It's a Swingin' Christmas Season in Palm Springs

The holiday season is well underway here, with all sorts of festivities happening. Last night we attended a great party at the new offices of Integrated Wealth Management, owned by a close friend of ours who throws this party for his clients. I didn't take a lot of photos, as a courtesy to the other guests; some of whom are high profile individuals who prefer their privacy. (Being The Palm Springs Savant, I exercise the utmost discretion at such occasions). The entire office is super modern, mostly glass with a black and white decor. The Christmas tree was white, with black and silver decorations, which worked well with the office style. I was particularly excited to find Candy Cane Martinis being served at the bar. In addition to a mini candy cane hanging on the rim of the glass, it also had a chuck of dry ice to make the martini bubble, smoke and smoulder. It seemed appropriate to stop for a fresh photo in my signature martini pose, what do you think?. The camera didn't quite capture the smoke rising from the glass, but you get the idea.

above: The table was beautifully decorated with white orchids in huge martini glasses as center-pieces. There was a fabulous spread of party munchies; fresh fruits, cheeses, delicious local dates, finger sandwiches and nibbly-things on sticks too. All sorts of delicious hot hors d'ouevres were passed on trays all night, one of my favorites were some mini puff pastry cups with goats cheese with caramelized onions. Mmmm!

above: The host asked guests to bring an unwrapped toy, which will donated to Olive Crest, an organization here in the Coachella Valley that helps abused, neglected or at-risk kids and their families. As a side note, Olive Crest shared a stat that every 10 seconds in America, a child experiences some type of abuse, including rape, physical and psychological abuse. It's great that there are non-profit organizations like Olive Crest who are there to help these kids. It was really nice to see the toys all piled up; hopefully these will make some families a little brighter. In the photo above, check out woman standing near the tree. She is a friend of mine, but I took the photo from an angle that would not reveal her identity...but some of you might recognize her. At any rate she was dressed like a true fashion diva in shiny black patent leather.

above: Take a closer look at these black patent leather boots she had on, aren't they fun? I imagine these high boots sure kept her legs warm. Our chilly winter nights don't stand in the way of ladies still being the height of fashion in Palm Springs.

above: these were the little gift boxed given to guests as they left. Cute boxes with delicious decorated sugar cookes! It sure made the ride home fun!
-Rick Rockhill