Life & Style news

• 17 Christmas Living Rooms We’re Loving

  23-12-2016 23:34
  
  An unforgettable Christmas is built from love, compassion, and giving. Of course, we also love Christmas time for the twinkling lights, fresh trees, and familiar carols that make us feel warm year after year. Christmas is just around the corner, so here’s a little holiday decor inspiration to get you in the spirit wherever you are this holiday season.From monochromatic Christmas decor to vividly colored holiday decorations, we found a few of our favorite places we’d love to call home
  
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• 25 congressional members question plant-based "milk" label

  23-12-2016 23:33 via winnipegfreepress.com
  
  MONTPELIER, Vt. - Got milk? Twenty-five bipartisan members of Congress say if it's from soybeans, almond or rice, it should not be labeled as milk.Democratic Vermont Rep. Peter Welch and Republican Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson, leading the charge against "fake milk," signed a letter along with other
  
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• Day 12 - Dorie Greenspan's Sour Cream Everything Seed Knots

  23-12-2016 22:58 via winnipegfreepress.com
  
  From the cookbook author and James Beard Foundation Award winner, the knot used to form these cookies bakes into a shape that’s altogether different. The “everything’” mix is made of poppy and sesame seeds, onion flakes, garlic powder, salt and pepper.These cookies are
  
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• U.S. parents accept children's transgender identity by age three

  23-12-2016 22:27
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Jodie Patterson's 3-year-old, Penelope, was brooding and angry until one day she asked her child what was wrong.
  
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• How to Identify Which of Today’s Watches Will Be Tomorrow’s Classics

  23-12-2016 22:00
  
  The lines of Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak remain daring to this day
  Antique pocket watches and World War I–inspired pieces may shed light on models with bright futures…Jonathon Keats
  
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• Airport jewelry store giving ex-offenders a leg up

  23-12-2016 21:48 via winnipegfreepress.com
  
  NEWARK, N.J. - Shoppers perusing the jewelry at a pop-up store in Newark Liberty International Airport's Terminal B can talk to a sales clerk who also made the baubles, but they might be surprised to learn the employee is wearing a different kind of bracelet — the kind that goes around your ankle...
  
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• The 12 Whiskeys of Christmas: Day 12

  23-12-2016 21:00
  
  Angel’s Envy Cask Strength Bourbon ($180)
  This year, we’re filling the 12 days before Christmas with the best whiskeys on our wish lists… Richard Carleton Hacker
  
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• Trump, taking a break from White House prep, tees off with Tiger Woods

  23-12-2016 20:45
  
  WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Friday took a break from preparing to take office to engage in a pastime beloved by presidents since Dwight Eisenhower: playing...
  
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• If you build it...

  23-12-2016 20:33 via winnipegfreepress.com
  
  All Kyle Calder wants for Christmas is his two front seats.In November 2014, Calder and his fiancée, Stefanie Sobieski, purchased a house in the RM of Brokenhead, near Beausejour. Given their location, Calder, a self-proclaimed hockey nut, figured they wouldn’t be able to attend as
  
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• For some girls, first lady rivals Beyoncé as a role model

  23-12-2016 20:22 via winnipegfreepress.com
  
  NEW YORK - Healthy food and plenty of exercise. The challenges military families face. Education for girls around the globe.The feel-good initiatives of first lady Michelle Obama have served as both inspiration and eight years of teaching moments for many families. So what, exactly, do they...
  
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• Congressman wants FDA to take action against "fake milk"

  23-12-2016 20:11 via winnipegfreepress.com
  
  MONTPELIER, Vt. - Got milk? Vermont's sole congressman says if it's from soybeans, almond or rice, it should not be labeled as milk.Democratic Rep. Peter Welch, Republican Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson and 23 other members of Congress have signed a letter asking the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
  
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• Suit: Oscar de la Renta poached Carolina Herrera designer

  23-12-2016 20:07 via winnipegfreepress.com
  
  NEW YORK - Upscale fashion company Carolina Herrera is suing rival Oscar de la Renta and a star designer in a New York City breach-of-contract case.Lawyers for Herrera asked a state Supreme Court judge in Manhattan on Tuesday to stop designer Laura Kim from working for its competitor. They also
  
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• Michelle Obama loved fashion, and fashion loved her back

  23-12-2016 19:37 via winnipegfreepress.com
  
  NEW YORK - The morning after Michelle Obama's big speech at the Democratic National Convention in 2012, in which she argued passionately for a second term for her husband, designer Tracy Reese's phone was ringing. And ringing.Mrs. Obama's powerfully delivered speech had attracted much attention
  
