Category — Around Town

If you are like me your friends and relatives tend to give you Starbucks gift cards for all major holidays. Hey that caffeine addiction can get pretty costly. What you may not know is that this Seattle based coffee house is offering additional perks for starbucks gift card holders. While I was using my Starbucks card, this morning, the barrister ( I love that word) told me that they have added some incentives to your card that saves you additional cash.

Now when you get one of these cards you get, just for registering it online:

1) Protection in case it is stolen or lost

2) Syrup and milk options added to  your coffee for free

3) Brewed coffee refills at no extra charge.

4) A complimentary tall beverage when  you buy their coffee beans.

Now I know that this isn’t a traditional beauty tip but these Starbucks rewards save you money, which saves you stress which saves you those little wrinkle lines. Hmm maybe it is a beauty tip after all.

Sincerely,

Caterina Christakos - founder of stillagirl.com - a positive place for women and girls

Hi all

I just discovered this amazing little boutique clothing store in Mary Brickell Village in Miami Florida called Blush. Actually it isn’t little. It fills two store fronts but the staff is so warm, friendly and helpful that you will feel as if you are in a tiny boutique. Hmmm that isn’t quite right either. When I think of boutiques I general imagine high prices and for a shop off of Brickell Avenue this store is really reasonably priced.

I began my shopping excursion across the street at another charming women’s store but walked out when I realized that one tiny blouse was about $250. Pretty, but I can do better than that. So I wandered over to Blush. Now by the style of clothing that I saw from the outside I expected equally high prices.

What I found was three blouses that I absolutely love for less than $200 all together. The material of each of their items is so soft and feels amazing against your skin. They also have a really nice selection of different styles and colors. Each of the two store fronts is run by an equally nice sales girl. The young lady that ended up helping me was great at picking out items that fit what I was looking for. She also didn’t try to upsell me on items that didn’t look right on my body.

I don’t know about you but I really appreciate tactful honesty from the staff at clothing stores. Returning items that look horrible in a “real” mirror just pisses me off.

The only thing that I wasn’t crazy about was the dressing rooms. They are huge but don’t have mirrors. So you end up having to walk out to view yourself for each item.

The clothes and service though makes this minor issue easy to overlook. They have items for casually strolling in this fashionable neighborhood and night time attire that is bound to turn heads. What more could you ask for?

Here are their locations:

Mon-Sat: 11:00-6:30

6633 South Dixie Hwy Miami , Fl. 3314 786-268-0678

1935 West Ave. Unit 106 Miami Beach , Fl. 305-531-3050

Happy Shopping!

Sincerely,

Caterina Christakos - founder of stillagirl.com - a positive place for women and girls

Hi all

Have you ever been to a restaurant and had the wine by the glass? Ever wonder how long that wine has been open? Well you should. The taste of the wine changes after it has been open for an hour or two. Some restaurants even serve wine opened the day before!

Always ask for your glass of wine to be served from a new unopened bottle, especially for the higher priced wines. If you are paying $12-14 a glass for a really nice bottle of wine you deserve to have it from an unopened bottle. If the server is so clueless as to refuse, ask to speak to the manager.  Best case scenario have the bottle opened in front of you.

This is a wine tasting tip that I learned from restaurant connoisseur and owner of Christinis restaurant - Chris Christini, a man that has opened 19 hotels and restaurants across the country, and who also happens to be my dad. Growing up in the restaurant  business I learned a lot about food and wine, but my best education has always been found dining in other people’s restaurants with my dad.

Every once  in a while I will throw in a wine or food tip. Beauty, after all, is not just about how we look but how we feel. A good meal can sometimes be all it takes to change our outlook on life or in a more finite way our entire feel for the day.

Bon Apetite

Caterina Christakos - founder of stillagirl.com - a positive place for women and girls

Hi all

Occasionally I like to blog about cultural experiences in addition to makeup, fashion and skin care. Inner beauty is important too. Anyway, this week I took a few hours off and went to the Albin Polasek Museum in Winter Park Florida and I am so happy I did. This scultpure, painter and all around Rennaissance man left his home ( one that he personally designed) to the community to display his art and inspire others.

The garden is the perfect frame for his life size statues and within the house their are examples of all the different art forms he attempted and excelled at. Born in Czechoslavakia he apprenticed as a wood carver and created wooden scultpures for churches. Knowing that he would never be able to afford art school in his country he immigrated to the United States and worked his way through art school, winning international acclaim for his sculptures.

The truly fascinating aspect of his life began, in my opinion, after he turned seventy. He had never been married before this period but was married twice after his seventieth birthday. He married the first time, after suffering from a stroke that paralyzed the left side of his body. Amazingly enough even with this paralysis he continued to paint and to sculpt some of the most beautiful bronze statues I have ever seen.

If you want to experience the ultimate expression of human spirit and determination go to this museum, look at the art work and definitely take the tour. Hearing about this incredible man from a true enthusiast is absolutely worth the tiny $5 entrance fee.

You can find more information about the museum and his life at: http://www.polasek.org/

Enjoy!

Caterina Christakos -founder of stillagirl.com - a positive place for women and girls

Hi all

For those of you who vacation in either Cape Cod or Florida your next vacation might be a lot less expensive. There is a photo contest going on now which is offering $1000 credit toward your next vacaqtion for the best ” we need a vacation picture” you can come up with. Plus they will also donate $1000 to the Association to Preserve Cape Cod. You get to help yourself and the environment, how great is that?

