L.C. Giroux's Blog, page 11

Sexy - I have the coolest job ever!

In my writing I try to make the sex scenes believable, actually I try to make them doable. So you won't find wild positions or really crazy situations. I end up buying what would be deemed textbooks on sex and working from there. Did you really think everything was personal experience? I'm no prude but come on… Anyway, in the course of finding my latest book I cyber met one of the authors Steve Bodansky. You have to love a guy that has made women's orgasms his life's work. His and his wife's work was featured in the Tim Ferris book the four hour body. I am of the opinion that every guy should get a copy of Steve and Vera's book (or books) on reaching sexual maturity. Yes, they are that good. Get past the title, it makes perfect sense once you start reading it but before that it sounds a little cheesy. You can find more info on them here.

Smart -Drugstore Cowboy Queen

I worked for most of the department store cosmetics companies in the 80's. When I got married, I didn't want my soon to be husband to freak out that I was going to take over the entire apartment so I threw out thousands of dollars worth of makeup. I still buy relatively expensive skin care so I can get good ingredients. For makeup however, I buy drugstore. I am pretty strict about getting rid of stuff by its expiration date so it makes sense to buy stuff that works and you don't cringe when you toss it. The brand I have buying lately is Covergirl (no, I'm not being compensated for this post). Their creative director is Pat McGrath. She does the fashion collections every season and developed Armani's cosmetics line. I am brutal on eye makeup and their Intense Shadow Blast + Primer and the 24 Hour Lash Blast Mascara are super simple to use and wear like iron, which is good when you are so busy you don't ever get a chance to look in the mirror let alone touch up your makeup.

Fun -Easy Peasy!

Sometimes the week just doesn't go as you planned. This would be one of those weeks. Sick husband, grant to get out at the day job (I hate my day job) and a teenaged daughter, you can see how the wheels would come off. 

Tomorrow I get my life back for a few short days. One of the things I will be doing is making a skirt. Mine will be a trumpet skirt but as long as you are using stretch fabric, making a skirt is a piece of cake. Here's how: wrap it around you so it is snug but not overly tight. Mark that point and cut it all the way down to the hem. Sew that up and you have a super easy tube skirt. Want something fancier? Take some of the extra fabric and add a godet. A godet is a long triangle that gives the hem some swish. Make it as wide as you want and stick it in the seam before you sew it up. Now you have a mermaid skirt. Make a bunch of triangles and slice up the bottom of the skirt and sew them in and now you have a swirly trumpet skirt. I told you easy peasy! 

Smart -Hey! Four eyes!

Because you can get everything online these days! First off sorry this is so late but it is still Monday in my neck of the world though just barely! Anyway, it started with shoes, Zappos and its competitors made it safe to buy shoes online and if you can buy shoes how hard can glasses be. I just got three pairs of glasses (distance, sunglasses, and computer glasses) for less than I would have paid for a single pair at the monopoly place at the mall. Two pairs I ordered through a company called Firmoo.com and the third came from Lookmatic.com. Warby Parker gets lots of press too and they do a buy one/donate one kind of program. All arrived perfectly done in just slightly more time than the one hour place that is never one hour for me anyway. I opted for three very different styles that are all 'eccentric' according to the 12 year old daughter and she thought that was a good thing. (I give her another 2-3 years before she is mortified by me.) All three pairs cost me about $110 combined, let me say that again, COMBINED! I will never go to the mall for glasses again.

Sexy -Ooh! You smell good.

Scent is the most primal of our senses and neurologically is the only one the brain doesn't have to "translate". A mother can tell her infant by the scent from the top of their head. Infants can tell their mothers by smell even before they can see. Scent shows up a lot in my books because it is something I notice. I had fantasies of being a perfumer when I was a kid. It sounds crazy but my parents had a wholesale business selling potpourri back in the early 70's so we had bottles of essential oils around and I would make up my own blends. I still do. Some of the most attractive scents for a man are vanilla, a blend of spices -think pumpkin pie spice, and anise -it smells like black licorice. Honestly, you can go into the kitchen and dab vanilla extract behind your ears and he'll want to nibble you. I like a spicy version of vanilla, the bean as opposed to a cupcake. Seriously, try it!

