Saw "Ramon" today.
I went with the kids to Donna's house to pick up a bag for Rand (who is having a sleep-over with Gary at my place) and found Raymond there!
He was showing Donna a DVD of his Oscar winning short: "West Bank Story" (he dropped the "d" in his name.)
We've been friends with him since elementary school (Donna's b.f.f.) and rarely get to see him now that he's Mr. Broadway. He's in town between shows (Chita Rivera's revue) and heading off to Florida for a few weeks with the troupe.

I'm actually off to the valley now with the kids for a sleep-over of our own. This spring break stuff is fun!

A LONG Walk with Ben...
When we left the house this evening, it was pretty light out; by the time we got home, the moon was on high.
This is the corner of Beverly Drive and Charleville, in front of Ragg Tattoo (my favorite children's shop.) The first California Pizza Kitchen is just behind Ben. We walk this block on a very regular basis; the kids often walk over after school for a Jamba Juice or coffee. The selection of snackage is quite nice; Starbucks, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Peet's Coffee, Urth Caffe,

Koo Koo Roo, Chin Chin, Mako, Kiyono Sushi, Subway, San Sai, Zen Zoo, Bossanova, Burger 90210, and now Pinkberry, all on one city block!

We stayed on Charleville and snapped this sundown shot on the corner of Rodeo Drive.









We circled 'round the streets, trying to get the maximum amount of ground covered. Here we were at Wilshire between Beverly Drive and El Camino. At left, the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel.









Circling up Camden Drive at Brighton, I had to take a shot of Teuscher Chocolatier. They always have the most festive packaging; the little bird and bunny boxes are themselves a fabulous gift; filled with their signature champagne truffles, an even better treat! Thankfully, they were closed for the evening; who could resist such temptation!?!

Walking a few blocks further east, we waved a big hello to our girls at Paper Source (France joined me in some window jumping, Monica was at the register closing.) Good to see them!



Finishing up the walking marathon with a cup of hot tea at Urth Caffe. Ben had the spearmint, I had the English breakfast blend with milk. We were happy to see friends Sarah and Michelle Wolff there, leaving for their Palm Springs vacation (smart to wait until the traffic eased.)
We finally decided that we'd had enough, and made it home after nine.

Morning Coffee @3rd & Fairfax.

I met up with the Koffee Klatch at Farmer's Market this morning.
Do you know the muffin man?
Orly does (left)...it's her dad! He's in charge of all the baked good for The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf chain (the family business.) She works part time at Sweets Beads (which is funny, 'cause I'm at Sweetpeas!)
Andy (right) is so funny...always a pleasure.
(That's my diet coke; I'm not coffee girl.)


Caught this picture of Carla on her cell...she and Orly always have the cutest purses. No photos of Donna or Rand today (sitting too close for a good shot.)

Pretty Pretty!

I just love Holly's new hair style! She talked a big talk about her new low-lights, so I begged to see them; LOVE IT! Thanks for the e-photo. Oh yes, I also love her new shirt from Torrid (one of my fave stores...)

Who's going to be the most stylish mama on Waikiki Beach next week?

Holly Dye, that's who!

Reverse Applique Embroidered Tank.

Here, I used a favorite square of Dia de los Muertos fabric and sketched out the skull w/crossbones. I just love it. Amy Tangerine taught Allie how to use this technique; she's been very prolific in her output of tees too!

Want to learn this technique yourself? Check the Sweetpeas blog for Amy's upcoming schedule (she's doing a tote on Sunday, April 22nd that rocks!)

Looky here!

Artful friend Jackie in Oklahome sent us this art-doll tag which she made with images we love. I especially admire her use of shrink plastic (note the clothespin with "the face".)

Thanks, Jackie!

A special gift...

From b.f.f. M.: I lovelovelove this sterling bracelet set with mother-of-pearl and amethysts (signed by the artist on the toggle.) One of the very few pieces that I will actually wear (I have issues...besides being beautiful, it's really comfy!)








I am so thankfully blessed to have true friends.

An early surprise!

Big thanks to b.f.f. Holly Dye for this eyedelicious flower cake. It arrived at the shop in a pink bakery box; total surprise. She wanted me to be able to enjoy it for more than just one day. Now here are some calories that I don't have to worry about!

I'm Late Because...
I have a good excuse. You know by now that I ritually need to write every night before biddy-bye. Well, Thursday morning graciously filled in for this naughty Wednesday night scribe, as this raconteur pulled a late-nighter.

