Book Hunt 2010-2011

It's impossible to ever go into a thrift store and not see at least 2 or 3 Sue Grafton books. I started thinking she must be one of the most beloved authors in the country ( and prolific !), so i made an invisible challenge in Sept that i am going to try and buy the entire series but with certain conditions.

Condition # 1: I can only buy them in thrift stores .

Condition #2: I have to buy them only in alphabetical order.

Condition #3: If i have any at home or have read any , that won't count. Still need to search for them and then read them in alphabetical order. Gifts of any of these would also NOT count.

Condition #4: Must log where they were bought.

So dear readers, its now November 27th and it has taken that long to find the first.
Written in 1982 "A is for Alibi" begins the treasure hunt for all of Ms Grafton's books in this series. Letter T book is due to drop on November 30th , but of course by the time i get to T it will be in all the thrift stores I'm sure !

Stay tuned for the treasure hunt as we head into 2011 !

A is for Alibi: 11/27/10 Discovery Thrift Shop Burbank

Divinity in a Donut

To say I wish i had thought of the Maple Bacon Donut idea is putting it mildly !
Having been a lover of all things Maple since being a kid i did start to get discouraged when my co workers actually had to tell me that my yearly " gift" of maple sugar candies were not only not liked they dreaded me bringing them back to them every summer. Sold only in a small amount of north east gift shops, they are in fact sugar drenched in maple flavor and then pressed like bricks into tooth breaking
replica's of mini maple leaves. Apparently another one of those things maybe you had to be raised on.

I am pretty sure i am the only household in Los Feliz that has not one but two bottles of Mapeline in my pantry. If there was every a retro product its Mapeline, as dark as the black hole and I'm pretty sure its deep maple essence has absolutely nothing to do with the real thing. I wouldn't be surprised to find out its totally a byproduct of an oil spill, its that black in its tiny bottle, but nothing will kick up that packet oatmeal like a single drop !

But back to heaven on earth ! Last week Nick and i went for the newly famous Maple Bacon donut at the Nickel Diner and we were beyond ecstatic. Its just like the best thing in the world and worth every calorie !
I would even venture to say, and idea that could be replicated at home with a 6 pack from Dunkin donuts and a pack of that pre cooked Oscar Myer its that good of an idea to steal ! I mean don't get me wrong the Nickel one is HUGE, the donut itself is already above any donut standard set , and there was no whiff of fake Mapeline in their product, however they open at 8:00 and i was up at 6:00 today, so a girl has to make due. The only thing is donut shops /LA /Maple, its totally not the same. Dunkin ( when they have them in stock , and by the way corporate guys at Dunkin, when the hell did not having maple donuts in your bins 24/7 start? Move those lousy white bagels out and get back to your namesake ! ) If i lived next to a Dunkin, I can tell you i would wear them out about that, they are just so lucky I'm a visitor because that's just wrong !) but i digress...

So not only did we try the Maple Bacon donuts, the Nickle diner has amazing other flavors as well. Nick said the Nutella which did look like a small fist, was even better the next day. That should tell you we didn't just " try" them, we basically stole the stock they would let us have that morning ! Ricky's grandmother used to serve him leftover stale donuts squished flat in a pan grilled in butter. I'm telling you don't turn your nose up until you have tried that ! It can turn a supermarket plain carton into something dinner party worthy !

Its so fantastic to see such creativity on an item we would consider so mundane, so thank you to all the creative chefs out there ( and all the frugal grandmothers !)
So lets take our inspiration from unlikely places and go get crackin in the kitchen !

i Love all things High Def !

There maybe something to this movement of calling things High Def.
When i was given a sample of Cargo's High Def blush a year ago, i was like really even blush is high def now, and its one of the only times i used the sample in the morning and bought the product by the end of the day. It really is that unique.

The entire product line is finely milled or highly pigmented specifically for photoshoots. What took me over a year to get the powder is the big question.
Last Saturday i was in Miami( and if there was ever a reason for powder that climate is it !) and i strolled into the local South Beach Ulta. There a lovely young lady told me that if i bought the High Def powder i got the really nifty very specialized powder brush for like 2.00 more. Didn't have to twist my arm, and this brush is really amazing ! Its not a kabuki brush its more flat sleek and dense but im telling you im not sure if its the brush the powder or both, but if your looking for flawless
you have to pick this up !

