Happy 4 Year Anniversary, Los Angeles.

A few days ago was my 4th anniversary in Los Angeles. This feels momentous because now I've been here the same amount of time I was in college. Weiiirddd. It's crazy how fast time goes. As has been my tradition the past couple years, I'll commemorate another crazy, fast-paced, exciting year in this lovely city like so: 

Four Years in LA by the Numbers

• Number of apartments lived in: 3 (1 month in Hermosa Beach, 23 months in Miracle Mile, 2 years in Los Feliz).

• Number of bosses I've had: 5
• Number of times at the Oscars: 4 

• Number of trips home to OK/Texas to visit the fam: 10

• Number of professional sporting events attended: 6 (4 Dodgers games, 1 Lakers game, 1 Kings game).
• Number of Vegas trips: 2

• Number of terrifying earthquakes (that I've actually felt): 3
• Number of food themed Halloween costumes: 2

• Number of traffic violation/parking tickets: 3 (blurghhh).
• Number of times I saw The Hunger Games in theaters: 3
• Number of trips to San Francisco: 2
• Number of work trips: 1 

• Number of times I've been in the audience of television show tapings: 8  
• Number of times to Disneyland: 2
• Number of times I've seen the glorious Meryl Streep: 2  

• Number of shows seen at the Hollywood Bowl: 2 
• Number of times I've seen my favorite band, Jacks Mannequin: 5
• Number of pets: 3 (my current pet fish and formerly 2 cute kitties that belonged to my old roomie Rachel). 
• Number of movie premieres worked at/attended: 8

• Number of hours spent in my car: too many to count :-( 
• Number of times I've said "I love LA.": too many to count. :-)

Happy Anniversary, darling LA. Thanks for a great four years.  Love you, mean it.  

xoxo, 

Annie.

Para, Para, Paradise: Puerto Vallarta Vacay 2012.

It had been approximately 3 years since my last real vacation.  Don't get me wrong... I've traveled the past few years, but all those trips have been visits to see my family, friends, weddings, etc. It had been far too long since I went somewhere with the sole purpose of getting away.  Relaxing. Exploring somewhere new.  Fortunately, my roomie McKenzie was having the same craving for a long-overdue vacay, so after a little Googling, we booked a one-week stay at a gorgeous all-inclusive resort in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico... and it was paradise. 

I could barely contain my excitement as I counted down the days to our tropical getaway.  When it finally arrived and we made our way south of the border, it was even better than I had eagerly anticipated.  We stayed at the gorgeous Hotel Barceló (two thumbs way up) where we enjoyed a gorgeous room and balcony overlooking the beach and (amazing!) pools.  When we weren't participating in fun organized activities (like beach volleyball or a football throwing contest that McKenz dominated) or reading/tanning/drinking by the pool, we explored the beautiful city. We played with the cutest dolphin ever named Gandalf (cross that off my bucket list), toured a tequila distillery (which included many delish samples... holla), made friends with the oh-so-nice hotel staff and fellow vacationers, got massages, and took an awesome adventure canopy tour that included riding up a mountain on mules, ziplining through the rain forest, and repelling down a waterfall. I had no idea how beautiful and lush and rain-foresty Puerto Vallarta was! It really reminded me of Costa Rica and I looooved it. :-) 

McKenz had the brilliant idea to film all our fun adventures and has compiled them into this wonderful highlight video.   While there is much more great footage that didn't make the cut, this definitely gives a legit overview (and makes me want to go back and do it all over again so badly).  Check it outtt... :-)

Viva Mexico! from McKenzie Morris on Vimeo.



As you can see, we had quite a blast. It was so good to just take a complete BREAK from the real world... and so hard to come back! I wish I could just rewind and relive that week again and again. Ha. But since I can't, I'll go ahead and start looking forward to the next vacay (and live vicariously through the highlights vid.). ;-) 

xoxo, 

Annie. 

8:11 June Highlights

June, with the minor exception of a killer sinus infection that plagued me in the middle of the month, was wonderful... full of trips, premieres, Bachelorette watch parties, and reunions with old friends. :-) Here are my favorite 11 things that I did at 8:11 pm last month.... 

8:11-hilarious Oklahoma reunion at @kimberlycondict's improv show with mike. Holla

 8:11- at the @rockofagesmovie black carpet premiere. Rock onnnn.

