Ilex Designs
There are floral bouquets, and then there is floral art. Ilex is in the latter category, orchestrating fields full of fresh blooms—luminescent calla lilies with orchids and fluffy penoes with full-petaled, butter-hued French tulips. Even the simplest of arrangements are minimalist treasures, such as one with mango-hued garden roses, glossy green anthurium, and pale apricot hypericum berries. The staff, talented as it is, couldn't be more helpful or down to earth. When you're handed your arrangement, you won't know whether to put it on the dining room table or in an exhibit case. 73 Berkeley St., Brookline, MA ilexflowers.com.
Café Fleuri
Before it reopened after renovations and started serving only dinner, Aujourd'hui at the Four Seasons had a seemingly unshakable hold on the title of best power breakfast. Now that honor has been decisively usurped by Café Fleuri—a sunny, cushy space at the Langham Hotel where every weekday morning the elite now meet to eat. Financiers, lawyers, politicos, and every bigwig in between file in to carve up the universe while they're carving up their fruit-covered waffles and Maine lobster and soft scrambled eggs. Breakfast of champions, indeed. 250 Franklin St., Boston, MA boston.langhamhotels.com/restaurants/best_boston_restaurants.htm.
G Spa
Is there anything worse than suffering through another boring bridal or baby shower? Spare yourself by throwing a spa party instead. G Spa's private lounge is perfect for showers, birthday parties, and girl-power get-togethers. The white couches make a stylish setting for muscle-soothing massages and skin-brightening facials. Bring in a party of six or more for two treatments apiece, and you'll get exclusive use of the lounge and the swift work of the well-trained staff. Because if you have to shower your friends with gifts, you might as well get something for yourself, too. 35 Newbury St., Boston, MA gspa.com.
Charles Street Inn
In the comely Henry James room, a fresh orchid echoes earth tones and the arc of a tree depicted in the Hudson River School painting behind it. Such details are characteristic of the Charles Street Inn, built as a Victorian townhouse in 1860 and revived four years ago as a beautiful inn by proprietors Sally Deane and Louise Venden. Today's rooms call up prominent Bostonians—Emerson, Gardner, Holmes. The Henry James Room, for example, offers lovingly restored classic antiques along with a thoughtfully stocked mini-fridge. The personable staff operates on the rare and precious middle ground between friendliness and respect for guests' privacy. 94 Charles St., Boston, MA .
Paws to Consider
Even the bad pun can't keep us away from a pet service this efficient, loving, and dependable. Owner Scot Jones clearly cares for his four-legged commissions with the same passion he does his business, keeping an organized staff of five fully briefed in everything from pet first aid to the fundamentals of TLC. Whether it's cat sitting (litter changes included) or dog walking (rain or shine, 365 days a year), Paws to Consider makes as many visits as you want—and will even care for plants, collect mail, and make veterinarian or grooming runs. 24 Halifax St., Jamaica Plain, MA pawstoconsider.com.
Grettacole
Toss away those pore strips. You won't need them after a facial at Grettacole, where the expertly trained technicians steam, massage, and tone even the dullest of skin into dewy submission. Settle onto the cushy table in one of the dimly lit, blissfully quiet treatment rooms and doze off as your skin is transformed; the neck, shoulder, and hand massage is just one of the many perks. For an exercise in pure luxury, indulge yourself in a treatment using products from the Valmont line of rare, exquisite French lotions, toners, and masks. It all adds up to an addictive experience that may have you swearing off do-it-yourself home facials forever. Westin Hotel, Copley Place, Boston, MA grettacole.com.
Bella Santé
Some say visiting a good day spa is so therapeutic it's tantamount to regular trips to a shrink. If that's the case, the relaxed, blissful feeling you'll leave with after an afternoon at Bella Santé will seem like a breakthrough. Perched in a second-floor sanctuary above Newbury Street, the spa has a soothing beige décor and wonderfully quiet atmosphere (cell phones are verboten)—your first signals to relax. Then there are the treatments: facials so effective they're like mini-facelifts, massages that melt away even the peskiest knots, body buffs, herbal wraps, and pedicures that last for months. The unassuming, easygoing staff is professional and subdue, just like the spa itself. 38 Newbury St., 2nd floor, Boston, MA bellasante.com.
