Style wise, I am the kind of person who finds something I like and then sticks to it. Until it really starts to let me down, like Levis, which has seemingly forgotten how to make a quality pair of jeans. Or they go out of business, like Daryl K has. Multiple times. To wit, I have been wearing the same brand of essentially perfect underwear (araks, if you must know) for around a decade.

But I may be forced to branch out.

While I was browsing through Beautiful Dreamers, one of my favorite shops in the ‘hood, trying to decide if I could stomach paying $80 for the most incredible hair/body oil I have ever encountered (by Dr Alkalitis, and I’m still on the fence but leaning towards yes) I saw them laying there, all perfect and “boy” cut (though do any of you know any boys who actually wear underwear shaped like this?) and really soft cotton with just the tiniest bit of stretch and bright red.

The line is called Ten, and they are designed by an equally captivating woman named Daphne Javitch. After checking out her website and her amazing apartment (which has piles, but the attractive well-edited kind… Granted, she doesn’t have kids, but I digress…) and her blog, I want to be best friends with her.

Needless to say, a pair of these beauties somehow jumped into my bag as I left the store and, I must say, I am not bummed. Maybe it’s the airmail-envelope-cum-packaging that takes it over the top…

I think I may now have two BFF’s in the lingerie dept…

Mother’s Day is around the corner (10 days away, to be exact) so if you haven’t started making a plan for how to honor the most overworked and generally under-appreciated person in your household (sorry dads…) you’d better hop to it.

But lets be honest, we are all stretched too thin in this all-work-all-the-time world. And figuring out a mother’s day gift is probably not the number one item on your to-do list. (nor should reading this blog either, but I digress…)

So here are a few ideas to get you guys going. If I were your mother, I would be thrilled to get any one of these gifts.

I’ve separated them into categories, to make it easier…

HELP HER STAY IN SHAPE

Call up the studio where your mother practices yoga and hook her up with a five class card (or a 10 class or, what the hell, a monthly unlimited) There’s no way she won’t be thrilled. If I am your mother, you will go straight to Kula. But I understand if she’s into some other spot.

While we’re on the topic, any exercise is good, so, for example, if she spins at SoulCycle, hook her up there.

HELP HER STAY PRETTY

Your mom probably has a favorite line of beauty products, but it really should be Red Flower, which is my favorite. I go on and on about them in an earlier post. Feel free to read, become obsessed, and then order up lots of stuff for your mother and yourself.

Or maybe she just wants a little bling. In that case, head over to Jill Platner (in SoHo or online) and get her what will most certainly become her favorite piece of jewelry ever.

Then again, sometimes a new bag is all a girl needs. This pretend designer bag by Slow And Steady Wins The Race is cute (duh), lightweight (made of canvas), ironic without being snotty (a witty knock off of a super traditional Chanel bag) and hip (for all of the above reasons) while still being age appropriate for, well, anybody.

HELP HER RELAX

How about a membership in Teavana’s tea of the month club? Every month, you get a sample of some new delicious herbal tea that your mother is sure to become addicted to. I speak from personal experience, as this is one of the best gifts I have gotten in the past decade (hint, hint).

SOMETHING HANDMADE BY OTHERS

Etsy is always good for finding one of a kind and truly personal gifts. How about getting a family portrait in felt to remind mom just who it is, exactly, she is taking care of all the time? As this requires some custom work, it might be too late for mother’s day 2013, but there’s always father’s day…)

GIVE HER SOMETHING HANDMADE BY YOU

Nothing beats something you made yourself. Be it a drawing from your daughter’s kindergarten art class, or something sweet and delicious to eat, like these treats. To be honest, you could go buy any issue of Martha Stewart (which is where I found this recipe) and find something lovely to make, but I’ve got a thing for cookies. Plus they are great to make with kids. Not that I’m doing any making this mother’s day, mind you…

GIVE HER SOMETHING TO READ

This cookbook is fabulous because it is not only chock full of delicious and completely approachable recipes, it is also a hilarious read. This contest for kitchen dominance between NY Times food writers Julia Moskin and Kim Severson is full of personal stories, pitfalls and a genuine love of cooking at home. In my opinion, everybody wins.

Or, just get her this book by Stephanie Tourles and we can make all sorts of great stuff together. Nothing like creating your own line of skin care and body products, right?

Have anything to add to the list? Any great ideas for what I should give my mother-in-law, for example? Feel free to let me know in the comments. I’m happy for any and all suggestions.

