Monday, July 19, 2010

A lovely day out in Pasadena!




Took a trip to Old Town Pasadena, where adventure and hilarity ensued. Learned how to make soap...yes, really, spent time in a beautiful art and jewelry shop, sampled some delicious cupcakes and happened upon a wonderful art exhibit (unplanned MJ art sightings rock my world!) I met some wonderful arties named Jebtha and Alistair...perfect art guy names, right? They were taking down an exhibit and I poked my head in anyway and they invited me and Lee Anne in and actually unpacked a beautiful $75,000 piece by Monfils who was so moved my the work of Michael Jackson that he put all of his record collection into one piece. Literally, all of his records were carved into six paintings of his face. It was beautiful!! This was all after a random suggestion from the owner of the art and jewelry shop. Random! He didn't even know I was a fan. By the way, Lee Anne bought a WONDERFUL new ring...made from the inside of vintage watches. Amazing!

Lee Anne and I had lunch at delicious Sushi Roku, where we had my favorite dish...YELLOWTAIL CARPACCIO!! It is simply tantalizing. Then came the wonderful cupcakes at Dot's Cupcakes. Let me just say, the mint chocolate is to die for. Chocolate mini-cupcake with mint icing with crunchy chocolate balls on top. Muy delicioso. Then came the Soap Kitchen, an adorable little nook we happened upon where we met the store owner. We were asking her questions about the soap and she offered to take us on back to the kitchen and she showed us how to make soap. All I gotta say is she is getting a good Yelp review from me ;)


Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Football...Soccer...Futbol.

http://www.villageidiotla.com/

Really loving all this World Cup stuff. Such a sense of togetherness and patriotism! Viva world! Go USA! The above is one of my regular stomping spots in LA and it happens to have a fantastic World Cup atmosphere...love it.

Going to a fabulous pub called Ye Olde King's Head in the morning for a 7am fest! Should be amazing to be there with a bunch of USA fans AND England fans. Woot!

http://www.yeoldekingshead.com/

Sunday, June 20, 2010

The Full Plate

After a mild and friendly scolding from a lovely soul, I've realized I should probably make it more of a habit to blog more...even if only 3 people read it ;)

It's been a long month or two...in a good way!

There has been travel, business and leisure, weddings, songwriting, recording, and beautiful moments shared with the people I love the most...I don't mean to gloat, I just feel so lucky!

On the music front:
The song I co-wrote and recorded is finally mastered! Now, they have asked me to do a second song, which I am SO excited about. The first song is uptempo pop/ R&B. I really love it and loved everything about the process. It pushed me to challenge myself not only with writing, but with writing outside my comfort zone. This next one will be more soul and smooth...a chance for me to really get to the heart of things. I still feel so blessed with this opportunity and am loving every minute of it. I go into the studio this Thursday! I will post the songs as soon as I have them ready.

On the adventures in travel front:
May started out with a bang. The Nick came out to LA and we drove to Vegas for the weekend as per my boss's invitation to celebrate her boyfriend's birthday. It was also a good excuse for me to celebrate my birthday...again. I like to draw it out. Self indulgent? Nah. It was a BLAST...at check-in I was told I had a gift at the concierge...Mandy had gotten me a HUGE fruit basket...so sweet. Anyway, it was Vegas and it was amazing. Mandy's brother-in-law treated the whole group (about 16 of us!) to bottle service at one of the clubs. I will say this, I am not a big clubber, but if I were...that is the way to do it! Don't get me wrong, I will cut..a..rug just a bout anywhere...the club scene in LA can just be really expensive and lame, so I'd rather just dance wherever I am, be it at a bar, club, or my kitchen. Yep...that happens.

The next weekend I went up to Indianapolis with Mandy for 5 days, which was amazing. Her business partner and good friend lives up there and we went up to visit. I got to go to the practice week for the Indy 500! FUN!

The day after I got back, I flew to Birmingham for the 2010 WEDDING EXTRAVAGANZA! Nick was able to be in bammy at the same time as me so that is NEVER a bad thing ;) I, of course, got almost no sleep...I get way to excited about seeing so many people I love...I'll sleep when I'm dead. Nick's sister got married--which was so lovely!! Then the next weekend, I had the estute honor of being Mary Kathryn's maid of honor. I've said it once and I will say it again...it was one of the most amazing evenings I've ever witnessed or been a part of. Speaking of cutting rugs...I don't think I've ever danced my face off as much as I did at that wedding. GEEZ! Amazing!! Congratulations, Wilkersons and Papaioannous!