I spent one of the nicest evenings of all time, with my sister-status Amigas, M & L. Due to the imbibing nature of the night, I'll refer to them as Yum & Numb. {Changing "Numb" to "Plumg"...'cause that's what she is!) We had left the kids (well tended) with a feast of Italian: Pizza, Lasagna, Rigatoni and Chicken with Garlic toast. They were happy to spend some quality time together while we girls went to wine, dine and whine.
Cafe Bizou was the destination; a charming gem of a french bistro in the heart of Sherman Oaks. Bellying up to the bar, we sipped on tasty martinis between stories. By the time we got to the table, I was very happy. Our waiter made quite an impression with his split of Veuve Cliquot .


We shared this tasty Asian pear with goat cheese salad. Just scrumptious!














Lobster tails and shrimp on a bed of risotto. Ummm













Sesame crusted Salmon with vegetables (instead of potatoes...guess who had this?)











Whitefish with a lobster sauce. Ummmm.


I was really planning to stay out even later, intent of a few rounds of Scrabble with my worthy opponent (although I can't ever really think of Yum as opposition; rather as the safest refuge in the entire universe.) Instead, I rounded up the babies and took them home very on this very late school night.

A Little Drawing...

I've created this over-sized playing card (from board) and will raffle it off for a comment. Just add a comment* on this site, my cohort Mary's blog, or the Sweetpeas and Snapshots blog before Sunday, April 1st at Midnight. We'll pull a winner for this original piece of art.

Hope you like it...

*Sorry, no anonymous comments are eligible to win; how will we know who to send the piece to?

(Lewis Carroll's The Nursery Alice, is an obscure addition to the Alice in Wonderland stories. This image is from one of the rare book catalogs my dear cousin Paul gives to me.)

The Reader's Digest Condensed Version:

Ben was magnificent; the applause was thunderous. Allie was just a delight; more applause! Sorry, no photos (they had a rule at this performance) so I found this baby picture of Ben to show you instead.

Dinner afterwards at CPK with my divine Ms. M and fam; the best company possible after a fabulous night of musical theater.

The Old Book is Back!

Some time ago, I started this book as a round-robin project. I had completely forgotten about it until recently, when my friends Larry & Carney brought it up. It seems that Larry had possession of it, and had forgotten all about it as well. They kindly brought it in to me at the shop, and I am so happy to have it home!
(I've only photographed my personally arted up pages.)

Cover: Italian paper with layered with Lumiere acrylic paint.


Loads of Lumiere, Viva Las Vegastamps, Ken Brown Stamps, and more (it's been awhile.)













Fun with slide mounts, library pockets, glassine and more Lumiere (I see a theme here...)











Game pieces, more slide mounts, Catslife Press, Renaissance, old dictionary pages and you guessed it, Lumiere.

Suzi Loves her Lumiere.

Q-tips.

Princess had a little fun with Q-tips after her shower just now.
Squeaky clean.

Funny.

Harmony Walton called to tell me about this new town she got a press release about, called "New Harmony", in Walton" County, Florida.

Pretty funny, indeed!

Remembering.


Being a special night out, I wore a pair of pearl & gold earrings my grandfather, Ben Cooper, had designed. He was a very talented jewelry designer, having created spectacular pieces for Ina's and Glasner & Tiba (both in Beverly Hills) among other places, during his career. I am fortunate to possess a number of his creations, and always remember him whenever I have a chance to wear them.
When we were young, we were fascinated by his wax carvings, and enthralled with the raw castings he let us play with. Donna and I often got to sort through his boxes of loose precious gems and stones (I especially loved the fire opals and diamonds) and enjoyed matching up sets, pretending to create designs of my own.

A Dinner Party.

Uncle Leon took us to the Beverly Hills Tennis Club for dinner tonight to celebrate a cluster of birthdays. I was so happy with my Grey Goose Apple Martini, Spinach Salad, and "Cowboy" Steak (no, it was not a cut from an actual cowboy...)













Donna looked lovely tonight.















Medium-medium, with a savory sauce.

Allie's "goddess" hair-do.

She looks much more worldly than a girl of almost ten here. What is going on in that mind of hers?

Very calculating, I'm afraid.

(That's Ralph Lauren "Ballroom Gold" paint on my bedroom walls. Very metallic. I just love it.)

