Long time... No write

I used to keep a diary. You know, as a teenager.

The same way anyone else does... This is what I did today, this is who I have a crush on, this is the music I'm into lately... I think I stopped when my (now waaaay ex) boyfriend read one and discovered I was, let's be honest - cheating. 

This was in college, and since then, I think I have randomly written what some might call diaries, but my dedication to them has been fair-weather. Seemingly only on an as-needed basis. In order to see my thoughts on paper and get them out - not as a chronicling, as I used to use them for.

This blog has apparently fallen into that cycle.  

So here we are, greeting an early Spring in Charlotte at the very beginning of February. Now, this is when things just start getting interesting in Minnesota. Snow, black ice, car window scrapers; these are but daily mundane second thoughts... much the same as brushing one's teeth, or taking a shower first thing in the morning. They're rote.

And I miss them.

In Honor of Elizabeth Lussier on her 34th Birthday

She's turning 34 tomorrow.

I've know the divine Ms. E since Jimmy Carter was President. We met the year he lost to Reagan. We're officially old.

Since I can't be there this year to pick her up in my ever-music-blaring car, and take her out for a fancy, or low-key, but terribly comfortable dinner. Since I can't order her a fabulous dessert concoction, and tip the waitress to bring it with candles and a song to our table to turn her cheeks flush pink with embarrassment. Since I can't reach out and give her the biggest, most heartfelt hug, that would tell her how important she is, and what an amazing support she has been throughout our decades as confidants. Since I can't be there to tell her how damn proud I am of the woman she is and has become, I will shamefully embrace this technology and blog about it.

Growing up, it wasn't always easy in south Minneapolis. More than a few kids lived within turbulent households and sought some kind of release from their families on the streets of our neighborhoods.  That's how Lis came to darken our doorstep those first few years more than she darkened her own.  It was then, immediately, that she had found a new (or additional) home. 

I remember one of the first social events outside of school with my dear BFF, on her 7th birthday (1st grade = 7 yrs old, right?).  I wore an apple turtleneck and colored her Miss Piggies (from a colossally cool Muppet coloring book - a move that would cause her to doubt my friendship for years to come). Despite my horrible social graces, she continued to call me her friend. We clung to each other in first through third grade in a private Lutheran school off of Franklin. And then, the absolute horror of transferring to a *gasp* public school for fourth grade turned us into the class bullies... There was no turning back after that.

Through "coolness", through "un-coolness", I never lacked a best friend. Through more important things; disasters, moving away, break-ups, losing loves, gaining new circles of friends, and all of the other typical insanity that defines life, she has been there for me. And I've been there for her.

In this new chapter, which is inarguably the MOST exciting, I get to be an aunt to her beautiful girls. And I can not wait for them to meet their wonderful, giving, intuitive, charitable, crazy (you know it), lovely mother.

And, since I can't stay up until 1am to be the first to wish her a Happy Birthday, it'll have to be the thought that counts. Love you so much, my dear, dear friend. Looking forward to the next several decades and the adventures to come!  Happy, Happy Birthday sweetie.

love, me

The World is Celebrating!!

There is so much to say... so much pride I have for us as Americans. This is the beginning of an amazing time for us. We will be asked to work. We will be challenged to think. And I'm grateful, grateful, grateful to be able to participate in this ground-breaking time. 

Hiedi sent me a great picture I'm posting at the right.

My sentiments exactly...

VOTE VOTE VOTE

I'm home on my lunch break from getting out the vote - We're in a battleground state and after last night's rally, the constituency is fired up again!!  I'll make this short, as I have to get back to it, but wanted to upload a picture and hopefully some video from last night (sorry so dark/misty - weather was awful but we were undeterred). Enjoy!!

YES - I VOTED

I earned the "Yes - I Voted" sticker today, and had an interesting hour and a half-long chat with a woman who identified herself as evangelical christian (in fact she works for Billy Graham), and was as gentle as she was scared. 

