the san francisco treat

ha! fooled you LWS'ers. you most likely thought we were refering to rice-a-roni, the rice that revolutionized dinner has gone unchallenged and held the moniker of "san francisco treat" for what seems like decades.

well, we're actually talking about something much more than souped up instant rice; the it's-it ice cream sandwich bar, a san francisco tradition that started back in 1928 when george whitney unwittingly took vanilla ice cream sandwiched comfily between 2 chocolate chip cookies and then dipped the whole shebang into melted dark chocolate.

and, voila, the its-it ice cream sandwich bar was born under the auspicious sign of deliciously good and yummy, most likely when mercury was NOT in retrograde that's for sure.

now the its-it ice cream sandwich bar is made up of very simple components (vanilla ice cream- check. chocolate chip cookie times 2. check. and melted dark chocolate. check.) but somehow those ingredients have come together in a tantalizingly amazing combination that has the perfect ratio of ice cream-to-cookie-to-dark-chocolate percentages, making it just north pole bliss on the hottest (ok, or not so hot) dog days of summer. or anytime of the year you enjoy ice cream. which for some people is all the time.

long weekend style stumbled upon this little known treat on a road trip up north; the it's-it factory is situated just off the 101 freeway and although they should by all rights have tours, at this time, they do not. so you'll just have to try one and taste the goodness for yourself. look very very closely - the it's-it is available in the frozen section of your local supermarkets - ralph's, von's, albertson's, etc or available for overnight delivery (dry ice included) through:

www.itsiticecream.com. and we have seen a mint version of the bar has recently made it's way to the shelves for those of you in girl scout thin mint cookie withdrawls.

i am yummy

blood oranges are extremely tart, a little hard to find and are absolutely awesome when they make an unexpected appearance in a product or dish. and their motto should be "i am yummy".

ciao bella ice cream has crafted what may be the most perfect blood orange gelato on the market - you may find yourself eating the entire pint in one sitting. the blood orange gelato strikes that delicate balance between juicy sweet and bold tartness - giving your tastebuds the proper ratio of both. the ciao bello gelato is like buttah - it absolutely melts in your mouth.

or to parahrase the immortal words of the gabba gang: "so yummy, so yummy, there's a party in my tummy".

ciao bella sources " pure and elite" ingredients from around the globe, in turn making some of the most delish frozen yumminess in a cardboard canister.

blood oranges also give off an air of being inherently italian - making you feel as if you have relaxed just off the coast the riveria and instantly transporting to another place - especially good for all you barefoot contessas out there, as long, luxorious vacations are hard to come by in these economically trying times.

ciao bella gelati and sorbetti (we sound already more internationale, non?) are available in the frozen section of whole foods markets nationwide or you can check out their site for more flavors, we mean information on the ciao bella brand: www.ciaobellagelato.com

ciao bella indeed!

jump rope

hot time summer in the city back of neck feelin' dirty and gritty.

summer, summer, summertime, time to sit back and unwind.

hot child in the city.

ain't no cure for the summertime blues.

sum-sum-summertime, it's summertime.

cruel summer.

summer breeze makes me feel fine. blowin' through the jasmine in my mind.

yes, it's true: summer is just around the corner, although with volcanic ash, recent rains and the return of cold weather, it may not seem like it. well, long weekend stylers and we've hit upon another song that totally evokes that warm, lazy, sunny sweet feeling of summer. give yourself an aural treat and listen to "jump rope" by the cool kids and don cannon featuring tennille:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBo5OY_tLb8

malcolm mclaren photo courtesy of the bob gruen photo archives. RIP music visionary malcolm mclaren (1946-2010) - the buffalo stance will never be the same without you.

proverb

we stumbled across this great proverb about money recently and although we are not sure of the exact origin or date of this particular little bit of wisdom, it is so simple yet absolutely fantastic:


"he who has money can buy cherries"

that about sums it up, don't you think?

have a great weekend, long weekend stylers!

love thy body with soaptopia

soaptopia is THE new utopia for all things bath. a new line of bath time awesomeness whose mission statement for all their products is "B.A.T.H. (bathe in all things healthy) certified/junk-free" meaning everything is organic, handmade and incredibly awesome.

soaptopia creates all their products locally in small batches and in their words, everything is "freshy-fresh". they offer shea butter body balms, oils, salt scrubs, salt, soaks, lippies, bubble bath and about 24 different varieties of soap with names like "orange you glad honey", "staying alime", "pepper-lyptus rex" and "aloe be thy name".

soaptopia has also recently launched a line of soy based candles - which burn smoke free AND do double duty: the melted soy (once cooled a bit of course. or not. depending on your particular pain threshold) can be massaged into skin since they are formulated with shea butter, vitamin E, jojoba and essential oils.

