Doggies On The Catwalk!

Corinna with Osborne

It’s a dog’s life!

Corinna at Doggies on the Catwalk

Friday night I got to strut my stuff at the annual “Doggies On The Catwalk” event, benefitting PALS Atlanta.

Put on my the design students from the UrbanCouture program at Grady Hischool, it featured local celebs, and their dogs, wearing outfits designed by the kids!

All the proceeds go to benefit pets and owners in need, here in the Atlanta area.

Corinna with designer Destini Rhone

My designer was Destini Rhone, who created a stunning full length evening gown for me, and matching vest for my canine escort.

Corinna and Osborne

I don’t have a dog, so my “stunt dog” was Osborne, a 200 pound mastiff.

Take a look at some video from behind the scenes, I think you’ll agree, she did an amazing job!

*And* you can see the entire broadcast on Georgia Public Broadcasting, Wednesday the 20th at 8pm, and Sunday the 24th at 7 pm.

Thanks to James at Carter Barnes from my awsome “high” hair, and Sarah Hoisington for my beautiful make up.

French American Brasserie

Dessert at French American Brasserie

Another year older, another year wiser…

This year I celebrated by birthday in style, at the French American Brasserie in downtown Atlanta.

Such decadence!

We started with a champagne toast, before moving onto a spicy red, selected for us by our host, owner Cindy Brown.

From there, I did my best to answer the question: “Is it possible to have too much of a good thing?”

First, I ordered foie gras — not once but twice.

Really.

I started with an order as an appetizer, and then opted to have a second helping top my filet.

Really.

From there you’d think I know when to say when.

But no.

Cindy strikes again — sending over surf-board sized platter, covered with every dessert you could imagine.

Mais oui!

I focused my attention on the crème brulee, but just in case the tarte and cream puff felt left out, I gave them a little attention, too.

I’d say it’s safe to say I ate enough to feed a small village.

Mmm, come to think of it, that sounds good — maybe somewhere in the South of France?

For the next best thing, check out the French American Brasserie yourself.

You can dress up for their dining room, or wear jeans to belly up to their traditional zinc bar.

Tell them Corinna sent you!

Leonardo Da Vinci at the High Museum

Sketch by Leonardo Da Vinci

Happy New Year everyone!

I started my year off right with a delicious dose of culture — by visiting the new Leonardo Da Vinci exhibit at the High Museum.

I took an engineer friend of mine, who was eager to go because he calls Da Vinci one of the first engineers.

The sketch above is just one example of the great man’s work.

Historians tell us that Da Vinci spent hours studying the mechanics of equine legs and joints, and had planned to cast the largest sculpture ever at the time — a 26 foot tall bronze horse.

Unfortunately, it was never realized, but a modern day replica shows how impressive it would have been.

It’s that horse that greets visitors to the exhibit — and where many people ended up standing in line on Saturday.

Lucky for us I’d reserved our tickets ahead of time, so I was able to skip the line and go strait to Will Call.

I highly recommend you do the same!

Enjoy!

Holiday Visit to Washington, D.C.

Corinna interviewing children at the Blair House

Nothing beats seeing Christmas through the eyes of a child.

And this holiday, I had the huge honor to interview the children of diplomats serving in “unaccompanied’ posts overseas. The posts are unaccompanied, because they’re too dangerous for children. So those families stay home, and often, celebrate the holidays without their loved one.

To help take their mind off it this year, the State Department invited all the families for a holiday visit to the President’s guest house, the Blair House. Located right across the street from the White House, the Blair House is where presidents have entertained their personal guests for the past 200 years.

And this year, our sister publications Better Homes and Gardens and Traditional Home, got to help decorate!

The results were amazing, and just the thing to get us all into the holiday spirit.

The Murphy children

But by far, the best part was meeting the children from the Murphy Family.

12 year old Seamus explained that his dad is in Iraq, “making it a more peaceful place, building hospitals and schools”.

But that means that his dad was gone this holiday season.

Still, Seamus and his sisters were the most happy, articulate children you’d ever want to meet.

To see more of what they had to say, and hear their reaction to holiday decorations, click here.

And to hear from the magazine designers responsible for the beautiful display, click here and here.

Enjoy.

Merry Christmas!

c

Skating at the St. Regis

Corinna Skating at the St. Regis in Buckhead

I don’t know about you all, but I am ready for a break from shopping!

Mall walking is great and all, but if you’re ready for a work out that will really get you in the Christmas Spirit I highly recommend ice skating.

Better Mornings Babes hit the ice

Our annual Better Mornings Christmas outing this year was at the St. Regis in Buckhead, where they’ve set up a skating rink next to the pool!

$30 dollars gets and hour on the ice, complete with rental skates.

And they’ll even bring you hot cocoa at the end!

But the best part for us was the lesson from General Manager Simon Rusconi.

A native of Switzerland, he showed us how to skate with style.

Check out how we did by clicking here!

Scrooge In Rouge

Ghost of Christmas Past

My sides are still hurting today from laughing so hard at “Scroog In Rouge” last night.

Seen Scrooge before? Not like this you haven’t.

Three actors play the rolls of 17 different characters — quite a feat.

But the best part is they include the audience in all the “back stage” antics it takes to pull it off.

Two more costumes

If runs through December 27th at the 14th Street Playhouse.

Do yourself a favor and go!

