90mph again!

In my work as a design diva who teaches people how to bring style to their spaces, no production is bigger than a workshop. Not only do we put on these all-day affairs for hundreds of attendees, we also combine them with tradeshows featuring dozens of businesses and booths. And you know me, no event is a success unless everybody has fun, so we always jazz up our workshops with high-energy games and fantastic prizes!

This is exactly what I’m in the midst of preparing for. And this time I’m adding a twist: I'll be turning into a magician (of sorts), because I’m going to create beautiful spaces right up onstage before everyone’s eyes! I got the idea from an event we did at Macy’s, where I did this and people came up afterward and said how great it was to see design concepts come to life.

The workshop’s coming up fast—it’ll be on April 10 at the Hawaii Convention Center! Aaaahhhh! Lissa, Kara and I are already going 90mph getting ready. It’s going to be fun, fast and furious. Look for our half-page ad in the Island Life section of this Sunday’s Honolulu Advertiser.

Meanwhile, it's almost the end of the workday and I've still got places to go, things to do, people to see! Aaaahhh!!!

Bravo, Spike!

Those of you who attended Macy’s Come+Together event at the Ala Moana store last night know what I’m talking about. It was a huge success, not only for Macy’s but also for the Hawaii Foodbank, beneficiary of the event.

Spike Mendelsohn, cheftestant of Bravo’s Top Chef Season 4, was the main attraction, and what an attraction! In addition to the RSVPstyle fans who turned out, we had a good number of Top Chef fans who were dying to see for themselves if Season 4’s bad boy was seriously that over the top in real life!

Well, Spike was picture-perfect. He was extremely nice, friendly and fun! After a meet-and-greet pupu hour, I opened the show with a quick lesson on how to put together four very different tablescapes worthy of Spike’s menu, all with items from Macy’s home department (you can see our Tablescape article series beginning next week at www.rsvpstyle.com). Mixing colors, styles and textures is not just for your rooms, it’s for your table as well (and even for fashion! Check out the $49 INC top I found at Macy’s just the day before).

Then I joined Spike in the kitchen, where I admittedly do not spend much time, and that’s when the fun began. The only way I know how to stir ingredients on a stovetop is with a spatula. But Spike told me to go ahead and try my hand at flipping his chutney in the pan. I warned the people in the front row that this could be dangerous! Sure enough, a quarter of Spike’s chutney flew out of the pan! Fortunately I didn’t burn anyone.

Spike made a seared tuna to go on top of his Korean pear chutney, with a simple palate cleanser of Big Island hearts of palm and cilantro—yum! We all got to sample it—along with amazing pupus and desserts prepared by the awesome student chefs who helped out.

Then we opened it up to Q&As, which gave the audience a chance to ask questions about cooking, Top Chef and Spike’s brand new handmade burger joint, Good Stuff Eatery, in Washington D.C. The night ended with a chance for people to get an autographed Top Chef cookbook and a photo with Spike.

It was a fun night. Spike was a great guy. Even though he was the cheftestant you loved to hate, in person you could only love Spike. It was his first trip to Hawaii, but we look forward to having him come back soon!

And the celebration continues

Yay, party party party! Everyone’s special day comes around only once a year, right? And I certainly got maximum mileage out of mine! The next day, my dear friends Mary Lavoie and Brenda Chung threw me a birthday party at Mary’s house. About 25 people came by. It was great to see so many faces I hadn’t seen in a long time.

Food is so important, but I don’t seem to do a good job with photos … by the time I remember the camera, the food’s always half-gone. There was prosciutto with melon, caprese salad, osso bucco, a seafood pasta and a meatball pasta, all of it homemade. It was an Italian-themed dinner with one of my favorite desserts, tiramisu, and thank goodness Mary only put five candles on it! I don’t think it could have held the actual number.

Lissa and I had a chance to catch up with Deena Nichols, and although you’re not supposed to talk shop at a party, we couldn’t help it. The possibility of working with Macy’s on a corporate level? Too exciting!

I had a great time with my friends, and then it was time to blow out the candles and make a wish. My wish was that next year’s birthday comes much slower—they come way too fast these days!

Valentines for your home

Roses, chocolate, perfume—all great gifts for Valentine’s Day. I hope you got (or got to give) some of these treats and that you had a fabulous Valentine’s Day yesterday!

