Monthly Archives: July 2010

July 29, 2010 · 1:16 pm

Britt’s Picks of the Week 7/29

Oh, hello again!  Sorry I have been slacking on giving you fun things to do for cheap around LA, I’ve been busy.  Heard that excuse before?  Oops!

1. Yummyness – Versailles Cuban Restaurant
If you love Cuban food, Versailles is the place for you!  Conveniently, it has 5 locations:  Three on the west side and two in the Valley, so you can enjoy it on either side of the hill.  Not only do I love Versailles for their delicious Cuban cuisine and friendly service, but their prices are out of this world amazing!  The meal you get is designed for one, but could actually feed two or more!  Good food, good service, cheap prices, and leftovers.  Could you ask for much more?  *FYI:  Their signature dishes are the #1 (Cuban Style Roast Pork) and the #6 (Versailles Famous Garlic Chicken).  Let me know if you try one or both and how much you love it!*
Check out the website for a location near you!


http://www.versaillescuban.com/

2. Yummyness 2 – A’Float Sushi
Yes, a lot of sushi places are the same and it can get rather boring.  What’s so great about this one?  If you sit at the bar the sushi floats around on little boats and you can take what you want as you please!  Not only is it scrumptious, but FUN!  It also makes going to sushi a little more interesting.  Instead of ordering two different rolls, you can have two pieces of MULTIPLE rolls.  Just one question?  How do they get those boats to move continuously around the bar?  The world may never know…

A’Float Sushi
87 E Colorado Blvd
Pasadena, CA 91105

http://www.yelp.com/biz/a-float-sushi-pasadena

3. The Great Outdoors – Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens
Located in the middle of a suburban neighborhood in Pasadena, the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens definitely gives the Getty Center a run for its money.  You can spend the day looking at all types of different gardens (Japanese, Chinese, Rose, Palm, Jungle, and Desert to name a few) and also go into the beautifully structured buildings all over the grounds to enjoy their vast art collections.  Beautiful art and beautiful flowers?  A must!  The only downfall is that it cost $20 a person to get in and that can be kind of hard for the poor and struggling of LA.  That’s why I say save this day trip for when your parents come to visit!  Not only will they love the gardens but most likely they will pay for your way in!  And we all know how much parents love taking pictures, so another plus is that they will lug that camera around and you can steal the pictures as you please :-)

The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA  91108
626.405.2100

http://www.huntington.org/default.aspx

4. Website – Blackboardeats.com
I can’t say it enough.  SIGN UP FOR THIS SITE.  I should just become the poster child for the site because I go around telling everyone about it and I only tend to want to go to restaurants that I have a BBE pass code for.  Blackboard Eats sends out e-mail deals usually every two days.  The deals are for extremely nice restaurants in LA that I normally could never afford.  But they provide both 30% off either lunch or dinner and sometimes other deals!  Like a free bottle of wine, free dessert, or BOTH!  Please sign up and you can thank me later :-)


http://www.blackboardeats.com/los-angeles

ENJOY!

LUV,
Britt

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· 11:12 am

Unemployment Blog…

It’s been a week or so, kids. I was temporary employed at STARCOM LA. They are also in NY and Chicago…if you were wondering. Getting paid to spend my days reading industry news and occasionally answering the main phone line. I also read a lot of magazines, did a few crossword puzzles to work out the brain functions. It was fine for a week of work and now I’m back to the couch. Or I guess right now I’m in my bed.

Not much to report on this end. Just waiting for the next job to come my way. If any of you hear of anything I’m open!

Short and sweet blog. But I’d like to end with this clip from a friend of the LAQP’s. His name is Brant Daugherty and he’s now in the cast of the show Pretty Little Liars. Us girls have been giggling over his random appearances in the show. The show itself is not exactly my cup of tea on a lot of things. However, I watch to support a friend! So check this clip and if you want to tune in to the show it’s on ABC Family or you can catch it on Hulu, etc.

Enjoy!

