Parental Update, Urbanite, Sephora, Like.com

Hi all. Thought I'd forewarn you that today's post is going to be a hodgepodge of information. But I will be organized about it, and you will gain new insights and information that you will be able to use for yourself, and then against me somehow later on.

1. You'll be happy to know, as I was, that my parents did not disown me over yesterdays' blog. However, I left out a most important point on how they saved their money that allowed them to dress like fancy pants all these years, and also send me to a great out-of-state college: THEY ONLY HAD ONE KID (thanks to jay eff for that reminder!). The pictured rose is my peace offering to them.

2. Urbanite - Those brainiacs at The New York Times beat me to it with this new daily publication, which provides readers with what to see, eat, do and wear in New York City. It is a free e-mail newsletter sent Monday through Friday where you can find out about New York's newest restaurants, cultural events, latest styles, the best places to shop and more. There's also a weekend guide sent each Friday to help you plan your weekend. I have emailed the editor Melena Ryzik about Guerilla Shopper, but surprisingly have not heard back. She must be tremendously jealous. Let's hope she gets pregnant and goes on permanent maternity leave and then I can take over for her. I will accept an offer as a contributor in the meantime.

3. Sephora is opening a new store on Friday, November 17 at 711 Lexington Avenue @57th St. It's the most beautiful place on earth - they said so! Kidding aside, I love makeup they way I loved markers and crayons as a kid, so this place is fun for a girl and a boy (depending on what kind of boy we're talking about).

4. Like.com - Have you heard about this new shopping site? I've checked it out a bit, haven't acutally used it, but it sounded intriguing in The New York Times article that another G.S. friend passed along:
Like.com offers a shortcut for the budget-minded wannabe. The site, rolled out last week, relies on artificial intelligence technology to search images on the Web, and serve up goods for sale that visually match items on a shopper’s wish list.
Visitors to the site search for products in one of two ways. First, they may type in “red strappy shoes” or silver earrings and receive pages filled with images that match the description, along with prices and links to the product pages of the Web sites where the items are sold. Or users may browse through selected items in the wardrobes of about a dozen celebrities, including Scarlett Johansson and Jessica Simpson and choose, say, a pair of the dangling silver earrings Ms. Johansson wore to the premiere of “Scoop.” The site then searches for similar earrings, returning more than 8,000 pairs ranging in price from $40 to $8,000.