Precious Moments

Hello!
I thought it was appropriate that I come back to blog for this episode. I have been invited to keep blogging throughout the entire season and believe me I was very tempted to do so, but I did leave the show for a reason. I felt that it was hard for me to write an honest blog without getting sucked back into the drama, so I thought it was best to just keep my mouth shut. I am trying so hard to tame the wise ass in me, but watching some of the episodes the ammunition was just so tempting. I actually had to talk myself down from some very funny tweets at times! Oh well, as I said, I am a work in progress as we all are!

This episode brought back some very nice memories. I was really so touched when Teresa asked me to be little Audriana's godmother, these are the times I am actually so grateful that we had cameras following us around capturing some of these precious moments. There were some really special touches to the christening that weren't explained. That beautiful vintage-looking baby carriage that help Audriana's christening gown and all her other little presents was a gift from my mom when I gave birth to Lexi. Later you saw us trying to get the baby to smile at the party when we put her in the carriage for photos. I have a whole photo shoot of Lexi as a newborn in that carriage as well! I love the start of traditions like this, I can't wait for the day that I take pictures of my little grandchildren in that very same carriage. Ahem... that better not be anytime soon!

I had the baby's christening gown made and my Mom and I took the time to embellish the entire gown with beautiful lace trim adorned with Swarovski Crystals. Some friends came over to help me put the finishing touches on the gown one night and we sat around my dining room table with a bottle of wine and some great Teresa stories and laughed our asses off. The finished gown was so detailed and actually really breathtaking. Little Audriana was the only thing that could make the gown even more beautiful than it was, she looked like a gorgeous mini-bride.

That brings us to the mini-wedding. Did you see how fabulous the centerpieces were? I need to thank Morningside Greenhouse in Haledon, NJ for helping me bring my vision of sugar and spice to fruition. I drove them crazy getting the perfect shades of pink and cream roses, feathers and pearls that adorned both the flower arrangements and the cake. I also want to give my girls at Designer Affair a shout out for all their hard work that day and the days leading up to the event. I worked those girls to the bone! LOL. Not only did everything from the place cards to the table numbers sparkle, but they were also in charge of overseeing Marie Antoinette and her skirt of sushi. (By the way, how amazing was she? I love adding touches like that to my events, they are always a WOW factor and the guests LOVE it.) I was at the church doing my godmother duties while my girls made sure everything was in place ready to go at the Brownstone. I'm glad that I decided relaunch Designer Affair, I am very passionate about design and I am so glad that I found a crew of girls that I could trust running my events. For more info on our events go to designeraffair.com.

The only thing that disturbed me about watching this episode was that such a beautiful sacred moment had to be mixed in with such batshit crazy moments like the fight between Kim G. and you know who. I was really totally against the church being filmed for exactly that reason. I lost that battle as you can see. I want to thank my priest for being his wonderful self and giving Audriana such a beautiful blessing. It was very special to have the priest that married me and Tommy baptize my goddaughter too! I also want to mention that I am very lucky to share this honor with a great godfather, Teresa and Joe's friend, John. He is such a sweet guy. He and his wife seem like such great people and Tommy and I are so lucky to share such an amazing little Goddaughter with them.

By the way, before anyone starts on where Lexi and Tommy were at the Christening, Lexi was there but as I addressed before, her father and I didn't want her to be part of the show and she was not allowed to be shown on camera this year at all. My husband was not at the church because he was back at the Brownstone making sure the party was as fabulous as it was. So cool it on the comments for the few of you who already started in on Twitter.

At the end of the day and at the end of such a fabulous party we need to remind ourselves of what a special sacrament Baptism really is. I hope to be a wonderful godmother to Audriana and guide her through her religious and spiritual journey. I know right now she is just a peanut and my role is more about giving her little Gucci shoes, but as she grows into a young girl and then into a woman, I hope she realizes that I am here for her no matter what.

At this time I just want to take a moment to once again thank you all for such beautiful messages of support and encouragement. I've said it once and I'll say it again, our fans are some of the most wonderful people in the world! Lex and I are doing great and are enjoying some down time this summer. Although I do miss some of the fun moments of being part of the show, I don't miss the drama AT ALL! Leaving was the best decision I've ever made. It seems as though things got even crazier after I left, and I didn't think that was possible!

I am working on some really exciting projects so visit dinamanzo.com or follow me on Twitter @dinamanzo for updates and announcements. As always, Project Ladybug is keeping me very busy, I am so excited to be working on opening more funds throughout the country so we can help more children battling this awful disease. Visit projectladybug.org for updates on how we are bettering the lives of children with cancer. Please consider making a donation or joining our Project Ladybug team. Help us make a difference.

Bye for now,
Dina xoxo

P.S. Grandma Wrinkles sends her love and appreciates your support too! She has over 8000 followers on Twitter despite Andy Cohen's hate for her ; ) Follow her, @grandmawrinkles.