Gifts from the Heart

AAUW Santa Clarita Branch Presents the First Program in 2009-2010 Speaker Series, “Women Activating Change” 

Appointed to the Superior Court of California in Santa Clarita by Governor Schwarzenegger, our own SCV resident, Judge Graciela Freixes, is the first female Cuban-American judge west of Miami.  She traveled the tumultuous journey from Havana as a Freedom Flight refugee to become a freedom defender in the United States.

There is a new high-end pawn shop in the Santa Clarita Valley.  Get instant cash when you sell or take out a personal loan on your fine jewelry, coins, precious metals, upscale watches, and diamonds. Valencia Loan Company, established in 1957, has been serving Southern California residents in their Beverly Hills office, and has a new second office near the Ice Station on 28015 Smyth Drive in Valencia to provide service to the residents of Santa Clarita.”I have been a resident of Valencia for over 25 years and I believe now is the time for our community to have a quality upscale collateral loan agency available to Santa Clarita,”states co-owner Greg Gile.

Opal is the official birthstone for October and is the most colorful of all gems.  Each Opal is distinctly an individual.
There are two types of Opals — precious and common.  Precious Opal displays a unique play of color (the ability to disperse light into flashes of rainbow colors).  Common Opal is dull and does not exhibit a play of color.

Monica Cervantes, Customer of the Month/Breast Cancer Month, is a beautiful, 38-year-old mother and breast cancer survivor.  Five years after being diagnosed, she is a different person inside and out, but it has been a very long and painful journey.  Her physicians initially tried to preserve her right breast by performing a Lumpectomy, a surgical procedure where only the tumor is removed. 

If you want to be “green,” one of the first things to do is make sure you have a tote bag for groceries and everything else that manages to travel with you.  The fact is just about everybody could use a tote.  They’re not only terrific for groceries, but for back-to-school, baby bag overflow, Fido’s travel accessories and more.

With the change of the seasons, it is not only time to put away those white outfits, tank tops, sandals and flip flops, it is also time to change out the summer candles, diffusers and décor items throughout your home and office!
Summer was great, but lets get down to the best fragrancing season of the year, the “Harvest” season.

Do you have a budding Picasso in your family?  Hanging posters and other artwork on your walls is a great way to enhance your home, but try taking your décor to another level by proudly displaying your child’s art.  It provides endless possibilities for home décor because there are many creative and fun ways to frame children’s artwork. 

On October 12, something funny is going on at Robinson Ranch Golf Course.  That will be the day of the J.R.’s Comedy Club Celebrity Golf Classic, benefiting the Santa Clarita Homeless Shelter. 

I won a boudoir sitting in a raffle at the Association of Women Entrepreneurs of Santa Clarita meeting.  The entire room burst into laughter.  Me, who never wins so much as a pencil in raffle giveaways, was the winner of the “get naked” prize.  Great.  I told Maureen, the photographer, that boudoir “isn’t my thing” — so could we do a glamour shoot instead? Sure. I’ve had pictures taken before, and I’ve looked into the mirror a gazillion times in my 42 years, so I was positive I would see the same Tara when I saw the portraits.

The Santa Clarita Valley Branch of the American Association of University Women will hold its Annual Membership Brunch to celebrate 41 years of service in the SCV and to kick-off the year’s activities, on Saturday, September 19, at 10 a.m. at the home of Louise Schultz.

A picture wall displays a group of framed items in a coordinated design.  The frames may all be the same style or the same color, but most often a picture wall includes a variety of different frames.  The artwork may be united by a theme such as vacation photos, a collection of sports memorabilia or family portraits. 

Sapphire is the official birthstone for the month of September.  This dynamic blue gemstone is a variety of the mineral corundum.  Blue is the usual color associated with sapphire, and the brighter most intense blue is the most valuable.  Sapphires also come in a wide range of colors including yellow, green, white, pink, orange, brown and purple.  Red corundum shares the same characteristics but is designated as a ruby gemstone.  Sapphires are mined in Australia, China, Kashmir, Kenya, Madagascar, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand and the United States.

The favorite time of the year for candle lovers has arrived.  What makes it so special?  There is something magical when the scents of the “harvest” season are lit.  Childhood memories are brought back with the amazing aroma of apples, cinnamon, pumpkin, oatmeal cookies and spices placed throughout your home or office.  It is a comforting feeling that doesn’t allow anxiety, stress or pressure to enter the equation, at least for a little while!

Now that we know how to meet other singles here in the Santa Clarita Valley, let’s review the profiles that we’ve kept (or are about to place) online, just in case.

Apo Yessayan of Classic Designs Jewelry in Valencia recently attended the semiannual conference of the Independent Jewelers Organization (IJO) held in Charlotte, NC, home of the Lowe’s Motor Speedway.  It has been IJO’s practice to raise funds to benefit a worthwhile cause in the city they visit.  According to IJO President and CEO Jeff Roberts, “We bring close to 3,000 visitors to the sites where we hold our conferences, and several years ago we decided to leave a little something of ourselves behind for the good of the community — our way of spreading good will in addition to saying thank you for hosting us.”

How many of the same-old, same-old baby showers and birthday parties have you been to lately? How many have you hosted? It’s work!
Wouldn’t you like the load lifted? The cleaning, food, entertainment and cleaning again is virtually impossible.  It’s hard to be inventive, creative and practical while keeping things affordable.

These are our new merchants in August!

Whether You Are A New Business or A New Advertiser To The Magazine of Santa Clarita Maybe You Haven’t Advertised With Us For A While

Let Us Introduce You To 80,000 Homes In  Our Valley

Run Your Ad In The Next Issue & We’ll Feature  You In Our “Meet The New Merchants”  Section

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Increase at COC to Help Fund Free Bus Program

College of the Canyons will raise the cost of one-day parking passes from $1 to $2, effective August 3, to help fund the college’s new free bus program for students, which will launch in the fall.