If you are anything like me, you are absolutely obsessed with your iPhone, but hate having to remove your gloves during the winter to use it.

Well, during Black Friday I walked into North Face and discovered the E-Tip Glove which solves the problem of using my iPhone without having to remove my gloves, but presents an entirely new problem, this time one of style (click here to see what I mean). While the X-Static material on the E-Tip works remarkably well, the high-tech, Spiderman-ish styling of the rest of the glove will simply not work with my Prada coat.

I’m not usually one to sacrifice style for comfort, but I really love my iPhone and have been thinking about ordering a pair of the E-Tips…until just a few moments ago when I stumbled upon the Dots Gloves seen here. Not only are these more normal looking than the North Face ones, but they cost half as much ($18) and are probably warmer. I have a feeling that the dots won’t work as well as the X-Static patches of the E-Tips, but I plan on personally giving them a try and will let you know what I think soon enough.

Although I’m a little obsessed with my iPhone and am constantly trying to pressure others into getting one as well, I was amused by Jeff Zeleny’s recent piece in the NY Times Lose the BlackBerry? Yes He Can, Maybe. If you haven’t already read it, you should do so because it is something worth thinking about.

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There are lines for everything. Lines for the iPhone, lines of kids dying to catch a peek at Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen at their Union Square book signing, steady lineups at Magnolia Bakery for cupcakes, and of course, plenty of lines all over Disneyland. There are also really depressing lines too - like the mile-long one I saw today at Grand Central for a job fair.

With so many people being laid off lately, you can’t help but wonder what things are going to be like in a week, a month, 6 months, a year. I might be “blogging” in chalk on the new york city streets instead of in my comfortable apartment, typing away on my mac and leisurely eating a bowl of pasta, all while enjoying the ambiance provided by a newly acquired Belle Fleur candle. Let’s just cross our fingers that that doesn’t end up happening.

In case you aren’t familiar with how dire the situation is really becoming, here are just a very few cuts being made in the world of magazines:

• Men’s VOGUE has been cut to just two issues a year and is being absorbed into VOGUE
• ELLE Accessories (which I’ve always bought but never found that ground-breaking) has been temporarily suspended for a year
• Conde Nast Portfolio is down to 10 issues a year
• RADAR and CosmoGIRL! have folded
• Time Inc (big poppa to InStyle) is laying off 600 employees

This may very well prove to be the scariest Halloween ever.

…and now, a ray of sunshine for our beloved yet beat-up New York:

Hermes Sample Sale

Wed. 9/24, 10am-6pm
Thurs. 10am-8pm
Fri.-Sat. 10am-6pm
Sun. 9/28, 1-6pm

Metropolitan Pavilion
125 W. 18th St. 4th Fl (6th/7th Ave)

Shop bags, scarves, ties, home collectibles, ready-to-wear, etc. and have fun!

UPDATE: Today around 11:30am we walked over to the Hermes sample sale and what did we see? Millions of scarves? Hundreds of ties? No. We didn’t see any Hermes at all - we simply saw a huge line of well-dressed fashionistas. Stretching down W. 18th St, up 6th Ave, blocking the entrance to the Container Store, and then curving around W. 19th St. were girls and boys patiently waiting in line while proudly displaying their classic ‘H’ belts and clacking away on their blackberries.

It was a sight to behold, but not something we really felt like being a part of (it’s true that I waited in line for my iPhone, but I’ve got enough Hermes to satisfy me for the time being). So what did we do instead? We waited in another line - at the Shake Shack. That’s right - we did not wait for Hermes but we waited for double cheeseburgers and fries.

Learn a bit about Hermes’ famous Birkin and Kelly bags here.

The right songs always seem to come on when I let my iphone shuffle randomly, although this morning it kept playing sad, sappy songs, & ones about getting over someone - apparently my iphone thinks I should still be grieving over my failed relationship even if I’m already over it.

The ‘Random’ Playlist:

• Where Do Broken Hearts Go? - Me First & The Gimme Gimmies (a punk cover)
• The Damage In Your Heart - Weezer
• Goodbye to You - Michelle Branch
• So Much for my Happy Ending - Avril Lavigne
• Love is a Battlefield - Pat Benatar
• I Miss You - Blink 182
• Stop Crying Your Heart Out - Oasis
• This Ruined Puzzle - Dashboard Confessional

Seriously! I finally had to stop the damn thing and select ‘Damn It Feels Good To Be A Gangsta’ by Geto Boys, from Office Space.

