Kristin van Ogtrop's Blog, page 67

Wednesday Trivia: Top Dog Names

You may have already read about the top 100 baby names of 2013, but what about the most popular dog names of the year? Rover.com has complied the top dog names of 2013, after reviewing its database of hundreds of thousands of registered users in the US. Take a look at the infograph: Don’t see your pooches’ name on the […]

Can You Keep Leftover Champagne?

Once you've popped a bottle of sparkling wine, you cannot replace the cork. Thanks to it's carbonated nature, buying a special stopper is the safest way to keep Champagne's sparkle alive. Here, a few suggestions.

Happy New Year (and Oatmeal Month)!

Happy New Year! Is multitasking better one of our resolutions for 2014? Lucky you—today is also the beginning of National Oatmeal Month, which means you can celebrate both occasions in one sitting. We’ve got ten healthy oatmeal breakfast ideas, an easy DIY on homemade oatmeal hand scrub, and then there’s these yummy recipes for oatmeal cookies: Oatmeal and Pie-Spice Cookies […]

Today’s Thought

Get the daily thought in your inbox. See more inspiring quotes on our Pinterest board. What’s Hot on RealSimple.com 9 Hot Drinks for Winter How to Clean Makeup Brushes 5 Ways to Create a Comfy HomeFiled under: Daily Thought

How to Take a Good Selfie

I don’t know about you, but left to my own (electronic) devices, my self portraits are a mess of funky Victoria-Beckham fish faces and triple chins. So, just in time for New Year’s Eve, I asked a beauty photographer how to take a proper selfie: • Optional but probably seriously great first step: Purchase the Camera+ app. It has an […]

Best Dessert Recipes Ever from Food & Wine

I’ve volunteered to bring a dessert to a small New Year’s Eve dinner gathering tonight. (Yes, leave it to the pregnant girl to bring a sweet!) A cake would be nice, but I am open to suggestions. I love this list from our sister site Food & Wine. They say, “F&W’s editors combed through the more than 10,000 recipes we’ve […]

10 Cats Who Want to Join Your Book Club

Does your group have a spot for these well-read felines? They all belong to Real Simple staffers, and just happen to be big fans of our most popular No-Obligation Book Club reads. Tulip “She put what in the pie?!” Chloe The travesties of the prison-industrial complex gave Chloe a hairball. Dylan “In the Garden of Beasts and I wasn’t invited? Wait. […]

Today’s Thought

Get the daily thought in your inbox. See more inspiring quotes on our Pinterest board. What’s Hot on RealSimple.com Solutions for Five Tricky Social Media Problems Easy Recipes for a Balanced Diet 5 Quick Relaxation TechniquesFiled under: Daily Thought

How to Wear Foundation on Dry Skin

Winter dryness can make your regular beauty regimen a pain. If you normally wear foundation but are hesitant to wear it over flaky skin, follow this advice from  Liliana Grajales, a spa director and makeup artist based in South Beach, Miami: • First, apply your daily moisturizer, and let it sink in completely, for at least five minutes. • Using […]

The Best Way to Open Champagne

You may want to start the New Year with a bang, but chances are a rouge cork isn't quite the bang you're looking for. To properly--and safely--pop the sparkling wine, follow these steps.