Carmageddon

Ahhh, Los Angeles, you never cease to surprise us with your traffic. I still don’t understand why there’s traffic every day of the week, but it’s one of your quirks so I’ll let it go. But, this weekend there will be pandemonium when the 405 is shut down through the weekend. Carmageddon—first of all props to the one who came up with that, I laughed out loud when I first heard it—is in full swing. I am not really sure what the purpose is or how much they can really expect to get done in just a weekend, but I guess, if you build it, he will come, so more power to them.

I am proud of the Los Angelians. Rather than this shut down getting the good people and companies down, they're banding together. JetBlue was offering flights from Burbank to Long Beach for 4 dollars each way on Saturday, actors are encouraging people to stay and shop local and then you have Maroon 5 frontman, Adam Levine tweeting about a tailgate party. Ahh the comradery. There's a friendly competition going down too! A group of bicyclists who are challenging JetBlue to a race to see who can get to Long Beach faster. That's pretty freaking awesome, and can you imagine if the bikers win? I would be pretty stoked to be part of that group, well maybe not to stoked on the actual race, but more so on the winnings (typical).

It will be interesting to hear what people do end up doing, do they attempt the freeways (the ones that are working that is)? Do people stay home and wait for the end? Do they throw ragers? I kind of wish I was in LA to witness this experience, or at least witness it from a helicopter. I asked my LA peeps what their plan is but they is shut down shouldn't really affect them on the other side but I'd be pretty surprised if the whole city isn't essentially shut down.

Good luck LA this weekend! I can already anticipate a movie being made.

Bucket Lists are so 2010

On my painfully slow commute to work this morning (yes painfully slow, seeing as I have been working from home the past two days and will again tomorrow), Sarah and Vinnie were chatting about how Oprah is spending her free time. Well, looks like she’s crossing things off her bucket list, which makes sense seeing as she’s retired, but rather than calling it a bucket list she's got a “Vision Board.” Of course she’s not settling for the lame bucket list, when you're Oprah, you market the hell out of something we've always known, but put your own crafty spin on it and create the next big thing.

But here’s my issue: first, are people really writing things down on this bucket list? See, I’ve always imagined people saying, “this is something I’ve always wanted to do and it's on my [imaginary] bucket list” rather than making an actual list of things to do before you die…that sounds a tad morbid to me. I have an imaginary bucket list so I would hope that I am following the trend, otherwise I should invest in some legit paper material (to survive the next 80 years--that's right 80).

Then there's the whole what does a vision board make? We need some specifics Lady O. How big does the board have to be, what material, do you need to include pictures or is it a board of lists that you eventually cross off? Do they have to be legit visions or can they be pipe dreams? Will you give us a starter pack? America needs answers so we can all get going on our back-to-school vision boards!

It would be pretty awesome to have a vision board all ready to go asap so I can be seen as a trend-setter for this gig. In fact that can be my first vision for my board, being on the beginning end of one of Oprah's trends--seeing as I was too young to join the book club and then when I could have joined, it was just too trendy for my taste. This has potential. I can definitely see it catching like wildfire just in time for the holiday season. Good timing Oprah, but really I would expect nothing less.

Kudos and Boos!

Since I was slacking like nobody’s business, here’s some kudos and boos extended version…

Kudos to Team Wedding. It really can’t be brought up enough because all of team wedding did such a great job, especially the key players, Gina and Gary and, of course, Sarah and Tom. As a proud member of Team Wedding, I think that the whole event was an absolute success. It was a beautiful day and everything turned out great, and of course everyone enjoyed themselves. And this weekend, after dissecting the whole event, the consensus from our family was that it was simply awesome (duh!) and definitely the event that we’ll be talking about for many years to come!

Boos to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge for being in LA exactly one week after I left. And I was there for almost a week and they decided to go to Canada first? It’s almost as if it was planned on purpose like that. What does a girl have to do to see a celebrity/royal around here?

Kudos to Posh and Kate Hudson fastest pregnancies on the planet! In the past few months we have patiently awaiting the longest pregnancies ever, i.e. Pink and Mariah, but these two ladies were poppin’ out babies in no time. Hollywood should take a cue from these ladies and keep this up, don’t tell us 20 minutes after your pregnant, more like 6 months in. That way you make the world think that celebrities have shorter pregnancies than real people so it’s another incentive to break into the biz. It probably isn’t as painful either seeing as you have a posse.