How I know it's almost April...
The wisteria are in full bloom at Donna's house. We forget every year just how beautiful these grape-like clusters are, seeing just the ugly skeleton of the vines for months at a time.
So lush, so inspiring.

Quick recap (sans photos):
Any and all plans to crank out a project for the book today had to be nixed; this was one day where I had to drive the kids all over and couldn't fit Mr. Craft Project in. Tomorrow I'll knock one or two out between my other gigs. I can't preview any of these creations for you; contractual confidentiality (sorry, I hate to be a tease!)
I went to dinner and the show tonight with Rand; Gary did take Allie to the Gibbons' bash. Ben's performance was again outstanding (Rosanna Arquette sat in front of me, smiling,) and we were out of there by 8:45pm. I dropped Rand off at his place, then took Ben to Whole Foods, where we picked up a few groceries to take to M's house (they're flying in tonight from Kauai, and it's always nice to come home to a semi-stocked fridge.) We zipped over the canyon pretty quickly, filled the ice box and drove back to the city, where Ben quickly downed a cold drink and went to bed.
Hmmm. That sounds like a great idea; I'm pretty tired myself!

Fittings...

Party stylist extraordinaire Ryan whipped up the Greek goddess gowns from sheets this afternoon. Here he is fitting Allie for her ethereal toga.

First, he cut a hole in the center...






...then the pinning began.








They're going to be beautiful!
Gary is going to take Allie tonight I was told that the party is going to be filmed and edited down to about 45 seconds, for this Monday night's episode of Dancing with the Stars. We'll see if the girls make the final cut (we'll get a copy of the tape in a few weeks either way!)

Rehearsal in the Hollywood Hills...

The Koi pond on Leeza Gibbon's estate









Real columns were brought in to create some "ancient Greek ruins."









A view from behind an order (Ionic, I believe...)









The goddesses bestow their virtues...








...and bow down.

Allie's Performance.

My bit of a girl, Allie (9) has been asked to perform for Leeza Gibbons tomorrow night at her birthday bash (a very special year, if you know what I mean.) Allie and a few other select lovelies will be presenting a very special themed project, choreographed by a master (more on that later.)
She's getting dropped off at noon for a fitting and rehearsal, then performs later in the evening.

I've been asked if I'd like to stay and watch, but I've already promised to see Ben in his performance of High School Musical at YADA. I'll see the pics later.
We should all have such choices to make!

Expanded Knowledge.

Thanks to Kris, who's nudge got me to crawl out of the mire

of i-muck, and claw my way up to learn the html of blogger beta. Heretofore, I could only add a personal banner to the "Scribe" template (not the template I favor for myself;) with "blogger for dummies", I learned to add the banner element to any blogger template with relative ease.

I'm too tired tonight to finish the design, but a beginning version of it is now up, to metamorphasize into a finished piece when I have more energy.

The Old Switcheroo

Ben actually put on a shirt, tie and belt for school today; it was "switch" day, where the students dress as their favorite teacher, and vice-versa. Ben selected Mr. Frenn (his old homeroom instructor.)

He didn't even bring a change of clothing for later; the kids have their final Broadway rehearsal after school today. It will be interesting to hear how his day went.

(The background is my living room; jambalaya red, heavy on the ethnic art. More on that another time.)

Take a Looky-see Here...

I just got an email from friend Lynne K. Perrella, whose line of rubber images, Acey Deucy, was a top seller at my old shop, Suzi Finer Artworks & Artware in Beverly Hills. She wanted to let me know that she had revamped her entire personal virtual village, and wanted me to be able to see her remodel (and share it with my friends.)

Wow. Another friend, Michelle Ward, was her own personal interior designer on this project. When two dynamos like these get together, well, that's a site worth seeing!

Check it out for yourself: http://www.lkperrella.com/

I give it a five star rating.

(This image, "Finery" was borrowed from the Assemblage section of her site. Couldn't resist the name!)

The Family Celebrates
(as much as we can right now...)

Donna and Rand had us all to Benihana on La Cienega (Beverly Hills) for dinner to celebrate their birthdays. I haven't been there since we went with M & all the kids last summer, after we saw An Inconvenient Truth.


Allie loved her soup tonight...






The portable cart...







Mario, our "Japanese" chef...






The famous onion volcano (always a highlight...)





And of course, the obligatory shrimp tails were tossed in the hat & pocket of our talented hibachi chef. The kids loved every minute of it (and Rand was just amazed by it all!)

Nice to be with everybody, but even better to be home (it's been a long day!)