#3 done. Celebrated my 38th with my Dad, Georgeanne and Sonia at Hatfield’s. The yellowtail Croquet Madame (pictured) was the perfect appetizer. 

All eyes were on Brit as she led her team to two wins on day one.  She’s in midseason form.

And we’re back. Time for the first tournament of the season, and probably the most important. The state cup begins today in cold and rainy San Bernardino.  Two games today and one tomorrow. The top two teams from each bracket will move on to play next weekend.

#11 in progress. Somewhere is a small, but interesting character piece. 

March Recap.

Other than knocking out #93 with some rattlesnake, March was nothing but one long work day. Sorry, I got nothin’.

Atlanta Recap

To sum it up, we have nowhere to go but up.  Sales wise, it was only a tad better than Dallas, but double the cost.  Nevertheless, it was well worth the investment.  Despite little traffic, buyers continue to respond very well to the line.  We should have no problem selling out 80% of our styles by the time we finish production in early to mid May.  

On a more positive note, I can cross off #80.  Thanks to one of our very first clients, we were treated like family in the ATL. Great food, a little sight seeing, and car service to boot.  

Happy Birthday to my sister-in-law, Kim.

#98 in progress.  Some of the better oysters we’ve eaten. The spicy bloody mary reduction was the kicker.  

Not quite #22, but we participated in the fashion show with this little black number.

Struck with Vertigo.  This should make flying tomorrow a blast.

The Atlanta Breakfast with Designers featured two of our clients that we helped launch. 

We visited one of our best clients with 12 stores after the show on Thursday. Not only was it stocked with about 90% of our purchases, but it is one of the first stores to carry our line, Basically Me. Cool to see it out in the wild.

A good day.

It’s been a tough go the last few months, but we finally ventured out for a top notch dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Lucques. Still, it took a business dinner to do it.  I would like to rewind to 2009. 

Dallas Recap.

The bad news is that this particular show was very slow. A number of the vendors claimed it was their worst show ever.  We were towards the back, which is never great, but funny enough we were placed next to two of our clients that we produce for.

The good news is that when customers came into our booth they usually wrote an order.  Many of the stores were in towns that we don’t have a buying client, so we’re confident we will pick a few of them up on the buying side.  We exceeded my conservative sales goal, but not by much. Most new lines would be thrilled with our numbers, but most new lines don’t have a quarter of our overhead.  Something to build on. Hopefully Atlanta will bear more fruit.

The days are blending together in Dallas, but we’re not complaining. I’ll give a recap in the next couple of days, but thought I’d post our website so the two of you that asked for it could check out our line. 

Click Here. Username: basicallyme  Password: lafashioninsider

The morning after. One day Marquette will learn to play for two halves on the big stage.  

Almost set up for Dallas.

Signage for the trade show. This one?

Or this one?

What a game.  When you live and breathe college basketball, the Sweet 16 is always a, “where were you when”…. I joined the MU family in 1991.  The Warriors hadn’t made the Sweet 16 since 1977, the year they won it all. When I was a “junior” in 1994 they beat Kentucky to advance to the Sweet 16. I rode my bike to the ‘Lanche and slapped down a buck-twenty-five for a Pabst Red White and Blue and celebrated the victory.  I later joined the student body and ran down Wisconsin Avenue to Lake Michigan. Lighting struck again in 2003 when Dwayne Wade led MU, not only to the Sweet 16, but to the Final Four. I was actually the point man in SoCal who organized the viewing parties in Los Angeles during the run. We probably had 60 to 80 alumni per game cheering the team on at a local L.A. bar. Once D. Wade carried the team past Kentucky, I secured a ticket to New Orleans (thanks Dad) and joined my buddies in the Big Easy. A massacre followed, but I’ll never forget 2003. Fast forward to 2011. The third “Sweet 16” since MU won it all in 1977. It was unexpected, but I’m loving every minute of it. 

#11 in progress. Saw Limitless. Flawed, but entertaining enough.

This is where I am. Watching Marquette at the bar. Alone. They have never trailed to this point. But I am bitter. Angry. I wish I didn’t care.

Update: MARQUETTE WINS. I am now off of the ledge. Considering they were up the entire game you would think I would have enjoyed watching, but it’s like pulling teeth. 

Happy Birthday to my big sister.

#11 in progress. One more movie before March Madness. Liked the Winter’s Bone. The teenaged main character definitely deserved her Oscar nod. 

#11 in progress. I really wanted to like this, but it just didn’t work.

My little bunter/speedster played her roll and helped Montclair win their first tournament of the season. 

I knew this was the year to go to the Big East Tournament in NYC.  Every time I go, the Warriors lose the first game.

