Hillshire Farm Shoot

So today I got to go to the Hillshire Farm commercial shoot. It was in Santa Monica, pretty close to the office so Meghan invited Kristin and I to come by for lunch and watch the remainder of shooting. It was awesome being on set and seeing how everyone interacts together, with the director and the kids and the client. Really cool to see it all come together. There was even a pony! So adorable, I cant wait to see the final product after all the edits. Also everyone raves about craft services food during shoots and they are so right! It was delicious and there is so much food that you just stuff yourself until you basically are unhappy. They wait on you hand and foot, need this? more that? Starbucks run? grab something? trash? Its a little weird to have someone that attentive but all in all really cool!. Im so lucky I got to go because that is what I really am interested in, the whole production process and getting to witness it first hand was a great learning experience. Other than that, today MAL had Regina Spector come perform on the patio, Im sad I missed it but definitely not over being at the shoot. I heard it was good and she sung about 6 songs. I love her style, no freebies like with Mayer Hawthorne but they did have a an ice cream bar at the beginning. So all in all today was an excellent day. Tomorrow I get to shadow Justin and Katie, which I am pretty stoked about, even if they say there isn't much going on, I know I will get a lot out of it picking their brains and asking questions and what not.

Until next time-

Tweens/Spamalot/Getty/Rebelution

ooh man its been a week so lets see whats been going on...well this week at work was slow through Tuesday then I started doing some tween research and looking up ads and such...still..yeah they are a hard market because no one targets them. So i was busy with that Wednesday and Thursday and next week ill be finishing up with that project...an then I have one more week after that!! CRAZY! time has just flown by. This week we had print production come in and talk at our intern breakfast. It was a cool process and sounded like something I would enjoy doing but i don't know if I could only do that as a career. as far as other events its been quite the productive end of week. I made chicken parm and garlic bread this week, it was delicious! Friday we went to Spamalot. J Peterman played King Arthur. very funny, I really enjoyed it. Saturday was a full day - got the car checked, went to apartment 3 clothing sale then goodwill. I got a jacket and shirt for $9...hell yeah! some of the clothing was so awesome! (in every awesomely bad way possible) you kind of wonder what prompted these people to say..."hmm maybe i should give this away, I probably wont wear it (again)." After that we headed to the Getty Center, Cut Chemist was performing (DJ). I got to check out some of the amazing art work in the galleries. Monet, Renoir among many other famous paintings, it was unreal actually getting to see them up close. So beautiful. This one artist, Jan Van Huysum, there were no brushstrokes and the art was so incredibly detailed it was immaculate! We went to a roof top party downtown after the Getty, it was a pretty cool space with a very close view of downtown LA. Went home and crashed. Got up sunday hit up Trader Joes, and a cute little breakfast joint, The Coffee Table. I headed out to Nicoles so we could trek down to Hermosa for Rebelutions free show by the pier. What a cute area Hermosa is...we walked around the town shopping for a bit before we got back in the car to find longer parking before the show...which we did like 20 minutes later way out in BFE. Luckily the walk was on the bike path and we had the opportunity to pass all the unbelievably amazing houses built right on the side of the beach. These places were so sick! I was filled with envy each step we took, they were each so unique and personalized. I should have taken pictures of them all but I'm sure you can google them or something. Ugh if only someday...20min later we arrived by the pier as kids began o get their spots for the concert. Hungry, we grabbed a bite at Sylvios Brazilian BBQ. Best decision ever because my BBQ chicken sandwich was to die for and even the side salad was one of the best side salads Ive ever eaten. SO satisfying. We met up with Sarah Vrinda and Sarahs coworker. We managed to get 2nd row standing in front of the stage surrounded by high school kids who were too cool for school sneaking in their bud and bottles of liquor...rockkiinn...well the show began and i have never seen rebelution before and I was loving it, having done shows with slightly before, I knew I would enjoy it but they were awesome so now they have a new fan. =) After fighting our way out of the crowd a few songs before finishing, we looked out on the beach and realized exactly how jam-packed it was. holy cow! you could see nothing but hoards of people gathered around picnicking and enjoying the music. Good time for sure. I am however a little bummed, scratch that VERY bummed, I missed the US open of Surfing...Slater, Irons, Wilson (yes the beautiful Aussie Julian Wilson) were all there and the waves were topping out at 20 feet this weekend. That doesnt happen but every couple year, I think I read somewhere that it hasnt been that sick in a decade. :( I would have loved to have seen that, even if thousands of people were there and it was at least an hour away...I should have not listened and just gone because once we parked and arrived I know I would have had a great time. Oh well it happens every year so maybe some other time! 

