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Partner Yoga Pose: Double Gate

FitSugar — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 13:30:00 PST

If you love opening your hips and hamstrings, then you must love Gate pose. You can get an even deeper stretch in your spine and the sides of your body when you do it with a partner though.

Keep reading to learn how to get into this pose.

Rihanna Lists Her Leaky Beverly Hills Mansion For $4.5 Million

Elka Karl — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 11:08:28 PST

Here's a good way not to sell your mansion: first, sue nearly everyone related to its defects, and then, a few short months later, put it quietly on the market. According to Real Estalker, that's exactly what Rihanna's doing with her Beverly Hills mansion.

Rihanna, who bought the 8-bedroom, 10-bathroom mansion a little over two years ago for $6.9 million, has listed the property for $4.5 million. In January 2010, rainstorms caused flooding in the home, and in the end of August, Rihanna sued a number of parties involved with the home, including the inspectors, engineer, buyer's agent, former owner, and many more people related to the house. According to the lawsuit, "The rainwater pooled on the second floor balcony ad seeped into numerous rooms of the house, causing extensive water intrusion into various rooms."

Here's hoping that all of the structural issues have been resolved, and that the water damage from the home has been remedied prior to the listing. If Rihanna's able to unload this property, she can at least count herself as well informed in issues of home inspection and engineering issues before purchasing her next property.

The original listing notes the "Stunning brand new construction by Adrian Rudomin. On a gated & private Beverly Hills knoll with spectacular 270 degree views. This exciting estate features 8 bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, grand living dining area with 30 foot ceilings. Features include sauna / steam room, double torched roof, library, gourmet kitchen with top-of-the-line appliances, luxurious master suite & theater. Over 10,000 SF of living space & a huge landscaped flat yard. Pool, spa, decks & balconies galore.

Structural issues aside, the home is a stunner. Keep reading for a tour of the property.

Source

5 Charming, International Private Houses That Moonlight as Hotels

Julia Walsh — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 15:35:00 PDT

WSJ. Magazine hits newsstands this Saturday in the Journal's weekend paper, and the magazine has offered us an exclusive preview of its September décor feature! This month, in "There's No Place Like (Someone Else's) Home," former Domino editor Rita Konig takes readers around the world to visit five exquisite residences that also double as hotels. "Most of these tranquil home-away-from homes are run by rather remarkable women with wonderful taste, an appreciation for simple, delicious food and a fondness for bringing unique decorating style to a remote setting," says Konig. So if you appreciate the finer things in life and don't need all of the bells and whistles of a resort or traditional hotel, think about planning your next vacation at one of these getaways, which are a lot like, well, paradise.

Casa de Madrid - Madrid, Spain

"Staying at Casa de Madrid is like being put up by a rather grand friend of a friend of your mother's," Konig says. The décor of each room of the seven-room hotel is inspired by a storied place around the world, such as Rome, Japan, and India. While there's no hotel restaurant or even a dining room to speak of, the neighborhood offers plenty of eateries, and Konig says, "in true Spanish style, wine and tapas are laid out in the sitting room before you go out for the evening."

Ocean View Club - Harbour Island, Bahamas

Located right on the water of a Caribbean island famous for its pink sand beaches, Ocean View's nine bedrooms are "colorfully decorated with the wonderful ease of various lamps, odd tables, local art and things gathered from here and there - a look that is very Bahamian with an element of mismatched European style," Konig says. The food is as fresh as can be, and only the hotel guests and their friends can dine on "the hotel's calm, sun-dappled patio."

Trasierra - Seville, Spain

"Walk through the large wooden gates into the rose-and-lavender-scented courtyard of this 16th-century olive oil and wine farm," and your heart will skip a beat, Konig says. With 19 whitewashed bedrooms dressed with faded chintzes and delicate accessories, this Southern Spanish getaway is "quite simply the perfect fusion of the Spanish countryside with old English charm."

Read more about these impeccably run houses and discover a few more, and start planning your next great escape!

Yes, College Is Worth It: 5 Reminders Why

Bundle — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 11:17:16 PDT

We're thrilled to present this smart Bundle story here on Savvy!

If I have to read one more argument about why college isn't worth the cost anymore for the available jobs out there today, my head is going to explode.

