Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Avalon

I've been on a Roxy Music kick for the past few weeks. Bryan Ferry has one of the sexiest voices! For your listening and viewing pleasure, please enjoy the stylings of Roxy Music and...Avalon.



Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Gleaming the Cube

Jaimes & Bizek took me to Cube last night for a belated birthday celebration. I love love love this place! It's a cool cheese bar/deli/restaurant on La Brea. They don't have a liquor license thus no corkage fee. WhatyoutalkinboutWillis? Seriously. Bring you own bottle(s), they'll crack 'em open for ya. And provide the glasses. Cube *has* applied for the license and currently awaiting...Adam ensured us the corkage fee would be 'nominal' (read: less than $12). I'm hoping for $8 corkage.

Anyway, Cube has a regular menu - pasta, salad, etc. But ya gotta do the cheese & meats samplers! The cheese bar list is categorized: hard cheese, soft, semi-soft, bloomy rind, blue. We picked six cheeses (including blondies best and tallegio) and 5 meats (including the yummy mole salami - "it tastes like Christmas!"), added a Divine salad, 2 bottles of wine (an excellent big Seghesio Zinfandel and a tasty Hamel Pinot - mmm!) and chowed down. Cube gives you roughly an ounce of each cheese & meat (surprisingly, enough to split and share), presented on separate chalkboard trays, each cheese labeled with name, origin (cow's milk, goat's milk) and 'geographical location' in chalk. And there are accoutrements: nuts, crackers, jellies/jams. Really goooood stuff! On our 2nd round, we had the best blue cheese ever - gorgonzola dolce. I could *not* get enough of that stuff. Sooo good on spread on the lavash bread with a slice of prosciutto. T to the A to the S-T-E-Y. Our most excellent waiter, Adam, even brought me a caramel brownie - with a candle! - for my birthday 'cake'. Love that Adam :)

Ohhh, I got a bottle of wine from J&B: Bitch. Yep. Bitch Barossa Grenache wine! Do I have great friends or what?!

Let me know when you're in L.A. or when you want a mellow night out - I'll take you to Cube. And, I'll bring the wine!

Cheers!

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Girl of 100 Lists

My Top 10 Celebrity Crushes

1. Maksim Chmerkovskiy ~ the best butt on television. He's sexy (even if he waxes his chest) and when he moves? Swoon. He makes me feel like the girl in the disco from Saturday Night Fever - "Maks, can I wipe your forehead?"

2. the Tweed Simmons family ~ I am so in love with them all! Their rapport with each other and the family dynamic is so loving and fun and hilarious. I want to be a Tweed Simmons!

3. Nikki Sixx ~ sigh. Love me some Nikki. He's passionate and determined and unafraid of his heart & emotions. And sexy as hell!

4. David Muir ~ ABC new anchor. I discovered the joy that is David Muir during my insomnia period. He was on the earrrrrrly morning news, relaxed, slightly disheveled and darling. Now, he's moved up to Good Morning America correspondent and ABC Evening News fill-in. Anderson Cooper has SO been replaced!

5. Terry O'Quinn ~ Locke from LOST. Helloooo! Sexy.

6. the kid from High School Musical ~ Sick, isn't it.

7. Garth Kemp ~ local ABC weatherman. He's got the sexiest voice...a former DJ on KLOS in Los Angeles. And he's, like, 6'5" or something!

8. Dave Wakeling ~ lead singer of the English Beat. Always loved Dave! Developed the crush when I was in 9th grade - singer, cute, words that resonated with my 15-year old heart. Took every opportunity to see The Beat play in and around L.A. during the 80s, my crush securely in my heart. Saw him again a month ago and the crush was renewed! I think it's more of an appreciation and admiration of him now. But, ohhh he's still cute!

9. JC Chasez ~ dunno. Inexplicable, really. Nonetheless, it's a crush. Eva Longoria sat next to me at a nail spa and I wanted to ask her to hook a sistah up with his number. She fell asleep.

10. Adam from Maroon 5 ~ this spot belonged to Joe Elliott until yesterday. I heard Adam on the radio with Ryan Seacrest. I tuned in just in time to hear Adam say "there are a lot of girls out there I just want to feed. I want to tell them to eat something! I don't really like skinny skinny girls." Yay, Adam! I heart you.

Monday, May 14, 2007

**MORTIFIED**

I wore white pants today. (You see where this is going, don't you?) I had lunch - ON THE LOT - with Mandy; which means I had to walk out of my office, across the lobby, into the elevator, down to the main lobby, past the security desk, out the doors, onto the street, wait at the light, cross the street in the crosswalk OF THE BUSIEST STREET IN BURBANK, through the security gate, past the executive offices, through the breezeway, between Casting and the dubbing stages, along the screening rooms, through the patio, into the commissary, in line to order, across the comm to the drinks, in line to pay, through the dining room, out the door to the patio, past the executive dining patio to a table. Ya with me so far? Imagine doing this in white pants and striped undies! I KNOW! This is worse than my faux Spanx incident.