the soaptopia staff is supa dupa friendly and encourage you to jump right in there and try EVERYTHING- with no pressure to buy. but guarantee, after trying a few of their products, you'll most definitely want to go home with something.

long weekend style has tried and fallen in love with soaptopia's gimmie lip lip balm made from all sorts of edible yumminess - shea and coco butters, beeswax, hempseed/carrot/avocado and macadamia nut oils, aloe vera, jojoba topped off with a dose of vitamin E. these lippies leave you with the most incredibly hydrated kisser and the flavors are delicious but no overpowering. our fav is the grapefruit alive - pink grapefruit in it's purest form.

the salt scrubs are fantastic and packed with even more goodness such as honey, an assortment of oils including sunflower, kukui nut and avocado, vitamin E, jojoba and of course, the star of the show, dead sea salts to buff your epidermis to a soft, fine sheen. again, the grapefruit is the big winner with the LWS staff but the lime/coconut, orange blossom, rozilla (a perfect blend of rose, rose geranium and madagascar vanilla) and of course, the always lulling lavender.

their oil slathers are super moisturizing and smell amazing, especially the lime/coconut, lavender, and rose scents.

soaptopia currently has 2 locations: one on venice blvd in los angeles and a 2nd in the newly remodeled, recently reopened westfield culver city mall as well as an online store: http://www.soaptopia.com/. they wrap up gifts tres beautifully and free, we might add - check their skillz on the featured pics. product prices range from $5 to $27.50 and each product is offered in 3 sizes for your sampling or stocking-up pleasure.

added plus: the soaptopia staff has recently started hosting weekend demos, showing just how their awesome soaps are made. and maybe if you're lucky, Koi from the culver city store will cut you a nice slab of freshly made soap to take home.

and in the words of soaptopia . . . truly love. love and be loved.

wash that day right outta your hair

you've probably heard of it but are unsure what it really is, despite the description right there on the bottle.

dry shampoo.

AKA hair powder.

with everything becoming more streamlined these days, it sounds only logical that shampooing one's locks could be done without the use of water. and since it seems like california is in a constant state of water shortage, dry shampoo would be a genius idea.

actually, dry shampoo works like this: depending on the formula selected, user would either sprinkle powder or spray fixative onto day old washed hair to make it appear like you haven't been wearing the same hair from yesterday.

dry shampoo or hair powder is meant to sop up the oils from the scalp making hair look and smell fresher, especially helpful if you went ofr korean bbq last night, as that charcoal smell definitely lingers a bit.

some brave or desperate souls, depending how you look at things, have tried baby powder as a last ditch alternative to shampooing but that tends to leave a milky residue and can clump up on you like kitty litter, making it look as if you have spent your morning scraping the popcorn from your circa 1977 ceiling.

being an wash-hair-every-day type of gal, i was totally skeptical of dry shampoo but in the interest of science and research for long weekend style, my locks went AWW (absent without washing).

well, the facts are in, long weekend stylers. read on . . .

stila has a product called hair refresher ($28 for 2.6 oz) which comes in 2 delicious scents. it works well and smells absolutely amazing, but if you happen to have darker hair, you could end up with the george washington powdered wig look, which we are told is no longer en vogue. blondes and silver foxes - you'll like this one.

next up, klorane extra gentle dry shampoo with oat extract. klorane has a nice clean smell and gets the job done efficiently. although, we have heard rumors of the product evaporating quickly once can has been opened but that could be due to perhaps poor can engineering.

salon grafix has recently reformulated their dry shampoo, making it waaaay better than their previous incarnation. the old version salon grafix dry shampoo would rub off on clothes or pillowcases, giving you that dreaded ring-around-the-collar look that was first uncovered in the 70's. the new improved invisible dry spray shampoo is now colorless so there is ONE formula for blondes, brunettes and redheads. NO rub-off residue to give away the game of day old hair. and for about $6 for a 4 oz can, you can just about give up washing your hair entirely.

TIGI rockaholic dirty secret dry shampoo - just like the name of this one, don't we? clocking in at around $10 for a giant 6.3 oz can, this smells a little more chemical-ly but our tester is quoted as saying "it gets the job done" and that's really the important part isn't it? another positive is that TIGI leaves no residue behind so it's safe for even brunettes to use.

the very last entry is Bumble and bumble's hair powder, available in 4 shades and $35 for a 4 oz can. since this powder is colored to compliment hair shade, if user is not careful or wants to nap later on a white pillow, there will be a residue price to pay. the residue does wash away with soap and water but your shoulders could end up looking like the by product of an asbestos removal gone bad. besides an oil sopper-upper, the B & b hair powder can also double as a root touch-up product should that particular service be needed. testers were not as happy with this, we thinks because of the residue issue.

long weekend style, over and out.