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• The weekend cook: Thomasina Miers’ recipes for slow-cooked shin of beef, and doughnuts with armagnac

  23-12-2016 18:00
  
  Simple food that’s big on flavour ticks all the boxes for the Christmas holidaysThe Christmas holidays are a perfect opportunity to catch up with friends in the best possible way: over a table of good food. Choose dishes that deliver on flavour, look great and are also deceptively simple: today’s stew, for instance, almost cooks itself. The doughnuts, meanwhile, need a little time to prove, but the kneading is easy and the boozy cream a deliciously decadent alternative to jam. So end
  
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• Cocktail of the week: orange and ginger barley water – recipe

  23-12-2016 18:00
  
  A refreshing, alcohol-free thirst-quencher that’s a welcome break from all that festive boozingInexpensive, thirst-quenching and very old-fashioned: keep a jug in the fridge as a pick-me-up for when you can’t face yet another boozy Christmas drink. Keep the cooked barley and use as pearly ballast in savoury wintry salads. And use lemon instead of orange, if you prefer. Serves four.2 oranges, washed, zested and juiced65g pearl barley
  1.5 litres cold water
  1cm piece ginger, peeled and
  
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• After online threats, gaming engineer plans run for Congress

  23-12-2016 17:12 via winnipegfreepress.com
  
  BOSTON - In the gaming world, Brianna Wu has earned a reputation battling the online harassment campaign known as Gamergate, a fight that led to rape and murder threats from the darker recesses of the male-dominated realm.Now the 39-year-old Boston-based software engineer is setting her sights...
  
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• ‘We had silver suits specially made’: performing at the Beatles Christmas shows

  23-12-2016 17:00
  
  John Beecham on appearing with the Fab Four at Hammersmith Odeon, London, December 1964
  This wasn’t the first time we’d shared a bill with the Beatles. A few years earlier, they were our warm-up band, when we headlined the Cavern in Liverpool. We really admired them.I was the trombonist in the Mike Cotton Sound, a footnote to the 1960s music scene. On this occasion, we were their support band; we are pictured here at the press call for Another Beatles Christmas Show, a follow-up to t
  
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• 10 Momentous Motorcycles of 2016

  23-12-2016 17:00
  
  Breaking barriers in performance and design, bike manufacturers were really on a roll this year…Compiled by Viju Mathew
  
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• Save Santa's Sherry, say British lovers of fortified wine

  23-12-2016 16:06
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - A worrying slump in sales of Father Christmas's favorite tipple, sherry, has prompted a British trade group to start a campaign to ensure the fortified wine doesn't fall off menus.
  
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• Vietnam inspires a healthy post-holiday chicken salad

  23-12-2016 16:00 via winnipegfreepress.com
  
  Call it a resolution or just a last-minute attempt to button your pants, but come January, many of us strive to put the cookies behind us and make thoughtful food choices. But one sure-fire way to find yourself off track on a healthier eating plan is to fill your refrigerator with bland and...
  
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• My brother, who lives at home, is abusive to my mum. I worry he’ll hit her

  23-12-2016 16:00
  
  He is 40, has no money or friends, but won’t take any responsibility for his life, always playing the victim. Annalisa Barbieri advises a readerI am the eldest of four children of a single mother. I have two sisters and a brother, who is the second child. He is now 40, but does not have a career, friends or money. He still lives at home with our mother and does not contribute to bills.Our mother worked hard for us and we never went without. There were money problems, but the rest of u
  
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• Holiday Home with Stunning Lake View in Chile

  23-12-2016 16:00
  
  The architect Cristian Hrdalo completed the renovation of this countryside holiday home in 2008. The clients had a large family, with 8 children and 12 grandchildren, and wished to renovate the central lodge, Maiten. Smaller cabins surround the lodge, giving each family some privacy with a central space to gather.Located in southern Chile near the city of Puerto Octay, Maiten is 950 meters of beach front lake shore property. Bounded in between two streams, the lodge overlooks the
  
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• Leaving war-torn Syria, luxury chocolatier finds new home in Hungary

  23-12-2016 15:23
  
  BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Bassam Ghraoui's Syrian confectionary became synonymous with thefinest gourmet chocolates anywhere before war decimated his business, and he is starting anew in Hungary with a...
  
