Magazine Review: People StyleWatch May 2010 - Jessica Simpson

Sorry it took me so long to review this. Not sure what's been going on with me recently. I've also given up on some tv shows that I had been watching from the beginning (Gossip Girl, Private Practice, RHoNYC, etc). Anyway...
I consider this a monthly must-get. I always find inspiration, whether its individual pieces or celeb outfits. The beauty section is usually decent as well.
Looking at the Fashion sections, the Under $100 spread was on sailor-y pieces. I'm currently huge right now(8 months pregnant) but I'm considering getting the striped top since its such a classic piece. The Best Cargo Pants for Your Body - not sure I agree with their pick for pear shapes. Not sure cuffed & loose would be good for me. I'm thinking it would make me look very stumpy. Quite a few pages of swimsuits, organized by types (flirty, classic, chic, under $100) and includes accessory options. Not much about body type though. Also a short section in the back about how to Look Cute While You Workout.
For Beauty, the 100 Beauty Secrets article was ok. Think I picked up a few new ideas. The categories cover makeup, skin, hair & nails. The Beauty Look for Less is Rachel McAdams wearing natural shimmery pinks. Another thing that has been getting a lot of attention is the topknot & its mentioned in this magazine as well. Does seem like it would be a bit difficult to pull off though.
Get this issue!!!

A note about Vogue

Since I review most of the other popular women's magazines, you might wonder why Vogue hasn't made the list. Simply put, I rarely find anything of interest in the magazine. Yes its obviously geared towards someone in a much higher pay grade than I would qualify for but overall, it just doesn't do much for me. Occasionally I'll buy an issue if the cover star is someone I like, like this issue w/SJP. And they do have some great photo spreads. But I just don't feel that I can give it a fair review since I'm rarely drawn to anything in the issue.

Books: Model Home, The Wind Up Bird Chronicle, Brava Valentine

Anyone else have a bad habit of giving up on a book halfway through? Think I'm about to do this for the 3rd time in a row now. Sometimes its because the book isn't any good & sometimes I just get distracted. These are the books I recently started & didn't finish:Model Home by Eric Puchner. This book was ok but I lost interest halfway through. It's about a family who's father took a big financial risk & ended up losing everything. The kids are a bit weird but nothing super interesting. I just didn't really care what happened to any of them.

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami. Now this is a good book, although kind of weird. It grabbed me right from the beginning. The only reason I didn't finish it was because it was a library book, one of several I borrowed at the same time. It was the 1st one I started not realizing how long it would take me to read. I started to get antsy and started one of the other books too & then I ran out of loan time. But I do plan on getting more of his books because I really did enjoy the parts of it I got to read.

Brava, Valentine by Adriana Trigiani. This is the book I'm currently reading & while I haven't quite decided if I'm going to give up on it yet, it's likely. I know this author has a loyal following but I just don't feel a connection with the main character.

I'm not sure whether this is a personal fault or if its a good thing that I don't spend time on things that don't hold my attention. I probably would've given up on The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo if the reviews weren't so good but I managed to stick it out & ended up really enjoying it. Maybe I'll just try harder with the popular, culturally important books & blame the authors for the rest. lol

Books: Mythology

My Bookshelf

It might be weird but I'm quite proud of my small book collection. It's well edited & I think shows my varied interests. I will admit that I haven't read all of them (yet).

Top shelf:
my old French Textbooks
The Baby Book/Sears
Tai Chi Handbook
The Little Prince
Look Gorgeous Always
Home Swell Home/Rowley
Into the Wild
Ain't Nobody's Business If You Do
How to Be a Great Lover
City CHic
The Devil Wears Prada
Perfect Madness
SATC: Kiss & Tell
Necklace of Kisses/Black
The City of Falling Angels/Berendt
O. Henry Stories
Anais Nin stories
The DaVinci Code
How to Make Love Like a Porn Star/Jameson
Voices from The Farm
Miracle in the Andes
The Wicca Handbook
A Shot in the Dark
an old journal
The Complete Book of Shiatsu Therapy
Sex & the Perfect Lover
US Secrets of Celebrity Style
Harper's Bazaar Great Style
Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy
Complete Book of the Zodiac
Kiss My Tiara
Entre Nous
Swell/Rowley
Psychology of Success
Qi Gong for Beginners
A Year of Style/Fekkai
Three Black Skirts/Johnson
Total Beauty/Stacey
Prescription for Nutritional Healing

Middle Shelf:
The Code Book/Singh
Asking for Trouble/Young
Filthy Rich Handbook
Transformations/Sexton
Why Men Marry Bitches
Metamorphoses/Ovid
The Bombshell Manual of Style
A Short History of Nearly Everything/Bryson
Diet for a New America/Robbins
Thoughts Without a Thinker
What the Buddha Taught
Beauty Confidential/Haobsh
A Year in Provence
The Bad Girl's Guide to the Open Road
The Official Preppy Handbook
Trauma & Recovery
Tuck Everlasting
Food Court Druids, Cherohonkees....
Simple Pleasures/Ernaux
The Zombie Survival Guide
Kitchen Confidential
The Hipster Handbook
Under the Tuscan Sun
The Fashionista Files
Valley of the Dolls
Complete Works of Shakespeare
How to be a Budget Fashionista
The Demon-Haunted World/Sagan
The Mother Trip
The Hedonism Handbook
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
The Satanic Bible
Mythology/Hamilton
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
How to Raise a Healthy Child
Pride & Prejudice
Butterfly/Harvey
Sex: A User's Guide
The Art Book
The Photo Book
The Art of the Moment

Bottom Shelf:
The Help
Wicked
The Hunger Games
Shutter Island
One Hundred Years in Solitude
In Defense of Food
The Girl Who Played with Fire
magazines from March-May 2010, titles I've reviewed plus Esquire, Vogue, parenting & art magazines. Also have fitness tear-sheets (from old magazines) in the blue folder & 2 cd cases.

Food: Lemon Jello Cake

This is one of my *favorite* cakes. I first heard about it on Pinch My Salt (which is where the pic is taken from) http://pinchmysalt.com/2007/09/14/quick-and-easy-lemon-cake/

The only change I made from her recipe (which has some cute pics to go along w/the instructions) is to use a lemon box cake mix instead of a yellow one. I was never a lemon cake fan before trying this cake but now I'm truly addicted.

NOTE: You will have to make adjustments if you live in a high altitude.

1 package lemon cake mix
1 small package lemon jello
3/4 C. water
4 eggs, well beaten
3/4 C. oil

glaze:
Juice and zest of 2 lemons
2 C. powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour a 18 x 13-inch jelly roll pan (I use 2 8x8" pans)

2. Pour cake mix and lemon jello powder into a large bowl; mix. Stir in the water then add eggs and oil. Mix using a wooden spoon. Lumps ok

3. Pour batter into a greased and floured pan; smooth batter with a spatula so that it is even. Bake 25 minutes at 350 degrees, checking after the first 20 minutes.

4. While cake is baking, mix together powdered sugar, lemon juice and zest.

5. While cake is still warm, pierce with fork all over then spread glaze evenly over the top. Allow to cool, then cut into squares and serve.

Happy Birthday to Me!!!