Cyndi Lauper and Lady Gaga have been named the latest faces of the MAC AIDS Fund, reports today’s Women’s Wear Daily. The newest campaign, “From Our Lips,” will break on February 25. MAC Viva Glam Gaga Lipstick and Viva Glam Cyndi Lipstick will launch in North America on March 18 and will go global after, with 100% of the proceeds being donated to the MAC AIDS Fund.

From Courtney Cox’s new show Cougar Town, California’s Miss Cougar Pageant and Sugar Ray’s album Music for Cougars, 2009 is definitely the year of the cougar. The November issue of DETAILS takes a look at older women and the young men who love them at the first-ever national Cougar Convention.

http://www.details.com/sex-relationships/dating-and-cheating/200910/cougar-convention-older-women-younger-men

So, as you know, about a month ago, I was invited by the Wedgwood family out to Washington DC to celebrate the brand’s 250th anniversary.

Check out some pix my friend Kimberly from MomintheCity.com put in a slideshow. They are totally fun!

I learned so much at the event, and shortly after I returned home, I was sent two 5-piece place settings of the ever-classic Wedgwood white. I was beside myself with excitement, as a single girl nowhere near marriage (le sigh) I have no idea what the future holds…how do I know what decor I’ll want what may be 5 or 10 years from now? But the white will go with anything, and will be easy to add to!

One of the important things I learned though is that the days of our grandma’s china cabinets are over. Beautiful china is to be used, and is incredibly durable. Throw it in the dishwasher, show your kids the beauty of an elegant family dinner…it’ll serve them well in the future.

And you may want to add to it too - because one reader will receive the exact same gift I received - two 5-piece place settings of your own, in Wedgwood white! To have your chance to win, please share what you would do with this beautiful addition to your home, and why you need it! Deadline to enter is December 1. Please earn extra entries by ReTweeting this contest. (I’m @alywalansky on Twitter)

Even if people are planning to cut back slightly on how much they spend this holiday season, an abundance of shopping will still be done. In recent years, many people have turned to the Internet as the place to do some, if not all, of their shopping for gifts. Online shopping has been growing in popularity each year, to the tune of billions of dollars being spent annually.

“Our business has thrived because of the benefits of online shopping,” explains PJ Bellomo, chief executive officer for PropertyRoom.com. “Sometimes people are a bit apprehensive about shopping online for the first time. Once you try it, however, you will find that you love it and will make it a regular part of your shopping routine.”

Some of the benefits of shopping online this holiday season include:* Avoiding the crowds. There is nothing worse than seeing the news videos of people tripping over each other and fighting for gifts when the store has only a limited amount of each selection.
* Reducing stress. Going to the mall or other stores, driving around to try to find a parking space, only to discover that what you went there for is sold out, can be quite stressful. Shopping online lets you avoid all of that.
* Finding a wider selection. Stores can only shelve so many different types of products, and so many of each one. Rather than finding something you like in a sales flyer and then trying to beat the crowd to get it, you can shop online and find that same item at a half a dozen stores, and it will be in stock.
* Saving gas money. Driving around to different stores to find everything you want costs gas money. Shopping online avoids this expense.
* Easily comparing. You can easily and quickly compare the cost of products at different stores online. Shopping at stores in person does not offer this convenience.
* Getting more information. When you are at a store, you only have access to the product information that comes on the box. Online shopping usually offers you much more information, including user product reviews, which can be helpful.
* Avoiding sales taxes. Shopping online will usually allow you to avoid paying sales tax on your purchases. If you are spending a lot of money, that can really add up.
* Shopping whenever. Rather than trying to fit shopping at department stores into your busy schedule, you can shop anytime online, because they are available 24/7.
* Finding stock. Shopping online allows you to find the items you want and need, rather than what happens to be on the shelves in a department store, which could be only an “out of stock” sign or rain check slip.
* Saving time. Especially during the holidays, you have many things going on that keep you busy. Saving time by shopping online will free up more time for other tasks, or for simply relaxing and enjoying the season.

Aly is giving away a year’s supply of Breyer’s Ice Cream!

The Beauty Alchemist pre orders the new Cover Girl Smoky EyeBlast and ShineBlast lipgloss.

Clumps Of Mascara has reason to believe she started the purple lip trend!

ThinkThruFashion takes you behind the scenes at a MAC Halloween photo shoot.

Butterflydiary loves the skin-quenching properties of La Mer’s Hydrating Facial!