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• Honk if you want to know what the 'om telolet om' meme means

  23-12-2016 15:02 via winnipegfreepress.com
  
  JAKARTA, Indonesia - Honk if you want to know what the internet's latest meme "om telolet om" means.The expression was started by Indonesian children standing on the side of the road yelling for bus and truck drivers to toot their horns, which play a series of jingle-like beeps.Internet
  
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• The Crown, Burchetts Green, Berkshire: ‘A family affair’ – restaurant review | Marina O’Loughlin

  23-12-2016 15:00
  
  Paterfamilias Simon Bonwick is in the kitchen, while several of his nine children – yes, nine, and all as smilingly scrubbed as Von Trapps – work the roomWe’re pootling along winter-sun-dappled roads overhung with ancient trees, their limbs drooping leaves of ochre and butterscotch and vermilion. It could be another century, one where I’ll be tucking headscarf under chin for a postprandial along Honey Lane to admire the unchanging countryside.Our destination could also be
  
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• Experience: We found a baby in a manger

  23-12-2016 15:00
  
  I followed his gaze to the nativity scene, and that’s when I saw him huddled inside – the youngest baby I’ve ever seenAt my church, Holy Child Jesus in Richmond Hill, New York, Mondays are usually a day of routine: the collection is counted, messages are answered and the building is swept and mopped and put back in order. There are rarely any surprises.That’s how it was all morning on 23 November last year. The only irregularity was the assembling of the nativity scene th
  
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• Champagne tastes better with bigger bubbles, study finds

  23-12-2016 14:42
  
  Larger bubbles, about 3.4mm across, enhance the release of aerosols into the air above the glass, say expertsBigger bubbles could make your champagne taste better this Christmas, research has found.It was long thought that a steady stream of tiny bubbles in a glass of champagne was a sign of quality. But researchers in France’s Champagne-Ardenne region have found that larger bubbles may actually improve the way a sparkling wine tastes. Continue reading...
  
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• What I wore this week: the mermaid skirt | Jess Cartner-Morley

  23-12-2016 14:00
  
  ‘Christmas Eve deserves star treatment. It is a night to bring the glamour’Christmas has 12 days, and they are all brilliant, but Christmas Eve is the best of all. The anticipation of all that lovely downtime and TV and permissive snacking is as delicious now as it was when you were hyped up to the eyeballs at the excitement of waking up to a stocking on the end of the bed and eating chocolate coins in the dark with your little sister.It is also the most elegant day of Christmas. Tom
  
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• RJ Mitte: ‘By 13, I was the main breadwinner for my family. It was scary but necessary’

  23-12-2016 13:59
  
  The Breaking Bad star on fishing with his grandparents, finding out that he had a disability, and being adoptedMy grandparents would take me out fishing in their boat once a week from when I about two or three, growing up in in Texas and Louisiana. I loved it. The biggest fish I ever caught was a 1,200lb marlin – but you name it, and I’ve caught it. I don’t get to go out as much these days, but I still enjoy it when I do. I find it calming.For most of my childhood I had casts o
  
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• Harumi Kurihara’s nostalgic chicken with leeks recipe | A Taste of Home

  23-12-2016 13:00
  
  Although the chef and TV star lived by the sea as a child, brought up on fish and seaweed dishes, it’s her father’s favourite of fried chicken with leek sauce that brings back memories of homeOur family home in Shimoda, in Japan’s Shizuoka prefecture, was built by an American, so it looked western from the outside. But inside it was typically Japanese.We didn’t have chairs, so when I was younger I dreamed of being able to live in a western house, to sit on a chair and dri
  
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• Delia’s step-by-step guide to the perfect Christmas dinner | The Delia project

  23-12-2016 13:00
  
  Cooking at Christmas can be daunting – especially in a tiny flat. Luckily Delia comes to Stephen Bush’s rescue, with an hour-by-hour guide to turkey and trimmings. If only his kitchen were as big as she thinks it is ...Christmas is hereditary; you get it from your parents. When I was growing up, Christmas meant getting to open one present after midnight mass and having to wait until after morning service for the rest. It meant hoping that no one would decide they wanted to talk to th
  
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• Holly, yule logs and Norway spruce: trees of Christmas

  23-12-2016 12:24
  
  Jane Perrone profiles the trees that make Christmas, from prickly holly to the nordmann firRead part one on the foliage plants of Christmas hereRead part two on the houseplants of Christmas hereThis tree’s jolly red berries and prickly leaves adorn every conceivable piece of Christmas paraphernalia, from napkins to wrapping paper. And yet one of the oft-asked questions when it comes to this tree in the garden is “why doesn’t my holly have any berries?” The plant family Il
  
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• 'It’s like the end of the world, so vast it’s oceanic': Otto Bell on Mongolia

