Editorials We Love: Chloe Moretz in ASOS Magazine

Actress Chloe Moretz looks like a porcelain doll while she enjoys carnival rides and arcade games for ASOS Magazine. The youthful and carefree images were shot by Alexander Sainsbury. The photos are bursting with color as Moretz rocks a vibrant pink jacket and dress.

 

 

 

 

(images via Fashion Gone Rogue)

Girl Crush: Michelle Williams

(image via We Heart It)

We became smitten with the beautiful Michelle Williams when she was Jen Lindley in the hit series Dawson's Creek. While most were falling in love with tomboy Joey Potter, we couldn't help but love the bad girl from New York who liked to cause trouble in Capeside.

Once graduating from the WB, Williams decided to go the indie route instead of going for mainstream roles. From Brokeback Mountain to Blue Valentine, the blonde bombshell continues to prove she is more than a pretty face.

She is also a survivor. In January 2008, Williams' ex-boyfriend and father of her child, Heath Ledger, died from an accidental overdose. She handled the tragedy with grace even when she was being chased by the paparazzi.

The blonde actress can currently be seen in My Week with Marilyn where she plays Marilyn Monroe. 

Williams shines in the role so much that there is serious Oscar buzz surrounding her.

Staying Healthy Through December

via SheKnows

Is it just me or did November fly by? Now that we've just recovered from a Thanksgiving binge, enter December. Filled with Christmas cookies, wine and cheese parties and food-fueled family gatherings, December seems to be the month our jeans fit the tightest. If you find yourself skipping the gym more often or repeatedly reaching for the holiday truffles, follow these tips to keep you on track throughout the month:

Remember that calories add up.

• Baking cookies: eating the broken pieces left on the cookie sheet can add up to an entire cookie. Depending on what you're making and how many pieces you "clean up," you could unknowingly ingest 100 calories.
• Grocery store samples: again, depending on what you're sampling, you could add an extra 50-100 calories to your daily intake. Do yourself a favor and politely say no (unless there's a fruit or vegetable sample available—score!).
• Coworker generosity: if a coworker brings fudge, peanut brittle or any kind of sweet treat to the office, be wary of how much you indulge. It's easy to bring a few sugar cookies back to your desk and scarf them down, so pay close attention to serving sizes and stick to one cookie at most.

Eggnog = diet sabotage.

• One cup of eggnog contains 343 calories—add a shot of rum and you're downing 440. Need I say more?
• If you can't bring yourself to give up the creamy holiday treat, try blending equal parts skim milk and eggnog, or even two parts skim to one part eggnog. You'll still get the festive flavor sans most of the diet-sabotaging calories.

Take your vitamins.

• Taking a multivitamin every morning will initiate a healthy mindset for the day. No, it doesn't give you a pardon for those candy canes later, but you can ensure your body will get essential nutrients even when you slip up through the holidays.
• Pour yourself a large glass of water to drink with your multi-V. We often neglect hydration during the winter months since we're not as active. Bonus: it'll make you feel full and curb cravings!

(source)

Editors' Picks: Black Friday Must-Haves

We all spend Black Friday differently. Some of us refuse to pass up those once-a-year deals, others take advantage of quick clicks on our favorite shopping websites, and still others stay at home in complete oblivion to the door busters and bargain hunters outside. Here's what we're arming ourselves with the day after Thanksgiving:

1. Catrina [a wolf spirithood and a remote] 2. Jeni [a bottle of wine and Sex and the City DVDs] 3. Jenny [a Starbucks venti skim misto and a tube of sheer lip gloss] 4. Kirsten [a smartphone (Motorola Droid 2) and comfortable Nike shoes] 5. Brianti [newspaper ads for early morning sales and a leftover turkey sandwich]

Blog We Love: Life With Lauren

Lauren is a normal twentysomething who graduated in 2010 from Syracuse University with a degree in Broadcast Journalism. When she is not busy with her day job at her parent’s company, she posts on her adorable blog Life with Lauren. The blog chronicles the milestones of post grad life.


Ruffled Feathers: Tell me a little about yourself?
Lauren: I graduated from Syracuse University and I currently live in Syracuse which has been a very interesting experience. I live with my boyfriend. I work for my parents company which is also another interesting experience. We all work together. We are a little reality show waiting to happen.

