• I used to shop compulsively until my spending got out of control.
• I was able to rein my habit in thanks to some changes I made.
• I now use an app to track my finances, I value quality over quantity, and I recognize the difference between need and want.

Hi, my name is Chelsea, and I'm a shopaholic.

Actually, I used to be — until about five years ago.

In my 20s, once I got a full-time job and had a disposable income to burn, I shopped— for clothes, accessories, makeup, home decor — like there was no tomorrow. I'd shop if I was feeling blue. I'd shop on my lunch break. I'd shop for a special occasion or no occasion at all. Whatever it took to get my fix.

But eventually, enough was enough. My spending had gotten out of control, and I staged a self-intervention of sorts. It wasn't easy, and I didn't quit cold turkey, but I'm proud to say that I've been a sober shopper for five years now.

Here's how I did it.

Immediate gratification isn't worth long-term satisfaction.

My mom used to treat me to little indulgences when I was feeling down, and I used this same tactic on myself for many years. But, while the immediate gratification of a new lip gloss was temporary, the cumulative cost of such purchases, which depleted my checking account and hindered my ability to save, was longer-lasting.

If you think small, you'll never go big.

Another consequence of spending on frivolous items was that I couldn't afford big expenses like a car or travel. My closet was full of fast fashion, but I was driving a beat-up Daewoo and longed to visit far-off destinations.

I always assumed those things would come with time, but they only came with a change in behavior.

Avoid window shopping or online browsing.

Sometimes I tell myself that I'll just take a look at the Nordstrom website to check out their Half Yearly Sale or that I'll stroll through the mall for a bit of window shopping. Sounds harmless, right? It's not. It's dangerous.

Even if you have the best intentions not to spend, the temptation can often be too great to resist. Don't torture yourself; just stay away.

• The 2018 Winter Olympics are located in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
• There is tons of variety to Korean food, with many mouthwatering dishes that are specific to Pyeongchang and the surround region.
• Some of the dishes that Winter Olympics athletes and attendees can try include a spicy stir-fried chicken dish called dakgalbi and a soft tofu called chodang sundubu that tastes a little like ice cream.

As a middle schooler growing up in South Korea, I still vividly remember the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games. At the time, the country was a burgeoning democracy, and South Koreans were proud of hosting an international mega event.

I’ve since become a hospitality professor and researcher in the U.S. And thanks to the growing popularity of Korean culture (dubbed the “Hallyu” or “Korean Wave”), I tend to get asked a lot about Korean food.

Now, 30 years later, South Korea’s second Olympic Games – and its first Winter Games – are being held in Pyeongchang in Gangwon province (or Gangwon-do). Coincidentally, I recently received a message from a former student who was planning to visit Pyeongchang because her cousin, Jacqueline Wiles, will be competing for the U.S. alpine ski team.

She wanted to know more about the foods she should try.

“Lucky you,” I thought, “because there are almost too many to name.”

The Pyeongchang area is known as 'potato valley'

With its beautiful landscapes and relaxed beach towns, Gangwon-do is known as one of the best and most convenient winter escapes for many Seoulites.

Located along the eastern coast of the peninsula in northeast South Korea, the region faces the East Sea. But about three-quarters of the province is covered by mountainous forest, which means there’s very little farmland. The province is divided into two regions: Yeongseo in the west and Yeongdong in the east, where Pyeongchang is located.

Such an environment – surrounded by mountains but bordering the sea – creates the conditions for cuisine that’s unique to the region.

Dishes tend to include some combination of potato, corn, buckwheat or seafood. (In Korea, people from Gangwon-do are actually called “folks from Potato Valley.”)

In the Yeongdong region, seafood is a main fare. At the Jumunjin Fish Market, the largest fish market on South Korea’s east coast, vendors sell red snow crab, octopus, mackerel, sole, flounder and a whole medley of sashimi. Nearby restaurants will cook seafood by request, either steaming, boiling, grilling, frying, or even including it in a soup or stew.

In the Yeongseo region – with its rocky terrain – potato, millet, corn, buckwheat and mountain vegetables are the main ingredients in most dishes. Potatoes will be used for pastas, pancakes, dumplings or snacks.

Overall, the province’s food is simple, healthy, and can appeal to a global palate. The cooking method – which accentuates the natural flavors and aromas of the ingredients – is also rather uncomplicated.

The following are a sampling of several delicious dishes that are typical of the region:

Gamja ongsimi – a potato dumpling soup – is a vegetarian option. The potatoes are grated, drained, squeezed, and mixed with potato starch. Then it’s boiled in a broth with vegetables. This is a popular winter dish.

A soft tofu called Chodang sundubu is another vegetarian option. During the congealing process – which goes through several steps – salt water from the East Sea is used.

This is a soft, light version of tofu, perfect for a soup or stew. But my favorite way of eating it is eating fresh – after steaming it with a bit of soy sauce and sesame oil.

It’s so light and soft that it’s almost like eating ice cream.

Dakgalbi (spicy stir-fried chicken with vegetables) and makguksu (buckwheat noodle) are two dishes – usually served together – that are popular in Chuncheon, the capital of Gangwon-do.

The dakgalbi is seasoned and deboned chicken stir-fried with sliced rice cake, sweet potato, perilla leaves and cabbage. In restaurants, the spicy, sweet and meaty dish is usually served on the same tableside hot grill that it’s been cooked on.

Its companion, makguksu, is a buckwheat noodle served either in a chilled broth or with a sauce. The harmony of heat and coldness showcase the yin and yang of this frugal but filling meal.

"Alto's Adventure" is arguably one of the very best mobile games ever made — or, at least, both critics and the players agree.

