Love it.

Leopard and brocade. Love it!!

Mission Accomplished

Well, I did it. I finished my six stories due before my two weeks off. The last story will run December 31, a look back at the one year anniversary of the devastating floods our city faced on New Year's Eve 2005. I'll post the link when it runs...

A Napan for the ages
Dec. 19, 2006

As rainy season sets in, Napa businesses measure the need for flood insurance
Dec. 17, 2006

Four down, two to go....

Two working days left till my two weeks off at the newspaper, and I have written four of the six planned stories. A labor law seminar review went smoother than I expected, but two year-end flood stories were longer than planned. On Monday, I hope to cover a new scrapbook store opening in town.... updates to follow....

Labor law: Business leaders learn the latest at Napa Chamber seminar
Dec. 16, 2006

What I'm writing this week.

On December 19, I'll take two weeks off work, while the girls are on vacation. That means starting Dec 11, I have six work days to write six stories. Will it happen? I will report back next week.

Deck the halls: Napa Christmas store kicks off holiday season
Dec. 1, 2006

Who was Wallace?
Dec. 2, 2006

Shape of things to come in downtown Napa
Dec. 2, 2006

Napa partners take blue jeans upscale
Dec. 3, 2006

California Woodworks to close
Dec. 9, 2006

Napa couple takes stock in survival
Dec. 11, 2006

Paparazzi, by Allie, 9

What I'm writing this week...

The health insurance story was hard to write. My first draft was 2,300 words, twice as long as it should be. My co-worker helped me edit it. It's hard to cut your own work...

Lot of these headlines start with Napa, don't they. It's intentional. My editor wants readers to be able to scan headlines and know a story is local. It's all about local coverage...

Local employers fight rising health care costs
Nov. 26, 2006

Napa retailers get wrapped up in holidays
Nov. 25, 2006

Holiday weekend kicks off shopping season for Napans
Nov. 28, 2006

Napa bookstore adds used books to shelves
Nov. 14, 2006

Building business: Seminary Street Commercial Condominiums
Nov. 21, 2006

Napa brothers light up holidays with ornaments
Nov. 20, 2006

Clothing boutique raises the bar on Main Street
Nov. 18, 2006

Napans size up the perfect Christmas tree
Nov. 24, 2006

Trend: black and white

Seen recently in an AirFrance onboard magazine. Black and white.
The ultimate mix and match -- and available at all price points, from the Fendi coat to Walmart trench (see previous blog).

A Halloween Series

When I told my senior editor I wanted to do a Halloween series, and handed him a list of eight story ideas, I think he was a little surprised. We compromised with four. This took me about a month to organize.

By the way, the reporter doesn't edit the story, write headlines, choose photos, or write photo cutlines. It's all the editor's job.

Ghost hunters: Local couple sees dead people - all the time
Troy Huckins and Cherilyn Hays believe in ghosts and haunted houses. And not just during Halloween. Huckins and Hays are paranormal investigators sometimes called ghost hunters. The two seek out unexplained events and, in a scientific manner, attem...
6.8K - Oct. 31, 2006; scored 1000.0

The business of collecting
Don Carillo is a rock-and-roll dude who happens to love Halloween. Carillo, known as the guitarist for local hard-rock band The Spoils, but also Mr. Mom to three children, said he likes Halloween because it s our imagination and alter ego holiday. O...
3.9K - Oct. 30, 2006; scored 1000.0

Local merchants stock Halloween fun
As the year's spookiest night approaches, Napa businesses are reaping the rewards of the second most popular decorating holiday. According to the National Retail Federation's (NRF), consumers are expected to spend $4.96 billion this Halloween, up sig...
5.8K - Oct. 29, 2006; scored 1000.0

American Canyon's scariest couple
Carlos Schollar and Krystie Bolton are spending most of October with a bunch of ghouls, psycho clowns and other terrors. And they're having a great time. "As a kid I loved Halloween and so did Carlos," said Bolton. "So when we got together we wanted ...
5.6K - Oct. 28, 2006; scored 1000.0

What I'm writing this week...

