Rutherford's First Birthday!

Rutherford celebrated his First Birthday with friends and a pool party on April 4th!  We had snacks, drinks, cupcakes, Birthday Cake from The Dog Bakery which was adorable, and sunshine!  It was such a fun day and I'm so glad some of his favorite people and pups were able to come to the party!

Happy 1st Birthday Ruthey!

I didn't plan on spoiling him but I definitely did.  He loved The Dog Bakery and I did too!  It's definitely a place I'll stop at if I'm getting treats for a special occasion and all the cakes are baked fresh and it smelled delicious in there.  He got some new toys, treats, a cute new shirt, and lots of love from his friends.  He was able to hang out with us by the pool and play with some of my neighbor's dogs, and Rusty brought his roommate's dog too.  It kept Rutherford busy and he had plenty of play-time.

It's so crazy to me that it's been nearly a year since I first met Rutherford and then took him home a couple weeks later.  He's changed my life in so many ways and I didn't know I could love something so much.  Rutherford has grown so much in the past year and I'm glad my friends and I were able to celebrate his Birthday.  I love you Baby Boy <3

Rutherford is cuteness overload every day but especially was on his Birthday!

Thank you to everyone who came to the party, brought goodies, wished Rutherford a Happy Birthday and more.  We appreciate you so much :) 

*Shout-out to my Mom!  This was her Romper she used to wear all the time and I loved seeing her in it.  She always looked so beautiful when she wore it, like a breath of fresh Summer air.  It was a perfect time to wear it for Ruthey's Birthday!

Birthday Photos!

I just wanted to share a few more photos from my Birthday Weekend!!  Thank you to everyone who stopped by during one of the parties, wished me Happy Birthday via text, phone call, or Facebook, and just your thoughts throughout the year!  They are greatly appreciated :)

Making faces with Kenni and Nick, Fern and Howie made it to Blind Barber, my lovely girls,
Courtney, Sam and I, and big smiles from Michael and me :D

Cocktails at Saddle Peak Ranch, the Funfetti Birthday Cake Ashley made from scratch,
amazing Butterfish Appetizer at Lukshon, and Huckleberry Dessert with Kristina!

Until next year...

The 5th Anniversary of my 28th Birthday! Part 2.

Birthday Cookies from Dad!

 My Birthday this year was really tough for me since it was my first one without my Mom.  Usually she would have hidden presents in my room on a previous visit, would call me at midnight in Wisconsin and midnight in LA and wish me a Happy Birthday and check in throughout the day, on top of her singing me 'Happy Birthday' and telling me all about the day I was born.  So in all honesty, I wasn't really looking forward to my Birthday this year.  My Dad sent me cookies which was so sweet and something my Mom would have done, so I was very appreciative of that but it was just a difficult weekend.  I tried to plan a whole day of fun on Sunday with friends to make the most of the day!

Surprise Birthday Party visit from Michael!

I knew I had to get to Church early on Sunday morning to prep for the day and the sun was already beating down and nearly 90 degrees by 10 am.  Since I wanted everything to be ready when the guests arrived, I made a few trips down to the pool with the cooler, the Sangria I made from scratch (thanks to Lee for bringing me a bunch of fruit from the Farmer's Market), my famous salsa, snacks, drinks, and I baked cookies too.  It was definitely a more low-key day and I was kind of glad since it had been such an eventful weekend!  Ashley even made me a beautiful cake, and Khad and Heike came by with Fonuts for everyone!  Throughout the weekend, my friends finally got to meet Rutherford, who even hung out by the pool for a while and Jamie entertained him!  When the sun went down and after the Basketball Championship, we had a Game Night.  Later on, Adam, Claire and I went over to this Carnival that had opened up in the Grocery Store parking lot just up the street.  We rode some rides (it may be the last time I ride the Tilt-A-Whirl for a while), played some games, and had a lot of fun!  It was a great way to wrap up my Birthday Weekend!

Kristina and I had made separate plans for a little Dinner night to ourselves.  I even got a Puppy-Sitter for Rutherford (thanks to Courtney for taking care of him and to Rutherford's new friend, Lola for entertaining him)!  Kristina and I went to Saddle Peak Lodge in Calabasas, and it was everything Kristina had described:  Rustic and cozy, reminded me of 'Beauty & The Beast,' and the food was top notch.  We started off with some Spicy Tequila Cocktails and Oysters.  Our server picked out a beautiful bottle of Pinot Noir for us that we knew would go great with our steaks.  Before we got to our main we had this Truffle Mushroom Agnolotti which melted in our mouths!  The meal just kept getting better and better; even the pretzel bread with salted butter to start the meal was perfection.  We had this Huckleberry Bread Pudding dessert that just knocked it out of the park and per usual, just getting to spend time with Kristina was lovely. 

Kristina and I at Saddle Peak Ranch in Calabasas :)

Overall, everyone made my 33rd Birthday very special and fun.  Thank you Friends & Family...I'm a very lucky gal <3

Fern's Book Release!

