Category Archives: Celebrations

Remembering To Have Fun (or Celebrating With Smores)

Posted on May 29, 2013 | Comments Off

I love when my friends have things happening in their life that I can celebrate! I love going to weddings, bridal showers, bachelorette parties, or celebrating a birthday.

My friend David just graduated from college. Now, I know that a lot of people have graduated from college recently, but David’s story is different. He took his time, taking a classes when he could. I believe he said that he ended up taking classes at 5 different universities (sorry David if I’m wrong about this). So for him to graduate, he had a ton of patience and willpower!

Of course when he asked me to come to his graduation party I said yes! The party was held at Barney’s Beanery in Burbank (try saying that 3 times fast!). I have been to Barney’s a bunch in the past, but normally I’m just eating something quickly there before going off to another event.

This time, I actually got to relax and have some fun. I didn’t know anybody else besides David at the dinner, but by the end of the evening, I had a ton of new friends! And it was just a fun, low-key dinner out. I haven’t had an evening like that in a while.

Normally when I schedule something fun to do, it’s a scheduled event. And those are totally fun. But I had almost forgotten how nice it was to have a slow-paced evening with good people when there isn’t a schedule you have to worry about.

I didn’t take a ton of pictures of my food. I had an avocado melt sandwich for dinner which was delicious.

But where all of us at the table went crazy was dessert. Barney’s Beanery has smores on the menu! So with 8 of us at the table, we let our waiter decide how many orders of smores to bring out to us.

He brought out 3 orders. And they had run out of chocolate bars, so he drizzled chocolate sauce over the graham crackers.

The blue thing on the plate was some sort of flammable gel, but I couldn’t seem to get the flame on my pictures. I did get the flame to show up when it was on the marshmallows.

As much as I love smores, having chocolate sauce on the graham crackers just doesn’t work. It made them so drippy and messy. So after we all attempted to eat one with the graham crackers, it seemed like we all just roasted the marshmallows and ate them off the sticks.

Before we knew it, it was pretty late and time to head home. I congratulated David again on his college graduation, and was on the road for the drive home. I’m so glad that I was able to celebrate another friend’s accomplishments. It really is one of the best ways to spend an evening.

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Posted in Celebrations, Food, Fun Stuff

Tagged Burbank, college, party

Beautiful Wedding For A Beautiful Friend (or I’m Glad I Wore Waterproof Mascara)

Posted on May 21, 2013 | 1 comment

This past Sunday was my friend Jennifer’s wedding. It was held at Shanghai Reds in Marina del Rey. I’ve only attended one other wedding where I could drive from my house, so it was nice that I didn’t have to worry about a hotel or travel this time.

It was seriously the perfect day for a wedding! The ceremony took place outside right on the water.

And Jennifer was such a beautiful bride! The dress she wore was amazing (and similar to what I always imagined myself wearing when I get married one day).

The ceremony was pretty traditionally Jewish. There were a lot of Jewish elements in it (such as the bride circling the groom 7 times and the breaking of the glass), but the ceremony was also very personal to Jennifer and her now husband Rich. The officiant is a friend of theirs and also a life coach, and she was a great officiant. Lots of personal touches without going overboard.

During cocktail hour, I skipped the food (there was a big line) and I got to hang out with my friend Devon. Devon and I have known each other for about 11 years, but we haven’t seen each other in about 5 years. She was living in Sweden with her husband for a while, but now she lives in Florida. It was so great to get to see her and catch up.

The reception was held right inside next to the ceremony space, so we got to watch the marina as the sun went down.

I sat at a table with a lot of the girls that I met at the bridal shower, so it was nice to have familiar faces around me.

Although I will admit that having fun friends around you (as well as an open bar) will make me do silly things like this.

Dinner was very nice. There was a salad and then my entrée was a chicken dish (I believe it was chicken piccata).

The cake was the same type of cake from the bridal shower, but this time it looked much more like a wedding cake from the outside.

