An Unexpected Discovery

One of the nice things about Israel is that you never know what hidden treasures may lie just around the corner. Sure, wandering through the streets of Tel Aviv isn't quite the same as meandering down Madison Avenue or Bond Street. But if you keep your eyes open, you may just stumble across some unexpected finds.

This happened to me the other day when I was walking through the newly renovated "HaTahana" ("The Station") in Tel Aviv. "Hatahana" is the city's old main train station which sits just south of the Neve Tzedek neighborhood and north of Jaffa. The area has undergone renovation and restoration and is full of charming boutiques. It is a worthwhile pitstop to walk through, have a cup of coffee and shop.

While there, I came across a store called Hagar Satat, which designs jewelry made with leather. The pieces are beautiful, interesting and, most importantly, they are wearable. Among my favorites were rings with bands made from leather. They also have a great long necklace designed with leather and a crystals which can be worn either layered or very long for that flapper look. If you are looking for a little something for yourself or for a gift, the prices vary but are reasonable. I would highly recommend it to all your friends and family from abroad, as I am sure they will love it.

While the store has several locations, I recommend the one at "Hatahana". For further details, check out their website at: http://www.hagarsatat.com/

And while you are there, make sure to stroll around and enjoy this up-and-coming area. It is still a work-in-progress, with new shops slated to open in the future, but it makes for a nice afternoon.

The Perfect Glow

The perfect glow:

As a teen, there was nothing better than spending my time baking (or should I say burning) in the sun. Once the summer arrived I would launch a quest to get the best tan as fast as I could. So instead of slowly building a tan (which is also not healthy) I would head out, grab a lounge chair, smear on the oil and lie out for hours - moving only to do either the flip or dip. The flip, of course, was rotating from stomach to back and back to stomach every 20 minutes… as I did not want the rays to miss a single spot. The dip was jumping into the nearest body of water to cool off the burning sensation that was covering my frying skin. After a day of this I would get ready to go out, dressed in something white, with blue eye liner and silver lipstick to help enhance the color (blisters) all over my face.

Well, needless to say, those days are behind me and the era of avoiding the sun is here. I have come to terms with the white pale skin look . But for many of you that still want that “healthy glow” but know that spending too much time in the sun is damaging, you do have options:

Self-tanning cream: today's self tanners no longer make your skin orange, but be sure to pick a tint that will match your own skin tone.
Self-tanning sprays: similar to the cream but they are applied standing in a machine (remember Ross on "Friends"?) or a person can spray you manually.

Testing a small patch first is best. Also, do not forget to exfoliate all over to avoid streaking

shoplifter event

As promised, below are the details of the "shoplifters" next event. The information is in hebrew so here is a chance to test those ulpan skills

בעבר קיבלת מאיתנו הזמנות לאירועי אופנה כשבכל הזמנה חשפנו בפנייך מה מצפה לך כשתגיעי.
אז הפעם, לא רק לשם הגיוון אלא גם כדי להפתיע, לא נחשוף את כל הקלפים ורק נספר ברמיזה קלה...

חלל הבאוהאוס המוכר ברח' אחד העם 49 יעבור שינוי ויהווה תפאורה לאירוע חד פעמי שכולו בסימן יום כדור הארץ הבנילאומי ותרבות החיים האורגנית.
בתוך המיצג החד פעמי הזה תמצאי עולמות של אומנות, עיצוב, קולנריה וכמובן אופנה (דוקא לא אורגנית)של מעצבים/ות מובילים/ות אותם כבר הכרת באירועים שלנו. כל אלה יתחברו יחד לאירוע אחד שהוא סופ"ש של חוויה- עם נגיעה באג'נדה חשובה.

זה קורה מייד לאחר יום העצמאות, בסוף השבוע הבא בין התאריכים 22-24 באפריל ברחוב אחד העם 49 (פינת מזא"ה) בלב תל אביב. יש חניון ממול.

22/4- 12:00-22:00
23/4- 10:00-20:00
24/4- 11:00-21:00

כמכותב/ת שלנו,ניתנת לך אפשרות להגיע ל-V.I.P, יום לפני כולם, ביום רביעי, ה-21 באפריל החל מהשעה 14:00 (בתיאום מראש).
מצורפת הזמנה ובה כל הפרטים.
לפרטים נוספים או לתיאום הגעה ביום רביעי ניתן ליצור איתנו קשר בטלפון 054-6679799

*תתכונני לקיץ- יוצעו למכירה בגדי ים יפהפיים!

נשמח לראותך,
סופ"ש נעים
SHOPLIFTERS
ענת, ניצן וגילת
--
Anat Tal
SHOPLIFTERS
972-54-6679799

Sites to See

Suck in, stand straight and a smile would help.

