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Celebrate Women's Day with pledge, Kate Spade, book

Today is International Women's Day and countries all over the world will be honoring and continuing to strive for women's social, economic and political achievements.

International Women's Day started in 1911 and there are many ways to show your support, including signing a pledge to support the Join me on the Bridge campaign. Today, the campaign united women in Congo and Rwanda, and together they demanded peace and development. In New York and London, women walked across major bridges and gathered to make peace banners. By signing the pledge, you'll be showing the government that you want it to invest in women.

If you would rather make a statement with jewelry, Kate Spade has partnered with Women for Women International and the Join Me on the Bridge campaign, and made a limited edition bangle. It costs $48 and 25 percent of proceeds benefit Women for Women International.

If you're still not sure how to show your support, put Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women on your book list! The film inspired by the book played at select theaters late last week in celebration of International Women's Day, and shared tales of women's struggles and triumphs. You also can donate to CARE, which helps empower women to change the world.

How will you celebrate women today?!
xoxo,
Lisa Marie

Novice Chef: almond bark popcorn

Yum! It's so delicious and oh, so easy! My friend Michelle brought this snack to a holiday gathering a couple years ago and we couldn't put it down. I made it for work today and the reviews were superb: people thought it tasted good and looked fancy!

All you need is popcorn (I bought light butter because I didn't want butter to overwhelm the flavor), almond bark (chocolate or white chocolate) and m&ms (peanut or plain).

Directions:
Pop a bag of popcorn and pull out the uncooked seeds (don't forget this step! I left too many seeds in and it makes eating a task!).
Add m&ms to the mix.
Melt about 4 squares of almond bark in a pan over low heat (it will take about 6 minutes).
Then, combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir!

Refrigerate for about 15 minutes, then enjoy!
Verdict: It's a go-to recipe. It tricks people into thinking I can actually cook and it's tasty!

xoxo,
Lisa Marie

Sick of sticky notes? Try online to-do lists

I've finally started cleaning up my mess of an e-mail, but I realized I was still sending myself to-do lists electronically and placing sticky notes in my purse to keep from forgetting things.

I did a little research and found there are a number of sites that offer list-building tools, which is much more effective and manageable than posting sticky notes everywhere. Accounts at the sites below are free and once you sign-up, you can build and manage all the lists you want!

Earlier today, I e-mailed myself the name of a musician I didn't want to forget (James Otto, for all those wondering!) and now I've deleted the e-mail (which would've gotten lost in a sea of e-mails, anyways) and created a list of musicians I can add to at any time. I now have a go-to spot to keep all my long- and short-term to-dos, grocery list - you name it! TODOIST has Gmail integration, which is yet another step to streamline your life, so if that's appealing to you, try it out! Toodledo and Tadalist also offer users simple list-making options, and each site has its own bells and whistles.

My plan is to continue to maintain the planner I keep in my purse so I can jot things down and have a schedule when I'm on-the-go, but keep the bulk of my to-do items in an online home instead of scattered about.

Another life- and time-saver is Doodle. If you exchange 42 e-mails before you narrow down which day to get together with your girls, you must use Doodle. You go on, pick dates for your event and send it to those invited. Once your guests answer, you're able to view which day works best for everyone without sending e-mails back-and-forth. My dear friend Lindsey got me hooked on the site and you should be too. It will change your life. Or at least the amount of time you spend planning a night of cosmos.

Cheers to simplifying life!
xoxo,
Lisa Marie

I'm not afraid to admit ...

... my life will be a little less fulfilling when the Olympics are over. The triumphs! The disappointments! The resilience! The medals! The snowboarders! How will I fill my nights? I haven't yet decided but I know they'll be duller without aerial skiing, bobsledding and ice skating in them. I think I'm going to take up ice dancing in my spare time. Or maybe luge.

What was your favorite moment!?
xoxo,
Lisa Marie

Worth It!: Benefit's Brows A-Go-Go

One of my biggest beauty battles has always been something prominent: my eyebrows.

I plucked my naturally thick brows nearly invisible when I was in high school, and then continued to over-pluck them for way longer than I care to admit. I rocked what I call the upside down Nike symbol, which is not a natural-looking shape.

With much patience (do you realize what it's like to grow dark brown eyebrows out? It's as bad as you imagine it would be) and a wonderful woman named Luda from Charles Ifergan, my eyebrows are well on their way to complimenting my face instead of distracting from it.

With all of Luda's wonderful arch skills, some areas refuse to grow correctly. After waiting 3 months for the brows to fix themselves, I decided it was time to invest in a brow powder to make my brows look less difficult than they are.

Thankfully, Benefit, 3450 N Southport Ave., has a kit with all the tools I need. Brows A-Go-Go retails for $38 and contains a brow shaping wax, two brow powders, a highlighting powder for eyebrows, a highlighting powder for eyes, an angled brush, a talent brush and tweezers. It's heaven in a box, and a cutely packaged one at that.

xoxo,
Lisa Marie