PopCosmo Popstar: Kayla

PopCosmo PopStar is a feature in which we share cool things that you are doing. Whether you make a difference with your volunteer work, you design jewelry, you are an athlete with a dream, or you do something else cool and unique, we would love to hear from you. No matter what you do, you are a star… so share your story with us!

Our PopStar, Kayla, is a high school student from Atlanta, Georgia who is already a chef, business owner, and excellent student. We know how difficult it can be to balance doing well in school and spending time with friends, but when you add work to the mix, it gets even tougher. Kayla works to gain experience, learn from other chefs, and also to share her creations with others. She impressed us with her creativity, drive, and commitment... and the fact that she cooks dinner for her family most nights!

Age: 16 Always has: my purse and laptop Proudest of: winning the 2011 Share Our Strength Great American Baking Contest Is thankful for: all of the opportunities I've had Wants to: go to Cornell University and be on Food Network Is afraid of: bugs and needles Believes everyone should: live up to their full potential My style: changes every day Pet peeve: fidgety people

At what age did you start cooking? I'm not really sure, but it's been a while How did you realize cooking was an interest? I've always been a picky eater, and I found that I liked food better when I made it. Oh, and my parents let me eat dessert if I made it. What made you decide to turn a hobby into a business? I realized that I needed reasons to bake, so I decided to attempt to sell things to my friends and my parents' coworkers. How did you find a job in a restaurant? It's a long story, but basically my Dad met a pastry chef at a benefit, and they worked it out so that I could intern at the restaurant she worked at. Tell us about your work in restaurants:? I have interned at Pricci and The Horseradish Grille, and I started working officially at Alon's Bakery. I work with the pastry chefs at the restaurants for a few hours every once in a while to prepare the desserts that they serve. At Alons, I worked for around 6 hours every day for 5 weeks over the summer in addition to whenever they are extremely busy. How do you balance work, cooking for fun, and getting good grades in school? Pastry chefs tend to work from early morning til early afternoon. I only work in restaurants when I have time off of school because the times just don't line up, and I only cook for fun after I finish my homework. Grades are definitely my first priority. Have you entered in cooking contests? I've been involved with Share Our Strength for the past three years and they have an annual baking contest. The first year I entered, I was in the top ten but didn't actually win anything. The second year, I won second place for my raspberry brownies, and last year, I came in first for my caramel apple walnut tartlets. What is your favorite thing to eat? I don't have a favorite food, but I love chinese food, pizza, cookie dough, and anything chocolate. What is your favorite item to prepare for others? I definitely love making pies and tarts because there are so many different flavor combinations. After I realized there was more to pie than fruit filling, I started experimenting, and I haven't become bored yet! Do you cook for your family? Yes, I cook dinner most nights. What is your goal, pertaining to cooking? I'm trying to decide between becoming a pastry chef, being a food scientist, and being on Food Network. Hopefully it will be a combination of all three! Who is your favorite chef? My top two are Alton Brown because he combines science and food and Gordon Ramsay, pictured above, because he has such high standards. What is one item of food that you would never eat? Any green vegetable What is the one restaurant where you would like to eat? Work? I would love to eat and work at Alinea in Chicago because it is centered on Molecular Gastronomy (using science in cooking to manipulate temperature, texture, etc.). Do you watch cooking shows, and if so, which ones are your favorites? I watch too many to list, but my favorites include Cake Boss, Chopped, Hell's Kitchen, Master Chef, Dinner: Impossible, and Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives. What is your best advice for a beginning cook? Read as much as you can, because experienced chefs have a lot of knowledge to offer. Worst thing you've ever made? I once attempted to make an El Salvadorian dish called Pupusas, which are made of a corn-based dough and some sort of filling. The dough dried up, cracked, and fell apart, and the filling was bland and had a strange texture. We ended up ordering Chinese food.

Thanks for sharing with us Kayla! We have no doubt that you will continue to accomplish your goals and we can't wait to see you starring in your own show one day. We are also excited to announce a treat for PopCosmo fans: Kayla will be sharing some of her favorite recipes with us over the next few months! ? Stay tuned....

Showstopper Shoes

When we saw shoes worthy of Lady Gaga or Nicki Minaj and found out they were made right here in Louisville, Kentucky, we knew we had to tell you EVERYTHING about them!!

