"Film Night in the Park" returns this weekend with Blake Edwards‚ 1961 classic BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S, based on the Truman Capote novel of the same name.

The film shows this Saturday, August 19, at 8 pm in Union Square.  No RSVP necessary.  Free outdoor screening.

Go shopping at Tiffany’s in the afternoon, grab a coffee and a cozy bench for the movie!

Bring layers as it has been cool in the evenings. 

I mailed FINAL manuscript yesterday. That was it – all changes, all writing, all information is now locked and loaded – and unchangeable. The next time I see my words, they will be nicely wrapped in a gorgeous 4-color paperback book cover. The permanence of my words began to scare me.  On the way to the post office, the uncertainty devils chased my car as I headed down the road. A mile from the “manuscript drop off point” the demon chatter started. Thoughts with talons ripped through my mind: “Did I include the best information possible? Did I write as well as I could? Will anyone buy my book?” I could not stop them, not evening playing Duran Duran scared them off. 

Then I got to thinking about the last time I felt this way, it was the day I got married for the second time. I guess it’s that feeling of finality mixed with doubt. A very dangerous cocktail, my friend. That, “This is it girl!” feeling. The day of my wedding, the demons chanted rhetoric like: “Did you kiss all the boys you really wanted to kiss? Did you do all those crazy things you dreamt of doing as a sexy single? Because if you haven’t sister–it’s over.”

Oh those doubt devils, they can tear up one’s soul. If I was not fortified with some self-esteem and passion, I’d never get anything done. Doubt is big, fear is disabling, but we have the power to tell those demons to shut the hell up. I realized that perfection is not required. My book does not need to be a literary masterpiece – it’s just my personal views on travel (I do hope you buy a copy). And my marriage, just like all marriages, it’s tough, but I’ll keep on trying (and giving him kisses).

So, girl, if you have a dreams, make your dreams bigger than your doubts.

As for me, I have no regrets.

Natasha Bedingfield’s song has moved me in the past few days. This is a pivotal week and I can feel the change. My FINAL manuscript is due on Tuesday. The next time I see the words that have spilled forth from my heart, they will be in the form of a real book. Also, my researcher Sarah leaves for Italy this week to start her new life. Her life is unwritten, and my book is written. My words are down, unchangeable now; her life is a blank page opening up like French doors onto the Mediterranean. Sometimes I long to be there. Young, free, and unwritten.  I guess everyday is unwritten and I have to enjoy the lines I scribble on the pages of my personal history.

May you find time to write your story in big, beautiful colors - and no need to stay within the lines darling. 

Here’s Natasha’s powerful words…… 

I am unwritten, can’t read my mind, I’m undefined
I’m just beginning, the pen’s in my hand, ending unplanned

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find

Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with eyes wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten

I break tradition, sometimes my tries, are outside the lines
We’ve been conditioned to not make mistakes, but I can’t live that way

Receive a $50 Phoenician Gift Card & Rates from $209 per night!

I stayed at tthe Phoenician last summer and really loved my huge room and the sparkling pools. The Phoenician is on the 2005 Conde Nast Traveler Gold List and I earned lots of Starwood points! The Centre for Well-Being Spa saved me on my last conference day! My feet were burning from the dry heat, cracking, after walking all over the property from workshop to pool to workshop to pool.

The gal and the money I spent on pedicure/manicure was more than equal to a doctors visit. I had considered this due to the possiblty of a sliver of glass imbedded in my heel - and I still had another tradeshow ahead of me in Las Vegas. Her amazing peidcure treatment, the dreamy manicure, my rings cleaned while I soaked, and the wonderful samples made this spa visit literally mind saving. I finished with a refreshing glass of lemon infused water in the cool meditation garden. So consider the deal - there is relief from the heat in the spa!

"Relax in luxurious surroundings this Labor Day Weekend with a stay at The Phoenician. Not only will you enjoy rates from $209 per night, but you will also receive a $50 Phoenician Gift Card per stay. Use this gift card at one of our award winning restaurants, at The Centre for Well-Being Spa and more!

Simply arrive for stays from August 31 through September 4, 2006 to enjoy this exclusive offer." To make a reservation call 1-866-716-8136 and ask for rate code LABORDAY.

Aren’t birthdays just the greatest? My motto is, celebrate long, celebrate often, and don’t forget those unbirthdays!!!

Birthday Part I: Wednesday evening champagne flight at the Ritz. The girls and a guy or two came out to toast my birth. There was a dashing woman on a nearby couch who had to ask if we were in the fashion industry, so dapper were we! When she introduced herself as Joan Coors, I thought she meant the beer. But she was really the mama-san of Michael Kors making an appearance on her son’s behalf at the Neimans downtown. A couple friends and I were planning our Amalfi coast girls’ trip and she recommended staying 2 nights in Capri. You just never know where travel tips will come from!

Birthday Part II: I am off tomorrow seeking the ultimate Diva birthday in Napa. I will overnight at Auberge du Soleil resort and dine at French Laundry tomorrow night with my mom and sister. I am SOOO excited! I’ve never been. We’ll wine taste and spa the next day and just generally pamper ourselves silly.

Stay tuned as the birthday continues!! 

