Friday, September 30, 2011

WANNA SWAP CLOTHES ?-YES ITS A PARTY AND YOUR INVITED!



I first heard of "Clothing Swap Parties" through my friend Holly who is a Professional Organizer and is very Environmentally conscience. I thought what a great idea! Its a win-win situation all the way around!
Swapping clothes you don't wear anymore with your friends!

PROS:

  • make more space in your closet
  • get rid of stuff 
  • get new outfits for FREE
  • meet new friends
  • save the planet by not over consuming
  • donate leftovers to Women's Shelter
CONS:

  • ________????(still can't find any)
I loved the idea so much, I had my own! I had so much fun! All my friends brought their gently used clothes they hadn't used in at least 6 months. I hung some of the stuff on a rack, some stuff I put in piles in different categories like "shirts", "jeans", "purses", "shoes".




To be fair, I brought Monopoly money and gave each girl a fake dollar for every piece of item they brought and two fake dollars for every pair of shoes they brought.

Each girl got a number, and when their number was called they had 5 minutes to "buy" something from our makeshift "store".




You don't know how good it felt to "shop" and not spend real money! I got so many cute things that I use to this day! A gorgeous pair of orange Bebe shoes, a pair of Capri jeans I wear almost every weekend, a Fab Shirt that goes with EVERYTHING, and I even scored a real Louis Vuitton bag that my cousin brought because she was bored with it!  Whooo Hooo!

And the best part? After all the girls spent their "money", we put all the leftover Clothing Items in huge bags and my Designer friend Erica Islas took it to the Good Shepard Center for Homeless Women and Children. They event sent me the Thank You letter below that I keep pinned near my Desk.


Whether you live in  Santa Monica, Paris, or South America, I encourage you to have your own Clothing Swap Party and donate all leftovers to a local charity. And if you live in Los Angeles, come to mine!  Its happening Oct. 9th. just RSVP on the link below!

Our official FB invitation for the CLothing Swap Party

*And if you are not comfortable using other peoples clothes... puuuuhlease... you can always give it a good wash or dry clean. When you buy "new" clothes do you really think your the first person that's tried it on? Just sayin.

Monday, September 26, 2011

How to Celebrate your 30 Something BDAY when the party favors are in the "Over the Hill" aisle

September 25th marked my 30 "something" Birthday. I was HORRIFIED earlier this month when I went to Party City to get some party favors for my soon-to-be 8 year old daughter's birthday party (more on her Rock Star Celebration later), and I stumbled into the "OVER THE HILL" aisle, only to find an assortment of decorations intended for my age range! lets just say I'm over 30 and under 40.



Really? Have I already hit the "over the hill" aisle? They had an assortment of gag gifts for people of "my age" such as canes, glasses and cards that read "Danger: Falling Body Parts". This isn't funny. Really this isn't funny PARTY CITY!  For a brief moment I had an ounce of panic, like a judge had just given me a life sentence, or my Dr. told me I only had a few months to live. My life flashed before me, for a brief second I felt, my life was over.
30 and 40 sucks? Well you know what? Suck it 30! and Suck it 40!


It's so true what people say: that once you hit 30,the years fly by. That's because you get so busy as a responsible "adult" that you spend all your time on the Hamster wheel, working hard to pay your bills, raise your kids and the Wheel never stops.

So how was I going to "celebrate" another year on the wheel? By getting on it! A Ferris Wheel that is!



My birthday happened to fall on a Sunday and the same day as Cirque Du Soleil's new show "IRIS" had its World Premiere in Hollywood and I was invited to go to the after party. They closed down Hollywood Boulevard and brought in the best Restaurants to cater such as "Loteria","The Grill"and "Sushi Roku".



As I walked into this amazing Party, for a second I became a little girl again. I was so awe struck with the fabulous pomp and circumstance of this extravagant affair. So I closed my eyes and when I opened them, I pretended this was MY BIRTHDAY party! Why not? There were desserts, guests, music, and even that Ferris Wheel I mentioned earlier.

So my child-like imagination kicked in, and for an evening, I had the best catered, biggest Birthday party a girl could ask for! They even closed down Hollywood Boulevard just for ME!

And it was in that moment, that I remembered, even though I'm getting older, my child-like imagination doesn't have to age at all, because I will ALWAYS be a kid at heart and no birthday will ever take that away!
toward the end of the night... Curtain Closes on another BDAY


Saturday, September 17, 2011

My experience as a RUNWAY MODEL for a day, it goes something like this...