There are three key factors that have come into play for its success: Its dead-simple, one-button gameplay mechanics, its arcade-based, addictive nature which allows you to enjoy it for one minute or three hours all the same — and a strikingly gorgeous artistic direction, that makes Alto's titular adventure extremely pleasing to the eyes and ears.

The game originally came out in 2015, and fans have been waiting for a sequel for a long time. Developer Snowman first announced it in the summer of 2016, with an initial debut scheduled for a year later.

"Alto's Odyssey" was then pushed back to 2018, but on Monday Snowman has announced all the details you need to know about it.

The game is coming out on February 22.

The developer first teased Alto's return with a post on its social media pages earlier last week, but it's now confirmed the official date for Thursday, February 22.

It will be a direct sequel to "Alto's Adventure."

"Alto's Odyssey" will continue the story of "Alto's Adventure," so it won't be a disconnected chapter.

The idea is that Alto and his companions have travelled all the way down from the snowy mountain, and ended up in a rocky and sandy — but still downhill — desert.

You will not need to have played Adventure to enjoy Odyssey, however.

"[Alto's Adventure and Alto's Odyssey] are part of the same world, so they need to feel like they're painted with the same brush,"developer Snowman said. "[However] the number of vistas and locations has more than tripled."

There where Adventure primarily focused on the snowy mountain, Odyssey will take you to at least three distinct biomes: Dunes, canyons, and temples' ruins.

There will be six characters, starting again with Alto, which you will be able to unlock as you progress; each with its own abilities, pros, and cons.

The mechanics will largely be the same, but with a few twists.

The idea behind both Adventure and Odyssey is that of an endless descent; the bidimensional world that you jump into is procedurally generated by an algorithm, and as such it's different each time you play and it only ends when you die.

The developers apparently toyed with the idea of implementing a grappling hook, but eventually ditched it as it made the game too complex. So Odyssey will stick to the original formula, in which you can only tap to jump (and keep the finger on the screen for as long as you want to stay mid-air) as you go along.

The trailer Snowman released today shows a few new interaction points, however, such as lagoons, hot-air balloons, and grindable rocks, which can both alter the otherwise ever-increasing speed you gain throughout the run.

"There are real-time weather effects that add a depth to the world; you'll see fog and rain roll in and the wind blowing plants around,"Snowman said in an interview with The Verge.

"When you're in the midst of a sandstorm, the world turns dark, with bright flashes of lightning crackling in the background. And while the iconic llamas from the first game are gone, there are new animals to interact with, including colorful birds that will follow your snowboarder around."

Apple's first foray into smart speakers is officially here.

The HomePod, which costs $350, became widely available last Friday. It offers high-end audio combined with Apple's smart assistant, Siri, all packed inside a cylindrical body.

In fact, it bears a quite a few similarities to another smart speaker on the market: the $100 Amazon Echo.

The Echo has been hugely popular with consumers over the past few years. Amazon doesn't disclose device sales, but it pegged holiday sales of Alexa-enabled devices in the "tens of millions." And the number of people buying Echo devices has skyrocketed over the last year: Amazon shipped 5 million devices in the third quarter of 2017, compared to 900,000 during the same period the year before, according to data from Strategy Analytics. 

So with all the popularity of the Echo — which is now in its second generation — why should you consider Apple's HomePod? There are two main reasons.

SEE ALSO: 8 reasons you should buy a Google Home Max instead of an Apple HomePod

1. HomePod is the best way to listen to Apple Music, bar none.

Apple Music doesn't yet have the same global dominance as music streaming service Spotify — as of last September, Apple Music had 30 million subscribers to Spotify's 60 million. 

Still, 30 million users is nothing to scoff at, and many of those users are likely looking for a way to get the most out of their music.

Enter HomePod. While the version of Siri that's built into HomePod is subpar in a lot of ways, where it shines is with Apple Music. You can say things like, "Hey Siri, I don't like this song," and the device will adjust the music accordingly and remember for the future. It also learns what you like over time, so if you say, "Hey Siri, play some party music," it will present you a playlist full of the types of artists and genres it knows you like. 

These capabilities may not be must-have features, but they're certainly enhancements to any listening experience. Plus, everything syncs between the Apple Music you're enjoying on HomePod and Apple Music on your phone, so your preferences will carry over when you leave the house. 

2. HomePod sounds incredible.

I got a demo of HomePod compared to other leading smart speakers on the market, and the Echo has one similar advantage when it comes to the sound: Since the speaker wraps around the entire device, it sounds the same no matter where you're standing, much like HomePod. 

The Echo and HomePod also both have a soft mesh exterior and touch controls on top. But the insides of the devices are very different, and that's what makes HomePod's sound significantly better. 

HomePod has seven tweeters spaced evenly around the circumference of the device, so it sounds great no matter where you're standing. By comparison, the Echo has one tweeter in the center of the device. Tweeters are responsible for producing the highest audio frequencies, and having more of them typically creates a better, more nuanced sound. 

HomePod also has a high-excursion subwoofer, which means it's capable of producing deep bass. The Echo has a subwoofer too, but in the demo I got, its bass didn't sound as deep and rich as HomePod's.

Plus, HomePod has room-sensing technology that allows it to tune the music based on its surroundings, bouncing ambient sounds in your music off nearby walls. And while it's not available yet, HomePod will eventually be capable of stereo pairing, which means you can have two HomePods sync and create a fuller, more immersive sound. 

If you're looking for a smart speaker that can do internet searches for you, handle complex requests, manage your email and calendar, place calls, and essentially just act as your phone while you're at home, HomePod is not the device for you. There are several major shortcomings with the "smart" aspects of HomePod that will likely be a turn-off for anyone looking for an intelligent assistant. 

But if you're looking for a great way to listen to music, HomePod is well worth considering. 