This past week, as I was shopping for gifts for my big sweetie and my little sweetie, I came across some great Valentine-inspired ideas for the home. These are gifts you can even give yourself—and you can give them all year long!

The first I saw was an amazing glass vessel sink at The Kitchen Bath & Closet Showroom in Kilohana Square. It was red, of course, and would be just perfect for a hot, sexy, one-of-a-kind powder room. It was on a black granite counter, but really, you could put this atop almost anything. It was $690.

Paired with it was a stunning bronze faucet for $490. It would not be practical for a master bath that needs to be used constantly, but for a powder room it would be perfect.

Gifts that won’t break the bank: In Macy’s, I found a darling hand-painted glass votive by Kosta Boda for $65. This would be great on a vanity or bedside table to remind someone of your love all year long.

And how about the sweet smell of love? I found at Tori Richard at Ala Moana—yes, I do know they’re not a home store; can you tell I might have been shopping for an aloha shirt?—a Malie reed diffuser offering the scent of mango nectar. It smelled so yummy! That was $58.

Then finally, in Shirokiya of all places, a great gift that anyone can afford: a love mouse pad or coasters designed with cherry blossoms and the Japanese character for love. Either one is $10. Cute, affordable, a gift that speaks of the blossoming of love!

These are just some ideas that will keep the message of affection in your home all year round. So go out and treat yourself or someone you love!

Macy’s, here we come!

Oops, I gave it away in the headline! I’ve been dying to share this with you for weeks, but everything was hush-hush while we worked out preliminary arrangements. Now I can tell you the BIG NEWS: Macy’s has invited us to put on a mini-workshop!

My first reaction was, are you kidding? Right in the middle of Macy’s Ala Moana?! That’s exactly how Deena Nichols, senior vice president of Macy’s West, suggested it, and let me tell you, there have been lots of excited little dances at our office since then!

So here’s the scoop: We’re having a free mini-workshop on the fourth floor, to the right of the home department, just off the escalator. They’re going to clear out some of the women’s apparel, build an 18x12-foot stage with backdrop, and set up 100 chairs for the audience. There’ll even be light refreshments!

I’ll be sharing tips on how to put together and layer colors and textures for a bedroom, a bathroom and yes, even a living room, all in the span of one hour. Those of you who know me know I can talk fast, and will actually cover all this. And of course it’s going to be fun!

Posters should be going up in the store by early next week. Macy’s has been incredible to work with, and we’re already talking about doing these sorts of events on a more regular basis.

Today was our first logistics meeting. Lissa, Kara, Melissa, Mel and I went over to scope things out with special events director Lavina Wong and say hello to Deena (in the red dress)

It just so happens that Macy’s is the platinum sponsor of the American Heart Association’s annual Heart Ball, and February is of course Heart Month. Since this mini-workshop is two days before the Heart Ball, I thought, why not make it a benefit for the American Heart Association? So anyone who makes a donation to AHA that evening will receive a free gift from RSVPstyle and Macy’s while supplies last.

The girls and I scoped out where the stage is going to be, figured out the logistics and then headed down to the Pineapple Room on the third floor for a yummy lunch, over which we continued brainstorming. Being creative always makes me hungry!

Lissa and I ordered the same thing (great minds think alike) the furikake ahi sandwich. It was sooo good! The ahi simply melted in your mouth, and the sauce—even though I’m not a big sauce-on-sandwich person—really complemented the furikake ahi. I opted for the fries; Lissa went for the wasabi potato salad. The salad was good, but I’ve gotta have fries with my sandwich—I’m a salty-crunchy girl all the way!

Mel chose the specialty burger, and both Kara and Melissa had the kim chee Reuben. As much as I’m a Reuben fan, I have to say my ahi sandwich was still better. Kara, however, couldn’t quite decide.

After lunch we went back for more logistics planning, and we’re not done yet. There’s a lot to plan for, and it’s going to be an exciting event, a lot of fun for a good cause, and even in an hour, I believe we will get people started in training their eye for design. Hope you can join us!

What: Learn to Shop with Focus: A FREE Mini-Workshop with RSVPstyle
Where: Macy’s Ala Moana, Fourth Floor Home Department
Date: Thursday, February 19
Time: 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.