ThisNext Blog

Di Overton

In Britain we have a saying if your feeling low and it’s that you need ‘tea and sympathy’. Well until quite recently you needed a lot of sympathy when drinking our tea as it was mainly tea bags with dust in them. Fear not though, there has been a tea revolution and I won’t mention the Boston Tea Party here.

A lot of confusion abounds as to how we like our tea well let me put you right. We like it with milk and some even like it with sugar. Some don’t even like it and prefer coffee. But one thing we do like is sitting down to afternoon tea.

Here are some examples of the types of tea we like to slurp:

POSH TEAS

The Ritz

Everyone has heard of the Ritz and to take afternoon tea there is a never to be forgotten experience. I once was thrown out of the Ritz because I had the audacity to enter iwearing a pair of jeans, for Sunday Lunch. My jeans cost more than the lunch would have and that’s saying something. Still I’m not bitter.

Harrods

Even though the owner is out of favour with the Queen he still pulls a crowd.

Fortnum & Mason

Quintessentially English and a wonderful place to buy or sip your tea. There is almost always someone famous in there. Well when I go there is.

THE NATION’S FAVOURITES

PG Tips

Disregard all that talk about speciality teas being drunk on a massive scale in Britain. PG Tips is the nation’s favourite and it tastes like tea I used to have when I was a kid – just tea!

Betty’s

A national institution. Betty’s is a Yorkshire based company now owned by Taylor’s. Betty was the original owner and it’s a great place to go for afternoon tea. Old fashioned uniformed ladies serve you from big old fashioned cake stands and it is like stepping back in time.

MY FAVOURITE

Tetley’s Assam

I hate flavoured teas and teas, where I can see the bits floating about. Give me a tea bag anyday with something in it that tastes like the tea from my childhood. No sugar thanks I take that in coffee, which if I am honest I prefer.

WORLD FAMOUS

Earl Grey

The man himself, hailed from Newcastle upon Tyne where I have a house and where most of my family live. His monument is at the top of a street that was voted the best street in the UK – Grey Street. I actually hate the taste of this tea it’s like licking your wrists just after applying perfume. Twinings made the very first Earl Grey Tea – not a lot of people know that.

I hope you have enjoyed this little tour of British Teas and we do forgive you for the Boston Tea Party.

Time for all of us to get over the notion that hemp belongs only in the necklaces of hacky-sack-playing, university-quad-dwelling, patchouli-smelling pseudo-hippies. Very much unlike the stuff of pot brownies, hemp can deliver lots of heart-healthy essential fatty acids when consumed in oil and seed form. And when used in paper or as a fabric, hemp makes for a renewable, fast-growing alternative to less sustainable materials. Which must be why Dianne Lawrence asks, “Why aren’t hemp products everywhere?” in her shopcast for The Great Book of Hemp, Rowan Robinson’s guide to environmental, commercial, and medicinal uses for the “world’s most extraordinary plant.” And while it’s true that hemp products are not quite everywhere yet, they’ve been slowly but surely popping up with items like the Body Shop’s Hemp Chanvre Foot Protector Cream, a favorite skin care solution for Sally King: “When the mercury hits -20, this cream is the best petroleum-free foot balm I’ve tried. (And I’ve tried them ALL.),” says Sally. Hemp’s skin-smoothing powers can also be attainted through The Body Shop’s Hemp Lip Care Stick, a new feature on Chaptastic. With a “smooth, non-oily, comfortable” glide, the “mostly all natural” balm has “a coconut/olive oil + beeswax base and natural flavors and fragrances,” according to Chaptastic blogger Javajive.

...continued: Hooray for hemp

Someday, just for kicks, I’m going to try to count up all the potential uses for Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps. But in the meantime I’ll just stick with the uses recommended by shopcasters like Jen Boulden, Philip Gelb, and Norene, all of whom select peppermint as their Magic Soap scent of choice. Made with just water, various oils (coconut, olive, peppermint, hemp, and jojoba), organic peppermint, citric acid, and vitamin E, the green cleaner can “wash your hands, your hair, feed your plants, etc. and it smells great and again,” says Jen. As for Philip, the chef simply states that Dr. Bronner’s “gets the chili off my hands,” a valuable bit of magic indeed. And Norene uses the pepermint soap for both “personal care and home cleaning,” noting that the product makes for “a great wake-me-up refresher any time of day, but especially in the morning. No time for a shower, or trying to conserve water? Give yourself a peppermint sponge bath - you’ll feel clean and refreshed.” And to clean and refresh your home, Norene offers these tips:

“Combine Dr. Bronner’s with baking soda to create a paste perfect for scrubbing tub/tile/sink. Use a tiny smidge with water, vinegar, and essential oils for a great window cleaner. Or just read the bottle label for ideas!”

