“I believe in pink.
I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner.
I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong.
I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls.”

Tip #1: Buy Fresh.

Unless you have a sunny spot in your yard, a sprinkler system on a timer, and the patience to either hand-pick bugs off your herbs or spray them down with organic insecticidal soap every other day (which by the way makes your herbs taste nasty), just buy fresh herbs every week at the store.

But if you do succeed in growing lush bunches of sweet basil, tarragon, mint, thyme, or parsley—or if you just have bunches of the stuff from the store and you just don’t know what to do with it all—here are some ideas beyond the usual pesto, salsa or tabouleh.

Tip #2: Put them in your salads.

I eat salad every day. And what makes my salads taste great with little or no dressing is herbs. I toss in whatever I’ve got on hand—basil, parsley, cilantro, chives, tarragon—and I especially like mint. You don’t even have to make your own salad to use herbs. You can just take a little baggie of herbs to work with you and toss them on top of whatever salad you pick up near your office. Fresh herbs are WAY better than low-calorie dressing if you are trying to amp up the taste of your salad.

Tip #3: Drink them.

No, I don’t mean make an herb shake (although that could be interesting). Mash them up, add hot water, let them steep for a minute or two, then pour through a strainer over some ice cubes. Add a little lemon and simple syrup to sweeten, and you’ve got yourself a surprisingly refreshing beverage that beats diet soft drinks any day. The taste is stronger than a flavored water but less intense and less sweet than lemonade or punch. What? You say you want a recipe? Okay, here’s something I made up on my own. Just remember to experiment and come up with your own creation:

2 or 3 stems of mint with leaves
1 small stem of tarragon (use about 1/3 as much tarragon as mint)
1 or 2 slices of the lemon zest (use a potato peeler and just slice off a slab)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons simple syrup

Muddle the first three ingredients with a mortar and pestle. Put the herbs and zest in a heat-proof glass or mug and cover with 8–10 ounces boiling water. Allow to steep for a couple minutes. Strain out the herbs and zest and pour over ice. Add the remaining ingredients and stir.

There is no magic at all to this recipe. Feel free to change the ratios and amount as your taste buds so desire. Fresh ginger, lemon, and mint are also an excellent combination.

Tip #4: Stuff chicken breasts with herbs.

Wait—don’t tell me you don’t know how to roast a chicken breast! Okay, here’s another recipe:

Take two split chicken breasts, bone in and skin on. Separate the skin from the meat just enough to smear a liberal amount of salt in between the skin and the meat. You do not want to remove the skin. Cram some herbs in there while you are at it. Thyme, basil and tarragon are all nice choices. Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees and let the chicken sit out for at least ½ hour while the oven heats up. This gives the salt time to melt and allows the chicken to warm up to room temperature. I usually let my chicken sit out for about an hour, but it just depends on what you have time for. Before baking, rub canola oil on the outside of the skin, and sprinkle with salt & pepper. Bake for about 42 minutes, or until the internal temperature is about 160 degrees. Yum. You might as well make extra and snack on this stuff cold or add it to your delicious herb-spiked salad while sipping your lip-smacking herb iced tea!

Oh—and one more thing—so Banarama has nothing to do with this post, but didn’t you love that song from the ‘80s that they did with Fun Boy Three?

Boden is a British apparel company that has three lines—Boden (for women and men), Mini-Boden (for babies, toddlers, and younger kids), and Johnnie B (for tweens and teens). You’ll have to visit their online store at www.bodenusa.com or get a copy of the catalogue—Boden does not have any stand alone stores in the U.S., although a few department stores carry some of Boden’s lines (I’ve seen Mini-Boden at Nordstrom).

If I had to guess, I’d say that the Boden demographic is somewhere between the Ann Taylor demographic and the J. Crew demographic.  Where Ann Taylor strives to be elegant, Boden is lively, with lots of bold, mod-inspired prints and water color florals.  Where J. Crew strives to be fashion-forward, Boden is more classic with a bit of whimsy. Fun details like colorful stitching, hidden ribbon trim, unmatched buttons, and appliqués are all Boden mainstays across the seasons. This is the only place you will find polka-dot plimsolls (the British term for Converse-style sneakers) with ribbon laces—for grown ups!

