Part of the fun of loving fashion is that the trends change season after season. Sure, it can be a lot to keep up with, but fresh new looks always rejuvenate our interest. For the girls out there, we wanted to provide some bold styles that are a must-wear this fall season.

Pantsuits

Forget the boxy pantsuits of seasons past. For Fall 2012, designers brought out sleek pantsuits in everything from white to jewel tones.

For a more modern look, add a bit of sheer to the pantsuit, like Reed Krakoff did; for more of a dandy look, opt for a menswear vest in velvet like at Ralph Lauren.

Either way, keep the pantsuit long and lean for a fashionable look that’s also office ready.

Jewel Tones

Want to add richness and depth to your cool weather wardrobe? Try one of the fabulous hues that are in for fall including sapphire, ruby and emerald.

These pretty colors are ageless and timeless, so look to get lots of wear out of any jewel tones that you invest in this season.

Collars

Peter Pan collars are a cute look that adds a youthful touch to everything from sheath dresses to shirts.

At Vivienne Tam the collars are sweet and lacy (photo right); at Victoria by Victoria Beckham they add a prim look.

Knits

Break out the chunky knits! Designers were in a seriously cozy mood for fall 2012.

At Gant (left) the feeling was preppy in a knit sweater vest (a fun look for anyone and good way to try out the trend.)

And at Chanel, right, sweaters took on an outsized proportion as chunky knits start to make their way back on the scene.

Optical Illusion Dress

You may know it as the Kate Winslet dress but the sculpting colorblock dress that Stella McCartney kicked off is still going strong.

This trendy — and flattering — dress creates an optical illusion by pairing dark and light blocks to may you look tiny.

From these styles, there are plenty of looks to choose from. Knits may be particularly welcomed during the upcoming Winter season. 

Thanks for reading!

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The Eternal Rest Cemetery opens it decrepit gates each Halloween season to unleash an onslaught of horrors to make your worst nightmares come true. 

The unholy dead drag themselves from their cemetery graves for two nights - Saturday October 27th and Wednesday October 31st. The mayhem begins each evening at approximately 7:00PM and continues till the gates are chained shut at around midnight. 

On these two nights only, The Eternal Rest Cemetery proprietors allow you to visit with the recently departed by taking a delightful tour through the depths of The Morgue. Be warned that this is an intense experience. We do not recommend it for children under 14…or maybe even anyone, for that matter.

The cemetery grounds are located at 414 Rose Avenue in Venice. Come by to find your eternal resting spot, it’s a free Halloween experience, but you may pay with your life.

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(Source: santamonica.patch.com)

We are quickly creeping up on the horror film fanbase’s biggest holiday of the year, and for some us, that means that it’s about that time we turn off the lights, make some popcorn, and turn on our favorite scary movies. 

While it took a lot for me not to include my childhood favorites, such as Hocus Pocus and Stephen King’s It, I eventually gave way to listing some truly freaky pics that you should not go through October without seeing. 

5. Disney’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1949)

This isn’t necessarily a horror flick in the traditional sense, but it always encompassed the overall feeling of the Halloween season. Also, I always seem to find it re-running every year.

4. Return of the Living Dead (1985)

Here’s another one that I can’t seem to pass up every year that mixes gore and comedy perfectly. In other words, it’s the right kind of zombie film that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

3. Tales from the Hood (1995)

Who doesn’t love a good Anthology series? This movie treats us to four short stories which are set around three drug dealers buying their stash from a crazy funeral director.

2. The People Under the Stairs (1991)

The best, and only, way to describe this film is that it’s Home Alone meets the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.  Wes Craven wrote and directed this film about a crazy couple who have booby trapped an entire house to keep the various kidnapped children under the stairs.

1. Ernest Scared Stupid (1991)

The cheesier a horror film is, the better, some say, and this one is no different. A classic in the Ernest series, he is put against an uninvited guest invading his town during Halloween. 

In this day and age, you may have to dust off the old VHS tapes in order to check some of these out if they haven’t been put on DVD or Blu-Ray. And if you can get your hands on them, these are MUST SEE movies to laugh and get scared this Halloween. Thanks for reading!

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So, you might be throwing a Halloween get-together, or perhaps you may be the ghoulish guest at one, and you’re in charge of coming up with a signature cocktail. It’s Halloween after all, so let’s get cracking on these over-the-top Halloween cocktails that are sure to liven up the party.

Halloween cocktails should definitely be tasty, but never tasteful. If these drinks are not creepy enough for you, garnish with eyeball-like lychee fruits, plastic doll-part stirrers, or wormy ice cubes. 

