The other night, I was lucky enough to attend Women in Need”s Home for the Holidays benefit, and was blown away by the good will and gracious, amazing people I was surrounded by.

Designers like Diane von Furstenberg and celebrities including Justin Timberlake each designed one of 29 different model houses tto be auctioned off to support the cause.

Check out the video below to learn more:

Women In Need (”WIN”) is an amazing organization - it has existed for over two decades, and raises money to help find housing and living assistance to homeless women and their children in the New York City area.

I was blown away by the charity and good will of this organization, and I want to do everything I can do to support them. Clearly, I cannot do much in the way of raising money - but I can in the way of raising awareness, and I hope all of you go to check out their site immediately.

When was the last time you really took stock of all the clothing hanging in your closet? The good, the bad, and the “what was I thinking?”

Well, if you want to reinvent your look this season without spending hundreds of dollars on new duds, it’s time to visit the boutique behind that door in your bedroom and start shopping says Sam Saboura, fashion expert and celebrity stylist. Believe it or not, your very own closet may just hold the answers to all your style needs. And with the addition of some inexpensive pieces from your favorite stores, you can revamp your look for pennies on the dollar.

So how do you start to “shop your closet”?

Well you need an objective eye for starters, Sam says. Chances are you’ve been wearing the same 7-10 pieces week in and week out and you’ve likely forgotten about some killer items you may already own. Invite one of your girlfriends over, or any trusted friend who has good taste and your best interest in mind. He or she will be your stylist and help you weed through the madness to look at your clothing in a fresh new way.

Start with your favorite bottoms and work your way up to tops and jackets. It’s much easier to get dressed this way because bottoms are usually the foundation of your outfit and it’s the tops and accessories that really bring in the excitement and personality. Play dress up, have a glass of wine to loosen up and make it fun. This is your time and you’ve probably earned it. When was the last time you really experimented with your clothing and put in some extra effort to pull a cool new look together? It’s time to get creative and take risks. I always say, “Great style happens when you make a mistake.” When you try something new or challenge your old sensibilities interesting new things begin to happen. Items you never considered wearing together magically work in new and forward ways.

Look to your favorite magazines for inspiration. Tear out a few looks you love and compare the items in those outfits to pieces you already own. Most likely you’ll have a few tried and true pieces to help you get started.

Layering tops and jackets is one of the easiest ways Sam suggests to make your existing wardrobe work overtime. This is where the creativity comes in and your friend can help here too. Women who look polished and put together add extra elements and levels to their outfits to make them personal and unique. Try your favorite blouse or tank layered under a lightweight cardigan, throw on a belt at the smallest part of your waist to add some extra punch and interest. Lay your favorite necklaces out on the bed and mix them into your look. I won’t pretend this doesn’t take some time effort, but I guarantee the results will be pleasantly surprising.

If you feel challenged, you can always start building some new outfits with your favorite pair of jeans. Try taking your basic denim to new heights. Did you know that simply changing your shoes could totally change the look of your jeans? This is a simple exercise you can do in the mirror and the results are staggering. Try the same pair of jeans on with heels, flats, boots, or booties and check out the transformation. Yes it can be that easy.

Mix print and patterns, try unusual color combinations, or play with different textures if you don’t love prints. Monochromatic dressing can benefit your body, but color has so much more energy, and when you try new colors together you look younger, fresher and more stylish.

Once you have some new outfits in place, chances are you’ll know what your wardrobe is missing. This is when you’re free to do some shopping. Keep this in mind; accessories are the best and most inexpensive way to bring in the trends of the season without breaking the bank. Other items that update your style are jeans, jackets, and toppers because these basics are reinvented seasonally in some way or another. If you have the extra cash for a few reasonably priced tops great, if not, stick to shoes, bags, and jewelry.

Head out to your favorite budget boutiques that focus on fashionable trends at super low prices, or check out your favorite brands that have always served you well in the past. As a result of the tough economic times, retailers have responded with great sales and deals. Try a faux leather bag in a chic neutral or sexy metallic. A simple wrap or cardigan can add instant style and update your favorite top or T-shirt. Pearls are all the rage this fall, so grab an inexpensive strand and mix them up with some chains you already own. Get yourself a new pair of boots on sale and tuck in your slim jeans or leggings for a fresh new look. Accessories usually don’t come in sizes so they rarely judge, and with so many options and price points you can go to town without the guilt.

Sam complied a list of fall’s biggest trends to help you get started and threw in a few more tips for good measure. Shop your closet first to see what you already own and then add a few well-chosen goodies to bring you up to date. Above all, have fun with your style and play a little—you won’t be disappointed.

Animal Prints Abound

Break out the animal prints this fall to capture the look of the moment. Cheetah, leopard, and zebra abound in everything imaginable, from printed leggings and cardigans, to tops, skirts and jackets. If these creature comforts are too much for your personal style, try bringing in the trend with accessories instead. Animal print shoes, bags, scarves, and even jewelry are an easier way to experiment with this trend without committing to a big look. **Coldwater Creek’s Croc-embossed Faux Leather Tote for under $50 bucks! So chic.

