GeekSugar

Website of the Day: Whole Travel

GeekSugar — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 14:40:50 PDT

As if money wasn't your biggest impediment to travel these days, now you have to worry what kind of footprint you're adding to the earth when you go somewhere. Research your responsible trip on Whole Travel, a website that offers a hub for your sustainable travel needs. Search from their website for hotels and airlines that promote sustainable practices, and once you've booked your trip, learn how to purchase carbon offsets to make up for your big stinky gallivanting.

It's not all responsibility and sustainability seriousness though - browse through other users' breathtaking vacation photos for inspiration or upload your own!

9 Ways to Earn Extra Cash When Money Is Tight

Wise Bread — Thu, 24 May 2012 11:51:58 PDT

I'm sure everyone can do with a little more cash in their wallets. Here are some great suggestions by Wise Bread for you to make extra money.

Even though I'm self-employed full-time, I'm always looking for new and exciting ways to make more money.

Earlier this year, I wrote a Wise Bread post on websites that can help you earn extra cash. More recently, I came across a blog post on Zaarly titled, "10 Ways to Make Money Without a Job." After reviewing the latter post, I thought it was time to revisit the topic and let you in on a few more ways to get paid.

The ideas that Zaarly presents are perfect for the unemployed or those who just want to pad their pockets a little more. In addition, there are moonlighting jobs that I do that I thought you should know about. Thus, if you're without a steady paycheck or you just want to build up a rainy-day stash, here are some of your options.

1. Offer Experiences to Strangers

I recently learned about a new site called Vayable, which allows people with specialized knowledge and talents, local info, and time on their hands to create experiences that others can purchase. It's basically a touring and activity company without the company. Anyone can join the site and set up an experience. For instance, the Kan Brothers offer motorcycle tours of San Francisco - which include helmet rental, a drink at a local hot spot, and a city map - for two to four people at $75 per person. In New York City, Kim G. is offering a personalized painting lesson for groups of two to six for a flat rate of $300; the experience includes acrylic paints; canvas board and supplies; studio space; wine, cheese, and crackers; and Kim’s undivided attention. Consider this tip if you're interested in joining Vayable: Browse the site to see what other people in your area are offering. By creating a unique experience that no one else has established, you have a better chance of getting booked.

Read on for more.

Yogini Kristin McGee Dishes on Bethenny Frankel's Fave Pose and Getting Ready For Beach Season

Lizzie Fuhr — Wed, 23 May 2012 00:36:21 PDT

I was lucky enough to take a class taught by Manhattan-based yoga teacher Kristin McGee right here in San Francisco! Although one busy lady, Kristin traveled across the country to teach Vinyasa Vibes (a new offering at The Sports Club/LA), a flow-based, powerful yoga sequence enhanced by music. The most musical part of the practice? During Savasana, the class culminated in a live sax solo by Grammy-nominated musician Dave Koz. After class, Kristin and I chatted about her yoga journey, getting ready for bikini season, and what it's like working with one of her famous clients, Bethenny Frankel.

FitSugar: Some of the moves in Vinyasa Vibes are Ashtanga-influenced. Is that what your yoga teacher training background was in?
Kristin McGee: My original background was really eclectic because I started in the early '90s. I started taking [yoga] at NYU; some of my very early teachers were Jivamukti teachers who did study Ashtanga. Then I did study with Richard Freedman for a while, who is pure Ashtanga, and Cyndi Lee at OM Yoga. I wanted to get deeper into Iyengar classes and get into the alignment and the detail. Now in my practice I want to get more into Pranayama, more of the breathing, and maybe take some more Kundalini classes. I just feel like it constantly evolves.

FS: The Vinyasa Vibes class has live music during final relaxation. Can you elaborate on the experience of live music and yoga combined?
KM: In yoga practice, it’s a very intimate, immediate place. It's almost like live theater or live music where it brings you right into the moment. Music is a universal language, just like our breath is a universal breath. I think the second we're in this surrounding, in this environment with that live music and the intimacy of a live class, it brings it all together in one beautiful experience.

