One Busy Bee

Isn't it great to have something that almost no one else has? Like your house, your spouse, your rare, pure-bred dog, a piece of history or a family heirloom? On my cousin's recent visit to the Bay Area from Hawaii with her husband and 2-month-old son, Sol, she, my sister, my cousin, Mike, and I received pieces of jewelry from our grandparents. Along with them, our grandmother told us when she received them. They were either given to her from our fathers, her sons, as gifts or from my grandfather on his trips when he was in the military. I received a gold bracelet from Laos and a matching ring that is missing a ruby-like stone. No problem, I'll get the stone replaced. But how cool it is to have a piece of something that my grandmother has kept for decades? I hope to pass it down to my children someday. Whether it was purchased out of a vending machine or a street vendor, it will increase in value over the years. Coming October 1st, Stella & Dot will be kicking off s...

I received the above badge from FourSquare on my recent breakfast outing with Julia in Livermore. I had 1000 check-ins. And 21 badges. According to Yelp , I have 1085 check-ins, have been the Queen of Carson City, Nevada and got up to #12 in the Seattle area on my last trip to Seattle, one year ago. I love Yelp and all the coupons/deals I get just for checking in. I rarely check-in on Facebook unless it's something cool (to each their own), or I just want to be annoying and tag everyone I'm with. The last time I tagged someone was DB and I was talking smack on our recent trip to Umigo Racing in Livermore. For the record, I did not 'smoke' him. I typically check-in just before I leave a place, not the very moment that I arrive. You really shouldn't make it known of your exact whereabouts, especially if you're alone. Recently, a friend's husband was with our group for dinner while his wife was in Southern California on business. He jokingly thanked G...

"POV's The Learning tells a surprising tale of immigration, globalization and America's shifting position in the 21st century. When the United States took possession of the Philippines in 1898, American teachers set up the islands' public school system. English was established as the language of instruction and remains so to this day. Today in the Philippines, there is a large pool of trained, motivated, English-speaking teachers, especially in high school math, science and special education. In their country, these teachers receive poverty-level salaries, making them prized recruitment targets for many U.S. school districts, especially those in cash-strapped inner cities. While a salary in one of these urban districts may be low by American standards, it can be as much as 25 times a teacher's salary in the Philippines." - The Learning . I heard about it on a segment on KCBS 740 AM radio this morning. As I began my commute, I had the radio off and was thi...

Stella & Dot was a big hit in NYC to kick off Fashion Week. Blythe Harris was there to talk about our new Fall line, including our handbags, and had our limited edition pieces displayed. See the below video and models working it on the runway. Not every item available is needed to be displayed. Simple. Model wearing the Lido Necklace, not yet available Model wearing the Noir Pendant, not yet available What do you think of the new pieces? And what we've been waiting for, here is Stella & Dot in VOGUE Magazine. Please pick up the October 2011 issue. If you stop by my table at any announced events or host a trunk show with me, the Panther Pendant will definitely be there for you and your guests to try on. And for those of you who love watching Keeping Up with The Kardashians , here is Kourtney Kardashion wearing the Festival 'Til Dawn bib that is being discontinued. It is now available for $99, originally $198. Get it today! Shop at www.stelladot.com/Be...

50% Off All Bar Drinks??? An exclusive discount on celebrity-adored Stella & Dot jewelry and handbags??? YES!! Only at Kaenyama this Saturday, October 1st. Come see and try on the newest pieces of the Stella & Dot's Fall jewelry collection, including their entire line of leather handbags that are of the same luxurious quality and made in the same factories as Marc Jacobs, Coach, and Kate Spade but cost 20% less. The handbags are featured in September's InStyle magazine, while the jewelry has been in InStyle numerous times, plus in Redbook, Lucky, Ladies Home Journal, Fitness, O Magazine, and our Panther Pendant will be in Vogue's October 2011 issue. Get great gifts for yourself, birthdays, promotions, or even the holidays! It's never too early. Spend $50* and get $10 off *Before tax & shipping Not into jewelry? All bar drinks are 50% off! What a deal! Their Kaenyama Martini is amazing, they have a great wine selection and Sapporo is on draft...

Offer stands until I get my 100th 'LIKE'. As a consumer myself, I rarely sign up for e-newsletters and only follow companies on Facebook that I really like, am a repeat customer for, and if they're a company that does not flood my timeline with more than 2-3 postings in one day. Please rest assured that I will not post more than 2-3 times a day, mostly it's just one per day. For those on my e-newsletter list, I only send out a blast 1-2 times a month. Who and What do WE win? I am looking for my 100th Like. Since I am 24 shy and still want the 76 people that like my page already to have a chance at winning, my 100th Like and their friends can win! When you "Share" or "Invite Friends" to Like my page, they might be the 100th one to do so. If they are, I will ask the WINNER to provide me the names of 10 of their friends that also Like my page and they will win as well! You and your friends could win gift certificates ranging from $10-$50 to use on ...

Photo taken from http://www.skyscraper.org/TALLEST_TOWERS/t_wtc.htm It has been 10 years since the terrorist attack by the Osama Bin Laden-led group, Al Qaeda, where airplanes were overtaken and crashed into both of the 110-story skyscrapers called The Twin Towers in New York City, into the Pentagon and into a field. Lives of so many innocent people were lost. Where were you when it happened? I selfishly was commuting to San Francisco from Pacheco, CA to my 26-story office building downtown. I was going to school full time, working part time both days on the weekend, working a full time job, commuting and commuting to San Francisco State University . My routine was home, work, school, home, or home, school, work, school, home so I didn't listen to the news on the radio nor turn on the television as I got ready to leave the house. I thought it was weird that there wasn't any traffic at the Caldecott Tunnel. When I arrived at the other end, there was rush-hour-like traff...

I think I need to free write. Please excuse the whirlwind that is my thought process. I thought my age didn't really play a factor with how I'm feeling recently but what a coincidence that my 31st birthday is weeks away. Nope, no plans. I might take off from doing a promo event that evening but who knows. Maybe I'd rather be there than be at home on the couch. People say that their 30s are the best. I still have years to measure it against my 20s. My teens definitely are not in the runnings with attending three different high schools, having a long distance relationship, having an early curfew and basically held up for ransom. Not fun, let me just tell you. My 20s were all about me. (Some would say it's always about me.) Yeah, they're right. When everyone is off doing their thing, you're stuck with just yourself, aren't you? In my 20s, I became a firm believer that you are the only thing that can make yourself happy. You have to allow yourself to be. I...

Not only is it special to me because it's my birthday month and we get a paid day off, but Stella & Dot have just announced some amazing deals for customers, hostesses and potential new Stylists that want to go into business for themselves! Check it out! #1 - Items already on sale and discontinuing receive an additional 20% off! For instance, the popular gold Belle Fleur Ring has permanently discontinued but the earrings are now $21. Originally $39. Additional discounts end September 5, 2011. #2 - Spend $125 and get the Pyramid Double Wrap leather bracelet in Cognac or Green for FREE ! That is a $59 value! Just add it to your cart and it will be deducted automatically. #3 - Hostesses who throw a trunk show with me in the month of September and have sales totaling at least $500 with 4 unique orders will receive a Signature Pouch from our handbag line! Plus, as usual, they'll earn their free product credits good towards jewelry and handbags. Get your girls together, ...