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Lyndey’s heartache: Blair was just a joy

Lyndey's heartache: Blair was just a joy

Food expert Lyndey Milan will always cherish her trip to Greece with her son.

The badge pinned over the legendary big heart of foodie Lyndey Milan reads “good times”, yet her red eyes brimming with tears tell another story altogether. It is just a few short weeks since the Australian cooking institution lost her only son, 29-year-old Blair, and despite her best efforts to remain upbeat, Lyndey’s almost unbearable pain is palpable.

The badge was Blair’s sign-off, whether it was an email, text message, letter or in-person hug, and last week some 800 mourners at his funeral all wore the words in honour of their much-loved friend.

“Blair was the most positive person you could ever meet in the entire world,” Lyndey says, admiring a photo of her handsome son. “He consciously chose to have a great day every day. He was an old soul. We believe he packed so many lives into his short life because he truly lived his life to the fullest.”

Being interviewed at such a fragile time would be too hard for most women in Lyndey’s situation. However, the Australian Women’s Weekly food veteran, TV chef and author of innumerable cookbooks has a mission – and that is to keep her beloved son’s legacy alive.

A rare form of cancer known as acute myeloid leukaemia may have felled the young actor in his prime, but Lyndey knows that, more than anything, Blair would want the show to go on.

In a twist of fate that Lyndey will now always cherish, the planned seven-part TV series she was to undertake with her friend John Mangos through the Peloponnese in 2010 took an about-turn when Greek-born Mangos was forced to pull out at the last minute. In stepped Blair, accompanying his mother on a trip of a lifetime.

“I want this series [Lyndey And Blair’s Taste of Greece] to be a success for Blair,” she explains. “I realise in the public eye you can be damned if you do and damned if you don’t, but Blair would want me to get out there. He was very proud of what we did, and he is just so good in the show… so full of life.

Lyndey and Balir’s taste of Greece screens nationally on SBS at 8pm Thursday May 26.

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Healthy habits that last

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How to stick to your healthy resolutions

Are you looking for a way to make health changes that last long-term? Then, making it part of your daily routine is the most important thing you can do, says dietitian and exercise physiologist Caitlin Reid.

When it comes to changing your lifestyle for the better, the biggest mistake many of us make is to go in with an all-or-nothing mentality. We up the exercise routine, ban ourselves from eating the foods we love and restrict ourselves to nothing but lettuce leaves and skinless chicken breasts all in the name of health.

If we dare succumb to a piece of chocolate or two we brand ourselves failures and immediately resort back to our old ways. This process is anything but healthy!

To create the healthier lifestyle you crave, you must commit to making small, sustainable changes that fit nicely into your daily routine. Everything doesn’t need to be changed at once and short-term pleasures should not be the motivator for your decision to change.

Drastic changes with overnight improvements are hard to maintain long-term and this is not what you are trying to achieve. Taking control of your daily routine, being organising and planning the healthy changes you wish to make will give you the healthy lifestyle success you crave.

Begin by making a list of the healthy changes you wish to make to your lifestyle, as well as the unhealthy habits you wish to break. Instead of trying to make all the changes at once, choose the easiest change to make and then turn it into a daily commitment. Maybe you find it easiest to limit takeaway food to weekends only or maybe your motivation lies in increasing your exercise levels. Whatever it is, plan the actions you need to take to make it part of your daily routine and then commit to the process.

For instance, to ensure you’re exercising daily, you may need to get up 30 minutes earlier each day. To limit your takeaway consumption to weekends, you may need to go grocery shopping weekly so that you always have healthy food at hand. Whatever it is, plan it into your week, choose the action you need to take and then actively partake in the healthy behaviour.

Track your progress and evaluate your performance regularly so that you keep on track. Once you have confidently made the first change (this should take about one month), you can then work on the next healthy change. Remember, making it part of your daily routine is the key to making health changes that last long term. Consistency is the key!

Your say: What tricks do you use to stick to health regime?

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Prince Harry’s girls: Three blondes in one day!

Prince Harry's girls: Three blondes in one day!

There’s Chelsy, Charlize and a mystery girl… no wonder he’s dubbed ‘Flirty Harry’.

He’s the world’s most eligible royal bachelor and she’s one of Hollywood’s hottest actresses. Even without his known penchant for blondes and fondness for all things South African, Prince Harry and Charlize Theron seem like a match made in celebrity heaven.

Indeed, the A-list duo looked to be getting on famously at the Audi Challenge Polo Cup in Ascot near London, smiling, laughing and sharing jokes as they mingled with fellow VIP guests.

Harry, 26, and Charlize, 35, have a shared passion when it comes to charity work. The prince established his Sentebale organisation to help AIDS orphans in Africa, and the Oscar-winning star started her own outreach program to prevent the spread of HIV among teens.

The red-headed royal was blushing and seemed to be embarrassed to be caught with the big-screen bombshell. However, it didn’t stop him also showing some affection for another beautiful blonde, greeting an unidentified socialite with a very friendly, touchy-feely hug.

