New Year's Eve is a little over two weeks away, so naturally we're stressing over what to wear. There's a few ways we could go, like spending hours in line at holiday sample sales (only to find out that they're out of our size), or taking the cheap route by attempting to revamp what's already in our closets. Or we can bypass these likely letdowns and shop Gilt's plethora of partywear offerings from the comfort of our homes.

We've highlighted many Gilt Groupe ventures before, but this one's pretty major. Tomorrow at noon EST, the members-only flash sales giant is hosting an Hervé Léger sale that will reward shoppers with $200 in Gilt credit just for making a purchase.

"This drink literally makes you start to salivate"

One stop at your favorite e-commerce site and you'll invariably see that they either have a blog or a feature that requires editorial upkeep. From Shopbop's high-quality lookbooks (shown here), to Opening Ceremony's abundance of interviews and creative blog features, sites that are primarily meant for a shop-and-go experience are now giving us a reason to stay. This interactive engagement is a new focus for e-tailers—and major editorial players are starting to take notice.

Paul Liebrandt has worked in some of New York's most prestigious kitchens -- from the decadent Gilt to the critically acclaimed Atlas. His sometimes atypical ingredient pairings in his early days in New York sometimes drew criticism from diners and journalists, a sore point he's still hesitant to discuss. His current post at Tribeca's Corton has earned favorable attention and may arguably be his most successful venture yet. Although getting through to the chef took some doing, we got a decent peek into the culinary mastermind's lifestyle.

Dining might be the new nightlife, so then where does that leave nightlife? Could nightlife be the new shopping? Could it be still alive and well, and hiding behind a bandolier of dusty velvet ropes? Our dear Foster's existential breakdown and subsequent pocketbook damage got me to thinking about what everyone else (re: people with jobs other than chronicling New York nightlife) is doing with their free time in Manhattan. I cornered a Wall Street Dude, a New York Newbie, a Hipster DJ, a girl-about-town Socialite, a Fashion Intern, and a Lawyer to see what's going on behind our editorial backs. Turns out actually going someplace isn't a precursor for strong opinions, pro or con. For example:

Formerly executive chef at the decadent GILT restaurant, chef Christopher Lee recently re-opened Charlie Palmer's legendary at its new location in the Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park (that's him in the photo above at right, Palmer smiling paternally at left). The Top Chef Masters competitor talks about manning the kitchen as executive chef at Aureole, his modest perspectives, and having a green thumb. Aureole will beoffering a 15% discount on all menus until the grand opening benefit gala for Citymeals-on-Wheels on September 15.

"This isn’t a facelift," Charlie Palmer tells me of his new Aureole. "I cut things off and start fresh. That's just the way I do things. I don't even go to class reunions." The chef and owner of the Upper East Side eatery is set to open a very different Aureole, expanding the dimensions to include a bar area, cozy dining room, large dining room, and a outdoor patio facing the Conde Nast building at its new home at One Bryant Park. Chef Christopher Lee of GILT maintains that the food will be progressive American, but the menu will essentially be completely different. Experimenting with seafood and staple comfort dishes, options will include small plates, plus lunch portions to appeal to different "economic backgrounds and lifestyles." Palmer promises, "The only way we've kept Aureole the same is we've decided to keep it comfortable."

Because we don’t like cooking, our kitchen is the size of a closet, and the thought of leaving the city and risking missing the early-morning sale at Saks is too scary to bear (as are some of our relatives), here’s a list of our picks for the most Thanksgiving-friendly restaurants in New York City (and the specials they're running for Turkey Day).

A tour of New York, xo xo.