Peace, Love, Surfing BRAH!

San Simeon/Big Sur

This past weekend Veronica, Lauren, Nora and myself all packed the car up and tripped up the coast to San Simeon for a nice weekend filled with tours, food, wine, and beautiful views. We rose early Saturday hopped in the car to pick Lauren and Nora up and begin our 4 hour journey along the 101. It was a great site for me, seeing the mountains and vineyards and oceans all in one trip, definitely puts the 4hour Tallahassee drive to shame. About 3 hours into our trip we stopped off in Solvang, an authentic Danish town. We grabbed a quick coffee and danish at a little coffee and danish shop, go figure. Delicious! The town was adorable with windmills and Danish designs on all the structures, there was even a Christmas shop!! I wanted to go in but I didn't have time, or want to drag everyone else in there with me. We hopped back in the car and unknowingly followed Glenda's (GPS) horrible trip advice. But I enjoyed it, getting to see more of the state and inland views of farms and mountains. We drove though Buttonwood Vineyard, and Quicksilver Miniature Horse Farm!! Awesome. About an hour or so later with our fill of Brit Indie Rock/Pop, we arrived at The Morgan Hotel in San Simeon. Such a cute little hotel almost right on the coast, about a 5 min drive from Hearst Castle, our later destination. After settling in we headed for our 3 o'clock tour at Hearst. Snapping plenty of videos and photos along the way up the gigantic castle, we learned all about William Hearst and his empire he built up in the mountains. This castle was huge and so european, with so much artwork and inspirations from all over the world, I was in awe just walking around. The pools were both sparkling surrounded by stark white marble sculptures. He even had zebras that you could catch a glimse of among the grazing cattle while driving on the freeway. The parties that Hearst had sounded amazing, that time period was just unreal! The footage they showed us made me kind of wish I had a chance to experience that sort of life style. After the tour we headed up the coast about 2 hours more along winding coastal roads Highway One, to Big Sur for dinner at Nepenthe Restaurant. Nora got a little dizzy from all the turn, it reminded me a bit of Italy's highways and coast, absolutely stunning. Once our destination was met, we ordered some drinks and appetizers and ate them awaiting our table while overlooking the Pacific Ocean and high rise mountains as the sun set. Yeah...pretty perfect. One of the appetizers was a grilled fennel and artichoke bruschetta on grilled sourdough with lemon aioli and baslamic. I need to learn to make that because it was sooo good and I know my dad would love that. That food was great, the meals however were a little pricy for what you got, not impressed but the atmosphere was spot on! If only it didn't take so long to get there. The way back to San Simeon felt shorter. The next morning we woke and got breakfast at the hotel and headed back home with a few stops along the way. Our first stop was The Madonna Inn. I didn't know what to expect, I automatically think Madonna the singer so ya know I wasn't sure of this place or how cool it could actually be. Well to my surprise, we walked in and BAM! You are surrounded and blindsided with as much pink as ones eyes could take in. The dinning room was so gaudy and awesome with gold figurines and giant pink flowers with pink booths for seating. Though we weren't able to see them, all the rooms at the Inn are themed from Jungle to Captains Room and many more. What an experience! After lunch there, we headed for a winery for some tastings, we first stopped at Santa Barbara Winery, the oldest winery in Santa Barbara but we weren't impressed and were hoping for more of a vineyard like experience. We headed to Summerland winery, yes THE Summerland where the TV show took place. That didnt register in my mind till I realized that Summerland was an actual town and not just a beachy name. (Thats also where  I first came to adore the lovely Mr. Efron as he had a recurring role on the show...none of this HSM junk!)  We tasted probably 8 or 10 wines, I enjoyed almost all of them, especially the dessert wine. Mmmm so tasty and sweet. I got a bottle of Merlot for my mother knowing her love of wine! Though it wasn't the true wine tasting experience they were all hoping for, I had a great time (like I have been). Our trip concluded around 8pm and I loaded my 300 +videos photos on my computer and pretty much crashed! Such a great weekend! 

