Louis Vuitton Announces Ambassador

It’s refreshing to see the fashion world embracing women with different body types and different backgrounds. Louis Vuitton has just announced their new brand ambassador – and it’s Naomi Osaka. Osaka is a three-time Grand Slam winning tennis star. Her strong body and bountiful curly dark hair are a refreshing change from the borderline-anorexic look with typically see by brands.

Artistic director of their women’s collection, Nicolas Ghesquière, said that Osaka is “an exceptional young woman who represents her generation and is a role model for everyone.” He continued, “She stays true to herself and doesn’t compromise on her values. I am looking forward to sharing new projects with Naomi in the year to come!”

Osaka is of both Haitian and Japanese descent and has used fashion in the past to proudly show her Japanese roots.

Vegan Restaurant Wins Michelin Star

Most people in the world would probably assume they would starve if told they had to start eating on vegan food. Claire Vallee and the Michelin Guide beg to differ. For the first time ever, the Michelin Guide has awarded a star to a French vegan restaurant.

The restaurant is called ONA (Origine Non Animale) and is situated in the small village of Arès, near Bordeaux. It is one of the 54 restaurants to earn its first star in the coveted Michelin Guide, and the only vegan restaurant to ever receive such an honor since the guide started in 1900.

Even more unusual, perhaps, is that the restaurant was started by a completely self-taught chef and former archaeologist, Claire Vallee. The sit down dinner includes a seven-course menu for $72.

As Vallee said,

“Cooking with my team is like performing in a theater. You never really know how it’s being received until the very end.” She continued, “This is a good thing for the vegan community as this star is evidence that French gastronomy is becoming more inclusive. That plant based dishes belong there too.”

Cooking with Netflix

With so many of us at home around the world, it’s no wonder that Netflix and other companies have been doing great business. If you’re bored, like so many of us, here are some great cooking shows that you might enjoy. Whether they offer you ideas for your own creativity, or they are just there to entertain, they will certainly help the time to pass more quickly!

Chef’s Table: This show is an hour long series that uses captivating photography to feature one chef around the world during each episode. These are chefs with unusual backgrounds, amazing abilities and fascinating practices.

Nailed It!: If you’re looking for some giggles, this is the place to go. Nailed It! takes three novice chefs and offers two baking rounds where they have to try to master making cookies and a cake. The episodes are short and the laughter is plentiful.

Sugar Rush: These episodes are close to an hour long and it’s also a baking competition. But unlike Nailed It, they bring on four couples, each of whom own bakeries or have baking experience. They have three rounds within which to impress the judges and win the prize at the end.

Other great shows offers cooking fun and surprises include: Street Food, Million Pound Menu, Ugly Delicious, The Final Table and so much more.

The Best Books of 2020

As another year comes to a close (and what a year it’s been!) it’s a great time to reflect. For readers out there, the year in review book lists allow people to gather a lot of information in one location and to prepare for some great reading in 2021.

Here are a few of the recent lists for 2020:

Vulture

The Boston Globe

NPR

The Guardian

Esquire Magazine

New Yorker Magazine

Happy reading! And here’s to a great 2021 ahead.

Holiday Shopping Ideas

We all recognize that the holidays won’t be quite as exciting this year as they have been in the past. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t enjoy some online shopping and the ability to spread the joy to others. Obviously, it’s important to stay within a budget and to know your limitations – particularly if this has been a hard economic year for you and your family.

Here are a few of the popular lists that people seem to love for gift ideas.

Oprah’s Favorite Things List. Who doesn’t love Oprah’s list each year? And even if she is a billionaire, she actually finds some well priced finds for the rest of us.

For the readers out there, there is always a book to be had and enjoyed. Check out this November list of new releases and get your list for your favorite bookworm ready.

For the person who has everything, or perhaps just for your enjoyment, check out the Goop holiday gift guide. I’ve always wanted a watermelon carrier – and now I can have one!

Get Paid to Watch Movies

It might seem like a joke, but it’s actually not one. Reviews.org is actually going to pay one lucky person to sit at home and watch 25 movies in 25 days. They are selecting someone who wants to watch these movies and get paid $2500 to do so! The person needs to be over the age of 18 and have the ability to stream movies.

This is certainly worth checking out if you’re a coach potato – or even if you aren’t and you’d like to make great money for watching your television.

Of course, we can only imagine that the competition is going to be quite fierce for this job, particularly this year.