An Engaging Party for Your Senses: The Sights, Sounds, Styles, Savories & Sweets

Dress, check. Shoes and purse, double check. Passport and Green Card, documents present. I ran through my mental packing list as I stepped into the car that would drive me to New York’s LaGaurdia airport where I would board a plane that would fly me to an undisclosed location for my sister’s engagement  party.

Stems off to Madame Big Apple (the mother of Mme. Pink Lady) for hosting the most beautiful engagement  party in celebration of my sister and her fiancé's upcoming nuptials. A flawless execution with no details left unattended to, the Saturday, May 28, party was elegant enough to impress the ladies who lunch yet casual enough for guests to relax and mingle as they enjoyed an evening of culinary creations by Toben Food by Design and scintillating sounds provided by the Noah Leibel Quartet. 

They say a picture is worth a thousand words and in the case of my sister’s engagement party, I definetely agree. I will spare you from having to read paragraphs filled with big words describing the event of said evening and attempt to recap the evening through images. (There will still be some descriptive text.)

The Venue

My talent for producing creative events comes to me naturally via Madame Pink Lady. The party was hosted at The Richmond (location no longer undisclosed.),Toronto’s first green venue.  No plastic water bottles allowed, the Richmond keeps its environmental footprint to a minimum with the use of a waste-reduction policy, compact fluorescent light bulbs and seasonal menus. The venue is also pleasing to the eye with a loft balcony, high ceilings and soaring windows. 

The Richmond
The Noah Leibel quartet was situated on the loft balcony.

To add another layer to this jewel-of-a-find location, my mother arranged to have the walls lined with framed photos featuring my sister, her fiancée, and a very special image of his mother and father. A great use of what otherwise would have been white walls, this detail was essential in creating the relaxed atmosphere as guests were given a snapshot into their six year, cross-country courtship.

The Flowers

The Food
I realize that many people who read this blog do not live in Toronto but if you do or if you don't mind paying for a few round-trip tickets from YYZ to your local airport, then I highly recommend Toben Food by Design. TFBD's culinary creations are essentially "food art" and if we haven't seen images of their innovative and visually pleasing hors d'oeuvres, miniature desserts, and every other course in between, gracing the pages of Food & Wine magazine yet, then we will in the near future. I know. First impressions are important but did TFBD deliver? Would you expect anything less from a Le Cordon Bleu graduate who has worked in the kitchens of some of the world's most highly acclaimed restaurants? To truly experience TBDF's cuisine is to taste it but on this occasion you will not be scolded for your eyes being bigger than your stomachs.

The Style

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree nor would my family ever put the name of this blog to shame but it is obvious that we have issues when it comes to shoes. It was less than 24 hours until the festivities and my sister had not found the right shoes to wear with her Cut 25 sequin mini, Alexander Wang blouse, and the most incredible strand of pearls that you have ever seen. The pearls were an engagement present to my sister from her mother-in-law to be. (My sister hit the jackpot. Not only is she marrying her soul mate but his family owns one of Canada's foremost jewelers. Do you want to know a secret? Her fiancée will be opening up a store in Toronto in less than a month. Details and images to come.)  Crisis averted. She found the perfect pair of Louboutin's. I have never seen my sister look more beautiful. 

The Pink Lady wore diamante-embellished Badgley Mischka.
Madame Big Apple wore Jimmy Choo's Isabel in gold.
My sister wore the 120mm Prive in Pewter Christian Louboutin. 

And what did the Pink Lady wear? This post is not about me. It is about my sister. All I will tell you is that my hair was inspired by Audrey Hepburn's iconic up-do from Breakfast at Tiffany's.

My $15 tiara inspired by Audrey Hepburn's
up-do in the film Breakfast at Tiffany's.

This was only the engagement party. I can not wait to see what Madam Big Apple and the Mother of the Pearls have planned for the wedding.

I flew back to the Orchard of Style on Sunday to beat the Memorial Day rush. Completely exhausted, I took Memorial Day off from my getting out of retirement search to relax and grab a movie and dinner with my friends T and W. (Go see Amour Fou.) 

Coming Soon: The conclusion to the Nanny Diaries and the full story about that strange but true interview process that I went through with that yet to be named company.

