The Latest: Nov 2018

We all know how perfect our furry friends are. Sure, they may scratch the furniture and eat our shoes, but we love our dogs like they’re our extra-hairy children. So it’s particularly brutal that a new study says Fido and Sparky are not particularly gifted. According to a new study in “Learning & Behavior,” dogs are cognitively quite ordinary when compared to other carnivores, domestic animals, and social hunters.

Wasn’t everyone inspired by outer space at some point growing up? Movies like “Star Wars”and “E.T.” fueled fascination with the galaxy and inspired humans everywhere. Well, now is your time to live out your childhood galactic dreams with this UFO-inspired glamping experience. The hideaway is located near Lulea, Sweden, which looks like it was plucked from another galaxy and plopped into the woods.

Just picture it: You’re graciously gliding across the ice, hot cocoa in hand and wowing the crowd with your figuring skating spins. Okay, maybe it’s more like chopping across the ice while gripping the rink’s ledge. And, perhaps it was a fall—not exactly a flying sit spin—that’s being judged… But that’s neither here nor there! Ice skating is a quintessential wintertime activity, even more so when rinks are decked out in their best holiday finery.

As magical as the holidays are, this time of year can also be a bit stressful—between handling a barrage of party invites, planning your own get-togethers, wrapping up the year, visiting family and getting all your holiday shopping done… well, it’s a lot. And then there’s the whole spending money thing. Shopping and celebrating add up, but it doesn’t have to be quite so painful.

Every year, Oprah gifts the world her list of favorite things released over the past 12 months, from beauty must-haves to kitchen essentials and fashionable finds. While Queen O’s selections tend to be items that are on point in functionality and design, the prices aren’t always a bargain. As a result, we decided to pick the must-haves from her 2018 list of 106 items and find the budget-friendly versions sold by some of our favorite brands.

Everyone needs a chance to unwind, and we may have found the perfect setting for you to find your zen. Located on the coast of the prominent Ring of Kerry in the Irish countryside, this tranquil glamping site is outfitted with everything you could possibly need for a relaxing retreat. The cozy bell tent is set up with a plush double mattress, a fuel stove to keep you warm and cozy, a little fridge for your favorite treats, and a sound dock to set the soundtrack of your dreamy nature getaway.

A vacuum might feel like a real dud of a gift as a grownup. But a Dyson vacuum? Apartment Therapy may be biased, but that feels more like a super-fun gadget than a cleaning tool. (Seriously, a few editors own one and swear it takes some of the drudgery out of chores, no #sponcon here.) So when we spotted a Dyson-for-kids over the weekend, that seemed like hitting the jackpot—everything is better when it’s miniature… right? What’s more, the $29.

Is a sweater really ugly if it features something so cute? The Christmas ugly sweater phenomenon has launched many a themed party and even a few clothing lines dedicated to the art form. Picking your own ugly sweater can be tricky–you have to strike the right balance of tacky, clever, and unique. Are you more of a Star Wars tacky sweater person, or Santa on a unicorn? Only you can know for sure.

The driving force in how you decorate your home—and really just how you live in it—is dictated most often by your personality. Who you are as a person impacts what art you hang, how you set up your rooms, how often you host people, your cleaning tendencies, and how you unwind at home.

You can get a Roomba for close to $1,000, but you certainly don’t have to. The makes of Roomba, iRobot, release new models regularly with tweaks and improvements, while older models get progressively less expensive. While fancy features and low prices can be a hard balance to strike, a good mid-range model is currently even cheaper on Amazon as part of their Cyber Monday week.

Wine isn’t something my husband and I save for weekends or special occasions. We actually enjoy it most nights of the week—casually, though! Just a glass with dinner to toast to the day. (It’s a habit I developed from my days in Italy and really do enjoy the ritual.) This means that once we open a bottle we’d really like for it to be able to last us a couple of days, as a single bottle of wine holds about four to five glasses.