Lauren Conrad

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Lauren Condrad Pens Her First Novel

Lauren Conrad started out like any other ordinary high school girl balancing school, boys, and friendships. Next thing she knew, she was cast in the reality show Laguna Beach: The Real OC, living her high school years on television and for all the world to see. From there, she went on to headline MTV’s most successful reality show: The Hills, grace magazine covers like Seventeen, US Weekly, and Cosmopolitan. But what is it really like to live your life with a camera following you 24/7? To have first dates, relationship drama, and heartbreak played out on national TV? In Lauren’s new novel, L.A. CANDY, she unveils a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the life of the reality star, told through the eyes of Jane. Like Lauren, Jane heads out to LA to start an internship, is cast in her own reality show, and soon becomes reality TV’s hottest star. Though a work of fiction, the characters—their lives, their loves, and their never-ending dramas—are perfectly drawn by Lauren, the only person who can give her readers an accurate and juicy insider look at young Hollywood

Pack the Perfect Back-to-School Lunch

Registered dietician Regina Ragone gives tips on packing a lunch that even your pizza-tarian kids will love.

Check out this video for for:
*Six sneaky snacks that have nutritional substance
*Lunchtime logistics: how to keep cold things cold, hot things hot





Regina Ragone, R.D. is the Food Director at Family Circle Magazine. Prior to joining Family Circle, Regina was the food editor at Prevention magazine and has authored several cookbooks.

The Battle for America 2008: The Story of an Extraordinary Election

A definitive and fresh account of this landmark election, told in real time as the events unfold—not hindsight retelling.

The election of 2008 shattered political barriers, illuminated undercurrents of race, gender, and class, and ignited an extraordinary battle among some of the most formidable political rivals ever to seek the presidency in Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and John McCain. It was an election that played out against a backdrop of wars, a shattered economy, and deep pessimism about the future.

Dan Balz (lead political reporter for The Washington Post) and Haynes Johnson (a Pulitzer Prize writer), two of the most well-known and respected journalists working today, followed the 2008 election from the candidates’ first forays into Iowa and New Hampshire to the historic night of Obama’s victory celebration.

Since both men were embedded in the campaigns and observed the elections from the front lines, Battle for America (published by Viking) is told in real time. It reads like a fast-paced mystery--even though you know how the story ends, you still can't put the book down trying to find out exactly how it all happened. This is the full story (including all the major campaigns as well as visits with focus groups) like it's never been told before.

They take readers on a gripping journey through the epic battle for Iowa, Clinton’s dramatic comeback in New Hampshire, the racially tinged primary in South Carolina, the stunning endorsement of Obama by Senator Edward M. Kennedy over the Clintons’ objections. They reveal the strategic mistakes of the Clinton campaign and the story behind Obama’s breakthrough organization. They cover McCain’s struggle for survival in the Republican primaries, McCain’s disappointment over not running with Joe Lieberman, the vetting of Sarah Palin, and the economic meltdown that ensured Obama’s victory.

THE BATTLE FOR AMERICA 2008 is a riveting account of how this election not only marked a new era in American politics but also offered a test of historic proportions at a watershed moment for our nation.
To purchase a copy of the book, click here for amazon.com

Cook it Together with Annabel Karmel

Mother of three and author of 17 best-selling cookbooks, Annabel Karmel understands the importance of encouraging children and parents to HAVE FUN and collaborate in the kitchen. In her newest book, COOK IT TOGETHER, Annabel offers creative tips for parents on how to teach children about healthy food, and how to include these ingredients in daily meals.

With recipes such as Butterfly cupcakes, Banana Bites, and Strawberry layers, Annabel has a knack for incorporating flavors kids crave. There’s even something for the more adventurous “little foodie” - Apple & Chicken Curry or Salmon Skewers.

