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As one could imagine, Michael Jackson's death has caused a flood of Jackson memorabilia to pop up all over the Web.  Naturally, one of those sites is eBay, with sellers galore promptly auctioning off some interesting Jackson-inspired items, including t-shirts, Jackson dolls, replicas of that famous red "Thriller" jacket, autographs, vinyl records and  newspapers, including one from Jackson's hometown of Gary, Indiana, with the news of Jackson's death gracing the front page (check it out here) and of course, a plethora of editions of the NY Times.   Some of the more rare items like autographed guitars, albums and T-shirts, original items of Jackson's from video shoots and from his wardrobe, gold and platinum albums and even a supposed original copy of Jackson's recording contract bare price tags in the thousands of dollars.  However, there's one kind of Michael Jackson memorabilia that trump all the rest, with minimum bids set in the millions of dollars!  And no, it's not Neverland Ranch, Jackson's official autopsy report, a tissue filled with LaToya's tears or one of his original tour getups.  Nope: if you simply search "Michael Jackson" on eBay, the priciest items that come up are... domain names!  In fact, right now all ten of the priciest Michael Jackson items currently up for auction on eBay are domain names that somehow involve Michael's name, his death or his music!  In the face of tragedy, sometimes, people can't seem to help their inner entrepreneur from coming out.   Check out all of the priciest items currently up for auction on eBay relating to Michael Jackson!

So which MJ domain name is currently the priciest on eBay?  Well, it's a tie between  MichaelTheKingofPopJackson.com, TouchedByMichaelsMusic.com, MichaelJacksonsJourney.com and InMemoryofMichaelsMusic.com, all set with minimum bids of $10,000,000.  Other domain names with minimum bids set at $5,000,000 include EternallyMichaelJackson.com, MichaelJacksonGreatestHits.com, and MichaelJackson-TheMemorial.com.  There are many other Michael Jackson domain names, with current minimum bids set in the millions too!   And as for non-domain names among some of the priciest items relating Michael Jackson?  A VHS tape of the Making of Michael Jackson's Thriller, at $1,000,000, an original Michael Jackson Off the Wall LP, also at $1,000,000 and an original Michael Jackson "Thriller" 12" LP with the extended dance version on the A-Side and the instrumental version on the B-Side,  set at $500,000.

Right now, Michael Jackson's songs and albums are also dominating on iTunes, practically taking over the top 10s in each category completely.  

For all you fabulously fearless fashionistas out there who rock boots no matter what the season, vindication is yours!  The NY Times ran a short piece about the prominence of boots on the feet of so many fashion forward ladies this summer season, which seems to be a nod to the overall importance of having the perfect pair of all-weather boots in your wardrobe at all times.  This style revelation makes the TalkingShopping team happy... very happy indeed.  Boots are one of our favorite style staples, instantly adding a casual-cool flair to a seemingly dressier ensemble, or adding a little unexpected edge to a getup that would otherwise be slightly too put together.  Whatever their purpose, we're addicted and are on a continuous hunt for the best of the best in boots.

So, in honor of the NY Times discussion of this trend au courant, we've thrown together a few of our favorite boot options on the market, all with prices we can live with for such a necessary wardrobe item.  Flat and fringed, peep toed and patent, stilettos and suede; all of the options included are perfect for the summer season...

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Whether you love or loath the home furnishings mecca that is Pottery Barn, there's no denying that the chain store has practically become an American icon in its own right!  Sadly, some of us miss out on the fabulous offerings of Pottery Barn due to strict budget constraints, forcing us to look longingly through their window when we pass by in the mall  We can only picture ourselves jumping on their plush beds, lounging on their endless supply of couches and coming home to a perfectly matched spread of color-coded dinnerware and our perfect little family placed in the perfect mahogany chairs around the perfect matching mahogany table.  Hey, a girl can dream!  We digress.  Our point: Pottery Barn is currently having a huge Summer Sale in-store and online, and we'd definitely be remiss not to inform our faithful followers, considering this occasion comes along once in a blue moon at PB!

