fashion fix

I am chillin down in miami thru the new year and just got the fab head's up that my new fashion blog on the hsn.com fashion homepage is up and running. I'd love to invite you to check it out and certainly and by all means, comment on my piece. not only will your hits and comments mean alot to me but I think you'll like the post as well so its a win-win. catch me and comment here.


looking forward to reading your fashion comments. grassy ass.
xo, jess

it's a wrap

my sis is home in new york from switzerland, me and the beau are at home with the parents on long island, the fire is on and the grappa is flowing. we've done a few gift exchanges in the last several days and its always such a pleasure for me to discuss the different ideas on presenting the presents. I have opted for a new york times theme with red ribbon and my homemade cards (also with nyt cut-outs). meg d. wrapped up my special something with hot pink tissue paper, twine from the 99 cent store and topped it off with a sprig of fir. fab! what are you planning to do?

travel tips

I took the AM flight yesterday from LAX to JFK on american. saundi flew virgin atlantic. for those of you flying this holiday season, look into the caselogic lightweight luggage. the airlines are not taking liberties with bags and will make you tuck, fold and cover every inch of your belongings, so be prepared. there are HUGE lines and bad attitudes at american, so be prepared. why don't they send their employees to the nordstrom school of customer service? I know the counter workers are treated poorly but that doesn't mean that have to treat customers poorly. it doesn't cost anything to smile, especially when I apying $500 plus for it. apparently, virgin america has a nightclub like feel, cool leather seats, movies galore and yummy food stuffs. american ran out of food on my flight, so be prepared. buy water after you get thru security. and when you can, sign up for the frequent flyer programs through your favorite airline to get special travel benefits when they are offered.

a very hollywood holiday

yesterday was the annual girl's xmas exchange. every year, my crew of girls do a fun secret santa drink thingee and toast our gratitude for the past year. I was very grateful for a chateau marmont one night stay I received in a RBK gift bag a few months ago. I figured it was a perfect opportunity to redeem my gift yesterday and host the girl's holiday party on the outside veranda. no better plan could've been, well... planned. I started out the day redeeming a burke williams spa certificate I had for a shiatsu massage (and saundi's firm swedish). we then checked into the chateau and took a cat nap. seven thirty came and we were all dolled up for the night's festivities which ended up being a lovely holiday affair. I had lisa anne as a secret santa of whom I gifted the ab fab dvd series from amazon.com and ironically she had me, for which I got a cutey-patootey betsey johnson tee. I also picked up the daisy marc jacobs solid scent and a fab bottle of wine. for my guests, I gave I Love New York (the city not the show) tees with new york baked black and white cookies. we drank the night away in style (that I'm still feeling today). cheers!

I'm dreaming of a green christmas

the green theme is big this holiday season. I don't know if its the melting icecaps or the barney's windows, but we are having a green christmas! I myself have gotten jazzed on the idea and have reconstructed and recycled everyday items to fit in with my gift giving...

wrap your gifts in fun newspaper, maybe the sunday comics? or my fave, the new york times style section.

when in doubt, go with a gift card. it saves time, paper waste and will give the giftee whatever they are wanting. iTunes is a fun way to go for the music aficionado.

if we're talking recycling, this trendster says re-gifting is a-ok! as long as it doesn't go back to the one who gave it. eek.

snake charming

check out style network's mystyle.com blog today. I'm talking snake accessory.

deconstructed earrings

I've been wanting to pick up a pair of gold straight dangle earrings for a minute now but since I've been spending so much cash on the christmas gifts, figured I'd wait until the new year to buy something for myself. low and behold, I had a pair of danglies from an H&M in switzerland. they had hearts on the, but I was crafty (and frugal) enough to find some pliers and twist the hearts off making for my perfect pair of earrings. crafts equal more cash for family and friend christmas gifts.

hot holiday gifts

I just got back from a very quick trip to new york where I did a satellite media tour with my pals vidicom on some hot holiday gifts. for those of you who don't know, an SMT is where the "host" or expert is in a studio and via satellite we do interviews with national morning shows promoting the brand we are hired by. for those of you who don't know what hot holiday gifts to give, here is a rundown of my gift guide:

for under $180. you can give one lucky travler, a beaufiul set of caselogic liightweight luggage. its made of a special material that makes it durable and extra light. plus its got fun features like a removable laptop shuttle and water bottle holder for hands free handling.

for the mom, dad or baby cousin, get a goose down vest from lands end. for $25, its comfy, colorful and comes in all shapes and sizes. perfect for layering over the sweatshirt or under the coat.

for the music lover, a truly unique gift is the exclusive, hand signed by THE EAGLES takamine guitar. all proceeds go to the walden woods project and only a few were made so its a gift that gives back, is one of a kind and rocks!

lastly, is the breville cafe-roma espresso machine from bed bath and beyond. it brews a perfect cup of espresso and allows the coffee lover to be a barista in their own kitchen.

all of these fun gifts can be found online at their respective online stores. happy shopping!

booty-licious

ever since I picked up a pair of vans-like checkerboards at rite-aid, I have not discounted the store for cheapie fun finds. my eye for pharmacy chic took me into the shoe collection yet again where I found a fab pair of winter footwear to kick around the house in. they're the brown clunky ankle-high booties much like an ugg but ugglier but oh! so comfy and apparently, outside of the oprah crochet, its the thing this winter season. for $9.99, grab 'em before they're gone.

