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Cool Fitness Gadget: Playaway Preloaded Audio Books

FitSugar — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 15:30:00 -0800

Playaway is books on tape meets MP3 players meets fitness and health. Confused yet? Let me explain.

Playaway ($29.99 and up, depending on the title) is an easy-to-use audio player all in one small unit. There is no need to figure out how to load stuff onto it or a separate player, and it comes with earbuds and a battery to make it play so once you receive your Playaway, all you literally have to do is press play to start listening immediately. You can choose from a handful of health and fitness titles, including You on a Diet as well as some walking and yoga audiobooks.

If you're thinking that is a lot of money for one audiobook, not to mention a waste of materials, I agree with you. However they do offer Replay, which is where you return your Playaway and get a new one at half the price - I am thinking this would be a great gift idea for my grandmother who cannot be bothered with figuring out how to work an MP3 player, but would love the idea of a guided-walking program at the touch of her fingertips.

On Our Radar: Colette Pop Up Store

FabSugarUK — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:30:21 -0800

Everytime I go to Paris, I make sure I have time to visit Colette. The super cool boutique offers the latest must have designer wares alongside contemporary books, music and funky gadgets. This festive season, I won't have to travel across the channel to get my fix as the boutique is coming to London.

Fittingly, the hip district of Shoreditch will play host to the pop-up store which will be packed with quirky items including furniture, Christmas gifts, and kitchenwear! The so-called Cube Store opens later this week and will remain open until 3rd January 2010.

To gain access to special events at the boutique you need to apply online or speak to the driver of a Nissan Cube car which will be dotted all over London. The store will be located at the Boilerhouse, The Old Truman Brewery, London, E1 6QL.

Get a Sneak Peek at The Fantastic Mr. Fox

babysugar — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:30:20 -0800

Word is out - The Fantastic Mr. Fox is, well, fantastic! Our girls at Buzz wrote a glowing review and gave it 4.5 stars. A movie fit for kiddos, the Wes Anderson flick is sure to be just as big a hit with the older audience as it is the wee ones. Based on the Roald Dahl book, Anderson takes his quirky filmmaking skills and applies them to his new medium - animation. The creativity sparks young imaginations and the hilarity leaves the audience smiling from ear to ear. While robbery is not the lesson to be learned by innocent minds, cherishing individuality is a noteworthy theme in the family film.

Check out the exclusive video and tell me if you think you'll take your tots to the theater for The Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Stop Hating the Gym and Start Loving It

FitSugar — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:50:43 -0800

If you are dreading moving your workouts indoors due to falling temperatures, let me help you learn to love, or at least tolerate, the gym. Here are some common reasons people hate hitting the gym, and solutions to help you overcome the hurdles.

I hate the gym because . . .	The solution
It's too expensive.	Go price hunting. There are so many different types of gyms that offer various services, so find one that fits your budget. Instead of paying $90 a month for a gym that has cardio machines, a weight room, classes, a pool, and a yoga studio, figure out what's most important to you and just pay for that. A gym down the street from me is only $10 a month for cardio and weight machines. Not bad at all.
It's too far away from my home.	If you can't find a gym close to where you live, try to find one close to where you work. That way you can head over on your lunch break or after work.
The cardio machines are boring.	Find a way to make them more enjoyable. I like to download audio books or podcasts onto my iPod. Listening really helps pass the time. Switching to different machines in one workout also helps beat boredom. Or try competing with a stranger.

To learn more ways to start loving the gym, keep reading.

The Blind Side: An Unexpected Delight

BuzzSugar — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:30:42 -0800

It's not that the trailer for The Blind Side isn't compelling; the problem is that it combines Sandra Bullock's twangiest, most-over-the top lines with a heartrending song, which makes it seem schlocky. That's exactly what I expected from the movie, but I have to admit that I was wrong - to my surprise, I found it to be a sentimental gem that's actually quite restrained.

