The Valentine’s Day GIFT GUIDE. Poetic Gifts For Her

With Valentine’s Day approaching, I thought it would be most appropriate to post a gift guide in honor of the patron saint’s holiday. The following gift suggestions, accompanied by such amorous quotes as thus, are perfect for you and your lover’s delight, or for any occasion really. “Brevity is the soul of lingerie.” —Dorothy Parker [...]

THE FOODIE SECTION’S GIFT GUIDE. Delicious Gifts Under $50

Since buying unique, useful, and affordable holiday gifts can be quite a feat, the following gift suggestions are among some of my foodie favorites, all costing under $50. Teuscher’s Champagne Truffle has a Dom Perignon cream center surrounded by a dark chocolate ganache, which is then covered with milk chocolate and then dusted with confectioner’s [...]

BOUTIQUES. She-bible

It’s difficult finding knitwear that lasts for more than one season and fortunately, She-bible makes quality knitwear with the most incredible fit. She-bible, named after a he/she confusion error in the 1611 version of the King James Bible, is Deirdre Nagayama and Stacy Rodgers, two designers who produce their garments locally in San Francisco. She-bible’s [...]

BESTIAL BEAUTY. Sumbody to Love

Sumbody, based out of Sebastopol, CA, is one of my favorite spas and manufacturers of eco-friendly beauty products. Founder and CEO, Deborah Burnes, started the company in 2001 in response to the need for natural and ethically made skin care products. Burnes recently wrote, Look Great, Live Green, a highly informative and tremendously helpful book [...]

BOUTIQUES. Carlotta Valdes

There is a fine line between gothic looking edgy versus costumey, and Carlotta Valdes is one of the few that succeeds in doing gothic right. The Etsy store, based on Hitchcock’s enigmatic character from Vertigo, sells the most delicately hardcore jewelry at a very well adjusted price point. Many of her designs are hand-crafted from [...]