Bull's Eye

Shop: Target Red Hot Shop. The" monthly dose of chic, unique and sometimes offbeat" products are a great one-stop online shop for everyone on your list. Because it's full of unique and sometimes exclusive gifts, you should hop fast if you see something you like because the best items sell out. Personally, I'm a big fan of the 8x10 Superdeluxe Art Prints.

Eat & Be Merry

Restaurant.com offers restaurant gift certificates at a steep discount, and now they have sweetened the deal by offer 80% through December 25th, 2009.  Just select the restaurant and the value of the card and apply the promo code "GIVE" at checkout. $25 gift cards end up costing you $2! Some minimum order and days of the week restrictions apply. There are over 200 restaurants participating in NYC and include A.O.C, Boom, Diva, Nero, FR.OG,  Hill Country, Village, to name a few. 

Spreading Joy to One and All

Want to send Christmas cards, but can't afford the postage? Check out someecards.com for clever and very witty illustrations and sayings. Some of my favorites; a birthday wish, "I bet your birthday would be a bigger deal this time of year if you were conceived by a virgin", or one of the Daily Candy exclusives,"May you never let the crumbling economy get in the way of fulfilling my Christmas list" They have more than just holiday cards - absolutely any occasion you can imagine has a clever witty e-card, even Fridays, "TGIF, motherfuckers"!

Go Bananas at Banana Republic

Shop: Want to shop full priced merchandise, but not pay full price? Go to any Banana Republic store today or tomorrow for $50 off an $125 purchase of full priced merchandise. See bananarepublic.com for store locations. 

Sample Sale: Meg Cohen Designs

Shop: With sample sales winding down, here's a great one for last minute cashmere Christmas gifts. At the Meg Cohen sample sale, buy beautifully, colorful cashmere hats ($45 normally $100), scarves ($60-$150 normally $125 - $375), gloves ($35 normally $75) fingerless gloves ($35 normally $65). See styles at megcohendesign.com. As it goes with most sample sales, the prices only get  better as the sale goes on. My advice - wait till the 18th or 19th to hit it up.  

Dec. 16 - 20 (11-7pm) @ 920 Broadway b/w 20th & 21st, suite 905. 

Best Biscotti Recipe

Bake: Whole wheat, white chocolate biscotti. My own special recipe. You probably already have most of the ingredients in  your cabinets and they make a great breakfast or snack or holiday gift. 

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup sugar 

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup white chocolate chips

4 tablespoons cold butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs, lightly beaten

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine sugar, whole wheat flour, baking powder and salt. Add butter and vanilla. Add white chocolate chips and eggs until dough is formed. Divide dough into three logs on pans.  Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and cut into diagonal 1" slices. Turn slices on sides and return to oven for 5-10 minutes. Let cool. Enjoy! 

The Great (Pressurized) Wall

It sounds intimidating and overwhelming, but it’s not. It’s practical, as it will seriously open up your options during the apartment hunt. Installing a wall allows you to consider apartments that have fewer bedrooms than roommates, in nicer neighborhoods or buildings, which you otherwise couldn’t afford. You can either divide the living room or master bedroom to create an extra bedroom. Depending on dimensions, a licensed an insured pressurized wall costs around $1,000 and takes a day to install. Below are some of the recommended companies and their websites. 

- Wall Creators, Inc. (wallcreators.com)

- The Wall People (thewallpeople.com)

- 1Wall2Rooms (1wall2rooms.com)

- Room Dividers (roomdividersny.com)

- Manhattan Pressurized (manhattanpressurizedwalls.com)

- WallZilla (wallzilla.com)

- Room Creators, LLC. (roomcreators.com)

Throw a Party: Warehouse Wines & Spirits

Shop: Warehouse Wines and Spirits, 735 Broadway, Greenwich Village. If you're looking to buy wine and liquor for yourself or for a party, the best deal is here. I was buying for a party this weekend and stopped in to find that the, appropriately named, warehouse style store sold every type of booze imaginable for the best prices in Manhattan.  For instance, a 1.75 liter - the big bottle - of Smirnoff was $21.99. The employees were incredibly helpful. In the course of my time there three different people helped and were super price sensitive. They even talked me out of a pricier rum, because it was being used in a punch.  Also note, that they deliver for free under 68th St when you purchase at least 12 bottles valued at $100+ (pre-tax). 

What's in a Name: Marc Jacobs for Less

Shop: Marc Jacobs Accessories, 385 Bleecker St in the West Village. Amongst all the Marc for Marc, for women, for men, for babies stores is an accessory store selling all types of accessories, all adorn with the MJ brand. The busy store often has a Magnolia-style line around the block on Saturdays, with a one-in, one-out bouncer policy, but sells everything from jewelry starting at $1 to umbrellas and rain boots for $10, canvas totes for $35 and much more. They even knock off their own quilted bags in vinyl, styles range cost in the $30s. The $5 metallic key chains make great present toppers. Certainly a great place to pick up gifts for label-whores. 

The Art of Survival

Once upon a time there was a girl who lived in a big house in the suburbs. She spent her summer days lounging around the pool or at the beach, until one day she found herself wandering around a concrete jungle. Now she is living in an apartment the size of her former bedroom, with a bedroom the size of her former closet.  This concrete jungle is New York City, and she wouldn’t trade her shoebox apartment in the West Village, for any mansion in the suburbs, well not yet at least. 

I have found so many ways to survive NYC in style, and these great little tips and secrets are worth sharing.  According to the The New York Times, "a recessionista is the new name for the style maven on a budget."  It takes some common sense and a lot of creativity but its easy to take advantage of all this city has to offer, and have the time of your life on the smallest budget of your life.