In fact i have tried the brush with just NY and company ( CVS end aisle) mineral powder and really it did work as well. However i do think the finer high def powders are worth the money !



In fact Makeup Forever makes an almost white high def powder , which was at the register at Sephora in a bin, looked like a 2.00 pot of gloss----NOT. It was over 30.00, but i was in Vegas i think so i just figured well its got to be really good and it is ! The crazy thing is , i've put it in this holy grail of its to good to use which is mental! This is almost white , as finely milled as anything you've ever seen, but it sets and mattifies like nothing i have ever used !

If you ever see it get it, especially for anytime you might encounter any paparatzzi ! You can ever be to High Def !

Girlfriends do give the best suggestions !

I've been looking for surf spray for my unnaturally straight hair for about 3 weeks now and i don't know why i haven't hit the Internet but i just haven't. Last summer seemed like every major brand had a seasonal version, including in my opinion the best one by my favorite brand Mark , by Avon. This year product can't be found, i swear Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray was on the end of a little visited aisle at CVS for a year until i went looking for it ! And I'm sure at half the price of whatever it is at a salon.

Anyway , last week i run into Extraordinary PR ladies from Starfish, and i commented how great their hair looked and good true friends they are they told me the secret product !

Go get Garnier Surf Hair right now, it's fantastic ! It's in an acid green tub and with the gels, not necessarily in the larger Garnier section of conditioner items. When i hit the Hollywood Rite Aid ( and it seemed like it was the most dangerous place in the world at 6:30 on Thursday night, but that's another story) it was even on sale for 2.99 ! Regularly 4.99, i hadn't even tried it and i bought 3 !

It's the greatest product, adds just enough texture and it smells wonderful !

I am glad I complimented my girls, and so glad they shared the secret !
See it always pays to be nice ! Thanks again to Alison and Angela !

I love this movie !

I know I'm usually the one pushing one book or another but I am in love with this movie. I'm not sure how i found out about it but I'm seriously thinking of telling Netflix it got lost in the mail.

It's a french film called The Crimson Rivers. Apparently it was a huge french book which this is a " version" of. The liner notes say its an atmospheric thriller . That is putting it mildly. The Scenery,and the school that its shot in are really almost as interesting as the story. I've watched it twice, and i have to say, i saw some Netflicks comments that said don't watch it dubbed in English, and boy were they right. If you watch it in English it sounds like a bad cop flick, and its just to weird, but in French its sublime.

I watched the " extras " and i have never ever seen such bitchiness from an Actor before on any extra material. I'm kind of surprised they even included it ! What a cry baby, the movie is fantastic, but i guess actors are actors,,,,,but it was really kind of funny to see what they thought about the production. If you think the movie is a bit confusing apparently the book is about twice as complex. I doubt in America you would ever find such honest comments about the work. The director starts out by saying the second day it snowed wrecking any continuity of the shoot and how they were writing the script somewhat around the weather. You have to love that, even thought I'm sure that does happen here in the US, no one would ever say that. I just though it was really funny to see the director, the producer and the B character kind of go at it in the clips . They could have been an ethnic family For god sake, and of the actor i would say pretty accepting of his comments! More like " yeah our whiny kid brother ! "

Then there is Jean Reno, who I am totally in love with. I can't really remember the names of the other things I've seen him in, but i love those deep tortured detectives ! I may say this way to much, but it would be great if he could be my neighbor. Wouldn't that be great to have a fabulous french actor next door, go out there and get your paper , say " hey good morning Jean, come have coffee, tell me what it was like filming in the Alps ". OK most likely not going to happen, but just in case I'm going to brush up on all his work.

So do put this on your list of movies to rent , I'm for sure buying a copy. When the mood strikes for a dark , architectural mystery in an absolute frigid climate, this is the one I'm going for !

Just what you need when you want a little bit of winter in August !

Regional Food Nostalga

Call me crazy,( but i know at least one other person in the Northeast who feels this way..).......there is nothing like Poland Spring Water !
When i get to an airport that has that familiar green label i know I'm on my way to the homeland.