Boos to Black Swan. When this came out last year, I wanted nothing to do with this because the previews freaked me out. But after all the hype and “Oscar buzz” went off like a rocket so I put it at the bottom of my Neflix queue. Well it slowly made it’s way to the top and in an effort to not throw off my Netflix schedule, I watched this yesterday. I spent 90 percent of the movie covering my eyes and when it was done, I thought it was definitely the most ridiculous movie I have ever seen. There’s no surprise that Natalie Portman won the awards, she did a great job playing a cracked out ballerina, but oh my gosh this movie was out of control.

Kudos to the Disney Family Museum in the Presidio. This was AWESOME. After opening a year or two ago or even longer, the Bonino’s finally made our way up and spent Saturday at the museum. The only complaint that I have is that they need a snack shack somewhere in the middle of the place because I got about ½ way through and was so freaking hungry. But once I got to the point of "I'm so hungry, I've beyond that line of passing out so I can actually begin to move on" (are other people familiar with that or is that just me?) we got to the best part, definitely the end when they talked about Disneyland. The whole room was set up almost like you were in line for Space Mountain. I definitely got a hankering for a trip to the happiest place on earth. Who’s with me?!

Boos to a brain fart. I can't think of something to give boos out to besides this horrible weather right now. So there ya have it.

If this post can leave you with one thing it's: Go to SF and hit up the Disney Family Museum! It's so great and definitely worth the trip (or two!)

Sarah and Tom Get Married!

Ahh July 2nd was a very good day and I wasn't even the one who got married! The silly lady from the church tried to tell us that we needed to be at OMGC by 1:30 for a 2:30 wedding but we didn't even have the limos coming to get us until 1:30 so we were "playing it by ear" to see if we got there ahead of time. But, here's our timetable for the day (or at least my best guess):

7:00 AM: After spending the night at the Biltmore Hotel (in a suite that reminded me of the room in Home Alone 2: Lost in NY) Team Wedding is all alive, awake, alert and WAY too enthusiastic for 7 am on a Saturday morning, but who am I kidding I was bouncing off the walls.
7:30 AM: Make our way to breakfast upstairs, making sure that Tom is tucked away in his room.
8:45 AM: Maggie dropped Lisa and I off to get our hair done up! Other ladies were "relaxing away"
10:00 AM: Maggie drops next group off to get hair done, and I had to put the smack down on the gal doing my hair, "No I don't think I can do with this massive fishtail on my hairline, I sorry" had a mini-heart attack that I threw off the schedule but Lisa and I booked it to get our makeup done back at the Biltmore Hotel where my new fave girl Nikki was waiting for me!
11:30 AM: Or sometime close to this time, all of Team Wedding is back in the hotel and getting pretty close to ready
12:30 PM: I finally get those rings over to the Best Man Chris. I sure as hell didn't want to be responsible for those things! In fact I woke up in the middle of the night the night before to make sure that they were still in the same place as I left them.
1:15 PM: the Bride is dressed and taking photos with the bomb photographer!
1:30 PM: We're "on time" and getting into the limo that was perhaps 100 degrees, we almost lost a couple of bridesmaids on the 20 minute drive to the church.
1:35 PM: Limo driver wants to take 101 rather than the 5 but we caught him right before the exit.
1:45 PM: Limo driver takes wrong exit, didn't catch him in time, so cruising down Glendale Blvd for a few minutes so we can flip a U--haven't seen a limo make a U-turn ever but looks like this vehicle turns on a dime...who knew!?
2:00 PM: Team Wedding arrives at the church and is pushed to the hottest room on the planet, don't they know our makeup could run?
2:40 PM: Music starts going and people are in their seats. Now I imagined that the church would be somewhat full but scattered (judging what I saw from the footage of Maria and Jeff's wedding back in the day) but when it was my turn and I finally surveyed the church, I'm sure the people in the back all say me mouth "Holy Crap" before I walked down the aisle.
3:45 PM: There's a new Mr and Mrs Tom Repetto in town and I can prove it since I signed the marriage license!
3:45 PM--6 or so, we were photo taking machines! This photographer was totally awesome, he was all over the place, but NEVER in your face. I can't even guess how many photos he took that day but I know that there will be plenty to choose from!

