Susan Says: Have a Nice Guilt Trip

Have a Nice Guilt Trip / Available at Barnes & Noble

I just finished previewing Have a Nice Guilt Trip, the newest collection of essays from mother-daughter writing phenomenon Lisa Scottoline (who is a New York Times-bestselling author) and her daughter, Francesca Serritella, also an award-winning writer.

Through the eyes of women of two generations (actually three, including tales of Grandma, a/k/a "Mother Mary") the essays take a no-holds-barred look at how women see themselves. You are sure to identify with much that is reflected upon including guilt, divorce, family, jury duty, obsessing over our pets, hoarding and politics. Being a woman of a "certain age," I especially enjoyed how Scottoline pokes fun at herself and made me a believer that it's best to embrace the aging process, separate the truth from the hype and be true to yourself.

The book is the perfect choice for summer reading -- a quick read and a perfect gift for moms, daughters and grandmas.

Susan Says: Read These Books Now

One author, two amazing, must-read books for women of every age! 
 

Let's Just Say It Wasn't Pretty @ Barnes & Noble.com

First, Let's Just Say it Wasn't Pretty is Academy Award- and Golden Globe-winner Diane Keaton's account of her life in front of the camera. In a world obsessed with beauty, Keaton believed that she was outside of the "conventional" standards. To overcome this, as well as her struggle with bulimia, Keaton created her own personal style and fought through many insecurities and became a style icon. 
After romances with notable men including Warren Beatty, Al Pacino, Woody Allen and Sam Shepard, Keaton chose motherhood through adoption at age 50. 

Keaton recounts how beauty ideals change as we age and how important it is to love your style and, above all, to love yourself.

Such a great message... but don't just read this book! 

You also must check out Then Again, Keaton's memoir about her mother and herself. 

Then Again @ Barnes & Noble.com

In this book, Keaton presents an elegy to her mother, Dorothy Hall, through journals her mother wrote -- almost like a memoir within a memoir.  In addition, she chronicles the life of her entire family in a tale that encompasses four generations. Underscoring it all is an enduring faith and love which reveals how the bond between a mother and a daughter defined both their lives.

Suzie Says: Re-Inventing Your Wardrobe

Do you have a closet full of clothing and find yourself routinely wearing only a select number of pieces?  Enter Lawrence Zarian, fashion/lifestyle expert, author and TV personality who wowed me in a recent television demonstration on how to re-purpose your clothes and build new fashion looks with the items you already own.

Here are some of the great tips Lawrence shared:

• Update Your "Little Black Dress": Everyone owns a scarf or two, so just take a scarf and run it inside the back of the dress and tie a bow in the back and you'll have a newly created "exit" look. 

• Re-Invent Your Shirt Dress: Simply unbutton the shirt dress and wear it over a camisole...wear over jeans and you have a brand new "duster."

• Re-Style a Summer Dress: If your summer dress has a bit too much color or pattern, here's a solution: put a black skirt over the dress (as long as the material is light) and you have a new two piece outfit that is more "wearable."

Zarian's book "10 Commandments for a Perfect Wardrobe" will debut this month and besides great fashion tips from some of the biggies in the fashion and fitness world, you can share his candid personal journey about weight, self-image, self-acceptance and being beautiful, inside and out.

Immortalizing Alexander McQueen

Alexander McQueen with Kate Moss Photo:Anne Deniau

The friendship between a young fashion designer and a French photographer began in 1996, when the late Alexander McQueen and Anne Deniau met when she worked for the House of Givenchy where McQueen, then age 27, had been appointed Creative Director.

Love Looks Not With the Eyes: Thirteen Years with Lee Alexander McQueen by Anne Deniau @Amazon

Love Looks Not With the Eyes: Thirteen Years with Lee Alexander McQueen (1969-2010) is a new book of never-before-seen photos of Alexander McQueen's fashion shows, taken during the thirteen years that Deniau worked behind the scenes with McQueen and gained a rare view into his runway shows.  

Deniau told The Telegraph,  "People say he turned fashion into art but that is wrong.  He was an artist and fashion was his medium; that is different." 

The title of the book refers to a line from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, which McQueen, who took his own life in February 2010,  had tattooed on his right arm: "Love looks not with the eyes but with the mind."

Although many considered McQueen to have a dark side, Deniau told The Telegraph, "..that is absolutely not the man I knew." She explained, "He had dark moments like any creative artist, great highs and downs, but apart from that he spread such light."  

Even those with the most avant-garde tastes in fashion will be amazed at many of McQueen's unbelievable creations captured in these exquisite photographs.