It’s way too late on a Thursday night, and I am exhausted and really need to be going straight to bed. But before I turn of the computer, I just wanted to let you all know that tomorrow (the soon-to-be-today 1st of March) is the day that the Duro Olowu line for JC Penny hits the stores. And the web as far as I know.

I went to a little preview party and let me tell you, this stuff is nice. For real. Target had better watch out. And all under $100. I promise to come back to this post and actually write more detail, gush on about his use of color and the bold manner in which he mixes patterns, but I am way too tired to do that now.

These pictures will have to do for the time being.

And there are accessories, too. Jewels and frames and trays…

And this wheelie bag, which has my name all over it.

Maybe sometime soon I will put more photos up, share more fun facts about Duro Olowu’s illustrious career and go on about how much I love a designer who is not afraid of color and who manages to make a JP Penny frock feel like you bought it at Bird.

But I need to sleep, so it’s gonna have to wait. Just go to JC Penny and see for yourself. You won’t be sorry.

It’s the moment during New York’s fashion week when I profess my love for Tess Giberson and all that she designs. It happens pretty much every season. So this time, I’ll make it short and sweet.

For over a decade, Tess Giberson has been creating conceptual, intricate, singular, wearable, intelligent clothes for women. They are styles that stand the test of time– I have pieces from as far back as– 2005 maybe?– that feel as fresh now as when I first got my hands on them. And they still get play.

This collection harkens back to her earlier, more experimental days, with the show featuring a set of personalities that are very much the type of women that would actually wear the clothes in real life– some of them playing percussion instruments to the atmospheric soundscape overseen by a dj in the back of the room.

The clothes are predominantly neutral blacks and greys, but I think I may go for one of these more colorful knits myself. I’m always a sucker for a bit of brightness, especially in the winter.

I go on and on about her in an earlier post, so I won’t repeat myself. Let just say she’s well worth checking out, if you know what’s good for you.

Giberson’s spring line just her store today, so If you can’t wait till August for these clothes, you can always get your fix RIGHT NOW in soho.

See you there.

(oh and please excuse the slightly blurry photo of the knits. Sometimes my iphone sucks.)

I had a watch that I loved, but the band broke and it sat on a shelf in my kitchen for… oh… 3 years or so awaiting repair. It’s still there. I’m gonna get get fixed, I swear.

And in the meantime, I kept hoping that I would turn into one of those people who didn’t wear a watch and, as a result, was somehow unencumbered by the contrictions of scheduling and time.

No such luck. I just became one of those annoying people who is always looking at their phone. Plus I found that limiting my kid’s access to screen media (including the iPhone) is much harder when you’re pulling it out of your bag all the time to see what time it is. So I finally gave up and began a search for a new watch in earnest. That I could love. And that wasn’t going to cost me a half a year’s worth of child care.

Finally, it emerged. From the pages of the Martha Stewart Living holiday gift guide, no less. wewood, a company out of Los Angeles, makes beautiful watches out of sustainably grown trees. And ever since I’ve had one of my own, I’ve gotten into loads of conversations with people from all walks of life about how cool it is to have a watch made out of wood.

**Also, if you are serious about saving a few $$s whie you’re at it, go check out RawFeed for coupons on Wewood products. They come and go, but it’s always worth checking before you pay full price, right?

Which makes me happy.

And it also gives me an opening to talk about the importance of usinig sustainable materials whenever possible. Not to mention the fact that the less you are handling your phone, the less radiation you’re getting from it. But that’s another story for another time…

A long long time ago, when desperate for something to use as a bathing suit bottom, I bought some black girdle underpants at Woolworth’s. Yep, Woolworth’s. Thus marked the beginning of my mix and match bikini wearing and it’s been going strong ever since.

Best part about it is, I get to pick and choose what tops and bottoms fit (and look) the best, while also being pretty damned sure that no one else on the beach is going to stroll by in the same exact suit. Which is more important to me than I care to admit.

I’ve had these beautiful bottoms from Araks for several years now, and loved them dearly, but it is only in the past week that I have found them a suitable mate.

Enter Maria Cornejo– artist, designer, genius– and her new line of swimwear. I found the perfect perfect top. Beautiful color and cut, and it actually stays on in the ocean (nothing worse than diving into the surf fully clothed and then coming up empty, so to speak.)

There are equally amazing one piece suits as well… it’s very much worth a trip to the shop if you are in NYC (or LA), as many of the styles aren’t available online. Maybe you already have the perfect suit. But if you’re anything like me, you’ll appreciate checking this out. Cause there’s nothing like a good bathing suit to make you feel like a grownup, in the best of ways.