My Life: I need more time to get organized

2009, has surprisingly, been a little busy. So busy in fact that I'm finding myself becoming a little unorganized at home. Hey, it happens to pretty much everyone. I'm organized at work and for projects but I just can't seem to find the time for getting organized at home. I really need to declutter and clean out my closet. Like everyone else I just need more time to get everything organized again.

I also have been lacking in posts which many of you have e-mailed and asked if I was still writing. Yes, I am. Lately, I have been getting quite a few museum exhibit event releases which I will try to upload as many as I can.

I have also been trying to volunteer my marketing and pr skills with a few non-profit organizations. I try to help out as much as I can.

Cocktails for Two or Ten. Four Books to Spice Up Your Next Party.

You love throwing parties or just having friends over for drinks. But your usual signature drink is starting to feel a little stale. It's a new year, spice it up a bit. Find a new fave. A few books for fun cocktails are:


Party Drinks! 50 Classic Cocktails and Lively Libations by A. J. Rathbun ($12.95)



Ultimate Guide to Pitcher Drinks: Cool Cocktails for a Crowd by Sharon Tyler Herbst ($13.95)



101 Sangrias and Pitcher Drinks by Alexandra Grablewski and Kim Haasarude ($16.95)



It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere: The Global Guide to Fabulous Cocktails by Colleen Mullaney ($17.95)

Gisele Bundchen is (RED) Hot for ELLE magazine

The February issue of ELLE magazine (currently on newsstands) features the lovely Gisele Bündchen on over 30 covers (which is a publishing first). Inside the magazine will show Scarlett Johansson and Bono working to fight AIDS in Africa for (RED). Below are a few quotes from Scarlett Johansson and Bono from ELLE magazine:

On the cover Gisele is clothed in (PRODUCT) RED gear. Inside, Scarlett Johansson shares private details and photos of her travels to Rwanda in a personal essay and (RED) Founder and U2 Front man, Bono publishes a very personal letter.

Quotes from Scarlett Johansson from her personal essay on her Rwanda Travels

Scarlett on AIDS tests:

“When I admitted that I’d taken two HIV tests, everyone was completely horrified, the implication being that I was leading this wild lifestyle,” says Scarlett Johansson, whose decision to join Bono in the (RED) initiative was a “no brainer.” “I was only being responsible.”

On (RED):

When you purchase (PRODUCT) RED items – from partners including Apple, Armani, Converse and the Gap – up to 50 percent of profits go directly to fighting HIV/AIDS in Africa. Forty cents a day translates to the two antiretroviral pills needed to survive.

“If that can be achieved by buying a couple of pairs of Converse, it’s worth a shot.”

Quotes from Bono from his Letter

Bono on Women:

“I don’t believe in biological destiny. I think women care more because women bear more of the burden.”

On Fashion and Philanthropy:

“Which brings me, improbably, to shopping. Not everybody is able to march to the barricades – not everybody owns a pair of proper military boots – but there’s something you can do even in Manolos.”

On AIDS in Africa:

“Six years ago, I was traveling across Africa. AIDS at that time and place was a death sentence… the rest of the world made sympathetic noises – but did little more than that. Our Science and technology, it turned out, were more advanced than our conscience…we lacked the resolve.”

Quotes from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr

~ Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.

~ I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

~ Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'

~ The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.

~ The quality, not the longevity, of one's life is what is important.

~ The time is always right to do what is right.

~ The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

~ We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.

Style and Focus News Bites: London Shoe Shopping, Katie Holmes New fashion IT Girl and more

** High-end Shoe Shopping at it's best. Browns, a temple of style in London, has recently opened up its first stand-alone shoe store on Brook Street. A London fashion institution since opening in 1970, the new Brook Street shop will feature the very best in designer fashion – from Chloé, Jill Sanders, Marc Jacobs, YSL and many more. For more information visit Browns official website.

** Academy Award-nominated actor-producer-director Don Cheadle and his production company, Crescendo Productions, have signed a two-year, first-look television development deal with Universal Media Studios. Cheadle runs Crescendo with producing partners Kay Liberman and Lenore Zerman. (Press Release)

** Fashion Designer Narciso Rodriguez Unveils New Women's Fragrance. This spring, Rodriguez reveals his latest signature fragrance called 'essence', which is an homage to the duality of a woman's nature - the intense and the ethereal, the simple and the complex. 'essence' marks the designer's third scent created in collaboration with Beaute Prestige International, the Paris-based fragrance division of the Shiseido Cosmetics Corporation.