In this go-round, and being as I'm in a swing-state, I have been playing the talk show host.  Ever curious, I'm asking lots of questions of people.  I want to know about their lives, their fears, their hopes and their choices.  So I ask.

And you'd be surprised how willing people are to share, if you're open to listen...

Jill didn't know if she could trust either camp with her concerns about the economy.  She shared that growing up, finances were the only thing her parents fought about, and that she in turn had avoided the topic altogether.

I don't think she's alone.

Mid-way into the conversation, I shared that I had avoided talking about money too until just the past five years or so, but that it was much less scary when I started asking questions.  This segued into being scared in general and I shared that Obama and his team give me hope.  

The line to vote was long. It was 1:20pm and the line stretched down rows of books, through the Steele Creek library. I was happy to see it.    

Obama-Mama

In case you haven't already heard, the challenge has begun in North Carolina. 

I canvassed last Saturday for our man, Obama, with my friend Venita.  As you might expect, we had fun with it, and were anxious to get out and talk to people one on one about the democratic bid for the presidency.  On the road, we ran into several Obama supporters, but about the same number who were undecided still (think we convinced ONE out of all of them).  Unfortunately, McCain's smears are ringing in their heads, and it's hard to fight the emotion of fear.

On Sunday, V and I took in a short, but wonderful set by the legend, James Taylor (10th row center!), who played for free, and was as genuine and down-to-earth as anyone.  His voice amazing, and his message inspiring!

It was a very Obama weekend, as this coming weekend is also shaping up to be!  I'll be taking video and pictoral records of canvassing in the next few weeks and will post all (if I figure out how to upload video).  

Anyone who has good info (easy to read, bullet points) for the Dems, please pass it along, as I will be talking to around 100 people myself this weekend.

Hope you are faring well, and if you're undecided, CALL ME!!! 

Sending love....

LA Woman

LA was fun!  Rae showed up with all sorts of mischief making possibilities, and we went on not a few adventures.  I'll be brief: 

1st -  the Greek place by the airport.... THE BEST GREEK FOOD I'VE EVER HAD... right near LAX

2nd - cruising over to Auntie Em's and sampling one of their AMAZING cupcakes.  ahhhh yeah.

3rd - standing in line to see Chelsea Lately, and ultimately failing to get into the show

4th - perusing the Olvera market (I bought a whip!) 

5th - Fred Segal sidewalk sale. Whaaaat??!?

6th - driving out to a neighborhood called Northlake to discover the temp had dropped about 30 degrees to have forgotten a jacket to have to put on all of the clothing we just bought to be picked up by a bus to be taken to a game show called Opportunity Knocks - I'm not sure when it's airing, but it's on ABC (no pictures allowed... I should've taken some anyway).

7th - last thing before the airport - the PCH drive

Craaazy week.

Love to all.

Sunny Saturday

Just read an email from my friend/ex-client Beth who completed a Breast Cancer 3-Day walk last weekend in MN. So proud of her!  And momentarily I'll be leaving to join some friends from work who just completed a Race for the Cure this morning.  Apparently on the food agenda is pink ribbon cookies and booby cookies.  Ha!

The dogs will come with me and enjoy about six other dogs running around their back yard.  Beautiful day for it.  Pictures to come!

Fall Trip... and that I did

I trip in flats. Always. At least once while wearing.  Little known, dumb tidbits about your friend Heather.  Anyway, I'm finally back from a long trip abroad for business and wanted to share some thoughts and pictures with you. 

First, I have to be honest, though I truly wanted to be grateful and excited about this trip, I wasn't really.  I knew there was a lot of work to be done, and in the end we had to divide and conquer, agree on broad messages, and communicate those messages to the sourcing office and vendors we were to see in China. Sounds easier than it was, primarily because we had yet to sort out areas of responsibilities. 

