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Monthly Archives: October 2014

Some days work is just too hectic to make proper time for lunch, and the only option is to inhale  a ready-made sandwich at your desk while trying to get other tasks done.

However a new study discovered that eating meals away from home on a regular basis could contribute to weight gain, loss of nutrients and higher cholesterol.

Researchers focused on over 8,000 participants in the UK during the course of five years and discovered that where we eat our meals has just as much impact as what we are actually eating.

"We found participants who ate six or more meals a week away from home had a higher body mass index and lower concentrations of high-density lipoprotein – a molecule that removes excess cholesterol from the blood," said Ashima Kant, the leader of the study. 

She noted that the results did not just relate to those who ate fast food but also those who ate healthy pre-prepared choices.

According to recent figures, almost one third of Irish women are overweight, and over one quarter are obese.

While it can be impossible to eat fresh, homemade food at your kitchen table for every meal, perhaps the key here is to at least try to eat breakfast and dinner at home if nothing else!

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This poor zookeeper has his hands full with this troublesome duo of baby pandas!

In what may be the world's cutest, fluffiest and furriest struggle, the zookeeper tries his best to give the baby pandas their medicine…and it's hilarious!

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Is the bob officially taking over?

First there was Kaley Cuoco, then Taylor Swift and Karlie Kloss, Zosia Mamet and now Sarah Michelle Gellar!

The stunning actress shared an image of her hair transformation with her Twitter followers, writing: “Time for a change. Thanks @mararoszak for cutting and @rachel_goodwin and @TaraSwennan for talking me into it.”

Sarah Michelle has kept her blondey-brown colour and gone for a rather short bob – we love it!

Would you be convinced to go for the chop? We’re certainly tempted…

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The world of Instagram is a busy place, especially when it comes to style. Here in Ireland though, there are a few fashionistas that stand out from the crowd.

Here are just ten bloggers, stylists, models and fashion eds that we can’t get enough of on social media! Apologies for the outfit envy in advance…

1. Leanne Woodful (Thunder and Threads)
Leanne started blogging as Thunder and Threads while she was still in secondary school, and has made a significant mark for herself in the Irish blogosphere. Earlier this year she won Best International Blog at the Company Awards – a well-deserved accolade.

 

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2. Nuala Gorham (Penny and Polaroids)
Freelance fashion journalist Nuala has been blogging since 2012 and has been featured in Look, Grazia and Stellar magazines, to name but a few. Expect some great autumn style inspiration – and a lot of shoe envy!

 

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3. Erika Fox (Retro Flame)
This stunning redhead hails from Ireland but is now living in New York full-time, where she is carving out a career for herself in fashion PR, working with the likes of Whitney Port and Refinery 29. We sense there’ll be big things to come for Erika!

 

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4. Angela Scanlon
Another flame-haired beauty! Angela Scanlon’s modelling and styling work have made her a household name in Ireland, and lately she can be seen presenting the controversial documentary show Full Frontal on RTÉ. Her IG features lots of gorgeous shots of Dublin, mixed in with some seriously stunning style.

 

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5. Suzie Lynch (Suzie’s Showroom)
This Cork native has an impeccable eye for fashion, which has only been enhanced by her work as a visual merchandiser for H&M. Her Instagram followers are treated to lots of stunning #OOTDs, and plenty of catwalk inspiration too!

 

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6. Anouska Proetta Brandon
This successful blogger’s exotic name comes from the Austrian and Spanish sides of her family, but she is half-Irish and currently lives in Dublin. Anouska’s sharp writing and elegant style has earned her blog a huge audience worldwide – and her Instagram is no different.

 

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7. Lorna Weightman (Style Isle)
Lorna was one of the first big Irish fashion bloggers, and with five years of success under her belt she’s definitely here to stay. Along with regular appearances on Xposé and Ireland AM, Lorna has contributed to The Irish Times and The Irish Independent. Her Instagram account is a sneak peek into her everyday life, with some gorgeous outfit choices thrown in too!

 

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8. Lauren Arthurs (Love Lauren)
This style enthusiast and blogger has recently moved back to Ireland after a stint in London. She’s always bang-on-trend but manages to make each look her own.

 

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9. Clementine MacNeice
Clementine has made a name for herself as a stylist on both The Voice of Ireland and MasterChef Ireland, but she has incredible personal style too. Well worth a follow!

 

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10. Anne Marie Boylan (What She Wears)
Anne Marie is the brains behind the hugely successful What She Wears, and her IG provides a great behind-the-scenes look at the world of Irish fashion and PR.

 

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As far as crazy celebrity baby names go – it sounds like Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds are going to take the biscuit!

