May: Sunday, 5/1 Ladies1st OC "Blo-Out" at Blo-Out Lounge
GLAMOUR - Looking good always makes you feel good, too. It was a family affair with my bonus-daughters, Uma (my Mom, Emily Also aka @TheOldScole80), Margarita and me. We got primped and puffed and pampered and styled. Thanks to Shereen for a wonderful day.
April: Tuesday, 4/5 Ladies1st OC "April Sunsets" at Kimera Restaurant and Lounge
SUNSETS - April speaks of spring - and rain - but we didn't let that deter our little meetup. We converged upon Kimera in Irvine for some fabulous appetizers and cocktails. Special thanks to Manna for putting me in touch with the events manager, Karen, to set up a quiet spot for our group!
March: Sunday, 3/5 Ladies1st OC "Freedom, Friendship, Fun" after Laguna Beach Parade
PARADE - I love a parade - dont' you? The Vukuto Ladies danced their way through Laguna Beach for the Laguna Beach Patriots Day Parade on Sunday. Afterwards we convened at the
House of BIG FISH and Ice Cold Beer for a late lunch/appetizers/beers. The name says it all. This seafood savvy neighborhood
hotspot boasts an upbeat atmosphere and a straightforward menu of fresh
fish perfectly paired with one of the best ice cold beer selections in
town.
February: Friday, 2/4 Ladies1st "Gaga For Glamour" @Schneider Studios
GLAMOUR - the Ladies channeled Gaga with sequins and false eyelashes galore for our 2nd special event
featuring mini-shoots. Of course we had no eggs, but the evening was incubated in high-style with Emily's trademark champagne and appetizers.
Thanks again to Pla and Paul
Schneider for an amazing party at Schneider Studios, a
turn of the
century fire house that has been transformed to a warm inviting
photography studio.We booked 18 sessions for the Ladies to get in front of a camera for a headshot or a full-on glamour shoot
. Some just stopped by for the fun and we had 28+ Ladies - a fantastic turnout. Jamie Longo brought along some bling from Stella and Dot for the Ladies to try before they buy. I think more than a few ladies took a liking to the jewelry and ordered their own Valentine's gift.
I'm planning to book this venue quarterly, so if you want a great headshot or something a little more fun and fancy - plan on joining us in May.
Pics will be up on Facebook soon!
January: Saturday, 1/1/11 Families1st "Chili Cook-Off" at Chez Crume
FAMILY - The Ladies brought their families and significant others to gas up for the New Year with a Chili Cook-Off at our 2nd annual family gathering - Families1st, 2011
The Chefs all brought it - their best Chili submission, that is - and the tasting and voting yielding surprising results! We had 11 submissions which included an anti-chili mac-n-cheese option as well as Big Bob's Chili Cheese Dip.
Winners of the Golden Spoon awards were a tie:
- Big Bob's Chili Cheese Dip and Linda's White Chili. Trophies are being engraved!
Noms
included signature Frito Chili Pie along with
appetizers, drinks and treats. We caught all the plays from the TicketCity
Bowl, Outback Bowl and Gator Bowl. And as the weather permitted, we played golf, pool and pull my finger. The most important aspect of the day? Socializing. It was a great way to ring in the new year and spend some time with the ones who matter most in our lives.
BEAUTY - The Ladies got ready for the Holidays with a little bit of glam & sparkle at the Ladies1st Beauty Bash. Some opted for the Special of 3 great services: Eyebrow Shaping, Mini Chair Massage and Mini Spray Tan. Others sipped champagne and watched live demonstrations of:
- Make-up Lesson (Day-to-Night, Holiday Looks, Smoky Eye)
- Hair Lesson (Creating and Evening Look, Tips and Triks, How to Curl Hair, etc.)
We had teeth whitening by WhiteScience and cosmeceutical expertise from Renu Medical Spa.
Special thanks to Manna, our hostess for the evening! She organized an extraordinary swag bag for all attendees including: one FREE tanning Session, a FREE haircut from Lauren Nicholson of Lather Salon in Newport Beach, creams and lotinos from Yvonne Marciena's retreat spa on Broadway in Laguna and more.
Special Event November: Sunday, 11/21 Ladies1st at the OC Women's Expo
Ladies1st
and Girls1st shared a booth at the Phoenix Club in Anaheim from 10am-4pm. Over 200 Ladies came to this
Holiday Edition event to Enjoy the Girly Side of Life!' There were lots
of exhibitors showcasing products - Make-up - Fashion - Home Decor -
Photography - Accessories - Jewelry - Holiday Gifts and More!
Special thanks go out to Mignon Thomas and Sonja Williams for coming down to help out. Our outreach efforts yielded tons of awareness for our meetup group and even a few new members!
