The latest and greatest Target designer collab is upon us! This Sunday, February 5, Jason Wu for Target will launch in stores across the country. We’re relieved that the release is on the usual Sunday instead of the painful Tuesday launch a la Missoni back in September. That shopping expedition required us to lie to our employer about our whereabouts even more than we usually do.

We love that Jason Wu didn’t simply replicate his high-end designs for this Target collection but chose instead to create an entirely new look. Like most women and even though we can’t really wear white well, we’re all over the white full-skirted dress (third from left above). Navy and red? A much more flattering combination on HCG. The cat bag? Not so much. HCG is very allergic to cats. Plus, cats are sneaky and they ruin beautiful terrariums.

Below, a sampling of other JWxTarget looks we hope to check out this Sunday morning. What will you buy?

Dear Laura,

I’m desperate. For many years I have searched for the perfect highlighter/illuminator that would give my skin a subtle glow akin to the skin of celebrities on the red carpet. For many years, I failed.

Finally, I found it: your Face Illuminator, widely hailed as the greatest product to hit the beauty market since your revolutionary tinted moisturizer. My heartbeat quickened as I read the reviews online: “life changing”, “the best beauty product I’ve ever purchased”, “great for all skin types, especially pale skin”, “makes you look prettier than you ever imagined“. I readied myself for finally reaching the holy grail of shimmer, and I rehearsed what I would say when I got millions of compliments about my makeup. “Oh yeah, it’s no big deal, just this sick Laura Mercier illuminator. I know, so pretty, right? You should totally buy it.” #shitgirlssay

What a fool I was. Anything that cool is clearly sold out everywhere, and anyone who hasn’t already bought it is clearly a huge loser. I checked your own site, Blue Mercury, Sephora, Nordstrom, Saks, Neiman’s, Bergdorf’s, Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, the list goes on. I Googled it to death and even went four pages into a Google search trying to find it. I made phone calls to every local retailer to see if one lonely compact magically still lingered on the shelf. Not one face illuminator exists anywhere along the Eastern seaboard.

Just as quickly as they were created, my dreams were shattered, and a deep, dark devastation settled over HCG. My mood grew so despondent I even resorted to searching for this product on eBay and, as much as I love getting limited edition things that others cannot find, I just can’t stomach dropping $150 on a $42 face illuminator (to the person selling this on eBay – F you). Plus, my recent successes with after-Christmas sales have placed certain restrictions on my discretionary spending budget. That Neiman’s sale gets me every year.

Do I blame myself for not knowing of this product earlier when it was released in the fall? Of course I do. But I don’t think I deserve to be tortured in this fashion. I became so crazed for your face illuminator that I seriously debated stealing the used sample I saw at Sephora this weekend until Joe convinced me (1) I would get arrested and (2) stealing a sample is dirty even if you scrape off the top layer. I should’ve done it when he wasn’t looking.

Please release more of this product. I beg you. I’ve learned that certain LM retailers have received additional shipments of other recently released limited edition products, but no face illuminators were ever provided. WHY GOD MUST YOU TORTURE ME? Are my weird undetectable skin/food allergies not enough?

I will not rest until I obtain this product.

xo,
HCG

P.S. I think you’re awesome.

I have clogs and I have booties, but I don’t have lace-up clog booties. Exactly.

Lace-up clog booties, $230 at Madewell

I made a life changing discovery while shopping on my 29th birthday: under certain mysterious conditions, you can buy things (including luxury handbags) in other states without paying any sales tax.

I don’t totally understand how this sneaky system works, and I don’t really care. But from what I know, if a label does not have a free standing store in your area (or at least in your state), you can have goods shipped to you sans sales tax. The good news: this knowledge will surely save me considerable money in my lifetime. The bad news: I learned of this no-sales-tax system while standing in the Prada store in Soho. Additional bad news: I “really needed a new work bag” (Joe’s words, not mine – true story).