– J

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July 28, 2010 · 11:33 am

How to Live in LA

Last week I celebrated my official 2 year anniversary of living in LA.  Instead of writing some uber sappy blog about it, I decided to share the last two years in pictures.  Because honestly, would you rather READ a blog or LOOK at pictures?  Also, I will give you a few ideas on how to survive here, some fun things you should check out if you live here or are visiting, and also what people in LA need to act like.  Let’s begin:

1. Strap a U-Haul on your tiny car and move to California!

2. Get your first apartment in LA! YAY!

3. Get a job working at a studio. Like Warner Bros...

Or Disney!

4. Watch Matthew Mcconaughey shower

5. Go to El Matador Beach...

And see Pierce Brosnan there

6. Go see Point Break LIVE!

7. Go to the MTV Movie Awards

8. Take posey pictures at the MTV Movie Awards

9. Take pictures with Whitney Port at the MTV Movie Awards

10. Celebrate Thanksgiving

11. Celebrate Christmas

12. Celebrate New Years

13. Celebrate Easter

14. Celebrate the 4th of July

15. Celebrate Halloween

16. Celebrate your friends birthday with a Franchise Bar Crawl

17. Celebrate an LAQP's Birthday with a Bar Golf Theme

18. Celebrate your friends birthday with moustaches

19. Celebrate another LAQP's birthday by going to San Diego

Do some snorkeling while you are there (WARNING: The water is flipping FREEZING!)

And don't forget to visit the Sea Lions!

20. Get a limo in honor of your friends birthday *Random Fact: Did you know it cost about $300 extra if you barf in a limo? Just something to think about...

21. Celebrate E!'s birthday

22. Hike up to the Griffith Observatory

23. Meet the man of your dreams and drive up to the Griffith Observatory

24. Hike up to the Hollywood sign

25. TRAVEL! Go to Yosemite

Go to San Fran

Go to Temecula

Go to Pioneertown

Go visit the dino's in Cabazon

26. Go to the La Brea Tar Pits

27. Go to a carnival and pop enough balloons to win a picture of MJ

28. Go to the Getty Center

29. Go to the Getty Villa

30. Go see a New York sunrise

31. Go to Newport Beach

32. Get on a movie set (Remember Me)

33. Work on a movie set (Imbalance)

34. Get on the Red Carpet

35. Go to Universal Studios and ride Jurassic Park (And take pics w/ Tom Hanks *swoon*)

36. Go to The Museum of Jurassic Technology (Nothing like the Jurassic Park Ride)

37. Go to Bootie LA

38. Throw an 80's Party

39. Throw a Fancy Dress Christmas Party (It helps to make up a dance to perform in front of your guests)

40. HELP YOUR FRIENDS OUT!

Basically, the last two years have been full of amazing opportunites, fantastic people, and GOOD TIMES.  I can’t imagine being anywhere else right now.  So, live your dreams people.  Go out and do new things.  Don’t be afraid of failing because there are a million people that don’t even TRY to do anything new.  And believe me, if I haven’t failed yet (and I use “yet” loosely) you FOR SURE won’t!

LUV,

Britt

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July 23, 2010 · 2:18 pm

Fashion Friday: Hot Hair Trends for an Even Hotter Summer 2010

By: Ashley Hammen

So now that LA has decided to give us a little taste of summer weather, we can finally start dressing and accessorizing the part!  One of the greatest things about warm weather is the excuse to throw your hair up.  For us ladies, this is a quick fix to avoiding frizzy hair at work and an even quicker morning routine!  I don’t know about you, but I LOVE the opportunity to pull my hair back!

This summer, a few uh-mazingly fresh updo’s have been popping up.  Try some of these trends for a fun twist on old summer favorites.

1. The Ballet Bun.  This bun, wound tightly at the top of the head is perfect for summer formal events.  Simply secure your hair into a high pony and wrap the hair tightly around.  Pin in place and you are good to go.

The City's Whitney Port looks elegant and put together with her hair twisted up in a top knot.

