Blog Posts by Marie Claire

Combat heat waves with these ultra-refreshing summertime concoctions made for poolside babes. By Jessica Velez

Skinny Dipping

2 oz. fresh lemon juice
1 oz. strawberry puree
1/2 oz. agave nectar
prosecco to top

Shake all ingredients except prosecco and strain into an ice-filled 16 oz. cup. Top with prosecco and garnish with a strawberry.

From ARIA Resort & Casino

Le Bajan Groove

1 1/2 oz. Grey Goose La Poire
1/2 oz. falernum
1/2 oz. lime juice
2 oz. coconut water
3 cucumber slices
3 mint leaves
1 large basil leaf

Muddle cucumber, basil, and mint in a shaker tin. Add remaining ingredients and fill shaker tin with ice. Shake hard and strain over fresh ice into a Collins glass. Garnish with cucumber.

From Bagatelle Los Angeles

Laid in the Shade

1/2 oz. grenadine
1/2 oz. orange juice
1/2 oz. cranberry juice
1/2 oz. lime juice
1/2 oz. Passoa
1 1/2 oz. Stoli O
2

Stop by one of these not-to-be-missed cities across the country. They're the best of the best. Nashville

1. Music: Nashville, Tennessee

Music City offers more than honky-tonk, with an indie rock scene that has The Black Keys, Karen Elson, and Jack White all calling this town home.

HOTEL The Union Station Hotel, housed in a former train station, takes you back to a more elegant time. From $259 per night.

RESTAURANTS Cap off a meal at Catbird Seat with a cocktail downstairs at Patterson House. Try the El Diablo.

MUST-DO Sample bluegrass at Station Inn or country at Robert's Western World. Record shop Grimey's New & Preloved Music sits above The Basement, a great venue to hear indie acts. Stop by Jack White's Third Man: It's a store, recording studio, and performance space.

30 Dates That Spice Up Your Relationship

CHEAP THRILL Hatch Show Print has been making concert posters for everyone from Dolly Parton to Johnny Cash since 1879. Take one home for about $12.

Score more weekend invites with these best-guest practices. By Edith Zimmerman

Summer EtiquetteYou may not have that summerhouse you've always wanted (not yet, anyway), but you have friends who do-and they've given you the nod. Alas, visitors are often unaware of behaviors that can drive their hosts crazy, leading to a weekend of simmering resentments. To avoid antagonizing your generous friends, follow these good-guest suggestions.

Arrive with a present. Think beyond wine. One idea: "Balsamic vinegar that's been aged for 25 years and first-press Italian olive oil," says Dorothy McGivney, editor of jauntsetter.com. "Your friends will think of you every time they dress vegetables or pasta."

Dial down your phone. "Turn off the data connection," says Nick Bilton, tech columnist for The New York Times. This way you can get emergency calls but not distracting e-mails, texts, and tweets.

The Most Iconic Movie Dresses of All Time

B.Y.O. Picky eaters should "offer to pick up some

Who says curvy girls can't rock stripes?! Dare to wear the hottest trends with these no-fail tips from fashion diva Nicolette Mason. By Nicolette Mason

Big girls are forever being told what not to wear, that everything from stripes to pleats to booties (even ponytails!) are off-limits to us. Is it any wonder that so many full-figured women cling to their boring black separates-the "safest" things in their wardrobes?

Thankfully, my years working in fashion have taught me some invaluable lessons about how to pull off pieces traditionally thought of as no-no's for anyone beyond a size 6. Follow these foolproof tips and brace yourself for some serious style points.

Horizontal StripesMYTH Horizontal stripes enlarge a big frame.

TRUTH Break up the pattern with a blazer or colored pants. Très chic-for all figures.

30 Dates That Spice Up Your Relationship

MYTH Top-heavy women can't wear knits.

TRUTH Look for body-skimming silhouettes in metallic for a pulled-together take.

Peplum

Meet four power players who started on the lowest rungs of their companies and made it to the very top. Here, they reveal their secrets to parlaying entry-level gigs into corner offices. By Lauren N. Williams

Kate GutmannKate Gutmann
President, Worldwide Sales, UPS

STARTED AS: Intern

While a senior at Siena College in upstate New York, Gutmann landed a marketing internship at the Albany offices of UPS. Afterward, the company offered her a junior sales job. Today, the 43-year-old mother of two runs the company's massive international sales force.

TIP #1: MAKE SURE THE DECISION MAKERS KNOW YOUR NAME AND WHAT YOU DO. "I was based in Atlanta-I'd already moved two or three times at that point-and was hoping to get promoted to a vice president position. But the person making the decision didn't know me at all, which can happen in a big company. So I wrote a memo-'Why Kate Gutmann?'-explaining who I was and why I should at least get an interview. It was a little courageous and scary at

It gives you a rush, messes with your mind, and always leaves you wanting more - and researchers are calling for the government to regulate the sweet stuff like a drug. By Joanne Chen

Sugar SkullIs sugar worse for you than, say, cocaine? According to a 2012 article in the journal Nature, it's a toxic substance that should be regulated like tobacco and alcohol. Researchers point to studies that show that too much sugar (both in the form of natural sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup) not only makes us fat, it also wreaks havoc on our liver, mucks up our metabolism, impairs brain function, and may leave us susceptible to heart disease, diabetes, even cancer.

So far, no federal action has been taken (advocates blame industry lobbyists), and experts say simply raising awareness isn't enough, especially when 80 percent of our food choices contain sugar. "It's like watching a train wreck in slow motion," says coauthor Laura Schmidt, Ph.D., a researcher at the University of California,

These page-turners will keep you in good company for the duration of summer. Plus: author interviews. By Ashley Ross

Seating Arrangments
Seating Arrangements By Maggie Shipstead
A seersucker-clad wedding in Nantucket takes a close look at social statuses when family members, long-time rivals and freshly broken-hearted bridesmaids collide.

AUTHOR DISH

What was your inspiration for the book?
I kind of started with someone who I knew in college. He got hit by a golf cart on Nantucket and had his leg cut open but the person driving the golf cart wouldn't apologize. So if you read the book, you'll recognize that.

The names in the book-Winn, Biddy, Piper, Triden, Oatsy-where'd you come up with those?
I got a lot of the names actually off this plaque in this weird WASP-y Rhode Island resort where they had a list of people who had been their lawn boy champions since the 1950s. I wrote these outrageous New England names probably a year before I started writing the book.

Your cover is very

We look to Hollywood for the coolest ways to look chic and breezy, even on the hottest of days. By Abby Gardner

More from Marie Claire:

How to Look Great in Every Photo

10 Tips To Climb To The Top of Your Career

12 Celebrity Body Secrets

The Most Iconic Movie Dresses of All Time

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