As you can see, I succumbed to the beauty of this cobalt blue leather dream, and it was just the beginning of HCG’s biggest two-day spending binge to date – one I’m hoping to top when we go to Paris in the fall. After swiping the Amex at Prada, we spent the remainder of our time in New York having goods from all types of retailers – the newly opened Frye store, AllSaints, even J.Crew – shipped to us without paying sales tax. I didn’t ask questions, I just felt happy (and mildly nauseous at the rate of spending). On our final night in the city, I even suggested to Joe that we just get the hell out of there because that was the only way we could guarantee we’d stop spending money. (Spoiler: we didn’t leave early. We spent even more money.) I returned to Philadelphia significantly more poor than I left and with nothing to show for it because, per the secret no-sales-tax rules, everything had to be shipped to me.

Of all the tax-free birthday purchases I made that weekend, my new Prada bag is my clear favorite. I’m still a little hesitant to use is as my daily work bag especially while scooting even though the bag comes with a cross body strap. But from the times I have used it, I can tell you this much: people take the woman who carries this bag seriously, and I’m willing to be they think she paid sales tax on it. HA!

Many thanks to Prada for this birthday gift! Mark my words: I will never pay sales tax again.*

*Editor’s note: I have paid sales tax many times since my purchase of this bag. Many times.

HCG made an especially significant purchase on Black Friday 2011: a 13-inch MacBook Air!

My old Dell Inspiron 700m (circa 2004) just wasn’t cutting it any longer. Besides taking about 20 minutes to power on, this sad little guy required constant plugged-in power and hadn’t had functioning sound for the past four years. And it weighed about 17 pounds. But my old Dell should be credited with being by my side through every step of law school and helping me pass the bar – accomplishments I thought would bring me much more personal happiness than they actually have.

HCG rarely makes electronics purchases without intense deliberation and planning. Clarification: HCG rarely makes electronics purchases period. Because a MacBook Air would (1) cost a pretty penny and (2) be the first computer my parents’ didn’t buy for me, I decided to throw it back old school and attempt to save up until I had enough cash to buy this new computer outright. I thought this noble game plan would prompt admiration from my family and friends, but it brought on only mockery. Yes, I know I don’t blink at spending somewhat exorbitant amounts on handbags and shoes.

Much to Joe’s frustration, I refused to take my new computer out of the box for about two weeks after I bought it because our house wasn’t in sufficient order. Once I got my brand new MacBook purring, I learned how much I had been missing (I imagine I’ll experience similar feelings once I finally get an iPhone). This baby runs like a dream. The keyboard is so smooth it feels like I’m typing on melted butter. The sound works so well.

Special thanks are in order to my parents, CF + JDF, JMJR + T Fuzz and Little B and her family for all contributing to this huge upgrade in the form of birthday or other gifts. The “Gina’s Computer Fund” envelope filled up much quicker than I anticipated, and I couldn’t wait any longer when the MacBook Air was on sale for $100 off on Black Friday. You know I love a great deal on an expensive item.

After all, when you run a wildly successful blog like HCG, it’s only expected that you have a fancy computer.

Any fan of HCG knows how much I love book club. I wasn’t able to post about all of the books we read this year, so I wanted to end the year with an ode to book club’s favorite reads of 2011 (in perfect HCG fashion, I’m a few days late). Also, I’m pretty obsessed with The Hunger Games, so I was pumped for an excuse to write about the trilogy.

To help with this post, I took a quick survey of my book club’s members to see which books were most loved last year. Some members with excess free time on their hands didn’t respond as quickly as I would’ve liked (MR), so I had to prompt her them. By a landslide, The Hunger Games won. We read all three Hunger Games books in November, and we quickly learned why so many people were taken by the technically “young adult” novels. It seems like lately “young adult” is code for “awesome”. Since November, I’ve basically made it my life’s mission to convince everyone I know to read these books. As I finished each one, I handed the books over to Joe and he promptly began reading them. Joe isn’t a big reader, but he tore through THG. He is so excited for the first movie to be released in March, he suggested we sleep outside the movie theater the night it premieres. When I discover someone (a stranger or a friend) hasn’t read THG, I suggest that person immediately ceases whatever activity she is doing and starts reading these books. They’re that good.

