Happy Oscar Week!

It's that time again...

The Oscars are this Sunday, February 27th.

I don't work at the Academy anymore (like I did the past 2 years), but fortunately I am still working this Sunday at the Superbowl of the entertainment world, if you will.  I'll be working the bleacher seats on the Red Carpet during the day and the official after-party hosted by the Academy's Board of Governors, aptly called The Governors Ball (aka the best part of the night). ;-) 

In addition to finding a dress, hitting the gym regularly, and using Crest white strips, watching all 10 Best Picture nominees is always on my pre-Oscar to do list.  Unfortunately, this year I'm only going to reach 90% of that goal.  Despite my best efforts, I'm not going to get to watch 127 Hours before the show.  (But if I happen to run into Oscar host and Best Actor nominee for that movie, James Franco, you better believe I'm going to tell him that I saw it and I loved it). ;-)  Out of the other 9 Best Picture nominees, I REALLY liked some and I didn't particularly like some.  Here's the list of nominees in the order that I enjoyed them, from most to least: 

I honestly think The Social Network was the best movie I've seen in several years.  I was so engulfed both times I've watched it that I was legitimately sad it was over.  I also truly loved The King's Speech and would not be disappointed if it won (and definitely want Colin Firth to win Best Actor). What are your thoughts... agree/disagree?  Leave your choice for Best Picture (and/or any other category!) in the comments section...I'd love to see different people's choices.  Go ahead... in the spirit of Oscar week. ;-) 


As you can tell, I'm very excited. If only my bestie could be there with me again this year, it would be perfect.... 

2010 Oscars

I hope everyone has a gloriously fun time at your Oscar watch parties (click HERE for the official Oscar party kit, if you feel so inclined).  Stay tuned for my recap from the red carpet and Governor's Ball sometime next week.

  May the best movies win...!  

Fancy Philanthropic Fun

I love going to fun events. As I've stated in several posts before: when dressing up, an open bar, yummy hor d'ourves, and endlessly entertaining people watching are involved, you can't go wrong.  Throw in a charity to support, and it's even better.  Julie, who brought me to the opening of Rock of Ages earlier in the week, asked me to be her plus one to one such charity event on Friday evening.  We attended the "Passion for Fashion" event for the Magic Johnson Foundation, and it was awesome. 

The hosts were impressive: The most appealing person to me on the list of hosts (which included many NBA stars and other famous people) was this guy:  

Denzel Washington is one of my all-time favorite actors, and I went into the event with high hopes that I might finally see him in person. Unfortunately, as is the case with many Hollywood events, just because someone is listed as an official 'host' of an event, does not mean they will actually be in attendance. Therefore, hanging out with Denzel is still on my bucket list. 


The venue was fun: the entire Nordstrom store at the Grove was closed for this private party.  They had a dj playing great music and live models acting as mannequins, which was both strange and very cool at the same time. 

The hor d'ourves were delicious: my favorites included to-die-for baked macaroni and cheese with lobster, an assortment of divine sushi rolls, and cheesecake bites that I maintain may be the most delicious dessert I've ever eaten. Yummm. 

The drinks were pretty: I personally tried a pomegranate champagne cocktail which was fantastic and a honey-melon-basil-tequila concoction which was less fantastic (but it still looked pretty...)

The entertainment was great: Grammy winner Faith Evans performed several songs very up close and personal (as seen in this photo Julie snapped with her iphone)...

Did anyone else know that Faith Evans is the widow of Notorious B.I.G.?? I just discovered this when glancing at her wikipedia page right now (linked above). Crazy!

The cause was worthy:  The Magic Johnson Foundation works to develop programs and support community-based organizations that address the educational, health and social needs of ethnically diverse, urban communities. A portion of the proceeds of purchases made at Nordstrom during the party went to the foundation as well as the proceeds from an auction they held during the event.  (Let's just say the bids were a bit out of my price range...yowza). 

The people were wonderful: I had a blast with Julie and happened to run into my darling friend Whitney Olschwanger as well!  Such a great surprise. 

It was a wonderfully fun night!  I'll party for a good cause any day of the week... and twice on Sunday. ;-) 

Currently listening to: "Union & 3rd" by Andy Davis

Why: It's one of my favorite lullabies, and it's bedtime for this girl (yawn). 

Goodnight my loves, 

at

Rock of Ages

As I mentioned in my last post I went to see Rock of Ages at the Pantages Theater on Tuesday night.  My aunt's best friend, Julie (who I sometimes refer to as my "LA guardian angel"), invited me to be her plus one.  I had seen this hilarious high-energy musical on Broadway with Mary last year, and I was stoked to see it again. 

I thought this was just going to be a normal, fun-filled night watching an awesome show.  Much to my surprise, however, it was opening night and since Rock of Ages is being made into a movie (from Warner Bros... holla!!), that constituted a red carpet event in Hollywood.  We walked up to the historical theater to find a red carpet and tons of press.  Come to find out, it was a star-studded event with notable attendees including Zac Efron, Camilla Belle, Carmen Electra, Malin Akerman, Adam Shankman, Juliann Hough, Lisa Vanderpump (and her husband Ken Todd who I know and love from the Sports Club!), etc, etc, etc.  