That made me start to wonder is it a regional thing? Do you tend to get nostalgic and love the things you can not have? At least once on a trip home I will try to get to a Stop and Shop and just walk the Portuguese Food aisle with the reverence i usually reserve for the cosmetic dept at Barney's.

A few weeks ago i went to a Gallery show where the photographers' comments said his inspiration was "GOYA ". My first thought was the Portuguese Food brand? Turns out it stands for Get Off Your Ass ( and do something) in the art world.

That's very different from the packets of " seasoning" that my mother put in everything from scrambled eggs to pork dishes. It wasn't until i was in my 40's and begging for someone to ship them to me that i started to think, what's really in there ?
They are small packets filled with obviously paprika and turmeric, because no matter what you make its all the same shade of " Portuguese orange ". I think really its nothing but colored MSG, but damn if it does not add magic to whatever you put it in ! In my middle years i kind of scorned it but in recent years as I've gotten less snobby and actually started to miss the ethnic foods they tried to push on me as a kid, I've hauled out the old GOYA and been very happy to have them.
The strange thing is GOYA is actually pretty strong in all Ethnic markets, but i think there must be some very selective demographic research going on there because although they may own an aisle in the markets around town they don't waste any shelf space with the one or two Portuguese people in the area !

So today's Eye Spy I Buy moral is don't skip those unknown food aisles in your market, the several dollars you spend could be just the excitement your menu needs
and you can get a basket of stuff for the price of a few " real saffron" buds.
Course you may be begging for water because of all the salt, but what the hell, if it was good enough for my momma, then its good enough for me !

The Shadow of the Wind, how a book can make a mark on you

I've had lots of books come into my life but none quite as specific as this one.

Two summers ago we went to Chebeague Island, Maine to celebrate the islanders revolt at Nabisco for not making the historic large Chowder Bisquits anymore. We read about it in the New York Times, and thought if there was ever a reason to stage a vacation revolt this was the one. We ditched the Caribbean, and went to Maine instead ! We weren't successful in getting huge bakery Nabisco to continue making something many New Englanders grew up on, but we did get to enjoy the menu at Chebeague Island Inn made exclusively with these " Milk Crackers". Yep, the chef devoted the entire summer menu as an ode to these large crackers, from the stuffing in the lobster, to the berry tarts ! Needless to say the trip would have been a success had the food been the only thing that was amazing, but little did i know what else would be coming into my life !

You get to Chebeague Island by boat,its vintage Maine at its best. Limited cars, no TV, it was fantastic. Its so small you can walk it in about an hour, and that is where on one of my walks i found the public library . Naturally i had to go in, and after walking around, i found the Library Sale shelf . I mean this shelf was in the last aisle way down practically on the floor. Now we have all been to library sales or yard sales, you always have the assortment of books that are basically orphans. They are only going home as a sympathy purchase . I have a rule i buy any dictionary i see, it just seems tragic to me to let them languish.

BUT

there on that bottom shelf i find this tattered copy of a book called " The Shadow of the Wind" by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. The Cover of the book itself looks vintage, but even more spooky i can't find this exact cover in any of the searches ive tried to attach here today! Set in Barcelona in 1945 its about a mysterious book by an even more mysterious author. The opening chapter is called The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, and basically it opens with everyone gets to pick one book that they will champion and protect from destruction! This could define Literary Gothic !

The way this book came to me, its just surreal ! From the minute i started it i felt like it was Real, as if ,this was my book to protect!

Needless to say i spent the next few days with my nose in it, which at a real old fashioned Maine lodge, no phones, knotty pine everywhere,great fireplaces, and porches, is the best place to dive into a really good book .

I came back raving about this book to everyone,,,,,,,,however, its the only book i own that i will not lend out. I just feel it came to me in such a special spooky way that it would be folly to lend.

However, i found an equally used copy at a thrift shop in the Valley and it was my great pleasure to buy it and pass it right into the hands of Arlene who was with me.

If you are looking to be intrigued, engaged , to lose yourself completely to a book, get this one now.

