Ok, so that mecca of great eating Whole Foods is turning up the heat, or the heart, for Valentine’s Day this year. They are hosting not one but TWO events that have to do with the chocolate theme of this lovers’ day. Hey, just because there may not be a wonderful man or woman in our lives at this time, doesn’t mean we still can’t all partake in the great chocolate that is traditionally consumed in honor of St. Valentine! Check out the following, one requires payment of a minimal fee and one is actually FREE. Of course, both of these events are being held only at the Whole Foods’ downtown location on the Bowery. Everything is just a whole lot cooler downtown, what can I say?! So go ahead, step on a train, or a bus, or walk over and N-joy!

February 1st, 2008

An evening with the Experts… Chocolate and Beer - Lecture and Tasting - 7 to 9 p.m. $40

Join Garrett Oliver, Brooklyn Brewery brewmaster and the foremost authority in the United States on the subject of traditional beer, and Fritz Knipschildt, award–winning chocolatier and owner of Cafe Chocopologie in Norwalk, Connecticut, as they pair chocolate and beer in an exclusive Valentine’s season event!
Instructors: Garrett Oliver and Fritz Knipschildt.

February 7th, 2008

A Chocolate Feast - Tasting - 5 to 8 p.m. Free Event

OK, so the fact that this event is free has already sold it to me… The store guarantees plenty of tastings and free chocolate for Valentine’s Day, from the various vendors who supply the cocoa goodies Whole Foods. Check the Whole Foods Calendar for more info.

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and what is a single girl or single guy - I am after all an equal opportunity blogger - to do?! I mean, all my involved friends are planning their special nights out with their beaus and I meanwhile reminisce about my last February 14th, spent stuck in traffic, in a rickshaw, in Bombay. And sitting next to a friend who is not even cute… Yes, I admit, upon writing it down it does sound like an exotic adventure, but alas, THAT was the most romantic Valentine in years for me! In order to change all that this year, the best thing to do is to throw a singles’ party. If anyone is so magnificently happily involved but yet still wishes to attend, we won’t shut the door on them, but ideally, get all your single friends together and celebrate yet another year of NOT settling for Mr. or Ms. “Just OK Will Do”.

PLAN YOUR GUEST LIST

As I stated above, ideally this party should have a majority of single guests. It is meant to be an event where people can mingle and couples - in my experience - tend to stick together or only talk with other couples. None of that is allowed for this party! So, invite your good friends, and then check your address book and your cell phone for people you have not seen or hung out with in a while. It’ll be a great occasion to reconnect, and if they are unattached, they will love you forever for having saved them from the ghost of “Single’s Valentine”. Send out an Evite invitation by email and add some kind of heart theme to the graphics. You want to make sure that all get in the mood for Valentine’s Day. In the true spirit of the holiday, St. Valentine died a single martyr, yet a truly romantic one who wrote a special goodbye to his jailer’s daughter and signed it “From Your Valentine”, singlehandedly guaranteeing Hallmark’s modern-day success. Send out your Evite a couple of weeks before, not sooner generally, as people tend to forget. Then follow up a couple of days before the party with a e-reminder.

YOUR VENUE

Ideally, your own apartment or that of a friend with a decent amount of space. This party could be held at a lounge, such as Kush on the Lower East Side in NYC, or even Leela Lounge near NYU. But it will be less intimate there, and one runs the risk of dealing with drunk couples making out all around, which will NOT be in the spirit of your party. It will also be much more pleasurable for the guests to know that they can kick off their shoes, relax and NOT be responsible for their part of the bill at the end of the evening. Make sense? Try to host it at home.

