Nepacena has launched a new site featuring the newest oilcloth bag. Check it out at www.nepacena.com

The Nanny's got pneumonia! So we've been a little distracted from updating the blog. She woke up in her sleep a week ago Wednesday with a pulled muscle in her chest and by Monday she could barely move. Lucky for her, I (Michele) was off work last week getting ready to start a new job, and could get her to the hospital so they could check her out on Tuesday morning. After a few hours of chaos at Kaiser they diagnosed her with pneumonia and let her go. I thought those doctors were crazy! She looked AWFUL (not awful for a pnuemonia patient but you know what I mean...). Wednesday morning she called me and asked me to rush her to the emergency room. The smart docs over at Kaiser had gotten some results back and her white blood cell count was through the roof. At first the emergency room was more concerned that I was parked in the wrong spot (come on this is an emergency!) but after much ado they finally admitted her to room 1118, a double occupancy room where she had the bed with the view. And hey, even a view of Geary St. is good when you feel as bad as she must! By Thursday she'd already had visits from her boy, her friend Alison, and yours truly, and her phone seemed to ring off the hook. While she's been trying to get herself up and running again, I've been feeding her ailing cat Spike. Spike had been quite a concern the last few months. He wasn't eating and no vet could tell our Nanny why (or how to join his diet plan!). On Friday I paid my usual morning visit and Spike had left us. I couldn't believe he passed away on my watch. But the Nanny did a great job of convincing me that it was not my fault. What a week! On Saturday I dropped by and Michell and her boyfriend Chris popped in to the hospital. The nurse gave us the good news that the Nanny could now drink juice! She's been living off an iv since she was admitted and hasn't really eaten in a few weeks. As the food and wine girl, I think that may have killed me. She's looking much better now. She's got life in her cheeks, and I made sure to fix her pony tail since it had started to look a little like a bird's nest on the top of her head. Her spirits are up and they say she should be out in 3-5. Hopefully you can all wait to hear from her until then! Keep her in your thoughts. We're pushing to get her out in 3, so we can all get together for pizza and beer on Wednesday. I'm sure the doctors would agree with that recovery plan!

Moxi Girls hit the town or Mix and Mingle night (or not)

Wednesday night The Nanny and Michele, off from
her Sommelier duties (The Nanny is NEVER off duty) hit
the town for some mix and mingle. Or not, as the case
may be. Michele found an event on Goldstar Events
(off-price tickets, check it out). It was a fundraiser for
Team in Training, a great organization, 10% off at the
Sports Basement and a Singles meet and greet. Why is
it that any time the word singles or dating is used to
describe an event, it is just the opposite of that?
Yes, everyone is single but I would be more likely to
have Chronicle Books publish this blog as a novel, then
to get a serious date at one. Ask your cool guy friends, who
by virtue of being cool are either married , or unavailable,
if they would go to a “singles” event. Chances are they’d look
at you like you are crazy. Interesting, attractive dudes don’t
do stuff like that. They don’t think they NEED to do stuff like
that to meet women. (They think) women will continue to fall
out of the sky at their feet despite their fear of commitment.
So, we show up, more to buy running shoes and dumbbells
(to get stronger and sleeker and beat these men at their own
game), and pretty quickly decide that there is no one we want to
mingle with. Michele bought got the sneakers and I got a hat.

Next we headed off to Union Street, and astonishingly found
legal parking only a block away from our destination. It was an
open house at (funny enough) Mingle, a quaint and spontaneous
store on Union. The owner does everything on consignment which
allows her to have more unique items at little or no risk. Great
concept. Tip to small business owners: It’s all about risk management!!
The long, narrow space was packed with attractive young men and
women. Ms. Nepacena, our resident handbag designer, sells bags at
Mingle so we were hoping to run into her. Instead we spotted The
Wild One and her partner, the classy Ms. Claudia, sporting the very
latest in their fabulous baubles. Definitely more stylish than the jewels
at Mingle. No offense to the other artists. In my, slightly, biased opinion,
Red Tulip’s jewelry is the must have accessory for 2006. A little Screw
Kappa Napa Chardonnay (not a fave of our resident sommelier) and
yummy munchies (a la Oola)made the atmosphere festive. The Wild One
was all over the mini chocolate cupcakes. After a half hour, and no
Ms. Nepacena sightings, Michele was getting claustrophobic so we split,
but I do think Mingle should’ve been psyched by the turn out. The sommelier
and the Nanny ended the night with tofu burgers, Sterling Pinot and
(don't hold it against us) America’s Next Top Model. One’s girlfriends make
the best dates.

Just who the heck is SFMoxi?
How right you are to ask. It’s a question we’ve been asking ourselves. Let me set the stage. Imagine 5 women around a table in a Turkish restaurant. Low on atmosphere, but high on quality. Oh, and scatter around a few well chosen bottles of wine. Open, of course.

Danya – The Nanny, cuz I keep em in line.
Karen – The One with Experience, so to speak
Yvonne – The Wild Child
Michele – Resident sommelier
Michell with two ll’s.- Groupie and aspiring Velcro artist

What brought us together? The gym. Really. A gym that is now bankrupt, but the sweat, blood and tears we shared were a tie that binds! That and the fact that we’re a crafty bunch just jonesin’ for a creative outlet.

And now, the story.
Five crafty, slightly tipsy young ladies around a table eating Turkish food (A La Turca on Geary for those inquiring minds) sipping on a little ‘99 Ridge Zin. The gals were catching up on their latest doings. My new job, Yvonne’s newest jewelry designs. Yvonne delivers me a necklace I’ve commissioned. It’s a gold leaf; now we all have a leaf. Must be the next must-have; the latest craze. Karen is selling one of her handbags to our waitress. Michele keeps pouring that delicious wine. I bring up the hot topics; we need a name. Something that defines us. Drunk Chics Eatin’ Turkish is somehow not compelling. Doesn’t really capture the image we’re going for - Sex in the City goes Shopping (definition by Yvonne). I, the nanny remember, insist that the name must have meaning. And then…Moxie. Okay, what the…moxie? Sounds like a 1930’s gangster movie to me and I know Yvonne is thinking surfers. Hot, young surfers. Focus girls! We’re on a mission. We need a name. Ok, so moxie really is a word. Means spirit, courage, skill, and know-how. We’ve got that in spades! Add an “SF” for that sophisticated, urban touch, drop a letter for originality and… ta da…you have SFMoxi. Miraculously the URL IS available. Stay tuned to www.sfmoxi.com and visit our blog for updates, opinions, and new events. Since we’re all working girls, with full time, not so satisfying jobs, we’ll need some time to get our site fully up and running, but for now its there in its bare bones glory. When you start hearing the name SFMoxi, you can say you’re already in the know. SFMoxi, bringing SF style and taste to your home.

You could be the next host! Soon we will be taking names for private Trunk Shows…

Next Trunk show: April 29th in San Jose, featuring:
One Hot Tomatoe – Whimsical Felt Baby Clothes and Stationary
Nepacena designs – Handbags with a Twist
What’s up Cupcake – Baked Goods that’ll make you banish the word Diet from your Vocabulary
Flip Flop Designs – Unique, Handmade Greeting cards and gifts
Red Tulip – Sophisticated, Sexy Jewelry for the Urban Gal.