Every woman needs a few statement jewels feel a little extra unique as she travels through her day. And one that delivers a special message of love and friendship, that’s just a little better!

This Tiffany-inspired silver bracelet will be available exclusively from Barefoot Parties (the same people who brought us our adorable bunny slippers!). It includes a heart charm that reads “you are the gift”. It is the perfect way to show someone how much you appreciate them - or the perfect complement for your own keepsake wardrobe.

www.barefootparties.com

I have this bracelet gracing my wrist, and have already received tons of compliments. And now it’s your turn! I have one more to give away - to the reader who gives me the most heartfelt plea. Who will you give this to? (It’s OK to say yourself, I did!) This is the first giveaway of jewelry, so it’s pretty exciting - act fast! Deadline for all entries is Thursday at noon.

The arrival of the fall fashion season can be daunting - new trends, endless options, figuring out what’s hot (or not).

I think we all need a lot of help. And, in the age of social networking mass-contamination, it was only a matter of time before the shopping niche had its day. So, I was very excited to discover (and join!) StyleFeeder.com. With its Personal Shopper shopping assistant and community of style-allies (and foes), it makes being ahead of the fashion this season every bit easier.

The way StyleFeeder works is by turning to its users - “fashionistas” on the lookout for the best designs and deals on the Web - to see what is really going to pop this fall. Using StyleFeeder’s Personal Shopper, anyone can shop online with friends, create a personalized wishlist of favorite items, get recommendations tailored to their tastes, and ask other StyleFeeders for advice and feedback.

For example, according to the buzz among my new StyleFeeder neighbors:

1. Skinny jeans are not going away anytime soon. StyleFeeders are asking if they can still wear their skinny jeans into the fall, and despite what some fashion magazines might tell you, the answer seems to be a resounding yes. StyleFeeders both lean and curvy are looking forward to wearing their skinny jeans tucked into boots with a great sweater, or with flats and a boxy retro jacket.

2. Volume trends will continue. Summer’s flirty, voluminous tops and dresses will continue well into autumn, as comfy tunics in cozy fabrics like jersey and wool pair well with patterned tights and ankle boots.

3. Grey is the new neutral. Flowy tops in shade of grey pair well with shoes and handbags in this classy, muted shade. Look for accessories with shimmery, metallic undertones in shades of pewter, pink, purple and pearl.

4. Mad for plaid. Tartan is back in! Elevate the pattern by adding unexpected feminine details…like a big bow or French cuffs on a boyfriend shirt. If you’re on the shyer side, stick to plaid accessories, like scarves, headbands and belts. For even more boarding school chic, one StyleFeeder suggests adding a prep-school iron-on badge to a plaid bag.

5. Military-inspired trenches. The “it” coat for fall, try a trench with military-inspired details, like brass buttons or a low-slung belt. Extra points for also incorporating a plaid pattern to tackle two trends with one item.

6. Riding boots. Equestrian-inspired footwear is making a resurgence, as tall boots in rich brown and black leather are being spotted all over.

7. Ballet flats stick around. Ballet flats show no sign of going away…try a slight wedge heel or ankle strap to ensure you still look cutting-edge.

8. Pops of blue and purple. Look for anything royal, lapis, blueberry, or mauve. “I love this upcoming color palette for the fall and winter season! Tons of plums, indigos and charcoals!” says StyleFeeder Carrie Woomer, who also happens to be the Co-Owner of Skorch Magazine, an online fashion magazine for ladies size 12 and up (www.skorchmagazine.com).

9. V-neck sweater vests. This preppy staple looks great on both men and women. They always go great with a plain oxford, but can also work over blouses with tulip or bell sleeves for an ultra-feminine look.

Get ready, and go shopping. And then you’ll have more ammunition in your own social-shopping-networking-mind-meld community!

What better way to spend a fast than plotting my next dessert?

