Keep Overindulgence At Bay

I sincerely hope each and every one of you had a glorious and safe holiday.  With New Year’s right around the corner and overindulgence beckoning us, I thought I might give you a few tips and tricks to safely navigate throughout this week of parties.

Lest I seem like a “Debbie downer” let me preface this by saying, I do not wish to tell you not to drink at all.  I would however, like you to remember that overindulging in alcohol will simply make us look tired and old inside and out.  So here’s the tip when it comes to alcohol, should you choose to indulge choose to alternate each alcohol beverage with a seltzer and lime one.  A little antioxidant in the lime might help that liver of yours.  All kidding aside my friends, try to watch the alcohol consumption, it simply adds calories and chemicals we do not need.  If indulging however, remember organic red wine is probably the healthiest choice.

Watch out for the nibbles, don’t nibble at this and don’t nibble at that.  Always pick up a plate and put your food on it.  It helps to remind us how much we are consuming.  Many people tend to walk past appetizers and sweets and just nibble.  Simply stay away from picking.  Should you decide to be a nibbler, opt for veggies, fruits, nuts and dark chocolate.

Here’s another tip for times like these.  With so many holiday parties it is hard to watch what we eat, therefore make your own bag of trail mix with raw nuts, seeds, dried fruit and dark chocolate morsels.  Keep the trail mix in your purse or coat pocket, believe me hardly anyone will notice you reaching into your purse for a snack.  And if they do, simply offer them some.  Keep fruit like bananas and apples and organic peanut butter in your car, with a spoon of course.  Having healthy options just an arm’s length away will keep you from overindulging in really unhealthy choices.  Listen folks, I’m not saying don’t eat the party food or munch on the appetizers.  I’m just saying make an attempt not to overindulgence so as not to pay the price for the extra calories after New Year’s Eve.

So let’s keep this week fun, keep the alcohol and bad food choices to a minimum.  We always feel so miserable when we don’t.  So let’s just remember to opt for the seltzer, nuts and veggies.  In fact here’s a great mixed drink.  Mix cranberry or orange juice with seltzer and add a slice of lime.  It’ll quench your thirst and make you feel like you’re having a fun drink.  My list tip of the day, dark chocolate of course.  Buy a great quality bar of dark chocolate, keep it in your bag or car, while everyone else is munching on holiday cookies you’ll be ingesting some blissful antioxidants.  Oh an by the way, if you’re looking to nibble on items on the table as you are walking around, reach for the garnishes.  You cannot imagine how healthy parsley is for you, and munching on it will provide you with extraordinary breath all evening long.

What Do Men Think is Really Sexy?

With New Year’s Eve right around the corner the timing seems perfect for us to discuss the do’s and don’ts of what is sexy in a woman.  This is by no means my opinion mind you, the following is simply information gathered from men young and old around the world.  What I have found interesting is that the information does not seem to change with time.  What was sexy or not 50 years ago seems to still be true today.  So here goes ladies, take the information with a grain of salt or take it to heart.  Either way I think you will enjoy the information we have gathered.

Why don’t we go from head to toe, shall we?

• Hair, lighter is not always better.  Long is great but color and length do not matter as much as healthy hair.  So if your hair is very long, but not very healthy, that will simplyjust not very sexy.
• Makeup, here’s where less is more.  Seriously, unless you’re a runway model, stay away from an abundance of makeup; especially dark lipstick.
• Eyebrows, you and I may like them thin, but apparently men do not.  Thinner eyebrows are never sexy from what I hear.  So if you can avoid them, do so.
• Lipliner,  you and I may love lipliner but men just don’t get it.  So what to do?  Nude lipliner of course!  Get as close to your lipstick as possible for it to even make sense.
• Cleavage, it’s OK certainly but here’s the key; cleavage always means skirt to the knee or pants.
• Skirts, how short or how long?  It really is OK to go short except of course when you are showing cleavage.  That’s right, you’ve guessed it, you simply cannot show legs and cleavage at the same time.  So pick one and do it with class.  What’s the point?  A mini skirt with a turtle neck is a great look!  A shimmery, sparkly, sleeveless top is great paired with a long skirt or pants.  Can you imagine the cleavage and a mini skirt at the same time?  Ohhhhhh, I don’t think so.
• Legs, pantyhose are not really considered sexy.  So, whether it’s hot or cold your choices ladies seem to be bare legs or tights.  Sorry, I didn’t make up the rules.
• Nails, this one might surprise you.  When they appear fake they are not so sexy.  So whether they are very short or not, as long as they are natural they somehow appear sexier.  Oh, and generally speaking, if you’re over 16 stay away from the nail art.  Red still seems to be a color that men love.  But browns and black…not so much.  The trendy colors apparently only impress us.
• Pedicures, I don’t think this is too hard to figure out.  If you can’t find the time to get it done, for goodness sake they’re simple, please take care of your own feet.  Oh and by the way, trendy colors are not appreciated by men.
• Shoes, how do I put this, let’s see…flat shoes are never sexy!  They’re cute, adorable, comfy, but never ever sexy.  So if you can stand it, stay in heels.  In fact, try to invest in great quality shoes.  Shoes really do matter and yes, men always notice.  Please make sure heels are in good working order, no clickety clack.  If you can’t find the time to get them repaired, don’t wear them!
• Jeans, apparently men love them!  So what’s a girl to do?  Take the time and get yourself a damn fine pair of jeans!
• Boots, apparently high heeled black boots are also a favorite of men.  Invest in a great pair, to the knee of course.
• Jewelry, men don’t really notice as much as we think they do.  This is definitely an area where we impress our friends more than the men in our lives.  So when it comes to jewelry, don’t overdo it and certainly don’t be too matchy matchy.

Well I hope we’ve covered most of the relevant information and that you enjoyed reading it.  I certainly enjoyed gathering the information for you.  It was certainly fun to ask the questions.  My lasting thought…well just remember you can get away with a lot more on New Year’s Eve than you can the rest of the year.