1688 Hairstudio donates cuts for Ry-Guy

You may remember the blog I wrote a while back about Parkmead coming together to raise money and pray for our neighbor, Ryan McLeod. For context, he is a teenager who suffered a terrible head injury in a skateboarding accident in Tahoe last summer.

He has made a couple of moves since Reno; one to Santa Clara and recently to Bakersfield. They are seeing improvements every day. The latest fundraiser for Ryan and his family came from 1688 Hair Studio, which offered a wash and a cut for $25 and held a raffle at a Cut-a-Thon! On the featured image is the salon owner to the right and on the left is Candace, who cut my hair. The raffle prizes included items from other local businesses, which included Mint 54, Vici, Skipolini’s and Residual Sugar. If you frequented their place of business on the Saturday Cut-A-Thon, they donated 10% of what you bought.

I attended the event and got my hair done to join the efforts at 1688 Salon on Locust. It was a really great event and what a way for 1688 to step up to the plate with this great community fundraiser. The McLeods have been going to this salon for years! I love seeing this community come together; if you need a haircut – give 1688 your business!!!

It’s always scary when someone in your community suffers a tragic event, but the little town of Walnut Creek continues to amaze in its steadfast support of all of its citizens. We’re hoping and praying Ryan’s recovery continues to go well!

Event Round-Up: Dec. 15th

I’m going to keep it super local for the December events this holiday season. After all, isn’t that what the holidays are for? Spending time at home with family and reveling in each other’s company? Well, that and lots and lots of food and cocktails. I’ve got you covered on all fronts here!

Image result for boundary oak golf course walnut creek — Pic: Golf Advisor

Holiday Gala & Fundraiser: Boundary Oak Golf Course – Dec. 20th (Walnut Creek)

Take in a great night for an even greater cause at a premiere venue in Walnut Creek! For $50, entry gets each person a surf and tur dinner, a wine and beer sampling, access to live music, and entry into a live auction and gift boutique. If you bring a new book for ages 0-11, you receive a free raffle ticket! Proceeds go to the Bay Area Crisis Nursery. Register here!

80’s Prom New Year’s Eve Bash: Retro Junkie – Dec. 31st (Walnut Creek)

Now this is what I’m talkin’ about! On New Year’s Eve, you can enjoy live 80’s music all night. There will be a themed photo booth, a midnight countdown and balloon drop, a complimentary champagne toast, and a huge game room with pinball, arcade games, pool, and more! Pizza by the slice and a full bar top things off – but, hurry! Tickets must be bought in advance!

Widmer-World Holiday Fun: Widmer-World – Dec. 1st-31st (Pleasanton)

Everybody loves a good Christmas lights show! If you want a more family-friendly night in the month of December, pop on down to Pleasanton and take in the Widmer-World holiday extravaganza. Their light show is timed to music and the entire place will be covered in holiday cheer! It’s completely free!

Free Admission Day: Bedford Gallery – Jan. 1st (Walnut Creek)

What better way to knock off the New Year’s rust than taking in one of Walnut Creek’s greatest artistic gems for FREE? It’s in the Bedford Gallery on New Year’s Day, which always has really cool, unique installations. I’d highly recommend going if you haven’t already! Take it in from 12-5 p.m. on the 1st.

Altered States Opening Night: Bedford Gallery – Jan. 13th (Walnut Creek)

That’s right! Back-to-back Bedford Gallery exhibitions here. It’s always fun to go to the opening night of a new exhibit, and this one will only run non-members $5. The guest curation from Heather Marx features “artists across generations living and working along the California coast who harness natural elements or the environment to create their artwork.” This sounds pretty neat!

Appreciation Event: A’s vs. Giants ~ Battle of the Bay!

If you’ve been a friend, client, or colleague of mine over the years, you know how much I enjoy my clients and people who have referred me. I try to do a couple appreciation events during the year, ranging from happy hours to full-on parties. Most recently, I threw a little appreciation event by hosting an A’s vs. Giants game!

There were about 20 people at the game, including past clients and sponsors Nancy Glad (Impeccable Interior) and Jason Bringingham (Admiral’s Choice Irrigation). As usual, I gave out some raffle prizes throughout the game, including house cleanings by Impeccable Interior, a goodie bag of peanuts, licorice, popcorn, and other baseball game treats, a bottle of wine and even a Giants panda hat! Funny enough, that prize was won by Sara, an A’s fan.

Jason also contributed $10 each for food and drink. It was an awesome time at the ballpark, we had a mix of A’s and Giants fans, with the Giants winning 5-1. It’s always nice to go out and mingle in a non-business setting with my clients and get to know them even better. As one person noted, it is creating an environment where people can connect with others!

Connecting with people and helping them through the process of buying and selling their homes is one of the reasons I love what I do. Getting to know them in a fun and personal setting builds a friendship. A few of us stayed to experience sitting on the field watching fireworks to 80’s-themed music – well worth the wait in line. The only thing I’d change is maybe doing a Saturday game next time so we can go ahead of time and tailgate!

The pie party was a great success!

Last Tuesday, I hosted a Pie Party as a way of saying thanks to my past clients, referrals and neighbors. It was so fun! We bought 42 pies, had 39 RSVP’s – a few missed the party and thus, five pies were donated to the Trinity Center in Walnut Creek.

Some people didn’t realize we were actually hosting a party too, and just swung by to pick up their pies. Totally fine, but next year, stop in for some holiday cheer!

I can’t thank everyone enough for coming, meeting new people and seeing old acquaintances, and especially for donating to the Trinity Center. Besides the pies, we received cash, checks, gift cards, blankets, coats, socks and hats! What a wonderful way to give back over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Last thing: we had two door prizes raffled off, and it’s time to announce the winners! The winners are:

Amazon Gift Card, donated by Gold Seal Inspections – Teress Deberard
Veuve Clicquot Champagne, donated by JVM – Samantha Okazaki

Congratulations, ladies! Hopefully, everyone enjoyed their pie, had a good tine and a wonderful Thanksgiving. Looking forward to seeing everybody next year!