Earrings and Cufflinks Created by Planit Meetings!

black pearl shell cufflinks

Decided that rather than logo'd 'stuff', flowers, candy or cupcakes for Planit Meetings clients and prospective clients we visit, I give them earrings and cufflinks, that I design and create with real materials -- sterling silver and gemstones -- in mini Chinese take-out boxes, hat I also make. Light blue for small, more traditional earrings, darker blue for creative earrings, and red for cufflinks, for the males.

They reflect the philosophy of Planit Meetings -- only the best, creative, real. That's us!

I have given more than 70 pairs of earrings and cufflinks to current and prospective clients in the past

labradorite and sterling

few months, regretting that I haven't taken photos of most. They're hard to photograph....Never look as good in photos as in real life.

One client, who doesn't have much in travel or meetings needs, asked for 15 pairs of earrings and cufflinks to give as company gifts. I obliged, charging our client $5 more than material costs.

Ever since taking a jewelry-design course in college, have been making own jewelery....a fanatic about using real materials that last.

 Here are some photos of Planit Meetings bijou. Please check out my bijou blog:

susansbijouindc.blogspot.com

Boston subway token cufflinks

Click on a blog photo to open a blog to see all the photos.

pearl, jade, crystal

If there are any you like, and you want to own, email and we can negotiate. Note that some earrings. have loops on both ends....so they can be worn either way. All are one-of-a-kind.

Cufflinks are traditional onyx, and also unique (like Boston MBTA tokens).

agate and sterling

susan@planitmeetings.com

For last-minute hotel needs for Georgetown DC's Nike Women's Half Marathon Expotique April 25 - 27, Planit Meetings can help you!

April 25 - 27, Nike will be hosting a Women's Half Marathon and Expotique, at Washington Harbor in Georgetown. The event will spill over to adjacent Thomas Jefferson street on Saturday, April 27, the main day. 45,000 participants are expected to pack Washington Harbor this week.

NIKE WOMEN HALF MARATHON DC EXPOTIQUE HOURS:
Thursday, April 25: 12PM – 8PM
Friday, April 26: 10AM – 8PM
Saturday, April 27: 8AM – 6PM

If you're out of town and have decided to attend the event, Planit Meetings, a supporter of this event, would be happy to help you find the most affordable hotel accommodations.

Please email us:  susan@planitmeetings.com, kelder@planitmeetings.com

National Police Week 2013 hotel rooms in DC May 10 - May 16

It's not too late to get 'affordable' hotel rooms in DC, nearby Maryland or Virginia, for National Police Week. Planit Meetings is proud to be National Police Week's hotel host for the second consecutive year. Looking forward to to.

For last minute National Police Week hotel needs, please contact us. No prepay, cancelable until 24 hours prior to arrival.

We can also assist you with logistics, parking for vans.

For more information: Susan@planitmeetings.com

Animals-at-Work, Linus, Leah Levine

Leah and Linus www.animalsatworkblog.com

Excited to receive an email today from Planit Meetings friend Leah Levine, announcing the launch of her new blog, Animals-at-Work, at www.animalsatworkblog.org

Leah, a life coach, who also trains and mentors life coaches in Accomplishment Coaching's program, has MS, and her wonderful, adorable, gorgeous Linus makes her life easier.

In her blog, Leah writes about her life before and after Linus.... Her blog inspires, and inspires thinking!

Through knowing world travelers Leah and Linus, have learned a lot about traveling with dogs (Planit Meetings staff all dwell with our dogs), making me personally better able to assist Planit Meetings' travelers-with-dogs find the best hotel situations for them and their dog companions. It's not only about luxurious pet accommodations and amenities for dogs, packing toys, baggies, getting microchipped, but proximity to parks, where dogs can catch frisbees, run, play, sniff markings from other dogs, chill. Have become expert in finding the best hotels in optimal dog neighborhoods in cities across the US, while not sacrificing human qualities. (Planit Meetings likes dog-friendly hotels that restrict dogs to certain lower floors.)