PLAN YOUR FOOD

Any great party must have great food. And good wine and drinks, but food is of the utmost importance. Small, bite-sized finger foods are best and make the most sense since you’ll want to keep your guests circulating. You have severals way to go. Trader Joe’s has an excellent choice of appetizers which are ready-made and can be served cold or heated, depending on the choice. Mini quiches, little pizzas to slice up and serve hot, crackers, olives, even sushi, all at the affordable dear ol’ Trader Joe’s prices. Or, you can go a bit more expensive and blend into the above foods some gourmet cheeses and prepared foods from Whole Foods. Maybe hit your local Italian deli where you live, for salame, prosciutto, mozzarella and their “Antipasto” mixtures. Pick up nice loaves of baguettes and you should be good to go. With your easy, store-bought foods, you could include a couple of homemade dips, which you will be able to find in this blog’s archives for Recipes. Serve dessert, which can either be little cupcakes, from Magnolia Bakery in NYC, or mini cheesecakes from Veniero’s, or even the Japanese Mochi Ice Cream from Trader Joe’s or your local Japanese market. My favorites are the chocolate, mango and green tea flavors. Set up plastic forks, sturdy, small paper plates, plastic see-through glasses, the short type which is a bit better than the picnic garden-style variety, and some pretty paper napkins from Papyrus. The look on the clerk’s face when you don’t show up at the register with a Valentine’s card will be priceless… Any food which will need heating, place in the oven before the guests start arriving, so as to spend as little time in the kitchen as possible. Remember, the party is as much for you as it is for your guests and they will only enjoy themselves if you enjoy yourself. It’s my number one party MUST: have fun! Relax because perfection is hardly ever achieved in this life.

PLAN YOUR DRINKS

For the easiest time, buy some decent white and red wine, some beer and big bottles of Coca Cola, diet soda and something light, like Ginger Ale or Sprite. Ideally, some of your guests should show up with their own drinks, but a good backup plan is to make a funky, mixed drink like a Lychee Martini or even a Lychee Prosecco cocktail that everyone can enjoy. If you have a special martini that is your forte, by all means, make that! And if you want to add a little something for effect, drop in a single drop of red food coloring into the mix… For that Valentine, red passion look. For the Lychee recipes, check the Recipes archives.

YOUR ENTERTAINMENT FOR THE EVENING.

Games can be corny, but sometimes it is fun to play and interact with others. It creates bonds and breaks the ice. The easiest to put together is the Famous Person Charades. You may call it something else, but that’s my name for it. Anyway, each person writes down five names of famous people, using five different pieces of paper. The papers are then folded and put into a hat or a basket. Teams are created, depending on the number of guests, you should ideally have about 4 people in each team. As each team’s turn comes around, one person is chosen to pick from the hat/basket and needs to find a way to communicate the person’s identity to his/her teammates so that they come up with the name. They can talk about the person’s job, their nationality, what they are famous for, but never use family connection. Example: the name is Kevin Federline, the clues cannot include Britney Spears. For those of you playing a more sophisticated game of this, then lets say Rahul Gandhi comes up, one cannot use “Sonia Gandhi’s son” as a clue. Get it? Great! If you have your own favorite social game, use that. Or even play good ol’ Charades, which is always a load of fun.

PARTY FAVORS

You do not need to go broke with this. But chocolates are the true wonder of Valentine, so why not get a little cellophane bag of the stuff for each and every one of your guests?! Every person can go home and be reminded for days to come of the fun they had thanks to you. That’s what I call Good Karma! Check the Chocolate Corner for suggestions, or make up your own favorites. N-joy!

My dear friend Valerie gave me a magnificent present for Christmas this year. She gifted me her friendship, but that is a whole other story in itself and I’ll share it with you at a later date. Her physical gift was a wooden cigar box filled with miniature chocolates from L. A. Burdick of Walpole, New Hampshire. YES, they do make chocolates in New Hampshire, when they are not busy holding important political primaries! Anyway, the store is also in Cambridge, Massachusett, better known as the home of Harvard University. These are handmade chocolates, tiny but chock-full of flavor and made of high quality cocoa. There are little truffles, one in particular is filled with a honey mixture that would make anyone turn into Winnie the Pooh, and in the middle of the box even a little mouse complete with almond ears and silk tail. The chocolates are a delight and fortunately, can be ordered online at Burdickchocolate.com. So, go ahead, indulge. This is what chocolate is meant to be. Oh, and remember my credo: stuff this good, never comes cheap! N-joy!

