TRAVEL WITH SERENA--PACKING TIPS

Serena Brower is our travel editor at American Woman Magazine.  I have to admit, I’m green with envy at times because she gets to explore the world on an expense account.  Serena will stop by from time to time to share travel tips and discuss vacation ideas for those of you (unlike moi) with the time and funds to have a vacation.--AP

Benvenuto! Willkomen! Beinvenue! Welcome!  Serena Brower here, and today I’d like to share a couple of great packing tips with you.  Whether you’re traveling for business or pleasure, overnight or a week, to a world class resort or cabin in the mountains, you need to pack for that trip.  And you’d probably like to do so in such a way that you don’t have to spend the first few hours at your destination ironing the wrinkles out of all your clothes, right?  So here’s how you keep those wrinkles to a minimum:

First, hold on to any large pieces of cardboard that come your way.  Cut them to fit inside your suitcases, several sheets per suitcase.  You can store the cardboard right in the suitcases.  They’ll be out of the way and handy when you need them.  Next, go out and buy a large box of gallon size plastic zip bags and a package or two of tissue paper. 

Fold your garments and wrap each in a couple of sheets of tissue paper.  Place the wrapped garments into a plastic zip bag and seal, but don’t squeeze all the air out the way you would for freezing food.  Leave some air to act as a cushion.

Pack your shoes and any hard items in the bottom of the suitcase.  Place a sheet of cardboard over these items.  Lay your bagged items in one layer on top of the cardboard.  Place another layer of cardboard on top.  Repeat layering bagged garments and cardboard layers until your suitcase is full.  Following this packing method may not eliminate all wrinkles from setting into your garments, but it will reduce your ironing time to a bare minimum.

What a great idea!  Thanks for sharing Serena.  So dear blog readers, do you have any travel tips or stories you’d like to share?  Let’s hear from you.  Remember, anyone who posts a comment this week is entered in the book giveaway from our guest mystery author on Book Club Friday. -- AP

BEAUTY WITH NICOLE--LOTIONS AND POTIONS AND CREAMS, OH MY!

Nicole Emmerling is the beauty editor at American Woman.   She’ll drop by on Thursdays from time to time to offer various beauty tips and trends to help us all look our best.  She’s got her work cut out for her, given so many of us (me!) have little time to pamper ourselves and even less money to do so.--AP

LOTIONS AND POTIONS AND CREAMS, OH MY!
by Nicole Emmerling

Many of the editors at American Woman are like Anastasia, of a “certain” age and fighting it every step of the way.  How much have you spent over the past year on anti-aging lotions and serums to ward off or reduce the onset of crow’s feet and laugh lines?  Too much, I’m sure.  Products found in drug stores can run you $50 and up.  Specialty products from high-end companies can be as much as $200 for less than 2 oz.  What price beauty!

Well, listen up, ladies, because the truth is that no matter what Madison Ave. is touting, none of these products lives up to the hype.  You may see minimal improvement, but is minimal improvement worth maximum bucks?

If you want your skin to look young, healthy, and vibrant, this is what you need to do:

• Wash your face twice a day.  Many women are afraid to wash their faces too often because they’re worried about drying out their skin.  What you should be worried about is all the crud and toxins that build up on your skin throughout the day.

• Hydrate.  Regular moisturizing gives your skin a healthy glow and can act as a barrier against both pollutants and air borne bacteria.  Using moisturizer is far more beneficial to your skin than any pricey anti-aging serum.

• Exfoliate.  The outermost layer of your skin is made up of dead skin cells.  Use an exfoliating scrub once a week to remove this dead skin.  Then apply moisturizer while your skin is still damp. 

• Use sunscreen every day, no matter the weather.  Yes, we all need Vitamin D, but sunscreen is a skin’s best friend.  Always protect your skin from the sun’s harmful rays.  Trust me, those wrinkly prune women you see walking around all spent way too much time working on their tans as teens and young adults.  Besides, wrinkles may be the least of their worries.  Melanoma kill. 

• Get a good night’s sleep.  Aside from those unsightly bags and dark under eye circles, lack of sleep can cause excessive production of stress hormones that may slow collagen production, and collagen is what keeps us looking young.

One final piece of advice: May is National Skin Cancer Awareness Month. Know the signs of skin cancer and have any suspicious growth checked by your doctor.  

Have a beauty tip you'd like to share?  Let's hear from you!  And remember, everyone who posts a comment this week is entered to win a book from our Book Club Friday guest author.-- AP

 

COOKING WITH CLORIS--CHICKEN, VEGGIES, AND MANGO SALAD

With summer right around the corner, American Woman food editor Cloris McWerther will be presenting quick and easy warm weather recipes that require a minimum amount of prep time.  Being a working mother herself, Cloris knows all too well that there aren’t enough hours in the day.  Of course it doesn’t help that I’ve been dragging her off to track down dastardly killers lately.  You can read more about that come January with the launch of Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun (written by Lois Winston), the first book in the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries, and featuring me, Anastasia Pollack. 

