Happy New Year!! And a MonkeyPosh Giveaway!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

I would like to thank everyone who has asked me to participate in their end of year Favorite Things lists. Usually I am all over the fave things lists, but-- unfortunately, I recently had a ganglion cyst removed from the palm side of my left wrist and I have to wear this wristguard, and the pain is way worse than I ever expected. Typing is hard and painful, so no list typing for me this year. Also, we will be busy traveling for New Years so instead of a fave things list I decided to have a PRADA FRAGRANCE GIVEAWAY!

I received a brand new bottle of Prada Infusion D'Iris at a beauty event, and I would love to celebrate the new year by giving this beautiful fragrance away to one of you blog friends. One of my New Years Resolutions is to be more generous, so I would love to pass this Prada goodness to a home that would love it. The fragrance is brand new, in the box....never been worn, only sniffed. This is what the SAKS.COM website has to say about Prada Infusion D'Iris:

A dream, an Italian voyage, an ambiance, the smell of soap, the clean scent of crisp linen sheets, and naked skin. It combines classic, exceptional quality ingredients from Italy such as the Iris Pallida from Florence and the warm top note glow of Sicilian mandarin. It expresses itself through its contrast between a great freshness and apparent lightness and a type of tender veil, sensual, and strong, that envelops the body and the clothing of the woman who wears the fragrance.

If you would like to enter to win, simply leave a me a comment on this post with either your blog link or an e-mail where I can reach you. I will put all comments in a hat and draw the winner. Oh and to my male readers, your wives, girlfriends,(or boyfriends), and even Mothers might love a new bottle of Prada--so do not be shy!

I will be gone till Jan 2, so I will leave comments open till Jan 3rd.

I look forward to reading everyone's favorite things of 2007!

Here is hoping everyone has a wonderful New Year full of love, peace, prosperity, health, and happiness!

(photos from MonkeyPosh LLC)

Happy Holidays from all of us at Chez MonkeyPosh!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!Jen and Finley Christmas Eve 2007.Forrest in a photo all by himself because he is way too cranky and cool to be in a photo with his mom and his brother.Finley chilling in his holiday suit.

One of my favorite haute couture ornaments.

Here is wishing everyone a beautiful Holiday full of love, peace and happiness!

(photos from MonkeyPosh LLC)

Pretty Shoes for the Winter Blues

I know we are just fresh into Winter here in my cold neck of the woods, but I am already feeling stifled and limited and just all around closed in by all the cold and snow. I do not get seasonal blues like a lot of people do, I just feel less free. I want to go outside and feel the sun on my skin--but that will have to wait till May around here-UGH.

In the meantime I will just talk about something that ALWAYS makes me happy and brings sunshine into my life --pretty shoes!

I am supposed to host a "Shoe Party". I have been supposed to host said party for over a year, but something always gets in the way. I have a whole dossier of lovely party favors and shoe themed decor just waiting on the party to happen.

I ran across THIS in the Horchow Catalog:

How cute are those? They are shoe and purse chocolates! What is better than a shoe? A SHOE MADE OF CHOCOLATE! Can I get an AMEN??!!

I am counting the days till I can wear open toed pretty sling back sandals like these gorgeous Cole Haans. This is the beautiful Aurora Slingback. I love this color--so fresh! You can find these beauties at COLE HAAN .
These are the Via Spia Misu Sandals--so pretty! I found these at ZAPPOS . On the Zappos website the color is listed as "purple shift", but I ordered these, and the color is very bronze to me.

This is the Report Charlize Slingback from PIPERLIME . I am a fool for an animal print shoe. I think these are lovely.

Last year we started a major closet renovation/add on and we included a shoe room. We were limited on wall space due to the construction of the house, but we tried to use every inch of space we could.

It is still a work in progress, as I am always trying to rearrange things for optimum organization and to find more room for MORE SHOES! HA.

Now I am on a quest for cute boots with low heels....pox on winter snow!

Beautiful day to all!

(photos from Horchow.com, ColeHaan.com, Zappos.com , Piperlime.com and MonkeyPosh LLC)

Cowshed.....take me away!

Sheesh---I need a vacation.

