Peer through the window of Ember Grove, and you'll see a glow - orange, red and yellow globes lit from within.

They're the work of artist Lisa Ferreira, who owns what she calls a "one-of-a-kind boutique and gallery" at the base of Munjoy Hill on Congress Street.

Everyone loves a bargain, but not everyone can find them like my friend Giselle. Every day she comes to work with a different imaginative outfit.

One day it’s a striped sweater and tube skirt from Lilith, the quirky (and pricey) French brand we coveted first at Amaryllis and then Calypso. Price: $45 on eBay.

Taryn Rose, Cydwoq and Arche shoes? She found them, like new, at Goodwill: $2.99-$5.99 each.

True confessions: My friend M. and I each admit to playing dress up. No doubt you've done it too - hopefully not always in a last-minute, bad-clothes-day moment before work.

Dress-up is our code for much-dreaded closet cleaning. It means trying on clothes (and discovering what does and doesn’t fit), feeling guilty for overspending the clothing budget and making some hard decisions on what to keep, what to toss and what to sell or donate.

It's 80 degrees out, and already one of my favorite stores has sold all but one size of an adorable gray wool dress that just hit the racks.

Crazy? Maybe, but our Old Port fashionistas all agree the best fall designs arrive early.

July is a tough time to keep the clothing budget in check. If you love fall fashions and are fawning over the latest mags, it's hard to resist those early offerings. And then you see the sale sign ...

OK, who wants an antique German exercise ball? Think I’m kidding? Take a look...

I’m not sure what I’d do with it, but the leather texture is so appealing I’m tempted to tote one home and decorate around it (or maybe channel Joseph Pilates for a little exercise inspiration).

I toted this picture of “Posh Spice” (Victoria Beckham for you fellow 50-somethings) around in my bag for days. Every so often I’d sneak a peek at her short ‘do and remember the words of Lauri, my hairdresser, and my brave friend T. :

Long hair can drag down your face and make you look older.

Short hair puts emphasis on your eyes and away from a softening jaw line.

Oh, how I love OOB on a warm summer night - my favorite Maine spot to people watch.

At times it's fashion taken to extremes - wedges so high they defy gravity, tight white sweatpants dripping with rhinestones, bags that boldly display the Playboy bunny.

You won't see these looks in Vogue or Bazaar - maybe not even on the streets of Portland. But somehow, bathed in flashing lights of carnival rides, OOB's spirited style parade seems just right.