This evening and tomorrow is Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement. As I spend a day fasting in the name of my mis-steps of the previous year (I may have to fast a week…), I will remember a few skipped meals means extra dessert allowance the next day.

And my just desserts may just include a Java-rific coffee cake!

Made with whole grains and berries - both good sources of disease-fighting antioxidants - you won’t even have to feel too guilty if you go for an extra nibble. (Courtesy of fitwoman.com)

3 tablespoons butter
1 cups quick-cooking oats
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup skim milk
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 (12-ounce) bag frozen, unsweetened mixed berries, thawed and drained
(about 1 1/2-2cups frozen or 2 cups fresh berries)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9-inch round cake or springform pan or 9 x 9 square pan. Mix butter, oats, 1/4 cup flour and brown sugar in small bowl with fork or pastry cutter until crumbly. Set aside. Combine flours, sugar, oil, milk, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and egg in large bowl. Beat mixture with wire whip or mixer 1- 2 minutes, until well blended. Stir in mixed berries. Spread half of the batter in pan and sprinkle ½ of oat mixture on top. Add remaining batter and sprinkle with remaining oat mixture and chopped walnuts. Bake 40-45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm.

My beautiful friend Susan recently skyrocketed into reality-TV stardom with a series of appearances on TLC’s What Not to Wear. (Download it on iTunes, it’s truly must-see TV.)

The plot of the series is that family and friends of so-called fashion victims will “out” them to the show’s hosts, who will then, throughout the episode, teach them the right way, and send them off with a makeover and a closetful of clothes.

(Indeed, it is a fashionista’s wet dream.)

Truth be told, Susan was pretty darn fashionable before the series, but throughout her first episode, some of her fashion concerns - which I bet many of of us share - were raised. One was the search for the ideal jeans.

We all have our fit worries - I suffer from being too short for regular length, but too tall for petite. I also tend to always find the jeans that make my butt look flat and muffin-top growl in victory. It’s hard to find a way to fix one problem (i.e.: length) without creating another one (i.e. wedgie!). What’s a girl with a little waist but wide thighs who is at the height where she has to hem absolutely everything she buys or look like she’s wearing designer hand-me-downs to do?

Whew.

I recently came across a solution though that may solve all our problems…dare I say…forever. I should buy stock.

UJeans is an innovative jean company specializing in made-to-measure jeans that are designed by the customer. Not only are they unique in this sense, but they are committed to being an environmentally-friendly company. In fact, many of steps UJeans is taking to help the environment include using cotton from the Pakistan Sustainable Cotton Initiative. According to UJeans.com, “Cotton is third in its consumption of available freshwater resources.”

But let’s be honest here. We’re all very happy to ‘go green’ but the real reason we are excited right now is the apparent opportunity to make our ass look hot. These custom-made jeans can be made in infinite styles, just as many options for men as women — customize everything from the length to cut to color to even where your belt loops or pockets sit (if you choose to have them at all).

I have tested out the process - it is ridiculously easy. You request UJeans.com to send you a custom denim kit, which will come with an instructional disc and tape measure, and then you get started. After entering all your info into their system (you will be measuring everything from your butt width to knee length!), within about a month you will have your jeans at your door. They are *guaranteed* to be the perfect fit!

As I said, a fashionista’s wet dream.

And the dream just got a little wetter. Because I am more excited about this product than I have been about any other in a long time, UJeans has agreed to give away one custom pair every Monday for the entire month of October! October 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29th a winner will be notified and have their jean design kit mailed to them so they can achieve ass nirvana on their very own. To be a winner, enter now! I want to hear your fit nightmares…of denim crotch and double-cuffed ankle non-too-chic grunge. And why you having the ultimate fit a quintessential journey. Good luck!

iZac (My newly born MacBook) and I spend a lot of time roaming from coffeehouse to coffeehouse. We have our favorite spot in our favorite shop with our favorite people, but in general, we are satisfied for hours with a hot cup of coffee, a couch, and reliable wifi.

iZac though is quite the fashionable young man (we are thinking he may be semi-metro), and I’ve been trying to respect his style savvy with appropriately sexy accessories.

