Heinz hired a new ad company to launch their new deli mayo.  The company came up with a funny TV spot, but it has sparked controversy because it shows ….are you ready?…two men…aparantly married and raising children…kissing!

Not making out.  Not having sex.  Just a little “I’m heading to the office, see you later” kiss.

I always forget that there are some people that think “the gays” shouldn’t have families and can’t be “normal,” so this kind of thing always seems like a tempest in a tea pot to me.  As a hairdresser (and a theater major) I may have met a few of “the gays” in my time.  And some of them have families.  So it just doesn’t seem strange to me.  (I am always excited when kids have two parents of any gender because it is WAY HARD to do it alone.)

So, without further ado, here is the link to the silly little video.  Don’t watch it if it is going to upset you.

There.  You have been warned.  And don’t bother leaving any cranky remarks about how gays getting married will be the end of civilization as we know it.  To do so would be assuming that I thought the way things are is good and should be preserved.  Go bark up a different tree.

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Courtesy of Ed’s Diner

I hear the Proctor Farmer’s Market has lots of food (ingredients, not prepared) items, but it is Saturday and you know where I am on Saturdays.  There is one downtown on Thursdays, but in the middle of the day.  I don’t have a scheduled lunch hour (hairdressers every where are laughing now…lunch hour…ha ha ha!)

So, much to my delight I hear we have another market on the horizon.  Tuesdays.  In the evening.  When people are off work.  And it’s right in my neck of the woods at 6th and Pine (Starbucks, Engine House, Masa, etc.)

And, even better, I hear it will be lots of food type vendors and fewer flowers and crafts.  (No, I have nothing against flowers and crafts, but I like food better!)

Maybe I’ll see you there!

Read more about it (and the cheese lady in the picture) here.

And get more specifics from the offical 6th Ave Farmer’s Market website here.

I read a lot of blogs about happiness and personal growth, etc.  This video popped up on one called Shapely Prose. If you are (or know someone) who is fat, check this out.  If you are just generally dissatisfied with your body and can’t accept yourself, check it out (and read my book! )

For the record, I have been thin.  I know what it takes to be thin.  I am not interested.  I disagree with the statement “nothing tastes as good as thin feels.”  I am perfectly content with who I am at this place in my life. If my size becomes a barrier to my desired lifestyle, I will do something about it.  In the meantime, I am fat and happy.  I wish the same for all of you.

How cool would it be to have a pair of flip flops in every color of the rainbow to match every outfit?  How about if it was one shoe, but with interchangable decorative bits?

Watch the video and order online or find a retailer, all the while asking yourself why you did not think of this brilliant idea.

I don’t think that anyone necessarily plans to be alone and lonely; sometimes it just happens. Perhaps it’s because they got caught up in a career race, or they live somewhere with a limited dating pool. Maybe they’ve been dating the wrong person, they’re divorced, or perhaps it’s because they have simply postponed couplehood until nearly everyone they know is paired up, and the ones who aren’t simply don’t look appealing. However it happens, there comes a day when as satisfying as being a singleton may have been, they suddenly realize that they…are lonely.

My friend Judie at Gear Diary is doing a series about online dating.  She is a grown woman, with a grown child, and a growing business.  She would like to have some companionship, as would, I am sure, many of you.

She has published the first in a five part series. This one is about how she is choosing which service to use.

Part 2 is about writing your profile. (I will add links to the remaining posts as I get them.)

My favorite online dating comment is from a client.  She sent an email to eHarmony after having used their service for a few months.  It went something like this:

I did as you asked.  I filled out all the forms and was completly honest.  I am pretty sure I told you that I am really shallow and that looks are improtant to me.  Why do you keep sending me ugly men?

Why didn’t I think of this?

See the whole menagerie here.

Do you fantasize about what it would be like to be a celebrity?

I am happy being under the radar because I couldn’t bear the paparazzi, but the perks wouldn’t be all bad.

What would you like the most?  Glamour magazine asked women what they would most want and you can read the results here.