Please share Leah Levine's Animals-at-Work blog address with your dog-liking friends, and send her any comments you have....and contact Planit Meetings for any hotel needs you have, especially when you're traveling with your wonderful dog(s).

All the best!

Memorial Day Weekend and Military Veterans Family Travelers to DC

Planit Meetings is excited to partner with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund to offer discounted hotel  rooms, for Memorial Day weekend travels to DC. A portion of all realized commissions from hotel reservations for DC area hotels for the Memorial Day weekend, made by military veterans or their families, will go to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, for their programs.

Planit Meetings has been honored to be working with the VVMF this past year, just as it has been a great privilege to be working with the men in blue for Police Week 2013. When veterans and active duty military families come to the DC area for Arlington Cemetery events, or to DC to visit the Wall, we take care of them. 

For the past few weeks, I have been working with a family, whose brother’s name is being added to the Wall in May...after all these years. This trip to the Wall means very much to them, and we are doing all we can to help them. We were able to negotiate a great hotel rate for the family, at a hotel a short walk from the Wall, with parking and hotel restaurant discounts for the family. We also booked their bus and boat tours, and arranged for free wheel chair use for a family member, during their four-night stay. We're also babysitting at the hotel during one night of their stay -- at no charge -- enabling the adult family members to have one carefree fun night out on the town, to honor their brother.

We cherish the opportunity to give back to the families of our veterans, any way we can, and we go out of our way to do everything possible to ensure that our military veterans and their families get the best, for the least, when they visit the Washington, DC area.

If you’re active duty or retired military, coming to DC for Memorial Day weekend, please let us help you. We can secure for you the hotel that meets your needs and price point. Making a hotel reservation with us will add to the VVMF education fund, re: ensuring the story of our Vietnam war heroes is always remembered.

Email the Planit Meetings team at: susan@Planitmeetings.com, and or kelder@planitmeetings.com

National Police Week 2013, Hotel Accommodations

Planit Meetings is proud to be working again with the Fraternal Order of Police and the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund to provide hotel accommodations for National Police Week.

 

In 1962, President Kennedy designated May 15 Peace Officers Memorial Day, with the week in which it falls, Police Week.  In 1982, the Memorial Service honoring fallen officers began as a gathering  of about 120 survivors and supporters in Senate Park on Cap Hill. The event known as National Police Week, has grown into a series of events, over four days, attended by thousands of survivors and law enforcement officers from every branch, coming to Washington from all over the world, to celebrate and honor the lives of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. Planit Meetings is so honored to participate in this event!

Planit Meetings has hotel room blocks all over the DC area, at every price point, with no pre-pay, and always cancelable. We will work with your budget and hotel requirements, to help you get to National Police Week. The rates that we are offering are far lower than the rates that hotels can offer you.

Go to the Police Week website, and click on the hotels icon, for a complete list of Police Week hotel room blocks that are not sold out. www.policeweek.org.

If you have any questions about hotels, please don't hesitate to contact Planit Meetings; we are happy to help you find exactly what hotels you need, and can describe particulars about hotels to you. 

All the hotels that we have selected for Police Week 2013 are wonderful; here are two of the great options:

Courtyard Foggy Bottom

The Courtyard Marriott Foggy Bottom is a new hotel, located near the west end of the Mall, by the Foggy Bottom metro, 9 floors, 147 rooms, the high quality associated with Marriott. Complimentary WiFi in all common areas, with the Bistro restaurant offering an evening bar.

The Hyatt Regeny Crystal City is a good option, if you want to be close to, but not in, the city. Near Reagan National Airport, on the metro, the hotel features an outdoor pool, use of golf clubs (remember the public golf course on Hains Point is open almost year round), two bars, computer rental, health club, free airport transport. The hotel is elegant and luxurious, but also casual and comfortable, with easy access to all Police Week venues!

