ShopEatSleep

SALT. "Clark" glasses. Courtesy of Dan Deutsch.

It’s that time again — Junior Drake is getting rid of inventory and is having a sale at its warehouse this weekend. Get bags for as low as $39.95. You know the drill: spend $150, get a free gift, enter the raffle to win a handbag and eat free snacks.

740 E. 60th St.
Los Angeles, CA 90001

March 11 and 12, 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
March 13, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

SALT. (yes, the period is part of the name) optics is having a trunk show at Dan Deutsch Optical Outlook in West Hollywood this Saturday. Shop the entire line, including the new spring/summer 2011 releases, which will be available for fitting. Enjoy refreshments and a live DJ.

Dan Deutsch Optical Outlook
8555 Sunset Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90069

March 12, 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Candela oxfords at Gossamer

During the whole month of February, ShopEatSleep readers get 20 percent off at Gossamer, a new-ish clothing and accessory boutique on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice. The store reminds me of Anthropologie but cozier — and definitely more local. Mother-and-daughter team Gwen and Ash Heier opened the shop back in September and offer everything from Michael Stars to Black Orchid denim to Daftbird. And in keeping with the local and homey aesthetic, the store features a living wall of plants and furniture from neighboring AK vendors. To get your 20 percent off coupon to use in-store, email thegirls@gossamershop.com with “ShopEatSleep – 20% off” in the subject line.

Gossamer
1410 Abbot Kinney Ste. 101
Los Angeles, CA 90291

1960s Pierre Cardin dress. From The Way We Wore.

Check out these sales from retail neighbors The Way We Wore and American Rag Cie. Both will be in effect through the end of January.

The Way We Wore: The consummate vintage store is selling everything on its first floor at 50 percent off. Find pieces from from Sonia Rykiel, Christian Dior, and Pierre Cardin, as well as other choice items from lesser-known labels, according to Racked L.A.

334 S. La Brea Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90036

Abandoned Treasures pop-up shop: Located across the street from American Rag, this special sale offers clothing, shoes, accessories, furniture and books for at least 50 percent off. Find items from American Rag’s warehouse, including Christian Lacroix, Rag & Bone, Helmut Lang and Comme des Garçons.

159 S. La Brea Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90036

Monday through Saturday, 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Swatch's Full Blooded "Blueberry" watch. From Kenmar Watches.

Did you get something this holiday season you’d like to return? An ugly, though expensive, sweater? A useless, though pricey, fountain pen? Maybe you’d like to return it and buy something you’d actually like. If I were you, I would consider the Full Blooded watch ($150 to $165) from Swatch. No longer just a novelty brand (remember those rubbery things that came in different colors that you could use to jazz up your wrist watches?), Swatch now offers pretty good-looking watches for grown ups. This bold purple (“blueberry”) one caught my eye, though I also like the caramel color, which looks more like rose gold to me. Either way, I’d be happy. What are you returning/exchanging your unwanted gifts for?

From Bacon Today.

L.A.’s favorite hot dog: Farmer John has a fundraising campaign aimed at making the bacon-wrapped hot dog Los Angeles’ official wiener, and more importantly to donate food to local food banks. Between now and election day on Nov. 2, you can vote at www.votelahotdog.org, and for every signature collected in support of the bacon-wrapped hot dog, Farmer John will make a donation of 1 pound — up to 50,000 pounds — to local food banks. You know you’ve had your fair share of danger dogs after a late-night of debauchery, so a simple click to submit your vote and help food banks shouldn’t be too hard, right? Oh, and here’s Farmer John’s recipe for making your own bacon dog.

Macy’s Culinary Council: Macy’s in Pasadena is hosting James Beard Award-winning chef, restaurateur and author Takashi Yagihashi of Takashi restaurant in Chicago. He’ll be at Macy’s on Lake Avenue Oct. 7 to talk about his favorite recipes and gourmet techniques, as well as sign copies of his cookbook, which will be available for purchase the day of the event. You don’t need a reservation, but seating will be limited to the first 200 people. And a suggested $5 donation to benefit the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank will be collected at the door.

Macy’s
Furniture Department, Level 3
401 S. Lake Ave.
Pasadena, CA 91101
Oct. 7, 6:30 p.m.

Pinkberry’s 100-store celebration: To celebrate the milestone of opening its 100th store, Pinkberry is holding a contest called “100 Stores, 100 Ways,” inviting Pinkberry fans to share favorite ways and places to enjoy the tangy froyo. To enter, you’ll have to explain in 100 words or less your favorite Pinkberry combinations, creative ways to eat Pinkberry and how Pinkberry has played a part in your life. Those 100 words could be in the form of a story, poem or song, and optional Flickr photos and YouTube videos can accompany the submission, too. The grand prize winner will receive a $1,000 Pinkberry VIPink Card, and 10 first-place winners will each get $50 Pinkberry gift cards.

