I refuse to end the week on a sad note, so tell me: what do you do to cheer yourself up during sad times? (I’ve already bought shoes and that totally helped.)

I’m heading to Wisconsin hang out with Tracy for a few days; we’re doing fun geeky girl stuff. She is one of those friends with a house that makes you feel right at home the second you walk in, and I’m excited to spend time there. There were also promises of a lesbian bar. Woo hoo!

Jake is going to be around, too. He gives epic hugs, and lets me touch his bald head. I like him very much.

Happy weekend.

Over the summer I helped throw an event and was tasked with picking a decent bottle of sparkling wine in the $15 range. I headed to my favorite wine shop where they quickly selected this as the best bottle for the money, declaring it better than a lot of bottles twice the price. They were right, and I’ve been buying it ever since, even though neither I, nor anyone I’ve spoken to, can say its name.

If you’re used to celebrating with champagne, try a good prosecco like this one. It’s lighter and is generally less alcoholic, it’s not too sweet or too dry, and it tastes like a celebration. Pairs well with vanilla cupcakes and excellent friends.

At $13 a bottle, I’ve declared it the Blatt’s “house bubbly for special occasions”, and we served it at midnight on New Years Eve. Have you tried prosecco?

Related: can you open a bottle of sparkling wine, or does the cork popping freak you out? I can do it, albeit quite nervously, but I have a lot of friends that simply cannot and pass the bottle off to me. If you’re not a really big resolution maker, “learn to open a bottle of prosecco” should be your 2012 task. (I stand behind any resolution that helps you party more.)

Once you can do that, try sabering it open with a big kitchen knife, Helen Jane style.

Happy weekend!

Here’s a not-so-secret: I love Meg Keene. She is one of the people instrumental in inspiring me to getting my business up and running in 2010, it is her hand that is among the ones I feel pressed into my shoulder blades when the business blahs hit, and I am completely in awe of her.

How do you thank a person like that? I don’t know, but when her book came out and everyone banded together to push it to the top of the best-seller list, I started by buying three copies.

Then she sent me two. One of them is mine-all-mine, but the other four are for you. Leave a comment below telling me your favorite part about going to weddings, and I’ll pick four winners at random on Monday 9 January.
Closed! Thank you guys for your comments!

***

Meg is on tour right now promoting the book with lots of fun events. The Brooklyn party, though, is going to be the best; I know because I’m planning it, along with Meg from La Vie En Rose Events and Michelle Edgemont. We have met over beers, volleyed countless emails between us, and schemed away.

The reading will be at the Park Slope Barnes & Noble on Saturday 28 January at 2pm. It is only by showing up there that you will be given walking directions to the most kick-ass, planned with love after-party in the history of book tours. It will be boozy and fantastic, and, from what I’ve seen from Michelle’s handiwork, very, very pretty.

**RSVP here**

See you there?

(I’m currently in bed with the stomach flu, so you may direct your love notes, sympathy and other funny things my way this week.)

Remember how two years ago I made six pies? The next next year I broke my own record and made nine the night before Thanksgiving, earning myself a spot in the The Recordsetter Book of World Records (on page 78).

Two hilarious dudes from Toronto teamed up that Christmas to beat my record with 14 (and they did it wearing Christmas Tree costumes!)

Now I’m seeking to reclaim the title this Thanksgiving, and am bringing *more than 14* to Greenpoint Church again. Thank goodness my neighbor said I could use his oven. Next year, I think I’m going to have to call for backup.

It’s going to be a wonderful holiday, I can feel it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Oh, Camp Mighty. It’s hard to explain what it is because it is so much more than words can tell, but basically it was a weekend where we brought our Life Lists and focused on accomplishing things. From the website:

The objective is to improve your life until it cannot be further improved…The retreat gives you time to think about what you want, a team to help, and a pool. For floating.

Camp Mighty was a larger version of the Mighty Summit I went to last year, a life-changing event, as it was what started my business in earnest and what helped me realize on a visceral level that living epically is totally possible, even for little old me.

This year’s event brought into focus that I’m in a Good Place right now. My Life List is chugging along; I have successfully created the space for doing Amazing Things. The time is there, the room is there, the fortitude to press onward and accomplish is there. That didn’t come easily, but my 2010 goal of making my lifestyle such that I could Life List as I wanted was accomplished.

And it feels SO GOOD.

“So, Amber,” I asked. “What now?” Because, ok, excellent, but one can’t stop.

The larger conference was broken down into four teams; we met together and were encouraged to share five things with the group that we wanted to accomplish. Here are my picks, and if you can help with any of them, get in touch, please. It would be so nice of you.

• Holi color fight.
• Hike in Hawaii, jump off a cliff, and yell “Geronimo!”
• Officiate a wedding ceremony.
• Fly kites in a group of friends.
• Be in a book club.

They’re all “doing cool stuff” things because that’s where I am right now: I want to have FUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNN! Wouldn’t you know: I was seated a few chairs over from two ladies who live in Maui – one of who is building a guest house.

“Hi,” I said. “I’m Amber, and I make an excellent house guest.”

“See you this spring?” she said. “I know a cliff you can jump off of.” (Later that evening we decided capes should also be involved.)