When anyone in your life breaks up, it's tough. And as silly as it may seem, celebrity breakups can hit us nearly as hard as when our good friends split up because we feel like we know them. 

We've rounded up all the celebrity breakups that have made us cry, gasp, and question if love exists. 

Will Arnett and Amy Poehler

Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston

Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston were Hollywood's hottest couple in the late '90s and early 2000's after being set up on a date by their agents in 1998, according to E!.

They were much talked about as Aniston was a TV darling on "Friends" and Pitt was just hitting his stride as a major movie star, and when they got engaged in 2000, the tabloids went crazy. 

They were married on July 29, 2000 and after their wedding they were seen everywhere together. But rumors interrupted their wedded bliss, with many reporting that Pitt wanted children while Aniston did not. 

They split after five years of marriage after Pitt reportedly had an affair with his co-star Angelina Jolie while filming "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," a rumor that spawned a million "Team Aniston" and "Team Jolie" shirts. 

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie had a much-talked-about relationship from start to finish. 

The two met while filming the action film "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" in 2004 while Pitt was still married to Jennifer Aniston. Aniston and Pitt split in 2005, and though it's not clear when the relationship exactly started, it was assumed to be because of Jolie. They began dating publicly in 2005. 

They had three biological children, Shiloh, Vivienne, and Knox, together, adopted their son Pax, and Brad was a step-dad to Angie's previously-adopted kids Maddox and Zahara. The pair were married in 2014.

Breakup rumors plagued the couple during nearly their entire marriage, so it made their split in 2017 all the more surprising — because it was true. The couple has also been vocal about wanting to be co-parents to their children. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Jolie gave some insight into how her family has dealt with co-parenting. 

"We care for each other and care about our family, and we are both working towards the same goal," Jolie said. 

The White House has 132 rooms, and each new president gets $100,000 to redecorate them. After 45 presidents, the historic building has gone through many different looks and color schemes.

We chose to look at three different rooms — the Oval Office, the Blue Room, and the State Dining Room — to see how their designs have changed over the years.

Here's what the White House's décor looked like then and now.

The White House has 132 rooms.

Source: The White House

The Oval Office is the president's formal workspace.

It was completed in 1909 under William Taft.

The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

The Insider Pick:

• Some people expect their smartphone case to deliver maximum protection, while others want a more stylish option. With the OtterBox Defender Series iPhone 8 Case, you can have both. Since it's still a rugged case, we also have slimmer options, a wallet case, a fun flashy case, and a slick leather case.

Next time you’re around several strangers, take a close look at their smartphones. We’re guessing you’ll see all kinds of sizes, brands, colors, and models. Heck, there might even be a flip phone in the batch. What we’re getting at is this: Selecting just the right smartphone is an extremely personal choice. The phone case you choose to put on it is perhaps even more personal because it is the first thing that anyone sees when you take your phone out of your pocket.

Beyond personalizing your phone, you’ll want a case to give your expensive iPhone 8 some protection  — especially now that it has a glass back. You may not need a rugged case, but nearly any kind of case will at least give your phone some protection from drops and scratches.

If you’re planning to wirelessly charge the iPhone 8, you need a thinner style of case, because super thick ones won't work with wireless charging pads. Those of you who are just upgrading from an iPhone 7 to an iPhone 8 can reuse the case you currently have, but it's always fun to get something new to dress up your phone.

Luckily, if you own an iPhone 8, you have a large number of options for adding a case to your phone that provides the perfect style, while also giving you the level of protection you need. It can be totally overwhelming and hard to know which cases are worth the money. That's why we've rounded up some of our favorite cases for style and protection.

Whether you want a slim shell case that gives minimal protection and leaves all the ports and button accessible, a wallet-style case with card holders and a cover, a rugged case with tons of protection from drops, or something super stylish, we have a case for you.

Read on in the slides below to learn why the OtterBox Defender Series case is our top pick and why you might also like the UAG Rugged Feather-Light case, the Case-Mate Luminescent case, the Caseology Parallax Series case, the Silk Wallet Slayer case, or the Apple leather case.

SEE ALSO: Just bought an iPhone X or iPhone 8? These are the best iPhone accessories from cases to lightning cables

The best iPhone 8 case overall

Why you'll love it: The OtterBox Defender Series iPhone 8 Case protects your phone from just about anything and it comes in many fun colors.

If you want an iPhone 8 case that provides excellent protection without limiting your choices of colors to black or black, the OtterBox Defender Series iPhone 8 Case is the one for you.

The Defender definitely keeps your expensive smartphone safe with its tough rubber exterior. And although you can order the OtterBox Defender in a basic black, you can also choose almost a dozen other color and pattern combinations. If you order one from OtterBox, you can even design it yourself and choose the colors for each part of the case.

The covers are properly aligned over the ports and buttons on the phone, so you're guaranteed a perfect fit. OtterBox's three-layer protection is impressive, and the case even has a built-in screen protector, a shock-absorbing polycarbonate inner shell, and a tough, synthetic rubber outer shell.

Few iPhone 8 cases will match the protection that you get from the OtterBox Defender, according to the iMore review.  After all, OtterBox puts its Defender case through 24 tests and 238 hours of trials to ensure that your phone can survive just about anything so long as it's in this case.

Of course, you should know that all of these layers of protection will add bulk to the size of the iPhone 8. One Amazon reviewer who goes by Fraggboy says that the case does make the phone bigger, but the rubber bumper that creates most of the bulk is worth the extra protection it provides.

Although the OtterBox Defender case is expensive, it’s a ridiculously tough case that will keep your phone safe from falls onto concrete and other unforgiving surfaces.

Expert reviewers at Apple Insider like the fact that the Defender cases are both tough and stylish, so you don’t have to sacrifice anything to receive the protection you want.