This time of year is always so hectic. It seems as though everytime I think my holiday work is done--poof--there is another dinner party, or another gift that needs wrapping, another deadline to meet, another trip to the post office, etc. It never ends. The fact that we are covered in snow, my car is in the shop, and I am on a hateful sugar high(thanks to all the sweet holiday gifties from well wishers) 24-7 does not help at all. Oh, and the time I wasted trying to appease someone from, or representing the Chapman family due to my post below just adds insult to injury....or maybe injury to insult in this case-HA!

So, when my days are long and cold and busy, sometimes there is nothing better than a nice warm bath. ..and a glass of wine, but I will leave wine posts to people much more eloquent than I.

I will stick to what I know, and I know bath products.

I have been a fan of the COWSHED line for a long time. I first experienced their stuff in London about 4 years ago, then I was pleasantly surprised to find the Barneys in NYC carried the Cowshed line. I stocked up for fear it would go back to being sold exclusively in the UK again.

Cowshed Bullocks is one of my all time favorite shower gels. It is lavendar with a kick and I love it. I had been using it for a while when I went to SOHO HOUSE NEW YORK only to find out that is the line of toiletries they have in their hotel rooms and in their spa. I sometimes will pick hotels based on their brand of toiletries, or at the very least, toiletries can weigh on my decision. In the spa at Soho House you can purchase almost the whole line of Cowshed products. Soho House is an incredible hotel, the Cowshed products are just a total added bonus.

The image above is of the Lazy Cow Bath Oil--infused with jasmine and chamomile, it is delightful for a warm bath on a cold, winter evening.

This is the Knackered Cow bar soap. It is wonderful for when the holidays (or the every day) has you plum knackered. It contains oils of lavendar and eucalyptus and it is amazing.

If you love bath products like I do, then give Cowshed products a try. They have many, many things to choose from on their website.

I hope that everyone is enjoying the holiday season, keeping warm, and finding time to rest and relax.
Oh and if you are going to the post office today-I bid you peace. I hear it is going to be a zoo!

Lovely day to all!

(all photos from SohoHouseNewYork , and Cowshed)

Paris Vogue ---what the hell?

I must start out this post by saying that I LOVE Paris Vogue. I have always loved Paris Vogue. I have a friendly working relationship with Paris Vogue. I love it...for reals.

BUT--What the hell?

I have had the Novemeber issue for a few weeks now, but I have been reticent to say anything because really, I do not know what to think.

I love the front cover shot of Carolyn Murphy and Andre J. Andre can work a bootie, and his legs are to. die. for. I also love that it is The Special BRUCE WEBER Issue. Although Bruce is somewhat controversial, I happen to see the beauty in his photos.....they are mostly of nude males though-HA!
The reason I am flummoxed by this issue of one of my favorite magazines is because of THIS:
WHAT. THE. HELL? There are eleven pages of photos and literature about Dog The Freaking Bounty Hunter and his family. THIS IS PARIS VOGUE --NOT GUNS AND AMMO.
I am not fluent in French, so I am not sure exactly what the article says, but what could it possibly say? He has a show that no one watches, he was caught on tape spouting racial slurs, he is not stylish or relevent at all....what the hell? The above photo is a cut of his wife in her shorty shorts, her cowboy boots and her long French white tips. Jesus.

This is Dog shaking his tail feather on the street with some models. Work it Dog.

Anyone know what is tied around his thigh? Please God do not let it be a bandana.

Oh and this is a Dog and Family collage. Let's just say for the sake of argument that maybe Dog and his family are lovely, but seriously--Paris Vogue worthy? Eleven pages worthy? Is the article a farce?

Does this confuse anyone else? Please, someone with this magazine make sense of the Dog story for me so I can finally get a good night sleep and my faith in humankind and all things Vogue can be restored.

Has the world gone crazy?

HA--have a great day!

(photos from Paris Vogue November 2007)

*EDITED TO ADD-- This blog is for entertainment purposes only (mostly my own entertainment). This blog is silly and full of satire. I am a trained comedic writer. It is what I do. I never mean any malice to anyone--Chapman family included. Since posting this yesterday, apparently I have offended a few people at a site by and or dedicated to Duane Chapman's son Leland. My apologies, but please--your family is colorful and public and if you did not want people to talk about you, then you would not have such a public life. I did not mean to offend, but come on, Paris Vogue? I stand by my post.