There is even a followup called The Angel's Game, its sitting here on my table and I've had it since it came out , but its so new, so crisp, hardcover, its almost like it lacks soul. Maybe i can find a used copy, that will draw me into the deep recess of moody Barcelona again. It is just about the same time of year and I am headed to that beach shack in RI soon,,,,,,

So don't turn away at book sales, we may all have that single volume to protect in the cemetery of books one day,,,,,,,you never know when that one perfect book will find you !

Oh my ,You look so Young !

I never thought i would invest in an expensive eyebrow session. Not because i wouldn't lay out the money, just because i never seemed to catch the brow lady in at Nordstroms in Glendale. Now you know there are multiple ads about " brow ladies " of Beverly hills, but those who know me, going west of western to get my brows done is just not an option ! I'm making myself laugh, i wouldn't go west of western unless it was A : not available anywhere else in the City ( and by that i mean east of western , like even Boston is still OK !), or B : no not even free, go back to A.

However kismet prevailed and the Anastasia brow lady was there in Nordstroms/Glendale on Saturday !
No matter where you are in the city, call Lauren DiCicco (818)502 992 ext 1912 at the Glendale location and make an apt NOW! I can not believe it, not only did i think NBF material the minute she let that back east accent roll, but she had me at we do not do trendy brows ! Finally someone to tell me what's best in brows !

Lauren D did her magic in a chair in an aisle , not what i would have designed for my Saturday brow 'soiree", but after what she did, i would let her tend my brows in a center divider at high noon ! Did i mention she even made my glasses look better, and that is not easy. I've been thinking my entire head was crooked when i got these nerdy thick frame design glasses, even lovely Catherine p from Wisconsin said, "Its" not the glasses its your eyebrows " ! Damn if she wasn't right !

I can't believe the difference, i look so well rested ! So treat yourself and find someone who knows brows, you'll look thinner too !

Really you can get that from a Gorilla ?

Once again more great product to report from my favorite place to drop by.
This time the CVS on San Fernando road, which is a pretty good location for "interesting" product. With its great parking and central location its my go to CVS for inspiration !

I didn't actually buy the Gorilla Products, but you know i will !
Just a matter of using up the other crazy stuff in that drawer right now.

My bathroom as a crime scene

I woke up last week feeling a scratch on my nose. I'd like to blame it on a 3 carat diamond but i think it was just me fighting off dream ninjas or something. It did hurt like hell, which really is a lousy way to see 5 am, so i got up, little dog of course right on my heals,waiting for his vittles, and there is more blood pouring out of a nanosize cut on the tip of my nose than i could ever have thought possible. Ill tell you if that much blood can come from a scratch, i can't imagine a real crime scene. I'm squishing my nose to stop the bleeding,Andy is just running around begging for his breakfast, it was hysterical! Try making tea, cutting Andy's steak, and bleeding droplets of blood through the tissue bits Ive consecutively plastered to the scratch. It would not stop ! I finally went on line to see how to stop bleeding because pressure was doing absolutely nothing.

Here's my take on the free Internet advice, SuperGlue? maybe but i was not about to try that on my nose at 5:30 AM, Nu-skin which i think is really like watered down superglue ( burned like hell, and blood oozed right thru.

The winner ? Baking Powder ! I don't know why it worked, but it did. Oh it hurt like hell, and I looked like an extra in a drug movie but it worked immediately !

So I can't vouch for any other places for cuts, and i very much doubt it would be of any help to you if you were trying to hide a crime but if you scratch your nose--- head to the kitchen and pray no one baked !

Does this make you Hot or what?

Now I know I have done my share of pitching products from CVS but i maintain on a bad day where else will 5.00 lift your spirits quite so high!

I've also said to hit those less " traveled" aisles, but just in case you thought I had stopped buying stuff that i totally can not read the labels on ,,,,,,,,,,,,,

yes here is something that could not be left on the shelf !

Cabellina, Chile Con Remero Conditioner ! I didn't get the shampoo because well that seemed just to over the top !
Look at the size of that bottle and i swear it was for sure under 5.00 !

Was it a little scary the first time i used it ,of course ! Does it work? As well as any other value item you would buy in a huge bottle with a pump........

And is it spicy ? Yes and the craziest part is your hair smells like mild green salsa until its totally dry ( and maybe several hours later, you kind of get used to it, so I'm not sure i can judge accurately!

