Fashion Luncheon at Gasperetti's!

Yay! The invites are out! Gasperetti's is hosting a fashion show & luncheon to benefit Allied Arts of Yakima on June 12 at 12:00. Wild Lucy's is doing the clothes and the faces, and the informal models are some of your friends--including the one and only Jessica Moskwa, AAC's Executive Director.

There will be lots of raffle prizes (tickets just $1) including a pedicure, spa products from Ummelina, lots of original art from our own Yakima artists, jewelry from more Yakima artists, theater tickets, Fresh Hop Ale tickets, and a basket from Wild Lucy's along with other great items.

We're expecting this show to sell out so call Gasperetti's now and reserve a table (248-0628), then gather some friends and make it a date.

We also have invites to e-mail so if you'd like one to forward just contact me at gaydoo@yahoo.com or through this blog.

Sally

This is my new friend and fellow fashionista Sally, who proves once again with her bejeweled sunglasses and pink Mary Janes that proper accessorization is what sets us apart from the lower species.

Prom Bargain!

This is my cute little cousin Meghan wearing a prom dress she bought at a yard sale for $5!!!! Now there's a girl after my own heart. Plus her mom says she found cute black & white wedges at Target to wear with it. Gotta love that!

Blossom Queen!

Ok, and only by popular demand! Here are some pix of the entertainment at Blossom Tournament: silver boots and all. These questionably talented middle-aged women tried for the Pussycat Doll look & ended up more like the Alleycat Dolls, but that's ok. It was all fun, everybody had lots of wine, and I somehow managed to breathe in that #@$* corset.

She can putt! She can drive! Having the time of her life....

See that girl, watch that swing, diggin' the Blossom Queen. Oh yeah.

we did it.

Wired for Joy!

Wired for Joy! is a 6-week course offered by Memorial Hospital that starts Monday May 11 from 4:15-6:15. "Develop resiliancy to stress!" it says. Something we could all use. I wanna be wired for something-- anything! Currently I'm just wired for HBO. If this sounds like something you might need, call JoAnn Campbell at 574-5862. She's a Certified Solution Provider. I didn't know that was possible?

Balloon Wear

Another alert blog-reader sent me these pix of a balloon-dress designing contest, I've no idea where. Just like I've no idea where you'd wear a balloon dress. Somewhere where you never had to sit down, I guess....

So funny!!! Like Andy Warhol said, "Art is what you can get away with."

Just Smile!

She's just happy to be here. You can tell. She's smiling.
Don't worry, this is no one we know; an alert blog reader sent me this & it was taken elsewhere. Like, somewhere in Happy Land I guess.

More Shoes!

Here I am last Monday shopping in St. Louis so this was our first stop: DSW Shoes, otherwise known as Tootsie Heaven. Acres of shoes. I was lost for a couple hours, my friends just dropped me off & left me to wander the aisles barefoot, dragging a big black mesh shopping bag and trying on as I went. Why oh why don't we have a Tootsie Heaven in Yakima? I guess there's one in Federal Way, we'll have to check that out sometime.

Ok, so maybe this lovely carpet at YCC doesn't make the best background but sometimes bloggers just have to make the best of it. LOVE these shoes Dana was wearing, they've got all the trademarks of this year's best style: chunky heel, gladiator-boot-like vamp, elastic strap, wrap-around style. And here's the best part: they're from TARGET! $29.99! I mean, a girl's gotta cut back these days but don't skip the style!

When Michelle Obama was asked what the worst part of being the president's wife was, she said, "Well, I can't just run out to Target anymore...." I feel her pain. A stop at Target can just make the world seem like a happier place.

First Friday

If you haven't been to a First Friday in downtown Yakima yet, you need to get with it. Remember when downtown was dead? Not true, not anymore. On the First Friday of every month all the downtown restaurant/wine-tasting locations are open for biz and most have some kind of fun live music. People are actually walking! Around downtown Yakima! Anyway, we went from the Barrel House to Gilbert Cellars (which actually has a cellar, downstairs in the Greystone building), to Plaza Sociavale--where we listened to a band of 3 guys that played everything from Neil Young to Brittany Spears to Bruce Springsteen.

