Don’t Make These Lingerie Mistakes

Finding lingerie that not only fits your figure great, but your personality as well, is tricky enough as it is.

Throw in the fact that you have absolutely no clue how to rock it and shopping for a matching bra and panty set can turn into a total disaster. Fortunately, you don’t have to look like a model to wow him in next to nothing. Check out these 10 dos and don’ts for donning lingerie, and get ready to strut your stuff sexy ladies!

1. DO Be True To Your Style

Stick to what you know and love. Don’t try to buy lingerie that is so far off from who you are that you’re no longer comfortable in it.  The goal is to feel confident! Confidence = sexiness, and your lingerie should be an enhancement of who you are. YOU wear the lingerie, so don’t let it wear you!

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Starbucks Unveils Its First iPhone Apps

Starbucks Unveils Its First iPhone Apps
By Andrew LaVallee

Starbucks is launching a store-finding and menu-information application for the iPhone, and is testing a second app that will let customers use the phone as their Starbucks card. The two apps are the coffee chain’s first for the iPhone and iPod touch. It has previously offered mobile services, such as the ability to send a text message to locate a nearby store, and has worked with Apple to make in-store songs available through iTunes.

The apps resulted from customer feedback it received via social-networking sites and My Starbucks Idea, the online community it launched last year, said Stephen Gillett, its chief information officer. “We think it’s really talking to our customers in new ways.”

Starbucks will be competing with several unofficial iPhone apps, such as iApp’s Find a Starbucks Coffee, Snow Storm’s Expresso Pro and ourLivez’s Sbux Card, and tech blogs have pitched concepts of what a Starbucks iPhone app might look like for a while now.

The first app, myStarbucks, lets customers locate stores and bookmark favorite locations. They can search by additional information, such as hours and amenities, to find, for example, a nearby one that’s open and has a drive-thru window. It also includes a menu and nutritional information for Starbucks’s drinks, food and coffee beans, and a “drink builder” that displays nutritional information based on the selections.

The second app is being tested in 16 stores in Seattle and the Bay Area — due to the high usage rates of both Starbucks cards and Apple products in those regions, a Starbucks spokeswoman said. It lets users check their card balance and transfer more money to it. It also displays a scannable bar code on the cellphone screen, allowing it to be used to pay for purchases, like a Starbucks card, at those stores.

Starbucks will gauge customer feedback during the trial and then decide whether to extend it to other markets, Mr. Gillett said. Both apps are free and don’t contain ads, and there are no plans to charge for them, he added.
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The Art of Shopping Smart (Six Tips for "Thrift" Conscious Singles)

The Art of Shopping Smart (Six Tips for "Thrift" Conscious Singles)
by Jennifer Brown Banks

"One Man's Junk is Another Man's Treasure” There's a common misconception that folks that frequent thrift stores are either “fashion challenged,” cheap, or have cheesy standards.

Though these labels might hold true for some of the bargain hunters found here, many of us are actually quality conscious, fashionable, fabulous, law abiding people from all walks of life and socio-economic backgrounds, who just happen to be savvy about stretching our hard earned dollars.

For me, it's actually about more than saving a buck or two (really it is, mom).:-) Thrift store shopping is an adventure!

I love the fact that it's like “treasure hunting” for adults! I kid you not. You can find everything from missing parts to your no-longer manufactured vacuum cleaner, to antique china items, to hair weave, to beautiful handmade jewelry, to arts and crafts items, to hard to find classical music.

In fact, some of my most fashionable “finds” have been discovered while combing the isles of my local store. Like my stylish, leather Gloria Vanderbilt black vest, or my many pairs of designer jeans.

Yep, many consumers would be surprised to learn that thrift stores also carry designer wear, as well as new, never-used items everyday. I also love the fact that thrift stores allow a great deal of individuality in your choices. You don't have to settle for carbon copy cuteness.

For example, you won't find 10 of the same pants in the same colors in a size 10 made by the same designer. Which means that you won't shell out a $150.00 bucks for some dress that you wear to an event only to find someone else dressed like your twin. (To make matters worse, she looks better)!