But none of this is new to Harry’s on-off girlfriend Chelsy Davy, who has put up with his flirtatious ways throughout their seven-year romance. And with girls flinging themselves at “Heartbreaker Harry” since his very public flirtation with Pippa Middletonon the Palace balcony after the wedding, it seems that flirting isn’t likely to end any time soon… even if Harry is keen to make a future with his 25-year-old trainee solicitor girlfriend. But as our exclusive photos show, Harry had just spent the night with Chelsy before the flirt-fest began.

See the exclusive shots of Harry and Chelsy in this week’s Woman’s Day.

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Hair looks from runway to real life

Runway: A towering textured beehive was the ’do of choice at Lisa Ho’s S/S show: “We wanted to re-create a classic ‘60s silhouette and modernise the look with slightly raw edges around the hairline”, says Kenneth Stoddard for Redken.

Real way:Let hair dry naturally, then tease locks at the crown. Pull hair back tightly, twist into a French roll and pin. Spritz with hairspray to keep the style in place. Voila! A hot classic with a twist.

Top tip: Part hair to the side for a sweeping fringe that suits all face shapes.

Celebrity fans: Jennifer Lopez, Scarlett Johansson and Beyonce are all fans of the Beehive.

Pull hair back tightly.

Twist into a French roll and pin.

Voila!

Jennifer Lopez

Scarlett Johansson

Beyonce

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True Confessions Agony Aunt: My teenage daughter won’t get up for work

lazyv teenager

Image: Getty, posed by model

I need advice about my daughter who is 18 years old and won’t get up for work.

She stays in bed all day and doesn’t get up until the late afternoon and then goes out all evening. I’m at my wits end about what to do.

I’ve done pretty well for myself financially and my daughter is meant to work for me, except she always turns up very late and never does the jobs that I’ve asked her to do.

I don’t want to fall out with her but I would like her to take life more seriously.

If you’re serious then it’s time to sit her down and have the big conversation.

You’re paying her for a job she isn’t doing and she’s taking advantage – tell her that you’re treating her like any other employee and you will no longer be employing her if she doesn’t turn up on time and do the job she’s being paid to do.

But remember that once you’ve said that then you have to stick to it which also includes not funding her lazy lifestyle. You can feed her and give her a bed, but keep your cash firmly in your bank account and see if that helps her take life a bit more seriously.

If this is the first time you’ve laid down regulations for her then you should expect a negative reaction.

You’ll have to be strong about sticking to your intention despite any protestations from her. You’re certainly not doing her any favours by handing her everything on a plate but she might not see it like that at first.

It will be hard for you if she threatens to move out but it’s important that you don’t give in if you want her to understand adult responsibilities.

Do you have advice on this problem? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below…

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Review: Babies

Review: Babies

There’s nothing as disarming as a baby’s smile — you see them breaking people’s tough exteriors all the time. So it should make people happy to know there is a whole documentary about babies, called Babies. But there is more than just a lot of gurgles and nappies going on.

Babies looks at the first year of four children: Ponijao, a girl born in Namibia; Bayar, a boy on a Mongolia farm; Mari, a girl from Japan; and Hattie, from San Francisco in the US.

Film reviews: Rabbit Hole

The documentary looks at the critical early stages of each child’s life. We witness their first words, their inquisitive steps and exploration, the triumphant struggles to walk and then run. It sounds cute and mundane, but it is anything but.

The images are brought wordlessly by French director Thomas Balmes. There is no commentary, some music, and the parents are often decorating the scene, not babbling about baby to camera. And each scene is not just shot; it is crafted, and the imagery is quite elegantly composed without being too self-conscious or using any tricks or effects.

And despite the silence, there is so much being said. Hattie lies there as her mother runs an adhesive brush over her to remove any dust; Ponijao picks up a bone from the dust and sucks on it. She is crawling through the stuff!

We see the different methods they take to wash the baby, from showers to tubs to using a mother’s tongue. While the Mongolian boy takes a bath, a goat casually walks up and takes a drink from it. The kid didn’t blink even when a rooster walked all over his bed — while he was lying in it.

And there’s lots of humour. In Mongolia, Bayar, is pushed in his pram by his tormenting brother right into the middle of the cattle — and left there. And when the American parents sing songs to the Earth Mother and wave their hands, Hattie heads for the door and pulls on the handle, just as I felt like doing the same.

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Red-hot winter blooms

Red-hot winter blooms

Left: Model gardening; Right: Red-hot pokers

In summer, red-hot pokers are, well, just too red, and sometimes yellow too — great lumbering things with blooms often more than a metre high, that look gaudy in all the summer glare.

Yes, they’re hardy — so indestructible they really need a semi-trailer to back over them to daunt them. But despite their magnificence, height and colour, I find them too bright, too sprawling to really love them.

The only “red” red-hot pokers (or Kniphofia caulescens, to give them their botanical name) I really love in summer are the miniature yellow ones, more a soft gold and not much higher than my ankle.

