City Salon
What good is having a face that holds up against time and gravity if you neglect your hands? They're the surest sign of a person's true age. A manicure by Victoria will help console even the most abused paws. And they'll look so good, you'll never ignore them again. 118 Newbury St., Boston, MA .
Thos. Moser
You know you're a true New Englander when you begin recognizing the work of Thos. Moser. Built in Maine and designed in-house, each artful chair and table is crafted from decades-old cherry and walnut trees, which ensures pieces both elegantly thin and impossibly strong. 19 Arlington St., Boston, MA thosmoser.com.
Top Drawer
When you want to feel more like Cinderella than a sexed-up supermodel, step into this frilly fairy-tale world. Not only does it offer high-quality brands like Cosabella and Lise Charmel, it showcases adorable, top-quality children's clothes. Like stepping into your friend's bedroom. 112 Newbury St., Boston, MA .
Adesso
Adesso wins for its carefully edited selection of trendy pendants, sconces, lamps and track systems, all of the most refined design. Stainless steel, Murano glass, or paper fixtures satisfy even the most sophisticated of tastes. Fixtures to light up your life. 200 Boylston St., Boston, MA .
Chimera
Unusual, funky fixtures displayed in a Fort Point Channel warehouse showroom. This isn't the place to come for full-service electrical supplies, but check it out for that knock-your-socks-off fixture for the dining room or entryway, or an exotic lantern for the millennium like S.Y.O. Devesa's "Zen" brushed-aluminum table lamp. 319 A Street, Boston, MA .
Johnson Paint Company
The place to go when you must match the color of that faded clapboard, or need a specialty shade for your Victorian trim. A full selection of the better lines such as Benjamin Moore, Martin Seymour, and Ralph Lauren, as well as Martha Stewart's favorite brand, Schoeder Paint, an expensive—but worth it—import from Holland. 355 Newbury Street, Boston, MA .
Plymouth Rock Assurance Corporatoin
This automobile insurer dispatches its "Crashbuster" van as soon as metal meets metal. An adjuster steps out to inspect the damage to your car, compute the repair cost, and issue a check before leaving. So, who you gonna call? 695 Atlantic Avenue, Boston, MA .
AKA Bistro
What do French toast with dulce de leche and Hawaiian poke have in common? They're both on the brunch menu at this French-Japanese fusion spot, where you'll also find house-made pastries, Sunday dim-sum specials, and one incredibly decadent croque-madame sandwich. 145 Lincoln Rd., Lincoln, MA akabistrolincoln.com.
The Leonhards'
Don't be surprised if you smell this 37-year-old shop before you see it—every inch of the store, inside and out, is a riot of blooms and plants. Whatever your floral needs, you'll find it at this heavenly spot. 87 Corning St., Beverly, MA theleonhards.com.
Bombay Club
There are other Indian restaurants in town, but none present top-quality food as consistently as the Bombay Club. Check out the Chicken Tikka Masala, and try the garlic and onion naan as an accompaniment to your meal. The lunch buffet is easy on the taste buds and the wallet, and the restaurant's top-floor view of Harvard Square doesn't hurt, either. Harvard Square Galeria, 57 JFK St., Cambridge, MA .
Lifesavor
Every major restaurant in the city donates at least one table for 10 at this annual fundraiser; every chef goes all out, every guest has a great time, and every penny goes to Community Servings, deliverers of to meals to people homebound with AIDS. Mark April 3, 1997 on your calendar.
Emporio Armani Express
Armani has refined the alfresco lunch to high art. Simple but very good food served with panache, at prices that are astonishingly reasonable. So grab your Armani sunglasses (they're de reguteur), and get yourself there. This spot is too good to waste on the tourists. 214 Newbury St., Boston, MA .
Providence
Even indifferent dessert eaters swoon over the Chestnut Chocolate Majolaine with Coffee Creme, which you can order when you make your reservation. The combination of chocolate and mocha buttercream, alternated with layers of meringue and hazelnut in a pool of coffee creme is as stunning to behold as it is delicious to eat. Definitely worth a few clogged arteries. 1223 Beacon St., Brookline, MA .
St. Cloud
Brooks Brothers skirts, Louis shirts, white leather boots, and black funk. What do they have in common? You can see 'em all at the St. Cloud bar, where anybody and everybody feels at home nibbling an appetizer or scarfing down a four-course dinner, even at midnight. 557 Tremont St., Boston, MA .
Skoah
Having endured all kinds of spa mumbo-jumbo and dubious beauty-boosting therapies ("And the final step is a blast of air from our oxygen machine...."), we began to wonder: Since when did facials become more about the experience than the result? Thank goodness Skoah has its priorities straight: At this Vancouver-based mini chain's first U.S. outpost, the service menu lists facial and only facial treatments. We like that the extractions are virtually painless and the treatment tables feature fluffy down comforters—but we love our crystal-clear and glowing skin. 641A Tremont St., Boston, MA 2118, skoah.com.