Natalia At The Bora Bora NUI

Tropicalia Natalia Wearing Palm Spring Silstone Barbie's Coral Caftan.
This is also the suite at the Bora Bora NUI that Peter and I stayed in.

Recently while staying at the beautiful Grand Cypress Resort in Orlando during the FR Convention in 2012, the theme and the resort reminded me of the time that Peter and I got to spend an equally wonderful time at another resort – IN BORA BORA! The resort was called the NUI and to get all the way to Bora Bora it took exactly 24 hours, but it was worth every minute once we got there.

To be among the beautiful flora and fauna of French Polynesia was absolutely mind-boggling. It in fact, took us a few days to believe that we were actually in the magnificent place. It was like Dorothy when she left her real life of sepia toned Kansas and woke up in the Technicolor land of OZ. The air was permeated with coconut and vanilla. The room (which is the setting that I placed Natalia in the picture above) was spectacular. They were called “Motu's” and were constructed on beams over the water. They were completely luxurious and had the most amazing amenities one could ask for. We had our own private sun bathing deck that we could dive straight into the ocean from. The bathroom was like heaven and the sheets on the canopy bed were like butter! (Additionally, every night the native ladies that attended the rooms would leave floral patterns using tropical flowers and leaves on your bed for turn down service….I took of picture of it every night…they were soooo intricate and beautiful).

Peter and I with Kathy Griffin In The Beautful Blue Water of
Bora Bora During A Private Lunch On A Near By Island.

You are probably asking yourself,”Why were those lucky bastards there anyway?” Well, we were very fortunate to have been the media sponsor on Kathy Griffin’s Emmy Award Winning Show “My Life On The D-List”. Our magazine www.whatshappeningmagazine.com was chosen to be sponsors in Florida for the show to promote people from the South East to go on the trip. The season our show was featured (which was Season 4 Episode 7) was also an Emmy winner for her. Kathy, Tiffany and Tom (her assistant and tour manager) were amazing and we were also able to share this beautiful experience with many of our friends. Among them was model/artist/entertainer India Brooks (who was our official hostess with the moistest), Karen Brown (of Straight Girl In A Gay World fame), Jim & Eric (our good friends, one of which is a hairstylist…we had to look good for TV) and Mario Cantone (from Sex In The City) and his partner Jerry Dixon (his brilliant musical arranger).

Jerry, Mario, India & Me. Ugh...I was so sunburned on
the first day that we went out on the beach!

Peter and I will never forget this amazing experience (mostly because we own the DVD of the season we were one…lol…and it on youtube.com at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKAO4vQdXnM . The episode is called “Busted In Bora Bora” in case you want to see the whole thing on Hulu.com or something). It was a dream come true. There was only one problem. After a year of preparing this trip between all the guests and Kathy’s people, Peter and I “stress-ate” and put on the most weight we have ever been. Apparently, we forgot TWO very important facts: WE WERE GOING TO BE ON NATIONAL TV and THE CAMERA PUTS ON 10Lbs (There were several cameras going at the same time.. LOL) ! Well, I wish I would have had a fabulous caftan to wear like the one made for Barbie with the coral design that now looks so spectacular on Natalia. Maybe soon I will get another chance...here's hoping!

The Whole Bora Bora Gang After The Shooting Of My Life On The D-List: Busted In Bora Bora Episode

Photoshoot with India Brooks On A Catamaran.

I pray to God I’m able to see the blue water and night sky of Bora Bora again….but if not there are some very special memories I will always carry with me:

1-      Getting to become friends with Kathy Griffin and her incredible crew.

2-      Watching Kathy perform up close and personal.

3-      Skinning dipping (drunk off our asses) with Mario Cantone…I have pictures Mario…don’t piss me off…lol)

4-      Booger Drag night….that’s when you use anything in your room to create your drag outfit.

5-      Being terrified out of my mind when I had to swim with the sharks and sting rays…just a couple of months after Steve Irwin was killed. I couldn’t stop thinking of him the whole time.

6-      The beautiful black pearl farm that we visited (I still have and wear the pearl that I got there)

7-      The photoshoots with India.