If Earl Woods were alive today…

Tiger Woods with his father, Earl

“If Earl Woods were alive today, Tiger would not be in the situation that he is.”
That’s the analysis of Atlanta sportscaster Gil Tyree, a man who has spent time with both Tiger Woods and his father over the past 20 years.
“Earl could smell a bad seed a mile off and he protected his ‘Tiger-Cub,’” said Tyree.
This contention is supported by Fred Mitchell, the man who co-wrote Earl Woods’ book “Playing Through”.
In an article for the Chicago times, Mitchell recalls the private planes and security guards that Early Woods employed, and the tight control that he held over Tiger’s inner circle of friends.
In a now prophetic statement, Mitchell quotes Earl Woods as saying, “Athletes are celebrities are human beings. They are going to have arguments with their wives or girlfriends. They are going to make mistakes in judgment.”
By “mistakes in judgment” do you suppose that Earl Woods could have foreseen his son having an affair with a Vegas cocktail waitress that would ultimately culminate in bloody confrontation with his wife in their own driveway?
Again, I have to wonder if the real threat that Earl Woods protected his son against was Tiger himself.
I once interviewed a zoo keeper who looked after bull elephants.
He said that all elephants have a temper, but that the older ones learn to keep it in check. So when a village is trampled, it’s generally in an area where poachers have killed the mature males. With no one to run heard on them, the younger, adolescent males go unchecked. Who else but an older, wiser elephant could stop such a Behemoth?
Recent history is full of examples of young men run amok.
Kanye West was still mourning the loss of his mother when he made the decision to interrupt another performer’s acceptance speech at the MTV Music Awards.
Kobe Bryant was notoriously estranged from his parents when he admitted to a sexual encounter with a hotel clerk that he was accused of raping.
And, of course, there’s Michael Jordan.
James Raymond Jordan was still alive when his son was spotted in an Atlantic City casino the night before an NBA playoff game.
But it wasn’t until after his father passed that rumors of Michael Jordan’s infidelity surfaced, and eventually ended his 17 year marriage.

Again, I wonder, is the role of a parent to protect an exceptional children from the outside world?
Or is it to protect the larger-than-life child from himself.
And when that parent passes, who is left to fill those elephant-sized shoes?
Tiger Woods first played golf with Michael Jordan back in 1997, when the then 21 year old golfer had just won his first Masters.
But in 2007, a year after losing his father, Woods was quoted by the Associated Press as calling Jordan, “an older brother”.
“Because we’re such great friends,” said Woods, “I’ve been able to have a person I can talk to on all these subjects because he basically went through it before me. Next to Muhammad Ali, he’s probably the most iconic figure athleticwise that America has ever had.”
“Athleticwise” there’s no question that Jordan is a giant.
But off the court, without the guidance of a father, Michael Jordan has been known to stumble.
And, if the events that led up to the confrontation in his driveway are any example, then it appears that the same thing can now be said about Tiger Woods.

Holiday Cheer at the St. Regis Hotel

Corinna roasting marshmallows at the St. Regis

When was the last time you roasted a marshmallow?

I did last night at the St. Regis in Buckhead.

I am now so in the Christmas spirit!

They just unveiled their new, temporary skating rink.

And to celebrate, they put out a chocolate spread fit for a king.

St. Regis Marshmallow Tree

A full blown marshmallow tree served as decoration next to the out door fire place.

S'Mores at the St. Regis

But the sugar didn’t end there.

They also busted out all the fixin’s for S’mores!

Hot Chocolate, St. Regis style

And for the bar? Sumptious hot chocolate, St. Regis style, along side of every addition you could think of!

I’ll definitely be back for another dose of holiday cheer!

Shopping for a Cause!

Bloomingdale's Bear on Corinna's Desk

I love the day before Thanksgiving!

Getting ready today took extra long because I couldn’t help myself from chatting with everyone about their holiday plans. We’re all in such a good mood.

And to top it off, this little guy showed up at my desk! The folks at Bloomingdales are so good. First, they provided the clothes for one of our Ambush Makeovers recently. Then they send me this little surprise!

Do I dare take him on the plane with me today? Jennifer Valdez says traffic at the airport is already backed up. This little guy will get me through with a smile! And he’ll be the perfect little snuggle buddy for a long weekend of family, turkey and thanks.

And with Black Friday looming, why not do some shopping for a good cause?

Bloomingdale's 2009 Holiday Bear for JDRF

Spend $18 on a Bloomingdale’s Bear, and know that $5 of it goes to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, or JDRF.

And mark December 11th on your calendar now for a special Children’s Tea Party with the Bloomingdales Bear! 3:30 to 4:30 pm at Lenox, featuring gingerbread house decorating and face painting!

And in the mean time — Happy Thanksgiving and safe travels to all my friends in cyberspace!

Best –

c

Miss USA 2000

Corinna with Lynnette Cole and our makeover winner

It’s not often that you meet a former Miss USA! I met Lynnette Cole today during one of our ambush makeovers.

She’s now the international spokes person for Pur Minerals cosmetics, so she did the makeup.

We ambushed a busy mom, so the Pur Minerals line is perfect for her — foundation, concealer, SPF and finishing powder, all in one product! Add to that some of their silky smooth eyeliner, and a dash from their delicious palate of eye shadows, and she’ll be out the door in no time.

Click here to see the full makeover, complete with some of Lynnette’s expert tips.

Click here to see last week’s ambush.

Love my pink jacket? Designed by girlfriend Vanessa Vinci, right here in Atlanta!