party planning

"i was ecstatic they re-named 'french fries' as 'freedom fries'. grown men and women in positions of power in the u.s. government showing themselves as idiots."

- johnny depp

french connection ribbon dress

hkd999

getting your party wardrobe ready for this year's round of christmas cocktails? french connection has this fabulous hervé léger-inspired knit number in electric blue (also available in black) for under hkd1,000. and great quality too. hurry while stocks last - S is already out.

belle du jour

"wore a victoria beckham dress for the first time yesterday - the derizet in black - and good lord, is that thing figure magic. not sure if it's worth the pricetag, but if anyone has a spare grand around and happens to be feeling generous.... a pair of red louboutins wouldn't go amiss either...."

- belle du jour

dr brooke magnanti (aka belle du jour) on no longer being anonymous: "looking back over my diaries is sometimes embarrassing, sometimes hilarious (often unintentionally so). after a page or two i'm right back there – living in london, keeping up a double life, with all the effort that entails.... which is just too difficult to do long-term. i suppose i always thought that the part of my life i wrote about would fade away, that i could stick it in a box and move on. totally separate it from the ‘real me’. what it took me years to realise is that while i've changed a lot since writing these diaries – my life has moved on so much, in part thanks to the things that happened then – belle will always be a part of me. she doesn't belong in a little box, but as a fully acknowledged side of a real person. the non-belle part of my life isn't the only ‘real’ bit, it’s ALL real. belle and the person who wrote her had been apart too long. i had to bring them back together. so a perfect storm of feelings and circumstances drew me out of hiding. and do you know what? it feels so much better on this side. not to have to tell lies, hide things from the people i care about. to be able to defend what my experience of sex work is like to all the sceptics and doubters. anonymity had a purpose then – it will always have a reason to exist, for writers whose work is too damaging or too controversial to put their names on. but for me, it became important to acknowledge that aspect of my life and my personality to the world at large. i am a woman. i lived in london. i was a call girl. the people, the places, the actions and feelings are as true now as they were then, and i stand behind every word with pride. thank you for reading and following my adventures. love, belle."

calendar girls

"i'd consider it - why not? i don't know if it would be very impressive, though."

- james blunt on posing for the pirelli calendar

the infamous calendar, now in it's 37th year, is only available as a corporate gift to pirelli's exclusive customers and vips each year. 2010's version was launched in london on friday and now the images are available to you via get away nasty baby. the sloth is actually kind of cute.

your signature pose

"actually, my grandma's brother's name was blake, and my sister wrote it down when she was reading a family tree. and they said, 'if it's a boy, we'll name him blake, and if it's a girl, we'll name her blakely.' and everybody thought i was going to be a boy, and then i came out and i was a girl. and they had already been calling me blake for months because they were positive i was going to be a boy. and they had been calling me blake for so long, they just kept it."

- blake lively on the origins of her name

just like your chicken scratch defines who you are on paper to the legal world, your stance on the red carpet/at company annual dinners/during random drunk nights out is the photographic characterization and record of who you are. blake has fine-tuned hers to T - legs shoulder-width apart, hand on hip, slight tilt of the head. this is great for showing of her toned, endless pins, keeping the upper arms flab-free and using her long, blonde mane to best effect. in addition to all this, it makes for an interesting photograph as she is not simply symmetrical from top to bottom (which is traditionally what the human eye finds attractive). have you got one? you need one. go and get one today.

chinese tonic soup

"only the pure in heart can make a good soup."

- ludwig van beethoven

chinese wild yam -

淮山

("wai san")

promotes muscle growth and repairs worn-out tissue

lotus seed -

蓮子

("lien zi")

can stop sweating, palpitations, anxiety and insomnia

wolfberries - 杞子 ("gei zi")

natural supplement for improving eyesight and liver

fox nuts - 芡實 ("chi sut")

beneficial to the kidneys and enhances sperm production

as the weather cools, the only thing that can warm right to the freezing core seems to be a hot bowl of chinese tonic soup. one of my all time favourites is "wai san, lien zi, chi sut" with lean pork shin.

1. rinse a handful of wai san, a quarter of a handful of lien zi, half a handful of gei zi (i use double this as i LOVE gei zi), half a handful of chi sut and six pieces of dried conch meat in cold water. set aside.

2. place the pork shin in a pot of cold water. turn the cooker on. watch the water come to a boil. switch off the cooker. strain away the water and quickly rinse the meat. repeat this process two more times. it is important the water in the pot is cold to start with so that the impurities (blood residue) is forced out of the meat - hot water to start with will not achieve this.

3. place all of the above ingredients into a large (the largest you have) pot of boiling water. boil for two hours on low heat then leave to seep for two hours. reboil before serving.

black story

"the world goes up and the world goes down, the sunshine follows the rain; and yesterday's sneer and yesterday's frown can never come over again."

