Milla Jovovich and Elizabeth Banks

The invitation simply said, “Come Exposed,” but not naked. It was a star-studded crowd at the Restoration Hardware Gallery Store in Los Angeles  as we gathered to celebrate the opening of the brand’s new Spring 2012 collection, entitled “Exposed.”

Not sure what to wear, I selected a royal blue off the shoulder dress from designer Tadashi Shoji after sending out a tweet for suggestions. Malin Akerman wore a beautiful red dress that captured a few eyes.

The home decor includes settings perfect for a romantic evening at home with your date or sweetheart. Stunning chandeliers were wrapped inside bird cages for a dramatic look. Candles set the mood in the beautiful store.

The Hunger Games co-star Elizabeth Banks was on the host committee along with Milla Jovovich, Abbie Cornish, and Malin Akerman.  The film opens today. A live musical performance from The Pierces added to the evening as the crowd sipped on Bellini’s and Moroccan mint Bellocq tea.

For more details and photos, visit SocietyNewsLA.

Restoration Hardware Gallery Store

Malin Akerman and Julie Spira

Photo Credit: Cirque du Soleil

Celebrating 24 years of performances, Cirque du Soleil now has a new home at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. On Sunday, September 25^th, celebrities and guests were treated to a VIP Red Carpet event, as Hollywood Boulevard was closed off for a pre and post theatre extravaganza.

Iris, A Journey Through the World of Cinema by Cirque du Soleil combines the musical genius of Danny Elfman, with a whimsical and historical look at Hollywood. According to their website, Iris is described as “a lyrical, fanciful, kinetic foray into the seventh art. Bringing together dance, acrobatics, live video, filmed sequences and animation, the show takes spectators on a fantastic voyage through the history of cinema and its genres, taking them into the heart of the movie-making process.”

Matthew McConaughey

Some of the celebrities in attendance included Patrick Dempsey and family, James Gandolfini, Neil Patrick Harris, Christina Hendricks of Mad Men, Matthew McConaughey, Ann Heche, Priscilla Presley, Cindy Crawford, Kim Raver, Jon Favreau, James Cameron, and Mario Lopez.

It was a treat to have George Kotsiopoulos, co-host of “Fashion Police” give me a vote of approval on my leopard print dress from the BCBG fall animal print collection.

According to sources, the production cost $120 million dollars, which included digging 90 feet under the stage to be able to store the extravagant set designs. Cirque will remain at the Kodak Theatre for 10 years.

Going to see IRIS will make a great date night and one certainly to remember.

Tickets are available at CirqueduSoleil.com.

Follow @JulieSpira on Twitter.

With Fashion Police co-host, George Kotsiopoulos

Julie Spira and Laura Linney

Listed as one of the “Top 10 Events of the Year” in southern California, the 16th annual “Taste for a Cure” honored Showtime’s President David Nevins. It was heartwarming evening filled with hope for those finding themselves at UCLA’s Jonnson Cancer Center with this frightening and often deadly disease.

400 guests attended the event to fight cancer at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel including honorary co-chair Laura Linney, from Showtime’s The Big C,  Evan Handler from Sex and the City and Californication, with musical performances from Dancing with the Stars Julianne Hough and Matthew Morrison from Glee.

Select wines and regional dishes from Oregon’s Willamette Valley were sampled

Julie Spira and Matthew Morrison

during the cocktail reception.

Matthew Morrison’s “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” was the perfect song to touch our hearts and give hope to everyone whose lives need to be lifted and filled with joy.

For more information or to make a donation, visit www.cancer.ucla.edu/

Julie Spira and Jackson Browne

March did roar in like a lion. I’ve been busy day-and-night coaching singles who are getting ready for Spring Fever and working non-stop on my second book, The Rules of Netiquette: How to Mind Your Manners on the Web.

