Merry Christmas~

Merry Christmas from my Team to yours!

I hope you have a wonderful holiday and take the time the enjoy the simple things with family and friends.

Thoughtful Reflection~

Today was an awesome day, we finished our holiday decorating installation at Los Angeles Zoo, YEAH TEAM!

As a decorator I worry a lot about the final product, as a business owner I worry that the Client will like it, and as someone who puts her heart and soul into her work I worry that it won't bring pleasure to those who see the final product. And somewhere between the visions, the client and the end result..........IT HITS YOU! Look what we did and look who we did it for! WOW!

I had one of those moments today when I realized where my holiday decorating services had taken me, I was standing in Los Angeles Zoo and they were loving what I had done. Yes I would have liked to do more, yes I would do things differently next time and yes I shouldn't worry so much but that is why there is tomorrow and today I believe I really enjoyed today.

It hit me hard that what I do now started so many years ago when a client asked me if I could decorate her house for the holidays, "yes" and "of course" were my immediate answers. I remember at the time thinking how fun to be able to do that in a much bigger home than mine, the ideas were just swirling and that is how it began. And here I am today standing in Los Angeles Zoo, who doesn't know what that is, and two days from now we will begin decorating Commerce Casino, the largest poker casino in the United States and when we finish that job we will begin decorating Longo Toyota the largest Toyota dealership in the United States. I guess my point here is not how amazing I am, (because if you notice I always use "we", that "we" is my team of fabulous employees that make my visions come to life, without them it would not be possible) but look where one small footstep so many years ago brought me. I am a believer in dreams and that thoughts are things and I am glad that in this moment in my life I have the clarity to see it.

Today I watched and enjoyed and worried about the Client's reaction and when I received their approval my job was complete and for that I am grateful.

This post is not about the end result, or the final decor product, or the words of praise we received it is about the process and the people who made it possible.

That is my Adam risking life and limb and Christmas Tree!

There is Bruce & Nathan left to hold the wreath while the installation is being pondered.

There is Holly, who I sent over to watch the guys feet while they were installing a tree above her, to make sure they didn't fall through the cracks. Thinking back now what was she going to do if they did fall through the cracks ????? Seemed like a good idea at the time.

There's Jessica (my daughter) the Goddess of wreath making, I love you Jess!

There WE all are, sorry guys didn't have time to go through all the photos
(there are a lot more WE's but these were the Los Angeles Zoo WE's)

Thank you to each and every one of you who made a moment in my life possible. Adam, Bruce, Claudia, Holly,Jennifer, Jessica, Kris, Leslie, Myra, Nathan & Paz, THANK YOU!

~Happy Veterans Day

Happy Veterans Day! A heartfelt thanks of gratitude to the veterans of this great country of ours. If it wasn't for their sacrifices we would not enjoy the freedoms we have today. God bless every serviceman who has served this country and their loved ones who have stood by them and God bless every serviceman who is currently serving our country. You have and will always have made this world a better place.

[photo courtesy of Pixabella]

~Happy Halloween

Best wishes for a fabulously wonderful and safe Halloween.

~Operation Shower

Taking a quick minute to catch up on reading blogs, I discovered this post by Amy at Stem about Operation Shower that she is involved with and I couldn't resist sharing with you. The following is a copy of Amy's post.

{So most of you here probably know I'm the Chief Event Planner for Operation Shower. Operation Shower is a 501(c)3 charity that provides "baby showers in a box" to expectant moms who have spouses deployed in the military.

You also all know what a tragic week it has been for our military and the numerous losses of life we've had this month. So, so sad.

In the midst of worry and sadness, Operation Shower tries to bring joy to military families that are separated at a very special time in their lives. Imagine being pregnant while your husband is overseas defending our country. It's not political. It's human.
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So, as we approach Thanksgiving, please take one moment and check out my post on the Operation Shower blog here. I'd be so thankful for it.

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I'd also love it if my fellow bloggers could link to the Operation Shower post. Amazing things happen with the power of the internet. I know we can all make a difference. Please, leave me a comment if you post so I can thank you personally.

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Have a safe Halloween and a blessed holiday season.

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Ever grateful,

Ames

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P.S. You can also click on our website for an opportunity to donate.}

~Sweet 16 Sweet Shoppe~

Happy Belated Sweet 16 Ashley ~ I finally am taking a day to catch up on some long overdue things, like sharing some of our recent events that I haven't had time to go through the pictures before now. This is a photo and below a collage of the very Sweet candy bar for Ashleys Sweet 16. The candy bar was delightful and so was the decor, but the decor will have to wait for another post. One thing at a time..........

The adorable "Sweet Shoppe" sign was made by Party Decorations by Marlyss who creates wonderful decor. Ashley's Mom created this Sweet candy bar and I just helped a little I was there to do the ceiling decor but couldn't resist having fun with the candy bar as well. There were so many special touches to this party I can't wait to share them all with you.
{how funny is life, Ashley's Mom just phoned to tell me she was sending the photos from the photographer, so I will leave this as a quick post and when I get the professional photos I will post those}

Until then Enjoy.................