Whether you’re a lady or a gentleman, the fastest way to freshen up your look is with a few accessories.

Plus, I know you’re never going to buy some jeans that actually fit you.

Or junk that hoodie.

So what about a pair of PUMA Sport fashion Chiodo sneakers?

...continued: Ooh La Love: Beauty for the Boys, Part Deux

Thanks to ThisNext, I’ll be doing almost 90% of my Christmas shopping online this year, and I can’t wait!

Since Halloween is semi-unofficially the gateway into Holiday madness (starting the holiday season on Thanksgiving is sooo 1953), today marks my first entry for 2006 Holiday Season Gift Ideas.  All items will of course be available on the web, priced with your bank account in mind, and (imho) sure to warm the cuckolds of you and yours. 

So…HOW WONDERFUL IS THIS ROCKING BOAT??? Why WHY do kids get all the cool stuff?? I gotta think that if I could fold all 6ft of me into this classic, wooden rocking boat, all instances of writers block and un-creativity would be immediately thwarted.

That said, there isn’t a kid around that wouldn’t love to have this in their play room.  Plus, it’s built for two - so if you want to combine a gift for a sibling duo that’s easy to share, timelessly fun and classically designed, then this is for you.  I can’t hardly believe it’s $139.

Available at Hearth Song 

via Mighty Goods

* full shopcast >> Holiday Gift Ideas on ThisNext 

OK, so we can think of maybe one or two things you can do with grapes that are better, but this is pretty genius: Burstingly juicy red grapes coated in rich milk chocolate, by Dinstuhl. Considering every other fruit on earth has had its moment in the chocolate spotlight (let’s not get started on those nasty cherry cordials), it’s amazing the lowly grape has escaped the confectionary radar this long. But we’re awfully glad these tempting treats registered a blip on Charles & Marie. We’ve gone ape for these grapes!

Big things come in small packages. Case in point: This snack-sized deep fryer is postively filled with calorically charged deep-fat deliciousness. Remember: It’s snack-sized, so you won’t be cooking up the Thanksgiving turkey in it, but there’s surely enough room to whip up a wee batch of fresh French fries, the occasional Snickers bar or, if you truly hate your cardiologist that much, some deep-fried Coke. We’re thinking this is going to be college student holiday gift of the year. (via Uncrate)

Here at ThisNext, we’re not here to pass judgement. We’re just here to report the facts - er - the products. Rather, the facts about products.

Well let’s just say it’s a shop shop shopcasting world, generally speaking.

So, when Perez reported that Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillipe were splitting up (bad), I couldn’t help but reflect on her illustrious career (good) and her general fabulessness.

Here’s my top 3 favorite Reese Withspoon movies, as shopcasted on ThisNext:
(see how we find that silver lining over here??)

#1 - HANDS DOWN - Election
One of Reese Witherspoon’s finest moments, and an all around classic dark comedy. Election would be borderline slapstick if it wasn’t so creepy and macabre. For a Type-A recovering grade-school overachiever like myself, Election is as therapeutic as it is funny.

#2- (and it’s a close second) Legally Blonde
So I watch this movie like 5 times a year. It’s funny, perky, campy and somehow manages to get me motivated back on my path towards world domination just when I’m feeling like all I want to do is get mani-pedis and eat french fries. Rock on Elle Woods!

#3- Pleasantville
I’m always a sucker for beautiful candy-colored movies with dark underlying themes. Pleasantville is great because the story is somewhat cliche, but it is still engaging. And Reese and Toby Maguire are totally charming.

What are your favorite Reese Witherspoon movies?

