Where the hell have I been? I’m late.

I was:

A. cleaning out my closet…there’s a LOT in there

B. overseas on a shopping spree in Milan…*sigh*

C. trapped under a bookcase, with my amazing Louboutins sticking out a la Wicked Witch of the East

D. none of the above

Stay tuned. I’m coming back with tons more of my Easy Peasy tips on fashion, beauty and survival in this high heels-trump-flats kinda world. Sorry for the delay.

It could have been different for me. I could have worn gloves. Used moisturizer with SPF. Flossed. Wait, forget that last one. The point is that if I had done a better job, I could have youthful looking hands.

Give your skin a little helping hand (achem) with these few tips for winter weather. Or you can just watch what I do and do the opposite. That usually works too.

• When choosing a hand cream, look for two things: emollients and humectants. The first ingredient acts as a lubricant, filling in between dead skin cells to soften and soothe skin so it’s more pliable. Examples are Illipe nut butter, lanolin, jojoba oil, isopropyl palmitate, propylene glycol linoleate, squalene, and glycerol stearate. My all time favorite hand lotion is the super-creamy Davies Gate Smoothing Hand Cream. I even got my husband to use it. But don’t tell him that it’s kinda girly smelling. Humectants draw moisture from the environment, increasing the water content of the skin’s outer layer. Common ones are glycerin, hyaluronic acid, sorbitol, propylene glycerol, urea, and lactic acid.

• Try a thick nighttime treatment. Go cheap with plain old Vasoline or get fancy with a thick, rich moisturizer in a formula with dimethicone, cocoa or shea butters, or beeswax. Slather on at bedtime, slip on a pair of cotton gloves (like Bliss Glamour Gloves) or socks, and get some beauty sleep.

• If you’re in a job that means a lot of handwashing (like the job of motherhood), switch between hand sanitizers with soap and water washes. The alcohol in the sanitizer will dry your skin, but it’s actually gentler on your hands than harsh soap.

• Wear gloves or mittens if you’re going to be outdoors for longer than five minutes. Even a thin glove protects the skin from losing moisture.

Photo credit: anankkml

One thing’s for sure: there will be candy at each. Duh.

I was happy to find this quick reference calorie cheatsheet via Redbook (I posted it last year too…go ahead…call me lazy but it’s still applicable) on popular Halloween candy. And I was quite spooked by how many calories are in some of my favorite treats. Oh well. It is only once a year. Actually for us, it’s five times.

BEST CHOCOLATE MINIATURE

3 Musketeers Minis

(24 calories, less than 1g fat)

WORST CHOCOLATE MINIATURE

Butterfinger Minis

(45 calories, 2g fat)

BEST FRUITY CANDY

Fun-size Lemonheads

(50 calories, 0g fat for 10 pieces)

WORST FRUITY CANDY

Starburst Fruit Chews

(204 calories, 4g fat for 10 pieces)

BEST FULL-SIZE CANDY BAR

York Peppermint Pattie

(140 calories, 2.5g fat)

WORST FULL-SIZE CANDY BAR

Snickers

(280 calories, 14g fat)

BEST HALLOWEEN SPECIALTY CANDY

Peeps Pumpkins

(16 calories, 0g fat)

WORST HALLOWEEN SPECIALTY CANDY

Reese’s Peanut Butter Pumpkin

(170 calories, 10g fat)

And here are a few of the classics broken down…

One Dum Dum lollipop

20 calories, 0g fat

Three Hershey’s Kisses

67 calories, 4g fat

Handful of candy corn

(10 pieces) 64 calories, 0g fat

One Original Tootsie Roll

26 calories, 0.5g fat

Thank you Japan for kicking the shopping experience up two notches. Now if you could just stop with all the Lolita fashions (a bonus Tuesday Newsday link for all you lovelies).

Shopping 2.0: It’s no surprise that “interactive hangers” are first introduced in Japan, a country obsessed with service, shopping, fashion and technology. Vanquish, the shop in question, is located in a department store in central Tokyo called 109MEN’S. The way it works is pretty simple: every time a shopper picks up a hanger, a computer screen above the item displays relevant pictures and videos, for example showing how a T-shirt looks when worn or other clothes that would fit the item chosen. Read more…

I hate carrying around tons of business cards. It’s just a pain. Mostly because this amazing business card holder that hubs bought me (sporting the creepy art work of Caia Coopman…yes, I enjoy scaring potential clients and new friends) only fits my license, bank card, money and two  business cards. OK, apparently I’ve misplaced the true meaning of “business card holder” in that story. But you get the point. They can get cumbersome.

Active moms, businesswoman, both of you groups…gather ’round. And get out your 10 spot. You’re going to want to buy this. I have alleviated this problem, my lovelies. Using the latest craze of the QR code (that little square you see everywhere now), Skanz are the coolest thing since sliced business cards.

