We Have Contact!

I have been wearing contact lenses now for about six months. I recently did something I've always wanted to do-I got colored contact lenses! My first pair arrived last week with my own prescription and I immediately put them in my eye. The result is not too different than that of the picture above. Needless to say, I love them! It's me, only slightly different, and with lighter eyes. I couldn't wait to show them off and get everybody's reactions but I had no idea what was to come. Everybody reacted alright-some positive, some not so positive.

My mom-"You don't look any different to me, but I love them!"

My dad noticed right away-"You have colored contacts on! They look great!"

Frick-"Mom, are you wearing colored contacts? You look awesome!"

A work colleague-"What did you do different? Did you cut your hair? You look fresh! Like you just came from the spa. Did you do botox?"

Some of my very good friends took a moment to notice only AFTER I pointed them out-"Oh yeah...I like them!"

But my boys? Not so much.

Frack- "Mom, something's wrong with your eyes!! Look in the mirror!! You look like a werewolf!!"

And most of all My Guy- "Honey, there's something wrong with your eyes! It doesn't look good. Like you look sick."

Everybody has an opinion. Safe to say, I'm having a great time freaking people out but My Guy is having the hardest time with them. Not one to adapt to drastic change, he told me that he does not like them at all. He even went as far to say that he loves my eyes the way they are naturally, and that you can't blame him for not liking his "beautiful wife" any other way. "OK honey", I said, "let's not lay it on too thick"..

Good thing I'm confident in who I am. Otherwise I would be second guessing my new contacts. I'm chalking it up to a fashion experiment with very mixed results, but I'll continue to wear them, just not every day. You can't blame me for wanting to mix it up a bit every now and then. Can you?

Strut-ting His Stuff

Be still my heart...I do love me some Lenny Kravitz.

That hunky, gorgeous piece of eye candy has just dropped a new album called Strut. Playing to his rock side, Kravitz said this album literally wrote itself. Kravitz has been living a dream as of late, his acting career skyrocketing in the past few years. He landed a role in the Oscar winning movie Precious and then as Cenna in the Hunger Games and Catching Fire movies. He then played a key role in the award winning movie, Lee Daniels, The Butler. Yes, it's been a good couple of years for Lenny.

Kravitz says that while he was on set finishing up Catching Fire, he kept hearing music in his head that just wouldn't go away. He decided to pay attention to it rather than loose it and his latest album was hatched. A true instrumentalist, song writer he starts with guitars and drums first and adds what it needs along the way. Best known for his number one hit, "Fly Away", Lenny Kravitz has been a hit maker since he debuted in the early 90's.

I'm buying the album because I love his music and I'm a huge fan. Rumor has it the inside cover sleeve photo is worth the price of it alone.

This isn't it the one from the new album, but you get the idea here.

What was I saying?

Oh yeah...I love me some Lenny Kravitz. I wanna fly away..........

I'm Not Sure About this One....

Have you seen this one? I'm not sure if it's supposed to be funny or sexy? Or both?

Yes, there is some serious eye candy here, but the guy with the *ahem* belly? He's kinda sexy too..am I right? The little wink? But he's not the typical Hefty hunk, yet he's the one I remember the most.

So here's my question:
Are they making a joke of the errr, ummm chubby guy?

Because honestly. he's the one, in my opinion, that makes the biggest impact here. Because he's adorable..yet he's not in "beefed up", man cake shape, yet he's the most impressionable and memorable. I'm still stuck on the fact that the point of the ad is to single this guy out but are they mocking him?  Is this their intention?

I don't know about you but I think that this guy could have a "Flo from Progressive" kind of career.
Amiright?

For Cry Eye

I've been slowly going blind. Seriously, over the past 2 years my eyesight has gotten worse and worse. I can't see anything up close at all, and forget reading a paper or a book. These days, to do any of that, I need my glasses. Of course, the more I use my glasses, the more I need them and I've considered using one of these thingies cuz I'm constantly searching for my glasses:

WTF???
I had a conversation with my brother on Sunday about this, he is 4 years older than I, and he told me it's just going to get worse. Great! I went to the eye doctor and we had a conversation about Lasik, which is not applicable for my needs. Great again! I have a very common, age related vision problem called presbyopia.