Sunday's Seminal Rooms and Style Leaders

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about color blocking. It was an excerpt from a larger post that I would be writing for furnitureandhomefashion.com recapping the kick off keynote for  the D&D’s Spring Market, entitled What’s Next in Decorating?, moderated by Deborah Needleman, editor in chief of the 

Wall Street Journal‘s monthly magazine WSJ and Off Dutysection. Visit furnitureandhomefashion.com to discover who and what columnist, Sara Ruffin Costello, contributing editor and decorator David Netto, and decorator Miles Redd think are hot right now in the world of interior design.

furnitureandhomefashion.com  (guest editors not included) is written by Jordan Barkin, an Account Executive at K&A. K&A is the leading integrated marketing communications company in the home and building industry. Jordan is a business associate. We worked together when Jordan was at Veranda (before I retired). Jordan's insight into the world of interior design and his trained eye make furnitureandhomefashion.com a great resource for anyone who has a passion for interior design.

Image of designer Brian Atwood's living room in his
Miami apartment, designed by Nate Berkus.
A trend that Miles Redd is loving right now.

6 Tips for the Unemployed

Although, I may I have digressed slightly from the original intention of this blog, today’s post will focus on the trials, tribulations, tales, and tips of an unempstyled (unemployed without sacrificing style) girl in Manhattan.
In addition to planning my sister’s wedding, my mother has made my job search a priority as well. She is a very busy woman. It was the morning of May 13, 2011, and the time was somewhere after 9:00AM. My mother called me earlier that morning around 8:00 AM and I think we spoke for about 30 minutes, so you can imagine my surprise when I saw her phone number show up on call display approximately 1 hour later. “Hi mom,” I said. “I was just about to leave for the gym.” “OK,” she responded but continued with “Did you watch the last 10 minutes of Good Morning America?” “No, not really mom because you called me mid-broadcast and I couldn’t concentrate on Robin Roberts, George Stephanopoulos, and you at the same time and then I started getting ready,” I answered. “Well, they had a segment about resumes and interviews and you can see what they said if you visit abcnews.com,” my mother said in her best TV host voice a la “and if you missed any of this segment, please visit abcnews.com and type in 6 Tips for the Unemployed to get all six tips. (The exact address url is: htpp://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/tips-unemployed-13601205. A url with the word unemployed in the address. It’s good to know that ABC is using its SEO to track its traffic sources but I don’t need the word unemployed staring at me as I read an article on the subject. I am living it.)
On the advice of my mother, I entered the above url, and instead of seeing a page of text listing the 6 Tips for the Unemployed, I was greeted with a video. What more could I ask for? Watching Cynthia Shapiro, Career Strategist, reveal her 6 Tips for the Unemployed (in what appears to be one segment in a series called “What Does Somebody Have to do to Get a Job Around Here?), would be like going to a career coach but without receiving a bill for services rendered. I dashed over to my desk drawer to grab a Little Fury linkable notebook and made it back to the computer just in time for the video to start. Let’s stop here for a minute. Please read this post in full before you grab your iphone, Blackberry, notebook or scrap of paper and then I will let you be the judge of whether these tips will help you in your job search.



http://www.coolhunting.com/tech/start-here-note.php
Little Fury linkable notebook

 The 2 minute and 50 second segment (Note: 2 minutes and 50 second without the opening ad) opened with the ABC World News Special Report music. You know the music I am talking about. You recently heard it when ABC News interrupted the second to last episode of Brothers & Sisters to deliver the news about Bin Laden. Now I am thinking that I have either clicked on the wrong video or that these 6 tips must be groundbreaking. I couldn’t answer my own question just yet because the segment was introduced with a commercial from Blackberry. I don’t know who made this media buy but I think most of the people who are watching this program had their Blackberries taken away when they were laid off. I think that this would have been a great placement for Kleenex or something more appropriate like The Ladders.

From this point on this post shall be referred to as “Really with the Pink Lady.”
(Inspired by the Saturday Night Live segment “Really with Seth Myers.”)

2 minutes 50 seconds and counting  

How can I plug gaps in my resume?

You should never show gaps in your resume. It is important to make it appear as if you are always moving your career forward. Suggestions:

1. Consulting

It can be unpaid. Try giving advice to friends and family around the dinner table.

