Audrey.

I thought it would be fun today to do a bit dedicated to the Lady of the Blog, Audrey Hepburn. Both of the writers of this blogspot are BIG Hepburn fans. Her style, whether on screen or off, was so effortless and chic. The looks she wore are absolutely timeless, and thanks to the comeback of flats are all over the place to this day. Rather than drone on about how great her style is/was, here are a few of my personal favorites:

Love,

Lula Mae

Quick and Easy (and Healthy!) Work Breakfasts.

"What's this?" you ask, "two posts in a week???" Yes. Two posts in a week.

I work in an office with a small kitchen area. We have a fridge, microwave, and toaster oven. We have a blender too but I'm not really a blended drink person. I get into the office fairly early every day, and it's easier for me to just make food here than to eat at home. So I thought I'd take today to talk about some good eats that you can make at work. I mostly eat breakfast here with the occasional lunch, but I think brown-bagging a lunch is pretty self-explanatory so unless anyone wants me to address that on a different post I'm only going to go over breakfast.

Breakfast is a tough one to make on the go because unless you want to have a cup of coffee or a bowl of cereal, it's hard to make healthy food in the microwave (although the toaster oven is easier). One of my favorite breakfasts is actually supposed to be for lunch but it really hits the spot on a cold morning: Lean Pockets with Turkey, Broccoli, and Cheese. You just zap it in the microwave as directed and *bam* you've got a super yummy and filling breakfast. The problem is that those things can be a little pricey and tend to be high in preservatives, sodium, etc. They are low-cal, but you don't get a free ride there.

Another great option for quick cooking is to make turkey bacon and then have some sort of side- I like a whole wheat English Muffin with some butter. I know I should probably mix in a fruit in there somewhere, but when you're in a rush it's tough. I'd say buy yourself a big jug of V8 Splash or something with 100% juice in it. Turkey bacon rocks because you still feel like you're eating bacon but you can actually cook it in the microwave (about 45 seconds). I put it in the toaster oven for about 4 minutes the other day and it was really great that way too. It's tough to get turkey bacon crispy without burning it, though, so if you're a die hard crisp fan you may have to figure something else out there. English Muffin can be put in the toaster oven or a regular toaster (duh) if you are lucky enough to have one.

Obviously fruit is always a great choice, especially on a hot morning. One of my favorite things to do is chop up some fruit- maybe strawberries, raspberries, or bananas. Then you get some low-fat yogurt, the fruit, and some sweet granola- mix it all together in a cup or bowl and voila! You have a yummy, healthy, indulgent, but best of all low-fat fruit parfait. The best part is that you can get these at McDonald's or even Corner Bakery but I feel that freshly cut fruit is always going to be much tastier and obviously less expensive.

Last but not least on my list of yummies is what I had today and my inspiration for this blog. I read about it in a magazine and tried it and fell madly in food-love. What you do is buy some Egg Beaters. I just tried the Southwestern flavor and they're WAAAAY better than regular. Then you get whatever you would normally like in a scramble: turkey bacon, bell peppers, tomatoes, cheese, etc. Today I put a wedge of Weight Watcher's Jalapeno Cheese, Tapatio, and Tomatoes in it. Now what you do is get a mug and pour the cheese (go with a light or even veggie cheese to stay low-fat) into the mug, followed by the egg beaters mix. Side Note: I highly recommend using a mug that you do not care about. If you over cook it and it sticks to your mug then you're pretty bummed. You can also use a bowl but make sure it isn't a plastic one. My roommate cooked regular eggs in my plastic bowl and it burnt the bowl as the eggs get quite hot. Anyways- pour the mix about an inch and a half deep- the egg beaters rise when they cook and I've had quite a mess on my hands before! You'll want to mix in any meats that you decide to use but not any of the vegetables. Then just pop it in the microwave for about a minute. Next you put any vegetables you want, as well as any seasoning or sauces you want to use, stir it up, and enjoy! The whole process takes about 2 minutes and it tastes absolutely amazing. You would never guess that it's microwaved Egg Beaters and not off-the-stove top eggs. There are a lot of other recipes and ideas for this sort of thing on this website:http://www.hungry-girl.com/

Happy Eating!