And did I mention that the shoppers are really friendly? That's another plus. You won't typically encounter the tugging and pushing and word wars that can result when females fight over scarce merchandise and sale deadlines. Instead, we're like a secret community. We see each other weekly, have similar mindsets and goals, and to be honest, we feel smarter than our high-end-store-shopping peers!

Why? We're not incurring excessive credit card debt, or dealing with “shoppers' guilt”, or falling victim to the foolish belief that expensive always equals better .

Still, I'm happy to report that our “secret society” is expanding and gaining in popularity every day. Whether it's the economy or simply that shoppers are becoming more enlightened; folks are finding that thrift stores aren't your “granny's store” anymore.

But, be forewarned, there's an art to shopping smart, even at thrift stores. You can't approach this shopping excursion half-cocked! There's a science to it.

Here are some tips to follow for the best experience and for the best savings.

• Remember that it's not where you shop, but how you shop. Look for quality merchandise in good condition. It's quite possible, in fact to find some of the name brands you love on the racks, if you look carefully and diligently.
• Start early. Good gear goes fast here. Everything is on a first come basis. As they say, “the early bird catches the worm.”
• Have a goal in mind and a budget. Just like shopping with credit cards, have an agenda. It's easy to get caught up in the cheap prices and the many treasures. So be mindful of your time, your spending cap, and your objectives.
• Wear comfortable clothing. This is not the place for high heels, heavy purses, or tight restrictive clothing. You can make your fashion statement after you shop.
• Take advantage of sale days. To get more bang for my buck, I often shop on Mondays, when prices at my local spot are 50% off the price tag. Thursdays also offer 25% savings.
• Comparison shop. Know that not all thrift stores are created equally. Even in my own area, the type of stuff sold, the prices, and the quality of merchandise varies. Generally, the more upscale the neighborhood, the better the offerings.

Follow these six tips and you'll soon discover how thrift stores can increase your shopping options and your money mileage!
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Green Buildings: Affordable, Eco-friendly Modular Homes

Green Buildings: Affordable, Eco-friendly Modular Homes
By Robyn Griggs Lawrence

In the midst of all the gloom, we’re happy to report some good news. Clayton Homes, a subsidiary of Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway, has announced its line of green modular homes. These 750-square-foot eco homes, dubbed “i-houses,” can be purchased online for less than $75,000.

The green buildings have enough eco-friendly features to achieve the platinum rating from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. To achieve LEED certification, homes must incorporate a design that saves energy and water, reduces carbon dioxide emissions, improves indoor environmental quality, and considers the impact of the materials used on natural resources. The platinum rating is LEED’s most prestigious award.

The i-houses include low-flow faucets, low-VOC materials, high-efficiency heat pumps, dual-flush toilets, roofs designed for rainwater harvesting, and insulated walls, roof and floors. Upgrades to bamboo flooring, Energy Star appliances and solar panels are also offered.

Despite the housing crunch, Clayton Homes is putting additional research and development into the i-houses, which CEO and president Kevin Clayton thinks will keep the project thriving.

Exact pricing is determined by several factors, including the model and features that are chosen. You can learn more at Clayton Homes online.
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Calculating Solar Power Potential with PV Watts

Calculating Solar Power Potential with PV Watts
By Megan Phelps

I like solar calculators, and this is an interesting one to explore.

The PV Watts1 calculator from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is a simple solar calculator that can help you figure out how much electricity you can generate with a PV system at many locations around the world. (Disclaimer here.)

When you use the calculator, it gives you a measurement of solar radiation in kilowatt-hours per square meter, which is also known as peak sun hours. (Here’s a very detailed explanation of that concept from the U.S. Department of Energy.)

I used the calculator to compare peak sun hours and kWh of electricity generated for several different locations. You should know that I used all the default settings on the calculator, so the measurements below assume a 4 kilowatt PV system and a fixed tilt, south-facing PV array.