2. Sexy Side Chignon.  This look is perfect for work or play.  To create this look, start with a center part.  Use a curling iron or simply scrunch your hair with gel or hairspray while it is wet to create loose waves.  Pull hair into a loose bun near one ear and pin.  Pull a few strands to leave loose around the face and spritz with a firm hold hairspray for an all day updo.

Nikki Reed at the Twilight: Eclipse premier in LA. Stunning as always!

Nikki Reed at the Twilight: And the back view

 

3. The Fishtail Braid.  This fun, flirty look is by far and away my FAV of the summer.  If only I had long hair!  This can be done with wet or dry hair, but usually looks best if the hair wasn’t washed that day.  Pull your hair to the side and piece the hair into two sections.  You can even make it easier by beginning with a ponytail to secure the hair while you braid.  Grab a small section, about 1 inch of hair, from the left section and pull it into the right.  Do this on the other side and continue alternating until the braid is complete.  Feel free to pull a few tresses out and let them fly or secure some with pins.  This is the perfect look for a casual day out at the boardwalk or add some funky earrings for a night out on the town.

Secret Life of an American Teenager's Shailene Woodley keeps things fun and fresh at the 2010 MTV Movie Awards

Try any or all of these for a fun summer switch up.  You will be keeping it cool while it continues (hopefully) to keep heating up!

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July 22, 2010 · 1:09 pm

Memories…

Ahhhh, the good ole' days...

LUV,
Britt

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· 11:49 am

The Machines Drone On

As you may have read earlier, I’m temping this week. Which is fine. Really. It’s a week of work and I had no other offers for this week or next week. This job is running from Monday the 19th to Tuesday the 27th. It takes up my day and keeps me out of the apartment and off Couchie.

The catch? Let’s face it there’s always a catch. It’s boring. Now I’ll admit I’m biased. I just ditched an office 3 weeks ago and now I’m back in one! However, this office is slightly different than the one I worked in for a year and it got me thinking (whoa now…). Plus, it’s nice to know that Tuesday is my last day. And that this isn’t something that will be going on and on and on and on…

For starters, this office is around 80 people whereas my last office was 25-ish. Quite the difference. It seems everyone is in their cluster of cubicles and only associate with their areas. Everyone runs in a little past 9am and runs out a little before 6pm. Routines. It’s so easy to get stuck in them. I am an old lady in some ways and do have my routines. But this office is their life. Maybe they enjoy what they do, maybe they don’t. I wouldn’t know. This place is very impersonal (is that a real word?) In other words, very few people have said Hi to me or even introduced themselves. And no, I won’t take it upon myself to introduce myself to them. I’m a body, another number. I’m here while the other Receptionist is on vacation, I’ll be gone when she’s back. This is okay with me.

I’m here to answer the phone, the 5 times it rings a day. I’m here to sort mail. I’m here to e-mail and IM with friends. I can’t complain about the rate seeing as how I am doing absolutely nothing. I guess it’s better than sitting at home doing absolutely nothing, at least I’ll have a paycheck at the end of this.

I just wonder if people are happy with this work environment. Minimal personal interaction. Routine. Everyday in and out. I guess they do enjoy that and that fits their personality. Just blows my mind. I bet there is people on my side of the office that have never seen or spoken to people on the far end of the office.

This office, on the other hand, is a lot better than the other office I lived in. I can get here 5 minutes to 9am and it’s okay. Driving here in the morning it takes 15 minutes. At night it’s a little worse but not horrible. I don’t have to make coffee, there is an actual Office Manager so I don’t have to fix every single problem. My job is strictly receptionist and there’s something comforting about that. Plus, people don’t expect anything out of me because I am only the temp.

