On The High Line

[Ljava.lang.String;@3b96f8a1

Blast Off

[Ljava.lang.String;@7469bff5

Hate Speech

[Ljava.lang.String;@5af9897c

All You Need Is Love

[Ljava.lang.String;@2e0f2afc

St. Louis Fringe

[Ljava.lang.String;@2a572563

Happy Valentine’s Day!

.lang.String;@4fc458f8

Beach Weekend

.lang.String;@54022c4f

Saturday with Nanny and Grandpa

.lang.String;@66e2a4a0

Spring 2011

.lang.String;@1b22ccc

Meet June’s new pet, “Pwincess”

.lang.String;@67db533a

Luncheon to benefit Trinity River Mission

To contact us Click HERE
Don't miss out on the 26th Annual Attorneys Serving the Community Luncheon benefitting Trinity River Mission. The event will be held at noon on Friday, June 22, 2012, in the Chantilly Ballroom at the Hilton Anatole. This year's keynote speaker is the inspirational Sonia Manzano -- "Maria" from Sesame Street. Find out more information by visiting the 2012 luncheon page here. To purchase individual tickets or become a sponsor, please download the 2012 luncheon sponsorship form here.

Deep Ellum Urban Gardens project

To contact us Click HERE

Deep Ellum Gym Build Day with Deep Ellum Urban Gardens
We need extra muscle to help with the heavy lifting of lumber, hauling, digging, nailing, shoveling and finishing out the Deep Ellum Urban GardensSaturday, June 30 at 9:00amMeet at S. Crowdus & Virgil (behind Adam's Hat Lofts)Supplies: cordless drills, hammers, shovels, wheel barrel, safety glasses, sunscreen, and your raw power!Help build cedar planters, shovel gravel and soil, and get dirty for a good cause.Contact: Paula Ramirez paula@deepellumtexas.comWater and lunch provided by Deep Ellum Community Association and My Fit FoodsCLICK HERE for the facebook event page

Kiehls Kiehls Kiehls

To contact us Click HERE

Can I please just profess my immense love for this brand? Having been a Kiehl's fan for years, I was naturally excited to attend the Grand Opening of their Dallas North Park store, but I left even more in love with them than I had been before. We're talking school-yard-crush-do-you-want-half-of-my-p.b. and j type of thing.
The store is nothing short of fantastic! You walk in, and you know its upscale, but the laid-back cool vibe takes away any pretention. That's even with the enormous chandelier hanging from the ceiling (which I may or may not have been thinking about how to steal it and take it home with me). 
If you've been a Kiehl's lover, you know that their products work. Period. Kiehl's doesn't have to rely on exotic smell-good lotions and magic, miracle creams; they have perfected the science of good skin care and have made that perfection accessible to the masses. 
That's not the only reason to love them though. Over the past 10 years, Kiehl's has donated more than $1 million dollars to charities across the Unites States. Their innovative team has taken it a step further by crafting products to help raise funds for their favorite causes. In 2008, Kiehl's developed a Aloe Vera biodegradable body wash and the proceeds went toward the Hurricane Katrina relief fund.
Today was a special day, not only for Kiehls, but also for TWO x TWO, the largest fundraiser in the United States for amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research. amfAR has made great strides in essential AIDS research initiatives over the last 25 years, and Kiehl's was honored to donate $25,000 to support them in their efforts!