8:11-beautiful hike/picnic overlooking the ocean in palos verdes for@kmlgibbs bday w/ some of my favorite people. :-)

8:11- we postponed #bachelorette watch party to go to@kierstenlyons hilarious show, #crushed.

8:11-i (finally) made it to San Francisco! Excited for a fun weekend w/ my darling Vaness! (shown in reflection on the window). :-)

8:11- drinking slash #thunderingup w/ @katiehutchings. Hollaaaa. 

8:11- another wonderful viewing of @kierstenlyons show #crushed. LOVE this show!

8:11-at the Magic Mike premiere. holy hottness...where can I find my own @channingtatum?! Yowza.

8:11- it's Monday...you know what that means... #bachelorette time. 

8:11- @mckenziemorris and i welcomed to our hotel in puerto vallarta w/ cocktails and an oceanfront din. we're going to like it here :)

8:11- i loooove the gorgeous view from our balcony. :-)

It's safe to say June is definitely in the running to be my favorite month of 2012 (thus far). Hollaaaa. 

xoxo, 

Annie.

Sea Lions, Houseboats and Old Friends

Yowza. The past couple weeks have been busy busy busy. The light at the end of the tunnel, though, was my highly anticipated and much needed VACAY to Puerto Vallarta with my roomie, Mckenzie. We currently are at the Phoenix airport with a 4 hour layover (aka the perfect time to finish up some overdue blog posts), so here I go... :-)

A couple weekends ago I made a short trip up to San Francisco to see one of my dearest friend Vanessa who was there for work.  I was there roughly 40 hours and spent about 15 hours driving (alone) roundtrip, so that definitely wasn't the best travel to vacation time ratio. A rare combination of overly pricey flights due to the golf U.S. Open in SF that weekend and a random craving for a solo road trip led me to the (crazy) decision to make the long drive. However, when I hit some killer construction/congestion on the 5 (that literally caused me to put my car in PARK for an extended period of time), I definitely began regretting that decision. Ha. Alas, after approx 8 hours in the car I made it to SF and my lovely weekend reunion with Vaness officially began. :-)

I went to SF for the first time last year with Mary, but we spent the majority of our time Outside Lands, so I got to see a lot more of the pretty city this time. We ate a lot of DELISH food (highlights: gnocchi at Firenze by Night Ristorante, tomato/mozzarella croissant at Caffe Greco, and the famous pancakes at Dottie's True Blue Cafe), enjoyed the views from Coit Tower, visited St. Peter and Paul Cathedral (one of the prettiest churches I've seen in the U.S.), and saw the sea lions at Pier 39 (which are so freaking cute... I love them). 

We then had a wonderful/hilarious reunion with another good friend from college, Amber, who is one of the coolest, nicest, and most unique people I know.  It's hard to describe her in words, but I think the following text from her gives a glimpse into her awesomeness: 

"Hey! I have a ping pong lesson with this El Salvadorian master dude at noon, other than that, heck yes! We should meet by the ferry tomorrow- I live on a boat in Sausalito, and yall are gonna LOVE it.  :) guaranteed exciting/entertaining. HUZZAH." 

hahaha. Vaness and I read that a couple times and just laughed... so very "Amber." We took a ferry to Sausalito (on which we hilariously got RAVAGED by insaaane winds) and Amber brought us to her houseboat. I was expecting a small little boat where I'd have to duck my head to fit in the cabin... oh how wrong I was. It was a full-sized large HOME that also happened to be the oldest houseboat in Sausilito. The decor was artsy/eccentric/amazing and both Vaness and I couldn't get over how cool and crazy it was that Amber lives there.  

We spent the afternoon drinking delish handcrafted cocktails (fresh watermelon juice+gin+basil...yummm) and catching up on the last few years. It was perfect. And it definitely made me think of the cheesy (but true) quote, "True friends can grow separately without growing apart." :-)

Overall, it was a fantastic weekend full of old friends and exploring a great city. These are definitely a few of my favorite things. :-)

xoxo,

Annie. 

Review: "Crushed" at the Hollywood Fringe Festival

In her hilarious and painfully honest one-woman play, my talented friend Kiersten fearlessly tackles the age-old question that I'm sure the majority of us have been asking for decades...why is it that the boys you like, never like you back? (a.k.a. the story of my life).