Had a great dinner at Tomiko and Pierre’s.  Lots has changed since their wedding a couple of months back, but nothing greater than the news that there will be three of them before their one year anniversary. 

#93 done.  After a quick trip to the office on a 85 degree Saturday, we finally decided to try the exotic sausage house, Wurstküche, located in the historic downtown arts district.  Once I saw the menu, I knew it was now or never for #93.  I chose the Rattlesnake & Rabbit sausage, mainly for the irony.  Paired with a german wheat beer and Belgian fries, it was actually quite good. Tasted like chicken. 

The circle of life.

Rattlesnake eats Rabbit.

Man cooks Rattlesnake that ate Rabbit.

Man eats Rattlesnake & Rabbit.

Montclair Prep’s softball season started, but unlike their soccer team, Montclair is expected to contend for the division title. Brittany is the starting 2nd baseman/left fielder. Oh, and club soccer started on Thursday, so lots of shuttling around. Love those gas prices.

Another downtown discovery. Sonia found the wholesale distributor for kumamoto and kusshi oysters.  We usually pay $35 to $40 bucks for a dozen, but yesterday we bought five dozen for $66 clams.

Happy Birthday to my Brother-In-Law, Tom. Hopefully, you are treated to a meal you deserve.

February Recap.

It was a short, but sweet month. Cold, too. It actually snowed in parts of L.A. for a hot second.  It was also a busy month at LA Fashion Insider, Inc. as we get ready to launch our line. Hopefully it’s a successful endeavor because we’ve operated at a loss for the third month in a row. Kumamoto oysters are expensive.  At least we’re down to paying for only one set of braces. 

What’s done…

#30. Bought a new fridge.  Even put some food in it.

#72. Enjoyed Valentine’s dinner at Comme Ca. 

#77. Filled a few garbage bags worth of clothes and shoes. As it is with my writing, nothing is more satisfying than editing.

#89. Louboutins for Sonia. She made me aware that I have bought her a pair in Paris, London and LA and that we should keep the trend going. Pfff.

#97. Ate a fine meal at A.O.C. 

What’s In Progress…

#2. Our humble little line is now sold in ten stores. I’d love to double that this month.

#4. Haven’t tried this yet, but my Aunt Ona shoots me an email after every dinner or purchase post. 

#6. Packers are World Champs. I must take advantage of this and create some momentum.

#7. Our scale’s batteries died so I have no idea how much weight I’ve put on since the last weigh in at 170.  However, I am certain that I would be pretty disgusted with myself.  I’m guessing north of 175.

#10. Like I said, third month in a row at a loss. Going to have to make a quick turnaround. 

#11. Liked the King’s Speech a lot. Can’t believe I’ve only seen two movies this year.

That’s it for now. March on.

My daughter chose Kusshi oysters as her braces off dinner, so no complaints from Sonia and me.

I’ve always wanted braces.  Dentists have been pushing me to get them since I was ten years old. But after seeing what Sonia and Brittany have endured, I will gladly keep my crooked teeth.  Looks good on you though, Brit.

After…

Before…

I agree with most reviewers of the Oscars that described the telecast as blase.  The hosts failed to make the event “younger” or “hipper”, in fact, they just failed. I think the awards went to the right people for the most part, but there was hardly a stand out moment.  

On a personal front, it was the first time that I watched the red carpet pre-show and didn’t envision walking down it. That’s not to say my movie making career is finished, it just means that I am uninterested in “The Life”.  My goal to make “Cheeseheads” is as strong as ever. I think my biggest problem the last eight or so years was that I was an “insider”. I had managers and an agent from a major agency that represented hundred million dollar actors and directors. I spent my days driving around town meeting with well connected development executives who had no intention of making a small quirky dramedy. Hollywood doesn’t make the kind of movies I write, they buy them from outsiders after they are already made and well received at the festivals. So, that is what I will do. I fired my representation the Hollywood way, we just stopped taking each other’s calls. So, now I’m officially an “outsider”. I will make the movie that I want to make with no expectations or desires of it leading to fame, glitz, glamour or ridiculous profits.  Well, maybe the profits. After all, I am a corporate CFO now.

#89 done.  Visited Christian Louboutin near the HIlls of Beverly and made good on that Valentine’s Day present for Sonia. 

#97 done. Lucques is one of my favorite L.A. restaurants, so it was a no brainer that we had to try its sister restaurant, A.O.C. The concept is small plates and paired wine. Everything was very good. The clams in a sherry wine sauce was the winner. 

#2 in progress. Added Louisiana to the list.  We’re still in soft launch mode, so we’re only selling to our buying agency clients. We hope to officially launch the line at the end of March.

#98 in progress. 4th restaurant with a kumamoto starter.

Finally, a quality road win. We may just make the tourney after all.