Luxury Lifestyle

Luxury lifestyle incorporates homes, second homes, travel, food, wine and other luxury indulgences.

Glowing Rocks for Luxury Homes

December 7, 2012
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by Roberta Murphy Leave it to Italian designers to create the ultimate in luxury rocks for sexy lightscaping around the home. These remarkable lighted rocks by Oluce look as if they might have been swiped from the lawn of a distant planet. In reality, though, they were created by Italian designers Marta Laudani and Marco Romanelli with Massimo Noceto. Made from weather-tested polyethelene, these lighted Oluce stones glow with the…

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Tourism in Egypt Implodes

September 15, 2012
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by Roberta Murphy Travelers from all nations once had the luxury of cruising Egypt’s Nile River, exploring the country’s ancient pyramids and steeping themselves in the mystery and intrigue of Ancient Egypt. But that was before the Great Recession and recent political and civil turmoil. Egypt had been planning on a tourism rebound in 2012, but it appears those plans have gone up in flames as Royal Caribbean International cancels…

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Luxury Retailers Uneasy with Wall Street?

by Roberta Murphy They say you can never be too thin or too rich, but belt-tightening is sending a cold chill through Wall Street that could well spread to Main Street and beyond, according to various reports. Luxury stocks may be taking a hit, but the recession hits home hardest for employees facing layoffs at Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase and many other financial institutions that occupy…

November 1, 2011
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The Luxury of a $170.00 Sandwich

Years ago, Chef Madelyn in Big Bear Lake offered a $99 peanut butter and jelly sandwich picnic–paired with a bottle of Dom Perignon. It was a relative bargain, considering cost of the wine. It also caused more than a few chuckles among pilots who flew in and out of the little Big Bear Airport, where her restaurant was located. In London, though, BBC TV chef Martin Blunos has crafted a…

September 11, 2010
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How About a Free MIT Education?

by Roberta Murphy Sometimes we stumble across unexpected treasures, including articles written a couple of years ago. This one is too rich not to share again: A Free MIT Education. Thanks to a web-based electronic publishing initiative, this incredible opportunity from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is being generously funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and MIT with support of the Ab Initio…

September 11, 2010
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Wine Barrel Flooring: The Luxury of Recycling

by Roberta Murphy Most of us appreciate the earthy luxury of a true wine cellar and also see the value of repurposed materials emerging as elements in our homes. But how about a slice from the best of both worlds and have rich wood flooring crafted from old California wine barrels? I’ve seen serving trays and other novelties emerge from wine barrel tops, but hardwood flooring from the actual wine…

September 7, 2010
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Louis Vuitton Tops Luxury Brands–Followed by Hermes, Gucci

Bloomberg reports that Louis Vuitton, with its monogrammed bags and luggage, handily outranks its luxury brand competitors for the fifth straight year. With a reported value of $19.8 billion, Vuitton ranks 29th worldwide for all industries–and more than twice the combined value of Hermes and Gucci combined. Even though the luxury sector of the market has experienced an overall decline of 3 percent in value, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Gucci and…

May 3, 2010
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Luxury Gadget: Bladeless Fan

by Roberta Murphy I love the genius behind Dyson engineering and products. Instead of thinking outside the box, these air gurus study the box very closely and re-engineer it into device that works better than its predecessors.We love the Dyson vacuums and find them intuitively simple to use.  They are also nearly indestructible.  The Dyson wizards have also invented a hand dryer that really works–with air that travels in the…

October 13, 2009
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10 Money Saving Tips–for even the Gucci Wallet

March 30, 2009
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by Roberta Murphy Magic must be in the air. Even our middle son Eric — who has never, ever cottoned to bagged lunches — packed one the other day and probably saved at least $5. This college student works part time, but last week discovered the agony of having to pay $1,800 or so for a new bumper and rear quarter panel that met a brick wall when he was…

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