For National Police Week hotel questions, feel free to contact Planit Meetings!

Inauguration Party notes.....

Four days after the Inauguration reception I worked on, am still wiped out.....Some random thoughts about helping a wonderful friend and client with a non-partisan Inauguration reception.

....and please look at the photos, even though I'm not in any of 'em!  To see some of my effort, go to:
http://flic.kr/s/aHsjDGTyu4

It was a lovely party, with volunteer contributions by many! I recruited two student-photographer volunteers from a local art school to take photos, and students from Georgetown U assisted with VIP guests, and guest check-in. For affordable photographers and videographers, I highly recommend tapping into local colleges. For the photographers, I went to the school's internship program director. For the Georgetown students, I emailed the president of the student association. It helps to have a child or other family member alums.

Take a look at the flowers in the photos: Trader Joe's best. Had pre-ordered to ensure they had enough tulips. When one preorders from Trader Joe's, they can't guarantee color choices for any flowers. Color scheme was yellow and turquoise. Arranged 80 bunches of flowers in less than 2 hours! My exercise for the day! Picked up unmatched whiskey glasses at Goodwill for vases for bistro tables, with pasta canisters for vases stuffed with oranges, for buffet table. Am NOT a flower person: if I can make nice flower arrangements, anybody can.

Trader Joe's also came through very, very well with wine selection. Because I don't know a lot about wines, I usually choose by label designs and price. Fortunately, Eric, the Trader Joe's Foggy Bottom wine expert, worked with me. From the wine labels and prices (low end) I liked, he chose the best ones. A VIP-ish guest mentioned that she loved the chard! I did not tell her that it was a $3.99 bottle she was enjoying!

http//susansbijouindc.blogspot.com

The 37 door prizes were all nice. Two hotels contributed weekend stays, Oprah's restaurant Art & Soul gave a great gift bag with cookbook and spices, Elizabeth's Gone Raw Restaurant contributed a $150 gift certificate, I donated two pairs of labradorite earrings that I made, and many others donated great door prizes. Wish I had won the personal training package from Fitness Together! We had give-aways like Uber gift certificates at the sign-in table.

The food was outstanding -- catered by Navajo Caterers, who came from New Mexico and Florida to prepare food, at a nearby church kitchen, for the event. Ir was very very good southwestern cuisine --lamb and beef and a lot of corn dishes, including a blue corn dessert. For this party, I rated the calorie count as 'guilt free.' Will post website later, with recipes.

The only grumpy part of the eve was the gridlocked traffic. Getting across town to Cap Hill was bumper-to-bumper, in part because the Obamas were at a party at the National Building Museum, near this Inaug party. Further, everyone was trying to get to Inaug parties at the same time. After working on site all day, I had gone home to change. Getting back to the party at 4:45 p.m., about 4 miles away, took 1 hour and 25 minutes. Was gonna go back and bicycle to get there, and only didn't, but because it was very cold.

Happy to say that it was a lovely party -- nice people, convivial, all done well, due to an amazingly wonderful collaborative spirit! Wish you were there!

Planit Meetings is happy to help our clients with all their events, in any way we can. Helping is what we do best. The next time you need party help, we're here for you too.

All the best,

susan

Happy 2013

Catching up again....after going two months without posting! No news...Is that good news?....Will the 2013 Inauguration be fun?.... What's cooking with Planit Meetings this year?

First, hotels and the Inauguration.... In November and December, after the elections, hotels put their hotel rates and restrictions in place...Most hotels had 4 night minimums, prepaid, non-refundable. People bought rooms, from hotels, from us, good faith....Now, because of the economy, second-term boredom, the economy again, maybe Sandy and other weather crises, people are not coming to DC for the Inauguration, and hotels are selling their rooms, previously rated as $1,000 per night, for almost half that via a couple of discounted services. It doesn't seem fair to the consumer who paid $1k for non-refundable 4-night minimums. On the other hand, who knew, back on November 25, exactly how many people were coming to DC for this Inaug!!   Yes, there are still many hotel rooms in DC for the Inaug...We can get you one-night stays, without prepay, at rates that parallel rates during times in DC, when there are city-wide conventions.

