A few weeks ago I had an early morning photo shoot in a hotel-casino lobby. I was there at 3 a.m. and watched swarms of tipsy ladies pour out of the nightclub carrying their heels in their hands. Yes, these ladies were barefoot walking through a casino. Gross. Gross. Gross.

Our entire crew watched in disgust as lady after lady stumbled past, but embarrassingly, I can relate. Come on, you know you can too. Sometimes after a night on the town or even all day in heels your feet are in so much pain you just don’t care about the “eww” factor anymore. It becomes a matter of survival. You sadly become “that girl.”

I made it my mission to find a solution. There had to be a better way to handle this than coming home with tar stained (and who knows what else stained) feet! Gag!

And I found it — Spare Soles (cue angelical music).

Spare Soles has created a super cute/super chic foldable ballet flat. They fold up to fit into the tiniest handbag with a convenient little pouch to keep them in.

They are available in five styles and a variety of colors (they even have styles for weddings and flip flops).

With the holiday season upon us, I have had a ton of events and parties to attend. Normally by the end of the night I would be limping home with swollen/aching feet, but now I am armed with my cute little Spare Soles tucked away in my handbag.  Once my feet get to the point of no return I whip out my Spare Soles and tuck my heels into the cute expandable tote that comes with them. Ah, heaven!

I’ve been rocking the Metro line. What I really like about them is that they have a skid-resistant/water-resistant sole and are durable enough to be an all-day city walking shoe.

Ladies, trust me, Spare Soles are something your feet won’t regret in the morning!

Visit their Web site to see the selection of styles and colors: http://www.sparesoles.com.

Spare Soles wants to help keep you from becoming “that girl.”

One lucky reader will win a pair of the stylish Metro foldable ballet flats (size 7-8 and 9-10 available). To enter, if you haven’t already, subscribe to this blog and leave a comment on this post between Nov.  28 and Dec. 4  recalling a time you could have used Spare Soles. Comments can be left at bottom of post or at top right by clicking the comment icon, depending on your browser.

Good luck and thanks for reading.

Spread the word! For additional entries repost on your Facebook and Twitter.

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Our Haute 100 list details the accomplishments of the most influential people in each of our markets—Miami, New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. These people continue to make moves, so rather than waiting for the next Haute 100 issue to come out, we thought we’d provide you with regular updates on those Haute 100 members who are making headlines. Having sold Flickr about year ago, its creator, Stewart Butterfield, has been free to create what some are calling the greatest revolution in social gaming.

Caterina Fake & Stewart Butterfield

Category: Power Couples

Company: Flickr

Industry: Technology

What Made Them Haute: Fake is an art director; Butterfield is a Web designer. The two of them are hailed as Web 2.0 geniuses, thanks to their photo-sharing site Flickr, which they launched in 2004 without a dime of investments from venture capitalists. Just 16 months later, Yahoo! wrote a check to the power couple to the tune of $30 million. More recently, gamers are holding their breaths in anticipation of Glitch, Butterfield’s collaboration for a new online game, and Fake launched Hunch.com, a site that will offer a recommendation to a dilemma after the user answers 10 questions or less. Is that haute? Yes.

What Makes Him Haute Now: Having sold Flickr about a year ago, Stweart Butterfield has set his sights on social gaming, collaborating with previous Flickr team members to form a game development company called Giant Speck. When he spoke to VentureBeat recently about his latest project, planned to launch next year, the response was a wave of excitement from people hailing what might be the next revolution in social gaming.

The goal of this game is to get it on as many platforms as possible; although they don’t appear to have their sites on Facebook, the many platforms they do have their sites on include websites and portable platforms like iPhone apps. It is due to launch this spring.

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The atmosphere reminded me of Brigitte Bardot’s St. Tropez of the ’60s — except not on this planet, somewhere magical in outer-space. The futuristic buildings, the jet set, the yachts…Abu Dhabi comes alive during the Grand Prix.