Through my beloved Facebook, I have come across many wonderfully creative individuals who have enriched my life in so many ways. One such fantastic person is a woman named Alejandra who runs her own culinary/lifestyle blog at www.alwaysorderdessert.com. I urge you to check it out and try some of her recipes. I have personally become totally addicted to her “Ginger Tea with Nutmeg”. This concoction is so great during the winter months, to help keep colds and other respiratory infections at bay, and the taste is well… simply divine.

This week’s Chocolate Corner has a couple of suggestions, basically geared towards those of us who enjoy shopping as much as we enjoy a good chocolate… Dare I say, even more sometimes?! Anyway, I was very pleased to discover that three of my favorite shopping meccas now cater to the chocaholic shopaholic in me. Not for the faint of heart, as far as prices, but certainly getting high marks from me for their locations!

The Chocolate Bar in Henry Bendel is located on the third floor and is basically a little eatery with some artisanal chocolates. It has the great added bonus of serving soups and salads to satiate the tummy, as well as a place to rest those tired limbs after a full morning of shopping. And on the way out, there are fantastic chocolates to be had.

Saks Fifth Avenue, never a shop to leave any stone unturned, was actually the first department store in NYC to be able to boast a “Chocolate Boutique” with its British chocolatier Charbonnel et Walker located on the eight floor. Again, this is a good spot to rest after viewing the extensive collections in this classic shopping haven.

Finally, ABC Carpet is a favorite of mine for all different reasons. I always feel like I am in a museum while I wander through its spacious Flatiron location. But the best kind of museum, where one is actually able to purchase anything on view. WOW! It’s no wonder that they would be able to score a fantastic chocolatier like Chocolat Michel Cluizel direct from Paris. By far, some of the best chocolates I have ever tasted, even if the pricetag painfully reminded me of the direct relationship between quality and damage to my wallet.

The following is a recipe by Kym Goins, who recently started her own blog at www.dirtroadponderings. She is one cool woman and a self-described “good friend”, which always translates to me as a great willingness to leave a legacy of loving vibes in this world. I’ll let her own words introduce this tasty, savory pie.

“I love to cook and I make this a thousand different ways, but this is what I made tonight for our “country cooking” themed dinner party (we do it every night - 5 friends and myself). Here’s the recipe… and if any of you have something wonderful that you love to cook, share it! I like trying new things.

ONION PIE

Three large sweet onions cut into thin rings/slices
Add 1/2 stick butter to pan and let melt
Add onion slices and cook on med/low heat for about 25 minutes, or until fully cooked/carmelized
Add some salt, pepper, grated parmesan cheese and thyme while cooking
Fix store-bought pie crust as directed on box
After onions have cooked, add 1/4 cup heavy cream and 1 T flour to onions. Stir in pan over low heat.
Add 1/2 onion mixture to pie shell, sprinkle with some shredded cheese (I used an Italian blend of white cheeses tonight) then add other 1/2 onion mix to pie shell and top with shredded parmesan (or any other cheese that you like).
Cook in pre-heated oven at 425 until top is browned nicely (maybe 15 minutes).

Bon Appetite!”

Well said, but more importantly, WELL COOKED Kym!