While at work Saturday I got a bee in my bonnet and decided I would make sangria to celebrate the Memorial Day holiday.  I also pondered if such a thing could be made with sparkling wine.  A few minutes of googling found many recipes for Cava Sangria.  (Sangria is a Spanish beverage and Cava is the name for Spanish sparkling wine.)

As usual, I digested all of the recipes and devised my own version.  First step: text hubby to put some bubbly in the fridge.  He did, but I was surprised that I still had a $50 bottle of Moet in storage and that’s the one he put in.  I decided to save that for something else and used a $15 bottle instead.  (Many of the recipes called for a “cheap” bottle, but I didn’t want to try that this time.  Maybe next time we’ll try Cook’s.)

First stop after work: liquor store.  I don’t keep brandy on hand.  Boy howdy, the liquor store was packed!  Clearly people were planning for a long weekend of celebration.  As I perused my choices of Brandy, I was less than thrilled.  There seemed to be two choices.  Really cheap and really expensive.  I decided to go with the Calvados, liking the idea of it being made from apples, but unsure if the flavor would come through.

Next stop: Tacoma Boys for fruit & juice.  Straberries, nectarines (too early for good peaches) and fresh mint (which was hiding and causing me great frustration since this store was also very crowded!) The recipes had called for either white grape or orange juice (one called for lemon lime soda, yuk!) but I chose pear.

1 handful of mint leaves, torn

one nectarine, sliced

6 strawberries, sliced

8 oz Brandy

8 oz pear juice

1 bottle of chilled bubbly

Stir in the pitcher and serve over ice.

I made this batch with a rose sparkling, so the color is pinker than you will get if you use a white.

The drink improved in flavor as the evening progressed, so I made an additional batch of fruit, Brandy and juice and refrigerated it overnight to have Sunday.  (I am still pondering whether to add red or white to this batch.)

To be nice to my teenage daughter, I made her a glass with fruit, mint, pear juice and club soda.  She said it was “da bomb.”

We get new clients all the time.  It’s great.  Some fresh meat perspective for the salon is always welcome.

Since we have a big online presence, it’s where the new clients find us if they weren’t referred by a current client.

Today’s new client is a bit of a transient, having lived in Pasadena for the past few months.  She’s a singer/actress/dancer, so I began by asking her all the questions I ask performers:

Do you have a head shot that we need to match? (No.)

What image are you selling? (Wholesome.)

What are you auditioning for next? (Leaving for India tomorrow with her brother who is also a singer.)

So we took her “I live in LA” hair and made it less blonde and more “I don’t color my hair, I have just spent time on the beach.”

She’s a cutie-patootie.  Her brother is 18 and she has been traveling with him here and there as his career winds its way around the world.

We talked about family and how silly 18 year old boys are and how they think they are so smart and so grown up.

As we are just finishing up, I ask her if she or her brother have a website and if I googled them would anything come up.

She says: You probably know him.

I think: I don’t really know many Indian/Italian 18 year old boy singers.

She says: His name is Sanjaya.

You can watch their audition video here.

When you are in the salon, you may feel like you are in a different country where a different language is spoken. Hairdressers speak a language of color that may be unfamiliar to you if you have had no art training.

I found this amazing, in-depth article at Colour Lovers that explains the color wheel (the basis of all the work we do with hair color.)

Not only will this help you understand what we mean when we talk about your hair, it will help the next time you need to pick paint of fabric for your decorating needs.

The first color wheel has been attributed to Sir Isaac Newton, who in 1706 arranged red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet into a natural progression on a rotating disk. As the disk spins, the colors blur together so rapidly that the human eye sees white. From there the organization of color has taken many forms, from tables and charts, to triangles and and wheels the history.

Read the rest of the article here.

Irvine Robbins, the founder of Baskin-Robbins died last week.  I imagine some of you are more informed than I and knew that he attended Stadium HS and that his first store was in downtown Tacoma.

For those of you who didn’t, click on over and read the article in the Trib for more details.

