LE Buzz:Historic Sweets Ballroom in Oakland

I love my city. I’m a child of Oakland. And we have some wonderful place to hold your events and meetings. One of the oldest in the city is Sweet’s Ballroom in Downtown.

Sweets Ballroom has been around since the Big Band days. The building’s birth began in 1923 and was built by Mr and Mrs J.E. Hassler for the small investment of $8,000. WOW! But it had four other sisters sites that have long since passed into history.

This ballroom has had many names:

From 1924-1933 it was “Sweet’s.”
From 1933-1943 it was “McFadden’s.”
From 1943-1953 it was “Linn’s.”
From 1954-1979 it was “Sands.”

During its heyday, it has seen the likes of Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Jimmy & Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, Duke Ellington, Harry James and many others. Can you imagine being in this spot listening to the greats back in the day? Check out this pic from Sweets Ballroom circa 1930

The ballroom today

But then it went quite until February 1998 when it was reborn. And this place is HUGE. It holds up to 900 people standing and around 600 or so for sit down dinner. Check out the slide show here http://www.historicsweetsballroom.com/venue.html

I have an event coming up and I think that I want to use this space and I’m sure that some of my clients will want to do the same.

Just wanted to share a lil bit about my city and some of its treasures.

Crocheted Bridal Gown

Its me again….

OK I have a sista friend who love to crochet. I’m totally jealous cause she does great work and I’m ready for her to move back to the Bay and teach me but that’s another story LOL.

Anywho…..

She crocheted this dress that is available, size 7 or so and its beautifully done. Check out the pics. This is the front.

And this is the back…

She says there is a blemish somewhere but I don’t see it. The dress is gorgeous. If your interested in this dress, you can contact Joede at Black Pearl Creations, email admin@blackpearlstyle.com

Just a gorgeous dress!

Bridesmaids Contract..Are they really necessary?

OK I hear about this from a recent Bride who is a friend of a friend. She was telling the group about how she made her brides sign a contract once they agreed to be in her wedding.

(Insert look of shock here) Is she for real?

But what I’m hearing is that several brides are getting their bridesmaids to do this and they have requirements that they want their brides to keep such as:

* hair length and color
* weight restrictions
* nail length/color
* to attend all meetings/fittings
* not to bring “negative energy”
* deadline for dress purchase etc.

I’m thinking has it really gotten to this point? What is going on with the folks that have been chosen that makes this even necessary? I want to hear your thoughts? Is this a good or bad thing?

Oh wait, I have even found a website where you can send the contract to your bridesmaids electronically and you get your own personal website where they can respond. Check out http://bridesmaidcontract.com/

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

From TheBreastCancerSite.com

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women and the second leading cause of cancer death (exceeded by lung cancer in 1985). Breast cancer is three times more common than all gynecologic malignancies put together. The incidence of breast cancer has been increasing steadily from an incidence of 1:20 in 1960 to 1:7 women today.

The National Breast Cancer Foundation estimates that each year over 200,000 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed and over 40,000 patients will die from the disease. Breast cancer is truly an epidemic among women and we don’t know why.

“When breast cancer is found early, the five-year survival rate is 96%.” —National Breast Cancer Foundation

Breast cancer is not exclusively a disease of women. For every 100 women with breast cancer, 1 male will develop the disease. The National Breast Cancer Foundation estimates that approximately 1,700 men will develop the disease and 450 will die each year. The evaluation of men with breast masses is similar to that in women, including mammography.

The incidence of breast cancer is very low in a person’s twenties, gradually increases and plateaus at the age of forty-five, and increases dramatically after age fifty. Fifty percent of breast cancer is diagnosed in women over sixty-five, indicating the ongoing necessity of yearly screening throughout a woman’s life.

Breast cancer is considered a heterogeneous disease, meaning that it is a different disease in different women, a different disease in different age groups, and has different cell populations within the tumor itself. Generally, breast cancer is a much more aggressive disease in younger women. Autopsy studies show that 2% of the population has undiagnosed breast cancer at the time of death. Older women typically have much less aggressive disease than younger women.

Facts
Every two minutes a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer.

One woman in eight who lives to age 85 will develop breast cancer during her lifetime.

Breast cancer is the leading cause of death in women between the ages of 40 and 55.

Seventy percent of all breast cancers are found through breast self-exams. Not all lumps are detectable by touch. We recommend regular mammograms and monthly breast self-exams.
Eight out of ten breast lumps are not cancerous. If you find a lump, don’t panic-call your doctor for an appointment.

Mammography is a low-dose X-ray examination that can detect breast cancer up to two years before it is large enough to be felt.

When breast cancer is found early, the five-year survival rate is 96%. This is good news! Over 2 million breast cancer survivors are alive in America today.

For more information, go to http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/ and while your there, click to give mammograms. Oh and make sure to see your doctor about getting a mammogram yourself. Protect your health.