Planit Meetings has been working hard helping a client with their non-partisan Inauguration event, January 20...There will be many parties in DC this weekend.... This morning, talked to an academic VIP on the guest list, who is not attending. His wife, a university chemistry professor in DC, is attending the Vogue Knitting Conference in NYC this weekend. So much for a university administrator's interest in Inauguration parties...even fun ones, like the one that Planit Meetings is helping with......Spent 4 hours sewing a dressy halter top from 2 sari silk scarves. The You Tube version involved no sewing, but I opted for a double layer scarf sewn and with added hooks and eyes. Promise to post a photo if it works.

But this is why our clients respect us. Re: the last minute help with the Inaug event...we help our clients when and how they need our help, pro bono, and with good cheer. They know they can count on us, whether it's for one hotel room night or many rooms in blocks for events....

Speaking of events....National Police Week's coming up in May.... college graduations....Memorial Day weekend with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (we are so so honored to work with them)

All the best Watch this space for weekly, I promise, posts!

susan@planitmeetings.com

Let Planit Meetings solve your New Years Eve dilemmas

Four Seasons DC

Whether you want to spend New Years Eve in DC, Baltimore, NYC, SF, Charlotte, Miami or Chicago, alone, with your honey, or a bunch of friends, Planit Meetings can help you find what you’re looking for in a hotel-New Years Weekend celebration package! 

Looking for an in-town getaway, or a good deal at a resort close to your home? We’ll find what you think you want, at the rates you need. No charge for our services.

In DC, Planit Meetings friends receive discounts at several local restaurants and one party bus company. Hotel rates are comparatively low on winter weekends, even at the very best hotels,  so New Years Eve at most hotels sell out!

Many hotels have good New Years Eve packages, at great rates, that might include dinner, dancing, a party, with various amenities, like sparkling wine in hotel room. But what if you want a hotel room, and the kind of music or party at another location? Or you might have an idea what your significant other might like, but you don’t really know….How about Freddy Cole & the Dizzy Gillespie All Star Big Band at Kennedy Center's Terrace Theater, a walk along the Potomac, and a night at a nice hotel, nearby? Or a First Night celebration with your family, including the kids, in Old Town, and then hibernate at a hotel with an indoor pool?

We are here to figure it all out for you, keep your celebrating within budget and make plans for you that satisfy everyone in your party!

Email us your budget, the kind of hotels you like...boutique....rooms with balconies..., indoor good gym with indoor pool, restorative spa, quiet or lively...? Let us help you make the best plans for your New Years holiday!   susan@planitmeetings.com

"New Year New You" Washington, DC In-Town Winter Getaway Package, custom-designed just for you!

Planit Meetings has created a “New Year New You” weekend in-town getaway package, just for you...to help you re-charge, re-connect, available weekends through January 14, 2013.

Your in-town getaway hotel will be your choice from four wonderful west end hotels... for up to 4 people. We love these hotels for their quality and spaciousness, and service....at Planit Meetings rates.

It can be an intown getaway for alone time, or with a significant other or a group of friends, for a PJ party like in college....

For your DC in-town getaway weekend, you may select from the following services brought right to you:

Personal training, designed to help you fix posture and gait. The trainer will create an at-your-desk work-out that's realistic;

Make-up lesson  and hair styling session from the best experts at Roche Salon;

Mani-pedi, massage therapy;

Work with life-coach 1 on 1 or have a group coaching session with your friends re: learning how to overcome obstacles so you can achieve goals you’re reaching for.

We will also arrange bicycle rental and create custom bike ride routes photo session, dinner, and more. If you're traveling with your dog(s), Planit Meetings will provide complimentary dog-walking services.

For prices and other info, email Planit Meetings: susan@planitmeetings.com