Happy Friday!

My friend, Lea, emailed this quote to me this morning, which is very true:

"Joy is what happens to us when we allow ourselves to recognize how good things [and people] really are."
~Marianne Williamson - author, lecturer and spiritual leader

But then she emailed me back and changed it to:

"Joy is what happens to us when we allow ourselves to recognize how good a payday is on a Friday."
~Lea - daughter, sister and a happy gal

Happy Friday, Everyone!

Springing Forward

Don’t Forget to set your clocks one hour ahead this Sunday. I love this time of year because we get more time to bask in the daylight!

Daylight Saving Time begins for most of the United States at 2:00 a.m. on the first Sunday of April.

But did you know that this year will be the last time we set our clocks forward in the month of April?

Due to the new Energy Policy Act, Daylight Saving Time is extended by one month and will take place on the second Sunday of March beginning in 2007.

More info on Daylight Saving Time here.

* Clock above from Pottery Barn.

Graphic Ts

Great for Spring! All from American Eagle.

Can't Get Enough of Train

Train was awesome tonight at Pechanga Resort. These photos, taken with my lousy camera phone, don't do it justice. The night ended with a shower of paper confetti as they sang "Cab." I especially love their album design,which was part of their set backdrop (right).


















Top Row: The Band; lead vocalist Pat Monahan
Bottom Row: New keyboardist Brandon Bush (former keyboardist for one of my favorites, John Mayer); The Band

I Love Cake Stands

They're not only great for presenting cakes, but somehow they manage to bring out something special to other delightful little goodies like tea sandwiches, truffles, creme puffs, mini quiche and even party favors.



















Top: Crate and Barrel; Anthroplogie
Bottom: both from Williams-Sonoma

Catching Train

Josh and I are going to the Train concert tonight at the Pechanga Resort. We're big fans of course, not only because of the great music, but because they're from our hometown, San Francisco.

More info on Train here.

Congratulations, Cheryl & George!

My friend, Cheryl, asked me to create her wedding favors for the big day tomorrow. Due to last-minute changes, I had to act fast, find good quality materials that weren't cheesy and won't break the bank. I was able to come up with this - delicate little boxes filled with champagne truffles. I hope Cheryl and George love them!

Happy Sweet Friday!

Speaking of sweet -- now that we're getting well into the year and more birthdays, celebrations, weddings and holidays are upon us, here's a list of the Top Ten Best Mail Order Desserts (from the Fine Living Network), which you may find handy. How fun to surprise your favorite people with delightful little packages from the following shops:

#10: Desserts by David Glass. Products include New York Cheesecake, Ultimate Chocolate Truffle Cake, Ultimate Espresso Chocolate Walnut Madness, Ultimate Luscious Italian Almond Cake

#9: Rice To Riches. Products include Rice Pudding (shipping in "Sumo" tubs that serve up to five people)

#8: Sweet Street Desserts. Products include Low-carb Cheesecake, Big Cheese Brulee

#7: Veniero's Pasticceria and Caffe. Products include Cannoli Kit (contains 12)

#6: Athena's Silverland Desserts. Products include Brownies

#5: Blue Bell Creameries. Products include Ice Cream (minimum of four half-gallons)

#4: Little Pie Company. Products include Sour Cream Walnut Apple Pie, Old Fashioned Apple Pie, Mississippi Mud Pie, Key Lime Pie

#3: Planet Bakery/Yassine's Royal Pastries. Products include 20-Piece Half Tray All Burma, 27-Piece Half Tray Mixed Pastries, 24-Piece Half Tray All Baklava

#2: Teuscher Chocolates. Products include Truffles (minimum of 16)

#1: St. Clair Ice Cream. Products include Mini Fruits (per dozen), Medium Fruits, Single Serving Size (various flavors)

* Pictured above: The Ultimate Cecilia Bartoli Luscious Italian Almond Cake from Desserts by David Glass.

More Hello Lucky

A sample from Hello Lucky's Weddings collection as seen in Martha Stewart Weddings (October 2005 issue).

