Wedding Non-Crasher - Part II

So the last of my 5 weddings this summer took place last weekend, and to be honest I'm a bit sad. Not that my social schedule isn't packed with SmartsCo parties across the country this fall, but I do see what the "Wedding Crasher" characters were onto (not that I'm bringing home strange guys from each of these - I just like the dancing).

This last one was for my dear friends Tracy and Carl and it was georgeous. I was particularly honored to be able to play the flute in this one (I don't get too many opportunities to perform anymore other than the occasional wedding - and I much prefer the flute to being a bridesmaid). I think the best part of the whole weekend for me was the arts and craft projects which I helped out on. I just love weddings where friends and family chip in and create beautiful things.

Tracy and Carl's moms made yummy cookies that were family favorites and we boxed them up, and tied cute ribbons around them. Next up was tying bows on the programs which was a 3-step project: folding the programs, punching the holes, and then tying. As a former process consultant myself and Carl being a product manager, we both were quite interested in streamlining the process so there were no bottlenecks. I think we did a pretty good job reconfiguring the assembly line when certain people got behind.

The highlight of the wedding weekend for me began the next morning at 6 am when we got up and drove up to our friends McNultys house in Sonoma County to pick roses. They have about 1000 absolutely gorgeous rose bushes and were kind enough to donate roses to the wedding. I learned a lot about roses that day. The rose pictured here is called "Perfect Moment" - how fitting! According to Terry McN. "It is one of our favorite roses. However, it is not at all
fragrant. What it lacks in fragrance, it makes up for in its spectacular color scheme."

So here's what I learned on my rose pruning expidition, thanks to Terry's great lessons.

1) You should always cut a stem so that your cut is about 1/4" above an outward-facing leaflet
2) when you prune, from the base of each rose you select for cutting, count down at least 5 leaflets until you locate an outward-facing leaflet. Then cut just above that leaflet.
3) some bushes are more prickly than others (boy can it be painful if you aren’t careful).

Storing
1) You should immediately put them in a clean pot filled with TEPID water. NOT warm, as warm water tends to blow the blossoms too quickly. And NOT cold water, as cold water will cause the cut ends to seal themselves, and then they die too early.
2) you should remove the bottom leaves, but keep the thorns on

Cool stuff.

Types
There certainly seem to be a heck of a lot of roses out there: different species, different colors, different varietals. It’s actually pretty fascinating, and beautiful I think they create a new rose for every first lady as I saw a lot of names of former president’s wives. (My favorite rose was believe it or not – the Nancy Reagan. Not sure what to think about that one.)

Hmm – maybe one day I’ll leave the City, get a house of my own and grow roses. Could be fun.

Now that's my kind of fundraiser

Last weekend my friend Darcy and I ventured out of the City to an "It's a Girl Thing" fundraiser for Katrina relief out in Diablo (that's in the East Bay). It was a fabulous party filled with fun shopping, spa treatments, and great food and beverages. We brought lots of clothes and toys for Katrina survivors and raised money through a silent auction and proceeds from the product sales.

At first Darcy and I felt a bit out of place in the 'Burbs, but we quickly settled in and had a blast. First stop was covering up with our favorite Relish Sunscreen so we would keep our skin young and beautiful (okay, full disclosure: my friend Michele Dispensa owns the company, but I swear by it - particularly the bronzer which I love to apply to my pale skin when I go out - it's got an awesome shimmer). (Photo is Michele (R) & her friend Laura Markstein, the hostess of the party).

Next stop: Booty Parlor, a sassy sex toys company, which really impressed. Now I've seen my share of sex toys through our development and marketing of SexSmarts, but I gotta tell you, most of them really miss the mark when it comes to design. If you're into the girly stuff (lots of pink feathers), Booty Parlor is the place for you. I particularly love how they disguise their "body treats" like perfume bottles ("so you don't need to hide it from the cleaning lady" - love it!).

Next up was some wine tasting from Clos du Lac, a winery in the Amador County (Sierra Foothills). Pretty yummy stuff. I must say I quite enjoyed their experiment with Zinfandel Blanc. That's right, you heard me, this wasn't the sickly sweet white Zinfandel (which is actually a rose) we all grew up on and have since learned to snub. I'm not sure if I'd drink too much of it, but I do applaud the attempt - it's a light, low acid white wine, that's really quite palatable (not unlike some of the light French roses I find (which isn't surprising considering the winemaker is French). Went great with all the delicious food that was served. (Photo of Darcy (R) and me sipping on the Zin Blanc.)

So after a few glasses of wine, it was time to enjoy the body treatments. As Darcy got her nails done, I got a facial from a SK-II Skin Care consultant - pretty cool stuff. Apparently, it's some Japanese line made from some liquid that's extracted from sake fermentation that is "age defying". We then got 10 minute massages followed by a full makeover from a Bobbi Brown makeup artist. Too bad I had to go home afterwards, as I think I've never had so much makeup on in my life. While I felt pretty silly, it did look pretty good. Too bad I don't have the time or inclination to put the stuff on myself.

I really enjoy this trend of having fun and doing good. Instead of just going out to dinner or a bar, why not make all our activities fundraisers for good causes such as the Red Cross who will continue to need money to support Katrina survivors. Jen and I always try to work with our favorite non-profits for our events, such as our upcoming wine tasting supporting the Women's Community Clinic we're hosting with Lolawines.com on October 5th. If you're in SF, please join us - it's a great cause and will be a great party.