On Your Radar?

We spend so much time (OK--all of it) talking about our girls' getaways, now we want to know about yours! Where do you go when you want to get away from it all and hang with your besties for a few days? Miami? Buenos Aires? Your lakehouse? E-mail us your favorite vacation destination at jetsetgirls@gmail.com by December 21, 2007 and you could win the Aerosole boots shown above*. Be sure to include your name, return email, shoe size and color preference.

Aerosoles really are great for traveling because they are cute and you can actually walk in them. In fact, both members of JSG recently bought two pairs of pumps each on sale!

*Winner will be selected at random. Exact pair of boots may vary depending on availability of a specific size.

Black Magic Woman

I only need to say a couple of things about Mystics in Bali (1981) so you'll understand what's in store for you should you choose to seek it out: it's from Mondo Macabro, and it's directed by the king of the Indonesian exploitation flick, H. Tjut Djalil- yes, the man who also brought the world Lady Terminator and one of my most favoritests ever, Dangerous Seductress.

Those facts alone will most likely either get you amped or put you off, right? And let's face it- the world is really divided into two kinds of people: those who want to see a film wherein a young woman wants to learn about black magic so she joins the cult of the Leyak but she gets in way over her head and becomes an acolyte of the evil Leyak Queen, and then the girl's head actually comes off and flies around- innards still attached!- and sucks fetuses right out of pregnant women...and those who don't. If you're anything at all like me- and you'd better be- you fall squarely into the former camp.













I'm so not even kidding when I say that there's little in life that would fill me with as much glee as the sight of that head trucking around town.

See? There's really not much more I can tell you except that Mystics in Bali is exactly what Ive come to expect from both Djalil and Mondo Macabro: it's completely insane and completely awesome, armpit hair aside.

Baby, You Can Drive My Car!

As one half of JSG lives in NYC, never drives and is happy to cab it everywhere and the other half lives in the suburbs and spends a quarter of her day behind the wheel, we always debate over the benefits of renting a car. It's not rocket science, but it's worth it if you're in a city that's spread out like L.A. and not in a city like Vegas where taxis and limos run like water (or is that bubbly in Sin City?) and you're going to be buzzed 90 percent of the time anyways.

On last week's trip to Phoenix/Scottsdale, when we realized it was only $10 day to rent a car and--Hello!--$25 a day for the convertible, we didn't have to think twice. Driving with the top down from the airport to the hotel turned into an adventure instead of a queasy ride in the back of a taxi. We also got quite a few stares from our fellow drivers, but that may have been because it was 60 degrees and obvious that we were tourists desperate for sunshine. Regardless, it was so fun--we may just be car rental converts!

Ever Feel Like a Piece of Meat?

Sometimes that's okay! JSG always ends up at a steakhouse on our trips. We're not sure if that's because we're looking for guys or missing our own. Steakhouses are great: the best meal before drinking, the best chance to drink a killer bottle of red, and the best excuse to order potatoes (forget your South Beach diet, even if you're in Miami!).

Here's how we found our last filet: we simply Googled “Phoenix Food Blog” and the first one that was listed was www.FeastinginPhoenix.com. Once we read its tagline, “When Zagat’s Meets Sex and the City” we knew we had found a winner! We sent a cold-call email asking for recommendations for a sexy steakhouse and Seth, the editor of the blog, responded with a few suggestions.

We took his advice and went to Mastros City Hall. It lived up to all expectations—the steaks were delicious, the wine list was long and, as expected, it was filled with men. We opted to eat dinner in the lounge because it had a shorter wait and were psyched to find that it was also a lively place to meet locals. In fact, we enjoyed it so much, lounge dining may become a regular practice on all our girls’ getaways--it's an especially good trick for getting into a restaurant without a resy.

And, while we didn’t get to meet Seth in person, we want to give him and Feasting in Phoenix a special shout out and big thanks for the recommendation! Next time you go on a trip, you may just want to Google a local blogger. And, hey--we're always here for advice, too!

A Secret Shopping Paradise

It used to be hotel gift shops only had over-priced sunblock and playing cards with the hotel logo on them. But now gift shops have established themselves as a destination entirely on their own and have turned into a mini-version of your favorite local boutique. At the Mondrian in Scottsdale, for example, our friend Shawn bought some adorable heart shaped crystal earrings for her daughter and a quality cigar to bring home to her husband (BTW: a great gift for your man to smooth the waters on your return from a girls’ getaway!). So now you can head to the hotel gift shop if you forgot your toothbrush or your fave necklace or handbag!

In fact, the trend of chic hotel gift shops has caught on so much, that the W hotel is opening up a pop-up store in New York City for the holidays—and it’s not even at one of their hotels. It’s open today through Friday from 10 am to 8 pm at 90 West Street. It will have items like jewelry you would actually wear from Alex Woo and Swarovski, Laura Merkin clutches, the sparkly rings shown above and great cashmere blankets that are perfect for traveling or curling up at home. This proves it: The hotel gift shop isn’t just for travelers anymore.

awesome movie poster friday- the MICHAEL CAINE edition!

NOTES:

1) If only Jaws: The Revenge was as good as the Jaws: The Revenge poster.

2) The action-packed poster for The Swarm is effing hot stuff.

3) I need to watch Dressed to Kill again soon.

On Our Radar: Instant Gratification

After a long night of dirty dancing, a girl can feel, kinda, you know, restless. But we can’t always plan ahead for these things and we certainly don’t want to deal with getting our toys through security, so it does leave us in a bit of a quandary. That’s why we’re such big fans of the Bryant Park Hotel’s Objects of Pleasure Menu. It’s a room service menu of best selling toys from the Pleasure Chest. Just feign a headache, wait til girls head to the pool, and order in—batteries included.

For more information about the Bryant Park Hotel, click here.

Update: This is fast becoming a trend! We're at the Mondrian in Phoenix/Scottsdale and what did we find in our minibar? A "Mobile Intimacy Kit" complete with "mini personal massager"!