On the road again...

Saturday morning we woke up and got on the road back to LA...but Danison-style, which means stopping along the way in small towns for an hour or so (it also means stopping at lots of rest stops for drinks and bathroom breaks...Seriously I slept through it on the Thursday a.m. drive up to Monterey, but I think they stopped 5 times for a 5-6 hour drive).

So on the way back, our first big stop was in San Luis Obispo, where we got out and walked around the Apple Farm Inn. It's a cute little hotel with a fun gift shop, restaurant, an Old Mill-style shop and obviously the old grounds from the apple farm. They were dressed up for the holidays and we had fun going through all the gift shop items.

Back on the road, we then drove down to Solvang, a little Dutch town, whose buildings are outfitted in the old style. The lunch we had at a former greenhouse was absolutely delicious! And the treat in the neighboring bakery was even more yummy! It was called a "napoleon hat" and it was a cookie with marzipan in the middle and coated with chocolate on the bottom.

Walking around, we of course went into the Christmas store there and continue to peruse the town for a couple hours. Then finally, back in the car and home to LA....where Butch and Sundance were anxiously awaiting our return.

More stuffing....

On Friday morning, Mary and I got up early (ugh- very early! 6:30am!) and went shopping as per tradition at the local mall. We were surprised this year that some of the bigger chains didn't seem to be doing much in the way of Black Friday sales, but we did find some great bargains at Ann Taylor Loft and Lucy (my favorite work-out apparel store). We got back to the house around 10:30am and everyone was up and having breakfast.

After stuffing ourselves with Mia's breakfast casserole and biscuits, we headed out to Carmel. I'd never been, but I understood why people think of this small town as a ritzy area, where the rich prance around the boutiques, art galleries and wine stores with their little dogs. And when I say boutiques, that ranges from genuine small businesses to a Louis Vuitton store that just is fashioned to look like a boutique. But the place was dressed up for Christmas and we had a lot of fun walking around and pretending to shop for the massive diamonds in all the windows. We also took a quick tour of the each area and saw all the people playing with their dogs!

Back at the house, we had a belated lunch and stuffed ourselves with leftovers. And then I fell asleep for an hour or so on the couch before waking up for a game of Tick (fun card game that's an offshoot of gin rummy), and then off to dinner! For more....food.

Dinner was at this yummy Italian seafood restaurant right on the pier. Their clam chowder was excellent, as was the calamari and crab cakes. I couldn't even finish my crab cake appetizer/dinner and left feeling pretty stuffed yet again.

Back to the house for a bit of wine (little less than the night before) and of course, dessert. OOF! More stuffing!

Gobble Gobble Gobble!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday!

This year, Chris, his parents and I drove up to Seaside, CA (near Monterey) and spent the holiday with Chris' cousin Jeff and his wife Mia. Until last December, they had been living in Japan, where Jeff was stationed for three years on the Misawa Naval base.




Jeff and Mia had been wanting to try to fry a turkey, something both they and we had heard a lot about in recent years. Using Alton Brown's brine recipe and frying method, Jeff rigged a pulley system for the turkey for safety - see the video and photos below. Though the outside looked crispy, the turkey was tender and juicy inside! Yum! Look at our spread!




After dinner, we chatted, had dessert and then the parents started falling asleep. They were done for the night, but Chris, Jeff, Mia and I stayed up late drinking wine and beer by their outdoor fireplace in the chilly air. We had a great night and were so pleased to spend so much time with Jeff and Mia! Plus, they are cat people like us and have two kitties - Simon (6 year-old black ca, demon-eyed cat below) and Rudy (much older grey cat, who was a bit more stand offish) - so we felt even more at home!

Second Chances....

