Learn the richness of solitude and quiet. That “still small voice” is yearning to be heard. ~Susan Jeffers

Stress and economic concerns – along with the extremely hot weather this summer are still part of our lives,  so we thought we would revisit a podcast from last summer. A reminder of what you can do  at home that will  pamper and soothe you both physically and financially.

Do you feel like your skin could use some pampering? Do you wish your skin still had that radiance and softness it did when you were younger? The same stress in our daily lives that makes us yearn for a spa experience often keeps us from taking the time to have a day of relaxation at a spa. Or perhaps, economic concerns keep us from spending the money on what may seem like a frivolous day of relaxation at a spa.

Regardless of the reason, you do deserve a full day, or at least a few hours of pampering and relaxation. When you take a few hours out of your busy schedule to treat yourself, you will feel regenerated and be more energized to cope with any daily stresses.

In this issue of Fashion Bytes, Tori Blackhart tells you how to create your own spa experience in the privacy of your own home from simple natural ingredients – a lot of which you have in your refrigerator! So sit down with pen and paper to take down some of these facial masks recipes. You will also be able to find all the ingredients for the various facial masks in our community group site, that you can print out. Just click on Join the Discussion after you have listened to this podcast. To complete your spa session, go to TwentySomethingYak.com and listen to the show, TwentySomethingStyle where you will hear tips on giving yourself a pedicure.

Be sure and check out additional resources and links at our community site WomensStyleNetwork.GroupSite.com while you are printing out those facial mask recipes! And don’t forget to join in the discussion, ask questions and make suggestions on topics you would like Tori to discuss.

With thanks to our sponsor, the author Joy Weston, who hosts “Putting the Extraordinary in the Ordinary with Joy,” one of the many podcasts found here on the Yaktivate.com podcasting network. Listen as Joy unfolds this formula, helping you create the life you were meant to live on our sister channel, LifestyleYak.com.

“A tan certainly doesn’t hurt, but more than anything it’s an attitude”

(Kent Nielsen)

Summer time- basking in the warm rays of the sun,in pursuit of that perfect golden tan. Most people say that they both feel and look healthier when their skin is a golden bronze. But before you slip into your bathing suit and head to the pool – or head for a tanning booth – listen as we share some of the latest tips about sun exposure and caring for your skin.

Today’s host, for Fashion Bytes, Jo Lithgow, shares with you the various ways you can enjoy a golden tanned look and the pros and cons for each choice.

Thanks to our sponsor, GroupSites where you can go for additional information on this subject, including a list of the nasty ingredients you should always avoid when using the various tanning products available. Just click on Join the Discussion button above and Yak Back by sharing your experiences and products in the sun with others.

Summer is fast approaching and for many of us summer can involve a lot of traveling.  Whether   you go off for a few days to a bed & breakfast hide away, attend a family wedding or graduation, take a drive up the coast, enjoy a month in the mountains, or visit a bustling metropolis you are going to have to pack  It can be a chore, but it doesn’t have to be!

Host of Fashion Bytes, Tori Blackhart, gives you numerous tips on how to go about packing so you will arrive at your destination with exactly everything you need. She explains how to put together a clothing capsule which consists of clothing styles and colors that work well with each other. You will find it is a plan that works where ever you are headed.

So, listen in, lighten your load, forget taking those extra suitcases, and think how easy it will be to stroll through the airport instead of hauling unneeded luggage containing stuff you won’t wear anyway!

Additional tips are posted for you on our group site. Just click on Join the Discussion button above. You will find samples of the packing lists along with links to helpful websites that give you list suggestions for packing your carry-on bag and lists on packing for an overseas trip. We hope you will Yak Bak and share your packing tips, resources and comments with us there as well.

Thanks to our sponsor, Barbara Joye, The Shift Guru, without whom this free podcast would not be possible. An inspirational speaker, author, Life Coach and Wisdom Connection Therapist, Joye can be contacted through her website www.TheShiftGuru.com. Her podcast can be heard on our sister channel EnergyoftheSpirit.

~George Eliot

“Jewelry is like the whipped cream on the cake, it should enhance your beauty and your life style”, says jewelry designer Melissa Webster, in her interview with host, Tori Blackhart in this episode of Fashion Bytes.
Melissa, long a collector of costume jewelry herself, now designs and makes unique, individual, one of kind art jewelry pieces. She often uses gem stones in her designs and creates designs that symbolize what that particular gem stone represents.
In this podcast you will hear what inspires Melissa in the unfolding and designing of her jewelry as well as some guidelines to wearing jewelry. She offers encouragement in being flexible, mixing various pieces, wearing both “good” jewelry and costume jewelry together and developing your own style.

Thanks to our sponsor, Groupsite.com, who makes this free podcast available for you. Be sure and check out our group site, www.womensstylenetwork.groupsite.com, the place for you to Yak Bak with any questions or comments as well as to share your experiences and ideas with us. We’d love to hear from you about your favorite piece of jewelry. Is it a piece of costume jewelry, or an expensive gem or a sentimental piece of antique jewelry?
Groupsite.com provides all the social network sites for each of our Yaktivate channels.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Spring is just around the corner and for some of us it has already arrived. It’s that time of year when we have to pack away our winter clothes. Sweaters, coats, hats, gloves and thermals should all be packed and stored properly so there are no nasty surprises when winter rears its head again.

Seasonal closet organizing and storage means better shopping, which will save you both time and money!
Tori Blackhart, host of Fashion Bytes, gives you lots of tips and ideas for the most efficient ways of organizing your clothes and storing away those off season clothes properly, ideas on what to do and what not to do!