Obviously, I wasn't going to wear white pants this a.m. My jean capris didn't look right with the top I had on (as usual, I ended up wearing a different top anyway). Obviously, I didn't do the full-view check either.

Someone has got to take away my Fashionista license. I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy!

Friday, May 11, 2007

my obsessive fascination is in your imagination

I work for a living, breathing Fashion Plate. Flip through any Lucky, Vogue, Marie Claire magazine and 90% of the stuff in there is already in the closet of my VP. Same with the style issues of People & US Weekly - "oh, I have that!" I love me some fashion, as well. And, this one time...flipping through an issue of US Weekly, 2 items listed in the "must-haves" section were already in my possession. Ohhh, what a feeling!

Since November - when I started working out - I've had to curb my clothing appetite. I bought some 'transition' clothing and a few pieces for work to, uh, tide me over. In that time, my focus has turned to handbags. Ai yi yi! My current fascination are bags with chain handles or bags with quilting. I see all the gorgeous bags in Nordstrom ~ the quilted Chloe bag, the numerous Marc Jacobs' bags with the clinky chain handles ~ and I drool. $1200 for a purse?! Dude, that's rent. So, I stick to the solid purses found at Target. I'm not knockin' it! Nuh uh! Isaac Mizrahi designs some great, great bags. Uh...hi - who's carrying his red leather tote? C'est moi, people!

My VP has the quilted Chloe bag. I love it. LOVE it! I call it 'our' bag. Before vacation, I picked up the People Style Watch magazine. One of the articles "I Really LOVE my..." focuses on a celeb who is usually paparazzi'd with one particular item over and over. The celeb? Mischa Barton. The item? The quilted Chloe bag. I drool, a little. The bag is so gorgeous! In the lower corner of the article is a picture of the bag with the caption "OWN IT!"
www.shopsueyboutique.com I found the Chloe bag *and* the Marc Jacobs bag ~ each for less than $60! *Plus* I had a coupon code for free shipping!

Next week, dear Friends, I will be oh-so fashionable in my new DvF-inspired dress and my new Chloe-inspired bag. Talk about budget fashionista!
:)

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Hawaiian Fire ~ 05/03/07

Wednesday night I was all a-flutter. Thursday was my surf lesson with the firemen and the news announced a storm moving in. Now, a typical Hawaiian storm ain't so bad. Y'know, it rains for 15 minutes, then *POOF* - all gone. But the words "wind" and "high surf" really were not the words I wanted to hear before surfing.

Thursday arrived. I took a peek out to the ocean from the room and boy, was the surf rollin'! White caps indicating rough-ish water. Although there were tons of surfers out there, as a novice, I was still a-flutter. Oh well, what's a girl to do? Go find firemen, of course.

I had to meet the pick-up van at 7:10 a.m. at the Sheraton/Royal Hawaiian on Don Ho Lane - a 3-minute walk from the Outrigger. I couldn't sit still...pacing...fretting...pacing...almost to the point of panic, until I saw the huge HAWAIIAN FIRE logo drive by. EEEK! I was really excited to see a van?! Jimmy the Driver made a couple of stops, filling the van with 12 anxious would-be surfers (3 Japanese students, 2 girls from Canada, a local, a family of 5 from Nebraska and me). We were a bit chatty, moreso along the lines of 'courtesy' chat, really. Then Jimmy the Driver kicked in with background info, where we were going, sights along the way.

30 minutes later, we arrived at this gorgeous beach. As we drove in, someone commented "Oh, you can camp here?" Jimmy the Driver laughed, "It's a camp alright." A lot of homeless people had set-up 'camp' on the beach. Anyway, the beach is on property which was formerly a military base. De-activated in 1999, Hawaiian Fire has found it to be the best place to teach surfing. The beach was set with two tents, lots of beach chairs and a bunch of surfboards. The wind was really blowing and the surf looked huge and intimidating. The water was a gorgeous blue and I was happy just taking that all in.

We were given shoes & rash protectors (a long-sleeved top) to put on, then sent to a tent for instruction. Enter Instructor Duke. Uhh...hi! He gave us some background info on HF, the gear we had on, the beach (the whole military story) and the weather ("Perfect surf weather! The waves are great!). Then, another guy came over. He told us how to position ourselves on the board, how & where are feet should be, how to paddle, that the paddling out was the hardest part, how to push up & get through a wave that breaks in front of you, and then how to pop-up when it's time to ride. Lemme tell ya, it looked soooo easy when he was showing us! He gave us the instructions: paddle out to a surfer, when he tells you to paddle, do it, he'll push you, you paddle 3-4 more strokes, then jump up and surf! Uhh...okay. So, we moved to the surfboards. Instructor Kevin (uh...hi!) had us position ourselves and show him how we pop-up onto the boards. I did pretty well. On dry land. Then we were set free, into the ocean.