Love,

Lula Mae

Wooly Mammoth.

Today's topic of conversation is one that people generally tend to avoid. However, it's one that needs to be addressed.

Hair Removal. It's talked about at 'girl's night,' but even then no one is really going into depth about it. I think it's one of those things that women don't want men to know they do, like any guy really thinks that we live our entire lives with only hair on our heads. Yea right. There are tons of different ways to "take care" of body hair, today I'm going to go over the best ones, starting from the ground up.

LEGS: Honestly, I'm a shaver. Always have been and always will be. Some women wax and if I could afford it I would be all about the lasering, but it's so much more simple to just shave your legs! Waxing, especially, becomes an issue because you need to wait for the hair to grow to a certain length before you can wax it and no one wants hairy legs. Some women shave less during Winter months, but I personally am not a fan of that. I generally shave my legs about 2-3 times per week, more often in bathing suit season. I'm also a big fan of any kind of body lotion that slows regrowth. For anyone who gets irritation, make sure that you're changing your blade about once or twice per month (more if you, well, need it...). I also have sensitive skin so I can't use a scented moisturizer after a fresh shave. My favorite body lotions for after a shave are Curel in the winter months and right now I use Burt's Bees Aloe and Linden Flower After Sun lotion to help preserve any tan that I may get. For razor preference I usually get whatever has at least 4 blades and is on sale (Costco is GREAT to buy razor blades in bulk!).

BIKINI LINE: I wont get too much into this because it's a little embarrassing. Shaving is simple, convenient, cheap, and you can do it when you're in a hurry. Waxing seems to be the general consensus on how to groom "there." I have a friend who recommends some sort of African Male Facial Depilatory... I can't remember the name of it but apparently you buy it at CVS and it works wonders.

STOMACH: Lets face facts here, we're not all sun kissed blondes with light tummy hair. Some of you may even have excessive hair there, I have an Italian friend who has struggled with hers since we were about 14. The best thing to do here is to bleach it. I recommend just a facial hair bleach for about 15 minutes and you're good to go. It takes quite a bit of it to cover your stomach but it's definitely worth it!

UNDERARMS: Shave them! I don't know anyone who uses any other method here.

ARMS: In high school I was on the swim team and was instructed that for Finals we would need to shave our arms. My Freshman year is when I tried it for the first time and just fell in love with it. I loved how silky they were without hair and since I'm dark-haired I liked it even more. But the longer I shaved my arms the more I noticed what a pain in the __ it was. It took longer in the shower, not to mention that if you have ANY regrowth at all it feels like sandpaper to rub against. NOT sexy! I finally stopped doing it altogether a few months ago, and to be honest my arms have never looked better. Always soft and never spiky, I'm digging the non-shaved arms thing. If you have darker hair I recommend using a face bleach on them if you're uncomfortable about it, Sally Hansen makes a great one. The only downer is that you have to mix it yourself on this weird little tray that makes you feel like you're dealing drugs. It, like stomach bleaching, also takes a LOT of bleach to cover your whole arm. As a side note: I usually do one at a time so that I don't have to walk around like Frankenstein with my arms out straight and unable to touch anything for 15 minutes.

ANY FACIAL HAIR BESIDES EYEBROWS: This is one of the most necessary of any removal. What is the first thing people see when they look at you? Your face! Some women are, I think, so in denial about having facial hair that they just ignore it. Nobody walks up to you and looks you in the leg! And we've all seen her, that girl who really- really- needs to be told to wax her upper lip. Don't be that girl. Now some women, like my Mother, prefer waxing any facial hair. I'm just not a big fan of any unnecessary (or expensive) hair removal. I like the comfort of my own home and something fast and easy. The secret to good facial hair removal is knowing your hair type. First of all, are you light haired or dark haired? Secondly is it growing in abundance or just a few fine ones here and there? If you've got a lot of either blonde OR dark hair- I say use a hair remover. Sally Hansen makes a good one, and it's even available in Lavender scent. If you've got fine dark hair, you can probably just bleach it. Bleaching is better because you don't really have to deal with regrowth as much. It's really to your discretion because there ARE women out there who bleach and there's just SO much hair that you can still totally tell they're growing a man-beard. If you've got blonde fine hair, don't do anything you lucky thing!