RF: How did Life with Lauren start?
L: I really enjoy my job and love what I do but I also had a lot of free time on my hands. Syracuse is like a small town so there isn’t that much to do. I thought I need to find a hobby fast. I was either going to sell drugs, go to the gym and get super in fit or go crazy. I didn’t want to sell drugs and I hate the gym. My friend suggested I make a blog and so I thought I would give it a try.

RF: How do you know what to write about for your blog?
L: I connect with my readers through Twitter and stuff like that. I try to keep them in mind when I am writing. I write about stuff I think everyone can relate to. Some of the stuff I write is personal. However, I am not going to write about every detail of my relationship. I know from watching reality shows that that is the kiss of death. I write about relationships in general. I don’t need to write about every gory detail of the fight we just had. Life with Lauren is about finding friendship, maintaining finances, health and knowing your body. I write about stuff that I would want to read.

RF: What has been the response to Life with Lauren?
L: Oh my god, it has been amazing. I honestly thought when I started that my mom would be my only reader. I get emails and have people who comment on every post. I have endometriosis and I talk about that. I once got a comment from someone saying that after I talked about my experience with endometriosis that they were going to the doctor and get themselves checked out because they were having a similar experience. That means everything to me. It is the power of social media. It is exciting to connect with people outside my city. 

RF: What is your advice for someone who wants to start a blog?
L: When I started I thought that it would be expensive. That is not the case. Wordpress has free blogs so I would just join and start. If you have an idea, go for it.

Also, be aware of what you are writing. You might think no one is reading but people are. If you hate your boss or think your sister is ugly, this may not be the forum to discuss that. Assume everyone you know is reading it. This is not a diary.

RF: What is your ultimate goal for Life with Lauren?
L: Ideally, I would like this to be my main source of income. I would love to do speaking engagements about it and stuff like that. My dream goal would be to do this full time as well as freelance.

Promotion Perfect

Gossip Girl's Blair takes an editor job a W
while she's still a full-time student at Columbia
and has to quit because she can't handle
the pressure.
(image via CW)

Just because you want to do something, that doesn't mean you're qualified. If someone offered you a corner office tomorrow without ever having an entry-level position, you'd either fail or be ridiculously stressed out all the time. But if you take all the steps to make sure you're in the best place possible for a new project or position, you'll succeed and it won't feel like work.

I always knew that if I was going to start a magazine, I was going to do it correctly and make sure I was ready. I'm nowhere near prepared to run a print magazine that relies on editorials and celebrity faces, but an online magazine for twenty-somethings by twenty-somethings was something I was ready to start. But I only made the decision after working in journalism since I was 14 years old.

You can learn from my entrepreneurial experience and figure out what it will take to make your big dreams come true.

Here are a few questions I asked to figure out if I was ready to launch Feather.

1. What does it take to get the position you want? To be a magazine editor you have to know about the special writing style journalists use and have a good eye for design. You also have to know a lot about working with writers and be ready to lose a lot of sleep.

2. Do you have those skills? A couple of years ago, when I first thought about creating a magazine I didn't. I spent a lot of time interning and editing for college publications. Working under people with a position you may want someday also gives you the opportunity to think about what you would do differently. I respect all the decisions of the editors I worked and interned for, but everyone won't react the same in certain situations.

3. What's your management style? If you're getting a promotion, at least one person will probably be working under you. For some yelling works and for others killing with kindness will. However you manage a team, you also need to figure out what you expect from them. I expect a lot from my staff and, if you want to continue moving up in your field, you should do the same.

4. Are you really ready? This is the most important question. Your supervisor's job may have looked great from your assistant's desk, but when you step into it, there's more work and a lot more pressure. Make sure you're ready to skip a few dinner parties because you're working late at the office.

Bootcamp for Bucks

This could be what your savings looks like after a little
financial bootcamp.

We all know that the post-graduate life isn’t full of luxury. Yes, most of us are working, but not utilizing our degree in our desired field. After you've utilized our digital coupon suggestions, there's another way to stay money savvy. American Express, in partnership with LearnVest.com and Crowdtap, has worked to develop two free online resources to help twenty-somethings manage the money we do have and help with our transition from school to work. 

