On Our Radar: Let the Good Times Roll!

We love when the mere acts of shopping and eating out help a community. We remember on the first Sex and the City episode post-9/11 how Carrie said it was her patriotic duty to shop downtown. That’s how we felt on our recent trip to New Orleans—we practically wanted to give our money away. As it was, the prices are SO cheap down there, it seemed to us like they were practically giving things away to us—a night at the luxe Windsor Court is only a little more than $200 and this is an Orient Express Hotel we’re talking about; our bill for margaritas and gauc was only $13 (it was happy hour), so for the first time in our lives, we left a 100% tip, and there are plenty of bargains to be found in the boutiques along Magazine Street. At the adorable Ah-Ha boutique, we got a cute, over-sized metallic clutch for only $38, which combined two of our favorite things in one must-have piece.

The bars on Bourbon Street are a little less crowded than they were pre-Katrina and you can walk into Emeril’s NOLA without a reservation, but New Orleans is still a party town. And to echo Carrie’s sentiment—it’s practically your patriotic duty to go.

Don't Drink and Shop!

We know you would never drink and drive, but do you know you’re just as likely to have an accident when you drink and shop? Before you laugh and scoff and think, “That would never happen to me,” let us point out how easy it is to fall into this retail trap:
*In Vegas, there are people whose job it is to conceive of new ways to get you to part with your money—and they’re good at it! Now shopping in Vegas is fabulous and you could spend weeks in the shops at Caesar’s Forum and still not get bored, BUT be particularly vigilant with your cold hard cash and Amex after you’ve had a cocktail or two. That $200 bra at Agent Provacatuer may prove suddenly irresistible.
*These same smart people who work in Vegas are starting to spread their evil talents to other cities: shopping may be the last thing on your mind as you head to Nobu in the Shore Club. But it doesn’t take reservations. You’ve probably been cocktailing before you went out and now you’re stuck with an hour to kill. What’s to do? Shop at Scoop for that sexy $150 tank top you don’t need.
*Stores are offering cocktails to you while you shop, impairing your judgment on the spot. Last time we were at Ted Baker's, we succumbed to a free cosmo while browsing and left with one slinky shirt too many.
If you do shop and drink, follow a few rules:
Set a budget. A $15 tank top that says “Off the Wagon” can be laughed off the next day. A $300+ pair of Lucite stripper shoes cannot.
Always shop with a friend. The more the better. If everyone unanimously agrees that it’s a good purchase, go ahead. If there’s even one nay vote, put that peacock patterned coat back on the rack.
Make sure you can return the item. If it’s your last night, leave your credit cards at home and take only the cash you need.
Remember friends don’t let friends drink and shop!

Cougars in Kenya

We've been hearing a lot about Cougars--women of a certain age--taking vacations to Kenya in hopes of hooking up with young men. The NY Post reported on a 64-year old British woman who showers her temporary, 23-year old Kenyan beau with gifts like sunglasses and fancy dinners. In reality, it's not that much different than an old geezer who picks up a PYT in Vegas and does the same thing, but for some reason it's cast as being so much more unsavory in this case.

We'll reserve our judgment, except to say we hope we're still getting it on when we're in our 60s and beyond (not paying for it, of course) and that we're still making time for girls' getaways--that one's a safe bet!

What do you think about "Cougars on Hunt In Kenya"?

Pack It Up!

While we lust after the T. Anthony Rawhide leather collection--at $1,700 for the makeup case alone (shown above), we can't quite afford it or the valet we imagine required to pack such a piece of art. In the meantime, we'll stick with shopping at stores like Loehman's and Marshalls. This adorable Diane Von Furstenberg bag (shown right) is only $70 at SmartBargains.com, the online outlet for Loehman's. We've had good luck going into the stores as well. Santa, are you listening?

Celeb Spotting

The other night, JSG were at NYC's Socialista. We were hanging out at the bar when hottie Benicio del Toro walked by (he's even sexier in person, if you can believe that!). The girl to our right could barely contain herself and stared at him the whole time, while the two guys to our left started talking about how he's one of our generation's truly great actors. Now with all this attention being paid to him, we assumed our friend saw him too, or at least noticed all the commotion around us and decided we would play it cool. Unfortunately, that was not the case and she missed out on seeing Benicio in all his dark, broody sexiness in person and was angry with us for NOT getting all aflutter and pointing him out.