The 'essence' range of products includes a 3.3 oz eau de parfum ($100.00), a 1.6 oz eau de parfum ($78.00), a 6.7 oz scented body lotion ($48.00), a 6.7 oz scented shower gel ($40.00) and a 3.3 oz perfumed deodorant ($33.00). 'essence' will be available exclusively at Saks Fifth Avenue stores nationwide in mid-March, 2009. (Press Release)

** Katie Holmes is the latest IT girl in fashion as the new face of Miu Miu. The brand's 2009 spring campaign features Mrs. Holmes in the latest ads. It was inivitable that Katie would be a designer spokes model, over the past few years she has been included on many of the best dressed lists. (Photos: people magazine)

(Click for a better view)









** Fashion designer Kimora Lee Simmons and actor Djimon Hounsou are expecting their first child. Simmons has two daugthers, Ming Lee and Aoki Lee with former husband Russell Simmons. (Us magazine)

Amanda Wakeley Spring 2009 RTW Collection

Amanda Wakeley's 37 piece collection starts off with basics in khaki (with an orange lining on some pieces), gray and white then moves on to a burst of color in red, bronze and white with silver accents. I like this collection because it has the sophisticated basics that you can build an outfit around and giving you the option to customize with accessories. Below are just a few pieces from the Spring 09' RTW collection:

Art & Culture: A Must See The Joffrey Ballet Winter Program in Chicago

Planning on taking a trip to Chicago this February or live in the Chicago area a Must See for you is the Joffrey Ballet - Winter Program. This majestic show will feature four amazing pieces (all for the prices of one ticket) and will run from Feb. 18th - March 1st. This will give you a chance to see something besides The Nutcracker and indulge your inner culture queen.

The performance pieces are:

Kettentanz
Choreography by Gerald Arpino
Music by Johann Strauss, Sr. and Johann Mayer

A beautiful interpretation of the music of Old Vienna filled with Viennese polkas, gallops and waltzes. Kettentanz was created by Gerald Arpino, co-founder of The Joffrey Ballet.

Mobile
Choreography by Tom Ruud
Music by Aram Kachaturian

This serene meditation was inspired by the mobiles of the famed artist Alexander Calder. The ballet consists of a trio in which a man balances two women in slowly evolving positions that depend on balance and equilibrium, much like a mobile does. A Joffrey Ballet Premiere.

Hand of Fate pas de deux (from Cotillon)
Choreography by George Balanchine
Music by Chabrier

Set in a haunted ballroom, this pas de deux from ballet icon George Balanchine’s Cotillon (1932), reveals the figure of fate as she visits a young girl’s cotillion. The atmospheric pas de deux pairs fate with a young cavalier and leaves the audience wondering what is real and what is fantasy. It shows Balanchine’s great choreographic abilities at a young age.

Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring)
Choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky
Reconstructed and staged by Millicent Hodson
Music by Igor Stravinsky

The Rite of Spring stands as one of the most magnificent musical and dance masterpieces of the twentieth century. Choreographed by the legendary Vaslav Nijinsky, the piece caused riots in the streets when it was first staged. It disappeared only to reemerge due to the urging of Robert Joffrey and the painstaking research of Millicent Hodson and Kenneth Archur. It is not to be missed.


Where:
Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University
50 East Congress Parkway
Chicago, IL 60605


Tickets:

Prices:
from $25.00 - $145.00

Single tickets on sale at Ticketmaster
Phone: 312-902-1500

Box Office:
Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University
50 E Congress Pkwy
Chicago, IL 60605
M–F 12:00 – 6:00pm

The Joffrey Ballet
Joffrey Tower
10 East Randolph Street
Chicago, IL 60601
M-F 12:00 - 6:00pm


Performance Dates and Times:
Wednesday, Feb. 18 - 7:30 PM
Friday, Feb. 20 - 7:30 PM
Saturday, Feb. 21 - 2:00 PM & 7:30 PM
Sunday, Feb. 22 - 2:00 PM
Friday, Feb. 27 - 7:30 PM
Saturday, Feb. 28 - 2:00 PM & 7:30 PM
Sunday, Mar. 1 - 2:00 PM

Milly Spring 09 RTW Collection Part 3

My Life: Getting out the winter rut.

As cold as it's been the last couple of days the only thing I feel like doing after work is curling up on the sofa with a really good book. So as not to get in a winter rut, I'm trying to do something throughout the week. Tonight, I'm going to an art show. It's mostly college students showcasing some of their pieces and a few starving artist types. Nothing big or fancy just artwork being displayed.

Maybe I'll talk with the person who put the event together to see if they might need some help with promoting if they plan on doing this again. I'm always looking for ways to expand my PR skills and plus I just love art.

Milly Spring 09 RTW Collection Part 2