I told you they were wonderful! Now back to the skin care... Is any one else MELTING in this heat? I feel like my makeup disappears during my walk from my car into the office. Lucky for me, I got to sit down with Kiehl's president, Chris Salgardo, and pick his brain for some great Summer skin care tips on how to beat the heat!
RSVP: Its 106 degrees outside, what can I use that's going to help me not feel like my makeup is melting off?
Chris: This has been an a common problem forever, and part of that issue is getting a high enough sunscreen that isn't so thick that is was also going to contribute to your makeup feeling runny or coming off. We came up with a product called "Super Fluid." What you want to basically have is SPF 50, because what all of these new monograph studies are telling us is that if you want sunscreen protection - real protection - its not 15, its 50. Now if you're a makeup-wearer, you need something thats going to give your makeup enough of a slip, but its not going to contribute to making it feel oily or put too much moisture in it. So look for things that are very light-wight; I recommend the "Super Fluid" and use a lose powder. 
RSVP: Ok, I passed a Harley Davidson when I walked in. Did you pick that out?
Chris: I did! I pick them out for all of our stores. I started riding when I was 12! 
RSVP: Your Mom let you do that?
Chris: Oh she rode too! My father rode, my mother rode and I rode. The bike is so important because its so symbolic of Kiehl's spirit, adventure and the athleticism of our customers. We also use it for charitable causes. The next ride is in two weeks -1800 miles, Miami to DC!
RSVP: Your charity work is so commendable. You've worked with so many organizations. What drew you to TWO x TWO?
Chris: First of all I got to meet Cindy Rachofsky about two years ago, and I think I just fell in love with her.  She has a true commitment - you can tell the people {who} have a desire to really make a change. We really believe that our way out of this disease is through a vaccine and cure and that's {TWO x TWO's} commitment. It was easy for us to sign up!
Chris and I went on to gush over the store's decor, from the neon lights to the photo booth in the corner,  Kiehl's has such a great atmosphere! I wanted to stay and play with Chris and his FABULOUS New York crew, but before I took off, Kiehl's gave me a bag full of goodies. (They are known for being on the generous side. Order online and expect to get no less than three larger-than-normal size samples on-the-house!)Look at this full-sized bottle of Ultra Facial Cleanser I snagged! 
We love all things green here in the RSVP office, so I was tickled pink when I saw this recycling bin for your Kiehl's products once you've used up their gloriousness. 
Congratulations again Kiehl's! We are so happy to have you in North Park Center, and cannot wait to see what must-have you come up with next!

Say Hello to Our Interns

To contact us Click HERE
Hi RSVP Readers! Please say "hello" to our wonderful new interns, Courtney and Macy. Besides being so precious, these girls are very creative and are already bringing so much to the table... and its only been a week! Since we love them so much, we sat them down for a mini interview about some of their favorites. Take a look at what they had to say!

images via

 If you could raid anyone's closet, whose would it be?Kourtney Kardashian
You describe your style as...Preppy/Trendy
Where can we find you when you aren't at the RSVP office?In the Chick-fil-a drive threw :)
When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?A tornado chaser!
What's your favorite trend of the moment?Monogram necklaces
Who would play you in a movie about yourself?Lacy Chabert
What are you currently obsessed with?50 Shades of Grey
A charity near and dear to your heart is...Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure

images via

 If you could raid anyone's closet, whose would it be?Miley Cyrus
You describe your style as..."Retro SoCal"Where can we find you when you aren't at the RSVP office?At the lake!
When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?The First Lady
What's your favorite trend of the moment?Colored pants
Who would play you in a movie about yourself?Blake Lively
What are you currently obsessed with?DIY Home Decor
A charity near and dear to your heart is...The Peace Corps

We are so excited to have these ladies on our team!

Who is ready for some friendly competition? Its time for 4G4Charity!

To contact us Click HERE

Hi Everyone! I am so excited to share this news with you! I have been chosen as one of the four Dallas celebrities to participate in the Verizon/Modern Luxury Campaign, "4G for Charity!"Who doesn't love a good competition when its for an amazing cause?PLUS, you can win too!

Here's how it works: Click here to go to my 4G for Charity page. Each vote I get, goes toward the American Red Cross. The charity has the most votes at the end, will win $4,000!!!ALSO, for everyone that votes, Verizon will give a $50 coupon! A Grand Prize winner will be chosen from among the voters; that person will win their very own Verizon tablet (Im in love with mine!), lunch with your favorite celeb and a pair of tickets to the VIP/Finale event!

The event will go LIVE next Tuesday, July 2nd! I will be posting on my Facebook and Twitter pages reminding you to cast your vote!Make sure you're following me on FacebookYou can also follow my tweets on TwitterDont forget to use the hashtag #4G4Charity when you tweet!

Dont forget to also follow Dallas Modern Luxury for their updates as well!Dallas Modern Luxury Facebook PageFollow Dallas Modern Luxury on Twitter at @ModLuxDallas

Brek Shea Shoots, Paints, and SCORES

To contact us Click HERE













Major League Soccer, Abstract Art, and Philanthropy? A winning combination for our own FC Dallas Forward/Mid-Fielder, Brek Shea. The 6'4" 21-year old is not only a crowd-pleasing, lightening fast, goal-scorer, he is a veritable artist with a collection of bold abstract paintings and a heart of gold.