Really, Cynthia? I can confidently say that my friends and family do not want to sit around the dining room table on a Friday night listening to “my expert” opinion on that evening’s subject of conversation nor will they consider it consulting. As my father says,”Can you take it the bank? No. Then forget about it.”



http://images2.fanpop.com/images/quiz

/248000/248590_1246551585960_500_280.jpg

A memorable dinner table scene from the film Wedding Crashers.

 

2. Volunteer Work
Volunteer with an organization or association that is within your industry. Don’t disclose that it wasn’t paid or voluntarily unpaid.

Really Cynthia? Are you asking me to lie? Why can’t I tell said person that it was unpaid? Isn’t volunteer work unpaid to begin with?

If you can’t find a way to fill the gap…

3. Make it Deliberate

Never make it appear as if you were passed over or unemployable. Not working was a conscious decision. Say things like “I don’t like taking time off while I am working at a company,” or “I took some time off to do some chores around the house,” or “I went on vacation.” You can also say that you were taking some certifications. You want your resume to make it look like your decision to reenter the job market is a recent one.  



Ralphlauren.com

The bathing suit I may have purchased if I decided to go on vacation.



Really Cynthia? We are coming out of a recession. Unemployment figures are still high. The competition to find a new job is fierce. Do you think that saying “I decided to take 6 months off and vacation in Europe,” is an acceptable answer for me to use when my prospective employer asks me to explain the 4-month gap in my resume? I don’t think so. What’s wrong with saying that you wanted to take the time to find the right job? That is if your financial situation allows you to do that. If not, you may have to take the first job that comes around but that still does not justify using any of the latter suggestions on how to fill the gaps in your resume.

4. Stay Away from Going Negative

Don’t complain about the economy or your past employer. It makes you appear unsuccessful and unlucky.

Really Cynthia? If we don’t know that by now, we being, the job searchers, then we are not ready to go on any interviews at this point.

5. Practice in Front of a Mirror or with your Friends and Family or Call a Professional to Conduct a Mock Interview with You.

Maybe I will practice my interview in this Who’s the Fairest Mirror, from Anthropologie.

http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/index.jsp

Really Cynthia? There are not very many units in my apartment building and after living there for three years most of my neighbors know that at this point in time there is only one person living in my apartment, me. In addition to all of that, both of my mirrors are located close to the door. If I spend my days practicing my interview skills in front of the mirror I won’t have to worry about going on any interviews because my neighbors will call 911, and the only place I will be going to, is the loony bin.

I do agree with your comment about practicing your interview with friends. I recently did that with a friend who works in the industry that I was interviewing for a position in. She answered all of my questions and gave me some constructive feedback about my mock responses. As for the calling the professional point, I am unemployed. I can’t afford to hire a professional.

6. Tell Them What They Want to Hear. It’s Part of the Game that we play and it makes you the safest bet for hire. Even if you don’t do it perfectly, it’s going to be better than if you didn’t say anything at all.

Really Cynthia?  

 

Half Time Report

I apologize for not writing as frequently as I had planned to but I have been busy working on the coming out of  retirement portion of my life and finding a pair of shoes for the dress I will be wearing to my sister's engagement party. Since most of next week will be pretty much a write-off when I travel to an undisclosed location for said affair, I have a lot going on this week. Here's a quick update until this weekend when I can elaborate on a few things. Please note the names of the companies referenced below have been changed to protect the innocent. The innocent being me.


Monday, May 16, 2011
1. Received an email from one of my recruiters in reference to what was supposed to be the next steps for a position I had interviewed for 2 weeks ago today. An interview that I thought went very well, (and I don't say that often) and from the feedback the recruiter gave me, it did. There will not be a second interview because the shareholders rejected all of the candidates presented for consideration and have decided to take a different direction with this position. The recruiter said that they (they, because they are a team of two people) would contact me when they received a revised job description which will more than likely be for a VP of Worldwide Operations position, which was the title of the person who I interviewed with, and who is no longer with the company as of Monday.
2.Did some additional research for interview #2, scheduled for 12PM on Tuesday, with a company which at this time will remain nameless until I can come up with an appropriate moniker. You will understand why it's not as simple as calling it company ABC when you read the full story this weekend.
3. Researched for a phone interview scheduled for 2:30PM Tuesday.
4. Received a call from one of the freelance placement companies that I am working with regarding a contract position with a very large media company. This company would need the person to start at 9AM the next morning. I guess the project wasn't that urgent because that 9AM Tuesday morning job never materialized.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011 (Pouring Rain)
1. 12PM: Went for interview #2 with the nameless company mentioned above to find out that the person I would be meeting with was not in the office and would not be returning that day.
2. 4:15PM: 2PM interview rescheduled for 4:15PM. The assistant to the person who I would be speaking to was extremely professional and emailed me every 30 minutes to status me on her employer's timing. I truly appreciated that. In the interim I did some more research. The interview went well. I received an email today inviting me to their offices the first week in June for interview #2