DivaDebbi does Demi’s WANTED.
Reply

Fulfilling your vision of retirement calls for careful planning, and women have unique circumstances to consider. Women tend to live longer, are more likely to require long-term care services as they age, and often take more time out of the workforce to care for family members1. These financial realities have significant implications for how women plan for their financial future.

In a study by Women & Co., when asked what financial choices women wish they had made differently, they answered: save more and start saving earlier. To help women keep their retirement planning on track, Lisa Caputo, Founder, Chairman and CEO, and Linda Descano, CFA®, President and COO, of Women & Co., reveal ten retirement mistakes to avoid:

1. Not setting goals. Sure, you can imagine your retirement, right? A picturesque time of life filled with leisure, family, and the freedom to choose how to spend your days. But, when it comes to planning for retirement, a little more detail can go a long way. Ask yourself: When do I want to stop working? Where do I want to live? How do I want to spend my time? Then discuss your thoughts with your spouse/partner.

2. Putting college savings ahead of retirement savings. It’s tempting to put money aside for your children’s college instead of retirement. But while there are other options to fund college – grants, loans, scholarships, etc. – there are no other options for funding your retirement. Save for your retirement first.

3. Not starting early, taking breaks, or cashing out. Saving consistently is a gift you give to your future self. If you cash out your retirement funds (e.g., when you change jobs) or delay saving, you may not be taking advantage of compounding interest and may miss out on matching programs and other retirement benefits your employer may offer.

4. Not understanding your sources of retirement income. Determine what you’re entitled to from Social Security, pensions, and the like. Estimate how much money you’re likely to need and determine if your savings can cover the difference from your expected benefits. If not, step up your savings.

5. Not planning for a long enough period of time. The average life expectancy for women is 80 and for men it is 75, so women are more likely to need long-term care services as they age and their retirement nest egg needs to last over a longer period of time, which puts women at higher risk of outliving their savings2.

6. Counting on your home value. Even if your home has maintained its value with the recent market turmoil, it may be difficult to extract the gains to fund your retirement. Your home may be one component of your overall plan, but you shouldn’t count on it to subsidize a significant portion of your retirement.

7. Not considering long-term care needs. Among people age 75 or older, women are 60% more likely than men to need help with one or more activities of daily living3. You may want to consider long-term care insurance, which can help protect against using personal assets and savings to pay for long-term care expenses.

8. Investing too conservatively. If you are too conservative, you may not lose what you’ve invested, but you could also risk not having any real growth of your money. The average annual rate of inflation in the United States is 3% and, at a minimum, your portfolio growth should keep pace with inflation4.

9. Not diversifying your investments. Diversification may not only help you spread investment risk, but it may also help make your portfolio less vulnerable to the ups and downs of a single holding or the market.

10. Not rebalancing. Consider regularly rebalancing your portfolio to keep it aligned with your risk tolerance, return objectives and time horizon. Leaving your portfolio untended is sort of like leaving a toddler alone in a room with a hot stove – the outcome depends far too much on the forces of chance.

Word has it that model Lara Stone has been booked to feature in Louis Vuitton’s spring-summer fashion campaign, reports today’s Women’s Wear Daily. Steven Meisel will shoot the campaign in New York.

…is I.

I LOVE pumpkin, and in my mind, it DEFINES the fall. And that’s why, I squealed when I just got this recipe in my inbox

!Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel Chicago Executive Chef Kerry Heiber is spicing up her kitchen this fall and winter with seasonal flavors, and is offering up one of her most coveted recipes – Pumpkin and Goat Cheese Risotto.

Pumpkin and Goat Cheese Risotto

Ingredients

½ onion, minced

2 cloves garlic, fine chopped

1 small pumpkin, peeled, seeded and medium diced (can substitute with butternut squash or acorn squash)

½ can pumpkin puree

4oz, goat cheese

1 ½ cups Arborio rice

5 cup hot chicken stock

½ cup white wine

1 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

2 tbsp whole butter, unsalted

1-2 tbsp kosher or sea salt

½ tsp fresh ground pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

1 Bay Leaf, dried

chives, thyme or parsley, chopped

·

Recipe

Steep the bay leaf in your chicken stock.

in a heavy bottom stock pot, sauté rice with pumpkin and onions over medium heat til onions are translucent and rice has a toasty aroma with a golden color. Add garlic and sauté briefly.