Which basically means that my eye lens has become less flexible. Which basically means that I can't read crap. Restaurant menus? Forget it. Good thing my iPhone has a flashlight because I use that all the time if the restaurant is dimly lit.

As time progresses, the condition will only become worse. Now, I don't mind wearing glasses. I think it's actually kind of fun, wearing funky specs to round out a style. What I don't like is the way my eyes feel, blurry and unfocused all the time. It's very unsettling. But what am I to do? Since presbyopia cannot be prevented, I guess I need to speak to my eye doctor about options.

Are there surgical options in my case and what are the risks and benefits? Believe me, this is not a vanity thing. As I said, glasses are fun and a great accessory. This is about my overall well being. Blurry vision is not fun and I don't like the way it makes me feel. Friends of mine have had Lasik and say that it was one of the best things they have ever done. Is there a procedure for Presbyopia that would garner results like lasik?

If so, where do I sign up?

Living in a clear world is much better than a cloudy one.

Jewels Of Style

I'm no different than any other girly girl. I'm not going to deny that I get all giddy at the site of some blingy bling bling. And by blingy bling bling, you know what I mean. That special sparkly arm candy, those 5 finger favorites and a neck dripping with a girl's best friend.  Yes, I am attracted to and distracted by sparkly beauty.

Since I opened the new Candy Bar, I have been selling my special kind of blingy favorites exactly like the ones pictured above and I find myself amazed at the response to these gorgeous beauties. Women LOVE them and these moderately priced bracelets are flying out the door. Now, the fact that women love them isn't what surprises me. Of course they love them. (sparkle) What surprises me is that many of my customers, who report to never wearing jewelry that "isn't real" are snapping them up and squealing with delight. These are women who have gorgeous, custom designed jewelry with precious gems who obviously have great taste.

They love them because not only are they "real", they are fun! Made from precious stone beads like moonstone, agate, lapis and polished coral, beaded alongside Swarovski crystals in white, black, rose and champagne gold these little gems make a nice statement stacked up on the arm of a lady. It has become a sport here, matching and pairing these babies together to create one's own personal style.

My clients tell me their new little jewels of style make them happy! Which makes me happy, and you all know that when mama is happy so is everyone else. And fellas? A little bling under the tree this year isn't a bad idea. Very Me bracelets can be found at The Candy Bar, and the smiles they produce can be found for years to come.

I'm Surprised I Missed It

I like to pride myself on the fact that I am somewhat of a Fashion Diva/Expert/ Guru of sorts.





Safe to say that I live for fashion. It pumps through my veins and I'm always reading the fashion magazines, trolling the internet on the latest trends and staying informed on all things fashion and beauty.





So it was a shock to me when I missed it. I'm ashamed of myself.






I know I have been busy, but am I really that crazy that I missed the latest?





I'm horrified.






How did I not see it?




Now I need to rethink my entire fall wardrobe, which is some serious sh*t, and it's not going to be cheap, I tell ya. Shame on me for being a fashion junkie.





Ladies, why didn't you tell me?

Candy Coated Dreams

Like a kid in a candy store.......

Does the sight of this make you go all giddy and weak in the knees?

I took this picture in Paris, France in 2009 just outside a movie theatre and I remember the excitement of the prospect of being able to put together a whole bag of wonderful. I still feel the same way about candy and right now I'm putting together all my favorites so that I can bring that kind of joy and excitement to my clients.

For me, it goes back to my childhood and a place called, The Dover Country Store, in Dover Ma. The Dover Country Store was a musty antique shop located on a railroad track that my mom used to take us to. Now, one would think that the store, loaded with old antique furniture and goods that were musty and piled atop one another in an old barn would not be a place that a carload of kids would stampede into with joy. But the Dover Country Store also had one of the greatest penny candy shops for miles around and back then the candy really was a penny.

Nothing was greater than hitting up the gorgeous, colorful display with a pocket full of change needing nothing but my imagination and my taste buds. The small brown bag of candy that was mine was then lovingly carried off to some secluded area of the shop, usually where all the rugs were piled atop each other, for further inventory and careful inspection. It was truly the start of "retail therapy" for me. That little brown bag was torn and tattered by the weeks end, from moving it to different hiding locations and from it's rationed and dwindling contents.

