Watch Movies In The Theater... At Home!

Really cool website: http://www.watch-movies-links.net/

You can watch any movie that you can imagine, including ones that are currently in the theater... online! Not sure how they do it, but it totally works!

Go to the site, type in the movie title, and then it'll give you different versions of the movie that are rated by percentage, based on the quality (ie: 70% of people say this version works) 

If you can, you can even download the movie and watch it on a flight/train/car ride or something. OR you can even burn a dvd with it! How fun is that??

Wallpaper

It's back, it's better than ever... and it's not just for your wall anymore!

Wallpaper now comes in the coolest new textures and designs and its being used as so much more than a design for all 4 walls in your room.  You can use scraps to cover accessories, you can cover portions of furniture with it, you could paste it on a canvas or even frame it out and use it as art...OR, try using a cool pattern as a focal wall in your room and just painting the other walls with complementary colors. Possibilites are endless!

Mad Men

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this show! Definitely one of my faves!

It's on AMC and the new season (season 3) starts this summer...

It's a very realistic story based in the early 60's, around the advertising firm Sterling Cooper. Check out this Wikipedia desc. on the show: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mad_Men

I actually discovered that they're running episodes from season 2 right now. You can check out the schedule at their website: http://www.amctv.com/originals/madmen/. 

I'd highly recommend renting season 1 and renting or watching season 2 so you can be ready for season 3 this summer. The show is amazing!

Workout Not Working Out?

Try doing intervals. Burns more fat  & cals than running/walking/doing the same mundane thing, again and again. (If you run, do five minutes at a jog, and 3-5 minutes at a "brisk" run or sprint. Walking? Try a couple minutes of jogging here and there, or even incline your treadmill for a few minutes. Proof? Check out this article out from the NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/03/fashion/03Fitness.html?_r=1

Hangers Giving You Lumps?

Lizzie taught me this...

You know how you get those lumps in the shoulders of certain shirts when you hang them up? Like you put your shirt on and it looks like you have mini shoulder pads on? (or some really weird shoulder disease...) :)

Here's how to get rid of it... Get it damp and let it lay flat!

How genius is that? TEAM LIZZIE!

For All the Jetsetters...

Great travel email that I get sent to me every Wednesday is from The Top 20 from Travelzoo. Not sure if you receive this, but it finds all the best & cheapest deals of the week, and emails them to you once a week. No spam, just the one email and they find the best deals! Be careful though, you may find yourself being inspired to take random trips... to random places...

Here's the link! Sign up for the email, its great!

www.travelzoo.com

You a Gold Digger?

Gold is very valuable today! If you happen to have some extra pieces laying around, like an earring without a partner, or an unfixable necklace, or maybe even an item from someone you don't want to remember (in my case, Matt had an "extra wedding band" that he didn't need anymore) :) I'd recommend getting rid of it!

If it is in good shape and you have all the necessary details, the best place to sell it would be online, because it still has value to it as a whole piece. If you aren't sure, I'd get it appraised, decide if you like the price or think you can sell it for more. Otherwise, there are some other options that are actually quite popular. 

• You could have a "Gold Diggers Party"where you invite your girlfriends and their gold over and they can leave with the cash. I *believe* that if you host the party, you also get a percentage of the total value of gold sold. (haha... gold sold)
  
• OR you can watch tv... there are commercials ALL the time about different companies setting up (most often at local area hotels- most secure) and you can head in there with your gold and walk out with cash. You can take anything you want, a single earring, a beat up ring, etc... they just melt it down anyways. This is actually what Matt and I did and it was a quick and easy experience. I believe my mom did the same and "banked" pretty nicely :)
• Last but not least, there is always the local pawn shop or refinery! Here is a link to a refinery in Metro-Detroit that will take your "precious metals": http://www.midwestrefineries.com/

Gratitude

"Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them to become what they are capable of being." 

-Goethe

I am a very strong believer in gratitude. You'll hear me talk about it alot on this blog... 