This Sunday, Brek is hosting an Art Show and Auction of his paintings at NYLO Plano at Legacy and proceeds will benefit the FC Dallas Foundation and America SCORES Dallas. You are invited to come view Brek's work, bid on your favorite pieces, and feel good that your contribution will help give inner-city Dallas kids a chance to play soccer.


RSVP by Wednesday, June 22nd to foundation@fcdallas.net

Girls in the Game

To contact us Click HERE
On Sunday, the USA v Brazil World Cup game proved to be as entertaining as Transformers 3 on a hot summer day. In 3-D. Although there were no space robots or Michael Bay explosions, the game featured a goal within the first two minutes of play, a harsh referee, a devastating red card, an overtime goal by Brazil’s five-time FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year, a last minute (in extra extra overtime) equalizer by the US, and a penalty save during the game deciding shoot out.  

And yet, this game earned a 2.6 overnight rating for ESPN compared to last year’s World Cup USA vs Ghana game’s 9.9 rating. The difference? Last year was the men’s World Cup and this year is the women’s World Cup.
Why the disparity? The answer may be found in the history of soccer. The first Women’s World Cup was held in 1999, 61 years after the first Men’s World Cup. From an historical perspective, women’s soccer has had less time to gain popularity and professional development. However, the history of women’s soccer parallels the world’s reception and attitude toward women playing soccer. Here is a great (albeit old) article about women’s soccer vs. men’s soccer. Mostly the differences cited are those of resources, support, and youth coaching. The lack of interest for women’s sports produces a lack of funding and thus less opportunity to develop the profession. This vicious cycle has led to a complicated state of affairs for women’s soccer. Yet, it can be as simple as - getting girls in the game.
Getting girls in the game is as valuable for promoting the future of women’s soccer as it is for the girls who play the game. According to Team-Up for Youth, “Sports and physical activity can give girls positive body image, improved self esteem, tangible experiences of competency and success and increased self confidence.” Through soccer, girls gain a breadth of experiences and life skills that they would otherwise not always have the opportunity to acquire. The good news for women’s soccer? More potential players, supporters, and fans. With new generations, there is hope that women’s soccer will finally get the attention that they deserve.
See how we are helping get girls in the game: visit us at www.americascoresdallas.org
Watch the USA’s semifinal game against France on ESPN3 on Wednesday, July 13th at 10:30 AM.

8th Annual Soccer Ball is Coming!

To contact us Click HERE
America SCORES Dallas' 8th Annual Soccer Ball Auction and Gala, Kick It Up a Notch!, is our largest fund and friend raiser of the year.  Historically the Soccer Ball brings together over 200 guests, all philanthropic leaders in Dallas, each year and has raised over $1 Million dollars over the last 7 years.

For our 8th Annual Soccer Ball on October 21, we are really "Kicking it up a Notch!"  Scott Romano of Charlie Palmer will provide a culinary adventure throughout the evening, exciting live and silent auction items will incite heated bidding wars, and a poetry performance from our poet-athletes will inspire.


Help us "Kick it up a Notch" this year!  Learn more and get involved by visiting our website. You can donate auction items, suggest businesses as donors, and purchase your ticket or table!

Groupon + ASD = Healthy Snack Campaign

To contact us Click HERE
The “Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds” campaign will be available on Groupon Dallas’ G-Team page beginning on Tuesday, August 23rd and running through Thursday, August 25th. Utilizing G-Team’s collective action model, Groupon followers can pledge support for the Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds initiative in increments of $10, with each $10 providing healthy snacks for one poet-athlete (ASD student) for an entire semester.

America SCORES Dallas will distribute the healthy snacks to the participating DISD schools during the organization’s after-school soccer and poetry program. Approximately 100% of the participating students are from households that are at or below the poverty level and do not have access to low cost healthful food, making these healthy snacks a vital part of both a student’s engagement in their after-school activities and their overall nutrition during each day.

“It is exciting and a privilege that Groupon has chosen America SCORES Dallas to be the first G-Team campaign in the Dallas market. This opportunity will allow us to raise more awareness about the work we do,” says Robert Hernandez, Executive Director, “By providing our students with a healthy snack every day, Dallas residents can help our poet-athletes get the nutrition they need to fully engage in their afterschool enrichment activities.”

The G-Team partnership is part of ASD grassroots approach to raising awareness of the importance of proper nutrition and nutrition education for our youth to combat childhood obesity, especially in high-risk populations. The schools that participate in ASD’s program are in the most under-served neighborhoods in urban Dallas and lack access to health education and fresh healthy food. America SCORES Dallas serves approximately 288 students in 9 DISD schools.