Giving Back~One Child at a time

Aldabella Scarpa............is giving back to American Children in need. For every pair of shoes you buy they will donate one pair to an

American Child in need.

With the holidays coming it is time to buy those little ones holiday dresses and of course adorable shoes to match. Before you go looking any further for those adorable shoes check out aldabellascarpa.com. They have the most wonderful and whimsical collection of shoes all made from Italian leather in adorable color and pattern combinations. I discovered them this past week at the LA County Fair and was wishing I had a little one to buy shoes for. As a mother I was always very picky about the quality of shoes that I bought for my children and if my children were still little I would be their new biggest fan. Their product pictures do not do them justice, too cute! Not only do they offer a great product but they are paying it forward to American children, and anytime I find a charity that is working for the benefit of Americans I become a FAN!

~Thank You for sharing

For me this blogging thing is not always easy, I don't have a lot of time to create wonderful photo collages (my skills are lacking there), not always sure what to say, sometimes I feel like my posting about what I do is bragging (not that I think at all that I am better than anyone) it just goes back to my upbringing of keeping things personal and not sharing every little detail with everyone, I haven't learned yet how to thank someone for posting and I could go on and on. But the one thing blogging has brought me is new friends and the chance to see that I am not alone with my trials and tribulations of being a female business owner, a women with high expectations, a wife and a mother.

I am sitting here looking at a very busy schedule, a full calender, an upcoming week full of employee interviews, looking at paint samples taped and painted on walls, homework, bills to be paid, out my front window a garden that needs some tlc and a manicure that went south after one day of getting it done, a stack of custom job folders that I need to work on, a faithful pet who is on her last leg and so much more...........

Then I look around at my favorite blogs and see women exhausted, giving of themselves for a charity or a friend in need, taking care of their life, working on their business, struggling with financial issues and so much more. And yet they have time to help a friend, create a wonderful blog post, plan an amazing party, take care of their families and their business and so much more.

I think women are truly AMAZING and they are stepping up and getting it done and knocking themselves out to do a great job! I think that the current economy has created the opportunity for women to be aggressive and go after their dreams in order to get it done! It just blows my mind to see so many women who maybe were once stay at home moms now stepping up and creating their passion and I am proud to be part of such a group. I see husbands who are supportive of their wives efforts who might not have been so supportive a few years ago.

How we are doing it is different for everyone, but we are doing it and all you have to do is look around the internet to see great products, services and businesses that are women owned. I feel like I am sometimes sacrificing little bits of myself as my business grows and I see it and struggle with how to keep the balance, how to let my children know I love them, give my time to my husband and my friends, make the client happy, talk to my parents each day and just try to get everything checked off my to do list, but then that is just one more thing to worry about. But thanks to blogs I realize I am not alone and that helps, it helps me know that I am not just going crazy. So thank you for sharing and while I might not always have the time to post a comment or commiserate for me it means something. So please keep on sharing.

~Blog Feature

We have been featured on the Swanky Blog. The other day I had the pleasure of speaking with Brandy from swankychicks.com. Brandy had emailed me to see if I would mind speaking with her about a new business venture idea for her business, which I was pleased to do. We had a wonderful conversation where I was able to share my experiences with her and to offer her some advice and direction and in return Brandy shared some of her knowledge with me on things I wasn't that knowledgeable about. It was a great conversation and now I have a new friend in Arizona.

Thanks for the shout out Brandy and I can't wait to hear how it all works out.

Ice Cream Sundae Bar~

Pink & Sweet & Adorable.........need I say more???

I just wanted to share with you this adorable layout and ideas for an Ice Cream Sundae Bar, brought to you by EAT DRINK CHIC. Not only does Amy Moss share with you some wonderful photos and ideas she has graciously added the templates for creating all the wonderful personalized signs. A truly generous offering. Check out her site for more great ideas.

I'm inspired........................

Random Thoughts~

OHHH the heat is stifling here in Southern California. I had to meet a client downtown and decided to take the opportunity to seek our some new ideas in Los Angeles afterwards........unfortunately I didn't do much seeking. It was 99 degrees and then went up to 101 where it hung out for awhile. I wanted to buy some flowers for me but knew they would probably be dead by the time I got home..... so I am sharing my favorite flowers with you and an e-mail of Random Thoughts that I received from a friend.

Hope they both make you smile.................................

-I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

-Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you
realize you're wrong.

-I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink to
have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and
sticks when they've invented the lighter?

-That's enough with Michael Jackson.

-I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was
younger.

-There is a great need for sarcasm font.

-Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and
suddenly realize I had no idea what was going on when I first saw
it.

-I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually
becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90
minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at
the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and
a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really,
really gets it.

-How the heck are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

-I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than
take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

- I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear
your computer history if you die.

- A recent study has shown that playing beer bong contributes to the
spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.