OK, they aren’t uber-fashionable, but damn if they aren’t the easiest thing. These cute little rubber bands can get all your info across, link to your social network, share photos, etc. Someone just has to scan the Skanz bracelet code with their smartphone and it’s all there.

No more fumbling for a business card for a potential client or finding a pen/paper for a new friend at school pickup. Buy the bracelet for $9.99 and put all your 411 on the scan code (email, phone, FB, Twitter ID, as much or as little as you think they would want to share).

As exciting as every new major iOS release is, there’s just as much if not more excitement in finding the little things that no one knows about. Apple spends a lot of time creating major additions and changes for their releases, and then lets the users try to figure out all the small stuff. Well, not everyone has time to figure them out or doesn’t want to go through the effort to do so. This is where MacStories comes in. We know our readers are all about the details, so we went on to scan, search and pry our way through iOS 5 to find many of the hidden treasures that will make your iOS experience even better. Read more…

Enter the season of sniffle. All around you are danger zones…where every single cough could lead to a week in bed. Short of putting my family in a Hazmat suit (does Nanette Lepore make one, cuz I’d buy it), I’m always looking for ways to boost our bodies against germs. I mean, a mom can’t really hook her kid up to a OJ drip…can she? Wait. Can I?

According to Licensed Acupuncturist Jessica L. Molleur at Boston’s OMBE, staying healthy isn’t that hard…Here are her top 5 ways to boost your  immune system:
1.    Take a probiotic: found in most health stores.
2.    Exercise moderately: 30-45 minutes each day to optimize your immune system.
3.    Sip raw ginger tea: Squeeze ginger juice into a warm cup of tea every day
4.    Sleep: 7-8 hours each night for best results
5.    Make your plate look like a rainbow: Choose foods of color (red, orange, yellow, green, blue/purple) and include them in your diet every day

Photo credit: Jeroen van Oostrom

Americans talk skinny but eat fat. No matter that First Lady Michelle Obama has been on a crusade for a year and a half to slim down the country. Never mind that some restaurants have started listing calories on their menus. Forget even that we keep saying we want to eat healthy. When Americans eat out, we order burgers and fries anyway. “If I wanted something healthy, I would not even stop in at McDonald’s,” says Jonathan Ryfiak, 24, a New York trapeze instructor who watches his diet at home but orders comfort foods like chicken nuggets and fries when he hits a fast-food joint. Read more…

You’ve heard the hair tricks from the oldie days. Brushing it 100 times makes it shiny (actually it doesn’t…it causes split ends). There’s the beer rinse.  It’s supposed to leave you with shiny hair, instead it leaves you smelling like you just got up from your face-down location in an alley outside a bar. Pretty.

And of course there’s slathering your hair with mayo for an incredible conditioning. Easy, yes? Nasty, also yes. It smells and it’s greasy, but I guess this is why it works. It’s has an oil base, hence the shine and the grease.

I got this great recipe from Philip Berkovitz, founder of Philip B. hair products. It’s a great way to get shine without smelling like lunch.

Apply a cup of mayonnaise mixed with a teaspoon of vanilla extract (to cut the sandwich scent) to dry, unwashed hair. Cover your head with a warm towel to help the mayonnaise penetrate, and leave it on for 20 minutes. Before you step into the shower, apply a heaping handful of shampoo to your hair. Don’t add any water yet; just massage it in thoroughly for several minutes to break down the excess oil. Rinse with cool water in the shower and your hair will come out shiny and silky.

If the idea of putting a condiment in your hair makes you queasy, turn to a rich glossing treatment. I like Phytonectar Ultra-Nourishing Oil Treatment. It has egg yolk and oils. Basically, that’s mayo.

A few of the things that brought my husband and I together…

1. Neither of us skis.

2. He doesn’t golf and I could never survive as a golf widow.

3. We’re both damn good lookin’.

4. As Rob Zombie says in his Living Dead Girl diddy, we both have an unsatiatiable love of the dead.

That’s right. We love horror movies. Zombies. Supernatural. Poltergeists. Although the ones that mess us your cabinets are quite annoying.

Since we both also love to exercise, I’m dying (ha..achem) for the Zombies, Run app to launch early next year (they’re still waiting for funding..HURRY PEOPLE!). To me, there’s no better way to get in shape than to have zombies chasing you, attempting a snack of a little brain food. For the iPhone, iPod Touch, and Android, Zombies, Run delivers the story straight to your headphones through orders and voice recordings – and back home, you can build your base with the items you snatch up while running–meds, batteries, and ammo. And every so often…BAM!…a zombie’s on your heels.

How’s that for motivation. Check it out…