Author: stilettocity

Rock of Ages – Nails It!

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As mentioned in my previous post, “Rock of Ages” just opened in theatres, so I felt compelled to put a little ‘80s glam metal into my look just for the occasion. I had to giggle with delight when I spotted the “Rock of Ages” nail product in the store – an assortment of peel-on polishes by Sally Hansen in rock-worthy designs such as leopard, lace, stars, guitars and more. I opted for the silver and black zippered look and mixed it up by putting them just on a few nails and  solid black polish on the other nails.

Photo via Pinterest

Now I just have to bust out my teasing comb and Aqua Net to get my big hair on and I’m ready! For more tips on how to get a “Rock of Ages” fashion sense, check out this slideshow article in The Blush.

Paradise City, baby!
Kastle

Products mentioned in this blog were purchased by the author.  See Disclosure.



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Author: stilettocity

Rock of Ages: Ready for Nothing But a Good Time

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Are you ready to rock? The film “Rock of Ages” opens this weekend and I for one am pretty excited. I was in Los Angeles in the late ‘80s – a teenager with a fake ID, not to drink, but to get into clubs and see bands, and lots of them!  This film looks like a fun trip back to some crazy-good times when Hollywood had an amazing club every night of the week – punk and glam and hard rock came together and the city’s local bands were on the brink of chart-topping fame.

When I saw the soundtrack for “Rock of Ages” I was disappointed that it didn’t seem to really represent all the bands I was hearing on the Sunset Strip in 1987. So I put together my own soundtrack for you to get ready for the film. Find it in my report for Yahoo! HERE.

Poison

The premiere took place on Friday night, turning a full block of Hollywood Boulevard into a “black carpet” runway leading to Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand, Julianne Hough, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Mary J. Blige, Poison and Def Leppard were all in attendance.

See the arrivals:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwiaApes5xE]

After the film, the entire theatre audience made their way back down the carpet and across the street to the after party set up on the back parking lots between Hollwyood and Selma where a full stage set up was rocked by Poison and Def Leppard – the music was so loud, it shook the buildings for blocks! As it should be!

All very exciting unless you happened to be enjoying a delicious Cucumber Collins at the Roosevelt Hotel with some friends as I was and couldn’t get back to my car because they blocked both sides of the street for pedistrians for almost AN HOUR. Not great planning by the production company.

But alas, that’s LA – the good and the bad. We have a lot of fun, we have fancy premieres and we rock!

So enjoy the LA scene in “Rock of Ages” – I did then and I look forward to doing it again!

Rock on,
Kastle

Photo of Poison by Weatherman90 from Wikimedia Commons



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Author: stilettocity

Trip Report: Catalina Island & The Avalon Ball

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I can never say I don’t win anything. A couple of months ago, I attended the Art Deco Society’s Casino Moderne and despite my terrible (play)gambling that left me with a mere three raffle tickets, I won the grand prize – four tickets and a reserved table for the Avalon Ball in Catalina Island’s landmark Casino Ballroom.

It was time for a getaway. I’d only been to Catalina Island once for an afternoon so this time, I really wanted to see it. My man and I planned a much over-due long weekend and jumped aboard the Catalina Express. Even though it was a Friday afternoon, the boat was full as it was Mother’s Day weekend and a big mountain bike race was also taking place. But we didn’t mind much, we were on vacation!

I love how the minute you step off the boat, you’re on an island and you just walk over to your hotel. We booked a room in the St. Lauren, a super cute Victorian-style hotel that’s painted all PINK! I loved it, especially the deck that overlooks all of Avalon – a great place to take pictures!

We put down our bags and headed out to do some sightseeing. We poked in and out of all the little shops and took snapshots along the waterfront. Then it was time for dinner. All that sea air had us craving some fish ‘n’ chips so we found, Armstrong’s Seafood Restaurant, a little place along the waterfront that hit the spot. Then we dashed over to a party in one of the rental homes given by some members of the Art Deco Society as a warm up to the following night’s glamorous ball.

Saturday morning we got up and headed for breakfast at Jack’s Country Kitchen where we enjoyed some delicious eggs benedict while seated near Spencer Davis, who is a local on the island these days. After a quick hello to friendly vintage flash mob of Art Decophiles outside, all dressed up in 20’s and 30’s garb and turning heads down the street, we were off to rent a golf cart and took off for the hills for a tour the place and its spectaculars views.

Afterward, we wandered over to the Casino where many were gathering for a screening of the silent film, “Wings” in the famed movie theatre. But the weather was just too lovely for a movie, so we opted for a jaunt through the museum to learn the history of the island and chewing gum magnet, William Wrigley, Jr., who played a major role in the charming development of Avalon and conservancy of the rest of the land.

