When plans to escape the city fell through on a sunny Saturday, my friends and I did what any backyard-deficient New Yorker would do and headed to Central Park. Packed in our bags were the essential staples of a summer afternoon—a frisbee; a baseball and gloves; salads of the egg, fruit, and potato variety—and the bible of the season, Suzanne Brown’s Summer: A User’s Guide, a book packed with tips for making the most of a warm afternoon.

Like Ms. Brown, I am madly in love with summer—the smell of Coppertone is enough to get my heart racing—so in honor of the first day of the season, I bring you one of her tips for living life to the fullest in the upcoming months:

How to Play Beach Volleyball

Scout out a quiet place away from the water and sunbathers, then draw lines in the sand that measure approximately 30 feet wide by 60 feet long.

The serving player must hit the ball over the net and inside the court lines within three attempts. If the server fails to successfully place the ball within three serves, the opposing team gains control.

Players rotate positions clockwise whenever their team gains control of the ball (Thus, each team has a new server at that time.)

Once the ball is hit over the net to the opposing team, a player cannot contact the   ball twice in a row unless the first touch is off a block at the net. A player cannot grab the ball, allow it to come to rest in his hand, or touch the net. If he does so, he forfeits the ball to the opposing team.

A point is earned when the serving team wins a rally, or an ace is served.

The first team to reach 15 points wins. A match is played in sets of three or five games.

* * *

This summer (which officially starts TODAY!), before you head off to your beach bungalow, pack a picnic for the park, or spend a day in the shade, pick up Summer: A User’s Guide and make the best of this short and sweet season.

It’s true that the bruschetta I whipped up to take to a friend’s barbecue look fabulous—thanks to the recipe for Jan’s Bruschetta in Anne Byrn’s What Can I Bring? Cookbook. (Humility has never been my strong suit.) But, seriously, can we just forget about the food for a second and check out my hair? I mean, it’s not very often that the Coiffure Gods smile with such magnanimity upon a mere mortal. Just look at that mane! Every strand is in place! It’s softly shining in the late-afternoon sun that’s streaming through the window! For this one brief moment in time, my hair was, I believe, worthy of an Annie Leibovitz portrait. (Annie, are you reading this?)

For the record, the bruschetta were consumed quicker than I could pile the topping onto the toasts. (But, really—let’s talk about the hair! Here it is from another angle, next to my hunky friend Andrew.)

P.S. If, after reading this far, you still care more about the bruschetta than my follicular supremacy, check out Jan’s Bruschetta in the What Can I Bring? Cookbook.

Lingerie. It’s better than butter. It doesn’t add to the waistline; rather, it slims and accentuates where desired. Ladies, what could be better to unwrap on Valentine’s Day? A giant plush hippopotamus (or real, JK)? Bearing flowers? Filled with truffles (chocolate or black)? Singing you the Glee soundtrack? None of these things.

But lingerie comes with a cost, and not just the price. We females must make a sacrifice in order to receive such bounty. The giving of this gift may turn our significant others into a particular breed of undesirable character, whom we shall call the “Creepy Solo Male Shopper in Lingerie Store.” Ladies, you already know about this person. He may be wearing sunglasses, a baseball cap, a five-o’clock shadow, a frat tat. Or perhaps he is impeccably dressed, irretrievably timid, and otherwise perfectly normal. These things, unfortunately, are irrelevant. He is the loiterer lurking among the feathery bras, sneaking furtive glances at the mannequin’s thong. As far as you know. As you sift through yards of lacy underthings, a number of thoughts may run through your head. This is what the internet is for… Stop looking at what I’m looking at... Now is not an appropriate time to strike up a conversation…. Please tell me you are in a monogamous relationship… You may be panic-stricken with the desire to grab the first unmentionable in your size and flee. But, sadly, it is often the case that a CSMSLS may not be avoided.* It is in the nature of the lingerie store.

So, if you suspect that someone you know will be suffering from CSMSLS this consumerist holiday, please make sure that he is equipped with some knowledge. It’s in your breast best interests! Here, straight from the book, is a little tutorial on bra size reconnaissance, so he doesn’t have to spend time lurking around the store. Girls, it’s never too subtle to leave his internet browser open to this page. Or (even better) leave The Lingerie Handbook out on your coffee table.

Size Matters

The most common question you’ll hear saleswomen ask male shoppers is, “What size is she?” That’s because most of them come in without measurements. The guessing game is fun, but a little strategic planning is a good idea. Here are four ways to make this mission possible:

1. Do some detective work. Sneak a peek inside her drawers–her lingerie drawers! Find the type of item you are looking to buy, or something similar, and locate the size. Check out a few tags, because sizes vary from brand to brand. Beware of items at the back of the drawer that you’ve never seen her wear. She could be one of those ladies who hangs on to items that haven’t fit for years, dreaming of the day she’ll lose those last ten pounds. If you size her up based on a single item only, Murphy’s Law guarantees you will choose one of those ancient relics. Do your reconnaissance work and capture the necessary information: her average size!

