What we’re loving: Tom Ford pumps, Liquido yoga pants, Date/Avocado smoothie and Wafi Gourmet

A few of the things that have made it to our must-have list this month.

Tom Ford pumps with gold lock and key. Photo by Dominique Charriau / WireImage

Tom Ford pumps with lock and key

After a period of restraint, a woman deserves to treat herself to a coveted statement piece. These patent leather pumps by Tom Ford are mine. While Ford has referred to them as his chastity shoe, because of the gold lock and key, their effect may be quite the opposite. Dh4,745, available at Tom Ford boutiques in The Dubai Mall and Abu Dhabi’s Galleria and Etihad Towers.

Liquido gold snake yoga pants

Free your legs from the mundane tyranny of black yoga pants with any of the bold rock-star prints in Liquido's range. The Brazilian company uses a slinky lightweight fabric (Amni polyamide if you must know) that's designed to provide protection from UV rays, so they're a perfect fit for desert yoga. I spotted Dina Ghandour, the manager of Dubai's yApparel, rocking these gold snakeskin pants at a yoga festival, which inspired the copycat in me to take the plunge. They're now my favourite pants, both on and off the mat. Dh360, available at yApparel in Jumeirah Centre (www.yapparel.com).

Ritz-Carlton’s date and avocado smoothie

My favourite iftar treat this year was the date/avocado smoothie at the Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi. So much so that I asked for the recipe, kindly provided by Giornotte’s restaurant manager Bastian Kuhnt, who came up with the idea. “I like to consider avocados a superfood as they provide all 18 essential amino acids necessary for the body to form a complete protein as well as the healthy kind of fat that your body needs,” Kuhnt says. “Combining avocado with the regional superfood the date, which has been used to break the fast for centuries in this part of the world, seemed like a natural thing to do.” I tried this recipe at home, using almond milk from the store, and while it wasn’t quite as good as the one at the Ritz, it did the trick.

Ingredients

1 cup homemade nut or coconut milk

2 dates, pitted

1/2 large avocado

1 tsp vanilla extract

Optional:

3-4 cubes of ice, if you like a colder smoothie

Directions

1. Place all ingredients in blender.

2. Process until creamy smooth.

Wafi Gourmet at Nation Galleria Mall

It's a "soft opening", like much of the new mall it calls home, but the Lebanese answer to Dean & DeLuca is now open in the capital just in time for the holiday and definitely worth a visit, even just to pick up a gift basket or tray of Middle Eastern delights for a gift. The saj and tajine stations aren't fired up yet, but its mezze and dessert stations are wow-inducing. In Nation Galleria Mall on the Corniche (www.wafigourmet.com).