 

Starting with her first crush at the ripe age of 4 (a Han Solo action figure) and ending with her wonderful husband, Bradley, Kiersten explores why it didn't work with every boy she loved in between (with the help of an old-school overhead projector and construction paper hearts). Her comical (sometimes sad) anecdotes made me laugh out loud (a lottt), think "No wayy?! Poor Kiersten!", and reminisce (with a smile and a laugh) about all my former crushes who didn't like me back. (I'm looking at you Chris, Kacy, Patrick, Colin, Ben, etc.). ;-)

Crushed opens at the Hollywood Fringe Festival TOMORROW (June 15th) and you should absolutely go. (I plan on going again next weekend). Tickets are $12 at door or $10 here with code: JTT.

xoxo, 

Annie. 

True Life: I'm a Hollywood Assistant

My new favorite Twitter feed (brought to my attention by Fred Savage a.k.a. Kevin Arnold from The Wonder Years a.k.a my first crush) is #HollywoodAssistants. Kevin Arnold describes it perfectly in his tweet:

 Fred Savage ‏@thefredsavage

Check out @hollywoodassts and see what life is like for the people who truly run show business. Enjoy!!

This hilarious anonymously-run tumblr gives such a great insight into the crazy, wonderful, frustrating, ridiculous, exhilarating world of being an assistant in this industry. I'm really lucky to have two great bosses who don't throw staplers at my head (as one of my friend's bosses did) and let me get involved in many projects above and beyond my "assistant" duties. (Thank goodness).  While almost all of the Hollywood Assistant posts make me 'lol', I've narrowed it down to some favorites....

WHEN SOMEONE NEEDS TO RESCHEDULE DRINKS WITH ME
On the outside I’m like,

On the inside:


WHEN I FORGET TO GET SOMEONE’S NUMBER


WHEN I HEAR JOHNNY DEPP IS IN THE LOBBY


WHEN MY BOSS TELLS ME I DID A GREAT JOB TODAY
I just feel like,

WHEN I TRY TO TAKE MY MIND OFF OF WORK

WHEN A HOT ACTOR WALKS BY


FREE FOOD IN THE OFFICE

WHEN SOMEONE RESCHEDULES THEIR MEETING TO MAKE THINGS WORK FOR MY BOSS


WHEN I GET A CALL SAYING THERE’S NO DRIVE-ON

THE MONTH OF DECEMBER

Oh man... how funny and accurate these are. I could go on and on.  Another funny insight into my current job is this video. It's 3 years old and still makes me laugh. I love that my place of employment makes an appearance. Holla WB. :-)

Hollywood ASST from Back of the Class on Vimeo.

your favorite Hollywood A-S-S-T, 

Annie. 

8:11 May Highlights

May is a generally a great month. The beginning of summer, Mother's Day, great weather, wedding season, and of course the pretty flowers that the April showers are supposed to bring. ;-) Here are my top 11 favorite things that happened at 8:11 PM in lovely month #5. 

8:11- din and UCB Facebook w/ @ellen_godfrey @mattgodfrey and@benkall. Holla.

8:11- din at my FAVE restaurant in Oklahoma (Ted's) w/ @dterracina, @christiegunn, and@randis716. Could not be happier.

8:11- at my sweet darling @abirkett's Oklahoma themed rehearsal dinner. So happy for her! 

8:11- loving the beautiful wedding of my gorgeous little @abirk. ❤❤❤ 

8:11- at @best_coast 's album release/clothing line launch party w/@ssegrub. Further solidifying her place as one of my favorite musicians.  (more on this fun party here). :-)

8:11- the wonderful @chadosko has graced LA w/ his presence once again.

8:11- shots w/ Seanzie before @istantray's play. Holllaaaa.

8:11- creating a masterpiece and drinking delish wine at a painting class w/ my darling @thelivlife. Funnnn.

8:11- part 1 of Josie's birthday celebrations- rooftop at Sonoma Wine Garden overlooking the ocean in Santa Monica. So pretty!

8:11- recuperating after the crazy Memorial Day Malibu party: frozen yogurt w/@ezoesch.

8:11- best way to end #memorialday weekend-#bachelorette watch party. Hollaaaa.

8:11- making slap bracelets with @kierstenlyons and her sisters for her amazing upcoming Hollywood Fringe Festival show "Crushed." Can't wait to see it!

Isn't it nuts that 2012 is already halfway over? So insane. I'm quite excited for June, though... I'll be avoiding "June gloom" in LA and heading to San Francisco and Puerto Vallarta this month! Bring on the beaches and margs...STAT. :-)

xoxo, 

Annie.