The only sounds in this place are computers humming and keyboards clicking away. Everyone in their own worlds with headphones on and spreadsheets open. It’s also PC based. I shouldn’t scoff. But I haven’t used a PC in ages. To me PC’s seem outdated, but that’s probably because I haven’t used one for a long period of time in the past 4 years. This place seems corporate on the outside but jeans and t-shirts on the inside. It’s a weird combination. I’m not complaining. I’m really not, just voicing some opinions. Just reminding myself I’ll be done in a few days.

Speaking of being done – Fruit Flush 2010 is officially done and I am 5 lbs lighter (only for a second though, it’s all water weight). 5 lbs, not bad, right. I mean 5 lbs in 3 days with borderline starvation. Day 2 of just eating fruit was manageable. Day 3 was brutal. Three days and I’m crying about it. Haha. But really, I just like carbs too much. It really was nice to step on the scale this morning and see that I had dropped a few lbs. Now it’s time to workout and eat right and be at my goal before this wedding I have to go to in September. I can do it. I can. I just have to quit making excuses and DO IT.

Good thing we’re hosting a Girl’s Night tomorrow night. Mexican Themed. I’ll just need to not hover over the chips and guac and I should be fine. So now these next few months, we can all monitor my unemployment successes and failures along with my Wedding Diet 2010. Oh joy!

– J

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July 20, 2010 · 8:01 am

Unemployment Day #Whatever It Is – 7/19-20/10

Sup? Well I’m officially back on the couch. I hope not for long but we’ll see how this week goes.

I left you with a post about the set we were building and some pictures. Well cut to – Wednesday July 14. I made my first early morning trek to Orange. Took me about 1.5 hours in traffic. Nonsense. That commute is terrible. Anyway, it was a good day of installing and prepping for Thursday’s shoot. I was also taught how to make fake dirt stains and fake soap scum with a tool called a Glitter Gun. Happiness is really what that tool should be called.

The commute home took just about as long except it was sweaty. Ugh. The heat in this town has been horrid the past week. Wednesday evening brought laziness about making dinner and I ended up with M & Ms and a glass of milk. Only to pass out at 9pm. My body needs to step up and stop being so tired.

Thursday morning led me to Orange with the anticipation of being on a professional set for the first time in a year. It was wonderful. So much excitement even though it was just for a Scotch Brite commercial. The day went on as it was. We were running behind. Around 5pm I was carrying a glass shower door over to it’s home when the thing just shattered in my arms. I was more worried about the fact that I broke this piece of glass and what if we needed it again. When someone told me my arm was bleeding. So I ran back to the kitchen to wash some of the blood, but those cuts wouldn’t stop bleeding. Of course the producers freaked out and bandaged my arm like none other. It wasn’t that serious at all. Only one teeny piece of glass in my arm, nothing the tweezers couldn’t take out. Thursday went into OT for 3.5 hours. Which is great, but I had midnight tickets to see Inception. So 10pm rolled around, I was released from set and booked it back to Glendale in record time to jump in another car and head off to the Arclight.

If you haven’t seen Inception yet, please do. It boggles my mind to know that there is a genius walking amongst the industry. Christopher Nolan is incredible at what he does. The midnight showing of this movie about sleep while i fought sleep very hard, made me want to see this thing again and then maybe again and again.

Thursday night/Friday morning allowed me 3 hours of sleep. I drove to Orange with my head bobbing around. I broke down and drank an energy drink. The thing about energy drinks is that they contain caffeine, right? Well I NEVER drink caffeine so it affects me ALOT. By 10am I was shaking and running around full blast. It was a quick strike day and I was back on the road by 11am. Talking a mile a minute to my mother on the traffic filled ride back to Glendale.

Below there’s some pictures of the finished set and of my arm when the producers went psycho on me.

Friday was a wonderful half day off while still making dollas. I got some delish Chinese food with Andy and we bummed around Burbank’s air-conditioned mall for awhile. For real it was 104 degrees on Friday at 4pm in the afternoon!!

Saturday was another steamy day….in which we went to view Inception again, this time at the Vista. Being fully awake helped. And my mind was most certainly blown again.