Not only are a huge selection of their (amazing) bed linens, outdoor furniture sets, rugs, window treatments, bath accessories, lighting items and dinnerware simply on sale, tons of the stuff is deeply discount at up to 50% off!  This sale comes at a pretty opportune time because one of our favorite things included is their items for entertaining (like the Partyware Serving Pieces pictured above; $6.50-$39), which is perfect for that upcoming Independence Day bash you're throwing in the back yard!

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If you've shopped at your local Target store location anytime since March, you may have noticed a new brand within the selection of some of your essential items, called "up & up" that bear the Target bullseye.  What's this all about you ask?  Well, since the month of March, Tarjay has been slowly re-introducing its own Target brand, re-naming it "up & up" and offering lower prices on some of your everyday essentials throughout the store.  By September, Target says that shoppers will be able to find over 800 "up & up" products to shop in over 40 store categories, with price tags that boast an average 30% savings over other brand prices!  What's more, nearly 100 of those "up & up" items are new for 2009, so it's not all just the same old Target brand stuff!  Of the re-launch of their own brand, Target's Senior Vice President of Merchandising said, "By re-launching Target brand as up & up, we're able to create a unique identity for this powerful owned brand. The new packaging incorporates an element of design, giving us the opportunity to deliver on both the 'expect more' and 'pay less' sides of our brand promise... Our guests are savvy and know they don't have to spend a lot to get high-quality products."

The TalkingShopping girls actually went on a Target shopping spree last weekend, and being the budget shoppers that we are these days (especially when it comes to household items) found ourselves snagging these new "up & up" items all over the place!  The savings are real and so far, the "up & up" detergent, paper towels and tissues we bought don't appear to be lacking in the quality department one bit!  Even though Target can sport some pretty sweet deals on certain items, we often find ourselves loading up our carts, which can cost us in the checkout lane.  Since we're not too picky when it comes to the brand of most of our household essentials, scoring a discount in that department can end up saving us some serious cash!  Thanks Target!

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In a surprising development considering that hers is one of the only delebrity lines to actually see some success, WWD reports that Jennifer Lopez has announced that she's shutting down her Sweetface clothing line in the U.S. after this season, marking the end of six years in the biz for the brand!  We'd like to make some quip about hearing Queen's ever-so-poignant "Another One Bites the Dust" in the background right now, but we respect J.Lo's almighty powers on the business woman front and because of these trying times, we wouldn't dare laugh in the face of anyone who has to make a few adjustments to their game plan. 

Apparently, Sweetface was first designed to be a streetwear brand, but quickly became a higher end contemporary fashion label sold at some of our fave spots for such garments like ShopBop and Intermix.  We never noticed the label there, but hey, maybe we did and just didn't put the pieces together that clothing designed by J.Lo would appear at such places.   The remaining Jennifer Lopez lines in the U.S. market will be JLO by Jennifer Lopez costume jewelry collection and her footwear offerings at Victoria's Secret.

Pictured: A look from Sweetface's Fall '08 collection.

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Get ready! A new eco-friendly beauty line called Glory for Girls will hit Target stores this July. This line has it all: it is made from 100% vegan formulas that are clinically and allergy tested, the products are biodegradable and even the packaging is made of recyclable plastics. That is as eco-friendly as it gets, people. Leave it up to Target to provide us with yet another fabulous, environmentally safe beauty buy.

The Glory for Girls line will include face and body washes, lotion, lip balms, deodorant and clarifying products. Ready for the TalkingShopping gals favorite part? Well, since we haven't tried and tested the products just yet...we will have to say the best part of this beauty line is the price. Everything in the line-up will run you between $7 and $22!

Be sure to check out the products labeled under Natural/Organic, Skincare, Personal Care for Girls and New Arrivals on the Target website come July. And...don't forget to let us know what you think of it all.

Glory for Girls Everyday Clarifying Pads
$12.00 at Target.com

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Currently Craving!

What: Brooklyn Industries Sky Fleece.

Where: Brooklyn Industries.

Why: Okay, okay... we realize that it's not exactly the time to be obsessing over a garment that has fleece in its name, but this casual-cool little cropped military jacket is definitely light enough for a chilly summer night and will last all year round!   We absolutely adore all of the colors it comes in, too.  We can't decide which one we need in our wardrobe!

Price: Originally $78.  $54.60 with discount.