FS: You’ve collaborated with Bethenny Frankel on some projects. What's her favorite pose?
KM: Bethenny’s all-time favorite pose is Straddle Forward Bend because she says it feels like the weight of the world is falling off of her shoulders. Someone like Bethenny Frankel has a million things going on, and I don’t know how she does it! But I think you also noticed it in the practice tonight. Right when we finally got to that Straddle Forward Hang, it was kind of just like, "Ugh! Such a release!" You feel like you could stay there for quite a while.

Keep reading for Kristin's favorite snack before class and how to get your body ready for Summer.

How Not to Destroy Your Marriage

The Good Men Project — Fri, 18 May 2012 12:30:42 PDT

We're happy to present this story from one of our favorite sites, The Good Men Project. Today, Mark Tyrrell offers eight relationship tools to make your marriage work.

"All marriages are happy. It's the living together afterward that causes all the trouble." - Raymond Hull

So how do you make your marriage work? Or do you just blindly hope it'll take care of itself?

Think of a hot, successful date with someone you’re attracted to. You have fun, great conversation and more sexual chemistry than a warehouse full of pheromones. You don’t have to “work at” the date because it’s self sustaining. It runs as smoothly as the gliding hand of a classical guitar maestro and you can’t wait for another rendition.

Teenage Dating in a Twilight-Hunger Games World

But marriage, or any long term relationship; well that’s a whole other caboodle.

If we’re not careful, marriage can deteriorate into little more than a torturous assault course; littered with routine boredoms, frustrations and resentments. Couple all that with external pressures and sometimes marriage feels not worth the effort. But there are major benefits to being hitched or committed, other than just a beneficial tax regime.

Healthy marriage; healthy people.

Being happily married bestows heaps of health benefits. You might be forgiven for thinking that if you’re married you don’t live longer it just seems like it but, no, a good marriage really can help you clock up more years (1) and married people are happier (2) even though they don’t always look it from the outside.

But when marriage doesn’t work it can feel being manacled to a maniac, marooned with a misogynist or nailed to a nag. And I don’t care what the studies say, that’s not healthy. You may hear couples say stuff like: “We are making our marriage work!” but how do we do this?

Making it work.

We pay lip service to “working on the marriage” but what is the work we need to do? Marriage vows such as “to love and to cherish” and “forsaking all others, for better or for worse” don’t really tell us how to make it work, although they give us a clue.

Fortunately a ton of research has been done on what to do and not do to make your marriage, or any intimate relationship work. Follow the guidelines here to become “good at marriage."

Tip one: Be romantic but keep it real.

We are all (force?) fed romance in movies and novels. The handsome man gets the beautiful woman. But what I wonder is what happens after our romantic couple ride off into the sunset together? What do they do exactly? Bicker? Moan at one another? Start to ignore each other?

After all that romance, our beautiful couple is bound to have massive expectations of their life together. But when rose tinted expectations clash with day to reality, watch out!

Romance is vital in any relationship. Always seeing the best in your partner helps to keep things intimate and love should be expressed. But if you have been raised on Mills and Boon Romance novels or feel-good movies, then your own romantic expectations can work against the sustainability of your long term relationship.

When day to day life fails to live up to the giddy, heady lust-filled days of the pre-settled down romance people can become angry, even blame one another: “This wasn’t what I signed up for." They find it hard to take the rough with the smooth because they never really figured there would be any rough.

Expectations not diluted with at least a dash of realism can be a royal road to relationship ruin. Your partner may be an angel, but they have feet of clay. You must learn to love those feet or at least accept them a bit!

Get the rest after the jump!

8 Things You Think Are Good for Your Money . . . That Aren't

LearnVest — Fri, 11 May 2012 15:03:23 PDT

You may be wasting money when you think you're saving. LearnVest shares eight of the biggest money misconceptions.

Frugalista. Recessionista. In the past few years, people have coined a lot of silly words describing women and their approach to money, but the thought behind each of them is the same: You care about your hard-earned dollars and want to make them stretch.

