The Buzz from Bella Luccè

I can die a happy woman now…

April 13, 2008

So I’m here in Seattle with Jennifer to get my swerve on with the Dalai Lama. Friday was an absolutely awesome day, which I already wrote a strikingly hilarious blog entry about, but then my computer auto-restarted in light of a Windows update and all was lost. So here we go again…

Friday we started off with a panel featuring His Holiness and a scientific roundtable which focused on the natural human “hardwiring” for compassion and how we can tap into that wiring and cultivate happy, compassionate adults by raising happy, compassionate children. It was an interesting session and Jenny walked out almost as smitten with the Dalai Lama as I am. God love him. Anyway, we grabbed lunch and hit another afternoon session which was essentially a continuation of the first. We dodged out of that one a tad early as we had big plans for the evening.

Those who know me personally can attest that I am completely in love with shoes, chocolate, the Dalai Lama and Dave Matthews- not necessarily in that order. Those are my top 4 Big Loves (aside from my beautiful family) and Jesus could have come down and kicked off the Rapture right then and there on Friday night and I doubt I would have batted an eyelash. Seriously- take me now as I got to see the Dalai Lama and Dave share a stage for one night only. Dave hosted the Concert For Compassion on Friday night at Key Arena to benefit local Seattle charity Seeds of Compassion. Bella Luccè is an official sponsor of the event, which meant we were just 8 rows away from Dave and Dalai and had to go through some extra-special Secret Service protection just to take our seats. Jenny stopped me from rushing the stage on several occasions by reminding me that all those guys in suits flanking the stage were gonna whoop my butt if I so much as stood up too quickly. Duly noted.

Anyway, my two favorite gentlemen were joined by Ann Curry (who I have a huge girl crush on) for a dialogue on music building bridges and understanding between people. Poor Dave was so incredibly nervous, but they all gained steam and it was a great chat. At the end, Dave and Dalai tapped fists in a gesture of solidarity…awesome. We were invited to a VIP reception between the dialogue and the concert and spent the next hour or two playing with the stiltwalkers and clowns, nibbling on some truly fine exotic cuisine, sipping insanely large glasses of deep red wine and listening to killer live music. I had a close encounter of the Top Gun kind with local Tom Skerritt…very cool. Needless to say, Jennifer and I were feeling quite fine by the time we resumed our seats for the concert.

Speaking of, Dave was incredible. Joined by master guitarist Tim Reynolds, they ran almost 2 hours of an intensely fantastic set of DM classics. Decidedly laid back and intimate, Dave was in fine form. With the Secret Service now gone (on account that the Dalai Lama had already left the building), Jennifer convinced me not to rush the stage because I’d be removed from the arena and miss the rest of the show. Duly noted. We were surrounded by some seriously button-up’d wealthy donor types and I behaved (largely) for the first half, but had to get on my feet and dance myself silly for the second. I will proudly insert here that Dave Matthews looked DIRECTLY at Jenn and I several times, locked eyes and gave a big smile. He stopped short of asking me home, but I’ll forgive him for that. Good times.

After a s-l-o-w start yesterday, we readied ourselves for a lunch date with Anne Marie of Brambleberry fame. My first order of soap supplies came from there back in 2000 and she and I have kept in touch and followed each other’s progress for a long time now. It was a pleasure to meet her and her husband Christopher in person and we enjoyed a chat on the insanity of owning your own business…in a good way. She is petite and adorable and a total firecracker. My kind of girl.

On to Qwest Field to share an intimate chat with 55,000 of the Dalai’s closest friends. Absolutely fantastic stuff. He spoke on the current state of the world and how we must personally be at peace to create peace, and lamented the need for our world leaders come together. Even the weather cooperated with blue skies and a surprising 77-degree day in Seattle. It is always so humbling to hear him speak…kind, gentle, brilliant, modest. Jennifer’s husband Mike, who- not coincidentally- is one of my favorite people, joined us as well and is now a devotee looking for a good Dalai Lama book to cut his teeth on. His Holiness will do that to a boy. The visit continues through Tuesday and all of his talks are streamed live via the Seeds of Compassion website, translated into 24 languages and all free of charge. Please do follow along at home if you feel so inclined.

I enjoyed an insanely good dinner last night at local vegetarian hot spot Carmelita. The Antipasti Platter is to die for and that Mushroom Risotto was perfection. You may recall my Carmelita raves from previous Seattle visits and last night did not disappoint. Today we plan to knock out some Bella Luccè business between Jenn and I and tomorrow I am meeting with ilio to finish up our bodycare project together. Good times, good people, great memories. It’s been an exhausting few months both personally and professionally and I am so grateful for this time of relaxation and rejuvenation. Much love to Mel and Abby… you two rock my world and all of our futures are so bright it scares me.