Today, I took a well-deserved break to support the Success Through the Arts Foundation, held at the trendy Ford’s Filling Station restaurant in Culver City. For non-Angeleno’s this is is the locale of Harrison Ford’s son’s restaurant. Although it was rumored that Harrison and Calista Flockhart would be in attendance, they never made it to the event. However, long-time supporter and Board Member Jackson Browne came to show his support for the organization that has helped thousands of children at View Park Prep and Washington Prep High Schools in South-Central LA.

I had the opportunity to chat with Jackson Browne who was saving his voice for an upcoming performance and reminisced about the days I used to play his music on the radio.

Students played live jazz and blues music while attendees sipped wine tastings provided by Harry’s Wine in Brentwood. A portion of the proceeds from the wine purchase will be donated to the organization. For more information visit sttaf.org

Julie Spira and Lisa Kudrow - P.S. Arts

I truly felt like a kid in a candy store at the P.S. Arts Express Yourself annual arts festival. Having my photo taken with the iconic Target puppy dog, complete with a red-painted bullet eye, nibbling on cupcakes and caramel apples, and seeing some of the most creative arts projects for children to enjoy was a treat for those in attendance.

For 14 years, parents, kids, and big kids at heart throughout California wait for the Express Yourself celebration.  The annual creative arts fair and family day was held at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, which was recreated like a circus event with art projects galore.

Laurie David, one of the founders of the P.S. Arts gala shared her passion for bringing arts back into the school systems. “I can’t imagine what like would be like without the arts,” was repeated by most of those in attendance. Sure, I remember going to art class as a child growing up while attending public school. It was one of my favorites.

Unfortunately, statewide budgets have eliminated the arts from most of the school systems. With 50 schools benefitting from this organization, kids can have the creativity they need to grow and flourish.

California celebrities in attendance with their kids included Debbie Mazur, Marcia Cross, Camryn Manheim, Lisa Kudrow, and Lisa Rinna.

Thank you to the entertainment community of Los Angeles, who joined together to make sure that the children in selected schools throughout Los Angeles won’t live an art-free life.

For more information, visit PSArts.org

Julie Spira and Sharon Stone

The invitation simply stated, Black tie or Black leather. It was the first annual Inspiration Gala – A Celebration of Men’s Style in Los Angeles.

Held on October 27, 2010 at the famous Chateau Marmont Hotel in West Hollywood and hosted by Kylie Minogue, the benefit to support amfAR, featured Sharon Stone, a very special performance by Courtney Love and Dita Von Teese, and menswear designs by Jean Paul Gaultier & DSquared. Earlier this year, Galutier was the recipient of the amfAR Inspiration Award in New York.

Sharon Stone, Global Fundraising Chairman and I were the only women that dressed in black leather for the occasion. Stone was wearing a DSquared leather dress and I was dressed in Escada.

The actress has been involved with the organization since 1995 and has traveled all over the world to create awareness and raise funds for AIDS research.

After dinner I eavesdropped in a conversation with Courtney Love talking about Love. The singer performed versions of Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” and Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” for the intimate Hollywood crowd.

Since 1985, AmfAR HAS Raised more than 307 million dollars. The amfAR Inspiration Galas were held earlier this year in New York and Paris.

Singer Natasha Bedingfield and DSquared Fashion Models

On Friday November 5, 2010, Julie Spira, bestselling author of The Perils of Cyber-Dating: Confessions of a Hopeful Romantic Looking for Love Online will be signing copies of her book at Artspace Warehouse in Los Angeles.

View the new exhibition Abstract Passion and enjoy the champagne reception while receiving dating advice for singles looking for love online in time for the holidays. Already attached? You’ll still need to brush up on your skills on how to date your mate.

Artspace Warehouse offers original artworks from ambitious international artists to the public at affordable prices for every budget. Many of the original pieces cost as much as a pair of designer shoes.

Julie Spira has been featured in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Woman’s Day, Men’s Health, iVillage, Match, eHarmony, and WIRED with her online dating advice. She was named one of the Top Columnists to follow on Twitter and was listed as one of the Top 100 most influential people in social media in Fast Company.

