Haute fashion choices, jam-packed event (and TV) schedules, back-to-school and lower air-conditioning bills are all definite benefits of the transition into fall. There is one thing we miss, however.  

Flowers! Beautiful glorious flowers.  Dead bales of straw and giant pumpkins are no substitute for daffodils and summery blooms.  Which is why we LOVE The French Bee’s beautiful “watergarden” arrangements. These silk flowers are scarily realistic, and come with pseudo water in a cute crystal vase. Plop it on your desk for year-round simulated summer.

Minus the sunburn, bee-stings, and sweat. Thank god.

Some people are flat-out boring on the phone.  So boring, in fact, that you can type e-mails, visit CNN.com, or even get some online gaming in while “talking” to them. But most internet video games fall into two categories. Horribly violent, or completely mindless. Well, we don’t condone the DOOM or Mortal Kombat variety, and don’t enjoy Minesweeper or Solitaire either. What’s left?

Orisinal is an incredible flash site dedicated to incredible, dare we say it, SWEET video games! From bunnies who hop on falling stars to uninterested cats you herd around to falling apples you catch in baskets, these games are amazing.  Not to mention award-winningly designed, download and login-free, and at no cost to you.

Your mother-in-law will never know you beat your high score!

That quilted two-flap red caviar leather bag is further and further out of reach.  What once was $1,800 is now $2,300 and will soon be $3,000. The prices on Chanel are ballooning faster than gas!

Put down the white flag- you can’t surrender to fashion!  Those double-C’s are within your grasp. Check out this exquisite 3-book Chanel set, and learn all about Mademoiselle Coco’s inspirational sense of style. The three volumes cover her incredible fashion, jewelry and perfume. Best of all, it’s available at Saks Fifth Avenue for only $50.

So you can get the fashion you crave, AND pay your mortgage.

The Chococlock is a little effer.  

Let us explain. Each hour, on the hour, the retro clock plays a sweet little jingle- the Sugarplum Fairy song- and opens its doors to display a single piece of chocolate. In the small 20-second time it takes to play the tune, the chocolate sits in a little window.  If you don’t snatch it by the time it ends, it teasingly snaps it back up. As soon as you finish that hour’s “will I or won’t I?” battle, a new one begins.

To make it even worse, there’s a naughty little “cheat” button you can press in case of emergency/boredom/mental breakdown.  

We kind of want to buy this, and we kind of want to smash it. 

There’s no good in spotting a full-grown man belting out “Superstar” with Karen Carpenter in his car when you’re alone. And remember that time when your dog walked in the room carrying your brother’s jockstrap when nobody else was in the house? Or when you couldn’t put a finger on who was scrubbing your feet during a pedicure and finally realized it was your favorite 7-11 clerk? (True story). Who can you share life’s funny little moments when you’re the only one there?

Share all your little daily laughs with Inspired Smiles, a Web site that allows viewers to document their smiles of the day. No login or anything is required- all you need is a minute and a happy little blurb to share. And now Inspired Smiles is on Twitter, so you can pick up your phone and peek at the good fortune of others any time you need it.

We could have used it when we spilled Merlot on our favorite white jeans.

A giant oriental chicken salad is a wise choice for lunch. That handful of Snickers you chow down on from your office candy bowl isn’t that big of a deal. The whip on your frap helps you get the calcium you need to fight off osteoporosis. 

Ummm… we hate to tell you, but your take on nutrition is a little whack.

Check out our favorite .99 iphone app Daily Count, which helps you keep track of the hundreds (thousands?) of calories you’re unknowingly pounding each day. Enter the daily goal of whatever you’re trying to measure- calories, fat, protein, Weight Watchers points. As the day goes on, you’ll pace your snacking and make smarter choices as you log your meals and calories in the cute little measuring device. You also have the option of e-mailing yourself that day’s numbers so you can track your progress and reach your goals.

You’ll be dropping the Dunkin’ and L-B’s in no time.

There’s nothing like hearing a song you LOVE come on the radio.  Because it’s so unexpected, it’s just so much more satisfying than playing it on itunes.

What if we told you you could have the feeling ALL the time? Log on to Pandora for the ultimate radio experience. Just type the name of an artist or band you enjoy, and the genius Web site creates a perfect radio station for you of songs you’ll enjoy by that artist, and songs that have a similar sound and feel. You can then rate each song to help steer the station in the right direction, and it automatically saves your input. We have yet to dislike a song they’ve chosen for us.

Except for a few on the “Jessica Simpson” station.

Dirty, cheap things are generally frowned upon. Adult movie stores, Frederick’s of Hollywood lingerie, street vendor hot dogs, Heidi Montag’s “Heidiwood” clothing line, Wal-Mart and Christina Aguilera are all good examples. But we found the one dirty, cheap item that actually warrants a purchase.

FishsEddy.com, a New York-based china and vintage plate shop, has an amazing line of china just begging to be bought. Designed by the amazing Cynthia Rowley, these “Dirty Dishes” plates and teacups feature the cutest little naked ladies ever. And they’re now 75% off, coming in at around $4 per plate.

There you have it. A dirty, cheap little miracle we wouldn’t mind at the dinner table.

It’s laughed about on Sex and the City, written about in Chick Lit, mocked on the big screen and talked about to the point where it isn’t even taken seriously anymore- shopping addictions.

But we’re no longer laughing.  This isn’t just silly ladies buying that extra pair of shoes and joking about how mad their husbands will be. This is a sick fascination with online shopping, shopping forums, beauty blogs and Fashion TV shows to the point where one neglects their boyfriend and dog to study the newest Neiman Marcus book or Saks e-mails. A sickness that has us up until 3 a.m. scouring the fall collections on Style.com. A sickness that can only be cured with credit card debt. 

But we can practice healthy window shopping with Polyvore, an incredible virtual shopping site. Similar to the closet computer Cher Horowitz had, circa 1995, this amazing site stores images of clothing from hundreds of online shops. You can then mix, match, and accessorize imaginary outfits, keep your favorite unrealistic dresses in your virtual closet, and dress your avatar self up in whatever strikes your fancy. Keep drafts of your favorite outfits, post them on blogs, and write accompanying stories to get it all out of your system. It may be totally dorky, but totally satisfies shopping cravings.

And as soon as you do come into that extra cash, go ahead and buy your favorite outfit. The virtual closet actually links to online shops that carry your dream wardrobe pieces!

We’ve hit it- the midsummer slump.  Many of us have used our vacation days, and need to be at our desks, ready to work. But those hot Roman men, the Eiffel Tower, Waikiki beaches and MGM Grand keep creeping their way into our minds.

Earthcam lets us escape, if only during our 20-minute coffee breaks.  Webcams around the world are all compiled onto one easy-to-use website, which acts as a fly on the wall in hundreds of locations in hundreds of countries.  So you can enjoy the excitement of Times Square, tan on numerous beaches across the globe, visit historic landmarks, and look for handsome men in Rome, all from your desk. 

That latte sure tastes better when you’re in a cafe in Paris, doesn’t it?