Tag Archives: costumes

Oscars Time! (or Inside Out vs. Star Wars)

After seeing my sister-in-law on Friday night and spending Saturday day/night and Sunday morning in San Diego, I was ready to lay low on Sunday and relax. But that was not in the plans for the day. This past Sunday was the Oscars, and as always I had an awesome party to get to!

I had planned out my costume carefully for the party. I knew that I would be coming back from San Diego that morning and wanted to make sure that even if we got caught in horrible traffic I’d have time to get ready. So I decided to make something that was easy to put on in case I only had minutes before I had to get out the door.

There were a couple of ideas that I had going for my costume, but the one I went with was actually the original idea I had.

Inside Out

I was Riley from “Inside Out” and had all the emotions coming out my head. I accomplished this by attaching each character to a zip tie that I had tied around a headband. It took a couple of tries to figure out something that would work (glue wasn’t helping to keep the characters upright), but I think it looked pretty cool in the end!

I was super excited to see how Marie and Chris would decorate their house. They definitely go all out and over the top, and I love it! And this year didn’t disappoint!

Star Wars Yard

That X-Wing plane was made out of cardboard and PVC pipe and took up a good chuck on the backyard. And they made the BB8 and R2D2 out of various things they bought (the bottom of BB8 was a yoga ball). This was so impressive and amazing and we all took tons of pictures of it.

Before the Oscars started, I saved my seat in the quiet viewing room and got some food. I got there early enough that I had time to hang out with my friends before my focus went to the show.

Overall, I enjoyed the Oscars this year. I know there is a ton of controversy surrounding the show and the lack of diversity, but I think the Academy is taking some really great measures to make sure that this does not happen again. And of course the lack of diversity was mentioned a lot on the show so they weren’t trying to cover up for anything.

Normally I’m pretty good at guessing the winners, but this year was pretty bad for me! I got a couple of random ones right and best actor/actress correct. But there were plenty of surprises this year. While I enjoyed seeing “Mad Max”, I wasn’t expecting them to win as many Oscars as they did. They were all deserving wins, but not how I thought the Academy would vote. I also think that so many people were surprised by the supporting actor category as well as the best song (we were all crying watching Lady Gaga perform). And we were all pretty split on what would win best picture, and even though I really liked “Spotlight” it was not what most of us had picked to win.

Even though I was in the quiet viewing room, we were a bit louder than usual. Nobody seemed to mind so it worked out really well. There were a couple of people who were new to the Oscar party so we kept them informed on what the plan was for the night. I helped to let people know that after the In Memoriam segment several of us would gather to do a shot in memory of those we had lost in the past year. This year there was a special twist to it. At the New Years Eve party I had brought some of my grandpa’s vodka. The entire handle wasn’t consumed so we used that for the shot. And I had also brought the last jar of my grandpa’s blue cheese olives so many of us ate an olive (or added it to our shot like I did and made it like a martini).

For Grandpa

After the show ended, we all gathered in the backyard for the costume contest. While there was some variety in the costumes, it seemed like a majority of the costumes were either “Inside Out” themed or “Star Wars” themed. It was pretty crazy to see how many of us had the same idea (or the same costume like Dani and Marie had).

The Reys

Even though I liked my costume, I knew I didn’t stand a chance in the costume contest. I just like getting to participate and see what else everyone comes up with. I was the only person who had all the “Inside Out” characters on their head, so I was proud that I was at least a little bit original.

After the winners of the costume contest and award guessing were announced, most of us started to head home. I had an early morning the next morning and was still pretty exhausted from my weekend.

As I do every year, I had the best time at this party! It’s so much fun getting to watch the awards with friends who are just as excited about them as I am. And seeing how creative all my friends are with their costumes truly inspires me. Thank you Marie and Chris for being the most amazing hosts and creating such a fabulous party!

With Chris With Marie

I can’t wait to see what you come up with next year!

Being “Wild” (or Not Guessing A Lot Of Winners Right This Year)

For the Oscars this year, I was at Chris and Marie’s house like I always am. It really is such a great way to watch the awards and everyone who comes to the party is so awesome!

