Grace Magazine

Looking for a five-minute morning routine that still leaves you feeling sensational?

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Here’s a lovely springtime cocktail, the gin Gimlet.

From the Plymouth Gin Web site:

Invented by naval doctor Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Desmond Gimlette (1857-1943), who is said to have mixed gin with the daily rations of lime “to help the medicine go down.”

Recipe:
25 ml Rose’s Lime Cordial
75 ml Plymouth Gin

Fill mixing glass with ice
Pour in both ingredients
Add some chilled water (optional)
Stir well
Strain into a martini glass
Garnish with lime

Plymouth is a nice, clean, smooth gin. You’ll find many classic gin cocktail recipes on its Web site.

Colored Eye Shadow
A bold eye look is hot for spring. 1960s-inspired colors mixed with a smoky eye are the key look for the upcoming warm weather.

Try Sephora’s eye shadow duo #3, a peacock blue/azure blue shimmery pair. Each shadow is enriched with green tea to soothe the eye area. Finish the eye with a black or charcoal liner and lots of black mascara for the latest hot look straight off the runway.

Stained Lips
That just-bitten look is in for spring — glossy and with just a hint of strong color underneath.

Try Stila’s Cherry Crush Lip Stain. It’s sort of a “mood” product that adapts to each person’s pH levels to create a unique look just for you. Scented and flavored like a cherry, Stila’s lip stain also contains pomegranate extracts and vitamins A, C and E for their antioxidant benefits.

If you’d rather create the look with makeup that you already own. Try coating your lips with clear lip gloss, then dabbing on a little plum colored lip stick to create a sheer but glossy stained look.

Rosy Cheeks
Flushed cheeks can be so sexy. Try Cargo’s SuedeBlush in Montebello, a mix of three cheek colors pressed together in one compact. Montebello contains light pink, rose, and neutral beige. So pretty.

Be sure to balance this trend with the others mentioned above. You don’t want to mix all of these tips into one look or you’ll be flashing back to the 1980s.

Strong Brows
We’ve seen strong brows all over the fall runways and now they are carrying over to spring. Fuller brows can give a face a more youthful look. Celebrity brow artist Anastasia Soare has created her own line of brow-care products.

Try her Tweezers Anonymous kit, a 12-step kit for serious brows. It’s perfect for over-pluckers. The kit contains everything you need to fill in sparse areas and create fuller, richer brows.

Frizz-Free Hair
Whether you like your hair straight and sleek or with soft shiny curls, the key word for spring is control. Frizz is out and shiny, smooth hair is definitely in.

Try T3’s mini flat iron. It’s a compact ceramic iron that is small enough for travel and durable enough for everyday use. Use it to smooth the hair shaft, then give a little twist to perk up the ends. You’ll look fun and feminine.

All products available at Sephora.

Longing for a lean dancer’s body with strong, beautiful legs?

Me, too.

Here are my favorite workouts that incorporate ballet techniques.

Muscle Ballet
Starring Stephanie Herman

This is my absolute favorite ballet workout. I have it on VHS. I hope my tape never wears out.

Stephanie Herman has a very pleasant style and gives clear instructions. I have her whole line of dance-inspired workouts.

For more on Stephanie Herman, visit her Web site. You can explore her other workouts or take an in-person class.

NYC Ballet Workout:
Fifty Stretches And Exercises Anyone Can Do For A Strong, Graceful, And Sculpted Body (Paperback)

I prefer the book over the DVD because I like to work at my own pace.

I like the way they teach you to build your own workouts to suit your needs and to prepare you for other activities, such as tennis or golf.

Ballet Workout
Starring Melissa Lowe

This is the first ballet workout I ever bought. It’s from the late 1980s as you can tell by the costumes.

Even though the makeup and clothes are a little outdated, the workout remains timeless. I love workouts that are full-on classic ballet, not just inspired by ballet moves.

Hot Bod Fusion:
The Ultimate Yoga, Pilates, and Ballet Workout for Sculpting Your Best Body (Paperback)

This book has sections on ballet, yoga and pilates techniques.

You can mix and match, so you don’t get bored with one workout. It doesn’t hurt that the models are gorgeous.

Balocity: Cardio with a Classic Twist
Starring Deanne McBrearty

This is my most recent purchase. I haven’t tried it yet. But I have watched it all the way through and I can tell I’m going to love it.

Deanna McBreary was featured in the NYC ballet workout book.
Visit her Web site for more information.

Ballet Class: For Beginners

This is not designed as a workout. This is an actual beginner’s ballet class led by ballet master David Howard.

Such a treasure.

What are your favorite workouts?

Organizational skills are necessary in our fast-paced modern world. Organizing your mind and environment will save time, create mental clarity and reduce stress. There are many ways in which to organize your life.