Everyone in this life deserves a second chance, right? Well, maybe the same applies to movies. After a few people whose taste I usually agree with, or at least respect, told me that they were entertained by the movie, I decided to give TWILIGHT another shot and saw it Wednesday afternoon in the theater again. I must say, the second viewing was better...I think that since I was expecting all the awful, horrible, badness, I was able to sit and let the movie just wash over me instead. I saw what it was trying to do and some of it seemed to work a bit better, though I still maintain it's a crappy movie. But I at least enjoyed myself enough to walk out and leave the bitterness from the opening night behind. That made me happy....I didn't like having my Twilight experience tainted in any way.

Premiere-gate

Last night was the Los Angeles premiere of FROST/NIXON, the last movie I worked on before I left Imagine a year ago. This was my boss' project and I was really involved and saw it through the end of shooting before jumping ship and heading to LMP. So it was extremely satisfying to see the movie last night and see how GREAT it is. It was also fun to remember all the behind-the-scenes work we all did and see the actors portray the people I had spoken to and met with while we researched. I haven't had quite such a gratifying experience before in terms of being a part of a movie and I'm glad that that feeling came with this one....It's a really, really good movie! And it's actually about something, which is also nice. When you see the movie, you'll see the obvious parallels to what this country is going through now. Plus I think the performances are top-notch, the editing works so well, the music is fantastic and it's actually pretty funny. All the comedy came through and it makes what is a very intelligent movie a lot of fun as well. So even though I'm slightly bitter that I didn't get my credit on the movie....(slightly = extremely), please please go see this film! It's really worth it and it's a movie that needs good word of mouth buzz to keep it in theaters. Doesn't exactly have the marketing appeal of a MARLEY AND ME or a TWILIGHT, so it's run will most likely succeed or fail based on moviegoers talking it up!

Saturday's child works hard....and plays hard.

This past Saturday was a long one...we got up about 5:30am to help Chris' parents' with their garage sale (btw- I say "tag sale" but apparently no one on the west coast has any idea what that means), trying to sell a lot of the estate left by Chris' late grandparents. Their hobby (and their living when they'd retired) was to hit tag sales and flea markets looking for valuables, and then they'd set up booths and sell them at various trade shows.
So when both passed on in the past few years, the Danisons were left with a ton of stuff. Chris and I also took advantage of this to get rid of a bunch of our old stuff that we needed to clear out to make room for our "married people" stuff and wedding gifts, etc. Everyone did pretty well and though we were exhausted, Chris and I were happy as we made enough to buy ourselves a new coffee table to match our new couch and a couple other new things.
(Check out this cool car that pulled up at one point)Then at night, we met up with Kristen and Jerry for ice-skating in Redondo Beach. That's right- outdoor ice skating in California! They set up an open air rink right at the beach - it was pretty cool. While the ice did get a bit puddly once or twice, we had a great time and I managed not to fall. Jerry is a great skater (he's a hockey guy) and Chris turned out to be pretty good as well! (Who knew?! Not me!) Kristen and I held our own and I did well enough that it encouraged me to try and maybe actually learn for real.
Anyways- here are some photos and videos are coming shortly....

Disappointment of the Year

So as everyone knows, my Twilight obsession was meant to culiminate in ultimate joy last night with the release of the movie. Bought tickets over a month ago and had recruited 4 ladies to join me....And soooooooo.... wow- it was one of the worst movies I've ever seen. To those who might say I am too attached to the material to have been satisfied with any movie, I say "no". I prepared myself - I read the script, I saw all the clips and featurettes, etc, I knew what to expect in terms of the adaptation of the story....but what I was not prepared for was a movie that was so poorly directed that I think Catherine Hardwicke should never be able to direct a movie again. She made some of the WORST choices in terms of direction of the actors, camera angles, shot choices and pacing....as in - there was none!! I might also add that the music was horrible. It made the acting and the weird scenes even more painful to sit through.

