The Miracle Worker

Let me tell you about my new BFF. His name is Joey and he works at the Sisley counter at Saks in NYC.

I met Joey last weekend when my childhood friends and I had a girls' weekend in the Big Apple. We had a few margaritas, and then decided to hit Saks for a little shopping.

As I stood at the Chanel counter buying my very first Chanel lipstick. (In a gorgeous shade called Cashmere) I noticed my friend Jennifer sitting in Joey's magic chair. As I approached to watch, Joey looked me in the eye and said, "YOU'RE next." I was mesmerized, as were the rest of my friends. One by one, we put our faces at the mercy of the world's greatest cosmetics salesman.

Joey had an interesting sales approach, a combination of humiliation and love.

He took one look at one of my friends and exclaimed, "Oh my, just LOOK at those eyebrows!! Who are you? Captain Morgan? And look at your shoes!! Are you going for a pirate look?" Ouch. Humiliating, but somehow he pulled it off. He then ran over to the Chanel counter and borrowed a pair of small scissors, which he used to trim my friend's eyebrows into the most flattering arch I've ever seen. He was an artist.

Joey's secret weapons? Eye cream, black eyeliner and eyebrow pencil. The transformation on all of us was stunning.

After the makeovers, we each marched over to the register to purchase our new life changing potions. Can you say sticker shock?? Holy hell. Do you know what Sisley cosmetics cost? I was FLOORED. I'm not even going to tell you. You can look it up if you want, I can't even type it.

As we walked out, Joey asked us to pose for a photo reminiscent of "Charlie's Angels." He then proceeded to invite us to join hem and his honey at Gay Night at Hiro Ballroom. The idea of sitting around with Joey's friends while they critiqued our hair and shoes sounded tempting, but we politely declined.

The good news is, 10 days have passed since my purchase and this stuff is a amazing. Especially the eye cream, I've never used such an incredible eye cream. Words can't describe how good it is. Truly. When I work my eye cream, eyeliner, and brow pencil, it's HOT. (If I do say so myself.)

If you're ever in NY stop by Saks and meet Joey. Make sure you bring your credit card and all your self esteem. After all, Joey works on commission, and he's good, very good, at what he does.

You might even consider taking out a second mortgage on your house.

Trust me.

It will be worth it.

I love these ladies. We've been friends for over 30 years!

First Shopping Tip of The Year!!!

Since last fall, I have been very actively shopping for a pair of rain boots. I have tried sooo, many pairs...Lands End, Banana Republic, Hunter Wellies, Kamiks...the list goes on and on. It seems every pair I tried on had something wrong with them, some smelled too much like plastic, some were too tight in the calves, some looked cheap...and then, finally, I found these:

The Le Chameau Iris Wellie in Espresso, from Eddie Bauer.









Perfection.

They don't smell bad, they are a great color, they don't have a HUGE logo and they are warm!! Yay.

The Le Chameau boots come in a huge range of price points and colors, so check out their website.

Love, love, LOVE them!

Went to Anthropologie...

And exchanged this:

Stormy Sea Necklace in Ivory ($48)




















For this: From O'Keeffe Necklace...$48

As many times as I tried, I just couldn't pull off the first necklace. My husband and daughters looked flabbergasted when I put it on.

Too much! (For me.)

The second necklace looks sooo good on. Go ahead, go to Anthro. Tomorrow.

Try it on.

You'll be glad you did.

Something for everyone...AKA "The Look for Less"

I thought I'd hold off on posting until Monday, but since it's almost Black Friday, I had to give you some shopping info.

First off, Preppy Player directed my attention to this J. Crew Long Boyfriend Blazer and the minute I saw it, I loved it. At $215 I thought I'd wait until Christmas and get it as a gift. (Although J. Crew is having a 20% off sale this weekend, so you can get it for $175.)

But then, I saw this...

