Miscellaneous

Nothing is too good for your pet! Finally, we have discovered a line of pet accessories, toys and treats that matches your home décor. Crate & Barrel offers simple yet playful goodies for your cat or dog at the right price! You can delight your prized pooch with homemade biscuits and an adorable jar to keep them in for around $30 – this includes the biscuit mix, bone and hydrant cookie cutters and decorative porcelain jar.

Cheer your kitty up with a new bowl, mat and a set of organic catnip toys. Almost everything (with the exception of the large and travel dog beds) is well under $50 available at www.crateandbarrel.com.

After a week of pre-Oscar parties like Vanity Fair’s and the Sheer Cover-sponsored Dare2Care benefit, tons of celebrities and a few of us lucky beauty bloggers braved the ice-cold, blustery winds on the beach in Santa Monica today to stargaze at the annual Independent Spirit Awards. There, Black Swan took home top awards and celebrity spottings included ISA and Oscar nominee Mark Ruffalo (had to take a photo), Nicole Kidman (in a stunning L’Wren Scott red lace pencil dress), a very pregnant and glowing Natalie Portman (in a short yellow Givenchy number), Zoe Saldana (in awesome, vermilion Brian Atwood pumps), and Uma Thurman and newcomer Jennifer Lawrence (both most elegant in all-white Dolce & Gabbana).

Backstage doing touchups for the presenters was sponsor Aveeno‘s official spokesperson and branding consultant Patrick Melville, whose clients includes Demi Moore, Heidi Klum, Tom Cruise and Harry Connick, Jr., to name a few. An absolute sweetheart with an intriguing New York-London accent, Patrick was very calm, cool and collected despite having to touch up so many aggressively wind-blown hairstyles. So calm in fact, he just decided to “go with it” and not “fight nature.” (Beachy waves and messy updos galore!)

Aveeno had quite possibly the most serene lounge set-up in the area, complete with Aveeno Active Naturals product displays (new Nourish + Moisturize Conditioner, Positively Nourishing Calming Body Wash, Daily Moisturizing Lotion and Skin Brightening Daily Scrub). Celebrities like Diego Luna enjoyed drinks and snacks in the chic, Art Deco-inspired, glitter-adorned ELLE Green Room. Other sponsors, some of whom had awards in their name, included Jameson (the official house spirit of the evening along with G. H. Mumm Champagne), Piaget, Acura, Stella Artois, LG Cinema 3D, HTC, smartwater and Netflix. All in all, despite the cold, it was a great, laid-back ceremony filled with tons of humor (thanks in part to host Joel McHale) and stars who seemed like they were in the best of moods — the perfect ramp up to tomorrow’s much-hyped Oscars!

Another holiday, another panic attack: What on earth is there left to get for the man in your life? Well, a good home-cooked meal should work, but if that’s not your idea of a special gift, I suggest you say “I love you” with:

… a Hot Shave
I recently got the chance to check out Alexander’s for Hair, a mid-range, family-owned, all-in-one spa and salon in west L.A., and I thought, “What a great place to take my [insert any family member here]!” Formerly the male-targeted Reeder’s Barber Shop, complete with beers and flatscreen TVs, Alexander’s for Hair has undergone a recent makeover to suit its growing clientele base, offering more services for both men and women as well as eco-friendly hair products by Eufora and high-quality GRAM skincare by Dr. Bernard Gramlich (you should see his skin!). Helmed by new owner Krissy Smith and her mom Jeanne Phares, the salon has both a small-town feel and a cosmopolitan flair — perfect for those who want luxurious treatment but find super-high-end salons and spas either intimidating or just not worth the extra dough. Best of all, while you’re loved one is getting his Signature MVP Hot Shave, you can indulge in a Eufora Deep Conditioning and Scalp Treatment (free this month with any color service), a fantastic facial, a mani-pedi or a delightful (and affordable) deep-tissue massage (ask for Barbara!). Ah, the perks of co-ed bliss.

Alexander’s for Hair is located at 11515 W. Pico Blvd. in Los Angeles. Call (310) 473-0462 to make an appointment. Readers, mention the code AFHGO through February and you’ll get 30 percent off your service!

… Custom Kicks
If the love (or like) of your life is a label-savvy jet setter who frequently blends street style and upscale threads (or just likes any of the aforementioned), he’ll appreciate the new G3 collection by Ryz, the brainchild of former president of Adidas America and Adidas Japan Rob Langstaff. (more…)

I don’t think I’m going out on a limb by saying everyone probably likes flowers, chocolate and/or fragrance as a Valentine’s Day gift. But do they LOVE it? Well, “mind-blowing” might not be the first thing I’d think … more like “predictable, but sweet. I’ll take it.” Leave it to Strange Invisible Perfumes to prove me wrong. Their creative take on the ol’ tried and true is simply eye-popping. (Oh men of our lives, are you reading this?!?)

A team effort with floral designer Holly Flora and San Francisco-based chocolate artisan Cocoa Absolute, SIP’s “ultimate Valentine’s Day delivery” offers four options of drop-dead gorgeous, creative bouquets paired with limited-edition organic, botanical perfumes and a delectable box of hand-crafted chocolates. (Just outside of L.A.? Call and see if they’ll make the trip.)

While pricey ($205–$542), the results are absolutely swoon-worthy. In addition, the flowers can be customized by request (if what you want is available), and since the chocolates are optional, you can always adjust according to your budget.

P.S. If you’re in the neighborhood, drop by SIP’s Venice, Calif., boutique tomorrow (Feb. 5) for a trunk show. There will be champagne, cupcakes, jewelry and plenty of limited edition fragrances to sample before you take the plunge!