After the show, I witnessed paparazzi up close and personal for the first time.  As we were leaving, we were literally inches away from Malin Akerman as she was surrounded by paparazzi.  It was a strange thing to witness... there were several of them all calling out her name and snapping photos as she tried not to fall on the slippery sidewalk (it rained during the show) and pretty much ignoring them.  I pray that I don't awkwardly end up candidly in the background of some photo in US Weekly sometime soon... eek. 

I wish I would have had the slightest inkling of who my company was going to be that evening... I would have changed out of my work outfit which included a blazer, jeans and glasses.  Not exactly my normal red carpet event look.  Whoops... haha.  

Okay, enough about the red carpet stuff.... now about the show... :-) 

Rock of Ages is set in 1987 on the Sunset Strip, where a small town girl meets a big city rocker in L.A.’s most famous rock club. Their love story is told through a quirky narrator and 80s hits that will have you singing along and dancing in your seat. It received five Tony nominations (including Best Musical) after opening in 2009.  Oftentimes, shows that go on tour across the country aren't nearly as good as they are on Broadway. This show, however, absolutely matched its Broadway counterpart and did not disappoint in the slightest.  Much of the original cast (including the Tony nominated lead, Constantine Maroulis) is traveling with the show which helps significantly.  It's hilarious and snarky and fun.  My favorite character, Franz (a sassy German who dreams of owning a confectionary shop), had me 'lol-ing' the whole time. 

If you're in LA, you should absolutely go see it.  (Don't delay... it's only here until Feb. 27)!  You can buy tickets here OR if you'd like to save a little moolah, you can go to the box office 2 hours before the show begins to purchase $25 rush tickets (subject to availability, naturally). I've done this rush ticket method for a few shows and it's great!  I highly recommend it.  :-)

Here's their performance at the 2009 Tony's to give you a little preview...

Currently listening to: Rock of Ages soundtrack... duh. 

Why: See above. ;-) 

Don't Stop Believin'...

at

Valentinesy Things

Valentines Day...  a day full of witnessing uninvited PDA, an overflow of red and pink, and those candy hearts that taste like chalk. 

As I stated in my Valentines post from last year,  I've had a lifelong trend of NOT having a Valentine.  By some weird twist of fate, that perpetual trend ended this year... crazy, I know.  Will (who I've briefly mentioned before) and I gave each other the proverbial "Be Mine?" candy heart and it was lovely. 

I'm sure that most of you probably share the sentiments of this someecard... 

 

.... so I'll keep my recaps to a minimum.  ;-)  

We had a two Valentine dates:  a fancy schmancy formal event for his law school on Saturday night and a cozy amazing dinner at my place on actual Valentines Day.  The law school formal reminded me of a date party in college. We dressed up. We pre-partied. We went to a cool venue (the penthouse of the Petersen Automotive Museum). We mingled. It was great fun. (I love handsome boys in suits.  I mean, who doesn't??)

Pretty views from the Penthouse of the Petersen.
(I love alliteration).

Yesterday we exchanged gifts (he gave me a GORGEOUS bouquet of roses and I gave him tickets for us to go to his favorite hockey team's upcoming game in LA) and then enjoyed DELICIOUS homemade steaks, asparagus, baked potatoes and a heart-shaped cake.  It was really nice to stay in and not be surrounded by the hordes of other star-crossed Valentines. (Gross).  I might actually start to like this holiday after all... ;-) 

In other Valentines news, my darling cousin Erika unfortunately did NOT win the dream wedding I blogged about last week.  But she is still extremely happy and thankful for all the support and everyone who voted.  So if you voted.. BIG HUGE THANKS to you.  You're awesome. 

Gratitude:

1.) My very sweet Valentine. He's pretty great.

2.) My new(ish) glasses.  They're my favorite glasses ever. (Pictured below)

3.) Musicals. I'm going to see Rock of Ages tonight at the Pantages... I'm excited!

4.) Manicures. Automatic morale boost.

5.) Mail. I love getting old-school handwritten mail.  This week I was lucky enough to get sweet cards from my wonderful mom, grandma, Kayla AND this anti-Valentine card from Mary...

Currently listening to: Owl City's musical response to Taylor Swift

Why: I love grand gestures and this definitely is one.  It's no secret that my girl T Swift writes songs about her real life romantic (and/or non-romantic) experiences.  Sometimes she uses the guys' names, sometimes she doesn't.  Adam, the insomniac musical genius behind Owl City, decoded that her song "Enchanted" (which just so happens to be my favorite track on her new album) was about HIM and decided to record his response to her and put it on his blog.  You can can read about his (brave) grand Valentines Day gesture here and listen to the song here.   I'm impressed...this guy has some legit moxie!  And I must nerdily admit, I wish I could have been a fly on the wall when Taylor caught wind of this. I'd love to see her reaction. Not to worry...I'm sure she'll write a song about it...  :-) 

xoxo, 

at

Bootie-licious

This past weekend, several friends and I bravely ventured to a monthly mash-up dance party in Echo Park known as "Bootie LA."  

