This Monday the Metropolitan Opera started their annual free Summer Recital Series in NYC.

This series of free outdoor opera performances started on Monday in Central Park, and it will continue with five more performances that will take place in every New York City borough.

Going to the opera at the Met is such an incredible experience, but the steep cost of the tickets can hold many of us back from being able to enjoy this beautiful art.

Here is a short clip of Monday's free performance in Central Park...

If you are interested in checking out this series, there will be another free show tonight in Brooklyn Bridge Park at 7pm.

Click here if you would like to see the Metropolitan Opera's Summer Recitals Calendar for other performance times.

Please report back and let me know if you go and how you enjoyed the show!

With the first long weekend of the summer season fast approaching, it is that time of year to start making your summer travel plans, and also start thinking about how you will be thanking your generous hosts for the summer!

Thanks to my good friend Stephanie, I just became aware of this adorable Wine and Tote Bag Gift Set from St. Francis Vineyards and Vineyard Vines!

For just $45, this gift set includes a delicious bottle of St. Francis Chardonnay, and a beautiful wine tote bag from Vineyard Vines!

For under $50 you get great wine and a re-usable adorable tote...who could ask for more?!

I might just have to order one for myself as a treat to look forward to for after I have our baby girl! 

Happy Traveling and Shopping!

For the second year in a row, Trina Turk has paired up with Nordstrom and Clinique to offer a gorgeous makeup bag and gift set valued at $75, for the low price of a $25 minimum purchase of Clinique products! 

I am a big fan of Trina Turk's fabric and designs, and in my opinion, this beautiful makeup bag is worth more than $25 just on it's own!

Isn't this such a fun pattern for summer?  It would be a great case for sunscreen and other products for the beach, or perfect for all of your toiletries this summer on any weekend getaway!

Click here for more details on how to purchase this gift set!

Happy Shopping!

Were you like me and up much earlier than usual this morning?  I know that it would have been just as easy to record the Royal Wedding and watch it this evening, but I was so excited to watch the royal nuptials that I couldn't help but get up at 5:00am to watch Kate and William say "I do!" 

And I have to say I enjoyed every minute of the live wedding coverage. 
Kate and William both looked stunning...especially Princess Kate, and what I found the most moving was how in love and enamored they both are with one another. 

Here are a few of my favorite shots from the big morning...

The world lost one of it's most beautiful and iconic women yesterday, the always elegant and stylish Elizabeth Taylor.

In a world where they say blondes have more fun, Elizabeth Taylor paved the way for us brunettes, and proved that there is no denying the allure of a dark haired beauty...especially one as sultry and exotic as Ms. Taylor!

Here are just a few of my favorite photos of Elizabeth Taylor...

While Elizabeth Taylor had an undeniable natural beauty, the thing that really made her stand out in a crowd was her ability to intensify her good looks with a few key beauty products.  In honor of Elizabeth and her classic style, here are a few of my favorite beauty products that will help you get Elizabeth's sultry stand out style...

Elizabeth Taylor was the queen of the cat eye, and this liquid eye liner is so easy to use that anyone (even me) can get a sexy updated look with one quick whip of this pen.

Elizabeth Taylor seemed to be blessed with breathtakingly flawless skin.  I use this moisturizer everyday and it evens out my skin no matter how bad my blemishes...it's incredible!

On top of having perfect skin, Elizabeth Taylor always had just the right amount of glow!  I love this blush from Bobbi Brown to perk up my face...it gives me just the right amount of color without coming on too strong!

Elizabeth Taylor was never afraid to have her lips pop with a bright red, orange, or pink lipstick.  While I usually stick to a more sheer gloss, I have found that these new sheer lipsticks by MAC are a great way to get a little bit of color without a harsh matte finish.

Have you ever seen more beautiful brows than those of Elizabeth Taylor's?  I won't trust my brows with any other tweezers than this classic pair by Tweezerman.  I have never found another pair that even comes close to this trusty staple!

For those of you who are fellow Bikram yogis like me, the phrase,
"If you can, you must" is probably a familiar saying to you.  In a fitness practice that is so physically and emotionally challenging, instructors often repeat Bikram's famous mantra as inspiration to class participants to encourage them to push beyond what they believe they are capable of doing, and to take their practice to the next level.