Would i buy it again ? Probably not, has it given me great fun? You BET !

I had already gotten my yucks with the girl at the register! Never mind when I got it home !

So remember never let language stop you from shopping ( but try not to confuse the conditioner from the salad dressing either !)

Chicago for a Fill ?

So for 3 weeks I've been De-lighted with my super lovely red gel nails that were expertly applied for under 60.00 in less than 60 minutes in only an above average Chicago nail salon. However even the best things need a touch up so about 2 weeks ago i started searching for Gel nails / Los Angeles. I found what appeared to be a fantastic choice in Little Tokyo, which anyone following nails knows, Japan even has monthly magazines about nail tech and design, if there ever was going to be a place to try , this was it.

So do i go , No ! I go to a place , that had Gel in its ad, and was voted best nail salon in Pasadena. Opi Salon, all indicators are good right? I even go there to make the appt. the very nice young woman examines my nails , we set up the appt for the next day.

When did i realize things were about to go Horribly Horribly bad ? Right about when 5 nail tech ladies swarmed me and said the gel is red ! You might have thought i just brought leprosy into the salon. So i look at them and go yes, i got these 3 weeks ago in Chicago , like i said yesterday ! What the hell are you looking at my like that for? Do you not get any trade magazines? For god sake look at my blog posts from last summer . I ask you readers how can we consistently know more than the ladies behind the cosmetic counters, and obviously much more than anyone in the nail business. What i want to know is how can they be an OPI salon and have missed the entire OPI gel axxis innovation.

Needless to say , now I'm in the chair, they only have pink gel and she is pulling out a DRILL ! Two hours later, I pulled my hands from the UV light machine ( which i hear is like getting 4 times the UV sunburn rays ,so your nails will look great but your hands will be of a hag !)

I went from having the most lovely red nails that withstood the rigors of a major trade show to pinky lee nails. I drew the line at the hard white edge, I'm down with a lot of things but Stripper nails , not even i can say yes to .

Tune in two weeks from now, when the big question will be How do i get my Glam back?

Moral of the Story: be careful when you make commitment beauty decisions on the road !!!!!!!!!!!

Where do you get the best eyeliners ever? Surprise!

Of course its at CVS . I know you can get them other places but we all know CVS rules across the nation.

So back to the best eyeliner pencils ever, styli-style available either as an end cap or a smaller display close to end may not have the most extensive of offerings but what they do make are really fantastic. They have waterproof items, glimmer ones, and the best sharpener ever ! I know how can someone go on about an eyeliner sharpener, well ( and this really is the truth) I passed on seeing Sarah Silverman Live Thursday night , i wouldn't say i stayed home to sharpen my eye pencils, but given the time alone that was in fact what i did ( and all the lip pencils as well !). It felt great too ! I bought a vintage shot glass and they are all in there perfectly sharpened just waiting to prove how good they are. The silly part is they are basically all the same shade of green - teal on the eye side, and all hot red on the lip side. Let's just say I've done my part to help the American Cosmetic Industry !

What makes the sharpener fantastic is it has a fat and a thin sharpener side, and it contains all the mess. It has some kick ass blade in there too because the pencils come out cleaner than anything else i own.

So another reminder to shop for the best and not to be snotty and think the best need a trip and the aggravation of going to the mall ! Hit your CVS and enjoy the extra time at the end caps !

Gel nails, its kind of far to return to Chicago for the fill !

Now you would think i would have been done with that whole gel nail concept, but i was in Chicago and i overheard a friend talking about this mysterious gel nail coating that makes your manicure last for 3 weeks. So Miss Eye Spy started right in on the grilling , was it OPI , were the colors limited, did it lasts? She must be very distracted when she gets her nails done because she caved under my grilling, about all i got out of her was it was not OPI. I do apologize for my detective like questioning dear, but i am here to provide a service to my readers !

I didn't really give it another thought until the Bentley Prince Street girls hit the closest salon to our hotel many days later, and low and behold on the menu, the mysterious " Gel Coatings". Also about half the price of my previous foray into the OPI gel nail route and an extensive offering of colors. After being assured that " no damage will be done in the processing of your natural nails" i jumped in !
Its been a full week now and they look prettier than ever.

