Super Sunday!

To say I had a blast at Zia Day Spa’s Special Occasion event would be an understatement.

Too often we get way to busy in our lives to really take care of ourselves. In the weeks leading up to the Special Occasion show I was pamerped to the max in preparation for my role of both vendor and hair model.  First, the shellac manicures are amazing- the paint shines brilliantly and it dries so quikly and hardens so fast that even I had a hard time making them look bad! Second, stop what you are doing and call Zia and make an appointment for a Skin Rejuvenation Wrap. Karin gave me this amazing skin treatment and my skin was so silky smooth and the next day I just had this glow and extra confidence from the relaxing treatment. The last part of my prep involved some self tanner that was applied in another treatment and I’m quite happy with the results. I didn’t look overly brown, or orange, or other- I just had this healthy glow which really gets more natural looking as you get further from the treatment date.

While I usually receive massages for my back I have to say I might need to reconsider treating myself to pedicures and skin wraps more often. When you start treating your body to these therapeutic and rejuvenating treatments you become a better version of yourself. I had such a boost of confidence from this feeling of pampering myself and others noticed.

So today was the best day ever because I like to dress up and I like to play pretend and today was a great culmination of both. Toni did an amazing job picking a hair up-do that just totally brought out my personality and went perfectly with my dress.  It really brought out my inner-jazz-singer-persona. I wish I could do this everyday.

Heather’s florist had beautiful bouquets and even better came in a vintage Pontiac Catalina. Hello pictures! The other models and I had  a lot of fun using his flowers and car in photos. The cake was to die for and the Towel cake vendor had such creative designs.

More photos to come, but here’s my fav:

Alter Persona

Well- are you coming to see me?

Please come join me on Sunday, May 1st, 2011 at Zia Day Spa in Natick for their Special Occasions Event.

Zia Day Spa:  127 West Central Street, Natick, MA

3 pm – 7 pm

Here are some other awesome vendors who will be attending:

• Heather’s Florist
• The Dolphin Restaurant
• Bella Costa Ristorante
• Chris Letizia, Piano
• Jacques Couture Towel Cakes
• JK Collection of Jewelry

and MORE!

Did I mention Doorprizes? And I will be there!

Zia has been glamming me up to be their hair model and I can not speak highly enough for all their creative talents. I have been completely pampered!  From manicures and pedicures to  soothing skin and massage treatments- I feel like a million bucks and can’t wait to see you there!

Hospitality Homes

My friend Brian recently put out a request to his photographer and artist friends for donated framed prints for the non-profit Hospitality Homes in Boston. Hospitality Homes is a non-profit I was unfamiliar with, and I discovered that they are a wonderful organization that helps place families traveling to Boston for treatment of their children in temporary homes or rooms while they receive care. These donated rooms and residences were often lacking the feel of a home and the request was for some photos and art to brighten the place up and provide some happiness and inspiration to the families’ and patients staying there.

I am thrilled to be donating this print of my cousin Emily’s radiant puppy “Molly”

Molly

This photo was hard to get. Even though Molly was exhausted after visiting with my grandparents before seeing me, she was quite the little sprite and made me work hard to get a clear, non-fuzzy, all-nose photo. I love this picture, it makes me happy and also really really want a dog of my own (someday!). I hope it has the same effect for the families’ staying at the Hospitality Homes in Boston.

For more info on Hospitality Homes: http://www.hosp.org/about.htm

If anyone else would like a print of this photo I will donate the profits to the organization as well.

The New Toy!!

I jumped on board and bought the new Fuji Instax camera. I still have the polaroid cameras that my parents owned and took photos of me before school dances with, unfortunately it’s impossible to find film for them. Luckily, the instant camera is becoming chic once more!

Ta-Da! The new Fuji Instax Mini in Piano Black.

So far I’ve only experimented with a few reserved shots of Ms. Ally Cat. I was planning to snap a few at the most recent wedding, however, 3-day shipping is apparently interpretable. As the film is a bit expensive (about $1 per image) I’m being conservative. But can’t wait to really use it!! Did I mention it has a clip on close-up lens!!

Ally Cat- extraordinary model

While I can’t give it as thorough a review yet, I can say it is fun and there are loads of creative ideas on how to use these little instant gems!

I bought mine through Photojojo; side note: photojojo is awesome as both a creative blog and store. It’s also being sold at B&H and other fine establishments.

Cheers!

~B

Mac-attack and all better again!

I have always been a cautious person around relentlessly backing up my data. I once lost an entire year’s worth of data because of a motherboard dying in my laptop (it has ongoing issues that were always “repaired” until it bit the big one).

On Friday I had been prepping all day for Julie & Ben’s wedding on Saturday and felt like I was in a good place. Then this happened:

Horrible Purple Plaid screen!

First let’s not panic. I’ll just do what it says “restart.” Second- all I could think of was who was the genius behind making this panic screen purple? Maybe future designers could have like a picture of a serene beach or something. In fact a beach would be perfect- serene to hold back the panic but also subtly saying “hey – life’s a beach” (only replace beach with another similar sounding word).

Guess what happened next? Still purple plaid restart screen- joy! I called up Apple and they were wicked responsive. They were able to discern in moments that this was part of a NVIDEA graphics recall on certain models and that I’d need to bring it into the store.  Short story, not a big deal, but I was banking on having my laptop for the wedding to transfer photos to and of course get to work on the next day. Luckily Kristin was able to bring her laptop- problem solved.

Two days later I have my mac back, no purple screen in sight! So… Catching up on Julie & Ben’s photos and you should expect some sneak peaks soon!

Cheers!

Something old…

Looking for that amazing hair piece for your wedding or special occasion? Why buy something new when your grandparents shoe buckles are perfect? Huh?

Vintage accessories are awesome! I love the way that pieces were put together like little items of artwork. I love the crystals, the style, the architecture. So I was pleasantly surprised to hear that the multiple bedazzled shoe buckles that were my grandmothers are actually quite useful as hair accessories!

Go dig through your grandmothers jewelery or stop by an antique store and look at some of those sparkly items in a new light. Yesterday’s shoe buckle, pin, or brooch could be today’s hair tie back or pin up.

Here’s a glimpse at my collection:

Happy Hunting!

Dirty Humor

Was inspired to jet out and set up this photo based on one of my favorite jokes! We just received a giant pile of loam for our yard.

If you haven’t heard of Comedian Brian Regan- you really should look him up on youtube.
One of his best comedy routines details the events of school projects- his project of course being last-minute and without the help of parents.
Brian turns in:

“It’s a Cup; with dirt in it. I call it ‘Cup O Dirt’”