/Peace/Love/

All Star Week and Focus Groups

Just got done with intern breakfast! FREE Breakfast burritos and fresh fruit are saawweeet! We talked about digital today, I learned a lot considering I really knew nothing about what digital entails. That could be an interesting field to enter. Last night I made peppers mmm so good, they turned out great, but thats just me :) It was a late night at work the past 2 days because I was roped into some Activision assignments, which is awesome because I get to be apart of some new business. I was working on a case study for PETA's veggie love campaign that was pulled from the  Super Bowl in 2009. STEAMY! Yesterday we also had focus groups with tweens, they were hilarious to listen to. They speak their mind and are WAY smarter than how their perceived. They all completely understood the whole PART of a balanced breakfast, which I am pretty sure I didn't get until a few years  ago it seems. They dont like being talked to as kids and call bullshit on most advertising. It was pretty awesome getting to sit in and listen to them interact and explain their views. The All Star game was yesterday as well and the American league won again now making them 12-0-1. DOMINATION! Even though it was only by one run like the last few years, it was a great game. The teams were just amazing (obviously). I wasnt able to watch that or  the HR derby because of work and being 3 hours earlier, so it made it a little difficult. But Ive enjoyed being busy, busy is good! Time goes by way faster when you arent facebooking and sporcling all day. Its either all or nothing, there is never an inbetween in the advertising world. You either have absolutely nothing to do or cant do everything because there is WAY too much piled on. Its been fun, I'm enjoying it. 

P&L

Drinks in Malibu and a god awful display of Yankee Pitching!

