L.A. Chic | Adventures in Los Angeles, from fashion to what's happening

Bold Songs About Los Angeles

Los Angeles is a place of dreams. Thousands flock here every year with stars in their eyes to pursue their dreams, and one of those dreamers was me in 2004. I still adore this place, and I’ve had many dreams come true here, including speaking roles in film and television as well as working as a professional writer full-time. Yes, I also did the stereotypical actor’s waitress job for four years as well, and I overcame a brief period of homelessness there. Los Angeles has its dark side.

Many things can happen in Los Angeles, and songwriters have long realized the appeal and darkness of this unique city. Here are some songs that signal a warning to those who dare to venture here without awareness for all its dangers and stumbling blocks. They're fun but also thought-provoking.

”L.A. Song” by Beth Hart speaks on how lonely and desperate one can become in the bright, big city. “Hollywood” by Madonna is upbeat in sound, but its lyrics hint at something far more dark and deep. “How can it hurt you when it looks so good?” she asks. “Say Good-bye Hollywood” is a much darker rap song by Eminem in which he confesses to suicidal feelings and having sold his soul to the devil for his career. “Beverly Hills” by Weezer is a seemingly sarcastic look at the riches of the wealthiest area of Los Angeles.

“Don’t Mean Nothin’” by Richard Marx is a rather harsh take on the city, but it’s one that many dreamers who’ve had those aspirations broken or crushed will easily recognize. “Crazy” by Aerosmith mentions the subject of the song as promising to head out to Hollywood, even though the song isn’t directly about Los Angeles.

Arclight Cinemas: Providing a Chic Moviegoing Experience

"What’s also really cool is that you can dress up or dress down here"

Arclight Cinemas in Hollywood just may be one of the coolest locales in the vast city of Los Angeles. The beautiful, unique architecture of the “cinedome” will likely catch your eye. The seats are comfortable; stadium seating is offered as well.

Yes, you may sight to yourself and think, “Why go to the movies when you’re in a city with so many museums and culture! Not to mention indie theaters.” Well, Arclight has you covered as it does include both culture and indie cinemas. It picks up lots of independent films, and you are treated to a makeshift art gallery both in the main lobby and upstairs and downstairs in the main areas before you go your assigned theater.

What’s also really cool is that you can dress up or dress down here. You don’t look out of place in a fancy dress or jeans and boots. It’s really is an accepting, sophisticated atmosphere we’re all seem to be welcome. It attracts an eclectic mix of people for sure. I once stood in the popcorn line there behind Ryan Gosling when he was dating his lovely co-star from “The Notebook,” Rachel McAdams.

The Arclight Cinemas also provides a charming cafe where the hostess will happily write the showtime of your movie down on a sheet that is put on your table. The waiter then can plan out the serving of your meal according to the time your movie starts. So, if you get there really early, you don’t have to worry about being rushed out the door well before showtime. The restaurant, like the theater, is anything goes as well so dress as your heart desires.

Chic Ice Skating

From November 18, 2011 to January 1, 2012 the pool at hotel W Los Angeles – Westwood is transformed into a chic ice skating rink.

The 1,600 square foot rink is surrounded by a backdrop of colorful lights and candles. Each of several outdoor cabanas is stylishly decorated with mirrors, modern textiles, handmade rugs and white deer heads.

(Yes, deer heads… reindeer maybe?) Snow falls once every hour, quite an appropriate touch… don't you think?

The rink is open Monday through Friday from 3 pm to 10 pm. Saturday hours are 10 in the morning until 10 at night. The cost for one hour of skating is $10 per person, ages five and up. Rental skates are included in the price. (I have to admit, the cost is a bit too steep for my blood, but then again… it IS Los Angeles and there IS snow involved.)

No reservation is required and guests are welcome to bring their own skates. Hot cocoa, winter cocktails and a variety of comfort foods are available at the onsite bar.

Several special events are scheduled on the weekends. They include fitness classes every Saturday at 9 am and ice skating performances every Saturday at 6 pm. The children's design station is open from 11 am to 1 pm on Saturday, as well. Kids (age 12 and under) are invited to participate in a gingerbread cookie decorating activity.