I tried it again, but I’ve realized that gluten-free vegan cakes just aren’t my thing.

I had some fun dancing with friends (sorry, no pictures of that), and I participated in the bouquet toss (I didn’t get it, but I did borrow it from my table-mate who did catch it for this quick photo).

Before I knew it, it was almost 10pm and I needed to head home so I could get a good night sleep before my work week started up again.

Jennifer, if you are reading this, I had the most amazing time at your wedding! Thank you for inviting me and letting me be part of your very special day! You and Rich are such a great example of finding your true soul mate. I wish you both so much happiness and love.

1 Comment

Posted in Celebrations, Fun Stuff

Tagged bride, dinner, friends, gluten-free, vegan, wedding

Mother’s Day (or Another Day Trip To San Diego)

Posted on May 15, 2013 | 1 comment

The past few years I’ve been going to San Diego to see my grandparents for Mother’s Day. In the past, my dad did the Revlon 5K with me and then he and I would drive to San Diego together (my mom would drive while we were doing the 5K).

This year, my parents were on a trip and were already in San Diego on Mother’s Day. So on Sunday, I drove down alone to see my parents and grandparents.

My grandma has been doing really well since her hip surgery. The Friday before Mother’s Day she was able to leave the skilled nursing care and return home, so that was very exciting!

It took me exactly 2 hours to get from my house to my grandparents’ place, and it was actually a really nice drive.

Most of the day was spent visiting. My grandma got to FaceTime with my cousin’s brand new baby boy, Hudson.

It was really cool to get to see the baby. I don’t know when I’m going to get to meet him in person, so FaceTime is a good substitute. I also got to talk with my cousin’s other two kids, who are super adorable (I didn’t get a chance to try to take screenshots then).

I gave my mom and grandma their presents. I got my mom a purse hook, but since I had to order it online, I printed a picture of it and put it in her card.

And I got my grandma some new slippers she could wear inside her house (so she doesn’t slip again).

My mom made a great brisket dinner. Seriously, I can never make brisket as good as she does. We also had homemade meringues with strawberries for dessert.

About 7 hours after I got there, I had to start my drive back home so I could go to bed at a decent hour. I’m not sure if I’m going to get to see my grandparents before Thanksgiving, but maybe when my work calms down in the fall I can do another day trip. I’ll be seeing my parents again in August when we celebrate my 30th birthday.

I’m so happy that I live close enough to my grandparents to see them a lot. I’ve now had the time to make the drive there and back 3 times in the past 3 months. That’s pretty awesome!

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Posted in Celebrations, Family, Fun Stuff

Tagged celebration, grandparents, mom, Mother's Day, presents, San Diego

Dress Fitting (or The Reason I Took This Trip)

Posted on April 30, 2013 | Comments Off

On Saturday, us girls (me, my brother’s fiancée Krystle, and Krystle’s friend Anna) had a very busy day planned.

We started our day by walking a couple of blocks up the street for brunch. We went to Blackwood, which is a Thai restaurant that does some really good egg breakfasts.

I decided to get the spinach scramble. It seemed like one of the healthier choices. I was pretty surprised when I got my plate and it looked like this.

I’ve never had scrambled eggs that looked like an omelet on top, and in the middle it was all scrambled. Nevertheless, it was delicious!

Next, we headed over to a bus stop so we could ride the bus over to where the bridal salon was. It was a pretty nice ride. The bus wasn’t crowded at all so I was able to look out and check out the city. We drove through Chinatown, and then we were over by Union Square which is where the salon was.

Krystle’s dress is by Jin Wang. The store was gorgeous, but you weren’t allowed to take pictures of dresses that you didn’t purchase so not photos to show how nice the store was.

I did get this picture of the sign in the entryway.

And this photo of the dressing rooms where Anna and I waited for Krystle to come out in her dress.

Krystle’s dress is really pretty. I would love to post photos of it on here, but she doesn’t want my brother to see them (I don’t know if my brother even reads this, but knowing my luck this will be the first post he looks at).