- Was learning cursive really necessary?

- Lol has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else
to say".

- Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron
test is absolutely petrifying.

- Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all
I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".

- I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up
to prevent a d!ck from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!

- Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in'
examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete
idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and said,
"Yes that's G, as in....(10 second lapse)...ummm...Goonies."

- While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and
instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.

- MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I
know how to get out of my neighborhood.

- I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the
shower first and THEN turn the water on.

-Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty,
and you can wear them forever.

- I would like to officially coin the phrase 'catching the swine flu'
to be used as a way to make fun of a friend for hooking up. Example: "Jeff caught the swine flu last night."

-I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

- Bad decisions make good stories.

-If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would
probably just be completely invisible.

-Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go
around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly
nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a
problem....

-You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work
when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything
productive for the rest of the day (kinda like now).

-Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't
want to have to restart my collection.

-There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are
going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

-I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me
if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear
I did not make any changes to.

- "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this
ever.

-I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching
TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge me
if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't watching this.
It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room.
Will we still be friends after this?'

-I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello?
Dammit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes
to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and
run away?

- I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not
seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

-When I meet a new guy, I'm terrified of mentioning something he
hasn't already told me but that I have learned from some light internet
stalking.

-I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle,
then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.

-Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising
speed for pedophiles...

- As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers,
but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.

-Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not
know what time it is.

-It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.

-I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to
answer when they call.

-Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to
with it.

-Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car
keys in a pocket, hitting the G-spot, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey
but I'd bet my a$s everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3
feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time...

-It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the
link takes me to a video instead of text.

-I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they
drive behind obeys the speed limit.

-I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

-I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or
Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.

Happy Bride~

These days with all the tv shows about Bridezillas and the drama that is associated with Brides its nice to have the pleasure of working with a Bride who is just enjoying herself on her Wedding Day.

I had the pleasure of assisting Shannon & David Meyer on their Wedding Day a few weeks ago and they were absolutely enjoying every minute of their day. Their was no drama from them, their parents or anyone. It was an absolutely enjoyable Wedding and I wish them all the best in the future.

Photographs provided by D2 Phototography

New Holiday Decorating Client

We are so excited and still doing the happy dance around here. We have been chosen to do the holiday decorating for the Los Angeles Zoo this year. We couldn't be more excited to add another great client to our list of Clients. We will be working in collaboration with Fox Studios who will be creating a new holiday back drop for the Reindeer Romp at the Zoo. Kind of like a double header for us here at CHS.

Ahhh Inspiration

The other day I had the pleasure of enjoying as my friend puts it a "daycation". I had the pleasure of visiting the Getty Museum, after years of driving by it and thinking I'd like to go one day I finally had the chance. It was absolutely amazing, the art was fabulous and the buildings and the way it was designed was brilliant. Everything was designed down to the utmost detail. The collection of paintings, drawings, sculptures and more was just wonderful. Of course the things that inspired me since I can't paint, draw, sculpt, etc... were the wonderful bed above and the chandeliers. They inspired me because fabric and hanging things is what I love to do.

I fell in love with this bed the details were amazing. I looked at it and thought one day I'm going to get a party that I can design a canopy like this.............. and I can't wait!

The swagging of the fabric, the tassels, the ostrich feathers, the use of multiple fabrics just brilliant.

Just look at the wonderful little flower all beaded, just one more of the many details of this amazing bed.

And then there were the fabulous chandeliers, just breath taking and amazing the details were beautiful.....


All in all it was a wonderful "daycation" can't wait to go back

Holiday House Tour

I am so excited!!! I have been asked by a Women's Club in an affluent area to decorate a complete house for their Holiday Homes Tour and not a Christmas house. This year they are adding a children's house to the tour and I have been asked to showcase my different parties and themes throughout the house, I can't wait. I was worried when they called and said Holiday that it might be happening in the middle of our Holiday Decorating season and if so there would be no way I could do it, but YEAH it is at the beginning of November which will fit into my schedule perfect.

My creative ideas and thoughts are definitely burning the midnight oil. I have been wanting to update and play with different ideas for Children's parties and this will be the perfect place to do it.

I will keep you updated as the ideas stream forth..........................

Happy 40th!

I have finally had a chance to go through the photos from the Fabulous 40th Birthday Party we did a few weeks ago! All decor, design, ideas and execution were designed and executed by CHS. I personally am a BIG fan of the color combination. To view more photos click here

Hope you enjoy.......................

Face Painting~Shout Out

Two weeks ago I had the pleasure of working with my friend and party planner/face painter extraordinaire Risa of colorfulfaceart.com! We set Risa up in her own cabana on the beach and watched the magic happen from full face painting to glitter tattoos Risa does it all and does it brilliantly.

Please note that we both match the party because isn't that what its all about, details, details, details! After a crazy week planning this party I was so thrilled to see Risa.

Coming soon the photos from this fabulous 40th birthday party..........................