It is so important that we live our lives in gratitude because regardless of the situation, (or the person) there is always something to be grateful for. I actually have a gratitude journal that is both on paper and in my mind. Every night, before I go to bed I think of 5 things that I can be grateful for that day. Some days it is MUCH harder than others... but even something so simple as a kind gesture from a stranger needs to be recognized and appreciated. 

The past few nights, my gratitude has been consumed with the positive response I've gotten from this blog. I can't tell you what it means to "expose yourself," (in a way) and to have it be received so graciously. I read the quote by Goethe (above) and it reminded me of you all... you've helped and encouraged me to realize things about myself that I didn't even know existed! So I just wanted to say "thanks!" 

Hope you can continue to find some good stuff in here, and pass along to anyone you think might enjoy as well!

HGTV Green Home

Guess what?!? Today is day one for registering to win the HGTV Green Home! It's in Florida this year! Make sure you register everyday until June 5 to increase your chances!: http://www.hgtv.com/green-home/index.html

Also, if you win (and I know you personally), you must share. 

Thank You, 

The Management

GOOD LUCK!!!

Fun With Styrofoam!

Looking for a cute, affordable idea for making your own wall art or decor? Try using Styrofoam as a base!

It's really light, so you can hang it easily. It's also easy to cut and/or glue so the options for designing it are endless! Here is a link to some ideas from Michaels: Styrofoam Ideas

Also, here is a pic of a styrofoam art piece that I made. I spray-painted the base green, then spray painted some wire mesh green and wrapped it around. I then stained 3 $1 pic frames and filled them with some cute designer paper and attached them to the front. The whole project probably cost me under $15! 

Dirty Hair???

I know this depends on the hair type, so I'm just offering this as a friendly suggestion! 

BUT, I've been told by quite a few "beauty experts" that you are not supposed to wash your hair everyday! 

Please recognize that I'm not saying "don't shower everyday"... def. not saying that :) (I wear my purple shower cap or I take a bath on my off days)

Anyways, reason behind this philosophy is that shampoo supposedly strips your hair of its nutrients, it can also dry it out, AND for those of you that color, it strips the color much faster!

I've also heard that if you think that your hair is too oily, thats actually because your hair is so dry that the oil glands are actually over producing, so you're actually better off not shampooing everyday. Make sense?

Anyways, if you choose to try this out, here are a few options for you on your off days.. 

If you have blond hair, you can try sprinkling a little cornstarch in the roots to soak up the oil and give a little volume. You can also try a couple "dry shampoo sprays" for any hair color, by Pssssst (yes, there are that many s's) If you are a "high roller" there is a great powder or spray by Bumble and Bumble, OR I have a friend of a friend who just sent me a sample of her own line! Its actually super cool and lasts a long time, so its acutally pretty affordable, and you can get it catered to whatever your hair color is! Here is the link for that: http://finleyhair.com/

Magazine Overload?

Got a magazine basket somewhere at home? So do I. I love my gossip mags, but I also have no prob throwing them away when I'm done reading them (unless they contain pics of certain male celebs that demand to be looked at repeatedly) JK... MATT! Anyways, I have a harder time getting rid of the magazines that have a great article or idea or something of value in it. I especially love magazines that are craft or home renovation related (shocking... I know) SO, here's how I cut back on the clutter. I have this cool lil cutter called an iSlice (I think its like $4?) and when I page through the magazine, I cut out the pages (at the seam) that have some good info. I then buy those plastic paper protector sheets (that you used to do reports in for school?) and stick either one page (if both sides are good) or 2 pages (if only one side of page is good) with the good page showing on each side, and I fill up a binder with them! Depending on the variety of reading material you have, you may want to get a couple binders and dedicate each to a topic of interest. Like, I have one for crafts and one for cool cardmaking ideas, and one for home improvement stuff. THEN if you ever need inspiration, you can just "hit up" your binder and get it!