Brown Bagging has never been so stylish!

So one of the things that I've been doing to cut back is to brown bag it to work every day. Usually though I'm not carrying my lunch in a paper sack - it's usually in a leftover plastic grocery bag. Really stylish, huh?!? Today I found these super stylish lunch bags from Give Simple. Say the gals online, this bag is made of abrasion-resistant neoprene which while extra durable isn't bulky and in fact folds flat to pack away in your bag or suitcase. Plus, it insulates your lunch for up to 4 hours which for a gal like me who sometimes forgets to put her lunch in the office refrigerator is perfect! The Gourmet Getaway Lunch Tote is $25.00 and available in three cute patterns.

Not Your Home Depot's Tile

We're looking to remodel our kitchen and have been going to Home Depot and Lowe's to check out what they have. And they have fine, fairly basic tiles, but they've got nothing on these gorgeous tiles from Ann Sacks.
Ann Sacks has two fantastic studios in The City - one on 18th street and the other on 58th street. The tiles ain't cheap, I'll give you that, but when you're looking for something that's going to give you kitchen or bath just that extra bit of pop, Ann Sacks is a great way to go. And because they're so special and so unique, you could buy just a few and mix them in with some cheaper (aka Home Depot) tile to totally transform your look. That's exactly what my friend Karin did in her kitchen. She picked up some really bright, ornate green tiles and mixed those in with a cheaper tile that had the same sheen to it. She placed the green tiles in the center of 4 4*4 squares. If you were to go with something like the Bergerac tile shown here, you could use that as a backsplash behind either your kitchen sink or your range to create a beautiful focal point. You wouldn't have to use it to tile your entire kitchen, but again, just adding that single beautiful touch can really upgrade your style without costing you an arm and a leg. And, if you want to keep abreast of the new tiles that Ann is showcasing, sign up for her newsletter.