While shopping for bathing suits, we came across a few really expensive ones. And of course, we really want them. One was a gorgeous Missoni knit bikini — $540. Another was a simple black halter two-piece that was made by Prada, so that made it $510.

Whether you plan to splurge on a high-end bikini this year or not, one thing’s for sure: You want to get your money’s worth (and hopefully a couple of seasons) out of your suit. That means you’ll need to take good care of it.

We suggest you stock up on a couple of CupCases. They’re great storage cases for bras – AND swimsuits – when you travel on vacation or just across town to the pool. The sturdy case protects bathing suits and bras from getting crushed, snagged or tangled in your suit case.

You can fit a couple bikini tops and bottoms in the CupCase and still have room for various accessories, such hair ties, head bands, or maybe some fun jewelry to accessorize your suit. The fashion mags say stacked wooden or beaded bracelets are great for summertime.

And don’t forget to slip a CupCase in your beach bag. It’s a great place to store your beach bling while you take a dip!

There were 9.5 million cosmetic surgeries performed in 2010, an increase of 9% over the previous year. Some analysts have used this increase to say the economy is improving.

Of those 9.5 million procedures, 1.6 million were surgical. Of those, the top surgical procedure performed was … you guessed it! Breast augmentation!

Here are the top five surgical procedures listed by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery:

• Breast augmentation (318,123 procedures)
• Liposuction (289,016 procedures)
• Eyelid surgery (152,123 procedures)
• Abdominoplasty (144,929 procedures)
• Breast reduction (138,152 procedures)

Nonsurgical procedures accounted for 83% of the total number of procedures performed. The top five minimally-invasive procedures were:

Botulinum Toxin Type A (2,437,165 procedures)

• Hyaluronic acid (1,315,121 procedures)
• Laser hair removal (936,270 procedures)
• Laser skin resurfacing (562,706 procedures)
• Chemical peel (493,896 procedures)

Here’s some other interesting info:

Women had almost 8.6 million cosmetic procedures, 92% of the total. The number of cosmetic procedures for women has increased more than 164% since 1997.

Americans spent nearly $10.7 billion on cosmetic procedures in 2010. Of that total, almost $6.6 billion was spent on surgical procedures; $1.9 billion was spent on injectable procedures; $1.8 billion was spent on skin rejuvenation procedures; and almost $500 million was spent on other nonsurgical procedures, including laser hair removal and laser treatment of leg veins.

The numbers for 2011 will be released this spring. It will be interesting to see if there’s been another increase. CupCase bets that breast augmentation will continue to be a top procedure. What do you think? Would you ever have cosmetic surgery? Which do you think are OK and which aren’t?

The hotel is booked. Your plane ticket is purchased. Your bikinis are already packed (in a CupCase, of course!). The only thing left for you to do is focus the next few weeks on eating right and exercising to make sure you look and feel great on your Spring Break.

We believe in sensible eating and workout plans and found a great list of tips on ehow.com. The article assumes you have about 3-4 weeks until Spring Break, which is plenty of time to make some noticeable changes in your physique, if you’re dedicated to the plan.

The first step is to add an hour of moderate aerobic exercise training to your daily routine. Whether you prefer to walk, run or bike at the gym or in the great outdoors, this extra cardio will help you burn fat and calories.

Step two is to be sure to drink water. By drinking at least eight glasses of water daily, your body will not feel dehydrated. Dehydration is often misunderstood for hunger pangs.

Step three is to stop drinking alcohol. Alcohol stimulates your appetite and alcohol contains an amazing seven empty calories per gram.

Step four is to begin a weight training program. It suggests focusing on your arms three times a week because arms show definition faster than large muscle groups. But, you should train your entire body for best results. And, the muscle you build helps you burn more fat and calories when you exercise.

Steps five and six both focus on watching what you eat. It’s recommended you eat nine services of fresh fruits and veggies each day. It’s also recommended that you cut sugar from your diet. For example, replace white bread and pasta with whole grains.

Need some motivation? Exercise with a buddy, write down your goals, schedule your workouts and track your progress.

The ultimate motivator? It’s probably that bikini, so hang it up on your door as a daily reminder of your commitment to looking good and feeling great. J

Keep us posted on your progress and send us some photos from your Spring Break!

Dolly Parton is a singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist. But everyone knows her for her large breasts.

Holly Madison is a television personality, model and showgirl. But everyone knows her for her large breasts.

These women have ‘em, flaunt ‘em and when it comes down to it, make money off of ‘em. Because their breasts are money-making assets, they have insured them. That’s right, insured them! Dolly reportedly insured hers for $6 million. Holly reportedly insured hers for $1 million.