A friend recently reminded me of this classic tale of forbidden love. Because it was indeed a man who brought up the subject, I thought it very appropriate to include it in this week’s Man’s Opinion. I have often made it a point to write here about the pain and strife that men experience in terms of love. When a couple breaks up, the woman has her support group to help her voice her hurt and frustration, while the man usually sits inside his prideful, self-imposed agonizing jail of feelings unexplored. It is why men have more heart attacks than we women and the main reason why our pain most often gets turned into anger, simply by talking to our girlfriends, while our male counterparts experience deep hurt and lonely pain. I cannot even begin to count how many of my male friends suffered the deep sorrows of a break-up, only to discover that their exs were dating and had already moved on, much faster and definitely cleaner than them. So, this folk tale is a reminder that it takes two to love and two to hurt. If you enjoy the fable, then check out the Hindi film “Aaja Nachle” where the story within the story is a theater production of “Layla aur Majnun”. The music, dancing - by the great Madhuri Dixit - and acting - think Konkona Sen Sharma and Kunal Kapoor as part of an stellar ensemble cast - make the movie a true delight to watch. “Aaja Nachle” is coming soon to Netflix or ITalkies.

Following is the story by Nezami of Gandja:

“The young lovers Layla and Qays become acquainted at maktab, a traditional school, and fall desperately in love. Qays - later renamed “Majnun”, which means madman - is so besotted with love for Layla that he can not conceal his emotions. He begins to write poetry describing his love for her, and recites his poems to every passer-by.

Majnun’s father tries to ask for Layla’s hand on his son’s behalf, but Layla’s father refuses as he believes that Majnun is a madman who is destroying his daughter’s reputation by his open declarations of love on every street corner. Majnun’s father then takes him on a pilgrimage, but he can not forget Layla and his madness intensifies.

In the mean time, Layla is unable to leave her house, as Majnun’s poems have made her the subject of people’s gossip. Layla’s father is intent on keeping them apart at all cost. A man by the name of Ebn-e Salaam asks Layla’s father for her hand in marriage, but is told that she is too young and he should come again in a few years’ time.

Majnun leaves everything and heads for the wilderness living a miserable life. No one can console him, not even the generous Nawfal. Nawfal tries to give Majnun advice, but when he does not succeed he is so saddened by his plight that he even goes to war with Layla’s clan, demanding that Layla and Majnun should be united. However, even when Layla’s clan is defeated, her father refuses to allow his daughter to marry Majnun. He says that Majnun has destroyed his daughter’s reputation - quoting “not a wind passes without uttering my daughter’s name” - and he would rather kill her than give her to him. Nawfal realises that he can not pursue the matter any longer, and Majnun leaves once again.

Time passes, and with Nawfal no longer appearing as a threat, Layla has many suitors. Ebn-e Salaam uses the opportunity and returns to ask for Layla’s hand, and this time he is successful. They are married and he takes Layla to his own home. Majnun is devastated when he hears the news and sinks further within himself refusing to return home to his family.

Majnun’s father dies of a broken heart. Majnun had been his only son, and he had loved him dearly.

Although Layla is married, she has not forgotten Majnun, and her love for him is as strong as before. She sends a letter to Majnun trying to console him after his father’s death. She also explains that her husband knows she does not love him and she will always remain faithful to Majnun.

Shortly after, Majnun’s mother also dies and Layla sends him a message through an old man who has met him on his wanderings, to come and visit her. Majnun returns, and the lover’s see each other once more. However, Layla’s husband has always loved her, and knowing that he can never win her love, falls ill and dies. Tradition demands that a widow must remain in her house for two years and not see any one in that period. Layla can not bear the thought of living without Majnun any longer and consumed with sorrow, she dies. When Majnun hears the news of Layla’s death, his world comes to an end. He visits her grave, weeps desperately and dies.

I admit, a little depressing, but very poetic and quite poignant, when you think that so many men lost their lives because of one woman…

Although as I write this column the temperature outside is nearing a record 70 degrees, here in supposedly full winter NYC, I realize that the balmy weather won’t last. The cold and snow of the season are just around the corner and that’s when finding something to do - a fun activity, a cozy restaurant or even a good place to meet a friend and have a drink - becomes a chore. No worries, Nina to the rescue, with some greatly cultural art exhibits as well as heartwarming films and rocking upcoming events.

THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM

When in doubt, visit the Met, I say. These days, there is lots of chatter and excitement surrounding the upcoming departure of its Director, Philippe de Montebello, at the end of the year. The guessing games, as to who will be his successor, have already begun and to those interested in the NYC art world, it is like watching our own version of “American Idol”. Ah, the suspense… Will it be the man from the LA County Museum, or the one from Ft. Worth? Meanwhile, the museum has also become the new, albeit temporary, home of “Artemis and the Stag”, a 2000 year-old bronze sculpture sold through Sotheby’s to a private investor for a record $28.6 millions. Aside from the above mentioned “art drama” the collections offer endless hours of amusement as well as good food and fun shopping. Currently, there is a cool fashion exhibit titled “blog.mode: addressing fashion” which is in conjunction with the launch of the Met Museum Fashion Institute’s online blog, curated by Mr. Shoes himself, Manolo Blahnik. The exhibit, as the blog, is interactive and encourages creative dialogues about fashion. If my shoes could speak, the stories they would tell… Anyway, another exhibit I plan to check out soon is the “Eternal Ancestors: The Art of Central African Reliquary”. Sculptures from Equatorial Africa showcase the amazing talent of the artists of the region, always strictly coupled with their cultural superstitious beliefs. Being Italian, and half Neapolitan for that matter, I can be painfully superstitious, so this journey through Central Africa will certainly add more trinkets and baubles to my already bursting amulet collection. Have lunch or dinner at the Met. These days, the newly renovated Cafeteria is downright scrumptious and the Petrie Court Cafe is a good spot for those more comfortable with waiter service. Be sure to then stop into the Museum Shop for their amazing selection of cards and books. The museum is holding a special Winter Visit day on Monday, January 21st, a real treat considering they are typically closed on Mondays. Click on the MET website for all the info your heart desires. Admission is by recommended donation, but basically no amount can be refused. You’ll be scowled at, but not refused entry.

THE MoMA

Lets say that modern art is more what warms your heart, then MoMA is definitely for you. The current “Lucian Freud: The Painter’s Etchings” is full of wow factor. That’s when you stop in front of a piece of artwork and hear yourself softly whisper “wow”, while exhaling. The museum has a great Website, where you can click on the “MoMA Highlights” icon, middle right of the main page, for a simplified guide to the museum available for sale. Check out their permanent collection, with masterpieces like Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night”, Paul Cezanne’s “The Bather”, Rousseau’s “The Sleeping Gypsy” and Picasso’s “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon”. Then, have lunch at Cafe 2, on the second floor, an American take on the Italian “rosticceria” with communal tables and fabulous espressos. And do not forget the MoMA Store on the way out, of course. The museum is typically closed on Tuesdays. Admission is $20 for adults, but free on Friday evenings, between 4 and 8 p.m..

THE RUBIN MUSEUM

Simply one of the top museums in the country for viewing Himalayan art. The current must-see exhibit is about the alternate religion to Buddhism, in Tibet. The title of the exhibit is “Bon: The Magic Word - the Indigenous Religion of Tibet” and it is visually stunning, as well as being very instructional. The Bon culture pre-dates Buddhism in the Tibetan Plateau, by at least four centuries. Who knew! The added bonuses of visiting the Rubin Museum are their exquisite cafe and well stocked shop. They open every day, except Tuesdays, at 11, and Fridays are a late night until 10 p.m. due to their frequent showcases and concerts in the hip K2 Lounge. Click on the Rubin website for more info.

THE MORGAN LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

A fantastic Irving Penn photography exhibit just opened on January 18th at the Morgan! It is all about his artists and writers portraits and one only needs to click on their website and go face to face with Mr. Penn’s portrait of Picasso to know how amazing the exhibit will be. And the Morgan can truly be turned into an all day excursion. The choice of two restaurants completes the package, as one can dine in the original Morgan family dining room or choose the more casual atmosphere of the Morgan Cafe, glass enclosed and simply divine! Both are open until 8 on Fridays which is the day to see and be seen at the Morgan. So check it out and be awed.