OK, here we go!

• According to this calculator, here in Topeka, Kan., we get an average of 4.95 peak sun hours per day. Over the course of a year that would add up to 5,238 kWh a year, which is worth $403.33 at local electricity prices.
• How about a sunnier location? Well, it looks like Albuquerque, N.M., has 6.48 peak sun hours per day, which produces 6,726 kWh a year for a value of $585.16 in electricity.
• Or, for less sun, we could look at the Northwest. Famously rainy Seattle, Wash., gets 3.76 peak sun hours a day for 3,879 kWh a year, and $248.26 worth of electricity.
• What about outside the United States? Stockholm, Sweden gets 2.98 peak sun hours a day, and generated 3102 kWh a year. Cairo, Egypt gets 5.66 peak sun hours, and generates 5727 kWh a year.

You can take a look at your location and see how it compares. There’s also a PV Watts 2 calculator, which is more complicated to use, but will allow you to select any location in the United States.

More information on how you can use and afford solar power
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Laptops Come of Age

With a fresh focus on design, laptops come of age
By Gabriel Madway


Say goodbye to the "black brick" laptop. The era of the plain, dowdy PC is officially over.

As computer makers roll out their new notebooks and netbooks ahead of the end-year holiday shopping season, razor-thin, sleek and colorful are most definitely in, as are arresting designs in an ever-expanding array of choices.

Hewlett-Packard Co and Dell Inc are now more likely to point to subtle etchings in the exterior shell, or a famous artist behind a new design, than to the "speeds and feeds" that PC makers used to tout when they wrestled for technological superiority.

It was only a few years ago that most laptops were some variation of a dull box that came in gray or black, with the exception of Apple Inc, which was making distinctive laptops back in the 1990s.

Now, design is permeating the PC market like never before as the increasing commoditization of machines leaves few major differentiators on performance, so a stylish case is one of the last remaining areas of competition.

Ed Boyd, vice president of design for consumer products at Dell, the world's No. 2 PC maker, arrived at the company nearly two years ago from Nike Inc. He said the PC market is transforming in the way that athletic shoes did.

Nike "took a commoditized product -- sneakers -- and made it hip and cool and relevant," he said. "What you're witnessing is the same transformation in the PC business ... this phenomenon is crossing both the enterprise and the consumer space"

As PCs have become ever more light and portable, consumers and businesses are placing a premium on the look of machines that are now more likely to travel out of the home or office.

And PC makers are using design to target different demographics, such as HP's collaboration with fashion designer Vivienne Tam on netbooks aimed at fashion-forward women.......

Stacy Wolff, director of notebook product design at HP, said the world's largest maker of PCs took a "big gamble" when it began to focus on design in 2005 -- one that he said has paid off. Prior to that, HP notebooks were essentially "technology in kind of a nondescript container," he said.

Wolff said HP's new focus was immediately evident in its income statement: "Once we made it a strategic element of any development, our financials have just skyrocketed."

PLASTIC SLABS

At the dawn of personal computing in the early 1980s, the first mobile PCs began to emerge from companies like Tandy, Osborne, NEC, Epson and others. Many of the early models resembled slabs of beige plastic, bulkier than desktops today.

The early 1990s saw the launch of Apple's PowerBook line, which helped set the standard for design, along with IBM's ThinkPad. Sony's sleek Vaio notebooks followed later in the decade, along with Apple's colorful iBook line.

But PCs 10 years ago were still largely seen as vessels for technology, rather than design or fashion statements.

Jeff Barney, general manager of Toshiba America's digital products division, said the company introduced color in PCs earlier this decade, but they failed to catch on. "The consumer wasn't ready for it," he said. "We were just ahead of the trend."

As components became cheaper and lighter, PC vendors found more room to explore their creative side, bringing in new materials and finishes, and paying closer attention to design details to catch the eye of buyers.

"We think that design is one of the key buying criteria in retail for laptops," said Barney.