Then it was time to get ready to ball! One tuxedo and one vintage dress with a touch of flapper, some pin curls, and we were off!

The Casino is one gorgeous place, with its 10,000 square foot circular dance floor. Dean Mora and his his Orchestra were playing hits from the 1920s and 30s with the help of some guest singers including swoon-worthy crooner, Johnny Holiday who we had the pleasure of chatting with out on the balcony. My he has some stories!

After the ball, we all went out foraging for food. While the Avalon Grill stayed open late, all they were serving were appetizers. So we ventured into the darkness and with the recommendation of the local liquor store clerk, we found Pete’s – an oversized hamburger stand in the center of town. We weren’t the only ones there either. Mr. Holiday was in line ahead of us and a line of formally dressed ballers began to form behind us. It was hilarious to see everyone in their gowns and tuxedos chowing down out of styrofoam boxes while seated in plastic lawn chairs!  We got a couple of grilled cheese sandwiches to go and scurried back up hill to our cute little hotel room.

The next morning we enjoyed coffee on the deck of our hotel with a perfect view of Avalon before setting sail back to the mainland. So long Catalina – you glamorous place of island charm. I’ll be back soon!

See more photos in the slideshow by clicking the photo below:

Island girl,
Kastle

Note: No, I do not smoke, but the long cigarette holder you see in the photos was a fun prop for the night!



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Author: stilettocity

5 Fashion, Beauty and Lifestyle Tips to Green Your Summer

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Summer is here and that means warmer temperatures, outdoor fun and vacation time. All that sunshine should serve as a friendly reminder that there are things you can do to green your summer:

Keep cool. Warmer temperatures mean using the air conditioner more. Cut back with other ways to stay cool. I’m a big fan of fans. I have one in each room and they keep my place surprising cool with the air circulation. Or as Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS) executive director, Ted Ning suggests, “Open windows in the morning and on the opposite sides of the room to allow a natural flow of coolness and moisture through your home.”

Also try insulating window treatments such as glass films and heat reflecting drapes to reduce the amount of warmth that comes in. If your property allows it, consider solar panels. I recently discovered solar shutters that absorb that sunshine and put it on your energy grid! It’s a great solution for renters or condo owners.

Dress wisely. When shedding layers for lighter options, look for fashions made with organic cotton, which means it is produced on farms that use methods that have a low impact on the environment. Or instead of buying new, shop your closet for items you’ve forgotten about. I also wear a lot of vintage fashion – the ultimate reuse clothing. I love the styles from eras past and each piece is one of a kind, which definitely adds some personality to my wardrobe.

Eat smart. Yum, fresh juicy summer fruits are a delight of summer – but harmful pesticides do not sound tasty. Know what you’re biting into – each piece of produce in your grocery store has a sticker with a code on it. Go for “fine number 9,” which means the fruit is organically grown. A code that starts with 4 means it is conventionally grown – and sprayed. You’ll probably find more organic choices at a farmer’s market, which also helps you keep it local, and it’s a great day out! Eco lifestyle expert and author of “The Conscious Kitchen,” Alexandra Zissu offers this suggestion, “Talk to farmers and ask what they use to spray. Some use Integrated Pest Management (IPM), which is almost as good as organic. Another good resource is the Environmental Working Group’s dirty dozen and clean fifteen lists to find out which fruits contain the least amount of pesticide residues.”

Protect your skin.  A few minutes of sun is good for Vitamin D but more than that and the sun’s UV rays can damage skin. That means wrinkles and skin cancer – yuck! To keep skin beautiful and youthful, be sure to have some fresh sunscreen on hand and just like the food you eat, read the ingredient labels. According to LOHA’s Ning, “Some some sunscreens can contribute to cancer due to their mutagenic and free radical generating properties. Zinc oxide is a mineral that provides complete UVB/UVA protection.” Some green sunscreens options include Kabana, Coola  and MyChelle. If you really want a tan, opt for a sunless tanning lotion. Lavera makes an organic, award-winning self tanner.

Vacation time! Summer is a great time to getaway but transportation can put a big dent in your carbon footprint. I love taking a “staycation” and just being at home, seeing friends and catching up on much-needed sleep. When you do travel, pick destinations that are walkable or check listings for cab companies that use hybrid vehicles. Hotels are also becoming more socially responsible. Orbitz has listings for eco-friendly options. If you find yourself being quite the jet-setter, CabonFund provides a way to calculate your carbon offset and donate to your choice of carbon-reducing projects.