a whole lotta . . . lotta jansdotter

long weekend style is just in love love love with lotta jansdotter's graphic designs. she designs and sells stationery, t-shirts, calendars, vases, canvas tote bags, baby clothes and even post-it notes through her website, www.jansdotter.com. lotta even has weekend screenprinting workshops, taught out of her brooklyn studio.

and lucky for us, lotta has now put out a design book complete with stencils that all have that lotta jansdotter something something.

the book, aptly titled "lotta prints: how to paint with anything from potatoes to linoleum" goes into the whole screenprinting process and how you can achieve the same results at home - whether it be livening up a plain cotton comforter, making delightful dish towels for a housewarming gift, personalizing your own stationary or screening your own tees - lotta explains it all as well as providing some resource info, so you can produce the print job of your dreams. you might be tempted to "lotta-fy" everything you can get your hands on!

a little loofah'll do ya

summer is coming, and major exfoliation preparations are about to get underway. and long weekend style has THE scoop on the japanese exfoliating wonder that is going to get the party started.

from japan, where bathing is an art/science, comes the beauty skin bath wash towel by salux. it is a towel made of woven nylon threads (so yes, completely man made) that give it a rough texture that is excellent for exfoliating in the tub or shower. measuring approximately 12 by 35 inches, the towel can be used to get those tough-to-reach back areas that are oft neglected. it lathers up fantastically, making the most of whatever shower gel you favor at bathtime, be it expensive or a drug store find. stimulates skin, sloughing off dead skin cells and polishing the new skin beneath to a lusty sheen. great for cellulite, keratosis pilaris (those ugly bumps on the back of the upper arms that herald the arrival of the calendar hotter months) and rough skin - creating a smooth, intoxicatingly touchable surface - (pssst! this means YOU are now intoxicatingly touchable! just in time for summer. or anything else. wink-wink, nudge-nudge) plus the towel can be tossed in the washing machine and seemingly lasts forever or at least until you've tired of the color.

available in a wide range of colors to suit just about any taste, the beauty skin bath towel by salux is also supa dupa affordable and can be found online (do a search on salux beauty towel) or at any local japanese market for under $4.

so go lather up people and never ever go back to those nylon scrunch ball thingys.

have you ever wanted gravity defying hair, a la cameron diaz in something about mary? well, maybe not to that particular extent but something with a little more oomph and hold.

in the late 70's and 80's, when hair raising styles went to new heights, aqua net was often called upon to do uphold the locks of the rebellious and since aqua net was one of the cheaper hairsprays on the market, it was often summoned for hair duty.

with everyone being more aware of the atmosphere and product emissions having a larger impact on our world than we would have ever imagined, the use of aqua net and other spray can products has dropped considerably.

so what's a style challenging hairster to do?

long weekend style has got you covered as we've discovered the hair product equivalent of glue in schwarzkopf's got2b glued spiking glue.

the color and consistency of elmer's glue, schwarzkopf got2b glued spiking glue is the evil knievel of hair products. great for spiking, piecing, expertly messing, twisting and all around gravity defying hair stunts - this hair glue does not disappoint. got2b glued spiking glue has long lasting hold and is rated a 4 which is apparently equals screaming hold plus it is fairly water resistant and claims to be 'wind tunnel tested". how many products out there can say that?

lastly, schwarzkopf got2b glued spiking glue is affordable! under $5 for a long lasting 7 oz tube, you should be glued to go. or good to go. you know what we mean, long weekend stylers.

nancy drew & the mystery of the missing sock

ever wondered how you can start out with a pair of socks going into the laundry yet one sock always goes MIA when the dryer has been emptied?

everyone is quick to blame the dryer, since that was the last place that said missing sock was probably seen before vanishing forever.

a recent washer/dryer repair to our stacked unit, may have solved this mystery forever.

so put on your best nancy drew detective cap and come discover the cleverest now-you-see-it, now-you-don't trick of all time.

our wonderful kenmore stacked washer/dryer has been giving me grief for like the last 3 years. we've replaced the motor, timer, various belts and hoses but it always seems unhappy. and by unhappy, i mean it either runs forever or it overflows. neither of which i really like. so a repairman had to come over and the most recent issue: cycles that run for 3+ hours as the tub just fills then drains, fills then drains, fills then drains - all the live long day.

here's what was unearthed - socks that go missing most likely, ahem, "disappear" in the wash. probably in the cycle in which the water is drained from the tub. errant or little socks can get caught up in the flow of outgoing water and somehow manage to make it to the outside world via the drain hose. because who actually counts those wet socks going from washer into the dryer? no one. you automatically assume everything that went in, comes out and goes into the dryer. except that when everything is pulled from the dryer, voila, socks are missing.

elementary, dear watson, it's the washing machine, not the dryer that is responsible for those MIA socks and the poor, lost lonely mate left behind.

so to avoid separation issues in socks, invest in a zippered laundry bag (available at target, bed bath and beyond stores nationwide or make your own if you're supa dupa industrious/a decent seamperson) to hold all those socks and ferry them safely from washing machine to dryer.

or you can try coercing your socks to use the buddy system.

