Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Ever Feel Like a Piece of Meat?


Sometimes that's okay! JSG always ends up at a steakhouse on our trips. We're not sure if that's because we're looking for guys or missing our own. Steakhouses are great: the best meal before drinking, the best chance to drink a killer bottle of red, and the best excuse to order potatoes (forget your South Beach diet, even if you're in Miami!).

Here's how we found our last filet: we simply Googled “Phoenix Food Blog” and the first one that was listed was www.FeastinginPhoenix.com. Once we read its tagline, “When Zagat’s Meets Sex and the City” we knew we had found a winner! We sent a cold-call email asking for recommendations for a sexy steakhouse and Seth, the editor of the blog, responded with a few suggestions.
We took his advice and went to Mastros City Hall. It lived up to all expectations—the steaks were delicious, the wine list was long and, as expected, it was filled with men. We opted to eat dinner in the lounge because it had a shorter wait and were psyched to find that it was also a lively place to meet locals. In fact, we enjoyed it so much, lounge dining may become a regular practice on all our girls’ getaways--it's an especially good trick for getting into a restaurant without a resy.
And, while we didn’t get to meet Seth in person, we want to give him and Feasting in Phoenix a special shout out and big thanks for the recommendation! Next time you go on a trip, you may just want to Google a local blogger. And, hey--we're always here for advice, too!

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

A Secret Shopping Paradise


It used to be hotel gift shops only had over-priced sunblock and playing cards with the hotel logo on them. But now gift shops have established themselves as a destination entirely on their own and have turned into a mini-version of your favorite local boutique. At the Mondrian in Scottsdale, for example, our friend Shawn bought some adorable heart shaped crystal earrings for her daughter and a quality cigar to bring home to her husband (BTW: a great gift for your man to smooth the waters on your return from a girls’ getaway!). So now you can head to the hotel gift shop if you forgot your toothbrush or your fave necklace or handbag!

In fact, the trend of chic hotel gift shops has caught on so much, that the W hotel is opening up a pop-up store in New York City for the holidays—and it’s not even at one of their hotels. It’s open today through Friday from 10 am to 8 pm at 90 West Street. It will have items like jewelry you would actually wear from Alex Woo and Swarovski, Laura Merkin clutches, the sparkly rings shown above and great cashmere blankets that are perfect for traveling or curling up at home. This proves it: The hotel gift shop isn’t just for travelers anymore.

Friday, December 7, 2007

On Our Radar: Instant Gratification

bomb pop
After a long night of dirty dancing, a girl can feel, kinda, you know, restless. But we can’t always plan ahead for these things and we certainly don’t want to deal with getting our toys through security, so it does leave us in a bit of a quandary. That’s why we’re such big fans of the Bryant Park Hotel’s Objects of Pleasure Menu. It’s a room service menu of best selling toys from the Pleasure Chest. Just feign a headache, wait til girls head to the pool, and order in—batteries included.

For more information about the Bryant Park Hotel, click here.

Update: This is fast becoming a trend! We're at the Mondrian in Phoenix/Scottsdale and what did we find in our minibar? A "Mobile Intimacy Kit" complete with "mini personal massager"!

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Pull Yourself Together, Girl!

We all love to feel put together on our girls' getaways and a big part of that is our makeup. Since we rarely have our makeup done by a professional, we're on our own most of the time. One way to insure you get the best combination of eye, cheek and even lip colors is to use a palette pre-assembled by your favorite make-up line. They're great to keep in your purse and fit easliy into your carry on. They're also small enough to fit in your evening bag. Bobbi Brown and Stila come out with new palettes for each season; but most companies have gorgeous ones out now for the holidays. While Chanel starts in the $80 dollar range, you can find Benefit palettes for $28.

These make great holiday gifts! JSG loves to give and receive them. For travelers like us these are totally packable.

The "I Love Dior" set pictured has as much as any palette we've seen including bronzing powder, 6 eye shadows, lip gloss, and a JSG favorite Diorshow mascara. Click here to purchase on line.

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

What to Wear In...

In New York, basic black still rules. It's still the dressiest city in the U.S. as far as we're concerned. Fit and cut are extra important. When traveling to Vegas, pull out your shortest skirts and lowest cut tops and as many sequins as you dare to wear (we never do get to wear them enough). As for Miami--Latin chic is the way to go--and don't be afraid of tight clothes, even if you're not at your ideal weight. The girls down there show what they've got with confidence! We've never quite mastered the LA-look, though we appreciate it. Somehow we can't bring ourselves to wear boots with dresses--60 degrees is not really cold, all you West Coasters!

JSG is taking our first official girls' getaway since starting our website this week--we're headed to Phoenix/Scottsdale and are super-excited. Only question--what to pack? We're thinking something along the lines of this top with jeans. It's sexy and shiny, but not too sparkly and the jeans make it casual enough (we think) Anyone out there got any advice?