I love that you can see the circuit event from the Yas Hotel or the Marina, where you can walk barefoot after a dinner or make a night Champagne and dancing at Allure by Cipriani among the restaurant’s usual following of royals and celebrities. Not only were there jet setters, but Formula 1 legends, team owners, sponsors, mechanics, publicists and of course, and auto enthusiasts, who arrived from all over the world to take part of the exciting GP2 and F1 final races and the opening of Cipriani Yas Island.

Overall, these were special days that made history, especially when Sebastian Vettel surprised and disappointed the Ferrari fans when he won the ultimate prize in motorsport and proudly became the youngest Formula One World Champion. Congratulations!

To learn more about Xenia Tchoumitcheva, visit her Web site www.xeniaonline.com. Or click here to become a fan of Xenia on Facebook.

WHO: The Jills, Hope Gainer, Haute Living, dozens of artists and designers

WHAT: A unique charity event filled with gold art and lifestyle installations to kick off Art Basel

WHERE: Palm Island, Miami Beach

WHEN: TODAY, Monday, Nov. 29, from 7 to 11 p.m.

This Monday, kick off Art Basel week in Palm Island by celebrating “Gold for Life,” a unique showcase of art inspired and enhanced by gold. There you will enjoy the musical beats of Galaxy Girl as well as music by global DJ and recording artist Alto Reed of Bob Seger’s Silver Bullet Band. And with food from Passion of Life Gourmet and drinks from 42 Below Vodka, among other contributors, you and your party will have plenty to keep you more than satisfied through the night.

The exhibition will be non-profit, benefiting two very special charities: A Gift for Life, which funds research for pediatric cancer and United Aliens Artists Foundation, which funds art classes, helping underprivileged children find therapy through art. Please bring donations in form of real gold items of $100 in value or greater, or through contributions of $100 per pair and $75 per person, payable to “A Gift For Life.”

Gold for Life requests that you RSVP for this event at www.agiftforlife.us/events or to paula@paularoldos.com. And be sure to come dressed in gold attire!

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Ideal location off Captains Neck Lane, this two-parcel property comprises eight acres total with more than 900 feet of direct waterfront onto Heady Creek. Unparalleled opportunity to build a world-class estate with pool and tennis in this world renowned estate section.

Offered @ $36,000,000

Contact Harald Grant @ 516.527.7712 or Harald.Grant@sothebyshomes.com. Or visit www.sothebyshomes.com.

We are proud to announce that Haute Living Ambassador Loren Ridinger has been nominated for Entrepreneur of the Year in the fourth annual Mashable Awards. The Mashable awards (formerly known as Open Web Awards), are the brainchild of the social media website, mashable.com. The awards are designed to celebrate those people or companies who have made significant achievements in social media and the digital world.

In addition to her role as senior vice president of the Internet retail giant Market America, Ridinger has also been involved in numerous business endeavors that include her cosmetic line Motives by Loren Ridinger, her skin care line Cellular Laboratories and her luxury jewelry collection Loren Jewels. She also has two websites that she updates frequently, www.lorensworld.com, and www.myfashioncents.com.

Click here to cast your vote for Loren as Entrepreneur of the Year. Simply log on to your Twitter or Facebook account and in the “I nominate” field, enter “Loren Ridinger,” and in the category dropdown menu, select “Entrepreneur of the Year.” Then click “nominate.” Voting closes TONIGHT.

Thanks to all of our readers and congratulations, Loren! We’re rooting for you!

For friends with kids, or friends who are kids, check out the musical based on the books by actress Julianne Moore,  Freckleface Strawberry. The show is about a little girl who is teased for her freckles and red hair, but she later learns to love the skin she’s in. The cast is talented and fun to watch; the songs are catchy and the message is heartwarming and educational. It’s a pretty safe bet for your cultured and coutured friends with littles ones. Also, for the adults, you can grab a sangria on your way in. The show plays at the New World Stages at 340 W. 50th Street.

For more information, visit www.frecklefacethemusical.com

Check out the rest of our Haute Gift Guide items this holiday season at http://www.hauteliving.com/luxury-guide/haute-gift-guide-2010.

