Can you pull off Louis Vuitton's Spring Frizz-for-All?

With Fashion Week right around the corner, it becomes more and more obvious that not all of us can sport a frizzy do quite like the models a la LV. (Unless you’re AfroBella.) Whether you have curly hair, straight hair, or wear your curly hair straight, out-of-control frizz tends to be be less of a fierce beauty statement and more of a hassle.

Miss Cozy’s Tip of the Day: Some natural ‘do it at home’ remedies are the best solutions frizzy hair. To create balance in natural chemicals that may cause frizzy hair, try rinsing with equal amounts of apple vinegar and water after conditioning. This will smooth out hair cuticles. (Keep eyes tightly shut if using this method – vinegar stings.) Shea butter can also smooth out hair while preventing a greasy look.

Avoid using a hair brush if you have frizz-prone hair. Try using a hair pick and finger combing when hair is dry. Avoid rubbing wet hair with a towel. Instead, try letting wet hair set in a towel for ten minutes after a shower. Air-drying hair whenever possible, instead of using a blow dryer. Another suggestion is to try adding a dime-sized amount of natural vegetable glycerin to water and applying to wet hair after a shower. This can also be mixed into a gel or mousse product that you regularly use.

Lastly, avoid hair products that contain drying ingredients such as sodium lauryl sulfate and alcohol. Some of the best remedies for frizzy hair can also be the cheapest.

(Check out CozyWallet.com for more swank ways to save money, and look good doing it.)

If you have the chance, try to stop by one of these great events this weekend:

San Francisco, California -  Another food fest–but one focusing on local, sustainable, DIY (Do it yourself) food and drinks. Contests in butchery, canning and jamming, demos on raising chickens, keeping bees and making cheese; sustenance such as roti, paella, ice cream, homemade beer and kombucha. This festival runs from August 27th until August 29th @ Jack London Square (Broadway and Embarcadero), Oakland. For more information visit Eat Real Festival.

Denver, Colorado – Formerly known as the Natural History Museum, the Denver Museum of Nature & Science offers educational fun for all ages. The Museum was founded in 1900 by Denver naturalist Edwin Carter. Today, the collection houses more than one million objects from around the world. This Monday, August 30th 2010, enjoy a Free Day @ the Denver Museum of Nature and Science – @ the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, 2001 Colorado Blvd. from 9 am – 5 pm (Free admission for Colorado residents) – 303-322-7009. For more information visit Denver Museum of Nature & Science.

Washington, DC - “Feet in the Street” – No Cars, No Traffic, Just fun! This second annual event will be held on Saturday, August 28, 2010 – 9 am-3 pm at Fort Dupont Park. ‘The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) and the National Park Service are teaming up to host a car-free event in Fort Dupont Park in Southeast Washington to promote physical activity, green transportation choices, and community spirit.’ Come join in Putting your Feet in the street and run, walk, bike, skate and other organized activities – including nature hikes, rock climbing wall, fitness classes, community garden tours and vegetable gleaning, healthy cooking demonstrations, free bike rentals courtesy of Bike and Roll and more! For more information visit Feet in the Street.

Orlando, Florida – “Tears for Fears” (nope, not a scary movie, but rather a concert) will be held this Saturday, August 28th 2010 from 4:00pm – 10:00pm. @ City Hall Plaza (included in the downtown concert series). This concert is ffeaturing the Gibson Smokin’ Opening Act, Rib Eating Contest, Free Cookies and more! For more info: 321-281-2000. For more information visit WMMO.com

Long Island, New York – Stop by the Annual Italian Festival presented by the Cellini Lodge/Sons of Italy. This festival runs until Sunday, August 29, 2010. There will be an international food court, delectable zeppoles, pastries and other goodies! Enjoy Music and Fireworks on Saturday, and on Sunday, from 3pm to 5 pm, everyone enjoys FREE admission plus half-price on pasta. For more inf o, contact (516) 747-1680. For more information visit Cellini Lodge #2206.

