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Metrosexual: What is It?

Most of us have heard the term metrosexual thrown around in the media and advertising, but what is it?

The popular television show "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" has probably launched the term forward but it was not invented by them. It came about as a result of a changing male population in the urban areas. The Word Spy defines metrosexual as "An urban male with a strong aesthetic sense who spends a great deal of time and money on his appearance and lifestyle. Notice that the word is a noun, not an adjective (our little grammar lesson for the day).

Still don't know what this means? Short form: There are actually men out there who take pride in their appearance. Now as with anything, you can go too far. If anyone is spending a "great deal of time and money" on anything, then a small step back is probably in order. The BusyB Herself is here to tell you that anyone, male or female, can accomplish a sense of style without much effort once you know how to do it.

The term Metrosexual has also been extended to men who are willing to indulge themselves once in awhile. Watch out girls, guys are starting to have their days at the spa too and it's about time as far as we are concerned. Everyone deserves a little pampering and guys, it doesn't mean that you are being too feminine. Those who take care of themselves are happier, healthier and much more emotionally in control.

For more information on the topic, click on The WordSpy link above or check out the article on MSN Health. Yes, it made it on the health circuit!

Now here is a challenge to all of you faithful readers. We feel that there should be more men reading our ezine. Afterall, our advice is not gender specific. So here is our challenge to you. Get 3 men to sign up for our ezine and you get 10% off your next service or a free 30 min consultation through April 1. In order to avoid violating federal spamming regulations, the guys must go to the website and sign up themselves. You cannot do it for them. All you need to do is send us an email with "referral" in the subject line of who you recommend and we will send you a 10% off coupon when they sign up.

While we don't expect nor want every guy to be labeled as metrosexual, we did write a little Valentine's Day Guide for Men

Decorating on a Budget
By ON THE GO 4 U Decorating Consultant Suzanne Copenhaver

Many years ago I was told that the least expensive way to redecorate is to rearrange what you have. It was one of the best decorating suggestions I’ve ever had-not to mention the one that can be the most fun to implement. How can you beat it? A new room-practically free! You get such a feeling of satisfaction when you accomplish something spectacular using your imagination and what you already have.

Of course, like many suggestions there is a good way to do this and one that isn’t quite so satisfactory. So here’s a step by step.

1. Choose the room you want to give a new look.
2. Decide on the type of change you would like.
3. Take a good look at what is in the room and decide what doesn’t fit the new look/theme that you chose.
4. Assess the room.
5. Make a list of the items you want to keep and measure them.
6. Take a buying trip through your house and see what you can use from other rooms.
7. Once you have your look and know what pieces are available to you, put it all on paper.

Click here to read the rest of the article on how to transform a room in your house while spending very little money.

Dinner Party Cont'd
Chinese New Year, February 9, 2005
The Year of the Rooster

What a great theme for a party with not a lot of expense. Don’t be deterred by the fact that Chinese New Year is on a Wednesday this year. I know it is hard to believe but people actually socialize Sunday through Thursday nights too. A party doesn’t have to be on a weekend. Just keep it light and inviting.

What do you need?

• Friends
• Food & Drink
• Chinese dishes and chopsticks
• Lanterns or luminaries
• Party favors

Friends: Limit to 10-12 guests but that means closely following your rsvps so you don’t have an empty room.

Food: Find your local DimSum or Chinese Restaurant. Do not attempt this yourself. Call several days in advance to find out about delivery, lead time, etc. Choose 4-5 items and order enough for 1 piece of each per person. Also choose 1-2 desserts/sweets. Again 1 piece of each per person.

Beverage: Chinese tea, Chinese beer or one signature Asian influenced cocktail. Do not stock a whole bar for this event.

The Stuff: If you do not have a Chinese supply store near you, go to Pearl River Mart’s website and order. Unless you are planning on having Asian themed parties quite often, go with less expensive. Chopsticks ($.25 per pair), dishes (get melamine rather than china, $4/person), serving plates or bamboo steamers ($3-7/item) and don’t forget the tea cups if serving tea.

Only buy lanterns if you have a place to hang them. Lantern strings of lights make a good substitution as do candles around the room.

Party Favors: Remember this is a celebration so offer your guests a fun party favor to take along. Pearl River Mart, as do all Chinese stores, has a CNY section. Ticky tacky, inexpensive gifts are the way to go here. Something fun! I was able to get a bunch of Chinese fabric gifts (lipstick cases, picture frames etc) for $1 each at Target awhile back. Use your resources. Package in Chinese food containers (new not used) or little gift bags with CNY decorations on them.

Now have fun!

What's in the Color Red?

With Valentine’s Day coming up this month and everything cold, muddy and miserable, February is a good time to add a bit of red to your room. Don’t panic. Red doesn’t mean fire engine red. It can be cranberry or persimmon, burgundy or deep hot pink. Whatever shade or tone it is, it will add warmth and life to the room.

Pick a red that livens and accentuates, not one that shocks. If your room has lots of blue in it, go with the burgundy and cranberry shades-the bluish reds. If your room is in earth tones, lean a little more toward the brown shades of red-merlot and brick. If you have clear pastels, spice them up with a bit of hot pink. Use the color in pillows, throws, lampshades, vases, candles and candlesticks. These are all removable and relatively inexpensive accessories so you can change them if you get tired of it. After all next month you’re going to be looking toward spring.

Book & Music Review

Our top book pick for this month is The Club Dumas by Arturo Perez-Reverte. Now if you don't care a bit about the Three Muskateers then this might not be a book for you, but it is a tale of intrique, suspense and literature all woven together as Lucas Corso, a book detective, tries to unravel the mystery of manuscript pages in Dumas' own hand. In the January issue, we mentioned that we would be reviewing books and providing info in the ezines. Well we have already had a response to our request for information on books and book opportunities.

One of our readers would like to break away from the Barnes & Nobles book club and start her own for people who love to read Historic Fiction and Mystery. The book club would meet once a month in the Sterling area. The only cost to you would be the price of the book if you can't or don't want to get it at the library. If anyone is interested, please email us here at ON THE GO 4 U and we will get you all together. The first book is The Queen's Fool by Philipa Gregory which will be discussed on Feb. 17.

Are you into horoscopes and astrological signs? Whether you like to read them for fun or truly feel they drive the force of the universe, here is a great music gift idea. Rhino Entertainment in conjunction with Chronical Books has a series of CDs with booklets entitled Cosmic Grooves: Your Astrological Profile and the Songs that Define You. It makes a great gift or a fun idea for music at a birthday party.

Have you read a book that you think ON THE GO 4 U readers would enjoy? Send us an email. No time to read a book? Call us now!