The past months of mud-slinging ads, nationally televised emotional breakdowns, and the revival of the Saturday Night Live political skit have Bostonista alternately grinning, groaning, and feeling decidedly patriotic.

You already know about our favorite political dessert. Now, we’re sharing a few hot new accessories for fall. (more…)

Bostonista loves a good ribbon-cutting ceremony. Particularly when said ribbon is attached to a giant, oblong box that might just contain, say, that house-warming gift we keep hinting at. But we digress; today’s real ribbon-cutting party is exciting, too. Especially since it’s at one of our most favorite local haunts, Logan Airport.

Ever since Delta went ahead and spiffed up its glass-enclosed Terminal A, the airport’s other wings have felt a bit second rate. (Except for the notoriously shabby AirTran Terminal, which is, at best, fourth or fifth rate.)

Not to be outdone, American Airlines’s Terminal B rallied with some $33 million in new construction, restaurants, and shops. The whole glossy affair officially opens today.

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Bostonista loves being driven around in pretty much anything. Except, that is, stuffy, malodorous hotel courtesy vans (we swear they must be universally manned by Fung Wah grads). Is it too much to ask to get carted to and fro in something a little cooler—not to mention greener—than those air polluting gas guzzlers?

Apparently, it isn’t. This month, one of Boston’s favorite warm-weather hotspots (you know, the one with the rooftop pool we’ve been raving about all summer) is starting a transportation revolution.

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Today’s travelers have more options than ever when booking trips online. Some are decidedly time-saving; others, not so much. Indeed, Al Gore’s little invention has spawned an entirely new way of thinking about travel, not to mention swapping tips and slamming unworthy destinations.

And just when you thought the virtual travel market was saturated, along comes another upstart, this time from former Bostonian Alex Trieb.

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Recently returned from Paris, I’m already on the lookout for my next far-flung destination—via non-stop flight, of course (Bostonista has too many hair products to keep checking and re-checking; plus, the $15 bag fees are a drag).

So it was with genuine enthusiasm that we learned Italian-based Air One is starting direct flights from Boston to Milan.

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So far, this Bostonista has been on the sidelines of the economic downturn. I don’t own a home and I don’t have kids. So what if my carton of Rice Dream costs a wee bit more than it used to? Without any of life’s major responsibilities, I figured I was recession-proof. Until, that is, I tried to get to New York last weekend.

First, I thought I’d drive—until my Jeep’s AC conked out and a quick trip to the pump left me holding a $75 receipt (up from $40 three years ago). I turned to my old standby, the trusty Amtrak. But whereas I used to train to NYC for under $100, now even the less desirable Regional route cost triple digits. The upscale Limoliner has jacked its fees as well—to $89 one-way—and I was too late to hop aboard the best deal around, the new BoltBus. Flying, with to- and from-airport fares, was out of the question.

I ended up with Amtrak, a wallet ache, and a pessimistic outlook on summer travel. But then I got to work on Monday morning and all was momentarily right again, thanks to new gas-conscious deals from two area resorts.

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Last week, we were among the lucky Bostonians who got to meet The View’s Brookline-born mother hen and all around feminist icon, Barbara Walters.

At a VIP book signing for Audition, her new hit memoir of sex, lies, and heads of state, at Saks, a few dozen of the city’s most respected female journalists and social butterflies gathered to sip white wine and nibble on fennel leaves while eagerly awaiting their idol’s entrance.

Like so many things in life, she’s smaller in person. Dressed in an oversize gold knit sweater, loose black pants, pointed black satin pumps, and a chunky gold necklace, she practically scintillated impeccability. Truthfully, we couldn’t wait to get up close to see if that mound of white blonde hair was camouflaging a nascent bald spot. (We can report that it does not, and that she is, indeed, rather hot for a 70-something broad legend.)

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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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For years, glitz-loving New Englanders—the kind whose idea of fun is more blackjack than backpacking—had two choices: Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun. But starting in May, before Massachusetts even gets its own gambling going, they’ll have two new area places to play and stay.

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While troubled ice cream maker Toscanini’s appears poised to rise from the brink of extinction, Alpha Omega seems to have met its fate. Bostonista was first to report that the Handa family had fled to India, leaving the chain’s employees and customers in the lurch.

Early this morning, a bankruptcy court judge authorized the sale of Alpha Omega’s assets to a group of investors.

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