Dear Readers,


Happy St. Patrick's Day!  Given that it is the middle of the weekend for most of my readers, I wish you fun and "the luck o' the Irish" tonight.  I have a full day of work tomorrow, so I'll be moderating my intake this evening ... That's not a joke ... No really ... Ok, I might be having a quick pint or two with friends, but that's all ... I think ...


Rosa is still on her girl's trip to Istanbul, so I thought I'd quickly submit another posting in my blog.  I did receive a question about what's hot on my playlist right now, so I thought I would provide a link in the beginning of each blog posting to a song which I like.  Those readers who want the full experience can start the song in the background while they read the blog entry.


By the way, dear readers, so that you don't have the impression that ALL cool things are masculine, this entry is dedicated to Rosa, my female readers, and some of Rosa's cool things.  So, consider this one to be for the ladies ...


Let me know how you like the new musical addition.


Enjoy the read!




Musical Interlude:


My selection for this posting is "Cold Water Music" by Aim.  This song is classic European lounge chill-out.  The woman's voice is singing the lyrics "Vodka made me cool", which could actually be a line in my obituary some day!  Enjoy this song as you read the remainder of the entry ...


http://youtu.be/KTyP2UgyHsU


Section 1: Cool [Women's] Things for Under $10:


I've been with Rosa for 20 years now (married for 17 years; three of the best years of my life!) and I wish I had a dirham (or quarter, or 10p coin, etc.) for each time I heard those special four little words, "Are my teeth clean?"  Rosa is paranoid about something sticking in her teeth so I am asked this question literally after every meal, snack and even cup of tea with a biscuit!  So my entry for this first section is for disposable toothbrushes... Rosa puts these in her bag when we are out and, if I tell her there is something in her teeth, then she runs off to the toilet in the restaurant to use these handy little devices.  To be clear, if there is just one glass of wine left in the bottle, I'm liable to tell her that there is something in her teeth just so that she'll run off to brush her teeth while I bogart the last glass.

This topic reminded me of something my dad always used to say... My dad always used to say that there was one question that every husband should always dread -- and it has nothing to do with teeth.  He said that this question is the worst possible question to to be asked by your wife because there is absolutely, positively no way to answer this question correctly.  Dad claimed that scientists have studied this question for centuries and NO HUSBAND has ever developed an answer to this fundamental question that is acceptable.  In fact, dad would break out into a cold sweat just thinking about my mother asking him, "Honey, does this dress make my ass look big?"  Dad was a wise man ...




Section 2: Cool [Women's] Things for Under $100:

I'm cheating a little on this entry because it is only below $100 if you buy the 50ml bottle (pictured above).  Rosa prefers the 400ml version with the cut glass stopper which, to be honest, is about $500.  This is the new super hot scent from Tom Ford.  It is supposed to be unisex but I find that pretty hard to believe.  None the less, it smells fantastic (at least on Rosa).  There are about 10-12 different scents from Tom Ford in this range but most of them aren't good.  Neroli Portofino one is not very good ... it is GREAT!  By the way, I also like their magazine ads (pictured below) -- or at least the top half anyway:

Section 3: Cool [Women's] Items or Under $1000:

Rosa loves her designer shoes ... and one of her current favourites is Christian Louboutin.  This brand of women's shoes is instantly recognisable by their blood red sole -- and rather high heels.  By the way, Tom Ford's store at the Dubai Mall is immediately opposite the Christian Louboutin store -- how handy for you male readers when you are shopping in Dubai!  I love it when Rosa wears these shoes because other women instantly hone in on the red sole -- pretty cool!  


I cannot write about women's shoes without telling you dear readers about Rosa's obsession with a particular pair of Jimmy Choo shoes.  She must have four or five pairs of this exact same shoe (pictured below) in various locations around the world.  I know she has a pair in Abu Dhabi and a further pair in Cyprus (plus a second pair in Cyprus in nude colour).  I am pretty sure she has at least two pairs in London -- one with a slightly damaged heel that resulted from  a late night party session with her girlfriends in Las Vegas.  Then, she recently bought the same shoe in red which is floating somewhere around the world.  I tell everyone, "Rosa's obsessions are not evil, and generally not dangerous (at least to others), but they ARE expensive!"  Still, this obsession (like most of Rosa's) is nothing if it is not super-cool!

Section 4: Cool [Women's] Things When Money Doesn't Matter:

Almost every woman in the world has a built in affection for the colour "Tiffany Blue" especially if it is the colour of a box (husbands take note: the larger the box the better).  I firmly believe that this affection is genetic and it must be part of the general heritage of all women in the world.  I know that Rosa has this gene hard-wired into the fondest portion of her brain, but even my Kansas-born, seventy-something year old mother can instantly recognise a Tiffany Blue box!  Of course, just like with men (I tell Rosa jokingly), "its what's on the inside that counts ..."  So, when money is not really an object and a reader wants to be a little extravagant, I recommend Tiffany Pink Diamonds.  Pictured below are the princess cut earrings, which are the right colour, but I opted for the 0.5 Carat (each) solitaire cut diamonds.  Pink diamonds are apparently the rarest, which makes them the most expensive.  None the less, they are undeniably feminine and undeniably cool!  By the way, Rosa lost one of her earrings on an airplane ... I must replace those sometime!

Section 5: My Favourite [Women's] Places:

In keeping with the theme of this posting, I'm still writing about cool things for women, so my entry for this section is a place that I've never been.  In fact, I'm not allowed to enter beyond the foyer of the building.  This is the women's only Sanctuary Day Spa in Covenant Garden in London.  Stressed-out female bond traders, bored executive housewives and relaxing female celebrities seem to really like this place.  I arranged a day for Rosa there for Valentine's Day one year when we were not together.  I think she liked the place but she probably would have preferred my company instead.  She did return home relaxed.  Isn't that nice!

By the way, ladies, men generally don't hang around the locker room chatting and laughing after a shower (although, I've never been to a YMCA, so maybe its different there).  This "girls only" spa ritual is foreign to men.




Dear female readers, I hope you enjoyed this women's edition of my blog ... I promise that testosterone will return in another entry soon!