Good Life | It's a hashtag life for us!

Hashtags are everywhere!  They are used on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and practically any other  social network site known to man.  You've used them, your kids and your friends.  But just like most things out there, there are some of us who tend to go a bit overboard and well they get a little too hashtag happy.  (You know who you they are.)

Some are even claiming here that the use of (or shall I say over use) the hashtag is actually ruining the English language and the way we communicate all together. (hummm maybe they are on to something????)

So armed with that information our boys (yes, we know them like that) Jimmy Fallon & Justin Timberlake decided to give us a peek inside a normal human conversation but with a little twist, they ended each each sentence with a hashtag.

Take a look!

Good Life | Braised Pot Roast Recipe

It’s September and Fall is upon us.  Nothing reminds me of Fall days more than the smell of a good pot roast simmering.  I’ve recently become a lover of Weight Watchers magazine (March/April 2013) and found a great recipe for a braised pot roast that I must try.  Even in Sunny-O Bakersfield I can see the leaves changing colors…okay well not in Bako but a little further up North.  Here’s the recipe and a few tips on the “braising” technique. 

Prep 25 Min | Cook/Bake 3 Hr 15 Min | Serves 8

Source

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Pat meat (3.5 lbs) trimmed lean beef dry with paper towels; sprinkle salt and pepper ¼ tsp of each.  Spray large Dutch oven with nonstick spray and set over medium high heat.  Add beef and cook, turning until well browned, 10 minutes.  Transfer beef to plate.  Spray Dutch oven with more nonstick spray.  Add 2 chopped onions, 2 chopped carrots, 2 chopped celery stalks and 4 chopped garlic cloves; reduce heat and cook, stirring until veggies are soft about 5 minutes.  Add ¾ c ruby port and cook, scraping the browned bits, 1 minute.  Add 3 cups low-sodium beef broth, 4 thyme springs and 2 bay leaves; simmer.  Add beef, cover pot with lid and transfer to oven.  Bake until beef is fork-tender about 3 hours.

Nutritional Information
369 cal, 8 g total fat for 2 slices of beef with ¼ cup sauce from pan 
Weight Watchers PointsPlus Value: 8

Braising Beef tips

Use a Dutch Oven or get a heavy cast –iron pot with a tight fitting lid.  If you don’t have a tight lid cover openings with aluminum foil.  Make sure to pat the beef dry to remove excess moisture before cooking.  Brown the meet first and then cook slow on low heat.

Happy Eatin',

StyleDIVA

Wordless Wednesdays | Sometimes you just have to go with the flow

Unsolicited Advice | Babysitter Blues

Tell me if you can relate to this situation.  You ask your neighbor (or girlfriend) to keep an eye on your kiddos while you go run some errands.  After being out for the better part of the day, you stop by to pick up your kids and they come running over to asking if your neighbor's kids can come over to play.  You are beat, after running errands, and you had your mind set on just coming home and relaxing.  The last thing you want to do is watch someones kids.  So what do you do????

In this episode of Unsolicited Advice, Erika answers a similar question from one of our followers.  See what advice she gives below.

  

If you have a question that you would like for us to answer, send us an email to cocktailsandconversation.divas@gmail.com and put in the subject line Unsolicited Advice.  
So until next time...

Ciao!

Good Life | Cocktail for the Week: Summer Solstice Cocktail

Source

With the last holiday of the summer being today, we thought we would end this season with a BANG!  Whip up a batch of this refreshing drink while reliving some of this summer's best moments with friends and family.

Summer Solstice Cocktail

Ingredients
1 1/2 ounces Belvedere Pink Grapefruit vodka

1 ounce fresh orange juice

3/4 ounce Aperol

1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice

Pink grapefruit wheel, for garnish

1/2 ounce simple syrup

1 ounce ruby red pink grapefruit juice, strained

Directions

Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Top with ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a bucket glass filled with fresh ice. Garnish with the grapefruit wheel.

Cheers!

Unsolicited Advice | He Said What?!?!

Well we are at it once again with another episode of Unsolicited Advice.  This is where we give advice to unsuspecting people whether they asked for it or not.  Today's question comes from a woman who is dealing with a co-worker who has decided to make fun of her after coming back from maternity leave.




Check it out here....



If you or someone you know has found themselves in a "situation" and you/they are looking for some advice on how it should be handled, shoot us an email at cocktailsandconversation.divas@gmail.com and include in the subject line Unsolicited Advice.  

Until then....

Good Life | Starting the Weekend off Right!

What do you get when you take Jimmy Fallon + The Roots + Robin Thicke = An Awesome Rendition of the song "Blurred Lines"

This is the perfect way to kick off the weekend!

Enjoy!

