The Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Boston is the place to be Monday, October 18th for gambling, partying with friends, good old debauchery… and all for a very worthy cause. The Home for Little Wanderers, a staple in the New England community for over 200 years, is the beneficiary of this spectacular evening. The organization provides assistance to children and their family in need of housing as well as emotional support for their well being and continued positive growth. And helping out is as easy as high class partying on a Monday night.

While you may love to experience new flavors, you may not be a fan of the usual tasting experience. Who wants to try a fabulous wine only to be told to spit it out? If you want to savor the tastes you are being given, Experience: Chocolate may be the ultimate tasting sensation for you… as well as your friends and colleagues.

Comfort and fashion rarely go together. And while Rockport shoes have been a local brand known for ridiculously comfortable and well crafted footwear for close to 40 years, style has not always been their natural forte. Until now, that is.

It used to be that pampering was left to the salons and barber shops were for a no frills shave and a haircut. In, out and done. And while many barber shops still are low on frills, the urban landscape is also dotted with barber shops that know how to pamper a man and still make him feel like a man. After all, who doesn’t enjoy a little special treatment? Here are Haute Living’s top 5 barber shops in and around Boston.

Vijay Daryanani is a man who never appears to sleep, which seems remarkably absurd as he always has boundless energy for any endeavor he takes on. VIP Club Promoter by night and Clinical Sports Specialist by day, Vijay is in the business of making sure people feel great. Working at Shaughnessy-Kaplan Rehabilitation Hospital in Salem, MA he makes sure his clients stay healthy, fit and limber. His VIP services at V-Fit Productions give club goers…

Martinis of all shapes and sizes have been back in vogue for over a decade now and show no sign of fading into the background. And that’s part of what makes a martini so fun – it’s a bold statement. And no one really knows how strong or how fruity the concoction you are imbibing in is except you and the bartender. For fabulous ‘tinis, the options are plentiful in Boston. Here are our thoughts on the top 5 spots for martinis in and around town.

Did you ever have one of those girlfriends that you loved to get ready to go out with almost as much as you loved going out with her? And besides the fact that she was just a great friend to hang out with, no matter where you were, the real reason for this love of playing dressed up together was having full access to the treasure trove that was her walk in closet. She had funky styles reminiscent of nearly every decade back to the roaring 20’s with color, patterns, textures and styles that just hugged your every curve just right and made you feel like a movie star dressing for her next role.

While LA and Vegas DJs have been known to make the rounds in Boston, rarely does a big name European DJ come to town. Boston is often passed up for New York, Montreal or Miami, and truth be told, there isn’t always the taste for the Euro sound in Boston as there once was. But, with the appearance of arguably one of the top ten DJs in the world, Grammy nominated Bob Sinclar, Boston is…

While our beloved Fenway Park may not see any playoff action this year, it will have the chance, once again, to play a cameo role in another Hollywood movie. This Monday, October 4 through Wednesday, October 6 Fenway Park will be the set for Bennett Miller’s Moneyball. Based on Michael Lewis’ best-selling book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, the story chronicles Oakland A’s General Manager Billy Beane’s use of computer generated analysis to draft players on a low budget and turn that team into a playoff contending team.