Strut Staff's blog

It's happening rain or shine this weekend (11 a.m.-5 p.m., Sunday, June 22) in Allen Park: The Belle Tire Car Care Clinic for Women...sponsored by your friends here at Strut, of course!

This is a great FREE way to get comfortable with the vehicle you depend upon, whether you're a new driver or a seasoned pro. Plus you can pick up a free gift bag, meet some local celebs and more. Get the full-meal-deal of details here.

But if you're just looking for DIRECTIONS here's what you need to know:

In the June issue of Strut, former Detroiter Bettye LaVette talks about her Grammy-nominated album and her current tour, which includes a July 4 Michigan stop at the Rothbury Music Festival.

Read the Strut story here.

Listen to samples from Scene of the Crime here:

Women turned out in force at the 2008 Southeast Michigan Start! Heart Walk, Saturday, May 17 in Southfield. And with good reason: Coronary heart disease, which causes heart attack, is the No. 1 cause of death for American women, according to the American Heart Association.

Many of the participants had been personally touched by heart disease or stroke, and they wore stickers bearing the names of the heart patients to whom they were paying tribute during the fund-raising walk. (more...)

Just a reminder that this weekend (May 16 & 17)  is the World Expo of Beer in Frankenmuth -- a huge festival of suds that includes demonstrations on cooking with beer (billed as "Beer School")...but mostly a whole lot of beer tasting. At $1 per 4 oz. sample, it's an inexpensive way to learn a lot about hops.

About 70 brewers are scheduled to bring their best. You can find the latest updates here and a brochure on the weekend's festivities here.

There's also a free continuous shuttle service between the beer festivities and Birch Run. 

Check out some great finds for this weekend's events. Here are some highlights from our super web calendar (compiled just for metro Detroit women) to help kick off your weekend.

Art is in bloom in Mount Clemens

Head to Macomb Place for great local finds at the Mount Clemens Spring Art & Craft Show.  Between Main and Pine streets, you’ll find more than 45 venders displaying everything from paintings to jewelry.  Open all weekend from 10 am to 6 pm, the show will include live lunchtime entertainment on Friday.

 If you're a nurse -- or know somebody who is -- check out the new Vital Nurse Perks. It's a series of giveaways, discounts, bonuses and benefits just for Michigan nurses (courtesy of Strut's sister publication, Vital magazine).

This month, they're giving away $100 worth of gasoline...which used to be a whole month's worth of gas, but now is more like one good fill-up. But, hey, free gas is always a big plus.

Career woman who is too busy for a relationship and whose uterus is...unlikeable (and apparently unusable) hires a club-hopping, TastyKake-snarfing wild thang surrogate and tries to turn her all calm and organic for the duration of the pregnancy. No such luck, of course. And while the inevitable hijinks are happening, guess who falls in love.

You won't have any trouble guessing how this story ends. But you won't mind the predictability one bit, thanks to wonderfully funny performances from Tina Fey and  Amy Poehler.

Still unsure of what to do this Sunday?

Here are some suggestions taken from our 100 things feature from the Generations issue.

1) Sunday Brunch

Go to the Ritz-Carlton on Mother’s Day and enjoy live jazz, champagne, and brunch in the Presidential Ballroom. All mothers will be entered into a drawing room for prizes, which include a 100-minute massage, a 100 rose bouquet, or a $100 gift certificate to The Grill Restaurant.

When: 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

We're almost at the finish line. Just two more finalists in this wonderful competition that brings attention to Wayne State's design students (Go Tartars/Warriors!) and the good works of Haven, a group dealing with the very important issue of domestic and sexual violence. Every entry needed to incorporate the theme, "Changing the Headlines," newsprint, and the colors black, white and Haven's signature purple.

Name: Jillian Siobhan Maloney 

City: Macomb

Age: 20 

Schooling:  WSU Sophomore design student

If you've been following these design posts, I hope you're impressed. There are 10 finalists in this competition for Haven to bring attention to the problem of domestic violence. Each design is distinctly different and as unique as the students who designed them. I get to see them tonight at the Promenade of Hope where three winners will be selected from pool of finalists. Wish the students luck!

Name: Stefanie Sintakis

Age: 21

City: Shelby Township

Favorite designer: Karl Lagerfeld