Thin and slick is one of the hottest trends, and the category is growing ever more competitive with Apple's MacBook Air, Dell's Adamo and HP's new Envy line.

A PC buyer today can choose from a dizzying array of colors, textures and designs. "Personalization" is the order of the day. For example, Dell offers more than 200 exterior designs.

IDC analyst Richard Shim said the market began to shift around 2005 with lower PC prices. "Consumers started to become the overriding voice in the PC industry and what they were saying is: 'Look there's enough performance here for me to do what I need to do ... but what I want is a PC that doesn't look like everyone else's,'" he said.

PC makers are first and foremost technology companies, he said, but they have realized that many buyers are more interested in what a notebook looks like than what's inside.
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Best Times To Buy

Best Times To Buy

If you time your shopping excursion carefully, you can get steep discounts on everything from electronics to art.

Ready to start shopping now that glimmers of hope are dotting the economic horizon? Nervous about spending too much, lest those glimmers turn to darkness? Think about timing your purchases.

There is a best time to buy in America: January and February for cars; May and December for designer duds.

Consumer confidence is inching up. According to the Conference Board's monthly survey, based on a representative sample of 5,000 U.S. households, it hit 19.2 out of a possible 100 points in April, rising from 16.9 in March.

Consumers should consider other shopping tricks. The earlier an airline ticket is booked, for example, the less expensive it's likely to be. True, some lucky travelers find last-minute deals, but experts recommend purchasing air tickets at least 14 days in advance.

In Depth: Best Times To Buy

What about other categories of goods? Electronics are least expensive from the last week in October through December. That's the time of year retailers clear shelves to make space for new inventory, according to Daniel de Grandpre, CEO of Deal News, an online aggregator of retail discounts. Gadgets also get marked down when a new model is introduced. For example, after Apple releases its new iPods each September, the previous version is discounted by up to 50%.

Designer clothing mark-downs are a bit more complicated. Late July and early January offer the most drastic reductions, sometimes up to 90% off original prices, though those massive markdowns often mean choosing from scraps, not treasures.

Stylist Allison Berlin, founder of New York personal shopping service Style Made Simple, suggests shopping the spring collections around Memorial Day and fall ready-to-wear in early December, where you'll find current-season pieces marked down by at least 40%. This spring, those sales will arrive even earlier.

Right now, Manhattan retailer Bergdorf Goodman is offering up to 40% off many of its contemporary collections, including Marc by Marc Jacobs, M Missoni and Nanette Lepore. "If you wait until late July, there will be slim pickings," says Berlin.

What about life-enhancing luxuries, like gym memberships? Waiting until the end of the summer may be a smart idea if you're looking to join a health club. Joe Moore, CEO of the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association, headquartered in Boston, says those on a budget might want to delay until at least July, if not August or September. The late summer months are traditionally fire-sale season for fitness centers, which see a decline in membership when it's warm enough to exercise outside.

But Moore says 2009 is proving to be an exception to the rule: The recession has caused gyms to start discounting earlier than usual, offering incentives such as the waiving of contracts and initiation fees and reduced monthly rates. In April, Equinox, a ritzy gym with locations across the U.S., offered prospective members one month free and a $300 gift card. This month, it's offering 50% off regular monthly rates.

What's happening in gyms is true in many categories, from real estate to fine jewelry. There are deals out there that consumers may never see again. Traditional sale periods will always offer significant mark-downs. But if you're fortunate enough to be able to shop right now, 2009 is certainly a buyer's market.
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Adult Costumes

With the Internet's largest collection of Adult Costumes, we are sure to have the perfect outfit for you. From Halloween Costumes to Christmas Costumes, and Mardi Gras Festivities to Masquerade Balls, you'll benefit from the most creative collection of costumes to be found online. All of our adult and Halloween Costumes also feature the same unbeatable prices, flexible return policy, and superior product quality and customer service that we're known for. Come see us today!
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Male Enhancement Pills

Male enhancement pills are fast becoming a widely available and used way to bring about natural male enhancement to thousands of men in all walks of life. A majority of men at some point in their life have erectile difficulties or are looking to gain more confidence in their love lives. Male Enhancement Pills are an ingestible supplement. Male enhancement pills are some of the most popular products available today. With a lot of.... male enhancement pill brands in the market, you have to be careful in choosing the right product.