November: Monday, 11/1 Ladies1st "Elect Your Favorite Wine" @ OC WIne Mart
Photo Album on FacebookVINO - The votes are in and OC Wine Mart wins! The Ladies gathered for a little enomatic wine tasting with Julie Lim and her state of the art wine self serve system. The wines featured included Caymus, Cakebread and Far Niente, among others.
According to one guest, it was "Unexpectedly, surprisingly delightful!"
We stumped and talked the politics of red vs. white with our special deal wine cards. Next time you are in Irvine, check out OC Wine Mart, it's a fun place for a sip and some fruit and cheese. I left with my fave champagne, Roederer Estates.October: Friday, 10/1 Ladies1st "Strike A Pose" @ Schneider Studios
VOGUE - we brought out our inner DIVA's to strike a pose at a special event featuring mini-shoots. The evening was all glam and a little bit of bubbly. We met at
Schneider Studios, a turn of the
century fire house that has been transformed to a warm inviting
photography studio with old world charm. Thank you to Pla and Paul Schneider for opening their amazing home for the photography sessions and party.We booked 20 sessions for the Ladies to get in front of a camera for a headshot or a full-on glamour shoot
. Some just stopped by for the fun and we had 28+ Ladies - a fantastic turnout.
Many thanks to Arbonne for supplying extra glam with samples of some new products. Next time we'll get the Arbonne ladies in front of the camera. I'm planning to book this venue for February 1st - so don't worry if you didn't get a spot or you want a do-over!
Pics are up on Facebook - two albums, one of
candid shots and another of the
studio shots.
September: Thursday, 9/2 Ladies1st "245 Celebration" @ Andrei's Conscious Cuisine
Photo Album on FacebookThis meetup was chock-full of
fun, food and friendship on the 245th day of 2010. It was kinda like a mini-reunion for many CMP'ers, past and in the present iteration! Andrei's was a great venue with yummy appetizers and champagne cocktails. Guests topped out at 20+ - which was an awesome turnout for a school night - did I mention some kids are back in school already?
We had a few big announcements, one in particular, my friend Sonja Williams is joining me in this adventure to start putting together a Ladies1st LA Chapter! We announced it last night and got a few of the North County/LA Ladies excited for events closer to their 'hoods. We are also talking to another friend about a NY/Long Island Chapter - so stay tuned out there in the FB/Twitter-sphere!
August: Sunday, 8/1 Ladies1st "Summer Celebration" @ The Crab Cooker
Summer is finally here - and although we had a change in plans, the day was a glorious way to Jump In To Summer! The Crab Cooker was packed with the usual tourists eating crab legs, shrimp cocktail and sampling their world-famous clam chowdah! After 5pm, we moved to the mid-way at the OC Fair for some family fun. The highlight of the evening was the gun-slinging Mr Boy who won a 4-wheeled scooter!
July: Thursday, 7/1 Ladies1st "Anniversary/Birthday" @ Opah in Tustin
Photo Album on FacebookIt was a special night to celebrate our 1-year Anniversary/Birthday of
Ladies1st. From the North, South, East and West, Ladies got together
for some food and fun.
It was an evening to reconnect with CMP friends,
Cathy, Doris, Sonja, Suzie, Ellen and
Laurie. And induct Newlies
(New Ladies)
Elizabeth, Kirsten, Jeanne, Kristen, 'T' and
Meg who made it out for their 1st meetup. The @Vukuto Ladies,
Kathy, Genny and
Serena ,were out in force, not in black, recruiting for Sunday workouts. Several veteran
Ladies rocked the patio firepit, including
Patrice, Shannon, Hilda, Sharon and
me
.
June: Tuesday, 6/1 "Sex and the Social Media" @ Chez Crume 
The
Ladies flocked to South County for a retweet and some social media. It was a glam evening complete with Cosmopolitans and Jimmy Choos. Again, the dining room was nerve central
with laptops including Shannon's new MBPro.
Newlies (New Ladies) Theresa, Rebecca Rose and Shannon made their red carpet debut as 'Ladies to Watch' online and especially on Twitter. They are professionals using social media to advance their personal and business goals and making a splash in social media!
Paula and Linda showed their online edge with quick turns on Facebook. And still more Ladies decided to make F2F the goal on the patio, including Susan, Jean and Hanezcka.
May: Sunday, 5/2 "Social Medi-argaritas" @ Chez Crume
The Ladies flocked to South County for an extreme online makeover. It was a great afternoon - perfect temp for Horny Margaritas and guacamole courtesy of the Head Chef, Mike. The dining room became nerve central with laptops aplenty. We discussed the latest Facebook privacy revelations, alongside LinkedIn, Twitter and Foursquare.
