Beverly Hills Sparkles

The sights and sounds of the holiday season surround you as you stroll down Rodeo Drive this year.  Speakers are strategically located along the three blocks creating a symphony of cheer.  Twinkle lights abound and red spot lights make the palm trees shine.  Many boutiques are open late for your shopping pleasure.  And the new cocktail menu at On Rodeo is the best way to end the day.

Another Candle on the Birthday Cake

Good Morning Wendy,  We went to Germany for a couple of days for Thanksgiving and back to work today.  Your card totally made my day. Thank you so much. You are just so thoughtful to remember me on my birthday. I really appreciate it!  Enjoy the rest of your week!!  Regards, Abby [Product Development Executive, Quikbook]

Finnish Design Pops

Marimekko, the Finnish design company with the happy colorful prints as now opened in Beverly Hills.  With everything from women's clothing to sheets, children's duds, napkins and placemats.  At the corner of Brighton Way and Canon Drive, step in for a dose of cheer. us.marimekko.com

Another Candle on the Birthday Cake

Hi Wendy,  You are amazing the way you always send something for our birthdays.  Thank you and I love receiving it.  Sometimes too true though!  Hope all is well with you.  See you soon.  Kindest regards, Penny [Managing Director, Spencer Travel Pty Ltd]

Oh La La Dior

"It was worth the wait. The 5,000-square-foot space is so stunning, it’s indisputably the new gem of Rodeo Drive, the kind of place you want to drop in just to see. The interior designed by Peter Marino is in keeping with the design concept featured in Dior’s worldwide flagship in Paris on Avenue Montaigne. This atmosphere has a residential feel, with 18thcentury-inspired furnishings and fixtures mixed with contemporary art commissioned by the house." [LA TIMES, October 25, 2012]

with Michelle Sharp, Catering Manager

I couldn't wait to take a look around myself.  Seated on the Johnny Swing couch made of welded half dollars and stainless steel, I'm relaxing after a full tour of two floors of the most glamorous couture clothes and art pieces.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

To give thanks in solitude is enough. Thanksgiving has wings and goes where it must go. Your prayer knows much more about it than you do.  - Victor Hugo

Thanksgiving Rush

AAA forecasts an increase in 2012 Thanksgiving travel. Travel numbers for Thanksgiving weekend will improve from last year as more Americans regain confidence from an improving economy, AAA predicts. The number of road travelers going on trips 50 miles or more from home is expected to rise 0.6% over last year. The group says it expects about 3 million Americans to go by air, rising 0.7% from the previous year.

A Happy Client

Wendy – I wanted to let you know what an amazing time my friends and I had staying at The Luxe! The food and drinks were great and all of the staff were so kind and helpful. Thanks again!  Pamela Allen [The Paley Center for Media]

Thought for the Day

But words are things, and a small drop of ink, falling, like dew, upon a thought produces that which makes thousands, perhaps millions think. - Lord Byron

Budapest

Just returned from a week in Vienna and Budapest.  If it's 11:30 tonight it must be 8:30 in the morning where I just came from.  There was an abundance of old grandeur, rich heritage, stunning architecture and beautiful museums to have made a month-long trip challenging.  My girlfriend and I packed as much culture as we could in eight days!

Thought for the Day

I feel about airplanes the way I feel about diets. It seems to me that they are wonderful things for other people to go on.  - Jean Kerr

Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend

Seen here with Michelle Sharp, Catering Manager
and Marcus Mueller, General Manager.

All things that sparkle are found at Van Cleef and Arpels.  Tonight was their official re-opening after almost a year of remodeling.  Ladies wore bracelets, necklaces and brooches from the famed jewelry house.  Champagne and delicate savory and sweet appetizers were shared. Congratulations to boutique manager, Chris George, and his team for setting this reception above the rest.

Autumn

Yes there are signs of autumn in Los Angeles.  Found this lovely tree in the La Cienega Park, Beverly Hills, on Sunday to prove it.

Bold and Visually Innovative

This evening the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences saluted the great Stanley Kubrick in association with the first major retrospective of the legendary filmmaker's work. Hosted by Malcolm McDowell, clips from his films ranging from science fiction to war, lust and war were shown along with fascinating interviews with special guests who had the the great pain or pleasure to work with Kubrick.   Stanley Kubrick explores the uncompromising vision of one of cinema's greatest directors with annotated scripts, photography, props costumes and film screenings through December 15th at LACMA.

Another Candle on the Birthday Cake

Hello my dear friend, Wendy,
I am always so touched and humbled when I receive your personal birthday message during my favorite time of the year! You are wonderful, and I appreciate you so much for keeping me in your contacts after all these years. I have not been back to California in a long while, hence, not staying at my favorite place away from home, the Luxe Rodeo Drive. How are you? Are things still fantastic and exciting on Rodeo? I still have day dreams of my days back there and wish I could just click my heels and be right back in the environment I so enjoyed. I plan to get back there in 2013, and will be back at the Luxe.   Always, bev

Getting out the Vote!

To both candidates: May the best man win!  Best of Luxe.

Thought for the Day

When I discover who I am, I'll be free. - Ralph Ellison

Don't forget to vote!

Voting is a privilege.  Please don't forget to participate in shaping our future.  I remember my grandmother, born 1898, telling me about women's suffrage and earning the right to vote at the age of 22!  It was a very important day in her life and she celebrated it every election year until she died, at the wonderful age of 109.  [The election of 1920 was the first election in which women had the right to vote in all 48 states.*]
*the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment was August 18, 1920.