We are thankful for our customers and readers! Happy Thanksgiving, all!

This past Thursday, SCOOP NYC opened their very own Holiday Shop in Beverly Hills. Located in the heart of Beverly Hills, on the corner of North Beverly Drive and Dayton Way, you’ll find a great selection of HABITUAL’s best sellers! We recently stopped by ourselves and we are so excited to be part of this one-stop shop for all of your holiday shopping needs.

In California, there has been a rising trend of boutique artisanal perfumers who focus more on the juice than the fancy bottles and glamorous ads. Indie perfumers are creating scents from what they know or may not know, and making them unique in their own way and not just to be another generic product on the beauty shelf. Smell Bent is one of the indie perfumers in Los Angeles, which was started by Brent Lenonesio after he got laid off from his fashion job. Brent told LA Times, “The goal of my perfume was always to put the money inside the bottle rather than outside.” We love how Brent is passionate about finding the world’s finest ingredients and adding fun to his scents with fantastic names, like Lady Gogo and Hungry Hungry Hippies. And of course, all of his scents are made right here in the USA!

We stumbled across Cathie Hong’s etsy shop Ampersandity, and fell in love with her calligraphy. Her hand-lettering is crafty, elegant and classic. We think her calligraphy adds that special touch to any thank you card, thinking of you note, holiday card and really anything she writes on for that matter. Her blog and Pinterest (recently named one of the most powerful pinners in the world!) has some of the most beautiful photos to look at too. I guess you can say we are definitely digging Cathie’s style!

We have been passing by the “the romantic, outdoor, two-story, twinkle light patio” restaurant in in the Old Bank District of downtown LA at Main and 4th for the past year in anticipation of the opening, and the American bistro, Kitchen Table, finally opened this past July.  The brains behind the menu is chef Greg Bernhardt, who also helped open Church & State in LA, and the executive chef Fernando Darin, who worked at Ink in West Hollywood. This spot looks like the best dining spot for a romantic dinner date – the rooftop has candles and old movies played in the wall on the next door building. We also hear the pork belly is the jam. (We told you Downtown LA is the place to eat these days!)

Photo credit: Eater LA

Summer seems to go on pause around this time every year. Why does this happen you might ask? It’s Shark Week, of course! If you don’t know what Shark Week is, turn on The Discovery Channel and take a seat, it’s a week-long series of feature television programs dedicated solely to sharks. Originally created to raise awareness and respect for sharks, the show is now broadcasted in over 72 countries and has become an international habit.

Even if you aren’t a shark fan or if they scare you to pieces, like many of us, Shark Week seems to be something you just have to watch. The mysterious and frightening creatures are on display and fully documented for us to watch as we learn about the rulers of the ocean.

In honor of Shark Week, we are slipping on our new Alice Skinny in Nostalgia – just the thing to help you feel even more a part of the ever growing phenomenon by adding a splash of ocean to your own life.

New fashion magazine Twelv recreated Alexander McQueen’s infamous rainbow feather dress for their debut issue, but with 50,000 gummy bears! This dress is not only breathtaking, but also looks incredibly yummy!

Here’s the Alexander McQueen original:

French fashion giant Hermes is giving fans of the brand everything they could want in the first ever Hermès-decorated apartment. The 6,232 square-foot, five bedroom home (located at The Marq on Paterson Hill in Singapore) oozes the brand’s signature and classic style with specially made Hermès furniture, fabrics, rugs, carpets, wallpaper and made-to-measure leather upholstered items!

The one of a kind project was created by creative director of La Table Hermès, Yves Taralon, and Michelle Cheong, the creative director of the design team at SC Global, and is the perfect way for the fashion house to express their high values of excellence throughout every aspect of life right down to the home.

Of course, this would be a dream to live somewhere as fabulous as this (or even to just stay for a night), but unfortunately the apartment is for private events only. For now, we are more than content to live vicariously through photos of this wondrous space dreaming Hermès dreams.

Nothing makes a room feel more lively and home-y quicker than adding fresh flowers, especially during the summer months, when bright colors are everywhere. We love filling our office with new blooms to add instant color, and over time we have picked up a few tips to make them last longer.

Our office favorite is our white phalaenopsis orchids (from Trader Joe’s) and they have lasted for months because we haven’t over watered them. The trick is to leave them alone and just make sure the soil is not too dry. We have also heard that putting an ice cube in the pot once a week can also do the job.

Our second tip is to cut flowers. Try selecting same color flowers and cut them really short, cleaning off excess leaves. Not only does it look chic, the flowers will last longer!

The annual ESPY Awards is a night where we get to honor our favorite athletes and see them in a uniform we usually don’t get to see them in: red carpet attire. With the Olympics just around the corner, it was a treat to see the most talented athletes dress up and celebrate before they head off to London! It was a night when fashion and sports blended together. Here’s our pick of the best dressed at the 2012 ESPY Awards:

The Best Breakthrough Athlete, Jeremy Lin, looked sharp in his suit, along with pieces he said he borrowed from some friends! While the first presenter, Jessica Biel, who honored Mr. Linsanity,  looked stunning in a fun and Christian Dior minidress. We adore her heels that have a fabulous neon accent.

Nominated for Best Female Athlete, tennis star Maria Sharapova wore a breathtaking J. Mendel gown from the Resort 2013 Collection. We can’t wait to watch her play at her first Olympics in London this summer. A night like this gets us even more excited and eager to cheer on the athletes at the Olympics!

Who were your favorites from the 2012 ESPYS?