WRIST WATCH
Get ahead of the spring fashion curve with these stylish bracelets, made with multiple strands of waxed, polished cotton cords combined with gold, silver and gunmetal hardware. Each piece is handcrafted in Italy by designer Gillian Julius, who draws her influence from her native South Africa. Julius’ design captures spring’s chunky look but is so light weight you’ll want to wear it every day. The color palette is soft, muted and sophisticated, and any of the various color combos pairs perfectly with a T-shirt and jeans — and can even give a conservative suit a kick. It will definitely be your spring/summer go-to piece for a night out on the town. Available at kiki in River Ranch, 406-0904, prices start at $220. — Leslie Turk
PUNCH DRUNK
Dessert first. That’s my new mantra, and the quintessential breakfast quaff, bourbon milk punch, fits the bill. Jolie’s Louisiana Bistro serves brunch on Sundays, which calls for a pick-me-up from the get go. Sure there’s the ubiquitous Mimosa and the hair of the dog Bloody Mary, but if you’re looking for a New Orleans experience a la Brennan’s, go for the milk punch. Jolie’s version starts with vanilla Bluebell ice cream. Liquefied, it becomes the base for the drink, which gets a healthy shot of Knob Creek bourbon, a brisk shake over ice, and then is served, martini style, dusted with nutmeg, in a frosted up-glass. The best part is that the bourbon milk punch is not reserved for Sundays only; it’s available any time, like Thursday night, for dessert, after a nibble of Oysters Jolie, while sitting at the bar. Yum, yum, yum. $5 on Sundays. Call Jolie’s Louisiana Bistro at 504-2382. — Mary Tutwiler
FIRE SALE
The Gods of Thunder love it when the next generation of young dudes worships at the stone totem of rock, and elects to crank up and grind down on the sacred chords handed down through the ages. Chugging, riffing, squealing, howling. All of that. Recorded at home and engineered, mixed, and mastered by Matt Jeansonne, the new Wildfires CD Qualms traffics in the anger of the ancients, the fury of the righteous, and the mysteries of the quixotic. Grizzly riffs spill into vocal quatrains that give way to speeding fits of heaviness. This ain’t smooth crooning music. Vocals scream, heave, and squawk amidst the brown chowder of roaring guitars, skull busting beats, and low end rumble. This is grist for the grind known as heavy rock & roll – howling static paired with mammoth chunk, scorching and howling into the poker face of post-9/11 America. Sometimes the only music that makes any sense is that of a distress signal. Pure angry noise, slugging its way into the heart of the unknown. To buy it, go to http://www.myspace.com/wildfires337. — Dege Legg
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