Laura

I love the look of this simple glass planter made from an empty wine bottle. The best part is that it’s incredibly simple to make. All you need to do is remove the label and cut the bottle in half. For instructions on how to do that, visit HomeMade Modern (they even have a video showing you how to do [...] - Laura

Matilda is totes over it. She really thinks you should just get in your little fucking boat and get the fuck outta here. Go catch a fish! (And then give it to her. NOM.) [True Fact: Iain and I were watching Striking Distance, the movie whence came the above-linked clip, and that scene just struck us as SO FUNNY that we reversed and rewatched it like a thousand times, until we were laughing so hard we were crying. And now it's just become a staple of conversation at Shakes Manor. Like, when I ask Iain if he's in the mood to watch a movie, and he suggests Timecop for the biebillionth time, just to annoy me, I am very likely to respond: "Get in your little fucking boat and get the fuck outta here!" When I mentioned this to Deeky recently, he found it and uploaded it to YouTube for me, because he is awesome.] As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to share pix of the fuzzy, feathered, or scaled members of your family in comments. - Laura

Tags: Gwendoline ChristieGame of ThronesBrienne of TarthIMDb If you're an avid Game of Thrones watcher, you probably have your favorite Lady. But I, myself, prefer the women in armor —... - Laura

The Arkansas Senate voted to override Governor Mike Beebe’s (D) veto of the Arkansas Human Heartbeat Protection Act yesterday. The override passed the Senate in a twenty to fourteen vote. All fourteen Arkansas Democratic Senators voted against the override. In a letter issued after Beebe’s veto on Monday, Beebe said the bill twenty to fourteen vote“blatantly contradicts” the Constitution. Senate Bill 134, or the Arkansas Human Heartbeat Protection Act, includes exemptions for rape, incest, life of the mother and severe fetal abnormalities. If the Arkansas House also overrides the veto, it will be the most restrictive abortion ban in the country. A simple majority is needed in both the state Senate and state House to override the governor’s veto. Last week, the Arkansas Senate voted to override Governor Beebe’s veto of a bill that bans abortion at twenty weeks. The Senate voted 19 to 14 in favor of overriding the veto following a House vote approving the veto override by 53 to 28 last... - Laura

International development secretary Justine Greening, Sexism on the Student Debating circuit, Stand Up Bridget Christie on feminism and comedy and a new oral history of the UK Women's Liberation Movement. - Laura

Tags: Morning BrewKate MoennigLeisha HaileyVeniceOtherwildRachel SageCristine ProsperiDegrassiJillian MichaelsLambda Literary AwardsIMDbDattch Good morning! I feel like you'll appreciate this... - Laura

Our daily TPS reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices. I’m not a fan of the shoes they’ve styled it with here, but I am a fan of this textured, colorful pencil skirt from Talbots. Available in three colors (cucumber, fuchsia, and navy), I think it looks like a great [...] The post Wednesday’s TPS Report: Avenue Tweed Pencil Skirt appeared first on Corporette.com. - Laura

[Content Note: Drones.] Adam Serwer at Mother Jones: Obama Administration Says President Can Use Lethal Force Against Americans on US Soil. I encourage you to read the whole article, but I do want to highlight this piece of Attorney General Eric Holder's excerpted letter explaining the justification for the administration's position: The question you have posed is therefore entirely hypothetical, unlikely to occur, and one we hope no president will ever have to confront. It is possible, I suppose, to imagine an extraordinary circumstance in which it would be necessary and appropriate under the Constitution and applicable laws of the United States for the President to authorize the military to use lethal force within the territory of the United States. For example, the president could conceivably have no choice but to authorize the military to use such force if necessary to protect the homeland in the circumstances like a catastrophic attack like the ones suffered on December 7, 1941,... - Laura

I have to say that I have mixed feelings about what I’m about to say. You see, on the one hand it really is important to be tuning into the complaints that are made under a person’s breath or through... - Laura

Display Title:  Human-like Ears Grown from Cartilage Cells Printed on a 3-D Printer Subtitle:  This research could enable significant advancements in the field of reconstructive surgery. Background Image:  Image Only:  No Description Background:  on Link Text:  Read Full Story URL:  http://www.empowher.com/skin-ha...... Align:  left Weight:  -10 Text Color:  Black - Laura

I finished my 6 rounds of R-chop on Monday, March 4th and I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it. I am now left waiting 6 weeks before we do a PET scan to see if it ... - Laura

Display Title:  Sleep and Memory: You Don't Have to be Awake to Learn Subtitle:  Research is revealing more about the brain. And you thought when you were asleep you weren't doing anything. Background Image:  Image Only:  No Description Background:  on Link Text:  Read Full Story URL:  http://www.empowher.com/sleep-d...... Align:  left Weight:  -10 Text Color:  Black - Laura

The NextWomen Career Theme: Law. For this month’s theme, we will be interviewing a number of women from around the globe who have reached the top of the world’s most prestigious and/or male dominated professions. This is the story of Baroness Helena Kennedy QC. Baroness Helena Kennedy is a barrister, broadcaster, and member of the British House of Lords.  She is an expert in human rights law, civil liberties and constitutional issues and has received many honours for her work. Current chair of Justice, the British arm of the International Commission of Jurists, she was the Chair of the British Council and Chair of the Human Genetics Commission.   She recently produced a report for the Equality and Human Rights Commission on Human Trafficking in Scotland and was a member of the Government Commission on a British Bill of Rights. She is the Co-Chair of the International Bar Association’s Institute of Human Rights.   read more - Laura

