Mellow in Malibu

L.A. — right here | right now:

Blue sky. Perfect Weather. Birds are singing. All is well.

Stretch

Sing

Run

Climb

Breathe

Smile

Dream

Laugh

Appreciate

Reflect

Savor

What’s your perfect Sunday? Making the most of it? How? Share!

Liked that? Check out:

• Shopping: L.A. Hotlinks Update
• HOTLINKS FOR ACTORS
• Hollywood Flip: Staying Focused

vanessa bruno

Since I have to monitor my spending these days, I can’t go shopping as much as I’d like (sadly). Still, it’s good to stay up on the latest, because I might book a job at any moment (fingers crossed!) and I’ll need to look good for the press tour. Ahaha!

Seriously, you know they always say about things being more likely to happen, if you believe they will (I do, I do!)

In the meantime, if YOU happen to be planning a trip to L.A. (or you live here and actually have a job) – this is my list of current faves (at various price points).

I’m particularly excited about Brandy Melville my latest find, because you can buy so much for your money there and everything is actually made in Italy (instead of an Italian line that’s made in China, which sadly has become the norm.)

Awesome Shopping in L.A. or Online:

Vanessa Bruno
(her new L.A. store is awesome!)

Free City
(a trend in itself – Malibu must)

Brandy Melville
(great Italian style well-priced)

Barneys NY
(fashion forward everything in one stop)

Satine
(they get Isabel Marant early in L.A.)

Curve
(young Hollywood flocks to Curve)

Heist
(another great Isabel source  in Venice)

Planet Blue
(trendy American lines – moderately priced)

Ron Herman
(Free City, Elizabeth & James, Alexander Wang)

Madison
(recognizable names & emerging designers )

Fred Segal Melrose
(the granddad of Hollywood ultra cool)

Chloe
(tucked away on Melrose Place – high quality)

Stella McCartney
(trend setting is in her genes – she never disappoints)

Maison Martin Margiela
(clean lines – never goes out of style)

in Westwood/Santa Monica

What are your shopping FAVES? Share Share Share in the Comments – Pul-eeze!

Liked that? Check out:

• HOTLINKS FOR ACTORS
• A Great Find For Actors: Killthedoor.com
• Wardrobe Recycling Part 2: Ebay.com

Identity Crisis

Yesterday  when I was walking back to my car from the two hour spin/pilates portion of my day, a Hollywood tour bus passed me and the guide said into the microphone: “And here on our right is Paris Hilton.”

I turned to my left and smiled (I might’ve even laughed!) –

And witnessed a bus full of tourists spin from–

Oh my God is it her?!

– to laughing because it was a pretty good joke.

I have to say the most ridiculous part is that deep down I was actually pleased that people could’ve mistaken me for her from afar.

I mean, clearly I’m in my –

post-stomach-flu-skinny phase –

(Didn’t write about it, ‘cuz I didn’t want to gross you out.)

For once a Paris comparison doesn’t bother me at all! ‘Specially if it’s from behind when I’m in my gym leggings.

Totally made my day. But forget that I ever told this story. I’m not proud.

Hey — know what would really really really–

MAKE MY DAY?

When Paris is walking and the Hollywood tour bus goes by and the guide says into the microphone –

And here to our right is EVIE STEWART!

Ahahaha!

(Who have you been mistaken for? Tell in the comments.)

Liked that? Check out:

• Film Faves: Currently Speaking
• Hollywood Flip: Staying Focused
• Vids & Webisodes: My Faves

I’ve decided to “Act” like I’m organized by updating my–
Best of L.A. and Hotlinks pages.

Since I started with some of my I Love L.A. additions–
I guess this is PART TWO of my –

Updating Everything Plan

This list focuses on the needs of Actors, because Actors need all the help we can get, right?

So if you’re ready and set for some action, try some of these –

HOT LINKS: ACTOR RESOURCES in alphabetical order

a & i photographic services – isgo lepejian

backstage.com

committed impulse with josh pais

conrad allan

cynopsis.com

hcdonline.com

hollywoodreporter.com

infolist.com

imdbPRO

jeffrey marcus

killthedoor.com

lesly kahn

marci liroff

samuelfrench.com

strategy coaching with shawn tolleson

stepphenwolf west

tvtracker.com

ucb theater

ute ville

variety.com

wilder brothers recording studio

(Got some hotlinks to add? Please tell about them in the comments.)

Liked that? Check out:

• A Great Find For Actors: Killthedoor.com
• Wardrobe Recycling at Wasteland
• HOT IN CLEVELAND: funny find!

