Small Town Life In Big L.A.

Veteran's Day Luncheon & Boutique at the Sportsmen's Lodge

We enjoyed being invited back to showcase our wares at the Encino Republican Women's meeting today. We arrived early rolling through the lush landscape.

We wore new tops from one of our favorite L.A. designers.

Our mini boutique featured Christmas tops and gifts from our stores REVELATION TOPS and MOUNTAIN ROSE GIFTS in Montrose.

RWF President Janet Price got some shopping in before the meeting began.

Beautifully modeled by Tina, our selection of RWB scarves were a big hit!

Mary snagged one of our Christmas hats. So cute!

We so enjoy having lunch with these lovely ladies. The tables were so festive!

My favorite...Salmon in a buerre blanc sauce. YUM!!!

Chocolate black out cake for dessert!

Love these sisters!

This is the view from our meeting room. Peaceful & Wonderful.

What a great patriotic program centered around honoring our veterans.

More shopping after lunch.

What a fitting tribute on Veteran's Day.

Clark Gable where are you??? The Sportsmen's Lodge is so rich with Hollywood history both past and present. So many famous movie stars have hung out here. Today film companies frequently shoot shows and movies. What a wonderful day!

Pasadena Fashion Show

Yesterday we took our store REVELATION TOPS to The Women's City Club of Pasadena where we were invited to do a fashion show. For my friends back east, Pasadena is the home of the annual Rose Parade each New Year's Day.

We were invited by the Pasadena Women's Connection, a wonderful group that meets monthly for lunch, fun, and inspirational speakers.

We enjoyed meeting the ladies at our table!...Is that Carole doing a photo bomb?

Lovely luncheon!

This brave group volunteered to be our models for the day. Thanks to each one who visited our store for fittings.

It was fun to share about this year's trends like tunics with uneven hems and rhinestone leggings.

And then there's Margaret, an actress who stole the show!

She cracked us all up! Oh what FUN we had! This was followed by an amazing testimony from speaker and magazine editor Laura Coronado. What a meaningful time!

 

Fashion Show French Style

 With our love for fashion that is French inspired we were thrilled to have our store REVELATION TOPS be invited to Skylton Paris, a French company's, fashion debut in L.A.

It seemed many around us were from France and speaking fluent French. As we waited for the show to begin we were served authentic French foods such as this amazing pate. I felt like we were at a cafe table in Paris.

 So many delicious hors d'oeuvres! 

 Yes, we'll have a croissant served on an Eiffel Tower tray! 

 How colorful!

 Even the beverages were from France!

 Phenomenal Napoleon!

 While we ate it was fun to watch the press getting their interviews.

 As you can see skinny jeans and leggings are major fashion.

 We had such perfect seats. Every model stopped and posed right in front of us!

 

 This model was amazing! How does he do those moves so effortlessly? Glad you could come along on this fun adventure and get a glimpse into our fashion world. So thankful the Lord has let us do what we love all these years!

Lunch & Boutique at The Sportsman's Lodge

Surrounded by film studios, the Sportsmen's Lodge, on Ventura Blvd. in Studio City has quite a past. In years gone by it was a famous hangout for the old Hollywood crowd. Clark Gable, Bette Davis, John Wayne, Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Spencer Tracy, and Katherine Hepburn, just to name a few.

 Today it is a hotel with meeting rooms, dining options, and a popular film location used by shows like CSI. This day, we had the pleasure of bringing our wares from Mountain Rose GIFTS and Revelation TOPS to the Republican Women's Club and being treated to a delicious lunch.

 The spacious room was ready for guests when we arrived.

 Is that a serene view or what?

 We had fun setting up our traveling boutique!

 Here's a closer look.

 Our new Christmas TOPS and light up Christmas pictures were the hit of the day.

 It was nice being ladies who lunch. 

 The Salmon with Dill sauce was perfection on a plate!

 So was the Bread Pudding in a pool of Custard with Pecans.

I had to snap this shot of Carole wearing our new BOOT TOPPERS, the "must have" item for Fall/Winter!

" From the fruit of his mouth a man is satisfied with good, and the work of a man's hand comes back to him" Proverbs 12:14

What a pleasant time this work day held. So good to see friends, be welcomed so graciously, and share time with women of like mind.

Shopping in L.A.

We're goin' in!!! What a treat it is to have Downtown L.A. so close. This week we enjoyed a joint buying trip for Mountain Rose Gifts and Revelation Tops.


The giant chair is the trademark for the L.A. Gift Mart.


My hubby has a great eye and loves to shop. Whimsical collectables always bring a smile.

This lunch from one of our favorite showrooms was a healthy and welcome treat.


Darn! Now I really want to sit there.