I was trying to plan out a super clever costume for a while and I decided that going as a Lego figure from “The Lego Movie” would be perfect! I was looking up costume ideas online when I noticed that someone else who attends the party had recently pinned several pins on Pinterest about Lego costume ideas. I was almost completely sure that they would be going as a Lego person, and I didn’t want to compete with that.

I was feeling a little uninspired by other movies so I was stuck on an idea until a few days before the show. I realized that while it might not be the most clever costume, I did have the clothing and some of the gear to go as Reese Witherspoon’s character from “Wild”. If I did that costume, I wouldn’t have to buy anything and it would be pretty comfortable to wear for the day.

So on the day of the party, I put on some workout clothes and my hiking shoes and grabbed my hiking poles and my backpack (which I stuffed my purse inside) and headed to the party. Considering the lack of effort I put into the costume, I think I looked pretty good!

Wild Costume

I knew that my costume was pretty unlikely to win an award in the costume contest (I’ve only placed in that contest one time), so I was focusing on picking the winners on my ballot and hoping that I would place 1st or 2nd in that (since there are 2 prizes for guessing the winners). This wasn’t my most prepared year and I hadn’t seen as many of the films as I would have liked to, but I made my best guesses and felt pretty confident with what I picked.

That confidence was pretty short-lived once the show started. I did guess all of the acting categories correctly (and I’m super excited that JK Simmons won because he was a guest on the Inside Acting Podcast right before I started working with them). I also got the documentary and animation categories correct. But there were more that I guessed incorrectly than correctly.

I knew that there was no chance for me to win a prize, but that didn’t damper my experience at the party. I was having a great time and I thought that the Oscars were really good this year! I enjoyed the opening number as well as the performance for “Everything Is Awesome”. And while I was initially a little disappointed that Lady Gaga was the person doing the “Sound Of Music” montage, she did an amazing job and I really enjoyed watching how much Julie Andrews enjoyed Lady Gaga’s performance. And while the winners weren’t what I picked, I think all the winners were great choices and there were no awards where I was upset by who won.

After the awards were done, it was time for the costume parade so we could vote. Then it was time for the host and hostess to pass out the awards.

Oscar Party Awards

The friend who had pinned the Lego costumes on Pinterest was one of the winners. And all the other winners had costumes from “The Grand Budapest Hotel”.

Overall, it was the perfect way to spend Oscar Sunday. The rain was a little annoying, but since I was inside watching the awards pretty much the entire time, it didn’t bother me too much and I was able to have an amazing Sunday afternoon/evening!

Halloween Hangout (or I’m Just A Regular Puppet)

With Halloween being on a Friday evening and my earliest work shift being on Saturday morning, I had to do some planning so I could enjoy going out that evening.

The first step was to switch my Friday workout to Thursday so I could have time after work to get my costume ready (and not have to shower and change after a workout). Then I made a plan to go to the party early and try to leave on the early side as well.

Not all of my plan worked.

The party was held at my friends Chris and Marie’s house (where all the best parties are!). It’s about an hour drive away from me in traffic so since the party started at 7, I had a plan to try to leave around 6.

I spent a lot of time getting ready. I had seen a marionette costume on the Party City website, and after trying to figure out if I could build the headpiece on my own, I ended up just ordering it (this was about a month ago). Then I did a lot of research online about marionette makeup. I’m not a great makeup person, so I tried really hard. And this is what I came up with.

IMG_3965

I know that a lot of the makeup tutorials online were more detailed, but my makeup supply isn’t too extensive and I didn’t want to have to buy a ton of makeup (I did have to buy that eyeliner to make the mouth lines).

My costume was impossible to drive in, so as soon as I parked I got into my costume and headed inside. Everyone seemed to love my outfit.

IMG_3976

I don’t always go really elaborate with costumes (due to a lack of creativity and money), but this one seemed to be a winner with everyone.

The only thing was every kept asking me if I was some sort of special puppet or just a regular puppet. I wish I had worn a shirt that said “I’m just a regular puppet”.

The party was a huge success and there were so many people in awesome costumes there. Even the rainstorm didn’t affect the party atmosphere.

For the costume contest, I didn’t make the top 3, but I did get some votes. So that’s better than most years.

I had a plan to try to leave by 11pm, but the costume contest didn’t really start until after midnight. So I left a bit later than expected, but there was no traffic coming home and somehow I managed to get to bed quickly so I wasn’t too exhausted working in the morning.

