'These Stupid Games' Music Video

Stephanie and I worked on this music video for 'These Stupid Games' together for a few weeks and it's finally finished!  She released it on my Birthday back in June and I'm finally posting about it on my blog!

Watch it here :)

Stephanie had talked to the artist, Elizaveta, about doing a music video for her song, 'These Stupid Games.'  When Stephanie asked me if I would be in and sent me the song, it was an easy yes.  The song is beautiful, very emotional, and something I felt connected to.  We shot at locations all over LA, including a couple places in Santa Monica, the Last Bookstore in Downtown, the Self-Realization Fellowship at Lake Shrine, Malibu, Union Station, and up on the Mulholland Lookout, and even a late night pool session in March!

The Book Arch at the Last Bookstore in Downtown LA

Self-Realization Fellowship at Lake Shrine near Malibu...it was so beautiful!

It's a great song and the video turned out really well for her first time using video instead of all photos, plus we had a lot of fun shooting it!  I love working on new things and getting to do a little acting and it was awesome to check out some new places I had never been to :)

The Getty Villa & Gladstone's :)

Last Friday I had the day off and since it was a beautiful sunny afternoon I thought a day trip to The Getty Villa in Malibu was the perfect thing to do!  Since one of my resolutions was to try new Happy Hour's and Restuarants I looked up places in the area that would have the Yankee's Game on as a surprise for Neil after our visit to the museum.

Perfect day in Malibu :)

We got to The Getty Villa just before 3 pm and made our way through the museum starting at the classical outdoor theater where they have events on a regular basis.  The last time I was here was with my Mom years ago so it was nice to re-visit it.  They have gardens and fountains, and the Villa was modeled after a first-century Roman home.  You can see the Pacific Ocean from different areas and one of my favorite views is from the 2nd floor overlooking the long reflecting pool, statues, and assorted vegetation of flowers, shrubs, and herbs, with the ocean in the background.  

As we made our way into the museum we started with the Greek and Roman collections; there were paintings, busts, ceramics, coins, jewelry, kitchen and tableware, weaponry, armor, and tons of other antiquities (over 44,000 to be exact).  My favorite part is reading and learning about the Gods & Goddesses, and the differences between the Greek & Roman terminology.  I always loved learning about this kind of History in school.  I can't believe how well-kept the pieces of art are and that some of them are from almost 8,000 years ago!

We did have to rush a little to make it through the whole museum and probably could have used another half hour just to take our time through the final exhibits.  Another cool exhibit was Heaven and Earth: Art of Byzantium from Greek Collections.  We got to see all this art with Jesus as the subject and different pieces from The Bible.  This was definitely something my Mom really would have enjoyed; the history and age of it was just amazing.

Neil & I in front of the reflecting pool at The Getty Villa

On our way out we stopped at the Gift Shop and Neil picked me up a book about the Greek and Roman, Gods and Goddesses.  I'm so excited to find out all the details and information about them and their families so I can go back and read The Odyssey and The Illiad for fun without the deadline of a college theatrical history assignment.  Plus, I'll be able to cross-reference; I'm a total nerd for this stuff :)

Blackberry Margarita at Gladstone's!

Neil and I headed over to Gladstone's and they put on the Yankee game for us and we could also watch the Basketball game too.  We had plenty of time for Happy Hour and were able to enjoy an incredible Vegetable Flatbread, some Calimari, and also Tuna Tartar.  All the food we had was awesome, but the pizza was probably my favorite.  Plus, those three appetizers were able to fill us up for the evening.  We had Blackberry Margarita's that were refreshing and delicious and after the game was over (unfortunately the Yankee's lost, and in our basketball news Indiana won so the Bulls won't be playing Miami which would have been a more favorable match-up), we were finally able to catch the sunset in Malibu after trying to for years!  It was a new Happy Hour spot for me and I would definitely go back.

This was the perfect way to spend a Friday afternoon here in LA.  It was nice to take in some culture and learn something new as well as get to enjoy a beach day in Malibu with some great food and a beautiful Los Angeles sunset.  I look forward to more days like this!

A Wednesday of Dine LA and Karaoke

It was the final week of Dine LA last week and I wanted to finish strong with at least one more Lunch and Dinner.  On Wednesday night it was Dinner at Duke's in Malibu and my first time to the restaurant, so something new for me!

I know that Duke's does Brunch on the weekends and also has a great Happy Hour so I was really looking forward to checking out the menu and trying some cocktails.  Because it was Wednesday, they had half off wine and no corkage fee so hooray for bringing a bottle in!  We decided to start with cocktails, one Basil Strawberry Cooler and a Jalapeno Margarita, both of which were delicious and refreshing.  I could have tried a bunch of others and will come back when they've got some Happy Hour deals.  For appetizers we started with Calamari that came with a Lemon Remoulade and Guava Cocktail Sauce as well as the Crab Macnut Wontons that had a Plum Sauce.  The Calamari was perfectly crispy and I loved all the sauces to dip it in but I thought the Wontons were just a little fishy but I'm super sensitive to that.

After opening the wine (Coppola is a wine you can always count on) and getting our entree's I was so excited to dig into my meal and I hadn't even taken a before picture.  I ordered a Filet with a dijon rub, creamed corn, and Yukon gold mashed potatoes.  Everything was so incredible!  The other option we went with was the Mahi Mahi with avocado, grapefruit, a ginger vinaigrette, and jasmine rice.  It was light and I loved the grapefruit and ginger flavors.  Finally, it was time for dessert and a huge piece of Hula Pie, that was macadamia nut ice cream, Oreo cookie crust, hot fudge and whipped cream, in addition to a couple scoops of chocolate ice cream.  It was certainly plenty of food!

Finally had a reason to wear my green pumps!  Wine, cocktails, and amazing Dine LA at Duke's in Malibu :)

One might ask how I can eat that much food and then go dance around and host Karaoke but I just have to thank my Jacoby blood for my love of food, and copious amounts of it.  It was actually a busy night and people got into the 90's theme that was started and I had opened with "Don't Speak" by No Doubt.  I know that 'Ballroom Blitz' by Sweet isn't a 90's song but Wayne's World is a 90's movie and I was channeling Tia Carrere when I was singing it.  What a fun song to sing, and on top of it being my new song, the crowd loved it.  Next up, I slowed it down for a little bit with Jewel's "Foolish Games" and Roxette's "Listen To Your Heart."  It was duet time for "Another Day" from Rent and "Like We Never Loved at All" by Tim McGraw & Faith Hill.  It wouldn't have been a 90's night without a little Britney Spears so I had everyone sing along to "Baby One More Time"to shut it down.

I love when the bar really gets into the music at Karaoke and people like being challenged with a theme.  Everyone did a great job and asked what our next theme night would be!  Now that's the spirit :)