Blog Posts by Jennifer Romolini, Shine editor in chief

Kate Middleton's dress! Photo: Getty ImagesThey're calling it timeless, elegant, stunning, and a "triumph." After months of anticipation and a near frenzy in the fashion world to uncover the secret, Kate Middleton's wedding designer-and dress!-have finally been revealed. In a dramatic debut, the 29-year-old princess exited a Rolls Royce outside of Westminster Abbey this morning wearing a sleek, feminine, retro-inspired silk gazar and Chantilly lace gown designed by Alexander McQueen creative director Sarah Burton. The gorgeous dress, which perfectly hugged Middleton's frame and became an iconic garment the moment it appeared, features a deep V-neck, long sleeves, a full skirt, and a train measuring more than two meters long. It is adorned throughout with delicate, hand-sewn lace.

Initial reactions to Middleton's dress have been almost uniformly positive (unlike the mixed reviews for many other major gowns of the last decade-Michelle Obama's inaugural look comes to mind). Vogue editor Hamish Bowles called it "magnificent," and

Read More »from Kate Middleton's dress, revealed—and everyone loves it! (video)

Sometimes (most times) in life we're so caught up in go-go-go, busy-busy-busy-busy, I-must-be-important-because-I-have-so-much-stuff-to do!, that we forget the simple, awesome, unexpected pleasures this planet has to offer. Like pillow fighting. Over the weekend, organized mobs of folks gathered in more than 100 cities (from Hong Kong to Paris to New York to Budapest) to participate in a new holiday they're calling International Pillow Fight Day. Once there (um, as the name suggests) they went all-out at each other with feather-filled sacks. The results are exuberant, childlike, playful-basically just everything good. Check it out:

New York:

Philadelphia:

(Shot by Workers of the East)

Hong Kong:

Los Angeles:

Paris:

London:

Budapest:

Read More »from International Pillow Fight Day was this weekend and, man, did it look fun... (video)

First lady Michelle Obama talks at an event last year about the Affordable Care Act. Getty ImagesA message from First Lady Michelle Obama:

I want to share with you a personal story in the hopes that it encourages you to get the most out of your doctor visits for your children.

A few years ago as a working mom, I had the best intentions to feed my kids healthy food on a budget, knowing that sometimes pizza or the drive-thru were inevitable. But I was surprised when my pediatrician pulled me aside during an annual well-child visit and told me we needed to start paying better attention to what we were feeding our girls.

They were younger at the time. They were active and growing, with a healthy sense of themselves, which Barack and I have always encouraged. But our doctor told me that their BMIs were creeping upwards. Now to be honest, I didn't really know what BMI was. And I certainly didn't know that even a small increase in BMI can have serious consequences for a child's health. So I'm grateful my pediatrician was there to help.

He explained that BMI, or Body Mass Index, is a

Read More »from Exclusive: Michelle Obama on the Affordable Care Act, one year later

Did anyone else have the expression "calling you out" in their middle and high schools? It was a threat meant to strike fear into the heart of one's enemies and it meant "I'm calling you out at a certain time and a certain place in order to connect my fists with your face." If you were a certain type of person (ie, a weak geek, like myself), at that time, it was also the most terrifying group of words in the English language.

Well, in an interview on Saturday with Fox News, former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin essentially "called out" comedian Kathy Griffin, calling her a "has-been" and stating "Kathy, pick on me! Come up to Alaska and pick on me!"

What's all the guff about? Well, according to Politico.com, Griffin, a long-time Palin critic, is set to appear on an upcoming episode of Glee as a judge who is a "recent Tea Party candidate and home schooler-a Sarah Palin type."

When asked about Griffin's 'Glee' appearance, Palin went off on the mini-tirade above, saying

Read More »from Sarah Palin says Kathy Griffin "is a 50-year-old bully" (video)

Ed and Derence are a devoted couple who have been together for more than 40 years. Ed is 78 years old, has Alzheimer's disease, and his last wish before his disease progresses is to marry the love of his life, while he can still remember. Watch their inspiring plea in the video above-it's stories like these that remind us that those most affected by this very heated national debate are good people who just want to legally commit to loving each other, 'til death do they part.
You can find out more about Ed and Derence here.

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"It gets better, teens": The most important video you will watch this week

Read More »from Another powerful argument for gay marriage: this inspiring couple (video)

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Read More »from Worst of New York Fashion Week Fall 2011: Seriously? You want us to wear this stuff?

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Jennifer Aniston is in the news this week for revealing to Allure how she hated the 'Rachel' haircut that made her famous on Friends. ("I think it was the ugliest haircut I've ever seen," she explained.) And, though the article is getting loads of attention (while actually being pretty standard magazine fare-Aniston watches The Bachelor! She's a good party host! Celebrities, they say things!), it's the accompanying photos that really caught our eye. In them, the actress appears waxen and eerily doll-like, cuddlin' up in unbuttoned pajamas, baring her side boobs, and making pouty-wouty baby faces under an astoundingly thick, spackle-y coat of taupe-tan makeup.

Now, we at Shine are all for a 41-year-old woman with a smokin' hot bod showing off said bod. But what we cannot abide, in fact, the one thing that is kind of making us want to slash our eyeballs and then die inside, is a grown-ass woman posing and making sexy-cooing baby faces while HOLDING A STUFFED ANIMAL.

Seriously.

Why is

Read More »from Lions and tigers and... breasts?! Sexy celebs and their sexy stuffed animals