2. Ask her best friend. Girlfriends tend to know these kinds of things about each other. If she doesn’t know, she’ll probably be able to find out. A good friend will happily be an accomplice on this operation.

3. Ask her. Do this well before you plan to go shopping. While you’re at it, get all of her sizes (bras, panties, clothes, shoes, even ring finger… and don’t forget favorite colors too). There’s something to be said for a man who has done a proper background check–and who carries all of his lady’s sizes around in his wallet, ready at a moment’s notice.

4. Take the Fruit Test. If you have not obtained her bra size, and can’t track down her actual digits, here’s your last resort: a visual aid to help you approximate her size. Just imagine which of these fruits most resembles her breasts in size or volume:

Plum: Is she cute and compact? She’s probably a AA cup or smaller.

Lemon: Budding and beautiful? Try an A cup.

Orange: Ample and alluring? She’s probably a B.

Grapefruit: Is she full and fabulous? Think C cup.

Cantaloupe: Voluptuous and va-va-voom? She’s probably a D cup or even a DD.

Honeydew: Is she bodacious and bountiful? She’s probably a DD cup or larger.

—

So when he shows up with something in your perfect size this weekend, be sure to make a pun about the fruits of his labor.

–Liz, editorial assistant, who… Did you think that something was going to be revealed in this little sign-off? Nope, sorry. Now go get yourself some fresh produce.

*Actually, to completely avoid CSMSLS, he should just buy the book instead.

Winter is a punishing time for hair–indoor heating dries it out while wind and snow cause tangles and frizz. Consider going curly for the season with some help from Curly Girl–it could save you a bundle!

THE CULPRIT: Chemical Straightener

Requires an approximately 4 hour visit to the salon every 2-3 months (a similar timetable to coloring roots)

THE DAMAGE……………………………………………..$300-$700

THE CULPRIT: Blow-drying

Weekly 1-2 hour long visits to the salon

THE DAMAGE…………………………………………….. $45-$80 per visit

A high-quality hairdryer used daily for 30 minutes – 1 hour each time

THE DAMAGE……………………………………………..$35-$200

THE CULPRIT: Accessories

A flat iron for daily straightening (takes about 30 minutes to 1 hour each time)

THE DAMAGE……………………………………………..$85-$200

Round brushes for blow-drying and flat ironing

THE DAMAGE……………………………………………..$10-$30 per brush

THE CULPRIT: Restorative Treatments

Must-have conditioning treatments to counteract the effects of chemical straightening and daily blow-drying and flat ironing

THE DAMAGE……………………………………………..Approximately $60/month

Trims every 5-6 weeks to eliminate split ends and other damage caused by chemical straightening and daily blow-drying and flat ironing

THE DAMAGE……………………………………………..$35-$300

THE CULPRIT: Extensions and Weaves

Extensive straightening will, in time, lead to visual signs of damage to the hair, such as halted growth or even hair that begins to show signs of falling out. At this point, many women turn to hair extensions and weaves—which often take over 6 hours to apply—to make their hair appear fuller and healthier

THE DAMAGE……………………………………………..$1,000-$4,000

Synthetic clip-ins are a temporary, more inexpensive alternative to extensions and weaves, but they may fall out unexpectedly at inopportune moments

THE DAMAGE……………………………………………..$30-$100

THE ALTERNATIVE: Love What You’ve Got
The time and money-saving alternative is YOU embracing your natural hair. All you have to do is cleanse, moisturize, scrunch with gel, and then leave it alone! The Curly Girl Method says NO to hairbrushes, standard blow dryers, straightening, excessively frequent haircuts, weaves, and extensions. With CURLY GIRL: The Handbook, Lorraine Massey shows that wearing your hair the natural way is not just a trend—it’s a lifestyle.

Workman recently celebrated the forthcoming revised and updated edition of Curly Girl: The Handbook with an event for beauty editors and producers at the Devachan salon in soho.

Co-author Lorraine Massey, who is also a co-owner of the salon and a co-creator of the DevaCurl product line, charmed the audience with her enthusiastic talk about the beauty of wearing your hair the natural way and her simple tips for achieving beautiful curls. Guests enjoyed curly hair makeovers and got a sneak peek at early bound galleys of the book.

Click here to flip through all the pictures

Available nationwide in January 2011, Curly Girl: The Handbook is the unrivaled bible for everything related to the care, management, and styling of curly hair. Not only is going naturally curly more cost-effective—imagine all the money saved through giving up chemical straightening, flat irons, blow-drying, extensions, wigs, and frequent salon appointments—but it’s also green because a key element of the Curly Girl Method involves forgoing traditional shampoos, which contain harsh, water-polluting sulfates.