Without going into the details of the work, we started out in Paris, which as it turned out was nicely directional for us: we found some strong ideas, and set some of the most important looks for each brand.  The weather was amazing, in the 70's, and we travelled in large-ish groups from store to store in various areas. Dinner was lovely - with the whole group the first night in a little place near Collette on rue Saint-Honore. And the following night I brought our VP of Trend, Arlene Goldstein, to La Fermette Marbeuf, which is known for it's art nouveau style decor and interior. C'est Si Bon!

From there, we went to Barcelona, which was humid and warm, but produced some of the most inspiration of the trip. Hip girls on the streets were wearing an urban, updated version of the reviled 80's hammer pant, and I was surprised to become romanced by it's renaissance.  I even picked up a black knit version from Zara for myself, which turned out to be the perfect traveling pant paired with my black silk petal sleeve tunic.  The silhouette was intrigueing and easy to wear. Actually, they remind me more of Paul Poiret's harem pants from early 20th century, than the formally referenced rap artist.

Next stop was London, where we explored most of the typical shopping haunts, and included the Portobella Market whilst there.  The picture included to the right doesn't even attempt to capture the buzzing activity the market creates for locals and tourists alike.  We also found an amazing antique jewelry boutique which, of course, was insanely overpriced, so nothing was bought there... just admired. 

And our last European city was Amsterdam. Now, while I've technically been there before, it was at the time, brief and limited. This time, though, I was able to create a relationship with the city. 

I'll explain.

Whenever I find myself in a new area (city, neighborhood, or otherwise), I take moments to allow a connection to it in some way.  This, I think, is the beginning of my relationship to a place. And my connection with Amsterdam was immediate and penetrating. The canals, the locals on bikes, the beautiful buildings - it's a multi-faceted city.  A perfect nest for "creatives".

I didn't want to leave Amsterdam.  And no, I didn't partake in any of the unscrupulous activites the town is known for.

With all our inspiration samples and ideas, we took off to Hong Kong.  Not sure what your conceptions of China's top city are, but I didn't expect it to resemble an American city nearly as much as it did to me.  I would describe the landscape (in my VERY limited exposure) to five or six  New York Cities with some Las Vegas thrown in. I regret that I wasn't able to explore much than a mile beyond the hotel we stayed at, which was right on the Kowloon waterfront, on the harbor.

One of my favorite experiences during the whole trip was a dinner with Caroline (the men's designer) at the InterContinental. We sipped French Martini's (hiiiighly recommend) and listened to an awesome band/singer for hours. The dessert... bigger than my head, and soooo decadent. A flaming chocolate cone filled with Bailey's soaked cake, chocolate chunks and vanilla bean ice-cream. Loved it.

A colleague of mine, booked a hair cut for me while she was booking her own appointments with Tracy at the Shangri-La's spa.  She ended up taking off much more than I wanted her to, but it is a fabulous cut, and watching her work was fascinating in itself.  She reminded me of Edward Scissorhands with her intense attention to every piece of hair on my head, and her architectural execution of the cutting and layering.  

The hotel we stayed at had incredible service, and is pictured to the left as well.

Despite all of this, leaving Hong Kong was easy.  I knew I'd be back, and at this point in the trip, I was very ready to return home.  My first flight was around 11 hours from HK to San Francisco.

On the plane from SF to Charlotte, I sat next to a real class-act: Trent Dilfer, former quarterback for the 49ers, who just retired in July and is now a broadcaster for ESPN.  Of course I had no idea who he was, because I clearly know nothing about sports. Real, real nice guy though, salt of the earth. He is a commentator on Sunday evenings for NFL Live, NFL Primetime and Monday Night Countdown and on SportsCenter Sundays and Mondays so check him out! No wonder people were staring at him... I'm so oblivious.

When I returned home, so eager to see my babies, Hogan was limping off of his right back leg and Cagney had two blisters on either side of her mouth.  I'm obviously concerned about both so I'm lucky to have the day off (working from home) tomorrow so I'll take them in to the vet once again. 