The hotel also offers an overnight skate package, which includes one-night accommodations, two ice rink tickets, two complimentary winter cocktails, all day cabana rental and a minty soap and scrub gift from the hotel spa.

Wear some pretty clothes before the trendy girls on your block buy them all

Trends from L.A. Fashion Week

I guess Los Angeles Fashion Week is a pretty big deal. It sets the tone for what you’ll be buying at H &M and Target in a few months. A few months after that, it creates the horror you feel when you see what you bought H&M and Target because it looked like something at L.A. Fashion Week. Yikes, those super high waisted pants. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Regardless of how long these trends will last, you’ll probably see tons of girls in these up-to-the-minute fashions drinking coffee and artfully scrunching their faces and positioning their legs at your local coffee shop. They might already be there. Beware. But don’t let those bitches show you up! Go out there and get some trendy threads of your own with this handy guide.

Electro-Bright colors. Pull out your old neon dance leotard and you’ll be sporting the latest trend. Neon pinks, yellows, blues and greens are in this summer, but if you don’t want to look like you’re six years old again, put a dark jacket and minimal jewelry on top.

High contrast colors. Color blocking means putting large swaths of one color—usually black—on top of another swath of either a color or white. That’s in, along with lots of red pieces and clothing wit black-and-white patterns.

Neon animal print. A more nature-specific and growly version of the already childlike neon trend. Get a t-shirt with pink leopard print and black-rimmed neon spots or a green-and-black zebra printed pair of leggings.

Plaid. Yeah! Already got it and so does everyone I’m sitting around right now in Seattle. I guess we are the real trend setters; not you, L.A.

Desperado. You probably don’t want to try most of these fashions until fall unless you want to die of heat stroke, but this look includes Zorro-like hats, Navajo-inspired ponchos and pheasant feather dresses. Some designers also have Navajo style wrap shirtwaists, a throwback piece to be sure, so it can’t hurt looking around for one actually from the ‘70s at the local thrift store.

Pleather/leather shorts. I don’t know about you, but I think when an item of clothing makes little droplets of sweat run down your thighs, it really can’t look that good on you. These shorts come with little embroidery pockets, making them look like mom took her leather coaster (she’s funky, okay?) and made you some bottoms.

Wild high-heeled shoes. Floral and wooden chunky heels. Tall, leopard print Lady Gaga boots. Mesh stilettos. If you can’t get away from a pack of cheetahs--or at least a pack of children--you probably should probably buy more practical footwear. Did you know that women distribute more than four times their body weights to their toes when they wear shoes with heels over four inches? At least with this season’s “wild” prints, you will be presumed to be the antichrist of sensibility.

British invasion. Who even knows what is British anymore? But I guess that’s what they’re calling the summer trend which includes rock concert tees, cutoff jean shorts and army fatigues all topped off with an incongruous strand of pearls. Maybe the pearls are so you’ll look fancy enough to meet the Queen.

The Day of Love

Valentine’s Day, although I am fully aware is a “made-up” holiday is one of my most favorites! Single or not, I love it! I have friends who celebrate it as “Hate Day” and “Single Day” and “Anti-Valentine’s Day” but I have never been one to join in on any of the negative that people feel during this particular holiday. I can honestly say that yes, I have been in a relationship on every Valentine’s Day probably since I was 16 (or maybe even younger), but that is not why I love the holiday so much.

My love for Valentine’s Day started out in elementary school. I remember every year spending the week leading up to Valentine’s Day making awesome Valentine mailboxes, classroom decorations and special valentine gifts for my parents. Then usually the weekend before Valentine’s Day my mom would take me to the grocery store and we would buy Valentine cards for me to fill out for each classmate, carefully picking each card to match the person meant for it. Then once the day finally arrived, my class would have a huge Valentine party where we would start off by passing out our Valentine’s for each classmate in their individual handmade mailbox. By the time we got back to our own desk it was littered with Valentines, including special Valentines from our parents that they had given to our teacher to give us. Opening up each individual card, wondering what type of candy it came with or who sent it and what it said, if it had a secret meaning, or was it from a crush, etc. was just so exciting for me. After receiving all those Valentines where boys would often leave me cute little messages we would have yummy cupcakes, cookies and other candy. We would sometimes even get to watch a movie. I would always dress in red or pink including a matching bow or hair tie.