2012 Fitness for yourself, Fitness and Literacy for a child

To contact us Click HERE
Have a healthy and fit New Year and help America SCORES Dallas students in the underserved area of Dallas.  Please consider donating $10 or more to support our young children achieve their physical potential and improve their literacy.  America SCORES Dallas is one of the few programs that combines literacy and physical fitness in one program.  It is five days a week, 90 minutes each day.  Teamwork, Leadership, Respect and Trust are the core values of this program.

Your support allows America SCORES Dallas to provide a holistic after-school program combining soccer, creative writing and community service to transform the lives of urban elementary school children in Dallas.  We inspire children to lead healthy lifestyles, succeed academically and have the confidence and character to make a difference in the world.  We need your help. Please post this to your Facebook Page and twitter accounts and help us achieve our goal to support our children.

To donate, follow this link to our website (Google Checkout page) for processing.
http://americascoresdallasdonate.weebly.com/

A Snowball Fight in June??

To contact us Click HERE

 

Yesterday the girls and I had a snowball fight! Do you wonder how we played with snow for over an hour and it didn’t even melt in the Houston heat???

Magic snow!!

 

 

Would you believe me if I told you that we emptied the cotton substance of two diapers into a bucket, added water, and VOILA, SNOW!!

LET the fun begin!!

And its easy clean up, just run the hose over it and it dissolves!

Cheap and simple summer fun!

Catching up Summer 2011

To contact us Click HERE

We have had a busy few weeks. Here are some photos of what we’ve been up to! Below are some photos from the Orange Show.

McDonalds is always a fun treat for the girls. I love how entertainment is so very simple with toddlers!

This is June’s new friend Georgia who will be in her class at school next year! So excited!

My friend Stephanie and I had a downtown adventure one day searching out great photo locations and some awesome graffiti walls! Her little boys are perfect models!!

Above are just some pics I snapped right before church because the girls looked so cute. Junie loves her Sunday school class now and hardly cries anymore! She loves to stop in the lobby and point and name all the animals in the mural that mommy painted for the children’s building! She tells people that she is an artist now and we went to her very first art class at the museum!!

 

These are their friends, Mitchel and Tristan that June wants to marry. She used to tell me she wanted to marry Daddy or Jesus and now its these boys…yes both of them. She asks me every day if I am married and I say yes I’m married to Daddy. She asks if we had a good cake and tells me she wants to get married too. She has been watching The Little Mermaid quite a bit and there is a scratch on the disk that plays the wedding scene at the end over and over sometimes. I think that is where the obsession started!

It has only rained once this summer. We took advantage of a the puddles. Again…easliy entertained. The simple joy of childhood.

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14

Jimmy was off for a week and we went to the beach on Monday. Jimmy fished with Joseph and June spent some quality time with her bestie Uncle Jojo! I was kinda jealous when she fell asleep in his arms being  as she NEVER does this with me.
The girls spent some long hours at the beach and took loooong naps!

We came home Wednesday for a few days to tend to the yard and feed the ferrets. June picked a huge basket of figs in the backyard.

She ate tons of them!

Then back to the beach house Friday for some fun with Grammy and Pa!

Saturday we went to Aunt MArjorie and Uncle Jon’s beach house down the street for some bar-b-q and fun!

June loves her cousin Emily!

…and “pupcakes”

The girl could play with shrimp all day and not get bored!

 

Here are some shots of June before church that I could not choose which one to post, so I just posted them all. I can never get her to smile for the camera, so these are priceless to me! They were accompanied by handfuls of skittles!

On the fourth of July we had our friends and neighbors over for a fun Bar-B-Que!

Is this not the cutest baby ever? She looks like she is filled with sweet cream or jelly like a jelly donut! I start to crave Shipleys whenever I hold her.

 

This was my creative attempt at dessert. June managed to eat half of them, just the chocolate of course. She had a pile of strawberries on her plate… I did not give her any of them. She has a way of commandeering desserts from unsuspecting guests who can’t say no to that sweet little voice!

We watched an amazing fire works display right from our front yard! It was fabulous and June LOVED it! All the beighbors came out and sat in our lawn. So fun! Another fourth of July come and gone. Now its time to plan Junie’s third birthday!