I haven’t gotten into digital music.  I don’t have an iPod and I don’t want one.

I know.  You are stunned.

How can it be that the girl who so loves technology can be so behind the times in this arena?

Here’s why:

I like the album as a concept.  I like the idea of musicians creating a complete piece of art.  Where one song leads to another and the songs together tell a bigger story.  I was never one to listen to just the “hit” song on an album.  I buy CD’s and if I want, I can copy them to my computer or my PDA.

If all we do in the future is sell individual songs, what motivation is there to create the art that is an album?  I find that sad.  I know that things change.  I know that what I want doesn’t matter and I try not to complain about it.

One thing I particularly love is cover art.  I like having a visual connection to my music.  In the world of the single song, album cover art becomes irrelevant, and that makes me sad, too.

I found an article today by an author who feels my pain but offers hope for the future.

Is Album Art Dying?

The music industry has undergone more drastic changes in the past 25 years then the previous 125 years before. In 1982, the compact disc was introduced to the public and replaced the need for LP’s and cassette tapes. With the introduction of Napster in 1999, music downloading has steadily become the recommended way to obtain music. Consumers no longer have to go to their local record store and buy music; it is now just a mouse click away. Moreover, there is no need to purchase an entire recording as you can now only purchase the tracks you want to listen to.

According to an article posted on Seeking Alpha in January of 2007, digital sales are showing a steady increase while album sales continue to decline. As this digital trend maintains momentum, will the need for album covers eventually be phased out like records were? Is visual art in music packaging dying?

Album art has long been just as important as the music on the record. Can you imagine a different cover for Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon or Nirvana’s Nevermind? The album cover evokes what is inside and you can almost hear the music simply by looking at it.

Read the rest of the article here.

I don’t see how a one inch square photo can give me the same thrill as a big LP did, but I will try to keep up with the times so that you all don’t call me an old fart.

The technology I do like is satellite radio.  We have Click! cable at the salon, I have Sirius in my car and the husband has XM in his.  I like not having commercials, and I like having someone else mix the music.  Not knowing what is coming is interesting to me.

Our good friend Kris found this online and thought we would enjoy it. It is a quiz on iVillage UK.

Kris and I got the same results. Surprise!

Pop over and see what yours is, then comment and let us know your results.

Got $300 bucks sitting around you don’t know what to do with?  Maybe you would like a pair of these.

CAMiLEON Heels: Exercising a Woman’s Perogative to Change Her Mind

Posted on 30 April 2008 by Judie Lipsett

I first saw a post regarding a concept shoe with convertible heels on Book of Joe back in 2005, and now it looks like an easier to operate variation of the same idea has actually come to pass. Say hello to CAMiLEON, a company which produces women’s shoes with heels that can adjust from a pratical walking height of 1½” to a sassy 3¼”.

CAMiLEON’s heels contain “mechanisms that hold it into place for both the high heel and low heel positions and a stainless steel rod, which runs through the entire length of the heel. The portion of our heel that is stowed underneath the arch region of the shoe, when in the low heel position, is actually made out of aluminum. Additionally, every heel is coated with 6 coats of paint, resulting in a beautiful high-gloss finish. While essentially every other brand of high heel shoe attaches its heel to the shoe with nails, or nails and glue, we attach every heel with four screws.”

I took a look at some of the styles offered on their site, and I have to tell you that I like what I see. The Mary Jane shown in the conversion process is actually one of my favorite styles, and I also like the Mariella shown below. I love the idea of a lower heel for daytime that can convert into a dressier heel for evening.

Read more at Gear Diary.

Buy them at Zappos.

We all know that Virtual is the only kind of model I will ever be, but none the less, you can get one that looks like you, too.  (I actually think the face looks more like Carrie than it does like me, but there are only so many choices!)

Here’s the scoop:  You make this creature resemble you as best you can, then you try clothes on it like a paper doll and you can order the clothes right there from places like H&M and Land’s End.  Not too shabby.  Check it out.  It only takes a few minutes.