Thanks again to Marie and Chris for being the most amazing hosts! They seriously do such great parties that I would be scared to have a party at my house because I know that it will have no chance at being as great as what they do!

IMG_3982

I only got a picture with Marie that evening, so sorry Chris that I don’t have a picture of us to put on here. I think you were too busy being a great host and making sure everyone had an awesome time!

Oscar Party (or Looking “Frozen”)

The Oscars were this past weekend (but I’m sure you all already knew that). This is like the actor’s Super Bowl so of course it was a big deal!

I always go to my friends Marie and Chris‘ house for their party. I’ve been going for almost as long as I’ve lived in LA. And every year it’s a costume party.

I hadn’t felt too inspired with the movies this past year for a costume. The movies I loved had costumes that would be either too complicated to make or would be too simple and I wanted to try to do something a bit more.

After my hair was dyed, I realized that my hair is almost the exact same color as Anna in “Frozen”. Here’s a photo for reference:

Disney_anna_cutout_2013

I have a maroon sweater that looks like the cape and I wore blue jeans (because I thought I’d be too cold in a skirt). And I went to the beauty supply store and bought white/blonde clip in extensions so I could add the white streak to my hair. I tried to braid it but the extension kept getting lost in my hair, so I went with pigtails. After doing my hair and makeup, this is how I looked.

IMG_2655

After getting dressed, I thought I did a pretty good job creating a more modern version of Anna.

IMG_2658

Although my costume was tame compared to the hosts (aka cheerleader from “Monsters University” and Rayon from “Dallas Buyers Club”).

IMG_2657

The party was awesome (as it always is!). There were great decorations and amazing food.

IMG_2661 IMG_2663

There were two different viewing areas to watch the awards show. I chose the quiet room for two reasons. One, I wanted to be able to hear all the speeches and the show. And two, Marie and Chris project the show on their garage wall so it’s a huge screen!

IMG_2666

That was Chris celebrating as Jared Leto won for “Dallas Buyers Club”. He looked pretty good in drag and had great legs in heels.

I didn’t do too bad with my guesses for the winners. I got 20 out of 24 correct. But the winners of the guessing contest got 21 right! That’s ok. I’m happy with all the winners and thought that everyone deserved their awards.

After the show was over, everyone headed outside for the costume parade and a group photo.

10001183_10202958382067962_1150360406_o

Before I knew it, it was time for me to head home. I had such a great time at the party. I got to hang out with a ton of awesome friends and I got to see actors who I admire getting their Oscars.

Thanks again to Marie and Chris for being the best hosts ever! I can’t wait for next year!

IMG_2671 IMG_2670

Low Key Halloween (or Costume Flashback)

My Halloween wasn’t all too exciting. First of all, I had a full shift at work. We usually work evening shifts on Thursdays but we switched to an early shift so we’d all have time to go out after work (plus, we didn’t want to be calling people while they were out trick-or-treating with their kids).

Work was ok. The co-worker who hates me was not as mean to me as she was the other day. She still mumbled whenever I said something and made it seem as if I was completely unwelcome at work, but the horrible name calling did stop. I’m applying for new jobs every day, but it’s very hard to find something that pays enough and has the flexibility for auditions. But I’m trying.

I did dress up on Halloween. I figured why not? But I did pick a costume that didn’t look too outrageous while I was working. I decided to go as Minnie Mouse.

IMG_2155

Yes, I wore the hooded scarf I bought the last time I was at Disneyland! While I was working, I just kept the hooded scarf off to the side (I really couldn’t make phone calls while I was wearing it). And without the hooded scarf, my outfit seemed pretty normal so I blended in with my work (where only 2 other people dressed up).

This technically is a repeat costume for me since I went as Minnie Mouse for Halloween once as a little kid.

IMG0004

I think if I could combine the dress I wore as a kid with my hooded scarf, that would be an amazing costume!

After work, I met some friends at Bodega Wine Bar (where I had my 30th birthday party). We were there during happy hour so we took advantage of the cheap drinks and food. While there were a couple of people dressed up for Halloween at the bar, not everyone was in costume.