Runway image courtesy of Elle.com

It feels like the beachy days and disco nights of summer just began…but Labor Day is just around the corner, and with it comes the first chill breezes of fall. One of the casualties of the end of summer is, of course, the end of nectarine season, perhaps the worst of the little tragedies we suffer every year as the summer dies a quiet little death. If you haven’t had your fill of the tart-sweet delicious fruit this summer, there’s still time to remedy it! Here’s 3 great ways to use up what’s left of the nectarine crop.

Nectarine Chicken Salad

2/3 cup pecan halves
2 quarts salad greens (8 oz.), rinsed and crisped
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup walnut oil (or more vegetable oil; see “Nut Oils on Salad,” below)
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
4 boned chicken breast halves with skin (2 lb. total), rinsed, patted dry, and fat trimmed
Salt and pepper
2 firm-ripe nectarines (12 oz. total), rinsed, pitted, and thinly sliced
5 ounces fresh chèvre (goat cheese), crumbled
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Spread pecans in a baking pan and bake until golden under skins, about 10 minutes. Let cool, then coarsely chop.
2. Mound salad greens on four dinner plates. In a small bowl, stir vegetable oil, walnut oil, and vinegar to blend. Set aside.
3. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Lay on a lightly oiled barbecue grill over a solid bed of medium-hot coals or medium-high heat on a gas grill (you can hold your hand at grill level only 3 to 4 seconds); close lid on gas grill. Cook chicken, turning occasionally, until meat is no longer pink in center of thickest part (cut to test), about 15 minutes total. Transfer chicken to a cutting board. Remove skin if desired.
4. Slice chicken across the grain 1/2 inch thick; arrange over greens. Tuck nectarine around chicken. Scatter goat cheese and pecans over the top. Stir dressing; pour over salads. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Nectarine-Orange Pudding
1/3 of a cup of water
6 nectarines
½ cup of sugar
1/3 cup of orange juice
8 teaspoons of powdered gelatin
1 cup of whipped cream
1 tablespoon of Cointreau (Orange Liquor)

Orange Sauce Recipes
1 cup of orange juice
½ of an orange’s peels, cut in thins strips
1 tablespoon of sugar
2 tablespoon of Cointreau (Orange Liquor)
2 tablespoon of corn starch dissolved in 4 tablespoon water

1. Place a pot on the fire with the water, nectarines, sugar and orange juice. As soon as it boils lower the flame and let it cook for 4-5 minutes or until the fruit softens. Take the nectarine out and leave aside. Sprinkle the gelatin in the hot liquid in the pot and stir until it dissolves.
2. Blend the nectarine (with peel) and the liquid with the dissolved gelatin. Then strain the mix to get rid of the peels. Place the cream in a bowl and stir the fruit puree with the Cointreau. Oil six pudding molds and place the mixture of fruit, cream and Cointreau. Cover and refrigerate till ready.
3. Sauce: Place in a pot the orange juice, orange strips, sugar, Cointreau, and the dissolved corn starch. Cook at low flame till mixture boils & thickens. Withdraw and let it cool down. Unmold the pudding and serve with sauce.

Nectarine-Carrot Soup

2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1 fresh California nectarine, peeled and quartered
2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
 1/4 teaspoon grated orange peel
 Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup plain low fat yogurt
 2 fresh California nectarines, sliced

Melt margarine in large saucepan over medium-high heat; add onion. Cook and stir about 3 minutes or until onion is softened. Add quartered nectarine,carrots and chicken broth. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until carrots are fork-tender. Pour into blender; process until smooth. Add orange juice and orange peel. Season with pepper. Pour into serving bowls. Garnish each serving with 2 tablespoons yogurt and nectarine slices.

Have you planned your weekend yet? Hosting a fabulous spa party, no doubt. Actually, you’re probably not. And that’s fine. Which is why we love hearing from Miss Cozy each week with her top cheapie weekend picks around the US of A.

Miss Cozy’s Tip of the Day: If you forgot to re-apply sunscreen after your beach outing, you probably walked away with raw tight skin, the color of a tomato. To soothe sunburned skin, heat a cup of regular oatmeal with one-half cup whole milk until cooked. Let cool and apply to burned skin. The oatmeal soothes and the milk acts as a gentle exfoliant to remove dead cells.