Thanks to our sponsor, Groupsite.com, who makes this free podcast possible. Be sure and check out our group site, www.womensstylenetwork.groupsite.com, the place for you to Yak Bak with any questions or comments as well as to share your experiences and ideas with us.
Groupsite.com provides all the social network sites for each of our Yaktivate channels.

To commemorate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, this week’s host of Fashion Bytes, Jo Lithgow, talks about how the clothes you wear and their care, affects the earth and our environment.

Eco-friendly fashion refers to stylized clothing that uses environmentally sensitive fabrics and responsible production techniques; clothes that take into account the environment, the health of the consumers and the working conditions of people producing the clothing.

Of course the greenest most eco-friendly garments are those you already own! No more resources are used to get them to you!  Recycling both clothing and materials, swapping them with friends and shopping for pre-loved clothing, including designer labels in thrift stores, can all have a positive impact on our planet.

When shopping for clothing made out of eco-friendly fabrics, the 3 most popular are organic cotton, bamboo and hemp. However, these materials are not necessarily as environmentally sustainable as we are often led to believe. Both cotton and bamboo are both environmentally positive in one stage of their development into fabric as well as environmentally negative in another stage.

Fortunately, modern farming practices and agri-science advancements continue to work to help minimize these environmental footprints and to improve both the growing and the manufacturing process of these indispensible plants.

But it’s important to be aware and not to always believe a label if it says eco-friendly! By becoming a part of our community and Joining the Discussion you can contribute information you have on eco-friendly fashion. Share your insights on this subject as we celebrate Earth Day. Check out the websites we will be posting that sell eco-friendly fashion and share yours – it may be just what somebody else is looking for!

Our thanks to Groupsite.com for providing all the social network sites for each of the Yaktivate.com channels

A hat can be like medicine for the soul! And wearing an Easter bonnet is a tradition as old as chocolate bunnies. Historically, the Easter bonnet represents the tradition of wearing the latest fashions at Easter, which also heralds in the Spring season. This was a festive way to symbolize the harmony of Spring renewal with the promise of spiritual renewal.
Host Tori Blackhart talks about the history of the Easter bonnet and gives us tips on finding the perfect hat. Tori also challenges all of us to go out and enjoy the traditional “rite of Spring” by wearing that special hat that will brighten both your Easter morning as well as earn smiles and comments from others. You may dismiss hats as stodgy and stuffy and absolutely passé but a great hat always speaks for itself and the woman wearing it!
Click on the Join the Discussion button above and let us know your thoughts on wearing an Easter bonnet, as well as wearing hats in general. What is the most outlandish hat you have ever seen – or worn? Do you feel elegant and sophisticated when you wear a hat or do you feel uncomfortable? Join the discussion and let us know your feelings about wearing hats.
Our thanks to Groupsite.com for providing all the social network sites for each of the Yaktivate.com channels.

Christian Dior

Perfume appreciation is a wildly subjective animal; “to thine own nose be true!”
Fashion Bytes is all about perfumes today! Host Tori Blackhart talks about scents and perfumes and why we wear them. Perfumes are made to be worn. The final aesthetic effect of a fragrance is inseparable from the time, place and person involved. Have you attended the “cocktail party” at a perfume counter recently? Did you know there are 3 different “fragrance notes” in perfumes? Listen in as Tori shares all the tips to keep in mind and the steps to take when choosing the perfect scent for you.

And be sure and go to our group site WomensStyleNetwork.groupsite.com where you will find additional information on perfumes. Just click on the Join the Discussion button above. We’ve also posted other interesting articles and links relating to perfume there. The group site is the place for you to Yak Bak with any questions or comments. Share your secrets in purchasing your favorite scents.

Thanks to our sponsor, Groupsite.com, without whom this free podcast would not be possible.

Tired of the cold, the wet, the long gray days? Do the blooming colors of spring seem like they will never arrive? Well, even if spring is late in arriving this year, adding some cheerful colors to your wardrobe will help you feel like you are hastening its arrival.

There’s no doubt about it, color definitely affects our mood and as a result, can have a profound effect on how we feel — both mentally and physically. So let’s hear it for a splash of color to beat the winter blahs! Listen to host Tori Blackhart talk about the importance of color and the various ways you can add a cheerful color to your wardrobe and sail along into an early spring.

Go to our group site at WomensStyleNetwork.groupsite.com to see a complete list of tips on how to dress to influence with color. Join the Discussion and Yak Bak. Listen, Read, Watch, ask questions, and exchange ideas with others.

Yaktivate’s online social communities are provided by our sponsor, Groupsite.com. Thanks, Groupsite, for making this free podcast possible.

We are part of a culture that loves beautiful things. Rightly or wrongly your face is often what forms that first impression. In a job interview, your face is often considered your “business card”.

80 million baby boomers are all attempting to reverse the clock. The media bombards us daily with all types of anti-aging solutions for our face and skin.  Cosmetic surgery,  botox, an endless list of skin care products, all promising us a return to instant youth. In this podcast, host Tori Blackhart and guest Amie Chilson discuss some of the pros and cons of the anti-aging products and offer some proven, safe and natural solutions.

Yaktivate’s online social communities are provided by our sponsor, Groupsite.com. Be sure to go to WomensStyleNetwork.Groupsite.com where you can Join the Discussion and YakBak. Listen, Watch, Read, ask questions and exchange ideas with others.

We would like to thank our podcast sponsors who make this free podcast possible:

www.Yaktivate.com A global podcast network: Transforming the Planet through the power of the human voice!

www.Groupsite.com On-line social communities you can create for yourself.