NYC, take a cue from SF on this one

Most of us don't have cars in this city. Frankly, just the thought of it may stress you out, as it does us. Finding parking is probably the number one issue, and everyone who pours into the city from Jersey and Long Island on the weekends ends up paying an arm and a leg in various parking garages around Manhattan.

Well, San Francisco definitely falls right behind or next to NYC in the parking issue- strict parking regulations make it just as impossible to find decent parking. Fortunately for our West Coast comrades, there's a new website called GottaPark, that is trying to solve this modern day vehicle dilemma. 

You log in, put your location in, dates, and the amount of time you want to park. GottaPark pulls up likely spots around your location. Then you pick the spot you want online, reserve it and print out the confirmation. The coolest part about this is that many of these parking spaces are owned by San Francisco residents; they rent out parking spots and get paid through PayPal! How sweet is that?! 

We're not sure if this could be applicable to Manhattan residents but the other boroughs could definitely take a cue from SanFran on this one..

We are all merely toys

Who didn't love legos as a kid?

We remember many an afternoon creating towers, skyscrapers and other tall contraptions with the multi-colored blocks. (Perhaps we subconsciously knew we were meant to be in the Big Apple one day?)

The DailyBeast Media Gallery features British photographer Mike Stimpson, who has spent most of his career recreating images from some of the world's most famous and iconic photographs with his favorite childhood toy.

A couple of our favorites were his 'Lunch atop a Skyscraper', an iconic representation of the Great Depression, as well as 'VJ Day Times Square', an image that we have all seen on teenagers' walls since the 1940's.

So cute, right? We thought these were great, but a couple of the images like Tiananmen Square and Viet Cong were a little distasteful. We're all for creativity and breaking boundaries, but recreating those horrific images was a bit too much in our opinion , even in LegoLand.

Time to keep it real

The above photo from Glamour's September issue has caused quite a stir. As we can see, 'plus-size' model Lizzie Miller has a glorious smile on her face, and not much clothing going on. The discussion, though, is centered around the tiny amount of 'flab' on her stomach that would usually be airbrushed and completely non-existent.

Both the NYPost and thesartorialist have raised room for discussion re: the above photograph, and we wanted to get in on it also. How do you feel about this photo? Do you think it's a small step for the fashion industry? Do you think that since she's not on the cover, it still doesn't mean much? How do you think this will play into trends in the future? Do you want to see more women like this, or do you like the fantasy world of Amazon-like women that the industry supports? We have seen the words "real woman" thrown around on other discussion boards....how do you feel about that? Isn't everyone a real woman, regardless of size/shape/color? Could we ask any more questions??

Tell us what you think!

Photo pulled from nypost.com

Glitterati chowing down around NYC

This week, we had celebs wining and dining all around the city as usual, and we bring you their whereabouts, courtesy of NYMag.

For the week of August 23, 2009

Ballato: Rihanna ate with L.A. Reid before heading to Greenhouse.

Cafe Gitane: Michelle Williams ate outside with friends.

The City Bakery: Uma Thurman let her kids sample the macaroni and cheese while they waited in line.

Dojo: Debra Messing dined at the NYU hangout.

Dos Caminos: Drew Barrymore ate enchiladas.

Gemma: Cameron Diaz and some female friends sipped white wine.

Jean Georges: Muhammed Ali allegedly read a fan's mind over dinner.

Pastis: Rachel Bilson and Hayden Christensen dined outside before heading to the Gansevoort Hotel.

Saint Ambroeus: Whitney Port giggled while eating outside.

The Smith: Chelsea Clinton ate an egg-white omlette with her boyfriend, Marc Mezvinsky.

The Standard Grill: Hugh Grant wooed his date.

We, personally, would have loved to share a some wine with Cameron, have our mind read by Mr. Ali, or have Hugh whisper sweet nothings in our ear all night! What about you?