I grow them at the very edge of the garden, where the strap like foliage left after the flowers have died back won’t look like too much of a mess. They need a bit more water than the big red bold ones, but are still wonderfully drought tolerant once established.

You can also buy lime green ones (but there’s enough lime green in my garden from the leaves) and almost white ones, too.

Red-hot pokers (or torch lilies or even plain old pokers) are different in winter. You need hot colours in winter. That too-vivid summer red is just what’s needed on a cold winter day, and the yellow, too, is sun-bright and welcome.

It used to be difficult to find winter blooming red-hot pokers, but they are more common now. “Winter cheer” is perhaps the most common, which blooms for about six weeks or even longer in mid-winter, but there are several others with slightly different flowering times, so you can have a succession from late autumn through to spring.

The birds love them, especially the honey-eaters, hovering around them and dipping in their beaks all through winter. I adore them too. Like most winter flowers, they bloom longer than their summer relatives, away from the fierce heat.

Red-hot pokers prefer full sun, although the summer ones will bloom in light dappled shade too. I plant our winter ones under deciduous trees, so that by the time the flower heads are falling the leaves have all dropped off, leaving them with all the winter sunlight they want.

They won’t tolerate heavy frost, but if you plant them in a sheltered spot, next to a sunny wall for example, or among the deciduous trees or by large rocks, as we do, they should be fine, especially after they’ve been in for a winter or two and acclimatised.

Like most flowers, you’ll get more blooms if they are watered regularly, and the plants will grow faster too. But our pokers have survived the worst of droughts with no watering whatsoever — and they even gave some blooms.

Once red-hot pokers (or gold, yellow, white or lime hot pokers) have been in a few years they form a large clump. Divide it every few years, firstly so you can have your pokers in other spots in the garden but also because the large clumps can look messy, especially when the flowers have died back and all that’s left are the strappy leaves.

I know I haven’t made winter red-hot pokers sound irresistible — and truthfully there are more beautiful flowers. But I don’t think there are any as hardy or dependable or as tolerant of complete neglect. With a few clumps of winter blooming pokers in your garden, you know there’ll be “winter cheer” forever.

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Celebrity hair trends

Free cascading curls

Miranda Kerr’s free flowing long curly locks parted in the middle are a winner!

Sleek and sexy

Show off your facial features, with this sleek and sexy look like Kim Kardashian.

Glamour

Structured curls with a severe side part are all over the red carpet. Think Diane Kruger (pictured), Katy Perry and Dita Von Tesse.

Pretty plaits

Plaits are back! Whether you copy Kate’s Grecian look and pull them back or plait long hair loosley to one side, they are an easy to do hair trend.

Two toned colour

Two toned hair, like Rachel Bilson’s, is often darker at the top and lighter at the bottom and works well when hair is worn down or up.

Bejewelled hair accessories

Bejewelled hair accessories are the perfect way to add a bit of glamour to any up do. Jessica Alba’s soft style is the perfect example.

Bright colour

Blake Lively shows that bold and bright red colour makes the eyes pop and makes the hair shine.

Short and simple

Although it looks simple, Michelle William’s textured pixie cut has a lot more to it. It frames her face perfectly and shows off her beautiful bone structure.

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In review: Water For Elephants

In review: Water For Elephants

While the movie as a whole might not fully recreate the magic conjured up by Sara Gruen’s Water for Elephants novel, it is definitely worth seeing if you’re a fan of Robert Pattinson, who gives arguably his best performance yet in this film.

Set in the US during the Great Depression in the 1930s, the film follows the story of Jacob (Robert) who finds himself working in a travelling circus.

Acclaimed actor Christoph Waltz is brilliant as the circus ringleader seemingly with multiple personalities. The actor’s uncanny knack at creating alarming and disturbing scenes will have you jumping in your seat.

Reese Witherspoon, who plays a beguiling circus performer, is the love interest in the story, but it is another leading female who steals the show. The beautiful performing elephant Rosie is adorable and captures the hearts of the characters and audience alike.

With a heady mix of sorrow, anguish, romance and revenge, combined with spectacular acrobatics and exotic animals, Water for Elephants brings the frivolity and frustrations of the circus of yesteryear to life.

Water for Elephants is in cinemas now.

Your say: Rate the film below.

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Angelina Jolie talks about seventh adoption rumours

Angelina Jolie: "I am very lucky to be here"

Angelina Jolie has cleared up the rumours she’d adopted a seventh child by revealing the seventh set of map coordinates tattooed on her arm do not belong to a child.

The mother of six famously has six sets of map coordinates tattooed on her upper left arm that correspond with the birthplaces of her six children, which she raises with partner Brad Pitt. In April 2011 she stepped out with a new set of coordinates, sparking rumours she had adopted another child.

So who do the additional coordinates belong to?

When asked in an interview with Extra while promoting her new movie Kung Fu Panda 2, the 35-year-old revealed they belong to Brad.

“Well, if they know that it’s latitude and longitude they would have figured out quickly that it was Brad’s birthplace,” she said.

“It doesn’t take much investigation to figure that one out. [The coordinates are] Shawnee, Oklahoma.”

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