Once I got into junior high Valentine’s Day was slightly different. My friends and I still passed out cards in the hallway, but even better than that we had the “Valentine’s Day Dance”. I remember getting asked by this boy that I had a huge crush on, but he was a foot shorter than me, so my friends would tease us about it. All my girlfriends and I would get together before the dance, dress us, put on some makeup (which we only wore at dances) and head to the dance together gossiping about who we wanted to ask us to dance, who we would refuse to dance with and what songs we so badly wanted to dance to. The question that was on all our minds was – would we get kissed. We all took bets on who we thought would kiss who and once we arrived at the dance took group pictures. Ah… to be in love at such a young age is crazy. You do anything for love and when it is taken away from you, your life is over.

These last few Valentine’s my boyfriend has been away training, so I have made it fun by making a girls day of it. Usually we go out to either brunch or dinner and see a movie, my girlfriends will still gossip on who they like, how their relationships have been and vent about their ex’s. To me Valentine’s Day is not all about being in a relationship, but more about being thankful for love.

And the Acting Classes Begin…

I for the first time since graduating acting college back in 2005 decided it was time to take an acting class. I went an audited Michele Gosset’s acting class in Sherman Oaks in the beginning of January and decided it was what I needed to get my foot back in the door. I took Michele Gosset my first semester, first year of acting college and I learned a lot working with her. The night I audited Mrs. Gosset’s acting class she had done a “Type Me” exercise where each person went up on stage alone, she had them do an instrumental and then as they were describing themselves, their life and doing this instrumental the whole class wrote about how they looked, what they could possibly be cast as, etc.

I assumed that the first day of each month of Mrs. Gosset’s acting class where new students might come in that she would do the “Type Me” for each new student. Since I did not have time to work on a monologue and since I was new to the class, no scene partner, I was hoping for the “Type Me”. As she called my name to go up to the stage with my “to do”, I told her I would love to do the “Type Me” exercise. Unfortunately she was not prepared with all the paperwork for that exercise and she was also planning on doing it on the makeup class which was the following day, which I was not able to attend. Luckily, she found a sheet and had the whole class fill it out all on one (instead of individually). I found out some interesting things, but mostly what I had already known, such as I could play the wife, the bridesmaid, the best friend, the roommate, the shopaholic and I also got a few bitch type characters. What I was shocked about was that most people in the class thought I was “average” looking and somewhat stuck up. I’m not sure how the stuck up part came across since I have been nothing but nice to everyone (although not many people had known me yet). I feel like it was the whole, girl judging girl that she doesn’t know type thing. If I would have only smiled at every single girl in the class and personally introduced myself than it would have been okay, but apparently since I did not do that I was perceived as “stuck up”. If you ask anyone who knows me they will tell you that I am far from stuck up.

The whole average looking thing shocked me, and I’m not sure why. I know the first time I audited Gosset’s class that almost everyone cute or not was told they were cute, because in their own individual way they were… Coming from Seattle where I was in the top bracket of looks to Los Angeles where I fall right dead middle was a slight eye opener. It actually put me in check, which was a good thing. Every now and then you need a grounder and that was mine.

I left the class with a scene partner, a guy who was also new to the class. We chose a scene from (ironically) “Reasons to be Pretty” by Neil LaBute and we will put it up in class on Monday. I look forward to it!