in a galaxy far far away...

last week was house of diehl's style wars competition in los angeles at cinespace. saundi dj'd. the judges were myself, musician jody whatley from back in the day, jeffrey sebelia, last year's winner from project runway and handbag designer nikki chu. the competitors battled it out in live on stage style rounds such as bauhaus your body and denim use. it was an event that los angelenos rarley get to see and it was awesome and I'm sorry you missed it. for vidz and such, my bud possum came down and shot if for his gotv network. check it here.

trendster trend alert

people often ask how it is that I know about trends or what qualifies me to talk about them. I do what you can too. read magazines, check out fashion shows to see where the market is heading, track sales to see what consumers are buying but above all else is what sets the stylist apart from the general public and that is the artistic flair that we "style artists" apply our to oomph up a signature look. rachel zoe has her 70's halston dresses and today, trendster is bringing the sexy back. or rather, the hand corsage back. crazy as it may seem, I love the look and smell of the fresh flowers. the babys breath and carefully arranged carnations hearken back to a time of innocence. I've got the style wars competititon happening tonite at cinespace and I thought it would be fun to debut my debutante accessory at such a significant fashion event. the particular corsage I purchased was $15 from parisian flowers on sunset who serviced the hollywood industry for over fifty years including providing flowers commissioned by joe dimaggio to have placed on marilyn monroe's grave three times a year for ten years following her death. let's see if we can get this thing going, or at least let me lead the way and test the trendster trend out.

he's crafty

we gals sure love to deconstruct tee-shirts but did you know that men are sort of into it to? my bfriend loves to cut off the sleeves of his tees to work out in and I love wearing all of his tees, so it was a pure organic fashion experience that I put on an XL tee with the sleeves cut off and loved the look. saundi even took a couple of his smaller shirts and cut the sleeves off for me. I now love rocking the marissa tomei-ish inspired look of oversized tee with no sleeves, big hoops and leggings. go on and get your man (or woman) to work so you can work it.

modern girls on style network tonite!

got the thanksgiving coma friends? best thing to do is veg out, watch some teevee and let it pass. so if you're digesting in front of the tube later on tonite, the modern girls holiday special I shot a couple of weeks ago is airing at 8pm on the style network. fun ideas for xmas gifts and more! happy thanksgiving!
xo, jess

turkey patrol

tomorrow my parents come out from new york. we have decided to have thanksgiving dinner at S's since I don't have a large enough kitchen or seating area in my tiny apt. so we're taking it to the east side. thanksgiving dinner is a HUGE undertaking. weeks ago, S and I had to sit down and prepare what we would be buying then had to schedule out when to do what and what our tablescape would be (as sandra lee says). S put the turkey on hold the other day (turkey on layaway? what is this, marshalls?) and picked up the sweet potatos and green beans from the framers market, now today I will get everything else annnnd start to bake the pie, ready the appetizers and corn the cornbread for stuffing. we're going with a harvest motiff and took a stroll through griffith park to pick up the oversized pine combs that pepper the ground up there. we cleaned them the other night then painted them with clear nail polish to keep the bugs away. I even spraypainted one gold but S said it was too gaudy and Italian. what can I say? I'm gaudy and Italian. stay tuned for more turkey tales and good luck with yours!

trash to treasure

one of my favorite things to do is decorate.I love finding special curios and knick-knacks to place throughout my home (and others, according to my unwilling boyfriend). the other day on a walk back to my house, I came across a lovely tall, narrow wooden serving table. it was a great piece to help assist in the serving of the thanksgiving dinner at S's however it did not have a top. I carried that bebe home 1/2 a mile, cleaned it up then headed to home depot yesterday and got a wooden piece specially sized and cut for the top and voila! my and the S man have a brand spankin' new table. what started out as a piece of someone's garbage is becoming the centerpiece of our meal, so on ne sais jamais. the best things in life can be free.

the coolest event since star wars....

go knicks!

S. has an ol' college buddy in town this week who just happens to be the physical therapist for the new york knicks. they rolled into town to play the clippers at the staples center so we were cordially invited to check out the game and hang with the b-boys. I've never been to a basketball game before and it was quite the style spectacle. girls in chanel leather pants, men in gucci, suits and 35K cartier watches. what a scene! afterwards we hit up the reg bev wil where the teams board when in l.a. for drinks at the bar with some of the players. around closing time, the pistons arrived so it was nba city up in the lobby bar and plenty o' piston/knick fun!!

shop for a cause

blow(dry) me

I found an easy blowdry in hollywood yesterday. since it was veterans day, most salons were closed but I had an audition so I needed to straighten the curly on the quick and cheap. I stopped by the roosevelt hotel down the block to see if they had a salon and they directed me to sunset nails and salon on labrea and sunset. thirty dollars and a half hour got me a terrific blowdry. sol (who does the 'do) is at (323)467-3333. give em a holla if you're looking for a quick hollywood hair fix.

I voted

with your help, you've brought saundi from 178th place (where he was when I first wrote) to 52nd PLACE in the spin magazine music competition!!!!?!??!?!?!?!?! this is the last and final week so he'll really need that extra push to get into the judges circle of the top 20. you can only vote once a day but again, its quick, easy and FREE when you:

text the word SAUNDI to 628466
he's at saundi.musicnation.com if you want to follow the placing (since you are moving him forward and all). THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!! xo, jess