During a recession, when it comes to your closet, taking care of your clothes and expensive items is of the utmost importance. Because when you buy a designer piece, you certainly want it to last as long as possible. While we all may not be lucky enough to own (or even think about affording in our wildest dreams) Hermès boots, The Telegraph just interviewed their bootmakers, and we noticed that the tips they offered for keeping Hermès investment pieces gorge could be handy for extending the life of any leather shoe, no matter what the designer. Check ‘em out after the jump! [Telegraph]

The holidays and Black Friday are coming, which means it’s time to hit the mall for gift inspiration. Enter associated feelings of panic. This year, why not recruit a celebrity to do the hard work for you? After all, they’ve spent the whole year trying new clothing, shoes, and goodies, so who else would know better? Stylish girl about town Rachel Bilson’s picks, from Piperlime, after the jump!

We know, we know, the fridge is filled with leftovers this weekend. But we couldn’t resist reader Tessa’s great, easy recipe, and figured it might come in handy for feeding all the randoms family and friends lounging around the house. Plus you could always substitute turkey for the beef for a yummy, healthier twist. The simple how-to, after the jump!

I’m slightly OCD when it comes to organization, and one facet of my life that annoys me to no end are super long cords. From computer chargers to extension cords to TV power plugs, long wires somehow seem to overtake my room and apartment despite my best attempts to harness them. Thankfully here’s a quick solution, in the form of daisy chain knots. Lifehacker provides an easy to follow tutorial, which ends in a very fashion forward design that I’ve already fallen in love with. Maybe it sounds boring but trust, you’ll be like YEAH. [Lifehacker]

I am not the “other woman” I am “another woman.” How do these two differ you ask? Well, if I were the other woman, the guy I were “dating” would be in a committed, monogamous relationship with a woman and I’d be the one he were hiding and sneaking around with. But that is not the case at all. He is not in a committed relationship. He does not have a girlfriend. He just happens to be in a non-committal, non-monogamous, relationship with me and another woman. The kicker is me and the other woman know each other. Her and I are not friends at all. We don’t travel in the same circles. Oddly enough he is the one who introduced us to each other. Yes, I know what you are thinking right now. “What! This girl is crazy, off her rocker to be in this situation!” But please before you judge let me explain how this situation came about. 

When we say “it’s the thought that counts,” the “thought” implies more than just remembering to buy any gift at all. Let’s admit that as much as we love our guys and say we’ll value any gifts they get us, there’s a little disappointment when the pretty package under the tree actually contains a scarf or gift card. Same goes for him, instead of a generic tie, lead by example and buy a gift that actually suits him.

I spy Miss Ashley Tisdale headed to (or is she coming from?) the gym! And despite the oh-I-just-threw-this-on-ness of her gym duds, methinks those baggy sweats and sneaks are actually some sort of pricey, fancy-pants gymwear in the same vein as that Stella McCartney stuff for Adidas. Next time you’re at the gym, take a look around. There are two very obviously different camps when it comes to what to wear when working out. There’s the I-buy-fancy-workout-clothes and the I-could-care-less-I’m-at-the-gym-—and the arguments make sense for each. Some people (myself included) find it incredibly hard to shell out 100-plus dollars for a pair of pants to wear to the sweaty old gym and opt, instead, for ratty t-shirts and tattered pairs of shorts from back in the day. Others find that their gym attire actually motivates them to get working out harder (no one likes to see pudge sticking out from your too-tight yet very expensive spandex top), and so the ends justify the purchase price. Which camp are you in?

We are forever looking for the perfect easy-to-apply eyeliner. Problem is, pencils often smudge and liquid can be a tad tricky for quick and easy application. That’s why we were so excited about Benefit‘s “Babe Cake” liner compact. It comes in half black, half brown and the liner is basically the consistency of eyeshadow with the look of liner when applied with an angle brush.

At first glance, things seemed to be going swimmingly between us and our new eyeliner friend. Unfortunately, the easy application comes at a price: mad smudging. Within an hour or so, the liner began to wear off a bit and, worse still, some transferred from above our lash line to the crease of our lids, resulting in all the downsides of the morning-after look with none of the benefits. Love Benefit, but sadly, Babe Cake simply didn’t work out for us. [$22, Benefit]