Witches Brew:

Ingredients

• 1 (6-ounce) package lime gelatin
• 2 cups boiling water
• 3 cups chilled pineapple juice
• 1 (2 liter) bottle chilled lemon-lime soft drink or ginger ale
• 2 cups chilled vodka, optional

Special equipment:

• 1 large black plastic cauldron (available at party or craft stores)
• 1 punch bowl that fits inside the cauldron
• 1 plastic hand (available at party supply stores), sterilized in hot water
• 1 block dry ice (available at supermarkets, ice cream shops or ice companies)

Directions

(Source: foodnetwork.com)

The secret to living a longer and healthier life really isn’t a secret at all, because it consists of habits and actions that you may already be performing every single day. And if that’s the case, then “kudos” to you, because you are on the right track. Whether it be snuffing out your last cigarette, eating a balanced diet, or maintaining a healthy weight, there are seemingly endless paths toward feeling better and living longer. Here are some that we, at Playa Del Oro Apartments, thought would be interesting to share, taken from a number of research studies:

What To Eat and Drink

Alcohol: 

Drink up! Among older adults, moderate drinkers may actually have a lower risk of mortality than those who abstain from drinking altogether. 45% for drinkers, 51% for non-drinkers, actually.

Coffee:

Keep your caffeine fix. Recent studies suggest coffee can protect against heart disease (esp. for women) and other ailments.

People who drink 2-3 cups of coffee a day are 25% less likely to die from heart disease compared to those who don’t drink coffee.

Chocolate:

Those who eat a moderate amount of chocolate live longer than those who eat it several times per wek and those who never eat it at all.

Garlic:

Load up on it. Garlic and the vegetable family it comes from have been linked to a host of different health benefits. The benefits of garlic include:

• lowered blood pressure
• improved circulation 
• a boost in the immune system
• assisting in regulating blood-sugar levels

The Big Picture

Love your mom:

People who have close relationships with their mom have a dramatically smaller risk of disease by midlife. 

Start school later (wait, here me out!):

School can wait. Beginning school at an earlier age can lead to increased risk of mortality. The study suggests starting before the age of 6 is a risk factor for earlier mortality.

Choose the right spouse:

Wed wisely. Companionship has links to longer life over time, but who you choose to marry also makes a difference. Longevity is an inherited phenotype across three generations. Choosing a spouse whose grandparents are still alive can help your children live longer.

Develop a strong handshake:

Get a grip. Grip strength is a suggested indicator of longer life. People with greater physical capabilities are likely to live longer.

Live in the country:

Leave the concrete jungle. According to the Office for National Statistics, people who live in rural areas typically live longer than people who live in cities.

Own a pet:

Pets heal the heart. Owning a pet decreases loneliness, limits depression, encourages laughter, and prompts exercise. Studies suggest they also have an impact on heart health. Survival rates for heart-attack victims are 12 percent higher for those who own a pet than for those who don’t.

Everyday Living

Be positive:

Think happy thoughts. People with a positive outlook are usually less stressed and better able to deal with challenges. That positive outlook has been linked to decreased mortality risk. Optimistic people live about 12 years longer than pessimists. 

Listen to your dentist:

Floss every day. Poor dental care has been linked to a host of serious illnesses later in life, including heart disease. Bacteria that live in the mouth can cause a person’s arteries to swell and can lead to greater risk of heart disease. 

Meditate more: 

Free your mind. Meditation is a powerful healing tool for stress, which can lead to increased risk of disease later in life. Fifteen minutes of meditation can produce a much more relaxed state of mind than one hour of sleep.

Surround yourself with indoor plants:

Stock up on super plants. Indoor pollutants are responsible for more than 1.6 million deaths each year. Certain plants can significantly improve the quality of indoor air. They include:

• Purple Waffle Plant
• English Ivy
• Waxy Leaved Plant
• Asparagus Fern

Get up every hour:

Sitting could kill you. The average person should take roughly 10,000 steps a day. Taking fewer than that could have an impact on your risk of death. People who sit for 4 hours a day outside work have a 50% greater risk of dying than those who sit less than 2 hours a day.

Just relax:

Chill out. Letting stress roll off your back is one way to live a healthier and longer life. Anger is typically linked to high blood pressure and can cause increased risk of certain ailments. Men with the highest level of anger in response to stress are three times more likely to develop premature heart disease, and six times more likely to have a heart attack by age 55.

I wanted to make sure that I gave you all plenty of options for choosing certain (or all) actions to work into your every day habits. I can attest that after incorporating things like getting up every hour during the work day, finding time to free my mind for just 15 minutes, and having a moderate supply of chocolate has helped me to just relax. I hope that it does for you, too. Thanks for reading!

Sources: MSN, Forbes, Time, “Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research”, Daily Mail, Harvard School of Public Health, IVillage.co.uk, Examiner.com, The Longevity Project, Digital Spy, Mayo Clinic, Journal of American College of Cardiology.

