Tiffany's has a nice gift guide, with many surprisingly affordable options.
For example, this Elsa Peretti Color by the Yard necklace in sterling and aquamarine is a quite reasonable $125.
Tiffany Key Pendant, 2" long in sterling silver, $175.
Tiffany Snowflake earrings in sterling silver, $175
A gift in the Tiffany blue box is always nice...
I received my J. Crew Holiday catalog in the mail yesterday. They used a beautiful matte paper for the cover and finished it with metallic text... talk about getting all the details right...
Anyway, it's a treasure trove of great gifts... and things for one's self of course! They also have a nifty gift guide on the site, here.
I love this dramatic necklace, the Salon Necklace, $150. It's a cool tangle of chains in gold plated brass with glass stones. A bit expensive perhaps for costume jewelry, but it's quite a statement piece.
I received for my birthday yesterday a most wonderful surprise, this very tiny Nespresso Citiz Espresso machine. Its footprint of 5" wide x 14-1/2" deep fits even the smallest NYC kitchen.
The machine is made in Switzerland and has an impressive 19 bars of pressure and uses the super-convenient Nespresso pods. Mine came with the Aeroccino+ Milk Frother, although the machine is also available separately. I think it's smart that they made the frother separately since so many people only drink espresso and not having the frother built into the machine keeps the size down. It comes with samples of all their coffee pods so you can figure out which is your favorite.
Yay! I am totally excited to try it out!
Good grief, it's November! Bummer, the best part of Fall is over already, now it's time for cold... and the holidays.
Anyway... it's never a bad idea to start thinking about holiday gifts early. There's nothing worse than getting caught in say, the second week of December, having done no shopping at all! These days so many stores and brands make up convenient gift sets to make it easier for us. Okay, so maybe that's little lame and lacks originality - - but how original can you be, really, when you think about it - - none of us "need" anything anyway!
Since I'm such a fan of Fresh products, I think their gift sets are a nice idea because given as a gift, they will certainly get used. Unlike some chachke that could sit around in a closet for years. They've got some nice sets this year, you can browse them here.
In particular, I really like the Petite Candle Trio, $45. It's 3 - 70g candles in frankincense, myrrh and gold packaged in a beautiful gift box. It's worth it just to find out what the heck frankincense smells like!
They also have a limited edition Brown Sugar Gift Set, $75 that includes 400g Brown Sugar Body Polish, 100 ml Brown Sugar Body Cream and 250g Brown Sugar Oval Soap. The soap is (unfortunately) only available with this gift set. I LOVE the smell of the brown sugar line so I would love to be able to buy the soap alone too.
Chanel has a new eye kit, Le Regard de Noir (smoky eye essentials), everything you need for the perfect smoky eyes, all packaged in a beautiful case. It's a great gift, for a friend or yourself! I don't know about you, but I need serious help with the smoky eye... I hope this comes with instructions!
It includes Les 4 Ombres shadows in smoky eyes, Le Crayon Khol pencil in noir, Exceptionnel de Chanel mascara in noir, Le Pinceau Ombre #2 brush and a mini size of Demaquillant Yeux Intense makeup remover. $140.
The 2009 Christmas book is now available to browse online.
It's always full of the most decadent gifts, the stuff people really want!
Here are some hightlights:
Valentino boots and hobo. (bag comes in taupe, red and black) Boots $1495, Hobo $2395.
Gucci Icon Bit Tote, $1190.
Milly Panne Velvet Dress, $495
Roberto Coin Capri Plus Earrings, Necklace and Bangles, $1750 - 13500.
You can order a copy of the catalog for $15, here.
These two Dior rings, both on sale at eLuxury, would both make great Valentine's gifts. Any girl would love these because they're Dior!
Dior Heart Box Large Ring, regular $275, sale $165.
Dior Heart Small Box Ring, regular $275, sale $165. (It's funny, the prices for both sizes of the ring are listed as the same. One of them must be a mistake???)
Both are rhodium plated metal and have the quilting design that Dior uses on their handbags, and come in a Dior gift box. Hearts are kind of goofy, but I like these anyway.
To add just a bit of color to an outfit, I'd wear one of these rings and the Stuart Weitzman red pumps with jeans and a black shirt, simple but cool.
Talk about a unique gift - - Estee Lauder has made this cute lobster compact that is filled with Beautiful solid perfume. It's kind of silly, and maybe even old-ladyish, but I love it!
Estee Lauder Beautiful Lobster Compact, $250, Neiman Marcus exclusive
I think it would make a great Valentine, even better along with a lobster dinner!!!!
These playing cards are so cool and sleek looking in all black. $16 at mollaspace.com. They'd make a good gift for anyone who likes to play cards once in a while. Really, everyone should have at least one deck of cards in the house, right?
Happy Holidays to everyone! Here's a great last minute gift or fun thing to pick up to serve for Christamas Eve dessert tonight: a Bûche de Noël!
