Mesa Arts Center - Shauna Gillies-Smith of Ground for MSI (GroundInc.com)

This week we were invited to speak to an extraordinary group of women. Called the Design Salon Boston, this informal organization brings together interior designers, architects, product designers, and writers once a month to talk about their trade and figure out how to do what they do better. We met up at the groundbreaking architectural firm, Utile, hosted by principal Mimi Love.

It’s about time someone figured how to gather the creative types in the city, but I was a little wary of the women-only bent. Wary, that is, until I witnessed its merits first-hand.

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We’re just going to say it: We love quasi-sciencey books about feelings.

From Jane Goodall and Meredith Smalls’ anthropologic looks into love and human behavior to the recent influx of bestsellers about happiness—if a publisher sticks an emotion in a book title, a Ph.D after the author’s name, and a piece of art that doesn’t scream “self-help” on the cover, we’ll gladly pony up $24.95.

As you can imagine, it was only a matter of time before we were itching to conduct our own emotive exploration. It might be too late for us to become famous world-saving primatologists, but we’re doing the next best thing—uncoding what we, as Bostonians, are really looking for when it comes to Love.

Here’s where you, dear readers, come in: Take 5 minutes to humor our Goodall obsession by taking our survey, and we’ll reward you with Boston’s first-ever, in-depth look at how we hook up in the Hub. (Just think: You’ll be able to read interesting information about feelings under the safety of the non-self-helpy Boston magazine cover. You’ll take deep satisfaction in knowing that you were (sort of) in the magazine. And you’ll pay far less than $24.95!)

It’ll be fun. Promise. Click here for the survey.

On an icy Wednesday afternoon at the Pru, Bostonista snooped inside the bags of 10 satisfied shoppers. See the rest in our slideshow.

Colleen, 26, graphic designer, South Boston Banana Republic black pants for work

Junaid, 35, real estate, Boston Filene's basement black leather gloves, Express shirt

As you’ve probably figured out by now, we’re always up for a cocktail party. Especially when it’s celebrating the opening of a swish nightspot located but a stone’s throw from our office. At last night’s Minibar kick-off soiree, the guest list was tight, lychee martinis went down smooth (too smooth?), and the mini kobe beef hot dogs hit the spot.

Click here for photo evidence.

5 Huntington Ave., Boston, 617-424-8500, www.minibarboston.com.

—MIA GANT

Rachel Baker and Sascha de Gersdorff get cold feet about warm winter footwear (well, at least, one of them does).

Sascha: So tell me, Rachel, how are you getting around in all this snow?

Rachel: Ugh. It’s rough. I alternate between my aubergine Hunter galoshes, regular boots, and sneakers. It’s positively soggy no matter what route I take. I’m in desperate need of snow boots…but yours are so ugly. I don’t know if I can make that sacrifice. I mean, I’m no native New Englander.

Sascha: Hmpf. I’m not sure they’re SO ugly… Well, ok, they are. But I’m vaguely superheroinesque in them. I mean, I can dash through puddles, traipse across ice, and wade into snow banks without ever getting cold feet. I don’t think we can say as much about those Puma sneakers you’ve been wearing around.
And how about those three-inch heel things?

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“What are doing for New Year’s Eve?”

“I don’t know. What are you doing?”

“Hitting up 21 parties.”

“Can I come, too?”

“Absolutely!”

Check out our slide show of all the best New Year’s Eve fetes in town.

If you only do two things tomorrow, that’s fine. Just make them count. We’ll make it easy for you:

1. Vote for Barack!
Unless you’d be happy to see Bostonista move to Switzerland, and you very well may be, please help implement change tomorrow. That’s all we’ll say on that and no, it’s not because we’ve got a problem with red skirt suits. (Though, separately, we probably do.) (more…)

Should you still be feigning ignorance to the fact that you’ve been wearing your “just in case” jacket with regularity, let Bostonista break it to you—summer is over. Say it with us… It’s over!

It’s time to back away from the flip flops and loosen your death grip on those summer scarves. No seriously, let go. We’ll get through this together.

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Let us guess: You’ve lived in the area for years but have never actually made much effort to explore the city (and look like a day-tripper? Quel horreur!).

At Bostonista, we love brushing up on our town’s scenic history, but, like you, can’t stomach waddling aboard one of those clunky neon tour tanks and squawking up and down Beacon Hill. Instead, we’ve been satisfying our curiosity under the radar with Audissey Guides, a locally owned company that offers free self-guided audio tours available for download on its site.

A few months ago, we trekked from the Park Street Church to the harbor, but skipped out on an equally overlooked (by locals, that is) part of town. Luckily, Audissey recently released a new walk specifically devoted to the nation’s first public botanical garden. Here are some of our favorite stops in the aptly named Public Garden.

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I’m not in the business of throwing around terms like “dictator,” or “fascist state,” but I will say that here at Boston magazine our candy supply is largely at the whim of one woman. This woman really likes M&Ms. Not that I’m complaining.

Over at Cambridge chocolatier L.A. Burdick, locals have a real choice, and it’s not peanut versus plain: a box of Barack Obama, or chocolate a la John McCain. Available through the November election, the shop’s SElection 2008 features assortments of chocolates “meant to celebrate the all-American background of two of the Presidential candidates.” (more…)