Black Friday...Or, Get Your Shop On

For some, Black Friday marks the first day of the Holiday shopping season. The frenzy has begun. Ridiculously low prices and deep discounts are the draw. Retailers opened their doors early: Toys R Us in Times Square, Manhattan, has been open since midnight last night (image above). Some people have been lined up since 3 a.m. waiting to bust into stores to BUY BUY BUY! There are some seriously good deals to be had, no doubt, but a little sleep deprivation makes those deals even more appealing, I'm sure. eTailers have been dishing out the discounts, as well, and any opportunity to avoid the crowds and germs in stores, is a good one in my book! I'll be hanging out on my couch in my favorite old sweatpants surfing the web for good deals, sipping a hot cup of tea, while watching the ELF marathon on TBS...which reminds me, if you're brave enough to brave the stores out there today, avoid the angry elves, avoid the santas who smell like beef and cheese, and remember to incorporate one of the following 4 food groups into your diet: candy, candy canes, candy corns, and syrup.

For the Olfactory-inclined...

I can't walk by the Bond No. 9 store on Bleecker Street in the West Village without stopping inside to inhale the most heavenly scents in the city...jasmin, vanilla brandy, patchouli....Nuits de Noho from Bond No. 9 is my new favorite 'flavor'. And there's nothing better than stopping in on a crisp Fall day when the air is clear and the nose can discern every subtle turn in each of Bond's amazing perfumes. If I knew how to make this a scratch-n-sniff blog, I'd spray a little right here on my screen to share with you.