More lifestyle

To continue with my topic from the previous column piece, my interest in the Lifestyle Network is not just about heavenly kitchens, stimulating dinner guests and immaculate nails. It’s also about creating the perfect little treats for my perfect husband and little children. I imagine myself a little bit of a whiz in crafts, apart from being handy in the kitchen and maintaining a spic and span house. This way, I’d be able to whip up pretty little things for whatever occasion, like birthdays, school events, office parties. Or, at the very least—and I’m being realistic here—I’d have enough creative ideas to know what to buy!

When it comes to all of the above, the expert is no other than—surprise, surprise—Martha Stewart. In her show Martha, she either puts all housewives to shame or inspires them to do better by coming up with one unique idea after another. It makes you think: What can she not do?

A little bit of trivia: For those who don’t know, aside from being a host of two popular shows, she’s a business magnate, a former fashion model, an author, and a magazine editor. She also used to be a stockbroker and a convict.

What I enjoy about Martha is her holiday-themed projects. She shows creative ways to spice up holiday parties. One of my favorites, which I swear to make on my birthday this October, is her Boo-Nilla Shake recipe. It was surprisingly simple. Milk and vanilla ice cream, plus clear glasses painted with melted chocolate inside to make ghostly faces.

Another Lifestyle Network woman who’s maybe going to give Martha a run for her money is Rachel Ray, who has her own show called, well, Rachel Ray. Her producer is no other than Oprah Winfrey. I generally like Rachel, but sometimes she does get a little bit too loud. What’s fun about her show is that she often prepares no-frills soul food.

A little bit of trivia: She posed for FHM. In fact, she was #71 on the FHM-U.S.’s 100 Sexiest Women for 2006.

Speaking of sexy, the woman who really got me started on the Lifestyle Network was Nigella Lawson and her shows Nigella Bites and Forever Summer with Nigella which have apparently wrapped up. Nigella is the original domestic goddess. In fact, she wrote a book called “How to be a Domestic Goddess”. She brought sexy back to food, so to speak, so much so that she’s been dubbed as the “queen of food porn” because of her intimate style of presenting her cooking. Two instances are forever etched in my memory, giving me visions of how I’d like to be seen when I do my favorite sport of eating. The first: Nigella dribbling soft and chewy mozzarella into her luscious mouth. The second, Nigella gamely biting off juicy leftover meat from pork ribs.

Trivia: She used to be a journalist. She discovered her passion for food on a teenage trip to Paris. She’s also made it to some FHM 100 Sexiest Women lists.

One of my favorite lifestyle shows of all time is Clean House. It’s a home makeover show that targets the most cluttered of all homes in America. Hosted by actress Niecy Nash, the show features a four-man clean-up crew with a garage sale expert, an interior design expert and a professional organizer. The fourth, of course, is Niecy, who has top bargaining powers. When a family member can’t let go of something the clean-up crew has tagged as clutter, Niecy can make a really difficult to let go of counter-offer, like a free entertainment system for a rather tacky piece of décor.

I’m not much into interior design myself, so what I love about the show is the before and after of clearing up the clutter: from filled to the gills with stuff to a clean, blank slate to work on. My personal hero in the show is the professional organizer Linda Koopersmith, whose weapon of choice is a label maker.

Trivia: Linda Koopersmith was fired from the show, and she sued the show, alleging ageism.

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