Entries from December 1, 2006 - January 1, 2007
Best Dressed, Double Oh Six, Part Deux
Posted Saturday, December 30, 2006 at 04:18PM
Did you think I was done, dolls?
Nope?
You’re smart.
So peep the sequel my best dressed double-oh-six at ThisNext list - it’s a pop quiz regarding that less known gem of a fashion company called Gucci.
Let’s go - these Gucci logo ankle boots are:
a) Drowning in branding with a Gucci logo-stamped suede and trademark Gucci strap.
b) Topped by a generous rabbit fur trim.
c) Founded on a 4¼” stiletto platform heel.
d) Priced around the rent of most ladies lusting for these shoes.
e) Borderline obnoxious.
f) Conspicuous consumption done genius.
g) All of the above.
“These is da shyt!!!!” says Fikos Baby15. “LOVE ‘EM.”
And I love you.
Told you you were smart.
...continued: Best Dressed, Double Oh Six, Part Deux
Black-Eyed Peas
Posted Saturday, December 30, 2006 at 01:36PM
I’m not a superstitious person, but I see no harm in partaking of traditions meant to enhance fortune, especially when they involve food. Case in point is the Southern practice of eating black-eyed peas and greens on New Year’s Day. The beans are meant to resemble coins, and the greens like folded bills. The more you eat, the greater your fortunes throughout the following year. But stock up now, because as Kevin at Bacon Press notes, the stores sell out of the stuff fast.
Not sure what to do with your black-eyed beauties? Mouth-watering recipes abound in the blogosphere. Michael Procopio at Bay Area Bites goes for Hoppin’ John, your basic beans-meets-smoked-ham-and-water preparation. The Homesick Texan serves up a big pot of black-eyeds, as well as a chilled dish called Texas Caviar, to be served with tortilla chips. And Carolyn at Field to Feast takes a more exotic twist on the little legumes, which in fact originate from Africa. Her West African Jolof Rice utilizes Zimbabwe’s nyemba beans, a close relative of black-eyeds.
Bring on the beans, and may your new year be filled with fortune.
Sean
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Tags: *Food/Drink, beans, New Year's Eve
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Best Dressed, Double Oh Six
Posted Saturday, December 30, 2006 at 12:59PM
ThisNext and your K aren’t so much about The Best, capital “T,” capital “B,” as what’s best for you.
But I’m a soy latte short of awake, and it’s the end of the year.
So let’s do style recap, and do a best dressed review of double-oh-six. Let’s chat about -
“The most stylish watch I’ve come across in a long time,” says Bajan_Angel about this Dot Matrix Watch.
Exactly, doll. Let’s talk about the most boss, the most mignon, the most ____ in fashion on ThisNext, you ladies and fellas tell me what’s so -
“Sleek and sexy. Gotta love it!”
So I do, doll, and so does Ikea Hacker.
...continued: Best Dressed, Double Oh Six
Favorite records of 2006
Posted Friday, December 29, 2006 at 12:05PM
While so many music bloggers are currently applying a High Fidelity-esque precision to listing off their choices for the year’s top records, I prefer to stick to playing favorites. Since it often happens that what I adore most differs from what the majority of critics regard as “best,” I’d much rather give big love to the records that most stole my heart in 2006 - even if they’re not all perfect creations. So while I fully support fellow bloggers in their fawning over The Decemberists and other critic’s darlings, I’m going to name Stadium Arcadium by Red Hot Chili Peppers as my number-one musical treasure of the year. At least I’ve got ThisNexters like esh and Fred Wilson on my side: “The thing that makes this record really stand out is that everytime John Frusciante takes a solo, the songs explode,” says the latter. “He is an amazing guitar player and this is a guitar lover’s record.”
...continued: Favorite records of 2006
Winter survival
Posted Friday, December 29, 2006 at 10:15AM
Although I spent my first 25 winters in the unforgiving New England cold, it took a very short time for me to evolve into a full-on L.A. wimp who bundles up in puffy jackets and scarves and UGGs when the temperature dips just a few degrees below 60. Presently at home in Massachusetts for the holidays, I’m donning two pairs of socks right now and doing everything I can to avoid stepping outside. If I did, however, I might want to slather my lips in the Carmex EZ-On recommended by Hope Robertson. Made with skin-healing stuff like menthol and camphor, the balm “helps keep my pout moist all day (and night) long,” says Hope.
...continued: Winter survival
SheFinds Friday 5...
