molton brown lipsheer

while living abroad, a long weekend style operative discovered molton brown, which incidentally, sells their products stateside (mostly bath-type products: shower gel, hand soap, and lotion, that sort of thing) BUT the freestanding brick and mortar molton brown stores in the UK also sell this amazing lippy called "lipsheer".

molton brown lipsheer is a stunning rich colored balm housed in an easy-to-transport tube. the color is sheer but rich and deep while long lasting enough to compete with your favorite tube of lipstick. and filled with all sorts of lip nourishing vitamins to keep your pucker polished as well as soft and kissable.

long weekend style's favorite lipsheer color is snapdragon, a sheer red-brown that flatters most skin tones and gives your lips a little "pop" of color. there is also pinkbell - a sheer pink that goes on almost transparent but has gorgeous flecks of shimmer throughout. a .63 ounce tube currently sells for 10#s (about $15 to $17 US dollars) in the UK.

sadly, we've not been able to find lipsheer here in the states but be on the lookout should you be heading to the UK any time soon. and their showers gels smell heavenly too and molton brown perfumes come in the cutest, expertly engineered boxes that look like little closets, complete with tiny door.

website: www.moltonbrown.com for locations near you or to order online.

photaine - feels like home

it's one of those days and we're really feeling this song by phontaine:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scP2tolrDO8

from their 2008 album, "bibliotec" - it hits the right notes of electronica, chill, and jazz with a low, hypnotic hip hop backbeat and amazing vocals by nadia clark.

originally hailing from brighton, england, the quintet known as phontaine now calls vancouver, canada home. the collective band classifies their sound as "downtempo".

actually, the entire bibliotec album is amazing and songs range from a bluesy bayou mood (mississippi two tone) to an upbeat lazy day at the shore (sunny day).

bibliotec by phontaine is available online at www.amazon.com or itunes.com for those of you with the apple products. www.youtube.com also has a bevy of phontaine songs from various albums past & present, all free for the listening!

road trippin' california joie de vivre style

our fav hand crafted free, streaming music site www.8tracks.com has paired with joie de vivre hotels for a contest to celebrate summer and the road trip. long weekend style has put together a music mix of quintessential road trip songs to make your drive most pleasant. give it a listen here:
http://8tracks.com/roadtrippincalifornia

and if you likey, sign in and click the "heart" icon to show us your love.

thanks for your support long weekend stylers!

limoncello

limoncello is on our radar again as a long weekend style operative recently returned from the home of limoncello, italia. not to mention, limoencello could be considered a perfect summer evening beverage, especially when served severely chilled.

hailing from the south of italy, sorrento lemons are touted as making the best limoncello in the world.

limoncello is akin to a tart lemonade but a tart lemonade with the added bonus of alcohol content but without the sour or bitter lemon flavor. italians traditionally serve limoncello after dinner and again, usually very, very chilled.

limoncello is also offered in 4 other popular flavors, should lemon not float your cocktail boat.

there is fragola, strawberry in italian, which is delicious and sweet like a supa dupa ripe berry. meloncello - a melon version, usually cantaloupe, which is actually so much more delectable than it sounds. and finally limoncello crema - half regular limoncello mixed with creme, cutting the lemon tartness almost in half.

all limoncello flavors are extremely dangerous, so drink with caution as they seem deceptively sweet but will knock you on your patookis in no time flat. if you don't believe us, just ask danny devito, who went on national AM television in a limoncello stupor.

limoncello is available through some liquor stores but will most likely only stock the traditional limoncello and limnocello crema; the sweeter flavors require a little more sleuthing and if you aren't an italian resident, online will probably be the best resource.

if you're feeling particularly industrious, limoncello can be made right in your own kitchen - several recipes can be found online and on tea towels (we're not kidding about the tea towels, really. a LWS staffer bought italian tea towels for her mum, noticed the recipe and thought she give it a whirl. hours later, in a limoncello induced state of drunkenness, she declared the recipe "fantasticci!"). just search "limoncello recipes" and take your pick.

and don't forget to chill it before you swill it.

cheers mate!

viva la vinegar

so we have extoled the many virtues of both baby wipes and the cotton swab. and now long weekend style heralds . . . vinegar.

a sneaky taste that manages to find it's way into potato chips, salad dressings and chimichurri (yes, we will divulge our delicious recipe in this post), vinegar comes in many forms that, of course yield different bouquets: malt, apple cider, balsamic, rice, wine and more common in the asian cultures, fruit.

but vinegar also has a flipside; it is an excellent, non-toxic cleanser. when paired with baking soda, a la the peter-makes-a-volcano-for-a-class-project episode, it foams and fizzes like nobody's business. a LWS staffer recently went to town on a shower head that had more than it's fair share of limescale. with the shower head removed from the spigot, said LWS staffer submerged the offending shower head in a bowl filled with regular table vinegar and added a sprinkling of baking soda. voila! the shower head emerged shiny and new, like a virgin, putting the scrubbing bubbles to absolute shame.

vinegar also really whitens your whites in the laundry. a much loved white shirt shamed by the dreaded ring-around-the-collar that seemed to plague every dad in the 70's was recently shut down hard with a splash of 1st street table vinegar from smart and final (or S & F as they like to go by now) added to the laundry basin.

found mold growing behind your sofa or in your shower/tub (insert aN "ewwww, yuck" here)? forget caustic bleach - vinegar kills mold dead but be warned, your bathroom will smell like a salad bowl for the better part of a day.