Metallics and Sparkle and Shine…Oh My

Everyone loves a touch of sparkle and shine, and this fall your favorite designer’s deliver with sequins, Lurex, and a shot of metallics to add some chic shimmer to this season’s must-have looks. A flourish of sequins is a key trend for both day and night, Lurex threads find their way into knit and woven pieces for some added flash, and sophisticated metallics like bronze, gunmetal, and copper littered the runways in jackets, shoes, and bags. So be sure to add little bit of glitz and glam to your favorite outfits this fall.

Motor-Cross

Motorcycle jackets are all the rage for fall, and you can find them in sleek leather, faux leather and even in cotton twill. Choose your poison and play with colors and details. Asymmetrical fronts, belted styles, and zippers abound with this nod to the bad boys of days gone by. Be sure to contrast the edgy look with a feminine print dress, a sexy skirt, or a sleek pair of slim-leg jeans and cap off the look with a sexy ankle boot or upper high heel. **Sam’s own Styled by Sam Saboura Collection Faux Leather Motor-cross Jacket in Cognac – only $80! (Alicia Silverstone loves his one and already has it!)

Military Madness

The military jacket is the statement-making trend of the season so be prepared to turn some heads. Look for long or short styles, and special details like brass buttons, contrast embroidery, and strong shoulders with epaulets. This dramatic jacket looks best in a darker tone paired with slim jeans, leather pants, or leggings and should be finished off with a super high heel or over the knee boot—if you dare!

Short over Long

Layering is a stylish way to add lots of dimension to your outfit and use a few key pieces to get a host of great looks. This season, short over long looks right. Try a three-quarter sleeved shirt or T under a short-sleeved sweater, cardigan, or jacket. A cropped feminine jacket is chic when worn over a longer top or a fitted dress. Layers work wonders to boost your style and break up your bodyline. Feel free to mix colors, textures, and prints in unexpected ways and have fun experimenting where you can.

Leggings for days

Who’d have thought that leggings would be stylish once again? Well, this popular 80s staple has been on a steady return to fashion for the last few seasons and they are hitting hard for fall. The legging is back in a multitude of styles, from printed and shiny to distressed, zippered, and cropped. And you can take your pick of fabrics, colors, and textures too. Comfort and style go hand in hand with this hot trend so dig into your archives and bust out your favorite pair for a leggy look.

Sleek Sheaths

The feminine sheath dress is sticking around and still turning heads for fall. Ladylike and sophisticated the sheath is minimal on top, covering your décolleté, and form fitting to the waist, with a focus on the arms—think Michelle Obama. Almost anyone can work this trend as long as you choose the skirt of the dress based on your body-type: A-lines for pears, pencils skirts for curvy girls, and straight skirts for everyone in between. If you’re not in love with your arms, try a cardigan—this will finish the look and boost your confidence too.

Make a Statement

One of the easiest and most inexpensive ways to update your look and bring in some trend is by adding some reasonably priced jewelry to your existing wardrobe. This fall statement jewelry is the way to go. Bold oversized necklaces and bib styles made with large stones are fantastic. Play with varied styles that suit the different necklines you love and go for broke with color. Pearls are making a huge comeback this season and are great for both work and play—mix sizes and colors when you can and have some fun reinventing this classic staple. Pile on some chains, twist them and layer them until you find a look you love. Try a large colorful cocktail ring with a LBD for a night on the town or choose a bold earring to add some drama to a casual layered look or a sexy evening number. Express yourself and personalize your favorite outfit with some judicious jewels.

***Check out Coldwater Creek’s Luminous Pearly Necklace gorgeous and on trend for just $49.50!

Love Sam’s tips? Well, how about this? We have two of his hottest style recommendations from Coldwater Creek - the Luminous Pearly Necklace and the croc-embossed faux leather tote - to giveaway to five winners!!!

To have your chance to win, please share your favorite seasonal trend. Earn extra entries by RT-ing this contest on Twitter (I’m @alywalansky) - deadline to enter is November 15. Good luck!

Calling all foodies, Food Network fans, and master chefs of your own kitchens!

On Nov. 3, the Food Network and NAMCO BANDAI Games released a brand new cooking game for the Wii – Food Network: Cook or Be Cooked. If you haven’t heard about it, the game features Food Network personality Susie Fogelson, of The Next Food Network Star, and Food Network Kitchens chef Mory Thomas – and teaches you 30+ real Food Network recipes and the skills and culinary tricks you need to execute them with precision.

