My Michelle

Girls love playing dress up.
My Michelle is kind of a tomboy so it's really fun playing with her.

After & before. Goldilocks wears a headband to fluff her hair.
We both have thin hair, so I know how to make some big hair.
Hairspray + ratting comb + lots of teasing! I let it sit while I did her makeup and then gently brushed it out.
I think it looks like she's sporting some extensions, no?

Such a little rocker Barbie.
The shot on the right is SO her, I love it.

Copacabana

Hanging out in a cabana at Encore.
Gals in little dresses.
Including moi.

XS lives up to its name. Too much is indeed never enough.
It's new fave dance club in LV.
I dig the Pussycat Dolls Casino.
I still call myself a feminist.

Loungers on the water.
Lovers on the red carpet.

Sunglasses inside the poker tournament.
Not because we were playing. No makeup.
With the pros in the poker room, video poker for us.

Love letters from Michelle's bartender.
He was jealous he got replaced.
We have history! No love! I just don't understand!

Is it a sin to paint a Rolls Royce flat black?

Wild Things

Spike Jonze directed "Where the Wild Things Are". He has directed countless music videos I adore, but he also directed "Being John Malkovich". Sigh. That movie is so much fun. I love films about escape!

When you play this video, notice the first scene in the trailer shows Max being held by a Wild Thing, who says to him, “I didn’t want to wake you up, but I really want to show you something."

Anyone else out there feel the tug of The Neverending Story? Remember Falkor the big white Luck Dragon? My brother & I LOVED that film. The mechanical owl, battling Medusa, the tests of courage just like Indiana Jones.

The film releases Oct. 16th.

Marni Moment In Milan

The Sartorialist is a near-daily stop and sometimes I'll spy a photo that makes me stop in my tracks. I'm inspired.

First of all, those Marni platforms. I love that they don't match. I have a similar pair with the top strap sitting low on the ankle. It elongates the leg in the most flattering way. Their shoes are so fashion forward the style is more timeless than trendy (so I think I can still get away with my pairs from a few seasons back.)

I love the blue paired with black. I need an oversized vest (sleeveless coat?) like this one and my goodness.. the gloves, that clutch and the hair! She kills it!

I really need to get a pair of those rubberized pants. By the time I make a move they'll be passe.

All About the Girls

Nothing like kicking off a Monday with 80's-inspired gals armed with cameras doing a bit of ballet.

It reminds me of Calvin Harris' video for The Girls, only those gals were straight out of the 60's.

Dirty Pretty Things

Looking for something fun to do tonight in LA?

The fabulous Corey Helford Gallery is hosting a show by Luke Chueh called From Light Cometh Darkness.

One of his friends, Thomas Han is the guest artist. The title of his series? Dirty Pretty Things.
I was just talking about that film, wasn't I?

Click the pic for the details. Enjoy!

Just Shoot Me

I may be in LA, but my brother Matt lives in NY.

If you're in NYC, he's putting on an opera this weekend. Go see it!

It's called Matt Marks' The Little Death Vol. 1.

The opera blends the avant-garde, Christian pop, and breakbeats into a show that will leave you singing his twisted pop creations in your head for days.

The nuts and bolts? Boy meets girl. Boy shoots girl. Girl sings through her pain. It's a story of two teenagers and their journey through the world of Fundamentalist Evangelism, and their attempts to keep their relationship pure in the eyes of the Lord.

He references (He Touched Me, When God Dips His Love in My Heart) and created original songs (God is My Hero, Come Boy). Go check it out!

Performances are:

This Friday and Saturday!

March 20th and 21st @ 9:30PM

The NEW Tank

354 West 45th Street

Tix are $10

Listen to songs from The Little Death here!

Photo credit New York Times.

Matt also performs with Alarm Will Sound. He's playing the French Horn above, but he plays many instruments with the group. The first time I saw him sing live was with AWS at Carnegie Hall. So proud of my Mateo!

Here he is on the left working with toys.

Since I love to know artists' inspiration and since I grew up with Matt, I'll give you my humble opinion or at least a bit of our history. We were born two years apart, slept in bunkbeds together for years even though I had my own room. I remember when he jumped off the top bunk, hit a wooden chest and his bottom teeth went through his lip. I will never forget both of us tucked in, me believing Gremlins were peeking into our doorway to get us. He talked me through those moments. Such a good brother.

Our mother is Baptist and from the South. She says she is not Southern Baptist. :) My sweet mom sang us to sleep with classic gospel hymns and we'd gather in a tiny church called Shiloh as kids to sing hymns with our extended family. Two... maybe three of her brothers were Baptist preachers. I can't remember, because mom was the last of 12 kids. Seriously.

I'm sure Vacation Bible School plays into this opera too...

Visit his blog here!

Scarface Style

Speaking of films, I tried to make it through Scarface the other night and just couldn't.
The silver lining? Michelle Pfieffer.

How perfect is she from head to toe? The white suit, big shoulder pads, shades and belt.