Photos pulled from People.com

The hotspots to hit up

Hooray! The weekend is almost upon us. It looks like it may be a rainy one, but there's no reason not to live it up tonight, tomorrow and/or Sunday for that matter-

Thanks to BBMag, we have compiled a list of the best places to grab a drink or see and be seen throughout the weekend. Here's a list of parties to go to over the next three days- and well into the week, if you're feeling like a boozy socialite:

Friday:

The Standard Beer Garden and The Standard Grill (Meatpacking): It's well on its way to becoming one of the 'standard' spots for anyone in the fashion and art crowd. Great for a leisurely cocktail at the beginning of the night.

Saturday:

BB tells us to check out Von in Noho. "It isn't the upstairs bar we're after, but what's hidden below it. Try to find it while it's still mythical," they tell us. We haven't been yet, but we will certainly let you know once make a visit!

Sunday:

Post drunk-brunching, keep your buzz going and go downtown to Greenhouse (Soho/Tribeca) or Goldbar (Nolita), where DJs spin good dance music all night.

Rest of the week:

Monday:

Le Souk (East Village) has just made a comeback, but we know its Monday night parties will be back in full swing, with three levels of different music and a truly eclectic crowd.

Tuesday:

Good old Rose Bar (Gramercy Park) is still hot on Tuesday nights, and the new Avenue (Chelsea), with Todd and Angelo at the door (and Wass from Marquee!), is becoming a combination of Beatrice/Socialista.

Wednesday:

1Oak (Chelsea) had Rihanna visit last Wednesday, and its mega-club feel hasn't swayed patrons- the crowd remains (for the most part) hot and so is the fact that surprise performers drop by more than occasionally.

Thursday:

Touted as the savior of nightlife, The Jane Ballroom (West Village) has taken the trend-seeking world by storm. Any night is a good night to visit Jane, but Thursdays are special (one day away from Friday) so we feel it's appropriate.

Dress in your trendiest (grab some tips from Lookbook!), try not to spend 10 grand like this guy, and have a fabulous weekend. Tell us where you went!

P.S. We have just received word from NYMag that The Griffin in the Meatpacking is now closing, after its short-lived run of 3 months. R.I.P. Griffin.

Photo pulled from guestofaguest.com

Venezuela pageant boot camp

Congratulations to Miss Venezuela ,Stefania Fernandez, for winning the Miss. Universe title last week!

This happens to be the second year the Venezuela has won the pageant, as Dayana Mendoza was crowned Miss Universe in 2008.

So it would be appropriate to assume that maybe South America is birthing beautiful babies who turn into pageant queens? According to BlackBook Mag and other various sources, Venezuela is quite obsessed with beating the pageant system- at all costs, "because winning pageants for Venezuela is like winning gold medals for China" (BBMag). The beauties are forced to go through a rigorous boot camp before getting to the stage. Some torturous activities include:

* Thousands of girls enter the Miss Venezuela competition and those who are chosen go to Osmel Sousa's "Miss Venezuela Academy", a beauty school in the mountains. The contestants are coached in fitness, speech, makeup, and modeling.

* The students' teachers are supposed to 'make them perfect'. Contestants go, go, go from eight in the morning to ten at night and the ones who are headed for international competitions have to stay for one year. One contestant said, "its exactly like a military school"

* Contestants are told to lose 20 pounds. They eat tuna, pineapple and green leaves, and must run, lift weights, hike, swim and do yoga every day. Weigh-ins are at the end of every week.

* Because plastic surgery is relatively cheap in this country, many contestants get nose jobs, liposuction and breast implant. The beauty school employs dental docs who have been known to cut girls' gums so that their teeth look bigger.

Ouch. That all sounds excruciatingly painful...and frankly, just way too much work. Even reading about those girls' fitness regiment makes us exhausted. Now if you could excuse us, we are going to grab a donut and then take a siesta. Adios!

N.E.R.D. is adding a 'she'

NYMag tells us that N.E.R.D., the Pharell-run rock/funk/hip-hop group, is planning to add a female R&B singer to their group. If this really takes, we are definitely going to see similarities with the Black Eyed Peas; before Fergie was around, the group didn't have any strength on the Billboard charts. But since then, they have definitely become annoying radio staples who spell way too much in their songs.

N.E.R.D., for all of our sakes, please don't let your new girl spell out every word she comes across. Otherwise it will just be plain A-N-N-O-Y-I-N-G for us all.