Blog Posts by Redbook

You don't need to go far or spend big to have a special evening. Some uninterrupted you-and-him time and one of these activities is just what the doctor ordered. REDBOOK.

Dinner and a TV marathon, 2012-style
Curl up on the couch for the night - or the whole weekend - and plow through a show you've been dying to watch. Netflix and Hulu, we salute you for this binge television opportunity.

Create a backyard spa
Don't hand down the kiddie pool your kids outgrew just yet. Venture out to the yard, fill it with bubble bath (and warm water - 'tis not the season for the hose), and pack every safe and available surface with tea lights. Burn essential oil in a purpose-made burner or light some incense. Play soft background music. When you emerge from the makeshift-jacuzzi, wrap yourselves in towels warmed in the dryer. Then massage each other into a delightful daze with scented lotion.

Savor the memories
Trot out the old college scrapbooks and photo albums and reminisce and laugh about old

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Fitness aficionados flock to these specialized classes because they really work. We tested the hottest offerings to find the seven so good that you'll never go back to your regular old elliptical routine. By Ava Feuer, REDBOOK.

willSTRIKESLT 30/30
In an ideal world, we'd do cardio one day, weights the next, and alternate the muscles we worked for optimal fitness. In the real world, devoting that much time to exercise is virtually impossible. Enter SLT (Strengthen, Lengthen, Tone) 30/30, sometimes referred to as "Pilates on crack." For 30 minutes, you'll perform lunges, squats, planks, bicep curls, and more on a Megareformer, a highly-evolved version of the a Pilates reformer featuring additional springs, straps, cords and handlebars. A half-hour, fast paced, yoga-flow practice follows. The lingering soreness in our inner-thighs, glutes, and upper abdominals is a testament to the class' immediate effects. Although SLT is currently only in New York City, studios throughout the country use similar

The trend is definitely buzzy, but is it healthy? Yes, if you do it right. Please don't spend your hard-earned cash on a juice diet until you read this. By Betsy Stephens, REDBOOK.

Celebs pony up $10 for one produce-packed juice blend--and now Starbucks is bringing juicing to the rest of us with its new Evolution Fresh stores. We got to the bottom of the liquid diet mania:

To juice or to blend? If you're new to the lingo, here's a tip: Smoothies and juices are very different animals. A smoothie serves up whole fruits and vegetables, pulverized and sucked through a straw. Juice is made by separating the liquid and most of the nutrients from the pulp, which is then tossed. Die-hard juicers say getting rid of the pulp speeds vitamin delivery to your body, but "there's no evidence to support that claim," says Melina Jampolis, M.D., an internist specializing in nutrition. Plus, pulp has cancer-fighting, weight-maintaining fiber. Her opinion: Fresh juice can be great, but a pure

Don't beat yourself up for never hitting the gym - these moves from Jennifer Cohen, health and fitness expert and author of No Gym Required, will have you feeling tight and toned all before you sit down to work. By Holly Corbett, REDBOOK.

7 a.m.
When you wake up, immediately hit the floor and do 10 pushups. "As you get stronger, add an extra two pushups each week," says Cohen. As you increase the amount of reps, you'll spot a real difference in your upper arms. Looking good!

7:10 a.m.
For a high-protein breakfast, microwave eggs for two minutes. Fit in cardio by doing 20 jumping jacks, 20 squats, 20 front lunges, and 20 tricep dips on your kitchen chair before the buzzer goes off.

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7:30 a.m.
When you're brushing your teeth, alternate between calf raises and squeezing your butt muscles for toning every other day.

7:45 a.m.
Squeeze in 50 crunches before you get dressed. "It's great to do abdominal exercises before you put on your

If you're wild for The Hunger Games and obsessed with Twilight, pick up this batch of young adult novels that will have you turning pages as quickly as your children. Family book club, anyone? By Ava Feuer, REDBOOK.

If you like fairytales, try Between the Lines

What better to read with your daughter than a book co-written by a mother-daughter team? A collaboration between Jodi Picoult, the bestselling author of My Sister's Keeper, and Samantha Van Leer, her 16-year-old daughter, this modern-day fairytale follows bookish Delilah, a 13-year-old loner so obsessed with a children's fairytale she actually wants to live in it. The fairytale's hero, Oliver, on the other hand, wishes to escape its pages. The two develop a romance across two worlds, leaving the characters - and us - to wonder how we separate reality and fantasy.

Best for: Ages 12+

Delve further into the dystopian fiction trend with Gennifer Albin's Crewel (October 16), the

In need of your daily cuteness fix? We crowdsourced the most amazing pet tales on Redbook's Facebook page and we have to say, they're not only pretty awe-inspiring, but aww-inspiring, too. Get ready to click "share." By Kayla Miller, REDBOOK.

Retriever to the Rescue
"Last summer, I was pet sitting for my sister's Black Lab, Millie. On our leisurely evening walk, I stepped off the curb and broke and dislocated my ankle. I actually had to crawl back into the house, and Millie immediately knew something was wrong. She lay on the floor with her chin on the injured leg's knee and rested her paws next to my ankle while we waited for the paramedics. When I started to black out, she sat up and begun licking my face and chuffing softly at me. The next evening, when I emotionally melted down. Millie crawled up to the bed, started licking my tears, and once again, the gentle, soft, reassuring chuffing began. Millie is the best 'first responder' ever!" - Alex Z.

Digging up fun
"One day, I got a

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