This weekend I got to experience what it feels like to be a Runway Model. Fashion designer Claudia Gonzalez-Pruitt asked me to be a guest Model for her fashion line "Beso Moda" for the "Latinos con Corazon" Charity event.
photo courtesy of Alex "Lex" Lopez - Thanks Alex!

A fundraising organization that raises funds for kids and elders less fortunate of basic necessities in Latin American countries through fashion, music, and art events.

When I got the call  I was so excited! First of all, what a great charity, and second of all, Im a fan of "Project Runway", "Americas Next Top Model" , and "the Rachel Zoe Project".  I thought this would give me a tiny taste of what its like to be in that frantic world of Designers, Runways, and an Audience waiting to see you walk, all with a Latino twist and a charity behind it to boot!

So how did the day go? I will break it down for you:

4:00 pm       Meet designer and Makeup Team at Beverly Terrace Hotel  
4:30-7:30pm  Get make make-up & hair done, along with 4 other Models
8:00 pm         Drive to Beverly Hilton


8:15 go backstage, change into Outfit (no dressing rooms), oops sorry for flashing ya'll, hurry hurry, fashion show about to start in 5 minutes! Ahh your stepping on my dress... hey is that girl naked or is that paint or a body suit?
"Beso Moda" dress I modeled



Photo courtesy of Alex Lopez 

8:00-8:30       Wait backstage, along with 40 other girls form a line with your respective designer, wait for your Designers name to be called out, get in line in pre-determined order, peak through curtain, and... GO..... 
Photo courtesy of Alex "Lex" Lopez 


8:35pm   Step onto the stage, put your nerves on check and throw them out the window, walk the carpet as if you were Tyra Banks, Smize (her term of "smile with your eyes"), give the photographers some attitude, uh, huh, yea I'm the Shizzle, strike a pose , walk back , strike another pose... walk off the carpet.
Beso Moda Design
Beso Moda Design

8:36 pm BREATHE! Thank God you didn't trip or fall, your dress didn't have a Nipple Malfunction, be happy you didn't freeze on stage, and realize this is the Coolest thing ever!!!

I have to thank my friend Sky for being there for me everystep of the way. She brought her bag of tricks that included extra safety pins, lip gloss and a whole bunch of encouragment to make sure I was feeling good and everything would go off without a hitch.  She didn't care that she was not the focus of attention, and was there to support her friend (me).  SHE really displayed MODEL behavior. Whether it's something frivolous like a friend helping you pin up your dress, or something more meaningful like a Charity such as Latinos con Corazon helping build schools in Latin America, it's the kindness of others that truly makes this world a beautiful place.
my BFF Sky and me on Red Carpet 

my BFF Sky, when it was all over


Tuesday, September 13, 2011

I need a break... its not you... its me....

I'm writing this because I haven't written a post in a while. Truth is, I needed a break. Has it ever happened to you that one week you feel extremely productive, and the next week, you can't even make yourself throw out the stinky trash because your just too tired?



Last week, I was working out consistently. Even tried a new high-intensity cross-fit class. Had fully booked work days. Started working on a new exciting project. Even had time to do laundry, pick up my daughter from school every day, help her with her homework, have dinners with my boyfriend, phone conversations with my sisters, meet up with my best friend, get glammed up for a few red carpet events, and organize my 8 year old daughter's Rock Star Birthday Party. Wow! What energy. And I did all that in one week!

I had a natural high going on. I was feeling like Super WOMAN.  I was really doing this. Until my human-ness came out and I crashed the very next week (AKA this week). The kryptonite to my powers was R-E-A-L-I-T-Y.

I often hear of women that do it all, they are moms, career women, and  still manage to work-out  like Olympians and maintain their gorgeous figures. I really think those women are Urban Legends. We all hear about them (sometimes on twitter and facebook) but do they really, I mean really exist?

I feel we can do it all, but we can't do it all 100% of the time.  It is difficult to be on top of things 24/7. Especially when you're a mom because there is a little human being, putting you on check. Hey mom, whats for dinner, I'm hungry! Hey mom, can you check my homework. Hey mom, don't forget about the parent-teacher conference tomorrow. Hey mom, remember to take me to Staples so I can buy construction paper for my Solar System Project tomorrow. Hey mom, I have a tummy ache.

Motherhood is something you will never take a break from. Its the ultimate Job. So other things take breaks, like blogging, taking that 8pm Zumba class, or a Girls Night Out.

Don't get me wrong. I love being a Mommy. I just need to remember, I am NOT SUPERWOMAN, but I  AM a Super Hero to my Daughter... and at the end of the day, that's all that matters!