College is worth it. Yes, I know: Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg all dropped out of college and now they are filthy rich. They are a rare breed. They are geniuses who were smart enough to get into schools like Harvard in the first place. If you are smart enough to get into Harvard, but know you can make a billion dollars by working on your tech startup, sure, college isn't worth it. But you can also go to Princeton, graduate, and then start Amazon.com like Jeff Bezos did. Or you can go to college and then get an M.B.A. and start eBay like Meg Whitman.

Need other arguments on why college is worth it? Here's a few more.

Studying the right field pays off

Certain majors have more earning power than others. Engineering majors, for example, learn technical skills that earn them median earnings of $75,000, so going to college to pursue these degrees are well worth it.

If the point of going to college is to get a well-paying job, don't become a psychology major - studies show that psychology alumni don't work in areas that pay a lot of money. Of course, money isn't everything. Students should study what they're passionate about - they just need to be realistic about whether their passions are worth their earning potentials.

Read on for more reasons to go to college.

The Positives and Negatives of the Forbes Billionaire List

Emily Co — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 11:55:51 PST

The web has been buzzing about the recently released The World's Billionaires list by Forbes, and this made me think about if the data really matters to us since our lives are so far removed from people who have a net worth of more than 10 figures. Further, the list isn't totally accurate - there are apparently a lot of billionaires that didn't even make it to the list, because there are a number of people who keep their money in privately owned assets.

On the plus side, it's also great to have data and records, because it creates a culture of transparency. And as a bonus for the billionaires, Bill Gates once said that the Forbes list is a nice Rolodex to use when he's knocking on doors, trying to convince the other uber rich to be more philanthropic. It's also interesting to see who the most successful people in the other countries are, and it's a good indicator of how fast a country is developing. Case in point: China doubled its number of billionaires this year.

However, one of the main drawbacks is that the list almost seems like a public display of flaunting for the rich. The US economy is still recovering, and people are still feeling the bite of the recession. Perhaps a better list would be a list of billionaires who are doing the most for their country. This will send a message to people that although becoming extremely successful is something to be proud of; using that money to create visible social impact for society is even better.

Bill Gates was the richest man in the world for 17 years before dropping to second place in 2010 and this year, but he would have received the top spot if it weren't for his charitable donations. According to Reuters, Gates would have actually had $88 billion (topping Carlos Slim's $74 billion) if he didn't give so much money to his philanthropic causes. Thanks to his wealthy support, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the largest in the US.

What do you think of the Forbes billionaires list - should we have a list of billionaires who are doing the most good rather than a who's who of the richest people in the world?

Emily Giffin Shares Her Top Moments From the Royal Wedding!

Guest Writer — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 16:15:05 PDT

Editor's Note: The following is a guest post written by Emily Giffin, author of Something Borrowed and four other best-selling novels. For more from Emily, like her on Facebook.

Just as I got up at the crack of dawn with my mother and sister to watch Di and Charles wed, I set my alarm for four this morning, donned my fanciest hat (purchased for Royal Ascot during my years in London), and gathered with my mother and own satisfyingly brainwashed-to-care children to watch this generation’s version of the royal wedding. As we sipped Earl Grey and munched on iced royal-nuptial sugar cookies, I tweeted the action, entranced by every detail of Kate and Will's magical day. Thirty years from now, here is what I will remember most:

A "people's wedding" with pomp and circumstance. Just as the guest list included celebrities, royals, and dignataries, as well as the butcher, grocer and postman of Kate's Berkshire village, the ceremony managed to be both formal and intimate at once, a tricky balancing act. Even the avenue of English field maple trees placed along the aisle (Kate's idea, natch) brightened the somber, thousand-year-old abbey doubling as a final resting place of 17 monarchs. Right out of the gate, Kate proves that she can respect tradition - yet do things her way - with warmth and style.
The dress, the dress! Kate looked positively stunning in her Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen ivory, hand-laced gown. While Diana's dress conjured an overdone child's drawing (no surprise, since she herself was a teenager!), Kate's gown was elegant and sophisticated, wonderfully reminiscent of Grace Kelly. A real, grown-up princess. (And, of course, I'd be remiss not to mention Kate's "something borrowed" - a 1936 Cartier tiara, on loan from the Queen herself, per royal wedding tradition. Beautiful.)
Picture-perfect Pippa and hot Harry. In contrast to the hideously comical, Dr. Seuss-esque selections of the Princesses of York, Eugenie and Beatrice. Oh, no they didn't.
Prince William’s one-liner to his soon-to-be father-in-law . . . “just a small family affair!” I love that he loves her family - another good sign.

See the rest and more pictures when you read more.