So the only photos I can share are these cropped ones that Krystle gave me permission to put on here.

After the fitting was done, we headed over to where our next adventure would be: Burke Williams! But before doing that, we realized that we all forgot to bring swimsuits and we wanted to use the hot tub/steam room/sauna at the spa, so we made a quick side trip to Macy’s where all 3 of us bought new swimsuits.

Now, I have to say, I haven’t worn a swimsuit in forever. Before purchasing this one, I didn’t even own one in my size. So this was an adventure all in itself. I don’t love the swimsuit I bought, but it fits and works for now.

My mom’s goal for me for this trip was to bond with my future sister-in-law. Between going to her dress fitting and then trying on swimsuits together, I’m pretty sure I met that goal.

I’ll write all about the spa tomorrow! There’s so much to say that it needs to be its own post!

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Posted in Celebrations, Family, Fun Stuff, Shopping, Travel

Tagged dress, San Francisco, shopping, swimsuit, wedding

200 Posts! (or My 1st Giveaway!)

Posted on April 19, 2013 | 9 comments

I can’t believe I made it to 200 posts! That’s so amazing! And thank you everyone who has read at least some of those 200 posts!

And to celebrate, I have something for you. A while ago, I ordered a DVD of one of my favorite TV shows. It got lost in the mail, I had a new one sent to me, and then weeks later the original one showed up on my door. I asked the company if they wanted me to send it back, but they told me to keep it.

And I’ve decided to pass on that DVD to you!

It’s season 3 of “Cougar Town”, which in my opinion is one of the funniest shows on tv right now. If you haven’t seen the show before, you should totally check it out. Here’s the extended preview of the 3rd season which aired last year.

So, what do you have to do to win this DVD? It’s really easy. All you have to do is comment on this blog post with either your favorite “Cougar Town” episode or if you’ve never seen the show, your favorite TV show. Make sure to include your email address so I can contact you if you win (it stays hidden and only I can see it). You have until midnight April 25th to enter. And on April 26th, I’ll be announcing the winner (which I will choose by using random.org). That’s it! (US residents only.)

This contest is being paid by me. I was not paid or sponsored to do this. I just wanted to share something with a reader, because you guys keep me going on this blog. I’d probably still write a little if nobody read it, but to do this 5 days a week for 200 posts is a lot!

So thank you for being on the journey I’ve gone on for the last 200 posts! And here’s to the next 200!

Update: Congrats to Erin who won the DVD!!

9 Comments

Posted in Celebrations, Fun Stuff

Tagged contest, giveaway, TV, winner

Wedding Season (or A Bridal Shower For Another Jen)

Posted on April 10, 2013 | 1 comment

One of my good friends, Jen, is getting married next month. Jen and I met through our mutual friend Devon (we joked that she was collecting Jewish girls named Jen) and we’ve been friends ever since. In fact, when I tried online dating way back when, Jen and I attended a JDate event together. We joked that it was like an adult bar mitzvah because all the men were on one side and all the women were on the other.

Jen met an amazing man, Rich, online 2 years ago, and their wedding is fast approaching. So this past weekend, Jen’s aunt threw her a bridal shower, and I was honored that I was invited!

The shower was held at Inn Of The Seventh Ray in Topanga. I had never been there before, but it was a great drive up there. I was pretty much following the ocean up the coast for about 20 minutes.

When I got there, the first thing I noticed about the shower was how beautiful it was.

The tables were set so nicely and we were all underneath the clear tent so we could enjoy the views.

After chatting a bit with some of the girls at my table (who I didn’t know before but were all awesome!), the bride-to-be arrived!

I know it’s hard to tell in the picture, but her dress was so amazing! It reminded me a bit of Tinkerbell, but in a good way. I might try to find something similar to wear to my brother’s wedding.

Brunch was a buffet, and there were a lot of things to choose from. If you are vegan, this is a good place to go as many things available are vegan. I got an assortment of things to try.

