Kate Spade

A Harford County retailer as popular for its yard-sale atmosphere as its couture fashions is reopening next month more than a year after closing. But it will no longer carry the C-Mart name that bargain shoppers knew so well. C-Mart once attracted a loyal following of frugal shoppers with high-end tastes from around the region until attempts by new owners to modernize in a bad economy forced it out of business in 2008. Now a member of C-Mart's founding family is reopening the store Feb. 3 in its original location under the name The Big TARP Company Store.

A woman's woman's handbag can be the most essential, dependable, cluttered, dramatic, sensual element in her life. She may rely upon it more than she does upon her sitter or her husband. It can hold more secrets than her most faithful friend. Its loss might be felt more keenly than the loss of a hairdresser, yet a new handbag can feel like a new love: the promise of a fresh start and the hope for perfection. Her handbag can be as whimsical as beads, fur and straw flowers or as severe as black patent leather.

Everything Martha Stewart does seems so perfect: cookies, canapes, crafts.Now add children's Halloween costumes to her list of talents.The colorful, crepe paper monarch butterfly, pea pod, autumn fairy and flower-in-bloom costumes available through Martha's mail-order catalog look positively refreshing compared with the garish masks and cheesy fabrics that seem to be part of so many store-bought children's costumes.Only Martha can be Martha, however. The arbiter of good taste works hard to make everything look perfect and you will too. The costumes don't come already made, they arrive as a kit with enough materials to make one or two costumes, depending on the sizes.

I got a new purse for Mother's Day, but I am reserving judgment. I like the purse, don't get me wrong. I actually lobbied for it. But I've been burned before, so you won't hear me gushing about this purse until … well, until I know it is The One. You'd have better luck buying me a new husband for Mother's Day. Or a new house. There's a greater chance I'd like either one of those than there is that I will like this purse. That's how tough the purse thing is. You might think it is bras.

Live from 'SNL,' Tina Fey is 2008's top entertainer Tina Fey was voted the Associated Press' Entertainer of the Year, an honor given annually to the performer who had the greatest impact on culture and entertainment for the year. Robert Downey Jr., whose comeback was capped with the blockbuster Iron Man, finished second, and Heath Ledger, who posthumously wowed audiences as the Joker in The Dark Knight, was third. But it was Fey, 38, who most impressed voters (newspaper editors and broadcast producers across the country)

August means the living is hot, humid and yes, perhaps a little boring. Here are a few cool summer items that we can't live without: Cool enamel jewelry Simple, colorful and sculptural. Those three words are the best description of Kiln Enamel Jewelry that we can offer. Oops, we forgot modern. And cool. Wear one of their striking Ray necklaces with a simple tank and look perfectly pulled together. Slide on a couple of bangles with your jeans and T-shirt and look so downtown. Kiln's earrings, necklaces and bracelets are made by firing enamel onto either copper or sterling silver.

I dress in modern, minimalist clothes that have a strong, definite style. It's a style that my mother doesn't appreciate. She wants me married to a respectable banker, and she is constantly on the search for one. She's set me up with one for a lunch and an art gallery tour next month when we go to a friend's weekend home. Please help me. I don't know where to begin finding a "good-girl" look while keeping my own style.A good idea is to choose a classic style that has an edge. A best bet for summer is a long knit dress.

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO have a tough time keeping warring factions straight -- Hutus and Tutsis, Serbs and Croats, Sunnis and Shiites; Irish Protestants and Irish Catholics -- let me add another battling duo to the list: rich stay-at-home mothers and rich working mothers. It is the burdens of privilege that separate these factions from their sisters, the women who have to work to keep food on the table and the women who have to work two jobs to keep food on the table. Sandra Tsing Loh, a performer famous for her one-woman shows and a new contributor to The Atlantic Monthly , introduces us to this battling pair in her scathing review of Mommy Wars: Stay-At-Home and Career Moms Face Off on Their Choices, Their Lives, Their Families (Random House)

Thinking thong thoughts The thong sandal is a classic, a shoe that's tried and true, summery and cool, and yes, perhaps a tad tired. We like Kate Spade's take on the thong for evening - a kicky little Valentina sandal in black patent or pink satin that features a jeweled dragonfly alight on the T-strap. At $295 a pair, the sandals are a major summer splurge, but pair them with white capris or a plaid silk halter dress and you'll look perfect at picnics and weddings from now until Labor Day. Available at www.katespade.