Bobby from Boston
Whether you're shopping for a special occasion or just looking to jazz up your business attire, there's no place better than this South End vintage shop, where owner Bobby Garnett has used his keen eye to amass a collection of timeless adornments—vintage skinny ties, worn pocket watches, old-school tie tacks. The boutique is a cross between a Salvation Army and a high-end haberdashery, meaning customers get the best of both worlds: distinctive used items that are much hipper than anything you could buy new. Boston, MA 2118,
Bobby from Boston
If you like vintage-inspired menswear from Ben Sherman and Rogues Gallery, you'll love Bobby from Boston, a time capsule of a boutique owned by world traveler Bobby Garnett. He specializes in filling his expansive South End space with collegiate sweaters, stadium hats, well-worn denim jackets, army surplus coats, and other goods you wish your grandpa had kept around. The reasonable prices suggest another era, too. Want more? Garnett also takes private appointments at his 5,000-square-foot storage warehouse in Lynn. 19 Thayer St., Boston, MA 2118, .
Uncle Pete's
A welcome addition to gifty, girly Beacon Hill, this new boutique is as hip as it is friendly. On any given day, you'll find Uncle Pete's proprietor Peter Tam chatting about everything from dark denim to indie music. His fashionable menswear lines include Rag & Bone, Tretorn, Cloak & Dagger, and Surface to Air, and he's eager to chime in with helpful, practical advice on what goes with what. Bonus: A women's section means your lady friend can look as cool as you, sir. (Buy her something nice, why don't you?) 119 Charles St., Boston, MA 2114, .
MiniLuxe
We adore the new Louis store's in-house apothecary, but for the town's most expansive selection of pleasant-smelling lotions, scrubs, soaps, and salves for hands, feet, and body, there's no place better than MiniLuxe. The salon specializes in luxury products, including those from Bee Naturals, Rejuvacote, St. Tropez, and the best exfoliators known to woman: LaLicious's sugar scrubs. A smattering of flip-flops and slippers rounds out the buff-and-polish selection. And unlike those other bath and body stores, MiniLuxe doesn't install overly perky soap-pushers at the shop's entrance. 296 Newbury St, Boston, MA 2116, miniluxe.com.
Barneys New York
You may not be buying as much these days, but—hallelujah!—Barneys is. The national chain is in the enviable, corporate-backed position of being able to continue carrying as broad an array of heels, sandals, boots, and flats as it did in flusher times. Rows of big names like Fendi, Givenchy, and Chloé provide a good excuse to splurge; however, for those feeling slightly less well heeled, the store's recommitment to more-accessible footwear by Antik Batik, Maloles, and its own excellent Co-op house line makes saving money here a lot more attractive than buying last season at TJ Maxx. 100 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA 2116, barneys.com.
Rouge Cosmetics
Beauty junkies can spend years perfecting their primping arsenals. If you'd prefer to skip beta-testing your makeup bag, though, let Rouge founder Ann Supple Massey do the work for you. A former cosmetics buyer at Filene's, Massey vets every product with her staff, choosing only those deemed both innovative and effective. That makes for an appealing mix of old favorites (Nars, B. Kamins) and up-and-comers like Caudalie. Those who suffer from overstimulation at Sephora will appreciate Rouge's manageable inventory and elegant interior, while cosmoholics love the staff's exhaustive knowledge and occasional in-store appearances by beauty luminary Paula Dorf. 322 Derby St., Salem, MA 1970, rouge.com.
Dorfman Jewelers
Sitting on a block somewhere between Juicy Couture and Newbury MedSpa, Dorfman's looks a tad out of place among its campier neighbors. Chalk it up to the stately facade and, no doubt, to the fact that this store practically oozes staying power. For two generations the Dorfman family has dealt exclusively in European-cut diamonds and other gems; these days they also sell such illustrious names as Harry Winston, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Breguet. Perhaps most representative is the in-house Barbara Collection, open-link gold pieces inspired by the clan matriarch that are at once unpretentious and enduring—much like the venerable Dorfman itself. 24 Newbury St., Boston, MA 2116, .
Uniform
Not feeling up to excessive sartorial risk-taking? That doesn't make it okay to fall back into the Gap (you've come too far!). More moderately priced than Barneys, less alternative than Stel's, Uniform straddles practicality and panache with its tailored casualwear. The well-crafted separates from elusive brands like Original Penguin, Scotch & Soda, and Canterbury—plus work-hard, play-hard shoes from Gola and Tretorn—will outlast any chain-store buy, making the most of your wardrobe budget while averting death by boring button-down. 511 Tremont St., Boston, MA 2116, uniformboston.com.