PUT YOUR STAMP ON IT!

This cool initial monogram was created by illustrator Elaine Biss. When you purchase her custom stationery for (the great price of ) $16.99 you'll receive 6 cards and 6 matching envelopes, plus 8 stickers. What a great gift for Mom, sister, grandmother, or any girlfriend for a birthday or other celebration.

It's the perfect Valentine's Day gift for yourself as well. Here's to bringing back the written word in style. Forget texting! Get them here. http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=19879319

ALL FOR A FEW PERFECT WORDS...

This book was given to me by my sister, for the holidays. She knew I dated Miki Dora, a world champion surfer, and he's the subject of this amazing and inspirational read.

Miki was the ultimate non-conformist, best surfer in the world, and con man who pulled scams all over the world and finally got caught after Interpol and the FBI closed in on him, (not when I knew him!). This book would make a great film, and I hear Leonardo Di Caprio has some interest in it, a perfect follow up to his Catch Me If You Can success.

If you're at all interested in surfing, surf culture, surf history, and the enigmatic Dora, this is a must. Beautifully written, painfully researched, and lovingly told, this story proves truth is stranger than fiction.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060773316/ref=s9subs_c6_14_at1-rfc_g1_si1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=0A5AKC7C8KXYCM0CD79Z&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=463383351&pf_rd_i=507846

TEA TIME...WITH A SPLASH OF STYLE

Hey, everyone loves a cup of tea this time of year. It's cold and snowy and what better way to fend off the chill --- and keep those summer vacation fantasies alive?

How about a lovely cup with this fabulous tea from my inspired and creative friend, illustrator Elaine Biss. I tell you, this girl is so talented, her fun, quirky, whimsical designs will cover the earth some day.

Check out http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=18617260
and go get a cup of some hot style!

BOUNCING BACK

The economy is in free fall, I know. But I just got included in an article in the New York Post about entrepreneurs who, faced with hard times, turned adversity into advantage. It's called Bouncing Back, and I hope it will inspire you!


New York Post article:
http://www.nypost.com/seven/12082008/jobs/bouncing_back_143158.htm

GETTIN CLOSER TO OPRAH!

I just got invited to a dance performance of the Alvin Ailey dance troupe next week. It's their 50th anniversary and it should be exciting. My friend Marie invited me to be her guest, and what a surprise when she told me that Oprah will be there to congratulate the troupe on their long-lasting success.

Well, I'm one step closer to getting on the couch to tell Oprah what she did for me by having The Ah Ring in O magazine! It jumpstarted the business and I've been dying to thank her.

WHERE HOLLY GOLIGHTLY LIVED.

Yes, one of the best things about New York is walking around all the beautiful streets with brownstones on the Upper East side. Ever since I've lived here, I've wondered which apartment had Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn) as a tenant, and that was shown in the movie, Breakfast At Tiffany's.

Somehow, I discovered the address the other day, and walked right over there. Luckily, it's still there, gorgeous street and all, even in the midst of a building boom that mounts big, glass skyscrapers next to historic carriage houses and is threatening to destroy the charm and beauty of our turn of the century architecture. Wow, George Peppard was gorgeous in that film, too!

PEACE IS THE NEW BLACK!

Walking down Fifth Avenue today, after going though Central Park, I saw this slogan as part of a window display at Henri Bendel's today -- PEACE IS THE NEW BLACK. I was in Central Park for the Chanel/Karl Lagerfeld/Zaha Hadid Mobile Art experience. It leaves for London on Sunday, and was an architectural and artistic mind-blower, long live creativity.