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January 18th, 2008
Lately, we’ve been hitting the snooze button and sleeping more than eight hours. Could it have something to do with the Rick Springfield-esque hottie who keeps appearing in our dreams, or is it just the doldrums of winter? We’re not sure. But since we’ve put ourselves on a strict spending budget and caught that wicked consumerism bug, we want everything we’re not supposed to buy! Of course, temptation gets the best of us and we recently purchased a pair of gray boots. And because of our lack of control, our lovely knee-high beauties have been hiding in the trunk of our car for a week. We can’t bear to look at them, nor can we part with them. Our best girlfriend noticed our droopy spirit recently and advised us to pick ourselves up by the tatas and tune into General Hospital pronto … Ricky baby had been making guest appearances as Noah Drake! We were so excited we pulled the new boots from hiding and took them shopping! |
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| Phoenix Picks: | |||
| 1 | London's Calling… There are a few things that make us speak in an English accent, and English beer is one of them. And we do love us an English-style pub. There’s something about the dark wood, the fried fish and the homey atmosphere that makes us loosen up enough to try our hand at dropping our “r’s.” And it ain’t pretty. Nonetheless, we couldn't wait for Rose and Crown to open its beautifully crown-molded wooden doors, as the buzz had us craving import pints and shepherd's pie. Humming along to The Clash and The Cure, we bellied up to the quaint bar for an English pint (that's 20 ounces across the pond) of St. Mary's, the house beer, which earned its namesake from the local high school (all three R&C owners went there). So grab the blower and round up your favorite birds—you'd be barmy not to try this battle cruiser for a tipple and some bloke-watching. (Translation: Pick up the phone and call your girlfriends—you'd be crazy not to try this pub for some laughs and the male scenery.) |
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| 2 | The Perfect Playground When we were kids, we played dress-up with Hello Kitty and the Peanuts gang and read the entire “Little Miss and Mr” book collection. Lately, our childhood play pals have resurfaced as fashion icons. In fact, we feel quite with-it to be sporting our favorite childhood friends once again! Lindsay Lou, in Scottsdale’s Hilton Village, truly is a girl’s BFF boutique—a one-stop-shop filled with fab goodies like tiny tees, Juicy Sweats, high-fashion jeans from Chip and Pepper and Paige Denim, awesome jewelry, and even smart and sassy pieces for the office. At Lindsay Lou, we step into an imaginary play land where gold clutches are draped over saddles, vintage crinolines adorn the walls, and pretty dresses from Ella Moss are paired with Dad’s old cowboy boots. The boutique is bright, cheery and charming with its rustic décor—a perfect playground for gals like us who like to have a little fun and play dress up while we shop. And we couldn’t believe we found a place that quenched our childhood and grownup tastes at the same time! Lindsay Lou |
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| 3 | Finding Our G-spot We need our ladies who lunch days, especially after we invaded boyfriend's CD collection and found "Celtic Women." After gagging a little, we confronted our man and he 'fessed up. Ugh. Being in the company of our gal pals allows us to relax and forget the image of our big gorilla crooning Irish lullabies. Always on the lookout for new hangout spots, Lisa G's Café Wine Bar instantly stood out. We were even greeted by Lisa G herself, who welcomed us into her kitschy, laid-back, coolly modern bungalow, complete with a "Hail to the Queen!"-type portrait of her toddler self. We started with drinks of the non-alcoholic nature (it was a workday, after all), and the veggie sandwich was delicious—and light enough to save us from a food coma. Dessert was oh-my-god-I'm-going-to-wet-my-pants good, including the in-house crème brulee, Berto's Gelatos and cupcakes from Tammie Coe, which we had to bring back to gobble at our desks since we were so full! Lisa G's Café Wine Bar |
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| Chick Picks: | |||
| 1 | Office Humor Sometimes when we're at work, we're not exactly working. Instead, we're giggling at Natalie Dee's newest cartoon. We also heart her blogs and videos, where she discusses everything from being an ex-phone-sex worker to the current happenings of her two pugs. Colorful, random and always funny, Natalie helps us while away the hours with her irreverent wit. Along with her drawings, Natalie offers a bevy of merchandising, from goofy shirts (we own 3!) to cheeky tote bags (got one of those, too!). |
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| 2 | Pillow Talk Our little brother had an attachment to a pink flower blanket growing up. We loved making him cry by hiding and doing destructive things to his favorite “blankie.” Now that he’s twice our size, we do nice things like make him pillows. Unfortunately, all our craft projects never turn out as magnificent and lovely as the goodies we find at Flutter, a veritable online treasure chest. We’re drooling over the collection of Madame Fortuna jewels, found baubles and needlepoint pillows. Doesn’t this moose pillow makes a nice sibling peace offering? |
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| 3 | A Wet (Pur)Suit When it comes to swimsuit season, we hide. In fact, when we beach it we cover ourselves head to toe (even though there’s a fabu snakeskin number underneath). Call it a case of being timid, but we fear exposing pancake bum (and all other imperfections) to the world. But Popina’s retro-inspired one piece swimsuits make us want to show some skin! They artfully hide and tuck our problem areas and inspire thoughts of posing like a sexy pinup girl! |
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Hip Happenings: |
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| 1 | 1. Shoe Fetishists If you’re anything like us, you can’t resist a good sale, especially when the pickins are made by Acne, Ksubi and Alexander McQueen! Stop by Covet to enjoy 50 percent off all women’s footwear, plus merchandise that is 30 to 60 percent off. Get there early to avoid the catfights! What: Covet’s Shoe Sale |
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| 2 | Whirled Peas and Eco Suave So you stock your fridge with organic goodies and cruise around town in a bio-diesel BMW. Your eco-awareness is beckoning you to buy more locally made, earth-friendly clothing but you don’t know where to go. Changing Hands delivers the answer with the “Go Fashionably Green” fashion show featuring fabulous items from Bunky Boutique and Angela Johnson. What: “Go Fashionably Green” eco fashion show |
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| 3 | Beauty Boot Camp Does your skin need to be whipped back into its previously gorgeous shape? Get thee over to Glam Lounge where their “No Holds Barred” six-week skin-beautifying boot camp will get your skin in tip top condition—plus they’ll send you back into the world looking fabulous with a brow shaping and makeup lesson! What: Glam Lounge’s beauty boot camp |
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Phoenix Picks just keeps growin' thanks to all of you who've shared Phoenix Picks with your cohorts and/or dropped us a line about your favorite indie boutique and shopping scores! We love hearing about it, so keep those emails coming—tell us how much you and your BFFs love us (and Leif Garrett too)! |
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