That's true of most of us: We scrimp, we pinch, we try to feed our proverbial piggy bank as much as possible. Yet sometimes, in our excitement to be financial overachievers, we overreach.

It turns out there are a number of things that sound like they'd be doing good things for your money, and make you feel like you're saving more . . . when, actually, they're having the opposite effect.

Paying Every Debt Equally

When you have multiple debts to pay off (a credit card here, a student loan there) you might feel like a rock star simply for keeping up with them all and dividing your attention in a lot of different directions. Which, in a sense, you are! After all, you should always pay at least the minimums on all your loans.

But, if you have extra money to pay down your debts, you’re doing yourself a disservice by dividing it equally. The debts with the highest interest rates grow the fastest, so you should focus your muscle on the most toxic debts first.

Read on for more.

Don't Waste Your Dough on These Yogic Products

Jenny Sugar — Mon, 07 May 2012 15:05:58 PDT

Like running, yoga doesn't take a whole lot of fancy equipment. All you truly need are a good yoga mat and a comfortable outfit that keeps you covered and dry. But with yoga's growing popularity, it seems like more and more yoga-focused products are cropping up. Here are a few you could live without.

Round Yoga Mat
Unless you practice partner yoga, attend Mommy and Me classes, or go to a specific type of class where a round Mandala yoga mat is a necessity, save your $70. The extra mat circumference isn't necessary since most instructors teach using a traditional rectangular-shaped mat. Studio space is also tight, and it would be inconsiderate to take up so much room with a circular mat. If you do invest in one of these six-foot round mats, you can't use a basic yoga bag, so purchasing a square-shaped bag would be another investment you'd have to make. So although intriguing, a circular mat isn't worth the money.

Keep reading to find out what other yoga products aren't worth the dough.

Olympic Pros Shawn Johnson, Natalie Coughlin, and Mia Hamm Share Their Healthy Snack Ideas

Leta Shy — Mon, 07 May 2012 14:25:59 PDT

Being an Olympic veteran means three things: you're a world-class athlete, you're used to hectic schedules, and you know how to travel smart. So who better to ask about how to stay healthy while being on the go than a few famous Olympic athletes? Whether you're snacking at home or need something to grab and go, here are recommendations from veteran Olympians Natalie Coughlin, Mia Hamm, and Shawn Johnson.

When traveling: It's all about "making sure you plan ahead and bring stuff with you, whether it's trail mix or an [energy] bar," soccer star Mia tells us. Gymnast Shawn recommends KIND bars because they are all natural and come in "fun flavors such as almond and coconut and apple cinnamon and pecan. They're surprisingly good," she tells ESPNw. Swimmer Natalie loves making her own energy bars - get her dried plum energy bar recipe here.

At home or work: Natalie is more than just a decorated Olympic swimmer; she's also an avid home cook and gardener. Natalie shared with YumSugar one of her favorite healthy snacks for Spring: "I love just having a really good baguette with good, high-quality butter (just a tiny bit of butter) and fresh sliced radishes with salt on top," she recommends. Shawn is all about snacking on veggies as well: she pairs peppers with hummus for a crunchy, filling snack.

Read on for more snack ideas from these famous Olympians!

Victoria Beckham Goes Chic in China to Launch Her Special-Edition Land Rover

Molly Goodson — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 12:50:01 PDT

Victoria Beckham struck a pose on the red carpet in three different outfits at an event to reveal her latest luxurious project, the Range Rover Evoque special edition, in Beijing, China, on Sunday. Victoria spoke about the mini SUV, saying, "I brought a naivety to this project because I have never designed a car before. But it feels real . . . When I first started working with the team I did a lot of research, and created mood boards to show the team my love of timeless and classic design. I looked at yachts, luxury jets and classic cars."