Alright, here’s the thing while I was sitting down to write this thing. I got a call for some temp work for a week. So I now have to be somewhere everyday through next Tuesday. That’s cool though. Another week of work makes me happy. I’m not entirely thrilled to be sitting in an office again but I do need the money.The office is pretty boring and uneventuful but I won’t be doing very much all day and that’s fine with me.

Anyway, let’s back track a bit to Monday? Yes. Yesterday. Christine, Brittany and I have embarked on a fruit flush to jump start us into diet world. I’m determined to be a lot thinner when I go home in September. We started Monday and Monday was a protein shake every 2 hours with a salad for dinner. We’ve all gotten to protein shake ratio wrong and trudged through the day drinking very chocolately water.

Today (Tuesday) starts the fruit part. We are to eat a serving of fruit every 2 hours with a salad at night and same for Wednesday. I am pretty excited to eat some fruit! The point of this is to jump start and give your body a bit of a boost into a normal workout routine/diet. So I’m using it as a jumping off point to kick my butt and really finally lose this weight. We’re supposed to lose about 8-9 lbs in these three days. Of course it’s all water weight and toxins but it’ll help to motivate. So I’ll be back with results from all of us on Thursday!

Anyway, it’s off to temping I go. Wish me luck this week. Full report to come next week.

Kisses,

– J

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July 16, 2010 · 2:24 pm

Dazzle Do or Do Not!

By: Ashley Hammen

As I’m searching the wondrous World Wide Web this AM, I came across a criticism of Miss Shakira’s dress at last night’s Univision Awards.  The fashion critic ruled that the dress was too glitzy, but a great fit. 

“Too glitzy?”  I thought.

To be honest, I personally find the criticism refreshing.  I am personally, not the biggest fan of sparkles on clothing.  I find it all a bit 8th grade and I couldn’t comprehend the trend coming back around on celebs.  However, I do believe there is a correct way to rock the sparkly trend…and the only helpful hint I can offer, is do not go overboard.

If you love the bedazzled items grazing the market these days, in my opinion, aim for accessories.  This gives you some glam, without making you look like a sparkly statue.  Steve Madden just put out some amazing Jimmy Choo knock-offs in both flats and heels.  Rock these shoes with an LBD or a simple outfit for a little bit of ooo-la-la!

Another hot accessory is glittery hair clips.  These are simple little pieces that can really glam up a look.  For an inexpensive barrette-shopping experience hit up Claire’s or Forever 21.  Both stores have tons of options at an affordable price.

Truly, I believe, the overly sparkly minis that are all over the red carpet read “bad prom.”  However, if you intend to try and rock it…remember, do not go overboard.  Do not pair that dress with jeweled pumps or a sparkly hand bag.  Instead, aim for neutral shoes, bag, and accessories.  The idea is to minimize the flash and not look like you are TRYING to be noticed.

On that note, I say, give the trend a try.  It isn’t really for me, but hey, it may be for you…and if it’s not…hey, you’ve always got that perfect accessory that falls in line with this fad.  Go out and simply rock a killer smile and twinkle in your eyes.  Shine on my little fashion starlettes!

Add some glitz and glam to your outfit with these Steve Madden pumps. http://www.stevemadden.com

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July 12, 2010 · 3:35 pm

The Great Outdoors of Movie Watching

Summer is officially here and it is finally hot in LA!  Now, how many of you folks are bored with the conventional movie screening?  A large ominous room with a screen that’s big but could be BIGGER, uncomfortable seating, those beyond pesky arm rests, and sitting way too close to your movie watching neighbor.  Well, here are some suggestions for seeing movies outside of the box.  The movie theater box, that is.  You know what I’m talking about.  WATCHING MOVIES OUTDOORS.  Big screens, the cool night breeze in your hair, the stars right above you as you check out the latest flick (or watch some of your favorite old classics!)  Here’s some of our faves!

