Skull Candy

I love big headphones. Ones that encase your ears and make you feel like there’s party in your head. I find those in-ear phones and buds incredibly irritating and maybe I have weird ears or something but I just can’t manage to keep them in my ear.

My Panasonic Technics ones were starting to fall apart so had a quick look online to see what new ones would cost me and I came across the Skull Candy. Oh boy did I fall in love. Sad but true.

Anyway I finally got a pair of the SK Pros last week and they’re fantastic. I got a few odd looks on my way to university, but I wasn’t sure if that was me (I’m the rare brown person in a sea of white faces here in Kiev, Ukraine) or the headphones.

The Skull Candy folks sure have a sense of humour. The warranty reads, “If this product is damaged by aggressive music listeners sliding a rail, sliding down the emergency ramp of your aircraft, slammed into your locker, slammed in your car door, run over by a car, running into a wall, getting run out of town, mountain biking, road biking, sky diving, beating your boyfriend unmercifully, getting beat down by the man, blown up in an accidental experimentation with flammable substances, or damaged in any other every day experience, it mean you are living your life the way we want our product used! In these, or any other damaging events, we will replace the product for a 50% discount from retail.” I love it. No namby pamby warranty that rules out everything and gives you a tiny little window where you can claim. The warranty covers failure and damage. Fantastic!

Outdoorgear

A great site that does, well, outdoor gear. They've also got gear for dogs. Love the little backpack and coat!

Michelangelo of the scalpel

I'd never heard of Dr Ivo Pitanguy until I read a recent copy of Grazia. He's apparently THE plastic surgeon to go to if you're a jet-setting celebrity type. AND he's the creator of the Brazilian butt-lift!

He's been dubbed “the Michelangelo of the scalpel." and his Clínica Ivo Pitanguy in Rio de Janeiro has a client list that includes the Duchess of Windsor, François Mitterand and the kings of Morocco and Jordan to Joan Crawford, Zsa Zsa Gabor and Brigitte Bardot.

In an interview with W magazine, "Pitanguy refuses even to confirm a well-known story about late socialite Sao Schlumberger. It is said that she disobeyed his orders to remain in Rio for several days after her procedure and that, as a result, her stitches began to pop open on the plane back to Paris." Oops! There's another fantastic story about a woman whose face started to fall apart during sex!

I do like his view on aging and plastic surgery. He says, “I believe that you should correct the [aging] process with elegance and distinction. You should not overdo, because if you overdo, you are only creating a mask without expression, a mask of death. That should be avoided. I try to bring naturalness.” So he definitely seems to be the one to go for a natural-looking face lift. All I need is to take out a mortgage to pay for it! Ofcourse by the time I consider it, he may already be dead (hes in his 80s!). In the meantime, I might check out his skincare line.

Oh and if you are considering a facelift, check out his book - Welcome to Your Facelift: What to Expect Before, During and After Cosmetic Surgery

Weekend planner : Things to do with your family this week

As an antidote to the frenzied, commercial lead-up to Christmas, a great family tradition to start is an activities advent calendar. Write down 24 activities to do with your children from December 1 to Christmas Eve and put them in numbered envelopes strung up on a Christmas card holder (you could use tinsel and pegs), or in the pockets of a fabric advent calendar (you could decorate a 24-pocket shoe organiser). Keep most of the activities short and simple - things you can manage even when you are exhausted in the evenings - for example, watch a Christmassy film together, have hot chocolate with marshmallows, go for a walk to see a street where the residents go overboard with their house decorations, read a Christmas bedtime story, cut out paper snowflakes, have dinner by candlelight. Include activities you would do anyway, like decorating the Christmas tree or making mince pies, and any outings you have already planned, like a trip to an outdoor ice-rink or pantomime. You can even sneak in chores, such as donating old toys to a charity shop or delivering Christmas cards. Much more magical than 24 mouthfuls of chocolate.