So we took a trip to Lisa Shea Custom Shoes and were greeted by Lisa and a rainbow collection of shoes that she is working on for clients. Each pair of shoes is fully customized for YOU. ? You want a zipper on your shoe? No problem. You want feathers. Bring it on. You want spikes. Got them. Which means you don't have to worry about seeing your shoes on someone else at that next big event. But we are pretty sure you will see heads turning in your direction to admire your shoes!

Lisa has always been a fashionista, and she is known for her sense of style, her meticulous matching, and her refusal to wear the same outfit twice. ? This love of style combined with the insistence on being unique is what led her to make her own shoes.? She never expected to be in the shoe design business, but after years of friends telling her to start a business with her hobby, one of them took her shoe, passed it around to? ooh-ing? and? aah-ing? friends, and insisted. Lisa finally listened, and the next day she had 10 orders! ? She hasn't slowed down since, and she's happily creating custom shoes for those "in the know" about her skills.? ? Her creativity and design process is amazing: Lisa doesn't make a drawing. She listens to the client, looks at the shoe, and sees a finished product. ? When she sees a shoe, she doesn't just see a shoe, she sees a canvas of colorful possibility.

Lisa Shea Custom Shoes is already planning for the future... and we expect to see her stores nationwide. ? In the meantime, order here. ? And stay tuned for the launch of her TEEN LINE. We promise to let you know as soon as it happens!

Making your Facebook page creep-worthy.

Whew!!! Exams are over and we finally have some time to just chill... and maybe creep a little. We noticed a few friends had updated to Timeline and we decided to see if it was worth it. ? With Timeline you and your friends can see your entire life from the moment you a were born, and the results are... well, you be the judge! To get Timeline, type Timeline into the search bar. Click on Introducing Timeline you can watch a video about Timeline, and when you are ready to update, click "Get it Now." ? We suggest taking your time to decide if you want to update, because once you do you have 7 days to tweak your page and give it your personality. ? During the 7 day review period, you can choose to keep your new look private, or publish it. But, at the end of the 7 days, it will automatically be published... and you can't go back to the old format! ? So, to sum up: once you try Timeline, your profile will change to Timeline. Don't fall for scams saying they can get change your profile back... they can't, so research before you make your decision!

1. Cover: ? The Cover is the first time we get to be creative and design what we want on our page, and we think it's a great place to add in a picture of friends or even make a collage and insert it. We LOVE the idea of a cover and can't wait to see all the fun things our friends do with their covers!

There are some apps that help create a Cover, but we caution you about using them since you must grant them access to your Facebook Information. If you decide to use one of the services, you can revoke access by going to the far right hand top corner of your page and drop down to Privacy Settings. Then go to Apps & Websites to Edit Settings. Click the "X" to revoke access. Now that you know how to get rid of ? the apps, you might want to look at MyFBCovers and SiteCanvas and FBProfileCovers? for help with your covers. They will automatically publish the covers, so be sure to delete them if you don't plan to use them!

2. Profile Photo: ? You still have a typical Profile photo. ? We've seen some cute covers where the person in the Profile photo is interacting with the cover photo (as in holding hands, blowing a kiss, waving). But your Profile photo also needs to be able to stand alone since it will be in your posts on other peoples page... without the context of the Cover.

3. Timeline Bar: This bar is located directly below the profile photo and cover. Your About information is on the left, and to the right is a collage of Friends, Photos, a Map with locations you have tagged and your Likes.

4. Stories and Recent Activity: ? You are able to delete or hide posts. Your also can star or remove your photos. By starring them, they become a focus of your page. ? Facebook guesses which posts to highlight, so you should scroll through to star what you want everyone to see and delete those you don't.On the far right of the entire page, you can scroll by year to see the highlights... as far back as the year you were born! We highly suggest going through every post and deciding which ones get to stay, and which ones stay only in your head!

5. Apps: If you have sharing Apps, such as Spotify, your friends will be able to see what music you are listening to and also click and listen.

Just a last reminder to always check your privacy settings and set your default privacy to "Friends" or "Only Me." You already know that your Facebook posts will follow you forever, so stay careful online!