After some drinks and food, we all headed home. I didn’t want to be up too late since I had an early shift at work the next morning, plus I wanted to be off the road before there were a lot of drunk drivers out. I was home around 9:30 and enjoyed the rest of my Halloween relaxing and watching “Grey’s Anatomy”.

While in some ways I wish I had had a crazy fun Halloween night, I’m okay that I did something low-key. Halloween can be stressful and right now, I don’t need to add any more stress to my life.

The only regret I have about my Halloween is that I didn’t get too many opportunities to wear a costume this year. I missed out on my favorite Halloween party this year so that was one fewer costumed outing than I thought I’d have this year. I’ll just have to make up for it next year.

Acting Like A Grownup (or Missing Out On Fun)

I love Halloween. Besides my birthday, it’s probably my favorite holiday of the year. I’m not sure why I love it so much, but I do. And I have no idea if I loved Halloween as much as a kid as I do now. If my mom is reading today, maybe she’ll let me know.

There is one Halloween party that I go to pretty much every single year since I moved to LA. It’s the party that Marie and Chris throw. They go all out with their costumes and really are amazing party hosts. I try to do great costumes every year, but I seem to never be able to compete with how amazing all my friends’ costumes are. But I think that I’ve had some cute costumes the past few years.

100_0699

Little Red Riding Hood (with wolf head in the basket)

P1000098

Swine Flu (this was a last-minute costume)

IMG_1082

Where’s Waldo?

This is one of the few parties that I look forward to all year-long. The only years I’ve missed it in the past were the couple of years I worked at Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios and worked until 3am. So of course, I’ve been trying to plan what my costume would be for this year. I had it down to a couple of options (I was leaning toward using my “Let’s Make A Deal” pig in a blanket one again) but I knew it was going to be something simple because I had a 5K early the next morning.

On Friday, I was feeling a bit off. I overslept and barely made it to my 9am work shift (I’m lucky that I live close to work). I just figured it was my body getting adjusted to work again. And on Saturday, I was starting to have the sniffles.

I wanted to go out, but I couldn’t risk getting sick. Not only did I have the 5K on Sunday, I needed to work because I’m missing so many days in the next month.

So I made the adult choice: I missed the Halloween party. It wasn’t the fun choice, but I know that it was the right one. I’m sad, but I’ve been enjoying looking at the photos that everyone from the party has been posting on Facebook.

I still have Halloween to dress up (and I’ll be going to a happy hour after work so I might do some sort of costume). And of course, now I’ve got a year to plan the best costume ever for next year!

“Let’s Make A Deal” Round Two (or Maybe Game Shows Don’t Love Me Anymore)

Friday was attempt #2 to get on “Let’s Make A Deal”. This time, my friend Jose was able to come with me, so I had a much better time!

We had tickets to the earlier taping (they do 2 episodes a day), so we had to be at the studios by 9am. It was freezing out (or at least freezing for LA), so I was grateful to be inside quickly!

This time, I dressed as a pig in a blanket (wearing a pig nose and ears and wrapping myself in a blanket) and Jose was a cowboy. We took a quick photo together before we had to turn in our phones to the production assistants.

IMG_2119

I wasn’t wearing the pig nose in the picture because the pig accessories that I bought were for kids and the nose was small and hurt. Once the taping was over and I took the nose off, my nose was super red and looked scratched up.

Anyway, I thought since I had been at the taping before and didn’t get called up that maybe this time I would. No love for me! Neither Jose nor I was called to make a deal with Wayne Brady. There was a lady who sat in front of us that won a deal that included diamond jewelry, a trip, and cash! She was extremely lucky!

Even though we didn’t get called up, Jose and I had a lot of fun. I hadn’t seen him since my 30th birthday party so we had some catching up to do. And they play really great music during the breaks in the taping so we were dancing and singing along.

I was a little disappointed not to get called up. I thought I was sure to since I was a return audience member. “Let’s Make A Deal” is the first game show I’ve gone to where I could be a potential contestant. Every other show I was either going as just an audience member with no chance of playing the game (like at “Wheel of Fortune” or “Family Feud”) or I had auditioned for the game show and was selected ahead of time to be a contestant.

