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Girl Crush du Jour: Alison Brie

TresSugar — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:00:12 -0800

Adorable. No word better sums up actress Alison Brie. And while I am sure the 26-year-old would prefer a more sophisticated adjective, she does play Trudy Campbell on Mad Men and ain't nothin' more sophisticated than that. Combine that with her success as the strung-out community college student on NBC's Community, and how I could not be crushing?

Other than radiating ebullience in real life, Alison, who says she's rarely recognized on the street, seems nothing like either character. She grew up with hippie parents in South Pasadena, CA, where she still lives and showed up to a Pasadena Weekly interview in a "Die Yuppie Scum" t-shirt.

But Alison's not as innocent as she or her characters look. She told Pasadena Weekly: "I don’t know why people see me . . . like I’m all prim and proper, when I couldn’t be more different. People think I come off that way, but I’m not.”

She's right. In this 2007 skit, she dishes it right back to the Internet's most infamous yogi, The Underminer, when he asks her to be in his variety show that's like "Curb Your Enthusiasm meets You Can't Do That on Television." Namaste! Watch it below.

Reader Review of the Day: Cover Girl Trushine Lipstick

BellaSugar — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:00:14 -0800

Cover Girl TruShine Lipstick ($3.50) has earned several good reviews in the community since it came out on the market, and since shiny lips are a holiday must, I thought it might be a good time to share reader mizz_jennii's helpful review. She says:

"I was never a fan of CoverGirl's lip products until I tried this TruShine lipstick yesterday. I was in the market for a nude-ish lipstick and read about this particular color in Glamour magazine so I had to pick it up. I got it on sale for a little under $4 - not too bad! The lipsticks are arranged by skin tone, so picking a shade is a piece of cake. They are very soft and moisturizing - doesn't dry out my lips. I line my lips with Prestige Lip Liner in Silk followed by Petal Shine lipstick and I have the perfect nude-ish pink lip color. I can also swipe it on straight from the tube (without a mirror) and not worrying that it's all over my mouth."

Tried something and gotten just-right results? Tell us what you used and how you did it on our Product Reviews pages ( you might end up featured here on Bella, too). And while you're there, make sure to check out all the reviews other community members have written - we've got info on more than 50,000 products, and members are writing new reviews every day.

Funny Video! Palin Fans Explain Support!

Tres Community — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:00:24 -0800

This post was written by spacekatgal in the TrèsSugar community group Citizen 4.0.

Oh Gods, this video is both embarrassing and awesome at the same time. I was laughing so hard! The best part of this video was learning that "you never have to compromise when you're right. That's for people that are wrong." That will come in handy in my marriage.

There's lots of great stuff going on in our community - join it, check it out, share your posts or advice in the great groups and maybe we'll feature it here on TrèsSugar!

Southern (Indian) Thanksgiving

Yum Community — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:30:42 -0800

This story was written by member courtneyd and comes from the Kitchen Goddess group in the YumSugar Community.

For a few years now I've wanted to try to marry the traditional Southern Indian food my husband grew up enjoying with Thanksgiving as I know it (Southern girl with a love of spice and heat). So this year I did a trial run of a tandoori-style turkey made in the oven.

By next year I hope to build my own tandoor, or at least grill this guy, because it needs a little more heat to crisp up properly. Even so, the meal turned out great! Tandoori turkey, tamarind gravy, creamed saag, masala mashed potatoes, and Whole Foods' naan, which has a slight dinner roll texture, so it works out perfectly for this blended meal. The tamarind gravy was an original creation (that I cannot believe turned out properly, it was sooooo good), and the other recipes were either inspired by or taken directly from The Food of India from Whitecap Books. I love their "food of" series, and my husband is impressed with the Indian recipes.

For the turkey, I followed the instructions from November's Martha Stewart Living to spatchcock a turkey and cooked according to their instructions after marinating for about 7 hours. Not including the marinade time, this meal came together in about 2 hours on a Friday night. Also, we discovered New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc complements Indian food perfectly.

To get her recipes for this Southern Indian feast, keep reading.

Website of the Day: Gazaro

GeekSugar — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:07:42 -0800

Holiday shopping. Jut typing the words gives me some serious anxiety, so any site that helps make my life a little bit easier is a good site in my book. If you're in the market for electronics or accessories, you'll like Gazaro, a site that monitors sales fliers and store websites, alerting you when an item you're looking for goes on sale. You can also browse through the site's top picks section, including the latest and best deals.

Gazaro updates in real time, so it's good for finding up-to-the-minute deals on products you're searching for. After registering with the site, you can save your favorite brand names, stores, or products you're interested in and have the best deals sent to you via email daily or weekly.

Do you have an interesting website you want to share? Create a PopSugar Account or log in to your account. Then join the Website of the Day group where you can post your favorite website! And you never know, it could be featured on GeekSugar! Here's a detailed guide to posting questions or posts to groups if you are new to the PopSugar Community.

Are You Facebook Friends With Your Exes?

GeekSugar — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:44:00 -0800

An essay in this week's New York Times hit close to home. The author, mourning the breakup of a long-term relationship, used Facebook to keep up with what his ex was doing. I've covered this topic before in Tech Dating 101 posts; from using Facebook to get to know a potential date to how and when to change your relationship status. I've even offered my advice for how to cut an ex out of your digital life. He was pretty distraught over the breakup, but still couldn't resist the occasional peek at her page:

"Every once in a while, when I was feeling particularly pathetic, I would log on to her Facebook page and listlessly click through the photos of a life that was, somewhat disappointingly, continuing without me."

