Halloween foods

I love these pretzel, white chocolate mummies, I saw them in Mimi’s blog. They are very simple to make and they look so good. I am going to try them this afternoon for a party I have tomorrow although the theme of my party is going to be “Election day.” I am going to make some food from Hawaii (Obama’s birth place) some from Arizona (Mccain’s home state) and chocolate fondue with fruits. I will have some elephant ears and some donkey tails (ideas from Rachael Ray magazine). Happy Halloween.

Shu Uemura holiday collection

This holiday season Shu Uemura brings us deep, playful and festive colors to celebrate and party. The holiday collection is called Mika and it was developed in collaboration with acclaimed Japanese photographer Mika Ninagawa.

Some of the products come in decorated packages making them ideal to carry around or to give to a love one. Take inspiration from the picture to create your own looks. You can see the whole collection at Shu Uemura USA

Photo: Shue Uemura

Sarah Palin’s extreme make over

If you thought that politics and fashion had nothing in common think again. Former beauty pageant contestant Sarah Palin did not only get the vice presidential nomination from her party, but also a makeover worth $150K.

While you may or not agree with Republican vice presidential candidate Alaska Governor Sarah Palin on policy issues, one thing that most people agree on is that she is attractive. Of course people can argue on that too, but that is not the point of this article.

To take Sarah to new fashion highs has taken some work. According to some information leaking out from the campaign, she has shopped at luxury stores like Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Barneys New York, Bloomingdales, and Atelier.

The total expenditure adds up to approximately $150,000. This includes as much as $400 per day on makeup alone paid to celebrity make-up artist Amy Strozzi, who was nominated for an Emmy Award for her work as head of makeup on "So You Think You Can Dance."

The outfits have not only been provided to her but also to her husband and children. Take a look at the picture of her child with a Louis Vuitton bag.

Like a Hollywood celebrity (and unlike most politicians and business executives), Gov. Palin has been noticed to be almost always impeccably dressed, sometimes changing jackets, high heels and hairstyles twice or three times a day. Her excellent style has sparked a craze among her fans and many of them have been buying her preferred Kazuo Kawasaki 704 Duo eyeglasses and Naughty Monkey heels (also a favorite of Paris Hilton).

Fashion experts have also noted that to keep looking fresh at all times despite her busy schedule, Governor Palin has been wearing particularly heavy blush. To further enhance her appeal she has worked Priscilla Shanks, a voice coach.

If Sarah will win or not I do not know, but fashion and beauty already won.

Nars new collection

Nars has launched their holiday collection. As you can see in the picture, the metallic tones are an important part of the collection. I love the eyes and how a strong brow combines with the shimmery golden shadows.

Does morning banana diet work?

It started in the social networks of Japan early on this year. Someone who was having problems losing weight "sort of" invented it. Since it was created in such an informal way there are many version of it. The Asa banana diet (asa means morning in Japanese).

So far it is the new fad diet of Japan and it may be crossing the ocean soon. The interesting part of this diet is that in Japan it is almost a group diet. Since it started in a social network (similar to Facebook), and it requires the follower to write down everything that is consumed every day, so that other followers see it online in the their network pages and they then share tips and ideas with each other.

The diet could not the simpler:

1. Eat one or more bananas in the morning instead of breakfast; nothing else.
2. If about 20 minutes later you feel hungry, you eat something else.
3. Try not to drink too much water during the day.
4. Eat lunch and dinner as usual (you can eat anything you want).
5. You can only drink a little bit of room temperature water with your meals.
6. At 3:00 PM you can have a sweet snack or some other snack.
7. During the day you can have soda or coffee without sugar.
8. Eat dinner preferably at 6:00 PM.
9. Do not eat after 8:00 PM.
10. You can have a snack after dinner.
11. Try to go to sleep not later than 12:00; the earlier the better.
12. Enjoy each bite, eat slowly and mindfully.
13. Write everything you eat in a diary every day.

There you have it. The morning banana diet has some good things such as to get enough sleep, do not drink sodas during lunch and have healthy, solid breakfast. On the other hand to lose weight you need to burn more calories than you consume and with this diet some people may not do that. If you decide to try it tell me your experience.