Life: A True Story: hollywood

Showing posts with label hollywood. Show all posts

hollywood hills.

if you guys have been reading my blog for awhile, you know that i love my little home in LA. when i first moved down here a couple years ago, though, i was a bit more hesitant to enjoy the smoggy place that's home to movie stars, high taxes, and sunny days galore. honestly? i'll always be a san francisco girl at heart. you can't get past the nostalgia of childhood, and the sweet memories i have there are priceless.

but.

that doesn't mean LA hasn't squeezed it's way into my prejudiced heart. i'm really struggling with the idea of leaving...and it's hard to think that i won't be able to pop down sunset blvd whenever i want to.

i love the hollywood hills and mulholland drive, brentwood and tiny coffee shops and adventures with the crazies on the streets. i love driving down hollywood blvd late at night and looking at the lights and laughing with friends. i've gotten stuck in oscar traffic and visited studios and film sets. i've spent the morning in hollywood, the afternoon on the beach and the night in downtown, run into celebrities and driven a stick shift up hills that rival my city by the bay.

i laugh at tourists (sometimes) and know all the back roads. i've attended book signings by my favorite authors, been stuck on the renowned 405 freeway for hours and can recite hollywood trivia with the best of them. this is my home. yeah, you can criticize california for our ridiculous amount of debt and crazy-daisy politics that keep us bound to high taxes and expensive living.

but.

it's in LA that i've really bolstered my love of writing, where i met people that had a sweet bit of faith, and told me it was possible. newfound friends/professors encouraged me in the smallest ways, and people here work hard.

you come to LA with a dream...mine was to be a writer. to gain experience and find a story to write. in a place that's made up of artists, it's not difficult to find inspiration. i came to LA with a dream (like here and here), and with a couple rejection letters, sturdy criticism and the hardness for heated debate, it's well on it's way. this is a city of dreamers, and you can't get out untouched.

i'm leaving, but maybe you aren't. and all i have to say to you?
welcome to hollywood. what's your dream?

{drivin' the back roads}

{fall}

{my pretty best friend on our favorite route in the hills}

{hollywood hills}

'wuthering heights' bites.

in my humble opinion: "wuthering heights" is one of the most beautiful literary classics ever written, and the author emily bronte is an absolute genius. she creates a separate world out of excessive emotion and obsession, and it's just amazing. i may have reread it every single december since i was thirteen...maybe.

that being said.

do not ever, in your whole entire life, watch this version.
it was base, awful, painfully long, and doesn't even manage to tell the true story {as bronte intended it}. the film focuses on cathy and heathcliff in their childhood, and continues with quite a few disturbing and just downright weird twists. the acting is sub-par and the movie makes you feel raw and chapped as the wind whistles and rushes by the camera {much too often, at that}.

a couple of girlfriends from work and i made our way down to the nuart theater this past week, which is one of the best indie theaters in los angeles. we stopped by sweet rose creamery in brentwood, laughed about boys/work/celebrities, and then took big brown bags of popcorn into the theater with high expectations.

it was a sweet night with some pretty amazing ladies, but the movie fell short. if any of you are indie film/wuthering heights fans like me, spare yourself the time and the money. it was as if the director was bashing us over the head with random metaphors and lack of dialogue, trying {in vain} to create something artistic. if you're looking for a good version, you don't have to look any farther than this one from 1992. it's heathcliff and cathy the way they're supposed to be, in a movie that i have never been able to leave behind.

{loved this place!!}

{salted caramel ice cream, with coarse sea salt}

{excuse the blurriness, friends!}

making it yours {3}

i live in flats. yes, i have a lot of high heels and wedges and converse sneakers {my favorite!}, but flats pull together every look in a more refined, comfortable, and sophisticated way. that's why when my favorite tan flats became noticeably scuffed around the toes, i was a little more than upset.

since i'm a recent college grad, i don't throw much out. i fix it or reuse in a some different way. i have a little collection of acrylic paints in my diy cupboard, so i thought i would try my hand at the new metallic cap-toe trend that's making it's rounds on the red carpet.

the result?

flats that look cleaner, trendier, and have a fresh new chance at life.

i measured out the length of the cap coloring that i wanted, and then stretched a strip of tape across the toe in order to create a straight line. with a couple of coats of gold acrylic paint, there were clean new strips of color that hid my scuffs and brightened up the whole shoe. {here's a step-by-step from the people who know ;) }

i will be the first to say my paint job isn't entirely perfectly, but those marks are covered up nice and neat. and my skinny jeans? are in love with them. this is a diy i will definitely do again and again, with all different pretty colors :)

five on friday: 'cupcakes and cashmere' style.

in honor of the lovely emily schuman {she was absolutely darling, by the way!}, i thought that it would be neat to create a list of five pieces from this week that were inspirational, or just plain exciting. if you follow cupcakes and cashmere, then you know that she puts together a blog post of her week highlights on friday.
i'm a fan of that idea, obviously. so here are a couple of my sweet moments from the last week in september.

what about you? anything that inspired you this week?