Bonus:  This jacket was featured in Lucky mag's current Under $100 issue, on newsstands now, and the mag even offer a 30% discount on their entire site using code LUCKYBREAKS5!  Amazing!  So technically, this jacked would only be $54.60!  Even better!

The TalkingShopping gals just love mixing in some posts that will make you giggle. In this case, your laugh may be followed by a little outrage. At least that's how it happened for us. At first we found it humorous that Lois Vuitton would produce a $450 Damier Graphite USB Key while other designers are lowering prices and even designing reasonably priced duds for some of our favorite e-tailers. But, those chuckles soon turned to annoyance when we realized that there are people out there who will buy this.

Not to put anyone that is interested in this on a tragic guilt-trip, but think about how many mouths you could feed with $450!

We are not really sure why they are charging that for a 4 GB USB aside from the fact that it has Louis Vuitton's name on it. Oh, wait...maybe they are charging $50 for the USB and $400 for the ability to utilize the snap hook feature that enables it to be attached as a bag charm. Ridiculous!

Search "USB Key" on the Louis Vuitton site to pull up the product.

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Whether you're in parts of the country where you're not getting as much summer sun as you'd like or you're battling excessive amounts of heat that are anything but enjoyable, the summer months can sometimes be a bit tumultuous day to day.  We know, we know... we should be counting our blessings and just be thankful that the winter doom and gloom has subsided, but when your summer's not filled with a perma-vacay, it can get you down once in a while.  Which brings us to our latest exciting discovery in multi-tasking beauty products: Origins Gloomaway collection.  The TalkingShopping girls are wondering why we've never been introduced to this beauty wonder before, but nevertheless, we're happy we now know of its amazing mood-lifting capabilities now!

According to Vogue's Beauty Counter Blog, Gloomaway "is based around grapefruit essential oil, a favorite tool of aromatherapists, who use it to calm nervous exhaustion and produce a happy, balanced environment."  Origins is known for its range natural beauty products that not only have functions in the skincare department, but also in the sensory therapy department.  They're always infusing new aromas into their products that serve different purposes, be it sleep aids or calming scents.  The Gloomaway line already includes a bath bar, body wash, lotion and body-buffing cleanser, but next week get ready for Origins to also add a spirit-lifting body mist fortified with field mint and sweet orange oil and a jar of their very own citrus gumballs to make the collection to complete!  It won't pull your Debbie Downer demeanor completely out of the toilet if you're constant brooder, but in the very least the sweet scent might momentarily lift your spirits!

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As most of you already know, we don't just cover style and celebrity news, we also like to get in touch with our health, mom and home-shopping news sides on occasion. AOL's new home shopping blog, Shelter Pop is sure to be a hit, and the TS gals can't wait to share home-shopping news with the experts over there. We may not always agree with them, but we will surely float you the goods that would appeal to a TalkingShopping gal!

Speaking of "home," the blog recently featured a mini-profile on a company we have never heard of called KidsCrookedHouse. Of course, this will come as a complete shocker to y'all...they sell kids crooked houses! We know that you have seen the traditional playhouses, but these topsy-turvy kid shelters far surpass any stinky old tree house we ever had. So, if you feel like spoiling your kid, check out the post about these houses on Shelter Pop.

"Choose one of 9 Kid-Friendly colors to make this house their own. 4X8 base with wall that angle out. The roof is over 7 feet tall!"

Original, Deluxe and Double Deluxe Playhouses
$1,249.00 to $2,549.00 at KidsCrookedHouse.com

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A couple weeks ago, the TalkingShopping team dropped the bomb on you that eLuxury, one of the Web's most beloved luxury goods e-tailers would be closing their virtual doors at the end of this month.  June 26th to be exact.  Tear.  Well ladies, that time is obviously nearing as June starts to wind down, and that only means one thing: sale shopping!  Although we're sad to see them go, it's a rare occasion that we get the chance to score eLuxury goods at prices that don't make our piggy bank breakout in hives!