...at Ann Taylor Loft. The Bi-Stretch wool blazer for $128. This blazer is almost IDENTICAL to the J. Crew one. The only difference I saw was the thin belt that came with it, which I hated, so I threw it away. The day I bought this Loft was having a 30% off sale, so I snagged this baby for less than $90. (Sorry the picture is so small, it's all I could get.)

Next up, jewelry. I have been eyeing up this Anthroplogie Stormy Sea necklace for quite some time. My friend Jenny has it in the Sea Foam version. (No longer available) and I love the way it looks on her.

Then I saw NieNie wearing it on The Today Show and I had to have it. I went into Anthropologie and tried on the latest version in this cream color. Bummer. It looked stupid on me. Some people remove a couple of stones from the ends and they say that can make a difference. You might try that.

What I did find was this necklace. The Anthroplogie Radiant Necklace. It comes in this gorgeous berry color, and an awesome pale slate blue.

It was so hard to decide, but since I could only get one, I went with the slate. It was on sale for $28, on-line it's still $48, so I guess I got lucky!!

I might go back for the berry in a few weeks.

So there you have it. If you are out and about this shopping weekend, take a trip to Ann Taylor Loft, J. Crew and Anthropologie. Compare and contrast these items, and then let me know how it all turned out for you.

In return, I hope you will let me in on any of your latest fashion finds.

We fashionistas need to look out for eachother! (Yeah, that's right, I called myself a fashionista...you got a problem with that?)

Some stuff I've been into...

What do I do when I'm lacking blog material??? Talk about "STUFF!"

Here is some stuff I like:


My J. Crew Straw Beach Bag...

I have other summer bags, but this is the one I carry ALL THE TIME.

And it's on sale for $29.50.

Go buy it...now. (After you finish commenting on this post.)



Clark's Artisan Collection...

I always pictured Clark's as gooberish looking walking shoes, but they have some really cool sandals.

I got these wedges (The Erda in Peanut) and they are so cute. They look exactly like a pair I saw at Anthropologie for $200 and they only set me back $65.

I've been trying to cut down on the caffeine/aspartame consumption and I've found a marvelous alternative. Herbal Iced Tea.

My favorite....Pomegranate. Runner up...passion fruit.

So good, no calories, no caffeine, cheap...what could be better?

How about you? Any cool stuff you want to share with the class?

Shopping Bulimia

Have you ever heard of "shopping bulimia?" I thought I had it because I would often times go on one of my favorite websites, fill my shopping cart with things I love, and never buy them. Now that I've done some research, I think what I have would be described as "shopping constipation."

Shopping bulimia is, in fact, a phenomenon. There are several articles describing it in full detail.

The following are some links: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/09/18/1032054866525.html
http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30400-1064728,00.html

Apparently their are two kinds of "shopping bulimia," one fraudulent and completely dishonest, the other merely annoying to store clerks.

The fraudulent type involves buying an item, or items of clothing for a special occasion, somehow keeping the tag on, or finding a way to reattach it and then returning said item to the store after wearing. I had a friend in high school and a sorority sister who both specialized in this type of scam. I remember feeling a little gypped that they got away with it. I never had the energy or nerve to try it myself. Now that I'm an adult with a fear of a criminal record principles and morals, I'm glad I never partook in this form of thievery. (Man, I'm judgemental!!)

It reminds me a bit of a buddy of mine who would lure me into late night feasts on Lucky Charms cereal, Haagen-Daz Ice-Cream and chocolate chip cookies after a night of heavy drinking. I gained 35 lbs. in a year, while she remained as skinny as a twig. I later discovered that she had bulimia in the true sense of the word. No fair!!! She tried to teach me how to do it, to no avail. I preferred being a size 12 to tasting my beer and Lucky Charms twice in a night! Once again, now that I am an adult with an awareness of the dangers of constant binging and purging, I'm glad I never mastered the art of shoving my first down my throat.

Back to shopping. The second form of shopping bulimia involves buying ungodly amounts of clothing and accessories. (Some people rack up bills of over $25,000 in one outing!) Once the shopping bulimic comes down from the high, she simply returns all the items for a refund. Much to the chagrin of commissioned salespeople.