Someone else had “have a professional portrait of myself taken”, and, of course, I had my camera. The only thing cooler than having someone help you with a Life List item is to help someone else yourself. (A lot of people had this on their list, actually, but between timing and the rain, I didn’t get to snap as many faces as I’d have liked.)

Best parts: hugging people who have inspired me. And hugging people I’ve inspired. (So much inspiration!) And rocking out to the TonTons (plus chatting with the singer between sets – she’s adorable). And drinking champagne in the hot tub while chatting with super smart ladies. And the speakers. And dancing my ass off at the space-themed dance party, in my pretty space-themed dress. And soaking up the sun poolside. And road tripping with three hilarious gals from LA to Palm Springs, with a pit stop at In-N-Out (as one does when one is from the east coast and lands in California).

(My dress is from here.) (I totally brought my one-frillion dollar camera into the hot tub. I was careful. The photos were worth it. Don’t judge me.)

I did end up floating in that pool, too, alone on Friday night, with the rain in my face and my body warmed up by the hot tub. It was incredible, and an excellent way to think, by the way, should you have the opportunity.

“What next? What bigger? What more?” I whispered these questions to myself softly, but heard them loudly because my ears and my lungs were both underwater. You want to know what popped into my head?

Adventure. Business bigger.

That’s it.

Everyone who has heard the details of AMP growing the past year is astounded at the trajectory, but I still want more. I decided, as the pool wormed its way into my ear canal, that I will be consciously unafraid of making more money and getting more business. (It is terribly difficult to be consciously unafraid when your stomach is in knots.) I will take on larger, longer weddings, I will stop dragging my feet about offering customers prints and albums. And I will have more adventures, because those are rad, and I deserve them.

You all know me by now; you know I do not believe the “Universe speaks to us” or anything like that, but goddamn if there isn’t an unprecedented inquiry for a 120 person wedding sitting in my inbox as of 9:30 am Tuesday morning.

So I will open myself to adventure and success this year.

Oh man oh man. Here I go.

Today is the day of my Charity:Water event!

I’m nervous and excited. There’s going to be a photo booth, and if it’s successful, I’m making it part of my business plan. Setting up a photo booth is something I’ve been dreaming about since this March; it’s overdue. Panic over logistics set in yesterday, so I texted my friend Clay who is another smart photographer, and he helped me brain storm it down to a manageable project. Thanks Clay! You seriously saved my behind.

Will I see you there? You still have the opportunity to RSVP on Facebook.

If you can’t make it but you still want to donate, you can PayPal me dollars (theambershow at gmail dot com) and leave me your address. As a thank you, I will write you a poem and put it in the mail. It will be awful, but will probably make you smile anyway.

**
The details, again:

Billy Hurricane’s
25 Avenue B (btwn. 2nd and 3rd street)
New York, NY

open bar from 7 – 8pm, $5 suggested donation
raffle prizes
drink specials all night
full burger menu
a photo booth that hopefully doesn’t suck

Camp Mighty is in a few weeks. About 150 people are descending upon the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs for a few days to talk Life Lists and party. I’m so excited! I can’t wait to soak up some sun and inspiration.

Requirement for my attendance is raising money for Charity:Water. My first thought, of course, was some sort of photography thing I could do, but that sounded less fun than hosting a happy hour in Manhattan, which is exactly what I’m doing. Here are the details:

November 3, 7pm – 11pm

Billy Hurricane’s
25 Avenue B (btwn. 2nd and 3rd street)
New York, NY

Open bar from 7 – 8

$5 suggested donation.

There will be drink specials all night, and they have a full burger menu, too.

Five bucks for open bar?! You can totally drink more than that in an hour. I think even my teetotaler friends can put more than that away in Diet Cokes.

To raise more dollars for this awesome charity, there will be raffle prizes and a photobooth set up. We’re taking cash, checks and, because the world is awesome and I can swipe a credit card with my iPhone, we’re taking plastic, too.

Hosting a charity event is on my Life List anyway, so this is perfect.

See you there? You can RSVP on Facebook here (preferred) or leave a comment on this post.

If you can’t make it but you’d still like to donate, you can use PayPal to send in a donation (use my email address theAmberShow at gmail). If you leave me your address, I will hand-write a poem just for you and put it in the mail.

If you’re in New York City tonight looking for something to do, you might want to swing by the Cupcakes and Dates Charity auction hosted by a few of my lovely friends. They’re auctioning off dates with bachelors and bachelorettes to the highest bidder, and all the money raised goes to the American Cancer Society.

You can also bid on ME! The winning bidder’s “date” will be a one hour photoshoot package. (although if you bid big, I might throw in a little something extra. No promises… but I totally don’t have a gag reflex. What? It’s for charity.)

There will be a bake sale element, too, and trust me – I know some of the people who are baking for it, and they turn out some quality goods.

If you want to go but you don’t know anyone, text me at 424-226-2378 to say that you’re coming and Rob and I will meet you out front so you don’t even have to walk in solo. We will hang out for the evening, ok?

Ok!

Necessary info:

“Cupcakes & Dates” charity event

The Pressbox
932 2nd Avenue (corner of 50th & 2nd Ave)

7-11 pm

“…in between grabbing piles of tomato and throwing them at each other and throwing them at others and squashing them on peoples heads he kept kissing me.”

My friend Val is traveling Europe and met a sexy boy in the middle of La Tomatia, the world’s largest tomato fight.