With a name like that and a location in the epicenter of extreme hipster-ville, my sweet non-hipstery friends and I were definitely unsure of what kind of crazy night we were getting ourselves into.  But, oh what fun it was.  


The atmosphere is difficult to describe.  It involved hundreds of people dancing to crazy mash-up mixes while tossing a huge inflatable pirate and/or beach ball around the dance floor, all the while a resident dance crew known as R.A.I.D. (Random Acts of Irreverent Dancing) performed extremely irreverent/hilarious dance routines in insane costumes on stage.   Here is one of their less-irreverent dance routines my dear friend Matt Godfrey captured that gives you a slight picture of their craziness. 



Bootie LA - R.A.I.D. from Matt Godfrey on Vimeo.


Overall, Bootie LA was ridiculous and crazy and hilarious and FUN.  Bootie LA happens the first Saturday of every month, and we are definitely planning on returning to shake our booties there in March.  


Five unrelated side notes:

1. I'm a new huge fan of Words With Friends. Play with me...AnnieTerracina. Holla. 
2. I watched The Fighter tonight, which means I only have 2 more of the Best Picture nominees to watch before the Oscars on Feb. 27.  I'm scared to watch 127 Hours, but I'm going to make myself...eek.  The Fighter was great though...highly recommend. 
3. I'm slightly jealous of all those snow days in Oklahoma. I could definitely use a few days to rest and recharge at home, and if it takes a blizzard or two to make me do that...I'll take it. 
4. I hosted a baby shower for the first time today for my extremely pregnant boss.  It was a wonderful success. 
5. Friday, 2/11, is the last day to vote for my darling cousin Erika to win a dream wedding! It only takes a moment... vote HERE. :-)

Currently listening to: iTunes on shuffle

Why: Perhaps thinking about Bootie LA's schizophrenic mash ups was the cause of this, but I wasn't really craving any type of music in particular tonight, hence the shuffle.   A random shuffling of 6,500+ songs is very hit or miss.  Sometimes I really think that iTunes can see deeply into my soul and cuts to the core of me with its shuffle choices.  Other times, it sucks and I'm like "Why the freak is this song on my iPod in the first place??" Tonight the shuffle is doing okay...the last few songs have been:

• "Great Balls of Fire," Jerry Lee Lewis
• "Who I Am Hates Who I've Been," Relient K
• "Green Hearts," Ben Lee
• "Got It All," Melee
• "Wind It Up," Gwen Stefani (whoooo C Gunn!) 

Anyone want to join me for Bootie LA next month?? :-)

xoxo, 

at

Help My Cousin Win A Dream Wedding!

My darling cousin Erika and her betrothed, Daniel, are finalists in a contest to win a FREE dream wedding! They both just returned from serving a year in Iraq and are more than deserving for this exciting reward.

You can watch a cute little video of their love story HERE and you can vote for them HERE (on the right hand side of the overly busy poorly designed website). Voting goes from now until February 11th and you can vote everyday.  If you have a few extra moments as you're browsing the lovely world wide web, it would be absolutely amazing if you could give them a vote (or several). The winner will be announced on Valentines Day... so hopefully I'll have some good news to share then! Thanks so much, darlings! You're the best.

Love you mean it (and so will Erika if you vote for her),

at

California Exploration: Big Bear

One thing I need to do more is explore California.  A little over a week ago, I got to do just that with my beloved community group as we ventured to the quaint little ski town of Big Bear for a little weekend trip.

(Author's note: "community groups" are essentially small group Bible studies that meet all across LA throughout the week.  I've been a part of one for more than 2 years, and recently started leading and hosting one at my apartment when my previous group got too big and had to split).

Big Bear is only a 2 or 3 hour drive from LA, but the vast difference of these two places is amazing.  I love that I could lay out on a sunny beach in LA in the morning and then go skiing in Big Bear that afternoon (hypothetically, of course, since I refuse to ski after an unfortunate incident at ski school when I was six years old involving a horrible case of altitude sickness and losing my lunch, if you will).  Point being, I love the diversity of this state!

While we didn't go skiing (thank goodness), we had such a nice relaxing time together.  I think it's mandatory for my sanity to get out of LA and get a breath of fresh air sometimes.  Here are a few photos of this fun-filled breath of fresh air....

Members of both my old community group and my new one.  I absolutely love these people.  Such an amazing, caring, strong support system in this crazy city. :-) 

Ellen made us a delicious din! I think we fit 14 people at an 8 person table.  Cozy. 

SNOW! 

It was a great trip!  Excited to do some more exploring.  Next up: I'm thinking north....  :-)

Currently listening to: Black Kids, "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You"
Why: I'm feelin'  a little sassy...  ;-)

xoxox,

at