8-      The massages and pedicures with Karen.

9-      The romantic evenings alone with Peter.

10-   The amazing drink, food and native people that made us feel so welcomed in their beautiful country.

Yarana! (Hello and goodbye in French Polynesian)

Xoxo,

F

Flame Rouge Veronique Doll On Tall Handspeak Body Wearing Platinum Jordan's Dress
& Convention Imogen's Purse and Shoes. GORG!

I’ve been collecting dolls now (collectively) for almost 20 years. I first collected Barbie (my first was Silver Screen Barbie from F.A.O. Schwarz) and then I took close to a 10 year hiatus from seriously collecting. When a doll would come out that would fetch my eye…I would get it, but they were far and few between in those years. When I came back to collecting full throttle it was mostly due to the Integrity Toys line. They had been out for a couple of year at that point, but I had really not noticed them. It was not until, I met one of the designers and bough his inaugural line that I was truly hooked again. It was like black tar heroin. On hit and I was back at square one.

I’ve never been a completest. I’ve always just collected what I “like”. The problem is with Integrity Toys….I love all of it! I try to hold off and only order a all my “must haves”. Inevitably, I always regret the ones that I deem I don’t “need”. So, I end up chalking it up to my theory of putting what I want out into the Universe and hopefully they will come (or won’t) sooner or later.

I have “grail dolls” like Venus Eugenia, Optic Verve Agnes…etc., but I try to not obsesses about it. Again, I try to be grateful for the wonderful collection that I have and enjoy and not for the few dolls that have escaped my grasp.

Sometime though….you just get lucky! At this year’s convention , I was able to do a bit of serious room shopping for the very first time. As many of you know, I don’t buy anything first night of convention. I’m usually too busy catching up with friends and /or mixing drinks. Also, friends don’t let friends “drink and shop”. I did that the first year and blew all my money on the first night (shut up David Carr). I’ve met some great people over the last couple of years of going to the FR Convention. Every year I come back with a “grail doll”, spend less than I would have on ebay and additionally have a great story to accompany the purchase of the doll. I tend to attach memories to things that I get from special people. This year I was able to get a very special doll (that I’ve wanted for eva…) from a very special person.

The story starts at the 2011 Convention, when I met three very sweet guys that were sharing a room together that they were selling out of. Two were a couple and one was a single, handsome strapping tall bearded man (just like I like ‘em…hehehehehe) named Frank Villa. After finding out that we had very similar taste in dolls (they all had great things to sell from their room….even a Superman Tonner doll for Peter) we all became good convention friends. To the point that I was so exhausted (and/or hung over) that I slept (and drooled alittle) during one of the workshops in 2011 (which wasn’t entirely my fault…there was a slideshow presentation in which the professor turned out the lights to see the screen better  and like a Pavlovian dog I went right to sleep. I do it at movies I PAY to see too. I always have to catch the end of everything on Cable).

This year I did not fall asleep on Frank again (although I totally would of..he’s very cuddly) but I did buy a doll from him…..drumroll please…..FLAME ROUGE VERONIQUE nude! A doll that I thought I would never be able to afford….EVER! Well, now she is finally re-transplanted on a tall handspeak body and dressed in the a combo outfit that I also got at this year’s convention souvenir room (Platinum Jordan’s dress and convention Imogen’s shoes and purse….red in homage to the “flame” namesake of the doll). Now she is GORG! (inside joke!)

So, I again I repeat…your grail dolls will find their way to you if you “put it out there…let go….and let GOD (or whatever greater power that you connect with).

Thanks again Frank…everytime I look at her I think of YOU my friend and how you made a dolly dream come true for me!

Xoxo,

F

Wearing Your HEART On Your Sleeve

Lana "Love Story" Wearing Josephine's "La Divina". I Borrowed RuPaul's RED Gloves To
Represent Wearing Your HEART On Your Sleeve. ;-)

I just realized this weekend (while watching a marathon of Inyanla episodes on OWN…the only good network left on cable) that I have been passive aggressively holding a grudge against a person I love for about a full year now. I had an "a-ha" moment.