Being at this type of game show is kind of like acting and auditioning. You have the chance to get a shot, but there’s no guarantee. I can still go back to “Let’s Make A Deal” another time to try again, but I’m not sure if or when I’d do that. I’m starting back at work in a week, and this last week I’m a little crazy trying to get more things done (plus I have to work another show shift at work on Friday).

Maybe one day in the future I’ll write another post about “Let’s Make A Deal” and it will be a happier story. But for now, I’m glad that I had the free time to go on a fun show and have a great morning with an awesome friend!

Game Show Time (or Hoping To Make A Deal)

On Tuesday, a friend of mine posted that they needed some more girls to be in the audience for the game show “Let’s Make A Deal” on Wednesday. I didn’t have anything else to do, so I decided to try it out!

First though, a little game show background about me. I’ve appeared on two games shows. The first was called “On The Cover” in 2003 or 2004. I don’t think the show ever aired, and I don’t mind. I was horrible on it. I think I only answered one question correctly. Then in 2006 or 2007 I was on a show called “Camouflage”. I think I got second place on that show. And over the years, I’ve also worked for game show run-throughs (when they are practicing the show before they bring in real contestants). So I’m pretty educated when it comes to game shows.

Anyway, so yesterday I headed over to the studio for “Let’s Make A Deal” in the morning. I had to be there by 11am, but I got there around 10:30am and decided to line up. If you aren’t too familiar with the show, one of the things about it is that all of the audience wears costumes.

I went as Cupid.

IMG_2100

I thought I looked pretty cute.

We all also had to wear nametags. We had to go by our legal names, so for the first time in forever, I was called Jennie instead of Jen.

IMG_2101

We had to turn in our phones so I have no photos from inside the taping. I can tell you that I was not chosen for anything, so don’t worry about trying to watch the episode I was on. But I did have a lot of fun and was told that I could come back and hope to get on another show (I think I might just do that).

Overall, this was a really fun and exciting way to spend a day that I would have probably spent reading and being on my computer. Hopefully if I go back another time I will have a much more interesting story to tell!

Hollywood Superbowl (or Where I Was For The Oscars)

Oscar Sunday is pretty much a holiday here in LA. And as a holiday, you want to spend it with those you love at some sort of gathering.

Probably for the past 10 years, I’ve always spent it at a party at my friend Marie‘s house. And her parties are always awesome!

First of all, it’s a costume party. You are supposed to come dressed as a character from a movie in the past year.

I’ve had some great costumes in the past.

100_0333

I’ve been Edna from “The Incredibles”. No capes!!

100_0593.JPG

I’ve been a drunk bridesmaid from “Wedding Crashers”.

I’ve also had some not-so-great costumes. One year, I just wore jeans and a top, and on one pockets I had a bunch of pictures of international destinations and on the other pocket I had a bunch of different sorority letters (I was the “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants”).

This year, I didn’t have a fabulous costume, but it wasn’t horrible either.

IMG_1435

I was a citizen of The Capitol from “The Hunger Games”. And yes, that is my wig from The Color Run.

Marie (and her husband Chris) really do a great job throwing this party. They have a red carpet.

IMG_1433

And two different screening areas. One is in the living room around the tv and in that room, it is considered the chatty room. The other is in the garage where they project the show on a wall. In the garage, that’s where the serious watchers watch (and that includes me).

IMG_1444

Overall, I think the show was pretty good. I didn’t love Seth MacFarlane as a host, but I was expecting it to be much worse. The opening was way too long (if that was cut down it might have ended almost on time).

I didn’t do too great with guessing the winners. I got 16 right, but I guessed a few of the major categories incorrectly (I picked Tommy Lee Jones for supporting actor and Steven Spielberg as director). I thought all the speeches were pretty amazing, especially Ben Affleck. I loved the end of his speech.

He said, “It doesn’t matter how you get knocked down in life; that’s going to happen. All that matters is you’ve got to get up”. That advice is great for an acting career, and even better for life in general.

After the show ended (just over 3 1/2 hours later), I headed home where I got my stuff together to prepare for my last week of work for a while.

Thanks again to the hosts, Marie and Chris, for throwing another awesome party!

IMG_1438

And in case you are wondering, Marie is dressed as Lincoln, Vampire Hunter and Chris is Fix-It Felix.