(Check out CozyWallet.com for more swank ways to save money)

If you have the chance, try to stop by one of these great events this weekend:

Huntsville, Alabama – Feel like you put on a few pounds recently and want to get back in shape? A triathlon might be the solution. Starting at 7am enjoy a 3 mile run, 6 mile bike and 400 meter swim at Brahan Spring Park. The race starts at the South End of the Old Huntsville Airport and ends at the Huntsville Natatorium. (3770 Ivy Avenue) For more info, check out  Huntsville Sprint Triathlon.

Phoenix, Arizona – Another chance to get fit this summer with free workouts courtesy of CrossFit Scottsdale and Zenergy Yoga (all workouts are designed for any fitness level) Fridays @ 9:30am til 10:30am located at the Fountain Court across from Mojo Yogurt. It’s recommended to bring a mat to yoga classes as mats are limited. Receive 10% off your morning coffee at Press Coffee Food Wine just for coming. For more information visit City Center of City North.

Atlanta, Georgia – Creative Loafing brings cool beverages to the streets of Atlanta with Highland Avenue Beer Fest this Saturday, August 21st! It’s going to be a party in the streets from noon – 6 p.m. with over 100 craft beers, live music and great food from local eateries. The festival will be held in Inman Park at Highland Ave and Elizabeth. Tickets are $35 in advance or $40 at the door. For more information visit clatl.com.

Detroit, Michigan – It’s that time of year again.. in Metro Detroit when classic cars come to cruise. GM, Ford and Chrysler—The Big Three—all have roots tied to Woodward Avenue. In the cruisin’ era, urban legends grew that the Big Three tested their prototypes on Woodward. Famous nameplates such as Pontiac’s GTO, Chrysler’s Hemi cars, and Ford’s Mustang variants. On August 21st, check them out on Woodward Avenue, Get a chance to see latest iterations of the Mustang GT, Chevy Camaro and Dodge Charger. For more information visit The Woodward Dream Cruise.

Nashville, Tennesee – “Meet Us at the Barre” for the second annual Beer at the Ballet! Friends of Nashville Ballet invites the public to attend the second annual beer tasting event, Beer at the Ballet, on Friday, August 20 from 6:30pm – 9:30 pm – The evening will feature beer samplings from Yazoo Brewery, Dan McGuinness, and Magic Hat Brewery, along with food tastings provided by local restaurants Virago, The Mad Platter, The Local Taco, Zumi Sushi, and The Cupcake Collection. Included in the ticket price, each guest will also receive a complimentary membership to Friends of Nashville Ballet, which provides various perks and discounts throughout the year for Nashville Ballet performances and events. Tickets in advance are $40 and $50 the day of the event. For more information visit Nashville Ballet.com.

Seaweed feels great in wraps and facials (see #11 of our hot spa trends) – and it happens to be one of the most nutritionally dense and tasty ingredients to include in soups, salads, and other tasty treats. Seaweed is used extensively in Japanese cuisine and is slowly but surely gaining traction in Pacific fusion and other Westernized dishes – all the better for our bodies and our tastebuds. Now you can have your seaweed wrap and eat it, too! (Although we can’t advocate recycling the seaweed from your wrap into your soup.)

Japanese Miso Soup with Seaweed and Tofu

8-inch piece of wakame seaweed (zero calories and full of minerals)
8 ounces tofu
4 cups dashi (can be found in granule form)
3 Tablespoons red (aka) miso

Soak the wakame in water for 15 minutes; rinse and drain; cut into 1-inch pieces. Cut the tofu into small, bite-sized cubes. Bring the dashi to a boil,then reduce to a simmer; add the wakame and tofu and simmer for 1 minute.

Dip out some of the hot dashi to whisk with the miso, then strain it back into the soup…and remove from the heat before it comes to a boil.

Ladle the soup evenly into the bowls and serve immediately. Stir with chopsticks to eat, as the miso separates easily from the broth.