People that really know me, understand that I have many acquaintances but consider few people REAL friends. Basically, it's because of two main reasons. The first is as a young person I was "stabbed in the back" by many "friends" and when I grew older I learned (mostly due to my mom's advice and mentoring) that eventually everyone disappoints you and that all we truly have in this life that we can count on is our "family". 

Sadly, when I came OUT (of the closet) even my family turned their backs on me. So, because I did not cultivate friendships easily and due to my family turning me away when they found out I was gay, I created a wall around my heart and I told myself,"I don't need anyone." That's a very sad existence. It's lonely and depressing. I've been working on tearing down that wall around my heart for years now…with Peter's help (he is much more open and optimistic than I am)…but every once in a while, when I feel like someone has let me down or hurt me, I inevitably put a couple bricks back up. It's a slow process, but I'm "doing my work" like Iyanla says.

Now, because Peter and I have owned and published a popular GLBT nightlife and entertainment magazine (www.whatshappeningmagazine.com) for seven years now, we are fortunate to get many perks. We've gotten used to people being "nice" to us in order to be on the receiving end of one of the perks (like free tickets to concerts and events, meeting celebrities, VIP status as bars…trust me…it's not as glamourous as it sounds). We've had people "use us" for those fringe benefits and it hurts. Nonetheless, we understand that it comes with the territory and after this many years in the "scene" we can now see individuals with ulterior motives coming a mile away. 

Peter and I are by nature generous. We like to share and enjoy our life and all the bonuses that we are blessed to have with those we care most about. That is how we were both raised. Not to be greedy, to give the shirt off your back to someone who needs it and that good times are made better by sharing them with others we love. But, I would be lying if I didn't say that MY (not Peter's) antennas are not constantly up. It is as if I keep EXPECTING people to disappoint me….and that's when I got it. I'm allowing other peoples actions to change ME and take ME back to being the completely closed off person that I fight becoming again. Ding-Ding-Ding! My "a-ha" moment.

Last year, around this time, I was hurt (unintentionally I believe) by a person I had been getting to know as a REAL FRIEND. Slowly, I went into protective mode, which was to pull away from that person. I didn't even realize that I was doing it…but, instead of speaking to that person and saying,"Hey, I really didn't like what you just did…." or "Do you know that what you said really just hurt my feelings…." I did what I normally do and just started taking inventory of this person's actions and words becoming more and more sensitive to them. I was hurt…and hurt turned to passive aggressiveness. Which lead to distance I feared that having another injury to my heart at the time would be fatal to my faith in humanity as a whole. I was going back to my corner…my safe place.

I don't want to LIVE in that space anymore.

I learned a few things, out of this experience and from Iyanla's wisdom:

1- Our family, friends and loved one are NOT MIND READERS. If they do something that hurts or upsets us WE MUST LET THEM KNOW and not carry the baggage with us that will eventually hold us down and ruins the relationship. Plus, they might not even be AWARE that they did anything in the first place. All that leads to is building resentment towards those we care about. And let's face it, our loved ones deserve honesty not resentment. 

2- We ALL do the BEST we can…and when WE KNOW BETTER…WE DO BETTER. 

3- You can't control other people's actions. You can ONLY control how you respond.

4- Give of yourself and expect NOTHING in return. Not even gratitude. WE SHOULD GIVE TO OTHERS FOR OURSELVES.

5- Be who YOU are….if you are a "natural spring" that enjoys to openly share of your blessings with others….YOU MUST CONTINUE TO DO SO. The river of blessings must be allowed to flow so that it can continue to grow. Be grateful to God for granting you the blessings to share with others.

6- DON'T BLOCK YOURSELF OFF. No one can hurt you…unless you let them. Live in the sun. Remember, sometimes you'll get burned…but without the sun - NO LIVING THING CAN GROW.

7- DON'T TAKE INVENTORY OF WHAT YOU DO FOR OTHERS....and what they do in return. It's not a contest. 

8- BEFORE YOU BLAME SOMETHING TOTALLY ON SOMEONE ELSE….look in the mirror and see what part YOU had in the misunderstanding. It takes two to tango!