We're lucky here in New York there are several bakeries that make these. I am sure every city has some options. Payard's bakery is open until 5 pm tonight and they have a beautiful "Bagatelle" bûche with chestnut sponge cake and chestnut mousse. They have 4 different sizes that run between $26 and $65. Citarella is open until 9 pm tonight, but I'm sure they'll run out way before that. They have 2 sizes, and I believe the smaller one is $19. Or, if it's too late for this year; next year you can plan ahead and order one from Williams Sonoma (shown above). It is no longer available this year, but they have one every year.
There's a nice article in the New York Times' Paris Journal about the French traditions of Champagne and Bûche de Noël for the holiday.
Cheers and Happy Christmas Eve!
If you've got a slick city man in your life then chances are he wears cuff links quite often... but even if not "often" then most men wear them at least once in a while. And, great bonus - you can borrow them too! I think cuff links are cool for men because they don't get to have all the jewelry that we do. They are pretty low profile but give the opportunity to add some individual style to a mabye boring suit.
For the non-conformist: King Baby Studio Skull Cuff Links, $380. Sterling sliver.
For the sophisticate: David Yurman Cigar Band Cuff Links, $425. Sterling silver and 14k yellow gold.
For the Gucci boy: Gucci Bamboo Cuff Links, $315. Sterling silver.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! The day after Thanksgiving marks the official start of holiday shopping and this year it's going to be crazy! Lots of sales for sure...
It's great to have a long weekend. If you are visiting family or going to friends for Thanksgiving, here a couple of wines that make splendid gifts. One is reasonably priced, the other a bit more.
First, this delicious 1998 St. Emilion Bordeaux, Chateau Simard. You can find it at Sherry Lehmann if you're in the city. It's 10 years old now so that always impresses people, but it's a very reasonable $23.95.... and it's good, really good!
Then, my favorite festive champagne. It's a little pricey, but certain occasion merit a splurge. Billecart-Salmon Brut Rose NV, $79 aprox. This is my favorite rose for sure.
Either of these are very classy and say (without words) that you're thoughtful - not a moron who forgot and picked up a crappy bottle on the way. (good grief, nothing worse than a bottle of Yellowtail!)
Cheers!
Caudalie, the wonderful vinotherapie skincare company, is offering a free travel kit with any $50 purchase now through Nov. 20. So it's a great time to start early for Christmas shopping. Their gifts sets are a great way to introduce someone to the line.
The "Spa in a Box" set is a reasonable $38 and includes small sizes of their popular crushed cabernet scrub, hand and nail cream, vine peach shower gel, fleur de vigne soap and nourishing body lotion. (oh, I LOVE this body lotion, it smells SO GOOD).
The "Vinoperfect Radiance Set" is $98 and includes Vinoperfect Radiance Serum, Vinoperfect Day Perfecting Cream SPF 15, Vinoperfect Night Correcting Cream and a small Beauty Elixer.
Both of these sets would make great gifts. You can also buy the travel kit for $15 and those make great stocking stuffers.
Caudalie's profile just went up a notch here in the US because they just opened their newest spa at The Plaza.
If you've been lucky enough to get invited to the Hamptons or the Shore... or anywhere this summer, here are some some hostess/host gift ideas. Yes, even if they're your best friend(s) you still need to bring something!
Montaudon Brut Rose Champagne - seriously who doesn't love Champage, and Rose is just more festive. Montaudon Rose is delicious and one of the best values in Roses which are always more expensive. Amazing sale price of $29.99 at Vingo Wine online, or if you need to pick it up (in New York) $39.95 at Sherry Lehman. At either price it's still a great deal!
Matouk Auberge towels (Egyptian cotton and 650 gram weight) feature a monogrammed letter that is actually woven into the towel, not embroidered. A set of 2 hand towels in the letter of the couple's last name, of if it's just for your friend (and not a couple) you could do the first name initial. $36 at Horchow.
A gift that keeps on giving - a Wusthof Santoku hollow-edge 5" knife! This is an incredibly versatile knife that is so awesome to work with that they'll never want to cut with anything else. $69.95 at sur la table.
A Diptyque candle is always a great gift. I'd never buy one for myself because there are plenty of other candles that are great but a lot less expensive... but for a gift it's definely "the" candle. They're made in France and burn up to 50 hours. Lavender and Verbena scents are both good choices. $55 at beauty habit.
On a budget? Personally, I'd be very pleased if someone brought me matching Caspari luncheon and cocktail napkins in one of their gorgeous designs. (they make the BEST paper napkins available) Like the Maldives fish design or Chinese peony design in bright orange. Luncheon napkins $5.75/20 and cocktail napkins $4.75/20. They also make matching paper dinner plates for $6.00/8. Great if you don't want to do the dishes, but not tacky like chinzty paper plates. 
