Life In Style

My Whole Life, I Don't Know What This Song Means...

As 2008 comes to a close, I realize that I don't know what it is I'm singing every December 31st a few strokes before midnight...

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We'll take a cup of kindness yet,
For auld lang syne!

"Auld lang syne" translates to "for times gone by".  How lovely.  Tonight we'll raise our voices and our glasses in celebration of the year gone by and the happy times to come in 2009.  Happy New Year!

Goop

 

About 10 years ago, I became quite enamored with Gwyneth Paltrow.  She's my kind of girl - intelligent, warm, stylish, and completely her own.  Sliding Doors, Emma and Shakespeare in Love became part of my "most watched" rotation and I confess that I own them all on VHS.  (Yes, VHS - Gwynnie and I go way back.)  Somehow, I always thought we might be great friends, should our paths ever cross. 

Though I've lost sight of my girl in recent years, I was delighted to come upon her new website, GOOP.  It's a lovely lifestyle blog full of resources on food, fashion, health, and a myriad of little things we all like secretly like to know about our favorite people.  I confess that I'm about to google the jeans and trench coat she references in her "My Uniform" post as I feel that they would be great additions to my own uniform.  Worth a look today...

Thank you to another stylish blond, Miss Bridget, for the Goop referral.  aha!

  

If The Stockings Get Hung...over

If you are feeling festive and your social calendar is lit up like a Christmas tree, there is a very good chance that you will find yourself over-served this holiday season.  Here are Boy Wonder's tips on surviving the season:

 

Before Bedtime…

Alcohol is a diuretic.  Your head hurts in the morning because you are dehydrated.  The next time you  enjoy 5 glass of Glenlivet, know that you are massively dehydrating yourself.  Water before bed is an essential to avoiding a mind-splitting headache the next morning. Also, a snack with some protein (go for the cheese; skip the crackers) can help breakdown the alcohol in your system and fend off a hangover.  Also, keep in mind when placing your drink order… the darker the alcohol the worse the hangover.

 

What to do When You Wake Up Hung Over…

 

1. Go back to sleep - Take a loss on the 9am conference call and give your body the time it needs to process the alcohol.  Alcohol prevents deep, REM stage sleep so you might need the 3pm nap on the couch to make it through the workday. 
2. Replenish your body.  That 4^th vodka martini was a mistake and now you need to replenish.  Water, orange juice and Gatorade in mass quantitieses are the best.  Caffeine always sounds good after an all-nighter but make no mistake; a cup of coffee or can of Coke won’t help you at all!  Caffeine is another diuretic and we don’t want that.
3. Eat.  Your stomach is probably questionable and crackers or toast may seem like the answer but trust me, they are not.  You are looking for mineral rich food (or something with grease) to help right your system.  My go-to: a hamburger and fries. In Poland, they drink pickle juice as a hangover remedy.  To each, his own.
4. Hair of the dog. This is a controversial hangover remedy but if you must, a Bloody Mary is the only way to go.  Your body will start dealing with the new alcohol and be forced to ignore the old and in the mean time tomato juice is full of vitamins.
5. Shower.  You probably smell like bar and cigarette smoke anyway so what can it hurt?  A word to the wise: switch back and forth between cold and hot water.  No science here, just a good old fashioned wake up call.
6. Last resort: Alka Seltzer Morning Relief. This stuff does wonders, but please be careful when self-prescribing aspirin, Tylenol and ibuprofen.  The side effects can be magnified when alcohol is in your system.

Hang over tips from the master, Boy Wonder.  Food Glorious Food