Like a kid in a candy store.....

I know that's how my grown up clients feel when they enter The Candy Bar, and now they will be able to re-live some of those precious candy memories from childhood. Maybe their kids will make their own Candy Bar memories, or they will bring someone a Candy Bar gift of candy to make them smile. The option will be theirs and it will be my joy to offer them a little slice of wonderful.

Help me out bloggers! Share your candy favorites and memories.

Foxy Brown

EDITOR"S NOTE: Today's post is not a political endorsement of any candidate running for office or any political party. Today's post is just an observation/opinion on physical appearance and has no political agenda whatsoever.


Ok, so can we talk freely?

When did Scott Brown become so foxxy?? I'm watching my TV and I spy a Brown for Senate ad and I'm suddenly thinking. 'damn, that Scott Brown is handsome'. Of course, the ad portrays him as an everyday kind of guy who folds laundry and takes to the road to speak to the people, but I can't stop thinking that the guy is hot. Shame on me.

As a political figure, I'll keep my Scott Brown opinions to myself, but if he's speaking to a group of ladies, I'll wager that he's got ALL of their attention. I'm not sure that is a good or a bad thing, because during that speech, I'm sure 90% of those ladies aren't quite getting his whole message. Yeah, they're thinking what I was thinking and, "What was that you said again? Never mind."

It's true that Scott Brown got some mad swagger these days. Is it because he is a US Senator and he splits his time between Washington and the state of Massachusetts and has tons of photo ops with important and influential people? It can't hurt, and that's what I'm talking about here today. Physical beauty=opportunity. Shallow, but true. Now with all that attention, I have to ask the question if attention=votes? And in an election year, when the women's vote is highly respected and sought after, I wonder if Foxy Brown here has a slight advantage in the voting booth.

As my dad would say; maybe yes, maybe no.

I'd hate to think that women were that shallow.

Todays Special: Beauty

Beauty is in all of us because...beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Hipsters In Love

Sorry, no time today bloggah's. So I thought I'd share with you further proof that My Tommy and I were destined for each other....

This is My Tommy, courtside at the Celtics/Lakers game yesterday in LA.

And this is me at The Candy Bar last month:

Just call us hipsters in love.....

I Was Just Thinking....

Is it just me or did Beyoncé have the shortest pregnancy in the history of the universe? I mean, didn't she like, just announce her pregnancy at the VMA awards? I think that was in September and if she was three months pregnant at the time, that would make her eight months pregnant now. Is there some super expensive, Fast Lane, Fast Pass sort of VIP baby delivery ticket that you can buy that the general public doesn't know about? Cause I'm thinking thats how Beyoncé delivered a baby on Saturday. And in record time. (no pun intended) I read this morning that they rented out an entire floor in the Lenox Hill Hospital in New York with a price tag of $1.4 million for the delivery. Evidently this is how the rich and famous give birth these days.


It's a My Tommy, Tim Tebow match up for Saturday and are you ready for some football? I feel good about this one and I think it's going to be a great game. I might be a little worried, though. Even though Tommy and the Pats handled Tim and the Broncos with no problem on week 15, and I think they will again on Saturday, I think Tim Tebow is Jesus's homeboy. I'm just sayin, the kid's got momentum and the good Lord on his side. That can't hurt when you're playing football. I still predict that the Patriots will prevail because I believe in My Tommy.

I discovered this weekend that I'm a hard-core foodie. I love to read about food. I love to cook food. I love to eat food. My favorite magazines are Rachel Ray Every Day and the Food Network Magazine. I spent several hours organizing my magazines, compiling new recipes and reading new recipes on Sunday. I don't throw out my food magazines, I file them away by month and year so that I can refer back to them when I need to. Doesn't this sound slightly obsessive? The fact that I start every day thinking about what's for dinner may be an indication of how important food is in my life.

