It may be the rainy season here…but in PR Land, it’s holiday gift idea time. So we stopped by the Eliot Hotel yesterday to check out new offerings from La Mer and Jo Malone.

Some thoughts: We’re used to over-the-top gift ideas. We really like Jo Malone. And we’re clearly not opposed to conspicuous consumption.

But…whoa. The visit raised a couple questions…

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I’ve lately been in the downsizing mood. Changing apartments this spring satisfied my need to purge. A family yard sale soon after cleared out the rest of the old junk, including golf shoes (a nice thought); piles of costume jewelry, beanie babies, and cat toys; and the impulse-bought super deluxe grind ‘n’ brew coffee pot used once (a bitch to clean). I consign all clothes I haven’t worn in more than a year and recently downloaded all my CDs onto a hard drive and sold them off. I’m making an effort to keep the hoarding tendencies at bay.

But I haven’t quite been able to quit books. For one, it feels wrong. Two, I like having them around. I’ll buy a book I’m interested in as soon as I hear about it so that I don’t forget, which is why I’ve got piles and piles of high-quality unread books in my bedroom, office, and otherwise scattered throughout the house, and I still have imminent plans to purchase the tell-all by Madonna’s brother.

Enter the Kindle. (more…)

Faithful Bostonistas-in-training know the quickest way to a new and improved look is a fresh-faced, rosy hue. And though a few of us differ on the best way to achieve said glow, this writer is sticking with her tried and true method. Namely, Kiehl’s Sun-Free Self-Tanning Formula. I’ve been a faithful slatherer for years, and only ever gotten one “you look a little orange” comment. (He clearly had no appreciation for a November tan.)

And come to think of it, it’s not just the faux-glow we heart. Several Boston staffers, guys included, can list an assortment of Kiehl’s products among their daily toilette (the Facial Feul, the Silk Groom, the Creme de Corps). Which is why we’re pleased to announce we have a new reason to head to Burlington: To shop the brand new Kiehl’s store, the company’s second free-standing outpost in New England (the first is on Newbury).

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I consider myself somewhat of an artsy person. I like art, art museums, art house films, art-rock, Art Garfunkel. Posters and prints and one or two original paintings, which were given to me as housewarming presents, hang in my apartment. My mother is a brilliant watercolor artist (with her big spring show coming up tomorrow. Go Mom!). And I’ve been known to clean out a jewelry booth or two at craft fairs like the South End Open Market (which kicks off for the season this weekend!).

Yet, until last weekend, I had never actually bought original art myself. When I did experience original art buying for the first time on Saturday, in true Bostonista fashion, I went all the way, buying not one, not two, but three fabulous pieces.

Carolyn Marsden—a friend, coworker, talented painter, kickass photographer, and all-around great gal—invited Bostonista to her show, part of Somerville Open Studios. I was sure her art would be cool. I’d seen it online and I commissioned her to make a hand-painted t-shirt for my mom’s Christmas gift. But to be completely honest, I went mainly for the camaraderie. And, because I heard there would be cupcakes. (more…)

Just moments after Pete the Boston mag mailroom guy dropped off today’s mail at our desks—and before we had time to actually open any of it—we and other members of the Boston media received this email from an anonymous aol address, with no traceable IP address: (more…)

I have a radio in pretty much every room of my apartment. Often I have several going at once, because I like the racket. In my bedroom, I have not one, but two: a Bose clock radio/CD and a Tivoli Audio clock radio (which, if you haven’t ever played with one, is badass. They sell them out of a cart at the Pru Center).

Anyway, I’m a stickler for audio quality, which is why my decision to replace a solid, though waterlogged, Zenith CD player in my bathroom with the cheapest thing I could find at Best Buy was so inexplicable. From day one, I absolutely hated it. (more…)

Facing the holidays with the perfect dress, hostess gift, and bag of goodies just became effortless. Portobello Road, a new store in Chestnut Hill opened by best friends Kristina Lyons and Marina Kalb, is a modern day multi-cultural bazaar filled with jewelry, home accessories, furniture, and clothing from around the world. It’s a serendipitous mix of style and substance. They like to call it “a store with a soul.”

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Jesse Turtle may be raising his family in St. Petersburg, Florida, but his heart (and his accent) remain in the Bay State.

Raised in Cambridge by a poet mother, the t-shirt designer has always known the importance of words. Turtle and his wife, a graphic designer, have created a line of 100% organic t-shirts for men, women, and kids that double as a catchy and humorous tribute to Turtle’s hometown. (more…)