One of my co-hosts from our 'Real Housewives of New York' Aftershow at Afterbuzz TV had her book release party a couple weeks ago!  We've all been long anticipating the release and I'm looking forward to reading her book, "Better in the Morning."

Fern's Book Release Party at Afterbuzz!

Megan, Ashley, Fern and I had to celebrate and take our first group photo during our Aftershow on Wednesday with cake pops and some Skinny Girl cocktails.  Of course we had to support Bethenny from the Housewives.  The party was on a Saturday night and my day had actually started out pretty awesome because I had an Audition in Hollywood at noon and while waiting to go in, the Casting Director from another project approached me and asked if I would come and audition for the short film they were casting.  I had heard of this happening but it had never happened to me before, so it was a nice confidence booster!  I did end up finding the project on-line and saw it was Non-Union so I wouldn't have been able to do it anyway, but hopefully I'll have some more good luck down the line for another project or role!  It was a busy day and I was able to squeeze in going to Fern's party before heading to work that night.  The party had catered food, beautiful desserts, and lots of people celebrating Fern and her book.

Fern is one of the most generous and kind people I have ever met and her positivity is absolutely contagious.  We've been doing the Housewives Aftershow together for the past two years so we've gotten to know each other pretty well.  You can check out some more stories on her blog here: http://www.blogher.com/myprofile/fern-ronay Or find more info on her website here: http://www.fernronay.com/

Celebrating Fern's Book Release at Afterbuzz TV during our 'Real Housewives of New York' Aftershow

"Better in the Morning" has been released on Amazon and Kindle so you can get the digital version or a hard-copy now!  And make sure to leave a review when you do read it :) Fern, you rock!

Blind Barber Birthday

We all had such a fun time for my Birthday at Bar Lubitsch, I knew that having my actual party on Friday night at Blind Barber would be great!  I've been going into Blind Barber, which is a speakeasy inside a Barber Shop here in Culver City, for over a year now.  On top of their amazing grilled cheese selection, they've got an array of drinks and the service is always top notch!

I spent the afternoon by the pool and then early in the evening Jamie came over with some snacks and a bunch of wines for us so we could do some Wine Tasting.  They ranged from a Rose, to Chardonnay, to a Chianti.  The Rose surprised me the most since I typically hate Rose because it's always too dry but this was light and airy, with a touch of sweetness at the end and a smooth finish.  Jamie told me it wasn't available to buy on its own, only for restaurant sales.  It made drinking it with her while getting ready for my Birthday so special!  I also picked out one of the Chardonnay's and the Chianti that also had a smooth finish to keep.

An array of Wines for our Tasting and a mini Photo-Shoot before heading to Blind Barber!

Some of my friends were already at Blind Barber by the time we arrived, our Uber got lost getting to my apartment so we jumped right into some cocktails.  I started with the Strawberry Fields and the next thing I know, I was taking a shot, and another one a half hour later, and had another drink in my hand after that and the night just kept going from there.  Thankfully, Jamie made sure I ate some of the fabulous Grilled Cheese that I had ordered, and Carolyn was making me drink water, and I happily obliged.

Catching up with friends, Ashley, Carolyn, Jeff, and Bear at Blind Barber!

There was dancing, shots, and fun!  So many of my friends showed up and stopped by, and I apologize if I'm forgetting anyone.  Thanks to Jamie (for starting the festivities off with a bang) Jeff, Bear, Andy, Kayt, Patrick, Ashley, Raph, Mikey, Carolyn, Nick, Charlie, Sam (for also making sure we all got home safely), Adam, Giana, Justin, (for trying) Giere, Simon, Daniel, our wonderful Bartender, Allyson, the manager at Blind Barber, and anyone else who came to celebrate and toast with me!  Can we please have a re-do where I don't have to take shots and let's not celebrate my Birthday but just get everyone together to hang out and have an awesome time!?!

My favorite part of my Birthday is just getting all my friends together in one space to hang out and catch up.  So perhaps I'll try to set something like this up every few months so friends can meet other friends, we can all relax and enjoy some great food and drinks, and celebrate that we're all here in LA and having the time of our lives <3  Thank you to everyone who made my Birthday special!

Pictures from Afterbuzz TV's Neon Party & Catalina!

I had so many fun pictures from our Afterbuzz TV Neon Party hosted by Maria Menounos & Keven Undergaro that I had to post just a few more!  And Catalina was so beautiful, I wanted to share a couple more from that trip as well :)

With Joe Gear and some of our Afterbuzz TV Hosts!

With Leslie from 'Masterchef' and cheesin' with Steph in the upper right corner, while Maria looks absolutely amazing!

Boats in Avalon at Catalina Island!

Perfect day in Catalina :)

I'm loving the Summer here in sunny California!

Afterbuzz TV's Neon Party!

Afterbuzz TV has it's annual Neon Summer Party held at our Founder's, Maria Menounos & Keven Undergaro's house in July.  Now that I've been working at Afterbuzz since September and I'd been hearing about how epic last year's party was, I was really looking forward to it!