Since I started my blog, my late night pretend on-line shopping sprees have come to a screeching halt. My e-bay habit has also ended abruptly. (I was a constipated eBayer also!) Now, when the house is quiet and my little ones are fast asleep, I can spend my time sharing the random thoughts and activities that make up my life. I guess you could call it "diarrhea of the keyboard!"

Stuff I'm Groovin' On

LOLLIA-Wish Petite Treat Shea Butter Handcreme (Sugared Pastille)
$7 for the mini size.

My sister turned me on to this stuff. It is the best hand cream EVER and the packaging is so pretty. It makes my hands really soft and it smells heavenly. I got mine at Anthropologie, but you can also go to their website. Seriously, trust me on this one, go right now and buy it...tell them Jill sent you.

on to the next thing I'm groovin' on....

When you get to be "of a certain age" powder blush can age you, so I prefer creams and gels. (They don't get stuck in all those DEEP CREVICES all over my cheeks...)

I love this tint because you can use it on your cheeks AND your lips and it looks really natural, like you just came in from a nice long walk on a crisp fall day!!!

It comes in three gorgeous shades, Beauty Queen, Homecoming Queen and my personal shade, Prom Queen.

$15 at Sephora.

I am not paid for these endorsements...just want you to benefit from all the money I've spent on lotions and potions that I didn't like. Through much trial and error, these products were head and shoulders above the rest. And don't you be whining to me about the recession. I don't wanna here it. These are cheap people. You deserve it AND you'll be stimulating the economy, everybody wins.

Stay tuned for more.

Gimme Gimme!

Moving on to my number three in the Caffeine Court Sin Series-GREED!

I'm a Taurus, and Taureans are famous for their love of the finer things in life. I have to admit I'd love to have a Cartier Tank Watch or a gorgeous Louis Vuitton Galliera bag or a Range Rover, or perhaps a new diamond and platinum eternity band.

My birthday is next week, so if you all chip in I'm sure you could get me a nice pair of diamond earrings. I didn't just say that...did I??? See what I mean??! Greed I tell you!!! It's a terrible sin. (Since I don't have any of these things-would it be more accurate to call it ENVY?)

Anyway-I've never gotten myself into trouble buying a $15,000 watch or a $5,000 ring. It's the small stuff that gets me into hot water. Some of my biggest temptations are Target, Marshall's, Pottery Barn, any specialty supermarket like Wegman's, the Bobbi Brown makeup counter, Webkinz (thanks to my very persistent daughter)...and the mall...FAGETABOUT IT! I live in New Jersey for god's sake! The shopping opportunities are so bountiful!

I find that the best way to keep my desire to acquire cute clothes, expensive lipstick and gourmet cookies is to avoid their sources entirely. Running into Target to pick up some dog food and paper towels is like letting a three year old loose in a candy store. Isaac Mizrahi, Mossimo and Cynthia Rowley beckon me like a siren's song. I can hear them - calling to me...luring me to crash on the sharp rocks of financial ruin seventy five dollars at a time.

So I go to these stores as infrequently as possible. (But it's sooo hard to do...I really LOVE scouring the racks of TJ Maxx searching for an amazing find!!)

I try to distract myself from my desire to acquire more material possessions with other activities, like team tennis, volunteering at school and having my children's friends over for play dates. Which leads me to tomorrow's subject-ANGER. How is ANGER related to tennis, volunteering and play dates? Stay tuned my friends.

Lotions and Potions (CHEAP!)

Do you remember the good old days back in high school and junior high, when it would take over an hour in the morning to get ready for school? My bathroom vanity was filled with hair sprays and curling irons, pimple creams, perfumes and makeup. (I was one of three girls-so our bathroom looked like a drugstore!)