9- WASTING TIME arguing over small issues with family or friends is STUPID. They can be taken away from us at any moment. Our time together in this life is precious…spend it enjoying each others company and not harboring petty grudges. 

10- We are NEVER to old to learn or change your course of life. When we stop evolving and learning is when we are truly done in this life.

I leave you all with one last piece of advice from one of my new gurus and spiritual mentors Miss Iyanla Van Zant.....
"FEEL….DEAL…THEN HEAL."

PEACE!

xoxo,

F

Plum Tired...But Really Excited!



Latest Issue Of WHM With Exclusive
Interview With Sharon Needles

In a couple of weeks on December 2^nd, I’m planning on having one of the best times of my life aboard the Carnival Glory for the ALandCHUCK.travel Drag Stars At Sea – Revenge of the Wench cruise. We are going to be hosting over 1000 passenger to watch perform, meet and greet and drink themselves into oblivion alongside some of the most popular gurls of RuPaul’s Drag Race stars from Season 1-4 and the current ALL-Stars currently on Monday nights on LOGO TV at 9pm. Needless to say the anticipation is killing me, but in order to be able to have everything in order for me to be able to leave and just be able to enjoy the trip itself, I’ve been working double time on my magazine (www.whatshappeningmagazine.com) and my responsibilities as Marketing Director at A&C to be able to disconnect while I’m on board. Needless to say, I’m plum tired (hence the picture of Agnes that is being featured today).



Manila Luzon & I At THROB Earlier This Year.

Since I got back from convention a couple of weeks ago I’ve felt like I’ve been on a hamster wheel that won’t stop. The following weekend after the FR Con found Peter and I working all week long at A&C and preparing for the following weekend to be in the Orlando Come Out With Pride Parade (which we were sponsors of…so we HAD to be there). Luckily, we had a stretch hummer Limousine brimming with Veuve Clicquot Champagne and nibbly things (not to mention hot boys ins speedos). I never saw the outside of the Limousine and I literally fell out of the car “Patsy & Edina” style by the conclusion of the parade. Thank God PRIDE season is over. I’m as PROUD as one GAY can be for one year. The following week Marl Davidson and I hosted the Orlando Doll Club over on Saturday morning for our monthly doll meeting. It started at 11am at Marl’s house and ended at 6pm at my place. Then it was time to start setting up photoshoots and interviews for our next issue due to the printers for distribution on the first weekend of November. Gurl….tired….I mean tired. I’ve been falling asleep during my lunch breaks at home, taking cat naps after I get off of my day job and fall asleep coma-style every night after Chelsea Lately (btw: love the new studio…hate the new theme song…sorry Pharrell Williams, I think you are a genius but that theme sounds like something right out of a 80s video arcade. Annoying!)

Chad Michaels As CHER....AMAZING!



Getting back to the cruise that will be departing Ft. Lauderdale on Sunday, December 2^nd. I’m really looking forward to meeting some of the stars that I’ve yet to interact with specifically Chad Michaels (who does an incredible Cher impersonation), Sharon Needles (because Peter has met him and his partner Alaska Thunkfuck and thinks we will become instant friends) and Michelle Visage (because I was obsessed with her in the early 90s due to her short stint in the music industry with a song called “Lovely Day”…Youtube.com it she is totally doing early Madonna with no shame). Finally, it will also give me an opportunity to get to see Drag Star friends again like Latrice “Mutha Effen” Royale, Manila Luzon and JuJu Bee….those girls are just fun on a stick! This is going to be the largest reunion of all the girls including all 4 winners of the seasons and most of the All-Stars (all but 3, Tammie Brown,  Raven and Nina Flowers….scheduling conflicts. They are very much in demand right now). I will definitely take tons of pics and will be doing my best to blog during the entire time to keep all my doll peeps abreast of what’s happening aboard what is affectionately being referred to online as the Carnival Glory (hole).

Go To ALandCHUCK.travel On Facebook "LIKE" Them & Enter To WIN!!!

And to quote Ru,”And may the best Wo-man….WIN!”

Xoxox,

F

Ps. If you are interested in coming along pls. don’t hesitate to contact an ALandCHUCK.travel travel specialists soon….as space is quickly running out!

