How did Halloween come about? Well, the History Channel says it originated from the Irish.

Celtic farmers used the word Samhain, which means “The End of Summer” to signify Halloween. They believed there was one day per year that represented both the living and the dead, where spirits could rise from the dead. The Celtics lit great bonfires and dressed up in order to repel the spirits from ruining their feature crops.

In the mid-19th century, after a devastating potato famine, one billion Irish came over to the United States, which brought the traditional holiday known as “All Hallows Eve.”

About 40 odd years after Christ, the Romans had primarily conquered Celtic land. Over the next four hundred years the Romans ruled over the Celtic land and certain traditional festivals were combined and inter-woven into both cultures. The first festival was called Feralia, which happened in late October when the Romans traditionally celebrated the passing of the dead. The next festival was to honor a Roman goddess of fruit and trees named Pomona.

(For Scary Stories, try this website called American Folklore.net and have fun re-telling age old spooky tales like “Bloody Mary,” and “Don’t Turn on the Light.” )

Needless to say, when the Celtic traditions came to the “New World,” the concept of Halloween didn’t go over well with the New England Puritans. But slowly it was disseminated into Puritan society and great bonfires were replaced with jack-o-lanterns, spirit dancing/deterring was replaced with dressing up in spooky attire, but no one really knows where/how the candy giving started…

SO the question remains: How did we go from deterring spirits from ruining our crops through rituals to giving candies to little children? We don’t let them in the house, we block them from coming inside, and appease them with bon bons. Creepy. Thought to chew on until next time.

 

You’re grandmother can’t always be around to lull you into a mid-afternoon nap when you have the sniffles. You still have to manage to get up at the crack of dawn, fight traffic (and not fellow subway riders), and make it through the day. The flu season is coming, or more precisely, it’s already here. When you feel that body ache arising, here are some remedies to dull the seasonal beast:

DRINK TEA. Go to the nearest Chinatown and buy tea in bulk. You can get restaurant quality tea for under $4. We like to mix Oolong, Green tea, and two teaspoons of honey for a cold-remedy mix.

DRINK CLEAR FLUIDS. You’re mother always said this one, didn’t she? Well she was right. Cleanse the body of its toxins by flushing out your system. Replenish your body’s water content constantly, keep everything fresh, hence the emphasis on clear liquids.

DRINK WARM WHISKEY. Yes, that was no typo. Contradicting our previous tip, one of Grandma’s tricks, before lozengers and NyQuil, was good old fashioned whiskey.

RECIPE: Boil Water. Add fresh ginger slices and cloves. Steep Chamomile tea in water. Add one shot of Whiskey. Add a few teaspoons of honey.

You’ll definitely sleep well!

The weather has been, to put it mildly, moody. First it’s hot, then it’s cold, then it’s warm with a breeze…Over the past two weeks we’ve been exposed to these weather extremes and they’re not the best for our body regulations. BUNDLE UP. It’s better to be slightly warm and to sweat out toxins, rather than keep them swarming around inside you. The cold air chills and drifts are bad news for muscle aches and head colds. So keep the body and attached muscles happy and warm this season.

And as an added bonus, here are some sweet coats we’ve found for this season. This barn coat is ultra cool and relaxed, and the “mustard” color is the hottest color this season.

Another trend? VESTS. Whowouldathunk? Keeps the arms free, chest warm, and can be paired with almost any casual dress. They also comein some pretty fun colors, like bright orange. This is a toned down version from Ralph Lauren:

 

It’s cold, it’s warm, it’s in between. Then it rains. What is going on with Mother Nature? We get it…fall is here, oh no it’s not, oh yes it is.

Our theory is, stay warm when it’s cold and stay cool when it’s warm. But just in case Mother Nature decides to stay cool today and tomorrow, here are some Italian charms to warm you up:

Couple this scarf with any one of the affordable looks from H&M below:

This season, the mustard color is “in.” Try this Italian Mustard and Green Silk/Cashmere designer Scarf:

And for more formal looks, H&M brings you suits to suit your tastes:

And of course, no suit would be complete without cufflinks:

 

Onyx Stone And Mop Square Cufflinks

Or add some winter white to the sleeve:

 

Sky Blue Framed Oval Cufflinks

 

Yesterday we got an email from a man residing in Astoria, Queens. Thought we’d share:

Dear Cufflinksman,

Lately the state of the economy has been getting to me. As a New Yorker, although I wasn’t a part of “The Rent is Too Damn High Party,” but I was tempted to be. I won’t disclose my political affiliations, because it’s not relevant here, but like I said, things are getting shaky around here. My rent went up again last month, the price of coffee is rising, subway rides are now $2.25, cabs have an extra dollar attached to them, and when I visit my cousin in NJ I have to pay TWELVE dollars to get back in the city. Something’s gotta give right? I love buying your cufflinks and follow your blogs, but money is tight these days. Have any advice about saving money so I can stay looking fresh everyday?