Here's the deal: They've already got most of their stock sitting in their sale section, and what's more, they're offering an EXTRA 50% off of these items!  Amazing!  The extra 50% discount is taken at checkout, so when you're perusing the offerings and want to know how much they'll really cost you in the end, you're gonna have to calculate the extra 50% yourself.  There's TONS of stuff to check out from some of our favorite contemporary and high style labels including Robert Rodriguez, Versace, Loeffler Randall (one of our personal faves), Alexander Wang, Tracy Reese, Rory Becca and so many more!  The accessories selection is pretty much picked over, and they don't even have any handbags left, so all of that section you're going to see is shoes!  Oh, and one more tiny note: all sales are final... not surprisingly since they're stying to get items off their hands, not acquire more stuff they no longer need!

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It's pretty uncanny that Malia Obama's birthday just so happens to fall on Independence Day.  Her father's the leader of the free world, and oh, she was born on the 4th of July.  It doesn't get much more American than that!  Naturally, Malia's impending 11th birthday has caused at least one brand to use her special day as a marketing tool, which c'mon, isn't really all that surprising and was pretty much an inevitable thing.  Tampa-based e-tailer Best in Beauty, which specializes in non-toxic and hypoallergenic skincare and cosmetic products, sent out a press release Monday announcing that in honor of Malia Obama's b-day, they've sent her a gift basket full of non-toxic and hypoallergenic beauty goodies, which they'll also be selling on their website for a whopping $354.20.  Sure, the basket's a thoughtful gesture for a tween girl with allergies, but TY already took a lashing from Mrs. O for naming Beanie Babies after Sasha and Malia and we can't imagine that the White House will be too pleased with the company using Malia's name to market their stuff. Read the Full Story

On some days, the TalkingShopping team admittedly passes over the emails from Victoria's Secret because, well, it seems like everyday they're having some sort of sale, and we figure that most women already know this.  However, we realize that VS may not be on everyone's list of daily e-tailer stops, and their latest sale promo is just too good to let you miss out!  Right now, they're holding their annual Swim Sale, which includes tons, and we mean TONS of their swimwear styles (actually, practically all of their swimwear styles) marked down to ridiculously low prices.  What's more, we happen to think they have one of the best selections of swimwear on the Web, based on fit, style and price!   They have fits to flatter every female form, both on top and bottom (and one-pieces if that's what you're after), in so many colors and prints, it would be hard not to find you that caters to your style sense!  They're also offering a free 2nd Day shipping upgrade on swim purchases of $30 or more through tomorrow, with code 2DAYSWIM!
Read the Full Story

For all you chick-lit lovers, you'll be happy to know (if you didn't know already) that another Patricia Fields-wardrobed flick, Confessions of a Shopaholic, made its DVD debut this week with much anticipation!  Isla Fisher and hottie Hugh Dancy star in the romantic comedy about a young woman who has a serious retail addiction and some pretty bad budgeting practices!  The TalkingShopping girls saw this one in the theater when it came out, and we must admit that it's pretty darn cute.  Sure, it's been said that the film tries a little too hard to have the same mass appeal as Sex an the City and the plot's not exactly complex, but if you're up for a good laugh and an adorable love story, you'll probably enjoy it at least a little bit!

Also out on DVD...  Read the Full Story

The fashion blogosphere is buzzing about a new children's apparel item which some think is kind of cool, and some think is completely weird and totally questionable: the Kids Shiny Leggings from none other than quirky retailer American Apparel.  Now, we're used to the shocking item or two from AA, so frankly the fact that they're shilling shiny lamé leggings for kids doesn't really surprise us.  Okay, okay, sure we thought it was a little odd at first, but then, after carefully looking at the adorably hilarious pics of the little girl modeling them on the AA site, we, like the folks over at Fashionista, started to see the sense of it all!

Kids live for this stuff people, and although you yourself may not feel the urge to strap on a pair of skin tight shiny leggings, little girls would go crazy at the idea of rocking shiny pink leggings wherever they go!  We realize that they aren't the most sophisticated garment for a youngster, or the most sensible, but c'mon, when you were a little kid, you know you just had to have anything and everything that glimmered, and these would have definitely been on your radar if you saw them hanging in the store!  Sure, the gold lamé option may be a little too Lady Gaga for a public appearance on your toddler, but the silver lamé version with that adorable grey button-up kids cardigan is to die for!  So chic, yet still school girl cute!  Besides, they say the best stage of life to absorb knowledge is when you're a youngster, so it stands to reason that forming their keen fashion sense should begin in their younger years!

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