Several media experts were in attendance including Claudia Yuskoff of MeGustaCooking.com and Carolyn Ruiz, social media maven for Rhythm Interactive. Regular Ladies included Erin, Uma, Nedra, MK and Nancy. Repeat offenders in attendance were Hilda, Charlene, Lianna, Cathi and more. We talked social media profiles for employment, connecting and enhancing your business.
April: Saturday, 4/3 @ The Rooftop in Laguna Beach 
Spectacular sunset - yummy apps - champagne and great cocktails! What more could a Lady ask for? This was a great pre-summer venue. The Rooftop is a busy place - with a wedding downstairs in K'ya and another small event on the rooftop it was hard for latecomers to join, but we made it through with the help of our waitron! Our table was huge and welcomed guests for champagne, appetizers and delicious cocktails. Regular Ladies included MK, Susan, Nancy and Nedra. And, we had two special guests, Katy and Dee, from my days spent at the Dana Point Yacht Club with good friends. It was great to see a few newcomers, please come back for more and bring a friend! See you lal in May, Ladies!
March: Saturday, 3/6 @ Mozambique in Laguna Beach 
Another great meetup in one of my fave venues! This was the day that Mel Jackson's Vukuto class danced/marched/ran in the Laguna Beach Patriot's Parade. Almost 20 dancers took to the streets of Laguna and rocked the town's sox off. We even took 2nd Place in the "Unusual" Category - how about that?!! It was a long day, bothered by a little rain, but a few of the regulars made it out for an evening cocktail - MK, Nedra, Serena and Margarite. And there were a few newcomer's to the party - Carol, Deb and even Natalie swung by for a look-see. Hope to see you all again in April, Ladies!
February: Monday, 2/1 @ The Derby Deli (No Piano Bar this night!)
A small gathering in a great venue! Book your tables to hear the dueling pianos - we hear it is something to see. Mondays seem to be a hard start for some - but my faithful friends came and shared what's new in their live. We also ate some amazing appetizers - there was this veggie pancake thing - yummy!
Hugs and kisses to my friends Nancy, Shelley, Kim and Cathi for coming out and making life a cloudy day a bit brighter. It was great to see Cathi - who I hadn't seen in a few, and talk about new business ventures and new beginnings. Check out www.carlislecollection for some great spring and summer fashion collections. Cathi hosts quarterly previews - ask me if you want to get on her list!
January: Monday, 1/1 @ Chez Crume
A
great start to the new decade. We had a family event where we consumed LOTS'O chili and some frito pie. Tami made "THE BEST' cookies and I have to share her recipe cuz at least 3 people asked me for it! The boys played golf out back and had some contests for $$. The Ladies and the kids shared holiday stories and talked about the new year ahead. Pictures to be posted soon!
A humongous thanks to my family for putting up with the crazy notion that I am a social maven and thanks to my girlfriends and their familes for their support and friendship!
December: Tuesday, 12/1 @ Wineworks
Our sixth meetup got started with a bit of the bubbly. Woohoo! We are 6 months old and growing. We gathered at Wineworks for Everyone in Mission Viejo and were treated like Queens by Darren and Jean Coyne, proprietors. A great group showed up - newbies Miluna, Charlene, Linda and John Siegal, and Gretchen. Patrice and Erin rounded out the 1st string of repeat attenders. I really enjoyed Erin's Santa story - thanks for sharing the 1st of each month, Ladies.
November: Sunday, 11/1 @ Bistro K
Our fifth meetup mixed it up with a Champagne Brunch. A group of Ladies mingled at Bistro K for a midday break. The menu included to die for Creme Brulee French Toast, Eggs, BACON and of course, Champagne.
The bubbly flowed and we all caught up and made new friends - Danielle, MK, Liana, Nedra, Sharon, Uma and honorary member, Mel. Alums keeping the pace include Susan, Lori, Megan, Margarite, and Erin. We each got to tell a bit about ourselves and share. Thanks again, Ladies for indulging my whimsy and making each month tons of fun.
October: Thursday, 10/1 @ Citrus
A
great fourth event and Thursday Happy Hour. We had a bunch of Ladies
show up to the outdoor patio at Citrus at the Renaissance Club Sport.
The view overlooking the pool was spectacular as we hung around a large
L-shaped couch. Alums showed their spirit - thanks Erin, Nancy, and
Susan. We had lots of new faces - Jasmin, Eileen, Steiny, Ali, Tami,
Patricia and Teresa! And even two drive-bys - Lori and Melissa!
Continue the momentum - we're starting to grow.
A great second event with several new faces showing up to share for a total of seven Ladies. Thanks to Cedar Creek for great service, delicious drinks and yummy food. We also enjoyed some music provided by a guitarist - great tunes!
(L to R) Lisa, Hilda, Lori, Laurie, Sherry, Emily and Linda - a few members of the launch team!