My Saturday began at 4am. And by 5, we (my boyfriend and I) were down at the Apple store at 58th and 5th in line for an iPhone.

New York has a certain calm to it at 5am. The sky is a striking cobalt blue and the buildings seem at peace. All that glitters in the windows of Harry Winston and Bvulgari is removed.

After about 20 minutes in line, I left my boyfriend waiting there to look at windows of Bergdorf Goodman. As I crossed 5th, I wondered which window I was meant to begin with…

I decided to round down around 57th and look at the south windows dedicated to the contemporary collections on 5F. While peering into one of the windows, 2 men walked past me. “Thinking of getting one?” they asked, referring to the Helmut Lang and Alice + Olivia dresses on display in the window in front of me.
“No, not one of these,” I said. “Actually, my boyfriend is in line for an iPhone, so I figured I might as well window shop.” They laughed and bid me good night.

The main windows were fairly uninspired (compared to other ones I’ve seen as Bergdorf’s), but i do love the looks by Peter Som and Marni. A lace Prada number is also on display and each time I see more of the fall collection, I melt just a little bit more. The YSL dress in the window of 58th and 5th is by far the best.

When I got back in line, it had taken a new shape and we we’re now lined up next to FAO Schwartz. I looked at my phone - it was only 5:40. We hadn’t even been there an hour.

Most people in line were men, most were wearing polo shirts and simple t-shirts. I overheard two guys talking, mentioning that they had seen a “couple of chicks here with their boyfriends” and I thought it was so odd that they didn’t even consider that these ‘chicks’ would be buying an iPhone for themselves. In general, I don’t see gadgets as gender-specific at all - and as technology becomes more intertwined with taste and style, it seems to get further and further aways from  it’s dorky reputation.

I grew up on a little island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean where the only places to shop were Contempo Casual, 5-7-9, JCPenny, and Liberty House (now Macy’s). Access to everything is quite limited, which has always frustrated me – Aside from the perfect weather, good food, beautiful beaches, gorgeous people, and overall easy-going attitude, I don’t know how my parents can live there.

In Manhattan you can get pretty much anything. We seem to have absolute access to everything and after living here for over 4 years, I’m rather used to the conveniences of New York. We have dinosaurs, waterfalls, hotdogs on every street corner, over 150 Starbucks locations, sushi at 1am, etc. We also have 3 Apple stores and a zillion AT&T locations…which is why I’m so annoyed at this whole iPhone mess.

I still do not have an iPhone - but I did wait outside of the AT&T store on 17^th and 6^th between 2:33pm and 2:41pm today, in a short line of crazy people just waiting, and hoping, and praying for the next delivery of iPhones. Each time a FedEx truck drove by, people stood up and got excited. I sat down and decided join the craziness for a little bit…before deciding to get a Jamba Juice and go shopping instead.

During my very short-lived stint in line for not-even-there iPhones I saw:

• At least 6 girls in gladiator sandals
• The Stella McCartney spring floral jumpsuit (really. on a real girl.)
• A bunch of Seth Rogen lookalikes and a girl who was clearly thrilled to be surrounded by them

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My boyfriend managed to get an iPhone today (he was one of those boys in line at 7am), and now that he has worked through all of the activation issues, he’s in love with it. Earlier this evening, I received the following text message:

“So the new iPhone is damn sexy (but still not as sexy as you).”

Then, he left a voice mail informing me that he was in bed early, playing with his iPhone.

Although it sounds like I may be losing my boyfriend to his new, sexy iPhone and that I should be worried, I’m dying to spend intimate time with one of those sleek beauties myself! I planned on picking one up today as well, but was too lazy. Hopefully I’ll be able to get a hold of one this weekend without having to endure any painful lines. If any of you know of a secret location selling iPhones, please, please let me know! xoxo

I must admit that I’m even more mesmerized by the new iPhone 3G than I am by Prada’s fall collection. I didn’t get an iPhone when they first came out, but I think I’m ready for one now - especially if they really are twice as fast and half the price as apple advertises.

The thing is - I’m already online all day as it is. I check my email and the weather the moment I wake up. I go straight to my office where I immediately get online and stay online until I leave. And even though my eyes are tired from looking at my screen all day, I can’t help but flip open my laptop the minute I get home. In some ways, by being online so much I’m more connected to the world, and in other ways, I’m simply isolating myself from the life I love so much. Really it’s just an acceptable addiction. So I guess the question is: do I really need an iPhone too?