Here are few simple recipes you too, can try at home:

Banana Bites:
Ingredients:
1-2 Bananas
4 oz Chocolate Milk
Dried Coconut& Sprinkles

1. Peel the banana and peel off the ends. Chop the flesh into 6 pieces
2. Break the chocolate into a heatproof bowl. Put the bowl over a pan of hot water, to melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally. Leave to cool slightly.
3. Push a straw through the banana, then drizzle melted chocolate over each piece. (Don’t worry if it’s not perfect – it will taste delicious!_
4. Roll the chocolate covered banana in the coconut or sprinkles. Let the chocolate harden, then serve.

Strawberry Layers:
Ingredients:
2 1/3 cups (350 g) whole strawberries
4 tbsp strawberry jam
7/8 (200 ml) heavy cream
6 tbsp Greek yogurt
mint, to serve

1. De-stem the strawberries. Put a few aside for decoration and slice the rest into a bowl with the jam.
2. Use a potato masher to mash up the strawberries and jam.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the cream to stiff peaks. Then fold the yogurt into the cream.
4. Layer the strawberry & cream mixtures in little serving dishes.



For more information, check out: www.annabelkarmel.com

Bobby and Jackie: A Love Story

Bobby Kennedy. Jacqueline Kennedy.

Two of the most fascinating figures in history, both deeply affected by the assassination of their respective brother and husband, President John F. Kennedy. Yet many may not know how this loss brought these two even closer together.

What had been an open secret among Kennedy insiders for years is finally revealed in Pulitzer Prize nominee C. David Heymann’s new book, BOBBY AND JACKIE: A Love Story.

What began as an affair in 1963 over shared grief, the love story between Jackie and Bobby lasted until his tragic assassination at the Democratic national convention in 1968.

Late-night rendezvous at Jackie’s Fifth Avenue apartment.

Impassioned embraces at the Kennedy estate in Palm Beach.

These interludes had been whispered about for decades. Now, BOBBY AND JACKIE gives the reader behind-closed-doors access to these and other accounts of their secret relationship.

Also included are tales of Jackie’s relationship with shipping industrialist, Aristotle Onassis, who vied with Bobby for Jackie’s love, Bobby’s many affairs with other women, and Bobby’s wife Ethel Kennedy’s open contempt for her famous sister-in-law.

Drawing on more than two decades worth of personal interviews, as well as previously unreleased reports by the Secret Service and the FBI made available through the Freedom of Information Act, Heymann documents this complex relationship in his moving, enlightening and enormously entertaining new book.

GIRL FORCE: A Girl’s Guide to the Body and Soul

Author and former beauty editor combats negative images and messages for teen girls in her new book

GirlForce, published by Bloomsbury, is the newest book by author Nikki Goldstein, who has worked as a beauty editor and writer for over ten years at such magazines as Marie Clare, Vogue, Elle, InStyle and Cosmpolitan. She wanted to develop a way to counter the negative images and messages she often found in the media.



“I am passionate about boosting girls self-esteem because I can remember what it was like to be a voluptuous teenager and feel out of step with prevailing ideal of beauty. For me the best way to pass on my message – to learn to love yourself just the way you are – was to write my own books. Girls need to practice a daily affirmation like, “I love and accept myself just the way I am”, to remind themselves they are perfect and beautiful simply because they are unique. “ – author Nikki Goldstein



After a long illness and recovery, Nikki discovered the ancient Indian system known as Ayurveda (pronounced "eye-ur-vee-dah"), after a friend suggested looking at yoga and meditation. At first a skeptic, Nikki found that she was becoming and feeling stronger and her stress levels were down. Most of all, she was learning about her body and what it needed to feel great.

Nikki took the concept of Ayurveda and her experiences and wrote a book for adults called “Lifeforce.” While on an author tour, mothers and daughters asked her to create something similar for teenage girls. And so, GirlForce was born.

Nikki wants to share her powerful message to all teen girls, young women, moms and dads out there:

“What I am trying to get girls to understand is that underneath the skin we are all the same. We may come in different shapes and sizes, different skin colors, different racial or political beliefs but we are all the same inside. All girls struggle with how they look, how they fit in, whether they’re loveable and desirable. No one, no matter how beautiful they may look on the outside, is immune from these issues. GirlForce is about finding the spirit, love, magic within – your GirlForce.”