EYEBROWS: This one is up for debate. Most women I know get waxed. Again- inconvenient and costly in my book. But those who do wax swear by it so I'm not going to go against a good thing. I, personally, tweeze. Tweezers are easy, portable, and not as painful as people think once you get used to them. The trick is to make sure you've got a good grip on that hair and ALWAYS do it one by one, stepping back from the mirror often to see the full picture. Overtweezing is NOT sexy. Another trick that I learned is to use hair remover on them. You'd seriously think I invented the wheel how excited I get about this one. It's painless, effective, and easy. You just have to be sure that you get close to the tweeze line, but not so close that you might mess up and take off an entire brow! I like this method for the middle of my brows, personally. Then I just go back through and clean up a bit with tweezers. If tweezers hurt too much I've read that you can use Anbesol (what they use for babies who are teething to soothe the pain) and it will really help. If you're going to get tweezers, make sure you get a REALLY good pair. My favorites have been Sonia Kashuk and Tweezerman. Tweezerman tweezers have won all kinds of beauty awards and top top that off- they're just really cute!! If you're totally clueless on eyebrows, I think it's a good idea to buy a starter kit. Anastasia makes a great one with stencils and the whole nine yards. You can buy those at Sephora and it's really worth it.

So that's it! This is an awkward topic for a blog but I thought it might really come in handy for some of those out there who are a little bit more clueless in this arena. Enjoy!

Love,

Lula Mae

Acne

At the request from my lovely roommate I decided to do a blog about skin care. Your face is a funny thing as you get older. When I was in high school I NEVER got pimples. I was a very lucky girl in that sense. Then, about a year ago, my skin went a little haywire. I'm pretty sure it was the birth control that I was on but MAN it made me break out! I remember thinking, "you've got to be joking me. I'm well past the teenage pimple years..." And me being me, I would just hibernate. If I ever (and once in a while I still do) get a zit I refuse to be social. Even though I'm sure it's a delusion I can't help but think everyone is talking to me about whatever but really just thinking, "zitzitzitzitzit." It sucks. On top of that is the fact that it's generally a bad idea to put makeup over it unless you have to, so hiding out with my anti-acne medication is all the company I want to have.

This has been the scenario with lots of women. I know it must be because of the rising number of companies doing "acne+wrinkles" product lines. And just when you think you've successfully blown through that stage of your life...

And so here I am telling you what I know, personally, about skin care and acne. I am not a doctor, and none of this information is anywhere near a professional opinion. But for me at least, it works. I read a LOT of magazines while I'm hiding out in my room with my zapzit, and I'd like to think I've learned a thing or two.

There are two types of pimples: surface (although I think there's a much more medical name for those) and cystic. Surface pimples are those little guys with a white head, and they usually develop overnight. Those are the easiest ones. Cystic pimples are the ones that you feel coming DAYS before their actual arrival. These suck and can take a week or so to go away.

Surface pimples are easy-breezy. The number one rule of zit murder is DO NOT TOUCH YOUR FACE. Do not squeeze it, do not pick at it, do not touch it in any way. Think of your hands as oil and dirt machines. Almost like they have thick, sticky honey on them and whenever you touch your face that honey sticks to your skin and just sits there on your pores. Yuck. Another good thing to keep in mind is to be sure that you are changing your pillowcase regularly, especially if you are a stomach or side sleeper. Any dirt, oil, or leftover product from your face or hair goes right on your pillowcase and pressed into your skin when you lie on it for 8 hours.

So case scenario what do you do when you get a surface pimple? Well, for me, I usually make sure my hands are totally clean, just in case I touch my face. Next I get my trusty pimple-popper (another thing I'm sure has a more professional name) from Sephora. It looks like this:

Once I have released the pressure of the pimple it usually goes down in a day or less and I'm good to go. During that time I will usually cover up any redness with a concealer that has Salicylic Acid in it to continue depleting the pimple until the bitter end. Almay makes a GREAT one of these called Almay Clear Complexion Concealer. I also like that it's made with all natural ingredients.