The Blind Side is the true story (based on Michael Lewis's book) of NFL player Michael Oher, who grew up in Memphis's projects with his drug-addicted mother and landed in and out of foster homes. He ended up in a fancy private school and in the home of a wealthy family, the Touhys, led by tough-talking Leigh Anne (Bullock). The weaving of Michael's newfound life in the movie is effective, with sweet bits of humor and just enough emotion.

To see what I liked about the film, just read more.

The movie is full of many surprises: first, it looks like it's going to be mainly about football, but it's not all sports. There is proper attention given to Michael's life before he's taken in and the development of the relationships between the Touhy family members and Michael.

Another nice thing is how smoothly Bullock slides into her role. It's not just her wardrobe and hair that transforms her into the high-maintenance Southern matriarch; her manner as the tough mom who's not completely comfortable showing emotion is very natural - not what I'd expect from the laid-back actress.

Quinton Aaron is also impressive as a sad-eyed orphan turned well-adjusted student and son over the course of the movie. It's not an incredibly complex performance, but his teddy bear presence is irresistible. The supporting players are equally as enjoyable: Tim McGraw, whom I didn't expect much from, is charming, while the Touhy children win you over with their affection for their new brother. The late addition of Kathy Bates (whose role is basically an extended cameo) is hardly needed to bolster the movie, but she adds a nice touch as well.

At two hours and six minutes, the movie is a little too long; director John Lee Hancock seemed intent on fitting in nearly every detail of Michael's journey. Then again, at the end you're rewarded with the payoff: footage and photos of the real-life Touhys and Michael. It's an emotionally satisfying ending to a movie that makes no apologies for being so uplifting.

Photos courtesy of Warner Bros.

Tell Us All About Your Favorite Products in Our Review Group

LilSugar — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:30:05 -0800

It's a-okay to pick a favorite...product, book or toy that is. When it comes to testing goods we know mother does know best, which is why we want you to join our Product Reviews group and share your experiences with other mamas. That way we can help all new moms enter the boutique knowing Cybex 2.Go combines the best of all baby carriers.

Here's a detailed guide to posting questions or posts to groups if you are new to the PopSugar Community.

Our LilSugar Community offers a place for you to hang out, vent, brainstorm, and showcase your talents. What fits your fancy? Check out and join some of our hottest groups!

Talking New Moon With Kellan Lutz and Ashley Greene

BuzzSugar — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:15:50 -0800

Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, and Taylor Lautner may be dominating the promotional circuit right now, but they're not the only cast members with something to say about New Moon. I had the opportunity to chat with costars Kellan Lutz and Ashley Greene, aka Emmett and Alice Cullen, during their recent stopover in SF. They chatted about their characters, the vampire craze, and what it's like to be a "Twilight celebrity." Here are highlights:

On why so many people are crazy for the Twilight Saga:
Ashley: I think this film in particular is highly relatable. There are a lot of situations that people can relate to. The love story - everyone can relate to being in love or being in lust. You add the vampire, and it adds that next level fantasy. Vampires are mysterious and sensual and dangerous and unattainable. And everyone wants what they can't have. I think on another level that this came together at the perfect time. All the elements just fit, the casting was spot on, and we're in a difficult time right now with our economy. That's why you never have a drop in ticket sales because everyone wants an escape, and this movie is very much an escape from reality.
Kellan: It's a good escape but also it deals with so many situations, on so many positive notes. Just looking at it from the vampire coven to the wolf pack. It just deals with everyday issues just on bigger levels, in a way. And you have Bella as the keystone in many situations. You can just all relate from different countries to issues within the United States. It's easily relatable.

To read a lot more about working with three different directors and why they feel so lucky, just read more.

On how their portrayals of the Cullens are similar or different from the books:
Kellan: We got the jobs because we brought something new to it. You can interpret the characters each their own, but I think it's what we did alongside. Just like Kristen said - she's playing Bella but she's putting her Kristen spin on it, just like all of us are. And I think that's what's making it unique. We're still following the cheat sheets that Stephenie created by making the books, and there's Wikipedia. We have a lot of information to go off of. But I hope it's what I did in my audition that set it apart from the other guys trying out.