Wednesday, May 18, 2011 (Raining heavier than Tuesday. This weather is not conducive to going on a job interview.)
1. 1:45PM-3PM: Meeting with a client (As I said in a previous post, if the job allows me to work from home then it does not constitute coming out of retirement.)
2. 4:45PM: Meeting #3 but really meeting #2 with nameless company.
3. 5:15 PM: When meeting #3 with nameless company began.


Thursday, May 11, 2011
1. 9:00AM-11:00AM: Applied to some jobs and sent a recruiter some samples from my portfolio to send along with my resume to the hiring manager. There is no point on me going into more detail here because I find that when recruiters contact you and say, "I saw your resume online," that more often than not, I don't hear back. There have been exceptions. See the recruiting duo I mentioned earlier in this post.
2. Received an email from J re the status of the nanny position. They have two more people to interview and will make a decision by the end of the weekend.


After three consecutive days of rain, the sun finally decided to come out, and I spent the rest of my day doing things that were not associated with the above. I am leaving you with the following two images.

The rattan bag display at Club Monaco
on 57th Street. I love this image.
 It reminds me of something you would
see if you were shopping
a market in an exotic locale.

And then I ran into Super Man.

Thank You

I planned on posting this earlier today but I don't know where the time went. Overall, despite the awful weather, it was a rather busy and productive day. I received a call inviting me to a second interview with one job prospect and a phone screening/ first pass interview with another. I baked a pumpkin cranberry bread, worked on a press release for a contract client, (If I am working from home and not working at the client's office then it is not referred to as "coming out of retirement.") took a Zumba class (I love Zumba and I am getting very good.), followed by a ballet barre class to work my core, (Did you know that sitting in front of a computer looking for a job or simply sitting in front of a computer screen period, is awful  for your back and neck.) and met a friend for a dinner. 
There are a set of questions that everyone should expect to be asked when they go for an interview and one of those questions is, "What are you most proud of?" My answer is and will always remain the same. "The friendships and relationships I have developed and retained in the last nine years."
I am using this post to say thank you to my family, friends, business associates, the people who have checked out this blog, and to you, my followers, (Who probably fall into the latter category.) by sharing some of my latest and greatest finds and all-time favorites.

Top Shop Flats $36
Once a season, I don my fashion armor to contend with the tourists that populate the streets of Soho, to purchase my favorite flats, only available at TopShop. Not only are they molto non-expensivo at $36 a pair but these ballerina beauties are very comfortable and have a rubber sole. Perfect for walking the streets of New York and chic enough to wear to an interview until you slip on your stilettos a minute before you walk into the door and up to the Fort Knox securities desk. (Seriously, if you have gone to an interview at the Conde Nast building then you know what I am talking about. There is a feeling of anxiety that envelops your entire body as security calls up to the person who you are meeting with and doesn't disappear until you hear the words, "I will send her right up.") They rarely carry the same styles season to season (but adding an element of surprise to your life every season isn't necessarily a bad thing unless that surprise is losing your job) and you always have to go up one full size so don't get too attached to one style and if you have issues with the size of your feet, these are not the flats for you. Check out this season's (spring/summer) purchases.

Arden B Leather Jacket $59 Yes, Arden B. I couldn't believe it either and feel free to add a French accent to the a in Arden if it will
make you fell better.

Gap Jacket $5.93
You can find some great pieces on the Gap sale rack especially before closing when the racks have been reorganized for the next day. This jack was priced at $15 but there was a store-wide 40% off sale that day, sale rack included. My favorite part about this purchase was when the person who rang it up said, "Where did you find this?" Maybe that is why Patrick Robinson got fired two weeks ago.

Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Glow Pads, $32 for a box of 20. Available on sephora.com.
These little double duty wonders exfoliate and give you a light, not orange, sun-kissed glow.

Color Blocking

I apologize for not posting this on Thursday as I had initially planned but blogger was down until Friday afternoon. You can imagine my surprise when I could not access my blog. Then, I had an internal freak out because I thought I lost everything I wrote after it took me a year to launch this. Wednesday morning I attended the keynote of the Spring Market at the Decoration and Design Building, titled What's Next in Decorating? hosted by, Deborah Needleman, Editor in Chief of the Wall Street Journal's monthly magazine WSJ and Off Duty. The panelists included were WSJ Columnist Sara Ruffin Costello, Contributing Editor and Decorator David Netto, and Decorator Miles Redd. There was not an empty seat in the house and I can confidently say that the seats were filled by accredited design industry professionals rather than the non-industry grazers or hoovers who attend the showroom sponsored events during market. (Q: What is a grazer/hoover? A: People who attend events strictly for the food and drink and have absolutely no interest in ever purchasing merchandise. The saying "There is no such thing as a free lunch." is N/A for this group.) My original plans were to use this post to write about the highlights from the discussion but a former business associate (no longer former but current) contacted me to request a product image from the company I was previously working for to post on his blog, furnitureandhomefashion.com. (That aforementioned company did not communicate to any of our business associates that I had left the company. I think they did that in order to continue to evade the numerous phone calls I had to take and the emails I continue to receive regarding bill payments. That is also how I found out that they are looking for my replacement. The job is listed as a manager and not a director but I compared it to the job description in the ad I replied to a little less than three years ago, and it is the exact same. You get what you pay for.) After I explained that I was no longer working there, congratulated him on his recent successes and his blog, and told him I launched this blog, he invited me to write a post on his blog. Since furnitureandhomefashion.com is a blog devoted to all things interior design I am going to use that post to write about each of the panelists choices for seminal rooms and style leaders. I will give you a head's up the day the post goes live. Today's post is going to focus on one of the trends called out during last week's discussion, COLOR BLOCKING. I know. I was thinking the same thing. We are all so over color blocking. Mondrian-inspired graphic prints. Been there done that. And if you saw the September Issue then you know that unless you can reinvent it like Grace Coddington can, then Anna Wintour isn't doing it either. But what if color blocking was reinterpreted in new and exciting ways that made you go hmmm. Or, what Debra Needleman referred to as an Aha moment. When a designer integrates that one and or a few surprising elements into a room like a bold stroke of color. So, I set out to find my Aha moments and I was successful.  I started searching for Robert Capucci, one of the designers that Miles Redd said inspired him, specifically how he integrates color, art, and fashion into his work. Wow! You really do learn something everyday and I wish I knew who Robert Capucci was years ago because he definetly is inspiring. His creations are incredible. This is just one of the images from the exhibit, Robert Capucci: Art into Fashion, currently on display until June 5, 2011, at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Robert Capucci Exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art http://www.philamuseum.org/ I was on my own from there and this what I found.  Chloe Fall/Winter 2011 http://www.archive.org/details/Fashionstock- ChloParisFallWinter2011944-2  Designer Malene Landgreen http://trendland.net/2010/03/09/malene-landgreen-color-slate-walls/  Interior of bank in Italy designed by  http://www.gandana.com/italian-bank-interior-design-by-massimo-mariani/ I went to take my laundry out of the dryer mid-post and saw that someone had placed their copy of The Devil Wears Prada DVD in the trash pile. Right next to the most haneious excuse for a lamp I ever saw. Fashion crime.

From Showrooms to Shoes

One of the great things about "retirement" is that it allows you to do things that you may not have had time to do in the past. For example, accepting an invitation from your best friend to attend a Yankees game and sitting 8th row behind 3rd base, which I very gratefully did on Sunday, May 1. In the past I would have more than likely declined because I was working or travelling for work.

