Forget these humungous handbags slung across the shoulders of every gal from Madison Avenue to Market Street. There’s no reason anyone needs a purse that can hold the entire contents of your house including the kitchen sink. In fact, I say lose the large bag!

My boyfriend and I are avid film buffs. We love to catch a flick at the local cinema but going to a movie theatre lately seems to require a HAZMAT suit and a billy club. The theatres are sticky and dirty, the crowds are like barbarians at the gate, and the only thing to nibble on is junk food.

Los Angeles is a martini kind of town. In fact, the drink might be considered the beverage of choice for old Hollywood rogues, stars and studio heads. Mark your Thomas Guide’s for these 5 hot spots that know how to make a stiff one for the martini mavens of today.

Traveling comes with many perks — luxury accommodations amongst them. Everybody loves a stay in a pristine suite with 1500-count sheets, fluffy terry-cloth robes, Jacuzzi tubs and movie-sized flat screen TVs, not to mention room service. But what about your precious pooch?

Building a fall wardrobe is no small feat. While I adore viewing each season’s collections, choosing which pieces to incorporate right after fashion week can be a bit taxing. I know, for example, that Chanel bouclé will never go out of style, but I may have banked with equal conviction that an orange shearling jacket was a wise purchase. I think it still hangs in the back of my coat closet, tags still sadly from hung from its label.

You can’t deny the old school charm of sipping a smooth scotch and smoking a cigar. I can’t promise you Cubans, but these five bars have the definitive angle on where to get a good scotch in this town.

Temperatures were rumored to climb above the 110-degree mark yesterday in Los Angeles. As I found myself running around Beverly Hills, wishing I was at the beach or just chilling in an ice locker, I knew I needed a cool refreshing beverage and fast. But what? Soda seemed too sickly sweet and I’ve downed so many Arnold Palmer’s this month, I now have a pretty solid golf swing. I wanted something light and tropical that might at least, make me feel like I was lounging in Bali. And then it came to me: baby coconut juice.

Brewskis are no longer for the obnoxious jock set. Microbreweries and gastropubs have brought a little sophistication (and better taste) than you may remember from your last kegger. Let Haute Living guide you through the top five best beer selections in Los Angeles.

I’m mad for fashion — always have been. When other little girls wanted a copy of “Little House on the Prairie,” I begged my mother for a subscription to Vogue. Truth be told, my boyfriend is a bit of clotheshorse too. He hasn’t quite been bitten by the same sartorial bug as me but he definitely has an eye for style and his own aesthetic vision. And of course, now that fall is finally upon us (if you ignore the 100-degree heat), it’s time to stock up on this season’s staple items. We’ve both got our eyes on filling our dresser drawers with buttersoft denim and our closets with button-down shirts, perfect for casual weekend walks on the beach. Luckily, the beach is one block away so we’ve got to get our wardrobes together!