Archive for May, 2011

With the fairy tale vision of the royal wedding still fairly fresh in our minds, we were delightfully surprised to find Roberta Chiarella’s “Kate’s” earrings on pre-sale the very same day. These earrings have the same regal air, quality craftsmanship and sparkle for a mere fraction of the price. Whether you’re a bride this summer or simply a guest with good taste – spoil yourself with these earrings for only $98.

Psst! Robertachiarella.com is also holding an epic spring sale until the end of the month – take an extra 50% their sale section until May 31!

One of the benefits of living in NYC is fresh flowers on basically every block, thanks to the proliferation of neighborhood bodegas, delis, and florists.  You can get a small bunch of  free-form arranged gerbera daisies for $10 or pick up a beautiful French-cut short stem arrangement of peonies for….well, a lot more than that. But what to do when you want something in between, an artistic arrangement of flowers that doesn’t cost hundreds? (more…)

There’s nothing I love better in the summer than looking down at my toes and seeing a bright pedicure. It just makes me happy (especially when it’s coming out of brand new summer sandals!) This year, Essie’s new summer collection, Braziliant, is all about those bright shades, mixed in with a few pastels to keep things from getting boring.  Here are the shades in the full collection:  (more…)

Kara Ackerman is the designer of her eponymous line of jewelry, which is comprised of three collections: Kara Ackerman Designs, GemGirls and KSA Designs for Men. With years of studying jewelry and earning a degree in gemology, Kara creates stunning pieces that reflect her unique artistic ability. She employs the use of 14k gold, vermeil and sterling silver and hand-picks precious and semi-precious stones such as diamonds, aquamarine, green amethyst, citrine and pearls for her designs. Celebrity fans are countless, but include style stars such as Jessica Biel, Demi Moore, and Carey Mulligan. Let’s find out what Kara is currently obsessing over!

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Last week, I stopped by the L.A. press event for the launch of ULINX, a new jewelry line that lets you create your own jewelry using powerful magnetic pieces. As I noshed on cupcakes and cake pops from Sweet E’s Bakery (yum!) and sipped a Svedka vodka tonic, I got the lowdown on how to create my very own ULINX masterpiece out of LINX, aka tiny silver-plated neodymium magnetic spheres, and CLIX, modular magnetic pieces that look like printed rectangles and doughnut-shaped circles.

Sound like a science project? Yes, especially when you find yourself fighting with the positive and negative poles of the magnets. But really, it’s more like a space-age arts and crafts project.

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Ahh, summer.  We’re getting a brief taste of it here in Los Angeles this weekend, but since the weather’s been so unpredictable lately, I’m clinging to my new summer makeup samples in anticipation, just in case it turns chilly.  Especially the new LORAC summer collection, which is making me SO ready for hot summer nights.  (more…)

I’ve always been a huge fan of Coach bags.  I kind of have to steer myself away from their stores most of the time because I always find myself obsessed with at least one bag when I go in and it’s usually the most expensive one I can in no way afford.  But for all of you other Coach fans out there, I’ve just discovered an affordable way to take a little piece of the brand home with you – their fragrances.

Coach Poppy is such a fun, uplifting scent to spritz on.  It was inspired by the playful vibe of the Poppy girl, and with notes of jasmine and gardenia mixed with fresh cucumber and candied rose petals, it’s sweet, but not overpoweringly so.  On me, the jasmine scent comes out as it warms on my skin – the perfect note for a summer night.  (And the bottle is adorable, with its logo inscribed cap and red bow).

Coach Summer Edition is another great addition to my fragrance collection.  With notes of mandarin, raspberries, guava, freesia, marigold, amber and cedarwood, it’s a lighter fragrance than Poppy on me – it smells fresh and clean, perfect for the daytime.  The fruity notes mix with the woodsy notes well – it’s a flirty, feminine combo.  Summer Edition is a limited-edition scent though – it’s only around for the summer, so if it sounds like something you’d wear, you should grab yourself a bottle of it sooner rather than later.

Now if only I could pick up the latest Coach tote I’ve been eyeing so easily…

Recently we had a chance to chat with Washington Post food & travel editor Joe Yonan who recently published the book Serve Yourself – a guide to cooking for one.  As a single New York gal, I’ve often struggled with figuring out exactly what and how to make my own dinner.  Yes, it sounds silly- but I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve actually developed a strategy for ordering off Seamlessweb.  So I was eager to read Joe’s new book and jumped at the chance to find out a little bit more about the man himself- and his life in food and travel. (more…)