Always the funnyman, Ryan has revealed the baby name he and Blake Lively have chosen – and we hope for the child’s sake he is joking!

Blake only announced her pregnancy two weeks ago, but Ryan is getting excited picking out names for their little one already.

Talking to etalk in Toronto on Saturday, the actor spoke about baby names, saying: “On the plane over here I was trying to think of baby names. I don’t want a name that’s anything pretentious or, like Hollywood-y … So I’m going with Excalibur Anaconda Reynolds … that’s if it’s a girl.”

And what if it’s a boy, Ryan? “Bruce Jenner” the actor says! But of course…

Somehow we think Blake is going to need to veto a lot of Ryan’s baby name choices!

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It looks like Olly Murs has been feeling the heat since his comments about Taylor Swift’s songwriting hit headlines.

The X Factor star has now admitted that he has apologised for his comments, after Taylor appeared on radio calling speculation on her songwriting “sexist”.

Taylor was replying to questions regarding the men in her life that have inspired some of her most favourite songs: “That’s a very sexist angle to take. No one says that about Ed Sheeran, no one says that about Bruno Mars, they’re all writing songs about their exes … and no one raises a red flag there.”

See the moment at 5:36 in the video below:

Olly seems to feel that Taylor’s comments were aimed at him, as he has recently said: “I reached out to Taylor around two days ago. I gave her a letter and said, “I’m really sorry … It came out wrong. I’m sorry I didn’t mean to make any offence. It always came out that every article says Taylor writes songs and they always link it to Harry so I was just making a joke and defending my mate. But there’s one thing – I’m not and I’ve never been sexist. I don’t think that’s right.”

Hmm, who says Taylor was speaking to you directly, Olly?! Sounds like someone has a guilty conscious!

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Here's the ultimate checklist you'll need to get autumn and winter off to a cosy start!

1. A Good Pair Of Boots
You might not need them now but you will need them. Need. Mid calf, knee high, over the knee – whatever you decide, make sure you invest in a good pair. These babies are going to see rain, hail and possibly (hopefully!) snow!

2. A Wooly Jumper
For obvious reasons. Also, the right one can actually look great. Get your Granny busy knitting. Come on nan, hurry up now -it's already October!

3. A New TV Season To Get Stuck Into
Netflix. The best boyfriend ever. Autumn and winter are the times that you can binge watch and not really feel that bad about it. Pretty Little Liars, Orange Is The New Black, American Horror Story, The Killing – the list is endless. No excuse now – get under those covers and get to work.

4. A Cuddling Partner
Yes, a boyfriend would be ideal for the winter months but if you can’t bag yourself one of those, just find someone who will come over over for movies and share that couch with possible hair stroking and even hand holding. Okay, well maybe not hand holding but they could at least let you into the nook.

5. Your Own Umbrella
Stop borrowing your Dad's golf umbrella and go out and buy yourself one. They’re not expensive and you can get one in any colour you want.

6. Some Skin Altering Products
That tan is fading – it's time to whip out the lighter foundation colour. Sorry, but it's time. 

7. Slippers
Seriously, don’t even worry about how they look, because on that Sunday when you’re hungover and needy, you’re going to slip into those puppies and have a foot orgasm. It’ll look like this:

8. Pyjamas
Go on, treat yourself. Get the girliest, comfiest, matchy-matchy pyjamas you can find and stick on Bridget Jones' Diary. Bliss.

9. Gloves
Yup, it’s glove season again. You’ll probably lose them so buy cheap and easy…

10. A New Playlist
No more summer music, it's Coldplay season. 

11. A hot water bottle
Like a very miniature boyfriend you can spoon at night that won’t talk back. Perfect.

12. Leggings
Does it get any comfier?!

13. Socks
Buy all the socks. Seriously, just buy so many socks. And not those crappy thin ones that get holes in the toes, get some manly socks. Thick ones with massage comfort. Winter is all about extreme comfort. Socks are where it’s at.

14. A Blanket
Lying on the couch watching Netflix is nice. Lying on the couch watching Netflix under a blanket is fucking euphoric.

via our content partner CT

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For once, some positive body image news. A segment on The Saturday Night Show this weekend got Twitter talking about body shaming in Ireland and why it needs to stop.

Plus-size model Vicki Mooney appeared on the show to chat about her new agency V+ Models, which launched earlier this year. All models on Vicki’s books are a size 14 or over, which is a refreshing change in a world where a size 8-10 is usually considered too big for the catwalk.

Speaking on the show, Vicki, who is a plus-size model herself, said that V+ women were representative of real Irish people. “We are the women walking the street in Ireland. People should realise that that’s who we are.”