Hola!! Lets see when I last updated...4th ok soo last I left off it was Trivia night and not to brag but WE WON!! BOO-YAH! the curry mafia won $75 at the royal claytons which we used that night. Tracy and her Harry Potter knowledge dominated and really pushed us to the top where the last category of Sara Palin ensured our winning spot! It was my first win with the team. >This week at Chiat was pretty cool, Wednesday Media Arts Lab had a free show, Mayer Hawthorne, come and play for us on their patio, becaue inside is super secret Apple stuff that needs a fingerprint to enter. But they were great, bluesy jazz with a little pop, for a white boy from detroit he had some soul in his voice thats for sure, we got CDs and free food and beer so it was a great way to end a day at work thats for sure. Another reason I love Chiat! Jimmy Dean is in the midst of figuring a platform to market to tweens, so I had to go out and buy as many teen/tween targeting magazines as I could find then rip the ads out so we had some idea of where to start, "Convention". I love my bit of tween disney info but after 7 magazines of teen pop or yikes magazine, I knew enough crap about selena an taylor (now called tayelna), zac efron (though we are already friends so that was pointless =) ) and miley cyrus! i have also learned about all the new tween stars that i didnt know exsist...cooool. So we went through those ads and no one really targets that age range, at least not well...they are still into animation, big pop words, awful stuff. Ive helped out with boards and things for the activision which has been cool to see an insight of what the plans with that are.super secret!...speaking of which...at our intern meeting with account managment we got to see a spot the pepsi team did and it was awesome! we were sworn to not say we saw it and soo thats probably about all i can say about it on here haha. I am glad we have those meetings, because it really helps when you are trying to figure out where you would fit in an agency. I still have no idea...at all. >Thursday night was art walk in Downtown LA, where all the galleries and shops open up for the public to come in and browse buy, food trucks/vendors set up and handmade local artists try and sell their stuff. So much going on, Arun and Veronica said that art walk is the one night that downtown LA feels like NYC, and it really did, the streets are crowded with people and food and music buzzing around, it seemed like everyone was just in a great mood. There was a party bus that goes around town stoppingat different galleries, we decided since no one had ever done it to hop on and give it a whirl, good thing we did! From the outside its painted crazy colors with people yelling from inside "come hop on the party bus!! come onjoin the party!!" and then once youre inside man o man, you are greeted by the entertainment, Dick and Jane, the guitar playing couple in the back of the bus . The inside is a piece out of a 60s diner with checkered tiled floors and crazy cool colorful couches lined against the sides of the bus, the pictures wouldnt ever hint that its a bus. It was awesome! after that expereince Arun was hungry and we went to a Kabob place to keep him company while he ate then we headed home to call it a night. >Friday morning I worked out, watched Hannah Montana hour long episode again because it was on and I enjoyed it the first time (dont judge). Then it was drinks in Malibu with Arun John Veronica and some others that Arun was meeting. Arun and I got there around 6, the drive was breathtaking right over the ocean and beach, just gorgeous! We arrive at Beachcomber Cafe, that is litterally on a dock on the pacific. It was as if we were eating right over the water, they have these amazing truffles (homeade potoato chips with goat cheese melted over them) omg, if potato chips could taste any better! I was in heaven out there, watching and hearing the waves crash against the shore is so peacful. It really makes you want to live out there, at least work hard enough to be able to afford a place around that area. After drinks Veronica John Arun and myself hit up Chez Jay bar, which has many backstorys, for instance its been visited by many famous icons from Frank Sinatra to Kevin Spacey, also where allegedly Kennedy would meet Ms Monroe. theres some more info http://thejonstebbins.com/jays.html Headed home after that to get some sleep before the GAMEEEE! >Saturday, Yankee Game. Angels vs Yankees. Hit up a coffee shp for breakfast to take on the train because we didnt want to be rushed. We took the amtrak down to Anaheim, our seats were more then roomy, on the upstairs of the train. LOVED IT. The breakfast from the Cafe was delicious, I had a ham egg adn cheese sandwich on wheat toast, sounds pretty ordinary but that ham was so smokey and tender. So satisfying. We arrived about 40 min later right in the parking lot. How convenient! Walked over to the stadium found our seats, in the CLUB section, talk abut riding in style. We had a waitress for our section when and if we needed something. The seats were great, perfect view of the stadium, in the shade, right next to the announcers and press boxes. So everything was perfect minus the Yankees pitching, which undoubtedly failed, due to leaving Pettitte in for one to many innings and then having no middle releif and having to rely on such guys ass Robertson, Tomko (oh god), and Coke (Pepsi please). Though Arod and new comer Hinkse both had 2 hr each, Matsui with one, Damon blew striking out 3 times. All in all I would have loved to have a win, especially because they were onlly a game behind the Sox but eh the season is only half over. I got some great shots though, I'm happy! :) >After the game came home relaxed a bit before heading to Vinces brothers house in Redondo Beach. The interns gathered there to hang out, drink, and watch UFC, which was awful by the way. I couldnt bare to watch more than one round of some beast poning some smaller guy. A little to violent and inhumane for my taste. They played ring of fire, I watched because I cant drink beer like that but the highlight was Sara making the "in my butt" rule, where you have to say it after anything you say. There were some good lines. Headed home, freeways at night here still a little scary, though my classical music station was wonderful. >Sunday (today) got up late around 11, headed out for a late brunch at Chateau Marmont. Secluded, Famous, Expensive, Cute...but the food was delicious! I had an omelete with asparagus, tomatoe, and spinach and a sdie of fruit and toast. OMG! The presesntation was beautiful and tasted as good as it looked. I especially enjoyed accidentally over hearing the ladies convo next to me, speak of that she "doesnt understand why her divorce this tiem is taking longer than the others" and how the other one "is pregant" but keeping it super secretive and she will not be marrying the man shes with, it was done on purpose simply for herself,she will be 40 in Feb after the baby so she can drink at her party...or maybe shell have a trip to Italy and stay in a villa and invite all her friends in Europe because she "has a lot". Arent we all sooo lucky. Mani/pedi (mom would be proud) after lunch , trader joes, hoem to clean and maybe rooftop grill sesh beccause its still so nice out. Here are some pix...



Peace&Love

Happy 4th!