The reception was all a blur and I have no sense of time for that part because it was just too much fun. Here are some highlights though:
1. The non-stop dance party.
2. Carly catching the bouquet.
3. Team wedding dancing into the party to Gaga's Edge of Glory.
4. The parasol umbrellas. It really took each photo to the next level.
5. The Degas the bomb.com signature drink, pomegranate margarita. I really didn't get a chance to take full advantage of this drink seeing as I had to stay coherent for my toast but the sips that I did have was sinfully delish!
6. All the toasts! I couldn't just say my own, that would be a little selfish so I'll say all of them, blah blah blah.
7. The photo booth! We should have those all the time. In fact I don't know why we don't have them on a regular.
8. The dance circles. We were all about the dance circles.

Ahhh what a reception it was. So wonderful, so stress-free. It was as close to living in a musical as I could get. And in the words of Michael, "Forget the beach, let's just throw receptions" well said, Michael. Well said.

Wedding Week Extravaganza!

Dear Kate!

It's hard to believe that this time last week we were in the throws of preparations for the big day and now there's nothing as exciting going on! It was definitely a wonderful day and perhaps one of the most exciting weddings EVER, however I could be biased, but whatever.The whole week was such a whirlwind as soon as we pulled into the driveway on Commonwealth on Tuesday night that the whole week seems like such a blur.

We really wasted no time, especially on Wednesday when Sarah had me wrapping presents like nobody’s business. I was literally giving Santa’s elves a run for their money and wowing the crowd with my folding skills (the ta-da box, anyone?) But the craziness didn't end there, we ran errands, sent out emails like we were a corporation and got shit together for the big day. But of course we were able to sneak in a trip to Jimmy Kimmel where we saw Kevin Nealon and the same animal trainer that was a guest star the last time I was there! But don't ask me any particulars because as soon as we both had a glass of wine in our hands (or two but who's counting), we paid little to no attention and just chatted away for 90 percent of the show. Oopsies.

Thursday was a little more relaxed: we were pampered. The kind of MOH duties I can really get behind! We had our nails done and got lunch with some bomb drinks that really calmed our nerves (Tipsy Lemonade from Granville Café, if I were a Yelper, I would totally Yelp about it). We continued to slowly cross church seating arrangements, processional orders, and of course more wrapping presents off the list. We really and handed over the goodies to the wedding planner. Before we knew it we were pushing people out the door so that we could get some shut eye.

Friday was actually really calm for being the rehearsal dinner day--well my duties that day were pretty well relaxed during the day but what the hell do I know. Sarah and I ran an errand downtown and then we left her to finish up some stuff and finish packing but before we knew it we were making our way to the church for the rehearsal! That's where things got a little foggy for me. The woman running the rehearsal was not exactly brief with the info and gave us a lot of details that weren't really a necessity so naturally I wasn't giving that part my 100% attention but I was also hungry so can you blame me?

But we made it through and finally headed over to Louise's for a lovely dinner thanks to Tom's mom Marilyn! Us bridesmaids camped out at our "you can only sit here if you're wearing a shade of blue or coral" Team Wedding is pretty exclusive like that I guess. It was such a fun night, definitely a foreshadowing of the excitement that was to come the next day!

Saturday breakdown coming NEXT!

kudos and boos!

Dear Kate,

So far, I have failed at what might be the easiest of the June goals, blogging. So let's do some catching up on the good old kudos and boos

Kudos to Virgin America. Now as you know, flying is perhaps one of my least favorite activities, but if you gotta do, do it in style like Virgin! When walked onto the plane last weekend en route to the Vegas, I was taken aback when I saw the mood lighting--purple mood lighting to be exact--I felt like I just walked onto a flying club! THEN we sat down and saw the mini tvs and we could watch movies, tv, play games, and best part, they had Bravo. I was a-ok with this way of travel! The flight there was awesome, and the flight home, well those circumstances were definitely out of their control, if you know what I mean ;)
Boos to having to work while we have this beautiful weather. I could totes be content with sitting outside getting my tan on (hopefully not getting burned) and reading the latest and greatest book, buuuut no. Productivity and pay checks rear their ugly heads and get me to go to the office on a regular. Dammit. So close.