Posted Friday, December 29, 2006 at 09:34AM
It’s the last Friday of 2006, ladies and fellas, and SheFinds found it’s time to:
» Start… specializing. “I thought I’d seen it all when I received a press release with this opener: “Do you wash your hair with toothpaste? Brush your teeth with shampoo? Moisturize your face with mouthwash? Of course not! But you use WHAT? On your WHERE? Unlike most soaps, SweetSpot Labs products are pH balanced for optimum “sweet spot health”. “
» Take your soy latte love to another level. “Just when I thought my coffee obsession—four dollar lattes, purchased daily—could go no further, I stumbled across Nyakio Body Scrub, Kenyan Coffee & Sugar.”
» Get your Hollywood on. “I don’t know how I got through 3 decades without Hollywood Fashion Tape. The clear, double-stick, do everything apparel and body tape makes your clothes stay put.”
» Be a good date to your arm candy. “Figuring out what to do with my handbag when I go out to eat makes deciding between Chinese and Italian seem easy. The grungy floor is no place for my favorite Coach, but if I hang it from my knee, it always slips. And someone is sure to bump it off the back of my chair. But my discovery of the Dangle has put an end to my floor fears”
» Bronze your bod, organically. “I’ve tried UV-less spray tanning, it left a terrible smell on my skin and I swore never again. That was before experiencing Organic Spray-On Tan at Smooth Synergy, a cosmedic spa run by Nicole Contos in tandem with her husband’s medical practice.”
Good morning, starshine
Posted Friday, December 29, 2006 at 08:08AM
In ayurvedic medicine, your morning routine offers a way to rid your body of toxins and restore your health to its fullest. To begin the day most beautifully, revive your morning regimen with products that are naturally revitalizing. GoSMILE Morning Rush Toothpaste, for instance, provides a “a welcome wake-up call sparked by lively essential oils of lemon, lime, orange and mandarin, cleverly infused with uplifting peppermint for a splash of morning excitement,” according to beautyhatchery. What’s more, part of the proceeds go toward helping to “create a bright future without breast cancer.”
...continued: Good morning, starshine
The Season of Giving ... Still
Posted Thursday, December 28, 2006 at 02:21PMNow that you’re all shopped out and the gifts are given, do you still feel a little … empty? It’s not to late to celebrate the true season of giving. While you and yours are popping open the top button on the trousers and contemplating renewing your gym memberships to recover from this season’s barrage of gluttony, millions are starving around the world. Some of them are in your own back yard.
Anita at Married …with Dinner celebrated Boxing Day the old-fashioned way, by boxing up some extra food and giving it to her local food bank. You can do so, too, and she points would-be do-gooders to Second Harvest, where you can find local food banks. Consider volunteering as a food sorter, too. In fact, gather a group of friends and make a day of it. A bunch of Bay Area food bloggers are doing it soon. Come on, it’ll be fun!
If you have more money than food or time on your hands, you can still, obviously, make a difference. Stephanie Lucianovic at Chow: The Grinder notes two charitable organizations that do more than merely feed the hungry today; they teach the hungry to feed themselves. What better way to squeeze in that last-minute donation for your 2006 taxes?
It’s only appropriate that we take this moment to thank everyone who bid on this year’s Menu for Hope campaign. This year we raised over $58,000 for the United Nations World Food Programme — that’s almost three and a half times as much as last year. We’re just dying to see who wins our fabulous cocktail kit, but wait we must — results will be announced on January 15.
Monday Morning Bloody Mary
Posted Thursday, December 28, 2006 at 10:11AM
Silly hats? Check. Noise makers? Check. A million bottles of champagne? Check. OK, so you’re all set for New Year’s Eve … but have you put any thought into the most dreaded morning of the year?
Now, we’re not making any kind of commentary on your (or our) party proclivities. We’re just saying that, sometimes, you need a little, shall we say, hair of the dog to kick off the new year. And since you probably won’t want to look at another glass of champagne (at least for a few months), may we suggest the old standby, the Bloody Mary. Brenda Pederson at The Spirit World’s got your shopping list for that bleary-eyed beginner.
The nice thing about this drink is that it’s more than just a hangover chaser; it’s a meal in a mug. The shot of vodka helps clear out the cobwebs, but you’re also getting a shot in the arm of vitamins and minerals courtesy of the vegetable contents, so stock up on the good stuff.
Sean
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Tags: cocktails, *Food/Drink, bloody mary
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Delovely Decaters
Posted Thursday, December 28, 2006 at 09:57AM
There’s something so deliciously old-school classy about liquor decanters. They evoke images of stuffy halls adorned with leather-bound books and stuffed heads of big game mounted on the wall. Men in tweed. You get the picture. Yet at the same time, there’s an element of mid-century cool, like the sophisticated killers in Alfred Hitchcock’s “Rope.” And should they be crystal, encased in silver and etched with your monogram, well. You might think money can’t buy this kind of cultural cachet, but in fact it can — at Restoration Hardware no less.