Shopping Christmas high atop the California Market Center.


Yes! Don't mind if we do!


Ahhhh!

We are happy to report the distressed trend in home decor continues. This famous downtown building seems to fit right in.


Finally! A chair I can sit in and it matches my top too!


This sums up our trip! Thanks for reading!

Front Row Seats for XCVI at L.A. Fashion Week!!!

Getting ready to walk the red carpet and head inside for XCVI's invitation only fashion show...Here's proof that Carole can walk and text at the same time.


Our names were on the list. We got our bracelets and were granted entrance by the security guards. Now we are in the courtyard where there is a party going on....Nice wheels!


The music surrounds us...like being on a ride.


Here's Miss Los Angeles.


Set up for photo shoots.


The venue included palm trees lit with colorful lights.


Lots of photographers and paparazzi...Now that's a camera!


This is a great place to watch for emerging trends. I noticed many of the guys had their hair styled like this: clean shaven sides with lots of hair on top.


Most of the women were wearing sky high heels. The higher the better.


We caught the end of the Brigade show and enjoyed seeing the Pomeranians.


We were thrilled to be assigned to the coveted front row, right where the models come out. There were large gift bags on our seats. Yippee!!!


It's beautiful inside!


The cameras were clicking all around.


The hot trends for Fall: leggings & jeggings continue in a load of new washes...in tops it's all about the wide sleeve treatments. (Don't forget, you heard it here first)


Love it!!!



It's a model parade!


Paparazzi and press.


The Runway TV guys.


Which one will be America's next top model?


THANK YOU Roni and our friends at XCVI! The line looks GREAT!!!


Here's a glimpse of what it was like at the show. Turn up the volume and ENJOY!

Buyers Fashion Show At The California Market Center

It was the end of a busy day shopping for Revelation TOPS  when we decided to stay for the private fashion show in the lobby of L.A.'s premiere fashion building.


The lobby was packed with buyers, designers, owners, press, and paparazzi.


Trader Vics was serving appetizers...


...the D.J. was spinning tunes. Carole and I found a little table, standing room only, got settled, looked up, and....

...SURPRISE!!! There we were pictured on a big screen!

What fun!


From our vantage point we got a closeup view of paparrazzi at work, and forward fashion trends.


I've spent many years walking through this lobby and continue to love the fashion business. It's a thrill!

Join Me On A Whirlwind Buying Trip For The Stores

January is a very intense month for us. No sooner the Christmas season is over, which is full of church, retail,  wrapping, and parties, we hop on a plane and head for the major Gift & Ready To Wear Shows. Here is a scene we see everyday on our way to the Atlanta shows. We always happen to be there during Martin Luther King's birthday celebration. It's hard to see, but the sign on the left is a portrait of him.

First stop upon arriving is dinner at LaTivola. It's a cozy Italian restaurant in Virginia Highlands. This is their Warmed Olives appetizer.

Dessert at LaTivola is not to be missed. The special of the night was this delicious Apple Tart with Rosemary Cream. We also ordered a side of house made Vanilla Semi-Freddo.

Here's the view from one of the several highrise buildings that comprises the Atlanta Gift Mart. This was a snowless trip. It was cold but not bone chilling.

A fun showroom stop. It is rare to find sofas to lounge on. Generally you are on your feet...ALL DAY!!!

Every year has a different twist. This year several vendors had craftsmen outside in the halls demonstrating how things are made.

 

The Mart stays open until 8pm on the weekend. We shop, enjoy a nice dinner, and then drop. Atlanta has so many unique restaurants and they believe in dessert. One of my favorite stops, "Wisteria", lets you choose 3 of their homemade desserts for $10. We chose the Coconut Meringue Pie, Mexican Chocolate Ice Cream (Yes, it had a kick!), and Bread Pudding. I wish restaurants here in L.A. would pick up on this.

Being a "foodie" I look forward to the Gourmet Food section of the show where you get to sample everything.

Atlanta is a city that I enjoy. Here, popular "South City Kitchen" (You better have a reservation) is in a remodeled Southern home surrounded by spectacular high rises. Fascinating!

I think the Mussels here were among the best we have ever had. Considering we are from the Chesapeake Bay that is saying something.

As soon as we land in L.A. it's off to our local shows. This was taken as I was enjoying a break in the lobby of the California Market Center, my "home away from home" for the last 3 decades.

With all the lofts being built downtown their are new restaurants cropping up. We enjoyed people watching from our window table at PatternBar.com. You can see the California Mart from the window.

Here is a nice night shot of the L.A. Mart, home to many gift and decor showrooms. We have been shopping into the night on both coasts and had a very successful trip. You will find the fruit of our shopping in Mountain Rose Gifts and Revelation Tops.