Fun -Honey, You get help!

Just finished the edits on my piece of the WG2E Summer Fling Anthology. I love Delia's story and that I could work in a little bit more about her Mom (Cam's Sister). Sal is getting her own book but not till the fall.

Anyway, Sometimes you look at your closet and what you see looks like it belongs to someone else. Or at the very least doesn't match up with your life anymore. What you need is a stylist. Yeah, yeah, I don't have that kind of money either. But have you seen some of the online sites? One of my favorites is You Look Fab. Angie, give great advice and there is a ton of people to ask if that snake print skirt is just too much. You can analyze your shape, there is even an app if you need emergency advice on that sale item you are afraid to put down. Great stuff and it costs you nothing!

Sexy -Faking it.

I am not talking about orgasms. Faking those does more harm than good but that is another post.

I'm talking about faking sexy. Or rather how to feel sexy when in reality you feel bloated, spotty, red nosed and the usual host of nightmares that come with the common cold. Yes, this post should have been done yesterday but guess what? I'm sick so I took some of my own advice this morning. 

Start with a good bra -actually this should be where you start every day but especially when you are feeling less than wonderful. Something comfortable that also makes the wonder twins look great is worth almost any price. I'm well endowed and cheap so I hunt the Cacique sales. I can't say enough good things about their Cotton/Deep plunge model. 

Go for something tactile- Cashmere sweater, Silky blouse, something that feels good on the skin. This is good for you and makes the boys want to touch, you get to decide if they can but having them respond when you are feeling done in is heaven.

Sexy flats -When you are feeling like crap the idea of anything other than slippers can make you cringe but some pointy flats or even square toed with a buckle like Roger Vivier did for Catherine Deneuve in Belle du Jour pull your look together without killing your feet. I love any kind of mule that I can slip off under my desk.

Smart -Organize your financial life

Before you can really take control of something you need to be able to see what you are dealing with. When it comes to finances even smart women cringe. You know you have money stashed in 401ks from old jobs, maybe even the odd savings account from way back when. Then there are your bills. Mortgage? Car loan? What about all those store credit cards? Yeah, cold sweat time. So get everything in one place, ALL of your accounts, money coming in and going out. I highly recommend Mint.com It is free and easy to use. It will let you see a snapshot of everything at a glance and when you are ready to deal with it, will let you set up a budget and savings goals. LOVE! and all without hounding you. Now don't you feel smart!

Fun -Clean out your Closet

Not a mis-print! 

First, I'm changing things slightly. Posts will now be labeled Smart or Sexy or Fun. Smart will be money/life stuff that we need to do to be Smart and will be on Mondays. Sexy will be wanton Wednesdays. Fun will be make-up and fashion Fridays. Easy-Peasy!

Okay, so you'd like more clothes, who wouldn't but that isn't actually true, what you want is more outfits. I maintain, and I have yet to be proved wrong that you will have more outfits and be more creative about how you wear your clothes if you just get rid of the dross. Pull out all the stuff that is weighing you down. Last year I did a major clean out and pulled 8 contractor size bags of stuff out. I just did it again over the holidays and pulled another 1/2 a bag out. Go through everything! Shoes. Accessories. you name it. Once you can actually see what you have that you like you can use it to your advantage. This isn't rocket science.

Wanton Wednesday -How to talk dirty

Okay, that title is a little misleading but only because I don't really think of talking about sex as dirty. What I am talking about today is really… giving compliments. Seriously.

How many different ways can you fill in the blank in this sentence. "I love it when you ________ like that." Either 'use your tongue' or 'load the dishwasher' work equally well. Both are just praise and that is what you are going for. There is no guy class where they learn how to have sex. Mostly they just go on instinct and rumor. A few compliments go a long way. Think about it, all of our bits are for the most part, hidden, so there isn't a lot of physical feedback. There is nothing wrong with telling him what feels good in a positive way. This is far more helpful that the standard porn film "FiretrUCK me!" (yes, I am censoring myself) which tells them nothing and is useless. Touch is always good too but that is another post.

Hope everyone had good holidays, I make a special effort to spend time with the long suffering family so the gap in blog posts will happen.