Luxury showers should induce mood-altering effects, relieve the stress of your day, caress your skin and rejuvenate your spirit. Steaming, bathing, inhaling aromatherapy scents that soothe your mind and body all seem worthy features of a truly rich shower experience. Di Vapor's Victoria Shower has brought that package together with a practical addition -- built-in shelving separated by a sliding glass door in the shower space that allows for storage of fluffy towels, aprés-shower products, and music to conclude your time spent refreshing yourself. With an eight-inch rainfall shower head above, eight different massaging shower heads surrounding your body, a touch-sensitive digital control panel, and of course steam settings to suit your preference, its no wonder why this all-in-one design is worth the £2495.
JonBenet Ramsay's house in University Hill in Boulder, Colorado is on the market once again. Hoping for $2.68 million, which is within the realm of real estate values for neighboring homes also on the market, the troubled past of the 1920's Tudor style home is not expected to effect its ability to sell at a high price. It has been twelve years since the six-year-old beauty queen's body was found in the basement and since then the house has had a few more residents but none have stayed for very long. The 7,092 square foot, four-story house at 749 15th Street features grand old trees, stainless steel appliances among stark black cabinetry in the kitchen, and a master-bedroom with vaulted ceilings and fireplace. With the market a bit sour already it will be interesting to see if a home with an ugly past can keep up.
Gallery: JonBenet Ramsay's House Hits the Market...Again
To Pharrel Williams being a grown man means no longer have fire tattoos on his arms but instead of having a laser treatment to fade or remove the flames the rapper/producer/entrepreneur is looking to have his arms replaced! -- well, at least the skin on his arms. There is a revolutionary new procedure where a lab, using a sample of your skin, can grow more skin to be used as a skin graft over the portion where the tattoos currently reside. They just sew it on and voila! You have a seamless, tattoo-less arm that once healed will be ready for new ink designs. Pharrel doesn't seem to care that it costs upwards of hundreds of thousands of dollars for the procedure and it sounds like he anticipates a new ink job when his lab-grown-sewn-on-skin is good and ready.
$50 means a family will be given twenty new books to share and learn together
$100 will supply a tutoring kit of forty books that a mentor and child can work through during an entire year
$250 brings one hundred books to a classroom providing a stack of books for each child
$500 supplies two hundred books to fill forty children's backpacks in community-based programs
$1,000 opens doors of a neighborhood library with four hundred books to share
Of course as a non-profit the donation is tax-deductible but you don't just have to give monetarily. Consider volunteering, fundraising, and spreading the word, all of which will make a difference. Fifty million books have already been distributed...imagine what your donation could do.
Brad and Angelina's foundation, the Jolie-Pitt Foundation, has donated over $1 million to children affected by the Iraq war both abroad and here in the U.S. With $500,000 for school supplies and education programs for refuge children in Iraq and $500,000 for American children who have either lost a parent in the Iraq war or have a parent currently serving in that country, they continue their philanthropic dedication to causes important to helping children in our world. Here in the U.S. those funds will be used to support YMCA tutoring programs under the Armed Forces YMCA Operation Hero initiative. Brad and Angelina gave over $8 million to their foundation in 2006 and it would appear that their giving in 2008 will continue on the same generous path.
Talk about variety, the Allegra Bag from Vivre -- named after Eva's daughter -- comes in a plethora of color palettes, materials, and moods that can serve as a day tote, an evening bag or a vacation sack with plenty of style. Although the space is limited concerning bulky items (no extra pair of shoes or large cosmetic bags ladies) its sleek profile could easily accommodate business documents, a few simple necessities and a slim organizer or just as easily a magazine for the road, your ipod and a snack to hold you over before happy hour. No matter what it holds the choices of Allegra bags range from haircalf, leather, cork, straw weave, python and beyond and the price ranges from $195-$495 so you don't have to choose just one!
High in the mountains of Thailand a new luxury resort has been born. The sister to Veranda Resort Hua Hin, the new Veranda Chiang Mai is a getaway in paradise affording serenity, peace, color, culture and relaxation for its guests. Featuring terraced gardens, a hillside infinity pool, feng shui landscaping and a zen-like essence throughout, it is also near the northern capital, Chiang Mai, where culture and nightlife abound. Each of the sixty-nine rooms creates an atmosphere where you can rest, restore and experience the best of Thailand...don't forget your elephant trek through the jungle while you're visiting.
Even though we are enjoying summer weather here in the northern hemisphere, in New Zealand it is ski season! At Terrace Downs, just at the foot of the southern Alps and Mt. Hutt, is a new privately owned resort with restaurants, 18-holes of golf, spa experiences, luxury accommodations and a fabulous new helicopter service that takes five minutes to get to the base of the ski area. The helicopter rides are only NZ$65 each way and allow the passenger to soak up breath-taking views on the way to the mountain. The villas, vistas and views make this getaway down under one gorgeous stop.