Grateful to be home and looking forward to a looong nap this afternoon, but wanted to get this out asap as I haven't touched base with anyone yet.  Love and hugs to you all.

What I do for Work

So I thought, since I talk so much about being busy at work, and have had so many friends ask about what I do every day lately, I'd take this opportunity to describe my job.

What do I do every day for work?

Well... that depends.  

I shop and read magazines and draw.  OK... maybe a bit more than that.

While it's true, I research fashion trends through leafing through magazines, I also check benchmark brands for they're latest and greatest pieces and themes; research fabrications, finishes, trims, and emerging manufacturing processes.  I think through, then create designs on our Auto-Cad based crappy design program and then do "hand-offs" with our Technical Team which are meetings that I set up to explain the designs and work through the expression of fit, design details, possible vendors, print processes (where applicable) and anticipated costing challenges.  I collaborate with our Quality Assurance teams for color and quality approvals, and our Textile Designers for graphic and print direction, our Product Managers for the execution of the apparel in work, and our Merchants for the actual order-writing and category tracking.  I conduct concept meetings for all teams, and collaborate with our Trend Director on translating her broad company-wide trends into these brands, specific to each market.

I shop our benchmark brands, our competition, and the market in general to get a gauge on what's selling, and what other retailers believe in.  I create boards that reflect the concept of each delivery, and evolve these boards at different points in the process to reflect our changes and modifications, adds and substitutions... I attend shows (NY, Las Vegas, LA) for print, trend, and color.

I do this for three brands right now, but have helped with branding several others since starting  5 months ago.  

This is what keeps me busy at work, and no day is the same.  I love designing, I get paid to build and maintain relationships.

On that note, I will be taking off for my overseas trip, which I do twice a year - once in fall and once in spring.  I'll travel with 4 other people.  This will be almost the smallest group that I've been with over to Europe (with the exception of the very first time, when it was just Gene Meyer and me in Paris, and then me and Jason Dworshak in Turkey).  This time it'll be Paris, Barcelona, London, Amsterdam and then to Hong Kong.  I'll be gone between the 14th-28th.

That's it for now, have to get ready for the trip, but I'll take pictures and post when I can on the road.  Miss all...

Vegas, Baby, Yeah?

Although I've out-wordly maintained that I was never really interested in going to Las Vegas, I have to admit that there has always been an element of mysterious glamour that I've conjured in my head at the mention of the place.

Well, folks, this past week I had my chance to see what I've been missing all of these years... the Vegas Virgin was popped!  Flying out on Monday afternoon, I arrived very late that night (despite the three hour time difference) due to a missed connection (thank you Continental!).  

First impressions... wow.  As in "Wow, I don't get it."  

I was there for MAGIC, which is one of the bigger trade shows in the US, and which apparently was attended by 40% fewer buyers than usual this year - hello Bush economy.

The show was great, but the evenings of "exploring" the city was not.  When we were walking along the strip, it reminded me of the Minnesota State Fair, except with southern accents and without the food on a stick.  There are no rules against smoking in most restaurants, and they do so with abandon.  To be fair, I didn't catch any of the shows, which I'm sure make the whole experience much better to the average visitor... 

One highlight: Caesar's Palace - The Forum Shops, which are beautiful halls full of high-end shops like Shanghai Tang, YSL, Dolce & Gabbana, and Chrome Hearts.  Very niiiice.

Next trip: Europe!    

Friday night and over-stuffed

Have nothing important to share, and have been sitting here trying to think of something new, or different, that I've done in my personal life and t seems all the newness and interest has come from work.

My work days are relatively routine still: get up, walk dogs, get dressed, feed dogs, leave for work, work, come home, walk dogs, eat, feed dogs, watch movie or check email, play with dogs, go to sleep.  That's the plan...every day.

Traveling for work and pleasure have kept me in need of appropriate dog-sitters, and have inherited another brand which tops me at three now.  VERY BUSY AT WORK.