Now a new worry, there were no trademarks for what product i was getting. The wonderfully talented , very hip nail person was not really very forthcoming with what i was getting. I got the feeling it was very very " aftermarket" but they looked so good she could have been applying fiberglass i really did not care in the least. However, now what? It did say you can soak these babies off in 15 minutes ( which you have to do if you ever want to really change the entire color in gel)but i love them !

This is a wonderful invention and we need to get it out beyond the realm of the " branded " salons ! That's my biggest beef with LA, you would think we would get all the best products first, but every time i go East I'm shocked at how much more of everything they have. I'm serious ! Go stand in a Stop and Shop in the Northeast vs an Albertson's in the West and you will know what i'm talking about. Every time i go home I'm like damn they have more choices in Mustard than we have in all of the condiment aisle! Never mind a Dunkin Donuts on every corner ( but that's another post)!

All I'm saying is I need gel and flying to Chicago is not an option!

So LA Salons, get your postings on Yelp cause I need a Los Angeles place to brag on, if anyone can pass the word to Gloss, be my guest! Gloss is hands down the coolest, grooviest ,hippest nail salon in all of Los Angeles. We don't need any 310 glam West of Western! We have the elegance of Gloss, and that suits us just fine !
Take this as a Will Advise all!

Does this Girl ever get exhausted with the talk of SelfTanner?

I don't want to scare anyone but if your a fan of L'oreal Sublime bronze tinted self tanner i would strongly suggest you run out and buy at least one more tube. Has anyone but me noticed how scarce its becoming? Not to start a frenzied run on the product but when in Chicago recently friend Noelle and I were spotted sweeping the shelves of the local CVS of the last tubes there.

We have nothing to formally go on , but if you are a fan of the best gel tinted lotion, minimal stinky smell and absolutely awesome amount of "Metallic glint" then I'd go get the car keys and start roaming the city. Your only worry should be in Noelle and I are in town !

Swedish book pitch not what you think

So its been far to long since i made a literary pitch, and im not bragging on that i was ahead of the curve here..........but .

Last winter Masterpiece Mystery (Thank you WGBH Boston , best PBS station in the nation !) had 3 drama's based on Henning Mankells' Wallander character.

Now you all know how into the Dragon Tattoo series i am but this is even more full of scenery and moodiness. What do you expect detective Kurt Wallander to be ? Of course an opera buff with a drinking problem , astute perception and the most god awful climate on earth. I was made to love this character! Think Inspector Morse without a side kick and even worse weather !
I just finished Faceless Killers the first in the series, and i never wanted to get out of the car ! I have at least 6 titles ( audio) in the trunk right now, i could possibly drive to NY and still arrive with a contented look on my face.

Saturday's NY Times front page had an article how the death of Stieg Larsson has only made all of the other Swedish writers a hot commodity. By my bed right now im reading the so called " prime suspect " of Sweden. Author Helene Turstens' character is Detective Inspector Huss, and she definitely rocks! This is my second book in her series, and I love her . A police detective married to a chef with twin teenage daughters who loves wine, excuse me what's not to love. Did i mention she is also totally in love with her dog, no wonder I was hooked from page one.

Then there is Asa Larsson, another winner of Sweden's best crime novel award.
Sun Storm also by my bed is another moody violent but incredibly literary voice from Scandinavia. You have to understand these are not " thrillers" nor just " mysteries" they are rich deep works of fiction with commentary on everything from relationships in families to society in general. To even try to place a label on them is just so trite.

You get the sense that Sweden has potential to be one seriously dangerous place but also an incredibly intelligent country to hang . The best part of my weekend was i was sitting by my wonderful pool, palm trees waving, iced Rose in the tumbler, little andy poocha laying in the shade and I'm reading about a white out snowstorm outside Stockholm. Now that's my kind of summer read.

Get yourself to the library and on the Henning Mankell wait list, start with Faceless Killers if you can, and if you are on NetFlix, stop what you are doing and type in Wallander and get all the series. There will only be 2 discs, also available on Amazon ( of course i bought them, LA friends you are welcome to borrow the DVD's) ,,,,,,,you are about to get such a wonderful treat !

Dear friends,i do hope you enjoy them as much as i am !
Not just stuff, Your literary shopper as well!.