In distant second but still widely adored by our members was Tina Fey’s hilarious book Bossypants. As a Delaware County, PA native, I, and most other women I know, am generally smitten by Tina Fey. As CF predicted, this book made me feel embarrassed to read it in public. Before I started reading it, CF tried to read aloud portions on the beach in Cape May, and I thought I was going to have to muzzle her to prevent her from spoiling the entire thing from me. Much like THG, once you read Bossypants, all you want to do is talk to someone else who read the book about your favorite parts.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet (our May selection) was another favorite of 2011. Ever since author Jamie Ford became the second author to comment on a Here Comes Gina book club post, he has been held in high regard on this site. We lost book club member Torrey to Boston after this meeting – R.I.P. Torrey.

Finally, many of our members (myself included) enjoyed What Alice Forgot (our September selection) as evidenced by the length of my HCG post about the book. I’ve since made that warm apple cobbler recipe three times, and it’s always a hit. Have you tried it yet Maureen Maxwell? Due to end-of-summer vacations, we took August off – hence the appropriate Google image of a sun.

We’ve set the entire 2012 book club calendar and chosen the first two books, and I’m hosting in April. As I’ve told Joe, that gives us more than four months to refinish our floors, do some more painting and make other necessary home improvements. Where would our house be without book club as a deadline?

Happy 2012 to all!

xo,
HCG

Here Comes Gina enjoyed an especially wonderful Christmas this year. Joe and I hosted every member of our immediate families (a first) for the fourth Christmas Eve in a row. We worked like elves on speed in the weeks leading up to Christmas to prepare our house, the gifts and the menu, and our diligence paid off. Our “feast of seven pastas” was a success, and Aunt Gina and Uncle Joe even started a a new tradition of giving our little nieces and nephews special matching Christmas pajamas. After attending longer-than-expected midnight mass and doing some final clean up, we eventually passed out at 4:30 a.m. just in time for Santa to wiggle down our chimney and leave some gifts. Side note: how awesome would it be if that actually happened?

Pictured here are a few snippets of my Christmas experience. I hope everyone had equally fantastic Christmases!

Above, from left to right:

• My mom (my McMahon family pollyanna) gave me a Dyson! Joe gave it a whirl the other day, and it’s life changing. Muchas gracias Mom.
• How can this gingerbread man ornament not make you smile?
• One of my favorite Christmas gifts: The Book of Awesome from CF.
• Festive napkin rings from Crate and Barrel added holiday sparkle to our Christmas Eve feast.
• It’s all about the flowers: red and white roses with fresh cranberries topped our Christmas Eve dinner table.
• One of my gifts to Joe: Wall and Piece – a book comprising the works of the notorious graffiti artist Banksy.
• Another one of my favorite ornaments on our tree: a chocolate chip cookie.
• Joe gave me the Ibiza brush!
• My mother-in-law Carol (my Colantonio family pollyanna) gave me the Clarisonic Mia! I haven’t used it yet but am very excited to look at least 10 years younger.
• My mom’s much loved butter cookies which are a highly anticipated annual treat in the McMahon family. Despite a scary malfunction with my mom’s cookie press, she was able to churn out enough for me to scarf down an entire (albeit relatively small) tin the day after Christmas. Also pictured: my beloved holiday Hershey’s kisses.

Dear Santa,

Above is a collage depicting the items on HCG’s personal Christmas wishlist. These items are listed below in no particular order of desirability, so feel free to choose whatever you like.

FYI – I am publishing this to my readers so they may use my personal wishlist as gift suggestions for their friends and family. Since the HCG community and I have a lot in common, I’m willing to bet my wishlist helps them shop. If I happen to receive some of these gifts from my husband/friends/family as a result of this post, well, that’s just an added bonus.

