Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban

I haven't been one to dish on celebrities in this blog. I think that Nicole Kidman is a class act for her dignity as her marriage to Tom Cruise collapsed, her unwillingness to badmouth him afterwards no matter how nutty he got, and her bucking leftist politics in Hollywood to sign a petition condemning terrorism caused by Hamas and Hezbollah. I've read that she retains, in addition to her stylists and everyone else who makes her look good, a UCLA professor to teach her about the Old Testament. A mix of beauty and intellectuality - now that's the life I'd like to have!

I was happy to learn that she remarried, and today I was disappointed to learn about her new husband Keith Urban's substance abuse. He has checked himself into rehab. My best wishes to Nicole Kidman as Keith Urban goes through rehab.

Shop ETC is no more

Shop ETC. ceased publication with its October 2006 issue.

Looking for Shop ETC on the newstand? Then read this notice from its publisher Hearst Magazines:

Due to the challenging economy and rising paper and postal costs, SHOP Etc. will be discontinued after the October issue. more

My first impression of Shop ETC is that it was a blatant rip-off of Lucky. However, Shop ETC. began to grow on me, and I became a subscriber.

Frankly, I'm surprised that Shop ETC lasted as long as it did (about two years). While its graphic design was ho-hum compared to Lucky, I did find individual items of interest in its pages, like this Spanx "Tight-End" Tights Five-Day-a-Workweek set.

PS Rising paper costs??!! Then why I am getting more unsolicited mail-order catalogues than ever?

This I couldn't pass up ...

In France, croquembouche, a tower of profiteroles, or cream puffs, is serving at weddings as we might serve wedding cake.


croquembouche

In Ukraine, pastry chef Valentyn Shtefano created his fiancee's gown out of cream puffs so that she looks like a croquembouche:


And the bride wore croquembouche ...

Goth candlesticks for Halloween

The end of this month is Halloween, and here are two candesticks with a great goth vibe for Halloween:


Klein Reid Black Bisque Candlestick - the "candle" may be replaced by one of your own.


dl & co. 'claw' porcelain candle holder by douglas little

Ch-ch-changes

I am now enrolled in a doctoral studies program. Between my studies and regular job, I have precious little time to devote to this blog.

However, I'm trying to provide fresh content everyday through ThisNext - just look for the ThisNext "badge" under SHOPPING in the left-hand navigation bar everyday or visit ThisNext by thestylepage and vote on your favorite reviews and lists by The Style Page.

I'm also interested in guest writers who can provide content for those areas of interest to The Style Page: fashion, beauty, interior decorating, and media.