Last night as I thought about what inspiring words I could offer my readers to encourage you to help the people of Japan, this simple phrase came to mind....
If you can, you must. 

I plan on donating to the Red Cross and Save The Children today, but there are many ways to help.  Here is a link to a list of organizations that are accepting donations.

Or you could pick up a copy of this beautiful Cherry Blossom print by the talented artist Samantha Hahn...

100% of the sales from this print will go to Doctors Without Borders who is currently setting up clinics in Japan to aid with the tragedy.

Here is a link to details on how you can purchase this beautiful print.

OK I admit it, I am a magazine fiend!  Few things make me happier than curling up with a good magazine, unless that scenario also involves a glass of wine and a beach chair...

And I know I drive my husband crazy with my endless amount of magazine subscriptions, but with prices like these, how can you afford not to subscribe?!

Now through March 31 Amazon is offering $5 off many of their best selling magazines, and if you sign up for the auto-renewal subscription (which you can easily cancel at anytime for your money back) than the deals are even sweeter!  Here are a few of this months magazine deals at Amazon that I think are just too good to pass up!

When I started writing this blog over the summer it was my goal to never miss a day.  And so far, I have been good about keeping up my promise to do that.  But every so often life throws you a surprise that is so unexpected and shocking, it seems like things will never be the same again, and you have to reprioritize your responsibilities.

Unfortunately on Monday I found out that over the weekend I lost a person who meant more to me than I think even I knew at the time.  One day she was here and the next day she was gone...just like that.  I try not to make this space too much about me, but I have to let you all know that right now I am going to need to take a bit of a break from writing this blog.  I hope to be back on Monday, but it could take a little longer.

In times like this I like to search for a quote or a passage to help describe how I am feeling more eloquently than I could on my own, but unfortunately right now, there are no words.

For those of you who knew her, Natasha was my mentor, my friend, my aunt, my sister, and my mom.  We fought like crazy, but we always laughed more, and we always made up.  I've spent the last 7 years with her by my side, and I know that going forward things will never quite be the same.  She had the ability to make people do things they never dreamed they could do, or make a situation that wasn't funny, completely hysterical.  She took such delight in making people laugh, and connecting people, and she could do things for you that you didn't even know you wanted.  I still laugh and think about when she insisted on taking a video at my wedding, and I'm on the camera saying, "Natasha...I told you I didn't want a video!"  But of course now, I am so thankful for that video.

I also have learned an important lesson from all of this that I had never experienced before...tell people how you really feel, and everything they mean to you today, because you just don't know what tomorrow will bring.  I hope in some way I have told Natasha what she meant to me in this space today, and that she is at peace, having a ball, and laughing like crazy now.

I'll be back soon.  Thank you for your support.

XO, Jenn

Image via Country Living

This Thanksgiving I have so much to be thankful for...a husband who is incredibly supportive, and who makes me feel like the luckiest girl in the world every day; a family that is always there for me, and that never ceases to make me laugh and smile; and a second family (my in-laws) who have accepted me as a second daughter...I never knew I could love a family as much as my own until I met my husbands' loving, loud, and incredibly generous clan of cousins, siblings, aunties, and uncles!

I also want to take this moment to thank all of YOU: my amazing readers!  When I started this blog this summer I was nervous and did not know what to expect, but I want to thank all of you for taking the time every day to read, contribute, and comment on Living Luxe for Less.  This has been an incredibly fulfilling endeavor for me, and I look forward to all of the fun posts to come on how to live well, but spend less in the weeks to come!

But I also think its important to at least take ONE DAY to step back from the stores and shopping, and instead of thinking about our things, think about the people that truly make our lives meaningful.  I know that I often get consumed with having the right bag, or the perfect pair of shoes, but the fact of the matter is that if I didn't have my husband, family, or my best friends, none of these things would even matter!  It makes me think of this thought by Linda Henley:

So many of us define ourselves by what we have, what we wear, what kind of house we live in and what kind of car we drive...If you think of yourself as the woman in the Cartier watch and the Hermes scarf, a house fire will destroy not only your possessions but your self.

It just goes to show what really matters...and that's all of you.  Thank you for making my life so special, and giving me so much to be thankful for.  I hope that no matter where you are today, or who you are with, you have at least one amazing person, moment, meal, or memory that you can be thankful for too.

Happy Thanksgiving!