Pros: Three-layer protection outperforms many other cases for iPhone 8s, offered in a dozen color and pattern options, synthetic rubber outer shell gives you a good grip and drop protection

Cons: More expensive than other cases, adds quite a bit of bulk/thickness to the iPhone 8

Buy the OtterBox Defender Series iPhone 8 Case from OtterBox for $59.90

Buy the OtterBox Defender Series iPhone 8 Case on Amazon for $20.10 and up (price varies by color)

The best tough iPhone 8 case

Why you'll love it: The industrial design of the UAG Rugged Feather-Light iPhone 8 Case delivers great durability and a tough-looking style.

If you have fumble fingers and you’re not ashamed to admit it, the Urban Armor Gear Rugged Feather-Light iPhone 8 Case is a great investment. It will protect your phone from hard drops onto a variety of surfaces.

One glance at this UAG case will tell you that it’s a rugged protective case. The hard outer portion looks like a protective cage or shell, and it provides plenty of protection.

Many people love the look of the UAG Feather-Light case because it looks unique and super tough. But that case’s design isn’t only for style, as the shape gives it extra strength to protect your fragile phone from falls.

If you’re looking for a stylish, artistic case, the UAG model probably won’t fit your needs, but the rugged look is certainly appealing. The case comes in nearly two dozen colors and styles, which is great.

In its review, iMore points out that this case has survived the military drop-testing onto concrete surfaces, so you can rest assured that your phone will survive most situations.

One Amazon reviewer, Tania, says she has dropped her phone many times with the UAG Feather-Light case attached, and her phone has never been damaged. She’s so confident in this case’s protective capabilities that she doesn’t carry insurance on her smartphone.

However, a few owners say the case did not last a year before breaking. On the plus side, UAG includes a one-year warranty on all of its cases.

Still, it's an excellent case with mostly favorable reviews from expert reviewers and buyers alike. After testing it ourselves, we at Business Insider believe the Rugged Feather-Light case is the perfect option for anyone who needs a hard-backed case for the ultimate protection.

Pros: Drop-tested design is backed by a one-year warranty, offered in two dozen colors and designs, hard outer shell will keep your phone protected from a variety of potential hazards

Cons: More expensive than some other iPhone 8 cases, case isn’t indestructible

Buy the UAG Rugged Feather-Light iPhone 8 Case on Amazon for $29.77 and up (price varies by color)

The best stylish iPhone 8 case for anyone who wants some bling

Why you'll love it: The Case-Mate Luminescent Case has light-up crystals that will give your iPhone 8 a sparkling glow that’ll grab attention.

If you want your smartphone case to outshine what’s displayed on the screen, the Case-Mate Luminescent iPhone 8 Case is made with you in mind.

This case includes inlaid crystals that light up with the touch of a button, giving you a cool glow that’s sure to draw attention to you and your phone. Even when the lights are off, this case is very sparkly and bold.

The Luminescent case is still tough, though, and it meets certain drop test standards. It may not be as hardy as the OtterBox, but it certainly offers enough protection to guard against cracks and scratches.

You will have to occasionally charge the battery inside the case that illuminates the crystals, but even if you don't charge them up, the case will still look cool. One Amazon reviewer Elizabeth says the crystals don't stay charged for too long, so that is something to think about.

Expert reviewers approve of this case, including PC Mag, which says the two layers of physical protection are very practical and it's nice to see that level of protection on such a style-focused case. Mashable really liked how stylish this Luminescent iPhone 8 Case is and the reviewer commented that it looks the way Rihanna songs sound.

Case-Mate makes a lot of stylish iPhone cases, including ones with real flower petals, glitter, and iridescent effects.

Pros: Great-looking iPhone case that includes glowing crystals, can turn glowing effect on and off, provides a nice level of protection, unique looking smartphone case

Cons: Higher than average price, adds bulk to the phone, case’s battery needs frequent recharging

Buy the Case-Mate Luminescent iPhone 8 Case on Amazon for $69.99

• A website known as "Wanderu" can help you plan out a trip all across Europe for under $500.
• Buses from Bratislava, Slovakia to Vienna, Austria run as little as $5.
• Warsaw, Poland is a city full of history and affordable places to eat and stay.

Remember when the dollar was worth about four cents on the euro and American tourists were paying, like, $14 for ketchup? Trying to visit more than one city across the pond seemed exorbitant to the point of comedy. But favorable exchange rates have turned the tide — the era of the dirt-cheap Euro trip is back, baby! 

There's no shortage of world-class destinations you can actually afford to visit right now. Thanks to a slew of sleek new bus companies, you can actually loop around 15 of Europe's grand capital cities for 500 bucks. Yeah, I said bus. Wanderu is that site for bus and train travel that helps you find quick trips outta town for as little as $10, and the wizards there have worked their magic with European bus lines. All have comfy seats and free Wi-Fi, and many of these routes go over water, through mountains, and down streets of quaint towns you'd otherwise never see. Making this not only a cheap way to see Europe, but an especially unique one.

Leg 1: London, UK to Brussels, Belgium

Start your grand European tour at London's Victoria Coach Station. You'll see the countryside of Southeastern England, traverse the tunnel under the English Channel, skirt the coastline of France, and travel just outside Bruges and Ghent before arriving in Brussels. There's no better city to shelve your diet for the foreseeable future: The street carts beckon with waffles and fries, and there's basically a chocolatier on every corner. After you've had your fill of the best damn beer on the planet, you won't have a problem finding an Airbnb for less than a Benjamin per night. 

Don't leave without: Spending time at the Grand Place, the historic central square. It's lined with jaw-dropping Gothic and Baroque buildings with bars and coffee shops on the ground floors. From there you can watch the street performers put on nightly light shows in the summer.