Use your noggin and head over to the Anatomical Chart Company for this brain gelatin mold. Then swing by eGullet for the too-gross-for-words recipe for brain panna cotta with gruesomely gloppy pomegranate sauce. Guaranteed to gross out your guests on Halloween, it’s suitable for a formal affair on a silver salver, but “also quite effective on a carving board with a large chef’s knife plunged into the center.” (via WOW Report)

Following Aunt Beep’s Guide To Living A Cubicle Life, let’s figure how to make work more bearable by rocking fashion wearable outside of the cubicle, let’s figure how to style chic 9 to 5.

Whether you’re power lunching with the boys or sharing champagne martinis with your ladies, your outfit is best founded on a stiletto. A pin-thin heel makes you watch your posture, stand a little straighter, walk a little taller; a too-tall heel gives you inches more of confidence…

...continued: Ooh La Love: Hustling Chic, 9 to 5

Looking to scare up some spooky treats this Halloween? Take BLOGHUNGRY’s pointers for these ultragory severed finger cookies made from a “surprisingly tasty” almond shortbread. Their almond nails seep food-coloring blood for the scariest part of all: A manicure gone horribly wrong.

 

Aunt Beep’s Guide To Living A Cubicle Life
(or, “how to learn to stop worrying and stick it to The Man)

 

Step One: watch or read artistic expressions in which other people presumably more miserable than yourself wax on about working in an office environment, such as:

Joe vs. The Volcano: Watch and laugh at the brilliant opening scene set to “I Sold My Soul To The Company Store”; watch Joe become unbearably miserable under the florescent lights; discover the meaning of a brain cloud.

The Big Lebowski: The Dude is the ultimate anti-cubicle hero.

Fight Club: Watch what happens when people more miserable at their jobs than you try to forget that they are miserable.

Glengarry Glen Ross: David Mamet’s classic salesman drama, with an all-star cast, and many depressing scenes which will make you appreciate your current situation.   

Step Two: create intelligent diversions which present you in a such a way as people believe you are actually working.

...continued: It's A Cubicle Life

I just looooove all the lighting recommendations on ThisNext.  In September, I was bedazzled by stylish chandeliers, and today I’m basking in the ambient glow of dreamy, warm-light lamps.

We just fell forward (in case you haven’t changed you clocks), which means darkness falls early.  The good news: warm fires (gas of course), lots more candles and mood lighting galore to warm the cuckolds of long, cold nights. 

rugenius knows how to glow, he’s shopcasted some gorgeous lighting alternatives like my new obsession, the Luau Portable Lamp.  It’s so pretty and warm and bright…It feels like I’m carrying my own jar of fireflies. The boogie man will never get me when I carry this through a dark forest.  Plus, as it’s portable, you can easily carry it from room to room, which means saving a bundle on that electric bill.

...continued: Glow in the Dark

So I’m allergic to flats, to any shoe less than four-inches tall (along with T-shirts, and the idea of not wearing three coats of mascara).

Still, I understand a chic flat - maybe a ballet flat that’s Audrey Hepburn hip, or a modern mod Mary Jane - as a comfy alternative to skyscraper heels.

Well, almost.

Dip it in animal-print, and then things begin to make more sense to me.

...continued: Ooh La Love: Getting Down with Flats

The past week on ThisNext.com has been a virtual overload of amazing shopcasting.  Just when I thought I’d seen it all on the www, I log on to find gems like octate.com, aldeahome.com, or Oh So Retro’s Etsy shop.

In the design world, there are a few amazing lists that have cropped up – and Aunt Beep has been drooling over all the new discoveries.

The amazing Laura Sweet of In Good Taste and Laura Sweet Gemstone Jewelry has taken ThisNext by storm.  Her profile manifesto alone is reason to run into the street screaming Beauty! Truth! and Love! …let alone her fabulous picks in her If It’s Hip, It’s Here list which is comprised of  “Art, accessories, appliances. A list of items that celebrate design, functionality and art. Items to appreciate and admire.”

...continued: New Design Shopcasts on ThisNext

Our own Alyson captured every lady’s current “Higher Calling,” a lust for platforms, and since too-tall shoes are far from going away come spring ‘07, I figured I’d sequel, and tell you -

Bruno Frisoni is my new Italiano lover.

“I’m speechless,” says Di Overton. “A part from to say this designer is Parisian - surprised?” 