I was not alone...the other ladies with me also hated it and we all spent a good chunk of the movie laughing at it....along with most of the theater, I might add. And the whole theater was pretty much full of fans. I did run into a colleague of mine who said she was thoroughly entertained and Mara did think it was bad in a good way, but I am sad that I cannot say the same. I expected bad cheesy, something fun that I could laugh when I say I loved it anyway, but this was just too painful. Even the simplest, easiest moments to create teen angst and romance were squandered in this movie. Sage made a good point that she thought it was just too literal an adaptation...and I think that may be spot on. There is no soul to this movie. For example, the most recent PRIDE AND PREJUDICE may not be the best actual adaptation of the book, but it's fabulous in that it captures the essence of the material. This didn't. Hardwicke didn't even get the actors to express the basic feelings that transpire between Edward and Bella. The whole point is that he's confident, charming and very at east with Bella once they get over the initial conflict. And Bella's surprisingly calm and at ease with Edward, which is why they can fall in love. Yet in the movie, Kristen Stewart is anxious and acting nervous the whole time! She seems terrified of him (which is soooo not the point) and there are only two moments that the pair actually seem at ease with one another....and it's sad that it's not the key relationship moments. It was a strange dynamic and the lines were interpreted and put together in such a way that they made no sense.

I know I'm rambling, but seriously....they got this ALL wrong. And I would have been okay with a movie that was different than the books as long as it was good. This just had the worst production design (everything felt like a set), bad casting (the vampires were not beautiful enough), bad acting (she directed Rob Pattinson to seem like a moron) and really bad editing. Two big thumbs down.

Ding Dong, the Couch is Dead!

Yesterday marked the beginning of a new life for 3101 S. Barrington Apt 15.....the old skin of the slip-cover couch has been shed.....Hurray for the new sectional! Hurray for more space!
See the remains of the old.... and the brilliance of the new!









Okay, Okay- I know, it's just a new couch. But seriously, it's like we just moved into a new place. I'm so frickin excited!

Belated BOO!!

So a much belated, but very adorable post.....here are the pics of the nieces and nephews from Halloween this year.

Eric....











Ainsley...










Delaney....











Mason, his sis Madeleine, and their cousin Jace

The world belongs to ....Sundance

A momentous occasion has occurred in our apartment....
that's right- the "The World is Yours" poster is gone! Chris and I bought a grown-up couch today (no slip cover. hurray!!!) and in preparation for its delivery Tuesday, we started moving furniture around. This included moving our massive DVD collection over to the den, which would cover the infamous poster. Chris is really thrilled to finally be losing his SCARFACE poster as you can tell.....

But one person's trash is another's treasure...as we discovered when Sundance took a liking to the poster. To make it more enticing, I rolled one of their jingle balls into the middle of it and she tried desperately to get inside.
So loser moment, it reminded me of Twilight when Edward looked at Bella and commented about her being a furious kitten that thought she was a tiger. And I know how condescending that sounds for one person to think of another, but I think it's a cute image and it's kind of true for Sundance when she charges the poster. See below....

Los Angeles is Burning.....

As many of you are experiencing, and many more have heard, Southern California is experiencing devastating wild fires right now. The hot Santa Ana winds are carrying flames and smoke throughout SoCal and a lot of people have lost their homes. We are lucky enough not to live in an area that is threatened, but many of our friends have had to evacuate their houses, and we are hoping they have a home to return to in the morning.

This morning, we left Mar Vista and drove the cats down to Orange County for their yearly check-up at the vet. As we got on the 105 highway, we were able to see the mountains and saw the smoke from the Santa Barbara fires...about an hour and a half later, driving back towards Chris' parents' home in Los Alamitos (33 miles from where we started and much, MUCH further from the smoke we saw on the horizon) we were driving through smoke! Fires had spread and I took these photos from the car later that day to show the crazy sky, and also how you can see exactly where the wind stream is, showing the blue sky just beyond.


p.s......chris is really sweet...he bought my flowers yesterday just because. awwww

Partying like it's 2002.....