It was the perfect day, the sun was out, and as soon as I parked I could hear the music from down the street.  One of our Hosts, DJ Jesse Janedy was playing the tunes all day long.  He played perfect Summer Pool Party music that everyone was singing and dancing to; I was super impressed by his choice in music!  There were songs I hadn't heard since college but everyone remembered!  Love it.  The pool was filled by party-goers, there were Hot Dogs and Hamburgers coming off the grill, plenty of snacks, and two separate bars for cocktails and refreshments.

With Cortez & Ashida!

I was so happy to see Cortez and get to hang out with him and meet some of his fellow co-hosts and also English, since we had all worked on the 'Shahs Of Sunset' After Show together.  It was great to get to spend some time with Ashley and Stephanie from our 'Real Housewives of New York' After Show outside of Afterbuzz.  It's also nice to cut loose since we try to be as professional as possible when we're at the studio, and even though we have fun, we can all be ourselves and just enjoy a great party!

After saying hello to a few of my friends I made my way to get a drink and some food and saw Costas, Maria's Dad, whom I recognized from her book, 'The Every Girl's Guide to Diet and Fitness,' as well as her show, 'Chasing Maria.'  We had the cutest conversation about family and how important it is to be a good role model, and make sure that your children are happy.  He obviously wants grand kids and I could completely relate in knowing that my parents say the same thing to me all the time!

On top of over 200 of our Afterbuzz TV Hosts that were invited, all the guests that have been into our Studios were invited as well.  I talked to Leslie from 'Masterchef' as it's one of my favorite Cooking Shows currently on TV, and he's been known as the villain.  There was no villain present on that Saturday afternoon, as we were dressed in matching shades of orange and talked a little about cooking and also about his competitors.  I'm rooting for you, Leslie! 

Speaking of orange, Maria and I also matched, and she called me her Tangerine Twin.  It never ceases to amaze me at how generous and kind, she, Keven, her whole family, as well as our Afterbuzz Team are.  I love that I feel like I have support behind me, and while I know that my friends and family show that, hearing how Keven wants me to succeed, just makes me work even hard for it!  Thank you to Keven and Maria for creating an outlet for all of us to get a chance to do what we love, and know that not only do we believe we can achieve our dreams, but that you both do as well :)

With Afterbuzz TV Founder, Keven and Matt D'Andria from Motorator & CarCast :)

It was an awesome day and I'm lucky to know such incredible people and be able to work at a job I absolutely love!

An October 33rd Halloween!

Halloween landed on a Thursday this year and I got plenty of costume time in with the Jersey Shore Costume for the Afterbuzz TV Party, my 6 costume changes of R&B stars Aaliyah and Ciara for Karaoke at the Gabe's Halloween Costume Contest, and then on Saturday for Neil's Annual Halloween Party where I dressed up as Lilah (Megan Fox's character) from Jonah Hex.  I did a mini-version of Snooki while I worked at Irish Times on Halloween Thursday but spent the rest of the night hanging out with a girlfriend while she got ready for a Party and then I stayed in and cleaned my room.  Rockstar.

Screen Engine Family

After taking the Costume to the tailor to do some minor alterations, already having the perfect boots, and finding some lace gloves, I was ready to go!  Halloween music was playing, everyone attending was in costume, I had made some fun Halloween cupcakes, and we had plenty of goodies to eat, not to mention a liquor selection to be rivaled!  We took a few pictures before everyone else arrived, took our Purple People Eater shots, and I was even in costume before our first guest walked through the door.  Hooray!  Neil was dressed as Ash from 'Evil Dead' and and had completed his look with a full-on Chain Saw for an arm...super cool!

It was great to see Aimee and Andy from Gabe's, who brought along a couple of their friends, one of which was dressed as the famed painter on TV, Bob Ross, while they dazzled as Little Bo Peep and her Sheep.  Tom and Basia came as Marty McFly and Ariel with Legs from 'The Little Mermaid,' both of which were super thoughtful.  Jamie and Spark came a little later dressed as the Red Queen and Mad Hatter, with stunning make-up from Jamie!  Emily and Shane were dressed as Tim Tebow and his Little Emily Football :)

Halloween Party Time

There were Superheroes, Brett Michael's, Wolverine, Katy Perry, a Gatsby Girl, Masked Heroes & Ladies, and some incredible make-up'd faces!  People even requested to hear and see 'The King Of Halloween' music video.  I just wish there was more sour candy at the party.

The Ladies on Halloween!

The party was a blast and it's only 350 more days till Halloween so you better start planning next years costume soon!

Halloween Costume Contest & Party at Gabe's!

Last week Wednesday was the Eve of Halloween and when Gabe's was doing their Halloween Party and Costume Contest, right at midnight!  Slowly but sure we've built Wednesday Night Karaoke during the week of Halloween and last Wednesday was a busy night, with lots of costume changes, prizes, and tons of dedications and Karaoke songs.

