Get Your Hands on Some Good Reads

By JackieBelle…

You know why I don’t mind waiting in waiting rooms?  It’s a great excuse to sit and read without feeling like I should be doing something else.  I once chose a dentist not based on his gentle manner and reasonable pricing but because he had the best reading selection I’ve ever seen on a waiting room table.  (I’d like to tell you I’m making this up for the sake of humor, but I’m not.  If you want his name and number, I’d be happy to provide it- I think he’s still taking new patients.)  The next time you find yourself in need of a good read, give one of these a try:
Consider it Done: SRP $15.00
You know those people who know all the tips and tricks to solve of all of life’s little (and big) conundrums?  Julie Subotky is one of them- her book, Consider it Done, will let you in all the cool things you never even knew you needed to know!  Home sweet home might be a nice idea, but managing a household often feels like a full-time job with a seemingly endless array of tasks.  This is something Julie Subotky knows well.  As the founder of Consider It Done, she has made a career out of servicing requests—from the outrageous and seemingly impossible, to the mundane, yet necessary—for her clients, which include Fortune 500 CEOs, celebrities, socialites, and everyday busy people.  Whether the challenge is to locate a matching spoon for your grandmother’s silver set or disassemble and reinstall an antique chandelier, when Subotky is on task, her clients know they can Consider it Done!
Subotky was recently featured on WOWOWOW.COM for How to Tackle the Trickiest of Tasks and was also just featured as an expert on THE NATE BERKUS SHOW.  She is also happy to help you accomplish your own to-do list!
In her book, CONSIDER IT DONE! Accomplish 228 of Life’s Trickiest Tasks (Broadway Books, On Sale: February 1, 2011), Subotky shares down-to-earth tips for the wildest of tasks, as well as whimsical strategies for achieving (or in some cases avoiding) life’s more tedious responsibilities.  (Yes!  I love avoiding tedious responsibilities!)  She includes a special section with advice for the ordinary and sometimes odd duties needed to maintain a home, such as:
How to organize your closet in twenty minutes.
How to be sure you have the necessities in your kitchen.
How to make your move smooth and easy.
How to move a twenty-gallon fish tank.
How to get rid of a mildew smell.
How to turn a closet into a baby’s room.
How to set up a darkroom in your house.
How to keep a plant alive.
How to “green” your home… and get your kids involved.
Clutter Rehab: SRP $12.95
While we’re on the topic of organizing our lives and all of our stuff, here’s another book that is worth checking out- Clutter Rehab.  Would you like to know how to streamline closets by donating rarely worn clothes?  Clear those paper piles on the desk with an e-filing system?  Eliminate grocery shopping stress by designing a menu plan for the week ahead?  With simple projects like these, Clutter Rehab shows how to make even the most chaotic home a well-organized, relaxed environment.
Author Laura Wittmann gets many e-mails each day from stressed out, overwhelmed women looking for help to balance and declutter their lives.  Wittmann says, “Writing this book provides me the opportunity to not only help these women but to reach out to many others as well who might be in a similar situation.”
She can relate to these overwhelmed women because she herself was one of them not long ago: “I was working full time with two young kids and really not knowing how to slow down on the erratic train of life.”  She was finally able to do just that when she became pregnant and was laid off from her job at the same time.  “It gave me the time I needed to slow down, and it was only then that I realized I was far more stressed than I ever knew,” she says.  “I began by making small changes in my life over a number of years, and I’m so thrilled with the journey and what it’s taught me that I can’t wait to share it with others.”
Featuring quick solutions that have been tested and approved by the loyal readers of the author’s popular blog, Clutter Rehab offers a plan to tackle clutter and tidy every room.  And the author’s light-hearted approach makes organizing fun and addictive.  Readers will learn useful skills that help transform the kitchen into a chef’s dream workspace and turn a cluttered bathroom into a relaxing oasis.  (I’ve always wanted a relaxing oasis!)
There are also fun projects and hints for how to get kids involved as well in keeping the home neat!  Readers will learn how to stay on top of everyday chores to make the home run smoothly and restore order quickly when life gets hectic.  (And it usually does…)
Can You Get Hooked on Lip Balm?: SRP $16.95
Years ago my aunt told me that if I kept using lip balm I would get hooked- was she right?  I can’t wait to find out- although, judging by how many tubes and sticks of lip balm I’ve gone through in my life I think I kind of already know the answer!  The people at THEBEAUTYBRAINS.COM are pulling back the curtain and revealing the fascinating science behind the cosmetics we use every day, separating fact from marketing hype and arming readers with the knowledge they need to become smarter shoppers.  They have gathered their best questions and answers about the most popular beauty topics that impact all of us, including hair care, skin care, makeup and even cosmetic surgery.  In addition to learning how cosmetic products work, what advertising claims actually mean and which ingredients really matter, CAN YOU GET HOOKED ON LIP BALM?: Top Cosmetic Scientists Answer Your Questions about the Lotions, Potions and Other Beauty Products You Use Every Day, offers at-a-glance resources such as:
Five ways beauty products can go bad (yes, they do expire- you might want to glace at the expiration date on that tube of goop that expired back when Kurt Cobain was making flannel all the rage.)
Five home beauty gadgets that really do work (You can treat yourself safely and effectively at home!)
The top 10 ingredients that irritate the skin (Having an unusual reaction?  Check for these ingredients on your beauty and skincare products!)
Four types of wrinkles and how to remedy them (Know the wrinkle, know the cure!)
About The Beauty Brains:  The Beauty Brains are a group of chemists who have more than 40 combined years of experience developing and testing beauty products at major cosmetic companies including Proctor & Gamble, Unilever and Alberto Culver.  Perry Romanowski, the public face of the Brains, has spent the past 18 years researching and developing products to solve consumer problems in hair and skin care.  He is also the coauthor of Beginning Cosmetic Chemistry, an introductory textbook of beauty science.  The Beauty Brains blog was recently selected as one of the top three beauty blogs to watch in 2010 by top PR firm Pierce Mattie.
For more information, please visit: THEBEAUTYBRAINS.COM
Fart Without Fear Cookbook: SRP $16.95
Think back to the last party you attended- you ate the snacks, you drank the beer, you ate more snacks, and then what?  (Hint:  Super Bowl Sunday is the second largest food consumption day of the year.  After millions of well-fed Americans eat millions of pigs-in-the-blankets and sausage sandwiches and veggie trays and cheesy dips with spicy sides- what is the only possible outcome for the evening?  Do I have to spell it out?)  Parties might be excuses to eat guilt-free without counting calories, but with that great freedom comes the price we pay for consuming all those fart-inducing recipes.  (Yes, I said “fart-inducing.”)  I’ve never before come across an entire book devoted solely to gastrointestinal peace and calm- until now!  The Fart Without Fear Cookbook has the cure for what ails us and the recipe suggestions to prove it!
This is not just a book for Super Bowl Sunday or Major United States Holidays, but for any day and for those who love to cook.  The Fart Without Fear Cookbook by chefs Wayne Chen and Gary Goss is a tongue-in-cheek cookbook that offers party, holiday, and everyday recipes and tips on how to avoid those embarrassing moments when the food settles and decides to “vent.”  It contains sample recipes, and outrageously entertaining yet fact-based fartoids, which teach you how to:
–Know which ingredients will produce the bad aftermaths.
–Learn how to rate, prepare and change the good or bad level of any comfort food, recipe or other favorite cuisine of choice.
–Amuse and dazzle family, friends and guests with new nutrition and scientific insights.
–Laugh out loud and often.
–Fart without fear or guilt.
–Never look at food the same way ever again.