This via one of our new favorite product blogs, Cooking Gadgets.
Sean
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Tags: liquor, *Food/Drink, decanters
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New Year's Beauty
Posted Thursday, December 28, 2006 at 09:37AM
New Year’s Eve is about saying hello to a fresh year of even smarter work and plenty of play, your Eve is about celebrating a year of hustling hard.
So hard that Ms. Judith August and her “Everything Pencil” EraseZit Antiseptic Concealer might make a great date for your New Year’s Eve party.
Let me better articulate, ladies —
Natural beauty, schmatural beauty.
Especially when you’re getting all out dolled up for the last night of your year.
...continued: New Year's Beauty
'Modern' love
Posted Wednesday, December 27, 2006 at 08:01PM
I’m having a total Bob Dylan moment right now, but it’s all about the three-decades-old Desire (a purchase I made about one decade ago, but just got around to loving last month). Many of my fellow ThisNext members are living much more in the now, however, selecting Mr. Zimmerman’s Modern Times as one of their favorite albums of 2006. Thesonofhob, for instance, dubs the CD a “very good attempt that is more rockin’ and bluesish than folk,” echoing Margo’s sentiment that “the new album is bluesy americana. The tunes stick in your head, in a good way.” And while I can’t get “Isis” and “One More Cup of Coffee” out of my own head, Fred Wilson and others are spinning songs like “Spirit on the Water” and “Thunder on the Mountain.”
“Any new Dylan is fabulous, but this album is truly remarkable,” says ev1225, while eastmeath declares that Modern Times is “brilliant, no more to say.”
Countdown to New Year's Eve
Posted Wednesday, December 27, 2006 at 04:10PMUpdated on Thursday, December 28, 2006 at 03:00PM by
Sean
Just when you thought you were all shopped out, you’re under the gun to get prepped for yet another holiday. But this one involves lots of liquor, funny hats and kissing strangers, so it’s kind of worth it. If you want to throw the rockin’-est New Year’s Eve bash ever, it’s not too late to fabulize your fête.
First things first: You’re going to need bubbly, and lots of it. If you’re out to impress, by all means stock up on the Dom, but there’s no shortage of other sparklers that offer a decent value proposition. Perhaps uncoincidentally, the most recent installation of Wine Blogging Wednesday is dedicated to just that subject. Culinary Fool rounds up a scattershot of sparkling wines specifically not from Champagne, so may in fact she had to break it out into two posts. This is a good place to start if you want to explore alternatives to champers, such as cremant, cava or good old American sparkling wine. Days That End in Y also notes a good reference on alternative tipplers, and even makes a dark horse suggestion of geuze beer, which is made by the same method as champagne and even has similar characteristics.
...continued: Countdown to New Year's Eve
Allnighter elixirs
Posted Wednesday, December 27, 2006 at 03:43PM
While some party girls and boys are aces at keeping it going till the breakadawn, other early-to-bed, early-to-rise types need some help in lasting till after the ball drops on New Year’s Eve. Instead of yawning your way into 2007, keep your bag stashed with an energy drink that’ll put the pep back in your step.
The buzz-providing beverage of choice on ThisNext is G Pure Energy Drink, recommended by thedelicious, esh, elange, SeanCLucas, and melissaparker05. As a testament to the product’s revitalizing powers, esh recounts his first experience with G Pure:
“I don’t normally drink coffee or energy drinks but when a friend gave me a G Pure Energy a few days ago I tried it. I drank it in the early afternoon and didn’t get to sleep until 9am. Coincidence? Maybe, but I’m going to be very careful about when I drink my next G Pure Energy.”
True to its name, G Pure is loaded with natural energizers, explains Melissa: “The green tea and vitamins provide tons of energy and are good for you,” says our shopcaster, who notes that the drink “tastes crisp and citrusy and is a great mixer.” Sean also praises G Pure’s New Year’s-perfect potential as a mixer, sharing that “I love mixing G with cachaca to put a new twist on caipirinhas.” And since the drink “goes well with just about every other type of liquor,” he suggests checking out the brand’s website or MySpace page for more cocktail recipes.
...continued: Allnighter elixirs
Fancy teeth
Posted Wednesday, December 27, 2006 at 02:11PM
If you’re anything like me, the majority of post-holiday nights culminate in a little curling up on the easy chair with a fuzzy throw blanket, a newly scored DVD, and lots and lots of yummy candy. And when you’re all wrapped up in such a happy little cocoon, it can become very nearly impossible to unfurl yourself and stumble over to the sink to rid your teeth of all that fabulous sugar. Luckily there’s a whole world of luxe new dental products that make shining up your choppers an almost glammy endeavor. I’m feeling most inspired by the Fresh Umbrian Clay Toothpaste spotlighted on Three2Seven, an organic, clay-based product that gets its zip from wild mint and lemon. “If you’re sick of the white/green lather try this for a departure,” says blogger Carmen Foxx. “It feels a bit more earthy than your old standby and has added value by stimulating circulation in your gums!”