One by one, Instructor Ryan (uhh...hi!) set us on our boards and pushed us off to the instructors out there 100 yards and waiting. Ryan said the surf was only 2-3 footers, perfect for beginners. I started paddling out. Damn, that's tiring! I got through the breakers crashing in my face and made it out to Kevin. Wait. Wait. "Ready, Reese? Paddle now! Paddle now!" I did! I jumped to my feet! I fell. OK. I got an hour and 20 minutes of this - I'll stand. So, paddle...paddle...cough, cough. Back out to Kevin. He gave me encouragment and advice ~ "Just pop-up to your feet!" Umm...yeah, okay. Wait. Wait. "Ready, Reese? Paddle! Paddle! Paddle!" I did! I jumped to my feet! I fell. I tried 2 more times. I got an hour and 10 minutes of this?! I rode back to the shore and sat for a few minutes. I was totally winded. I was totally disheartened. So, I sat there watching a 7 and 12 year-old surfing. Ohh, to be 12 and have no fear. (And have flexibility!) Grabbing my board, I went back into the water. Ryan, bless his heart, surfed in and pulled me out to the starting point. I sat through about 4 or 5 waves, then he turned me around and said "Go!" And I did! I paddled! I jumped to my feet! And was able to stand for a brief shining moment! And, when I say brief, I mean brief. It was fantastic! That was the only time I was able to get up on the board. I had a great time! Until I got back to the hotel.

Dude - my knee was totally jacked. My arms and shoulders were so sore. I sat in the jacuzzi for hours. I was far less sore when I started working out with my trainer! This was totally different. I'm still sore now.

I went to the Hawaiian Fire store to pick up my pictures (I'll post 'em!) and Ryan was there. "Hey, Rissa. Do your arms hurt today?" Hardy har har, bastard. :) He wished me a happy birthday, gave me some stickers and I left.

I highly recommend the surfing lessons ~ great fun, great pain.

Birthday Blog!

Top 10 Rocked My World Birthday Moments 2007

1. Flowers from my Dad ~ since the 5th grade, Dad sends me a bouquet on my birthday. This year, it didn't matter he had to send it to Hawaii.

2. 80 minute Hot Lava Rock massage ~ ohhhh, heaven in paradise! Seriously. Hot rocks aligned on my spine while more hot rocks were used to massage my body. Hot damn! I was so sad when I heard "We're done."

3. 3660 on the Rise ~ I've been dying to eat at this restaurant since January! I knew what I was going to order - soup, main course, dessert, even the wine. And I wasn't disappointed. Our waiter was fantastic - making a special dessert for my birthday. I didn't eat it. Sorry, I wanted creme brulee!

4. Locals only ~ everywhere we went, Mom & I were asked which island we were visiting from. I love that the locals thought we were locals! Mom and one of our breakfast waiters had a lot in common: he went to the same school she did and he lives on the same street she did when she lived there. It's a small, small world.

5. Champagne basket from my Team ~ ohhh, how well my co-workers know me! Mid-day on my birthday, a bottle of champagne arrived at the room. Midnight on my birthday, a bottle of champage had...uh...disappeared!

6. Upgrade ~ The Outrigger on the Reef is my favorite hotel in Honolulu. When I booked my trip, I decided to treat myself to an ocean-view room, instead of a partial ocean-view room. As we were checking in, the desk guy said "We are upgrading you to an ocean front room for the week. And, you'll be the first guests to stay in this room - no one has been in it." Uhh...Happy Birthday to me! WOW! The room? Huge! The view? All water! The room? Huge and awesome! It was so nice to sit at night with the sliding glass doors open, sheers closed, listening to the waves crash, slight breeze blowing. This must be just like living in paradise - and I don't want to go home.

7. ABC Stores ~ these are the best stores EVER! On one block, you may find 4 or 5 of these stores. I can't really describe it...it's Target and it's 7-11 and it's a cheesy souvenir shop all mixed up and called ABC Stores. Anything Hawaiian - it's in there. I love the ABC Stores!

8. Hawaiian Fire ~ ohhh, the firemen. It's a blog unto itself. What a fun, fun time! Yeah, I had to sit in the jacuzzi for, like, 5 hours. And, yeah, I still can't lift my arms above my head (and I surfed *last* Thursday). But it was fun!

9. Cookie basket from my sister ~ my sister is the greatest! I really missed her on this trip...but she sent me this fantastic basket of cookies ~ hibiscus-shaped cookies. They were yuuummmmy :)

10. my Mom ~ I really planned to do this trip alone. But, a week with my Mom was wonderful. Really! We love the same things about Hawaii and doing the same things while there. I love seeing her Hawaii, her home.