Options

So many options… Life in Los Angeles is what you make of it. It can be an amazing experience, such as when I first came out here in 2003 or it can be stressful and crazy, just depending on what is going on in your life at that moment in time. For me, this time back out in Los Angeles is not as amazing as it was in 2003 (back then I came out here to go to acting college, I was living my dream of acting, meeting a ton of new people, enjoying life 100%, working hard but loving every minute of my life). Now life is much easier for me and I am not enjoying it as much. I have also said though and everyone close to me knows that I am only happy if I am busy and I have not been as busy as I was the first few years I lived here.

I have been thinking about my options and what I want next out of life and living in Los Angeles. I decided I wanted to start taking acting classes. I audited an acting class a few weeks ago and I realized how much that I needed to take classes and how much I missed taking classes. Like every other career, you always study, take classes or keep on it, whatever that may be (singer – vocal lessons, dancer – dance classes, teachers – continuing education, etc) so why have I not been taking acting classes? The only reason I had before was an excuse, a bad one too – that I could not afford to take them. Yet I would spend anywhere from $5-$15 a day at Starbucks, if you add that up for a month that is anywhere from $150-$450 which would cover my costs of acting classes.

I also feel like I am stuck in a dead-end job of being a studio manager at a casting studio. I loved it at first because I thought it would help out my career and I was engulfed in the acting industry, including seeing and meeting casting directors daily. What I did not realize was that I would have to do more than just manage a studio. In order for me to work full time, I would also have to work for another company within the company that I work for that has absolutely nothing to do with acting or the entertainment industry. It is rather boring and beyond my comprehension and it actually makes me mad, angry and frustrated that they even expect me to work for this other company not to mention it’s a huge waste of my time.

Once I figured out what was making me unhappy, I decided to fix it. Although I have not put in my two week notice at my studio manager job, I have started to look for other positions in network companies and started to look for producer jobs or jobs that I can work my way up in to eventually become a producer. I also started to work on a short film with my good friend Kara which we hope to produce and film this May. So, goals for the next month – find a new job that makes me happy, start an acting class, work on our script to shoot in May, get ready to meet with agencies, work on a few monologues and FOCUS on my DREAM!

Happy New Year!

Happy Twenty-Ten, so far this year has started off with a bang! For New Years my boyfriend, his sister, her husband and I all went to Catalina Island to celebrate. We left on Wednesday and rented a hotel with the room twice the size of my apartment, or maybe three times the size – it was huge! It was more like the size of a huge one bedroom apartment, but mainly open, with a small kitchen and a large bathroom (the bathroom was larger than the kitchen). Did I mention that the beds were king size? It was like I woke up in another world. We are used to my tiny full size bed, so moving up to a king was nice, comfortable, and slightly colder (without my boyfriend’s body heat so close to me, I actually got cold in the middle of the night).

The first day we arrived it was pretty rainy, yet we still managed to have a blast. Neither one of us had been to Catalina before, so after we dropped off our luggage in our huge room, we decided to take a walk around to check out bars and restaurants to figure out which would be perfect to celebrate New Year’s Eve. As we were walking along we went in a few shops and checked out their clothing, I saw a cute pair of red shoes (with a flower on the toe) that I wanted, but decided they might be a little pricey. We ran in about ten different restaurants and bars to see if they were having a party or celebrating at all for New Years, nothing was really calling our name. We stopped to grab some food at the Lobster Shack (mainly because we knew they had a pool table and what better to waste time on a rainy day than a pool table). After we ordered our food, my boyfriend took right to the pool table as his sister ordered us a shot of Patron – wow that shot is strong! I do not usually drink, so one shot of that and I was feeling a little buzzed.

On our way back to our hotel we noticed this awesome restaurant with a New Years Mardi Gras theme and karaoke – we got our reservations, stopped at a few more shops and headed back to our hotel. We had a few hours to kill before our “Ghost Tour” so we all decided to take a nap. I, as always woke everyone up just in time to freshen up and head over to the Casino for our tour. Our tour guide gave us a hand held ghost detector, which of course did not work, but was fun to play with anyway (everyone who had one would go up to random people to check to make sure they were not ghosts – it was hilarious). On our way through the tour she had told us several stories of people who “may have” come in contact with specific ghosts of people from the town that had died. She then let us stop at a few places to take photos where “orbs” of ghosts usually show up. My boyfriend and I got a few pictures with orbs; most people did not, so everyone was checking out our camera and photos. An hour later the tour ended, we were starving so we all headed to the last place that was still open – a pizza joint where they give you peanuts as appetizers and expect, or demand, that you throw the shells on the floor.

