Cold Feet? Try Pure Pediform Poetry

I have a confession that belies my mostly fashionista persona: when the winter solstice draws near and those wicked Midwestern winds start prying their icy fingers under my windows in the middle of the night, I tend to crawl into bed with socks on (much to my husband's dismay). How else to keep my diminutive digits warm?
My every night favorites are super soft, super warm double layer socks infused with ultra moisturizing shea butter (so my weary soles get a pampering softening treatment while staying toasty!) from Bath and Body Works.

This Christmas, I'm hoping Santa will slip a pair of cashmere bedsocks from
Pure Collection into my stocking. I've never actually owned a pair of cashmere socks (although I'm always coveting them) and these babies seem like a sublimely sensuous solution for my miserably cold feet. And, if anyone my age (can you say 40-ish?) remembers the classic Lands' End catalogs (pre Sears days) that touted the quality of their cashmere from Mongolia, all of Pure Collection's cashmere is sourced directly from 100% sustainable sources (I'm always on the eco-intelligent alert) in Inner Mongolia. For more details click: Pure Cashmere

{photo cred: bath and body works, pure collection}

Little Mrs. Young at Heart's Give List Week 3: Cinderella Rocks!

I’ll admit these aren’t glass slippers and I’m really not a wicked stepmom but these Bewitching Booties from Anthropologie would rock my 17-year-old stepdaughter’s world. The crocheted detailing and suede uppers give these ankle boots a cool Edwardian vibe that would be the perfect counterpoint to any rocker girl’s look — especially with super skinny or boyfriend jeans.

They’re little works of art and I want them for myself (but we’ll keep that as our little secret, okay?).

{photo cred: anthropologie}

Little Mrs. Young at Heart's Give List Week 2: Taste This!

Despite the fact that a majority of Americans think a martini is made with vodka, a classic martini (think Mad Men) can only be made with gin. I love gin because it’s aromatic like an intoxicating perfume. It’s infused with an apothecary blend of berries (mainly piney juniper), roots, herbs, spices and fruits.

Since my discerning gentleman husband loves his gin and dry vermouth martinis, I’m surprising him with a bottle of subtle, smooth, and sophisticated Plymouth English Gin. It’s a complex concoction of juniper berries, lemon and orange peel, orris root (the root of the iris plant), angelica root, cardamom pods, and coriander seeds. His taste buds will be thrilled!

{photo cred: tony cenicola/the new york times; illustration by the new york times}

Little Mrs. Young at Heart's Over-the-Top Wish List: Gift #1

For years, Christmas has been less about giving (and getting) gifts in my family and more about togetherness, traditions, and helping others. I do, however, have unfettered dreams about what my wish list would be like if I were married to a gazillionaire and not my can’t-live-without, beloved high school English teacher hubby.

Here’s my #1 Wish List item:

When I'm 80, I’d like to say, “I had a farm in Africa,” like Karen Blixen in Isak Dinesen’s Den afrikanske Farm (known in English as Out of Africa). Now, my dream is closer to reality with the 15 luxury private safari homes being built as a joint venture between Tara Getty and &Beyond (formerly known as CC Africa). Located where the St. Lucia Wetlands meet the wilds of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa and bordering a World Heritage Site. (Now, if my sweet hubby can only win the Mega Millions lottery!) For more info click here: African Homestead

Since that’s so over-the-top, I’ll settle for a second honeymoon in a Forest Lodge at the Phinda Private Game Reserve. Each lodge is nestled deep in the trees and built on stilts that lift it above the rare dry sand forest floor. Phinda’s home to seven unique ecosystems and teems with exotic wildlife (oddly, the baby wart hogs were one of my favorite sightings!) and the famous Big Five (lion, African elephant, leopard, rhinoceros, and Cape Buffalo). The twice-daily game drives! The gourmet meals and exquisite South African wine! The sun-downers (cocktails) out in the wild! Seeing constellations in the sky you can never see in the Northern Hemisphere! It’s all heaven and something everyone should experience. For more info click here: Phinda Private Game Reserve

{photo cred: phinda/david ogden, dan brophy}

Twilight "tweets" from a 40-something Scentarista

I was an early adopter of AOL, electronic books, Palm Pilot, and computerized check-in at the airport. Right now, I love my iPhone, Facebook, LinkedIn, and wandering all over the web via my bedside MacBook Air. Unfortunately, I’m not into tweeting (sigh). I signed up for a Twitter account one Saturday, felt immediately defeated by anxiety concerning the quality of my future tweets

(What do I have to say? Who’ll read my tweets? What if my tweets are terrible?), and promptly closed my account — all within the span of about 5 minutes! In case you can’t tell already, I occasionally suffer from perfectionist tendencies that keep me from just being in the moment.

How’s this for being in the moment? The last yellow leaves are hugging the branches outside of my window and all I want to do is hibernate through the long, cold winter (I certainly have the tummy fat stored up for energy!). Since that’s not an option for an “eau-so-driven” career woman, however, here’s how I’ve been successfully perking myself up.

A Light in the Darkness

I grab my Slatkin & Co. Vanilla Shortbread Candle and fire that baby up! I’m not generally a fan of food-scented home fragrance but this one’s a marvelous melding of Madagascar vanilla, sugar cane and spices spiked with the aroma of yellow cake. It’s warm and surprisingly tart (kind of like me)!

Comedy and the City

My first summer job in NYC was way back in 1982 (Amsterdam Avenue was pre-gentrification, Keith Haring graffiti was still in the subway, and only black-clad punk rockers ventured into The Bowery). My 20s and most of my 30s were spent working in Creative Marketing at Macy’s Herald Square so, naturally, now that I call Columbus, OH home, I’m drawn to all things that remind me of my beloved NYC. I loved every episode of Sex and the City, I couldn’t wait for the movie debut, and now I’m thoroughly enjoying escaping into Candace Bushnell’s novel,

One Fifth Avenue. It’s giving me the incredible feeling of living in two places at the same time!

Baby in the Bath Water

I soak in the tub with my hubby year-round — when we travel, when I’m sad, when we’re celebrating and, particularly, when we need to discuss something potentially controversial and angst-inducing. We’ve learned that getting into the tub together for a serious pow-wow always keeps things from getting too heated (well, you know what I mean!). It’s impossible to get angry when we’re both wearing nothing but something like Aromatherapy Body Wash Sensuality in Jasmine Vanilla!

Twilight... the Fragrance

Until now, my favorite Bath and Body Works Signature Collection scent was the incredibly sexy Black Amethyst™. This year, I’ve been dying for the launch of the alluringly addictive (for me) Twilight Woods™. I love it so much I just splurged on the Triple Moisture Shower and Body Creams, Body Butter, and a bottle of the elegantly decorated Eau de Toilette. The fragrance itself is a delicious blending of apricot nectar, mimosa petals, and Tuscan cypress. I find it so inspiring that after giving myself another mist on the neck and wrists last Friday night, I took a walk in the woods outside my window, looked up at those tenacious yellow leaves on the trees, and delighted in the rain falling on my face (and blurring my contacts!).

{photo cred: apple, bbw, candace bushnell}