Archive for January, 2009

San Francisco is one of my favorite cities to visit and quite honestly, the perfect getaway for a city gal like myself – romantic or not.  Recently, I was lucky enough to visit SenSpa, which is a truly lovely retreat tucked away in the Presidio (near the Marina district, Fine Arts Palace, the Golden Gate Bridge and Lucas Films complex).  On a rainy San Francisco day earlier this month, I was happy to cab my way to the cozy, relaxing experience that I somehow knew SenSpa would provide – and took my significant other along for his very first spa experience. (more…)

Erin Condren is a charming line of personalized paper goods that would make cute gifts for your best girlfriend… or for yourself! Erin’s designs are modern and simply chic, with pretty much every paper good you can think of to help organize your life. For example, her line of Life Planners can pretty much replace the calendar on your Blackberry. It contains a birthday organizer, months-at-a-glance, and stickies to help you color code to your heart’s content. It’s perfect to keep with you on the go, and much better than my current system of marking down appointments on my Blackberry and then forgetting about them until the 5 minute reminder flashes. The planners are available in so many designs and you’re bound to find one that’s perfect for you–then personalize it with your name looking all pretty on the cover!

I also adore her flat card stationery. I think these small notes are a quick and thoughtful way to keep in touch with or send a thank you to your friends. The flat card designs range from whimsical and cute to sophisticated, and come with envelopes and matching address labels (personalized with your name and address, of course). Erin Condren designs are really just so charming and the paper stock is high quality, so what are you waiting for? Go to erincondren.com to see more!

Dining at San Francisco’s La Mar Cebicheria Peruana is perhaps the closest one could hope to dine straight from the sea.  This seafood restaurant is located at Pier 1 1/2 on the Embarcadero – an open bright space that overlooks the ocean from which it sources its food.  However, those schooled in Spanish may notice a slight grammatical error in the name. The Sea is actually translated as el mar, taking the masculine modifier.  This oddity reveals the second characteristic of this restaurant, which is that it’s not named after the sea as one may first assume, but after the street on which the original establishment opened, Av. La Mar, in the Miraflores district of Lima.

I became interested in trying Peruvian fine dining in the States after returning from the country last month and having widely read that Peruvian cuisine is poised to be the “next big thing.”  Peru’s star chef Gastón Acurio is certainly leading this culinary movement by bringing his popular restaurant to its first American outpost in October 2008 (La Mar is also open in Mexico DF, Santiago de Chile and rumored to open in New York and Las Vegas eventually). I dropped by the establishment for dinner when I was in San Francisco most recently, and it was certainly an enjoyable and memorable dining experience. (more…)

Burt’s Bees is one of the best natural skin care lines out there. The brand is devoted to using natural ingredients at affordable prices, and it’s definitely one of my favorites. The Radiance collection aims to give your skin a healthy, natural-looking glow with the use of Royal Jelly. Royal Jelly is actually packed with 34 essential amino acids and vitamins which will help your skin look younger. I tried cute travel/sample size of each product in the collection through the handy dandy Radiance Kit and now have a few new favorites from Burt’s Bees.

I love the Radiance Lip Shimmer, which moisturizes and soften your lips while providing a subtle shimmer. It tastes minty and fresh, glides over your lips smoothly to naturally enhance the look of your lips. The Exfoliating Body Wash is also a winner, packed with jojoba beads to gently scrub away dull skin. My skin felt buttery soft after showering. If you could just pick up one item though, I’d recommend the Radiance Body Lotion. It leaves your skin glowing, feeling soft, and smelling yummy. Take a look at burtsbees.com for the whole line-up!

Did you catch the Golden Globes last night? It always seems like such a fun event, with your favorite TV and movie stars mingling (sometimes awkwardly) together on the same red carpet. Here are my favorite looks from last night:

Gotta start with the most Golden girl of the night, one of my all-time favorites, the beautiful Kate Winslet. She donned a strapless YSL that fit her to perfection. It was so much more than just a basic black gown because of the subtle bow detailing and gorgeous Chopard jewels. She also had a very very cute red carpet date clad in Armani! (more…)

TDO Editor Kathleen enjoyed the new Culter on New York’s 57th St. so much that I decided I had to experience the Miami outpost myself when I was down there last month for vacation.  Luckily for me, Culter Miami is located in the same building as the Gansevoort South where I was staying, and my Girl’s Getaway package included two free blowouts!  Since I was there for the weekend, that meant one blow out per day!

On Saturday, I walked in after a day of shopping and before dinner to get a round brush blowout and was greeted by some of the friendliest staff I’ve ever encountered in a salon.   I was helped right away by Heather and experienced a very enjoyable blowout.  Unlike some stylists in New York, there was no pretentiousness whatsoever, and I spent an enjoyable hour getting my hair done and talking about boys. I felt like I was back in high school (in a good way) and getting my hair done by my best friend – except Heather  actually knew what she was doing.  At the end of the service, she  gave me her email and MySpace account; how often does that happen within an hour of meeting a stranger? (more…)

We’re huge fans of Odette New York, which has probably been made obvious by the fact that the jewelry has made multiple appearances here on TDO. Designer Jennifer Sarkilahti creates whimsical handcrafted pieces like her gorgeous Bullet Hole Necklace.  The Bullet Hole necklace may have a tough name, but it “appears delicate and lacy against the skin.”  Jennifer is generously giving away the gold vermeil version of her necklace (valued at $115) to one extremely lucky TDO reader.  Want to win? Simply follow the directions below!

TO ENTER:

• Comment on this post with your favorite Odette New York piece
• Make sure to include your name & email
• Anonymous posts will not be counted since we won’t be able to identify you
• One entry per person
• Must have a U.S. shipping address
• The winner will be chosen at random
• You have until Sunday, January 18 at midnight (PST) to enter
• Come back on Monday, January 19 to find out if you’re the winner!

Good luck,
The TDO Team

Anything that claims to reduce the look of wrinkles within 4 weeks is bound to grab your attention. Time Zone, a new anti-aging moisturizer from Estee Lauder, is supposed to do exactly that. It contains an exclusive Sirutin X1 technology that helps support your skin’s natural stimulation of proteins for a more youthful look, and 3 hyaluronic acids that keep your skin hydrated. Time Zone is also packed with SPF 15, making it a complete skin care solution for your everyday routine.

I tried a sample size of Time Zone and was impressed with its consistency. Many products with SPF can be too runny or alternately too thick and sticky, but Time Zone is just the right level of silky and absorbs easily. After applying in the morning, my face never felt dry, even after blasts of walking around in sub-zero temperatures. As for the anti-aging aspect, I was able to see an immediate effect of slight smoothing and a bit of brightening as well. I’m excited to go pick up a full size and see how Time Zone will help me with my forehead and laugh lines. Have you tried Time Zone? Let us know!

Available at Nordstrom.com and Bloomingdales.com.

Last year, I went on a search for the perfect pair of wellies to endure a rainy season. And now, I’ve become very, very serious about winter boots since I moved to Chicago. The winter here is serious and some heavy duty boots are definitely needed to keep your feet warm, dry, or ideally both. My criteria for the ideal pair of boots are a) non-ugly, and b) weather-proof. Sadly, those 2 can be mutually exclusive when it comes to winter boots! I’ve scoured all over for boots that are both functional and as chic as can be. What did I find? Keep reading… (more…)