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The spring equinox may not occur for a handful more months, but you had better reserve your space now for The Boulders’ “Dining with the Stars” event on March 19, 2011, featuring a five-course meal, wine and a professional astrologer present to reveal the secrets of the night sky as you dine.

Incorporating the very best ingredients from The Boulders’ on-site organic garden, the dinner will highlight produce-themed menus as guests enjoy their five courses beneath the desert’s nighttime sky and set among the sights and scents of the 5,280-square-foot garden itself.

Astrologer Tom McMullan will be on hand to share with guests his knowledge of the constellations and planets as well as perform astrological readings for individuals, relaying how the celestial bodies may influence your life and how your astrological sign relates to others.

The evening’s unique menu will be planned by both The Boulders’ chef and McMullan and will be accompanied by fine wines from Long Meadow Ranch Vineyards. The cost is $95 per person, which includes a cocktail reception, dinner and astrological readings, and the event begins at 6:30 p.m.

This unique event hosted by The Boulders only occurs three times per year, with the upcoming dinners taking place on the spring equinox and summer solstice. Make your reservation by calling the Concierge at 480.488.7317.

The Boulders Resort is located at 34631 N. Tom Darlington Drive in Carefree 480.488.9009

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Sunday supper has never tasted better. Henderson Avenue’s newest eatery Horne & Dekker, the namesake of restaurateurs Shawn Horne (Five Sixty by Wolfgang Puck, Kitchen 1924) and Flynn Dekker (Fogo De Chao), is now offering Sunday supper after their popular Sunday Hangover Brunch. If you like nothing more than down home Southern cooking, this is your one stop shop for good eatin.

Choose from your choice of limitless Finger Lickin’ Fried Chicken, Mom’s Meatloaf or Beer Battered Fish,and then enjoy heaping family-style servings of Sugar Biscuits, Fire-Roasted Sweet Corn Kernels, Braised Greens and Mashed Potatoes. All this for a mere $15 bucks a person, plus enjoy great drink and dessert specials like $3 Draft Beer Pints, $4 Crown Royal Shots and $3 Sweet Treats.

Fall weather has been great so far, so the folks at Horne & Dekker opened their glass garage-style door between the dining room and patio to let the “outside in.” And don’t forget H&D’s great happy hour specials and regular dinner nights Tuesday through Saturday, where they also offer a  “Grape and Grub” special, four courses paired with their hand picked wine selections.

Horne and Dekker, 2323 North Henderson Avenue, Suite 102, 214.821.9333, www.horneanddekker.com

So Thanksgiving is over, and you shopped ’till you dropped on Black Friday. The in laws are out of your hair, and the house is a disaster. What’s next for you this week? Here’s a hint: get that lovely holiday glow back in your cheeks at Facelogic Spa in Highland Park December 2nd, as they celebrate their 3rd anniversary with a special Paint, Peels and Purses party.

Owner Faryn Clark not only wants you to enjoy unique spa services on a budget, but also the brilliance of Glo makeup, bolarti hand painted purses and the beauty of the abstract canvas. Guests who attend Thursday’s all-day event will meet fashion design Wendy McGowan, who will debut her handmade, one of a kind handbags and clutches crafted from actual linen canvases and acrylic paint, turning a piece of art into a high end fashion necessity. Facelogic will be the only spa in the US to showcase these accessories.

Renee Vandevere, local artist and instructor, will adorn the walls of Facelogic with her bold abstract canvases. Attendees will also be treated to a free Glo Therapeutic Peel and/or Glo Therapeutic makeup makeover, while they enjoy treats and cocktails between 3 and 8 p.m. Products and services will be offered at 20 percent off, and those who purchase at least $75 in Glo products will receive a free 50 minute facial. As if this isn’t enough to make you merry and bright, free gift bags will also be given out, filled with products, certificates and more.

Think of it as your early stocking stuffer.

Facelogic Spa, 4518 Lovers Lane, 214.696.3223, facelogicspa.com