Credit Crunch? Nah.

Defying the current credit crunch, people with mega-money are paying $25,000 per night to stay at the decadent Dubai hotel Atlantis The Palm.

The $25,000-per-night 3-bedroom suites come complete with a gold-leaf, 18-seat dining table and giant glass wall-turned-fish tank which holds some 65,000 fish, stingrays and other sea creatures.

Dolphins have been flown in from the South Pacific to provide guests with mesmerizing underwater world views from their suites. The latest in Persian Gulf excess, the 113-acre resort was built on an artificial island in the shape of a palm tree.

Wow.

This and other great stuff on trendhunter.com.

Tees For Change

TODAY MATTERS. That's the phrase that was on the shirt that Tees For Change recently sent to us. Tees For Change focuses on the power of positive thinking. Their tees, made from eco-friendly materials such as organic cotton and bamboo, sport phrases such as "practice kindness," "laugh often" and "choose happiness." Besides being oh so very comfortable, the Tees For Change are a nice reminder to live life with passion, purpose and positivity.

Visit www.TeesForChange.com for more information.

Class

My brother sent me this great article this morning entitled: Class. I thought it was spot on, and couldn't come from a better source. Thanks, Joe.

CLASS

Class never runs scared. It is sure-footed and confident. It can handle whatever comes along.

Class has a sense of humor. It knows that a good laugh is the best lubricant for oiling the machinery of human relations.

Class never makes excuses. It takes its lumps and learns from past mistakes. Class knows that good manners are nothing more than a series of petty sacrifices.

Class bespeaks an aristocracy that has nothing to do with money. Some extremely wealthy people have no class at all while other who are struggling to make ends meet are loaded with it.

Class is real. You can't fake it.

The person with class make everyone feel comfortable because he is comfortable with himself.

If you have class you've got it made. If you don't have class, no matter what else you have, it doesn't make any difference.

- Author unknown

Random Acts of Kindness

You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience
in which you really stop to look fear in the face.
~Eleanor Roosevelt

On my walk to the ferry the other day, I came across this random pink ribbon on a pole at the pier. I couldn't help but wonder who took the time to put it there and what their intention behind the random act was. To me it triggered an automatic feeling of immense gratitude that lies deep within me, as I am a breast cancer survivor (almost 5 years now!).

So, I took a quick snapshot of it from my Blackberry and decided to post it on the blog. To all my wonderful female friends, please get your annual mammograms. That's the only reason my cancer was found - and possibly the only reason I'm still walking to tell about it.

And the next time you see a random little reminder - share it with us. It's good juu juu for everyone.

To my bosom buddies everywhere who may be suffering from this challenging disease...as Winston Churchill said, "Never, never, never give up."

Awaiting the coconut bra pics...in the meantime, April rocks.

Every once in awhile you find someone that just 'clicks' - with your ideals, your humor, your quality, and even your quirks. We have been so fortunate to find that person in April Greer - photographer extraordinaire. She is the real deal. Amazingly (capital 'A') talented, fun, honest, hard-working (capital 'H'), and we have been honored to work with her on our most recent wedding. Our couple - Sean & Avanie have been more than a delight to work with. Residing in Denmark, much of our correspondence over the past 14 months has been via email and conference calls - and the results of all the communication was an absolutely amazing wedding that took place last weekend in Seattle.

The happy couple is now honeymooning in Maui (and have promised to send photos of them wearing coconut bras and grass skirts).... It is this type of wedding that makes our job such a joy. We'll post the wedding photos when they are available, but in the meantime, please take a look at the following entry which is straight out of April Greer's awesome blog:

8.31.2008

avanie + sean

meet avanie + sean, they flew in from denmark for this session. and the bridal shoot. and the wedding. For those of you who heard about the couple that 'vaccuums together' this is the couple! They are just as adventurous and spontaneous as they look. I'm not shitting you. Their energy levels are phenomenal. This couple kept me on my toes. The e-session was 95% photojournalistic. In Avanie's words: Denmark is the shittiest small country in Europe. She doesn't say much, but when she does, its to be remembered well. Joe Buissink reminded us in a seminar once: 'followers like to be lead, leaders like to be followed.' I had so much fun following Sean + Avanie. Following people is unusual. I like it. As you can see by the sky....it was a typical Seattle day. To the non-Seattlite readers: if you have the chance to shoot here, the clouds will be your friend. The effects offer some of the most eccentric lighting. Reflections bouncing off buildings, diffused everywhere.

A little break in the clouds...

Love Sean's wild 'man-hair.'

suggestive+ fresh.

held close to the ground

whoa baby.

Sean is talkative and physically expressive. Avanie is a good listener.

Such a beautiful exotic face.

she cannot stop smiling when he's around. a happy wife = a happy life.

Sean + Avanie :Thank you so much for allowing me into your
life as a photographer. It means so much to me to get up close & personal.
Wishing you many happy, happy years together!




Mahalo, S&A. Safe Travels home.

Maude May & her beautiful 'Baby Mama' shower tags...

Maude May - Good Taste Events' Creative Director - designed these adorable place cards for a client's upcoming baby shower at a private club in Seattle. The baby blue, pistachio and ivory color palette compliment the party decor. One of the event's planned activities will utilize tiny wooden clothes pins that Maude hand-stamped with the word 'baby'.

They say that "Babies are God's opinion that the world should go on." We couldn't agree more.

Our prayers for a safe and uneventful delivery, little one.

True wedding beauty....

Wow. When you take a beautiful bride-to-be, the most talented hair/makeup artist I've known, and one of the country's top photographers, the results are amazing....as you can see from the gorgeous shot above.

April Greer - fabulous person and photographer extraordinaire - shared this preview of this bridal fashion shoot of our beautiful (inside and out) bride, Avanie. Makeup and hair were done by the ultra-talented Erin Skipley and the photos were taken at the lovely Alexis hotel in downtown Seattle.

We are so excited for the wedding next week (and the additional pictures!), and are honored and blessed to be surrounded by such amazing friends who also happen to be clients and fellow vendors. They say that if you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life. How appropriate in this case.

PS. Sean, you are one lucky man. :)

Tryst at Wynn Las Vegas rocks.

Good Taste Events was again honored at the opportunity to manage the annual Microsoft event at NAB2008 in Las Vegas. This year the event was co-sponsored by Ascent Media and held at the amazing and beautiful nightclub, Tryst at the Wynn.

Add some great lighting, entertainment, gorgeous dancers, delicious food & drink and you've got a party that will be hard to beat in 2009! (But don't worry.... we already have some great ideas in mind!)

those darn details again....

Enough said....

If we couldn't laugh...

Today I had a moment when I almost took my beautiful and precious and quite expensive PC and tossed it off the ferry into the Puget Sound. I am not kidding. I learned that threatening or swearing at a piece of equipment does nothing for its speed or accuracy. I also decided that the US Coast Guard would be suspicious of my angry technological gesture.

So, after a very frustrating day, it was great to calm down with my husband on the ferry (it's the greatest people watching on earth), put the top on the car down for our commute home, pop in my favorite Eva Cassidy CD, and count my Blessings. I have a fabulous husband and home, a job I love, a great team, amazing friends and family and thankfully we all manage to laugh every day. I always have to re-learn to keep things in perspective....

I've spent the past several hours 'cleaning up' my PC and came across some of these pictures that depict some of the fun we have at our office on a daily basis. As I spoke lovingly to my PC this evening, I couldn't help but chuckling about the day and recalling one of my very favorite quotes "If we couldn't laugh, we would all go insane."

Amen, Jimmy B.