One accessory, of course, is said coffee. And as delicious as my vanilla soy latte at the Tea Lounge is (they even create fun designs in the froth!), I feel the cup packaging isn’t up to par with iZac’s unique needs. So, now I bring my own!

Cup Couture’s Cupcoats are an eco-chic alternative to the cardboard sleeves typically used on paper cups to insulate your hands from your hot beverage of choice. And they come from Seattle…where, as we know, much coffeehouse brilliance originates.

Now, I ask, what is more delicious than your favorite hot beverage wrapped with equally hot fashion? The answer is one I know not. But I do maintain that the correct presentation makes even the yummiest of drinks taste just a little better. I say, if I am going to sit around writing about fashion, I should give my beverage (and iZac) the same respect.

My new friends at Cup Couture have offered to give two readers a cupcoat of their very own - to win, tell me your tried-and-true coffeehouse beverage of choice. And do you have a favorite special regular stop to get it? Deadline Saturday!

A proud new gamer (I have my very own pink DS Lite!), I was very eager to start filling out its game wardrobe.

Commitment-phobe that I am, though, I was hesitant to go out and buy any games without knowing what I would enjoy playing with. Lucky for me, I got an email from GameFly just in time.

GameFly.com is the leading online video-game rental service - it allows members to rent and play as many games as they’d like (choosing from over 5,000 game titles!). When they are done with the game, they drop it in the mail and receive a new one from their queue in a few days.

I just started my membership today, and have Nintendogs and Brain Age 2 on the way, and a few more waiting in the wings. If, say, I decide that I cannot be parted from my virtual poodle (we know it’ll happen), members have the option of keeping their rental by buying it at a discounted price. It’s like leasing to buy!

I think a lot of you share my glee at the concept of a library of games, no matter what your system of preference. And so, we are giving away three 3-month GameFly memberships. To win, tell me your current favorite game - or the one not yet around you are looking forward to. And just how eager you are to have it in your hot little hands. Three best entries by Saturday win!

(image courtesy of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation)

Alert: For the month of October, we are thinking pink like never before. Each week, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we will feature fun pink products - everything from hot styles to sexy gadgets. Contests and prizes galore await! Stay tuned. And if you happen to represent a pink item you think must be included, drop me an email at alywalansky@gmail.com!

Something very cool I discovered over at Nintendo - they are apparently embracing Zelda madness in anticipation of the new Zelda game, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, which is launching Oct. 1. (It is, of course, in my wish list already!)

From now until the game’s release, people can text the word ‘Zelda’ to 20769 to be entered in a contest to win a trip to NYC, a $1,000 spending spree, a limited-edition DS and copy of the new game.

Read more here: http://www.zelda.com/universe/

Hurry, enter! Win and play with me.

Men: Interested in a life of constant arguing, withering stares, and no sex? Just keep using these phrases!

(From our friends at Men’s Health magazine.)

Forbidden Phrase #1: “Relax.”It might seem logical to you to tell a woman who’s freaking out to relax. And if “logical” meant the same thing as “stupidest idea ever,” you’d be correct. Understand, a woman screaming and carrying on in anger or frustration or panic thinks that her response is 100 percent appropriate. If the inciting situation has anything to do with you, she feels she has a responsibility to freak out extra to compensate for your maddening calm.

Forbidden Phrase #2: “I love you.” (During a fight)

In movies, “I love you” is usually employed by men during I-love-you–appropriate situations–sex, walks on the beach, airport reunions. In real life, a woman hears “I love you” most often at that point in a fight when she desperately wants to get to the heart of the issue, and when you desperately want to stop this nonsense and watch Alias–which you don’t normally even watch. When you don’t call or forget our birthdays and stand there in the face of our rage and crushing disappointment, do you really believe that merely stating the powerful existence of your love is going to make everything okay? Because it’s not.