Pss. The deck that Agnes is strolling upon in my pic above is that of the Carnival Glory….sneak peak y’all! OMG….I just might take her as my travel doll. The lifesize gals will just GAG!

Victoire Roux: When Stars Hung Brightly In The Sky....

I long for the good, ole days of glamour. Call me a hopeless romantic but I’m just not into this “celebrities are real people too” crap that everyone from People to In Touch magazine is trying to feed us. I like my celebs to be living a lifestyle that I can dream about and aspire to. I don’t want to see Christina Aguilera wearing cut off shorts in her Ugg boots coming out of a Starbucks with her Venti Machiatto Late in one hand and while holding a $10,000 Marc Jacob bag in another.

In the fifties and sixties, our stars were always presented to us as complete packages. We either saw them in their featured movie, photo spreads in a glossy magazines alongside interviews that had been edited (if not written) by the studio’s publicity departments or a photo reel news flash at their latest opening. They were shining examples of the perfection that we could all marvel at. Stars back then….shined from a distance and glowed with intensity.

That’s why I was so sad when the Hollywood Legends series was discontinued by Integrity Toys….and so happy when the Breakfast At Tiffany’s, Sabrina, Victoire Roux and the soon to be released Funny Face set are coming our way in 2013 (can you believe that they are going to use Veronique and Vanessa’s original facemolds…I almost died at the convention when the images came up on the large screens…the facepaint is perfection and looks infinitely more like Audrey than the Breakfast set).

Victoire to me represents a fabulous time in the forties and fifties when women were ladies (and looked like them) all the time. The only person that I still know that lives by that standard today is my friend and world famous transsexual Amanda Lepore. She is a paragon of femininity. That woman does not step out to the grocery, gym or outside her door to pick up the paper unless she is completely DONE! Not unlike Victoire, she is a model and a sometime actress/singer that knows that every book is judged first by its cover.

I’m happy to say that I own every last one of the Victoire’s that have come out to date. I hope that IT makes them a bit easier to acquire, like they did at the convention. It was by the grace of God that I was able to get the raven and redhead version of the dolls. I’m so grateful that I have them and they hold a very special place in my heart and collection.

Here’s to the ladies!

Xoxoxo,

F

Looney Over Lonnie Lawrence

How can you NOT be utterly in love with Lonnie Lawrence?

Poppy’s new friend is the cat’s pajamas! How many dolls are so popular and likeable that in less than four years they get a cute boyfriend, a girlfriend that is Motown up and coming Diva and now finally an actress fresh off the Broadway stage. It’s like your best friends are a young Diana Ross and Barbara Streisand! Really, to have lived in those times when young people where taking the world by storm and the youth culture was prevalent in every aspect of popular culture and the media, must have been absolutely exhilarating.  

Not only do I see endless possibilities in the lives of Poppy, Darla, Chip (which by the way…maybe a new boyfriend should be introduced soon or a cat fight  might break out between these gals fighting over the only man in THIER world) and Lonnie. I’m especially excited by the direction that they seem to be taking Poppy next year – the 1964 World’s Fair! That was such a spectacular time in American history! At that point in time, we were starting to see the world as a huge planet yet through television the different cultures of the planet were becoming incredibly influential to us – not only in the food we ate and the fashion we wore, but more importantly in our philosophies. It will be very cool for us to revisit that time through the eye of Poppy and the gang.

All of this, of course leading up to the Woodstock era. That should be fun to see how the IT designers interpret flower power, hair-flowing, peace-loving hippies. Personally, it has never really been one of my favorite eras in fashion. I mean really, there is just so much tie-dye and leather fringed vests that you can take (although, Darla in a Christie Love style Afro and a dashiki…I CAN’T WAIT FOR THAT! Shades of MOD SQUAD…Google it)….but I’m glad that will not be coming for a while and we can continue living it the wonderful world of innocence that Poppy is currently exploring.