So back during senior year at Brown, some of my friends and I made a pact that we would go out every Thursday night no matter what. And we kept to it....I even completed my thesis early enough on the Thursday before it was due in time to go out to our beloved GCB (Grad Center Bar for the non-brownies). Post-college, this Thursday night fun continued for a little while b/c it didn't seem a big deal to be out late and hangovers on work days didn't bother me....times changed of course....and bedtime got a lot earlier on school nights.

However, last night I went to El Guapo for tracking board drinks (a.k.a. networking type stuff), which can often be more of a chore than true fun....but last night was awesmoe! I totally stayed out til 1am as if I were still 21/22. The night started out with about twelve of us, kind of hanging out, chatting about our board's leader moving to Texas and getting out of the business. As the night went on and we dwindled down to 5, things got a bit crazier. There was a really fun guy from Boston there, who as he spoke, let his accent come out into full force. There were no "r"s left in his speech anywhere by night's end. This is the same guy that when we were talking about the movie THE DREAMERS (a steamy number directed by Bertolucci starring Eva Green), gave me the nickname DFP when I mentioned there were more naked guys than naked girls in it....I believe his comment came about in this fashion...."yeah, if you like dual flacid penises." Everyone bust up and now I am being called DFP on one my work boards....sigh. not good.
Though I did end up telling this dude he would be Chewbacca instead of Han Solo when we were discussing that (I don't remember why), but somehow it doesn't quite have the same effect as DFP.

Anyways, it was a great night and I got to know some of my colleagues really well and managed to hold my own even when all the other girls had left. I think I challenged one to beer pong and another to poker at some point....we shall see.

Something to make you laugh.....

Yes, it's random...but it's cute and hi-larious.(photo courtesy of Sage)

Signs you're getting older....

Saturday morning I drove down to Orange County to meet up with my mom-in-law for our annual shopping trip to the Sugar Plum Arts & Crafts festival - essentially it's a big holiday decorations and gifts bonanza! (see photos on the right- a huge warehouse at the Orange County fairgrounds that is filled with rows and rows of vendors...everything from ornaments to plates to wreaths, etc etc. It's fabulous! And as you can imagine, Chris is always nervous about how much stuff I come home with.)

Afterward, I drove back and met up with my friend Nicholas for dinner at James Beach restaurant & bar in Venice. So much fun! There's two sections of the place- an indoor area that's a bit nicer and posh, and an "outdoor" part that's much more low key (I use quotes b/c it's it's open air but it feels like you are still covered). After we ate, we moved to the upstairs bar and a bunch of Nick's friends joined us. We took shots, drank for an hour or two and then I went on a search and recover mission. I wandered through the crowd to find some fun, cute ladies for the gentlemen to meet - and I must say, I did not disappoint. Seriously, I rule as a wingman...however, I'm getting a bit old to drink so much....(see below)
When I got home at 2am, I woke Chris up and made him get me some water, etc. As I laid in bed, he said to me, "Just please don't get sick honey." I apparently replied, "I don't want to think about getting sick...I'll think about Twilight instead." I am such a loser.

Putting Twilight to bed....for now.

After video chatting with Mara last night and discussing the end of Breaking Dawn, the fourth and final book of the Twilight series, I finished it myself last night for the second time and feel confident that I can finally put these books to rest for awhile.

I have put a lot of time and thought into why these books riveted me so much and essentially became like crack to my buried (or not-so-buried) teenage alter ego. I would wager to guess that my own insecurities as a adolescent and teenager reflect what most girls at that age go through, and the heroine of these books is very much that girl. Yet, she has attracted the attention and affection of a man that she deems to be far superior to her in all ways....she's undeterred by the fact that he's a vampire (read= "bad boy" that's a bit dangerous) and she sees the good inside of him. What female hasn't encountered a bad boy that they thought they could be the one to change? The one to see "the real him"?