Leg 2: Brussels, Belgium to Luxembourg City

Hoard some Belgian chocolate in your bag for later and move along. This route takes you through thick German forests, with a three-hour layover to explore the riverside city of Bonn. See the house where Beethoven was born, get a good look at the Rhine, and then head to the old fortressed city of Luxembourg, which is uniquely situated on plateaus amongst deep gorges.

Despite being one of the three unofficial "capitals" of the EU, Luxembourg stays under the radar; you won't find many other tourists here to muck up the experience. There's plenty of historic and politico-geek stuff to see, or just wander through the tunnels, parks, gardens, nooks, and crannies of the medieval old town.

Don't leave without: Checking out the 10.5 miles of underground caves that were once used as transportation and defense for the city's main castle. The ends of the tunnels have spectacular views that are well worth the crawl.

Leg 3: Luxembourg City to Amsterdam, Netherlands

Arrive at the infamous Dutch capital in just under seven hours. It's ridiculously easy to do Amsterdam on the cheap: People-watch in the red light district, check out the art galleries on Nieuwe Spiegelstraat, wander into one of the city's hidden gardens, or attend an outdoor film festival, all for exactly zero money. 

Don't leave without: Joining the 800,000 other bicyclists on the road. Amsterdam is one of the world's most cycle-friendly cities, and it's the ideal way to explore the canals, neighborhoods, and shopping districts. Then stop under the De Gooyer windmill (one of eight in the city) and enjoy a beer from the award-winning Brouwerij 't IJ brewery.

If you follow the Gregorian calendar — as most people in the Western world do — your 2018 started on January 1. But if you follow the Lunar calendar, you are most likely anticipating the Chinese New Year.

The Chinese New Year (also known as the Lunar New Year and Spring Festival), which starts on February 16, is designated as the Year of the Dog.

This, according to The Chinese Zodiac, signifies that 2018 will be a year of happiness and rest for most people. Of course, astrology is just for fun, but keep reading to find out everything that could happen to you in 2018, according to your Zodiac sign.

Rat (1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008)

According to KarmaWeather, 2018 will be a mixed bag for rats. Anything you're working on may require more effort than you're used to, but, if you work diligently, you will likely receive positive results.

Ox (1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009)

According to Your Chinese Astrology, 2018 will be an up-and-down year, luck-wise, for anyone born under the ox sign. So, while you may encounter some bad fortune, it should work itself out by the end of the year.

Tiger (1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010)

2018 is a big year of sharing for Tigers. According to Karma Weather, it will be the year in which you learn to give a second chance to people who deserve it— including yourself.

• This Presidents' Day, Americans celebrate the legacy of the United States presidency.

• Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president, is widely regarded as one of the greatest presidents of all time.

• Lincoln's daily work routine reflects his intense work ethic.

Abraham Lincoln is widely considered America's greatest president.

Monday, February 12, marks the 209th anniversary of his birth. Born on the Kentucky frontier, Lincoln would grow up to lead America through one of its bloodiest conflicts. He cleared the path for the abolition of slavery, preserved the Union, revolutionized the federal government, and lost his life in the process.

And the US certainly hasn't forgotten his legacy. Since 1948, there have been 18 major surveys that asked American scholars to rank the presidents. Lincoln came in first in 10 of those surveys — and claimed second or third place in the other eight. That means that Abraham Lincoln took the top spot more than the other 42 presidents featured in the rankings. CBS reported that former US President Barack Obama also listed Lincoln has his all-time favorite president.

But what was everyday life like for Lincoln in the White House? As it turns out, the president's typical routine reflected his singular commitment to his work.

Here's a look at Lincoln's daily schedule:

SEE ALSO: A look at the daily routine of John Adams, who woke before dawn, walked 5 miles at a time, and drank hard cider at breakfast

DON'T MISS: A look at the daily routine of Thomas Jefferson, who rose early, drank coffee, and wrote a lot

DON'T FORGET: A look at the daily routine of James Madison, who owned 4,000 books, was too embarrassed to be seen without a hat, and drank up to a pint of whiskey a day

Lincoln typically woke up around 7 a.m. He'd work for an hour before breakfast, and sometimes headed out into the early morning to grab a newspaper from a newsboy.

Source: "Lincoln's Last Months," "Abraham Lincoln: A Biography"

First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln knew that her husband often simply forgot about meals. She'd sometimes invite guests to eat breakfast with the family, in order to ensure the president would remember to come.

Source: "Lincoln's Last Months," "Abraham Lincoln: A Biography"

Lincoln typically took a simple breakfast: eggs, toast, and coffee.

Source: "Lincoln's Last Months," "Abraham Lincoln: A Biography"

Smartphone makers have had us drooling for years over the idea of a phone that's all screen, with no buttons or borders to interrupt the pure design. But try as they might, the concept hasn't exactly come to fruition. The most popular devices have come with extremely thin bezels, or, like the iPhone X, feature thin bezels with a notch towards the top of the phone to house the phone's camera and all its front-facing sensors.

Still, we've been seeing more patents and murmurings of an all-screen phone. Here are some details on what may or may not be in the smartphone pipeline: 

SEE ALSO: Samsung wants to best Apple with a notch-free phone

Several details have surfaced in recent days suggesting that smartphone designs could shift in many different directions.

An image shared by Slashleaks last week showcased a prototype of a truly bezel-less smartphone by the Chinese manufacturer, Vivo. The device also has no visible home button and leads us to assume that it is similar to the Vivo X20 Plus, which the manufacturer announced in January as the first mobile device with an in-display fingerprint sensor.

Vivo isn't the only manufacturer considering the truly edge-less design.

