Memorial Day BBQ

Monday afternoon my cousin Justin (well 2nd cousin by marriage) and his girlfriend Brittany had a bunch of us over to their house for a BBQ, amazing Mojitos and LRC! The weather was iffy in the morning but by 2p the hazz had lifted and we got a few hours of good sun in. It was really nice to have Monday to relax and enjoy the day off from work. Hopefully this is just the beginning of many BBQs to come over at J&B's. Big thanks for hosting us!

*What is LRC you ask? Well it is the best and fastest way to pick up some extra cash off your friends. To play everyone starts off with 3 single dollar bills. You sit around in a circle at a table with 3 dice- the dice say LRC on them (Left, Right, Center and also have a side which is blacked out or has nothing on it). In the middle of the table is a jar or anything you can put the "center" money in. Pick someone to start and they roll the dice to see where the money goes. Lets say you get 1 Left, 1 Black Out and 1 Center. That means you give the person to your left 1 dollar, the center jar 1 dollar and you get to keep 1 dollar. The dice now move clockwise and you keep going around in a circle until all the money is in the center jar and you have one winner in the end that gets to keep it all. The key to this game is that you are never out as long as the person to your left or right still have money they are playing with. You only get skipped if you don't have any money in front of you. You also only roll as many dice as you have dollar bills. The max dice roll is 3 but if you only have 1 dollar you only roll 1 dice. Give it a try the next time you get a group of people together.

Me, Brandy, Ansley and Brit

This is me after I won $33 bucks playing LRC- Holy Fun!!

American Idol Finale!!

Last night I got to go to the American Idol Finale at The Nokia Theatre and it was AWESOME!! What an amazing night with so many great performers. Mackenzie (yes Mackenzie "I've Got Connections" Stevenson) got offered tickets at 1p and I happen to be on the phone with her at the time when she got an extra so she invited me to go. At first I was stressing about needing to leave work early at 3p in order to make it to the 430p taping but after I thought about it I was like "Wait, I have a ticket to the finale!" Of course I did not dress myself appropriately for work yesterday morning with American Idol in mind so I had to run over to the mall to grab a new top and jeans. Thank god we have a mall within walking distance from my office building so it worked out perfectly. Not only did I grab new clothes but I also ran into Bloomies and had the MAC gal touch up my make-up. Brilliant! The finale show was by far the best accumulation of amazing artists I've ever seen. Here are some goofy photos of Mac and I doing this photo flip book thing at the after party. If you flip the little photo book really fast it looks like we are moving and dancing...too funny!

The Proposal

For all you ladies out there that read the title and got really excited for a minute- No, Corey and I did not get engaged!! My girlfriend Mackenzie and I went to a sneak preview of the new Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds film "The Proposal" last night http://www.traileraddict.com/trailer/the-proposal/trailer. The film doesn't come out until June 12th but this was an opportunity to see it pre-release and for FREE. If you have ever been watching Access Hollywood or Entertainment Tonight and see people giving testimonials on how great a movie was this happen to be our big chance to be on TV but Mac and I passed. Even though we both thought the movie was really cute (Reynolds is adorable in this film) we didn't feel the need to be on camera getting caught saying something cheesy like... "The summer's best romantic comedy of 2009 or You'll fall in love with Ryan Reynolds!" Had we consumed more wine before we went into the movie there might have been a chance.

Mac & I

I Want To Move To Orange County...

Corey & I watched his sister Tiffany's kids last weekend while she and David, her husband, went to Vegas to celebrate their 15th year wedding anniversary. We had such a full weekend toting the kids around to sporting events but enjoyed every minute we spent with them. I know you obviously don't just wake up with 13, 10 and 7 year olds but coordinating schedules and getting them around every where on time is a science. Tiffany fortunately has perfected it. Some highlights from the weekend in Newport Beach include eating pizza and watch "Bride Wars" with the girls- Rachel & Ally, watching Ally play in her basketball tournament both Saturday & Sunday, playing volleyball with Rachel outside in the culdesac, taking the kids to the beach for sunset, making Tiffany's birthday cake with the kids and sleeping in their bed because it was crazy comfortable. Corey & I also fell in love with Newport Beach and could see us down there in a few years. Fingers crossed!!

Corey, Rachel, Ally, Josh & Bailey

Josh & Bails

Corona del Mar BeachAlly feeding the begging dogs...

Birthday Week Extravaganza

For someone that insisted that we not do anything for my birthday this year I sure did get spoiled by all of my friends. I've always been so lucky and blessed to be surrounded by such great people (east and west coast) but this just confirms how amazing they all are. To recap...my never ending birthday party started with a girls dinner out at Buena Vita followed by dancing with all of the guys at The Shore. Then on Saturday morning a big ole crew of us went hiking at Switzer Falls & Bear Canyon followed by a pool party at Danny's parents house in Glendale. Here are some pics from the best 28th birthday ever!!

Girls Dinner

Partying @ The Shore
Hiking in Glendale...
Pool Party!!

Blue Jay Campgrounds

Camping Crew

Saturday we went camping for the first time since I moved to CA 5 1/2 years ago!! We had such a relaxing time just hangin around playing games, exploring the camping grounds, drinking and eating great food thanks to Brianna and her gourmet cooking in the wilderness and playing with the dogs. The camp grounds were only about an hour from the house so it was super convenient for one night out under the stars. I'm still in shock every time we leave the southbay how beautiful it is so close to our home. Corey and I often ask ourselves, "Are we really just outside LA?" I'm slowly trying to accomplish more things on my To-Do list such as hiking and camping since all of these activities are so easily accessible to where we live so as I continue to knock them off I will keep you updated.

Mac swears the spots on the pic are orbs or spirits that live in the woods-uhmmm...

Corey, Me, Brianna, Mackenzie, Ian

Brian, Jay and Melissa playing poker. Nothing says camping like playing poker...Our friend Ian & Bam hangin by the fire. This pic makes me laugh...

Discovery Networks Upfront 2009

Last night was our Discovery Networks Upfront Presentation at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. This is where we showcase our upcoming new and returning programming for 2009-2010 across all of our networks (DSC, TLC, APL, TRV, SCI, MIL, HD, ID, PG, DHC, OWN, FIT). In addition to inviting all of our LA based clients and buyers we also have talent come and mingle with them. This year we had a great turnout and fortunately we did not upset the fire marshall much like we did last year. I must admit that throughout the night I had multiple moments when I thought of Kinsey. I recall her comment on facebook a couple of weeks ago voicing her love/hate for Toddlers & Tiaras on TLC. During the clip from the upcoming season I was absolutely blown away by these little tikes but more appalled by the mothers that put the children through this parade of child abuse. With that said, I will probably tune in and watch- ha! Animal Planet also had a show that was highlighted where I had a "Really, this is what is now on TV?!?!" moment - The Judi Hoffman Project. In short this is a show about a woman with 30 years of psychic experience that communicates through her cats to make her psychic predictions and readings. I mean "Really?" Overall, the night was a fantastic hit. Definitely looking forward to watching the 10 part series "LIFE" coming in 1Q2010. If you liked "EARTH" you absolutely will love this series!!

Bridget Marquardt from Girls Next Door & Bridget's Sexiest Beaches on TRVMondi & I with Adam Richman from Man vs. Food on TRV