THE IMAGINASIAN

Hands down, my favorite movie theater in NYC. A full entertainment experience, with Asian snacks served as well as popcorn, and the place where I have seen most of my favorite Hindi films to date. There is always something going on at the Imaginasian, though in this coming month only one Hindi film opening. Titled “Sunday” and opening on the 25th of January, it is the story of one man who basically looses a day… The rest, you’ll have to see it to understand. Check out the action packed “A Bloody Aria” if you are able to catch it before the 11th of Jan. I suggest keeping the Imaginasian website on your bookmark bar for future showings.

MOVIES AROUND TOWN

My must-sees of the season are quite simply “Love in the Time of Cholera”, “The Kite Runner” and “Lust, Caution”. It may sound a bit one-dimentional, but I have a very specific taste and those are the movies I would seriously consider seeing again and again, particularly the first two. Touching, well photographed and with wonderful stories behind them to make them truly interesting and full bodied, I suggest catching at least one before they disappear into the land of DVDs. They just won’t look the same of a smaller screen. Check out the AOL Movies site for more info. By the way, “Lust, Caution” is extremely hot, so try seeing it with someone of the opposite sex…

THE NEW MUSEUM

Not to be forgotten is this recently opened museum on the Bowery, near Houston Street. With its cool location, the fun new takes on POP art - like the giant rainbow with the words “HELL YES” hanging from the top of the facade - and hip downtown vibe, this is a must-see for being able to keep up with most NYC conversations to come. Check out their permanent displays or the current exhibit “Collage: The Unmonumental Picture” and do hit their New Food Cafe, which has artisanal chocolate bars and a cheesy concoction called the New Puff. In case I have been clear thus far, my favorite things in life are good cheeses and even better chocolates. Click on The New Museum for hours and info.

Well, that’s it for this week. More suggestions include visiting Curry Hill on a cold night and having some great Indian food to warm up the blood. Check out my Adventures Archives for more on this spicy NYC neighborhood. Also check out the archives for “The List” for all the bars and cool hot spots that NYC has to offer. Even visit a department store, which seems more appealing this time of year, with the strong sales and aisles emptied out of the Christmas tourists. Or enjoy this perfect “stay home” weather by reading a good book - “The Inheritance of Loss” by Kiran Desai, “The Namesake” by Jhumpa Lahiri or “The Village Bride of Beverly Hills” by Kavita Daswani. Hey, I need some flavor for these long winter nights, so only an Indian-flavored book will do for me! Catching up on your DVD viewing is also prime fun for this time of year. And remember, before we know it it’ll be spring again and time to pick up on all the fun where we left off.

This week, I got an uncontrollable urge to bake brownies. Hey, by the way, I did not include an “eat less chocolate” clause in my New Year’s resolutions, so I am still within my limits!? No broken pacts here. I learned a great trick from my BFF Andrea, who freezes half the batch in tightly wrapped individual packages - made out of plastic wrap - and then places all inside a freezer bag. It only takes about 15 minutes to bring a brownie back to room temperature, outside of the freezer, and it is a great way to enjoy your efforts responsibly. There is nothing worse that overdosing on thick fudge brownies and finding out, a week later, just WHERE those calories went… Anyway, being the busy, always-on-the-go kind of girl I am, as we all are these days, I don’t actually enjoy baking brownies from scratch. I believe the world is divided into two kinds of women: those who bake well and those who don’t. I belong to the latter and these days, no one needs to know my shortcoming, thanks to a variety of high quality brownies mixes available on the market. Try one, try them all, see which one is your favorite. I, of course, won’t be shy about pointing out mine.