Deeply, deeply miss family and friends in Minneapolis and afar.  Often wish the tele-porter were real, already.  Damn Star Trek for putting such fantasy into our head's at all.  

Tired now, and anxious to get some zzz's.  Dogs say hi.  Love to all, H

Time to Organize

We've been here now longer than 4 months and it's time to organize.  I've found this difficult to do with as much time and energy I spend at work and with the dogs.  In the evenings, we go on a nice long walk, grab some grub and usually read or watch a show and then go to bed (since we get up quite early).  It's taken me a while to adjust to this place and I think that I'm starting to feel a little less alien here (though my recent trips out of town have reminded me how much I enjoy being in more urban cities)...

This weekend, I will be organizing the insanity that is "my stuff" and making purposeful areas around the "nest".  I need a place to do yoga, and for friends who join me on occasion.  That will be the 2nd floor in front of the tv (for the Shiva Rae Dance Yoga DVD).  I need space to store my "projects" which include sewing garments and handbags, and pillows.  

I really need a place for all of my files.  I've gone through most of them now, and have purged, but still need to have a permanent place for them.  Can't find anything easily now.  Bad thing.

The dogs stuff is completely organized (was there ever any doubt).  

Need to re-prioritize my wardrobe and do some editing.  Think I'm getting to the stage that I don't want to keep everything around "just in case".  Let the donations begin!

That's it for me tonight.

Hugs,

me

Charleston lessons and Current stuff

A friend of mine, whom shall remain nameless, but whose name rhymes with Baya, let me know that my blog had grown tiresome.  This, I believe, was not an opinion, but a statement of fact, because at this time during the year, there is such an oppressive heat/humidity here that it literally permeates everywhere/everything (including, in this case, one's mind - namely mine).  

So... I'm picking up a slower way of doing things, which seemingly includes keeping up communications.  But I'll try to remedy that in some small way tonight.

In the last week, Elizabeth came to visit - She flew in Tuesday and stayed through Saturday morning.  We rallied and meandered around the Verizon Amphitheater for  Linkin Park concert on Tuesday (opened by Chris Cornell, who played Rusty Cage, one of my top 10 songs of all time, as the last number... AWESOME).  For this, we stood, sat, sweated in the sun at up to 106 degrees for over 7 hours.  Not the smartest thing on earth, but we were very well hydrated at least.

I had been to the Snoop Dog/311 concert the week before so I had a general idea of what to expect...

The day after the Linkin Park event we toddled off to Charleston which is about three hours away and reeeaaally humid in August I might add.  The highlights were checking out the artisans on Market Street, the sweet grass baskets of the Geesha (sp?), and going through the Old Slave Mart Museum on Chalmers Street. I naively had never read paperwork describing the "sale" of a person.  It was surprisingly simple, and deeply disturbing.  Lis and I talked about it on the way out of town... how the whole city seemed heavy... that there was a heavy history you could physically feel in Charleston.  Interesting, foreign, and sad.

Upon returning to Charlotte, we decided to stay indoors.  We were immediately at peace with that decision.  Ahhhh, beautiful coolness.

After my gorgeous friend went home, I spent the weekend treating Hogan for his hotspots, by washing, shaving, and medicining the poor pup.  Vet appointment on Friday...

Lots going on at work, and have inherited another contemporary brand, so I'm excited about the increased opportunity as well as challenged with being the new design layer which has been welcomed by some and understandably questioned by some (not personally, of course).

Traveling a lot soon.  New York, Las Vegas (pending), Europe/Asia: Paris, London, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and then over to Hong Kong. Week after that LA.  Then Minneapolis for Zaih's birthday.  Yey!!  

Sleepy time.  N' night!

 

Just another Sunday morning

Had a good morning.  Brought the dogs to the dog park with neighbor, Kim and her dog Duke.  See pictures... Have lots of cleaning and organizing to do still today and Kim and Jessica will be over tonight for a little group yoga. Fun!  trying to get into healthy habits/schedules...  