Oui, oui, I am. No matter - check these Bruno Frisoni patent platform sandals and understand my obsession.

...continued: Ooh La Love: A Higher Calling, Part Deux

Fashion/beauty blog SheFinds “shops the web so you don’t have to.”

Kind of like how all our shopcasters do.

So every week you’ll find SheFinds’ top five added to ThisNext and highlighted on our blog - it’s another way to check what SheFinds finds, it’s another source of product discovery on ThisNext.

And it’s another end of a month. With the close of October, SheFinds found it’s time to…

» Save your Jimmy Chouboutins, and buy some rain boots that don’t make you look like “an overgrown five year old.”

» Think pink this last week of Breast Cancer Awareness Month and stock up at Beauty.com. Wash your bod, your hair, take a bath, “multi-task with Philosophy Shower for the Cure Shampoo, Bath, Shower Gel,” and get your charity on: “All net profits are donated to EIF Women’s Cancer Research Foundation.”

» Have a fall fling that’ll carry you into winter: check this choco Biba tote Bag by Bambina di Cioccolato. “The leather is super soft and the large size makes the bag excellent for storing all of your stuff.”

» Ditch the leggings and go grownup ladylike with J.Crew crochet tights, which “are the perfect modest wardrobe update for those of us who refuse to buy into leggings as anything other than gym wear.”

» Watch the time after daylight savings with Juicy Couture’s “Charmed I’m Sure” bracelet watch, perfect for “those craving a little more princess than posh.”

Ooh la love. 

In a new study from Barcelona’s Municipal Institute for Medical Research, researchers found that virgin olive oil may contain higher levels of heart-protecting antioxidants than other, more refined varieties of olive oil. Which should come as happy news to the many ThisNext foodies who list virgin olive oil among their favorite gastronomic indulgences. That includes several shopcasters who’ve selected McEvoy Ranch’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil, a California delicacy that Lisa Bagg calls “simply the best olive oil I’ve ever tried. Hands down.” Not only does McEvoy Ranch’s have a “a peppery flavor and nice fruitiness,” as our Sean Timberlake points out, it’s also “certified organic and has a complex flavor profile of that starts with a sharp and almost spicy flavor with a delicate and mild finish,” according to Julie Tucker. Among ThisNext’s other EVOO enthusiasts: Vahe Alaverdian (who, of Ciaccio extra virgin olive oil, notes “it’s expensive but it’s the best”), Nate Appleman (a fan of the “heavy, full-bodied, peppery, super floral” Corona Extra Virgin Olive Oil), and Alex Jamieson (“High quality fat tastes good, satiates you and is necessary to almost every body function,” says Alex of Bionature’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil).

...continued: Get oiled up

The dollar’s going down - time to return to the gold standard, or -

Invest in the less obviously luxe precious metal, silver. 

A little lady  named Tiffany def helped make steriling silver more than just the stuff of a cheap date. Check the high design of Tiffany & Co. Frank Gehry Designs silver bracelet. “Tiffany & Co. Frank Gehry,” says Laura Sweet. “Need I say more?”

Nope, I’m totally with you, doll. 

...continued: Ooh La Love: Sterling

Tony Bennett may have left his heart in San Francisco, but for the foodie set, it’s where most of us find our stomachs. Few places in America have such a rich tradition of culinary appreciation (read: food snobbery) as Baghdad by the Bay, and Bay Area bon vivants extend their foodie fanaticism to the online world as well.

Hot in the news this month is the release of the new Michelin Guide, which bestowed a total of 28 restaurants in the Bay Area, and only one — the prestigious French Laundry in Napa County — received three stars. An outrage! A kerfuffle! The peanut gallery was far from quiet on this issue, and Sam at Becks & Posh rounds up the rowdy rabblerousers riling against the French conspirators. (Local blog SFist reminds us that — oh yeah — Zagat, Wine Spectator and Men’s Health all released their recommendations around the same time, to significantly less fanfare and fuss.) But if you want a no-punches-pulled approach to dining in San Francisco, check out Patricia Unterman’s San Francisco Food Lover’s Guide, which Jolynne Lockley calls, “the best book for people who value the real above the buzz.”

...continued: San Francisco, Foodie Heaven