Bare Essentials

Out of occupational habit, I'm always sniffing around for Christmas gifts in the Summer. Why? Well in the world of printed media, deadlines for holiday magazine product features are around Aug. If your HOT product isn't ready as a prototype in Aug., you're doomed and you can forget being included in the "Holiday Gift Guide" for publications like Vogue, In-Style, MAXIM's, etc.

My recent find is the KORRES shower gel, a great gift for anyone and very uni-sex. At $12 a bottle with a choice of twelve fragrances like Cedar, Jasmine, Basil Lemon, you can mix-n'-match in a gift basket, or just pick one up for that holiday party. KORRES is a Greek company with a historical foot print as Athens' first homeopathic pharmacy. Natural, organic, safe and affordable! Who can ask for more??? My fave is the Jasmine scent and is perfect for the winter when I miss the Jasmine in my garden.

Curb Your Appetite!

Isn't there be a diet where the Fairy God Mother just sprinkles some magic powder on your food and you're good?

Well, it looks like your dream is coming true!

SlimShots™is a revolutionary appetite controller that helps people to moderate their eating habits, reduce portion size and resist the temptation to graze or snack between meals. According to their site, published clinical studies show that SlimShots™ can:
- Reduce caloric intake by nearly 30%
- Reduce hunger for up to 8 hours
- Be effective form the very first day
Really?? I bet it tastes awful! But I dug more and they seem to have used artificial vanilla flavor and sweetener for taste, and the ingredient of this magic potion is just natural oat and palm oil.

Dare to try?? Go to their slimshots.com site and check it out! They're having a free 30 day trial promotion for $9.99 for just S&H.

Not So Green

For the past week I've been on a cleaning spree, trying to re-organize my closets, recycle clothing and finally getting to the biggest nightmare of all... my files!! In the days of digital, I'm always amazed at the amount of paper I tend to keep and I am so not GREEN!! To my dismay, I've recently outgrown my current filing storage in my study.

Hence, a trip to IKEA to check out their filing cabinet line-up, I ended up getting this three-tier model called: ERIK for $99.99 in white. Not realizing this 60 lb. baby was going to take 3 hours to assemble, I finally finished close to midnight and crashed without having the energy to hang a single hanging folder. I was too frustrated to appreciate this economical investment, but filing away tonight as I shred so many outdated documents, I realized that this is a pretty neat cabinet that definitely holds a ton of files. The drawers are very smooth too so it's not a bad deal if you have the patience to assemble and you're totally out of space like me!

The Rock & Roll Tasting

This is a Part 2 feature from my Thu. feature of the Hip Tastes wine tasting event. So Friday nite we trekked to the Mission and checked out the "Rock and Roll tasting" hosted by Courtney Cochran of Hip Tastes. The vino was flowing, Rock n' Roll spinning and the sushi rolls were quite tasty! She had a nice selection of lighter wines and here's the list:

- Hughes Beaulieu Picpoul de Pinet, Langeudoc, France

- Elsa Torrontes, Mendoza, Argentina

- Tangent Winery "Ecclestone," Central Coast

- Raymond Vineyards Small Lot White Wine, Napa Valley

- Cali 251 Rosé, Napa Valley

- Raymond Vineyards Rosé of Merlot, Napa Valley

- Chateau Lassègue Pink Criquet, Bordeaux, France

It was a great way to get acquainted with rosé's and I particulary liked the Raymond Vineyard wines. Nice way to kick off the gorgeous weekend!

Are you hip?

Hiptastes is an uber stylish wine event hosted in the S.F. Bay area by Courtney Cochran, wine sommelier and consultant. She is also the author of Hip Tastes - The French Guide to Wine, a great book that covers tastings, wine storage to BYOB & restaurant etiquette. Coincidentally, I recently found out that she's a buddy and classmate of my dear friend Ms. L, wow lucky me! Courtney's wine event is very different from your local neighborhood tasting room events. They all have a unique theme with intriguing names: The Salty and Sweet Tasting, Young Guns (featuring winemakers under age 35), The Green Tasting (enviro-friendly vino), and I hear her wine recommendations are eclectic, spanning from all over the globe and not just Napa or France. Tomorrow (8/15) she is hosting the Rock & Roll Tasting at the Mission’s vintage cool venue, Pink. I'm attending her event for the first time and she promises remixes of the likes of Poison, AC/DC, Van Halen, Def Leppard (as in Pour Some Sugar On Me, woop!) and more. Her wines and sushi rolls are sure to fly and flow with some fun dancing starting at 10 pm. Sorry, this event is sold out but be sure to bookmark her site for the next one - she promises one more this fall! A report on the wines from the event to come later, stay tuned :-)

Therapist Select™ Shiatsu+ Massaging Cushion with Heat

I'm telling you, this is the next best thing to an expensive massage at the Four Seasons! In fact, it's cheaper than one session there. I've sat on many massage chairs courtesy of friends and Sharper Image demos, but this Homedics Shiatsu massage cushion is the best for a minimal investment (msrp $129.99.) You can choose between Shiatsu and Rolling movements, areas of massage and get a warmer massage by turning the heat on. I'm sitting on this as I type away and it is mucho heavenly!! If you have a 20% off coupon at Bed, Bath and Beyond, this is what you need to get! No tip required :-)

Leggings - for babies!

Leggings were very Vogue earlier this year so why reserve this benefit just for adults? A Canadian online baby gear store called Pinky and Company carries an adorable line of BabyLegs that will go with any wardrobe and keep your baby warm. It can be worn under a skirt, pants, with onsies, etc. and is so stylish! Worn with a diaper, this will definitely make diaper change a much simpler task. If you don't have a baby to dress, mix and match as your next baby shower gift!

Good Hair Day!

Most of the luxury spas I've visited in Asia supply "Ionic Hair Dryers" and I'd been skeptical for a very long time thinking, what the heck it minus-ion??? When I accidentally blew up my hair dryer in Singapore last year on a biz trip (I totally forgot to use the transformer, duh!) I knew it was time to try to venture for an Ionic hair dryer. Minus ions, called negative ions in the West, occur naturally in forests and streams, anywhere the water runs pure and the air is clean. Despite being unsupported by definitive medical evidence, the very presence of minus ions is widely believed to reduce stress and bring about positive feelings of well-being. The particles can be reproduced artificially by passing air over a strong electric current or through the breakdown of crystals like tourmaline, thus the birth of Ionic hair dryers! Ive been using the dryer from Panasonic (sorry, only available in Japan) and this is AMAZING. Your hair dries quicker, but still retains the moisture... I dunno how to explain but it feels like I stuck my head in some expensive hair treatment and this effect from a dryer!! Here in the U.S., Brookstone carries a nice version for $40 and is less than half of what I paid in Japan. If you wanna take care of your locks, try this and you'll thank me!