JULIANNE MOORE & FRECKLEFACE STRAWBERRY RETURN

Four-time Academy Award Nominee and her spunky, picture book star dodge a bully

Best known for her roles in many blockbuster movies, such as The Hours and Forgotten, acclaimed actress Julianne Moore is fast proving herself to be a multi-talented woman. She joins talents again with bestselling illustrator LeUyen Pham for FRECKLEFACE STRAWBERRY AND THE DODGEBALL BULLY. With a sweet sensitivity and imagination, she writes about a subject that everyone, despite their age, can relate to: The school bully. This time, Freckleface Strawberry, this perky, loveable seven-year-old, encounters a bully on the playground—Windy Pants Patrick—and must summon the courage to play dodge ball. Ms. Moore tackles this all-too-prevalent problem with both humor and grace.

Here’s Julianne speaking about the name "Freckleface:"





It is Ms. Moore’s infusion of hilarity and heart that has won her praise from booksellers, educators, reviewers—and most importantly young readers—for her debut picture book Freckleface Strawberry, a charming tale inspired by a childhood experience.

Here’s Julianne speaking about writing for children:




Balancing her career and motherhood, Ms. Moore lives in New York with her husband and two children. She is a U. S. Ambassador for Save the Children, working with children and families in rural areas, focusing on literacy and early childhood education. She is also a member of Reach Out and Read, a children’s literacy organization dedicated to educating parents on the importance of reading to their children.

Here’s Julianne speaking about balancing family and career:





To purchase a copy of the book, click here: Freckleface Strawberry

Revealing THE LINK

The Un-Named Project Comes To Life…
Revealing THE LINK
Behind The Scenes Of The Best Kept Science Secret

We got the call about a potential “top-secret” project late on a Friday afternoon.

“Can’t tell you much, the book is embargoed until Tuesday, when there will be a huge press announcement with lots of people involved”, was all the description we got from the book’s publicist. We have handled many embargoed books in the past and really understand how to interest the stations in an interview with an author without revealing too many of the details- but this was something special. It was something big- really big- and we had no way of knowing exactly what it was or who it would really appeal to. So we got the booking team lined up and excited about the “un-named” project as best we could which was quite a challenge considering we could tell them nothing!

Then we spent the weekend guessing as to what could be the next big science announcement- a cure for cancer? That would be news…new advances in green energy… stem cells? All of our guesses involved thinking about the future- of new unheard of scientific advances, but we never spent a second thinking about the past. When the announcement came out Tuesday morning that an international team had discovered a 47 million year old fossil- a kind of link to our earliest ancestors, we knew we had a major story that none of us ever imagined.

We bombarded stations with the details of the scientific findings and set up live television and radio interviews in over 20 markets with one of the lead scientists who was involved in the discovery. Dr. Jorn Hurum, is a Norwegian paleontologist from the University of Oslo’s Natural History Museum - a wonderful interview who detailed not only the scientific significance of the project, but also shared some of the two-year history of this international “top-secret” project.

With so many people working on this all around the globe- is was amazing that this could stay so quiet for so long. It seems as if everyone involved was willing to keep the un-named project under wraps for as long as it took to make sure it was all handled in the best possible way. www.revealingthelink.com

The Perfect Bloody Mary

Louisiana’s hottest chef, Donald Link, reveals his family secret





Cathy’s Bloody Mary*



*Excerpted from REAL CAJUN: Rustic Home Cooking From Donald Link’s Louisiana
Donald Link with Paula Disbrowe. Photographs by Chris Granger, Clarkson Potter Publishers


This is my mother-in-law’s famous (at least in our family) rendition of the classic. I find too often that this drink is too bland for my taste, but this version has plenty of kick. (Cathy thinks Tabasco is essential.) Fiery drinks are a staple for weekend brunches and football mornings.

