LA

I was quite recently turned on to the super fabulous blog P.S. I Made This. Like many, I was briefly entranced by the Do It Yourself revolution precipitated by “Trading Spaces” a few years back (does anyone have as much spunk as Paige Davis?). But also like many, I got over it in a hot flash and moved on to reality TV shows about obese people and ne'er-do-well teens from the LA suburbs. But I digress.
 
P.S. I Made This rocks my world. Author and rad gal Erica Domesek shows all us lesser abled fashion followers how to whip up our very own faux fur wrap a la Kate Moss or create a feather shoulder embellishment that looks runway ready. Her straightforward formula of showing us a chic collage of high fashion imagery to prove the next big trend followed by a quick step-by-step guide on how to Do It Ourselves is, quite simply, genius. All I have to say is: Watch out Christopher Bailey, Laura C. Thomas is all over the equestrian brooch.
 

Source: psimadethis.com

I just returned from a conference that wasn’t business related BUT when you own your own business it feels like EVERYTHING is related to business. I remember when we were kids in the 1960’s, flying then was a bit of a privilege. The food was served on real china (and tasted a lot like real food). You were expected to dress nicely (suits and hats) and if you were a little one, you were expected to behave yourself without any exception. My grandparents lived in Miami so we were often on an airplane. I have great photos of my mother with the three of us (a brother and a sister) deplaning by stairway. There was my mother, beautiful in a big brimmed hat and gloves with three little kids in matching sailor outfits (she was a MAJOR stickler for appearances). It was thrilling. I loved it.

Now, with an office in New York and LA I still spend a lot of time on airplanes, but oh how things have changed (no china and tracksuits reign as the uniform of the upper-class). American Airlines is my preferred mode of transportation. Preferred because they fly the most between my major destinations. And, they have pretty nice lounges. Because I fly quite a bit I have platinum status, which gets you upgraded fairly often. BUT, I tend to just buy the business-class ticket because you don’t want to get stuck in economy if you don’t have to. Now, I know I sound bratty, but flying is a bitch. So, I’m going to do what needs to get done to get there in comfort. And that’s really the point of the blog. Just how important is it to fly business if you are in business? Pretty darned important.  But honestly, it wouldn’t be so important if air travel was just a bit more civilized. So I say bring back the good old days (everyone says that, right?). But forget the outdoor stairs, the jet way is much better in bad weather!

Source: cynical-c.com

This week I am going to blog on blogs. I recently took a look at a smattering of my favorite beauty, fashion and chocolate blogs. This week I am “reviewing” (take this word lightly and keep in mind that if I am writing about something it generally means I like it) a variety of blogs in the social media arena. Let’s start with Mashable.com.

Mashable.com is the world’s largest blog on Web 2.0 and social networking and includes articles, news and features on a variety of related topics. The blog was founded in 2005 by Pete Cashmore and has been rated one of the top 10 profitable blogs by the blog ranking service Technorati. If you aren’t interested in the blog, get interested in Pete. Besides being ridiculously smart, he’s ridiculously hot. From publishing real breaking news to offering up great leads on resources and guides in the social media sphere, this is the place to be. I follow Mashable on Twitter (again, great for breaking news and updates on timely perspective).

If you can, try to get yourself to one of the Mashable meetups in LA or NY. And whatever you do, check it out!
 

Source: facebook.com, mashable.com

Most days, the environment at Brand Building Communications might be described as, well, intense. We’re juggling journalists who need an interview in the next hour, stylists who need diamonds in LA yesterday, client calls for advice on Facebook, locating 100 copies of a book for an upcoming event, eating at least one square meal a day, drinking water, taking a trip or two to the ladies room and the such like. You get the general picture.

So, being the masters of our own destinies that we are, we enjoy playing music at the office whenever possible to at least provide an appropriate soundtrack to the madness (if not a little respite from it). Here are some choice tid-bits of our musical stylings.

1. Pandora—We have group-sanctioned stations on this Godsend of a Web site ranging from Lionel Richie to Hot Chip, from Lady Gaga to Common. I think we’ve held sing-a-longs to Lionel’s “Hello” twice just this week. The interns are slightly afraid and we like it that way.
2. Laura’s French Music—Whenever we have an editor event in our fabulous turquoise Penthouse, without fail someone emails me or corners me in the kitchen to borrow the “Musique” list on my iPod. It features all my faves: Paris Combo, Eartha Kitt, Nina Simone, Ann Savoy, Charles Trenet, Carla Bruni, Coralie Clement, Soko, Serge…C’est un mélange délicieux superbe, if I do say so myself.
3. Lux Team Theme Song—Each week there inevitably comes a moment when the proverbial record scratches, the music comes to a halt, and we all look at each other and say, “I feel like we need to make even more happen for the clients RIGHT NOW.” That’s when we YouTube Ms. Janet Jackson, take it back to 1986 and play “What Have You Done For Me Lately.” It’s supremely motivating. Trust.
4. DesiHits!—DesiHits! is a new old friend (former client that left—sniff, sniff—and just came back on—hurray!). It’s undeniable how much Desi culture has made its way to the States since “Slumdog Millionaire” madness swept through last year. The site is a great fushion of South Asian and Western culture that even a New York City-based nerd such as myself can understand. And when the team can’t take another Black Eyed Peas or Rhianna jingle, DesiHits! always helps us spice things up a bit.
5. imeem—So, we love Pandora, but our friend Melissa just put us on to imeem. It’s Pandora 2.0 to put it bluntly—as if Facebook and Pandora had an illegitimate love child at Lollapalooza last summer. It gives you more control over how your playlist (in Pandora terms this is the “station”) shapes up.

Now, please. Go out and boogie BBC-style.