Cystic Acne is a whole 'nother ball game. Where surface acne is usually triggered by oil, dirt, or some other outside source- Cystic Acne is hormonal. These little buggers will show up when you are stressed, depressed, or when it's "that time of the month." Basically they like to come around when life already sorta sucks, which is nice of them. Now I have never had a severe Cystic Acne problem, but when you're getting more than one of two at a time it's time to see your Dermatologist. I've heard Proactive is fantastic and know it has a huge fan base. There are other options as well but I haven't really encountered this issue so I recommend just talking to your Derm about it. If you are only getting a few of these every so often, my advice is better suited for you. In my experience, there isn't a whole lot that you can do once Cystic acne comes to town. As such, the best defense is a good offense. First of all, keep up the good work you've been doing of not touching your face. Think honey-thoughts. Secondly, wash that pretty mug of yours every night! Some people may need to wash their face twice a day but it's been my experience that a little of your natural oil is fine and washing in the morning isn't really essential- so long as you're using that clean pillowcase. While we're talking sleeping habits- tell that man of yours to keep his pillow under his own head and not take yours! Most guys use some sort of sticky gel or balm and you do not want that on your face at night. If your man is sleeping with his shirt off, be sure not to rest your head directly on his chest if you're prone to cheek breakouts. No, I'm not saying you need to put up a curtain between the two of you, just make sure you're putting a (clean) pj top or a sheet between your face and his skin.

Especially with Cystic pimples, the absolute worst thing you can do is to try to pop them. If it doesn't have visible sebum (that white part) that means it's not near enough to the surface and squeezing it will only worsen your problem. Ditto for picking at it. The only thing worse than a big red mountain on your face is a big crusty red mountain. Sorry to be graphic but ew. The best thing you can do is to just relax. Stressing over it will only make it worse. I usually use a really great face mask with drying agents like Sulfur in it. I swear by Murad's Clarifying Mask, pictured below. Another great one (for more product for your buck) is DDF's Sulfur Theraputic Mask.

I use a face mask about once a week. The best way to use a face mask is to use it right after you get out of the shower. Not only will your pores be opened up from the steam, but it's time-efficient to let it dry while you're picking out what to wear. I also use a Facial Peel once or twice per week but I think that's more to add sheen to your skin and prevent some aging issues, so I wont get into that.

It's also important to use a Facial Scrub almost every day. I use mine in the shower, where I also always wash my face. I like it because I remember to use it as a part of my daily routine, and also you just stick your face under the nozzle to rinse it off as opposed to taking forever to get it all off at the sink. My favorite scrub is also a really inexpensive one. It's the Blemish and Blackhead Control scrub from St. Ives.

After the scrub I always, ALWAYS use moisturizer. Women with oily skin, like mine, sometimes think that by skipping moisturizer they will eliminate oil from their skin. This is totally untrue. Your skin needs moisture, and if you don't give it to it then your skin is going to go into overdrive to hydrate itself. Ironically enough, by not using moisturizer you are actually increasing oil production on your face. I really really love Cetaphil for my sensitive skin. They offer a lotion as well as a cream for those dry winter months. In the mornings I normally don't wash my face, but I will almost always use a face spray. Evian offers one, as well as many other companies. It's just the right amount of mist for your face to get a little moisture kick. If my skin is feeling particularly oily, I may use a serum, such as the Vitamin C serum from The Body Shop. I just went to their site, though, and it's looking like they may have discontinued it. I'd say go for a serum that feels silky in your hand, and usually one with some kind of skin benefit like Vitamin C to keep out free radicals. They do offer a Vitamin E one, I may try that next. Another fantastic one is Patricia Wexler's MMPi20 Skin Regenerating Serum. It's pretty pricey, though, so I don't normally buy it.

Past that you just kind of have to sit and wait. The one good thing about Cystic Acne is that it's not usually very high off of your skin, so unless you're aggravating it it's not as noticeable to other people as it is to you. A little of that Almay concealer should do the trick, maybe followed by setting it with an oil-free loose powder. Usually at night I will Monster out and use a drying lotion, like Bye Bye Blemish. You can get it at most grocery stores even though it's an "As Seen On TV" product. You have to be sure to follow the instructions, though, or you're wasting your time. It's important not to shake the bottle but only to use a q-tip dipped in the pink portion of the medicine. The clear part is not going to do anything. It sort of looks like an unshaken bottle of Salad Dressing Vinaigrette, only use the bottom half. You look like you got attacked by mosquitos and used calamine lotion on your face but it gets the job done.

