Oooooh child, things are gonna get brighter… Last week I introduced you to a cool site and company called Foodzie. Foodzie is absolutely hip, but I got a glimpse of another foodie store and can’t take my eyes off of it.

I seriously have just found my new home on the web, away from bizchickblogs, and it’s Gilt Taste. I don’t know how I survived emotionally without this site. But now I know that my food obsession shall always be fed. Two clients of mine happened to refer me to Gilt Taste for different reasons within a short time frame. It was that second, third, and next fifty trips to GiltTaste.com that just did me in.

I think I’m in love.

The site is growing; there aren’t as many merchants yet as I would like, but there is just enough of a variety to keep you busy reading. Plus, each product is accompanied by a great back story and description of the food and the merchant.

As expected, Gilt Taste has a great up-and-coming blog-like section called “Stories”, which includes some video (nice bonus) to go along with recipes. Latest: Warm Kale Salad with Pine Nuts, Smoked Bacon, Golden Raisins, and Parmesan. Hello!

I used to be satisfied shopping for shoes. Now, I am satisfied shopping for random gourmet food products – a few of which are way out of my budget, which of course makes them that much more desirable.

Anyway, enough about my new crush. Here are 6 Gilt-ee pleasures you might consider noshing on. I wonder if there is some correlation between guilt and Gilt because there is no way you can walk away from purchasing some of this without feeling guilty, unless you eat your way out of it. (Although, much of the items on GiltTaste.com are actually reasonably priced).

Ginger Sesame Caramel Popcorn | 479 Popcorn

Bee Chocolates | John & Kira

Lemon Pound Cake | Payard

(O.M.G.) The Perfect Meal: all’Amatriciana | Murray’s Cheese

Spaghetti Pomodoro Set | Primizie

Bolani Flatbread Assortment | Bolani East and West

Enjoy!

Ever think about this? The earth-shaking question of whether or not potato chips are really necessary?

I did yesterday. My late sister and I had this tradition we’d share as young adults and later as moms when our kids were young.  We’d get together with a good movie, a pack of Red Vines and two bags of barbeque-flavored potato chips.  We each got our own bag.  We’d watch a movie that featured a female hero…an action figure who really “kicked butt.”

Our favorite movie of all time was the 2nd in the Alien movie series – Aliens…in that movie the character Ripley, played so wonderfully by Sigourney Weaver, was first, female; second, a mom figure; and third, the hero.  My sister and I both had issues in our lives that would have benefited from a Ripley – someone who could wham! pow! the bad dudes and help us save our children from hurt.  Oh, well.  So, we’d get together with our sodas and bbq chips.

I think one of the big themes of the late 20th century was that of  health and wellness.  Let’s throw out the salt and bacon, grow more lettuce, carrots and sprouts and eat orchards worth of pears, apples and apricots.  And get some exercise.  And enough sleep.

But yesterday I thought about potato chips.  As I was enjoying them…and, yes, I really did enjoy them…I wondered about what would happen to all the thousands of jobs if suddenly the manufacture of potato chips went away.  In our difficult economic climate, people need a paycheck.

Those companies who make potato chips employ lots of people.  There are the potato growers.  And the shippers of the raw potatoes.  Then there are the companies who produce the potatoes and everyone in every part of that process from raw potato to chip-in-the bag.  Then more shippers sending the tasty bags to market.  That’s a great very many jobs on the line.

Here’s the big issue: are potato chips really necessary?  You could say they are not good for health and wellness.  You could say they are okay eaten in moderation…but who can eat just one?

For me it isn’t about health, wellness or jobs.  It’s about my sister.  My sister passed away in 2006 and I miss her.  Yesterday I was feeling her loss and during shopping, bought a bag of bbq-flavored chips.  I put on a movie later that day and…yep…ate the whole bag.

No, it’s not a healthy thing to do.  Yes the popular thing is to eat fruits and veggies and scorn salt and “wasted calories.”  However I’ll tell you something – no amount of sliced apples or peeled carrots could have made me feel closer to my sister’s memory than did that bag of chips.

Image: Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I don’t know. You have a look.

Recently, Kristi Noem, a Republican congresswoman from South Dakota, was named Hottest Freshman in Congress by some 10,000 Huffington Post readers. The post reports that in 2009, Huff Post readers voted Republican congressman Aaron Schock the prestigious (heh) designation (he still looks like he should be in college, in my opinion. Baby face!).

The Post On Both Sides of the Fence

Lest you think I’m getting slanted here, I found an article from the Washington Post titled, Democratic Faces That Could Launch Thousands of Votes, in which they highlighted Italian-Stallion Michael Arcuri. They quoted a dialog from two women that went a little like this:

“He is pretty good-looking,” observed Paula Ferrin with admiration, as the 47-year-old district attorney worked the crowd at a local senior center.

“What we want is brains, honey,” scolded her friend Rose Oliver.

“True,” Ferrin answered, “but handsome doesn’t hurt.” Source

That same article, however, reported that a political scientist named Lee Sigelman conducted research in 1990 and found that of the 26 least attractive members of Congress, 25 of them were Democrats.

Good Looks Required?

Frankly, I think having good looks is almost a necessity for politicos, especially the ones who plan to get ahead. Both Bill Clinton and John Edwards have been subject of good looks debates many times, coming out on top (hmm…). Women haven’t escaped it either, as Sarah Palin has been deemed a hottie even by people who hate her guts.

But who wins in the easy on the eye category? Republicans or Dems? I’ve selected a woman and a man from both sides that I think are pretty close in terms of looks, including Huff Post winners Schock and Noem.

What do you think? I’d say it’s a tie.

Good Looking Republicans

Representative Aaron Schock

Representative Kristi Noem

Good Looking Democrats

Representative Harold Ford, Jr.

Representative Yvette Clarke

Image Credits: Clarke, Ford Jr., and Schock: Wikipedia.org; Noem: Kristi Noem Facebook fan page

30 Rock Fans – Actress Jane Krakowski is pregnant with her first child.

Pictured above: Jane Krakowski at the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation 19th Annual ‘A Magical Evening’ Gala at the Marriott Marquis on November 9, 2009. Image credit: Shutterstock. Used with permission. Do not copy.

Krakowski, 42, is engaged to Robert Godley. The two became engaged in January. TVGuide.com broke the story today (Friday), and a rep has confirmed the news. “Both soon-to-be first-time parents could not be happier.”

Love 30 Rock? So do millions. Check it out on Hulu!

So holy moly is this chick out of line or what? Maybe it’s just me. This is the (I say crazy) Allison Dubois, a medium (the inspiration for the show Medium). If you’re a Real Housewives of Beverly Hills addict, you’ll remember her. She went Jack Nicholson on the dinner party guests one evening at Camille Grammer’s house. It was both hilarious and borderline petrifying at the same time.

Successful, yes. Tossing back one too many cocktails and losing her cool? Definitely yes. Not throwing stones, but gotta know – was this whole interaction on an episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills not a complete and utter personal trainwreck for Ms. Dubois?

Watch the short video below and then you vote in the comments: Catty or Cool?

Image Source: Wikipedia