Once I got back, I was about over trains, planes and automobiles. I had one more plane to catch and it was to Austin to see Nick before he deployed. So worth the trip...to say the least! We had a very special weekend, but I won't get into all of it, but if I had to sum it up: gratitude, fun, special, poignant.
...also, we had to air conditioning in the car in the middle of Texas in June. Pretty gross. Also, no music, so we sang to each other...it was pretty in so many ways.

Mandy was gone to South Africa for 2 whole weeks in which I had plenty of time to work on this new song. I also had lots of time to spend too much money, eat too much, and have too much fun ;) I have found that where I live by frolicking around with friends and living in the moment, no matter what that moment is, I vastly prefer having a full plate. That is what made the 2 weeks really experiencing LA in a different way so wonderful.

This past month has been a whirlwind...but I am learning every day...learning who I am, who I want to be, and just how important it is to really appreciate what we've got...from my favorite little green corner in the middle of a huge city, to conversations with good friends, to tasting my favorite beer and burger, I prefer a full plate. And damn it, I will savor every last bit of it.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Time to get on the saddle again...

As well you may have noticed, I haven't been diligent in my blogging as of late. Where I have had a lot going on (which may have contributed to the lack of blogging), I now feel inclined to share.

First I want to say this: blogs can become quite self-indulgent. And where it may seem that this is just me sitting here applauding myself. Its not...its a means of therapy, and a way for my family and friends to see what I'm up to. Life intervenes sometimes and we can't all be as in touch as we'd like. Just a thought...

A few months ago I went through a bit of a bump. I was very much in a "Where am I? who am I?who do I want to be? kind of place. I wasn't sure, for a while there. Where I wasn't "depressed" or anything like that, something wasn't quite right. I needed a change. I had discovered inspiration in many things, mainly revolving around music. I knew this meant something. When I talked about music, I was excited...my heart would beat a little quicker, and I felt fed. That was just TALKING about it. I was also finding the importance of quiet time, prayer, and meditation. Now, I'd never be preachy...it's more of a spiritual calmness that I have in which I have found serious value for myself. One day, I was just like "WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO?!"...the next day, an opportunity came. I met a songwriter who I soon auditioned for, and am now working with her on some original songs to be a demo singer for. Apparently, somebody up there thinks I should be singing. I would have to agree. I realized that I wasn't using something that I had been given. Silly, right?

So, I decided to take voice lessons. I take from a FABULOUS woman here in LA who has inspired me in many ways. Her balance of technique and connection to feeling and the soul is perfect. The voice is connected to everryyyything in the body, by the way. Ladies, by doing a certain hummm we can get rid of cramps...just so you know. ;) Back on track...long story short, I love it and her. I feel more fed and more alive when I am singing...a sign that I'm doing something right for myself? Methinks. Where I have never and will never abandon my love for acting, I now know that we have to use what we've got to our advantage. If you are really hilarious and great and comedy, would you only focus on soap operas? Its not that you shouldn't exercise those muscles, but in order to get into entertainment, I have learned that you first have to identify your forte and go for it. That is exactly what I am aspiring to do here. It just turns out that I have realized that my dream my entire life has been to sing and hopefully touch people with my voice. Then, I will be able to open more doors to do more things I love, like acting!

Last week, I submitted myself for an audition for an artist development agency. What's that, you might ask? Basically, I have been putting myself out there for anything and everything I can sing for. An artist development agency takes on new artists and helps "develop" an image, sound, and following for that artist. I had the audition on Friday, and got the call on Saturday that I had made it. They chose a couple artists from the pack and I was lucky enough to be one of them. Needless to say, I am ecstatic.

I also had my first gig in LA last week. I sang with a jazz band. It was very exciting. Therapeutic. I'm happy.

Personally, things couldn't be better. I am very blessed with loving family, friends, and a wonderfully supportive boyfriend. I am constantly striving to be better, live better, and to be more aware of the good things in life. I've learned a lot. I'm loving it.

If you have taken the time to read this, thank you. If not...no big ;)

I send my love out!!