Recapping...A Hooter's Reunion, Maleficent, and more!

I love that for the past three months I've been busy with performances and rehearsal for Creating Arts; it was awesome to get back into theater and be on-stage once again.  Plus, I loved meeting the kids after the show and hearing their stories.  But every once in a while, a little break is necessary, and last weekend was my first weekend off in months!

Kristina & I in matching blue :)

I had Hosted Karaoke on Friday night which was a lot of fun since my Wednesday's are usually pretty laid back, so this brought new life into Gabe's, and was a pleasant surprise.  On Saturday night, Kristina and I had planned a little catch-up since she had just gotten back from Mexico, so we made Dinner together, and then made impromptu plans to check out Ocean Bar on a Saturday night.  It was a spontaneous and fun night and great to spend a little girl time together :)

Then on Sunday I was going to our Santa Monica Hooter's Reunion.  I haven't worked there in over 8 years and people have come and gone, so it was nice that Angel had organized a get-together for all of us who had worked there to meet each other and enjoy some beers and wings as well.  We ended up at the Hooter's in Hollywood where about 10 girls and some of our regulars joined us for reminiscing and fun.  Jen (whom I had worked with, Angel too, all of us were bartenders as well) had a Wing Party from nearly 20 years ago that we were able to use.  A Wing Party lets you order as many wings as you want for an hour, so needless to say, we showed the Hooter's patrons how Hooter Girls eat!  I can't even tell you how many wings we ordered but I can tell you I saw lots of empty plates by the time I was leaving!  I'm really not a huge wing person but for some reason, I love my Hooter's wings!  I wish we could have gotten more girls together, especially for the time that I was working there but everyone is so spread out nowadays and have babies so it was more difficult than expected.  Still it was awesome to see everyone after eight years!  That was my first job here in Los Angeles and I'll never forget it.

Angel & I at the Santa Monica Hooter Girl Reunion!

This last Saturday I tried another new restaurant, my first for the month of June.  It was Magnolia Cafe, in North Hollywood, just a nice little cafe where I had some chocolate chip pancakes and Parmesan chips made from scratch.  A new restaurant but typical for breakfast.  I'm sure I'll be back there again!

That Saturday night, I wanted to take Katy out to see a movie for her Birthday, so she and her friend, Keeley, met me at the Century City AMC and we saw Maleficent.  I've been so excited to see this movie since Sleeping Beauty is my absolute favorite Disney movie.  I've never been a huge Angelina Jolie fan, I've always been team Jennifer Aniston, but I do enjoy her movies and think she's a good actress.  In Maleficent she actually blew me away!  I was so impressed by her transformation into the character, and how I felt for her the ENTIRE movie, even when she was being evil.  She looked so beautiful and after seeing the movie, there is no one else I can think of who would have played the part even half as good as she did.  She completely encompassed her role as Maleficent and brought tears to my eyes at certain points.  Not to mention, the visuals and scenery were just gorgeous.  They created a world unlike any other and told the story of Sleeping Beauty from her perspective and it gave new light to one of my favorite movies.  The only thing I didn't like was that it was so perfect, the viewer knew it wasn't real, and I would rather see some gorgeous Mother Earth created beauty than CGI.  And I wasn't really into the actor who was playing King Stephen, he did a good job, just didn't wow me.  Needless to say, I honestly can't wait to go and see the movie again.  I've been waiting for a movie like this to come along and break into my Top 5 favorite movies, and it did just that!  Incredible :)

How Hooter Girls do Wings...and that wasn't even half!

And I'll leave you with that :)

Public School Happy Hour & 'The Other Woman'

I was able to try a few new restaurants in April including Cafe Laurent and Gladstone's in Malibu to continue with my New Year's Resolution of trying out new places.  I wrote blogs for both of them but this one is dedicated to a Buddy Date with Ashley at Public School 310 in Culver City for Happy Hour before going to see the movie, 'The Other Woman.'

Ashley and I decided on Public School because they had some vegetarian choices and plenty of options.  I was excited when I saw the menu because there were so many different things that looked really good.  We decided on the Red Quinoa & Argula Salad, the Pearled Farro & Brussel Salad, as well as the Speck & Eggs, and last but not least, Mac & Cheese.  They made their own tonic in house so we both ordered gin & tonics and I loved the sweetness to the tonic even more than I like my usual gin & Sprite.  

I loved the Quinoa Salad because of the lemon vinaigrette and feta cheese; the portions for the salads were huge, almost enough as an entree for one person.  I wasn't a huge fan of the Farro Salad even though I love farro and curry, but with the squash it just didn't have any kick.  The Speck & Eggs were basically deviled eggs with a little kick to them but we left out the proscuitto, and they were just fine on their own!  My favorite was probably the Mac & Cheese (as if I wouldn't love something with cheese).  It was topped with sea salt and a vinegar crunch and had a really great flavor.  Plus, after all this food, we were totally full.

Eggs without the Speck, Mac & Cheese, and our Gin with house-made Tonic!

Next up, it was movie time so we walked over to the theater, ordered popcorn (because who sees a movie without popcorn) and I added so much butter, that it leaked through three different cardboard holders that I double-lined with napkins.  I might have a butter addiction when I see movies.  But it tasted awesome!  The movie was actually much more different than I expected.  It was super funny, where I laughed out loud multiple times, repeating the joke in my head, and laughing again.  But it wasn't a total revenge movie and you really started to understand the characters and each role they played.  I'm not a big fan of Cameron Diaz but I really fell in love with her in this movie, not to mention, she looked phenomenal and I wanted every outfit she wore!  It was fairly predictable but a fun movie to see with Ash and I haven't been to the movies in a while so it was something different to do.

It was a really good movie and great Buddy Date for Ashley and I.  I'm actually really excited to go back to Public House to try more of their Happy Hour menu as well as their regular menu.  They've got a bunch of beers on draft, as well as wine, and some yummy looking desserts.  I'll be back soon :)