But, I digress - back to Lonnie Lawrence! When we finally received her as the table gift during the Poppy Luncheon…I was literally jumping up and down in my seat. That alongside what I now refer to as my Anne Margaret Poppy (the workshop version), I could not wait to get them home and try some of my early 60s vintage inspired clothing on them. The particular outfit that Lonnie is currently wearing (above in my picture) is the one that came with the amazing build-a-doll Point of Departure Eurgenia last year. I’m so glad that I kept it even though at first I was indifferent towards the outfit. Just goes to show there is always a perfect doll for each outfit. I love the new face molds and characters…it is always so cool and they really do offer dimension to the world of the main character.

 I can’t wait to see what the IT designers will do with Lonnie in the future. What plays will she star in? What hair colors and styles will she be featured in next? It just opens up a whole new world of options to explore during that tumultuous  and exciting time.

My advice….GET HER NOW! You will be kicking yourself once she becomes a HUGE star…afterall….this is her FIRST APPEARANCE! Let’s welcome her with open arms.

Xoxo,

Frank

"So, YOU'RE Randall Craig...?"

Vanessa 3.0 In An Original One Shouldered Turquoise Brocade Column Gown. 

Imagine my surprise when on the first night of the Fashion Royalty Topicalia Convention I walked into a room that was just buzzing with people. As I looked closely (through my Vodka induced haze) I saw that the dealer was selling several Randall Craig Designs especially made for the Orlando Convention. I figured the lady sitting behind the register who was dressed in a lovely yellow brocade sheath dress was  a dealer that specialized in the designers clothing that I had never met before. I sat on the bed and watched as many of the shoppers in the room were in a frenzy, grabbing and pulling at the tiny couture that glistened from within their perfectly packaged boxes simply label "RTW". In the corner of the room, I saw a fashionable young man sipping on a drink wearing a pair of aquamarine skinny jeans and a wonderful pair of espadrilles. I thought to myself,"He's cute." Then, when my friends were done, I got up from my perch on one of the two full sized beds in the room and we tra-la-la'd away onto the next room.

I hate shopping on the first night of the convention. Everyone is buzzing with excitement and running from room to room to scoop up the best deals. That's just not me. I really don't "hurry" or "run" anywhere. I think one of Sting's old lyrics stuck with me a long time ago - "A gentleman will walk...but never run." So, I tend to wait until things slow down and if I miss out on a deal or two....oh well, c'est la vie. 
The next day, after I was done with my shift of doing custom hairstyles at the Color Infusion Style Lab, I started wandering from room to room picking up deals here and there. I went back to the room that had been hopping the evening before and saw that there were only a fraction of the lovely fashions that had been there at the beginning of the convention. I saw the young man there again and began to chat with him. This quiet, shy and painfully styllish man turned out to be the designer himself - Mr. Randall Craig. Well, color me embarrassed when I said upon my realization,"You're Randall Craig?" in disbelief. For some reason, I had imagined someone completely different. His design have always been so classic, simple with a nod to retro-fab that I just assumed it had to have been designed by someone a bit older. I was definitely not expecting the person standing in front of me...who looked like HE could be a model himself.

Later, we were going to be hosting a few of the "boys and girls" from he convention to join us at one of the most famous establishments in Orlando - the world famous Parliament House. I invited Randall to come along fully expecting him to politely excuse himself, when to my surprise he answered that he would love to join us. Well, I was tickled pink that he decided to come along and I was happy to find that he was a very sweet, fun-loving, easy-going guy that fit in quite nicely with the rest of the party goers that evening.
After an evening that went on into the wee hours in the morning, we all made it home tired but having had a great time. Later on after nursing a spectacular hang-over, I meandered back to Randall's room (who to the untrained eye looked perfectly put together on the outside...but I could tell "Auntie Mame" was a "bit hung" when I looked closely into his eyes), and I decided that I needed to own a RTW original for my collection and I bought one of his nude muses that were also laying on the bed ready to go home with another collector to hopefully be loved as much as he had.
I look forward to seeing Randall again soon, considering that he lives close to me in Florida (again, much to my surprise) or at least seeing him at another doll event. Hopefully, he will take me up on featuring him in the December Issue of my magazine - www.whatshappeningmagazine.com.
I've included images of his amazing works of art to accompany this article (for your enjoyment) from his website: www.randallcraigrtw.com

Enjoy!
Frank