izzi blog

The official izzibag blog

I needed to talk about how my health regime is going and I was all poised to write an update last week but then a disaster happened! I made this great salad for lunch full of all the great summer vegetables, ( including olives hold that thought) Doc Ash you would be so proud of me. I happily sat down at lunchtime to munch away when crack I heard this awful noise like I had almost shattered a glass vase onto a marble floor,knowing what I know now I wish in fact I had. Interestingly nothing else happened until 8pm. I sat down for dinner with my husband when I felt this awful solid lump in my mouth (sorry for the graphics, please do not make a vision of this bit) which turned out to be my filling. Yikes, how I got through the next 12 hours I have no idea, except that I became the mad woman of twitter, I tweeted away with anyone and everyone still awake to find a dentist in Manhattan. Everyone knows right ? that I am a foreigner in New York, without a doctor or a dentist so what I was going to do was find one. Who needs google when we have twitter?

Funnily enough it worked and now someone that had been following me, @tishacakes became my saviour, she sent me a tweet advising there is a dentist of all dentists called @Sinkinfeeling well I tweeted and I tweeted this guy and guess what the next morning his office called me and told me to come right over! by the time I got there I was  a nervous wreck and 8lbs lighter as no food had passed my lips what ever else was going to happen that day this was probably the best bit. So after taking x rays he informed me that unfortunately the tooth had snapped clean in half and was loose, it had to come out! NOOOOOoooooooo I was now having to be strapped to the chair (clearly not really) I was palpitating and thinking what excuse I could make up not to have to come back the following week, the world might end, I need to stock the dishwasher, the dog cannot stay home alone, I mean he doesn’t know that we actually do not have a dog right?

So the weekend came and went and the dentist Michael Sinkin called me three times to check I was OK, do you believe that? in the UK my father had major brain surgery and the doctor told us he was going on holiday the next day and surely my dad wasn’t going to be alive when he got back but that is life! sorry to use that comparison my dad actually eight years later is in fact still alive, but you get the gist here. Doctor Sinkin if you ever read this know that I will send anyone to you who has a tooth ache, you not only treated me but you actually cared about me as a human being not someone who wrote a cheque.

Needless to say I did go back on Monday for the tooth extraction and a crown, this was not the best experience of my life as I have the worst fear of dentists as I mentioned earlier.However I was watching the world cup on the TV and Doc talked me through the whole procedure as he carried it out, too much information for me but no pain at all. At 3.30pm I left the surgery numb and dribbling, not a pretty sight but the best is yet to come. I was invited to a premier of RED LIGHT, yes you got it a red carpet event, of all the days by my good friend Rachael Ann of Red Rover Style. I got home, showered changed into my lovely LBD and even brought the naughty shoes out of their box Michael Kors you are forgiven and off I went. Flash lights everywhere and I had this awful vision that I was dribbling and talking like a nutcase with a droopy mouth. As I got to the Red Carpet photographs, I told this very rude person who told me she just had to go before me as she was melting and it would not do for her to not look her best! excuse me ‘Do you know who I am’? I had a real flash back of the ‘Shorty Awards‘ I am really not a diva, no really I am not but did this twiglet not know that I just had major tooth surgery and that I too was melting. Clearly not as she pushed me out of the way again. I am not one to name names, but just know that I do not like rude blond models! if I had been feeling myself I may have overlooked this but not on this day Humpf!

Anne with Red Rover Style

Photograph courtesy of Arthur from arthur@nyarthur.com

A little information on what the film is about in the words of Wikipedia as I could never have written this down, it was the hardest movie I have ever watched and I know that if you take nothing from my blog then please try  to find a way to give your time to help this cause, if you do then I will have achieved something.

The Redlight Children Campaign was inspired by Guy Jacobson’s personal experiences backpacking in Cambodia in 2002. While traveling in Phnom Penh, a group of young girls, some only five years old, began to aggressively solicit him for prostitution. Although he refused several times, they revealed to him that they would be beaten by the brothel owners if they returned empty-handed. After Jacobson gave them some money and left, he was motivated to create Redlight Children.

Shortly thereafter, Jacobson decided to utilize mass media as a vehicle for social change through his film production company, Priority Films. He teamed up with Israeli actress Adi Ezroni to create the first phase of the Redlight Children Campaign, the K11 Project. They went undercover in Cambodian brothels using espionage equipment and secret cameras to research the plight of child trafficking victims.

At one point, the International Criminal Police Organization contacted Jacobson to warn him to flee the country because the Chinese, Vietnamese, and Cambodian mafia had hits taken out on his life. Jacobson, Ezroni, and their team of filmmakers were also blackmailed and extorted for money, one of the producers was held hostage for two weeks when the rest of the team had left, and they had to hire bodyguards to protect themselves and their research.