Susan Says: Three Generations of Family, Fun & Fashion

Some time ago, I couldn't resist blogging about a book entitled, "Best Friends, Occasional Enemies,"  co-authored by mother and daughter, Lisa Scottoline and Francesca Scottoline Serritella, respectively.  The authors write a column known as "Chick Wit" for The Philadelphia Inquirer.  Ms. Scottoline is a New York Times best selling author and her daughter, Francesca, has been honored with numerous writing awards.

I just finished reading another great book by the mother/daughter duo. "My Nest Isn't Empty, It Just Has More Closet Space:  The Amazing Adventures of an Ordinary Woman," is a tell-all odyssey of three generations of women who will win your hearts and bring you to tears of laughter.  The book is a compilation of essays written by Scottoline, the mother who lives on a farm, and Serritella, the daughter who is living single in New York.

My favorite chapter involved Ms. Scottoline taking inventory as to what she could do to best update her home.  After a long and dutiful inspection, she decided that what her home most needed was new SHOES AND HANDBAGS!  A woman after my own heart!  Grandma Mary has her own "style," namely a white lab coat (although she is retired and has never worked in the medical profession) and, to everyone's chagrin, a bra which she has been wearing for 30 years.

This is an ideal gift for grandmothers, mothers and daughters who want a roller-coaster ride of fun reading.

Advanced Style

Style is ageless, believes photographer/blogger Ari Seth Cohen, age 30, and he has a new book coming out on May 22nd to prove it.  Cohen photographs fashionistas of advanced ages to demonstrate the unique styles of the over-60 set. His inspiration? His beloved late grandmother, Bluma, who was not only fashionable but also Cohen's best friend. 

Cohen's brand of fashion photography led to his blog, Advanced Style, which in turn, led to his forthcoming book and to a documentary which is in the making.  Interestingly, the over-the-top hats and oversized coats worn by subjects in some of Cohen's street shots were the inspiration for Marc Jacobs' 2012 collection.

States Cohen, "I hope my photos help people feel better about aging.  The people I photograph are true style icons."

Susan Says: What I'm Reading Now

New York Times bestselling author Lisa Scottoline has collaborated with her daughter Francesca Serritella, who has won multiple prestigious writing awards, to deliver a memoir, "Best Friends, Occasional Enemies: The Lighter Side of Life as Mother and Daughter."

Not since Erma Bombeck have I laughed out loud and had so much reading a family memoir.  One of my favorite chapters was entitled "All's Fair in Love and Wardrobe," in which Lisa and Francesca were going to a book-signing event and Lisa purchased a blazer for Francesca because she said it would be the most appropriate attire for the event.  What she also did, without notice, was purchase the identical blazer for herself, despite the fact that she owned dozens of blazers already.   Petty bickering (including Lisa suggesting they both wear the same jacket) ensued and in the end, Francesca caved in and wore a dress.

The book also offers some adorable notable quotes, including:

  

Francesca on being a daughter:  "My mother is always right.  Just ask her."

Lisa on being a Mom:  "Motherhood has no expiration date.  Francesca lives in the city and I worry about her all the time. My daughter moved out so why am I still lactating?"

Francesca on closet wars:  "My mom is a great dresser. Mostly because she is wearing my clothes."

Francesca on apartment living:  "When I saw a mouse, the first person I called was Mom.  She told me to call my super but I felt bad bothering him.  I hate to bother people.  But I love to bother my Mom."

So cute and such a good read!!!

A Beautiful Book

The Beauty Book is an absolutely breathtaking collection of exquisite photographs of beyond-beautiful celebrities, all bound into a collectable coffee table tome. It contains over 300 pages of photos of over 120 models, musicians, actors and actresses, including Jessica Alba, Justin Timberlake, Miley Cyrus, Hugh Jackman, Amy Adams, Nicole Richie, and of course the above-pictured cover girl, Scarlett Johansson. The celebs are gorgeous- and they are beautifully styled, right down to their makeup and manicures- and the photography is first-class.

But that's not the reason to buy The Beauty Book. The reason to buy The Beauty Book is that all profits from the sale of the book benefit brain cancer research.

The book is the work of photographer Darren Tieste and his partner on the project, Sarah "Pantera" Uphoff. After Tieste lost his close friend, 35-year-old Natalie Sattler Esposito, to brain cancer in September 2008, he says, "I used all my Hollywood connections to give brain cancer a voice and The Beauty Book was born." He soon partnered with Uphoff, who lost her mother to the disease, and who was able to rally her own Hollywood connections to contribute to the cause.

Brain cancer is a devastating disease that afflicts more than 35,000 Americans a year, according to the National Cancer Institute, including many young adults in the prime of their lives, and even many children.  Every year, too many beautiful people are lost to this horrible illness.

So it is inspiring to see the vast array of famous beautiful people who came together to be photographed for this book. And it is a good feeling to do something- anything- to help raise funds and awareness for this awful disease, even if it's something as simple as buying a book.