Ashley: I think it's mannerisms too. People do fall in love with this book, but I think part of it is that they always want more. You can't write out every human mannerism. You can imagine it, but seeing the emotion in someone's eyes and seeing them be affected it - it was kind of easy to give something to it, because we were just being people. We kinda just got lucky.
On how much more of the Cullens we can expect in the remaining movies:
Kellan: Realistically, we stick pretty close to the books. Obviously us Cullens would love to be in the books a lot more, which would mean we'd be in the movies a lot more. Talking New Moon, the scenes that the Cullens - except for Ashley, playing Alice who gets to go to Italy and be a main lead in the movie - us Cullens, we have to stick really close to the books, and the scenes that we're in are really crucial to the story, as you know - the birthday scene, the voting scene. I don't know, it was kind of a tease. Chris Weitz is such an amazing director, and for us, for myself - I only worked about a week on that movie. And it didn't even seem like I really got a taste for what it was.

Ashley: In the third film, you'll see a lot more of the Cullens because it's all of us collaborating and then getting ready to fight this war that's coming up. In the second one, my character got a much larger role because Alice is the Cullen, other than Edward, that really embraces Bella and they end up becoming best friends. In the beginning, you see her throw this huge party for Bella, and then Alice is the one who does, in fact, come back for Bella when everyone else decides to skip town. Alice is responsible for dragging Bella over to Italy, and she and I the whole time are fighting to save my brother's life. And then of course we get held up by the Volturi and stuff like that. My character got to grow a lot, which is really cool. You get to actually see the relationship develop between Bella and Alice, where in the first one you didn't. The first one was very much about the romance and showing the audience why these two people are willing to die for each other.
On working with a different director on each film:
Ashley: Each director is going to be very different. They're artists as well, and I don't think any of them are quite the same. The books, when you read them, all have very, very, different tones. So I think it's highly appropriate that we switch directors each go. The first one is very much a romance and is a very scenic, beautiful film. And Catherine's really, really great at capturing that. She's very high energy and works well in chaos and stuff like that. And it was fantastic because we didn't quite know what we were getting ourselves into, and so it was nice to have her to guide us when we were freaking out a little bit. She was just so high energy, and it was really contagious. We were sad to lose her and move on to the second film, but then we got Chris Weitz and he's the complete opposite! But great as well. He's so giving and caring and collaborative and created this atmosphere that was kind of a safe haven for us. And it was really nice because we didn't know, switching directors, if they were gonna embrace us or if they had a completely different vision than what we created in the first one. It was nice that he was right there on the same page with us. And the second one is a warmer film, even from the color scheme. The first one is very blue tones, and the second one is much richer and warmer and I think he did a great job at capturing that. And we just finished shooting with David Slade, and I think he's highly appropriate as well. He just finished shooting 30 Days of Night and Hard Candy, and they're both very dark, edgy films. And Eclipse is very much that. It's all centered around the anticipation and us getting ready to fight this huge war. We just finished filming, we haven't gotten to see much of it, but I think it's gonna be fantastic. He is, technically, the most advanced director. The angles that he shot and how he knows that tweaking something can affect a whole scene and the lenses. He was really nice to work with.
On coping with the fan effect and being a "Twilight celebrity"
Kellan: That's what blows my mind, 'cause I feel like it's really unearned in a way. The fans are making our careers. Without them, we wouldn't be working and doing the saga. There's so many times that trilogy books become a movie and the first one bombs, and then that's it. And you're always hopeful that you get to do them all. Especially since we're all in love with our characters. I love Emmett Cullen to death, he's my favorite character I've ever played. It's just so cool to have made it this far, and I think we all hope that we get to finish this series and do Breaking Dawn. This is such a blessing, it's every actor's dream to be part of something like this. It's not terribly hard either. We don't shoot halfway around the world; we don't shoot for a year of our lives. I know a lot of us have homes, we have pets, we have family. And it's really nice to shoot on the West Coast, either Portland or Vancouver, and have the chance to fly down if we need to. But it's definitely amazing to be part of something like this. And I don't think any of us knew how crazy it would be and how exhilarating it would turn out to be. Going to the premiere, really just, wow. I don't even remember it because I was really just starstruck by how many fans and signs and cameras. It felt like I was just walking through a strobe light room. It's amazing.

