Kristin van Ogtrop's Blog, page 359
March 16, 2011
Take Your Stud Earrings To The Next Level
There is hardly a day that goes by that I'm not asked about my Janna Conner crystal studs. Yes, they are sparkly and definitely pretty, but I didn't think studs/post earrings could command such attention--which is never the case when I'm simply wearing my stand-by pearl or silver ball studs.
And, thanks to my round face and a few silly insecurities, I don't like like wearing larger sized earrings--so my Janna Conner studs have become my everyday earrings. Plus, they go with everything. I can wear my statement necklaces, hair accessories, etc with them and I don't look over-accessorized.
With all of this fabulous earring-attention I've been receiving, it got me thinking about what other fun, interesting and unique stud earrings are out there. Here is what I found--proving yet again that, big things do come in small packages:
Janna Conner gold plated crystal studs, $63
Bario-Neal 14kt gold studs (5mm diameter), $58
Alexis Bittar gunmetal pyramid posts, $95
Kate Spade enamel and 14kt gold plated studs, $45
Dara Ettinger druzy Felicia studs, $95
Betsy Johnson rose gold Rose studs, $25
House Of Harlow leather and gold posts, $32
Marc by Marc Jacobs Bow studs, $38
Ariel Gordon heart studs, $130
ModaMuse wood, resin & photographic paper studs, $27
Today's Obsession: DVF Home Collection
There are a few things in life that I hope to one day be able to continuously splurge on. At the top of my list is anything made by Diane von Furstenberg. I just can't get enough of her stuff, even if I can only indulge my obessession mentally and not physically. I drifted further into dreamland a few weeks ago when I heard that DVF was launching a new home collection.Think pretty tabletop pieces, bedding, and pillows inspired by her iconic printed wrap dresses. Amazing!
The price range is definitely pocket-friendly, so I won't have to starve to save up for it. The bright and colorful pieces come just in time for Spring and are up and ready for purchase on DVF.com and Bloomingdales.com.
March 15, 2011
Saving Lives in Japan and the U.S.
In this raw footage from CNN, "Anatomy of the earthquake," the sidewalk splits open beneath our feet, water bubbles up from the ground, and a dog barks in the background.
The news reports and images from Japan are horrifying; the devastation unimaginable.
Enter the dogs. Reuters reports that the U.S. Agency for International Development has deployed disaster assistance -- including 144 people, and 12 dogs.
Somehow it is poetic that the rescue efforts are being led by rescues themselves.
Search Dog Foundation teams at base of operations, Ofunato, Japan. Courtesy of SDF.
In Ofunato City on the North East coast of Japan, a gymnasium serves as the base of operations for California Task Force 2, Virginia Task Force 1, and a British task force. Six of the canines and their firefighter-handlers hail from the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation (SDF) in California. This organization partners rescued dogs with firefighters in order to find people trapped in the wreckage of disasters.
SDF teams getting settled at the gymnasium in Ofunato City, Japan. Courtesy of SDF.
Interestingly, the same characteristics that make certain dogs "challenging" as family pets — the hyper, prey-driven dogs who drive you crazy (and often end up in shelters) — make them great candidates for rescue work. A dog that can think of nothing else but finding and retrieving a toy, i.e., a dog with a one-track-mind, can be trained to climb up a rubble pile and locate a survivor.
In the photo below, Riley (of the SDF-trained team: Eric Gray & Riley, Santa Barbara County Fire), a 3 1/2 year-old rescued yellow lab, combs the pile of rubble in Japan.
Riley combing the wreckage in Japan. Courtesy of SDF.
"Every minute counts as the teams work to find people buried beneath the rubble," says SDF founder, Wilma Melville. "After the Haiti deployment, this is a battle-seasoned group. If there are people still alive in the rubble, the dogs will find them."
Rescue personnel know that someone is in need of rescue when they hear a search dog's "bark alert." They also depend on the dogs' ability to detect that no one is alive in the wreckage before moving on to the next site.
It is quite extraordinary, man or woman and "man's best friend" working side by side, amidst such dangerous conditions. Similarly, a British soldier and his bomb-searching dog worked side-by-side together in Afghanistan, to the bitter end (warning: tearjerker alert).
I move that we should take a minute to celebrate the rescue dogs. Plus give some credit to the Internet, warts and all. For as we sit helplessly watching the footage from Japan on our computers and TV screens, the "one-click" campaigns make it quick and easy to sound the call for help. An article caught my eye with the headline, "Help Japan: Facebook Click Helps Dogs Rescue Trapped Quake Victims." I learned that Charlie Annenberg Weingarten, Director of the Annenberg Foundation and Founder of Explore.org, had challenged the interactive community from the floor of the SXSW festival, saying Explore.org would donate up to $100,000 to the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation. For every "Like" of the "Dog Bless You" Facebook page (#dogblessyou, #dogs4japan), Explore would donate a dollar up to $100,000, or $200,000 if the page got 100,000 likes by March 13 at 2 a.m. EST. The page has over 150,000 likes.