Also- the books have a ton of sexual tension but [SPOILER ALERT] only really give in to it in the fourth book when Bella and Edward are married. Even then, the books are kept pretty clean for its teen audience and by doing so, it invites in the imagination of all the horny women reading and lusting after their own perfect love. Plus, there's an element of violence and danger throughout all of it....including all the sexual stuff. And let's be really honest....there's always something exciting and weirdly intriguing about mixing sex and violence in entertainment. Whether it's books or movies, a hint of danger to further increase the electricity of a situation makes it way more thrilling.

Plus, giving credit where credit is due, Stephanie Meyer may not be the best writer in the history of novels by any stretch, but she's created a world that can really hold your attention. The way in which she succeeds the most as a writer, for me at least, is drawing you in so completely to Bella's world. You care for her and for her and Edward far more than you care about logic, plot or even the repetitive nature of her prose.

Anyway, I am pretty sure that I will not pick up one of these books again until after I see the movie. Hopefully even then, I'll have had enough. I've read them all (at least) twice, read the unfinished manuscript of Midnight Sun twice, and now I've read two versions of the movie script. Obsession complete....I hope.
Chris gets to have his wife back now. Sorry honey! I promise, I'm done!!

America's "Progress"....?

Sure, we did elect an African-American man to become the next President of the United States. But looking at other measures that passed on Tuesday (and some that didn't, but still managed to get on the ballot in the first place!!) still show how far we have to go as a country.

Obviously, Proposition 8 is the one I am the most angry about. Stopping gay couples from being able to marry is beyond reprehensible in my estimation. Marriage in this current day and age is no longer an across-the-board religious and sacred institution. It's been flaunted by straight couples for many, many years- marrying in Vegas on a drunken whim, for example. Or, just take a peek at divorce rates!! People get divorced and re-married all the time- multiple times in fact!! How exactly does any of that translate to marriage being a religious sacrament to be preseved? I mean, I believe that my marriage is and that my marriage is extremely sacred- but that's MY business. Historically, weren't marriages in fact most often in essence land deals? When fathers would sell their daughters off? So they haven't always been about "family values", as so many people like to tout..... And what ABOUT the Mormons, who were strongly behind Prop 8? I think a lot of "traditional" family values are against the kind of marriage they allow and practice?
And furthermore, what gives ANY of us the right to tell someone else that what WE believe is more important than what THEY believe. Isn't that the whole f*ng point of America from the beginning? TOLERANCE!! Isn't that the ideal that we've struggled to adhere to during this country's history? I'm not a fool- I understand that America has never actually adhered to that principle (slavery, civil rights, women's rights, gay rights, etc), but I'm tired of everyone singing from the rooftops that by electing Obama we've proved we're progressive and forward-thinking people!! Maybe we took a baby step, but we have so far to go.

Right now in Arkansas, if you're not married- you cannot adopt a child. This is designed to target gay couples, but had to be worded so as to include same-sex couples. Do we really believe that marriage is what makes a stable home to grow up in?? PLEASE- ask any social worker and they'll tell you that across the board, across every socioeconomic level, across all races, LOVE is what matters in a home. Loving your children; paying attention to them; being involved in their lives. Plenty of straight parents are awful parents. It's not sexual orientation that determines your ability to love someone- including a child.

This all just disgusts me. (As do the similar measures in Florida and Arizona banning gay marriage.) Sigh- I know I'm preaching and I'm on my soapbox, etc - but seriously, I cannot understand people sometimes. Believe what you want to believe and don't try to control other people's lives. A government's job is to keep us safe, protecting us from outside threats, as well as each other - basically providing us with a country that we can all live in peacefully while we pursue life, liberty and happiness. Exactly how does gay marriage interfere with that?

It's all coming up Obama!!

Hip Hip Hooray!! We can all rest easy now....and hope that change really is coming.Expectations will be high and it will be immensely interesting and frustrating, and agonizing in some ways, as we watch to see if Obama can live up to what we are all hoping for - a new America for us at home and abroad.

Last night, Chris, Sage, Jeff and I tried to get into the big Hyatt Century City party to celebrate and "be a part" of it all. However, we quickly realized we might miss everything while waiting in line, so we drove really fast to get home and watched McCain's resignation speech and Obama's celebration speech, as well as coverage on the returns, together.