In honor of the launch of the first and only video game developed in collaboration with the Food Network, NAMCO BANDAI Games and the Food Network has teamed up with A Little Alytude to giveaway culinary cornucopia prize pack that includes a copy of the game, plus tools of the trade and other fun Food Network and Cook or Be Cooked branded items to help you take the cooking skills you’ve learned in the game into your very own kitchens.Food Network: Cook or Be Cooked Prize Pack

- 1 copy of Food Network: Cook or Be Cooked for the Wii ($39.99 retail value)

- 1 Food Network recipes DVD box set

- 1 copy of Food Network’s “Meals on DVD”

- 1 Food Network branded oven mitt

- 1 Food Network: Cook or Be Cooked branded apron

- 1 cooking utensil – varies (ex. peeler, can opener, ice cream scoop)

- 1 Food Network key chain

- 1 Food Network refrigerator magnet

- 1 Food Network pen

To have your chance to win, share one dish you’ve always attempted to create - and not yet succeeded at! Deadline to enter is November 27. Earn extra entries by RT-ing on Twitter, and following me (I’m @alywalansky). Good luck!

You wouldn’t have thought…but somehow it works!

Last week, I hung out with the Trapiche wine team at BLT burger for a tasting/lunch demo. It was SO fun, and so educational.

Imagine a world where you pair Extra Brut with potato, cheese and jalapeno nachos. A world where it WORKS. (I call that Aly-land.)

As the lunch went on, we tried six different varietals of sliders, and the accompanying wines.  You know how wine tastings are normally filled with suits eating cheese? Try jeans and t-shirts and dirty jokes as we ate gourmet burgers of fancy beef or lamb or salmon. Hog heaven (except we ate no pork).

The wine is delicious - and an amazing value - the Extra Brut I speak of was barely over $10, and I found myself wanting more of it as I moved on to fried pickles and French fries. I want to go to Argentina…and hang out with sexy Argentian wine men named Gustavo all day long, sipping Malbec and enjoying life.

God. I deserve not to fit into my jeans.

…. are mine.

She’s…22…today!

The economy may not be recovering yet, but check it out: We can benefit from that!

PricePickle.com is one of my favorite new sources for free coupons. Stores are issuing deep discounts in the form of online-only coupons to attract consumers for the upcoming shopping season without affecting revenues at their local bricks-and-mortar stores.

“There has never been a better time to shop online than this holiday season,” stated PricePickle.com founder Keith Ramirez. “Retailers are hungry for consumers’ business. The trend in recent years has been toward online shopping during the holidays, so that’s where we’re finding the discounts. It’s the perfect opportunity for people to make the holidays affordable without sacrificing the quality of life to which they have grown accustomed.”

Here’’s some great deals I found on the site:

– 20% off an entire Hot Topic order
– up to 50% off printers at HP.com
– five personal training sessions for $89 from 24-Hour Fitness
– free iPod engraving at the Apple Store
– $15 off an order of $100 or more at Macys.com
– 30% off select fine wines at Wine.com
– up to 50% off select Barbies and action figures at ToysRUs.com

– $400 off a hotel-plus-flight package at the Disneyland Resort hotels
through Southwest Air

Women’s Wear Daily’s Bridget Foley sits down with designer Isaac Mizrahi as he heads to QVC for “Isaac Mizrahi Live,” slated to make its debut December 4th. Mizrahi will feature his own favorite goodies, from handbags and berets to toggle coats to cheesecake, in a launch price ranch of about $32 to $300. He talks about his selections, Martha Stewart as an inspiration and building a brand name.

On the credibility of his selections he will feature on air:
“To me, they’re very important, wonderful things,” he said, adding that he did “1,000 tastings.” He maintains they make perfect sense within his repertoire. “I have been building and building and building over the past 10 years. I have been doing a TV show with a lot of cooking segments, working with Lidia Bastianich and Mario Batali. It has made me quite good at tasting food. I’ve been a judge on ‘Iron Chef.’”

His role at QVC is not as a camera-ready pitchman. He is involved in the design process from start to finish:
“I create, that’s what I do. I’m an artist. I’m a designer. Household name – that was the Seventies. Now it’s brand name. As I build my brand, I think about Martha Stewart and her very upward trajectory. She has always been a great inspiration to me.”

Cyndi Lauper and Lady Gaga have been named the latest faces of the MAC AIDS Fund, reports today’s Women’s Wear Daily. The newest campaign, “From Our Lips,” will break on February 25. MAC Viva Glam Gaga Lipstick and Viva Glam Cyndi Lipstick will launch in North America on March 18 and will go global after, with 100% of the proceeds being donated to the MAC AIDS Fund.

From Courtney Cox’s new show Cougar Town, California’s Miss Cougar Pageant and Sugar Ray’s album Music for Cougars, 2009 is definitely the year of the cougar. The November issue of DETAILS takes a look at older women and the young men who love them at the first-ever national Cougar Convention.

http://www.details.com/sex-relationships/dating-and-cheating/200910/cougar-convention-older-women-younger-men