I also discovered this weekend that I'm going blind as a bat. (are bats really blind?) I find myself wearing of my reading glasses more and more frequently. Take for example that while I was going through all of my recipes and magazines I was wearing my reading glasses. When I took them off I found it harder and harder to focus on any type of print in front of me, i.e: my cell phone. It's like going from regular TV to HD. It wasn't that long ago that I used to brag about how great my eyesight was, but just this year that all changed and quickly. Dang, getting old sucks. Oh well, if you know anything about me, you know that I now have 6000 stylish pairs of reading glasses and that I turned being "vision challenged" into a fashion triumph. The Candy Bar is a proud distributor of Eyebobs.


I have some exciting new goals for 2012, some of which will be announced right here, on The Daily Dandy. So stay tuned, you hear?

Oh, Say It Ain't So...

Are the rumors true??? Is this the end of My Tommy's carefree bachelor days?? Oh, say it ain't so...
It all depends on who you believe. According to People.com, Tommy proposed to Gisele over the weekend with a diamond solitaire . A source close to the couple confirms, "He asked and she accepted".
Ya think??
Then there's my bible, The Boston Herald's Inside Track, who won't believe the second report of an engagement in less than three weeks unless Gi is spotted "sporting bridal bling on her left ring finger". Word has it -get this- “The couple is discussing a huge fashionista event in the spring or a more intimate and quicker ceremony in Costa Rica, where Gisele has a home,” sources said.
Now don't get me wrong, I am happy for My Tommy if he is truly happy. I could care less if he marries Gisele or not. As long as he is suited up for the start of next season, proudly wearing his #12 uniform on the field of Gillette Stadium, in top physical shape, what he does in his spare time is of no concern to me.....I guess. Unless what he does in his spare time becomes a major distraction to the progress of his knee rehabilitation. And "a huge fashionista event" sounds disturbingly distracting. Come to think of it, ever since My Tommy met Gisele things have, shall we say, taken a turn for the worst. I'm sorry to say it Tommy, you know how I love you, but karma's a bitch.


Shall we recap quickly??
Tommy and Bridget Moynahan were in a three year relationship and enjoying the fruits of his three Superbowl championships, when in the fall 2006, the Boston Herald's Inside Track, did a story on Gisele while she was doing some PR work for Victoria Secret at Gillette Stadium during a Patriots game. She is famously quoted as saying to the Inside Track about Tommy:

"Tom Brady, definitely not too shabby. He's pretty cute. All-American, that's a good way to describe him." She denied that she would ever try to steal him away from Bridget, though. She said, "He's cute, but if he has a girlfriend, he's gay to me. There are too many men in the world to go after a man who has a woman. Life is too short."

Funny, because the next month, on December 14th, Tommy and Bridget publicly confirmed the end of their relationship. Then, on January 25th, 2007, Gi was spotted waiting for Tommy outside the Pats locker room at Gillette after a season ending playoff LOSS. Again-there's that karma thing, Tommy.

Then in February, 2007, Bridget dropped the big bombshell that she was indeed pregnant with Tommy's baby. It certianly didn't help the golden boy's image that at the time he was in Europe canoodling with Gisele for the cameras.

Now I concede, this may be all true gossip and garbage, but I really only care about the football facts. Fact is that My Tommy was always known for his superior work ethic when it came to football. It is a well documented fact that he was always the first one to pre-season training daily, honing his body, religiously working himself hard and reaping the benefits. There is a reward for coming to training camp early-the best parking spot in the stadium-which Tommy won easily year after year. His teammates and coaches were constantly quoted in the press, expressing their admiration of Tommy's work ethic and his ability to play and understand the game.

Then karma strikes...and what could have been, or still could be, one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game, hits a string of bad luck in his young career.

This coupled with last season's injury, reports of defection from Pat's doctors, infection to the franchise's knee, a complete NO SHOW on the sidelines of his team's games this season and all of us here at Tommy central are selling off our Tommy stock like we just got some serious inside information.

I don't like. I don't like it at all. I'm not blaming Gisele. My Tommy is a big boy and can make his own decisions. I just question the timing of a big wedding and his commitment to the team and the game. I just want My Old Tommy back, the one who was on the fast track to becoming one of the greatest QB's ever to play the game and I really don't care who he is married to. As long as the three of them, Tommy, his wife and football, can all live happily ever after.