So enjoy your summer, be healthy and do the same for the planet.
Kastle

Photo of Malibu beach from Wikimedia Commons



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Author: stilettocity

Lomography: My Journey In Rediscovering Film

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The first time I walked into a Lomography store was for a party – the night featured an Italian theme to launch a product called the La Sardina, which I discovered was a funny little camera shaped like a can of sardines. When I entered the space, I couldn’t help but notice a large table in the middle of the room covered in candy-colored cameras laid out buffet-style, beckoning me to pick one up and ask, “What are these?” Party guests and store workers swirled around me taking snaps with cameras of all shapes and sizes but you couldn’t see the digital image instantly on the back, no, this was film. Film? Do people really use that anymore?

My questions weren’t uncommon, neither was a party in a Lomography store…read the full story.
(Note: this story was is no longer available online, please pardon the missing images on the PDF.)
Example of Lomography
Every picture tells a story,
K.
Photo by Kastle, taken with the Lomography Diana F+



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Author: stilettocity

Eco-Cocktails: I’ll Drink to That!

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k7_150Are you a greenie who likes a good drink every once in a while? I know I am, and before I met bartender Michelle Green Queen, I had no idea there was such thing as an “eco cocktail.” But with more businesses producing green versions of their products, it makes sense that spirits would start to go organic.

Having been a bartender most of her career and a believer in striving for sustainability, making eco-cocktails was just an extension of Michelle’s already green lifestyle, “The more green I got and the more changes I made in my life, I just naturally started doing that in my business. It was just an awareness. When I was bartending at a private party or restaurant I just saw how much waste – cocktail napkins, one-time use plastic straws – it was all around. When I moved to California, I was looking for a bartending job and I just thought I should do my own thing and this is how I want to do it. It wasn’t because green is a trend, that’s just who I am.”

She started her own green bartending service, GQecoBartending, and began to create  eco signature concoctions using all organic ingredients (alcohol, juices, mixers and garnishes) and  instincts she already had for making a great drink by just looking at the items she has in front of her and coming up with something new.  “Bartending is an art. There’s that whole mixologist movement and I guess I can call myself that because I can create on the spot,” she says. “I’ve always been able to do that. It’s gotten me in trouble in some places I’ve worked, like the chain restaurants, they want you to measure everything out exactly. But I can pour an ounce with my eyes closed! If someone asks me for a recipe, I can tell them what ingredients I used but I can’t tell them exactly how I made it, I just make it.”

I was at one of Michelle’s tasting parties when she invented what has become one of her most popular cocktails – the “Mine is Better” Margarita – a kicky, refreshing drink, chock full of organic goodness with cilantro, jalapeño, cucumbers and other ingredients that when combined, are like nothing you’ve ever tasted! Watch her make it here:

[youtube http://youtu.be/h0y6Ume1GeQ]

Michelle is no stranger to being behind the bar, having started in the food and beverage industry since she was a teen in Detroit. “My first job at age 16 was as a waitress and once it’s in your blood, it’s there. In Michigan you had to be 18 to serve alcohol. So when I turned 18 I wanted to be behind the bar, I didn’t want to be on the floor anymore.  But the owner wouldn’t let me because I didn’t have the experience. So I bought some bartending books and learned how to mix drinks. Eventually I got the Sunday night shift nobody wanted and I’ve been mixing drinks ever since. There is a high burn-out rate to being a bartender but it’s the one job I always go back to, I really like being behind the bar.”

So where did being green come from? “I just don’t believe in waste,” she says.  “I grew up without having much, so waste drives me crazy! I’ve worked a few different green jobs and with each one I learned a little bit more, so it was just an evolution. Now when I bartend I can do it zero-waste.”

Michelle has even turned her knowledge of green and cocktail mixing into an internet radio show – The Green Queen Happy Hour every Tuesday night from 8-9 p.m. PT on Green Earth Radio.  “I have guests on who represent all different aspects of green living and we just share ideas and talk about current green topics,” she explains. “And it’s happy hour so anything can happen!”

So is Michelle one of  those greenies who finger-points at those not as green as she is? Not exactly. “I live a pretty green life but there are all kinds of people who are at all levels of green. Some people do a little bit, some people are really hardcore about it. I don’t like beating myself or anybody else up over it, we all learn from each other.”

Michelle’s eco-bartending services are available for private parties and events. She can go from just offering a couple of green drinks to a full zero-waste eco bar experience.

Check out Michelle’s drink recipes and shopping spots for organic ingredients on her website and be sure to tune into the Green Queen Happy Hour every Tuesday!

