cleaning tip

oh dishpan hands, be gone forever.


long weekend style has discovered one surefire way to clean a pot or pan that has worked time and time again for us: after cooking something has developed a liking to one of your pots or pans and taken up what seems like permanent residence on said pot/pan's walls, put it right back on the stovetop, this time filled with water. bring water to a boil and easily away scrape food barnacles thus saving yourself from endless hours of scrubbing and scouring.

so shiny and new

and on our book radar:

deluxe: how luxury lost it's luster by dana thomas caught our eye here at long weekend style, mainly because of it's stark, simple cover AND the fact the an entire mcdonald's meal had been absolutely designered out, complete with prada-esque labels covering burger paper, french fry carton and a supersized soda cup to underscore just how far luxury brands are willing to go to get your dollars into their pockets.

deluxe: how luxury lost it's luster is a fantastic peek behind the scenes of the luxury goods business and the absolutely massive global money involved. yup, all those monogrammed handbags, perfumes, belts, and licensed sunglasses, lighters and scarves that consumers ferociously scoop up by the armload.

louis vuitton. dior. gucci. cartier. prada. chanel. you get the picture.

and the players - LVMC (louis vuitton moet chandon) group. the richemont group. the gucci group. the prada group. these are just a few of the luxury conglomerates in play that serve as umbrella corporations for several different brands. and they are all feuding, scheming and trying to outsmart the others in the aquisition of even MORE luxury brands, making the luxury goods business seem more like a game of monopoly rather than one of style and substance.

this can't-put-it-down expose takes you through the back alleys and crammed warehouses of counterfeit high end luxury goods as well as the production of true (read: authentic) luxury items - handbags, wallets, trench coats et al abroad, far from where consumers would think their exalted top shelf booty hails from.

fun fact: deluxe deftly details just how the legendary wait-listed-to-the-hilt, unbelievably expensive (a crocodile birkin can easily go toe to toe in price to that of a new car) coveted hermes birkin bag is crafted by a single leather artisan and takes anywhere from 15 to 30 hours to complete a single bag.

another fun deluxe fact: centifolia rose and jasmine harvesting in grasse, france exclusively for chanel number 5 - the only perfume still in production that retains it's original formula, first concocted in 1919.

long weekend style could go on and on but we seriously don't want to spoil this decadent read for you!

deluxe: how luxury lost it's luster by dana thomas, available online @ http://www.amazon.com/

remember to floss

the absolute hands down best floss ever to be invented has to be glide, by longtime toothpaste leader, crest.

glide floss is supa dupa smooth and has none of that fake mint waxey wax residue that seems to define the other flosses on the market. subtly flavored with a barely perceptible cool mint taste, glide is also fragrance free, therefore free of inducing near those awful near mouth rashes that are caused by the multi-purpose supertoothpastes. glide gets in there and does the job - quick and stealthlike, like a ninja. a ninja whose sole purpose is the vigilance of your oral health. glide doesn't shred, break or leave little floss bits between your choppers.

just clean mouth goodness, courtesy of glide.

glide floss by crest, available everywhere and online.

long weekend style sends out a happy, fun, hug-filled, love fest mother's day wishes to all mamas, mothers-to-be, and mother's helpers the world over.

we hope your day was as awesome as you!

sing a song of Q-tips

okay, so we've already exhalted the many uses of the baby wipe, long weekend stylers and now may we present, the Q-tip.

originally designed for ear cleaning - the outer ear, people. the outer ear. if LWS style even mentions any inner ear proximity and the Q-tip in the same breath, health services will be all up in our grill, because everyone knows that you aren't supposed to stick ANYTHING in your ear canals. anyways, Q-tips, also known as ear buds, cotton swabs and cotton buds were invented in the 1920's by an ingenious man named leo gerstenzang and originally called "baby gays" but were renamed Q-tips, the "Q" indicating quality.

Q-tips aren't just for cleaning out errant ear wax, therefore putting an end to potato crops popping up in your ear canals, oh no. Q-tips can be used for so much, much more.

Q-tips are awesome for kitchen cleaning - getting into those really tiny corners and areas that a wadded towel (paper or cloth, your choice) can't really reach. Q-tips get in between the tiny partitions in and on your stove or range top - getting rid of kitchen muck build-up, fishing out excess crumbs, extracating bits of dried whatever - Q-tips really get in there. refrigerators also benefit from Q-tips as they always seem to have little ridges, corners and indents in those handy compartments for eggs, butter, and loose items that a wipe-over just doesn't catch. also if you sometimes pretend that you have your own cooking show whilst preparing dinner every night, Q-tips help out in "plating" your culinary concotions - making away with those drips and dribbles like magician extraordinaire david copperfield.

Q-tips are exellent bathroom and kitchen grout cleaners - especially when paired with plain old vinegar. a long weekend style staffer had a grout rust stain as a result of plant overwatering and no cleaner on the market could get the red out. as a last resort, colonel Q-tip and sargeant vinegar were called in and obliterated said rust stain to kingdom come.

Q-tips are swell WD-40 applicators, especially on any high (or low) end handbags with particularly stubborn zippers, door hinges, drawer runners, or little itty bitty area in need of WD-40 where a blast of this squeak zapper would just be overkill and wasteful.