Thanks to Nikki at Secrets of a Black Heart, those days are back! She turned me on the the Extra Care Card at CVS, and I've gone hog wild. In the past few weeks I have acquired a huge variety of beauty products-CHEAP. Nexxus, Biore, Neutrogena, John Frieda... I've got a vanity chock full of intensive anti-wrinkle serums, warming cream cleansers, hair color glazes-you name it!

I have to admit-I was not huge on products for my hair. Now that I'm making the transition from short and orange to my goal of shoulder length-with gorgeous highlights, all my new purchases have made a huge difference in the way my hair looks.

I was never into coupons either. I thought they a huge pain in the butt. All that has changed (for the time being-I have a VERY short attention span!) I'm loving getting all kinds of goodies-PRACTICALLY FREE. It's like a new hobby-so much fun!

If you don't have the CVS card-get it! You'll get to try out all these fun products for almost no money. Each week when I get my flyer it's like a little game of strategy to get the most swag for the least amount of cash.

Through Nikki-I've discovered an entire subculture. I never knew there were so many websites and blogs dedicated to saving big bucks on the products we use everyday.

Money Saving Mom is one of the better coupon blogs...she has all kinds of schemes to save you money!

So here's the point of this post:

#1 Are you into creams ,elixirs and all the potions on the market that promise to make our hair silky smooth and our faces wrinkle free? Any favorites?

I am LOVING the Nexxus Sleek Memory Straightening Smoothing Spray. It smells amazing and my hair looks really shiny after I use it.

#2 How about coupons and sales? Are you a money saving maven? If so, let us in on your secrets!

My blog is becoming so commercial!!

Click on the image to jump to T-Shirt Humor. They have some very funny stuff and lots of blog related items.

Once again-I am not compensated for this endorsement. (Although I am hoping the VP of Marketing at T-Shirt Humor leaves a comment!)

A new way to get my dose of caffeine!

My husband and I just purchased the Keurig B60 Special Edition Brewer. Have you seen these babies? Awesome. They make single cups of coffee, tea, hot chocolate-the selection is HUGE! And the coffee tastes DELICIOUS!

I am not a paid spokesperson (don't I wish...I could have my own infomercial!!) I'm just a housewife and satisfied customer who loves all things caffeinated.

I ordered a whole variety of coffee, tea and gourmet hot cocoa K-Cups from their coffee club-so if you're ever in my neighborhood, stop by for whatever form of caffeine strikes your fancy-I will be MORE THAN happy to make it for you with my new Keurig B60!

Check out their website: www.keurig.com

New Jersey-Only the Strong Survive

My last post was so full of peace and harmony. This one is full of frustration and stress. Why? Three words..Christmas in Jersey!

Today I experienced the reason the rest of the country makes fun of my fine state. My husband and I set out for our local Target armed with optimism and two adorable little letters to Santa.

What we experienced was enough for me to pay $500 for overnight shipping to get the rest of our gifts.

It's amazing what crowds, under staffing and a deadline will do to people. "Peace on Earth-Good Will to Men?" F-that!!! It's all about little Vinnie getting his Playstation and DON'T mess with little Vinnie (or his mom). Trust me, they will knock you on your ass if you even look at them the wrong way.

I was standing in the electronics section patiently (at least outwardly) waiting for someone to unlock a camera for me. They have a little button you can press for assistance. I had already pressed the button and a very harried "Target Team Member" assured me he would be right with me. Not thirty seconds later, little Vinnie (sucking on a Slushee and chowing on a soft pretzel) and his tough cookie mom came up next to me. He proceeded to hit the button-TWICE. A red light flashed and the speaker loudly proclaimed, "A TARGET TEAM MEMBER WILL ASSIST YOU IN LESS THAN SIXTY SECONDS!!!"

Harried "Team Member" gave me the evil eye and told me "I SAID I'd be right with you!" I assured him that it was not me who hit the button. As he turned away little Vinnie hit the button AGAIN!!! The Target dude runs over to me to tell me to wait and once again I proclaimed my innocence! Finally a woman comes out to wait on Vinnie and his mom. Now I start getting the Jersey 'tude! That little devil child was NOT going jump ahead of me no matter how many times he banged on the button!

