Small Perks

Century City mall. Top floor of the parking lot. When you come in from Santa Monica Blvd, enter the parking structure from the left lane (will keep you on top floor), once in make a left and then another left and this spot will be waiting for you right next to the escaltors. It's always open. Just for me! I love it!

Obama Gear

I went to the Democratic headquarters in Pasadena. I had no idea there was a Democratic headquarters in Pasadena. Probably because I don't consider myself a Democrat, but if I were to be a affiliated with a party it would probably be Green or Independent, but I need to look into it more before I label myself one thing or another. Regardless, I am definitely behind Obama. But I digress....

I went to the headquarters to get some Obama gear. Cool place. I got a bumper sticker, car magnet, and a poster, which I have a picture of above. You like?

I gotta say, the more I pay attention to Obama, the more I like the guy. I can even forgive him for doing little during this economic crisis. Its because if he says he's for the bail out then he's against main street and if he's against the bail out and it causes catastrophic crash, he'll catch hell for it. So I'm glad he's hanging back and being politically strategic even though I always resent politicians for doing this. I don't hate the player (in this case only), and I'm learning to appreciate the game.

Now if only someone would bail ME out econimically....

Trunk Show

My friend Tara had a trunk show in Beverly Hills, showcasing her Rocco e Dante handbags. She had a lot of support from friends, family, and handbag enthusiasts.

Here I am with Tara and Carl. I'm carrying my red Rocco bag. There was wine and cheese and a nice goody-bag with lots of girly goodies. Tara is probably on her way back to Seattle. She has another trunk show at the Venetian in Vegas on August 25th. To find out more go to her website or blog.

Great job Tara! Good luck with the trunk show in Vegas and with your next collection.

The Wish Trees

After a scoop of bacio and scoop of pistachio yesterday, I walked over to the wish trees that were being displayed in the courtyard in Miller's Alley in Old Town Pasadena. This is an installation by Yoko Ono. We saw some wish trees at the Peggy Guggenheim museum when we were in Venice in May.Each tree had a little step ladder so that kids could tie their wishes on. It was really sweet.

Each table had a little box like this one with pencils and tags to write your own wish on. I wrote one and tied it on, then walked around and read a few others.I wish I could have stayed and read them all, but my parking meter was about to run out. I will go back again tomorrow to make a few more wishes and read a few more wishes.From the website:

Yoko Ono's Wish Tree for Pasadena is an interactive installation at Pasadena One. The Wish Trees will remain there until November 9 when it will join other wishes from around the world at the Imagine Peace Tower on Videy Island, off the coast of Reykjavík, Iceland

My First Rocco e Dante Handbag

As I've mentioned before, my friend Tara has started her own handbag collection. I ordered one from her and she shipped it to me from Seattle.

I love getting packages in the mail, especially when you open the box and it looks like this:

How cute is this bag?! And check out the inside lining.

I've already gotten lots of compliments on it. Thank you Tara!

If you want your own handbag from the Rocco e Danta collection, just go to http://www.roccoedante.com/ or http://roccoedante.blogspot.com/

Rocco e Dante

My friend Tara Sauvage is launching her own line of purses called Rocco e Dante. She spent time in Milan last year preparing for this. Her line was recently featured in an article by NW Source with much praise. She used to live in the So Cal, but is now based out of Seattle. Check out her website for upcoming events and trunk shows (click on the bone above).

Everyday oversided clutch: Red Croc embossed "Angela" bag

Oversized satchel: Red Italian crinkle patent "Rocco" bag
(above with Rocco himself)

Evening satchel: Black patent
leather "Dante" bag with gold tone hardware
(guarded by Dante above)

Visit http://www.roccoedante.com/ for upcoming dates of events.