MY HALLOWEEN ADVENTURE WITH SNOOP DOG AND BRITNEY SPEARS

Do you guys enjoy Halloween? Over the years I've gone back and forth between loving and hating it. Truth is, when you're a kid Halloween is almost as Magical as Christmas. What could beat dressing up as your favorite Hero or Princess for the day, and knocking on people's doors demanding a Treat?

But then you get older, you realize that you'll get cavities and gain 10 pounds from all the candy you eat, and that cute little tutu doesn't look so cute on you anymore with your muffin top.


Sure, there are plenty of costumes that cover the bulges such as the "Pregnant Nun" outfit, or the "Big Baby ". But then you go to some Adult Halloween party and feel self-conscience when you see "Sexy Nurse" or "Sexy Schoolgirl" roaming around the punch bowl.

So this year I wanted to make the best out of it and show off my 10 pound weight loss thanks to Barry's Bootcamp.

I decided I would be a "Sexy Ragdoll". I just spent $7 on my striped socks at Target and another $5 on my fake eyelashes. I mixed and matched stuff I had from previous Halloweens like my corset that came from a French Maid costume and my short skirt that came from a previous Sexy Pirate outfit.

Madame Tussauds  Museum in Hollywood and Highland was having a Fab Halloween Costume Party that included an open bar, free appetizers and desserts,  music by DJ Cubeeche, and a chance to mingle with Justin Timberlake, Brad Pitt, Penelope Cruz, Salma Hayek and Britney Spears to name a few.

its Britney....

Me and Salma Hayek.. Hangin...

Of course they were pretty stiff that night, since they were only their Wax Figure Replicas. But it was still fun to pose with them and take pictures.

Hey even Joan Rivers was left "speechless" when she interviewed me! Ha! Thats a first!

My Boyfriend Jeff went as a Pimp Daddy and he was pretty happy he got to pose with the Pimpest of them all, Snoop Dog.

I had a blast!!  The Magic of Halloween restored! Now Halloween is starting to become my favorite Holiday after Christmas. Its the one day a year you can become whatever you want to become!

Halloween isn't just for kids anymore!

Penelope Cruz 

the Pitts

What are you guys doing for Halloween? What is your costume?

If KARMA is a woman, she's a BITCH! This is why I believe in KARMA...

Do you believe in Karma? I do. Why? Because over and over again in my life, I've seen Karma's magic happen. I've also seen it happen to those around me (i.e. a mean boss who ends up getting fired in the most humiliating way, a cheater that ends up being cheated on, a bully who ends up getting punched in the face) you get the picture.

I've experienced some Karma of my own (not any of the above examples, thank God, or thank Karma). Karma doesn't discriminate. I truly believe If you send out good you will get good. If you send out bad you will get bad. Karma is very Objective. I think if Karma was a Journalist it would be the best Journalist because it would be impartial. It would dish it like it is. It wouldn't receive bribes, prayers, or do-overs. Karma is a straight-shooter.

I'm writing this post because I had an ah-ha Karma moment. Not anything big, something small. I was at Vienna Cafe restaurant on Melrose and I was so hungry I completely wiped my plate clean and didn't even leave a crumb. The waiter came by and said, "are you done?" and I said in a mocking way, "no!" and he said, "oh, I guess that was a stupid question huh?"  Admittedly I was being a little snobbish and belittling. (my cars battery ended up dying right in front of the Restaurant, and I had to ask that same waiter for iced tea cause it was an extremely hot day!) But wait, that wasn't Karma. This was:

The next day I went to Tender Greens and ordered Iced Tea with my Salad. I asked the cashier, "do you know if I can get refills for my Iced Tea?" and he answered in a belittling way, "what if I said, no I don't know?, hun of course you get refills". I felt stupid for asking. Probably the same way the Vienna Cafe waiter felt when he asked me if I was "done with my food" and I said in a "duh!" tone "No!".

I know this is a very small and perhaps meaningless example. But the bigger examples I've had in my life are too long and complicated to explain, and I would have to write an entire book about it. Point is, I took this example as a reminder to put myself on check. I'm no YOGI, but I do believe that at Home, at Work and at Play, what goes around comes around. Watch yourself, cause, yeah... Karma is watching you.

Do you believe in Karma? Do you have an Karma moments?

Planning an 8 year old's ROCK STAR Birthday!

Girls just want to have fun right?

My daughter just turned 8. She's NOT into Care Bears, she's over Justin Bieber. She's a pre-pre-teen. So this year it was tough to find an appropriate theme for her Birthday Party. Her and I both agreed that a ROCK STAR theme would be pretty Cool.
This is what I did:

1. INVITATIONS:  Rock Star themed. Instructions inside read: Adults and Kids come dressed up as ROCK STARS!

2. GETTING "ROCKIFIED": I set up a table where you could get fake tattoos, bright colored hair extensions, make-up, and color hair spray.(Yes no one was safe!)

3. DECORATIONS: Hung Plenty of "Rock Star" dangly things

4. ENTERTAINMENT: A)Hired a "fake" Hannah Montana (isn't that an Oxymoron?!)

 B) PEACHES THE CLOWN: A face-painter/clown who painted cool musical notes on kids faces and had some magic tricks up her sleeve.

5. CAKE: pre-ordered from Costco with musical note decoration, then stuck a huge "Rock Star" trophy on top of it.

6. GOODY BAGS:  went to 99cents store and bought Rock Star themed goodies. Also made a CD with all of Giselles favorite music.

7. FOOD: Pizza, Popcorn, Rock Star Cupcakes, and Rock Star Punch

 

8. EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITES: huge slide bouncer, after all, the princess castle bouncy houses are for wimps right?

9. HAD A BLAST! 

I can't believe how fast the years have gone by. It seems like just yesterday Giselle was in my arms, barely a few hours old, and now she's 8! With her own personality, intelligence, and an attitude to boot! I picked a perfect theme for her party, because in my eyes she is MY ROCKSTAR!!!!! Truth of the matter is, although its HER birthday, she's the best present I ever got!

For all the other mommies reading this: what birthday themes have you picked for your kids and why? Please comment below! :)

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.

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

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.

http://latinosconcorazon.org/

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