Blogger Prom: This year’s Blogger Prom, dubbed Hollywood Confidential, is taking place this Wednesday, Sept. 22, at Yamashiro restaurant. Since I’m on the planning committee, I haven’t been posting on ShopEatSleep as often as I usually do — an event as big as Blogger Prom takes a lot of work! There’s going to be all kinds of fun stuff, including good eats from Chef Brock at Yamashiro, tastings from Barrie Lynn The Cheese Impresario, Coolhaus, Crumbs Bake Shop and other yummy and generous sponsors. There will be giveaways and gift bags galore, so if you’ve received an invitation and haven’t responded yet (this is an invite-only event!), do it now! You won’t want to miss this.

Pinkberry: The ever-present purveyor of tart frozen yogurt is now offering a take-home container that holds the equivalent of five small servings (prices range from $9.95 to $10.95, depending on the store). You can also purchase toppings to go for $1.95 per container, too. I’m not too sure how the froyo would hold up if placed in a home freezer, but I guess it could work if you were having a party and were planning on eating it soon. The fruit bowl is also a new offering; from the description, it sounds like a reverse cup of froyo, with mostly fruit topped with what Pinkberry is calling Swirly Whip, which is made from the Original tart flavor.

Eat, Breathe, Shop at FIG, Fred Segal Couture and Exhale: Spend more than $500 at Fred Segal Couture and get a complimentary week at Exhale Spa in the Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows as well as a complimentary FIG Fit breakfast at the hotel’s FIG Restaurant. The FIG Fit menu features health-conscious items such as scarlet quinoa with diced apples, and house-made power bars blended from dates, acai, gogi, pomegranate and hemp seeds. Exhale combines fitness and movement with spa and healing therapies, and if you sign up for one of Exhale’s memberships, you’ll get a $100 credit to Fred Segal Couture. It’s a pretty nice cycle.

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Ximena Valero, an L.A.-based fashion designer whose signature is the convertible piece wearable in myriad ways. While there are other brands that offer the same idea, Valero’s is the first I’ve actually seen up close and tried on. In fact, she gifted one of her OMG dresses to me, and I’m very excited to wear it. I’ve played around with it, but I haven’t had a chance to actually wear it out because it’s really long — built for leggy models, I guess. So until I can find a pair of suitable platforms, I’ll have to settle for studying this video that demonstrates all the different ways I could wear the dress. Fun!

Once in a while, you get some great products in an event gift bag, and you just have to write about it. Such was the case with the Star Chefs gift bag, which included a couple of really cool eco-friendly products that I’ve been obsessing over ever since.

Further: This company makes soap, lotion and candles out of the glycerin derived from distilled biofuel. According to the company’s website, Further co-owner and founder Marshall Dostal found himself with gallons of glycerin left over from making biofuel out of used vegetable oil he picked up from L.A. restaurants. His wife and business partner, Megan, saw all this glycerin and said, “You need to get this sh*t out of our house!” (OK, I have no idea if that part is true, but that’s my interpretation of the website’s “walked into the garage and became alarmed at what her husband had accumulated.”) And so Further was born.

I got a bottle of the hand soap and was immediately excited. Ever since my fiance, Rory, started working on his documentary Toxic Soup, which describes the ill effects of chemicals in almost everything we use, own, eat, etc., we have been more conscious about the stuff we put on and in our bodies. Since Further is made in an eco-friendly manner from something that would have been thrown away, is biodegradable, was not tested on animals and doesn’t contain chemicals (the scent comes from essential oils), I realize I had hit the green jackpot! The scent is great, too — made from bergamot, olive and exotic grasses, it’s unisex and not overwhelming. The only thing I wish were different about it is the price: soap and lotion retail for $12.50 each, and the candle goes for $24. Being green isn’t cheap, but this stuff would make great gifts.

VerTerra: This company makes disposable dishware out of fallen leaves from trees in south Asia. According to the company, these leaves would be burned usually, so this is another waste-turned-useful product. The leaves then have steam, heat and pressure applied to them to make them into plates and bowls without any glue. Considering how well these products hold liquids, I was shocked to learn that there was no glue holding them together. VerTerra naturally composts in two months, so you can toss them guilt-free. And they’re pretty cool-looking, too!

BoConcept's ottoman bed. From Apartment Therapy.

This Memorial Day weekend, BoConcept, the urban design home furnishings store, is having a tax-free sale on all purchases from May 28 to May 31. And through June 15, the brand’s functional furniture, including sleeper sofas, extendable dining tables, functional coffee tables and more, is on sale. This ottoman (regularly $499; on sale for $429) actually folds out into a single bed — ingenious!

BoConcept has stores in Santa Monica and San Diego, as well as two locations in San Francisco. There are stores all over the country, so check the website for details.