Cutest Kid’s Clothes Ever
But Boden doesn’t just make clothes for mom (and dad), they make clothes for the whole family. Which brings me to the Mini-Boden line.  Love. It. My daughter is not yet five, so Old Navy and Target have been my retailers of choice for her because, well, they are a good value for something that will get outgrown before it gets worn out.  But now that she is a little older, she deserves some fashion beyond t-shirts and jeans.  Mini-Boden is full of bright colors, fun prints, cool appliqué t-shirts, and, most important to me, age-appropriate style. She was the only kid in her class this winter with a Marimekko-inspired mod floral print jacket and funky pumpkin orange skinny-leg corduroys. Here she is in the jacket—note the bright pink fleece lining:

Perfect Fit
Boden takes the guesswork out of online shopping by providing not one, but TWO size charts—the typical body measurement size charts (in both centimeters and inches) as well as the measurements of the garment itself.  Brilliant!  So if you are in between a size 10 and a size 12, but you size up to the 12 only because the sleeves in size 10 are usually too short, you can take a look at the garment measurements and figure out exactly what kind of extra sleeve length the size 12 will get you.  Great idea!  Why don’t all on-line retailers do this? J. Crew doesn’t even post reviews online (why not?), and you’re lucky if the retailer tells you whether a skirt hits at your natural waist, hips, or somewhere in between. Boden always explains these details so you know exactly what you are getting and how to measure.

Word to the wise: Although Boden does have U.S. sizing, I have found that I need to size up in Boden.  So if you usually wear a size 8 in most American clothes, you may want to get a size 10 in Boden (but of course, read their size charts first).  In reading the online reviews, it seems like this is pretty typical for other women as well.

Coupons Are Almost Always Available
Lastly, there is the not-so-small matter of price.  Boden isn’t extravagant, but it isn’t cheap, either. But fear not—you should never have to pay full price, or pay for shipping/returns/exchanges. Once I registered with Boden, I received tons of email coupons and catalog coupon codes for 15%, 20%, and 25% off, and free shipping was always included.  And if you ever find yourself without a coupon code, just Google “Boden coupon” and I bet there will be one out there. Also, Boden has pre-season sales on selected items (usually 25% off) and mid-season sales (usually 35% off), and once the season is over, everything gets moved to the Clearance section.

Give Boden a try—your whole family will smile!

Aside from being one of my many muses for the Sweet Diva Lifestyle, she is an accomplished Attorney, Writer and Artist. I’m sure she would disagree with some of this but it’s my blog and I’m the big sister so I can write what I want.

Laurie is also the loving mom of 2 of the most adorable kidlets on the planet, affectionately known as the Bip and the Bop.

I know you’ll enjoy her swank & style and can’t wait for you to love her as much as I do..which would be impossible.

It’s the same Diva attitude and the same Diva mantra…Be a Sweet Diva, Not a self-absorbed one, except now we’ve embraced the Sweet Life in general–not just Italy’s.

You’ll find we’ve added some new products that capture the essence and frivolity of the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s. With that, we thought the new Diva should be a retro-glam version of herself because, really, who doesn’t love a pin-up girl.

There are new ways to interact with La Dolce Diva too! We’ve added Facebook, Twitter, Newsletter and Blog links and, perhaps my favorite, PINTEREST! Don’t you just love that site? What a great way to get quick snapshots of mood and attitude to brighten and enlighten your day!

I hope you hop on over to the new site “CLICK HERE” and take a look around. There are sure to be glitches as we touch-up and tweak. But we know you have patience when it comes to pampering.

Please let us know what you think. I can’t wait for you all to help us spread the word and makes this a La Dolce Diva Nation!

Always remember.. Life’s A Bath, Soak It Up!

Happy Valentine’s Day!