Kudos to Aria. This hotel was swaaaanky and definitely a place to hit. The rooms were spacious, the hotel was beautiful, the pool was hoppin' and it really offered us what we needed, a bed to pass out in and a shelf to put our booze on. Oh and a music channel for us to pump while we were getting ready. Not much more is needed in the Vegas so this place really brought it. I would totally recommend this to anyone who hits the strip.
Boos to that cab driver who took us for a ride, literally! On the Friday night that we were in Vegas, Lisa, Meredith and I hopped in a cab, chatty as ever, and the fool cab driver took us on the backroads to the Venetian, which isnt too far away on the strip. Well being the good hearted people that we are, we chatted him up a bit, getting his scoop on the Vegas, asked him about the celebs he's driven and built a rapport. Well $14 later we pulled up to the Venetian, seven minutes behind the other girls (who left after us), and realized we were just taken for a ride. Not cool cabbie, not cool. Did he really think we would not compare notes with the other girls. Why I otta.

Kudos to Cabana living. Really this is the only way to pool. You get an attendant who is ready to fulfill your every poolside desire--mainly have you up the tab--you get two high class rafts (I called dibs and planted it for the day, and get to cool off in the cabana from that hot Vegas sun! I would recommend a Cabana to anyone and believe me it will be hard to go back to a regular pool after this!
Boos to flying home from Vegas. Definitely NOT my favorite thing for two reasons. One it's the morning after a night in the Vegas. Two, hellsa turbulance. But hey the Virgin America pilot knew what he was doing, unlike the last time, so special shout out to you.

Well Kate, it was a catch up from the Vegas trip, but hey I blogged. Next time I'll attempt a photo but let's take it one goal at a time :o)

Housewives go out with a Bang!

Dear Kate,

Well it's officially half way through the month and where have we landed with the June goals, well not good. You should already assume this seeing as one was to blog more, three times a week with pictures, and this is my first (picture-less no less) post since this wonderful summer month began.

But why dwell on that? Let's talk about that fine drink of crazy that was the Real Housewives of Orange County Reunion. Where to begin where to begin. Actually I don't know where since I there was just so much yelling! Ok let's take a look at all the klassy ladies.

Tamra: She looked like she was about to burst at any moment. She just seemed SO gosh darn tense that if you were to look at her funny then she would explode, which she did, because of Gretchen. And Slade. And Jeana. And Alexis. Quote of the night: "Is your ass jealous of the shit that comes out of your mouth?" Who says that?

Alexis: What a bucket of crazy. We had hope for her at the beginning of this season, and everyone seemed to be buddy-buddy with her, man what a difference does 10 episodes make! What's peculiar is that although her husband doesn't even want to be on the show, cause he doesn't like the ladies, he's still causing shit! And boy she was pissing every body off but she looked just as annoyed with these ladies!

Vicki: She handled this very well. While news of her divorce broke before the season started and played out during the show, of course homeboy Andy Cohen wasted no time getting to that topic. But she really handled it well, especially when they showed the video that her ex-husband Donn sent in, which was less than flattering. Also when she said that her daughter has turned on her, she handled it as best she could. Classic Vicki moment of the night: "I could run the country better than what's going on now!" Shut up Vicki!

Gretchen: Meh she was kind of bleh this reunion, most of the shit that flew with her was revolving around what's going on with her boytoy Slade, but the rest of the time she was yelling at Tamra and really that was about it. Not really that impressed.

Peggy: This woman deserves a medal. She was the most composed, didn't yell, and didn't dig herself into a hole. I was cautious about her at the beginning of the season, but she happily surprised me! And she was so smart during this reunion show, she came out smelling like a rose!

And Lisa said it best, these ladies should take notes from the Bev Hills Housewives cause they didn't talk about a gosh darn thing!

Oh Orange County, you do always bring it during the reunion episodes!