Eggs, potatoes, more eggs, and fruit. Not the healthiest, but this was counting for 2 meals.

Next was the cake. It was made gluten-free and dairy free just for Jen.

Everything was Hawaii themed because that is where Jen and her fiancée will be going on their honeymoon.

I tried a piece of cake (it was red velvet which I love).

But I actually wasn’t able to eat it. I don’t know if it was because it was gluten-free and dairy free, but all the cake touching the fondant on the outside was as hard as a rock! And since I had the edge piece, my whole slice was impossible to cut into. It was actually a bit of a joke with one of the girls sitting next to me. I attempted to put my fork tines down into the cake, and it got stuck in there! Oh well. I really didn’t need to add those calories anyway. And it will be the same cake at the wedding so I can try it again then.

After presents and cards, it was time for me to say goodbye to Jen. I don’t know if I’ll see her before her wedding. I’m super excited for the wedding, and I got a new dress that I think I’ll be wearing to it.

Congrats Jen (and Rich, her fiancée)! I can’t wait to see you exchange vows soon and live happily ever after!

1 Comment

Posted in Celebrations, Food, Fun Stuff

Tagged bridal shower, gluten-free, vegan, wedding

Family Day (or How A Broken Hip Allowed Me To Celebrate My Mom’s Birthday With Her)

Posted on April 8, 2013 | Comments Off

As I mentioned before, my grandma fell and broke her hip. As soon as I heard about that, I wanted to go down to San Diego to see her.

But my mom advised me to wait until we knew that she would want visitors.

My parents were down in San Diego taking care of my grandma, and my mom said that I could go down on Thursday, which was my mom’s birthday.

So on Thursday, I made the 2 hour drive down to San Diego. The original plan was for me to see my grandma at the hospital, but she was doing so well, that the day I came down she got moved to the skilled nursing care in the building she lives in.

So when I arrived, I waited for my parents to meet me at my grandparents’ building. It was a gorgeous day out.

Once my parents got there, we grabbed a quick lunch while we waited for my grandma to be brought over. And pretty much as soon as she was settled into her new room, we all went down to visit her.

Considering that she had just had a major fall and surgery, she looked amazing! She was a little tired from everything, so the visit was pretty short. But I’ll see her again for Mother’s Day, so that isn’t too far away.

After the visit, I went over with my parents to the hotel that they were staying in for a few days. Our dog Dante made himself at home pretty quickly.

And then we all dressed for dinner. Since it was my mom’s birthday, we went out for fancy steaks at Donovan’s Steakhouse. I was excited for a yummy meal, but even more excited as this was the first time I got to celebrate my mom’s birthday with her since I was in high school!

Dinner was delicious. I had the twin filet medallions off the Prix Fixe menu.

And a split of Prosecco since we were celebrating my mom.

And then my mom got a birthday creme brûlée.

I had ordered cheesecake as my dessert course.

It was so much food, so I got a little to-go box for half of my steak and some of my mashed potatoes.

It made a very delicious breakfast the next day.

After dinner, it was time for me to make the 2 hour drive back home. I’m so glad that I got to see my mom on her birthday. I wasn’t expecting that at all (I mailed her birthday card to the house and she won’t get it until they get back). I wish that the reason we were all together wasn’t because my grandma got hurt, but I’m trying to focus on the positives of that visit.

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Posted in Celebrations, Family, Food, Fun Stuff, Tough Stuff

Tagged birthday, grandparents, hip, mom, San Diego, surgery

Happy Birthday Mommy! (or I Promise Not To Reveal Your Age)

Posted on April 4, 2013 | 1 comment

Today is my mom’s birthday! My mom and dad are in San Diego with my grandma, and I’m heading down there today as well. So this will be the first time I get to celebrate my mom’s birthday with her in a long time (possibly since I was in high school).

Since I want to get on the road to see my family, this is going to be a short, but photo filled post.