So now you know everything I know about pimple care. We all get them, they suck, and we hate it. But it's good to know there are things you can do to prevent and treat breakouts when they come along. Enjoy!

Love,

Lula Mae

Top Ten Essentials.

Now when we started this blog, my affiliate and I sort of agreed that I would handle the health stuff (a passion of mine), she would handle fashion (her passion), and we would both tackle beauty. However today I felt compelled to do a fashion piece... so my apologies go out to the REAL fashionista here because I am a simple person of clothing admiration.

Often in magazines I see these lists of "staple clothing," and it's usually the same old boring thing: little black dress, white button-up shirt, etc. I think there is definitely truth to that, but I think that they often neglect to tell you what is essential to invest in, and what is not. Some essentials can be found at bargain prices, while others are almost pieces of art that you want to make sure you put your money towards knowing they will appreciate in personal value upon repeated use. So here is my list of essentials, along with whether I think they ought to be pricey or not- and where to look for them. Keep in mind that my personal style is somewhat boho with a mixture of classic in there someplace. If this is not you, this may not be your perfect list. Hopefully you enjoy it just the same!

1. JEANS. I wear jeans more than anything else in my closet. I used to buy jeans from places like Fashion 21 or some other cheapie store and realized that I had about 8 pairs of cheap jeans in my closet that I never EVER wore. I had never bought into the trends of buying $100 jeans until I got a gift certificate for my birthday last year and invested in some jeans from Guess that I fell madly in love with. They fit me just right in all the right places, they were the PERFECT wash, and (lets face it the most important part!) the butt pockets looked cute. They were around $100, which is pricey but nowhere NEAR some of these other ridiculous jeans in the $300+ range. On top of that, I know that jeans are an article of clothing that I am going to wear A LOT, therefore making that investment well worth it. Not to mention that one pair of great $100 jeans is worth the 8 pairs of $25 jeans I never wear.

2. FLIP FLOPS: I'm sorry but I life in Southern California and flip flops are my best friend on the planet. Some people like to go out and spend a ton of money on Haviannas since that's what the celebrities wear, but I am a hardcore Old Navy sandal fan. You can buy pretty much any color for $5, and they have 2 for $5 sales ALL the time.

3. While we're talking shoes, ONE PAIR OF GREAT HEELS: Minimum. My favorite pair is Trinite by Steve Madden. They're a little pricey, maybe around the $100 range. But they're not at all difficult to walk in and I get more compliments on them than anything I own. 4. WIFEBEATERS. I know it sounds unclassy, but a nice (not grungy) wifebeater can be your best friend. You can wear it plain, with a cardigan, or even under a nice vest for a funky edgy look. I prefer to buy vibrant colors and you can find them at nearly any cheapie store for a few bucks. I recently bought some racer-back ones from the little fashion-junkie store at 5-Points (for any of you HB locals) that have beautiful lace on the racer part of the back. It dresses them up quite nicely, I think. (PS Unlike this picture, I prefer them looooong!)5. NOT-SO-LITTLE AND NOT-SO BLACK DRESS. For as long as I can remember, I have been hearing praises of the LBD. I bought into it and I admit that I own a little black dress- but!- I never wear it. I hate wearing black to formal events because it A. Doesn't make you stand out and B. Look (and feel) like you're going to a funeral. So I say screw the LBD and get something that maybe is reserved, but not that reserved. I mean, come on, The Great Depression is over people, all hail the bright cheery dress! This is something that you may want to invest a little bit of money in since you'll be wearing it to formal events. You might also want to invest in a matching pair of shoes to complete the look for the same reason. In a perfect world, this would be my go-to (From Anthropologie):6. LOTS AND LOTS OF FUN DRESSES! Dresses are a great item to not spend too much money on because you can get sort of trendy dresses for fairly cheap at, say, Forever 21. You probably aren't going to be doing a lot of heavy labor wearing a dress, so you can get lots of inexpensive ones without worrying too much that you will only wear them once before they tear or something. Here are a few of my favorites from Forever 21:

I seem to have a tougher time finding stuff online but always have luck at say, Target and Forever 21. Here are some darling dresses from Mod Cloth but they're a little pricier. I couldn't help but post them, they're too cute!:

7. LEGGINGS. My new favorite trend. I mainly go with basic black, and I like to put them under a dress that might be just a TAD too short.