Q-tips clean up home mani and pedi overshoots because who really has a steady hand when painting their own digits and toes - especially when you have to use your non-dominant hand. talk about brush wobble. Q-tip neaten up without a second thought. they are also there for AWOL eyeliner, mascara and lipstick debaucles.

Q-tips become toothbrushes in a pinch; deftly apply topical medications or clean boo-boos.

Q-tips are critical when cleaning out your fans or heaters at the end of the season. chubbier, chunkier versions can even be used to lift off dust between the slats of vertical blinds.

Q-tips also must be THE tool of any car detailer worth their weight in turtle wax - getting in deep in those miniscule car ashtrays, air vents, crevices (or crevi?), corners, various vehicle knobs, buttons and levers that again, cannot be cleaned, let alone reached with just a cloth or towel.

don't even get us started on computer keyboards and cell phone number pads - Q-tips can be called upon to get between those little keys and make it all glob and goo-free again.

and Q-tips fit any and all ear sizes - from andre the giant to a newly minted baby and everything in-between.

oh, Q-tip how we love love love you!

give me an I . . . P . . . A

for the hops-lovin' LWS guys . . . and gals.

some new beers that have come up on the long weekend style beer doppler:

- racer 5 - crafted by bear republic and is better on tap than in the bottle - the hipper restaurants are leaning towards racer 5 as a solid go-to in their beer lineup but it can also be had in the cold beer section of most whole foods markets.

- pliny the elder - distributed by bear republic and brewed by russian river , who are headquartered in northern california and again, this one is best tasted directly from the tap when you can find it as it is one of the harder IPAs to source. also available in certain whole foods (picky, picky) but not always in stock, we did manage to find a site that you can order pliny online: http://www.klwines.com/ or http://www.caskstore.com/ and search "pliny the elder"

- ranger from new belgium brewing, colorado based brewers of fat tire ale. this has the distinction of bring nice right out of the bottle or tap and is widely distributed plus, when you can't source pliny, ranger is a very very good substitute.

all are IPAs - india pale ales, for those not into the achronisms. historically, pale ales were brewed in england and shipped off to british troops stationed in india, so they had to be able to travel long long distances by boat, the only available method of travel at that time. originally derived from porters, IPAs tout a higher alcohol content and are "hopped up"; in beerspeak, this means supa dupa hoppy - made with lots and lots and lots of hops which lend a "forest-y,pine tree" taste but in a good way. IPAs are classified as running beers, not because the like jogging in their off hours but because they are ready-to-drink within days of brewing and don't require a lengthy aging process like porters and the stronger ales.

try 'em and let us know what you think, long weekend stylers!

lake champlain

ok, long weekend stylers - it's been one of those weeks and we're already dreaming of yummy clouds of delicious chocolate despite the fact that it's ONLY monday.

and let us tell you - lake champlain chocolates, made in burlington, vermont are what chocolates should be - creamy, delicately flavored, smooth, and just all around melt in your mouth goodness.

the long weekend style staff discovered lake champlain chocolates after reading steve almond's book "candy freak" (see long weekend style entry dated march 24th 2010) because apparently the Five Star bars are the chocolate bars of steve's dreams. even though his friends don't really get his choco-obsession.

anyways, enough about steve, back to the chocolates at hand.

all lake champlain chocolates are handmade in small batches using exotic chocolates hailing from such locales as africa, colombia, and tanzia. all natural, no preservatives, all kosher and supa dupa fresh, anything from lake champlain will not disappoint the choco-lover in you.

one bar that always seems to disappear the moment it appears here at our long weekend style offices, is the lake champlain rum caramel filled dark chocolate bar - pure sex and heaven all in one sensuous, drippy, dark and smooth bite. the coffee truffle filled dark choco will satisfy both a caffeine and truffle craving in one fell swoop and leave you swooning for more. for those not of the dark chocolate persuasion, don't worry, lake champlain has got you covered too: caramel filled milk chocolate or their classic, creamy, dreamy signature milk chocolate bar is calling your name. now.

the chunkalicious Five Star bars which are like then haute couture version of the chunky brand bar (that we remind you is filled with raisins and nuts. good, yes, but why ruin perfectly good chocolate with raisins and nuts when much more delicious ingredients like peanut butter, caramel, hazelnuts and truffle abound?). the Five Star bars are thick (2" x 1" x 1" approximately) and pack a whollop of tastebud goodness despite their (seemingly) petite size.

lake champlain chocolates are starting to make appearances at grocery stores across this fine nation but you can always order online 24/7 at http://www.lakechamplainchocolates.com/. OR if you are as entranced by the chocolate enrobing machine as we are, you can visit their amazing chocolate factory and see/smell/taste the goodness that is lake champlain chocolates in burlington, vermont - complete with lots of free samples. yum.

and they also offer a chocolate-of-the-month club in 2 distinctions: "chocolate fanatic" and "chocolate lover" in 3, 6 or 9 month durations. scrumptious. chocolate shipped right to your door - what more could anyone ask?

long weekend style only wishes that the pure deliciousness of a lake champlain chocolate bar could transcend the ethernet and that you could taste the magic right now whilst you sit at your 'puter.

and the lovely state of vermont now has 2 things to boast about: it's famous maple syrup and lake champlain chocolates.