The Dandy's Daily Eye Candy

My boyfriend is in trouble. BIG trouble-and I'll be dammed if there is anything I can do about it. You see, my boyfriend, Tom Brady, injured his knee in the first quarter of the first game of the year and will be out for the rest of the SEASON . Dev-a-sta-ting for all fans of Patriots football and doubly devastating for fans of my Tommy. Just devastating. But it has been seven weeks since he's been gone and we have learned to live with it.

This year we won't be seeing Tommy boy in his sexy little uniform on the sidelines. In fact, we won't be seeing Tommy on the sidelines on crutches either(which really sucks-it's no fun without Tommy) because as I said before, Tommy is in Trouble. (with a capital T)

But before I get to his trouble, let me give you some history: Tommy became an overnight sensation back in 2001 when he took over for an injured (and sucky) New England quarterback Drew Bledsoe. Yada, yada, yada, he never lost a game and the Pats went on to win their first ever Super Bowl title. Big Stuff here in New England, as you already know, right. But to look like this too??

It was love at first sight for all of us. Women, men, young, old, we were hooked. He then went on to win two more Super Bowls back to back and ALMOST complete an undefeated season last year; their only loss came in the Super Bowl against the New York Giants.

Now for the good stuff: Since Tommy became a big time sports star after his first Super Bowl win, his options suddenly became wide open and Tommy had his pick of beauties. He chose the lovely Bridgete Moynahan, a New England gal herself.

They stayed together for a few years and a few more Super Bowls until Tommy and Bridgette broke up 2006 and Tommy immediately started dating well known Victoria Secret supermodel, Giselle. Here's where the start of the trouble began for Tommy. Two months later, Bridgette announced to the press that she was pregnant with Tom's baby. Meeeouch! His golden boy image had just gotten sacked!

Despite the PR nightmare, things continued with Tom and Giselle and nine months later Bridgete gave birth to baby Jack. During that time, two football seasons to be exact, Tommy had great seasons but both ended in disappointing losses. The press soon labeled Giselle "Jinxelle" and wondered whether Bridgete was seen wearing an Eli/Peyton Manning shirt around town. (Tommy's football rivals) Tommy had taken some hits in the press this summer for not sticking around New England, as he usually had done, and adhering to his usual strict post-season conditioning program. Instead he and Jinxy were jet setting all over the world. Whatev's...

So as I told you, Tommy went down HARD in the first game of the season this year and lo and behold, more trouble. The big trouble. Tommy decides (against the wishes of the Patrioits) he's going to have the immediate and season ending KNEE surgery he needs in California, not New England. We can't really blame him. He wanted to spend some time with his adorable son, but the doctor he choose, on the recommendation of his family and Jinxy, is some ELBOW specialist best known for operating on Nicole Kidman. Not the hand chosen KNEE surgeons here in Boston, the medical capital of the world. Trouble. He gets a serious infection and has been operated on twice since his initial Oct 6 surgery to clear things out and they still haven't got this infection under control. It's now looking like months not weeks to heal the infection, there-bye pushing his recovery time table back and possibly putting next season into jeopardy. Needles to say the Patriots are not happy. And because nothing in New England sports can stay a secret for very long, word is out that our golden boy is slipping from his team's good graces. Oh the horror!!

To top it all off, Perez Hilton, the undisputed blogging King, (I read his blog makes $100k a month!) posts this picture with the story about the team being pissed at Tommy. And because when it rains it pours, Tommy's QB replacement is weak at best. He's not even a poor man's Tom Brady.

Ouch!! We are left here in New England to wait this drama out and hope for the best. Old women are getting out the rosary's, saying the Novena and women and men are lighting candles, praying for our boy's safe and healthy return to Gillette Stadium, proudly wearing his number 12 next season.

I know this all sounds like a strange case of hero worship on my part. (but did you look at those pictures of him??) and I'll admit to being a sucker for his handsome mug and his flawless quarterback skills, but it's not only me.

I think this picture of my brother at the game yesterday say's it best. About 1/3 of the fans at the game were wearing them. GET WELL SOON Tommy!!