Building business: Napa Valley Plastic Surgery Associates
In 1936 Rose and Fortunato Martini purchased a corner of a prune orchard on the northern edge of Napa. They built a restaurant, naming it Martini s Napa Valley Inn. The popular eatery was razed in 1974 to build Lyons Restaurant...

Former restaurant to become medical offices
Today, it s one of the busiest intersections in town, but in the 1930s, the corner of Jefferson and Trancas streets was home to a prune orchard, in what was then the northern outskirts of Napa. In 1936 Rose and Fortunato Martini purchased a corner of...

California foreclosures hit 4-year high
Residential foreclosure activity in California reached its highest level in more than four years in the third quarter, reported real estate data company DataQuick Information Systems, but Napa lenders report more encouraging news. Lending institution...

What I'm writing this week...

Blessing of the animals

Napa High grad launches biker wear for women

Whole Foods comes to Napa

Help Wanted

Napa store naturally takes care of skin

Hispanos Unidos

Images from Chinatown

Found this week...

Found this week, at Wal-Mart.
Black trench coat with contrasting detail.

I don't usually look to Wal-Mart for much of anything, but after seeing this ad twice, once in InStyle and once in another fashion magazine, I investigated.

A trip to my local Wal-Mart revealed more than 20 of these black poplin coats with satin-like off-white piping. Sizes ranging up to 14/16, I believe. Price: $39.95. On sale on Walmart.com at $31.00, only XS. Turns out Wal-Mart sizes run large, I ended up with the XS, which says size 0-2. I'm usually more of a 4 or 6.

$39.95 was a bit more than I would want to pay for clothing from Wal-Mart, but this coat is cute. My middle daughter, the fashion forward one, also gives it a thumbs up.

Report from the playground to follow.

What I'm writing this week...

Napa home prices, days on market up
Napa businesses eye city s plan to offer downtown free Wi-Fi
All in the family
Building business: Queen Anne Court, Old Town Napa

What I'm looking for...

H&M Black Cape.
As seen in Lucky and Marie Claire Magazine. An associate answering the phone at the NYC H&M said, "We don't have that yet."

To be continued....

INC International Concepts puts best foot foward

Anyone who's shopped at Macys likely knows of their private label INC, International Concepts. "Fashion Forward" but at more moderate prices, INC is a runaway, or should I say, runway hit for the masses.

I love INC. I'm only able to buy a few select items at full price, so I regularly scour the sales racks for deals. Over the past couple weeks local Macy's have had a number of discounts, usually 30% off merchandise already marked down at least 30% originally.

Lately, I've purchased two silk knit tops, with a low neckline and twist detail, short sleeves, one in sky blue, the other black. Each were $12 marked down from $49 originally. I've also found a glitter flecked blue paisley print blouse also marked down to $12 from $69. I had eyed that very blouse months ago at full price.

I shot a couple new INC items with my camera phone, planning to return when they're on sale. I might be gambling on mark-downs, though. Macys often hosts 10-15 percent off sales for using Macys cards. But there's a catch -- INC is usually excluded along with Coach bags, Lladro, and other designer items. Sheesh, give a bargain shopper a break. Put INC on sale more often!

The INC website online shows a whole lotta black and white, but I found more color at Macys Fairfield. Having shopped at most of the Macys in Northern California, little ol' Fairfield's Westfield Mall has one of the best INC selections around. Way to go Fairfield Macys INC buyer!

Lastly, there's only one word to describe the INC/Project Runway merger. Fab-u-lous!!

INC at macys.com

What I'm writing this week

Howling it up in Napa
Halloween at River Park

Jennifer's Planet Claire

Jennifer is a writer, journalist, and stylist in California's North Bay.
This is her first blog.