• What: Book signing for bestselling author, Julie Spira
• Where: Artspace Warehouse, 7354 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90036
• When: Friday, November 1, 2010, 7:30pm – 9:00pm

RSVP: 323-936-7020 or info@artspacewarehouse.com

*Seating is limited.

It was a last minute decision in between the 140 Conference and Digital Hollywood, but I hopped on a plane to attend BlogWorld in Las Vegas to join my social media friends and experts, and I was sure glad that I did.

Going to Las Vegas is always a whirlwind trip, and my experience at BlogWorld Expo was no exception to the rule.

Over 3000 attended the BlogWorld Expo to learn the latest trends in podcasting, social media marketing, blogging, monetization, and the most up to date information from panelists, bloggers, and social media experts.

There were parties galore at BlogWorld 10. Our friends at KLOUT picked up guests in their VIP Hummer limo, which seated 20 for their BlogWorld Kloutup reception at the Palms Hotel. Afterwards we gathered at the opening party hosted by Techset at the new Liquid Pool Lounge at the Aria Hotel.

It was a time to see old friends and meet new ones to move our online friendships to offline. I was most excited to meet Joel Williams, Blog Tech Guy, who has been part of the Cyber-Dating Expert and Social Media and More teams for almost two years.

Marsha Collier at BlogWorld

I graciously and regretfully passed on Brian Solis’s midnight after party at the Wynn Hotel to rest up for a full day of sessions on Day 2. I stopped to say hello to the folks at BlogTalk Radio, Audio Acrobat, signed the Ford Focus Rally car along with many others, and engaged in meaningful conversations in the Sony New Media Lounge.  I very much enjoyed watching a few of the Techmunch sessions in the exhibit hall curated by Babette from Bake Space.

My friend Marsha Collier hosted one of the Techmunch panels and was at the Wiley booth signing copies of her new book, Facebook and Twitter For Seniors For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))

Executive Chef Karl Marsh and Todd Simon, Sr. VP Omaha Steaks

In the evening, we were treated to the BlogWorld Bistro Tasting, hosted by Omaha Steaks in the private Foundation Room at House of Blues. Chef Karl Marsh was on hand serving up amazing appetizers including Filet Mignon Spring Rolls, Bull Wings, Coconut Shrimp, and Jumbo Cooked Shrimp. Our friends at Mashable hosted the Mashbash party at Haze at the Aria hotel.

Julie Spira and Heather Meeker at The Love Party

Afterwards, my friend Stephanie Michaels, @Adventuregirl hosted The Love Party at the Beatles Revolution Lounge with a portion of the proceeds to benefit Operation Smile.

On Day 3, I hosted Ask the Cyber-Dating Expert Radio Show live from BlogWorld with my guest Dan Abelon, co-founder of SpeedDate. Dan called in to talk about the latest trends in mobile dating as well as their focus on matching based primarily on chemistry over compatibility. SpeedDate now has over 10 million members looking for love online.

And they did save the best for last with final Keynote Address.

Penn Jillette, Adam Carolla and Rob Barnett

We were promised a closing session full of laughter by former radio executive Rob Barnett, who started My Damn Channel four years ago. We were not disappointed. Shira Lazar introduced the session with guests including Penn Jillette of the famous Vegas duo of Penn and Teller,  Adam Carolla, Cali Lewis, Mark Malkoff, and Jeffrey Hayzlett.

Penn, who has over 1.6 million followers on Twitter and writes his own tweets, says he types what’s in his heart.  He told the group that Social media helps us tell the truth as we see it. Penn multitasks his career with Penn Point on Revision 3 and about 8 others at once.

Adam Carolla talked about getting fired from his job and his extraordinary comeback as a super-successful podcasters. The Adam Carolla show now has 200,000 downloads a day.

Mark Malkoff, the comedian who is best known as the guy who filmed himself at 171 Starbucks locations in Manhattan as well as the guy who lived in IKEA told us that he stayed in his bathroom for 5 days to detox from Internet addiction. His funny stories get picked up by the major news outlets including CNN.  You can find him on MyDamnChannel.com/MarkMalkoff.

