These days, so many of us are lucky enough to be able to work from home. I know quite a few women who have recently transitioned from full-time jobs in the office to working from the comfort of their own house. It’s a fantastic option if you’ve got small children at home, as well as an opportunity to balance your professional and personal needs without too many compromises. Most women relish the opportunity to be able fetch their kids from school, while still being part of a corporate set-up and keeping their skill sets sharp.

However, there’s a downside to this newly gained freedom. Many females I know report that since they’ve been working from home, they’ve gained weight or … //READ MORE

So you think Bollywood is all about song and dance? You think it’s about saree-clad men and women striking poses that aren’t usually seen outside an extreme breakdancing video? About eardrum-shattering shriek songs that go on for five minutes or more, several times within a single movie? If that’s how you define Bollywood, I can’t disagree with you. However, there’s so much more to learn about these all-too-predictable, yet highly entertaining Indian films.

Here, we will attempt to demystify Bollywood for you. But before we explain what this genre is really about, please note: The Namesake does not count as a Bollywood film, and neither does Slumdog Millionaire. To qualify as a true Bollywood movie, the film must have several important ingredients: … //READ MORE

It’s summertime—finally!—and you’re heading out on holiday. The tickets are booked, the car’s in great shape, the cruise plans are sorted or the hiking trails are all mapped out. But, wait! Have you chosen the perfect book to take along on your vacation? If not, no worries, because we have some great suggestions for you. Whether you’ll be road tripping through the U.S. or backpacking around Europe or just sitting on your butt on a white beach somewhere (lucky you), we have some strong opinions about the reading materials you should bring along on your journey. Read on, Macduff.

1. Family Beach Holiday. A lazy vacation on the beach requires a book that doesn’t require you to think too much, but instead entertains and maybe pulls on the heartstrings. Gerald Durrell’s My Family and Other Animals is a perfect beach read. When the unconventional Durrell family can no longer endure the damp, gray English climate, they do what any sensible family would do: sell their house and relocate to the sunny Greek isle of Corfu. What follows is a funny, heartwarming account of the family’s quirky experiences with the other inhabitants of the island—not all of them human. Told with wit, humor and beautiful detail, this book will have you chuckling as you sip your fruity beach drink. … //READ MORE

A pale and rather nondescript girl named Shoshanna sits down in front of a big round mirror. Bowie’s Cat People blares in the background. Shoshanna takes out an eyeliner pencil and lines her upper lash line. Next, she slashes blush onto her cheeks like war paint. And then it happens. She picks up a bright-red lipstick, rolls the color out of its tube and begins to fill in her lips. Instantly, she metamorphoses into a dramatic, full-lipped warrior.

I’ll never forget that scene from Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, nor will I forget the saturated red of the actress Mélanie Laurent’s lips beneath her black veil. It’s a cinematic image that’s indelibly fixed in my mind. And ladies, it was that very image that made me run out and buy my very first red lipstick. Since then, life, as they say, has never been the same. … //READ MORE

We don’t really own anyone or anything. All we have is this moment. Why waste it in worries, regrets and sour fantasies? Why not embrace it with attention, affection and appreciation?

This is what one of my three gurus posted on his Facebook page today. That’s right, I have three gurus—people who are helping to guide me on my spiritual path. And yes, this one is an avid Facebooker and references pop culture in his teachings. … //READ MORE

You know the feeling. You open a travel magazine and there’s that photo: white sand beach, peacock-blue water, clear sky and coconut trees swaying (so you imagine) in the background. You close your eyes and envision stepping right into that warm blue water, as shoals of fish begin to gather around and nibble at your feet. As you wade deeper in, a large sea turtle swims past. You wonder if places like this really do exist, and then you read that this is some island off some remote country where only jetsetters ever go, and you are certainly unlikely to find your way there.

Until one day, you do! The island was Gili Trawangan, a tiny coral island barely an hour’s journey from Jakarta, Indonesia, where I once worked. When I realized that I was only an inexpensive boat ride away from my fantasy location, I jumped at the chance. When my feet finally touched the island, it felt like I had stepped into the pages of that very holiday magazine I had so often sighed over. As I waded out into the sea, I noticed … //READ MORE