Also harnessing the power of the Internet: Petfinder, which made today "Adopt the Internet Day." "The fact is, homeless pets still need all the 'marketing agents' they can get," said Betsy Banks Saul, Petfinder.com's co-founder. "That's why on the 15th we want to celebrate by asking everyone to help us give an even louder World-Wide-Voice to homeless pets." Petfinder.com's goal is to find homes for 2.5 million homeless animals in 2011. There are animals of all stripes in need of being rescued — cats, dogs, bunnies, and horses — so, put your (computer) mouse to work!
How to Start Composting at Home
Upgrade the soil in your garden and keep your food scraps taking up space in the landfill. Luckily, starting to compost at home on small scale is easier than you might think.
The key to compost is layering "greens" and "browns" in a ratio of 3 browns to 1 green. Browns are materials like wood chips, straw, branches, and leaves. (You can also use paper.) Greens are items like kitchen scraps and grass clippings. Your compost is ready to use when the material in the pile looks and smells like very dark soil.
Get more information on how to start a compost pile here: Composting 101
Do you have a compost pile at home? Are you thinking about starting one?
Related:
17 Tools Every Gardener Should Own
Readers' Top 10 Gardening Mistakes, Solved
Behind the Scenes at Our Cake Video Shoot
We recently spent a day in the studio filming several how-to videos for the website. The subject? Cakes! How to assemble a cake, how to write "happy birthday" on a cake, and some really easy and fun ways to dress up a plain frosted cake. The kitchen was full of cakes, cupcakes, and big tubs of frosting…it smelled fantastic and tasted even better (when we finally got to sample all the treats at the end of the shoot).
It's amazing how much time and effort was involved in shooting these videos: assembling all the props like bowls, kitchen towels, cake stands, and spatulas; styling hair and makeup for our star, food editor Dawn Perry; filming take after take while making adjustments for lighting, camera angles, sound, the position of the ingredients on the table; and on and on. Luckily we had plenty of back-up cakes and frosting to use for all the different takes. Which also meant a lot of leftovers for the crew.
We'll be rolling out the videos on RealSimple.com in a few weeks, but in the meantime, here are some photos for a behind-the-scenes sneak peek. And look out for the full cake story—complete with plenty of recipes and ideas—in our May issue of Real Simple.
All the ingredients and equipment for each video are laid out on a tray at the beginning of the day so that setting up for each shoot is easy. Plus, keeping everything organized means you won't forget anything.
Here's an assortment of pretty bowls, platters, and utensils for possible use in the videos. The more options, the better—you never know what will look good or what works and what doesn't until you see it in the shot.
Here's what the kitchen looked like before we started filming. Notice all the cupcakes and the stacks of wrapped cake layers; the cakes are labeled so we know which cake is being used for which video. And all those containers lined up on the left? They're full of different flavored frostings. Yum!
Here's our prop stylist, Krista, and our food stylist, Vanessa, setting up for one of our videos.
Using melted chocolate, Dawn pipes "happy birthday" onto a cake while a cameraman captures all the action.
Reader Question: Easy Ideas for Decorating Your Office Space
Last week we got a question from a reader via Twitter. (Did you know you can follow us on Twitter? Check us out: @Real_Simple.) Jeanne (aka @jahastings) wanted ideas for decorating her office on a budget. So, I pulled together some ideas (including a few from my office here at Real Simple).
First up, Jeanne mentioned that her walls were bare. My immediate thought is to start browsing Etsy for inexpensive prints and posters that you can hang on the walls. Here are some of the shops I would start with:
Most of her prints are under $20. This is the one I have in my office:
She has the sweetest series of alphabet prints as well as some amazing concert posters.
I love these type based prints, which are also completely affordable.
If none of these shops strike your fancy, try using PicClick to easily browse art prints. (Find out more about how PicClick works on our Simple Tip blog.)
Even if you aren't allowed to hang framed artwork on your walls, you can still have art in your office. I've actually turned my whiteboard, which I never use as a whiteboard, into a faux gallery wall. Take a look:
I've used postcards, pages from catalogs, and a few scattered letterpress prints to create an easily-changeable art display in my office.
Second, add plants! Even when I had a cubicle I still had a plant in my workspace. (My boss at the time was nice enough to let my plant live in her office on the weekends so it got some sun.)
If you don't have that option, opt for plants that will survive in low-light. The perfect fit is the ZZ plant (Zamioculcas zamiifolia).
It is a relatively low maintenance plant and will survive with very low light levels for long periods. And you only have to water it once every two weeks. (You can buy it directly from Amazon or check your local garden center.)