– Kastle Waserman, StilettoCity.com



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Vanity Girl Hollywood: Interview with Maxine Tatlonghari

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kastle7 150As any girly girl can attest, it’s fun to get dressed up and feel gorgeous. But for most women, the behind-the-scenes of getting ready is hardly diva worthy – steamy bathrooms, small mirrors, bad lighting. Wouldn’t it be nice to have the kind of big bulb vanities you see backstage at runway shows?  That’s what Vanity Girl Hollywood’s Maxine Tatlonghari, thought when she was at Burke Williams Spa for a pick-me-up pamper day after being laid off her job of 11 years. “I was getting ready in their vanity room and I just thought it was such a different experience to sit down and be well lit. It felt glamorous. Models and actresses get to feel like that all the time – why shouldn’t the everyday woman?”

Maxine decided to start her own business and founded Vanity Girl Hollywood in 2008 as a way of bringing a bit of Hollywood to the masses in the form of large scale mirrors lined with big bright bulbs that provide not just good, but flattering, lighting to do makeup by. They create an instant backstage style experience that brings a bold sweep of glamour to any room.

Vanity Girl Hollywood Broadway Makeup Desk

She admittedly started small, working with Versa Products Inc. a Los Angeles manufacturer she knew, who believed in what she was doing. She’s proud to say she keeps her production local with this company that also operates with green practices. She began utilizing the power of Facebook and Twitter and her background as a publicist and events director to get the word out. “There was a time when unless you had a rolodex of editor’s names, you couldn’t get a story out,” she says. “But now, if you have a sense of PR strategy, the social media tools allow you to get the word out quickly.”

She found out just how quickly when Vanity Girl Hollywood began working with celebrities and social media plugs from Kim Kardashian and YouTube makeup sensation Kandee Johnson sent Maxine’s business into the stratosphere.

Most recently, Maxine added events as part of her marketing plan, bringing out her vanities to create pop-up beauty bars at posh parties. She also brings along a posse of beauty experts such as makeup artist, Kenetia Lee and the Makeup Mandy “Lashers” to provide mini makeovers. Ladies line up, cocktails in hand, grooving to the music to get a quick beauty boost on the spot. “It’s part of the entertainment just as someone would have a bartender and a DJ,” she says.

At the recent party for the opening of Pure Barre in Beverly Hills, the Vanity Girl Hollywood Broadway Lighted Makeup Desk and Starlet Lighted Vanity Mirror dazzled the crowd. Maxine worked the room,  using her events background and party personality to connect everyone in attendance, especially other females who are pursuing their passions. Her efforts and her vanities seem to work to lift everyone up, to make everyone a star for the night. “I really want my friends to succeed and have great careers,” she says. “I had really great people help do that for me.”

Click to see a slideshow of the party

Her give-back also includes speaking engagements. She recently shared her experiences in growing her business with UCLA’s Social Media Marketing class to offer inspiration to aspiring online marketers.

For Maxine, business is really about making everything feel just a little more glamorous. She wants to show people the world is just one big red carpet runway and Vanity Girl Hollywood can help you get ready for it! — Kastle Waserman, Stiletto City

Shop here* for your own Vanity Girl Hollywood Mirror!

 If you would like to see the Vanity Girl Hollywood Vanities, visit the showroom at Makeup Mandy, 8441 Melrose Ave, W.Hollywood, 90069 

Party photos by Kastle

Photo of Maxine and Kastle by Susan Ledgerwood Photography

*Disclosure

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Author: stilettocity

Lomography School

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Every picture tells a story. It’s one of the reasons I’ve always loved photography. I did some photojournalism a few years back and would go wherever and whenever to get a great shot. It was a major creative rush. But I fell out of doing artistic photos when easy point-and-shoot digital automatics came along. There was no art to it, just capturing the scene in perfect focus, perfect lighting – and perfectly boring. Recently (as many who follow this blog know) I’ve fallen for Lomography – experimental analogue photography using plastic cameras and film, yes, film to completely deconstruct the perfect photo into moody, textured, inspired works that play off happy accidents of light leaks and double exposures.

Sure there are now apps available on your iPhone for that. But nothing is more fun than getting a roll of film back to see what you got. It’s like a prize inside the Cracker Jack box – sometimes you love it, sometimes it’s disappointing, but usually there’s at least one or two shots that draw pure excitement.

Mind you, my first few rolls were complete crap as I learned to work with my camera and started remembering to check all the manual settings. But if you ever need help, the super friendly and supportive staff at the Lomography store In West Hollywood is standing by to show you how to work the camera and recommend films to try for different effects. I love going in there, I always leave feeling part of a community of total enthusiasts just nutty for these colorful little cameras.