{getting to meet emily in beverly hills}

{the pretty details on a new necklace}

{falling in love with creamy peonies}

{calm and cool sunday afternoons}

{bruschetta with mozzerella+sundried tomatoes}

book signing.

this blog post is short because i am extremely excited. why, you ask? igettogotoabooksigning!!!!! okay, okay. a little slower now...i get to meet emily schuman of, "cupcakes and cashmere" and get my book signed. all with her signature gold pen, no less. and yes, i realize that the photo above makes me look like i'm five. especially since my messy room provides the perfect backdrop. i should stop watching "grey's anatomy" and actually clean it...

i'm going to fight traffic on the 405 at rush hour, and make sure my outfit is a bit more fashionable than skinny jeans and a t-shirt because this is kind of a big deal. i've seen my favorite novelist, so now it's time to meet the first blogger I have ever followed. i was reading a "glamour" magazine a couple of years ago, and she popped up as a blogger to watch. thus, i have followed her blog ever since. it's been so much fun/inspirational. she literally teaches me how to dress...and make pasta for summer. it's great.

what about you? who are your favorite bloggers?
is there anyone you would fight rush hour LA traffic for? ;)

Worker Bee Weekend.

thank heavens. it's friday. i hope you all have an amazing weekend, one full of cookies and milk and ice cream. or...something a little healthier. whatever floats your boat ;)

as for me, the best friend and i will be cleaning our apartment {pics are from a little housekeeping date for friends} and doing lots and lots of homework. oh, yeah. and just watching this amazing photographer get married. it's just going to be gorgeous, no big deal.

other than that? it's all quiet on the california front. i'm trying to talk the best friend into an afternoon in hollywood...wish me luck!

one of those days.

you see all this chocolate?
i want to eat it. all.

it's a rare cloudy day in los angeles, and i really just want to cuddle up in bed all day with a good book and never-ending amounts of peppermint hot chocolate and sourdough toast.

instead? i'll spend eight hours at work, meet with one of my favorite professor's about my writing, and then hoof it to school for night class. Wednesday's are not my favorite.

So, in lieu of a long and convoluted blog post, i thought i would focus on some of my favorite things today. it's always good to find bits and pieces to make you smile, especially when the day seems just much too long! :)

{little lydia's sweet baby face}

{comfort food at puckett's}

{old doors and antique stores}

{downtown nashville//where the past and present meld perfectly}

{long talks with mama + cinnamon rolls}

{long hair/no make-up/sunglasses days}

{the bleeker pizza from this place!}

{old locks}

{water wheels}

{old family photos//notice the golden gate in the background??}

{words}

{sleeping baby face}

{goldfish in class}

the hollywood bowl.

{ready for a picnic}

have you ever seen the movie, "beaches?" it's pretty much my favorite movie...ever. i cry every time, and chocolate-chip ice cream has proven to be the perfect partner for, "the wind beneath my wings." in the beginning of the movie, bette midler is singing on the stage of the hollywood bowl in LA. {you can watch it here!} ever since, i've wanted to visit the renowned bowl. if not for my own experience, for the exciting idea that i was standing {kind of} in cc bloom's shoes.

this weekend? it happened.

some sweet friends from church gave us free tickets to see the LA philharmonic orchestra perform Tchaikovsky. Our program was complete with fireworks, the USC drum line, the LA children's choir and ballet performed by the American Ballet Theater. in a word? amazing. Tchaikovsky is well-known for penning the score to, "The Nutcracker," and "Swan Lake," music many of us have been accidentally exposed to over the years.

in all honesty? i was a bit nervous, especially before i realized all the neat perks our program had in store. i would never describe myself as, "cultured," and classical music goes right over my head. i love country music and bette midler for heaven sake! as far as i was concerned, Tchaikovsky was going to be accompanied by my nookbook and a bottle of lemonade.

it wasn't needed.

the hollywood bowl is absolutely gorgeous, nestled in the east hollywood hills. it's actually right off the 170, which is shocking. the acoustics were mind-blowing, and the family atmosphere is incomparable in LA. we brought a picnic lunch and blankets {nights get chilly!}, and had a night more than worthy of bette midler. {sorry. i had to throw that in there!}

are you headed to the hollywood bowl?

1. don't use the parking that the bowl offers. it's insanely expensive/frustrating. there are numerous bus lines and shuttles that run the gamut around hollywood. at only $5 a person, you're set!
2. bring a lunch, and wine is welcome. food is a bit pricey, and it's more fun to pick up yummy deli sandwiches and macaroni salad from your local market.
3. try the lemonade/garlic fries. okay. not at the same time, but they're both worth the price! {$10 for both}
4. keep it cheap. the bowl has hundreds of seats for you and your loved ones. you don't need to sit right up close. the farther you get from the stage, the more fun the atmosphere. in the summertime, nosebleed seats are only $1!! Can't beat that.

{leading letters}

{best friend waiting oh-so patiently}

{lemonade!! watermelon lemonade!!}

{before the crowds// families + yummy picnics!}

{ready for the show.}

sprinkles.

have you made a trip out to beverly hills lately? if not, then i highly recommend it. once you push past the tourists ogling the rodeo drive sign, you can make your way to the line of people that stretches down santa monica boulevard. they wait for good reason.

sprinkles cupcakes is considered the, 'first cupcakery,' and caters to us LA people who have a sneaky sweet tooth. the bakery has since gone gone nationwide with beverly hills as the flagship store, which...just recently opened up an ice cream parlor, as well.

um, yes please.

the ice creams are extremely flavorful {try them first!} and intense, while the team puts together a 'cupcake sundae' that pretty much became my lunch/dinner. it was just as full of decadent goodness and calories as you may imagine. but it was oh-so yummy.

the store switches out ice cream and cupcake flavors daily, so you don't have to worry about this being any old cupcakery. instead, you can look forward to chai or dark chocolate or coconut...it just depends on the day of the week. make sure to pick up a calendar before you leave! {we promise. you will be back.}

**we got a dark chocolate cupcake with mint ice cream. what kind of sundae are you going to create?

{ice cream recipe}

{love the fun layout!}

{a sundae from heaven.}

{sharing}

{it didn't last long..}

labor day.

{yum.}

for labor day weekend, the best friend and i decided to head down to hollywood for some yummy pancakes and a day of low-key shopping. (this place was the best!) the city was surprisingly empty, and we hit absolutely no traffic. in LA? this is a miracle in itself. hope your day was just as exciting!