Waiting anxiously for baby Jesus to arrive,
Gina

1. A backpack vacuum or a Dyson so I don’t kill myself vacuuming the steps in our three-story house. Lame? Probably. Practical? Definitely. Besides, who wants to buy a vacuum for herself?
2. Proenza Schouler PS1 in midnight blue. Significantly cooler than the vacuum.
3. A terrarium for my office (preferably from Terrain because things there are expensive and smell nice). It turns out I’m not that good at watering plants.
4. This J.Crew bracelet which C and I gifted to A for her 30th birthday in July. I still curse myself for not buying two.
5. Hanky Panky low-rise thongs. A girl can never have too many. Great stocking stuffer.
6. Anything cashmere (preferably moderately expensive cashmere). My wardrobe definitely needs more cashmere.
7. A DVF wrap dress. How is it possible that I still don’t own one?
8. Anything by The Row (PLEASE).
9. More free time to work on HCG. This may require an annual stipend in the amount of my current yearly salary. Make magic happen, Santa.
10. This Ibiza round brush.
11. A Yogitoes yoga towel.
12. Voluspa candles. I love them. I also love the Yankee Candle “Christmas Wreath” and “White Christmas” scents (they make any space smell like a Christmas dream), but I just bought two huge jars so I’m good for a while.
13. Elegant and impressive Here Comes Gina personalized notecards to send thank yous for all of the free gifts I receive (CF came up big in 2009 with HCG’s beloved business cards). Feel free to throw in a personalized HCG return address stamp if you have time. Letterpress notecards are suggested.
14. Laser hair removal for my entire body. You’ve been ignoring this request since Christmas 1994.
15. Hunter fleece welly socks.
16. A glass straw dispenser. I am really into straws lately and wish I had somewhere nice to store them.
17. The Clarisonic Mia skin cleansing system. I’ve heard way too many good things about it to put off trying it myself any longer.
18. A gift certificate to Soul Cycle (the most amazing spinning studio on Earth). Yes, I know I live in Philadelphia, but SC is worth a day trip to the Big Apple. Did I mention I celebrated my 29th birthday workout there this year?

Congratulations to the winner of the Lucky FABB swag bag giveaway: NORAH MAXWELL!

Here’s how the incredibly sophisticated selection process worked: I manually typed the names of all those who left comments into the list randomizer on random.org. I excluded (1) comments by my sister’s dog Rusty Ferry, (2) any multiple comments (Jenn, Rusty Ferry) and (3) any comments by me. Then I hit “randomize” and Norah Maxwell’s name came up as #1! I grabbed a screenshot of the final list so Meg, Mary, Betty, Ski and A Lud could see just how close they were to winning. CF – you were actually #62 out of #63, so no re-do was necessary. Phew!

It’s only fitting that a member of the Maxwell/McGann would win HCG’s first giveaway since they’ve been on Team HCG since day 1. Hopefully Norah will share some of the FABB swag bag contents with everyone else in her family (HCG suggests a birthday gift to Cassidy).

This giveaway was so thrilling, I may just start buying stuff to give away on HCG. I’m sure Joe will love that.

Thanks to everyone who participated!

HCG is thrilled to announce our first official giveaway!

You may recall that I attended Lucky magazine’s FABB conference in September and promised to write about the tons of goodies that were included in the swag bag. Well, I’m doing you one better: I’m giving away the entire thing (except for the paddle brush pictured in the background of the photo above. The handle of my brush recently broke during an aggressive blowout, and I had to grab this one to finish).

Christmas is right around the corner, so winning this swag bag – which is actually a LeSportsac weekend bag that is literally bursting with products, discounts and gift certificates – would do wonders for checking people off your list. Oh the stockings you can stuff with all these goodies!

From our favorite spin pins to Smashbox eye shadow to Butter nail polish to Marshalls gift certificates (two $25 GCs!), there is truly something for everyone. Let Here Comes Gina make your holiday shopping a bit easier.

HOW TO ENTER:

1. Comment below. That’s it!
2. One entry/comment per person (no, CF, you may not use multiple e-mail addresses).
   
3. Giveaway closes at 11:59 p.m. EST on Tuesday, December 13, 2011. The winner will be selected at random (for real – this means you CF) and will be announced on HCG on Wednesday, December 14, 2011. The winner will be contacted via e-mail to confirm delivery details, so be sure to provide a legit e-mail address when you comment.
4. Giveaway is valid for U.S. residents only. My dad isn’t cool with shipping stuff for me internationally.
5. HCG makes no representations or warranties regarding the contents of this swag bag. No purchase necessary; void where prohibited. Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received. Must be 16 or older to participate.
6. Good luck!