The contest runs from June 23 to September 3, 2007 so get moving, time is running out. The company who runs this contest features great vacations to Cape Cod, Florida,Panama City vacation rentals and more.

Get all of the information here: http://www.weneedavacation.com

Hey what could be more fun than coming up with creative photos, winning a $1000 voucher and helping out the environment. I love it when companies give back.

Sincerely, Caterina Christakos - founder of stillagirl.com - a positive place for women and girls

• This has been a sponsored post. Thanks again to all of our sponsors for keeping this site going

Hi all

High society babies have a new place to shop and you now have a place to buy baby gifts that are far from traditional. This baby bling store has baby pacifiers, rattles, nail clippers and more encrusted with Swarovski crystals. We all have friends who are into the latest trends. How much would they love having a gift that no one else on the block or probably even their community has?

Now these gifts aren’t for those of us on a fixed budget but then again we all tend to splurge a bit for baby showers anyway. I just love the thought of showing up with something that no one has seen before and being able to fill my friends in on a little known shopping secret. At first I was worried about the crystals coming off but then I realized that this could be an heirloom passed down from one generation to the next.

Anyway, you know me. I love to share these sites with you all. It is so much fun finding something new and different. Now if you will excuse me I have to go encourage my friends to procreate so that I can hand out the half dozen that I just had to buy when I found this site.

Sincerely,

Caterina Christakos - founder of stillagirl.com - a positive place for women and girls

• thanks again to all of our sponsors

Hi all

A friend of mine was searching for an affordable place to take her husband for a romantic weekend. They live in New York and don’t want to travel too far. So, as usual, I hopped online and started a search.

They had already been to the Poconos and Atlantic City so I expanded my search and stumbled upon this site: Pennsylvania bed and breakfast

Pennsylvania is fairly close. They can probably find a bus or train to get them there, if they don’t want to fly and the scenery there is breathtaking. Plus bed and breakfasts can be soo romantic.

I stayed in one in New Orleans and had better service than some of the five star hotels I have been to. Plus the owners usually know all the best places to go to in their community, places that most tourists will never hear about.

If you have never stayed in a bed and breakfast, seriously consider it. Go online and search, then look for reviews of the bed and breakfast that you think you might like to stay in. Just realize that it will be like staying in a favorite relatives home - one who is actually glad to see you and won’t be too nosy if you come home late.

Sincerely,

Caterina Christakos - founder of stillagirl.com - a positive place for women and girls

Hi all

You all know how much I love a deal. My goal is to almost never pay retail on my daily purchases so that when an incredible new perfume or skin care item comes out I can splurge just a bit. SO saying here is a great site for big savings on your favorite online and offline stores:discount codes

Here are some of my favorite coupons this month: Bombay company coupons Best Buy Wednesdays Only Deals Ebags coupons

Look through all the coupons until you find the one that is right for you. Some have free shipping and some give you big savings depending on how much you spend. Either way I love the savings and how it saves me a trip to the mall half the time.

Remember the more you save on these day to day items the more you can spend on those luxurious, exotic treats that our favorite fashion and beauty magazines brag about. Plus you can brag to your significant other about how much money you saved.

Sincerely, Caterina Christakos - founder of stillagirl.com - a positive place for women and girls

• thanks to all of our sponsors

Hi all

As much as I love chatting with all of you, sitting in front of this computer all day makes me achier than my 90 year old aunt. So today I treated myself to a massage at the Aruj salon in Coconut Grove and I am so glad I did.

If you are ever in the Grove and need a message go to Aruj at 3065 Fuller Street and ask for Izabel. She is a miracle worker. She knew exactly how to stretch my body for ultimate relaxation with minimal pain. If she wasn’t such a pleasure to talk to I would have fallen asleep.

She started with some essential oils and worked on my back, stretching my arms and applying warm stones where I needed them most.  It was as if she knew the exact spots to touch to literally melt all of my stress away.

This was a seriously awesome massage. Plus I love giving her the business because she is a working mom putting her son through college. This woman works 7 days a week to make sure that her kid can go to the best college in the state. I think that dedication deserves to be rewarded don’t you?

Anyway, the number for the salon is 305-448-5750.  I have always had great service at this salon. Their facials are awesome and their hair stylists are really good as well.

Write to me and let me know how your experiences there are.

Sincerely,

Caterina Christakos - founder of stillagirl.com - a positive place for women and girls

Hi all

I went to the Patrice Bourgier Salon Coiffure in Miami Florida for a blowout and ended up having an eye brow wax and lip wax that was absolutely amazing. Margie, the technician, was so precise that the eye brow wax didn’t hurt at all! The lip wax hurt a tiny bit but not as badly as my other experiences with waxing.

She spent extra time afterwards with the tweezers and scissors and then use a cold roller on both my eyebrows and lips to get rid of any inflammation. Normally I am red for hours afterwards but I had very little irritation after this wax.

I highly recommend the Patrice Bourgier Coiffure Saon on 64 SW 10th Street if you are ever in Miami. The eye brow wax was $20, the lip wax was $10 and because Patrice did my blow out himself the blowout was $50. The number of the salon is (305) 374-4247.

Book ahead if you can, as they do tend to get booked rather quickly. Relax and enjoy a relatively pain free experience that will leave you looking and feeling better than ever.

Sincerely,

Caterina Christakos - founder of stillagirl.com - a positive place for women and girls