- charles kingsley

miss juliette nuit

hkd3,990

miss juliette bracelet

hkd3,390

miss juliette croc

hkd1,820

miss juliette satin

hkd1,280

forget your hunters - it's time to invest in a pair of aigle's black story limited edition miss juliette functional rain boots. get to festival walk or times square fast (they are only available at these stores). how great would these look in the snow!!

nic's dress

"what's the point of doing something good if nobody's watching?"

- nicole kidman

contrary to many bloggers' comments, i do not think this l'wren scott dress flatters nicole kidman. l'wren scott often dresses her in beautiful columns but this one just doesn't fit properly up top.

byo top day

"i had literally starved myself for four months - not a morsel of food - to get into that pair of size 10 calvin klein jeans."

- opera winfrey

it was "byo top day" at ck jeans as creative director, kevin carrigan, decided to focus on the denim and nix anything else so as to remove any hint of distraction at the ss10 presentation. how long can one hold their arms up for though?

nobody

luella ceases trading

"i refuse to believe that trading recipes is silly. tuna fish casserole is at least as real as corporate stock."

- barbara grizzuti

luella bartley on her label's cease in trading due to club 21's decision not to invest further: "this is a very disappointing situation for everyone involved with the brand…. i very much appreciate the support that vsq [club 21's subsidiary] has given me, but it is upsetting not to be able to protect jobs in this difficult economic climate. we have a number of options open to us, and are considering these over the coming months."

the armadillos make an appearance

artistic direction?

"i am happy being able to play roles with people my age because once you do something really mature there is no turning back."

- lindsay lohan

emanuel ungaro on lindsay lohan's first catwalk collection with his namesake brand which was unveiled in paris in october and subsequently panned by the international fashion press: "lindsay lohan's collaboration was a disaster. i am furious but i can't do anything about it. that happens to a lot of designers. we were the creators and patrons, responsible for the creation and destiny of our houses. but when we gave up our houses, we gave up our souls."

the skirts have it

"these beads are just a little too plastic. we don't do anything that is at least glass."

- scott tepper

balmain fw09

get your forever21 jezebel beaded skirt for usd27.80 now!!

believe in your product

"i know that you believe you understand what you think i said, but i'm not sure you realise that what you heard is not what i meant."

- robert mccloskey

vitamin guys drinking vitamin water. believe in yourself, believe in your product. way to go, guys.

non va bene

"what is the definition of a good wine? it should start and end with a smile."

- william sokolin

two girlfriends and i went for dinner at va bene in lan kwai fong on friday night. the food wasn't great - linguine alla vongole a little soft and braised lamb shank a little dry - but it wasn't terrible so we thought "whatever." as the cheese platter was served and we were finishing the last sips of our barolo cannubi 2003 (@hkd1,075), one of us discovered a mystery string of something-something in our glass. though the maître d’ refused to comment on the issue after we questioned him, he did send the BARTENDER over to placate us with: "even though i have never before seen this in my career, it must be residue." and whilst my girlfriends and i are by no means sommeliers, the three of us do have our WSET level one certificates and found this not only unacceptable from a bottle of barolo, but irresponsible on the part of the manager who sent a subordinate in his place. needless to say, the evening did not end in smiles.

lovely lashes!!

michelle on work and babies

"i've already got the script. i've read a bit of it but i still don't know if i'll have any romantic scenes with jackie [chan]."

- michelle reis

former miss hong kong, michelle reis, was extremely gracious in answering the prying questions of the press after the ed hardy event at prive tonight. on family life and her in-laws: "they always encourage me to put career first. for instance, if we are having dinner and i have to leave early because i have a work commitment, they never give me pressure. i am very blessed to have such understanding in-laws who offer me such professional freedom. they do not expect me to have children either. if kids come, then that would be great, but since they have grand and great-grand children already, they are not too bothered. i am very lucky and do not live the life of a 'tai-tai' as you all perceive."

farmer liz

"to the paparazzi: why don't you all go and f*** yourselves up the a*se."

- liz hurley

now liz hurley can add "farmer" to her resume. five years ago, she bought a farm in gloucestershire and started to raise a rare breed of gloucester cattle, all the while putting the farm under conservation. today, it has full organic status and supplies to butchers and restaurants in the area. not only that, she is launching her own line of organic fruit (strawberry & cherry, orange & cranberry) and oat (banana & chocolate and orange & chocolate) bars as well as beef jerkey. all of her products are organic and certified by the soil association with some (not all) of the ingredients coming off her farm. go, liz.

mrs b has a new 'do

"when i met david beckham, i didn't know whether to shake his hand or lick his face."

- robbie williams

mrs b has grown out her edgy bob into a softer, curlier look. love it and her rick owens tank/dvb jeans/louboutin maggies plus son-in-husband's-arms combo.

stella for gap kids