The City Lifestylist®

From the home of our Lifestylist Brands  to yours- have a beautiful holiday season.

All of us at The Lifestylist Brands would like to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving. May it be filled with family, friends, love and great food!

It's so hard to find companies that only make American Made products these days, but what's even rarer than that is a woman owned company that is over 20 years old and only sells American Made products.

Babette Holland was making beautiful furniture, vases, mirrors, and accessories in her Tribeca NY studio when the World Trade Center was hit only blocks from her. She has always been an advocate for animals and was a huge influence before and after for getting animals off the streets and into loving homes.

Shortly after that she was diagnosed with MS, but was worried about what the effect would be on her business if her clients and others knew she was struggling with this disease. She shared in her own words on our Lifestylist page what she has been going through, and how she has decided it is time for her to come forward and educate people about MS.

She has been honored by having her company included in the Martha Stewart American Made contest, and is close to winning but needs everyone's help to help her over the finish line.

Please visit the Martha Stewart page, enroll then you can vote up to 6 times a day until Sept. 22nd.

Someone like Babette never asks for help, so I'm thrilled for a change I can be the one to help her dreams come true!

Can you believe that school supplies are already showing up on the shelves at the stores? An important part of being a Lifestylist® is giving back to the community, and supporting Shared Housing and the important services they provide is something we always look forward to.

Shared Housing is a small under-funded group that helps provide housing to single parent families and and Seniors and one of the things that makes them very special is that once you are a part of the Shared Housing Family you are always invited to be a part of everything they do.

As a Lifestylist, location is everything when I go on vacation. If I am going to a mountain destination I like to stay in the mountains, and if I am going to a beach location I want to be as close to the water as possible. Part of the experience is hearing the waves break and waking up to the sun rising over the water. A lot of times I have to pay a premium for these vacations, but to me it's worth it.

When my son was getting married in Boca Raton 5 years ago I asked for hotel suggestions and he recommended The Howard Johnson. The price was great, it was right on the beach and I could get ocean views for less than what I would have spent at an inland hotel. We had a great time so when we were heading back for a family reunion and my grandson's christening I thought we'd stay there again.

I knew it was too good to be true the first time -it was now remodeled and had become the Wyndham Deerfield Beach Resort but the price was still reasonable so we decided to give it a go.

Calling this hotel a resort is a stretch - there is a small pool, a bar / cafe, restaurant and a fitness center but that's it. The beach is a public beach and you have to pay for umbrellas, chaises and chairs. Parking is available for $12.00 / day, but there is free wifi.

We ate the first night at Cafe Med which has a great patio looking out at the ocean and pier. The food and staff were mediocre - our caprese salad had mealy tomatoes and a lack of flavor and basil. The rigatoni was supposed to be made with house made pasta but was very disappointing.

The rooms are small but cozy, and I love the fact that they had wood floors - we constantly were tracking in water and sand from the beach. The beds are divine, complete with feather pillows. the rooms had full glass walls facing the ocean and pier which made for great people watching.

We are already planning a return trip - the location and price make this one of the best values in the West Palm Beach / Boca Raton area.

Have you "liked" our Domestic Lifestylist Facebook page yet? We are getting ready to add some great new features that you won't want to miss - hope to see you there soon!

The Lifestylist test kitchen is almost complete! As I was taking everything out of drawers and my old pantry I realized now is the perfect time to check expiration dates on everything and get rid of things that aren't as fresh as the rest of the ingredients I use in my dishes.

I was amazed that most spices didn't have expiration dates on them, but here are a few simple tips that can help you decide whether to keep or trash you pantry inventory.

* Smell - always the easiest. If something smells "off" or in the case of spices has no scent at all it's time to replace.

* Appearance - if something looks off as far as color or texture get rid of it immediately! The last thing you want to do is make yourself or your guests sick. Faded spices can mean that their strength isn't what it should be and will throw off the taste of your dish.

* Expiration Dates - I do trust these and if somethings past that date will get rid of it. It just isn't worth ruining a dish of dinner party to save a few dollars.

* Moisture - if something get introduced to an outside moisture source I would get rid of it instead of having to worry about mold or having it compromised.


My sweet contractor made me a spice rack and I can't wait to start filling it. My favorite source for the freshest spices is Penzeys. They have opened quite a few stores and they also can be purchased online.

My new absolute spicy find though is Tabasco Spicy Salt. I've never found it in the stores but you can but it at their online store. It's a blend of their very own slat that is mined on Avery Island, Louisiana and ground red pepper. It has quite a kick and a little goes a long way. I use it on everything!