Wear it like Snookie

Crooked Monkey didn't waste any time pumping up for the Jersey Shore. Graphic tees in homage to MTV's beachfront social situation are available with different slogans for allayous. Shirts for men and women are currently on pre-sale.

CityShopGirl's Birthday Party

First off, I must apologize for a very tardy post and then also for not posting much of anything at all. It is awful when things like travel, work and family get in the way of blogging.

Saturday night started off with a lively cocktail party for those of us who ventured out to Lotus Lounge to celebrate Kelly Collis Fredrick's first year as publisher of CityShopGirl and the culmination of her enterprising citywide Scavenger Hunt in which subscribers gathered items from local businesses from clues on CityShopGirl emails, Facebook and Twitter. Sara Damelio of Skincando, who partnered with Kelly for the Scavenger Hunt, was there with a supply of Combat Ready Balm. We gave a $5 donation to help supply our troops with the soothing balm and also got a raffle ticket. Though I was in Japan for most of the Hunt, I did enter the raffle--and WON A PRIZE! YAY! Two free deep conditioning treatments at de la ines salon worth $50 each. Micha Weinblatt of Crooked Monkey (who recently had his own fab party) came with his roommate to wish Kelly well. Stylists from Bella Bethesda
Salon did makeovers and hair. I mostly sat at the bar and gossiped with my friend, Zena; Kelly worked the gig all night in stunning skin-tight leather pants. As she walked by, someone whispered, "She's a mom with two kids, you know." Ya know--so am I. But I looked as though I was separated at birth from my pal Zena Polin, who also chose to wear a print jersey dress and black boots. Great minds! The grand prize winner of the scavenger hunt was VERY happy to receive over a gift basket with over $2,500 worth of prizes. Wow! Congrats Kelly! Congrats Sara! You pulled off a massive undertaking supporting our local businesses as well as our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. And we loved the party too!!

CityShopGirl Citywide Scavenger Hunt!

CityShopGirl is turning 1 in October! And like most birthday parties, fun and games are involved. But this one, a scavenger hunt, involves the entire metro area, a good cause and fantastic prizes. To join the fun, you must 1. Subscribe to CityShopGirl  2. Follow the clues on @cityshopgirl on Twitter and CityShopGirl emails  3. Show up at the cocktail party at Lotus Lounge Oct. 17 when the winners will be announced and the prize, worth over $2,500, awarded. The creative and enterprising team of Bethesda native Kelly Collis Fredrick, publisher of CityShopGirl, and Sarah Damelio of organic skincare company Skincando teamed up to promote local businesses and support Skincando's Operation Sand Flea. MoCo participants include Ginger, Urban Chic, National Jean Company, De La Ines Salon, ILORI, Sweetgreen, Still Point Spa, Red Dog, Crooked Monkey and LA Boxing, plus more from DC. There will be a suggested donation of $5 (and well-deserved) at the party to support Skincando's Operation Sand Flea, which sends burn- and itch-relieving Combat Ready Balm to our troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Subscribers can sign up as individuals or a team (up to 4 members) by emailing rsvp@cityshopgirl.com

Crooked Monkey Gets Graphic

Oooh, after a long horrible technology drought, I'm back on the keys with lots of catching up to do. First off, must tell about the uber-hip fete Sunday night local T-shirt company Crooked Monkey hosted downtown in a top-secret warehouse location. The invite--a blank t-shirt with the details on the back that arrived with a bag of candy bananas--was the tip-off that the night would be unique. And it was. Company owner Micha Weinblatt treated a group of writers, bloggers, social butterflies, friends and family to vodka cocktails, DJ spun tunes, a much-loved photo booth and a little art-in-progress as we saw our white t-shirts folded into squares and hung into a blank canvas for an artist to make into a giant monkey graphic. Which leads nicely into the point of the evening--the launch of the Crooked Monkey graphic t-shirts, which we absolutely love. No words, just design. Edgy as always. Look for a Crooked Monkey to appear in the new Twilight movie, Eclipse. You can find the T-shirts at Urban Outfitters, Nordstrom, Fred Segal and Lord & Taylor too. Our local boy is hitting the big time. Hey Micha, when will we see Vincent Chase with the Monkey on his back??


Our tees are hung on the wall and made into a graphic design--a monkey, of course.


Micha; The King of Top & me; Glamazon Makeda Saggau-Sackey with a monkey on her back.