Makes 1 Generous Drink
2 ounces (4 tablespoons) vodka
1 cup tomato juice
½ cup Clamato juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
¾ teaspoon Tabasco
1/8 teaspoon celery seeds
1 teaspoon grated horseradish
Pinch of celery salt
Ground black pepper to taste
Juice of 1 lemon wedge
Pickled okra, for garnish
Celery stalk, for garnish

Fill a 16-ounce glass with ice cubes and add all the ingredients except okra and celery and stir well. Garnish with pickled okra and celery stalk.


His favorite dish for a large crowd?
Chicken Sauce Piquant, which starts with the “holy trinity” of chopped celery, onion and green peppers, and is then rounded up with Cajun seasonings like cayenne, paprika and Tabasco sauce—then the chicken is stewed down with tomatoes until it falls off the bone. It can be served over rice. This is his favorite dish for a crowd: he says your only limitation is the size of your pot.
He recommends having it with your favorite beer or, of course, his mother-in-law’s famous Bloody Mary. His favorite dessert? Satsuma Buttermilk Pie.




About Donald Link:
Donald Link has won the James Beard Best Southern Chef & Best New Restaurant to Anthony Bourdain’s Gold Clog. His restaurant Cochon, was named by Gourmet magazine as one of the top 50 restaurants in the U.S. The New York Times voted Cochon as the 3rd best new restaurant. After Hurricane Katrina, the only thing Donald was able to salvage from the wreckage of his home was a single trusty cast iron skillet. It is on this skillet that Cochon was born. Temporarily homeless, Donald and his family decamped to SW Louisiana, where he grew up and where much of his family still resides. Here he was reunited with his love of true Cajun cooking - as it is done at home, and has been done for generations. This is the food that has put Cochon on the map, and made Donald one of the most talked chefs in the country.

A Deck Rebuilding Project You Don’t Ever Want To Undertake!

It’s finally spring and the weather is beginning to get a bit warmer here in the Northeast. Now if we can ever get rid of this rain it might finally be time to get outdoors and enjoy the warm sunshine in the backyard.

Just got back from Niagara Falls where we watched the work crew from the NY State Department of Parks and Recreation re-build the decks and walkways at the Cave of the Winds at Niagara Falls. Every year these walkways and viewing platforms are re-built in the spring for the tourist season and then taken apart in the fall to prepare for the winter and the ice build up on Niagara Falls. What a job!. Six guys hauling wood for the decks and stairs up and down the rocks under the Bridal Falls. Each year they re-build the decks from scratch as the rocks shift a bit during the winter. So the decks are never in exactly the same place from year to year.

And as if that weren’t enough of a challenge, the rocks are home this time of year to one of the largest and most diverse concentration of gulls in the world. 100,000 gulls on migratory flights from as far north as Greenland and the Canadian Arctic to as far south as Florida, find their way to the Niagara River. The Niagara Falls Nature Club has identified 19 individual species of gulls on the river out of 43 species worldwide. So you have to be sure to keep your head covered when down on the decks to protect you from the wind, rain, spray from the falls and now lots of bird droppings!


With 150,000 gallons of water, splashing down onto the decks every second, these decks get a lot of abuse. Much more than the average homeowner would ever experience even in the wettest parts of the country. All of the wood at Niagara Falls State Park is treated with Thompson’s water seal and deck stain and can certainly withstand whatever Mother Nature throws its way.

We worked with DIY “Deckspert” Jeff Wilson who gave our viewers tips on how to get their decks ready for spring this year. (see video)

Jeff has lots of information to share about decks and what is the best way to maintain them. He even has some samples of good decks and tips on how to know when its time to repair the deck.

With more of us staying home this summer due to the economy, it’s useful to know how to make your deck a welcoming retreat.

For more info, go to: www.thompsonswaterseal.com

Marie Osmond - "Might As Well Laugh About it Now"

From the hit television series, The Donny and Marie Show, to most recently, Dancing with the Stars, Marie Osmond remains a veteran to the entertainment industry both as an entrepreneur and American icon. The vast experience during her career as a country music artist, author, and Broadway entertainer is best told in her new book, MIGHT AS WELL LAUGH ABOUT IT NOW.
She explains personal battles behind closed doors, such as overcoming bulimia, learning to manage family life and a career, and reveals thoughts of her own self image in the public eye.