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(Source: confused.com)

Welcome back to the blog, Playa Del Oro Apartments (PDO) fans, and I will waste no time in kicking off our “In the Kitchen” series with a wonderful recipe. What I like about the raspberry-glazed rosemary chicken is that it unites such powerful flavors together for a wild twist on the old bird. An additional plus is that it delivers the necessary protein you need to stay lean after those workouts I told you guys about a few weeks back. So, how do we get started?

Servings: 8  |  Prep Time: 10min  |  Cook Time: 35 min  |  Ready In: 45 min

This is what you’ll need as far as ingredients go:

• 1 tablespoon crushed rosemary
• 1 teaspoon rubbed sage
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 8 skinless, boneless chicken breasts halves
• 1/4 cup fat-free chicken broth
• 1 cup raspberry preserves
• 1/2 teaspoon honey mustard
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a small bowl, stir together crushed rosemary, sage, and oregano.
3. Rub one side of each chicken breast with herb mixture. Place chicken herb-side up in a baking dish, and pour broth over chicken.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes.
5. Place raspberry preserves in a micro-wave safe bowl, and heat for 20-30 seconds to soften. Stir in honey mustard and rosemary. 
6. Spread about 1 tablespoon of preserve mixture over each breast. Bake 10 minutes more.

                              

Each serving carries 240 calories, so pair this up with a refreshing spinach and arugula salad, and you’ve got yourself one healthy meal.

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Growing up, we were always told that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and as the years went on, it became apparent that it, in fact, could make or break your daily performance. And as for me, with time, going out for breakfast or brunch became one of my favorite things to do.

With the array of breakfast joints in the Westside and Southbay, a lot of people are attracted to the density of Santa Monica and Marina Del Rey.  But what if I told you that one of the best breakfasts you will have is right here in Playa? 

If you’re a breakfast person like me, then I’m assuming your attention is still mine. Behold, Cafe´Milan, a gem located just off the beach on Culver Boulevard that is, not surprisingly, a favorite for the locals.

What I love about Cafe´Milan is the homestyle, casual atmosphere, the incredibly friendly service, and their mouth-watering food. It’s simple, yet delicious. Boasting sweet blueberry pancakes, flavorful eggs benedict (with a hollandaise sauce that’ll knock your socks off), huge omelettes, and soft French pastries, such as cream puffs, there is a menu item for absolutely everybody. They even have a healthy egg white and spinach omelette, in case you didn’t want to cheat on your diet or exercise regiment.

They have indoor and outdoor seating, free Wifi, lunch, dinner, and killer coffee, too. So, tell me where you’re going for breakfast this weekend? That’s right, I’ll see you at Cafe´Milan.

Eggs Benedict

Italian Omelette

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The art of the perfectly timed photo can sometimes be considered an acquired skill, that is, if you’re willing to conjure up the patience to wait for that ideal moment. However, the more common practice of being at the right place, at the right time would be the more likely scenario as to how you actually snapped that ridiculously awesome photo. And while my best photos are likely to be found on Instagram, I’ve also compiled fifteen unbelievable snapshots that could have only been taken at a perfectly timed moment.

How those flamingos decided to huddle together to form an enlarged version of themselves is beyond me. 

This lady had no idea what she was in for when she sat down on that bench…

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, well, actually it’s both. 

By now, you’ve seen that these perfectly timed photos also need to be taken at the perfect angle to achieve the desired result. 

Y’know, like us, squirrels are extremely heath conscious judging by the surprise in his eyes upon seeing the fat content in that granola bar.

Okay, this photo could have been taken a couple seconds before or a few seconds after and it still would’ve looked the same. Mammals, big and small, can appreciate this one.

Who can forget Dennis Rodman and his respected tenure with the NBA Champion Chicago Bulls? I certainly can’t, and to see Dennis completely stretched out and stuck in this moment in time is pretty cool.

A photographer was front and off-center for this cool shot of an animated Barack Obama seemingly gripping a glowing orb of hope and change.

I am a huge fan of photos involving a shadow being the primary subject and usually  presenting a somber mood to the piece. However, this one puts a comedic twist on that theory by adding the appropriately placed googly eyes.

The inconvenient tickle of a bee sting isn’t on anybody’s favorite list, but if anybody wanted to see what it looked like up close and personal, here it is.

Hey, even the dog has a sense of humor.

This one always makes me look twice. I mean, of course it’s the dress creating this optical illusion, right? But, everyone’s got their thing.

Oh, so THAT’S where it comes from!

Just a little more to the left…there.

And, here, I leave you with the best one visually speaking. A moment couldn’t have been more perfect to match the eye-shaped colors of the wings in with the skull’s socket. 

I hope this has provided a sense of creative inspiration for you to pick up that Canon or Minolta and hit the Playa Del Rey beaches or the Santa Monica Mountains to capture your perfectly timed photo. If you do, post it on our Facebook page and share it with our friends and, who knows, maybe it’ll go viral. Thanks for reading!

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