Helmut Lang dress and the day it finally fit

Now you know how much i love dresses, so earlier in the year (January) i found this dress on the sale rack at the Barneys Co-op . I have always wanted to have a Helmut Lang anything. I remember going into the Soho store (maybe 8 years ago) and just basking in the total minimalist aesthetic of it. Then i had to leave with just cologne, because really almost everything in there was more than my house payment !

So when i saw this dress i thought even if i have to have organs removed im getting it ! Yes i really did leave the store that day with it not even zipping !!!!!!!! But im glad i did, cause if you think the back is cool, you really should see the front. Its the most basic black dress you could possibly imagine and yet it has the sexiest cutouts with little mesh bits. Its like something you'd see on a little girls " heidi" kind of summer sundress and then rocked out to a goth extreme !

It is smokin****' and if it never fits again, no matter, its what i want to be buried in ! No one will know if they have to split the back !

When i brought that dress to Chicago i wasn't even sure it would fit and it was a real delight when it did ! It was worth all the effort in the world, and as my friend Samantha Weisman said it was no longer the products that made that market but the dress !

Long live Helmut Lang and even more important a really good sale rack !

Missing Shopper?

How many times can a blogger apologize for being MIA ? Well that's an exponential number really, so let me stop and start kicking some content your way to show you i am not the flake i give off i am!

First off i have not been as frugal as the lack of content would imply, if you are my facebook friend you know there was no shortage of cash dropped on that Helmut Lang dress i rocked at NeoCon.

What have i been buying, well since May i've been saying nothing but good things about the end cap Milano cosmetic section at CVS. Run and get yourself their super diamond gloss ! What will that set you back? Maybe 6.00? Everything they have in the line is super concentrated with color, i have the feeling its intended for women of color, and being Portuguese i figure i rank in that category. If your very fair, you might want to be careful, you could look like a club kid at work, but for us creatives that's only a bonus !

What are you still doing here , didn't i just tell you to go shop !

funny thing for me to blog on

You won't believe this is what I'm choosing to blog on but anyone who I've raved live to on this product knows I am Hooked !!
If you aren't using daily shower spray in your shower you for sure are working to hard to clean. I love Daily Shower Spray, its available in a hundred variations from the Chic bottle Method has to the basic Safeway variety. They all work great and here's the deal, it takes no effort to spray the glass and when you get home later its like the cleaning lady was there ! Seriously, this is the most underrated product ever. I am convinced that the only reason my glass doors look so good after 3 years is my semi diligent use of shower spray. I know this product is great because my use really is half ass and I'm not always even the last one in the shower, so factor that in and this is a really really great product sector !

This is the real spirit of Eye Spy I Buy, if its great it needs to get its due so go out and get yourself some shower spray its way cheaper than daily maid service

Re use but maybe for the actual use !

Well that whole use a product for another use almost always works, but in the case of conditioner, not so good.
Oh well, i tried , so hope the maid at the hotel likes it when i leave it behind next time. Does anyone else do that? I can't tell you the number of open bottles ,used once, of nail polish remover I've left in hotel rooms over the years ! I should leave a note i suppose but if i were a cleaning lady i sure the hell would not be throwing out nail polish remover or hairspray left behind. I'm always thrilled when a house guest leaves something , its like ohhhh !something new to try for free !
So for the record if your coming to stay , plan to leave lighter !
Have a gorgeous day all !

Frugalista the cosmetic approach

Anyone who knows me, knows i'm always trying to push a lipstick that's just not the right thing for me, the gloss i hate the taste of
so it should come as no shock that it kills me to have hair care products i hate but can't bring myself to toss !
so that's how i discovered body lotion as shaving cream ( best idea ever !) you cut down time, no shivvers as you lotion up in a freezing bathroom, and you even smell better longer!
Ok so today's experiment, which ill have to advise on later.....using curl deactivator creme as conditioner, so far so good, went on even better rinsed faster, and maybe will have straightening powers after the dry? i just hate the way they make my hair feel crunchy, not so much that i don't have like 5 in the drawer, each time hoping this product will be the ONE!
Will advise if this is the trick to clean out the drawer !
I do love the Re-Use idea !
Have a gorgeaus day all !