Forbidden Phrase #3: “It’s up to you.” A.K.A. “Whatever you want to do is fine with me.”

Relationships are full of decisions. You decide where to eat, where to go on vacation, where to send your child to preschool. Most men wouldn’t dream of looking at their girlfriend and saying, “You know what? I just don’t care.” They would, however, say, “It’s up to you.” And find themselves in a world of hurt they never saw coming.

Men think of decision-making as work without pay. For women, it’s like window-shopping for life’s possibilities, and we want you to help us shop. So when you say, “It’s up to you,” we feel abandoned. Say . . . “I could definitely do A or B, but I’m not crazy about C. What are you thinking?” This shows you’re listening, suggests you care, and gets you out of deciding.

Forbidden Phrase #4: “You knew I was this way when you met me.”

Well, the truth is that we didn’t. Or we knew deep down, but we were so busy enjoying our fantasy of you that we chose to ignore what was really there. It’s not your fault. It’s just that when we were little, we spent so much time daydreaming about having the perfect life. Now that we’re actually in grown-up life, we can’t turn off our daydreaming switch.

Telling a woman, “You knew I was this way when you met me” is like saying the way your life is right now is the way it’s going to be forever and ever. And that may well be true–in many wonderful and not-so-wonderful ways. But if she were to accept that, a little part of her would die.

Say . . . “It frustrates me, too–and I’m working on it.” It’s a lie. That’s okay.

Forbidden Phrase #5: (Nothing)

At times, you may be afraid of saying the wrong thing. You may think, If I just keep my mouth shut, I’ll be okay. Well, no. Imagine you’re pitching in a baseball game in which there is no hitter, not even a catcher. You would not enjoy that. Imagine yourself, head hanging, going to retrieve the ball yourself and, once again, throwing it to no one. That’s how we feel when you don’t talk to us.

Say . . . Anything. Throw the ball back. Throw it badly. Even risk throwing a wild pitch and letting her take an extra base. But keep your head in the game.

Next time: The next part in our Men’s Health series - the magic words that will earn you forgiveness!

Last week, I took an assignment in Morningside Heights that led to an extra-long daily commute. In an effort to break up the trip, each day I would give myself a little after-work detour. One stop was my tried-and-true brow destination, Shobha Threading in New York City.

As my threading specialist studied my face, she came to an alarming conclusion. “Dear, are you aware your brows are not even???”

What? Not even? How could that be?

Apparently, during my effort to test out all the best of the tweezers, threaders, and waxers in the beautysphere (for YOUR benefit!), I had been misdirected at some point. The result? A thin left, a thicker right. I am, it appears, lopsided.

Eyebrows help to emphasize facial expression, enhance the eyes and act as the frame - brows that are either too thick, too thin, too uneven, too sparse, or too light are in effect a broken frame.

A ruined canvas.

Disaster.

Thankfully, I was dealing with a calm and cool professional, and was assured the situation could easily be remedied. Twenty minutes later, I left with thinner (but even) brows. The frame has been repaired. (For now.)

Friends, I tell you this story so you will be forewarned in your own brow maintenance. While it is true that just about any corner salon can wax a brow, don’t be so sure they can shape it. A bargain today can lead to weeks, months, or possible - a lifetime - of regret. I maintain, if you spend $5 on a quad-venti-latte, you can invest a little extra in hair removal. Honestly.

If, however, you have already entered on the path to regret, do not feel ashamed. I spent years getting $5 wax-jobs and too did not see the error of my ways until the damage was already done. Be patient, though, with your voyage to symmetry - I was lucky, it seems, but often if you have brows that are uneven or over tweezed, is that it may take a few visits to totally restructure the brow while the hair grows back.

Scary story: Be aware that in some cases the hair never grows back; my grandmother tweezed her brows in her younger years and as she grew older, she had NO EYEBROWS. No frame is even scarier than broken frame. Thank god for brow makeup. It just may eventually save us all.