It's a fact that after the age of thirty-five, our bodies produce significantly lower levels of several critical hormones, often resulting in reduced sexual performance. Compounded by daily stress, the end effect is often that our sex lives suffer.

When men face this kind of problem, they have many options to choose from. The first option are the natural libido enhancement pills which help men increase their sex drive and enhance sexual sensation safely and effectively. There are a variety of male enhancement pills, herbal energy pills that not only help you get back the energy and zest but also counteract the age symptoms of low libido, diminishing sex drive and drop in the hormonal levels.

Many men are first drawn to natural male penis enlargement pills to satisfy their ego or sexual urges. What they learn is that these penis enhancer pills not only help men experience longer and thicker erections, but they also help men with other sexual health issues such as erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation and improved sexual stamina.

Since sperm volume counts, most men are taking sperm enhancement pills in order to take care of the functions of their penis better. Sperm enhancement pills cover a wide range of the lifestyle drugs market with more and more effective products being constantly developed. According to experts, the quantity of semen released by a male at the peak of sexual intercourse is in direct connection with the intensity of sexual pleasure the man experiences.
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How to Choose Your Wedding Lingerie

For your dream wedding dress to look perfect you will need to choose the right type of underwear to wear with it. Not only is this important for the shape of your wedding dress, but also for your own comfort and the correct support throughout your wedding day.

Selecting the right style and design can seem a daunting task when faced with the vast array of styles available, but never fear! Here is a handy guide to choosing the right underwear according to the style of your wedding dress.

Bridal Lingerie

Empire Line Dresses

An empire line dress is tightly fitted around the bust and then flows from under the bustline. What is important here is to choose a bra that will help keep everything in place!

Try a balconette bra which will give you great uplift or a padded or push-up bra which will help boost your assets.

A-line and Full Skirted Dresses

With these styles of wedding dresses it is important to create a streamlined torso with a nipped in waistline.

Look for body suits which will smooth any bulges and try a waist cincher to pull in your tummy and create a waist line, you could then show it off with the addition of a sash or belt to your dress.

Figure Hugging and Fitted Dresses

Styles such as mermaid or trumpet gowns, which are generally fitted through the torso, need underwear which will give you a smooth silhouette and a figure which your dress can glide over.

Grab some magic knickers, yes I know they aren’t very sexy, but they are perfect for slimming down your tummy and bottom. Another option is a firm control hip and waist slip, again not very sexy, but it will smooth your hips and bottom contour.

Bodices and Skirts

With this style of wedding dress you will want to achieve an hourglass shape.

Try a basque which is the traditional bridal lingerie choice and which will hold you in in all the right places or opt for a corset. They are extremely sexy and will give you the ultimate in support and shape.

One Shoulder and Backless Dresses

The problem with these styles is that you still need underwear but don’t want everyone to be able to see it!

Look for a magic bra will support your bust without any unsightly straps, so perfect for backless dresses. For one shoulder dresses look for multiway bras which allow you to move straps into various combinations to suit the style of dress you are wearing.

Plunge and Low Cut Dresses

These dresses give you a daring neckline but you will need some secure support!

Go for a plunge bra which is specially designed for plunging and low cut necklines. They are supportive but low enough to be concealed. If you want allover support look for a plunge body which offers a low front and back as well as support all over.

Bias-cut and Column Dresses

The secret with these dresses is to allow them to float. Unfortunately the fabric commonly used in their design tends to cling to the body so you do not want underwear that will give visible lines under your dress.

Wear a silk slip under your dress which will be cool and comfortable whilst allowing the dress fabric to skim over your body. Also look out for seamless underwear particularly if your dress is made from very light or sheer fabrics.
by Georgina Clatworthy
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