oh and rust stains steeped into the grout between your tiles. never fear; some vinegar, a spot of baking powder and an old toothbrush will save the day AND remove the rust stain like you would not believe.

and the list, it goes on. and on. and on. really it does. check it here: a website called http://www.vinegartips.com/ offers up 1001 ways to utilize this unsung kitchen hero.

so vinegar, truly, in every way, awesome sauce.

and now, the recipe you have all been waiting for, long weekend style chimichurri:

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup vinegar (your choice but regular table vinegar will suffice)

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

2 tbsp fresh cilantro, minced

2 tbsp fresh parsley, minced

red pepper flakes, to taste

salt & pepper to taste

combine all ingredients except salt, pepper and red pepper flakes in a bowl. stir with spoon to mix oil, vinegar, herbs and garlic evenly. add salt and ground black pepper to taste. for added kick throw in a sprinkle of red pepper flakes. enjoy chimichurri on warm, french bread, spooned over baked fish or mixed in with your fav pasta. yummer!

email LWS

hey long weekend stylers - you can now email us with your questions or suggestions. longweekendstyle@gmail.com. drop us a line!

LWS new music mix: truly. madly. deeply

we put up another playlist on www.8tracks.com and this time we are utterly, completely, absolutely enthralled with the idea of love, true love. a love so deep is almost obsessive. a love so true, all else pales in comparison. a love so deep with passion that runs like a river. featuring songs by lamb, death cab for cutie, this mortal coil and depeche mode to name a few.

give it a listen here: www.8tracks.com/longweekendstyle-truly-madly-deeply

fit flops. yes, you read right. fit flops.

if you are a flip flop lover like we here at long weekend style are 10 months out of every year, you absolutely have to try fit flops. they are touted as the shoe with a gym.

and sometimes, fitting in a visit to the gym is just not always possible - this is where the fitflop glides in effortlessly.

fitflops, invented in partnership with marcia kilgore, she of the supa dupa fantastic bliss products line, are similiar to the MBT shoes that have taken the walking as exercise thing to a whole new level, but in the familiar flip flop form we all know dearly and love. fitflops are a literal gift from the shoe gods for those who literally live in traditional flipflops year-round. BUT fitflops are equipped with very crucial arch support that most flipflops lack, so those foot arches won't collapse inward, causing one to drag legs around like some awful zombie. which by the way is not at all attractive. fitflops are reported to make your glutes and thighs work harder as well as use under utilized muscles that actually tone your pins while you walk. fitflops are engineered with wobbleboard technology that magically have you balancing and stepping through the entire foot thus giving calves, glutes, et al a workout while you walk.

since you'd wear shoes anyways, why not get shoes that work for you? truly adding a bit more exercise/toning to your probably already full summer workout regimen. and those shoes should be fit flops. available in casual everyday colors like go-with-everything/so slimming black. sun struck bronze to compliment a tan. boasting 20 plus different styles to suit every girl out there: amped up with jewels, studded punk-rock style, metallic leather, candy colored patent leather or sweetly sorbet suede.

and new for boys, 3 fitflop styles especially for the guys, in all-guy colors. because boys, they can't always get to the gym either.

run, don't walk and unlike the out of the stratosphere price for the MBT sneaks, the basic unadorned fit flop starts at a very affordable $49.95 and is available online http://www.fitflop.com/ or if you simply cannot wait, locally at lady footlocker.

mulitpicity

we here at long weekend style love love love us a two-fer: any product that can be used not once but twice. more than 2 ways = even better.

enter NARS' mulitple in "portofino". the mulitple, so-very-aptly named because the twist up stick about the size of those push-ups that you used to score from the ice cream truk during hot summers is a creamy all-around use color stick that can be used on eyes, lips, cheeks and in a pinch, on pale listless legs

and with pink being the universal go-to color this summer, portofino ticks off all the boxes: pink, totally toteable, and oh, did we mention, the multiple can be used in, ahem, multiple ways, giving your sweet tiny evening clutch a much deserved break?

here's just a few ways to incorporate NARS the mulitple and make life waaaaaaaaay easier this summer: give a pinky flush to cheeks before heading out into the balmy summer night, slick it over eyelids for a midday perk-you-up, give those pale gams a little glamazon glimmer to detract from the fact that the last time your legs saw daylight was in 2008.

besides portofino, NARS the multiple is available in a whole slew of shades from subtle to bold, matte to full on shimmer to compliment your already gorgeous features. go try 'em out at your local sephora or just order one online already. $38.

those are some spicy nuts

LWS spicy cashew recipe - perfect for a snack or to bring to all those summer bbqs . . .

ingredients needed to fulfill this delicious recipe:
- 1lb lightly salted or better yet, no salt cashews
- 1tsp sea salt
- 1tsp chili powder
- 1tsp cayenne powder (yes, the red stuff)
1 tbsp canola oil

pour 1 tbsp canola oil into a shallow pan & set heat to low. add cashews & shake pan to evenly cover cashews with canola oil. heat gently over low heat for about 5 minutes. remove from heat and pour cashews onto a paper towel on top of a plate, to soak up excess oil. dump cashews into a bowl large enough to allow for cashews to be stirred with a large wooden spoon.

add 1 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp cayenne, and 1 tsp sea salt. toss or stir cashews to even coat. eat one and adjust spices to suit your personal heat or salt level.

almonds, pecans, walnuts or peanuts can be used in place of the cashews, should cashews not be your speed of nut.

pour into a bowl and enjoy!