Wednesday Vases

I would love to come home from work to an array of vases in all different sizes filled with all different kinds of flowers.

Then I found the Bosphorus Vases from Pottery Barn.
They are hand blown in Turkey and
are weighted on the bottom to support heavy flowers (like orchids or tulips).

Cylinder vases are so sleek.
I love them all filled and grouped together,
but I also love a little bud glasses lined up on the window seal or in the restroom with a super fragrant flower like gardenias or hyacinth.

A set of vases would make a really fantastic gift for a special lady.

$29.00 – $89.00

Fobot

This little guy is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.
I want him sitting on my side table beside my seat on the couch.
I love him!

Artist Amy Flynn has searched the world far and wide, gathering bits and pieces – a tea infuser, a faucet handle, cabinet pulls – to create this found object automaton.

I mean seriously– more than I want him on my side table, I want to carry him around in my pocket everywhere I go.
It’s the most adorable one-of-a-kind, little fobot I’ve ever seen!
–Okay it’s the only one-of-a-kind, little fobot I’ve ever seen.

$328 at Anthropologie.com

X Marks The Spot

I love the David Yurman Pave X Ring.
The crossed silver bands and the cable detailing make this ring especially unique. It’s small and is perfect for the right hand… (the left is usually the hand with all the bling.) It has a tiny, diamond pave “x”  laid over half the band to add to the specialness.

This is one of those rings that a girl never takes off. I highly recommend this ring.

$325 at DavidYurman.com

Watch This

Every week, the weather is getting a little warmer, the sun a little stronger and I want this watch a little more.

I’m not sure why but I LOVE wearing gold during the summer. I pile on the gold necklaces and bracelets on top of my swimsuit and tank tops like there’s no tomorrow.

The Michael Kors Gold Oversize Runway Watch is the perfect edition to any girl’s wardrobe. It’s been featured in two magazines already this spring. I like that it’s not a flashy, shiny gold. It’s very chic, very playful, and very wearable.

It’s the perfect substitute for a bracelet and would make an fantastic gift.
$250.00 Michaelkors.com, also available at Saks.

The Stuff Holder

Women carry totes everywhere. The beach. The gym. The airplane.
Plain and simply, women just carry more stuff.

A must have for every gal is a good tote.
A good tote should:
(a) comfortably hold a lot of stuff
&
(b) hold up well over time.

One of my favorite totes is the Longchamp Le Pliage.
The leather straps make this tote comfortable to carry and the nylon is strong and durable. It makes a great carry-on, overnight bag, or beach bag due to its roomy size.
On of the best parts about the Le Pliage is that it folds up tiny enough to tuck into another bag– perfect to take on vacations where you plan to do a lot of shopping.
The tote comes in a plethora of colors for $145. Available at Saks.com.

A Very Important Date

Alice in Wonderland hits theaters on March 5th. Like many others, I’m excited about it.
I never saw Avatar or any of those Disney movies that have been shown in 3D, but I do think I’ll go see this one in 3D.

Alice in Wonderland has made a huge splash this year. I’ve seen everything from eyeshadows to halloween costumes to nail polish. The best Alice inspired collection I’ve seen yet is the Alice in Wonderland jewelry by Swarovski.

Staying true to Swarovski’s form, this collection is full of bling– a girl does like to sparkle.
A few of my favorites are the Cheshire Cat necklace $155

The Red Queen Cards Rings **My absolute favorite** $100
And the Tea Party White Rabbit necklace $150

Put a (ear)ring on it.

Jewelry is often a go-to gift for girls.
Girls LOVE jewelry.
The only problem with jewelry, at least in my opinion, is that you can only have so much of it before it starts getting, dare I say, useless!

The key to purchasing jewelry is to know what the person you are giving it to already has, which you probably do. Unless you go around giving girls you barely know jewelry (if you are, I’ve got a friend for you. Her name is Nikki.)

If a girl already has a pair of studs (she does) that she wears everyday, don’t buy her a new pair (unless the ones you are buying her are an upgrade). You want to make sure you are giving her something she’s really going to get some use out of. I have a few unique suggestions that I think would be sure to please any girl.

First, we have the Carnelian and Tanzanite earrings by Bounkit.
Carnelian (orange stone) and Tanzanite (little blue stones) cluster together about the teardrop glass stone. The cat’s eye shading on the glass stone adds a lot of personality to these earrings. They are very versatile– they could be worn with a bright sun dress during the day or with a black cocktail dress in the evening.  These do have a clip-on clasp, which is fine. A lot of cocktail jewelry is clip-on.
This pair is available at Saks for $440.

