It doesn’t get much better than Paris Haute Couture.
As expected, a few of our favorite designers knocked it out of the park this season with their Spring/Summer 2015 collections. From Dior’s intricate scaffolding set to male bridesmaids at Chanel, we couldn’t stop drooling over our keyboards. Thanks to our reliable friend Instagram, it was almost as if we were sitting in the front row with Hamish Bowles. Almost.
Scroll down for all kinds of runway envy!
One of the biggest reservations people have when decorating with the color grey is that it may look too “depressing.”
It’s a valid concern. But we’re here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be that way. Grey decor can look refined and, dare we say, upbeat when done right. We looked to this episode of “Real Home Lookbook,” to learn how to choose the right color grey for your home.
Step one: Get as many samples as you can and place them side by side. That way, you’ll better be able to tell the difference between warm and cool greys. If it’s a blue-based grey, it will look cool, and if it’s a grey mixed in with a bit of yellow, it will look warmer and more comfortable. Another rule to remember: The larger the room, the deeper the grey should be.
Real Home Lookbook host Bryn Lucas also reminds us that paint isn’t the only way to incorporate grey into your decor. A grey sofa is a “classic choice and always look very sophisticated,” he says. Just make sure to properly accent it with brighter accessories in bold colors.
Here are seven ways to go grey and make it look really great.
1. Accent a grey sofa with a bunch of white pillows to brighten it up.
Credit: Velvet Leaf Photography
2. Or choose a gray palette as a neutral background to highlight a striking sofa.
3. Bring in a splash of bright color on the walls in a child’s room to keep things upbeat.
4. “Real Home Look Book” says pairing grey walls with wooden furniture creates a “sophisticated and simple look.” This home seems to have gotten the memo.
5. Contrast a deep grey couch with lighter grey walls and very bright pillows for some extra punch.
6. Use grey as a standout color on an all-white bed by placing one single grey pillow in the middle of the bed.
7. Even stairs can be grey. Paint the railings and the top of the stairs in a light grey to bring some extra flourish to an often overlooked part of a house.
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One Direction might have one of the largest fanbases ever, but we here at HuffPost Style crush on the boyband for one specific reason: Harry Styles’ glorious hair. From the early days of his somewhat-cropped curls to his bad-boy lob (yep, that’s a thing), Styles’ locks just get longer by the year, and we LOVE it.
So, in honor of the heartthrob’s 21st birthday, we’ve compiled a visual timeline of sorts, that shows the evolution of Styles’ mane.
Happy birthday, Harry and have a drink, on us!
GIF courtesy of Tiara Chiaramonte
If you love stylish dudes like we do, check out HuffPost Style’s Pinterest!
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Ladies and gentleman, fashion month is almost upon us. And while we are eagerly awaiting all the ready-to-wear collections, right now we have Paris Couture Week to sink our teeth into.
Over the last couple of days, designers including Chanel, Valentino and Elie Saab showed their stunning Spring 2015 couture collections. Of course, we love what came down the runways, but what we really couldn’t tear our eyes away from what was happening on the streets.
Below are some of the best accessories we saw during the week. We know, we’re jealous too.
1. Chocolate Cupcakes with Creamy Chocolate Frosting
These are the best chocolate cupcakes: the cake portion of the recipe is adapted from Magnolia Bakery in NYC and the frosting comes from Cook’s Illustrated. Together, they make an old-fashioned chocolate cupcake that is sweet enough for children but also intensely chocolate enough for adults. GET THE RECIPE
Buttery and rich in flavor with a crisp and sparkly exterior and tender interior, these cookies are truly crave-worthy. I discovered the recipe years ago on the King Arthur Flour website, and it’s been my go-to for sugar cookies ever since. GET THE RECIPE
3. Lemon Buttermilk Pound Cake
Every party needs a pound cake, and this one’s for lemon lovers. Lemon zest and lemon juice are added to the batter, which lightly perfume the cake with lemon. Then, while the cake is still warm from the oven, it is doused with a lemon syrup to further enhance the lemon flavor. Finally, the cake is drizzled with a tart lemon glaze, which adds a pop of intense lemon flavor to every bite. GET THE RECIPE
4. Chocolate Chip Pecan Blondies
Part cookie, part brownie — who doesn’t love blondies? The best part is that they’re almost ridiculously easy to make: they have less ingredients than cookies (plus you don’t have to roll the dough into balls) and they’re easier than brownies because there’s no chocolate to melt. This version, made with chocolate chips and pecans, is my all-time favorite. GET THE RECIPE
This is an old family recipe. In fact, one of my strongest childhood memories is baking the loaves with my mom, and then carting them off to every neighborhood potluck, school event and holiday party. The recipe has stood the test of time: it’s still always the first dessert to go. GET THE RECIPE
If you’ve been searching for the perfect brownie recipe, look no further. I promise you, this is it! Typically, brownie lovers fall into two camps: the “fudgy” and the “cakey.” I dare say these brownies — moist and fudgy in the center, and cakey and crisp on the surface — appeal to all. The recipe comes from Nick Malgieri’s Chocolate cookbook, an excellent resource for all things chocolate. GET THE RECIPE
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Novak Djokovic won his fifth Australian Open title and extended Andy Murray’s misery at Melbourne Park by beating the Scotsman 7-6 (5), 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-0 in the final Sunday.