Jacobson’s and Ezroni’s work on the ground level provided the education and foundation for them to address the issue on a larger scale. After they established RedLight Children, they created a comprehensive legal manifesto of action items to decrease the demand of child sexual exploitation with the aid of a team of international lawyers.

Jacobson and Ezroni have also been honored as Global Heroes by Condoleezza Rice in the Trafficking in Persons Report 2008.

Guy Jacobson

Please go and see the movie, it is imperative that the world knows what is going on, only with people like us talking about it will this stop.

So I want to end this blog post on a lighter note and I want to say that I am now on the road to recovery from my tooth surgery and that is all thanks to Doc Sinkin. I am back on the straight and narrow with my journey to health thanks to Richard Ash MD and I am sure that I have lost some weight not sure how much as I have not been on the scales that is being saved for next week.

It is really amazing that I have met two really awesome people in New York and found them via Twitter, God Bless Twitter. What is really scary is that they are both Doctors. Dr Sinkin and Dr Richard Ash MD you are really very caring special people and I want you to know this would not have happened in the UK I would just have been another number in their Bank paying in book.

On Tuesday Night Robert Verdi invited me to his very special Luxe Laboratory to tweet with him about suggestions for Father’s Day gifts. I was really impressed with the quality of gifts he had chosen to talk about so here they are let me know what you would choose.

Robert Verdi & Anne Agoren

John Bartlett Tees which are really cute, they all come with a picture of John’s muse Tiny Tim who he rescued from the NSAL. The 3 legged dog he rescued became his design inspiration and company logo. A percentage of the cost of each shirt goes to the NSAL so what better gift to give your dad and to know that a man’s best friend will benefit.

Jonathan Adler Hot Pop candles were the next gift idea, now I love candles but this one has got to beat all others as they come in the most bizarre smalls ever, Grapefruit, Cilantro and Tomato Vines. I am not sure that my mom would really like my dad burning a candle that smells of the greenhouse in the lounge, but the grapefruit I can see would be a different matter. The candles are $38 each so go by the website and check out a retailer near you.

Jonathan Adler Pop Candle

Now the next gift is awesome Kenneth Cole Vintage Black Fragrance, anyone who knows me knows that I have a rather unhealthy addiction to fragrances. This is one apart, fresh citrus woody that blends effervescent citrus with masculine woods and soft skin musks. I would recommend you check this out and at only $70 I think it is a must.

Kenneth Cole Vintage Black Fragrance

John Allan’s Grooming Services was one of those items I was really not sure was going to be any different from any other hair salon, how wrong was I ? The full service experience is in the atmosphere of a private club with a full grooming service outpost for men. The busy dad only needs to take 30 minutes out of his busy schedule to take advantage of a scalp massage, shampoo and conditioning with a hair cut, full manicure and shoeshine, it even includes a beverage. You can get a gift certificate with a travel kit of goodies for only $65

John Allan's The Full Service

Rowenta just launched a new First Class Travel Iron and I have to say that at 1.65lbs in weight and folding to 7.8″ it is a must for the travelling, jet setting dad. So even when Dad is away he has his own personal mom in his suitcase to keep him looking pristine.

Rowenta First Class Travelling Iron

I loved the next gift Hugo Boss Aviator sunglasses and I can actually see my brother stealing these before my dad gets chance to wear them. I loved the fact that dad can even change the lenses to his own prescription lenses.

Hugo Boss Aviator Sun Glasses

Joseph Abboud for JCPenney came up with a really super idea and that is to give your dad a voucher to get a new suit, think about it every time he wears it he will think of you and at $180 this is a bargain. I took a look at their website and these suits are really chic and modern styled.

Joseph Abboud Suit for JCPenney

At $145 I thought this Skagen Watch is for the dad that deserves more of life’s little luxuries and it is really stylish and tastefully designed. Affordable luxury which looks like a million dollars and is made from high quality materials.

Skagen Watch

The next gift Stoner Solutions invisible glass cleaner is a must for every car enthusiast dad at only $30 this is sure to keep him amused for hours. He will have the best shiny car on the street. Tell mom that when he is done shining his car he can come into the house and clean her tables and mirrors. Just spray on wait until it evaporates and then wipe off without leaving streaks.

Finally my last and favorite gift has to be the Leatherman Skeletool, this is multi functional combining style and function into one design, it has won numerous awards. It weighs only 5 ounces and can easily fit in dad’s pocket, complete with a blade, pliers, bit driver, removable pocket clip and bottle opener.

Leatherman Skeletool