Thinking of my Sistas...

Miss Celie's Blues
by Quincy Jones

Sistah,
you've been on my mind
My sistah, we're two of a kind
So sister,
I'm keepin' my eyes on you

I betcha think
I don't know nothin'
But singin' the blues
Oh sister, have I got news for you
I´m somethin'
I hope you think that you´re somethin' too

Oh, Scufflin',
I been up that lonesome road
And I seen a lot of suns goin' down
Oh, but trust me
No low life's gonna run me around

So let me tell you somethin' sister
Remember your name
No twister,
gon' steal your stuff away
My sister
We sho' ain't got a whole lot of time

So go shake your shimmy, Sistah
'Cause honey the 'shug
is feelin' fiiiiiiine.

Love you my sisters. Erin, Lisa, Taya, Fran, Heidi, Rae, Lynn, Shelly, Robbyn, Marnie, Jacque, Nicole, Tatiana and my new sisters Darla, Venita and Jessica. 

Lady's Night, Oh What a Night!

There are nights I remember in my life where laughter wasn't only present, it prevailed.  These are some of my favorite times, and this was what happened last night.

Jessica picked me up and we cruised over to Flying Biscuit in Ballyntine to meet up with Venita.  Jessica had never been there before (it was only my second time), and was introduced to their famous grits.  Mmmmmm-good!

We ordered way too much food and sat discussing all matter of subject for the next 4 hours while it digested and we picked.  

It was decided that we would move on from there to a fabulous dessert cafe relatively close.  I wish I had taken pictures of the confections we picked out, and promptly devoured - they were little sugar pieces of art.  It was at this place that we devised our plans for a girl-pop star group we would form along the lines of Destiny's Child.  Of course we had to decide who's mother would be our "band designer"... 

Next on the agenda was deciding our signature "moves".  Thought of Lis for her lip-biting boogie, and Taya for her ability to get low on the flo'... Lynn for her techno stylings, and Heidi for her "arms up" move.  In the end, my signature move was, of course, the "uh oh".  

Great 4th Celebration

Celebrated the fourth with my new bud Darla, and her family (pictured right).  They rock the casbah!  Saw some mini-sized fireworks, and enjoyed a meal with new friends... More later!

Trying to sport the Maxi in Southern heat

So part of being a designer is wearing clothing that might be considered "of the moment", or at least elements that look updated... One of such emerging trends is called the Maxi Dress.  Simply put, the maxi is any dress that is long enough to reach the ankles of the wearer.  

I have one such dress. It's black and made of 100% Linen.  I love the concept, but something gets lost in the translation.  The look one goes for when sporting this garment is laid back elegance.  After hours of wearing one, I am not laid back, nor elegant.

First, it's hot, and a long anything is not the first thing people around here reach for to cover themselves up.  Second, the dress has a surplice bodice, which means the neckline is relatively... exposed.  I have to wear an uber-fashionable scarf for cover, which brings us back to the first point.  

Time to tend to the pups, and yes, I will be walking them while wearing this ensemble. What my neighbors must think!! Miss all...

Homeward Bound

Had a wonderful weekend with family and friends with no time in between visits. Time with Elizabeth and Robb was fun, silly, and sweet: basically how it always is. ! ) They are an extended part of my family, and I am so grateful for their love and grace.
I was able to spend a lot of time with my sister, which is almost impossible to have imagined. Erin and I have both been confused with whirling dervishes in our almost incessant multi-tasking. I love her dearly. The niece and nephew are taller and each reeealllly bright. The things they say now, there individual senses of humor... so fun to see!
Was able to hang out with Taya on Saturday which was a breath of fresh air. Love her spirit and energy - they fuel me!
KelliRae played host that night and it was just a blast catching up (again, as usual).
Kevin and Mane were married Sunday in a beautiful Buddist Temple. Was so wonderful to see them absolutely happy. But once the reception came, Kev busted out old skool Michael Jackson. It was the best!!