  23-12-2016 12:00
  
  A new documentary about a young girl hunting with eagles in Mongolia’s Altai mountains casts fresh light on this extraordinary, sparsely populated country and its threatened rural lifestyleIt all started when I saw a spellbinding photo-essay about Kazakh eagle hunters. Israeli photographer Asher Svidensky was on walkabout in north-west Mongolia after national service and started photographing the next generation of hunters training their eagles. There are only about 250 of them left, mostl
  
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• In icy Alaska, footwear options abound to stay upright

  23-12-2016 10:21 via winnipegfreepress.com
  
  ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Darrell Bachmann doesn't wear ruby slippers, but when he clicks his heel, something magical happens.Bachmann invented KickSpikes, a boot designed to walk on ice. Kick a button on the heel and 7mm steel cleats pop out. Kick the button again and the cleats retract, allowing...
  
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• Food in books: Christmas feasts from Conan Doyle to JK Rowling

  23-12-2016 10:00
  
  Growing up with broiling Christmases in Australia, I read avidly about turkey roasts and plum puddings in frosty England. Finally getting to eat them is a joyEach Christmas, I place a stack of books on my bedside table, planning to read my way through the lot during my week off. And each Christmas, without fail, they remain precisely where I put them as I turn to old favourites instead: Dickens, Christie, Streatfeild, Rowling, Lewis. Christmas, after all, is a time for tradition. An unfamiliar b
  
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• Your most underwhelming Christmas photos

  23-12-2016 09:37
  
  From Santa in Greggs to a Croydon of Christmas past, our so-so festive pictures were even more disappointing than usual this yearIt’s almost here.
  We’ve been on the long, slow, slide to Christmas since Halloween’s ghosts and skeletons packed up their sheets and bones for another year. Continue reading...
  
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• Alexa, lights! How I turned my home into a sci-fi dream

  23-12-2016 09:00
  
  For decades, sci-fi has told us voice operation is the way forward. Now AI butlers are here – and you don’t have to be Mark Zuckerberg do build your ownThe Internet of Things is here, they cried. Great, but do I really have to pull out my smartphone to do everything? Pushing a button was so much easier. Can’t I just talk to my house now? Can I scream “red alert” and have my lights flash red? The Star Trek dream.For decades we’ve been shown that voice is the fu
  
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• In icy Alaska, footwear options abound to say upright

  23-12-2016 08:14 via winnipegfreepress.com
  
  ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Darrell Bachmann doesn't wear ruby slippers, but when he clicks his heel, something magical happens.Bachmann invented KickSpikes, a boot designed to walk on ice. Kick a button on the heel and 7mm steel cleats pop out. Kick the button again and the cleats retract, allowing...
  
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• Japan's female hunters take aim at wild boar, stereotypes

  23-12-2016 07:34
  
  (This Dec. 22 story is corrected to show Wildlife Management Office is in Tokyo, not Fukui)
  
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• Final test results confirm Ebola vaccine highly effective

  23-12-2016 04:36 via winnipegfreepress.com
  
  GENEVA - Final test results confirm an experimental Ebola vaccine is highly effective, a major milestone that could help prevent the spread of outbreaks like the one that killed thousands in West Africa.Scientists have struggled to develop an Ebola vaccine over the years, and this is the first...
  
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• Australia's Big Things: just how big are they?

  23-12-2016 02:27
  
  A visual guide to some of Australia’s more notable Big Things: from the Big Banana to the Big GalahRi Liu, Nick Evershed and Elle Hunt Continue reading...
  
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• Taiwan's Christmas market offers present the size of a tower block

  23-12-2016 01:10
  
  TAIPEI (Reuters) - Good things might come in small packages, but the centre-piece of a Taiwan Christmas market is a present the size of a tower block.
  
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• Kakuro 1531 medium

  23-12-2016 01:00
  
  Fill the grid so that each run of squares adds up to the total in the box above or to the left. Use only numbers 1-9, and never use a number more than once per run (a number may reoccur in the same row, in a separate run).
  Buy the Guardian next Friday or subscribe to our Digital Edition to see the completed puzzle. Continue reading...
  
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• Follow in the Footsteps of Columbia’s Most Famous Author

  23-12-2016 00:00
  
  Amakuna is launching the In the Footsteps of Gabriel Garcia Marquez package
  Embark on a 10-day tour that highlights places associated with the author’s life and works…Rebekah Bell
  
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• Follow in the Footsteps of Colombia's Most Famous Author

  23-12-2016 00:00
  
  Amakuna is launching the In the Footsteps of Gabriel Garcia Marquez package
  Embark on a 10-day tour that highlights places associated with the author’s life and works…Rebekah Bell
  
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