The next pair earrings are the Amethyst and Gold Earrings by Ippolita
What makes these earrings so special is the cut of the amethyst. (I would tell you what the name of the cut is but I’m no Gemologist.)
I love the hammered gold. It gives such a natural look to the earrings. Any recipient would really get a lot of wear out of them. For example, I’m about as girlie as one can come and I love these, but I could also see my grandmother (who barely wears any jewelry at all) loving them as well.
Also available at Saks for $495.

They are both great choices and I don’t think you could go wrong with either one.

An Elephant Never Forgets

Now, I’ve spent the better part of my week look at pictures of Thailand. The place is pretty amazing. Have you seen the elephants that paint?? And don’t even get me started on those beautiful beaches.

Anyway, back to the elephants. It’s come to my attention that one of the popular things to do in Thailand is to hop on the elephant’s back and go on an Elephant tour. This sounds particularly crazy, if you ask me, but it did get me interested in these gigantic, over-sized, humongous, enormous… (you get the idea)… creatures, which led me to this beauty.

The Judith Leiber Maharaja Elephant Minaudier

From what I gathered from my minimal Google-ing, Maharaja means Great King, so I can only assume that this elephant clutch was created in the likeness of the Great King’s Elephant.

This little guy was made with hand beaded Australian crystals.
Pictures just can’t do it justice. It’s gorgeous. And I think it captures Thailand perfectly. It has a push lock clasp on the top and at delicate gold chain tucked inside in case a girl wants her hands free.

$5,995.00 Neiman Marcus

High Line

Bond no. 9′s newest fragrance, High Line, will be hitting counters in just a few short days. The perfumer’s only goal in life to create a unique scent for each neighborhood in New York and the newest scent pays homage to the newest neighborhood.

High Line is the scent of wildflowers, green grasses and urban renewal. The designed of the bottle captured exactly that.

The result is an androgynous floral-marine bouquet, contrasting the hardy flowers and greens that grow along the High Line’s route with intriguing notes from far away.  The scent starts off with a prairie grazing weed—purple love grass—mixed with citrusy bergamot and zesty Indian rhubarb.  The perfume’s floral heart is red-leaf rose, Lady Jane tulips, and grape hyacinth.  Its lingering base notes combine bur oak—from the sheltering tree that thrives here—with imported sea moss, to evoke the Hudson River’s proximity, along with musk and teakwood, to remind us that Bond No. 9 High Line is a metro-perfume.

High Line sounds like everything I want in a perfume: base notes of masculinity disguised by flirty, feminine top notes. I, for one, cannot wait to try this one out. I’m pretty positive it’s going to be the perfect spring fragrance.

$220 for 100ml; $145 for 50ml www.bondno9.com available March 2010.

Valentine’s Day Tip #3

Tip #3: Grab the coffee beans.

Perfume is one of the most popular gifts on Valentine’s Day. (It’s always been one of my favorites!) I tried to look up the origin of perfume for Vday gifts, but I got fed up from sorting through all the terrible “Valentine’s Day Gift Suggestion” websites. So to that question, I will never know the answer.

Since this is a gift, I suggest you picking out a different perfume than the one she usually wears. This is a gift from you and I’ve always thought there was something very sweet about wearing a perfume that a guy picked out especially for me!

With that being said hop in your car  and head to the department store of your choice. Ask the salesperson for a canister of coffee beans and several of their best selling perfumes. Smelling one scent after another can really confuse your nose so take a big whiff of the coffee beans to reset your sense of smell after sniffing out each scent. Narrow it down to the two or three you like the best and then ask a few salesgirls for their opinions.

I’ll suggest a few of my favorites to help get you started.

It’s no secret that I love Bond No. 9 fragrances. They have about 40 different scents and pretty much all of them are fantastic. My top three are Union Square, Scent of Peace and Astor Place.

They are each $150 for 50 ml and $210 for 100 ml. The perfume comes with a postcard to fill out and send in and the company will send the recipient a travel size of each new scent launched.

Another perfume that is always a winner in my book is Chanel Chance.

It runs between $60-115 depending on the size of the bottle.

My last recommendation is Chloe. It is between $85-110.

Again, those are just suggestions. Pick the one you like best. And don’t forget to smell the coffee beans!

All the above are available at Saks.