Blog Posts by The_Stir

mom costumesYou know all of those slutty (insert character here) Halloween costumes you always hear about? Turns out that women actually wear those. In public. During the day. At elementary schools.

I know that as a parent and all things prim and proper that I should be against such displays. But seriously, some of these women were rocking it. You could see how good it made them feel. Who am I to deny someone the opportunity to feel good about themselves? I'm not that selfish.

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What I'm trying to get at is that I felt a little weird about checking out moms on the playground -- even if they were dressed as a slutty Pocahontas. Luckily, my wife was okay with it.

"Oh my God," she said. "Did you see that woman's boobs? Look at her boobs!"

"What?" I replied. "What boobs?" And then I made sure my wife saw me look directly at the boobs that had been in my peripheral vision for the previous five minutes.

Finding the perfect foundation color match for your skin can be difficult. I remember back in middle school when all the girls started wearing makeup, there were the girls (I may have been one) who had the telltale line. Their face was much darker than their neck. Shudder. It wasn't a good look.

But finding that perfect shade is harder than you think even if you know your skin tone. There are a few different considerations. This summer I had to get a new color because I had a tan and it took us four tries before we found the one that completely disappeared. That, of course, is the goal. Complete, non-obvious coverage. You shouldn't even know it's there.

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Here are some tips for getting there:

Figure out what you need: Do you want a tinted moisturizer or a full coverage foundation? The distinction is important to understand. Foundation will give you a more "complete" look while a tinted

Google Street Views are one of the coolest things the tech giant has ever come out with, in my opinion. Despite the slightly terrifying, really unsettling fact that cameras can pop up anytime anywhere, possibly taking photos of you, I think it's rad. It's the one piece of Big Brother-dom I accept with open arms. If I'm ever feeling nostalgic for my old apartment in Los Angeles, Google Street View. If I want to see exactly what an intersection in crazy New York City looks like, Google Street View. If I want to entertain my totally un-tech-savvy dad, Google Street View!

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But the new addition to GSV that goes inside businesses is cool, but ... really, totally unnecessary.

Businesses that have opted to participate in the Google Business Street View program are allowing their properties to be photographed with the Google Street View technology, which, amazingly, captures 360-degree panoramic shots. As

I can't count how many times Kate and Pippa Middleton have been spotted out and about in Zara dresses.

The moderately-priced retailer is a big favorite around the world, but until recently, you could only use the Zara website to gaze longingly at the clothing available in stores.

Now, though, that's all changed. Zara is online in the USA! And it's surprisingly affordable, considering the fact that the Duchess of Cambridge wears it! This sweet little Leopard Print Cardigan, for example, is just $49.90!

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Scroll on down for a few of my favorite looks.

The most stylish women are turning out in winter white dresses right now, and I love the simplicity of this funnel collar dress (Zara, $89.90).

I'm crazy about this Mohair Poncho (Zara, $169). The color is gorgeous.

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I might just be buying this dress with gathered skirt

Let me tell you about this Raja Luwak coffee. It's grown on a plantation in Sumatra -- but that's not the end of the story. An Asian mammal called the civet cat eats the beans and then workers pick out the beans from their droppings. Yup, coffee beans harvested from cat poo. Would you drink coffee made from these beans? Sounds gross, right?

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Okay, so then what if I told you that these beans sell for as much as $800 for a 2-pound bag? And that fancy people who demand squeaky-clean bathtubs and freshly-laundered sheets every night are totally okay with drinking the cat poo coffee? Does it somehow suddenly sound a wee bit more desirable now?

Well maybe, maybe not. But I have to admit I was a little intrigued to find out why anyone would be willing to overlook Raja Luwak's origins and pay ridiculous amounts of money for such coffee. Supposedly the cats pick out the tastiest beans, so you're getting an

When I moved into my first apartment, I thought it would be absolutely adorable to paint brightly-colored moldings and window frames to offset the plain cream-colored walls. I agonized over hues, hung paint chips everywhere, and finally settled on the perfect combination. The result? Disaster.

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Sometimes we have creative brainstorms that turn into something interesting, a quirky accent that really works. Other times, we end up wanting to call FEMA. But at least decorating disasters don't just happen to us. The pros who make stuff don't always get it right, either.

Here are some design ideas that might look good on paper, but actually living with them? Please, just no.

3D Decorative Wall Panels

I found these on a flash-sale site, which confirms my suspicion that sometimes things go on sale for a reason. As in, nobody wanted them. The idea here is you buy 12 panels, 20x20 inches each, so you

Usually celebrity workout regimes make me roll my eyes: How many of us are ever -- no matter how many crunches we do -- going to look like Angelina Jolie or Gisele Bundchen? Pretty much none of us, that's how many.

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But Blake Lively's workout routine, which her trainer, Bobby Strom, explains in Health & Fitness magazine, actually doesn't sound half bad. First of all, Lively, who embarked on the diet and workout regime to get into shape for the physical demands of her role in last summer's Green Lantern, had never really had a set fitness routine before, giving us perpetual exercise rookies hope. And second, the 25-year-old Gossip Girl star wasn't trying to shed a bunch of weight and look like a stick-figure model; she was going for strength, core, and … Okay, she did want to look a little more toned, too.

Who doesn't?

Strom says he didn't want to just give Lively a one-off for the film: He

father of the brideI admit, ever since I've been a kid, I've been a daddy's girl. I've always felt, deep down, especially because my dad and I have always been close, that ultimately, I'd probably end up with a guy like him.

Sure, when I was a fiery teen, I'd brazenly vow to fall for whomever I pleased, even if that wasn't my folks' idea of the Perfect Guy. But lo and behold, when I got down to being serious about looking for love, I signed up for JDate ... seeking someone they'd likely adore: A nice Jewish guy. Someone artistic, but down-to-earth, funny, patient, kind, liberal-minded, humanitarian, etc. (Yeah, I wasn't too picky! Rrright.)

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And somehow, after a LOT of trial and error, I found that guy ... my boyfriend. The similarities between him and my father aren't exactly surface-level. My boyfriend is six feet tall with fair skin and light hair; my dad is more like 5'7"-ish, used to have dark brown hair, and now likes to joke