Super Cute Cards from Hello Lucky

These cards have a touch of whimsy and retro. I just love them! All from Hello Lucky.

The Great Bunny Rescue of 2006

Best Friends Animal Society,* made famous by its "No More Homeless Pets" campaign, has now set up a major rabbit rescue effort, with help from veterinarians and volunteers across the country. 1,000+ rabbits have been rescued from a backyard in Reno, NV with tiny babies, injured rabbits and rabbits in need of urgent/special care. Their story here.

Also, a very sweet article called "Rabbits Helping Rabbits" - the story of Tonopah, one of the rescued Reno bunnies.

*The mission of Best Friends is driven by the simple philosophy that kindness to animals helps build a better world for all of us. Best Friends helps humane groups and communities across the country. It is home to about 1,500 dogs, cats, horses, rabbits and other animals.

Spring Is Here

And what a great (but very cold) day it was to spend the first day of Spring at the Happiest Place on Earth! Even cherry blossoms were in bloom for Spring's arrival.

Josh and I at Disneyland in front of a statue of Walt Disney and Mickey.

Children's Book Swap

Yesterday afternoon, I got a fun package from Melanie for the Children's Book Swap organized by Andrea. Melanie chose the two books that are so me! My mom used to always tell me that when I was young, I would often ask "May I bring a friend?" to every family outing or gathering. Maybe it was because I was an only child, or perhaps it was because there were no kids my age to play with in my neighborhood. Whatever the reason, it was always much more fun for me to share good times with a friend. And how fun it is to receive a book whose main character asks the same question I did!

Melanie found "The Boy Who Fooled the Giant" in a rare/vintage bookstore. It didn't occur to me that it was out of print and how wonderful to have this book now since I have fond memories of my mom reading it to me!

Melanie also included an adorable little card with a whimsical picture from Maurice Sendack's "Where The Wild Things Are."

Thank you so much Melanie! I love everything you sent!

Happy Birthday Patrick O'Douley!

In October 1999, an abandoned little bunny was found wandering the streets in the Bay Area. The kind person who found him named him Cornelius and took him to Rabbit Row so that he could find a good home. At the time, Rabbit Row was filled to capacity with shelter rabbits, and being volunteers and fosterers, Josh and I took Cornelius in for a little while until space opened up again. Even though Cornelius stayed with us for only a week, we had grown attached to him. It wasn’t the right time to adopt another rabbit since we already had 4 in our tiny apartment. Five months later, as little Cornelius was still waiting to be adopted, luck was on our side. We were able to move to a bigger place and have room for a bunny addition!

No one really knows how old he is, so we just celebrate his birthday around the time we adopted him, on March 17 - St. Patrick's Day. We also changed his name and added a last name too! Patrick O'Douley became bonded friends with two of our other bunnies, Pepper and Oreo.


Pepper, Patrick and Oreo doing one of their favorite activities.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Shamrock paperweight from Target.

Oscars Red Carpet Photos - Updated

Update: My Oscars album has been updated. Since the disposable cameras did not produce great photos, I've added only a handful of new photos to the album - the ones that are note-worthy, which are more close-ups of George Clooney, Ben Stiller and a few shots of Dolly Parton.

My updated Academy Awards Red Carpet photos can be found here.

Oscars Red Carpet Photos

Finally! My Academy Awards Red Carpet photos can be found here.

What TV doesn't show much are the swarms of people on the Red Carpet. We tried to take as many pictures as we could and as fast as possible since celebrities were often attacked by the media and became out of view. I was lucky enough to shake George Clooney's hand who stopped by right in front of me! The memory in our camera decided to die on us at the last minute, so I switched to disposable cameras. Those pictures will be posted as soon as I get them back.

Tea Cup Surprise, Round 2

I had to giggle when I received the package from Storme today because, coincidentally, I got her name for Round 1 of Beth’s Tea Cup Swap! Storme’s package is very special – each item was picked with care. She knows I love Hawaii and dance Hula so she sent a tin of Hawaiian Colada Rooibos made by Tiny Buddha Tea – an herbal tea with coconut and pineapples. She also included Green Kiss green tea drops with ginger because of my love for green tea. Storme has a wonderful online shop, Gingillo, with lovely handcrafted goods. She sent one of her beautiful cards from her collection, along with sprinkles of tiny colorful flowers (made by tatting), which, fittingly, remind me of the Hawaiian flower, plumeria. The tea cup and saucer she chose look and feel so delicate in a beautiful pale yellow trimmed in gold.


















