Oxford Dictionary of Humorous Quotations, shown at right, you can afford to buy something useful for your friends and family this year — rather than another fruitcake from Costco (though I sincerely hope none of you, dear readers, have ever gone that route).

Besides the Dictionary of Humorous Quotations, as mentioned above, look for the New International Dictionary of Quotations and the original Oxford Dictionary of Quotations — always a classic.

This will also be posted at Belles and Whistles, my new literary-themed blog, so give it a look

– Halie

Vests have been quite a huge trend for a while now thanks to Kate Moss and a few other A-listers. These days there are so many different varieties - metallic for those evenings out, patterned for wearing over plain white tees. It is often hard to choose so here are my favourites (note: Urban Outfitters is a great place to pick up celeb-worthy vests without the pricetag.)

1. The Kate Moss - $58 (from Urban Outfitters)

2. The glamour queen - $48 (from Urban Outfitters)

3. The clean-cut professional - $48 (from Urban Outfitters)

4. The tomboy - $48 (from… you guessed it! Urban Outfitters!)

Did I mention Urban Outfitters has a lot of great vests?? And no, I don’t work for them!

Rock on!
xx
-Steph