MAKING A SPLASH When Oscar Hammerstein wrote There Is Nothin' Like a Dame, he could have been thinking of the high-achieving women in a new book by the veteran Harpers & Queen, Vanity Fair and Vogue photographer Eric Boman.
There's Joan Rivers in a limo, Jackie Collins on a lounger, Penélope Cruz on a haystack, Anna Wintour in scarlet and, more than a few times, Ivana Trump: in sequins, feathers, fur and - almost always - stilettos. Quite a few of the photographs have never been published before, including one of the designer Diane von Furstenberg (above) as Poppea, wife of Nero, taken to coincide with the publication of von Furstenberg's 1993 book The Bath. "We put her in a Roman marble tub in the middle of her Connecticut creek," writes Boman. "In true Poppean style, many backs were strained getting the tub to the creek and back onto the delivery truck." Dames: Women with Initiative and Attitude is published Thames & Hudson, £29.95. Liam Stebbing
HOME SWEET HOME Pity the poor parents who have to remortgage to put their children on the property ladder. Well, now they can remortgage a little earlier, for an altogether more modest dwelling: a playhouse made by Graeme Bird. At about €4,000 they're far from cheap - what would Eddie Hobbs say? - but they are beautifully constructed. Bird, a craftsman whose background is in set design, has been building his Cosy Cottages in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, for about a year. He makes them in a variety of styles, and he fits them out with tiny furniture, a mini kitchen and even a cute chimney piece. Bird recently donated one of his cottages to the sensory garden at Kildarton House, in Glenageary, which Diarmuid Gavin designed for children with special needs. Order now to give Santa time to construct and deliver - and to give you time to get that mortgage sorted. See www.cosycottages.ie or call 01-2868980 or 087-6402505. Eoin Lyons
IN THE MARKET As the countdown to Christmas seems to be well and truly on, there's one place that should really get you in the mood. In the centre of Pest, on Vörösmarty Square, Budapest Christmas fair is one of the many Yuletide markets dotted across eastern Europe. This one has more than 60 stalls, selling handmade arts and crafts that have all been approved by the Hungarian Society of Folk Arts. Beware of coming back the shape of Santa Claus, though: there are also plenty of food stalls, selling honey cake, lángos - a type of fried dough - pastry horns, strudels and barbecued meat. The fair runs from November 26th to December 24th. Topflight has a two-night package, staying in a four-star hotel, for €269. See www.visithungary.ie. Nicoline Greer
MORE FOUR Four, an intimate, non-commercial new art gallery, is the brainchild of two young artists, Lee Welch and Linda Quinlan. They hope to showcase emerging and established artists whose work isn't usually shown in commercial spaces. They are also planning music performances, film screenings and discussion forums. Four's first exhibition, opening at 6pm on Thursday, features the US artist Xylor Jane, who uses algorithms to create complex wall drawings (above). Next month, the Irish artist Mark Garry will curate an exhibition by Paul McKinley, Robert Carr and - music fans take note - the musician and writer Sufjan Stevens. Four (11 Burgh Quay, Dublin 2, 086-3651256) is open on Saturdays, 12-5pm, or by appointment. See www.fourdublin.com. Eimear McKeith
SMOOTHLY DOES IT If you linger over ingredient labels at the supermarket, you might like Innocent's new range of pure smoothies for children. The lunch-box-size cartons feature Nature Girl, the Dude, Chef and other characters who might make your young ones agree that they really do want five portions of fresh fruit and vegetables a day. They come in two flavours - apple and blackcurrant, and orange, mango and pineapple - using slightly sweeter fruits than Innocent's adult range. Expect to pay about €5.49 for a pack of four 180ml cartons at Superquinn, Dunnes Stores and other shops. See www.innocentdrinks.ie. Nicoline Greer
WOODS FOR THE TREES Some areas of life attract dynasties. In politics, for example, once you've counted the de Valeras, the Haugheys and the Lenihans, there are still the Healy-Raes and the Flynns. But artistic dynasties are another matter. It's not every day that you come across a family creative enough to have an exhibition and sale all to itself. The six children and three grandchildren of May and Tony Woods, from Sandyford in Co Dublin, are showing and selling their work (above and left) at Carnegie Library, Sandyford Community Centre, Lamb's Cross, Dublin 18 today (2-6pm) and tomorrow (10am-4pm). It's mainly wood-based work but also includes jewellery, bags and clothes. Three of them are professional cabinet makers and designers, so expect to see some top-quality work. Liam Stebbing
CARD GAMES If you want to impress this Christmas, why not make your own cards? Inspiring Ideas, an arts and crafts shop in Stephen's Green Shopping Centre, in Dublin, has card-making demonstrations today and tomorrow. You can learn how to create stained-glass effects and how to make cards with rubber stamps. The demonstrations run from 11am to 3pm today and from noon to 4pm tomorrow. It is also holding decoration-making demonstrations for children on December 10th and 11th. Call 01-4760183. Nicoline Greer
BLADE RUNNER It's the time of year to make like you're in a romantic comedy and go ice skating. Both 7up Christmas on Ice, at the RDS, and Smithfield on Ice open on Friday. If you're one of the ones likely to be clinging to the side, head for the RDS on Saturday and Sunday mornings, at 9.30am, for their Easy Peasy Skate Sessions, at which ice marshals will be giving advice on staying upright. And for added cool, it has Oxygen Decks on Ice: DJ Mo Kelly will be playing on November 30th and various nights in December. For a crisper experience, Smithfield on Ice is alfresco. See www.7upchristmasonice.ie (0818-717200) and www.smithfieldonice.ie (01-4487777). Nicoline Greer
ON THE MAP You can't beat a local when it comes to finding out where to go and what to do in a foreign city. And if you are spending time in London this winter, wouldn't it be great to ask, say, Jamie Oliver about foodie spots or Zandra Rhodes about where to see the best in design? Londoners' Maps, on the Visit London website, chart the best places for eating, drinking and shopping, as nominated by some of the city's hippest inhabitants. The tennis player Greg Rusedski sends you to a vintage-clothes shop called Gadjo Dilo, in Battersea; the beauty guru Normandie Keith will have you treading the pavements of Belgravia to find her favourite shoe shop, Christian Louboutin; Tara Palmer-Tomkinson loves a shop called Ad-Hoc, in Chelsea, for one-off gifts; and the DJ Norman Jay recommends Yum Yum, a Caribbean restaurant in Notting Hill. Go to www.visitlondon.com, click on City Guide, next click on Maps & Guides, then select Londoners' Maps from the menu. Nicoline Greer