I was lucky enough to get a Diana F+ camera for my birthday last month and the Lomography store just happened to have a workshop on how to use it. During a brief session in their upstairs “classroom,” we learned all about the different lenses and backs you can try for endless possibilities – way beyond what you can do with a little digi automatic. I tricked out my camera with a 35mm sprocket back and splitzer lens and we took stroll down Santa Monica Boulevard to shoot what inspired us. Here’s a sampling from my roll.

Click below to see the slideshow:

Lomography Diana F+ Workshop

 Thank you Lomography – you’ve got my creative juices going!

Smile for the camera,

K.

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Author: stilettocity

Occupy America

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While getting ready for my recent trip to New York City, I was hearing a lot about the Occupy Wall Street movement – a demonstration started one month ago by “we the people,” the majority who make up the 99% – as opposed to the wealthiest 1% – who have had it with what has been happening in our economy, our government, our healthcare system and our job market.

As the movement began spreading city to city at a feverish pace – including my own LA – I became more intrigued and pleased to see people finally speaking up. The 1960s had their demonstrations and their protest songs but for the decades since, an incredible apathy has had a hold of this country as it declined into a mess. Once thriving citizens are now part of our nation’s homeless, poverty stricken population. Our leaders are setting examples of debt and stubborn squabbling that’s an embarrassment. Is this really America?

Occupy Wall Street is doing something amazing – rallying the fed-up and it’s been long overdue.

And they are doing it by exercising their freedom of speech and right to assemble in non-violent protests (though there are always the troublemakers who turn up who have nothing to do with the movement.) It’s a completely grassroots movement that combines people, passion and the power of social media to spread the word. It represents today and who we are in every way.

So when I was in New York City last week, I wanted to see the group who began this now-global action statement for myself. I checked their Twitter and Facebook pages and found they were gathering at Washington Square Park at 3 p.m. Oct 9th. During my walk there, I noticed that the NYPD also got the memo and I’d never seen so many police roaring up – they came in cars, vans, motorcycles, scooters and on horseback. They lined every street on both sides leading up to the park. It seemed a bit of overkill to me and looked like they were waiting for something big and terrible to happen. It made me very nervous to say the least. One dicey move by anybody could trigger this to go ugly very fast.

However, what I saw on that day was a very peaceful protest of people with the guts to speak up and speak for everyone, to stand in the hot sun and hold up signs to make people think and question about what we’ve just accepted as THE system.

It will be very interesting to see where this goes.

Click the photo below to see the photos from my day with Occupy Wall Street:

 Occupy Wall Street, Washington Square Park – NYC

Find out more:

Occupy Wall Street Website
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube

Make your stand.

The whole world is watching,
K.

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Author: stilettocity

Goodbye Steve Jobs

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heel iconFor me, going on vacation means unplugging. In my daily personal life and in my day job, I’m a social media, blogging maniac, online at my desk and on my phone pretty much from the moment I wake to when I go to sleep at night. So this year, I chose to take a week holiday in Vermont, courtesy of some friends in Boston (thank you Jane!), to allow me some peace and quiet in the beautiful setting of tree-lined countrysides, where the leaves were just changing into their fall colors.

But my web-free holiday came crashing down when out to pick up dinner at a quaint Wilmington pizzeria, my boyfriend’s phone began to buzz with breaking news updates from his Twitter feed.  Steve Jobs had died.

I sank into the wooden booth and pulled out my phone and we both began scrolling through our Twitter feeds, news websites, and Facebook pages to get more details. We knew it was coming. I was crushed when Jobs resigned from Apple at the end of August and I think everyone went into denial about the real meaning of the move – he was dying.

And now it was official, Jobs lost his 7 year battle with pancreatic cancer. This amazing mind, this creative force who inspired us all to think different and live our own dream could not invent something to end this disease that has taken so many great ones.

The rest of my evening was spent in our quiet Vermont house online and in stunned silence, surfing the wave of postings as the news spread. With everyone having a voice now through social media, the grief was literal and instantaneous. It brought me to tears. Yet I felt comforted in sharing the loss with so many I didn’t even know by adding to the Twitter string.

Jobs will be remembered for how he completely revolutionized our culture. He changed the way we work and socialize, how we listen to music, talk on the phone, connect and share every moment of our lives – even the moment we hear of his passing.

A few days later, I am in New York City and feel it’s important to make the pilgrimage to the 24/hr Apple store on 5th Avenue to pay my respects. A remembrance area filled with flowers, notes and of course, apples, lined the entrance to the store. And I am compelled to leave a note of my own:

“You inspired us all. Thank you Steve.”

Think different,
Kastle

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