Director, Brooklynite and cardboard box aficionado, Michel Gondry is offering up some quirky deals on his website. For example, you can get a roll of toilet paper with his very own random thoughts imprinted on it for just $13.95 (2-ply, 500 sheets per roll!). You can also get a replica prop from his movie The Science of Sleep: the disasterology calendar, for just $5.95 (it's for 2007, but will be accurate again in 2018!). But hands down the most coveted object being offered up (we can't imagine how long this will last after orders start flooding in) is the hand-drawn, signed portrait of YOU by Monsieur Gondry, based off a photo you submit. The cost? Just $19.95. Quite the deal, even during these recessionary times. We'd really like to see an infomercial-esque video to go along with these items, however. [via Pop Candy] more ›

Earlier this month we learned that after more than four decades in the East Village, kitsch mecca Love Saves the Day will close. Yesterday we dropped by and, with owner Richie Herson's approval, took some photos of the eclectic boutique—an activity that's ordinarily forbidden. By the way, it's a great time to stop by and pick up some Christmas gifts while paying your respects; the store has slashed prices 30%-50%. more ›

East Village kitsch mecca Love Saves the Day (MySpace) will close next month after more than four decades in the neighborhood, Vanishing New York reports. Originally opened in 1966 on 77 7th Street, the day glo-painted shop moved down the block to its current location at Second Avenue and 7th Street in 1983, just in time for a cameo in Desperately Seeking Susan, in which it's immortalized as the boutique where Madonna traded in her leather pyramid jacket for rhinestone studded boots. more ›

Meat-lover Rachael Ray hasn't given up on her dream of opening up a hamburger pub in midtown. She's been talking about it for years now, but you really want to believe her (or stop her) when she tells the Post, "I'm going for a '60s back-in-the-day Rat Pack-y kind of hangout, and I want the bar to be really central [and] the burgers to become a very social thing. I want people to come to the bar to see beautiful proper martinis being made and to enjoy some sliders." more ›

Gossip Girl is officially back, with their new season premiering last night. There were British lords, Hamptons parties, people who aren't rich getting looked down upon by people who are rich (as well as other cookie cutter plot devices), and a number of puns involving Chuck Bass's name. Now, to insure an absolute takeover, the show has stepped off the small screen and invaded the windows of Henri Bendel. Racked reports on the 5th Avenue display, noting, "By our count, it looks like the display features two Blairs, one Serena, one Little Jenny Humphrey, and one dark-haired other girl." Give them one more season and they'll be slumming it with their own H&M designs. Bendel's has been one of the many NYC locations used in the show--it was where Dan spied Serena in the very first episode! more ›

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