This morning, I attended the kick off keynote of  the Spring Market at the Decoration and Design Building, titled What's Next in Decorating? hosted by, Deborah Needleman, Editor in Chief of the Wall Street Journal's monthly magazine WSJ and Off Duty section (two titles of which both are on my essential reading materials list). See my next post for further details. This post is about what happened after the keynote.
When I returned to my apartment at 11:00AM (keynote 9:30AM-10:30AM), I immediately called my mother. My friend W is leaving for Prague next week and I was hoping that my mother would remember the names of the restaurants she went to. Mission unaccomplished but I did help my mother successfully complete her mission--Do these shoes work with the dress that I am going to wear to your sister's engagement party? Sounds like a yes or no answer, right? Yes it is but in this case it took more than 1 hour to answer it. The Internet is a new world for my mother and one which she does not have the patience for. Don't get me wrong, I do commend her for finally taking the initiative to learn how to use it but we all know what happens when you continuously click and re-click on a page that is not loading at an optimal speed. The screen freezes and or crashes. Sorry mom, you can't blame that one on the high-speed DSL connection. When I finally convinced my mother that neimanmarcus.com was not out to get her and that we were both looking at the exact same page on their website, she was able to show me the shoe, and I told her it was perfect. I have posted an image of the shoe below. Under normal circumstances I would have asked you to post your opinions (I would include an image of the dress as well if that were the case) but in this case I am not going to unless you plan on spending an hour of your time, perhaps even more, helping my mother find another pair of shoes that will work with her Robert Rodriguez sepia-print a-line, strapless dress.
How has the above activity helped my job search?
1. I have the patience of a saint.
2. Perhaps I should consider a career in teaching middle aged women over the age of ????? how to use the internet.
3. Perhaps I should consider a career in online shoe consulting.

http://www.neimanmarcus.com/store/catalog/productImagesPopup.jhtml?selected=bg&item=prod127390019&pageProductId=prod127390019&yB=bg_prod127390019

The Nanny Diaries

As I search for opportunities that will make me an employee rather than a "retiree", I have discovered and applied to some jobs that are outside my industry but that I am completely qualified to do. For example, I recently saw a listing for a nanny. The letter I composed is below. I sent it on Friday, they called me on Sunday night, and I went for an interview yesterday. It went very well. They did express that I was over-qualified and that they would prefer to find someone who is not planning on coming out of retirement but that they loved my letter and had to meet its author. They said that they would get back to me in a few weeks. I will keep you posted.


Dear J,

I recently saw your listing regarding your need for a nanny. How I came to the website that the job was posted on is a long story but the net net of it is that there was a freelance marketing position listed on the same website. This is not a website that I have ever used before.To make another long story short, I was recently laid off. I could continue this email by telling you about my nine years of experience as a marketing director but you don't need to know that. What you do need to know is that I love children (I wish to have some of my own one day) and I am great with them.  I am an “auntie” to two children who are 9 ½ and 11 years old. They are the children of one of my closest friends who I met seven years ago when we both worked at Company XYZ. I am the go-to person when it comes to organizing baby showers and birthday parties, which comes naturally to me. (I have produced many events in the last nine years and whether producing a fashion show or an editor’s dinner, the skills and vendor contacts are transferable.) I am patient and fun but know when it’s time to do homework and go to bed. I know who Justin Bieber and iCarly are and if your children watch Glee and American Idol, I have been known to watch an episode or two. I can color between the lines, seen too many Japanese anime movies thanks to my friend’s son, and I could probably give Barbie a blow-out and find her a pair of manolos in her size if necessary. I recently found out that I am a very good chef and although my cuisine may be appeal to a more sophisticated palettes, I make great omelets, grilled cheese, pizza bagels, and pasta that does not begin with the letter K for Kraft Dinner. I am very healthy conscious and if your children’s after school snack is more granola bar than Oreo cookie, you won’t come home to empty ice cream containers and candy wrappers. I can do laundry. (I do not iron) I am very active and have no problem going to the park.

While I am fortunate that my schedule gives me the flexibility to take a 2PM ballet barre class, I can only sit in front of the computer and apply for jobs for so many hours of the day.

To top it all off, I live on the ????? and as you can see from the above, my schedule is flexible.

I would love to discuss the nanny position with you in greater length. I look forward to hearing from you and have a nice weekend.

Best,

Pink Lady

istockphoto_5925050-mother-and-baby-carriage