We'll be sure to report back!

Monday, December 3, 2007

Happy (Discounted) Holidays!


A fashionista friend of our sent along all these discount codes. We haven't tried them out, so we can't vouch that they'll work, but it's certainly worth a shot! Especially if you can get this adorable cuff bracelet for 20% off at Banana Republic (normally $42)!

Stila cosmetics warehouse sale:
http://www.stilacosmetics.com/special_vws_signup_2007.asp

BANANA REPUBLIC:
Use BRHOLIDAY for 20% off (no minimum) Expires 12/24/07
and stack with
CODE: MYRBRGIFT for an additional 15% off Expires 12/24/07
(Must use a VISA card for this one to work)
Total Savings of 35% off

Gucci
10% off online (NEVER HAPPENS)
http://www.gucci.com/us/holidayshoppingday.html

Sephora.com 20% off (NEVER HAPPENS)
Use code: FF2007

PRINTABLE COUPONS!!!
Victoria's Secret - $10 off!
http://www2.victoriassecret.com/onlineemail/?c=27676_45AF0C6212479C57B3C3A3F6B33F1545&cm_mmc=di-_-071106BRA-_-V01-_-27676&e

Talbots
http://www1.talbots.com/emails/071107_15P_Balance.htm

Bath and Body works
http://f.e.bathandbodyworks.com/i/34/528207786/110507A_cop.html

Illuminations
http://www.illuminations.com/email/2007/1102/regular_1102_07.html

Aldo
http://www.aldoshoes.com/frontEndComponents/specificComponents/vip/coupo
nAldo.cfm?ckey=US

Lord and Taylor
http://www.lordandtaylor.com/common/coupons/lt_110807_coupon.pdf

Barnes and Noble - 25% , 10%
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/email/nonav.asp?PID=20422

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/email/nonav.asp?PID=20007

Linens & Things
http://lnt.imageg.net/graphics/coupon/LNT_email_signup_9%2019%202007.pdf

CVS
http://www.cvs.com/CVSApp/cvs/gateway/promotion?pid=6051&step_nbr=160

Aeropostale
http://p.p0.com/YesConnect/HtmlMessagePreview?a=RB9F5-t2axqh9M4TGXrMv&ms
gVersion=web

H&M
http://www.hmfriendsandfamily.com/

Footaction: 40% off clearance
http://ww2.footaction.com/2007/fae011107a/

Kohls
http://www.desividesimasti.net/coupons/kohlsshoppingpass.gif

Puma- 30% OFF!!!
http://surfacemagazine.cmail2.com/email/278576/images/Puma-Friends-%26-Family.jpg

Nine West
http://usa.visa.com/personal/student/detail/all/detail/NineWest_5_F07/vro_details.jsp?offerName=NineWest_5_F07&offerId=13786&pageId=165

Calvin Klein
https://c37e7b424e-custmedia.vresp.com/f7eaff45f4/f42e8d6cbb/library/COUPON.gif

Dicks Sporting Goods
http://www.shopnorthlake.com/assets/DicksCustomerAppreciation

Sharper Image
http://www.sharperimagesavings.com/beyond/

Banana Republic
http://www.bananarepublic.com/browse/info.do?cid=35127

Best Buy
http://images.bestbuy.com/BestBuy_US/en_US/images/external/emailpdf/1107
07_nov_ese_coupons.pdf

BURBERRY PRIVATE SALE
http://www.burberryusaonline.com/cat...goryId=2284855
Free shipping for orders over $195.

Restoration Hardware Friends and Family
20% off all non-sale items.
Use Code: H07FAF02

Saturday, December 1, 2007

Choosing a hotel for your girls’ getaway

To spend money on your hotel or not? We just spent the weekend at the Mondrian in Scottsdale and the answer to that question is a definite yes! While it’s true you probably won’t spend that much time in your room, we always encourage you to stay at the best hotel you can afford. Not only because we’re suckers for good amenities like Khiels or Aveda goodies in the bathroom, comfy beds with 500 thread cotton sheets and over-sized terry cloth robes. Think of it as an investment. A good hotel offers a number of other benefits like: a hip pool scene (unfortunately the weather in Arizona was a little too cold for that), dependably trendy bars (the Mondrian’s Sky Bar is the place to be in Scottsdale) and great restaurants (again, the Mondrian came through with Asia de Cuba) that you don’t ever have to take a taxi to, not to mention excellent spas (our friend H said she had the best massage ever) and concierges who can helpfully make reservations for you at those tough restaurants to get into (again, the concierges at the Mondrian were another ace in the hole!).


Do you have a favorite place to stay that adds up to this? We'd love to hear about it.
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