Going through all my photos on my computer, I’ve got some pretty cool ones with my mom.

My mom has a fear of elevators (I’m not a fan of them either). But when my mom and I were in Paris celebrating my college graduation, she conquered her fear and rode the elevator up the Eiffel Tower. Also, a highlight of that trip was when we were in Italy. My mom found a coat she liked, and was trying to talk with the store employee about it. My mom doesn’t speak Italian and the employee didn’t speak English, but they both spoke broken French. Watching them try to communicate was pretty funny (my mom ended up passing on the coat).

My mom loves Disneyland almost as much as me.

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The second picture is from our trip a few years back to Disney World.

Also, my mom now will indulge me in taking silly pictures (which I love).

This is from the WB Tour we went on right after I had hip surgery.

This is on the “Exorcist” steps in Washington DC (we were there for my brother’s med school graduation).

Also, my mom is still willing to try new things, like working out with Richard Simmons.

And even though my dog has pretty much replaced me (and maybe also my brother) in the family, I know she still loves and supports me. She even reads this blog!

Happy Birthday Mommy! I’ll see you in a couple of hours in San Diego so we can celebrate together!

And finally, this is my favorite picture of me with my mom (and my grandma too).

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Posted in Celebrations, Family, Fun Stuff

Tagged birthday, mom, photos

Ms. in The Biz (or I’m Cheating On This Blog With Another Blog)

Posted on March 26, 2013 | 2 comments

Since I started writing this blog, I’ve discovered a love for writing that I did not know that I had before. I almost always look forward to writing my posts on here (although I do get the occasional writer’s block). And I’ve decided to expand my blogging reach.

A few weeks ago, I saw that a friend of mine, Helenna, was starting a new online magazine written by women in the entertainment industry.

Of course I wanted to be a part of it!

So I’m excited to announce that I am going to be a contributing blogger for Ms. In The Biz! I will be writing about my adventures in LA as an actress and my day-to-day life trying to live my dream.

The blog will be launching soon (you can sign up on the website to get an email when it’s up), but this past weekend we had the LA contributor get together and Cinco in Westchester.

It was a really great little party. We all got one drink for free.

I’ll give you one hint about what I got to drink.

I had such a nice time connecting with old friends and meeting a bunch of new ones. I was so busy chatting that I only got a few pictures with friends.

The lovely Lizza, who is also in the same WIF mentoring circle as me (and loves the same books that I do!).

The awesome Carolina, who I chat with a bunch online, but we realized that night that it had been exactly one year to the day since the last time we saw each other in person (time totally flies by).

And the founder of Ms. In The Biz, Helenna!

I hope that at least some of you readers will sign up to check out the new blog. I’ll still be blogging on here every day like usual, but I’ll probably go into a bit more detail about what my life is like as an actress on Ms. In The Biz.

2 Comments

Posted in Acting, Celebrations, Fun Stuff

Tagged acting, blogging, friends, party

Hollywood Superbowl (or Where I Was For The Oscars)

Posted on February 26, 2013 | 1 comment

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.

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

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.

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.

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).

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!

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

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Posted in Acting, Celebrations, Fun Stuff

Tagged Academy Awards, costumes, Hollywood, Oscars, party, winner

Category Archives: Celebrations

Remembering To Have Fun (or Celebrating With Smores)

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Beautiful Wedding For A Beautiful Friend (or I’m Glad I Wore Waterproof Mascara)

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Mother’s Day (or Another Day Trip To San Diego)

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Dress Fitting (or The Reason I Took This Trip)

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200 Posts! (or My 1st Giveaway!)

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Wedding Season (or A Bridal Shower For Another Jen)

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Family Day (or How A Broken Hip Allowed Me To Celebrate My Mom’s Birthday With Her)

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Happy Birthday Mommy! (or I Promise Not To Reveal Your Age)

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Ms. in The Biz (or I’m Cheating On This Blog With Another Blog)

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Hollywood Superbowl (or Where I Was For The Oscars)

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