Tequila Talk Tuesday

Now if you've listened to the show before, chances are you've heard Robin and I talk about how we're on a quest to bring 'sexy back".  That's right, we're trying to cut the crap out of our diets (say goodbye to carbs and sugar) and include more fruits and vegetables (helloooooooo broccoli) in a effort to live a more healthy and active lifestyle.  But what we have found is that no matter how hard we try, we still find that the needle on the scale is moving ever so slowly to the left.  Which has us thinking could it be our metabolism that's getting in the way of our progress???

We all know what as we age (we're not 18 anymore you know) our good old friend metabolism starts to slow down to almost a crawl and well that's not a good thing.  If you are in the same boat as Robin and I, all is not lost.  There are some simple things that we can all start doing today to rev up our dear friend metabolism so we can finally shed those unwanted pounds and get back to our former sexy self.

Here is what we found...

Drink Green Tea 
Try to stay away from sodas, alcohol and calorie packed beverages.  Not only will they leave you feeling bloated and tired, they are a major saboteur when it comes to losing weight.  Drinking brewed green tea is an effective way to speed up metabolism thanks to one of it's ingredients EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate).  EGCG is an ingredient known to speed up metabolism and by drinking just 3 cups of green tea a day can increase a person's metabolism by up to 10 percent.

Can I interest you in some green tea???

Power Up with Protein (peanut butter anyone?)
Protein has a high thermic effect which means that your will burn more calories t digest it.  Can we all scream...SCORE?!?!?!?  So grab a spoonful of your favorite brand (Jiffy anyone) and enjoy!






Listen to Your Mother and Don't Skip Breakfast!
You're mom was right when she told you that breakfast was the most important meal of the day.  Did you

know that breakfast is good for your health?  Not only is it a nice way to start the day, research suggests it's actually good for your brain and bodily health.  A 2003 study in the American Journal of Epidemiology showed that people who skipped breakfast was 4 1/2 times more likely to be obese than those who make time for a morning meal.  So start your day off right with a good breakfast and get that metabolism started for the day!  Pass me the Raisin Bran please!


Watch Out for Dehydration - it kills the metabolic rate

Just remember these words..."water does the body good!"  Oh and let's not forget the other healthy drinks that are available to keep you hydrated.  A dehydrated body will slow its metabolism and increase hunger and sluggishness.  So the next time you're feeling a little thirsty, grab that Big Gulp and fill it with a little H2o!







Now we all know Rome wasn't built in a day and the same is true when trying to rev up your metabolism.  Try making small simple changes say just doing on thing a week and see if you notice a change in how your feel.  We are going to take our own advice and give them a try to.  So be sure to check back and see how we're doing.

Good luck!

We love you just the way you are!

Well it looks like our friend Rajdulari has a hit on her hands with her new single "Natural".  In this song she reminds us all that we are just fine the way we are: big, tall, curvy, thin, long hair or short, natural or perm. That we are all 'fly' in our natural state.  I think this should be the official woman's national anthem reminding us all to love ourselves just the way we are!

Can you guess what we'll be rocking to this weekend?


 

#Hotness - Music | Kelly Roland Airs her 'Dirty Laundry' with this HOT new single!

Abusive ex-boyfriend, watching your BFF's career take off while yours fizzles and on top of that the two of you aren't even talking.  That is what Kelly (Ms. Rowland if you're nasty) is talking about in her HOT new single 'Dirty Laundry' from her forthcoming album Talk A Good Game. 

Now I will be the first to admit that I am not a huge Kelly Rowland fan but if this single is any indication of what we can expect to hear on the rest of the album, well...I may have to consider purchasing it.  This single is raw and real and I'm sure we can all relate to some if not all of what she is saying (can I get an AMEN up in here???).   But don't just go by my word, take a listen and let me know what you think in the comments section below.  Is this a 'hit" or a 'miss"?

Photo A Week Cocktail and Conversation Style

This week's theme is what else but COCKTAILS.  Send us your pics of your favorite cocktail, enjoying a cocktail at dinner or you mixing it up at your own in home bar.  You can always check out Erika and Robin's picture on InstaGram @cocktail_erika and @cncstyledyva.

Happy drinking and picture taking........

You Are So Beautiful To Me...Can't You See

You ARE beautiful, just the way you are and that is exactly the point Dove successfully drives home in their new ad Dove Real Beauty Sketches.  I would have to say that this is one of the most original and touching experiments to come from the company's Campaign for Real Beauty.  In this video Dove mission is to empower women to appreciate their inherent beauty, while driving home the point too that sometimes we judge ourselves too harshly.  It's sad that we as women (me included) are oftentimes too critical of ourselves; instead on focusing on things that we LOVE about ourselves and our bodies, we focus on those things that we don't like and want to improve.

In this social experiment, Dove explores how women view their own beauty in contrast to what others see.  It's quite eye opening.

So take a look at the video and then let us know what you think.  And while you do that, I'm going to stand in the mirror and celebrate all the little things I LOVE about myself instead of focusing on the things that I don't.  Feel free to do the same after you've watched the video.  I promise you, you'll be glad you did!