Hair Fashion Music

I just got a cut and color at Flip, the official salon of the Mydols. Irene, the owner, and her assistant, Chelsea, are great, and I get all kinds of compliments on my 'do.

The big news at the salon is an upcoming hair show they're staging to benefit Freedom House Detroit, an organization that helps political refugees assimilate.

Hair Fashion Music, 8 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 14 at Cliff Bells in Detroit, will feature three hairstyle segments - retro, modern and fantasy.

Entertainment includes EsQuire, The Haunted Beat Band, The Hentchmen and DJ Anytime.

Clothing will be provided by Mother Fletchers, House of Chants and local designers Femilia and Wound Menswear.

The setting, styling and performers are sure to be shagadelic, in keeping with the Flip's retro vibe.

The Mydols are looking forward to pairing with Flip to host an event in the spring. In the meantime, we're hoping to make this one a mom's night out!

X-Mas Shopping Made Easy

My sister-in-law is one of those insane shoppers who thinks Black Friday is great fun. This morning she was at Target by 4 a.m. standing in a line that wrapped around the building. When the doors opened, she literally ran for the sale merch, laughing all the way.

I have never been one to take pleasure in elbowing my way to a bargain. I would rather pay extra to avoid just such a scene.

When it comes to Christmas, I have settled on 'theme shopping' to take the stress out of the process. I give almost everyone on my list a variation of the same thing, from engraved fragrances one year to personalized ornaments the next.

Last year, I sewed vintage-inspired aprons for all the girls in the family. The year before that, my husband illustrated a wine label and we made a batch of Merlot at Vine2Wine in Northville. We ordered a case to share with family, and the bottles made great hostess gifts for holiday parties.

This year, I plan to do my theme shopping at the book store, but I'm going to wait until long after the dust settles from today's shopping stampede.

Obama Mama

I am so excited about our next president. Even before officially taking office Barack Obama is already holding press conferences (something Bush hardly ever did), and being honest and straightforward with the American people.
I have never been a Bush-basher, but I have been
Listening to him speak today, I am reminded of the Myers-Briggs Personality Type of the "mastermind." It's someone who is a true leader, a critical thinker who takes the best ideas regardless of where they come from, and discards those that don't work. It's an 'anything to get the job done' mentality. INTJs don't have

Robert Shefman Art Exhibit

We recently attended the opening for painter Robert Shefman's art exhibit Politics and Religion at Robert Kidd Gallery in Birmingham.

Robert is one of my husband's teachers at College for Creative Studies. His work (including "Politics," above) is masterful.

We got to speak to Robert briefly during the reception, and although he was the star of the evening, he graciously paid my hubby (also an artist) the highest compliment, saying Jeff will surpass him one day ... Judging from the quality of Robert's work, Jeff will have to spend a lot of time at his easel to achieve that!

Politics and Religion runs through Jan. 10.

Daisy Rock Sponsorship!

Don't hate.

I'm now a Featured Artist for Daisy Rock Guitars!

To make it official, Daisy Rock has generously given me a guitar!

It arrived at Mydols Headquarters earlier this week and Judy then delivered it to my house. It was like early X-mas as we stood in the kitchen and tore open the packaging to reveal a champagne pink, left-handed Rock Candy bass!

Daisy Rock guitars are designed to be functional for female musicians (lightweight, narrower neck), yet super stylish at the same time. Plus, they sound great. I can't wait for our next band practice so I can give my new bass a full road test.

As a Daisy Rock Featured Artist I am in the company of some amazing women rockers including The Donnas, The Bangles, Joan Osborne, Lisa Loeb, Nancy Wilson, Nina Hagen, Avril Lavigne, fellow journalist Katie Couric, and of course, Mydol Judy Davids.

I promise Daisy Rockers, I'll do you proud!

Violet's Namesakes

Okay, I know Bennifer II (Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner) have a daughter named Violet, but that's not where we got the name.

Our little girl, who turns one month old today, is actually named after Violet Parr of The Incredibles, whose superpowers include turning invisible at will and creating indestructable force fields. Cool.

But Jennifer Garner is cool too, and I'm stoked every time my friend Fayrouz tells me I look like her!

Violet's middle name Jacquelyn is after her paternal grandmother.

First Lady Fashion

A week after Barack Obama's acceptance speech, the black and red Narciso Rodriguez dress Michelle Obama wore is still a topic of conversation. People either loved or hated it.

I, for one, thought it was stylish and splashy, and moreover, completely appropriate for the occasion. The entire Obama family always looks impeccable, with the girls dressed to complement their parents. I can't wait for the pageantry they'll bring to the inauguration.

Speaking of that, the Plymouth Township Historical Museum just staged the most interesting Inaugural Gowns of the First Ladies exhibit. It was a walk through American history via recreations of the garments each first lady wore to her husband's inaugural ball.

I wrote an article about it, which unfortunately contained one of the most embarrassing errors I've ever made in a story! The sidebar, a rundown of "First Lady Fashion Facts," contained this sentence:

"The poor health of Ida McKinley (1847-1907) confined her to bed during her husband’s pregnancy, where she knitted slippers that were auctioned for charity."

Obviously, you can see I had pregnancy on the brain. The worst part is that I caught the error before the paper went to press and had a laugh with my co-worker before I corrected it on my computer screen.

To my horror, I came into the office the next day to find several phone messages from amused readers. Somehow the error crept into about 130,000 copies of Observer & Eccentric Newspapers!

Detroit Fashion Gathering

I am on the board of Fashion Group International's Detroit chapter, and one of my responsibilities is to create invitations for our various events, including our monthly mixers the second Tuesday of every month.

I have been using Jeff's artwork for the invitations. Here's a sample. The next Creative Connection is at 6 p.m. tonight at Small Plates, Royal Oak. If you're interested in the fashion industry in Detroit, please be our guest!

Need A Photog?

My friend, photographer Jeff White, just launched a new website that includes a beautiful gallery of his work.

Jeff specializes in photographing people for commercial, advertising and editorial clients. You will recognize many of his images from the cover of Real Detroit.

I modeled for him once at the Masonic Temple and was flattered to find that he featured a couple of photos from that shoot on his new site.

I was blessed to be captured by such a talented photographer before having two babies. His work serves as my inspiration to get back in shape! It is possible!

Jeff also took the photo of me at the top of this blog. My sci-fi hairstyle is by Trevor Von Buskirk, and my makeup is by Robert Ruffer.

Like Mother, Like Daughter

Here's a photo of me as an infant, circa. 1970s, compared to a photo of Violet at 3 days old. See a resemblance beyond the hair? Violet's getting off to a much cuter start in life than me.

Mydols Pirate Radio

The Mydols song Roller Derby Queen has been featured on the airwaves, podcasts and ringtones. Now it can claim pirate radio exposure too.

Artist Gregory Green (pictured) recently rigged a pirate radio station at MOCAD on Nov. 7, comandeering a frequency on the FM dial somewhere between WRIF and WDET.

Among the audio Green played that day was a piece on the Detroit Derby Girls - featuring Roller Derby Queen - that my husband created for his Sound Design class at College for Creative Studies, taught by Frank Pahl.

The piece also featured 'nat sound' from the Detroit Derby Girls' season opener Nov. 1 at Masonic Temple, when the Detroit Pistoffs beat the Devil's Night Dames.

Trick or Treat

Spiderman and Catgirl got plenty of loot on Halloween!