Trader Joe’s Brownie Truffle Baking Mix is a amazing, at less than $4 a box. It contains Dutch cocoa and chocolate chips and only requires 2 large eggs and 1 stick of butter (substitute 1/4 cup canola oil for a low cholesterol version, though not as traditional and a bit more “runny”) for preparation. I enjoy the thick, rich, dark chocolate taste and the extra little texture addition of the chocolate chips. It is, by far, my favorite mix and the best value - artificial tasting Duncan Hines mixes notwithstanding of course. It is the simplest to prepare as well. Available at Trader Joe’s stores nationwide.

The Barefoot Contessa’s Outrageous Brownie Mix is the second-best choice, in my opinion. The brownies are also as easy as TJs ones to prepare. Good, homemade taste, velvety dense batter, but alas, no chocolate chips, which might be a selling point to some, not to me. They are available at Crate and Barrel stores or online on the Crate and Barrel website, for $10 a box.

And lastly, Jacques Torres Pure Bliss Fudge Brownie Mix is quite delicious and the high quality chocolate taste really does come through in the finished product, but the cooking process is a bit more confusing, and that really doesn’t make them so appealing to a minimalist, no nonsense chef like me. At $13 a box, available through his NYC shops or MrChocolate.com, they are also quite pricey.

Happy baking and remember, as good as brownies taste with milk, they taste a thousands times better with a good glass of Champagne or Prosecco. N-joy!

Check out the new Met Museum Fashion Institute’s Blog, curated by Mr. Shoes himself, Manolo Blahnik. It is greatly interactive and showcases a new wonder of fashion every day. Once you sign in, you can post comments and questions for each item and communicate with a whole community of fashionistas like you!

Carlos Saura’s magical trilogy of Flamenco - Carmen, El Amor Brujo and Blood Wedding - is now available for rent on Netflix. I grew up on those films and, although better viewed in a theater, they are still the stuff dreams are made of. Carmen is one of the reasons I started dancing Flamenco myself, inspired by the movements and class of Antonio Gades and the beauty and passion of Mr. Gades’ leading ladies, Laura del Sol and Cristina Hoyos. So, go ahead, put them individually on your film queue and enjoy the DVDs with a nice glass of Cava - the Spanish version of Champagne - and a plate of Marcona almonds from Trader Joe’s. Ole’!

Protect your soft and tender hands during the cold winter months, with Kiehl’s Ultimate Strength Hand Salve, which costs only $12.50 for a tube of 2.5 oz. Unprotected hands are nothing to behold, or hold for that matter. I have tried them all, as far as hand creams, and this product seems to work best. I enjoy the pleasant and mild eucalyptus scent and the texture is neither too greasy, nor too fast-drying, which is always a sign that there is simply too much alcohol in the mixture. Hands are truly the mirror to one’s age and you don’t want them to scream “OLD!” do you?!

My new addiction is Indian Vogue. It was only recently launched and October’s first issue was sold out all over the world. It is now available on E-bay, but I suggest that instead of pawning your mother’s favorite heirloom ring to buy your copy, you begin your readership with the February issue, which will shortly be in stores. Try the international magazine stands in your city for a copy. Even there, it is still a hefty $12 an issue for us American readers, but worth every penny. The combination of ethnic fashions, luxury brands such as Vuitton and Balenciaga, with a little of the affordable thrown in, truly make this a Vogue above all the rest.

So, of course, the last item on this week’s list had to come from the pages of Indian Vogue. Now that your lovely fingers are all pretty and moist, due to the wonders of Kiehl’s Hand Salve, then why not get a special manicure and show off the color of the season? Yes, a spicy, bright orange OPI nail polish amusingly named “My Chihuahua Bites” from their Mexico Collection is the perfect color to perk up those times when using your hands is required… eating, drinking, hailing a cab, why even running your fingers through a handsome man’s hair! Your friends will ohh and ahh over your perfectly groomed digits and you might even attract a charming, witty man who enjoys colors, while eating your lunchtime hot dog on the street… Hurray for beautiful hands, I say!