LeSportsac has been a name associated with travel bags for as long as I can remember. Now they are updating their look and giving recycled eco polyester fabric a try through their new Stella McCartney line. With perky patterns and color schemes to choose from, aptly named Posh and Pop prints, as well as more tame and plain hues, the Stella McCartney travel items, handbags, totes, and kids backpacks are fun and functional. They retail for between $98 and $475 and are available for you viewing pleasure on the LeSportsac site. I especially appreciate the travel line where the guesswork is eliminated by naming the products based on the location they can be stored.
When quality meets affordability in a wine that also speaks to your heart, I would say that is a win-win! The White Rocket Wine Company's Dog House line featuring California grown Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Grigio, Zinfandel and Chardonnay supports Guide Dogs for the Blind by donating fifty-cents of each bottle purchased to their life changing programs. Not only do you get to enjoy your wine but you can improve the quality of life for many blind and visually impaired individuals across the country.
Guide Dogs for the Blind is a charitable organization that does not benefit from any government funding and therefore relies on donations to provide free guide dogs and training to those in need. Since Dog House Wines pledged their support for the non-profit, over $214,000 have been donated to its cause. Not only are Dog House Wines champions in terms of philanthropic giving but the wines have also earned over sixty individual awards making this brand a worthy selection for anyone... plus, who could resist that adorable dog on the label!
Deemed the most expensive cupcake in the world, although sadly not edible, the Judith Leiber Cupcake Evening Bag is a sparkly memory of the tasty treat adored by children and adults alike. Covered in chocolate-hued crystals and stunning diamonds it is a small bag which will stow the most tiny of accessories -- a few bills, lip gloss and perhaps a key. Retailing at $4,295 it is both tasteful and fanciful, glimmering in the night and perhaps attracting the sweet treat inclined.
If you are car crazy, engine excited, and art-inclined you might enjoy this amazing take-home creation of V-12 Four Stroke Engine made origami style. It took two years to design such an incredible project that you can assemble at home...of course, a lesson or two in precise folding may be a smart investment before you attempt this complex model. Including 1978 pieces, CD-ROM and paper instructions sent or printed from a PDF, the origami art structure kit can be purchased at either $64.99 or $89.99, but the completed masterpiece will cost you $35,000! If you've got the time, and don't want to spend a good portion of your child's college fund on a paper project, you may want to opt for the less expensive, DIY kit. In any case, the finished product is stunning and its moveable parts mimic that of a true engine.
In celebration of Green Transport Week a UK based insurance company, ETA, is offering a 24K gold-plated Charge Plug bicycle complete with customized seat, handlebars and chain. Talk about pimping out your ride! This glamorous bike also comes with its own security guard. Unfortunately unless you are living across the pond you can't get in on this great opportunity. You must be eighteen years old, live in the UK, and get a free quote online for cycle insurance in order to enter the contest. One person will be randomly drawn after the contest ends on October 21st. This amazing two-wheeled ride is worth £9,500 and certainly makes the green movement a lot sexier.
Getting your own plane is a pretty fantastic purchase but what if you could have one for only $139,000. The Icon A5 is a two-seater sport plane that is an amphibious, retractable and fold-able aircraft with the ability to be towed on a trailer behind your car! It even comes with a plane-sized parachute to help ease the landing in an emergency situation. Small enough for a pair to fly and compact enough to keep in an oversized driveway, the Icon A5 will be a welcome creation come 2010 when its available.
With the recent passing of Yves St. Laurent, the fashion icon's belongings are quite valuable and will be desired by many fans to be sure. Christie's will be assisting with an auction on July 2nd of seven lots of clothing and jewelry representing almost every decade of the French designer's career. These collectible pieces are relatively inexpensive since they are not new designs and have been worn. Check out the auction ahead of time on Christie's website and be ready to bid come July 2nd -- what a great way to celebrate fashion and the incomparable YSL.
Luxury showers should induce mood-altering effects, relieve the stress of your day, caress your skin and rejuvenate your spirit. Steaming, bathing, inhaling aromatherapy scents that soothe your mind and body all seem worthy features of a truly rich shower experience. Di Vapor's Victoria Shower has brought that package together with a practical addition -- built-in shelving separated by a sliding glass door in the shower space that allows for storage of fluffy towels, aprés-shower products, and music to conclude your time spent refreshing yourself. With an eight-inch rainfall shower head above, eight different massaging shower heads surrounding your body, a touch-sensitive digital control panel, and of course steam settings to suit your preference, its no wonder why this all-in-one design is worth the £2495.