• Make lists to help you get organized. There is no better way to keep track of the things you need to do and what you have accomplished. Make daily lists, long-term goal lists, shopping lists and only buy what is on your list. Make lists of nice things to do for people. I love lists so much that I make lists of the lists I need to make. The beginnings of organization start with making lists.
• For one week write down every penny that you spend. You’ll be surprised how those pennies add up at the end of the week. Decide where you can save some money. Even if you can only afford a few dollars a week, save something for a rainy day. Skip that latte once in a while and put that money in the bank. Pennies add up to nickels, nickels to dimes, and so forth. Every little bit helps. You should always have an emergency fund so you don’t always have to depend on credit cards to get you out of a jam. Financial organization creates freedom.
• Be on time. Late people are unorganized people and cast the wrong impression. No one cares why you are late and they don’t want to hear tales of traffic woes or alarm clock malfunctions. They just know that you kept them waiting. You can’t be organized and stress free if you are always rushing around. There is a difference between being a fast mover and being in a hurry. Movers and shakers know what they want and go for it as quickly as possible. People in a hurry are rushing toward an unclarified goal. Better preparation will get you to life’s goals faster.
• Tidy your house and your workspace. Chaos is not a good living or working environment. Tidiness is as much of a psychological state as a physical one. Makes a list of the things you need to tidy. Some things need to be tidied every day, some once a week, some less often. Environmental organization creates peace of mind.
• Buy a filing cabinet to keep your bills and other important papers handy. You should be able to pull out a bill or an insurance policy at a moment’s notice. It’s also a good idea to keep photocopies of important papers close at hand, and keep the originals safely tucked away in a safe deposit box. Having a pile of unorganized bills will only create stress. Clerical organization creates order.

Why? Because she is adorable and has a lively intelligence in her beauty.

Kirsten’s lovely face is accented in this photo with romantic makeup in soft, pretty colors. The lilac eye shadow really makes her blue eyes pop. She looks like a delicate little flower.

Here is how beautyriot.com suggests copying her look:

Foundation / Concealer
Start with clean, exfoliated skin. After allowing moisturizer to soak in, use a light-coverage, sheer foundation or tinted moisturizer to even out skin where necessary.

Choose a sheer lip color in a rose or petal pink shade that coordinates with your blush. Apply the color in very light layers until you get a “bee-stung” look. Next apply a coat or two of clear or tinted gloss.

Here are more pictures of Kirsten Dunst:

There is always such a mad rush at holiday season. When the day finally arrives, it ends so quickly. Then there is always the big let-down. What to do?

Allow yourself a day of rest. Spend some quiet time with your closest family members. Stay indoors. Don’t even think about shopping or returning gifts.

Make a nice pot of tea and enjoy your holiday treats in the quiet of your own home.

That is my recommendation for holiday bliss.

Peace,
Grace Magazine

Fight off the winter sniffles and blahs.

My favorite place to buy vitamins and supplements is Puritan’s Pride.
The prices are amazingly low and the quality is very good.

Here are recommendations for fighting the winter yuks.

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When I’m in a cookie-baking mood, my favorite recipe is Classic Spritz Cookies.

They are so easy and you can make many different kinds of cookies from this one recipe. The consistency is perfect for using a cookie press.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Cream butter and sugar. Add egg, milk, vanilla and almond extracts, beat well.
• Sift together flour and baking powder and slowly add to the butter mixture, making a smooth dough.
• Using a cookie press, stamp various cookie shapes onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
• Bake 10-12 minutes until lightly browned around the edges.
• Cool on a wire rack. Yeild: 7-8 dozen small cookies.

This recipe is very versatile. Enjoy the cookies plain or try one of these variations:

• sprinkle with colored sugar
• press a candied cherry into the center
• sprinkle with chopped nuts
• dip ends into melted chocolate
• decorate with colored frosting

What are your favorite cookie recipes?

Here’s a simple gingerbread cake recipe to spice up your holidays.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/3 sugar
3/4 cup dark corn syrup
1 tablespoon marmalade
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 cup self-rising flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
pinch of salt
1 cup whole-wheat flour
confectioner’s sugar to dust

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

• Line and 8-inch square cake pan with waxed paper, grease lightly with butter and dust with flour. (I don’t have a square pan, so I use an 8-inch round pan and the recipes turns out fine)
• Combine butter, sugar, dark corn syrup and marmalade in a saucepan over low heat and stir until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
• In a bowl, beat together eggs and milk, then stir in the syrup mixture.
• In a separate bowl, sift together the self-rising flour, baking soda, spices, salt and whole-wheat flour.
• Pour the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon until just smooth. Do not overbeat.
• Pour into cake pan and bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the cake.
• Allow to cool in the pan.
• Remove from pan, peel off the wax paper. Sprinkle the top with confectioner’s sugar. Cut into squares and serve.

Gingerbread is wonderful served with pears and whipped cream and a nice strong pot of tea.