Djokovic broke open a close match with a service break in the eighth game of the third set, winning four straight points. When he took a 4-0 lead in the final set, he smacked his fist hard against his chest in celebration.
Murray has now been runner-up four times here, losing twice previously to Djokovic in 2011 and 2013 and to Roger Federer in 2010.
Djokovic is a perfect 5-for-5 in Australian Open finals.
The second set was delayed for about five minutes after the seventh game when a court invader protesting Australia’s refugee policies was removed by security.
WASHINGTON — Every election cycle can be considered, first and foremost, a monument to hype. With every passing week, the political world is a blizzard of brash predictions, bold pronouncements, and bad advice. This year, your Speculatroners shall attempt to decode and defang this world with a regular dispatch that we’re calling “This Week In Coulda Shoulda Maybe.” We hope this helps, but as always, we make no guarantees!
Hillary Clinton: Any Minute Now … Or Then
It’s a mystery of the age: When is Hillary Clinton going to announce her candidacy for president? And the answer is: Hillary Clinton exists in a perpetual meta-state between “always running” and “never not running.” Hillary Clinton is the astronaut in the “Interstellar” fourth-dimensional book room, forever warning herself about the dangers of embarking on the journey to the White House. But if she never embarks, how will she end up in the Place Between Time And Space, to warn herself? This is an unresolvable conundrum, until it isn’t. But here’s what we don’t not know about her intentions.
Jan. 26: It’s all happening, according to a deeply reported Politico piece from Mike Allen, who writes, “Not only is she running, but we have a very good idea of what her campaign will look like”:
Hillary Clinton is in the final stages of planning a presidential campaign that will most likely be launched in early April and has made decisions on most top posts, according to numerous Democrats in close contact with the Clintons and their aides.
Campaign advisers say the likelihood of a campaign, long at 98 percent (she never really hesitated, according to one person close to her), went to 100 percent right after Christmas, when Clinton approved a preliminary budget and several key hires.
Perhaps the most significant detail in the whole report, however, was this: “Most of the top slots have been decided, with one notable exception, communications director.” This would prove to be a little prophetic days later, when, in another deeply reported piece from Mike Allen, communications seem to have broken down:
Hillary Clinton, expecting no major challenge for the Democratic nomination, is strongly considering delaying the formal launch of her presidential campaign until July, three months later than originally planned, top Democrats tell Politico.
The delay from the original April target would give her more time to develop her message, policy and organization, without the chaos and spotlight of a public campaign.
That report contained this instant classic of campaign messaging, from “one adviser”: “She’s better off as a non-candidate. Why not wait?”
But later in the same piece, we learn that the real question might be, “Why not not wait, why not?”
One option being considered would be to announce an exploratory committee earlier — perhaps in April, at the beginning of a new fundraising quarter, in the time frame when insiders originally expected her to launch her campaign.
Then the actual kickoff would be in July, near the start of the next quarter. By launching at the beginning of a quarter, supporters would have the maximum amount of time to generate a blockbuster total for their first report.
Time, flat circle, et cetera.
So what is the 2016 election about this week?
The economy! The Los Angeles Daily News: Not yet in the presidential race, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Mitt Romney already are previewing the likely focus of the 2016 campaign, a competition over who’s better able to boost paychecks for working Americans.
The great wage slowdown! Greg Sargent, The Washington Post: “Democratic strategists believe the party got shellacked in the last elections in part because Dems failed to persuade voters they had a comprehensive agenda to address stagnating wages and move the country towards broadly shared prosperity. They think addressing this problem is particularly urgent, because the 2016 elections may turn on which party more convincingly offers answers to the deep, long-term structural problems plaguing the economy.”
Marriage equality! Ginger Gibson, The International Business Times: “The Supreme Court could hand Republicans a ruling that takes gay marriage out of the political debate for 2016 and eliminates an issue that has hurt them in general elections. The court announced Friday that it will hear a challenge to bans on same-sex marriage in April and will likely make a ruling in June, months before the 2016 campaigns really get rolling.”