Seaweed Salad

1/2 cup dried arame seaweed
(soak for 10 minutes or until softened, rinse, drain and roughly chop)
1 cup diced plum tomatoes
1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
2 tbsp rice vinegar (or to taste)
drizzle of low-sodium tamari or soy sauce
1 tbsp sliced almonds

In a bowl, combine all ingredients and toss well.

Ahi Poke (Hawaiian Tuna with Seaweed)

8 ounces fresh ahi fillet, diced 3/4 inch
1/2 cup Maui onion or red onion, chopped
1/2 cup ogo (red/brown seaweed)
2 stalks green onion, sliced
1 tsp. Sesame oil
2 tsp. Soy sauce
3/4 tsp. Hawaiian rock salt (coarse sea salt)

Mix all the ingredients together and refrigerate overnight. The next day, serve on a bed of greens and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. You can also serve this immediately after mixing.

Great. Beautiful hair in the morning, frizzy hair by noon. We all know how that goes. If you haven’t yet cured your frizz with a Keratin treatment, here are some tips to calm it down considerably. Thick, coarse, wavy and curly hair all have a tendency to frizz, especially during the summer!

Miss Cozy’s Beauty Tip of the Day: Using conditioner is key to control frizzy hair. The trick is to leave the conditioner on for a few minutes before rinsing it out. If you have extra time, try wrapping your hair in a towel with the conditioner on and let your hair “soak” for about 10-15 minutes. Then rinse it out.

When you’re done, wrap your hair in a towel (or wrapadoo!) for several minutes to get out the excess water instead of rubbing the towel over your head. Both towel rubbing and brushes lead to hair breakage and make it much more vulnerable to frizzy hair.

Try putting on some mousse and combing it in. Let you hair air dry and don’t run your fingers or a comb through it until it’s completely dry. Using a blow dryer in hot weather will probably make the problem worse.

(Check out CozyWallet.com for more swank ways to save money, and look good doing it!)

If you have the chance, try to stop by one of these great events this weekend:

Denver, Colorado – Head to the Highlands (Ranch that is) for a wee bit of Scottish fun at The Colorado Scottish Festival. Enjoy such events as the Hot Piping Contest (featuring some of the nation’s finest pipers), then let your energy build as you listen to Colorado’s own Angus Mohr play Highland rock and roll complete with bagpipes, and the world-renowned music of Seven Nations playing Celtic rock. Dates: This Saturday 8.14.10 from 9am – 10pm and Sunday 8.15.10 from 9am – 5pm @ The Highlands Ranch. For more information visit scottishgames.org.

Indianapolis, Indiana – It’s pickin’ time of year! One of the best parts of Indiana is enjoying fresh-from-the-trees apples. Many orchards open their doors for apple picking in August for bushels of apples, apple treat and cider. So time to get ‘pickin’ and cooking up some delicious treats. For more information visit pickyourown.org.

Governors Island, NY – “Governors Island has the potential to become a New York must-see – a combo of Central Park, the Museum of Modern Art and, well, just about all of New York’s historical monuments. The little island is loaded with art exhibits, events, activities (bicycling, kayaking, mini-golf) and more.” ~ New York Post. Rent a Bike from Bike and Roll – to pedal around the island and enjoy the sights. On Fridays until October 8th, you can rent a bike and get a free hour of riding. For more information visit BikeandRoll.com

Baltimore, MD – Africa takes center stage at the 8th Annual Fest Africa. Held on August 14th and August 15th from noon until 8pm at Patterson Park, enjoy music, dance, arts and crafts, food, fashion shows, artists, poets, comedians, and storytellers. ‘It’s one of Baltimore’s impressive slate of ethnic festivals. General Admission is $5 and children under 10 are free. For more information visit festafricausa.com .

Boston, Massachusetts – Celebrate Chinese culture with the Annual August Moon Festival in Boston’s Chinatown neighborhood featuring martial arts performances, lion dances, authentic food and more. Held on August 15th from 10am until 5pm, be a part of Chinese culture for the day. For more information visit chinatownmainstreet.org