Vicki and some of her models appeared on the show to launch their #stopbodyshaming initiative. The campaign's official launch picture, featuring 11 of Vicki's models in the nude, had Twitter buzzing. Many praised the photo for its positive message about weight and body image:

But others felt it sent a message that being overweight was healthy:

Over 40% of women in Ireland are a size 14 or over, which drives home the fact that the traditional boyish size-6 catwalk model is a wildly inaccurate portrayal of a “normal” body shape.

Many would argue that images of beauty in the media are never going to be realistic – if they were, we’d have nothing to aspire towards.

Whatever the general consensus from the public, the tide is definitely turning towards more realistic portrayals of shape and size in Irish media, though the journey is not over yet. “The movement towards plus-size has only really happened in Ireland in the last few years," Vicki said in an interview earlier this year with The Irish Independent.

"I have been plus-size modelling for about four years now and at the beginning it was very slow to take off.”

On Saturday night she also addressed those who were quick to judge a plus-size model on her weight. “Everyone is on a journey. You don’t know if that girl you’re judging has just spent the last two hours in the gym, or has lost five stone. So it’s not OK to shame another.”

Sounds like solid advice to us. Whether your natural state is curvy or lean, tall or short, there's no excuse for insulting or shaming what you're not. If there's one change you make this week, let it be that you put yourself in someone else's shoes before making a snap judgement.

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Some brides love to have time to plan their big day – others prefer a short engagement. This pop star is definitely one of those brides!

It was only last week that we reported The Sugababes’ Amelle Berrabah was happily engaged to boyfriend Marcio – and now she has surprised us all with her latest announcement!

The singer took to her Twitter account to reveal the exciting news that she is officially a married woman! Amelle tweeted: “Sorry for the sudden announcement but I am officialy Mrs Sousa Rosa!! #ImMarriedYa’ll!!! #yay #blesses #sohappy.”

No need to apologise to us, Amelle – we love a good love story!

Amelle also shared some stunning photos of her engagement ring, we hope to catch a glimpse of the wedding dress very soon!

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The Vampire Diaries actress, Candice Accola is officially a married woman after she tied the knot to The Fray guitarist, Joe King on Saturday!

The couple, who posed for breathtaking photos for their big day, were married in the romantic city of New Orleans and we have to say, it looks like they had an incredible day!

Candice, who stars as Caroline in the hit show The Vampire Diaries, wore a stunning Monique Lhuillier gown with a long veil and matching umbrella. 

That's right – an umbrella! Now there's a thought for the perfect Irish wedding!

Their wedding party were caught on a passer-by’s Instagram video who captioned the scene perfectly: “How to get married in New Orleans. #NOLA #Wedding.”

 

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How to get married in New Orleans. #NOLA #Wedding

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We agree – it looks like SO much fun!

Joe also posted a beautiful photo of the couple's first dance to his Instagram page, captioning: "My wife, she makes me wanna to dance."

 

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My wife, she makes me wanna dance. Photo credit: Jonas Peterson

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The couple have been together since 2011 and got engaged last May.  

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Niall Horan proposed to a fellow musician over the weekend – but we’re not too sure they will make it up the aisle…

The One Direction cutie took to Twitter to voice his admiration for Jessie J after her X Factor performance last night, tweeting the very blunt: “marry me!”

Unfortunately Jessie is yet to reply to the pop star, but we’re not sure it was a question from Niall as much as a declaration of love for her performance.

Then again, you never know – many the famous couple have had humble beginnings on Twitter, maybe we should watch this space!

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Is there anything that Kris Jenner can’t turn her hand to?

The world’s most famous momager has revealed that she will soon be sharing her kitchen exploits with the world, announcing last night that she is to bring out her own cookbook.

The 58-year-old took to her social media last night to break the exciting news, writing: “Sooo excited to share my new cookbook with everyone! Pre-order link in bio. Out next Tuesday, October 21st!! See you next week, New York!!!!!”

Sharing a snap of In the Kitchen with Kris, she added: “Can’t even believe I finally did this!”

Kris also gave her followers a sneak peek into what yummy things they can expect from her book, sharing a video of her stirring up the ingredients for the chicken soup that she claims is the Kardashians’ staple “comfort food”.

 

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While Kris is credited with launching the careers of her reality star family, she has proven herself to be quite the entrepreneur.

As well as serving as an executive producer on Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Kris also had a short-lived daytime chat show, Kris. After a six-week trial run on Fox, however, the show was not extended.

We can’t wait to see what Kris serves up in her new book.

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