Would you have fawned over Benicio if you were us? What's your best celeb sighting? Did you play it cool around them?

To find out where rockers stay in NYC click here.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello Fellow Jet Set Girls!
We're taking the week off to celebrate Turkey Day and spend time with our families.

Annie will be in New Orleans for the early part of the week then heading over to Waveland, Mississippi, where she will be helping rebuild homes that were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Both her parents are from the Gulf Coast (Dad is from New Orleans and Mom hails from Mobile), so the area is near and dear to her heart.

Hope will be entertaining her friends and family at her home on Thanksgiving. Kudos to them for traveling, the furthest being her sister-in-law from San Francisco. She'll have a house full of fun, food and chaos all week- just the way she likes it.

Happy Thanksgiving! We'll be posting again on November 26, so check back then!

XOXO

Hands Free

As you’ve probably read in _____________ (insert the name of your favorite fashion magazine here) the clutch is THE bag of the season. We love them because they’re easy to tuck under our arm leaving one hand free to hold our vodka and soda and the other to flirtatiously touch a guy on the arm or flip our hair back over our shoulder. Plus--they’re flat which makes them super-easy to pack.
We’re digging this faux-patent version from the Gap. It’s as skinny as a runway model, but, thankfully long, so we can don’t have to chose between taking out our cell phone and our lip gloss—both fit! Nothing makes us happier than shiny red one—seriously, red shoes and bags always make us smile. It also comes in white, so fresh and space-agey and a black version that is classic Audrey Hepburn. At $24 a pop, we can afford all three!
Buy it online here.

On Our Radar: The Orginial Jet Set Girl

Thomas Jefferson said Marie Antoinette was "devoted to pleasure and expense." Regardless of whether you think she was a romantic heroine hopelessly misunderstood as interpreted by Sofia Coppola or hopelessly out of touch with the masses a la our current president, or a little of both, Marie Antoinette is a fascinating woman. We'll be on line tomorrow a.m. at the San Francisco Museum for the opening day of Marie Antoinette and her vacation home, the Petit Trianon at Versailles.

Petit Trianon is the home given to Marie Antointette by King Louis and became her personal retreat. (In Sofia's movie, it's also where Kirsten Dunst had an affair with hottie, Jamie Dornan.) Her redesign of the posh home included over the top touches like mirrored blinds, fireplace ornaments of goats eating grapes and chandeliers with Cupid's bow and arrows. The grounds included a Temple of Love, a theater and a Merry-Go-Round. We're starting to see Thomas's point.

This is the first time many of the objets have left France. With the Euro trouncing the dollar, we recommend you see them on this side of the pond while you can--now until February 17.

Did We Mention We're Mad for Metallic?

You've heard us sing the praises of metallic shoes, but in this bling crazy season, we can't get enough of bronze, silver and gold. Think of them as the equal opportunity hues: they go well with just about every other color, every skin tone and every hair color. The sheen and shimmer are guaranteed attention getters, even across a crowded bar, and sequined tops and dresses virtually never wrinkle, so they're great for packing. Take a good look at Beyonce, she's perfected the look.

This month alone we've bought a gold leather jacket and a gold leopard print dress. Let them call you Dancing Queen, you're having the most fun!

Name This Drink

One of our favorite cocktails is vodka (preferably Absolut or Grey Goose), club soda and a splash of cranberry juice. It's not as sweet as straight up vodka and cranberry nor is it as harsh as vodka and club soda alone. While we love this drink, it does get annoying ordering a long mouthful of a cocktail, especially across the bar at a crowded club. And forget getting the bartender to understand that we want just the slightest hint of cran (OK, so we can be the tiniest bit high-maitenance).
We've seen women across the country ordering this very same cocktail and wonder: Isn't there a better way? So let's name the damn thing! Our suggestion is Audra, our very first friend who ordered our now favorite drink. But we're open to suggestions!

What's your favorite potion? Take our poll to the right.

