I am befuddled by buttons and harrowed by hems so it goes without saying that I am always in need of a tailor. That was, however, until I found Bristols 6 “Hem Tape”. I had just bought my first pair of Genetic Denim and wasn’t sure if I wanted to keep them long to wear with my new spring wedges or shorten them to show off my summer sandals. In 5 minutes, Hem Tape gave me a clean, shorter hem that was temporary enough to remove easily without any damage to the fabric but sturdy enough to last multiple wears and even a couple of washes. Problem solved – the new jeans did not have to go under the knife and I could wear them with whatever shoes I wanted.

Bristols 6 has a lot of fashion fixes to help you keep things in place and cover others but I am most intrigued by their “Adjust-a-Button”, which allows you to extend or tighten your waistband. The genius of this invention is obvious – poke a pin through the waistband of your favorite pants and let them out or take them in up to 1.5 inches. While I haven’t tried it myself, I am really excited about the possibilities…

Gain a couple of pounds in the winter months and now things are a little tight? No need to buy new pants, just add an “Adjust-a-Button”. Tone your tummy in Pilates and now your favorite jeans are loose? Cinch them in with “Adjust-a-Button”. Not to mention the miracle this could be for women in early pregnancy who need more room but aren’t ready for maternity jeans. It seems to me that having some of these on hand could be very useful.

You can buy Hem Tape ($12) and Adjust-a-Button ($18) at Bristosl6.com or on Amazon.com.

xoxo Melina

Because we all own at least 10 pairs of jeans (and that is a conservative estimate girls – believe me, I know), not to mention jackets, vests and skirts, it’s important we know how to take care of our denim. We’ve spent all that money acquiring them, the responsible thing to do is to properly care for them. The MKIAs, with help from the June 2010 issue of InStyle magazine and some other reliable internet sources, are here to tell you how. Follow these easy steps to prevent the fading, shrinking and general demise of your denim:

1. Don’t wash them every time you wear them. The general rule of thumb is every four wears but the longer you can go the better. So if you only wear them for a few hours, you can count that as half a wear.

2. Protect the color by washing them inside-out. The color in denim washes off when it rubs against another material so doing this actually protects all your clothes.

3. Wash them in cold water and on the gentle or hand wash setting. If you are treating “jeggings”, it’s best to wash them by hand.

4. Ideally hang your denim to dry but if you don’t like the way they feel without a little fluff from the dryer – tumble dry on the lowest heat. Omitting the dryer cycle is most important for dark denim, as that is where the majority of fading occurs.

5. Taking it a step further, you can buy detergent designed to care for denim. Our recommendation is The Laundress Denim Wash, an eco-friendly and non-toxic rinse that gently softens the denim while preserving the color.

6. Before altering and hemming – wash and dry in a high temperature to maximize the shrinkage…especially for pant legs.

By following these guidelines, you will prolong the life of one of the most abundant and important elements of your wardrobe. We know you can’t live without them so we hope we’ve helped you learn to care for them.

xoxo Melina

Because these beauties are ad-free, you have to pay for them.  But who wants to send an invite or card with ads all over it anyway?  And with a bevy of online tools to communicate to your guests and manage your event, it’s simply the better choice.

They also offer memberships, perfect for the prolific party planner and/or someone who likes to send special cards for every occasion. While Cocodot gives you the same convenience as other online stationary outlets, no one can touch their sophisticated selection. So give your guests something to remember and send a Cocodot invite next time.

This picture of LL clearly demonstrates what can go wrong when trying out a faux tan. I recently had my very first spray tan and despite what I think were acceptable results, I wish I had some no nonsense, MKIA advice before going under that gun. So here it is, our first ever MKIA “how-to” post, based on my personal experience and some good advice I found online:

Go to a professional. There are two types of spray tan: the kind done in a booth with an automated machine and the kind done by a trained technician. You are essentially spray-painting your entire body for a week so this is something I would not entrust to a machine. A trained expert can make sure you are covered, literally. Go on yelp.com and look up your local spas to find who does it best. Pay attention to the reviews of the technicians themselves and the product the spa/salon uses.

