Not A Glass Slipper But It Still Fits

It's Actually Called the "Relax" Slipper.. Don't Mind If I Do

I’d like to share a tale about love, and shoes.

My mother, Laura Ramsey Engler, has had a particular pair of Donald J. Pliner leopard print bedroom slippers for a while now. Like, a really long while, perhaps inappropriately long in the world of slippers. But what could she do? She loves them deeply and could not be persuaded to try just any other sort of pair. Alas, after years of love, the slippers had fallen into desperate disrepair. Mom had tried to get them fixed, and had been laughed out of several shoe-repair stores. After all, there wasn’t even anything left to stitch together. My dad sneakily stepped in just before Valentine’s day and stole the decimated slippers. When he also realized this particular pair could not be salvaged, he went on a hunt. He was able to track down a lone new pair left over from the original stock (which is, as you’ll recall, years old!). He had them shipped in post-haste, and was able to present them to Mom on Valentine’s day.. her very own Prince Charming! (Insert the Awww’s here!)

Men have to “get” the need for shoes.

That just reminded me of another good shoe-story.. stay tuned!

Ring In The New Trend

Warning: Does Double Duty As Brass Knuckles On Stupid Boys

Ok NP’s, new trend alert. Well, old trend re-born, in any case. We are absolutely LOVING multi-finger rings. I even have one that goes on three fingers. but that one scares me a little. I feel like I can’t use my hand to its full potential, but it looks cute so who cares. The two finger rings are really different and we haven’t seen many girls rock the look yet so try it while its hot! Samantha and I both have the custom cut name ring made famous by LC, but we’re looking toward new, chunky, blingy styles. Choose your style carefully. Don’t overdo it like J.Lo who wore a two finger ring of the Brooklyn bridge- that’s a little too much.

Go for style that fits your look, and it will be a unique addition to your go-to charms. Not to mention- it deff comes in handy if you need to knock a girl out (NP does not condone violence. Unless she deserves it.) We have found some really cute and great priced two finger rings at Aldo shoe stores. Etsy is another good place to check out, for custom creations or things that you can’t find in stores.

Can I tell you a secret? Samantha’s working on some jewelry designs right now.. you might be able to wear some Nouveau Ring Bling sooner than you think.

XOXMichelle Madonna

Dancetastic

So a few months ago I wrote at length about my new dance pole purchase. Not only do I own and enjoy it (despite the serious slipperyness issue that comes with new X-poles), but I am enrolled in twice-weekly pole classes at Body & Pole in Soho. My instructor is AMAZING. Kyra has been dancing for basically her whole life, and she moves with so much strength and grace, plus, she’s fun and pretty so really she’s got it goin’ on!

Thusfar, I am happily covered in bruises, and learning tons of new things all the time. Currently, there is nothing sexy about this sport as it pertains to my participation. I make faces, hurt muscles, and fall over. That said, when I look at the intermediate and advanced girls who have been at it for six months, or a year, I get very excited for my future prospects. I am absolutely sticking to it. Check out Body & Pole in NYC, and tell them I sent you- after all, I could use an NP style discount or something!

Clean Up Your Act

Clean It Up

I hate scents. I don’t like anything to smell like anything. So, I have a very hard time choosing beauty products. No perfume for me, sorry Kim K, I’m sure your new eau de you is lovely, but scents give me headaches. Candles, cleaning products, lotions, almost anything that smells like anything other than clean human is just not going to work for me.

Also, my hair is mad at me because it’s winter. I understand that I could go get some Kerestase and be happy again, but my wallet would never forgive me. So, I went on a drugstore shampoo hunt. I do like the John Frieda line of products by hair color (and it is perhaps telling that I have the blonde, brunette, and redhead lines in my shower currently, since we all know I can’t keep one hair color for more than a few months!). The only problem is, anytime you get into a routine with hair products, you hit a plateau. Your hair gets used to it, or it builds up, and you need a new set of ingredients to clean out whatever muck has been left behind and restore you to life. So, starting at square one, I checked out everything the drugstore had to offer.

I came upon some unattractive, brown, squat and squarish bottles labeled as belonging to the North American Hemp Company. Upon further investigation I found that their product was natural, and free of almost all of the scary environment-killing and cancer causing ingredients found in salon shampoos. I took a sniff, and although it was lightly scented, I did not die, so I bought it. I chose the smoothing shampoo and conditioner, as I have no interest in volume, and I find that “moisturizing” is code for greasy and heavy. Each bottle was priced at about $10, although the conditioner was inexplicably on sale for %50 off.

I took them both home and experimented, and thus far, I am quite pleased. My hair came out light and clean, not frizzy or static-y, and after myself and Alexandra both doing a sniff-test, we feel it pretty much just smells like hair. My suggestion would be to go try it out, and save yourself a dose of chemicals- we already get more than enough of those through food and walking around outdoors.