Justin & Ciara

My Costumes for the night were all fashioned after Aaliyah and Ciara with their hip hop vibe and style; some costumes were certainly better than others but I sang each song, 6 total, in a different costume.  Neil and Chris also came dressed to impress as Neil had different looks for Justin Timberlake as well as Eminem, and we even did a duet together.  Chris was dressed in the 'Humpty Dance' costume and waited to perform his song till we had a full crowd and sure enough, he won our Costume Contest that evening!  Second place went to Jerry who was dressed as a Domino's Pizza Delivery Boy and 3rd went to Neil for once again, completely changing his look throughout the night.  There was a Pirate Carebear, Jessica Rabbit, Ghouls & Goblins, and dead Witches and Zombies in costume as well.

I started off the night with one of my new songs, 'Try Again' by Aaliyah, wearing my new wedged sneakers (which by the way, are super comfortable, and give me an extra 3 inches; I highly recommend them).  Next up was 'Are You That Somebody' with a costume super similar to Aaliyah's in the music video and I even pulled out some specific dance moves with each song.  Another favorite part of my first two costumes was getting to wear a chain that was connected to a wallet in my back pocket; I kind of want to wear it all the time!  From there I switched from Aaliyah to Ciara and started off with her hit, 'One Two Step' which was another new song for me.  I wore these shiny pants I had bought in college that still fit (YAY) and my outfit matched Ciara's perfectly!  I loved that it got people that were totally involved in their pool game up and dancing with me :)  After that I switched it up, putting on my fedora for 'Like A Boy' and thankfully I had gotten in some practice of the song since my last performance, and that was highly necessary with all the quick raps and melody.

'As long as I've got my suit and tie...'

Halloween Karaoke

During all this Neil had performed 'Like I Love You' and 'What Goes Around Comes Around' by Justin Timberlake and then went into Eminem mode for 'Lose Yourself.'  It was back to Justin for 'Suit & Tie' with a little help from McCracken who was dressed as a Michael Buble/Josh Groban hybrid, and thankfully was wearing his suit and tie.  It was time for Neil and I's duet of 'Love + Sex + Magic' and another perfectly matched costume like Ciara's from the video.  I had forgotten to change the key and lower it but we managed to make due and had a lot of fun with it, even though it was a new and quite difficult song for both of us!  There was more N'Sync happening from Neil and McCracken singing 'This I Promise You' and both duets with Neil were new songs for McCracken.  Everyone definitely got an A for effort in trying all the new music and putting in thought and detail to specific outfits.  I closed out the night with 'Goodies' by Ciara, another new song for me, and got some help on the rap from Chris, who surprisingly new the song pretty well.  Guilty pleasure?  The song was a blast to sing and once again had people singing along and dancing!

It was a fabulous night for Karaoke and a great Halloween Eve!  Carolyn and Matt even came in to celebrate their recent engagement and dedicate songs to each other which was super cute!  There's just 358 days till Halloween so you better get started on your costume soon...

See ya next year!

Afterbuzz TV Halloween Party

Last week Saturday kicked off the first of my Costumes for Halloween this year at the Afterbuzz TV Halloween Party which was at Rock & Reilly's on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood!  There was a suggested TV theme since Afterbuzz is all about After-Shows for TV shows.

With the theme in mind and an idea I've had for years it was the perfect time to bring out Snooki from 'Jersey Shore.'  To complete my look, I brought along Neil aka DJ Pauly D!  Pauly D normally spends nearly a half hour getting his hair perfect but I didn't need that much time, I got Neil's hair perfectly coiffed in 10 minutes.  There was lots of bronzing going on before we left for the party, some eye-liner and lots of black eye-shadow and mascara.  T-Shirt Time...with costumes on, the look was complete and a pretty darn awesome costume put together in about an hour!  Cabs are here!

DJ Pauly D & Snooki from 'Jersey Shore'

Head Phones & Pickles in Hollywood

We got to the party just after 9 pm and hung out for a couple of hours with some of the Hosts and Crew from Afterbuzz TV.  Most people at the bar weren't in costume but at least our peeps were in costumes from 'Breaking Bad', 'Arrested Development' and my Co-Host, Tom, dressed as Jack Bauer!  I got plenty of questions about the famous Snooki Poof but it was all hair, no bump-it's here; I even had my very own jar of pickles I carried around a'la Snooks!  Pauly D was decked out in neon and completed his look with headphones and sunglasses.  We kept our catch-phrases going all night long...oh yea!

Our friend Cory was working next door at Pearl which is a New Orleans/French style Restaurant and Bar with 2 stories, the bottom being an upscale and elegant restaurant with the upstairs being a Secret Garden theme and in the front over-looking Sunset blvd is another open-aired area to dine or dance.  Talk about gorgeous!  We got compliments on our costumes (thankfully we were recognizable...I love the Jersey Shore, B*tch) and after a quick shot with Cory we were on our way back to the Valley to make one more stop at The Snug in hopes of more costumes.

Unfortunately, there weren't many people dressed up anywhere we went so that was kind of disappointing but it was the weekend before Halloween and since it fell on a Thursday we weren't sure what to expect...wah!  Overall, for us and our love of Halloween it was a great start to the festivities and a chance to try out a new and fun costume idea :)

Ladies Night!

I love spending time with my gals and last weekend brought a lot of fun with some of my favorites!  On Saturday night I met up with my friend, Thi, at a party in Echo Park and on Monday, I brought my friend Katy to the Kings Game where we sat in the Luxury Box Suites thanks to Marty!

Thi and I don't get together very often because she travels for work and has been spending a lot of time in New York working on Project Runway the past couple seasons.  So I was happy when I got a random Saturday night off and she was heading out to a party with friends and I was able to meet up with them.  It was a chill party in a big studio space with all sorts of props from sets and stuff and then an open area where some people were dancing.  You know you're getting old when you go to a party with unlimited booze and you have one drink and decide on drinking some more OJ and then a water before leaving because that one and only drink felt a little strong.  All the ladies caught up and before we knew it the sound of music was drawing us into the open area where we created our own little dance circle and got our groove on for the rest of the night with each of us playing DJ.  I'm so glad I got the night off to spend some time with my Lover :)

The Calm before the Dance Party Storm!

On Monday night, Katy and I headed over to the Staples Center to hit up a Kings Game where we sat in the Luxury Box.  My friend Marty usually takes clients to the games but had this game available for friends so he gave me 2 tickets and I'm so glad he did because seeing the game was so much fun!  I'm not a huge hockey fan but being at any live sporting event is such a cool experience.  We had a great view of the rink from our seats plus 2 flat screen TV's (one of which I tuned to the Giants game because I had to keep an eye on my Fantasy Football score) and unlimited nachos and chicken tenders.  There was also a fridge stocked with soda, beer and wine.  Once we got some food and drinks we settled into our leather recliner seats and enjoyed the game in style.  I loved when the little mini-Hockey players got to go on the rink and got to try to score a goal against the goalie during a break in the game.  They were so little and cute.  It was great to spend some time with Katy before she leaves for Sacramento at the end of the month!

Katy & I at the LA Kings Game

These girls are incredible and I'm so happy I got to hang out with each of them and catch up after such a long time!  My work schedule has been so crazy but I'm lucky that it worked out on both days to have the night off for some fun and craziness with my ladies!

My Black & White 30th Birthday Party!

After a wonderful 30th Birthday at Gabe's for Karaoke I knew I still had a couple more parties the rest of the week and needed to prep for the next few nights.  I made it to work on Thursday morning, though the shots I had the night before tried to stop me, the Bloody Mary I had a couple hours after arriving at Irish Times got me back on track along with a little encouragement from Aimee!

Saint's & Sinner's Crew!

I had my actual Birthday Party at The Garage and it was a Black & White Party where everyone wears black and white, black, or white.  I was happy to see everyone showed up looking all spiffy and awesome and in proper Black & White Birthday Party attire ;)  Carolyn had given me the idea for it a couple years ago on her 30th Birthday Party, with all of us in our black and white, and she came in, in a beautiful Red dress.  I knew I was doing this a month prior to my party, and it was a matter of finding the perfect dress, and thanks to Emily for shopping with me the previous week we found it, and I loved my Hot Pink and Black Dress!

Roommates...Em & I!

Emily had gone early and decorated in The Motor Club as well as baked 2 different cakes so the place looked fantastic!  It was so great to see all my friends coming by, people I met nearly 8 years ago when I first moved to LA, or people I hadn't seen in a long time, and some of my closest friends and co-workers.  I tried to take as many pictures as possible since it's rare that we get to be all dressed up and looking fancy!

Around midnight, Emily brought out the cakes and everyone sang to me.  She had also set up this Birthday card which everyone signed and I loved reading all the fun little notes the next morning!  There were cocktails and shots, lots of Rumchata, but because I was making sure to get to chat with everyone, it was a very low-key drinking night, and I was happy to go home and soberly make Ramen (considering just a couple months ago, I gave myself 2nd degree burns on a late night Ramen-fest...ooops)!

Turning 30 was a big deal this year, (clearly since I was having a mini-mid-life crisis for a couple months leading up to it) but it was totally worthwhile when I realized my favorite thing about my Birthday was knowing it gave people a reason to come out and celebrate, people I haven't seen in a long time, and it's just nice to catch up with those friends.  I felt so lucky to have so many friends stop by, even if it was just a quick hello; it meant a lot and made me feel very special on my 30th Birthday!

Friends on my 30th Birthday!

*Thanks to Em for decorating for my party and making my 30th Birthday so incredible, and not scary at all, and to Bethany for setting up all the details and specials for all my friends in The Motor Club in addition to lending me the perfect necklace, and to Kristina for taking pictures all night long so I have memories on an incredible day :)  And thanks to everyone else for coming and making me smile! Cheers :)

The last day of my 20's...

It has been almost a week since I turned 30 and as scared as I was for the past couple of months leading up to it, when I woke up on Wednesday morning and walked into the living room, my roommate was awaiting me with a Cupcake and Mimosa's as I proclaimed 'I'm 30, woo hoo!'  It's only just begun, but as far as I can tell, the next 30 years are going to be great, but the cupcake and candle were a nice start!

I'm 30!! (Well, almost...last Photo Shoot of my 20's in Venice!)

Can't believe I fit in there!

The previous night (just hours of being 29 were left) included a wonderful Birthday Dinner at La Piazza complete wtih Pesto Farfalle & Shrimp Risotto, Wine, Chocolate Lava Cake, and later on drinks at Bar Lubitsch because Marisa was covering my Friday shift that weekend since I was scheduled at The Garage as well.  No rest for the Birthday girl, I worked my normal schedule all week long in addition to party planning!  The night ended with me hiding in my pantry because that's what 30 year-olds do...having fun and always a kid at heart ;)

Mom had made sure to call me at 10 pm in LA, because it was midnight in Wisconsin, then midnight in LA, and once again at 3:44 am because that was when I was actually born.  She's so thoughtful and I always love hearing the story of her going to the hospital and having me!  Thanks for sharing it every year with me, Mom!

Since Tuesday was the last day of my 20's, Kristina and I met up at her place in Venice and headed towards the beach for my final photo shoot of my 20's.  She had a bright purple/fuchsia wall that we planned on shooting at as well as the graffiti walls by the beach.  It was a great day for a photo shoot aside from the wind down by the ocean; my hair was blowing every which way, covering my face, in my lip gloss, and I was worried the pictures were just going to be complete chaos but I was so happy when I saw that it worked for the photos and they ended up turning out beautifully!  I couldn't have been happier with the photos; Kristina was a great photographer and we had a blast.  I can't wait to shoot with her again soon! 

Venice Beach Photo Shoot with Kristina!

All in all I ended my 20's with a bang, hanging out with friends, doing something creative, and enjoying those last moments before my fabulous 30's begin.  I'm certainly a lucky girl!

Amy & Kenzo's Birthday Bash!

I was looking forward to Amy & Kenzo's Birthday at Mike's House in Porter Ranch for a couple of weeks.  It's always nice to get our Boom Crew together and just hang out, let alone even more fun celebrating our member's Birthdays!

Kristina and I headed up to Porter Ranch early Sunday evening and saw the giant Basketball Bounce House outside Mike's house.  I haven't jumped in a Bounce House in so long I can't remember the last time I did!  There were already quite a few people there so after our initial hello's we grabbed some friends and made our way outside to get a work-out in before the Party action.  Within 10 minutes I was completely winded and ready to relax...how could I jump in those as a kid for hours?!  Kristina introduced me to Vine that day and took some awesome videos of me huffing and puffing while jumping around and trying to dunk a basketball.  

It was the perfect day to catch up with friends I haven't seen in a while and have some great food and be around awesome family.  There was plenty of BBQ and snacks, as well as alcohol!  I brought this new Smirnoff Sorbet Vodka in Mango Passion Fruit, along with Strawberry Kiwi Sparkling Water...AMAZING!  On top of it being delicious it's apparently half the calories, even better.  Of course, partying with Mike and Amy means seeing lots of dogs running around and one of my favorite's, Riley Boy Weiss!  More Vine videos were made starring little Riley Boy ;)

Nic, Kristina, Kevin, and I at the Birthday Bash!

After singing Happy Birthday to the Birthday Kids, a Cupcake Fight and Dessert was served people started heading home but no Weiss Party would be complete without a little Karaoke action!  Everyone took turns singing and cheering on each other and dancing.  It was such a blast!

There's lots of Summer Birthdays and beautiful days ahead so I look forward to more Poolside Afternoons and celebrations with Friends :)

Halloween Karaoke!!

Last week Wednesday was Halloween and in true form, I'm getting to my blog, only a week late!  I'm just trying to catch up after all the Halloween madness and work that's been happening for over a week.  Halloween Karaoke was a blast, we had lots of singers, everyone in Costume, singing their respective songs, and even a Costume Winner on our hands!

Slash & Axl

I got there early with my Rockstars in tow.  We were quite the band with Jamie as Katy Perry, Neil as Slash and me as Axl Rose, both of us from Guns & Roses, as we had been practicing our Rockstar faces all week.  There were a few Karaoke regulars waiting to sing, and thankfully dressed in Costume or I might have had to turn them away, but ready to rock and roll all night!  Marty was the next to arrive with the biggest Afro I have ever seen!  And then there was Goose & Maverick, with plenty of costumed friends arriving shortly after.  It appeared as though most of the gang was at Gabe's and ready to sing!

The night got started with covers for all of us, I opened with 'Hold the Line' by Toto but made sure I was keeping the Rocker vibe going all night, whether I was singing Guns & Roses or not.  Jamie's first song of the night was 'Perfect' by Alanis Morisette while Neil did an Axl Rose song to prep for his many Slash guitar solos!  Marty was in full-force again, singing old and new material, but excited to sing, and impressing us all.  Even though we didn't get Amy up to the stage, the look on her face while Scott was singing Metal was priceless...although, I think we all missed what would have been an awesome performance of 'You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling'.  

Karaoke Halloween at Gabe's

Afro

Next up, we all got into character singing our own music, Jamie doing some Katy Perry hits like, 'Waking Up in Vegas' and 'I Kissed a Girl' with her amazing blue wig and popstar voice!  Neil, who would never just go as one Rockstar had a whole changing room in his car, showed up as Bret Michaels singing Poison's hit, 'Every Rose Has Its Thorn' while the whole room sang along and swayed to the music, and then later changed into Kid Rock doing a few more songs with a blonde wig and red Dickies.  I do believe that Slash & Axl's performance of 'Sweet Child of Mine' had the house rocking, while Slash played Air-Pool Cue and did a little back-up vocals along with Scott doing some leading vocals at the end of the song!  I would later help my band out by playing Air-Piano for 'November Rain' which even brought on a Costume change from Neil, with a ruffled shirt and suit jacket.  When Sean arrived, his song choice was perfect for his Costume singing 'Walking in Memphis' and getting everyone together for a Double Entendre performance that was one of the best we've ever seen!

Of course, at some point in the night we had to have our Costume Contest and after taking a vote, we decided 3rd Place went to Julie, as a Painted Witch, 2nd Place went to Rosie the Riveter, and Neil taking 1st Place with his many different Rockstar looks throughout the night!  Can someone say shots...and we did!  The party couldn't stop there though as their was more singing action to be had, a song by Hulk Hogan, some 'Gold Dust Woman' by the Painted Witch, which might currently resemble Stevie Nicks just a little, at least Costume-wise, and Jason Mraz from our Afro'd friend, Marty!  Jamie did some more Katy Perry, doing an awesome version of 'Firework' while Neil sang some Velvet Revolver for everyone.  Because of my Rock & Roll theme, the night wouldn't have been complete without a little 'Promises in the Dark' by Pat Benetar and 'Separate Ways' by Journey, both of which I haven't sang in a long time.  More BMV and Gummy Shots later it was time for the last song, and even though I usually veto an 8 minute song, Neil won the Costume Contest and I needed to sing a new song for the night so 'November Rain' it was.  We each had our respective musical instrument solos (Slash became my favorite guitarist after watching the 'November Rain' video with how talented he was) our vocal solos and even some Rockstar dance moves!

Slash Perry, Bret Michaels, and W. Axl Rose

Halloween Karaoke was a huge success as we have more pictures than we'll ever know what to do with and we created memories to last a lifetime!  The Rock & Roll Karaoke theme didn't catch on as much as we wanted, but a special thanks to my Band, Slash and Katy, and Marty for coming in an Afro, and to anyone that sang their hearts out on the Halloween Holiday!  See ya next year :)

Halloween Party!

 I'm one of those people who doesn't decide what my Halloween Costume is going to be until a week or two before Halloween.  This year I had some ideas a month before Neil's Annual Halloween Party but didn't plan anything out until about 10 days before when I went to try costumes on.  As I wrote about in my previous Halloween blog, it became a fiasco, and I was hours away from a Costume Party with no Costume, so I decided on one of my back-up ideas and am so happy with my Costume choice!

Neil's Party was being held the Saturday before Halloween, so for weeks leading up to it, Neil was shopping for bits and pieces of his costumes, decorations, and getting ideas.  When I arrived on Saturday, Neil, Chris (his roommate), and I went to the grocery store to pick up all the alcohol and snacks, along with some candy that we would need.  I brought a bottle of Grape Vodka I would be using to make shots, along with Cupcakes and Brownies, I had baked the day before, in addition to 2 bags of candy.  One of Neil's Halloween presents from me was a bottle of Patron XO, so we also had that to take shots of before the guests arrived.  We picked up 6 different bottles of liquor, along with mixers and supplies for Bloody Mary's the next day, and a couple other treats.

I had Church that evening so when I came back from that an hour later, Neil's place had been transformed into a Halloween Haven, with pictures of old-time scary movies on the wall, cobwebs everywhere, bats, spooks, and Neil's iPod docking station already playing his Halloween playlist he'd been perfecting for weeks.  We had a quick bite to eat and then took a House Shot together, trying both the Lord of the Flies and Purple People Eater.  Then it was time to get ready for the party!

Happy Halloween Party

Jamie and Khad both arrived early to get ready and into their costumes before the guests arrived.  While Jamie and I got ready together sipping on our fresh Amaretto Sours, we made it down just in time to take another house shot before people were there.  And then the party began...I poured shots for everyone that walked through the door, made drinks, while Neil was Hosting his party, showing people around, and we all took pictures together, of everyone at the party, had the music going, did a little 'Get Down Goblin' routine for the party, ate, drank, and were merry!  About 30 or 40 people filtered in and out throughout the night, bringing alcohol with them in additional to all the drinks we were providing including the house drink, The Vampire's Kiss, invented by Neil.  Everyone was having a great time!

Halloween Guests!

Rock & Roll

My Costume for the night was a Hooter Girl; I had everything from when I worked in Wisconsin and Santa Monica almost 10 years ago, including my Money Holder, my Flair, and also a Black Hooter's Uniform we wore on Friday's and special occasions which I changed into half-way through the night because it was a more comfortable uniform.  When you're working at Hooter's you are not allowed to wear the Uniform outside of work, you're not allowed to show your shorts or tank top without covering it when you're going to and coming from work, and they are very strict about that, so this was the first time I was able to wear it in public and it was quite exciting!  Jamie was Kate Beckinsale's character from 'Underworld' and she even had the amazing blue contacts to complete the outfit!  Neil was Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) from 'Fight Club' and he had multiple outfits to complete his look, including button-downs, fur jackets, sunglasses, and a gnarly black-eye.  Chris was Nicolas Cage's character from 'Raising Arizona,' and had been growing his moustache for his Costume.  Everyone at the party looked amazing...we had a Jessica Rabbit, Pocahontas, Indiana Jones, Frank N Furter from 'Rocky Horror', sexy Fire Fighters and Policemen, 'Bubba' Fett from 'Star Wars', Doug Flutie, Obi Wan Kenobi, a Pirate, Whoopie Cushion, lots of era (70's, 80's) costumes, Superhero's, a couple Princes from 'The Princess Bride' and Mia Wallace with an IV in her heart.  Everyone knew that entrance to the party could only be guaranteed by wearing a Costume, so everyone looked incredible!  

As it got later, someone heard 'Thriller' play on the iPod and couldn't figure out the dance so Neil played a DVD with Michael Jackson video's and the whole party gathered around the TV to watch, and before you knew it, it was a dance party with 'Thriller' dancers, and everyone having a good time and enjoying the show!  The party started to die down around 3 am and it was just Jamie, Neil, and I, cleaning up the place, and re-living an awesome night!  Clearly, the Party was a huge success!  And for a bunch of us, Saturday was just the beginning because we had Wednesday Halloween Karaoke to look forward to :)

Green Lantern, Indiana Jones, Alex, 70's Teacher, and Tyler Durden

Sunday was a day of watching Football, getting take-out, and drinking some Bloody Mary's, that I love to make and has been a tradition for Neil and I after a night of drinking, so we could recover from the amazing Halloween Festivities.  It was the perfect way to end the weekend and get excited about Karaoke on Halloween!

Sunday Funday!

Since my Birthday was on a Tuesday this year I wanted to have at least one weekend to celebrate my Birthday with my friends.  Last year I did a Mimosa Party and it was a blast so I decided to do a Mimosa Party and BBQ starting at noon!

As you may have read in my previous blogs I've been prepping for the party all week long, and Sunday morning was no different.  I cleaned out the cooler, and got it ready, filled with ice and champagne, along with our mixer's (Mango, Orange, and Cran-Cherry Juice) and some dips.  I went down to the pool and made sure there were a couple tables and plenty of chairs along with some of the pool chaise's in case anyone wanted to get some sun.

Everyone started arriving around noon, Neil, Morgan, and Kristina...Jess and I had already started with our first Champagne cocktail while we were getting ready.  As we set up all the food, I realized we had so much and was so excited since everything was so different.  Jess had made this amazing Low-Fat Ranch Dip from scratch, Neil had made his famous Shrimp Dip and a Sweet Mustard Dip, and Morgan had brought some Parmesan, Artichoke, and Jalapeno Dip which was incredible.  I will definitely be excited to make that dip in the near future!  (It's been a while since I've written food blogs, so I'll get to some new recipes soon.)  I also had Chips & Salsa, Yellow Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting, a Veggie Tray for Jess' dip, Morgan picked up a giant Chocolate Chip Cookie with 'Happy Birthday Lyndsey' on it (so sweet) and plenty of chips and other snacks to keep everyone satisfied and happy!

Mimosa Birthday Party

We all enjoyed the day, eating good food, having fabulous conversations, getting some sun by the pool, and just hanging out!  Thankfully, Jeff & Danny, along with Brad came by, so Neil wasn't the Lone Ranger and by then, we were getting hungry so Jess & Morgan got to the grill for all the Hot Dogs & Buns I had picked up on Saturday.  Neil had brought some Chicken over as well, and then Carolyn and Matt joined everyone down by the pool too!  Andrea and her friend stopped by as well and since it was getting a little late we talked while sitting in the hot tub.  Neil even brought his guitar and played a little music by the pool for everyone!

It was a great party that went until it was dark outside with awesome people and I was so glad I was able to celebrate with some of my closest friends :)

Now, the night wouldn't be complete without a little Game Night by Travis & Matt's apartment.  So Travis became the liason, with Carolyn & Matt on one team, Neil and I on the other.  We played Trivial Pursuit on the Wii which was super fun!  I've only played Trivial Pursuit a handful of times in my life because it's usually so hard, but this was challenging but fun.  I felt like I learned something but we were all able to laugh and have a good time while we played and no one cared who won or lost!

This was my kind of Sunday Funday!