Remember when I told you about TasteBook?

Want your own, or better yet, need a gift for Mother’s Day?

Gear Diary has a chance for you to win your very own, super cool, customizable cook book. Many of you have seen mine at the salon and know that it is a lovely, quality book. All you have to do to win is click on over to Gear Diary and leave a comment that includes your favorite dish and/or recipe. (At this writing, there are only three comments and there are three codes to give away! Pretty good odds, eh?)

Gear Diary has received codes to create three TasteBooks, and we are giving them away so that you can give mom (or yourself!) a truly personal and tasty gift this Mother’s Day.

Entry is simple - just leave a comment naming your all-time favorite dish. It doesn’t have to be something you actually know how to make - but there will be bonus points if you leave a recipe, or if you post a link back to the contest from your own blog.

The give-away will end on May 1st at midnight CST.

We will be at the Crown Bar on Sixth Avenue at 6:30 - 7:00 (ish).  We have reserved space for the Azarra crew and friends.  We’d love to have you join us, but there are other places you can go that are part of the event.

Participating restaurants

Ah, hair shows.

Much more fun (and much more work!) for the people who put on the show than for the people who attend.

The audience gets to sit for hours and (with any luck) be educated and entertained (I think they call that “infotainment.”) while the staff runs about in controlled chaos making the magic happen. It is a long, exhausting process.

It started Sunday afternoon in Seattle for the model call (that’s where the models come to be screened and consulted so that we can build the show around them.) These were all volunteer models that come from a craigslist post. In stark contrast to many platform artists I have seen over the years, my group will go out of their way to please the models. We want no crying here!

Sunday is also setup day. Pack in all the color and other supplies we will need and take over a hotel guest room to use as the salon.

Monday morning (bright and freaking early) we set the conference room with all the literature, AV equipment, and plastic for the floor of the stage area. Between the guest room and the stage, we use two rolls of plastic sheeting to protect all the floors and furniture. (Getting haircolor on the hotel property means we have to pay to replace it. Yikes!)

Show starts at 10:00 AM. We were setting up at 8:00 AM. We vacated the hotel at 7:00 PM. (And then we went up the road to have a drink and a wrap-up meeting!)

Since I was working the back room at this event, I was able to take pictures of the process. I have posted them (including a number of before and after shots of models) on Flickr (which is completely new to me and I am giving it a try, so I haven’t yet figured it all out).

You can see them here.

I wore myself out just telling you about it! I think I need a nap.

The Azarra staff will be Dining Out For Life next Thursday, April 24.  If you want to join us, we’ll be at the Crown Bar on Sixth Avenue around 6:30 or so.

If you need a list of other places to go, check this out.

Hello Cupcake is one of our neighborhood businesses.  I thought you might like to read this article from Cakespy, a Seattle based blog about cake.

Friday, April 11, 2008

Batter Chatter: Interview with Reina Miller of hello, cupcake in Tacoma, WA

Cakespy Note: This interview also appeared on our Cakespy Seattle outpost!

Let’s face it–between the paper-mill aroma and the collapsing bridges, Tacoma doesn’t have the best reputation. But have you been there recently? Like whoa. Downtown Tacoma has undergone a massive revitalization and has become quite the budding art scene, what with its gorgeous museums, newly-renovated airy artist lofts, and a thriving UW campus. But really, to the Cakespy crew, the most exciting part of this revitalization is hello, cupcake, a cupcake shop whose wares have been aptly described as “coo-worthy”. Walking into hello, cupcake is like becoming a child again: there’s no turning back once you’re greeted by an intricate cupcake mosaic tile design on the floor, on a crash course toward sugar overload…but then again, why would you want to? The cupcakes are not only adorable but delicious, with a tender, moist crumb and creamy, rich frosting which melts oh-so pleasingly in your mouth (not your hand). Recently, we had a chance to talk cupcake with one of the owners, Reina Miller; here’s what we found out about life, love and the pursuit of cupcake nirvana:

Read the rest of the article here.