At this point I was seriously ready to bang my head against the glass case protecting all the Nintendo DS games. I mustered all my composure and informed the Target lady that I was the first person to hit the button so it was "MY FRICKIN' TURN!" (I put it much more politely than that, but trust me, I was ready to go postal.) Vinnie gave me a look that still makes my blood run cold. I half expected him to jump me in the parking lot and whack me with a tire iron.

We made it out alive and high tailed it home to our nice little house safe from Vinnie, his mom, and the frenzied shoppers of Jersey.


Tomorrow, the mall. I'll bring my tire iron.

Kinda makes you think!

Saturday night as we were decorating the tree my 8 year old daughter commented, "The Chinese are so talented!"

It came out of left field, so I asked why she said it. "Well, it seems EVERYTHING is MADE IN CHINA!"

That innocent little statement opened a whole can of worms for me. As you know, I'm a gal who loves her trips to Target. My daughters' have little pink "Made in China" Christmas trees in their room from Wal-Mart. Our house is filled with toys, clothing and housewares which were all manufactured by people working for slave wages.

I remember a friend of mine traveled to China and told me about the teenage girls who put the hair in Barbie Dolls' heads for pennies an hour!

I got on the computer and of course there is a ton of information on the subject.

One movie, Mardis Gras: Made in China has won rave reviews for it's peek into the world of Chinese laborers"

"Mardi Gras: Made in China," looks at the conditions in a factory in the Chinese city of Fuzhou where young workers, mostly women, are paid $1.20 a day to work 14-to-20-hour shifts in enforced silence making the beads showered onto revelers in New Orleans in exchange for baring their breasts at Mardi Gras. The Chinese factory owner, who sees himself as a good guy and model manager, boasts of the punishments he exacts in wages from the workers toiling in sweatshop conditions when they don't meet their quotas. In a nifty turnabout, the filmmaker asks the revelers if they know where the beads come from. They don't, of course, and even when told, few seem to care.

Along with the whole lead paint scare there are a myriad of political reasons why many people are boycotting products "Made in China."

If you are interested here are a some articles highlighting this important issue!

The Seattle Times: "Mom's Web site lists toys not made in China"

The Christian Science Monitor:"A year without 'Made in China'"

I don't mean to be a bummer, but at his time of year I think it's important to think about how lucky we are. As the Christian Science Monitor article points out-it's pretty hard to avoid items made under the horrible conditions in China, but if we all try to cut down, maybe in some small way we can help these people.

FOOTNOTE: I think my 8 year old is getting REALLY suspicious about Santa. This afternoon she said, "What if I get toys from Santa that say "MADE IN CHINA?" That means they weren't made by elves." She paused, "unless they're Chinese elves!"

Ugly is the new cute!

Have you seen the Ugly Dolls yet? These little suckers are really high on my daughters' Christmas list. They especially like the cute critter on the left. His name is Peaco. They also like Ox (see below) and Ugly Dog .

Ugly Dolls are adorable little pieces of art and they've won lots of awards. My girls might not get the puppy they want-but there WILL be Ugly Dolls under our tree this year!

Ox

Ugly dog

Gifts for the hard to shop for!

Here's a NaBloPoMo filler post if I ever saw one!!!  Notice my obsession with derrieres the past few days.  Why?  Only my shrink knows!

For people who hate rubbing that sweaty butt crack smell on their face!