Hosted by Cheetara. - Laura

Fred and I decided to take a journey to Brooklyn. We just wanted to drive around and see what is happening. We started by taking the BQE all the way out to Sheepshead Bay. Driving out there brought back memories.... - Laura

I’m keynoting The Chesapeake Bay Organizational Development Network’s Annual Conference this April 26 2013 — and it’s open to the public! This year’s theme: Constructing Organizational Development for the Future: Creating Courageous Practitioners. Any organization that puts courage at the center of their conference is good in my books. And they’re opening their doors to - Laura

Get the daily thought in your inbox. See more inspiring quotes on our Pinterest board. What’s Hot on RealSimple.com Make One Simple Change How to Design a Modern Living Room Real Wedding Rose Bouquets Filed under: Daily Thought - Laura

By Guest Blogger Donna DeClemente, Donna's Promo Talk Last month Walmart kicked off a new "Green" promotional marketing campaign with its first #WinItWednesday contest on Twitter. The contest gives entrants the chance to share their unique eco-friendly ideas and to win Walmart Gift Cards. The contest takes place on the first Wednesday of each month, so today is round two for the month of March. Today @WalmartGreen will ask Twitter users to respond to a specific #WinItWednesday sustainability inspired challenge question. Three winners will be selected by judges representing Wal-Mart Stores, and the Mother Nature Network for each month's challenge question. Participants must follow and reply to @WalmartGreen and include the hashtag #WinItWednesday in their tweet. Each of the three winners will receive a $100 Walmart gift card and a chance to have their Submission featured on Mother Nature Network’s The Leaderboard and The Green Room, Walmart's sustainability blog, within that month. For... - Laura

Earlier today which was wrapped in eternity, Bossy received an email wrapped in a publicity campaign. And in this publicity campaign wrapped in a proposal, Bossy was asked to promote a stroller, which doesn’t make sense since we know Bossy’s two babies are wrapped in adulthood. But then Bossy saw the name of the stroller. Meet [...] - Laura

I remember like it was yesterday the chilly winter evenings I spent in my room as a teenager with my roommate, my cat. I had the blue room in the top of the stairs. From my windows I could see up the hill and a little way around the curve at the top, in the other direction I could see the creek through the trees. I spent countless hours in that bedroom playing records on my turntable so I could imagine I was at a fabulous party where there were people dancing  barefooted everywhere. read more - Laura

Ever wonder why some people ask questions when you invite them from the group after your remarks are done, and others wait to gather around you at the end of your speech before posing their questions? Marketing and Internet thought leader Seth Godin shared an insight on those particular audience moments during a recent interview on On Being, a public radio program. Here's how his thoughts on questions emerged, from the interview transcript: Ms. Tippett: I mean, one of the points you make about this new world we inhabit and the need and also the opportunity for each of us to be artists is that it's precisely when you are doing something that no one has done before that you are not going to get the loudest applause. Right? That you will not get picked. And that then requires us to develop some different kinds of internal resources. Right? I mean, how do we internally have faith in what we care about? Mr. Godin: Yeah. Exactly. And that's where the discernment comes. You know, so when I... - Laura

The good old Pitcher that you keep lying around on your dining table is no longer just a simple vessel. As we have seen with the Artland Sedona Glass Pitcher, it can be so much more. Along the same lines … . The Flavor-it 3-in-1 Beverage System: Your perfect summer afternoon companion is from Gizmodiva.com. - Laura

Inside every older person is a younger person wondering what happened.  ~Jennifer Yane My friend Mir has always had a “birthday season.” Her birthday stretches from her cousin’s birthday two months before hers to her sister’s birthday three months after. … [Read More →] Related StoriesWhen Life Piles It On and You Wonder Who’s Holding the Shovel | Advice from Keryl PesceMaintain Strong Friendships with Love and Understanding | Denise J. HartSix Ingredients for a Delectable Dinner Club | Guest Blogger Kristine Schoonmaker - Laura

I cracked up laughing when I read the blog post, WTF: Fake Nerd Girl Phenomena. But this blog isn't the only one to point out the nerd poser phenomenon. I never thought there would come a day when you had people actually pretending to be nerd or blerd, considering how much being one led to my feelings of inadequacy and downright weirdness for most of my life. But I guess with the growing popularity of blerds in pop culture like Issa Rae, Aisha Tyler, and Donald Glover, you're bound to have a few fakers. But let's be honest: if you a true blerd, it’s in the genes! You weren't cool from day one! PREACH! TRAIT 1: You were always awkward For example, when I was a little kid, my parents worried about me. It wasn't that I wasn't hitting all those developmental milestones that psychologists say a kid should pass at a certain age. Yeah, I was a little slow to walk, but I was fast to talk. I learned to use the potty and did well in pre-K and kindergarten. Nowhere on my report card did my... - Laura

Something I’ve noticed, in the genre of women’s fiction, is that it is sorely lacking in amusing oral sex stories.  Real women tell amusing oral sex stories to each other, and yet I haven’t found women in any chicklit book recounting a particularly story-worthy oral sex experience.  I’ve found actual accounts of oral sex in [...] - Laura

Mysterious Lego spill shuts down a highway lane in West Virginia via Tedra. - Laura

Presenting the coolest thing you can do with a credit card sized computer. The Bartendro robot mixologist is a cocktail-dispensing machine can turn out a drink in less than 10 seconds. Created by Party Robotics, Bartendro is a robot mixologist … . Bartendro robot mixologist uses Raspberry Pi to create cocktails is from Gizmodiva.com. - Laura