The first  financial boot camp you can sign up for is called, “Take Control.” You look at the current state of your finances, including your budget, earnings and spending patterns. This boot camp will teach you to earn more, spend better and get what you want from your money. It also includes information on your credit score, net worth and personal financial goals you wish to reach. 

The second boot camp is “Build Your Career,” which teaches you how to succeed at work, managing good and bad times, communicating effectively and keeping your image and networking skills polished. You’ll also learn how to negotiate a salary when you are offered a position. 

According to the American Express survey, twenty-somethings tend to overvaule experience and devalue personality in the hiring process. In partnership with CrowdTap.com they have set up a social platform for twenty-somethings to share their opinions and concerns about their personal finance so they can gain more confidence in job hunting. 

(post contributed by Lesley Anders)

Writing the Thank-You Note After Job Interviews

So, you scored an interview and followed our tips to do your best. While you impatiently wait for word on whether or not you got the job, secure your top standing with a thank-you note.

It may sound a little time-consuming, but it's easier than  you think. A few lines can turn you from the qualified girl they interviewed last week to the considerate woman they're hiring.

Not sure how to pen a thank-you note? Here's an example of how to write one:

Dear Andrea,

Thank you for inviting me to interview on Tuesday.  I enjoyed talking with you about the public relations position.  Of particular interest is your company’s fore into the political sector.  I’m excited about the prospect of growing and working with your team and hope you’ll consider my skill set and experience as you move forward.  

Thanks again,
Candice

Editorials We Love: Amanda Seyfried in Marie Claire

Actress Amanda Seyfried looks amazing in the December issue of Marie Claire, showing off winter trends. The blonde bombshell looks great with a smoky eye, showcasing her breathtaking eyes, but our favorite look is of her wearing bold red lipstick.

 

(images via Fashion Gone Rogue)

Girl Crush: Kat Dennings

(image via Screen Rant)

We first fell in love with Kat Dennings when she appeared in Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. Now, we get to see the charming actress every week on the hit CBS show 2 Broke Girls.

We don't just love Ms. Dennings because she's wonderfully talented but she seems like the kind of girl you would want to hang out with. On her website she posts adorable and quirky videos of herself along with interesting rants from the inner workings of her creative mind.

The up-and-coming young actress is witty, smart and always portrays interesting characters. She's also drop dead beautiful in an unconventional way. Girl has some curves and we respect that!

For the Love of Favors

(image via one.simple.addition)

I don't know about other parts of the United States, but party favors are big in the south. 

Growing up, I attended parties with favors that were better than the party (like the one where we all got barbie dolls) and I'm sure my mom, aka The Queen of Do-It-Yourself, sent kids home from my birthday festivities with some nice things over the years. Like everything in the south, they're usually over the top, but made with a lot of creativity and love.  

I usually send guests home with cute store-bought gifts, but now that I'm grown up, items from the dollar section at Target are starting to seem a little juvenile. It's time for me to start being a true Southern Belle. After all, I was a debutante.

Thanks to the miracle of Pinterest (Seriously, how awesome is that website?) and my obsession with the Southern Weddings blog, I've been able to improve party favor execution. Next time I have a party, I'm going to try the take-home sweet tea in mason jars. 

Can you get more southern than that?

Stove-top popcorn is probably the the only popcorn I
will eat, unless I find myself starving at the movie theater.
Gifting kernels will be a cute favor and also encourage
my guests to try one of my favorite things.
(image via Jack o' Lyn)

Inside these take-home sweet tea jars are a lemon, sugar
cubes and tea bags. It'll make a nice drink for my guests
when they get home and I love mason jars because they
can be reused for storage or as a cup.
(image via Southern Weddings)

Giveaway: Sheyna Jewelry

We're very pleased to have our first sponsored giveaway! The awesome people from Sheyna have offered a $20 credit to the winner.

Some of the pieces are less than $20, so you can get something without spending a dime! If you can't find any jewelry you love, their website has a Sketchpad tool that allows you to create your own jewelry.

You can save some cash on holiday shopping by gifting these. They would also make a great addition to your personal jewelry collection. Personally, we're fond of the feather earrings.

 

TO ENTER TO WIN:
1. Follow Ruffled Feathers on Google Friend Connect (click "Join this site" on the right)
2. "Like" Feather Magazine on Facebook
3. Leave a comment below with your email address 

Deadline to enter: Nov. 30