The next morning we woke up to sun and warmer weather. My boyfriend was dying to check out the golf cart tour, so we found a place that rented carts at a decent price ($40/3 hours if you are active military – most places charge $80/2 hours). We took our cart everywhere we could without getting fined, including the places that we weren’t supposed to go (btw – everyone on the island drives golf carts or super mini versions of cars, trucks and vans, it’s crazy). My boyfriend drove the whole time and he, being the way that he is, was driving over tree stumps, through huge puddles and over every single bump he could find. He even chased after three kids on bikes (our cart went about 20 mph) – don’t worry, they were laughing and having fun (although it freaked me out a bit, but only because I am the protective mother type). Three hours later, we took our cart back, sad when we realized we had missed a section of the island and our time was up. My boyfriend’s sister went to find some cute new clothes while he and I headed back to the hotel to relax before our big New Years celebration (after of course stopping in the drug store to buy party glasses, crazy jewelry, wigs and confetti for the evening). Since our reservation was at 7pm we did not have much time to relax before we left so as everyone slept I got ready and woke them all up an hour before go time. We got all decked out in our cool new party gear and headed to our fab/fun Mardi Gras themed restaurant/bar. We ordered the New Years special which was a three course meal, not as good as I had hoped, but still good and messed around until the party started at 9pm. My boyfriend, his sister and I were one of the first people to go up and sing karaoke, we sang Third Eye Blind’s, Jumper. We laughed almost the whole way through it, but I think most people were already wasted by that time that no one really noticed.

As the clock struck midnight, we had our New Years kiss, paid our bill (which btw- they tried to rip us off by $50, and even though Jason was wasted, I wasn’t, he still caught it), and headed back to our hotel. My boyfriend tried to “rescue” a woman on the ground who had gotten sick, but her boyfriend or husband was having no part of it at all, he got really mad at my boyfriend as I quickly whisked his drunk a** back to our hotel. Our party was exhausted and we had to leave at 7am the next morning to head back to Los Angeles. It was a New Years I will never forget!

Time to be Thankful!

My boyfriend arrived home just before Christmas with a huge to-do list and a big ball of stress riding on his shoulders. His main priority was signing another six month contract to stay in the Navy while finishing out Navy Seal training so that once July comes he can sign on for another five years (he’s already been in almost nine). He was stressing because when he first left for training back in March, they gave him a ninety thousand dollar signing bonus, but now after completing his first six months of Seal training they wanted to (without him knowing) drop it down to around fifty thousand. When it comes to money, my boyfriend keeps his eyes out and open. He made sure that his new six month contract included the previous ninety thousand signing bonus, signed the new contract and was relieved by one less stress. The next major thing he needed to take care of were two different teeth whitening companies that he had gotten a trial for and they charged his credit card a hundred dollars a month, EACH for a small stick of teeth whitener. He could have gone to the dentist, had a much better teeth whitener and done professionally for less than what they ended up charging him for all the whitening (they came in while he was off to San Clemente island where he had no communication). He finally convinced both companies to pay him back mostly what they charged, which was a total charge of about four hundred and fifty dollars. They said they would give him about three hundred of that money back; another stress taken off his back (mostly). The last stress that was weighing him down was trying to get all of his Christmas shopping in within a day or two. Luckily, I had already done most of the shopping for his and my family, so he didn’t have much to worry about.

His mom decided to fly down from Washington to California for Christmas this year and she arrived in to town on Wednesday evening. She had expected to see her son (my boyfriend) sometime before Christmas but she wasn’t sure when and since she was staying with her daughter and she did not have a car of her own here, she had to follow a schedule of someone else. Unfortunately because my boyfriend’s schedule and tasks were so great, we were unable to meet up with his mom or the rest of his family until our already planned Christmas day meet up in San Diego.