...continued: Fancy teeth
Gift Your Skin
Posted Wednesday, December 27, 2006 at 01:16PM
You gifted Mom, Pops, your BFF, your boy, you played Santa to all the little lovelies in your life.
But what about that little something that sticks between you and the world, that work/live/plays with you, grows with you, what about -
“If beauty is only skin deep, you better take damn good care of your skin!” says Anthony Pisano of Fred Segal Beauty.
Exactly, Mr. Pisano.
Time to play Santa Claus to your epidermis, dolls.
...continued: Gift Your Skin
New Book To Drool Over: Tord Boontje
Posted Wednesday, December 27, 2006 at 09:21AM
If you’ve been in just about any modern home store, been to Target or watched their ads, read a design blog or browsed on ThisNext, you’ve probably noticed quite a few mentions about designer, artist and craftsman Tord Boontje.
Much like our dear Jonathan Adler, Mr. Boontje is quite the darling of the design set lately. And, like all darlings destined for international greatness (and home lines in major big box chain stores) Tord Boontje is releasing a book so that we can all impress our friends with some serious design eye-candy on our coffee tables. (oh, and maybe learn a thing or two.)
True design darling blogger decor8 tipped us off on Tord Boontje’s Spring 2007 release, and here’s what Amazon has to say about the book:
Featured in headline exhibitions at the Milan Furniture Fair, the Victoria and Albert Museum and Art Basel: Miami, the unique paper creations and furniture developed by Boontje have become global objects of desire, spawning a cult following among collectors and design consumers. Lavishly illustrated with over 300 sketches, concept renderings, and photographs, the book is a comprehensive visual document of the designer’s work and an art object in itself, featuring a number of custom printing effects-stencils, perforated and die-cut pages, and textured and woven details-that capture the intricacy of Boontje’s approach to pattern-making.
And yes, you can pre-order.
See more of my Beautifully Tord Boontje list at ThisNext.
Play With Your Food
Posted Tuesday, December 26, 2006 at 02:16PMMuch to my surprise, my other half got us a Wii for Christmas. Whee! He had to jump through hoops of fire to get it, and says he likes to think that some child’s Christmas somewhere was a little less bright because he did.
I’m a bit of a computer game junkie, and obviously something of a food addict as well. So I thought I’d share a few mindless browser-based distractions that marry my two loves, no Wii necessary. After all, you weren’t actually planning on getting any work done this week, were you?
The mother of all food-themed games is the arcade classic BurgerTime. Maneuver your toqued chef arond a rudimentary maze, stomping on burger parts and avoiding menacing weiners and fried eggs. It’s a blast from the past, and more challenging than you remember.
Another arcade-style game is Superstar Chefs. Think of it as Mario Brothers meets Mario Batali. Your moustachioed chef must retrieve his ingredients and missing recipe while avoiding or jumping on would-be detractors. Tons of candy-colored fun.
...continued: Play With Your Food
got gift card?
Posted Tuesday, December 26, 2006 at 01:31PM
It’s been three days, and you’re still bummed out about that gift card you received?
You wished for Saks but received The Sports Authority?
Trade it in. Yes, trade it in for another gift card. CardAvenue.com will buy, sell or trade your gift card. You can take your pick from the list of cards others traded in. Believe it or not, somebody out there wants that card from Sports Authority.
Ssshhh… Noone has to know about the switcheroo (except you and me).
Get Your Babydoll On, Baby Doll
Posted Tuesday, December 26, 2006 at 11:27AM
We’re hitting the last stretch, dolls:
You gave thanks at Thanksgiving, giving your hot gym bod a nod and kudos with an extra slice and a half of pecan pie.
You played Santa on ChristHannuKwanzaka, gifting your boy and BFF and fam, celebrating the peak of your holidaze with gingerbread biscotti and a mocha soy latte or two or three.
And now you’ve one business week until New Year’s Eve, until you’re back to business as usual.
Meanwhile, you’re figuring how you’ll fit your not-as-fit figure into something naughty and nice for your New Year’s Eve.
Simple - just get your babydoll on, baby doll.
Tailored tight at your bust, flowing full below, a babydoll hides a multitude of sins.
...continued: Get Your Babydoll On, Baby Doll