Victoria brought her daughter, Harper, along for the trip to China, and she's been sharing their adorable travel outfits on her new Facebook page every day. Victoria also showed off her playful side with a series of snapshots of her journey in Asia. The Beckham girls are far away from their boys at the moment, though the whole family was together last week to celebrate Victoria's 38th birthday.

Danny Seo Celebrates Earth Day With a One Kings Lane Tastemaker Sale to Benefit Charity

Guest Writer — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 04:00:00 PDT

We're excited to present a post from guest writer, eco lifestyle expert, and all-around awesome guy Danny Seo.

Late last year, I had the privilege to sit down with one of the co-founders of One Kings Lane, Ali Pincus, and talk about our favorite places to shop, how I'm addicted to the home shopping site, and to talk about ways I could get involved with One Kings Lane. We came up with the idea for me to do a TasteMaker tag sale where I could collect some of my favorite vintage and antique items from my home and put them up for sale on the site. I agreed under one condition: if we could donate the proceeds to my favorite charity, Baby Buggy.

Baby Buggy, in case you aren't familiar, is the wonderful nonprofit founded by Jessica Seinfeld that has the motto "Love, Recycled." It's so appropriate because they accept lightly used baby gear, clothes, and new baby and children essentials to help families in the greatest need. They are a clearinghouse of sorts that works with a network of nonprofits who call Baby Buggy with a wish list of goods they desperately need. And like a fairy godmother, Baby Buggy always comes to the rescue. With the proceeds from this sale, Baby Buggy will be able to buy the most needed essentials to help families in need. In the spirit of Earth Day, selling vintage and antique items is green for Mother Earth since it's reusing what already exists; the sale proceeds will coincidentally help many mothers here on Earth.

In this special CasaSugar post, I'm excited to give you a sneak peek at three items for sale and the unique story behind them. I've traveled the world for work and always found time to visit out-of-the-way antique stores, flea markets, and galleries to search for beautiful things. I hope whoever buys these goodies will cherish them as much as I have over the years.

Indian ArrowHead Collection When I was filming my TV show "Simply Green with Danny Seo" (all episodes on Hulu now), I made a point to visit a small antique store in the sleepy town of Point Pleasent, PN. Down an alley and past a blacksmith shop (of all things!), I found a little antiques store that was going out of business. Rummaging through box after box, I came across a collection of mounted arrowheads, all hand mounted on colorful felt with a hand pounded metal backing in glossy black frames. What I loved about these pieces is that clearly someone had scavenged the woods of Pennsylvania for each arrowhead, cleaned them, and displayed them in a very beautiful and interesting pattern. I also love the pop of color in the background.

Keep reading to learn about two more special items from the sale

Zac Posen Talks '90s Fashion, Love of Math, and His Perfect NYC Day

Hannah Weil — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 09:26:37 PDT

Last night we flocked to NYC's Lord & Taylor store for the launch of Zac Posen's exclusive Z Spoke dress line. Somewhere along the way talk turned from his new capsule collection to '90s fashion, favorite NYC spots, and where you might find Zac if he wasn't designing. Read on for five things you probably didn't know about the ever-charming Zac Posen.

Zac on the return of '90s fashion and his own '90s look: "There are a lot of designers who come to New York in search of a Patti Smith/Lou Reed moment in their life. For me it's so funny when I see designers romanticizing the '90s because it really never looked that cool, and now it's back in a big way. What I do think is relevant stylistically from the '90s is youth and social consciousness and now that's social media, which we didn't have then - that unity of voices. It's fun to have seen that and witnessed that and I definitely had my crazy '90s outfits. [When] I grew up my idea of designer clothing, or what was maybe accessible to me to purchase on a birthday, was Century 21. The best pieces from Gaultier at the time, amazing pieces of Jean Colonna, amazing early Tom Ford, amazing early McQueen pieces, and great Vivienne Westwood clothing. I definitely had this idea - part punk, part nymph. I wore leather vines in my hair and feathers pinned in [with] sailor pants, and I would beg to have a Daryl K jacket."

Zac breaks down his last greatest fashion find, perfect NYC day, and more when you keep reading.