What it will actually be about. If this week is any guide, the election will be about whatever the Koch Brothers’ $889 million says it will be about.
The week in “hints at.”
Joe Biden: “Hints at 2016 bid.“
Mike Huckabee: “Hints at running for president.“
John Kasich: “Hints at 2016 campaign.“
Sarah Palin: “Hints at 2016 run for president.”
George Pataki: “…hinted he’d be proud to run against [Rick Perry] for the White House.”
George Pataki knows that he’d have to run against a whole bunch of other people, right? Like these people? Hints a go-go!
Hello, Goodbye: Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney 2016: The flame that burns twice as bright lasts maybe three weeks. Let’s relive the magic!
Jan. 26:
“Romney To Decide About Presidential Run Within Next 2 Weeks, Report Says“
Jan. 27:
“If he runs again in 2016, Romney is determined to rebrand himself as authentic, warts and all, and central to that mission is making public what for so long he kept private.”
“Romney, whose last presidential bid was hampered by his image of excessive privilege and insensitivity, may recognize the trouble his real estate holdings could cause in another campaign.”
“In the delicate and unseen campaign underway for [Rupert] Murdoch’s affections in the next presidential campaign, this much is clear: Romney is out of the running, a reality that has pained and angered his allies.”
Jan. 28:
“Mitt Romney is renewing his pledge to fight for the poor and middle class in a speech that questions Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton’s foreign policy and economic credentials.”
Jan. 29:
Washington Post headline: “Mitt Romney’s people insist he’s not ‘rebranding.’ Sorry, but he most definitely is.“
“Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has scheduled a call with staff members and supporters Friday morning, two weeks after he publicly announced his interest in launching a third presidential campaign. The topic of the call was not specified in an email to his allies — other than its description as an “update call” — but it will occur within the window that Romney had set for deciding whether to run.”
“Closing in on a decision about whether to again run for president, Mitt Romney is finding that several past major fundraisers and donors in key states have defected to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.”
Jan. 30:
“Mitt Romney will call senior donors at 11 a.m. ET Friday to give them “an update” on his campaign plans. Sources have told The Daily Beast that the former Massachusetts governor will announce his intention to explore a third run for the White House. Romney and his senior aides believe he is the best placed candidate to defeat Hillary Clinton.”
A few hours later…
“Former Massachusetts governor and 2012 GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney said he will not run for president in 2016.”
One thing you have to give Romney: He handles everything with brutal technocratic efficiency.
The Week In Predictions
Marco Rubio: The boldest prediction of the week comes from Gary Stein at the South Florida Sun Sentinel, who says, in a 17-line tone-poem, “Marco Rubio will get the Republican nomination. You read it here first.” We read this here, at The New York Times, next: “Marco Rubio could end up being the G.O.P.’s Tim Pawlenty.”
Hillary Clinton: Her campaign might be a “white dude fest.” She will “distance herself from Obama.” She “could play a pivotal role” in the ongoing controversy over Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu’s address to Congress.
Jeb Bush: On the one hand, the “lack of name recognition is not a problem Jeb Bush will suffer.” On the other hand, “Jeb Bush will have to run against your name.” Sorry, Jeb. This week, the oracle says “¯_(ツ)_/¯.”
Rand Paul: Paul “will need to broaden his appeal far beyond his father’s hard-core supporters if he hopes to win the GOP nomination his father never could.” Alternatively, Paul “could be 2016’s Howard Dean.”
Scott Walker: Will either be Jeb Bush’s “most formidable opponent,” or he “will be the logical selection for Bush’s vice-presidential running mate.”
Finally, there’s this: “Why Mike Huckabee will lose the war on Beyoncé“
All The Advice That’s Fit To Aggregate
“Hillary Clinton should be worried about Elizabeth Warren! Jeb Bush should be worried about Scott Walker! He also needs a “better answer on immigration ASAP,” or else Chris Cillizza will unleash one of his devastating “call your office” jokes on Twitter. Using Carly Fiorina to shout at Hillary Clinton might not be the best idea, you guys. And finally, George Pataki, your campaign is making everyone around you feel sad and you need to say you’re sorry and stop doing it right now.”
We’ll Leave You With This, Whatever This Is
Former President Bill Clinton has had plenty of nicknames, but if his wife becomes president, he’ll need another one — and he already has an idea for what it could be.
“Let’s say, if a woman became president, we could, I could be called Adam,” Clinton said in an interview with the “Rachael Ray Show” airing Thursday, referring to the first man of Judeo-Christian scripture.