Strange Invisible Perfumes is located at 1138 Abbot Kinney Blvd. in Venice, Calif. To order a V-Day delivery, call them at 310-314-1505 by February 11, 2011.

Campy? Yes. Forced? At times. Entertaining? You bet.

Recently, I got a sneak peek of “Burlesque,” courtesy of Sebastian Professional, the official hair product used in the movie. (Plug: See the beautiful limited-edition box set below.) Sebastian Professional Re-Shaper is my favorite heavy-duty hairspray, so of course, I had to see what they did with the hair in the movie … asap.

I hate to have gone into the theater with low expectations, but frankly, the track record for these star-driven vehicles is not exactly well, stellar. (Remember “Crossroads” and “Butterfly”?) Surprisingly, with Christina Aguilera’s voice as the true star of the movie, I managed to ignore the film’s flaws — mostly rushed, unrealistic scenes or bits of dialogue, although there were some really witty lines and touching moments in there, too — as I anticipated her next song-and-dance number. I mean, imagine having a front-row seat and a zoom lens during a Christina Aguilera concert, complete with multiple wardrobe and hairstyle changes, and flawless makeup … priceless, right? (more…)

Hosting dinner parties with the company of good friends, delicious food, and plentiful amounts of wine is by far one of my favorite ways to spend a Friday or Saturday evening. While our conversation and spontaneous dance parties are surely enough fun to last well into the wee hours of the morning, I thought it would be fun to add another dimension to my friendly gatherings. Enter TableTopics Cubes, which I’d been eying for a while at a fabulous Beacon Hill boutique, Flat of The Hill. TableTopics Cubes are available in a variety of topics, including Family Gathering, Girls Night Out, and even Book Club edition. Each card is printed with a question that’s meant to inspire, make you think, or even make you embarrassed! I opted for the “not your mom’s dinner party” theme, which I thought would be versatile enough to use for all sorts of get-togethers. Even political questions like “should we have a national healthcare system?” are interspersed with less mature, more personal ones like “what alcohol can you never drink again?” (My answer? Raspberry Stoli.)

TableTopics Cubes are the ideal game to play with family and friends; easy to transport, basically no rules, and literally anyone can play! Retailing at $25, they aren’t the cheapest game you can buy, but will provide hours of priceless entertainment for you and your friends.

I look forward to adding another TableTopics Cube to my collection of games. Next? The Gourmet Edition! TableTopics Cubes are available on their website, as well as Amazon and local stores near you.

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!

Sure, you could proclaim your love for Team Edward or Team Jacob in the usual way by simply wearing a t-shirt, but why not showcase your love in a more obvious way, with lifesize cutouts of your current favorite Bella paramour?

Whether you choose to go with Kristen Stewart’s supposed squeeze, Robert Pattinson, or rumored Taylor Swift boyfriend, Taylor Lautner, Nordstrom is exclusively selling 6 feet high foam core boards of each of these Twilight stars for $33, with minor assembly required.  Given that a recent shower curtain emblazoned with Robert Pattinson’s face went out of stock on Etsy, I would say that you need to click fast to get a hand on these.  I have to admit I’m having a little difficulty tagging this entry as I’m not sure whether to tag it as “Miscellaneous” since I don’t know if a life size cutout of Taylor counts as an “Accessory.”

What do you think?  Too much or a cute gift for a die hard Twi-hard?

couple of days ago I came across this super cool site, Daily Drop Cap, which I have been obsessed with checking back every day since. Topograher and design guru Jessica Hische created the resource as a fun project to allow bloggers and web managers everywhere to add a little extra character to their pages. Daily Drop Cap puts forth a new hand-crafted decorative initial cap every day that is free for the public to use.  Each letter is truly a piece of art- I have yet to find one I don’t love!  She makes it super easy, writing out the HTML on her page that you can just copy and paste into your editor.

As someone who deeply appreciates beauty and creativity but without the personal design training or experience, I’m so excited to have found this site!  I’ve already added it to my Tumblr followers list and can’t wait to see the rest of the alphabet!

I’m soooo not a Techie, but do you ever have those moments when you discover something new that is so great, that you think to yourself, “Technology is so cool?”  For me, that thought came to my head yesterday, when I visited Poladroid.com.  I have  always loved Polaroid pictures: I love their dreamy, muted, look which give them an evocative and nostalgic quality, their instant pictures (immediate gratification), and because everyone looks good in Polaroid!  One of my favorite things to do is to browse Jeremy Kost‘s pictures on Fashionista and those inspired me to almost get my own Polaroid camera: the only thing stopping me?  The $149.99 price tag.

Yesterday, my friend Sami, sent me over a link to Poladroid, a computer application, that turns your digital pictures into Polaroids!  I downloaded the application last night, and loved the results so much that I started Poladroiding all my pictures.  I began with the pictures from my last vacation to the Bahamas with my friend Sarah  (how gorgeous does that azure water look?) and you can check out some of “Before-Poladroiding” picture here.  The application itself is charmingly designed and easy to use.  The interface for the application is designed like an actual Polaroid camera–all you have to do is drag over your photos, one at a time, to the empty frame icon in the camera and wait for your pictures to “develop”.

Your pictures will slowly go from fuzzy to sharp, vivid color, as they would with a real camera, and after they are done “developing,” you get the option of saving them on your computer.  Each session allows you to Poladroid 10 pictures. Once the pictures are done developing, you get the option of saving them to your computer.  Poladroid software is MAC/Windows compatible, as well as free,but they are taking donations.

Visit Poladroid.com and share some of your favorites with us!