Ashley: I still think we can't really wrap our heads around what's going on and what's happening. We're still in the midst of filming and kept very busy from one film until the next. It's only these brief moments where you sit back and are actually able to take a breath where you go "Whoa. Wow. This is crazy." I mean, the amount of tickets they've already sold for New Moon - I'm pretty sure I can't even get a ticket if I tried to see my film in Jacksonville and it's mind boggling. We're just very lucky. I went into this film thinking "Oh my gosh, I got a job" and the it turned into the biggest break of my life. I think we all feel very blessed to be a part of this.
On how it feels to be part of Twilight fan fiction:
Kellan: It's an escape, in a way. We do live in a trivial time period right now. There's so much depression that it's kinda cool to be a part of something where people use it to be an escape. In a way that's kinda what Stephenie did -she had a dream and just elaborated on it. It became a huge success and it's really encouraging that people are doing the same and just making up this journey.

Ashley: That's why people love it so much I think. You can take it and make what you want of it. Before the demographic was teenage girls, but now it's women of every age and guys are starting to get into it, too. It's because there is that element of fantasy. If you're 8 years old you look at it one way; if you're 80 years old you look at it another. I think it's fantastic that we can draw such a huge crowd. The other thing is - it blows my mind but people are making connections over this film and over this book. there are mothers and daughters and grandmas who can all sit and talk about the same story and all fantasize about it and I think that's a really cool thing. I think it's rare.

To see all of our Twilight and New Moon coverage, check out TwilightSugar!

Oh La La: TravelFit Paris

FitSugar — Thu, 17 May 2007 09:30:00 -0700

If you're lucky enough to be spending some time in the City of Lights this summer, you may find yourself indulging in some tasty pain au chocolat and vin rouge. This is great, but if you want to fit into all the très chic clothing you just picked up when you get home, you may want to check out this book before you travel.

The very first book in the TravelFit Guides series, TravelFit Paris ($10.17) is a great guide book for the fit and health-conscious traveler in Paris. Whether looking for a safe running route, a place to purchase soy milk, an English-spoken Pilates class, a personal trainer, a yoga studio, or the best walking tours to help burn off those French treats, TravelFit Paris will provide some great information. Heading there soon? Then buy it from Amazon.com.

Healthy Dose Link Time

FitSugar — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:05:04 -0800

Revamp your belly in a month with these moves - Shape
Use your iPhone to find a yoga class near you - Social Workout
Two books to inspire the fit life. Win one with just a comment - Fit Bottomed Girls
Amy Winehouse's latest addiction is surprising - FitCeleb
Guess the most popular day to call in sick - Vitamin G
Wii Fit burns calories, but not as many as you think - Fresh Fitness Tips
It starts early even preschoolers affected by airbrushing - Never Say Diet

Get it Together: My Fitness Journal

FitSugar — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 10:15:00 -0700

I am a big fan of journaling and writing things down to keep tally on emotions and food consumption. One area of your life you may have not considered starting a journal for is fitness.

If I don't keep a journal I have a hard time progressing on a daily basis in my goals, so in my own fitness journal I like to keep record of things such as:

Duration and intensity
Distance and route
Feelings before and after
Hurdles and accomplishments
Goals and rewards

However, if you're the type of person who needs things more laid out for you than just jotting the above things in a notebook, then think about getting a fitness diary or journal. My Fitness Journal from Daytimer ($19.95) is a great tool to track your health progress and goals as well as keep yourself motivated in your fitness endeavors. Along with giving you an already laid out plan so that you can quickly diary what you did, how you felt when you did it, etc., the book is also full of great tips and tidbits on nutrition, stretching, motivation and more. I think the journal would be a great idea for seasoned exercisers as well as newbies. Buy it directly from daytimer.com and start getting organized today.