And when we went to Kana, I saw this girl walk in with her black knee-high boots and this charming little black & white buffalo plaid flannel mini skirt! She was so obviously having a great time, and here's the best part: she got it at the Goodwill. See--there is real style in NQPS! And it doesn't always cost your entire paycheck! So keep it up ladies of Not Quite Palm Springs! Be Bloggable!

Winemaker's Dinner

Longshadows Winery poured, we ate (protein mountains, OMG--why is there always so dang much MEAT at Winemaker's Dinners? Ahi, filets, lambchops--yikes! That's more meat than I eat in a month....), we drank (lots), we listened to the adorable Gille, who has the most fabulous French accent, and we dressed for the occasion last Thursday night. Karen didn't want her picture taken. Now I just don't understand that. She is such a miniature little person and looked so chic in this pale green Exclusively Misook from Nordstrom: black-trimmed green tunic over black skirt. She says this was one of those "panic buys" as she is not a shopper and needed it immediately for some wingding. Missook is a wonderful line of knitwear modeled after St. John but much more affordable & is so perfect for traveling. Wear it all day on a plane & get off looking fabulous & fresh for the papparazi. Or whoever. Anyway, Karen: great choice! Maybe you should always "panic buy."

This is Kristin, in a standout of a dirndl border-print skirt in bright spring colors. She said she found this at Anthropologie a few years ago. Still very current & fresh-looking.

I had to snap a pic of Jeanne's PerSe dress. Look closely: it's covered in snaps! I thought they were beads at first but no, it is just a cool collection of all different sizes of snaps. No jewelry necessary. I loved this dress! So.....snappy!

Which reminds me: Eileen Merrell is having a showcase of her Carlisle/PerSe lines from Wed. May 13 through Tuesday May 19. Classic, pricey, but beautiful and unique. Call her at 965-3680 for an appointment. You can check out the lines at www.carlislecollection.com or www.persecollection.com. Some really cool pieces.

Nancy---omg it must be so fun to be tall! Then you can wear beautiful horizontal stripes and unpleated cotton skirts like this one, which I love--and it's got all my favorite colors in it: hot pink, orange, green, blue. You're bound to have tee shirts in all those colors to go with it. She looked so cute! What a chic mom.

Tiffany got my attention when she said she got this great little top at T.J. Maxx--only my very favorite hangout! You have to be a real shopper to get in those racks and search but if you're like Tiffany you can weed out the mediocre and emerge victorious with a treasure like this! I love it, it's silk, bronzy colored, ruffly but not too ruffly--she looked perfect in it.

Which reminds me, TJ Maxx is the absolute best place to find golf shirts. They always have an assortment of Ralph Lauren in all styles: polo, V-neck, short or long sleeves, crews. All those tiny polo horses embroidered in every color on every color. So cheap you can afford to replace them every year. Loves it.

YWCA Leadership Luncheon

Erin Black, the new YWCA Director

This year the luncheon featured Liz Miller, an inspirational speaker and the subject of the Lifetime Movie "From Homeless to Harvard." Liz spoke so directly from her heart and had the roomful of 200+ people sitting spellbound as she told about how she grew up on welfare in the Bronx with two drug-addicted parents. Somehow, after she watched her mother die of AIDS something clicked within her and she decided she needed to get an education--eventually graduating from Harvard. Kleenex all around the table, thank you. Liz was one of the most effective and memorable speakers the YW has ever brought in for this event. Thank you, luncheon committee! What a great job they did; I know those things are so much work and involve so many people.

Which reminds me, the YW just hired a new director, Erin Black, who was the director of the Kittitas Co. Historical Museum in Ellensburg.

The Leadership Luncheon is always a harbinger of what's going on style-wise among NQPS women, and this year there was an explosion of florals along with lots of bright spring colors. Here are a couple of my favorites:

Kay wore this pretty silk jacket from Gretchen, black background with lots of minty green, coral & pale yellow. Looked so great with the green tank & black slacks. Jackets were in order, it was a cold, cuh-rappie day weatherwise. Priscilla had the garden idea going too, in this spiffilicious cropped jacket with a huge assortment of pink, lavender, yellow, coral, & green posies. This jacket could go with anything! Spring or summer. Looks fabulous & def. lifts the spirits on a windy, nasty day like this one.