Insuring body parts is common among celebrities, including models, actors, singers, musicians and athletes. It’s nothing for them to take out a Special Insurance policy on whatever it is on their body that generates income.

Here’s a list of celebrities, the part they’ve insured and the reported amount.

• Bruce Springsteen insured his voice for $6 million.
• Keith Richards insured his hands for $1.6 million.
• Troy Polamalu (Pittsburgh Steelers) insured his hair for $1 million.
• David Beckham insured his legs for $70 million.
• Heidi Klum insured her legs for $2.2 million
• Rihanna insured her legs for $1 million.
• Lord of the Dance dancer Michael Flatley insured his legs for $39 million.
• Not to be outdone, Mariah Carey has reportedly insured her legs for $1 billion.

If you were to take an insurance policy out on a body part, what would it be?

When you buy a chicken or turkey breast, the price is based on how much the breast(s) weigh.

This, of course, led us to wonder how much our breasts weigh. This, of course, led to hysterical laughing after envisioning ourselves laying on the floor trying to get each breast on the digital scale and then trying to read the number.

As it happens, we’re not the only ones to wonder about breast weight. (Thank goodness!). And some people actually think weighing your breasts is a more accurate way to find a suitable bra, as opposed to traditional measuring methods. And there actually IS a way to do it! Who knew?

If you’re interested, celebrity stylists Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine suggest following these steps to weigh your breasts:

Equipment needed: Kitchen scales, baking tray and a bowl.

• Weigh baking tray and record weight. Fill bowl with lukewarm water to brim and place on tray. Place one breast into the bowl until totally immersed.
• Water will be displaced into baking tray.
• Weigh tray and displaced water. Subtract weight of tray. You will be left with weight of displaced water.
• One litre of water weighs 1kg. To convert to weight of breast, multiply figure by 0.9.
• A breast that displaced one litre of water, weighs around 0.9kg and is on average the size of a 36C.

Seems kind of complicated, but we asked, didn’t we? J Would you consider going through the trouble to weigh your breasts, or are you going to stick to old-fashioned measuring tape?

So. A friend of ours at CupCase had something happen to her that hasn’t happened in a long time. She was having a professional conversation with a colleague — a married-with-three-kids, “professional” guy — and he talked to her breasts the entire time. The entire time.

Our friend was dressed appropriately. Nothing tight or low cut. She admits that she does not have the assets of Kim Kardashian or Pamela Anderson, so at first she first wondered what the guy was looking at. But as the conversation went on, it was very obvious what he was looking at and she became annoyed and then angry. She ended the conversation and started calling her “professional” colleague a new nickname to her friends: The Creepy Guy.

Our friend said she regrets not saying anything to the gawker. We asked some other women and they all said they have had similar things happen, and they all ignored it, too. Heck, it’s even happened to Betty White! Did you see the Super Bowl commercial for The Voice where she told them “Hey, eyes up here!” J?

What do you think? Have you ever had this happen to you in a professional setting, did it bother you and how did you handle it?

Most of us have been wearing high heels ever since we were old enough to clip-clop around in our mother’s shoes. Who hasn’t nursed a blister (or 100), as well as swollen and just plain sore feet, in order to wear a cute/gorgeous pair of heels? And you’ve probably said out loud a time or two, “What am I doing to my feet?”

A group of Australian researchers really wanted to know, so they recruited nine young women who had worn high heels for at least 40 hours a week for a minimum of two years for their study on what high heels are doing to women’s feet at the muscle and tendon level. The scientists also recruited 10 young women who rarely, if ever, wore heels to serve as the control group.

The heel-wearing women were asked to bring their favorite pair of high-heeled shoes to the lab. There, both groups of women were equipped with electrodes to track leg-muscle activity, as well as motion-capture reflective markers. Ultrasound probes measured the length of muscle fibers in their legs as they walked a 26-foot walkway several times.

In results published in The Journal of Applied Physiology, the scientists found that heel wearers moved with shorter, more forceful strides than the control group, their feet perpetually in a flexed, toes-pointed position. This movement pattern continued even when the women kicked off their heels and walked barefoot. As a result, the fibers in their calf muscles had shortened and they put much greater mechanical strain on their calf muscles than the control group did.

The researchers determined that high heels may ultimately increase the likelihood of strain injuries. They advised that if you wear heels and are concerned about muscle and joint strains, to wear high heels maybe “once or twice a week.” Or at the very least, remove the heels whenever possible, such as when you’re sitting at your desk.

Your feet will thank you!