Archive for November, 2009

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After years of moaning and groaning of “having stylish pieces but not knowing how to put them all together”, fellow Boston blogger Susie gifted me with a copy of Closet Confidential, a humorous yet comprehensive look at fashion for “real women with real bodies and real budgets and a desire to care out their own style”, all based on author Winona Dimeo-Ediger’s “cache based on personal experiences/humiliations”. (more…)

My friend Adrien recently alerted me to a cool new iPhone shopping app called Lustr, which lets you shop what you want anytime, anywhere. This app is essentially a 24 hour event and shopping concierge and makes me briefly wish that I didn’t give up my iPhone for the new BlackBerry.

What I love about this app is that it keeps tabs on all sales and promotions so if you’re watching a particular item (like I always am- at the moment, Alexander Wang Nude Mesh Skirt), it’ll search all the stores that carry the item and display all the prices letting you comparatively shop without having to do any work. And if you’re bored and just want to browse, the app lets you shop all the stores from your phone, delivering you options within your chosen price range.

Another feature that I love about this app is that it works with independent retailers that you may not find on other apps.  I don’t need another app to tell me what’s on sale at J.Crew- but my favorite Meatpacking Disctrict boutique?  Yes please!

Check out ShopLustr.com for more info and to view their current deals and promotions!

I have to admit- the best thing about my job is always being “in the know” about new and cool things.  This is an especially wonderful perk when traveling because I can skip the whole Citysearch/TripAdvisor process- which, anyone who has been tasked with finding a restaurant for dinner knows- is an uncertain and tedious process. So last week when I went up to Boston, I already knew before even boarding the bus where the most lavish brunch in the city would be- and that was at the Langham Hotel.

On Sunday, I met up with 2 of my local friends at Café Fleuri, located right above the Bar at Bond.  We were greeted by a live jazz band and a vast, vast spread of gourmet goodies.  If “egg white omelet, no butter” or “lox on a bagel with tomato slices” is not your idea of a good time on Sunday mornings,  you’re in for a really special treat at the Langham. Stations throughout the Café features seafood, a raw bar (!!! I love oysters for brunch), salads, traditional breakfast items (can’t lie..didn’t really touch that table), a kid’s corner, dim sum, desserts, and made-to-order burritos, omelets, pancakes and waffles (must see menu below). (more…)

We’re kicking off our gift guides this year with Frugal & Fab options – six obsession-worthy and luxury-looking products that your loved ones will adore!  The recipient will think you spent a fortune, but you’ll be happy knowing that you only spent $30 and under. Make sure to check out our picks and share your own with us! (more…)

I’m more of a tea person than coffee, and really find that I sleep better at night when I don’t have caffeine.  I’m always on a quest to find yummy tea varieties with fruit blends beyond what my office Flavia machines offer, and Village Tea Company has produced one of my favorites, Sassy Green Tea with Acai, which is a soothing green tea with a citrusy, spicy kick to it thanks to real peach pieces and chilies in the blend.  For me, the challenge in fruit teas has been to find one with just the right amount of sweetness–I like something with just a bit of a sweet taste, that doesn’t leave a cloying taste in my mouth.

To provide a true tea experience, Village Tea Company doesn’t use tea bags but uses loose full leaf tea. To brew your tea, each canister comes with an unbleached, white drawstring bag that you can steep your tea in.  The bag is washable is can be re-used multiple times.  I typically let it sink for about 5 minutes to get a bull bodied flavor.

Village Tea Co features 10 different varieties of tea, each offering different health properties and anti-oxidants, and sassed up with different additional ingredients like strawberry and lemongrass.  I especially like that I can read the ingredient label for the tea and it isn’t composed of multi-syllable chemical compounds I can’t pronouncem but simple all natural ingredients like actual orange peel and ginger.  Each canister retails for $13.95 and you can find out where to purchase it by visiting the website.

Philosophy has created some fantastic gift set options to choose from this Holiday season, that are of the edible and non-edible scent variety, and beautifully packaged for low maintenance gift options, none of which cost more than $40! Their theme this year is  old time Christmas movies, with packaging that is extremely evocative of the Holiday season, and vintage inspired pictures that remind me of TMC Christmas movies like A Christmas Story, containing home baked scents you would find in Grandma’s kitchen.  Below are my top picks:

1.  Philosophy Classic Cookbook - Great for gifting to a true Philosophy lover, this has 6 different versions of their luscious, signature 3 in 1 shower gel, bubble bath, and shampoo.  The 6 included scents are among their most delectable, with Pumpkin Spice Muffin, Red Velvet Cake, Double Rich Hot Cocoa, Warm Pear Cobbler, Gingerbread, and Cinnamon Buns.  I know from experience that the Pumpkin Spice Muffin and the Cinnamon Buns are some of their most scrumptious scents.  The set currently costs $35. (more…)

Smashbox has a ton of holiday gift sets available this season and what makes them even better this year is that the entire WISH Holiday Collection is part of a charitable initiative from Smashbox.  For every purchase made from the WISH collection, Smashbox will donate $1 to the Children’s Miracle Network.  It’s a non-profit organization that helps to provide medical care, life-saving research and continuing education to both sick and injured children.  So you get great products and the knowledge that you’re actually doing a good thing by buying them.  What could be better?  The WISH collection includes seven different sets.  Here are a few of my favorites: (more…)

I’ve suffered from chronic dry skin on my face ever since I can remember. No matter what I did and how much I moisturized, I was plagued with flakes around my nose and cheeks. A few weeks ago, I visited Boston’s only five-star spa, the Mandarin Oriental Spa for an aromatherapy facial (life changing, by the way), and while speaking with the aesthetician, she basically told me that moisturizing my skin was doing nothing because I wasn’t exfoliating. I’ve spent all the time moisturizing the flaking, dead skin on my face, and barely any of the moisturizer was actually making moisturizing! (more…)