For now, though, enjoy this refreshing main course salad.  Cloris tells me you can throw together the ingredients first thing in the morning before leaving for work, and the salad will be ready for you come dinnertime.  Obviously, she’s never been in my house first thing in the morning!  If your morning routine is anything like mine, you better make your salad the night before.-- AP

CHICKEN, VEGGIES, AND MANGO SALAD
(serves 4)

Ingredients:
3 lg. cucumbers, sliced
1 cup frozen mangos, diced
1 med. size zucchini, sliced
¼ cup dried cranberries
2 cups cooked chicken, cubed
1 T. granulated sugar
1 T. dill weed
½ cup wine vinegar
½ cup apple juice
½ cup water
½ cup chopped walnuts
lettuce


Directions:
In a lg. bowl combine cucumbers, mangos, zucchini, dried cranberries, chicken and dill weed.  In a saucepan combine sugar, wine vinegar, apple juice, and water.  Bring to boil.  Pour over veggie/fruit mixture.  Chill at least 3 hrs.  Add walnuts right before serving.  Serve over a bed of lettuce.


Cloris will be back next Tuesday and every Tuesday with more great recipes for busy working women, but we'd love to have you, our readers, share some of your quick and easy summer recipes.  And don't forget, those of you who post a comment this week are entered for a chance to win a book from our guest author on Book Club Friday.--AP

CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--WELCOME! AND A PATRIOTIC TOPIARY

Welcome to the launch of Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers, the blog of Anastasia Pollack (that’s me!), crafts editor and reluctant amateur sleuth.  You can read all about how I became a reluctant amateur sleuth come January with the release of Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun, the first book in the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries.  I’m allowing author Lois Winston to tell my story because frankly, between dealing with my day job, my dead husband’s loan shark, and a household that includes my crazy communist mother-in-law, my eccentric Russian princess (in her mind) mother, two teenage sons, Ralph the Shakespeare quoting parrot, Mephisto the Demon Dog, and the corpulent kitty Catherine the Great, who has time to write a book?  Certainly not me.  I rarely have time to wash my hair these days.

Anyway, even though Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun doesn’t come out until January, I’m launching my blog now so that you’ll all get to know and love little ol’ me and the rest of the gang.  Besides, May is both Creative Beginnings Month and National Book Month.  Bet you didn’t know that, did you?  See, stick around and you’ll be amazed at what you’ll learn here.  Not to mention having loads of fun and getting lots of free stuff (see below.)

Since I haven’t yet figured out how to clone myself, blogging every day was so not going to happen unless I enlisted the aid of my fellow editors at American Woman magazine and an assortment of interesting guests.  Besides, I know crafts and killers, and I figured you’d enjoy a bit more diversity.  So as you can see from the schedule on the sidebar, I’ll be offering all things crafty on Mondays -- sometimes tips, sometimes free projects, and sometimes surprise guests.  

Tuesdays will feature recipes to die for from food editor and my personal Dr. Watson, Cloris McWerther.  On Wednesdays drop by for decorating tips and all things green with former flower child and decorating editor Jeanie Sims, savings tips from our money guru Sheila Conway, or healthy living tips from our health editor Janice Kerr. Thursdays will feature beauty editor Nicole Emmerling, one of our revolving-door fashion editors, or travel editor Serena Brower.  Look for the occasional guest on these days as well since these editors are often off at photo shoots in exotic locales while the rest of us bottom feeders toil away back at the office.

On Book Club Fridays I’ll be featuring murder and mayhem with guest blogs from mystery, suspense, romantic suspense, and thriller authors dropping by the American Woman Book Club to talk about their latest books.  Some, like our guest author coming up this Friday, will offer a free book to a lucky reader who posts a comment to the blog that week. 

As you can see, my fellow editors and I have planned a site with something for everyone, but we’d like to hear from you as well.  Have a question for one of us?  Drop us a line at anastasiapollack@gmail.com, and we’ll answer it in a future blog.

PATRIOTIC TOPIARY

Materials: metal, wood, or ceramic container or clay pot, approx. 6” x 6” x 6”
15” long 5/8” wooden dowel
6” white Styrofoam® ball
1 yd. 1” wide blue print ribbon
3” x 45” piece blue gingham
scraps of red, white, and blue fabric
floral foam, enough to fit inside container
straight pins
green excelsior
hot glue gun and glue sticks
tacky glue

Note: Use hot glue for all gluing except where tacky glue is indicated.  Model shown made with red glitter metal container purchased from crafts store.

1.  Insert dowel halfway into Styrofoam® ball.  Remove dowel.  Dispense glue into hole in ball.  Reinsert dowel.

2. Glue floral foam inside container.  Insert dowel into center of floral foam.  Remove dowel.  Dispense glue into hole in floral foam.  Reinsert dowel.

3.  Apply a thin coat of tacky glue to dowel.  Wrap ribbon around dowel to cover.

4.  Tear fabric into 1-1/2” x 6” strips.  Place two strips wrong sides together and tie a knot at center.

5.  Insert a straight pin into knot.  Dip pin in tacky glue and quickly insert into Styrofoam® ball.  Repeat until ball is completely covered.

6.  Glue excelsor over floral foam inside container.

7.  Tie blue gingham strip around container.

My ghost writer Lois Winston is also an accomplished designer.  Check out her Plays in Dirt cross stitched apron in the June issue of Create & Decorate magazine; her Circus Fun bib and bloomers in the May/June issue of Just CrossStitch; and her Rose Wedding Sampler and Go Confidently Sampler in the June issue of The Cross Stitcher.


And don't forget, those of you who post a comment this week are entered for a chance to win a book from our guest author on Book Club Friday.