For your reading pleasure, here are links to a few of my favorite postings from around the web this past week.

Perfect Bound made a great point in her post called Squared Away, and that point is that we should use stamps as stylish as our stationery.  Sure the United States Postal Service has some fun and sometimes even beautiful stamps, but if you want really great stamps, make your own.  Read all about Perfect Bound’s idea here.  By the way, I loved the idea so much that it prompted me to make a LuSHHus stamp:

This next one seems especially fitting with the mention of the stamp…I can’t help but refer you to the great article I read at The Savvy Gal Online.  It’s called The Lost Art of Handwriting a Letter, and you should read it here.  It’ll probably have you writing a loved one a letter before the day’s end. 

I really love the list of summer accessories that All the Best compiled in this post.  Check it out!  I want all to them!

If you don’t already know about it, you might be interested in a fun sweepstakes for $25,000 to redecorate your home.  You can enter this drawing, which is sponsored by Ballard Designs and Southern Accents, here. 

Finally, I just had to mention Blackle.  This is a form of Google (it’s actually powered by Google Custom Search) that was created to save energy.  It works just like Google, but, because a computer screen requires more power to display a white or light-colored screen than it does a dark screen, Blackle - which displays an almost all black screen - enables computers to use less energy.  Interesting.

Have a LuSHHus weekend!

The President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports has just launched its Adult Fitness Test which measures aerobic fitness, strength, flexibility, and body composition.  (This sounds a lot like the physical fitness tests in the military). The test is designed for adults 18 and over, and the results could help you measure your overall fitness and set goals for a healthier, longer life.

Here’s what the test involves:

• Time yourself as you walk 1 mile or jog 1.5 miles.
• Count how many half sit-ups you can do in a minute. To do a half sit-up, lie on your back with your knees bent and curl your trunk off the floor toward your knees, keeping your lower back flat on the floor.
• Count how many push-ups you can do in a minute.
• Take the sit-and-reach flexibility test. Sit on the floor, legs extended in front of you, with a yardstick taped to the ground between your legs (your heels should be at the 14-inch mark on the yardstick). Slowly stretch forward, your fingertips on the yardstick. Do this three times, recording how far you reach on your farthest stretch.
• Measure your height, weight, and waist.

Plug the numbers into the Adult Fitness Test website to get your results and tips for improvement.  One feature I really like is that every time you retake a testing event you can automatically compare your results to see how your fitness has changed.  Ready to take the test?  Click the image below!

Cheers!

I came across a new item to add to The LuSHHus List for Dogs and Their People: a book called Town & Country Dogs.  The Editors of the magazine with the same name have compiled this charming little book featuring all the dogs that have graced the pages of the monthly.  Below is the updated LuSHHus List for Dogs and Their People.

The LuSHHus List for Dogs and Their People

Cheers!

Today I have a link that may make you travelers and party-ers very happy.  It’s called Fabsearch and it’s a guide to hot spots and events all around the world.  Fabsearch editors get all the latest news on all the happenings from hip locals and other sources such as your favorite magazines so that you don’t have to.  Then they compile it all on their site so you can easily plan your trip or night out.  For instance, say you live in Austin or you are going to visit Austin, click here to find out the latest gouge on hotels, restaurants, and more.

This is a fun, informative site.  I hope you enjoy it.

Cheers!

How about one of these unconventional rugs to add some LuSHHus style to your home?  I’m especially interested in the custom rug option…perhaps a "LuSHHus" rug for the home office???!!!  To see all the designs and color options available, click here.

Cheers!

It may cost $399, but the SoundDock portable digital music system from Bose is totally worth every penny if you like listening to your iPod at home, and that’s why it is my luxury pick for a LuSHHus Father’s Day gift.  (Note: I don’t have it but I do want it and I have seen it in action at my sister’s who does have it!)  The features of this little unit are unparalleled:

• it runs on a rechargeable battery or plugs into the wall
• it is quite small and has a built-in handle
• it possesses awesome sound quality
• it charges your iPod while it plays your music
• it comes with a remote
• it comes with a free travel bag when you purchase it here by June 28, 2008

For a little more ($490), you can also choose the Bose portable music package which includes the SoundDock, in-ear headphones, and a travel bag that carries your SoundDock safely and conveniently. 

I’ll add this to my LuSHHus Father’s Day Gift Guide:

Cheers!

If you haven’t already, please take a minute to submit your e-mail address to the LuSHHus mailing list.  Everyone who has done so by the end of May will be eligible to win a stylish reusable water bottle from Lululemon (value = $10).  A random drawing will be held on June 1, 2008, and the winner will be notified via e-mail on the same day.

Recipients of living a LuSHHus life emails will be notified of noteworthy content on the living a LuSHHus life blog and will also receive special notices and deals available only to LuSHHus mailing list subscribers.  At most, you will receive two emails a month, and you will always have the option to remove your address from the mailing list in every email you receive if you so choose.  Should you decide to join the LuSHHus community, please enter your email address in the signup box in the right sidebar of the living a LuSHHus life blog. 

Please consider joining!

Cheers!

Memorial Day, the unofficial start of summer, is just two weeks away!  Warm weather and blue skies make me want to enjoy the outdoors as much as possible.  If you feel the same way, tune into living a LuSHHus life this week and next for the LuSHHus Picnic Guide which will come to you in three installments.  First, you will learn all about the coolest, must-have picnic gear.  Then, you’ll get tasty recipes perfect for picnic fare.  Finally, you will discover the best picnic activities and games that will have you wanting to picnic all summer long. 

Stay tuned!

"I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble." Helen Keller

Have a wonderful week!

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there, especially to my one-in-a-million mom who we call Tootsie.  Mother’s Day may be coming to an end, but that’s no reason to stop honoring our moms and all the people in our lives who do so much for us. 

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls bloom. - Marcel Proust

In that vein, let’s start thinking about Father’s Day which we’ll celebrate on Sunday, June 15 this year.  I will start creating a Father’s Day gift guide that will surely help you find the perfect gift for the dad in your life, and I will be adding to the list each week until Dad’s Day is upon us.

I will be removing my LuSHHus Mother’s Day gift guide from the left sidebar (and replacing it with the LuSHHus Father’s Day gift guide,) but if you ever want to revisit the mom’s list you can find the items below and at ThisNext. 

Women’s Health offers a 20-minute plan to get rock solid abs in 30 days, and I think it’s worth sharing with you.  I’ve been performing several of these exercises (moves 1, 2, and 5 in particular) with noticeable results.  You’ll find that you are working your entire core with these exercises.  Click here for the details of all the moves, and see below for pictures of each exercise.  You are advised to do all the moves on non-consecutive days two to three days a week. 

• Stability Ball Pelvic Tilt Crunch

• Walk the Plank and Rotate

• Stiff-leg Pullover Crunch

• The Matrix

• Knee-to-Chest Crunch

• Prone Oblique Roll

• Rear Leg Raise

Have fun!

A while back I wrote about my favorite online invitation site and some of the other great options available (you can read that post here.)  After I posted my thoughts and reviews, I got a comment from the creator of a new site called Planypus telling me about the innovations he’d brought to event planning.  I’d never heard of Planypus before so I checked it out and I think it seems fun. 

Planypus is fast and easy way to notify friends of plans, AND it lets friends fill in the plan details so that one person isn’t responsible for all the orchestrating.  All you have to do is log your plans in Planypus and then Planypus will notify people you choose via email, rss, your blog/website, and/or calendar programs and let them contribute to the planning process (all your plans are private between you and those you invite.)  It’s a neat website that you might enjoy.  It sure could make planning gatherings a lot easier.  Check it out!

Happy Planning!