Beautful Holiday Palettes...and the Chocolate one that got away.

Tis the season for holiday makeup palettes.....

I know that some of you remember the ever elusive and uber gorgeous Bobbi Brown Chocolate Eyes Palette from last year. It was the buzz of magazines and the beauty blogging world. I became obsessed with this palette. Buck wild shamedly obsessed. It is gorgeous, no? The colors are neutral and lovely and perfection for a redhead. I searched every mall from Illinois to Texas for this palette to no avail. I am not a competitive person at all, but tell me a beauty or fashion item I want is unavailable and I become a crazed Olympian. The challenge is on. I tried. Lord how I tried for this Chocolate Palette.....but no dice. It was a very limited edition and even now I cannot find any hanging out on E-bay or sitting around on Craigslist. Gone...poof...no more.

I eventually gave up my quest, but the Chocolate Palette was never far from my mind.

Fast forward a year later....

So a couple of weeks ago I was perusing the cosmetic aisles at Target (love Target) and I spied something beautiful, something neutral and soft and very reminiscent of my lovely Bobbi Brown Chocolate Palette--it was the gorgeous Sonia Kashuk Eye Palette in Perfectly Neutral. Granted, it is not exactly like the Bobbi one, but hey that one is no more.....I need to get over it.

I happen to love this palette. The colors are lovely and perfect for anyone. As I said I picked it up at Target. This one fills the Chocolate Palette void at least a little bit. Be sure to check the Target website out this holiday season. TARGET.COM has tons of stuff that even some of the stores do not carry.


Avon also has a very nice browny/bronzey/neutral palette this holiday season. Avon's is called the Eight in One Eye Palette in Neutral Tones--it is the one on the bottom.

The other Avon eye palettes are nice too. Avon has had a revolution in recent years. Before you go and write Avon off, please note-- It is not your Mother's Avon anymore. Avon has updated and expanded and actually become rather cool. I love the Paradise Greens Palette. It reminds me of summer at the beach. The Water Colors Palette also looks like it could provide a gorgeous smokey eye.

Avon now has the MARK line which is hip and young and fun. All their stuff is great and cool and you should totally check them out here: AVON.COM .

Also for my fragrance loving friends-- Avon collaborated with Christian LaCroix on a lovely new Eau de Parfum called Rouge.

It is a very unique and complex fragrance--nice for Winter. Avon is for sure worth checking out this holiday season.

Have a lovely day!

(photos from bobbibrown.com, MonkeyPosh LLC, and Avon.com)

Back from Oklahoma and Nail Polish Question

I am back from my trip to Oklahoma. I got to spend quality time with my family and a fun evening with friends. Please do not ask me why my head is all bent over sideways. Southwest eggrolls do strange things to me. I love Southwest eggrolls and I love my friends and family.

Ok- when I returned from my trip, I had 11 emails and a few blog comments asking me what the color of my nails were in the post below where I am fondling a lobster roll. It is "Hard Knock Life" by Deborah Lippman's Vinyl line that is available at BATH AND BODY WORKS .

It looks more black than blue to me, but in the sunlight it is a really deep blue. I love all of Deborah Lippman's stuff, and I have blogged about her genius before. Her Vinyl line is relatively new. It is in really small bottles and has TONS of shine. You can check her other stuff out here: LIPPMAN COLLECTION .


Whilst we are on the subject of nail polish....I got a manicure yesterday and even though I am opposed to nail art, Jamie- my nail girl talked me into a snowman for the holiday season. The girls where I get manicures are REALLY good artists. I could never do the small and sometimes intricate artwork they do on fingernails.
Cute, no? As I said, I am usually not a fan of nail art because I kinda think it is tacky and juvenile , BUT it is the holiday season so what the hell? I like my little man.

Here is a close up so you can see his hat and scarf. In case you were wondering, he is sporting a lovely Hermes cashmere scarf.

Oh and Hanukkah started a couple of days ago, so Happy Hanukkah to everyone!

(photos from MonkeyPosh LLC)