Linda ImmediatoAfter my dinner debacle last week (see my last post) I was ready for a little plushness and pampering, and I got a lot of it with three Alexis Carrington-style days filled with diamonds and pearls, limos and lots 'o champagne.
A burly Men In Black-looking bodyguard stood by the door at Erica Courtney's pre-Oscar party last week, guarding millions of dollars in bling that sparkled from gleaming cases throughout the Beverly Blvd. store.
The pearl-themed bash unveiled Courtney's new “Mystery of the Black Pearl” line with spiked bubbly (an iridescent powdery substance was poured into each glass) and goody bags that included pearly nail-polish and a shimmery candle from Illume. As I admired the beautiful jewels at the event (which was basically a preview soiree for celebs and their stylists to check out and plan for their Academy Awards ensembles… actress Alfree Woodard was there… love her!) I thought back to my own jewelry- making days. See, I used to have my own line and for a short time, and I even worked for Courtney, though it was way before she started doing the pricey diamond stuff for the likes of Julia Roberts, etc. or had a second store next to the Ivy on Robertson Blvd. I miss creating beautiful, unique things for people to wear, but who has the time these days?
The party was fun and the food divine…okay I'm a little biased as my hubby's company Deuce catered the event. I got to sneak back to the prep area and pig out on savory and sweet treats like mini-creme brulees and yummy shrimp spring rolls. No wonder I can't lose those five extra pounds huh?
Well I think I definitely overdid it 'cause the next day was my big limo experience (Hard Rock Hotel is opening a new space in San Diego and they sent a black stretch to pick me, and just me, up!). Ginger Goldmine accompanied, and we were stoked to see the shiny monstrosity roll up my Silver Lake street, that is until we got going and the ride made me totally nauseas! So much so, I had to have our {hot} limo driver Sal stop about half way there so I could toss my cookies in a Vons bathroom.
Anyway, we stayed at the Omni hotel which was just as beautiful as the one in LA but with a more reliable restaurant, McCormick and Schmidt's. Turns out the Hard Rock isn't even built yet… though we did get a great view of the hard hats toting wood planks around the lot where it will be from our hotel window.
There's nothing like blasting great tunes and getting all dolled up in a leisurely manner with your girlfriends. It's a ritual I relish sometimes even more than the event I'm getting ready for. Maybe I've watched too many makeover shows but I really get a kick out of the transformation process. I think I even try to look especially grungey (see icky photo, ok I think I had just barfed though) the day of a big event so the “before” and “after” is more dramatic.
Anyway, Ginger wore this gorgeous Marc Jabobs frock with (vintage) fur and pearl-embellished heels while I went for one of my newer Furstenburg wrap dress and silver platforms (after visiting the store with Steffie last week, I'm all about the DVF again). Now we looked like we belonged in our limo.
Sal dropped us off right in front of the red carpet, so of course the paparazzi were stumbling over themselves to find out who we were.
Geesh. I could never be a celebrity. I hate when people stare! But Ginger, ah Ginger, she worked it, getting out of the limo all slow and sultry. Just then, she had a wardrobe malfunction!
No, not a Janet Jackson or Tara Reid-type catastrophe. Her shoe broke. Suddenly a Carson Kressley lookalike -who has a show on the Style Network, he said- came to her rescue, tying the strap around her ankle and making some kind of intricate boyscout type knot (don't ask, don't tell!) “I did this for Sarah Jessica Parker once!” he bragged.
So the bash was fun I guess. Loud. Packed. And filled with blondes, blondes, blondes! The Ying Yang Twins got crunky and Hoobastank got stanky. Funny thing is the lily white ladies there (and there were many) were definitely more into rubbing rumps to the crunk than shakin' boobs to the Hoob. I mean these bleached babes knew every nasty-ass Ying Yang rap and rant! They were so into it that they started bumping into us with their booties quite aggressively below the stage. It was a little too much for us glamour girls to take, so Ginger and I retreated to the downstairs area of the club, called On Broadway, in a quest for a more opulent environment and we found it, sipping champagne and munching on chocolate covered strawberries. Yeah it was great, but we were pretty much done after that… and hungry for real food since we hadn't had dinner. We wanted to pull a Mary Kate and Ashley, and take the limo through a Taco Bell drive-thru but we couldn't find one, so we settled for a pizza joint on the way back the hotel.
I had a sicky stomach on the ride back to LA the next day too! Might have been all champagne and snackin,'' but I just think I OD'd on too much fabulousness. Guess I'm just not the Dynasty type….See my Nightranger column tomorrow for more reportage on the Hard Rock event.
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