I feel excited every time I come across a listing from the excellent eBay boutique Hipster's Playground Vintage. There's something about the way the seller, a petite, elusive blonde, styles her clothes that's theatrical, siren-sexy, and so fabulous it makes me want to buy everything she posts. Not only are all of the pieces dry-cleaned or hand-washed and mended before a sale, she also consistently manages to source big-name vintage items, like this Dior skirt, that feel really modern. Right now, most of the inventory has a glamorous '80s theme, so you can find tons of sparkly dresses and evening jackets that would be perfect for holiday parties.

All of my evening bags tend to look the same: small, neutral, simply structured but with enough fancy detail to pass muster at cocktails or a wedding. Which may explain why I fell so passionately in love with this one. It's an unlikely combination of organic flax-colored linen and super-feminine black lace straps, and though the shape and the clasp are dainty and old-fashioned, the abstract print makes a bold, modern statement. It's totally out of the box for me, and, therefore, perfect.

Nearly a decade ago, I stole—or rather, permanently borrowed—a boyfriend's striped V-neck sweater. It fit me perfectly and was one of those pieces in which I instantly saw endless fashion possibilities. I wore it for years: with boots and leggings, over a T-shirt with jeans and Converses, even to work with miniskirts and wedge heels.

We've got such dramatic seasonal changes in New York that there are very few pieces in my wardrobe I can truly wear year-round, but this dress is definitely one of them. It's called the Princess, but it really isn't frilly-girly at all—just the simplest T-shirt dress with unfussy short sleeves and raw, unfinished edges. It's chic but so innocuous that it can serve as the foundation for an endless number of looks: I'll style it now over jeans and with ankle boots and a tough jacket, and then pair it in hot weather with open sandals and a long necklace, or dress it up with sexy heels, and on and on and on. Plus, the fact that such a versatile item rings in at under $100 makes me feel like I've gotten an insane bargain.

I stumbled upon eBay's hotel/travel lodging section last week when searching for luggage and was immediately intrigued and a little weirded out. Once I clicked through, however, I found that it's actually a staggeringly expansive, useful, and easily searchable service with good deals from a plethora of the countries you'd want to visit. It works like most other parts of eBay—there are auctions with or without reserve prices along with Buy it Now options. Also here is something called eBay classifieds, which are exactly what you'd expect: ads that link you to a person's website or phone number so you can buy the item directly from them. Some of the best listings are deep discounts on major resort vacations, but you can also find quieter, more modest trips. My interest was piqued by this private, oceanfront St. Thomas villa (the bidding on six nights starts at $100) and this sunny, one-bedroom apartment in the center of Florence (starts at $25 a night).

Note: Renting a vacation house on eBay might seem a little shady, but as with the rest of the site, there are lots of checks and balances so buyers feel secure. Also, most of these lodging sellers are certified through a company called Square Trade, which is kind of like an eBay Better Business Bureau, and has high customer service standards.

On my way back from Starbucks, four organic mistos in hand, something I'd been dreading throughout my tenure in Manhattan finally happened: A pigeon got me: Bull's-eye on the left side of my head. Blam. There was nothing to do but continue on, desperately hoping not to bump into anyone I knew in the elevator. This turned out to be a very good moment to be a beauty editor. I took a bottle of extra-fragrant Sunsilk shampoo to the bathroom and washed the... affected area in the sink. Still dripping, I snuck into the beauty closet, plugged in an FHI Nano hairdryer, dug out a Spornette brush, and started furiously fixing. The whole thing (mostly thanks to the amazing dryer) only took five minutes—and my hair actually looked better than before.

Like every other New Yorker I know, I don't have enough closet space. In fact, we have just one tiny closet in our entire apartment, which needs to store/hide the clothes and possessions of two adults, and it's woefully insufficient for the task. Because of this, I am constantly looking for creative storage solutions. This vintage '50s coat stand is one of the coolest things I've seen. It holds up to 10 coats (or really anything you want to use it for), comes with its original sturdy wood hangers, and has an excellent, sculptural appearance that's far more stylish than the standard metal clothing racks I've come across. Best of all, it's just 24 inches wide, which means it won't take up a lot of floor space, another element of New York living that's at an absolute premium.

A glass of champagne can really make any occasion so much more special, and I love the idea of making my next toast with these saucers from Marc Jacobs' collection for Waterford. Drinking something sparkling from a saucer instead of a flute seems very roaring '20s to me, and though these are worthy of The Great Gatsby, the sturdy stem and overall clean lines make them very modern at the same time.

After an especially grueling redeye flight back to NYC from LA (why I chose to connect in Denver at 12am, I still don't know) I had an hour to relax/nap before getting ready for work. As I washed the airplane grime off of my face, I saw that my skin was significantly worse than just tired and dehydrated—it was almost call-in-sick-bad. I slathered Kate Somerville Total Vitamin Antioxidant Complex all over my face, then, passed out on the couch. When I woke up forty-five minutes later, I was astonished by the improvement (my skin was magically soft and blotch-free). Really: I skipped foundation entirely. Naturally, I'm now using it every day.

My boyfriend's cheerleader sister Paige was benched during a football game last Friday for … (brace yourselves) her perfect, chic, meticulously done manicure. The offense: Black polish. The appalled coach publicly scolded her and gave her a demerit, too. Controversy is raging within the family over who's right; I of course couldn't be more pro-black-manicure, especially when done with the beyond glamorous Black Satin from Chanel (or Essie Black, or Wet 'n' Wild Black Cream.)