Love her attitude.My nails are so much more interesting than this club.
Can't I just pour myself a drink? All of this gold is giving me a headache.

Thank goodness for nail polish.

Chanel At the Cinema

I have been waiting for this! Coco Avant Chanel (Coco, Before Chanel). I wish I understood the French in this trailer.

Still, I am happy watching Audrey Tatou. Amelie is one of my favorite films. Ooh, remember her in Dirty Pretty Things?

(Let's forget The Da Vinci Code, shall we?)

Feast For the Senses

Yesterday I blogged about Nate Frizzell. Here we are talking in front of his painting. Doesn't he look absolutely riveted by my stimulating conversation? Giggle. He's a sweetheart.

I daresay, the food was as exciting as the art. Crustacean catered the event and among the many delights were the restaurant's signature garlic noodles in mini takeout containers. I have countless memories from this fab BH restaurant. Dinners when I was barely 21, standing nervously on the glass covering the koi pond. Red carpets. When I was signed onto Good Day LA a year ago, my agent took me to Crustacean for lunch. Maybe it's silly of me, but it was one of those moments and lunches in life I will never forget.

Here's a guy passing by the $2,300 kitty with mice on her back having a tea party. I love the lanterns hanging from her tail. Here's me right before grabbing a chicken satay...

A very delicious and healthy roll next to a closeup of my perfect garlic noodles.

My mother used to paint watercolors. I would've snapped up the scene on the left if I had my pick. It's by Laura Ball. Her work is festive and fun and takes my breath away. I did a silent celebration when I spied the painting on the right, because I recently blogged about Jack Long. His work is as vibrant in person as I had imagined!

Let Us Eat Cake

Last night we celebrated my friend Chris Carter's birthday at Origami. Chris is a personal trainer who runs Body Fit LA and works with celebs from shows like Medium, Ugly Betty, Private Practice, Trust Me, The Closer. He also has private clients and helped Robert tone up!

Here's birthday boy opening his card. It is one of those (very tasteful) musical cards. I don't have a close up, so I'll act it out for you.

A Long Time Ago...

(as you open it... the Star Wars Theme plays)

You were born.

Check out the birthday candle. Yep, that's a tealight sitting between the chocolate cake and ice cream.

Ever the giver, Chris thanked us for his gifts with a birthday dance. ;)

He had everyone dancing. Yeah!

It wasn't even my birthday and I got a surprise! We ran into a friend from high school - Gina Stewart. I swear, if you grow up in Downey there's a magnet inside each of us that inexplicably draws us to one another.

Here's to another great year!

Nate Paints

We're going to a gallery opening tonight for leBASSE Projects. It's a group show, but I'm really excited to see the work of Nate Frizzell. These paintings are about different emotions, and he hides the faces so you focus on the story rather than the subject's identity.

Nate is 24 and from Riverside. He has a blog called nate paints.
Below is an excerpt from his blog describing his work.

Loved - 30"x60" - Roses are a pretty simple and clear representation of love. But I wanted to convey a little more than just that. I think love is innocent and playful and I tried to show that with the way the girl dresses and the way she stands. I also added the flower petals floating down to show that love can be a beautiful thing, but you have to be careful with it, because it's fragile and it can wilt away.

Shallow - 24"x30" - I thought it would be fun to illustrate “shallow” in every sense of the word. One definition of the word is “lacking depth of intellect, emotion, or knowledge”. Not only is the boy in the painting standing in shallow water, but he still finds a way to drown himself in it, ignoring the affect he has on his surroundings. The boy holds a single fish, plopping in his hand to represent how a person like this distances themselves from the people around them.

Going GaGa

Lady Gaga working the stage at Star magazine's Young Hollywood party at Apple Lounge. She is an incredible performer.

Channeling GaGa. I love Jennifer Gimenez! She plays house mom on "Sober House." She's super sweet and smoking hot! She is a much tinier version of herself since taping the show.

I bought Robert that t-shirt. Love it.

Smoking hot is a theme here. Deal or No Deal ladies

Her pants were fantastic. It's a shame I didn't get the shot head to toe, but it was crowded in there.

So Robert didn't snap me on the red carpet but he got Speidi. Ha.

Countdown To GaGa

Tonight Lady Gaga is performing at Star Magazine’s Young Hollywood Celebration!
Can't. Wait.

Hit Me With Your Best Shot

My friend and amazing photographer Tony Buttitta took these shots at my house the other day. We did it after working all morning together for Good Day LA. I did my own makeup and hair and threw on a few dresses, so it was a casual shoot, yet these photos are incredible! He's creative, talented and patient - he has to work with me after all... :)

If I had an album, this would look great as the cover. If only I could sing...

I feel like Alice falling down the rabbit hole. Someone said I'm channeling Garbo. I should've said that.

This was taken upstairs, which is obviously under construction but manages to look pretty cool here.

Simba is just like mommy. She never met a camera or photographer she didn't like. (Especially when he knows how to capture our good side.)

View more of his photography at www.4teesphoto.com/
Need some shots of your own? His digits: 661 714-2611.