How to Keep Your Hubby/Boyfriend Happy While You're Gone

To be quite honest, we’re still working on this one! But these ideas have helped minimize the damage for us:
1. Talk about expectations. Does he want you to check in everyday? If yes, try to avoid agreeing to call before bedtime. You’re likely to be out till the wee hours and no one wants a call at 4 am saying you’re just turning in, especially if you’re drunk. Which leads us to number 2…
2. Avoid drunk dialing. Don’t call to tell him you miss him, with club music in the background and 23-year old Pablo begging you to go back to the dance floor. Don’t drunk text either. Sadly, we have proved it IS possible to slur in a text (it sure can be hard to hit the right keys after a few mojitos)!
3. Don’t make plans on the first night you’re back. You’ll inevitably be tired and canceling plans will only cause further problems.
4. Be prepared to get down on your knees when you got home. And we don’t mean to beg for forgiveness!

Sample This

If you've ever had a jar of La Mer spill in your makeup bag in your checked suitcase, you know our pain. But what's a girl to do? For the past year (as anyone who has been on a plane well knows) we’ve had to chose between packing all our liquids and checking our suitcase in or jamming all our lipglosses, moisturizers and face washes in a little plastic baggie, so we could carry them on. Since checking your bag can easily add an hour to the flight, we don’t have to tell you it’s preferable not to, unless of course you have 18 pairs of shoes with you.

So—how do you travel and still stay moisturized? We head to the sample counter at our favorite store. Now we can breeze through security and land with all our precious products in tact. Some places that are extremely generous with their FREE minis:
Kiehl’s: At a recent stop at the NYC store, the accommodating sales lady loaded us up with travel-friendly sample sizes of two kinds of face wash. They were in a handy sealed foil packet so we didn’t even have to worry about it leaking at any altitude.
Mario Badescu: They offer everything from face washes to toner to their famous masks in handy miniature size.
Nordstrom's: Almost all counters will kindly give you a small pod full of sample product, easy to slip into your carry on.

Tip: Samples are also handy on the other end, when you realize you forgot your eye gel that erases memories of the night before instantaneously.

On Our Radar: So Hip It Almost Hurts

The new 6 Columbus Hotel in NYC has just about every amenity we would include in our own dream hotel: an awesome sushi restaurant—Blue Ribbon Sushi and Grill, toiletries from scrumptious Fresh, minibar snacks from Dean & DeLuca and Zabars and hotel staffers in uniforms designed by ultra hot Rag & Bone. And did we mention it’s near some kick ass shopping like Intermix, Betsy Johnson and our all-time favorite store for yoga clothes, LuluLemon?
They even have one surprise we haven’t heard of before: pre-loaded Nano’s and in-room docking stations to help you get into the groovy 60’s vibe of the hotel. They’ve put together 5 playlists. Our faves are: Decades, featuring the Clash and Velvet Undergrounds and Discerning Dance Floor-- Scissor Sisters or Loose Joints, anyone? Perfect if you forget your iPod (horrors!) or are looking to mix it up a little bit!

For more info on 6 Columbus click here. It's the sister property to NYC's 60 Thompson and the soon-to-open Thompson Beverly Hills.

Accidents Happen

Our favorite Prescriptives' makeup artist, recently shared one of her top travel tips: If she ever gets a cut or scrape on the road, she uses a dab of Prescriptives Super Line Preventor. Apparently, not only does the creatine in it prevent wrinkles, it also helps heals cuts. So next time we get a knick shaving our legs in the shower or trip over a shell on the beach or stumble in our stilettos, we know just what to do!

Buy it online here.

Got any other double use products?

Who do you dress for?

Victoria's Secret sent us their holiday fashion catalog. As we sat wide eyed flipping through pages, we wondered, "who would wear these over the top clothes?!?!?" (See picture at left for evidence!) We went so far as to show a couple of particularly racy tops to our sig other. No surprise--he thought they were H-O-T. He also pointed out that we had plenty of clothes that look similar to these. Now, he's right, there is a corner of our closet reserved for "going out" tops--mostly spaghetti straps, strapless, off the shoulder, gold and silver sparkly things. But we pride ourselves in picking out the classy, sexy outfit, over the trashy whore look.

