Busy, Busy Bee ...

Geez, even my Mom has started emailing me to tell me I'm not writing enough in my blog! :)

Before The Party

It's been a very busy fortnight. As you may recall, we had our very first trunk show at Viva last Tuesday night, highlighting two very talented, young female designers from Mexico City. In order to prepare for the show, they sent us about 15 kazillion pieces of their jewellery to be prepared for the party. Guess who got to mark it all? I worked ten days straight, including 10 or more hours the day and night of the party as well as the next day.

At The Party

In order to display their handmade jewellery, primarily made of leather and semi-precious stones, we had three huge display ramps made and pinned all the jewellery to them in various combinations of colour. ISHI bracelets and necklaces are meant to be wore 2 or 3 at a time and the effect is quite striking. This year, we had live music and served wine with finger sandwiches. Gina and Claudia were overwhelmed with the store, our staff and the people who came to see them. The party was a huge success.

The Day After The Party

We continued the trunk show on Wednesday since there were four cruise ships in port that day. At some point on Wednesday afternoon, the store was so crowded with cruiseship people, it felt like we were all back at the party from the night before! And people wonder why all I want to do is sleep on my day off. LOL

The Rest of This Week

I finally took a day off to recuperate as I had also worked Sunday (my usual day off) so on Thursday, I was able to join a group of friends down on Los Muertos beach for a get together of friends from the internet. Technically it was called a "beach party" but we ended up having lunch on the patio at the Lazy Lizard for a couple of hours. They grilled hamburgers, chicken breasts and chorizo (Mexican spicey sausage) for us on the BBQ and the beers were deliciously cold. I think at some point there were 16 of us sitting there, enjoying the day, which was sunny, breezy and warm. A perfect Vallarta day!

Friday and Saturday I returned to work. There is still so much merchandise to be marked, I'm not sure when I will get through it all. Easter is fast approaching and once it is over, the high season ends with it. At that point, we will all be able to take a breath, take one more day off a week and try to rest over the summer before starting it all up again next November.

The Becas Ball

Today, as Mary Sue and I were going over the price of things in the back room of the store, she got a phone call and near the end of it, she turned to me and said to her caller, "Yes, I have a willing victim standing right here in front of me". I wasn't sure what she meant but I am prepared for just about anything at this point in our working relationship. :) She asked me to do her a big favour -- she wanted me to go the Becas Ball at the Westin Regina in her stead. All she wanted to do was have a quiet evening at home so how could I resist? It was a chance to dress up, wear fabulous jewellery, eat free food and meet new people in a posh setting.

I popped into my local hairdresser (Salon Dili is right around the corner from where I live) and asked Benjamin if he could "do me" before tonight. We made an appointment for 6PM. I rushed home, showered and washed my hair before heading out to Chili's for a quick lunch. Then I came back home, laid down for 45 minutes before my appointment. Benjamin did a fabulous "up do" for only 200 pesos and I was on my way to looking incredible. After an extra meticulous make-up job, I donned my gorgeous Denise Cruz top, black slacks and black leather espadrilles and headed over to Viva with a mission to find the perfect jewellery to go with my ensemble.

Having a whole store at your disposal might sound like a dream come true to most women but the fact is, the choice is overwhelming. And I've heard this many time from people who come to the store for the very first time. There is just too much to take in during one visit. So many people come back 3 or 4 times during their vacation. I sort of had an idea of what I wanted but relied on the evening staff to help me, particularly Amaranta who has an unerring eye for what looks good. Plus, we have sort of the same taste so I knew I would love whatever she picked out for me and I did! A beautiful pair of chandelier earrings made of sparkling faceted blue topaz briolettes on sterling silver chains meant no necklace was required but the outfit was still missing something. Donna helped by placing a 3" wide bracelet set with Swarovski crystals on my wrist. Now I was ready for the ball ...

I arrived in time for the free bar and silent auction. I bid on two framed Marta Gilbert posters and a Salon Dili gift certificate. I was outbid on all items. I didn't know any of my dinner companions at Table 12 but I knew people at every table around me including Lucy from Lucy's CuCu Cabana and my friends Donna and Irv, who were sitting at the table right across from me. My hosts, Pat and Richard, were intrinsically involved in the planning of the Ball so I felt very fortunate to sit with them for this wonderful event. Dinner was surprisingly good (given the number of people being served) and was complimented by two great bottles of wine from Oregon, bid on and won by one of my table mates who graciously had both bottles uncorked for our enjoyment. A scrumptious chocolate cake rounded out our meal. Ymmm!!!

Items up for live auction included two rounds of golf at the Four Seasons golf club valued at (get this) $4,950 pesos! EGADS!!! One of the most interesting items up for auction was a backgammon set purportedly owned by John Huston but there was no certificate of authenticity so I had to let that one go to another bidder. :) All in all, it was a tremendous evening, benefitting a very worthy cause. Becas Vallarta, A.C. is a non-profit, tax-deductible Mexican foundation started in 1961 to raise funds for scholarships for students in grade 8 through university. The annual Becas Ball is the main source of funds for supporting the deserving students, and at present the foundation is giving grants to 286 students, 79 in Secundaria, 136 in Preparatoria and 71 in University. The bar for receiving a Becas scholarship is deliberately set high. Families must demonstrate real economic need and students - with their parents' full support - must be fully committed to serious educational progress. Students must maintain at least an 8.5 grade point average. The grade point average of students who receive scholarships is actually much higher than that, with many perfect 10's among them (copied from www.banderasnews.com).

That's it, that's all for tonight folks! I'm off again tomorrow for my regular day off and then back to the grind on Monday. I hope you're having a wonderful time wherever you are and look forward to seeing some of you very, very soon. ;)