Samsung recently registered a patent for a smartphone with a "full screen-filling display." Images included with the patent suggest there could be a component at the top of the display, which LetsGoDigital refers to as a top notch. However, it could also be a cut out for a front speaker. There is no indication from the images that the screen isn't continuous. 

It might take awhile for all-screen phones to become mainstream.

Apple's iPhone line looks like it will feature the TrueDepth camera system (a.k.a. "the notch") for the foreseeable future, and Google is also rumored to be working on a slew of smartphones with top notches.

A new report from Bloomberg suggests Google's upcoming Android P software update may include optimization for smartphone designs with notches at the top of the phone, like the iPhone X. The tech giant seems to be preparing its operating system for a host of more modern smartphone designs, not only anticipating Android devices with top notches but also devices with flexible displays and multiple screens.

• The cheerful and poised appearance of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's sister, Kim Yo Jong, at the Winter Olympis sparked comparisons to President Trump's daughter and advisor, Ivanka Trump. 
• The two women have superficial similarities, acting publicly as foils to family members. 
• However, Kim is the head of propaganda for a brutal authoritarian regime that has executed and imprisoned hundreds of thousands of North Koreans. 

Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, quickly became a media obsession during her three-day stint at the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. 

Kim made headlines with her cheerful and reserved attitude, a calculated foil to her brother's militaristic presence. Commentators drew comparisons between Kim and Ivanka Trump — another influential woman deployed to soften public perception of a nation's leader. 

Kim's appearance at the Olympics "is a signal that North Korea is not this crazy, weird former Cold War state — but it too has young women that are capable and are the future leadership," North Korean expert Balbina Hwang told CNN.

Backlash quickly emerged to what many saw as overly positive media coverage of Kim. Critics felt that comparisons to Ivanka Trump ignored Kim's role in running what Human Rights Watch calls "one of the most repressive authoritarian states in the world," where dissenters often face death or multi-generational prison sentences. 

Here's how Ivanka Trump and Kim Yo Jong actually match up. 

SEE ALSO: North Korea's 'Princess' Kim Yo Jong threw Pence side-eye, cheered on a joint Korean hockey team, and pushed propaganda in her whirlwind trip to the Olympics

The root of the comparisons between Ivanka Trump and Kim Yo Jong is a simple case of the two being in the same place at (nearly) the same time. Trump is visiting South Korea for the Olympic closing ceremony, while Kim attended the opening ceremony.

Both women are expected to push their countries' agendas at the Olympics. Trump is a senior presidential advisor, while Kim runs the "Propaganda and Agitation Department" for North Korea's ruling party.

Both women are also related to the leaders of their countries, as Trump is the daughter of President Donald Trump and Kim is the younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

• Lipstick trends are constantly changing, but applying it pretty much has stayed the same over the years.
• Unfortunately, many of us apply our lipstick on the go, missing many important steps of proper application.
• INSIDER talked to several makeup artists to learn their techniques for putting on lasting lipstick that give you the look you want.

From glitter to neon to matte, the lipstick trends keep on rolling out every year. What hasn’t changed much at all is how to apply it. And the fact that many of us are applying lipstick all wrong.

INSIDER talked to several makeup artists to get their input on how to properly apply lipstick to help you achieve your desired look.

Before you put your lipstick on, you should exfoliate

The first step even before you put your lipstick on is to make sure that your lips are exfoliated, according to makeup artist, Nicholas Lennon for Préma.

Your lips are very sensitive to climate changes and can easily peel, according to Alejandro Falcon, celebrity makeup artist and Artistic Director for Osmosis Colour Mineral Cosmetics. Falcon said flakiness should be removed before any lipstick application.

To exfoliate, you can go about it a number of ways. An inexpensive option is to use a toothbrush with a small amount of vaseline and to rub the toothbrush in a circular motion, according to The Gloss. There are also many lip scrubs on the market that do the trick.

After exfoliating, be sure to moisturize

Apply lip balm after exfoliation and be sure not to over moisturize, Lennon told INSIDER.

“Prepping your skin (and lips) is the most important part to a makeup routine - your makeup will only wear as good as the skin underneath it,” Lennon said.

Put on a mineral foundation on your lips

This hack will prevent your lipstick from "bleeding" or straying outside your lips, according to Falcon who recommended using foundation as a primer.

“Apply a small amount gently to just slightly erase the lips and then apply your favorite lip color on. The minerals will help to maintain the pigments from fading away,” Falcon told INSIDER.

Crime procedurals are a major part of the current television landscape, from "Law & Order: SVU" (currently in its 19th season on NBC) to Fox's "The X-Files" revival to Netflix's much-talked-about "Mindhunter." 

For those of us who don't spend our days following the trails of serial killers or decoding evidence in a lab, we get all of our crime-solving knowledge from pop culture. There's no harm in that — as long as you don't believe everything you see.

Fictional TV may be the most digestible and entertaining way to get a detective fix, but it's also known for perpetuating tropes. From DNA testing to phone tracking to video footage, let's clear up some misconceptions that Hollywood has spread about how crime is solved and justice is served.

1. Detectives don't analyze evidence.

Shows like "CSI" and "Criminal Minds" blur the line between the roles of detectives and forensic scientists. On TV, it's not unusual to see a detective in a lab, pouring over a scientist's shoulder while they study DNA under a microscope.

In reality, the two don't overlap. Crime scene investigators usually gather evidence and send it to a lab, sometimes very far away.

2. In fact, forensic scientists rarely find out the result of the cases they’re working on.

Most crime labs are very busy, which means that scientists don't have time to keep track of every piece of evidence. Once their work is done, it's sent back to investigators, and the scientists move on to what's next.

If the crime is a high-profile one — something in the news — they may have more awareness, but typically, there's just too much going on to follow up.

