I know that i have been a little down in my past few posts, but on a much happier note, this Tuesday, June 30, 2009, will mark the 25th year that my parents have been married.

To celebrate I made brunch reservations at Plum's, in Costa Mesa for this past Saturday. I'd never been before and found Plum's through a google search. After reading rave reviews on Yelp, I decided it would be a nice treat for us to all go some where new.

The food was amazing! There were some very interesting choices on the menu, all of which sounded great, but i decided to have the Raspberry Pancakes topped with Vanilla Marzipan Cream. I can't wait dine there again so I can try more of the yummy food. check out the pics:

yesterday was a long day for me. i dont normally give in to having a "bad day," and yesterday wasnt bad in the sense that things weren't going my way, but what started off as a sucky morning progressively got worse and then hit rock bottom with the announcement that Michael Jackson had died.

At first my mom alarmed me through email and when the message popped up in my inbox, reading those words....it was look all the air just left my body.  i nearly choked. then with a quick news check i was slightly relieved to see the LA Times reporting him as being in a coma. for the next 30 minutes i kept refreshing my page waiting for an up date and then there is was - "King of Pop Dead at 50"

last night i didnt get much sleep because i kept thinking about it. i kept asking God "how could you take him from us? you blessed the world with his wonderful gift and then you took him from us before anyone was ready." every time i would wake up it was like finding out for the first time all over again.

I went to the Kyra Davis book signing for Lust, Loathing and a Little Lipgloss but i was totally out of it. I started not to go but i knew i would regret it. Even she had fond memories of him. she told us that when she was very young she went to one of his concerts and even got to meet him and get his autograph.

When i was in my car driving I kept wondering how people could carry on with their every day lives like nothing had happened. I almost couldn't function. i did almost nothing during the last hour and a half at work. I'd even completely lost my appetite. At first the radio was playing his songs back to back but then it went back to regular music and i was thinking "how can you play this other nonsense? play Michael! i dont want to hear anything else. I only want to hear Michael Jackson!" then i remembered that i'd composed a MJ playlist on my ipod. I turned it on and turned the volume up as loud as i could. It still wasnt loud enough... i didnt care if people were looking at me crazy i wanted everyone to know how i felt.

then i decided that i needed to be with other people who felt like me. The LA times had listed the intersection where his Beverly Hills rental home was located so i plugged it into my GPS and soon found what i was looking for.

It was sad and it was great at the same time. Everyone was there for him. Bringing flowers and candles and photos and sharing memories. The whole night was full of hugs and high-fives, singing and dancing. I immediately met two girls who allowed me to chill with them since i'd come alone. We talked about what he meant to us and to the world. They too couldn't quite fathom that he wasnt with us any more.

to be continued....

i feel like some one has just kicked me in my stomach. i cant believe what im hearing..... michael jackson dead? the comprehension of these words makes me dizzy. light headed. i had to excuse myself from my office just now. i always thought i would have time to prepare for something like this, but i couldnt be more surprised if someone had called to tell me that an member of my immediate family had just passed. and now i cant even place the exact connection that i felt to michael jackson, but i feel no matter what age that many people (especially in the black community) had an overwhelming connection to MJ. Michael Jackson the king of pop...didnt you just love his music? didnt you love the sound of his voice...watching him dance. watching him on stage. didnt you just love him? he was so great in so many ways. even watching some one imitate him brought a smile to faces. he was truly God's gift to us in so many ways. and so many times people tried to destroy him. but i wont speak on that now. MJ was great. Awesome. did i know? as i type these words i remember waking up this morning with the melody to man in the mirror in my head this morning. 7am belting out the lyrics in the shower. i remember even getting in the car and driving to work the tune was still stuck in my head......... oh how God works in such mysterious ways. im just so sad. such a phenomenon he was. so incredibly talented. i'd always hoped that id have the chance to see him live. i wanted to be like those european girls just fainting in his presence. now knowing that I'll never have that chance is just too much. it just hurts so much. i cant believe it. just think about his family... how much he must have meant to all of them. think of all the people whos lives hes touched. think of all the artists we love today who he's inspired. and he has those young children.... so so sad.

Rest in Peace Michael Jackson

Today is officially the first day of Summer! In L.A. we have been having some serious June gloom, but today is a perfect, clear yet slightly breezy day. I thought today would be the perfect time to share my love of citrus with you.

I used to hate citrus. My cousin once bought me a Tangerine scented body lotion and I  remember thinking "who would want to walk around smelling like an orange all day?" But over time I've come to embrace and love the smell of citrus. Not  simply oranges or tangerines, but combinations of Mandarin or grapefruits blended with other wonderful woodsy or floral scents.

We all knoe that the smell of lavander is calming and relaxing, but citrus is just the opposite of that - it's energetic and cleansing, which is why it's so perfect for summer. Thats why water with a slice of lemon or lemonade is so refreshing. It's time to put away all the warm winter and fall frangrances like baked apples or fig and berries (just think how suffocated that would make you feel in this warm weather), and time to bring out the freshness!

Whether a home fragrance, or a perfume or body mist learn to embrace the scent of citrus and your summer experience will be so much better! Allure magazine has a great article on How to Pick a Summer Scent. For fun citrus-y Summer Cocktails, Hostess with the Mostess had some yummy recipes. On the Jennifer Beautiful Me Show blog read bout Jennifer's own citrus Scent Obsession. And my own personal favorite is the Dove Go Fresh collection in Grapefruit and Lemongrass.

With Wedding Season in full swing, I wanted to take a moment to remind you all about LuxeDelux wedding and event planning. Trust me, it is a big relief to have some one outside of your family or friends step in and help take the pressure off. From full-service event planning to "day of" coordination, If you live in Southern California and know someone who is getting married this summer/fall, I'd love to help. I've got tons of contacts in the industry (DJ's, florists, photographers), a lot of great ideas and inspiration, and am a magician when it comes to turning ideas in reality. Send me a private messege for more details!

I spent the past few months waiting for the newest novel in the Sophie Katz series and I'm happy to say that it was a fantastically fun read! Lust, Loathing and a Little Lipgloss by Krya Davis, was the perfect book to kick-off my summer reading. I've always enjoyed Davis's writing style, as she is one of the few authors that actually makes me laugh out loud while reading, and the fourth installment in the Sophie Katz mystery series did not disappoint - Sophie was as sharp-tongued, witty and and dangerously risky as ever.

Sophie, a mystery writer in her own right, has just found her dream home - a spacious, three-bedroom Victorian with hardwood floors. So what if her ex-husband is the Realtor? Finding a dead body at the first showing? No big deal. And the home's seller demanding that she join the Specter Society? She can handle that. But, when a member of the Specter Society is also found dead, and her new dream home is starting to seem like it might be haunted, Sophie knows shes got to find out who's behind the murders, who's trying to scare her, and why.

I had fun trying to figure out who was behind the murders (of course, it's never who you think it is). Although a mystery, the book was always fun and light-hearted. One of my favorite things about this series is that each chapter always starts with a snappy quote from one of Sophie's own fictitious novels. Plus, shes "every girl" - Biracial (Jewish mother, black father), lives with her cat, has a boyfriend that shes head over heels for (but argues with constantly), and loves a good frapaccino from Starbucks. 

One thing I noticed was that Sophie never really seems to go to work... I was just thinking that it might be interesting if a murder happened withing her publishing house. Or is that too cliche?

I cant wait for the next book in the series, and hopefully fans wont have to wait too long.