While I still feel it's best to avoid an ex on Facebook, especially after a tough breakup, actually pulling the trigger to delete an ex from your list of friends is tough.

Share Your iPhone Tips!

GeekSugar — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:29:40 -0800

I'm never more than an arm's reach away from my beloved iPhone, and I love figuring out new tips and tricks to help me use it more efficiently. I've been discovering quite a few tips lately, from keyboard tricks to iPod shortcuts, but am always on the hunt for more shortcuts or helpful apps to make my life a little simpler.

Do you have an interesting iPhone tip, trick, or favorite app to share? Create a PopSugar account or log in to your account. Then join the iPhone Tips group and post your tip - it could end up featured on GeekSugar! Here's a detailed guide to posting questions or posts to groups if you are new to the PopSugar Community.

Fash Off: Lady Gaga vs. Rihanna

OnSugar Blog — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:00:22 -0800

Take this fun poll from the OnSugar blog The Fash Pack.

Both Lady Gaga and Rihanna have albums dropping Monday, and both fashion-forward singers took to the stage at Sunday night's American Music Awards. Whose stage style wins you over?

Want to see more? Follow The Fash Pack or start your own OnSugar Blog. We may just feature your post on FabSugar!

An Afternoon at Argentina's Flichman Vineyards

partysugar — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:50:48 -0800

This story was written by member Eleuthera and comes from the Wine Cellar group in the YumSugar Community.I recently had a chance to attend a wine tasting for Flichman from Argentina. I especially enjoyed the experience because I had a chance to chat with the winemaker, Luis Cabral de Almeida. From my standpoint, it didn't hurt that he was pretty hot also. We began with a bottle of their Chardonnay for $8. Frankly, I didn't want to taste a bottle of $8 Chardonnay as I hate that overly oaked buttery flavor of vanilla predominating, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was delightful and easily equal to wines I have enjoyed at twice the price. In fact everyone of the wines' price points was spectacular.

To learn more about these amazingly priced Argentine wines read more.

Although there were some I preferred more than others, I enjoyed all of them. All the others, with the exception of an interesting and delightful champagne (for about $8!!) were red. In fact, even the champagne was made in part from Malbec also! The biggest surprise of the afternoon was how much I enjoyed Malbec.

Several years ago a friend tried to tell me how great the Argentinian (and Chilean) Malbecs were, but I wouldn't even taste them. However, the grape I knew from living in Bordeaux was a far cry from the one I finally tasted in South America: Malbecs from Argentina are rich, jammy, and luscious with some surprising complexity. Malbec thrives in Argentina, Luis explained, because of the low humidity. This explains their ability to get the delightful jammy qualities which I thoroughly enjoy.

One I liked is called Gestos (2007) (gestures in English) and it was made from Malbec at two different elevations. You have to be careful because there are several varieties of Gestos, including one with Cabernet. The first thing one notices was the lovely aromas, like blackberries and maybe blueberries. The taste was even richer with jammy qualities mixed with the French oak and the earthy background.

Luis was kind enough to explain to me at length that he uses two different elevations of Malbec in order to achieve an extremely well-rounded wine. It is somewhat interesting that Argentina seems one of the few places where this combination can be exploited, although to a lesser degree, California winemakers have been touting mountain grown fruit for years. I rated this wine at least 88 points and perhaps even 89 out of 100. It was $12 or 13 and worth every penny.

Another wine I liked and purchased was the 2007 Expresiones reserve which was 60% Malbec and 40% Cabernet. I would rate this slightly better, perhaps 89-90 points as it had a lingering finish. The complexity reminded me greatly of a Bordeaux style wine and it had the great structure of the Cabernet with the luscious sweet berry qualities of the Malbec. Personally I think this will do better with a few years of patience, although it is delightful now.

The last one I tasted was called Dedicado (2004) and it was clearly the top of the line. At almost $20 it was hitting my price point, but rarely have I had a wine this good for this money...so I bought two. The bottle weighs a ton and it is a mixture of Cabernet, Syrah, and Malbec (30%,10% and 60%). It spends 12 months in new French french oak and 12 months in the bottle according to the label, but I thought Luis told me this one spent 2 years in wood. In short, I thought the result was stunning, perhaps even 91-92 points. The deep intensity and aroma of the berries and black pepper is wonderful and its opulence is nothing short of amazing with a lovely lingering finish. It will benefit from a year or two more in my estimation but it's fantastic just the way it is, at least with an hour or two of breathing.

Because of the high inflation in Argentina and the fact that they are tied to the Euro which is strong (the owners are a Portuguese group) the wines get the benefit of great prices on oak barrels. As far as price point is concerned, I thought each of these wines was wonderful and they certainly impressed me a great deal. Luis wasn't all that bad either!

Have you been to an amazing winery? Join the Wine Cellar group, upload your photos and a description of the experience, and it could be featured on YumSugar! If you are new to the YumSugar Community, here's a detailed guide to posting to groups.

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Join Our Footwear Frenzy Group!

Fab Community — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:50:22 -0800

Where are all of my shoe loving ladies at? If you hear me, join our new Footwear Frenzy group. This site is all about sharing your love for fabulous footwear. Feel free to post pictures of your latest shoe lust, recent purchases, and whatever else tickles your footwear fancy. Feed into the frenzy . . . Seriously, how ridiculously awesome are these Christian Louboutin Straratata Sandals?

There are already a bunch of groups you can join and explore, and please - start some new ones! Here's a helpful guide to creating in case you need some clarification.