I was super excited to head to San Diego since my mom and her husband had just bought a house down there, it is nice having my mom back in California with me again, I love having her so close. My boyfriend and I arrived the morning of the 23^rd, since he had to take care of some errands in San Diego. We helped my mom clean up, re-organize and of course finished up our shopping. I put together all of our stockings (except mine) – it’s my favorite thing to do. My mom and I had hand sewn my boyfriend a HUGE stocking for Christmas and filling it was a challenge, but fun.

Once Christmas arrived my boyfriend’s family came to San Diego and the rest of my family (that was in California) came over. This was the first time that I actually helped my mom with the turkey (I’ve been meaning to learn how to cook one for years now). I felt extremely lucky to be surrounded by so much family and so much love. Dinner turned out amazing, we played a few games of ‘Fact or Crap’ afterwards (apparently I’m pretty damn good at that game) and then it was time to say goodbye. Christmas was over, but the memories will last forever ;) Happy holidays!

Ab-Infomercial = Hypothermia!

I started off my week great; finished my boyfriend’s Christmas decoration, last week before he comes homes (5 very long weeks later), and two auditions that I did not even really ask for. One was for a Wii Fit commercial, the other was for an ab-infomercial. I auditioned for the Wii commercial last Friday and had got a callback on Monday as well as the ab-infomercial audition.

I had not planned on going to the ab-infomercial, but the casting director begged that I come, so I did. Once I got there, I went into the casting room and the producer automatically thought I would be perfect for the testimonial model instead of the ab model, which I thought was odd, since I have nice abs. He had mentioned that all the women that have come in have perfect, super defined abs, and since mine are not body builder crazy that I would fit best as a testimonial. Whatever, I could care less about this infomercial in the first place.

After the infomercial I quickly head to my callback at Dream Big Casting for the Wii Fit commercial. Callbacks were running 2 hours behind due to the morning 2^nd round of auditions for the commercial. Instead of waiting upstairs for 2 hours, I head downstairs to my work and have them call me up when they need me. Finally when it was my turn to go into the callback they brought me in with a guy named Landen (we were supposed to be husband and wife). We played off each other well, so well that they kept us both to go in with others. It finally got knocked down to 4 people; 2 couples and I was one of them. The producers thought I was great and even asked if I would be willing to take one of their Wiis home to practice on – HELL YEA!

Late Monday night I get a call from the ab infomercial – they booked me and want me there Tuesday morning at 10am. I let my boss know I wont be in for work and since he’s super cool he had no problem with it, although he was hoping that I would close. I arrive at the infomercial at 9:50am (always early) get into my workout outfit (carpi workout pants and a sports bra) and wait to get into hair and makeup. I was the 2^nd person to arrive, yet 6 people later they put me in hair and makeup (ab models had to go first). I met some really cool people and made some great friends which helped the hours pass by with none of us being used. Did I mention that they kept us in an non-heated room?! Yep, 50 degrees was the room and it was 40 degrees outside, and the pool that a few people had to swim in was 30 degrees. Eight and a half hours later after still not being used, they sent me off to work (since I was supposed to show up to close and I was told that the infomercial would only be until 4pm – it was now 6:30pm).

As I get into my car to drive to work, I call my boss not feeling so well. He tells me to go home and he’ll see me in the morning. Not an hour later I was in my apartment throwing up and having massive chills (even with 3 layers of clothes, my boyfriends bathrobe, 2 extra blankets on my bed and a heating pad all after taking a hot shower). I found out I had the beginning stages of hypothermia and that may have brought on the flu.

I did not go into work Wednesday at all (so that was now two full days of no pay). When I finally went in today, I had found out that they loved me for the Wii commercial and would have cast me, BUT they cancelled the commercial – story of my life! I’ve been booked on five commercials and all five have fallen through. I apparently am not meant to be on national television…

Good news – it’s Thursday evening and my bebe comes home sometime tomorrow!

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