This past weekend was the fourth of July and I will say that we celebrated in proper fashion! Rooftop party at the lofts, it was awesome. The views were amazing, you could see fireworks all along the coast and around the city, 360 degree firework show. There was so much food and booze and people, it was just a great time. We went to the Hollywood bowl on the 3rd to see the firework show with John Fogerty. I had a good time, though I still have yet to see a firework display greater than that of Red Hot & Boom. The symphony was awesome though. I love that sort of thing. It was so packed as we left, hoards and hoards of people, I felt like I was on the Titanic as it was sinking trying to rush out of the tunnel under the street. Lauren and Veronica both bought light up toys, a ring and a butterfly (later to be named the "Fogerty Fly") for the roof party the next day. Those toys were the life of the party. Nicole came to the party yay for her making it out to downtown! Loads of pictures were taken, some not allowed to be posted online as of request by those photographed. Unfortunately after mass amounts of cameos from the Fogerty Fly in photos, we all arrived at Aruns place afterward and someone violently ripped it in half and destroyed it and all its glowing multicolored beauty. :( Lauren was devastated. Thursday we got out of work at noon and I went and worked out then headed to the Hammer Museum to check out some bands and the art Gallery Larry Johnson I think, the bands were Amazing Baby & ___. but The art was alright, more reading than looking which was different but hey its art. After Cierra texted me and I headed to Saddle Ranch Bar, which apparently is awful (b/c the reaction I recieved from Veronicas friends when I mentioned Saddle Ranch was, "HAAA do your friends hate you?) even though I had a great time. I am sure it was mainly because I was with wonderful people. It actually reminded me a lot of a typical bar that would be in Tally. So for the most part this past week was a great time! Sunday we topped it off by taking a Lazy Sunday, watched Ice Age 3D, ran some errands and got Gelato at this amazing Gelato place in Silver Lake! Vanilla and Hazelnut soo good!!. I am sad that I missed RH&B festivities this year but thats ok they arent going anywhere (hopefully). Trivia night tonight - hint Will Ferrell...gotta brush up my IMDB! ooh yeah and the hour long Hannah Montana episode was last night which I LOVED! haha yeahh it was great and I will continue my HM watching regardless of my age! SO THERE! :)

Peace&Love

 RIP Fogerty Fly (7.3.09-7.4.09) 

Almost a full week of going out!

Helloooo, half day today at the office! Tomorrow off for everybody then 4th of July celebrations!. This is the first time I will be celebrating elsewhere. besides being in Italy but that doesnt count bc they dont celebrate over there. Tomorrow is hollywood bowl and Saturday is roof partayy! Must go shopping for food and snacks tomorrow to make some pasta salad again and I need to think of another delicious cold meal to bring. So last night I went to a taping of a comedy central standup, Aziz Ansami, he is in Human Giant on MTV and Parks & Recreation with Amy Pohler. It was awesome, he was surprisingly funny. I didnt think he was going to be through  out the whole show but he kept me laughing, espeically when he talked about how awful the MTV show NEXT is. So True! Random Fact, "I hate the word RIVERVIEW". What was crazy though was, before we were allowed in, I saw this boy who worked for whoever was producing the show and when I caught a closer glance I am almost positive that it is Logan, one of the crew members for the Never Back Down production. He moved out to LA to continue prod things and I am still like 85% sure it was him. I need to myspace him and ask because that would be very weird. Tuesday night was the Dolce party, not exactly what I expected but still fun and great experience to go and now say oh yeah I have been to Dolce, because it is closing down. A bunch of the typical hollywood looking people, open bar, sushi, loud music. I had a good time. Work seems slow, and empty because of the holiday, very quiet. I'm supposed to meet Cierra for lunch after work today that will be nice to actually catch up and chat. Oh now i remember Sunday was the Phoenix show, I cant remember if I already mentioned it but it was great. That drummer they had for the show was specatcular. Their songs are very catchy and he has a distinct voice. After we went to this little bar next to the Gaylord Apartments or Hotel or something but it was very cute and one of Veronicas friends, Kane saw his english professor friend there and they joined us nad chatted about the show and LA and their other friend who they "lost" to his GF. I love hearing other peoples opinions about things and how they seem to over analyze and jsut dig WAY to into  it, like Willy Wonka...I just sat there and listened to him gab and sing, yes he belted out some tunes some time through out at least each of his stories...yeaah. But he did tell a  story about Jimmy Fallon doing coke in a bathroom overseas and acting all pretentious and "Im jimmy fucking fallon...i was in a movie with drew fucking barrymore!" man now i look at Jimmy in a completely different light...shame. Gona run to get some coffee. Peace