The Original Butt Face Towel-at:
Merlin's Box.com

A wonderful gift for a gardener who loves asses!
(You can use your Butt Face Towel on him)
also from Merlin's Box.com
Mooning Garden Gnomes

The Obsessive Compulsive Action Figure (from Amazon.com)

The Obsessive Compulsive action figure stands 5 ¼" tall. Razor-neat, sterile-white, christened with a perpetually dismayed and mildly disgusted expression, the Obsessive Compulsive features a miniature surgical mask and a full-size hypoallergenic sanitary wipe that should be opened and used prior to removing the Obsessive Compulsive action figure from his packaging. Welcome to Hell. For the Obsessive Compulsive, the nightmare begins the minute he rises from his sparse, troubled sleep. The morning is a mixture of monstrous time-consuming rituals. He perceives an infuriating substandard level of cleanliness even in his own sealed and sanitized apartment, a fact that only seems to punctuate the germ-laden maelstrom of chaos located beyond the threshold of his front door. Very often he requires his surgical mask and gloves to move among the horrible masses. After years of practice, he hass become almost preternaturally adept at avoiding direct contact with others. He realizes, soon, that he will be rendered incapable of even leaving his apartment, and this knowledge brings an acid-tasting mixture of hope and hopelessness.

(And I'll bet he would love the Butt Face Towel!)

I have a little personal shopping business.

For a mere $50 per hour I can find little treasures such as these for the special people in your life!

Please call: 1-888-WHTTRSH

The times they are a changin'!

This is not my niece, it's just an example of what I saw a lot of this weekend!

I returned last night from an activity filled weekend at my sister's house. My 14 year old niece had a "Scavenger Hunt" birthday party at the Annapolis Mall Saturday night and I chaperoned a group of four girls. I know we were a little wild when I was in eighth grade, but things are definitely different 28 years later. First of all, we didn't have picture phones and digital cameras. We also didn't have computers with video conferencing. Another modern innovation that we didn't have is Facebook and My Space. Thanks to all these wonderful inventions, a requirement of being a teenage girl is the ability to pose at the drop of a hat. There are a few different poses they have all perfected. There's the coquette pose, mouth open head turned to the side hand up to mouth as if to say "oooh naughty!" The other one is the sideways peace sign with pursed lips, and finally there is the head tilted tongue out to the side pose. Since I served as photographer as well as chaperon for my group, I think I saw the entire repertoire of pouts and poses at least 200 times in the span of one hour.

All in all the party was a success. My group won the scavenger hunt, no thanks to me! I thought I was in pretty good shape until I tried to keep up with a group of hyped up teenage girls. They had to keep doubling back and waiting for me. I was definitely feeling my age.

On Sunday I asked my niece what she would like to do. Her answer, what else? Go to the mall!!! This time I took my 8 year old daughter and my 10 year old niece along for the ride. I won't get into all the gory details, but I have to comment on Hollister. Until yesterday I was a "Hollister Virgin." I've walked by the store many times, but never actually ventured in. Well, when I walked past those gray shuttered doors I half expected to see cocktail waitresses and a dance floor. It was very dark and the music was blaring. I felt like I was on Spring Break! It was so crowded and loud, however, that I started to feel claustrophobic and had to get the hell out of there! Perhaps they should serve the over-40 crowd cocktails to help make the whole experience a little more tolerable! There's a great New York Times article about the current trend in stores targeted towards teens, it's very interesting. (I'll paste a link at the end of this posting!) ***


I got my reward at the end of our mall journey when the girls threw me a bone and let me cruise around Williams Sonoma for awhile. I left with a fabulous Nespresso Aeroccino Automatic Milk Frother which I gave to my sister for her birthday!

I finally managed to get my kids loaded in the car by five to make the trek back to Jersey. It took us 6 1/2 hours to get home. Nothing tops off a weekend at the mall better than sitting in bumper to bumper traffic with two kids screaming, 'I HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM!!!"

How was your weekend?

Are We Shopping? Is This a Store?; Newest Mall Chains Forgo Displays for Townhouse Look and Shack Chic (November 1, 2006)

The young always have the same problem - how to rebel and conform at the same time. They have now solved this by defying their parents and copying one another.

