It’s another edition of “Gal Approved” to help get your weekend totally on the right track.

WATCH. Basketball Wives is back on VH1 this Sunday. Sure these ladies love to stir up trouble (just watch the trailer for season two!). But one is decidedly out of the bad wife loop. “I pretty much stayed out of everything,” Ashley Walker, the girlfriend of professional NBA player Rafer Alston, confesses to TV DivaGal. Ashley was much more interested in promoting her cause, The Mission of Love. “I took a mission trip to Africa in September, and shot it on my flipcam,” she shares, adding that she hopes the footage of her work in Kenya makes the show. Ashley also admits that her boo Rafer will keep a very low profile this season. “He wasn’t going to run in to make many cameos,” she says with a laugh before revealing the series didn’t shoot in their home. Basketball Wives premieres Sunday, Dec. 12 at 8 p.m. on VH1. Support Ashley’s “Mission of Love” this holiday season with the purchase of a lipgloss from her collection, currently on sale at LamikBeauty.com. (TVDivaGal)

SEE. We admit it, Black Swan isn’t for the squeamish. Star Natalie Portman dropped 20 lbs (from where?) to play a ballerina who goes a little crazy after she’s named the principal dancer in a new version of Swan Lake. Then there’s her stage mother (played by Barbara Hershey) who is a little too attentive to her daughter’s needs. (Trust us, it’s creepy.) We suggest seeing this one without your boyfriend, as there’s a certain scene in the movie that he might suggest you try out later. Black Swan is currently playing nationwide. Check out Natalie talking about her training regimen here. (Destination Divas)

DRINK. New Year Eve’s is just three weeks away, and this year, you really, really want to impress your friends. The Gals know how you can do it. We recently tried “Gelty Pleasure,” a tasty drink from the holiday cocktail menu at New York City’s Empire Hotel. First, gather up these three easy ingredients:

• 2.0 oz Godiva White Chocolate
• 0.5 oz Peppermint Schnapps
• 1.0 oz Remy VSOP

Mix in a blender and serve over ice. Don’t think you can handle all that shaking and stirring? Make plans to visit the Empire Hotel through Dec. 31 to try the tasty concoction from the hotel’s master mixologist Damon Dunay. Who knows, maybe you’ll run into Gossip Girl‘s Chuck Bass while your there. (Destination Divas)

CHEER. Gals who frequent sports bar (whether you’re watching the game or the guys watching them),  should focus on the following games:

For the NFL: St. Louis v. New Orleans and Seattle v. San Francisco. St. Louis and Seattle are tied atop the NFC West. At the moment St. Louis is ahead of Seattle by virtue of head-to-head play. The outcome of these two games will directly affect the playoffs.

NCAA Men’s Basketball: Tennessee v. Pittsburgh, the only two Top 25 ranked teams playing each other this weekend. While it’s still early in the season, out of conference games like this will have an influence on who gets chosen in March for the NCAA Tournament because they help determine conference strength, and conference strength helps bubble teams like these get into the tournament.  Knowing this at the bar could score you a free drink or two. (Sports Gal)

photo credit: VH1, Fox Searchlight, Courtesy Empire Hotel

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