My friend was at JFK this morning watching her toiletries get uncerimoniously dumped in the trash, the posh potions suddenly liberated from their Saks packaging. A woman behind her exclaimed, "There better be a Kiehl’s in Waco cause I just lost $200 worth of shampoo!"

I think we can all relate to the sad loss of our liquid gold nectars of youth and beauty. Mothers forced to taste their own breastmilk as proof to security personnel? We’re lucky we were all allowed to keep traveling in shoes after the infamous boot-bomb plot.

So here’s the latest travel advice. And here’s hoping that those die-hard travelers among us will stick to our figurative guns and maintain our love for journeying. They can’t take that away from us. Can they? 

As of right now, the U.S. State Department has these warnings:

"NO LIQUIDS OR GELS OF ANY KIND WILL BE PERMITTED IN CARRY-ON BAGGAGE. ITEMS MUST BE IN CHECKED BAGGAGE. This includes all beverages, shampoo, suntan lotion, creams, tooth paste, hair gel, and other items of similar consistency.

"Exception: Baby formula, breast milk, or juice if a baby or small child is traveling; prescription medicine with a name that matches the passenger’s ticket; and insulin and essential other non-prescription medicines

• Beverages purchased in the sterile area must be consumed before boarding because they will not be permitted onboard the aircraft.
• Passengers traveling from the U.K. to the U.S. will be subject to a more extensive screening process."

****See www.state.gov and this link for more information. Also check out the latest UK travel rules and regulations as a result of this morning’s very bizarre news. Expect SEVERE TRAVEL DELAYS!!!

I don’t even know what to say anymore. Fearlessly continue to travel in a world of rainbow alerts, and for the love of Elizabeth Arden pack those eye creams!!

… and if you are still willing to fly the paranoid skies, Flight 001’s big sale on fabulous travel goods starts today! Read about this great shop in our Style Section.

Will todays news of thwarted mass murder and horrible emotional lines at international airports deter you? Have you already canceled a flight? Are you in internal alert?
Three weeks til Labor Day and 4 weeks til the 5 year anniversay of 9/11. Has it affected your immediate travel plans?

I don’t speak Spanish that well. As a matter of fact, one could say that I don’t speak it at all. So, when I wan sent a set of Michel Thomas’s Speak Spanish instantly CDs I was not expecting anything amazing to happen. I have taken Spanish at Stanford, gone to Cancun and took classes there, hell, my dad is Mexican. You would this I could speak Spanish. I always thought that I could not learn it because my brain is not wired for learning a language. Lame excuse, I know.

Oh, the main reason I started to use them was because my husband was snoring and listening to Michel Thomas seemed less painful than listening to the snuffleupagus next to me.

But something happened when I listened to these CDs. I started to get it. The guy on the CD explained that basically, we only use 600 active words in any language, of those active words, many sound like English words that we already know. If you learn the Spanish equivalent to the English words, you have a ton of active vocabulary down. Simple, right?

Gosh, by the time I got to Dominican Republic, I had an arsenal of Spanish words ready to go! I don’t think his CD is out yet, I got a preview set to check out (lucky me!)

When they come out, I’ll let you know.

I’m not 20 anymore. Guys do not gratuitously flirt with me now that I am married and in my late thirties. I don’t remember the last time a guy looked at me with boundless passion and undressed me with his eye. Oh, yes, I remember! It was just a few days ago when I was in the Dominican Republic! I went there to check out some of the new resorts they are building and meet with a few important members of their government.

The men on this small, Caribbean island are beautiful. They have skin the color of café au lait and eyes as deep as the sea. Their smiles are intoxicating and the first question they ask you is, “When can we dance?” or “How can I bring you joy?” Really.

The national language is Spanish, and it rolls off their tongues like sweet honey. It is not Spanish spoken in Spain or Mexico. it is the kind of Spanish you would whisper to your lover after a night of passionate lovemaking. It is soft, filled with enough “rrrrrrrr’s” to start a motor, and exceptionally mysterious.

If you just left a bad relationship, or only getting a measly serving of attention in your current relationship - go to the Dominican Republic. Let the men caress you with their gentle words, and if you are not married, let them caress you with more than words. I think us women forget what it is like to be admired and enjoyed as passionate beings. We get so caught up in our lives that we ignore our own desires and secret wishes for intimacy. Even if my time in the Dominican Republic was short, and I am a married woman pushing my way to 40, it was divine to have gorgeous men make me feel wonderful and sexy for a few days.

If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen!. Last week 500+ women took to the streets of Oaxaca, Mexico, banging pots and pans as they marched across town to sieze the state run TV station. They held the emplpoyees captive for about 6 hours while they ran a homemade video of an earlier peaceful protest involving abuse by the local police. The police did not show up at anytime during their protest and siege. What does that tell you?

The women are planning, gathering and acting. This is a heads up sign for me. There is a serious problem growing fast in Mexico.

This is not a time to be in Oaxaca. Tourism is down 75%. Most of the shops are closed. The city is in shambles with spray painted slogans everywhere. You will be haggled by protestors.

Today a human head washed up on the beach in Alcapulco! In Mexico City protestors have turned the Zocolo Plaza into a angry, heaving campground of sorts.

If you are going to Mexico now be sure to read the news of the areas you plan to visit and to be proactive in steering clear of the demonstators.