Yours,
IAmTheKING

Dear IAmTheKING,

Yes, we hear you. Boy do we hear you! Thank you for your support over the years and we hope things will get better for you! As New Yorkers, we are experiencing the same price changes as you, and are here to offer some savvy tips on saving a buck or two so you can re-route it to buying things you really love: like cufflinks! (And other fashionable goods that add to your “fresh” look).

TIP #1

Coffee. Instead of paying for a grande or a venti coffee at Starbucks, order a size down but say you want it in a larger cup. Normally when a person fills up a cup for you, they over pour anyway, and the “leave some room” part of the order pinches out your extra coffee. So simply ask for a bigger cup. Example Convo:

“May I have a tall coffee in a grande cup?“

Greek Coffee Cup Cufflinks

TIP #2

Use Google Phone. Instead of wasting your cellphone minutes, if you have free wi-fi on your cell, get a google number and have people call you there. That way you won’t ever go over on your minutes and can possibly change your plan to lower the minutes/monthly price. Yeah.

TIP #3

Share wi-fi with your neighbors! If you’re a New Yorker, save the extra $30-50 bucks a month by sharing internet with Joe down the hall. That is, assuming you know your neighbors. If not, don’t even bother. It would just be awkward.

TIP #4

Use Groupon, Living Social, Woot, etc to purchase haircuts, pedicures, dinners, lunches, brunch…and more! If you’re thinking of going to Brunch Sunday with your significant other or a small group, look into Groupon for pre-paid lunches and drinks. You will even find new restaurants out of the deal and try something new!

TIP #5

Retailmenot.com and other “checkout code” websites. We’ve personally saved a lot on internet purchases through typing in special codes at check-out. Different codes can be acquired at random sites throughout the internet, but one of the most popular is retailmenot. If the code doesn’t work, it’s nobody’s loss, continue on with the purchase.

TIP #6

Never grocery shop while your hungry. Everything will look appealing and appetizing. You’ll end up spending way too much on that gourmet cheese only made in Switzerland or those organic berries that your mouth is watering for. Suddenly, the curry mix you pass every other week will call out your name and…you get the point.

TIP #7

Drink more water. And don’t be afraid of tap water. Studies have shown that plastic bottles harbor bacteria and ALSO most of these “natural” spring water sources contain more bacteria than your average city water. NYC is especially good with their water sanitation and produces a surprisingly good potable water. So grab your metal water bottle, turn on the tap, and drink your money!

 

 

…..and this is not a cheese commercial.

Along with Steve Jobs, but maybe not on such an exponential level, SNL has changed the world too. Well maybe not the entire world, but just the little world that sits in front of the tube late Saturday nights and relishes in the comedy.I don’t know about you, but skits from the show have been brought up at the dinner table, classrooms, subway stops, and “hey you gotta watch this…” moments with friends.

How many bands did you learn simply from watching the show? It’s like they know the latest and greatest, suck you into new artists, and make you download their music. They’re catchy, hip, edgy artists that you want to have a beer with or at least consider buying their album. Just this morning, I awoke to the tune of a song I first heard last Saturday on SNL. How does this happen? Pure Genius.

In honor of the lovely crew at SNL, here are some memorable moments that occurred on random nights:

Let’s start with last Saturday’s musical guest, Foster the People

http://www.hulu.com/watch/287093/saturday-night-live-foster-the-people-pumped-up-kicks#s-p1-sr-i1

Next up we have the duo we love best. They brought us “____ in a Box,” for the Christmas season, “Mother Lover,” “J___ in my Pants,” and most importantly, “The Golden Rule” song. As controversial as these may be, (not really but we thought we might add that in there), show them to your mom and we guarantee she’ll laugh too. Makes you wonder: how do they play this stuff on television?

 

http://www.hulu.com/watch/243571/saturday-night-live-digital-short-3-way-the-golden-rule#s-p4-sa-i2

Or our precious Harvard Graduate Natalie Portman, gone mad-woman gangster boo.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/1404/saturday-night-live-snl-digital-short-natalie-raps#s-p1-sa-i2

Our Presidential Candidate Favorites: Hilary and Sarah. Let’s be frank, no one, and we mean no one, plays Sarah Palin quite like Tina Fey. The resemblance and mannerisms are simply uncanny.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/34465/saturday-night-live-palin–hillary-open#s-p1-sa-i3

And lastly, a weekend update from our favorite, Stephon, the City Correspondent. The whole ‘hand over mouth’ thing is just…perfect. He’s a typical east village, club obsessed, strangely thin/weird/obsure gay man. But we’re starting to think that the hand over mouth is just to keep him from laughing hysterically at the camera.
http://www.hulu.com/watch/287097/saturday-night-live-weekend-update-stefon-and-zoolander#s-p1-st-i3

 

Stay tuned for more videos, laughter, and worldly insight.