Gift Ideas for Him

Well the holiday season is over but that doesn't mean you should be done with the gift giving.

Here are a few ways to spoil the men in your life.

Type of man: The business and tech-savvy brother-in-law who appreciates his booze but is gluten-free.

I'm not much for Christmas shopping, but since my sister and brother-in-law moved away from me to Chicago. I felt spoiling them and showing them some love was necessary since they wouldn't be with in WI or with my brother-in-laws side in Nebraska. He loves his UK basketball team, had no gloves for the cold Midwest winters, and does enjoy his booze.

Here are some gift ideas for my brother-in-law:

UK Shot Glass

 

Smart-touch gloves



Whisky Stones



 

For the workaholic man's man who appreciates his whisky:

For my dad's birthday I got him some pocket protectors for work. It's a bit nerdy, but he loves putting pens in his dress shirts, and it always leaks through. Also my dad is always outside shoveling the snow so I got him some nice thick socks for those cold Midwest winters. And of course, whisky for all the occasions.

Warm winter socks

Pocket Protectors

 

Johnnie Walker - The Collection

 

I purchased these items through amazon.com and at our local liquor store.

 

These gifts vary from a mix of low end items to a bit higher end in price.

 

What type of man are you shopping for and what would you suggest? 

 

How to get healthier hair without the fuss or money

For the longest time, I just assumed that women were born unequal and some just naturally had better hair than others. Truth is, it may have to do some with genetics. However, healthy and beautiful hair can be achieved but like most things you will have to work at it.


For me I've been running around trying to stay fit by playing sports and going to the gym. This meant I took more showers and ended up drying out my hair and making it flakey especially during winter. You'd think that I could just go a day without washing my hair, because some people go weeks. That did not work for me; my thick hair looks super greasy after one day of not washing it. Plus I felt self-conscious about my hair smelling.

Here are some solutions that have worked for me:
1. Instead shampooing with every wash just condition it. Regardless of what kind of conditioner you use one day without the shampoo will do wonders. It feels more smooth and less dry within a day.

2. Try leave-in conditioner. I personally loved the Bumble to Bumble leave-in conditioner.

$24 for 8 oz

I know you thought I said "without the fuss and MONEY". It seems a bit steep, but this actually goes a long way and you won't be using it every day.

Here are other leave-in conditioners for you to consider.

3. Dry shampoo. I hear it does wonders, but the only dry shampoo I have tried was Oscar Blandi Pronto Dry Shampoo. It didn't really seem to work for me. My hair didn't seem any less greasy. I thought it basically was a perfume for my hair so I felt less self-conscious about the smell.

4. Head and shoulders. This does actually does wonders for dandruff. It's a bit tingly at first. There are different type of dandruff.

5. Stop with the burning hot showers. I know it feels amazing, but it makes your hair fall out like crazy and dries out your skin.

What tips and tricks do you have? Any products to avoid or try out?

Want more health and beauty news? Check out this Pangie's Life(style).

Healthcare: The corporate social responsibility of Johns Hopkins Hospital

Are there any companies or corporations that stand out in your mind for their efforts in corporate social responsibility?

Johns Hopkins Hospital is definitely worth mentioning. Not only do they offer services to help people, they go above and beyond that with their corporate social responsibility. In fact, they were actually named one of the world’s most ethical organizations by the Ethisphere Institute. To be nominated and selected for this, there is certain criterion that needs to be met. This includes: corporate citizenship and responsibility, corporate governance, innovation that contributes to public well-being, industry leadership, executive leadership, legal and regulatory performance, and solid ethics-compliance programs. 

Additionally, Johns Hopkins Hospital just recently started helping other companies develop employee wellness centers. These new centers play a pivotal role in helping the companies maintain reasonable health costs as well as ensuring the health of these corporations’ employees. Some corporations that are participating in this program include: Nestle Crop, Hughes Network Systems, and Nordham Group.

A Smart Communication Plan for CSR

You might have developed an amazing CSR plan, but how do you communicate your plan to those key players? What are some challenges that you might face? How will you convey to the company and all of its departments the significances of CSR? Will you be able to justify to stakeholders and interests groups why it is in your company’s best interest to take on this CSR plan?

Here are some essential things to keep in mind when communicating your plan:

1.       Timing is everything. Be sure to communicate in the beginning what your plan is. Next, once you begin implementing your plan let the stakeholders and employees know what they are responsible for. Lastly, get together with everyone to see how you performed and how you reached your plan’s goals with their help.

2.       Be sure to address the right issues to the right audience. Stakeholders are more concerned about the numbers and financials. Leave those details out of your communications to your employees.

3.       Use a variety of communication mediums. Make sure that your consumers are aware of what you are doing with your CSR plan. Put this information up onto a website where anyone can access it. You should also create more internal and specific information to your employee and stakeholders as well. This way everyone can be on the same page.

4.       Celebrate your success and address your obstacles. You need to let everyone know if you reached your goal to provide good feedback from your stakeholders and consumers. Let your employees know that their efforts are appreciated.

Is there anything else you think is essential to creating a smart communication plan for corporate social responsibility? What helped your company? What are some challenges you faced?

14 dresses one night to kick off the new year of 2014

Hope everyone had a fun and safe New Year's Eve!

I've reached that point in my life where it doesn't really matter how I celebrate, but it's way more important that I be with people I care about and who sincerely care about me.

That being said, it is fun to kick off the new year in style and with festivities. This year was a bit more eventful compared to my previous year of staying in with the brother-in-law and big sis barely keeping our eyes open for midnight to come along. I flew to Chicago via Spirit Airlines, which is fairly consistent with being delayed or having some issue occur. This time around I arrived to Chicago on time, however, we did not have a gate available. So waiting in the plane to get a gate actually took a lot longer than my actual flight to get to Chicago.

We went to the IO's Interactive New Year's Eve event. It was fairly entertaining since I always appreciate improv comedy. It was all you could drink for about $65 including party favors and prizes. I personally did not think it was worth the money, but it was a fun and different way to celebrate the new year.

Now to my attire for the festivities. I'm lucky to have a fashionista in my life who let's me raid her closet of those items that don't quite fit right.

 

Below is a few ways to style the dress I wore for last night's festivities.

Cute sleeves - Front

Cute Sleeves - Back

Simple tube top with texture - Front

Back of simple tube top

V-neck line with thicker sleeves

Back of V-neck line

 

Halter top with bow - Front

Halter top with box - Back

 

One sided sleeve - Front

One-sided sleeve - Back

 

Knotted Sleeves - Back

Knotted sleeves cross - Front

Tube top bow

 

Off the shoulders - Front

Off the shoulders - Back



Smaller sleeves (You'll need safety pins for this look)



 



Another version of the tube top







Knotted sleeves - Front

 

 

Which look was your favorite?

 

Sorry some of these dresses didn't have photos of images of the styles in the back. Here's a video that can also help you style your versatile dress.