Perhaps the thing that made this package most special is the treasure that lies inside the tea cup – a picture of San Francisco (where I grew up and a city I dearly miss). What Storme did not know is that the picture shows specific places in San Francisco that has great significance to me – the neighborhood where I grew up (Twin Peaks in the background) and the district where I started and grew career-wise (the Embarcadero on the right).












Storme, I am so grateful for such a special package! The care and thought that you put into everything made the package all the more meaningful. Thank you so very much!

Cool, Comfy Chairs

Happy Friday! Wishing you a cool, comfy chair or two upon which to relax this weekend. Maybe squeeze in a few reads and good naps too!


















Top Row: Roger Chair from Storehouse; Tropez Chair from Crate and Barrel; Library Chair from Julian Chichester Middle Row: Frank Chair from Julian Chichester; Arcadia Chair from Room and Board; Petrie Chair from Crate and Barrel Last Row: Kerala Easy Chair from Grange; Butterfly Chair from Julian Chichester; Bianco from Room and Board

Light Up Your Life!

All from Bellacor.

My Favorite Dresses at the Oscars

These pictures don't do them justice - they looked even more gorgeous in person!

For more style pictures, visit www.oscars.com/style. Will be posting my pictures from the Red Carpet in a couple of days.

A Day of Fun at the Oscars Red Carpet Bleachers

Just got home from a long sunny day of fun at the Academy Awards Red Carpet at the Kodak Theatre. I was among the 300 fans sitting in the bleachers. What I didn't realize was that 22,000 people from all over the world applied for the bleachers drawing. I feel so lucky to be among those randomly selected! Josh and I were on the second row right in the middle section of the bleachers. It was so exciting and at times a bit overwhelming to be only a few feet away from celebrities – we couldn’t take pictures fast enough. While all of the celebrities posed for and passed by us, some actually came over to us and said hello and shook our hands -- George Clooney, Matt Dillon, Ben Stiller (was able to get his autograph), Nancy O’Dell and Lisa Rinna. We all went nuts, of course!! The person I wanted to see the most - Joaquin Phoenix – rushed by so quickly that we didn’t get a chance to snap a picture of him.

Will be posting lots of pictures in a couple of days! Please check back.

The winners of the Academy Awards can be found right here.

What To Wear?

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts informed us that we should wear comfortable, casual clothes ("i.e. jeans, sweaters, jacket and wear layers") for the Red Carpet arrivals at the Academy Awards tomorrow. My first instict is...why casual?? I would like to wear something fabulous, but alas we're only non-celebs who are going to sit in the designated bleachers outside in the cold (with possible rain in the forecast) from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. and watch celebrities walk the Red Carpet. It does make sense to be comfortable and wear layers. But still, I would like to wear this instead:



...but will most likely be wearing jeans with black shirt and Urban Outfitters bolero with point toe boots.

Hair Day In LA

I paid a visit to my hairdresser, Jackie, today in downtown Los Angeles (you know...gotta get the hair right for the Academy Awards Red Carpet arrivals tomorrow!). It was extremely convenient to see my hairdresser when I used to work in LA. But now that I live and work in Orange County (and a few disastrous hair cuts later at local salons), my 45-minute treks to downtown LA to get my hair just right is well worth it!

See, Hear, Speak

..about the tragedy of AIDS.

Empowerment Tags available through Aldo. Only $5 and 100% of net proceeds will benefit YouthAIDS.

Children's Book Swap

I signed up for a children's book swap organized by Andrea and I'm excited to be searching for a lovely little book for my swap partner. I remember reading all sorts of books when I was a kid and I especially enjoyed reading with my mom. Here are some of my favorite books when I was young and I would read them over and over: