 Flashback to New Year's Eve 2009 decorating a Rose Parade float for Cal Poly =D  And New Year's Day 2010. We won the Bob Hope Humor Award =D
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I spend so much time immersed in travel research that sometimes I can't remember where the ideas for certain things even came from. Case in point, the 101 Coffee Shop in Hollywood. I don't recall what put it on my Adventure Radar, but there is has been for some time now. Formerly the Hollywood Hills Coffee Shop (as seen in the movie Swingers) the landmark got a makeover in 2001 and it is now a celebration of 1960s diner culture. But the best part? They have something called a Waffle Brownie Sundae. I mean... So when my Mom and I were on our way down to Orange County we pulled off the 101, got turned around for a minute or two (Hollwyood after dark is not the best time to try to find a place you've never been before), and then there it was, in all it's neon glory. The 101 Coffee Shop with a giant arrow pointing the way. We were tired from our drive, but I immediately pepped up when I saw the jukebox. I'm knee-deep in an Elvis phase right now, so I fed my dollars into the slot and chose several Elvis hits, then went back with more for the Beach Boys, Johnny Cash, Elton John, and Ray Charles. I was so glad no one else happened to be interested in picking songs just then! I love picking my own soundtrack. I think I ordered some sort of salad and/or chicken dish and I'm sure there were fried involved (there always are), but of course the star of the night was the Waffle Brownie Sundae. It was just as mouth watering as advertised.     Okay, so the photo doesn't really do it justice, but trust me, it was amazing. And yes, that is a reindeer in the window behind me with blue balls =) Merry Christmas!
My Mom and I took a quick LA trip this week and while we were out and about I was secretly hoping that I'd see a WRDSMTH. If you don't know who WRDSMTH is, pop on over to Appreciate the Arts and check out our piece on Ephemeral Art. He's basically one of my favorite street artists and I had yet to see one of his pieces in person. But, seeing as a lot of street art is impermanent, I had no way of knowing if I would find one. So I left it up to chance and...  I was unbelievably excited! And not only did I find this piece, but...  And...  Happy birthday to me! Every year I get so excited to celebrate my birthday because it means I get to celebrate something that I love. This year, I'm celebrating my love for Pushing Daisies. I recently became obsessed with this show (that ended in 2009) and everything about it. The love story, the cinematography, the quirkiness, the pies. I planned for weeks leading up to the big day to make sure that every last detail screamed Pushing Daisies. I designed a re-creation of The Pie Hole on my sideboard to display all of the various pies I would buy and/or make. I turned my desk into Emerson's Cod's detective agency, and I decorated my table to look like a field of flowers. I made cups with the show's catchphrase "The facts were these" and stuck little bees to everything and recreated the pie shop's menus. We had a murder mystery dinner and ate Chinese food and tried to guess the murderer. And the best part? Everyone dressed up! I was Chuck, Michelle was Olive, Erik was Emerson, Henry was competition Ned, Jason was everyday Ned, and Tenaya was Vivian. At the end of the night we watched the show and played Pushing Daisies bingo. I have so much pie leftover and it is awesome!        What is an adventure if not a dream realized? For decades kids have dreamed about joining a rock and roll band, making music, and going on tour. In 1965 four such kids were thrown into the ultimate rock and roll adventure when they were cast as the Monkees. What started as a quirky TV show about four guys in a band living at the beach quickly turned into a runaway train and made the Monkees not only a real band, but a band that rivaled the Beatles in popularity. A popularity that still continues today. And thank goodness for that because it means that fifty years after their inception, I can still pick up the entertainment section of the paper to see that they’re coming to town to play a show. And not a sad, off-strip Vegas reimagining of the Monkees. This is the real deal. Original members putting on a rock and roll show for fans of all ages. I suggested a family reunion of sorts when I heard the Monkees were coming to Vina Robles Ampitheatre in Paso Robles since my mom and her sisters are Monkees fans. It was going to be me, my mom, two of my aunts, and their husbands (my uncles). Then one aunt dropped out because her daughter was getting married and her bridal shower ended up being the same day (congrats cousin!). Then the other aunt dropped out because she hurt her shoulder (boo for injuries!). So my mom and I were left with six seats and only two of us. What to do, what to do? Well we ended up putting together a ragtag group of friends that had never met but, because most of our friends are super awesome people, got along great. In anticipation of the concert, I made a Monkees shirt, bought a green wool cap, and saved up my pennies so I would be able to splurge on souvenirs. On the big day we arrived just in time for me to buy a Psychojelly shirt with a drawing of Micky’s face on it (hard to explain), a program, stickers, a mug, and two keychains. I splurged hard. I always have a difficult time describing concerts I’ve attended because they’re such in-the-moment experiences. There’s the initial thrill of excitement when the house lights go down, the energy that spreads through the audience as the first notes blast out of the speakers, the smiles that are so big they make your cheeks hurt. For me, Monkees concerts are the best because they bring back so many memories. Memories of getting my first cassette tape which happened to be a Monkees greatest hits. Watching every one of the TV shows over and over during the summer. Flipping through my aunt’s old Tiger Beat magazines. Singing along to their CDs in the car. Visiting friends in Arizona and watching the Monkees 1996 special. I know every word to every song and I find that, for one night, I don’t care that I’m singing in front of strangers and clapping like it’s my job. This particular show was especially fun because my mom’s best friend drove up at the last minute so she could go with us and one of my very best friends (all the way back from junior high band) brought his boyfriend along to celebrate their anniversary. We sang, we danced, we laughed at the people who forgot the words because they were wine drunk. The Monkees are still absolutely fabulous entertainers and put on an amazing show. They played their hits, their personal favorites, and a couple of new ones (see: Good Times album review in Random). They paid tribute to Davy Jones, bantered with each other, and joked around onstage. We left the show that night feeling the natural high that only music can give you.      It's the Slurp-Slurpeest time of the year! Go get your free one!
As is now tradition (two years in a row constitutes a tradition, right?) here is a list of the books I read in 2015 described in 5 words or less. Enjoy!
1. City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare Jace and Clary kiss. 2. City of Glass by Cassandra Clare Spoiler: Jace isn't dead. 3. City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare Jace saved, then lost. 4. City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare Jace rescued from dark side! 5. City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare Best YA series ever! 6. The Lace Makers of Glenmara by Heather Barbieri Reminded me of Calendar Girls =) 7. Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold Adjectives love nature. 8. The DUFF by Kody Keplinger Almost as funny as movie. 9. Don't Point That Thing At Me by Kyril Bonfiglioli P.G. Wodehouse meets Ian Fleming. 10. Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan Infinite New York City night. 11. Funny Girl by Nick Hornby Sixties British sitcom rom-com. 12. Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan Two authors = YA magic 13. Naomi & Eli's No Kiss List by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan Two almost likable protagonists. 14. Finding It by Cora Carmack Started off eh, got better. 15. The Friends of Eddie Coyle by George V. Higgins Raylan Givens' favorite book. 16. The One-Minute Manager by ? Written in 1981. 17. Cinder by Marissa Meyer Dystopian Cinderella. 18. Fish! by ? They throw fish in Seattle. 19. Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull Pixar is always inspiring. 20. Playing for Keeps by R.L. Mathewson Contemporary romantic fiction = smh 21. Fun Is Good by Mike Veek Forgettable. 22. Lady Windemere's Fan by Oscar Wilde Who can match Wilde's wit? 23. Dad Is Fat by Jim Gaffigan A 290 page comedy special. 24. Wonderful Tonight by Pattie Boyd George Harrison half my fave. 25. Grey by E.L. James Ew. 26. The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer Smith Two kids meet on plane. 27. Dave's Way by Dave Thomas The history of Wendy's. 28. The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale Why do I bother? 29. One More Thing by B.J. Novak Quirky collection of stories. 30. Invisibility by David Levithan YA sci-fi romance. 31. Down the Rabbit Hole by Holly Madison Entertaining autobiography. 32. We All Scream for Ice Cream by Lee Wardlow Delicious history of ice cream. 33. Murder Amongst Angels by Tony Piazza Murder with a twist. 34. Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson Literally laughed out loud. 35. Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling Super cute and funny. 36. My True Love Gave to Me by Stephanie Perkins YA Christmas collection. 37. The Mystery of Art by Jonathan Jackson Artists in God's image. The themes this year appear to be YA, management, humor, and books that I found at yard sales =) As usual, some were awesome, some were pretty good, some were okay, some were not worth the time. I'll let you figure out which ones were which! Okay, I might tell you if you message me... Happy reading! Hello and welcome to My Favorite Blogs Week! Everyone adventures in a different way - maybe you create things, maybe you go places, maybe you just like to soak up all of the wonderful things around you. Whatever method you choose, we are all adventurers. This week is a salute to the bloggers/writers I find inspiring. Top Art Site/Blog Winner: Doodlers Anonymous Doodlers Anonymous is a favorite for so many reasons. For starters, it's full of doodles. Every kind of doddle from every kind of doodler. Then they have featured artists, hand-drawn wallpapers, special challenges (doodle your ride, doodle a bookmark, etc.), and even a store where you can buy a Doodlers Anonymous t-shirt (Hello my name is...) and awesome coloring books and even The Quintessential, Quirky Compendium of Cats. Basically if you doodle you will love this site. www.doodlersanonymous.com Runner Up: Street Art Utopia I secretly want to be a street artist, so Street Art Utopia gives me a lady boner whenever I look at it. They have "declared the world [their] canvas" and add beauty where once there was none - walls, staircases, sidewalks, etc. Some works of art are done stencil-style (a la Banksy), others are full-on murals, and still others fall into the "Who thought of that?!" category (like the giant clothespin on top of a hill that looks like it's pinching the grass). www.streetartutopia.com Runner Up: Wrdsmth Wrdsmth is a "writer doing time in Hollywood" who also loves street art. He found a way to combine his two passions by stenciling old-fashioned typewriters on random spots around LA and then pasting up different messages. Two of my favorites are "Stop and smell the moment" and "Will write for ever". Some messages are funny, some are thought-provoking, but each one is its own unique work of art. http://wrdsmthinla.tumblr.com Top Fashion Site/Blog Winner: New Dress A Day New Dress A Day author and fashionista Marisa Lynch started her blog in 2009, right around her birthday, just like I did. Her mission was to create 365 dresses in 365 days with only $365. (Luckily she had an awesome $1 pile sale in her neighborhood where she scored armloads full of mumus and miscellaneous outdated, but hilarious, dresses). I didn't discover NDAD until a few months later, but once I did I was addicted. I still follow Marisa's blog religiously and am always inspired by what I find. Her recent Halloween series of costumes based on movies (filmed at the actual locations) was both awesome and hilarious. www.newdressaday.com Runner Up: DisneyBound If you love fashion and Disney, then you will probably love this blog as much as I do. If you've followed me for any length of time you know that I will dress up any chance I can get. DisneyBound's Leslie Kay creates outfits that are inspired by Disney characters, Disney movies, Disney events, Disney anything and everything! The idea is not to look just like a character, but to capture the essence while still looking like a normal, though very well-dressed, person. disneybound.tumblr.com Top Author Blog/Site When they're not writing incredibly witty, award-winning books, many authors blog. And thank goodness they do. Here are my favorite Author Blogs: Winner: The Bloggess The Bloggess aka Jenny Lawson is one of the funniest people I know. And by "know" I mean I read her blog all the time and want to be just like her some day. This is the way she describes herself: "I wrote for the Houston Chronicle, but I needed an uncensored space to say the f-word and talk about ninjas so I started this blog. I tweet a lot. Also, I can balance live cats on my head but no one will pay me for it. Yet. My book (Let's Pretend This Never Happened) debuted at #1 on the NYT best-seller list. I assure you, no one was more surprised about this than me." She doesn't say anything in there about taxidermy, but don't worry, you'll find out all about it. Her book is, to steal a phrase from her blog, like crack but less whack. If you need a good laugh, you need to go to this blog. Now. www.thebloggess.com Runner Up: NA Yah right, there is no runner up! The Bloggess wins all titles. Forever. Top YouTube Channels I'm breaking format a bit to bring you some of my favorite YouTube Channels. I knew which channel was going to take the top spot and which would be runner-up but then I made the grave mistake of actually getting on YouTube and 45 minutes later I was super confused and my dog was scratching at the door because I forgot to take her out. So here's a random collection of stuff. Enjoy! Also, maybe don't look at this list while you're at work because you might fall down the rabbit hole and get fired. Winner: Barely Political Barely Political has some of the best parody music videos in their Key of Awesome series. The new Taylor Swift is especially awesome. And you have to watch "Kristen Stewart" explain various holidays. Ooh ooh, and watch YouTube Complaints 2014. I could be here all day... Runner Up: Garfunkel & Oates More funny music videos! Only this time they're from LA folk duo Garfunkel & Oates aka Kate Micucci and Riki Lindhome. They sing about everything from bad dates to pregnant women and it's especially giggle-inducing when they use profanity because they look so sweet and innocent. Don't be fooled! Runner Up: How It Should Have Ended Some movies just need new endings. And they need to be animated. And funny. (I'm sensing a theme here). Start with The Lego Movie and Jurassic Park and I'll see you in a few hours after you've watched every other one too. Runner Up: Mystery Guitar Man This guy has been a YouTube staple for years and uses "crazy videos, short films, stop motion, video effects, and music" to create mini masterpieces. I can't even tell you where to start with Mystery Guitar Man because so many of his videos are must-see. I would now like to apologize for all the time you are about to waste. I'm sort of sorry. Actually I hope you have endless hours of fun. You may want to get snacks. Update:
I had so much fun compiling this list that I thought I'd throw in a few extras. You've probably noticed that none of my favorites are all that scholastic in nature. That is intentional. Daily Odd Compliment http://dailyoddcompliment.tumblr.com Hyperbole and a Half www.hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com Hello Giggles www.hellogiggles.com HaHas for HooHas www.hahasforhoohas.com The Pioneer Woman www.thepioneerwoman.com Roadtrippers www.roadtrippers.com Roadside America www.roadsideamerica.com I read a lot of books. All kinds of books. Last year was a tough year for reading, but this year I managed to read 50 books. Not too shabby, eh? Some of them turned out to be favorites, some of them turned out to be a waste of time, some of them were book club selections, some of them were recommendations from friends. Below is a list if said books, described by me , in five words or less:
1. Love is a Mix Tape by Rob Sheffield Mix Tape Anatomy 101 2. The Tesseract by Alex Garland I only read half. 3. The Darling Buds of May by H.E. Bates Delightful British romp. 4. The White Queen by Philippa Gregory The TV show was better. 5. Her Mad Hatter by Marie Hall Would love to re-write myself. 6. Happier at Home by Gretchen Reuben Re-hash of The Happiness Project. 7. Turn Around Bright Eyes by Rob Sheffield Rob Sheffield is brilliant. 8. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern I wish it was real! 9. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins YA so good. 10. Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan One night adventure. 11. Matched by Ally Condie Book club. Ugh. 12. Eating the Dinosaur by Chuck Klosterman @robsheff recommendation 13. Crossed by Ally Condie. Make it stop. 14. Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins New favorite author. 15. Vampire Academy by Richelle Meade Not a fan. Sorry, Michelle ;p 16. 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson Cute enough. 17. Kingdom Keepers: Disney After Dark by Ridley Pearson Save the Magic Kingdom, kids! 18. The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson Better than first 13 envelopes. 19. Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosch Read. All. The. Pages! 20. Kingdom Keepers: Disney at Dawn by Ridley Pearson Save the Animal Kingdom, kids! 21. Kingdom Keepers: Disney in Shadow by Ridley Pearson Save Epcot, kids! 22. Kingdom Keepers: Power Play by Ridley Pearson Take a break already, kids! 23. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare Best male characters ever. 24. Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare I heart Cassandra Clare. 25. Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare Love happy endings. 26. Moonwalk by Michael Jackson Curiosity, lead the way. 27. Coraline by Neil Gaiman Super creepy kids book. 28. I Don't Know What You Know Me From by Judy Greer. Everyone's favorite sidekick. 29. sTori Telling by Tori Spelling Candy Spelling gives me anxiety. 30. The Selection by Keira Cass Who will the Prince choose? 31. The Elite by Keira Cass Prince hasn't chosen yet. 32. The One by Keira Cass He chose! 33. The Idiot Girls' Action Adventure Club by Laurie Notaro Funny. Has adventure in title. 34. David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell Insight as only Gladwell can. 35. Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton "No time for jokeless history!" 36. Man in the Music by Joseph Vogel MJ musical exploration. 37. Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die by Willie Nelson Willie is awesome. Period. 38. Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson Peter Pan prequel. 39. But Enough About Me by Jancee Dunn I want to meet her. 40. Let's Spend the Night Together by Pamela Des Barres Groupies do it better. 41. 7 by Jen Hatmaker Living with less. 42. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl Anybody want cobbler? 43. J.M. Barrie Ladies Swimming Society by Barbra Zitwer Old ladies rock. 44. Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins Ah, young love. 45. Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie Never grow up. 46. Eats Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss Grammar is amusing. 47. The Moment by Larry Smith 125 life changing moments. 48. Quick Service by P.G. Wodehouse Love the Wodehouse. 49. Food: A Love Story by Jim Gaffigan "Hot pocket!" 50. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare Best book to end on. "We are all functioning at a small fraction of our capacity to live fully in its total meaning of loving, caring, creating and adventuring. Consequently, the actualizing of our potential can become the most exciting adventure of our lifetime."
~Herbert Otto |
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"Life is pure adventure, and the sooner we realize that, the sooner we will be able to treat life as art." Archives
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