We were surprised to feel a bit more emotion from McCain than from the new President Elect. Was it just us or did he seem almost more sincere and genuine in his words than Obama? I wondered aloud, and it seems we all agreed, if Obama was just tired. I am sure that his grandmother passing away just before the election took an intense emotional toll on him, during a time when nerves must be fraught with tension and anticipation as is. I felt like his speech was a campaign speech more than a celebratory "We did it!!" moment that I was so hoping for. Though towards the end, I felt like he capitalized on everyone's joy and managed to come out with some great lines, and I liked that he spoke about the 106 year-old woman, who has seen so much change. More than I imagine any of us will in our lifetime. (And I liked that he told his girls they earned the new puppy- HA! that was awesome.)

And election elation is mixed with regret that Californians voted "yes" on Prop 8 (which, for any non-Cali people reading this, eliminates gay marriage in our state). It's hard to believe that anyone really feels they have the right to say "no" to someone else when it comes to this. I can't believe that people don't have bigger things on their minds and bigger issues to worry about than if two men or two women want to make a lifelong committment to one another. It's frustrating to me and it's just ridiculous.

However, going back to the big election. I quite sincerely thank God that America pulled it together :)

17 days until TWILIGHT opens in theaters.....

I just got a quick update from Darcy re: the new TWILIGHT movie that opens in theaters nationwide on November 21....
Apparently one of the people that works on Ryan Seacrest's radio show here in LA saw the movie and texted him the following message... "Omg. I have no idea how I just sat in a room full of agents parents and actors and didn't scream for two hours. I'm loiterally dying. This is me dead. OMGGGGG IT WAS AMAZING. I cried like 10 times, cuz I can do that quietly. I wanted to scream, but couldn't.Rob pattinson - as edward, strange, tortured and painfully gorgeous. Like literally painful to watch. Dying. Ur such a tool to miss that. So stubborn. So sad."

YAY!! omgomgomgomgomg I can't wait to see this movie! Here's the link to that tiny review...now I will say that this comes from people equally obsessed with the books as me. Apparently they do a reading from the books on air all the time. Maybe it's time I switched over from KROQ? hmmmm. Here's a link to the newest reading - HI-larious. You MUST check it out.
(Also- I just want to say that when I saw Rob Pattinson at Comic-Con in July and saw the way the girls reacted to him, I immediately told my boss that he's the next big star for that age group.....he didn't believe me and I can't wait to say "I told you so.")

Nando's Birthday

Saturday night was Fernando's 27th birthday celebration and we drove down to Anaheim Hills to see Nando's and Lindsay's brand new 5 bdrm/3bath house! (jealous!!) It's gorgeous, huge and just such a fun place to party! or like eventually have kids and whatnot, but for now, it's a great party house!

It's been awhile since this group of friends (the Acacia group a.k.a Loyola guys that lived together in 2003 and all their gfs & wives) has all been together for one of our raucous drinking nights.
The last time, I fell asleep (okay- fine, passed out) at 11:30 and missed out on a ton of fun! I wasn't going to let that happen again, as I told Lindsay when I arrived.

Naturally beer pong was the central event of the night and we even managed to keep score on the makeshift table. I totally rocked the first game with some friend named Allen (never met him before but yay us!) and then the second game I rocked but my partner CHRIS, totally let me down. I mean, I sank 4 out of 6 and we LOST! WTF is a husband good for if not to help you win in beer pong?! (To be fair, Chris is actually way better than me but had an off game.)

Anyways, because of the whole wedding diet, etc, I haven't been drinking like the alcohol rockstar that I have been known as for so long....so what did I do? That's right - I fell asleep at midnight when everyone else partied til 2am. wah wah...Lindsay was laughing at me b/c I did exactly what I wanted to avoid.
However, I was feeling good when I woke up, as opposed to the others with their hangovers. See left.