1) Outdoor Cinema Food Fest: 

Happening the months of July and August, the Outdoor Cinema Food Fest is full of three of my favorite things: Food Trucks, Movies, and the great outdoors!  How could you not love filling your mouth with good cheap grub while watching a classic movie on the largest screen on the West Coast!  Not to mention, you are  in a park in downtown LA watching a movie amongst the city!  Please check the link below to get all the info, including what park they will be in, what classic movie they will be showing (I know I will for sure be there this Saturday for The Big Lebowski!), and which food trucks you can expect to see.


http://outdoorcinemafoodfest.com/

Still not convinced?  Please watch the video below:

2) Hollywood Forever Cemetery: 

Where else can you watch a classic movie on a mortuary wall in a cemetery that holds the corpses of some of the most influential actors and actresses that ever lived?  Only in LA and only at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.  Located right next to the legendary Paramount lot, every Saturday night through the summer months the cemetery opens their gates for lovers of old time films to sit around the dead and watch some of their favorite movies.  They usually only release a schedule for the next three to four weeks which you can find here:


http://www.cinespia.org/calendar/

Take my advice, GET THERE EARLY.  Bring a big group of friends, a basket of food and booze (all outside food and drinks are allowed!), and a big blanket.  It’s also the perfect date spot to take your sweety ;-)

3)  Drive-In Movie Theaters:  One of my favorite past times growing up in small town Staunton, Illinois was to drive the 15 minutes to Litchfield to go to the drive-in theater.  Every time we went, all I could ever think about was the movie Grease and the scene where John Travolta sings his blues away on a swing set in front of jumping hotdogs after being dumped by Sandy.  Drive-ins tend to only bring good memories, so here’s a website to check out some of the best drive-ins in So-Cal:


http://www.socaldims.com/thevinelanddrivein.htm

LUV,
Britt

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· 3:13 pm

Unemployment Day 4 – 8 – Don’t worry couch, I’ll be back soon!

Brittany said I should start documenting my unemployment by pictures. What a great idea! So this entry may include some eye candy.

As you know I picked up a few more days of work this past week. Friday morning I was ridiculously nervous. I had designed/decked shorts for friends this year but I wasn’t knee deep in a  build in over a year. Thankfully, that stuff is like riding a bike, with a little tune-up I’m all good.

Friday and Saturday and for 3 days next week I’ll be building, assembling, shooting on, and striking a commercial for Scotch Brite. I’m working for Marc Rizzo who is one of the nicest guys ever. He’s not only a great designer but he’s also so fair and just an all around sweetheart.

Friday was great. I got to play with bondo (a putty like substance used to fill holes and patch things up) and priming my little heart out. While the two construction leads finished up the remaining walls and started to tile the walls. Oh yeah…I forgot to tell you we are making a bathroom set. It’s simply designed but it’s a bathroom still. There will be some pictures below. It was so wonderful to come home from work completely exhausted, full of paint and spackle dust up my nose! It also feels wonderful to get paid well for doing something I enjoy.

Saturday night, Andrew and I celebrated our 6 month anniversary (a week late) by going to dinner together and stuffing ourselves to the brims. I even tried a bite of salmon for the first time…and didn’t hate it!

He then convinced me to go see Cyrus with him. It was an enjoyable movie. I was nervous about falling asleep after an exhausting day at work and so it took mea while to work up the courage to go see the movie. But I was glad I went and it was a nice change from all the dumb 3D sequels that they’re pumping out these days.

So now this brings us to Monday morning. I had an appointment with Apple One temp agency to just get my name in another system and try and get some work from that.

All the computer based and written tests went well and it was great to just have another possible way of making money if I need it. Just thanking God for these few days of work I’ve already gotten and hoping it keeps up!

I came home from the meeting and ate some delicious lunch. Then started cleaning the apartment, worked out my bod and now I’m doing a bit of writing and random things I need to get done today.

I like when days off turn into really productive days!

Well that’s all for today kids, catch ya on the flip side! – Check out some pictures of the set in progress. Keep in mind I didn’t build anything. I just finished the walls (spackling and painting)

– J

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