What is this?

Sorry, you are not "20 something" anymore.

No comment!

New Sneakers!!

After Pesach, I spoke to several relatives and friends who live overseas and once again was reminded just how lucky I am to live in ISRAEL. Although Pesach is not an easy chag no matter where you live (in fact I think hotels should begin running 3 day packages for all of us out there who cleaned, prepared and cooked), the fact is that Pesach in Israel is easier. We have one seder, the holiday is only 7 days long, and you can easily go out for a bite to eat.

And now that Yom HaShoah, Yom HaZikron and Yom HaAtzmaut are here

I really love living in Israel.

That is, until I need to buy my children new sneakers. This may sound strange - that of all things, buying sneakers would make it to the top of my list, but it really does. First, the prices are ridiculous. Second, the selection is limited. Recently, when a salesperson brought out a number of sneakers in “girl” colors saying that is all they had, hoping to somehow fool my 12 year old into thinking that pink is now for boys, well.... he did not fool me and he certainly did not fool him!

Third, if the style and color have finally been picked then the issue of size nonetheless remains an issue. If the sneaker is too tight, they rip out the insole. If the sneaker is too wide then they pull the laces tighter, and if the sneaker is too long or too short they will always say it is perfect. I therefore try as best as possible to avoid buying sneakers here and wait until we are in New York. But as I am sure all of you out there are aware, an annual trip to the USA does not get you through the year.

So I took my son, who at this point was desperately looking and searching… and we ended up in the Adidas store at the Tel-Aviv port. When we walked in my son said “this is like NY”. Trying not to raise a pessimist, I agreed and said “it really does”, all the while thinking to myself: lets see what they try and ”sell us”.

Well, to my astonishment, the whole experience was a great success, starting with Shira a sweet, kind and patient salesgirl. Once a style was picked, she went in to the back, brought out what we wanted (along with other options), checked the fit on my son's foot, the correct way: the length, the width and had him walk around to make sure they were comfortable. I was really shocked.

So when another boy needed sneakers we went straight back to Shira at the Adidas shop and again, she was sweet, kind, and patient. Only this time when the size was not right, she went into the back to get the right size, and when they were all out, she suggested we order the right ones, no excuses, no stories … just professional.

Although the prices are still ridiculous, the selection and service were great.

Pessach Clean Up

It seems that all the basic rules about looking nice have gone out the window. The last few days I have been busy at home, organizing, sorting and cleaning. Pesach is around the corner and that means that spring cleaning is in full gear. Sure, bread crumbs may not be in the top cabinet in the guest room, but that did not stop me from climbing on a ladder and wiping it clean. So I do not know about you but…. I look and feel like I have been through the ringer.
I do not remember when I showered last (please do not tell my kids), I have been wearing the same dirty clothes all week (no point in making new ones dirty too), and my fingers are covered in band-aids.
Really, I am quite a sight to see! NO pictures will be included.

Fortunately, I will be cleaning up my act from head to toe.
Here are my recommendations where you can do the same. Some are near and some are farther, but all are worthwhile:

HAIR:
cut and color

Miki Burganim: 1 Pinchas Street, Tel Aviv: call for appointments: 03-546-3242

FACIALS:
anti- aging, deep cleaning etc.

Rinati: located in the Ramat Aviv medical center (adjacent to the Ramat Aviv shopping center) call for appointments: 052-682-8340
Or
Eti wolf: 35 Maskit Street Herzliya Pituach: call for appointments: 09-9577120

GENERAL BEAUTY:
eyebrows, waxing, manicures and pedicures

Smadar: 37 Keren Hayesod, Raanana: call for appointments: 052-382-8910
Or
Miri: 8 Anne Frank Street, Herzliya Hayeruka: call for appointments: 050-659-4409

Shoplifters

As Pesach approaches, many of us would like to have something new to wear for the holiday but either do not know where to go or are too busy to spend time searching through the stores.

But shopping here in Israel just got a whole lot easier thanks to “Shoplifters”. Don't be fooled by the name - this isn't some type of criminal enterprise!Shoplifters is a store/service, which offers a one-stop shopping experience for those of you without the time or the inclination to track down the clothes that you need.

Anat,Gilat and Nitzan started five years ago to bring clothing, shoes and accessories from various local and foreign designers together in one spot. Every 6 weeks or so, they introduce a new theme (when I went, the theme was Japanese, and it ranged from the flowery décor to the home goods being sold to the sushi that was served).

Shoplifters pulls together a fun, personal and enjoyable local shopping experience, and to top it all off there is great music and wine too.
Although I am not one for the public dressing rooms (the one draw back) I managed to find several items to buy.

Shoplifters events are by invitation- email only, so check back here for the upcoming event.