23 skidoo!!!

long weekend style has always wondered what exactly is meant by the saying "23 skidoo".

i first saw the phrase "23 skidoo" as it appears in an f. scott fitzgerald story. apparently, it just sends the old ladies into a complete tizzy when some modern young flapper throws down the term.

thank goodness, we've arrived at the digital age, as the actual webster's dictionary that i possessed at the time, did not list 23 skidoo or it's meaning. which brings us to wikipedia, the online "source" that can define just about anything you type in it's search window.

upon further research and with the help of the ever trusty wikipedia, the mystery of "23 skidoo" can go into the solved files and is defined as:
-having to leave quickly
-being made to leave quickly by someone else
-leaving quickly due to fortuitous opportunity, ie: getting out while the going/the getting is good.

basically, get lost. scram. vamoose. but delivered with more of swagger of a truck driver than damsel.

although the origin and creator of the phrase is unknown, "23 skidoo" does have the distinction of being the first ever american catchphrase of the roaring 20's - a time of the charleston, flappers, bathtub gin, bobbed hair, rouged cheeks and speakeasies. and apparently, colorful language enough to induce a heart attack in the elderly. in the 1920's.

in the midnight hour

we swear to you that long weekend style is NOT on the payroll over at kiehl's - we just happen to love love love their products.

youthful, great looking skin in a bottle is like the holy grail for us girls. as most of you already know this pursuit firsthand , we will try anything - well just about anything - that will result in a younger, smoother, clearer epidermis, AKA your skin.

kiehl's recently launched a miraculous elixir called "midnight recovery concentrate" - a nigthtime serum made with a skin perfecting trifecta consisting of lavender oil (known for it's heavenly lulling, sleep inducing smell), squalane (derived from olive oil, it's a natural skin moisture trapper) and evening primrose oil (containing rich omega oils essential in skin repair) all come together to aid in repairing one's skin overnight, whilst you sleep.

indeed, making it truly beauty sleep.

just 2 drops of midnight recovery concentrate gently patted onto freshly washed skin starts the launch sequence for skin's natural nightly repair process. in the AM, you awake to fresher, smoother skin that has more even tone and is incredibly moisturized yet not greasy.

midnight recovery concentrate is completely paraben-free and the bottle comes complete with a dropper, neatly dispensing the necessary 2 drop dose. according to kiehl's, midnight recovery concentrate is recommended for all skin types. sample vials of midnight recovery concetrate are available now at kiehl's stores nationwide so try before you buy!

hoppy easter long weekend stylers!

the entire staff here at long weekend style is happy to wish you and your family a jelly bean- chocolate bunny-marshmallow peep-sugar high filled easter!

do it clean

not to sound like a germaphobe or anything but there are alot of germs out there. of course there are good germs but it always seems the bad ones are lurking, waiting, hoping and always forever invisible to the naked eye. you can never let your guard down around germs. not even for a minute.

the whole bad germ thing appeared on my doppler radar when my twins came into the world (yes, they of "unsanctioned-nighttime-awake-all-night" antics) and became a completely magnified obsession literally overnight.

since i am unable to tote around a sink and hand soap at all times, depsite the size of my beloved handbag - i have resorted to antibacterial hand sanitizers. a devil of a product i swore i would never use. ever. my rationale being that since germs are everywhere, one needs to build up a resistance to the ever changing array of germ offerings that are constantly appearing on the sanitary horizon. so why use anitbacterial hand sanitizer and opt NOT to build up one's immunity defenses? who would be so crazy?

now where was i? right. the impossibility of carrying around a sink and hand gel at all times in my ginormous handbag has necessitated the use of hand sanitizers - especially at restaurants, playgrounds, playdates, movie theatres and even target.

enter cleanwell, whose hand sanitizer spray is perfect in every way. a compact 1 oz bottle with a flip top and easy spray nozzle, cleanwell does just that. no cap to lose, no product drip in my bag and sanitized hands? check, check and check! my fav is the lavender, which instantly transports me to the lavender fields of nice,ance and is typically difficult to do, given i am usually partnered with said twins. orange-vanilla, peppermint-lime and ginger bergamot round out the antibacterial scent bonanza.

adding to the spectacular antibacterial hand sanitizer spray, cleanwell has an entire array of products aimed at wiping out germs - foaming hand soap and pocketwipes. all products are biodegradable, naturally antibacterial, alcohol-free, gentle on skin, safe for kids and completely non-toxic.

so the next time germs come calling, you can whip out one of cleanwell's antibacterial products like a seasoned six shooter and blast 'em.

available online at www.cleanwelltoday.com or at drugstores nationwide.