Exfoliate until it hurts! Before your appointment, make sure to shower and use an exfoliant to remove dead skin and smooth out rough patches. Give extra attention to knees, elbows, hands and feet so that the color does not gather in cracks, which can give the appearance of aging skin.

Shave, shower, and moisturize right before your appointment. This should be done the morning of or right before your appointment as you should not shower until the day after you have your treatment. Most salons recommend waiting 8 – 10 hours before showering, but if you want the color to set-in properly, my tech says to wait overnight and then shower. Shaving cannot be done after, at least for a few days, so as not to remove the color. And moisturizing will leave your skin ready to receive the color.

Make sure you have a fresh mani/pedi. A spray-tan is not a perma-tan so remember that it does come off eventually and using chemicals or a scrub (such as during a mani/pedi session) removes color and will leave your skin looking patchy!  My advice would be to get a fresh mani/pedi the day of your spray tan.

Make sure you reach every angle, don’t assume that they will. Here is where I really wish I had that MKIA advice before my first experience. When you receive a “personal air brush tan” you stand in front of the technician wearing not much more than the g-string they give you.  Make sure you move the side straps of the panties around so that you don’t end up with any lines.  Your bathing suits and underwear are not going to be the same shape and you will end up with little lines instead of a smooth, seamless tan, which is what you’re paying for after all.  ALSO, and this is a big one, when the technician is applying the tan to your butt, make sure you lean forward and get under those cheeks!  You stand in different positions and that can cause skin to touch and areas can be missed.  You don’t want to lean over to grab your sunscreen and have your bum outlined with two white streaks!

Wear very loose clothing, that stuff is sticky. No one said beauty was easy.  Spray tanning leaves you feeling sticky and kind of dirty.  You don’t want to ruin any good clothes or wear something that will rub the color off.  So bring loose clothes that you don’t care about to wear after your treatment.

Don’t plan to do anything the day of… As I mentioned, you should not shower until the day after your spray tan.  This will leave you feeling a little sticky and a little darker than you will be after you finally shower.  So if you have an event or are planning a trip, make sure you give yourself a full 24 hours of recovery time before making your first appearance.

Sound like too much effort? Maybe so but the MKIAs agree it’s worthwhile for a special occasion or trip. I went to Miami in the dead of January with a healthy glow (not something you see very often in my otherwise cool Chicago neighborhood). I felt confident in my bikini the minute I arrived and never felt the need to subject my skin to extra sun just to fit in. So get your spray on and keep your skin safe!

They claim that a bowl of rice will do the trick.  According to the mag:  ”Dry any visible droplets, pop out the battery, and stick both the phone and the battery in a bowl of rice overnight. The rice will soak up most of the remaining moisture.”   Wow!  Amazing info for every type of MKIA, wether you’re an over ambitious multitasker or just plain clumsy, this kind of tip can keep your day from drowning!  Click here for a link to Real Simple’s explanation.

This habit (among many others) was passed on to me by my mother and I am certain many others could say the same. So when I saw this notepad and its smart, green design I thought I would start a new tradition and maybe you can too!

Yoyo Ceramics is a dynamic company founded by a female chemist. They create innovative and artistic designs for the everyday needs of your home. The Ceramic Notepad is a perfect example of their extremely functional yet surprisingly attractive creations.

Each comes with one pencil (or you can order a set with every color) to write on the ceramic with, which can be wiped or washed off easily. You can even throw it in the dishwasher! The hole through the top completes its cool, modern look and holds the pencil to keep the pen and pad together for convenient use.

While I still plan to keep my new notebook in the kitchen, I will make much better use of it and vow to leave my husband a cheesy love note every now and then. The best part? When I make my notes, I will no longer feel guilty about wasting paper!