On the occasion of Twitter’s 7th birthday, I thought I’d share with you a plea from one of the first people I met on Twitter – the awesome Kim Masoner @beachcleanup, who with her husband Steve, organizes beach clean ups under the non-profit they established, Save Our Beach. Here’s Kim’s message:
We would love to have your help next month on Saturday April 13th to collect trash and recycling at Run Seal Beach, but we need to ask for strong volunteers (can lift 50lbs or more) and happen to be early risers. If you’re interested, or you know someone that can help us for a couple hours, please email kim@saveourbeach.org
Kim & Steve Masoner Save Our Beach Founders
And in the spirit of Throwback Thursday, here’s a throwback to one of the first videos I ever shot, edited and uploaded to YouTube.
I do love to support a good charity. So when the opportunity to help Team Kids came along, I was all over it. The mission of Team Kids is to inspire and empower young people to become resilient and responsible citizens with a passion for community service. The Irvine-based non profit organization encourages innovative community collaborations. It’s helping kids help others in their communities.
On March 24th, Team Kids will present its 7th Annual Imagine Celebration at Il Fornaio Restaurant. Attendees will enjoy a delicious Italian buffet, entertainment, and a gathering of families, and leaders from education, government, and the police and fire departments. The Team Kids Spirit Award will be presented to Oakley CEO Colin Baden and to Edwards Lifesciences CEO Mike Mussallem for their leadership and support of the Team Kids Mission. The Team Kids Youth Council will be hosting hands-on service projects for young guests! The celebration also marks 50th Birthday of the TEAM KIDS BUS! You can get tickets for the event at TeamKids.org
Last weekend, I attended the Natural Products Expo West, produced by New Hope Natural Media, for the first time. Held at the Anaheim Convention Center, the Expo showcased a record number of new natural and organic product launches and attracted more than 63,000 industry members and 2,428 exhibiting companies. From food items to cosmetics and other specialty goods, natural products are big business! Although I did not attend any of the conference sessions, I had a wonderful time tasting and sampling products at the Expo Floor, and meeting entrepreneurs at the Next Pavilion, which showcased new and upcoming brands.
I was warned by fellow bloggers that the expo could be a bit overwhelming, so my plan was to look for kids’ snacks, healthy office snacks, and coffee for future stories. I successfully resisted some of the really tasty samples and tried to keep my focus. Snack items were plenty, not so much coffee but plenty of tea! I ended up trying out so many probiotic treats it gave me indigestion but what was really satisfying was meeting the creators, founders, entrepreneurs and dreamers behind so many gluten-free, peanut-free, all-natural products. I will try to write about them in the upcoming weeks.
There were so many people at ExpoWest, it’s amazing that I bumped into someone I knew — the fabulous Christy Funk of Belly Sprout, a pioneer of all-natural, eco-chic in Orange County. At the end of half a day, my shoulder was sore from lugging around a bag containing numerous sample products. Outside the air was cool, the sun was out, and there was a band playing. What a way to end an expo touting natural living!
I think it was a well organized event and New Hope Natural Media did great by emailing updates daily about the conference. They also had a mobile app that attendees used to plan their days.
When Nic Adler of the Roxy Theater in Hollywood asked me what new music I listened to, I went blank and took a while to even mention Ra Ra Riot. It was a bit embarrassing but this was during the Getty Social after spoke to the social media people gathered there.
Selfie Photo with @andysternberg and @nicadler of Adler Integrated.
During his talk, he shared how The Roxy Theater (@theroxy on Twitter) used social media. Some of his more important points were:
How @theroxy listened on Twitter in order to grow its following instead of just broadcasting and posting messages, “The more we listened, the more our Twitter following grew.” (The Roxy currently has 127, 940 followers)
How they used social media to connect with their audience and bands
In response to a question about dealing with negative comments online, he stressed the importance of “Accepting you are not perfect,” and “being honest and engaging.” On Twitter, he reminded us to “at (@) reply” and when someone posts a negative comment on Facebook, he said they usually respond once and take the conversation offline.
As for me… I came up with this SoundCloud to let you all know what music I’m currently listening to – this list includes buzz bands “Ra Ra Riot” and “Cayucas,” as well as local bands, who I’ve heard about from friends like “Francisco the Man” and a band I actually watched at The Observatory, “Tapioca and The Flea.”
Recently, I was invited to attend the Spring Style Mixer for Downeast Basics, a clothing store at the Irvine Spectrum. The mixer gathered together a select group of bloggers for an evening of shopping. I had never visited the shop but I had friends who were raving about the place so I checked it out. Social media shopping mixers are always neat because looking at women’s fashion and shopping amongst friends is always fun.
Shelby of ocmomblog.com and I with Kara Noel of elislids.com photobombing in the background.
