What's in store this week

Say hello to June with some stellar deals this week that won't break your bank account.

1. $10 Wine Crash Course: Summer Sippers in Wine. Need I explain more? Tuesday, June 2, 7PM at the Wine Gallery (375 Boylston St., Brookline).

2. Join Groupon. You're e-mailed a different offer in the Boston-area each day and, if the minimum amount of people required for this deal sign up, you all receive the discounted rate; if not enough people sign up, the deal is null-and-void (the special offers rely on a group rate-- hence groupon-- and differ depending on what the offer entails). Some recent offers have included steeply discounted mani/pedis at a Newbury salon, tennis lessons at a local country club, and a massage at over 50% off.

3. Take a blissfully free yoga class. lululemon (Prudential Center, Back Bay) and The SportsClub/LA (4 Avery St., Theatre District) have partnered up to offer a yoga class for attendees to "experience the sweetness, strength, and power connected to backbending." Thursday, June 4, 6:30-8PM. To join, e-mail samrein@mp-sportsclub.com or call 617-375-8537; mention the plug in lululemon's May 28th e-newsletter.

4. $1 oysters/half-priced apps/$2.50 drafts in the North End. Mondays through Fridays/Mondays through Fridays 4-7PM/anytime, respectively, at The Living Room (101 Atlantic Ave., North End).

5. If you're a Bank of America, see fine art for free this weekend. Bank of America's Museums on Us program gives cardholders free general admission to over 100 museums nationwide on the first weekend of each month. Saturday, June 6 through Sunday, June 7 (closes at 7PM) at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts (465 Huntington Ave., Fenway/Kenmore). Bring a photo ID and any Bank of America card.

Definition: Recessionista

Noun. (plural recessionistas) 1. A person who is able to stick to a tight budget while still managing to dress stylishly. (Wiktionary)

Like a fabulous roommate and friend (and a fellow Diva herself), Asti came home on Friday with material for my blog.

"I've got a new word for you," she said. "RECESSIONISTA." I was hooked from the second the word rolled off her tongue-- and then, a little embarrassed that it hadn't yet been added to my vocabulary. It is now. And you Divas-- or recessionistas-- should give it a whirl, too. Above, Wiktionary's definition. Below, an example of its context.

From New York's Daily News, July 2008:

"Frugalness is the new black," said Kathryn Finney, author of "How to Be a Budget Fashionista." "People are looking at shopping and consumerism in completely different ways. I'm seeing people on Wall Street talking about getting their suits in Century 21. That would never have happened a few years ago. People are proud to be bargain hunters." (Frugal fashion: New Yorkers learn to look good for a lot less)

In the spirit of today's urban slang lesson, I took an article from London's Times Online, 50 ways to be a recessionista, and tiered it to la vie in Boston:

How to be a recessionista in Boston

THE WAY WE WERE. THE WAY WE ARE NOW.

Sunday brunch at the Aujourd'hui (200 Boylston St., Back Bay). DIY crepes, served on a tray with a napkin.
A day at Bella Sante (38 Newbury St., Back Bay). Perfect your pedicure technique on a mate.

The morning Starbucks run. A good ol' fashion brew from the kitchen. (Gives you a few minutes more of shut-eye each day!)
Afternoon tea at the Taj (15 Arlington St., Back Bay) A slug of rum in your Nestle's hot chocolate.
New shoes. New heels and soles for your old Jimmy Choos.
Redecorating your bedroom. Rearranging your bookshelves.
A romantic mini-break. A weekend’s worth of DVD box sets and takeaways.
A hot tub for the garden. An hour-long bath, while sipping a vodka tonic.
Buying into the military look. Changing the buttons on your winter coat.
A Friday blow-dry. A set of heated rollers stashed in your desk drawer.
Dressing up and eating out. Doing the housework in lingerie.
Vintage Dom Pérignon Sipping. $6.99 Prosecco from Trader Joes

(748 Memorial Dr., Cambridge; 1317 Beacon St., Brookline).

Paying for therapy. A bitch-session with your fellow Divas.
A weekly flower delivery from the florist. A trip to the 'burbs to pick your own.
Dry cleaning your statement blouse. Airing it in off the balcony.
The 7/8 trouser length. Chopping the bottoms off last season’s skinnies.
Upgrading to the new BlackBerry Bold. Going blackberry picking.
Shopping every weekend on Newbury Street. Swearing off shopping (unless, perhaps, there's a bargain to be found...).
Personal-training sessions at Sports Club/LA (4 Avery St., Chinatown). Letting rip on the dance floor at every opportunity.
New hairdo. New parting.
A weekly manicure. CVS’s long-lasting manicure.
eBay. craigslist free listings.
Having it all. Having to choose the one, utterly perfect thing you just have to have this month.
Investing in a new-season Gucci folk dress. Wearing a skinny jumper under a summer smock.
A new cashmere scarf. Joining a knitting group.
Big statement jewelry. Scouring a flea market for old costume jewelry.
Member’s clubs. Starting a book club.
Going away with friends. Having friends to stay.
Botox. Detox.

(Photo Credit: Recession illustration for the Style section of the New York Times.)

A posh dinner... in your own apartment

$7. Not bad for a three-course meal from the ever-expensive Whole Foods. 

And how is this possible, you ask? Finding three more Divas, each with $7 to spare. 

With a little time, creativity, and $28, Asti, Caroline, Martha, and I enjoyed a stellar Sunday evening dinner last night. We even grabbed a free DVD rental on the way home. 

Although our dinner soiree was impromptu-- we met at the grocery store and decided our menu on the spot-- a Diva can be even more savvy with a planned menu. See what staples your local grocery spot has on sale this week and base the meal around that staple. Be creative-- see what ingredients you have laying around the house, what spices you'd like to work with, and what products in the kitchen may work well (if not better) as substitutes. 

Next Saturday night, instead of doing cocktails and dinner at a city hot spot-- and racking up your bill-- host a dinner party. If you feel less-than-Diva-like by asking friends for money as they walk through your door (after all, a Diva on a Dime is not cheap, just cost-conscious), then suggest each guest bring a bottle of vino (starting at $2.99 at Trader Joes, 748 Memorial Dr., Cambridge; 1317 Beacon St., Brookline) or some tapas to share. Or, make it more casual and invite them over to help cook (and break open the bubbly a little earlier).

Although our bank accounts may be struggling a bit, your social life doesn't have to come to a halt. Sometimes the most memorable times with fellow Divas are spent with a few bottles of wine, some warm nosh, and a cozy apartment.