3. Fingerprints are unreliable.

On TV, a fingerprint might pull up a criminal in a database and lead investigators to a secret location. In real life, that doesn't happen.

In fact, fingerprints are rarely considered a major piece of evidence, due to the fragile nature of how they're acquired. Everyone has different prints, yes, but sometimes the variation is minor, and family members may have very similar patterns, which can further confuse an investigation.

Hair samples, like fingerprints, are also considered very subjective.

On November 27, 2017, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced the happy news of their engagement to the world.

While the two have kept their relationship relatively private, they've revealed a few details about their upcoming wedding since then.

Below, we've rounded up everything we know about their wedding so far, including where it'll take place, what Markle might wear, and who'll probably be invited.

Harry and Markle will get married on May 19, 2018.

Kensington Palace announced the news on December 15, 2017, in a statement on Twitter.

The couple may have chosen their spring wedding date for an emotional reason.

Royals expert Kate Nicholl told Entertainment Tonight in 2017 that Harry chose the date in honor of his 96-year-old grandfather, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

"He's incredibly close to his grandfather," Nicholl explained. "Harry thought it was a great thing to [have] the wedding sooner rather than later, so his grandfather could be there, fit and healthy."

Harry and Markle are reportedly planning a small, intimate wedding.

Harry also reportedly wants his wedding to be "a little bit more intimate," especially compared to his older brother's.

"He didn't want to have such a big royal wedding at Westminster Abbey — it doesn't need to be as big as William's wedding," Nicholl told ET. "I think Harry and Meghan were both united on the idea of having a small, family, intimate wedding."

• Amazon will reportedly lay off hundreds of employees, primarily at its Seattle headquarters.
• Amazon employs more than 40,000 people in Seattle and has radically changed the city over the last decade.
• The cuts point to the danger of a city being too dependent on a single company, an issue Seattle and whatever city wins HQ2 will face in the coming decades.

Amazon is laying off hundreds of employees, primarily at the company's Seattle headquarters, according to the Seattle Times.

The cuts will primarily affect the company's retail division. Amazon is America's second-largest employer with around 566,000 employees as of December. More than 40,000 of those are in Seattle alone.

While the cuts are hardly sweeping, they point to the precarious position that Seattle, and whatever city wins the competition for the company's new $5 billion headquarters dubbed HQ2, will face in the coming decades. 

Amazon dominates Seattle, sprawling across downtown and upsetting locals with snarled traffic, soaring housing prices, never-ending construction, and accelerated gentrification.

At the same time, the city has seen an unprecedented economic surge, adding 220,000 jobs over the past decade. Many of those jobs have been due to Amazon's growth and are high-paying.

But for many Seattleites, they've seen this story before. The city was once even more dominated by another company — Boeing.

In 1968, Boeing employed more than 100,000 people in the Seattle area. By 1971, that number had plummeted to 32,500, leading to an infamous billboard exclaiming: "Will the last person leaving Seattle turn out the lights."

While Amazon's layoffs of a few hundred are nowhere near that level, they are a solemn reminder that pinning a city's future on the ebbs and flows of a single company is a precarious place to be.

I recently spent a day in the Seattle neighborhood locals call Amazonia to see how Amazon has affected the city.

In the '90s, Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood was a mess of parking lots, warehouses, and industrial buildings. Amazon has transformed the neighborhood and its surrounding areas, Belltown and Denny Triangle. Each of those pins on the map is an Amazon office.

Amazon's offices are spread across more than 33 buildings throughout the area, though some say the number is closer to 40. The company leases 100,000 square feet of office space in this building, nicknamed Otter.

Source: SF Gate

It's hard to overstate how thoroughly Amazon dominates downtown. The company is up to occupying 8.1 million square feet of office space in Seattle, reports say. Day 1 Tower, opened in 2016, is one of two towers that form the heart of Amazon's campus.

Source: Geekwire, SF Gate, CNBC

Nestled in the countryside of Maryland, in the Catoctin Mountain Park, is the presidential country retreat known as Camp David.

The first parts of the complex were built by the Works Progress Administration in 1935, and Franklin D. Roosevelt made it the presidential retreat. FDR originally named the property "Shangri-La," a name it kept until the Eisenhower administration, who named it Camp David after his grandson.

The compound has expanded over the years, with new cabins being built and even a pool. It has also been the site of diplomatic events like the Camp David Accords in 1978 and the G8 summit in 2012.

Take a tour of Camp David, where presidents go to escape Washington:

SEE ALSO: We took a rare tour of one of the US Navy's most dangerous warships — nicknamed the 'Sledgehammer of Freedom'

The original name of Camp David was Shangri-La, the name of a fictional Himalayan paradise in the 1933 novel "Lost Horizon."

When President Dwight D. Eisenhower took office, he renamed the property "Camp David," after his father and grandson who had the same name.

By the end of the Eisenhower administration, Camp David looked like this. The president's cabin — Aspen Lodge — was originally called the Bear's Den by FDR.

From Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's upcoming nuptials to Paris Hilton's recent unbelievable engagement, celebrities seem to have marriage on the brain.

Although we always love a celebrity wedding, some are definitely more memorable than others. From Marilyn Monroe to Jennifer Aniston to Solange Knowles — here are some of the best celebrity weddings of all time.

Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton

The love story of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton was unconventional, to say the least. The affair started when Taylor was still married to Eddie Fisher, who had just left wife Debbie Reynolds for her. They married in 1964, divorced in 1974, remarried in 1975, and divorced again in 1976.

The first wedding took place at the Ritz Carlton in Montreal with Taylor in a canary yellow dress and gorgeous floral headdress. The second was a secret ceremony in Botswana with Taylor in a green lace dress and another floral crown.

Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio

The pairing may not have made sense to everyone, but their attraction was undeniable. Despite being a Hollywood starlet and future hall-of-famer, they chose a totally unconventional approach to their wedding by showing up at the San Francisco City Hall in 1954.Monroe's agency had spilled the beans to the press, which is why we have plenty of pictures from their "secret" wedding.

Prince Charles and Princess Diana

Every royal wedding is lovely, but there was something special about the 1981 wedding between Prince Charles and Diana Spencer. Although it may have been a "traditional" English wedding, the circumstances were anything but. Over 750 million people around the world watched Diana, a former nursery school teacher, marry Charles in a dress that reportedly had 10,000 pearls and a 25-foot train.

• Wearing heels all day long is no small feat.
• Luckily, there are some things you can do to make your heels more comfortable.
• Some tips include taping your toes, buying high-quality shoes, and considering heel thickness.

High heels can take a toll on your feet.

If you've ever had to wear them for any extended length of time, walk a ways in them, or spend the night dancing in them, you probably already know that blisters, numbness, swelling, and general pain can all be regular side effects of  wearing heels.

It doesn't have to be that way, though. INSIDER talked to a number of experts to find out how to make living in heels a whole lot more pleasant.

Invest in high-quality shoes.

The quality of your heels plays a significant role in how comfortable they are. "Good materials make for happier feet," Krista Canfield McNish, founder of food, travel, and fashion site FoodWaterShoes, told INSIDER.

Opting for higher-quality leather and breathable materials will help prevent  your feet from getting too sweaty or blistered, Canfield McNish  said. Lower-quality, plastic-y materials make it more difficult for your feet to breathe, and they can be less flexible, meaning they can cut into your feet.

"Just because it's a super high-end brand, doesn't always mean it's great materials, and paying attention to that and asking the salesperson that you're working with those questions can be really important," Canfield McNish said. It's also important to pay attention to the details of the shoes' design. If they feature cutouts or they're strappy, that can be hard on your feet too.

Tape your toes.

When you're wearing high heels for a long period of time, your toes and the balls of your feet can take quite a beating.

"Do what ballerinas do. Taping your third and fourth toes together takes the pressure off the balls of your feet,"Kari Cruz, a fashion expert, told INSIDER. Cruz regularly wears heels and has incorporated tips into her routine that came from her older sister, a professional theater dancer.

It might take you a while to get used to the tape, but if it helps you wear heels longer and more comfortably, it's well worth it.

Take care of your heels.

Buying good heels isn't enough, you also have to take care of them.

"If you treat really good heels well, they'll be nice to your feet over time," Canfield McNish said. "We do things like getting our oil changed for our car, we get our hair trimmed regularly, but shoes are important too, especially if you're on your feet all day."

Making sure that the leather is conditioned is one thing that you can do to help keep your shoes in tip-top shape. Canfield McNish also recommended making sure that all of your  heels have non-slip pads attached to the bottom. You can buy these at shoe stores, online, at stores like Target and Walmart, or at your local cobbler. The pads help keep you avoid slipping, but they also help protect your shoes from premature wear.

Don't forget the heel taps on your shoes, either. "If you let those start getting to the point where they're chewed up, by the heel, or by just walking on gravel or stone, it's going to make it more likely that you're going to topple over, because if they're uneven, then you're going to be — literally — on uneven footing, so replacing those regularly, before they get bad, is important and that's going to help your shoe last longer too," Canfield McNish said.

Although you likely can replace your heel taps on your own  without too much trouble, a cobbler will also do it. Canfield McNish said that many cobblers are also happy to show you how to replace them, so after that first time, you can do it yourself.

• The Stelvio is Alfa Romeo's first crack at an SUV since returning to the US market.
• Luxury SUVs are a mission-critical segment for the Italian brand.
• We enjoyed the crossover's styling and driving dynamics, but it fell short on infotainment and interior quality.

Alfa Romeo exited the US market back in the mid-1990s, and if you had told me prior to the financial crisis that the legendary Italian brand would be back, I'd have scoffed.

By the bailout and bankruptcy of Chrysler in 2009 set the stage for an unlikely return, as Fiat — Alfa's owner — acquired Chrysler and formed Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. CEO Sergio Marchionne was keen to restore Alfa in the lucrative US luxury market. So first we got the offbeat 4C sports car, followed by the marvelous Giulia sedan.

Now the most unlikely Alfa of all has arrived, the Stelvio SUV. Luxury SUVs are a big segment in SUV-mad American, with pretty much every major brand supporting a lineup. Alfa had to be in on the action.

The Stelvio landed in 2017, and we recently got our hands on a $53,000 Sport-trim example (the base model is $42,000). The car was mega-sharp, with its quintessentially Italian styling. A Range Rover this definitely isn't. But what was it like to live with?

Photos by Hollis Johnson.

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Our Stelvio tester arrived in a Rosso Red paint job with an all-black interior.

The Alfa front end is utterly distinctive. You can't mistake it for anything else, with that dashing shield grille, those saber-like headlights, and the gorgeous Alfa badge. As front fascias go, it's amazing.

The Rosso Red exterior was luminous. We seen Alfas in black and we've seen them in red. And red is better.

Of course, because the design is so Alfa, it's bound to be polarizing.

The obviously question is whether you want your rugged SUV to look like something that's dressed for men's fashion week in Milan. From my perspective, SUVs have exuded rough-and-tumble cred for so long that the arrival of panache with the Stelvio and the Maserati Levante is a good thing.

The Stelvio is symmetrical and sleek.

To be honest, apart from the glorious color, we weren't 100% convinced by the Stelvio's beauty. 

The rest of the world didn't share our skepticism. There was no shortage of admiring glances, rapt stares, thumbs up, and question from total strangers for the week that we spent driving the SUV around New York and New Jersey.