Comments Now Open to the Public

You no longer have to be a registered user to leave a comment. YAY!

Due to the high number of SPAM comments blogs are hit with these days... There will be a short delay to screen all posts so that my quality control team can weed out the bad ones and spare you from ever having to read solicitations about pharmaceuticals, body enhancers, mortagages, degrees, software and fake watches here on my blog.

It's a Challenge for Love, Locks of Love

Knowing that MANY brides grow their hair long just so they can have that nifty updo on their wedding day... I'm throwing down a challenge.

For the past 4 years I've been growing out my hair to donate it to Locks of Love. It was a great feeling when I cut off 17" in January 2003 and sent it in to this incredible non-profit that provides wigs to financially disadvantaged kids suffering from long-term hair loss for a variety of medical reasons.

I had planned to send in the minimum 10" they ask for. The night before my cut I looked at their website for the first time and got all choked up when I saw the little girls, first bald, then with their long hair wigs... When I went in the next day I asked the stylist to cut it all off. She did and I never regretted it.

Now I'm doing it again... Sometime in September or October of this year. The actual date is TBD. Who's with me? Any of you want to make the commitment to grow your hair all summer then donate with me? For those who live in Northern CA. there will be a The Flirty Guide party where my good friend and hair stylist Armando Sarabia will cut my hair on-location... Possibly the hair of anybody who is planning to donate. If we get enough people on board we may need a team of stylists on hand. Dare I hope?

Photo by: Craig W. Smith, www.ThePhotoman.com

Introducing The Flirty Guide for Brides

So this is it... The big "secret" project I've been working on since last August: The Flirty Guide

Me: 10 years of creating custom couture bridal accessories and designing websites for the past 3 years. As Creative Director of TFG I've done all of the illustrations and web design.

TFG is a très chic and informative site that will help brides to have fun and be savvy shoppers as they plan their big day! It's been described as "Fun," "Progressive," "Innovative" and "Too Cute" by those who have had a sneak peek.

Next week I'll be officially launching the site to the industry. For now there's a mini tour set up so that both industry professionals and brides alike can get a feel for the site and can see what we've been up to.

My inspiration for TFG? Because it inevitably becomes an all consuming project, I believe planning your wedding should be enjoyable. Dare I say fun? We do! And it will be... For brides who come to The Flirty Guide

Do you have a Look-a-Like?

I do, though to be honest I'm always surprised when people tell me they think I look like the television and movie actress Sandra Oh.

Funnier still I was mistaken for her backstage at an INXS concert last year. A woman actually apologized for interrupting me because she thought I was: "In all of those movies and on tv." I laughed and assured her that I was not who she thought I was. Though so many complete strangers have told me I look like her, so many times, that I feel a sense of responsibility to not behave badly in public. Not that I ever do, but out of fear if I did it would end up on the National Enquirer that Sandra did something outrageous when it was really me, I am always on my best behavior.

So I was watching 20/20 tonight on Tivo and there's a photographer named Francois Brunelle who specializes in photographing people who look alike, but aren't related. He said he always shoots in black and white, it allows the viewer to more easily focus on the similarities. So I found this picture of her and must say that in black and white I do see more similarities then in color.

You be the judge.

My favorite Sandra Oh movie: Under the Tuscan Sun

Swarovski Crystal Grapes

This is a sample for a bride who contacted me about creating miniature clusters of Swarovski Austrian crystal grapes for her guest's name cards at her wedding reception. She had seen the Swarovski Crystal Pineapples I had made for her hair stylist's reception last year in Hawaii. Inspired, she envisioned grapes for her winery wedding this summer in Napa, CA. This just goes to show that little details can make a big difference. I was told the pineapple name card holders were all taken home by the guests while many of the favors were left behind. Go figure.


The sample above is shown attached to the back of a standard business card for scale. The cluster of grapes is comprised of 22 tiny Swarovski crystals in 2 shades of amethyst.

Making My Blog Cute was a LOT of Work!

Wow... I can't believe how much work it was to Flirtify! At the cost of some sleep and after repeatedly testing the html code to figure out what went where and adjusting image files... I think I've finally found the right balance of color, design, new graphics and functionality. YAY!

Above: This is what this blog page looked like when I started.

So I think the page looks good in Safari and Firefox... Due to the CSS (cascading style sheet) that came with this template there are no capital letters in my posts in Internet Explorer. When I have some time I'll go into the CSS and fix that. For now if you're on IE, I just wanted to let you kow that I'm not too lazy to capatilize. I did. You just can't tell.

I Had Dinner With Nancy Pelosi

Well to be more precise I had dinner back to back with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. As Speaker, she ranks second in the presidential line of succession. My friend Carl Mindling and I were in San Francisco last week... We were sitting in a booth at the Grand Cafe at the Hotel Monaco in downtown San Francisco...

It was about 4:00 pm before the dinner hour when she and another woman came in and sat down in the booth beside mine with her back facing my back. Too cool. As we ate we watched her security detail scoping out the restaurant near the entryway. They had those little ear pieces with the little cords tucked into their trench coats.

So we continue eating and the Curran Theatre lets out... They're showing Jersey Boys... The place fills up with a bunch of people who had been at the show. All of a sudden two guys walk into the restaurant and sit at the table next to ours. The whole place breaks out in applause because one of the guys is Eric Bergen one of the stars of the production.

How funny is that? We had dinner with The Speaker of the House and a Broadway star.

From there we went around the corner to Slide a swank bar and lounge that is part of Ruby Skye a premiere Nightclub and Special Event Venue. We were there to attend a Martini Madness event. It was such a blast! It's always fun to see friends and have fun networking at the same time. Our fabulous host, Duncan Reyes was launching his new website for his business F. Duncan Reyes Events.com

Tea Time

So my entire life I had never been a fan of iced tea. That Liptons stuff? I know everyone else in the world loves it but I've never cared for it. Recently I found I do love iced tea... Only thing is that I love premium teas. It all began when my friend Carl brought me a bottle of a new tea he had fallen for. It was a bottle of Tazo Giant Peach. I thanked him and put it in the fridge and proceeded to forget it was there for a couple of weeks.

Then one day I saw it sitting in the fridge looking forlorn and forgotten and I thought what the heck, I'll try it. Oh my gosh I loved it! Once my boyfriend found out I liked it, he bought me an entire case of it. That's just the kind of sweet guy he is.

Since then I've also discovered I have a penchant for Pom's Lychee Green Tea. It is sooooo yummy and sooooo healthy because it contains pomegranate juice which is full of antioxidants and polyphenols! Rather then focus on cures for disease I am all for using food to prevent them in the first place. My body is my temple so while others may have an expensive cup of coffee I enjoy my new found love of Pom tea to nourish and protect myself. Try it, you might love it as much as I do! I know any day now my wonderful boyfriend is going to come home with some more Pom!