Deglaze with white wine, add bay leaf

While stirring vigorously add stock one cup at a time.

It will take a few minutes to absorb the stock, so this is a labor-heavy task

Continue adding the stock 1 cup at a time until it is absorbed. You will use almost, if not all of the stock depending on how you like it, al-dente or fully cooked. Before adding the last cup of stock stir in your pumpkin puree.

Once your rice is cooked to your liking you should season it with salt and pepper and add your cheeses while stirring.

Finish by adding in your butter, stirring until it is completely melted

Stir in your chopped herbs allow to site for a minute before serving so it can allow all of the flavors to marry.

Leonora Epstein is a blogger for The Frisky.com (www.thefrisky.com), and says when it comes to boys, Leonora says rather than the things they do, it’s the things that they don’t do that make her go insane!

She has assembled a list of her favorite passive-aggressive guy behaviors and moments when she wishes guys would just step up to the plate:

1. Making you pick the place for a date when the ball was in his court. He thinks saying, “Tell me where and when” shows he’s an easy-going fellow, but it can also come across as a lack of interest, as if to say, “I could care less about going on a date with you.”
2. Expressing no preference for food or movies. Similarly, when you’re making plans and ask him, “Hey, what do you feel like eating tonight?” and he says, “Whatever. Whatever you want,” you’re again left with the stress of picking something, which oftentimes ends up being neutral and boring. It’s also a missed opportunity to talk about your tastes and see what you have in common.
3. “You look tired.” He might just be trying to say this out of concern, but what we really hear is, “You don’t look hot.” If a guy is going to say this and get away with it, he should follow up with a sweet offer to help you relax.
4. IMing you, and then taking forever to respond. “Hey!” he writes. “Hey, back. How’s it going?” you reply. And then nothing for five minutes. Five minutes that you sit there waiting in anticipation. Why would he even message in the first place if he has nothing to talk about?
5. Complaining about all the things they need to take care of. If he’s gotten behind on life, why don’t guys just outright tell you they need to take some time to do things? What’s worse is an excuse which he thinks may sound sweet like, “I just haven’t taken care of this because I’ve been spending so much time with you.” Great, so we’re responsible for your late bills?
6. Leaving the toilet seat up at your place. OK, we get it—asking a guy to remember this is like asking the DMV to eliminate excessive waits. But seriously, when he makes the effort to put the lid down it doesn’t go unappreciated. (Other bathroom complaints: not having a trash can in there or continually being out of toilet paper.)
7. Throwing condoms on the floor. Post-sex, what ladies do not want to see is a nasty used condom. And the last thing we want is to step on the squishy mess on the way to the bathroom. If he’s not going to make the effort to get up and put it in the trash, he could at least wrap it up in a tissue.
8. Giving only a 30 percent effort on supposedly sweet gestures. We’re talking gifts of over-the-hill flowers or generic brand chocolates. Depending on the situation, a spur of-the-moment gift like that can actually be really endearing, but when it comes to showing appreciation on special occasions, it can feel disappointing. (Side note: When it comes to big gifts like jewelry, it never hurts to make sure it’s absolutely something she would want by asking one of her friends. The worst has to be when your boyfriend gives you an expensive gift you hate.)

….is ridiculous.

I don’t know how many of you are self-employed and live in NYC - no one else is affected, but for those who are, it’s a random tax that we have to pay - and pay by the weekend. Like, why? Why not put it on the same schedule as the OTHER taxes we pay out the ass so that I don’t have to go to my accountant twice? And WHY, in a year that EVERY freelancer I know sees their income down by as much as half do we get taxed more for…what? Commuting? I WORK FROM HOME. I commute less than ANYONE.

Anyway, for those of you roped into this tax - (note, I almost wrote raped) - I have a little work sheet to figure out how much you are owed:

It’s .34% (.0034) of your total net earnings from self-employment allocated to the MCTD for the tax year. For tax year 2009, use ten-twelfths of your net earnings from self-employment allocated to the MCTD to calculate your MCTMT due. So, say, someone who earns 100,000 in the year, 10/12ths of that is $83,333. Multiply that by the tax rate of 0.34 percent, and that comes out to $284, which I guess then we divide by 4 for quarterly payments?

Honestly, I’m still confused. But I’m avoiding going to my accountant because I don’t want to pay HIM a fee on top of this. So, if any accountants are reading this and want to weigh in, feel free. I’ll send you cookies:)