Check out our interview with Marie as she recalls the triumph leading up to and after her “famous fainting spell” on Dancing with the Stars, and her inspiration for writing this book.

THE SNEAKY CHEF IS AT IT AGAIN

Missy Chase Lapine, AKA The Sneaky Chef is at it again – creating delicious meals with recipes jam-packed with the most nutritious superfood ingredients. In her latest book, THE SNEAKY CHEF TO THE RESCUE: 101 All-New Recipes and “Sneaky” Tricks For Creating Healthy Meals Kids Will Love

Missy answers parents’ prayers for healthy, delicious food that kids will devour! With Missy Chase Lapine’s original “sneaky” method of adding pureed fruits and veggies, and whole grains blends to recipes kids already love, parents no longer need to resort to pleading, threatening, yelling, and bribing kids to get them to eat what’s good for them. For Those parents who are too busy to make the simple purees—just mix in canned or jarred baby food instead! Missy’s new book also has Lower Calorie Recipes, Allergy Free Recipes (like gluten free,) Vegetarian Options and Holiday Treats.

For more information visit: The Sneaky Chef

To purchase the book, click HERE

Donald Trump - "Think Like a Champion"

Donald Trump was on CNBC yesterday talking about the current state of the economy, his new book Think Like a Champion and an interesting run-in he had with Bernie Madoff years ago.

HOW I GOT TO BE WHOEVER IT IS I AM

CHARLES GRODIN TELLS READERS

HOW I GOT TO BE WHOEVER IT IS I AM

Showing he has earned his title of “a first-rate storyteller” from the New York Times, Charles Grodin is out with his sixth book, and his many fans will not be disappointed—and his fans include the likes of Regis Philbin, Alan Alda and Carol Burnett.

HOW I GOT TO BE WHOEVER IT IS I AM features behind-the-scenes tales of the many actors, directors, writers, producers, journalists, and politicians with whom Grodin has worked, including Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Johnny Carson, Orson Welles, and other colorful characters. There are hilarious and poignant anecdotes from his childhood in Pittsburgh, college adventures, romances, memorable moments in his entertainment career, his experiences as a CBS News commentator and his advocacy work on behalf of prisoners and the homeless. At turns funny, poignant, opinionated and always memorable, HOW I GOT TO BE WHOEVER IT IS I AM is a compelling look inside the mind of an always one-of-a-kind writer, activist, philanthropist and performer.

Charles Grodin is best known for his starring roles in The Heartbreak Kid, Midnight Run, and the Beethoven movies, among dozens of others. He has written six books, including the bestseller It Would Be So Nice If You Weren’t Here. He is currently a commentator for CBS News and writes a weekly op-ed column for the New York Daily News website. Grodin is a recipient of the William Kunstler Award for Racial Justive and has been honored by Habitat for Humanity for his humanitarian efforts on behalf of the homeless.

All of Charles Grodin’s proceeds from this book will go to Mentoring, USA.
The book is available wherever books are sold.

LeAnn Rimes talks about "What I Cannot Change"

Once in a while a song comes along that captures our imagination and inspires people to connect in new ways. LeAnn Rimes’ latest single “What I Cannot Change” is by far one of the best critically reviewed singles of her career. The simple message of peace and acceptance of the song she wrote speaks to people from all walks of life:

I will learn to let go what I cannot change
I will learn to forgive what I cannot change
I will learn to love what I cannot change
But I will change, I will change
Whatever I, whenever I can

Ms. Rimes created a website, www.whaticannotchange.com, encouraging people to share their story and get it off their chest. The site has become a bit of a phenomenon garnering hundreds of anonymous entries and inspiring her to create a book around the stories. The book What I Cannot Change is an elegant counterpart to the song that includes an introduction by Rimes, lyrics, interior photographs, stories from people who have experienced their own journeys of change, and an accompanying CD.

Here’s what Ms. Rimes had to say about her experience with “What I Cannot Change,” the book, the website and the song:




You can buy the book and song at Amazon