8. NICE TENNIS SHOES. I have had a pair of Converse Jack Purcells on hand since I was in middle school. Black is the best and they look really great with black shoelaces instead of the white ones.9. A NICE BLAZER. You can actually get one for cheap at Target (about $35). I just bought a black one that I absolutely LOVE, and I'm thinking of going back to get it in tan and/or grey. For some reason Target wont let me swipe pictures, but you can go to their site or just look in store.

10. TWO GREAT PURSES. I prefer leather, and it's good to have one in black and one in brown. I got both of my favorites at Target for a really decent price and every time I go there they seem to have super cute ones for cheap! Another amazing purse shopping site: Ross. Seriously the best!

Good luck, ladies!!!

Love,

Lula Mae.

MAC Attack!

Well Ladies and Gentlemen (I guess just ladies)... I have finally caved into the MAC sensation.

I have been told for YEARS about how much all of my fellow beauty junky friends love MAC cosmetics. I'm not really sure why I never jumped on the bandwagon because with make-up, at least, being a trend follower can be your greatest idea. There's just a LOT of make-up out there and it's tough for a girl to figure out what works and what doesn't. And lets face it, when you get into the higher-end makeup it can get really, REALLY expensive. I think that for some reason I was under the impression that MAC was ridiculously expensive and never bothered with it. The irony is that is so totally far from the truth. I recently bought myself some Mineral Pressed Powder as well as a Mineral Blush Duo from their Pret-a-Papier line.

First of all, the powder is fantastic. I have always been afraid to use heavy powder because I have freckles and anything too thick makes them look ashy. The make-up artist at MAC told me, however, that simply using a brush instead of a sponge and also getting a Mineral Powder would be a great idea for me. My face tends to get a little shiny by mid-afternoon, so touch ups are a must. But for the most part I am way into this stuff!

The blush duo I got is great because it's got a lovely peach glow as well as a bronzing powder (hence it's called a "duo"). I am going to need a smaller blush brush to apply them each without mixing too much but my sister could NOT stop gushing about how much she loved the blush on me. I even looked at pictures from me the whole weekend I was in Colorado on vacation and for the first time I look "glowy" instead of "shiny."

Needless to say I think I may do a bit more exploring of their selection once I get some extra cash! In the mean time, here are some links I've been checking out for make-up tutorials when I need a little help!

http://makeupbytiffanyd.blogspot.com/

http://www.youtube.com/user/kandeejohnson

http://www.jessicaharlow.com/

Love,

Lula Mae

Subway Orchard Chicken Salad Sub

Holy smokes! I am eating this right now and it's delicious!

Subway just came out with this sub and it's on the menu until July. It's my new favorite sandwich (except when I get that spicy-food craving!) from Subway AND it's shockingly nutritious. Coming in at only 261 calories (for a 6-inch) and 4 grams of fat, it's a great deal for your waistline. The only downside is that it's pretty high in sodium, but isn't pretty much any kind of deli meat sandwich you're going to get from Subway? Anyway, my favorite part is that it's made with light mayonnaise. I don't know about anyone else but I did NOT see that one coming. It seems like it's impossible to find a light-mayo chicken salad anywhere unless you want to make it yourself. The rest of the mix has chicken, apples, raisins, and cranberries. It's got quite a bit of flavor so honestly I didn't even see the point in putting my usual vices on it: chipotle sauce and cheese. That alone saved me about 160 calories on my meal. All you need is a little lettuce and maybe some cucumbers and you're good to go. Add a light lemonade and some apple slices and you have a full meal for about 300 calories... and not some gross low-fat meal, but one that will actually leave you satisfied in stomach AND taste buds.

I mean, DAMN.

PS I didn't post a picture of it since all the online ones were from other restaurants and I didn't want to misrepresent, but I assure you it makes you feel like this:

Love,

Lula Mae