DownEast was founded in 1991, and is a privately held company headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is a lot like other fast-fashion stores with affordable clothing, that offer a mix of trendy items and clasic staples. According to a DownEast Basics representative, their ideal customer is “any woman who appreciates boutique style designs but wants it on a bargain basement budget!”
Kara Noel and I try out some hair accessories.
Of course, bargain prices don’t mean poor quality. In fact, I was impressed by the quality of the clothing. I was told that they get in new styles on a monthly basis to keep their inventory fresh. They have some basic items that I thought were awesome (Hello, wonder t-shirt line – it’s got spandex much like spanx, a friend to women like me who need the extra help, if you know what I mean.)
Wonder Tees and more at DownEast Basics in Irvine
Swimsuit for DownEast Basics Spring 2013 Collection. Photo courtesy of DownEast Basics.
Finally, you gotta love a store that connects with its customers via social media. Let me say, DE is all over it. They are on www.facebook.com/DownEastBasics, www.twitter.com/DownEastBasics, Pinterest: @DownEastBasics and Instagram: @DownEastBasics. You can also shop online at DownEast Basics online.
They are holding a Spring Styles Contest on Pinterest that ends on March 5th. One lucky winner will win a $500 shopping spree.
I can count the number of times I went to a movie theater to watch a movie last year. Four. One was a girls’ night out (guess which movie?) and the other 3 times were all children’s films at the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE WATCHING movies. But these days, taking the time out to actually “go to the movies,” is a bit challenging. So it comes as no surprise that I haven’t seen a single Oscar-nominated film.
I’m not totally out of the loop though, I will be attending the 5th Annual Red Carpet Oscar Viewing Party at Kimera Restaurant in Irvine. I went last year and it was fun. As far as red carpet party ideas go, Kimera knows its stuff. There was an actual red carpet and even a step and repeat banner where you could pose and have your picture taken. But what I really liked were the cocktails inspired by the nominated movies, and of course, the food was delicious.
Here are the details about the Party this year – you can still buy tickets!
“The Fifth Annual Red Carpet Gala Oscar party at Kimera will be held on February 24, from 4-10pm. The event starts with a lounge reception from 4-6pm followed by an elegant buffet dinner. There will be a silent auction and raffle ticket sales to benefit the Alzheimer’s Association.
Entertainment will include red carpet interviews, Dance “Short Performances” and prizes for best-dressed and other categories awarded by a panel of fashion experts.
$85 per person (tax and gratuity not included), VIP booths available starting at $100 per person. Space is limited, reservations required. Reservations at (949) 261 1222 and rsvp@kimerarestaurant.com.”
And on another note, Sunday’s event at Kimera will be extra special as it will be the restaurant’s last night at the location. The OC Business Journal reports that it has something to do with Google’s expansion at the Impac Center. I have many fond memories of Kimera and the awesome staff. Last year, I hosted my cousin J.A. Tan‘s Art Exhibit there. You can see the awesome photos from “Autism Night at Kimera” by photographer Albert Evangelista. Of course, I will always remember my bonding time with Team Kimera during the Alzheimer’s Walk at The District in Tustin. Three cheers for Kimera, give them some love on facebook.com/kimerarestaurant.
Maka’ala ke kanaka kahea manu.
Translation: A man who calls birds should always be alert.
It is said that the Hawaiian alii (chiefs) wore beautiful capes and headdresses crafted by weaving in thousands of tiny feathers. In Proverbs of Hawaii, the explanation goes thus: “The Kanaka kahea manu, the bird-catcher, would imitate bird-calls to attract the birds to catch them, pluck out a small number of tiny feathers and let them go. Once he had called the birds, he had to stay alert and be prepared to catch them quickly when they came near. The saying advises one who wishes to succeed to be alert to any opportunity that should arise.”
During my January visit to Kauai, while the beauty of the Garden Island was obvious, it was the sounds of nature that surprised me. Sometimes, you need to stay still and be quiet to truly appreciate beauty.
Like many things in this new world we live in…it all starts with a tweet. Yesterday, I carpooled with Marie Walker Riddle of LivinLime.com, who incidentally I met on Twitter years ago too, from Orange County to Los Angeles to attend The Getty Social at the J. Paul Getty Museum. While it is always a good day to visit the Getty, in my opinion, Saturday was perfect. Clear skies, not too much traffic and a chance to socialize with some of the movers and shakers of the SoCal social media world – count me in! There may have been no real agenda, save for an inspiring talk by Nic Adler at lunch, and some instructions for a scavenger hunt; but the #GettySocial was a sweet success – with thanks to the organizers Ted, Beverly, Lana and Laura, the museum, and contributors including KIND Healthy Snacks, Moo Cards and iPro Lens. Can’t wait for the next one.