Cali Lewis from GeekBeat TV shared her passion for social media saying it takes 16 hour a day 7 day a week to keep up with her personal brand. She added that she’s enthusiastic about taking over the world.

It’s always a treat to see former Kodak CMO turned bestselling author Jeffrey Hayzlett speak about social media marketing. Hayzlett talked about the 118 from his book The Mirror Test: Is Your Business Really Breathing?

He claims it takes 110 seconds for the average elevator ride in New York City and 8 seconds to hook someone in. Hence, the elevator speech about what you do must be honed down to 118 seconds. He added that “Scale is the “New Black.” In other words, you’ll need to add several 000s to prove your concept.

All in all it was a gathering of sharing information, meeting some of the kindest people in social media, and an educational forum to build our businesses all created by our passions in our niches.

Congratulations to Rick Calvert and Dave Cynkin, co-founders of BlogWorld on a very successful and wonderful experience for social media enthusiasts. I look forward to seeing everyone again at BlogWorld 11.

I just returned from a 48-hour whirlwind trip to New York. No trip to New York City would be complete without a stop on Broadway. This time, I had the honor of being a guest at the revival of the musical comedy, Promises, Promises starring Kristin Chenoweth and Emmy award winner, Sean Hayes.

Back in Los Angeles, I’m still humming to the songs of “I’ll Say a Little Prayer” and “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again” sung so sweetly by Chenoweth. The show is heartwarming, especially for a Hopeful Romantic like myself. As I witnessed the emotional matters of the heart and relationship woes,  I watched and wondered will the boy get the girl he has the crush on? Will the girl get over the married man she believes she is in love with? Will they ever fall in love again? If you have the chance to be in New York, I highly recommend seeing Promises, Promises. I promise, you won’t be disappointed. The performance makes you realize how important it is to open your heart to the possibilities and that a heartbreak isn’t the end of the world.

During my brief stay, coincidentally, over 2500 female bloggers were in town for Blogher 10. I stopped by Single Edition’s Bloggers in Babeland gathering and snuck in a quick trip to the Met to see the Picasso exhibtion, along with Ringo Starr’s gold drum, and Big Bamboo on the rooftop of my favorite museum.

If you can’t make it to New York, you can purchase the soundtrack of Promises, Promises on Amazon.com.

It’s been years since I attended a baseball game at Dodger Stadium. I often wondered why baseball was America’s favorite past time.

One day, an invitation arrived on Facebook from an old friend I hadn’t seen in 30 years. It simply said, “Let’s Go Mets!” I couldn’t resist saying no, so I accepted the invite from a true serious New York Mets fan. More than a Mets fan, my friend is a Mets fanatic. He arrived wearing his Mets tee shirt and shorts proudly displaying his favorite team’s emblem. He talked about how his life had changed years earlier, after attending Mets fantasy camp. The enthusiasm about the New York Mets playing against the Los Angeles Dodgers was contagious. I couldn’t wait to get to Dodger Stadium.

I sent out a tweet that said “Let’s go Mets!” and my online conversation started about the upcoming team.  A friend of mine sent me a tweet saying the Mets will win by 5 + runs. The Mets had been on a losing streak, but I was hopeful they would win this one game. My Mets fanatic pal talked about his years of following the team around the country. It was his greatest passion. He had over 500 shirts with Mets logos on them and a house filled with museum quality memorabilia.

I arrived in time to watch a home-run. I got excited. I watched another ball player smash his face into the fence to catch the ball. It could have been a million dollar catch. I witnessed a marriage proposal on the big screen which said, “Robyn will you marry me? Love, Andrew” followed by, “She said yes!”  I immediately shared this experience on Twitter. We sang “God Bless America” and “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” during the 7th inning stretch. We talked about love, marriage, relationships, and my friend admitted he had a crush on me 30 years ago.

The best part of the evening was, the Mets beat the Dodgers, 6-1. My friend on Twitter must be thrilled that he picked the game, my Mets fanatic pal got to see a victory, and I learned a little more about baseball, crushes, and friendship.