Oh my gosh, you guys- this is for real...

It's no secret that Paris left a gaping hole in my heart that can only be filled with, uhhh... more Paris.

But this is a little ridiculous.  A Czech photographer has rustled up a nice little side business on etsy (duh) selling cans of exotic air for $10 a pop.  Er... sniff.  Breath?  

1. Yes, it's crazy.

2. The packaging is surprisingly brilliant.

3. Did I mention that it's crazy?

Ok, he might have sold me on the "homesickness" thing.  On a particularly bad day, I might just be inclined to crack open a can of Kauai air.  Here's hoping he never offers it, because I'm kind of serious - and Jeff might never speak to me again if I start buying canned air online.  

Paris not your canned air locale of choice?  No problemo.  

He's got the good stuff from New York, Singapore, Riga, Berlin, and Prague.  

What's your air of choice?

My new skin/hair routine...

When I first tried out these products by New York apothecary Malin + Goetz,

I promised myself that if I didn't love love loooove them- I wouldn't share them with you.

You know, the whole nothing-nice-to-say/don't-say-anything, thing...

You guys, I am SHARING.  I am in love.  I am OBSESSED with M+G.

I'm a very routine-oriented toiletry person.  I need a regime.  When I find something that works, I stick with it.  I am crazy-loyal to my "products".  I guess what I'm getting at is that it's not like me to make a huge change like this- 

and yes, my old stuff worked, but the honest truth is...  this works SO. MUCH. BETTER.  

If I had to pick one word to describe these products it would be EFFECTIVE. 

I'm going to break it down for you by item:

M+G Peppermint Shampoo

It's thick, super concentrated, and really refreshing.  Even Jeff is into it!  It just feels SO good.  It makes my hair feel incredibly clean, residue-free, mineral-free, and soft.  

M+G Cilantro Conditioner

Somehow they've perfected the balance between weightless detangling and clean moisture.  Smells light and rinses easily.  Leaves my hair feeling super soft and bouncy.

M+G Grapefruit Face Cleanser

Also thick and concentrated, you need only a tiny amount, so it will last a long long time.  Cleans well, removes make up, but doesn't leave my skin feeling tight or stripped.  I love this stuff so much.  Eliminates the need for a toner, and prepares your skin beautifully for moisturizer.  I rinse with water only in the morning (no cleanser), and follow with moisturizer.  In the evening, I use this cleanser and follow with moisturizer again.  

M+G Detox Face Mask

Holy. Wow.  This is like a facial in a bottle.  I'm not even exaggerating.  Put it on, gently rub it in, and suddenly it "activates"!  The mask puffs up, bubbles, and goes to work.  It's a very quick treatment... about 5 minutes, and makes a huge, immediate difference.  The first time I did this- two friends stopped to tell me that my skin was "glowing"!  I now use this in place of my evening cleanser once a week.

M+G Vitamin E Face Moisturizer

If I had to pick one product that I simply could not live without... this would be it.  It feels so FRESH and comfortable!  I swear, it feels like this stuff is tapped from the fountain of youth.  I use it often, and it never feels heavy or greasy... just incredibly clean and dewy.  I can't get enough.

..................................................................................................................................................................

I'm so happy to let you in on these great products that have worked so well for me.  I hope you try them as well and enjoy the results!  Malin + Goetz includes 3 deluxe samples (of your choice) with every order.

Special THANK YOU to Malin + Goetz!!!

Home Reference: 72-Rooms, 3 people, $102,000

In 1966 , photographer Jay Maisel bought this building at 190 Bowery in New York, for $102,000.  Whaaat???  Yes, the ENTIRE building.  The former Germania bank, built in 1898, boasts 72 rooms, a vault (of course), and original copper elevator!  New York magazine did a great write-up on it in 2008 and at that time, it's value was estimated at between $30-$70 MILLION.  Talk about a return...  

Maisel lives at 190 Bowery with his wife, Linda and their daughter.  3 people.  6 stories.  72 rooms.  

Blows my mind.  Had to share...

Even in the annals of “If only I’d bought that Soho loft in 1974” stories, this is extreme. In 1966, Maisel was a young artist, paying $125 a month for a 2,500-square-foot studio at 122 Second Avenue (his neighbors were Larry Rivers and La MaMa founder Ellen Stewart). But when his landlord raised the rent an unconscionable $50 a month, Maisel went to Jack Klein, a broker who, he says, had found spaces for Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg. “We took an instant dislike to each other,” says Maisel. But the first property Klein showed Maisel was the abandoned Germania Bank, built in 1898, when the neighborhood was largely middle-class and German. “I said, ‘You got a lot like this?’ ” Maisel recalls. “Klein said, ‘This is why I hate photographers. They want the Taj Mahal and they want it for six bucks a month. No, I don’t have a lot like this.’ ”

Interpersonal friction aside, Klein convinced Maisel he could raise the money to buy the abandoned bank. That was the easy part. Then he moved in. The main floor was knee-deep in garbage and coated in soot. “I had to shovel shit against the tide,” says Maisel. He wasn’t getting a lot of support either; the Bowery was where people ended up, not where they aspired to live. “My parents cried,” he says. “Every single thing that can come out of a human body has been left on my doorstep. But it was more disgusting than dangerous.”  

Maisel uses the first, second, and third floors as gallery spaces for his photography and art projects. (New York magazine’s first cover was a Maisel photograph.) The fourth floor, which Maisel once rented out to Roy Lichtenstein, is a work-in-progress. The fifth has various workshops.  Bedrooms, bathrooms, and dining are on the sixth floor; the kitchen was once where the staff cooked meals for the bankers.

Linda cooks a lot, but when they do order in, “it’s a riot,” she says. “You have to wait downstairs and watch for the delivery person, because they’ll pass right by. Who is going to think that there is one person ordering from this building? Who wants to leave their bicycle outside?”  The city wants the exterior graffiti-free, but it’s impossible: 190 Bowery is a mecca for street artists, as its neighbor 11 Spring was before it went luxury. Maisel tried scrubbing the building every week, but “it was like I was providing a fresh canvas for them.” Keith Haring used to cover the exterior in chalk babies, says Maisel, and that he liked, both for the spirit of the images and because they washed off so easily.

The building is still giving up its secrets. About a month ago, Maisel's daughter discovered a room she never knew existed. “It’s kind of in the mezzanine between the first and second floors,” she says.

So, will the Maisels ever sell? Or, more to the point, what’s holding them back? By modest estimates, and even in this economy, the building is worth tens of millions of dollars (see the estimates, here), Leonard Steinberg of Prudential New York adds, “I would do anything to get that building.”  The property is so prime that sometimes Linda does reconnaissance before she takes out the trash for fear she’ll have to fend off yet another aggressive agent. “One man called me a bitch because I told him the building wasn’t for sale,” she says.  “I fantasize about never having to worry about money again,” Maisel muses. “It would be great to take the money and run. But let’s face it, where are we going to go? A three-room apartment?”

See New York Magazine's slideshow here.