Other plants to look into: Chinese evergreen (Aglaonema) and cast-iron plant (Aspidistra elatior). Or consider a terrarium is you have a fair amount of light.
Finally, fun office supplies. Instead of hitting up the supply closet for everything you need, add a few extra touches of your own. Like fun pens or pencils. Or some of these other touches:
Twiggy Pencil Cup from the Container Store, $8
(PS- The Container Store is actually having their Work Smart Office Sale right now. It goes through March 27th.)
Animal Tape Dispensers from See Jane Work, $12.50 (I'm partial to the chicken for some reason.)
Origami Sticky Notes from Perpetual Kid, $4
And if you want still more decorating ideas that you can adapt to your office, check out our slide show of 20 Low-Cost Decorating Ideas.
Do you have any suggestion for Jeanne on how she can inexpensively decorate her office?
March 14, 2011
Smart or Silly: The Two-Sided Sleep Mask
When traveling (especially on long or red-eye flights) a sleep mask can be a necessity. But if you nestle in before the food and beverage service, you might miss your only chance at a snack en route. This sleep mask from Pamela Barsky attempts to solve that problem.
Depending on how you feel when you board your flight, you can opt to be woken up as the drink cart makes its rounds or remain undisturbed. Now whether or not the flight attendants will follow the request on your sleep mask remains to be seen.
2-Sided Sleep Mask from Pamela Barsky, $20
What do you think of the two-sided sleep mask?survey software
Related:
Travel-Related New Uses for Old Things
6 Last-Minute Vacation Strategies
March 11, 2011
Don't Forget It's Daylight Saving Time This Weekend
It's a sure sign that spring is getting closer! This weekend is the start of daylight saving time. On Saturday night before you go to bed, set your clock one hour ahead. (Remember: Spring forward. Fall back.)
Sure you'll lose an hour of sleep, but in return it will stay light past early evening. And next thing you know, there will be the first sign of green returning to the trees.
What are you most looking forward to this spring?
Try A New Product Without Dropping A Dime
Love trying new products? I have the inside scoop on a freebie that you should definitely give a try.
I've discussed how much I love face oil and in-book we've covered the truths about oils. I completely understand still being apprehensive, afterall I was. Especially, when it came to trying an oil in my hair.
But here is the extra push you've been waiting for! Alterna is giving away samples of their Bamboo Kendi Pure Treatment Oil at Ulta stores nationwide. I can speak from experience how amazing it is.
The bamboo oil will help mend split ends and control frizz. I love it! Especially with this dry weather, it keeps my hair moisturized and healthy–even after blowdrying it or straightening it. I use it after I've towel-dried my hair, and right before I style it. It's been my secret weapon all winter.
This is exactly what the deluxe sample of Kendi Oil at Ulta will look like. You don't need to make a purchase to get one, but the promotion only goes on until supplies last. What a great way to try a new product! Run out soon to try it—I promise you won't regret it. (Plus, no money spent, means buyer's remorse isn't even possible!)
If you try it, let me know how you like it. Enjoy!
Do you want to be a Geek Girl?
It used to be that to be a geek and a girl was an unusual thing.
At least that's how it felt to me, a teenager in the late 80's/early 90's who wrote her book reports on an Apple IIc, joined the "programming in basic" club in high school so she could create her own Zork-type video game, and enjoyed playing Super Mario Brothers with her brother.
It wasn't cool to be a girl that was into technology - so I tried, largely unsuccessfully, to keep my geeky girl-ness on the down low.
Oh how things have changed.
Today, I fly my geek flag proudly. I'm not afraid to admit I know all of the X-Men or who came first, Gwen Stacy or Mary Jane Watson. I know the difference between gif, jpg and png files and regularly dig into html code to find out why a client's site isn't working the way I want it to. And given the choice, I will almost always pick a shiny new piece of technology over a sparkly piece of jewelry (which is why my biography says my poor daughter is going to end up inheriting a pile of old tech and junk jewelry).
And, I'm not alone. Gals such as Veronica Belmont, iJustine, Corvida Raven, Becky Worley and a host of others have made being a geek girl not only cool – the've made it something others want to be.
Which is why next week I will be joining over 350 women at Geek Girl Boot Camp, a day-long event on Cape Cod which is designed to help empower women through technology. During the event, women like myself will be lending our knowledge on all things technical to women who want to learn more about how they can use technology. There are sessions on blogging and podcasting, video and photography, social media, business, and computer basics. Attendees looking for more specific instruction can stop by the Help Desk for demos on things like how to sign up for Facebook or how to use Flickr.
Despite the fact that I just found out I have to wear a uniform (happily it is pink), I'm really excited for this opportunity to connect with a community of Geek Girls, and helping others be the geeks they want to be.
Are you a Geek Girl? Do you want to be?
