Whole Foods Market in Folsom, in an effort to give back to the community, holds a 5% Community Giving Day. On Wednesday, Dec. 5 Sweet Dreams Foundation was the recipient of the event. Sweet Dreams is a non-profit organization that seeks to, as their mission states, “improve the quality of life for children who have been diagnosed with a life threatening disease through the creation of their dream bedroom." This year Sweet Dreams Foundation was able to raise money to create two rooms for two beautiful children. Each room takes time to complete and it begins by selecting a child who would benefit from a Sweet Dreams room creation. There is an application process that helps in the selecti

The Second Annual Sweet Dreams Luau was well organized and attended by the Sacramento community. The event took place at the Carriage House Gardens in Citrus Heights on June 23. Sweet Dreams is a local non-profit organization that strives to improve the quality of life for children diagnosed with a life threatening disease by creating a “dream room” for a selected child. The event was attended by supporters of Sweet Dreams. Along with past "dream room" recipients, family and friends the event helped all enjoy the Luau celebration. DJ services were provided by Lakeside Sounds and live music was provided by Amy and Jimmy Bagshaw. Sponsorship packages were sold for the event and most s

Summer time is here! Kids are outside running around as summer break keeps them at home for most of the day. Public pools are full of kids enjoying relief from the heat. The sound of laughter and joy are heard all around. Parents look forward to family time and running with their kids. There are other children though that cannot enjoy the sun and who can’t experience the joy of jumping and running. Some children, because of illness, are restricted in what they can and cannot do. Some children have had a hard and difficult short life and have been diagnosed with a life threatening disease. There is an organization; Sweet Dreams Foundation whose mission is to “Improve the quality of lif

Sweet Dreams Foundation has begun its process to find the next sponsor child for their “Dream Room” make-over. The Sweet Dreams Foundation was founded in 2006 and their stated mission is to “… improve the Quality of Life of Children who have been diagnosed with a life threatening disease through the creation of their Dream Room.” Children selected for this process must be between the ages of 2 to 17 and have a life threatening disease or chronic medical condition that threatens the life of the child. The recently selected board members of Sweet Dreams Foundation will review all applications and make their next selection after applications are received. May 1, 2012 is the deadline for su

What’s a fashion flashmob? I didn’t know either until this past Saturday. An event that lasted a little over an hour took a bit longer to put together. Events and social connections coordinator, Vy Nguyen, spent about 2 weeks organizing and putting together a fashion flashmob in Midtown. The event was put together to help promote the Designing Dreams Fashion Show that will take place at the Memorial Auditorium on August 13. Photographers, models, fashion interns, hair and makeup staff and Designing Dreams personnel were brought together for the fashion flashmob. Nguyen worked closely with various organizers and management at Zócalo, Paesanos, Yogurtagogo and Shady Lady. Fashionistas a

July’s Second Saturday was the place to be for music, art, socializing, fashion and a zombie walk. During summer more people take to the Streets of Midtown to enjoy Second Saturday events. Vendors and artists move their venues each month. Many artists move their work from one Art Walk exhibit to the next looking for places to hang their artwork for a month. Other artists have established studios or areas where they exhibit on a regular basis. Local musicians find a street corner to play and then have a show at night clubs as Second Saturday begins to wind down. Law enforcement presence is reassuring and helps to know they’re patrolling the area. This month I walked the streets waiting f

Sweet Dreams Foundation recently completed a dream room for Jackson Grant. Jackson is a resilient little boy who has endured leukemia and here is his story as described by the Sweet Dreams Foundation. In the spring of 2009, Hayley and Lance Grant noticed a severe change in their son Jackson. He started moving slow, wanting to be held all the time and the little light in his eyes began to fade. They went to the pediatrician and were given antibiotics to clear up any infections. Jackson awoke the next morning to his left eye swollen shut! After their visit to Mercy Folsom ER they were informed that their son had leukemia and needed to be immediately transferred by ambulance to UC Davis Chil

The fabulous Tiana Vega Trunk Show Collection was exhibited at Crush 29 in Roseville. The first Tiana Vega Collection Trunk Show allowed guests to view the collection on June 9. What exactly is a trunk show, you may ask? A trunk show is a special event, such as the one held at Crush 29, where an artist or designer puts on a special showing for customers. They give loyal customers an opportunity to view a designer’s collection and socialize with the designer and guests.  Tiana Vega along with Dave Icarangal, Vice President Tiana Vega Collection, were at Crush 29 to welcome guests to the event. VyVy Nguyen, Events Coordinator, was also on hand to make sure things ran smoothly and the Swee

Kids grow up watching and participating in sports. Many, at an early age, begin participating in individual and team sports. There’s no greater joy for most parents than to see their children run around and enjoy playing and being involved in sports. It’s been my experience to note that young children remember things that we as adults easily forget. I remember taking one of my sons to a Giant’s game when he was a small child. My son was wearing a cap from the opposing team (Dodgers) and one of the vendors shouted as we were entering the ballpark “Programs, programs, get your programs!” After seeing my child he shouted “No bottles, no cans, no Dodger fans!” At first I didn’t think much of

Aimee’s September Dream celebration benefiting the Sweet Dreams Foundation was held on Saturday, September 25, 2010. Carriage House Gardens in Citrus Heights hosted the event. This fun filled celebration commemorated the completion of Aimee’s Dream Room (see Sacramento Press story on 8/30/10 for more infomation). A luau celebration featuring Island food, musical entertainment and Polynesian Fire Dancers were on hand to liven up the evening. A Silent Auction was also held and several items also went to other high bidders as the auction was about to close. Aimee, along with her siblings and friends enjoyed the evening running around and playing in the garden areas. Once the Polynesian dan

Like young children on Christmas Eve the excitement of opening presents on Christmas day is just too much. They just cannot wait for the break of dawn to run and start opening their presents. Aimee Milota got to experience Christmas in August. The adorable 8 year old girl was the recipient of the Sweet-Dreams Foundation work and dedication to design a dream bedroom for Aimee. Aimee has been fighting Xeroderma Pigmentosum (XP) since birth. XP makes a person extremely sensitive to direct exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet radiation. This prevents Aimee from playing outdoors during the day with other children unless she has adequate protective clothing. This is almost impossible since most kid

The First Annual Designing Dreams Fashion Show at Sacramento’s Memorial Auditorium went off without a hitch. The Tiana Vega Collection was the anchor piece of the fashion show. Tiana and six other designers participated in this gala event that was co-produced by Couture Connections. Beautiful designs were modeled down the runway, something that the Memorial Auditorium has not seen since the early 1940’s.  (Tiana Vega) Couture Connections did a fantastic job putting together this show that has been in the works for months. Everyone associated with Couture Connections did a great job greeting guests, distributing literature, escorting media and VIP guests to exclusive sections of the show.

Four student designers went head to head in competition to see who was the top designer at Harlow’s for the first ever Design Vendetta, Wednesday. The designers, Tamika Bellamy, Jules Thor, Yennie Zhou and Faatui Toele, were given an hour to complete an outfit based on the fabric and material they were randomly given. At the end of the hour, two designers were picked for the final round. “The four finalists will be competing tonight for a spot in the fashion show in August,” said Dave Icarangal, the vice president of Tiana Vega. Starting at roughly 8:30 p.m., Rickey Sanchez, the announcer for the evening as well as Couture Connection’s marketing director, asked how excited the audience