~Quentin Crisp

Stuff

I used this as the quote of the day a while ago:

A house is just a place to keep your stuff while you go out and get more stuff. –George Carlin

Of course I think it's funny-but I have to say that in so many cases it's sadly true. While cleaning out my closet I thought about how hard we work to accumulate and maintain our material goods. It really is a drag. On the one hand, I love nice furniture, having a home with room for company, living in a great town. On the other hand, the clothes must be ironed, or dry cleaned, rooms painted and repainted, window treatments purchased. The list goes on and on. By the time you get your to-do list done, something else is in disrepair. What is the solution? Do we all become monks and live in pristine rooms with only a mattress on the floor? It hardly seems realistic!

I don't know the answer, but I am trying to do my part in a very suburban way. No more Target trips for awhile. It's too tempting and I can't leave the store with less than $200 worth of STUFF in my cart. Absolutely no trips to the dollar store. All that comes home is CRAPPY STUFF that clutters up the playroom and gets chewed up by the dogs. I've got to break my daughter of her Webkinz obsession. They are overtaking her room and getting on my nerves!

As for clothes, I stopped reading Lucky Magazine. I love fashion and I get a kick out of trying the latest trends. The fact of the matter is I'm not in a position financially to make frivolous purchases. This magazine which touts itself as "The magazine about SHOPPING and style" prods me to do just that, SHOP...and I don't need the temptation. Besides, while cleaning out my closet I discovered lots of adorable things that I had completely forgotten about. That should hold me over through the fall!

When we renovated our house two years ago we threw out PILES of toys and clothes. It was such a relief to rid ourselves of the clutter. I come from a long line of shoppers and pack rats. I think it's in my DNA to go to Marshalls, AC Moore and Toys R Us, which makes me all the more determined to practice self-control and find a diversion (caffeine, blogging, playing with the girls) when I want to venture out for more STUFF.

I'll leave you with this:

We don't need to increase our goods nearly as much as we need to scale down our wants. Not wanting something is as good as possessing it. ~Donald Horban

DEAN & DELUCA

Has anyone else received their Halloween 2007 DEAN & DELUCA Catalog? If you haven't, check out their website, it's beyond amazing. This is where I would shop if we won the lottery!

For all you shopping mavens out there, you simply must see the "Sweet Couture" cake. The detail is incredible.


The "Happy Birthday" Cake will appeal to all you ladies who favor the chocolate brown, tiffany blue combo.


If you really want to impress your guests, try serving them some Karaburun Caviar ($5,200 per lb.) from a mother-of-pearl spoon!

The selection of Halloween items is "scary good!" Don't these caramel apples look yummy!?

I'm drooling.

They also have a wonderful "Cheese Club" which offers two varieties of cheese along with the perfect accompaniment each month. I'm going to keep the catalog and buy their suggestions for my next party! (Of course I'll buy them from my local gourmet market for half of what DEAN & DELUCA charges!)

I could go on and on. The bottom line is, if you love food and absolutely beautiful things get this catalog!

Vera Wang at Kohl's

What do you think about the "Simply Vera" line at Kohl's?

I'm usually a sucker for this kind of thing and I wanted to like it. When I went to the store there was nothing I wanted to buy.

Have you purchased any of her items?

The Coffee Court Polo

This is the Silk Court Polo from J. McLaughlin.

A friend of mine wore this to our tennis team party the other night. Pretty appropriate name for the shirt the "COURT" polo! In of all colors "COFFEE!" It's destiny I tell you! This shirt is gorgeous. My fashion savvy friend has this in coffee/wheat, navy/lime as well as red/white. She has five kids too, so I guess you could say she has more than earned it!

At $155, I'd be lucky to snag just one. There is a J. McLaughlin store five minutes from me in Shrewsbury. Maybe I'll just go try it on. Will that be enough for me? Probably not.

Who knows, maybe it will look hideous on me! One can only hope, then I won't be tempted!

Better yet, do you think Marshall's will start carrying J. McLaughlin. (I can dream can't I?)

Since I'll probably have to buy a new dining room rug this shirt might be COMPLETELY out of the question. Maybe one of you lovely ladies can buy one and I'll live vicariously through you!