As your dog reaches old age, you might expect to contend with veterinary complaints like hip dysplasia or even cancer. But here’s one you aren’t as likely to expect: Alzheimer’s disease.
According to veterinarian Lee Harris, the condition is surprisingly common. At his veterinary practice in Southern California, he’s seen an increase in chronic conditions such as obesity, arthritis and dementia.
“Really, our brains are not that different from dogs’,” Harris wrote in The Washington Post. “The cellular changes of canine cognitive dysfunction would be recognizable under the microscope to any human brain pathologist: Plaques of beta amyloid — protein fragments believed to be the result of ‘oxidative stress’ — lead to distinctive ‘neurofibrillary tangles’ within the damaged nerve cells, and shrinkage of the brain appears in areas where memories are made and behaviors are shaped.”
The technical term for the condition, Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome, has only more recently become recognized as a disease in dogs. Now, it is estimated that more than 50 percent of dogs over the age of 10 will exhibit symptoms of cognitive decline.
Of course, the symptoms will present themselves somewhat differently than they do in humans. Dementia may cause trained dog to go to the bathroom in the house, to become disoriented in the home or yard, or to forget which door to use to get to the yard.
“Although dementia is almost never fatal on its own, cognitive dysfunction and physical health problems are a debilitating combination,” Harris writes in the Washington Post.
Older cats, too, can suffer dementia-like symptoms, research has found. A University of Edinburgh study found that half of cats over the age of 15, and one in four cats between the ages of 11 and 14, suffer from Alzheimer’s, which may cause them to become confused or aggressive.
But, as in humans, a healthy diet, mental stimulation, human contact and physical exercise can help prevent cognitive decline in pets. And of course, taking the dog out for a walk each day can also help you to live a longer, healthier life.
Have scientists discovered a new species of primitive human?
Two teams of researchers have been asking that very question after analyzing mysterious fossils found in China and Taiwan. The fossils don’t seem to fit with any known hominin species–including modern humans, Homo erectus or Neanderthals. Instead, they may be the result of interbreeding between known species, or perhaps even belong to an unknown human species.
“Classically, everything that inhabited Asia before the arrival of modern humans have been classified into a single taxon: H. erectus,” Dr. María Martinón-Torres, a dental anthropologist at Spain’s National Research Center on Human Evolution (CENIEH) and a researcher involved in one of the studies, told The Huffington Post in an email. “However, we now see that we may have put in the same box things that are different… It may be time to revise that.”
(Story continues below photo.)
The nine teeth examined while studying fossils of unidentified hominins.
For the research, Martinón-Torres and her colleagues analyzed nine teeth from four individuals, which were unearthed in a cave at Northern China’s Xujiayao site in 1976. The teeth, which date back 60,000 to 120,000 years, were compared to more than 5,000 dental samples taken from a variety of hominin species.
The researchers looked at the teeths’ features such as grooves and cusps, the size of the crown and root system, and their positions relative to one another, BBC reported.
What did the researchers find? Though the nine teeth shared some isolated features with Neanderthals, they did not match completely with any of the samples included in the study.
“What we have seen is an unknown group for us,” Martinón-Torres told BBC. “It’s not H. sapiens and it’s not H. neanderthalensis. They have a mixture of something very primitive, which is currently unknown. We cannot go further to say it’s a new species because we need to compare it to other things.”
The study has been published in the February issue of the American Journal of Physical Anthropology.
Another mysterious, unidentified fossil
A separate, unrelated study published this week hints at the possibility of yet another new primitive human species that may have lived in prehistoric Asia. A team of researchers in Japan, Taiwan and Australia examined the lower, right jaw of a hominin found in the Penghu submarine channel off the western coast of Taiwan. The fossil, dubbed Penghu 1, dates back 10,000 to 190,000 years.
Again, when the fossil was compared to samples from a variety of hominin species, including Neanderthals, Homo sapiens and Homo habilis, it didn’t completely match with any of them. The findings of this study were published online in the journal Nature Communications on Jan. 27, 2015.
Whatever or not the fossils end up belonging to a new species, they’re painting a radically new picture of human evolution in Asia, the researchers say. They suggest that before modern humans arrived in Asia around 50,000 to 40,000 years ago, a much more diverse group of ancient hominins lived there than previously thought.
“We need other skeletal parts to evaluate the degree of its uniqueness,”study co-author Dr. Yousuke Kaifu, a paleoanthropologist at Japan’s National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo, told Live Science. “The question of species can be effectively discussed after those steps.”
It’s always cool learning how stuff works. Case in point: cameras. More specifically, digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) pictograph boxes. The chaps over at YouTube channel The Slow Mo Guys have taken their trademark ultra-high-speed camerawork and, w…
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