Here's the question: is all our effort to look subtly sexy lost on the other gender? We think yes. A man doesn't recognize the quality of the fabric or the design. What he does notice is just how low the top goes and how much it shows. Truly, we all have a friend that has figured out what a man wants and gives it to them. We giggle at what she wears; but envy her courage in doing so. The rest of us, we dress for our girlfriends as much as for men.

Take our poll (right) and tell us what you think is sexy.

Get outta of town quick!

We’ve made a few early am getaways and generally recommend them. If you’re flight is at 6 am, that means you can stay out partying that night til 4 am or so--then all that’s left for you to do is grab your bag, hop a taxi and pass out on the plane. It’s much better than a 10 am flight which gives you an hour or two to sleep, which is one million times worse than if you had no sleep at all.
A few words of caution:
1. Pack before you go out for the night. Amateur mistake not to. You’ll always forget something if you do it when you’re buzzed and running late (because who can tell time when she’s drunk?).
2. Call to see if your flight is still leaving. True story: last time we flew home from Vegas our 6:15 a.m. flight was canceled. We had to wait four hours at the McCarren airport for the next flight. Drunk. Alone. Tired. It wasn’t pretty. And according to NY Mag, it's likely to happen again, at least if you're flying to NYC.
3. Try to buy smart snacks/a meal at the airport. Because you know when you’re hungover, you know there’s nothing like a greasy breakfast to make you feel better. Even if you’re not hungry, buy a bagel or muffin for the flight. Trust us. Yet another true story: on a flight from Miami to LA we woke up from our alcohol-induced slumber after a night at the Delano to find the only snacks we had purchased were Peanut M&M's and Crispy M&M's (We ate the Peanut ones--more protein, natch!)

Got any early am travel advice to share?

Our Must-Have Hair Product

We couldn’t live without Bumble & Bumble Hair Powder—pretty much all the time, but especially when we’re on vacation. We always like our blowouts to last as long as possible and with this secret weapon we can usually eek out an extra 2-3 days. It not only absorbs oil, it adds volume when your hair has gone a little limp and since it comes in 5 colors, it helps cover your roots in a pinch. Concentrate the spray on the roots, which are the most greasy, move your hair around when you’re spraying so it doesn’t get all clumped in one area and rub it in a bit with your fingers when you're done to blend it in. It gives a sexy bed-head-y look.
A few words of caution: It’s a powder, so it does make your hair a bit rough to the touch. And when you see your color come running off once you do wash it, don’t freak. It’s just the product washing out.

On Our Radar: Girls' Night In D.C.

We face the following dilemma: a group of close friends wants to get together for a night away from home; but not everyone wants to go out. Here's a fun alternative offered up by our favorite hotel group, Kimpton. At the chic and artsy, Hotel Palomar, in D.C.'s Dupont Circle, they have a girls' night in- pajamas and poker event. They set you up in a suite, give you chocolates and other goodies, and martinis from their own hip Urbana Restaurant and Wine Bar. Then they bring in a poker table and teach you Texas Hold 'Em. Useful information for that next trip out to Vegas.

Just in case a couple of you want to slip out for some action, the Palomar hosts a complimentary wine reception nightly. If you want to explore further, the Palomar is near two of D.C.'s best nightlife areas: Dupont Circle and Georgetown. Just make sure not to wake the others when you sneak out!

To learn more about their packages, click here.

Where the Guys Eat

While you and your friends may love the sound of the newest tapas bar that serves tiny plates of lemon-scented hummus and raspberry-mango mojitos, forget about going there if you want a side of eyecandy with your meal. The only guys who will be at Small Plate du Jour will be the ones who were dragged there by their girlfriends!
Instead, opt for a steakhouse to find your choicest cuts. Guys love steakhouses, because, as our hedge fund manager friend, Bobby tells us, “It’ where men go to feel and act like men.” And we all know that when men are in their element, they’re happier, which means they’re flirtier and sometimes even more generous. Example: When we went to Craftsteak at the MGM Grand in Vegas for a friend’s bachelorette party, a gent sent over bottles of wine for the table!