{"id":17706,"date":"2015-03-06T20:00:29","date_gmt":"2015-03-06T20:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/?p=17706"},"modified":"2015-03-06T20:20:57","modified_gmt":"2015-03-06T20:20:57","slug":"gifting-suite-debbie-durkins-ecoluxe-lounge-for-the-oscars-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/gifting-suite-debbie-durkins-ecoluxe-lounge-for-the-oscars-2015\/","title":{"rendered":"GIFTING SUITE: DEBBIE DURKIN\u2019S ECOLUXE LOUNGE FOR THE OSCARS 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

DEBBIE DURKIN\u2019S ECOLUXE LOUNGE FOR THE OSCARS 2015<\/h1>\n
\"Interview<\/a>

Interview stage. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n

[Note: I made it to six pre-Oscars Gifting Suites this year. As always, each one gets its own write-up. This is the last of them, so if you missed any of the others, please make sure to take a look back at the previous five columns, to learn about all<\/em> the fabulous-ness. Alice was my Contributing Writer on this one.]<\/strong><\/p>\n

We finished up our hectic Oscars Week at this one. Debbie Durkin’s Ecoluxe Lounge had the most beautiful, peaceful atmosphere of any suite ever! That was just what we needed at that point!<\/p>\n

\"Comic<\/a>

Comic actor Ken Davitian and Suite Host Debbie Durkin. Photo by Alice Farinas.<\/p><\/div>\n

It was held in the Stardust Penthouse\u00a0of the Beverly Hilton Hotel, and Debbie brilliantly incorporated the beautiful adjacent patio into the proceedings. It was all decked-out with \u201cglamping\u201d tents, (see main photo, above,) courtesy of Under Canvas Events<\/strong>, who were also gifting VIPs with trips to their three campgrounds.<\/p>\n

Alice said, \u201cThe tents\u00a0were cool. They not only protected you from the sun and wind, but they were so cozy and relaxing;\u00a0you just wanted to sit in them all day. And the chic d\u00e9cor gave it all a great, really happening vibe!\u201d<\/p>\n

The d\u00e9cor she was talking about was the hiply attractive (and comfortable) outdoor furniture, that made it easy for us all to relax and enjoy the absolutely delicious food that Debbie had catered by the hotel. (You know I always love a suite that feeds us! That’s often more important than the actual gifts!)<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>

Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n

There were several kinds of appetizers, which were passed by super-amiable waiters. They were all so kind to us. Alice said her favorites were the chicken empanadas because \u201cthe crust was perfect, and the chicken was yummy,\u201d and the cold turkey meatballs in lettuce wraps, which had \u201ca touch of sweet sauce.\u201d I surprisingly (because I didn’t think I’d be a fan of cold meatballs,) enjoyed those, as well, but also feasted on mini beef sliders.<\/p>\n

Debbie had a lot of fun party features, such as beautiful flowers set-up both inside and out, DJ Dime spinning great dance tunes all day, a propped-out photo booth, and several beauty services. (More on all of it in a minute.)<\/p>\n

\"Karen<\/a>

Karen Salkin with New Best Friend, Willie Gault. Photo by Alice Farinas.<\/p><\/div>\n

But the most fun for me was re-meeting former Chicago Bear (and Los Angeles Raider,) Willie Gault<\/strong>! I had met him two times before in my life, but not for a few years. And we got to hang for a long time upon this meeting.<\/p>\n

I was happy to help-out main sponsor, Choices Recovery<\/strong>, a holistic substance abuse treatment center, by being interviewed by the main man in the organization. I told them that I don’t drink, and basically how unattractive I find drunk people to be. If what I said helps even one person, it will have been an excellent use of my very limited time that day.<\/p>\n

Here’s more info on the whole shebang:<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>

Photo by Alice Farinas.<\/p><\/div>\n

OC Hair and Make-up<\/strong>–They were doing make-up, hair, and even tanning at the suite. Alice and I arrived at the suite camera-ready, and still had other events ahead, so we had to forego the services, but we were happy to choose little gift bags of make-up and OPI nail polishes from the pleasant staff, who were also gifting wonderful Hai MP3 flat-irons! www.ochairandmakeup.com<\/a><\/p>\n

\"BluBond<\/a>

BluBond gifts. Photo by Alice Farinas.<\/p><\/div>\n

BluBond<\/strong>\u2014This shopping site that has a charitable component was gifting a choice of products. Alice was especially a fan of the strapless bras from Pitahaya. She said they were \u201cso soft and silky,\u201d and come in \u201cpretty, very bright color combos.\u201d There were also tee shirts, face cleansers, eye serums, and even rose water elixir for your face! www.blubond.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Say Yes To Hope<\/strong>\u2014This organization was reminding us to never give up on a cure for cancer by gifting colorful tee-shirts with their logo on it.\u00a0www.beatlivertumors.org<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>

Photo by Alice Farinas.<\/p><\/div>\n

CanaDog Gear<\/strong>–This lovely mother and son duo from Canada (hence the company name\u2014duh!,) was gifting perfect-size, flexible water bowls for dogs. Alice noted that they were \u201cmade of a durable fabric, so they travels well.\u201d There was even a matching leash right in the bowl, which was a surprise gift! Alice loved the \u201ccool designs\u201d on the leashes, especially the\u00a0chili peppers! www.canadog.ca<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>

Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n

DJ Dime<\/strong>\u2014This guy kept the party going all day (and into the night with a big \u201cafter-party\u201d at the suite,) with his perfect choices of music!\u00a0www.partycitydj.com<\/a><\/p>\n

KD Pet Protector<\/strong>\u2014Alice oohed and aahed over these \u201ccutest and sweetest\u201d charms for your pet’s collar. She cutely added, \u201cAttach it, and they are protected with love!\u201d www.kdpetprotector.com<\/a><\/p>\n

And that is finally it for my Oscars coverage this year!!! Whew! As exhausting as it all was, it’s always sooo much fun, and I’m grateful to have been a small part of it once again. Thanks to everyone who included me. I can’t wait to bring it all to you again next year! After I nap till then!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DEBBIE DURKIN\u2019S ECOLUXE LOUNGE FOR THE OSCARS 2015 [Note: I made it to six pre-Oscars Gifting Suites this year. As always, each one gets its own write-up. This is the last of them, so if you missed any of the others, please make sure to take a look back at the previous five columns, to<\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17712,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-academy-awards-to-emmys-to-grammys-gifting-extravaganzas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17706"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"https:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17706\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17747,"href":"https:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17706\/revisions\/17747"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17712"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}