I'm toast!

Okay, so this is what I get for even thinking about eating carbs. After 45 minutes of rocking my world with Andrea at Made In L.A. Fitness,  I’m on my late shift in the ER and suddenly remember that I haven’t eaten (mainly because my stomach alerts me with rumblings loud enough for the patients to hear.)

So I pop into the employee lounge hoping someone left a fruit basket which sometimes happens when patients are really appreciative to the staff (hint hint) but instead I find –

Two boxes of Noah’s Bagels
from one of Dr. A’s female stalker patients.

I search for my favorite (Whole Wheat Sesame) hoping I won’t find it (too tempting at
125 g)  and of course it’s there, practically with my name on it. So when no one is looking (somehow it feels less fattening when no one is looking) I slice it and put it in the toaster.

Then I remember promising to bring a blanket and pillow to this little old lady in the hallway bed across from Ortho,  so I run out for a sec. THEN all the doors start closing and the lights start flashing and I hear –

CODE RED, ER NORTH TOWER, CODE RED.

Whaaa?

From time to time I hear a “CODE RED” page, but always for a different floor far far away. But today it’s really close and everyone on the floor starts looking around wondering–

Where’s the fire?

and THEN Security bursts through the doorway, rushing to the…

EMPLOYEE LOUNGE

Oops!

Oh yeah — My Noah’s bagel half was a little too overwhelmingly thick for the ancient toaster in the employee lounge and apparently it set off a smoke alarm yada yada…

How’s that for embarrassing?

And wanna know what’s worse? My new name in the ER (started by a certain Dr. A) is –

“Code Red!”

OMG! Couldn’t he have picked a better name, like –

Smokin’ Hot!?

(What’s the most embarrassing thing that happened to you this week? Share in the comments.)

Liked that? Check out:

• Feeling Safe: Knowns vs Unknowns
• ER Volunteer “Floater”
• Vids & Webisodes: My Faves

www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHz31KjHAIM

My film faves (like all my faves) are always changing. I suppose I’m a work in progress. (Big shock, right?)

Anyway, here’s a list of some that quickly come to mind, in no particular order btw. I added a couple of my Mom’s faves like “Splendor in the Grass” (she was a sucker for Warren Beatty) and “Breakfast at Tiffany’s (who doesn’t love Holly?) and “Big Chill” (You Can’t Always Get What You Want“) for my Dad.

But as for the videos, I just had to include two of my

all-time hands-down faves…

The Royal Tenenbaums

500 Days of Summer

I’m sure I’ll think of more as soon as I push “publish.”

Up In The Air
Hurt Locker
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Sex and the City
He Said, She Said
Funny People
I Love You, Man
The Hangover
Slumdog Millionaire
Vicky Christina Barcelona
The Dark Knight
Doubt
Milk
The Visitor
He’s Just Not That Into You
Two Lovers
Where the Wild Things Are
Lost in Translation
Waiting for Guffman
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Almost Famous
Stealing Beauty
Annie Hall
Amelie
The Savages
Sex and Lucia
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (the original)
The Wizard of Oz
Annie Hall
Butterflies Are Free
Splendor in The Grass
The Big Chill
You Can Count on Me
Wonder Boys
The Queen
King of Kong
City Island
Donnie Darko
Good Will Hunting
The Devil Wears Prada
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Meet The Parents
Little Miss Sunshine
Juno
Pretty Woman
to be continued…

From RT:
Eli: I’m not in love with you any more.
Margot: I didn’t know that you ever were.
Eli: Let’s not make this any more difficult than it already is.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bl6FbeoXeHQ

(What are your film faves and why? Share in the comments)

Liked that? Check out:

• Vids & Webisodes: My Faves
• 2010 Emmy Awards: I vote for MODERN FAMILY
• HOT IN CLEVELAND: funny find!

So L.A., right?

I keep wanting to add to my FAVE lists (Best of L.A. and Hotlinks) so I’ll start here with–

Restaurants and Clubs–

oldies/goodies/newbies

And then, when I have time,  I’ll update my Best of Pages.

[RESTAURANTS]

Yu-n-mi
Johnny Rockets
Magnolia
Katsuya
Apple Pan
Boa (on Sunset)
Gjelina
Axe
Hirozen
Cuvee
Nobu (Malibu)
Mastros
La Scala
The Ivy
Sushi Roku
Urth
Asia de Cuba

[CLUBS}

El Carmen (3^rd Street)
The Dime
Hotel Café
Three of Clubs
Coach & Horses
Burgundy Room
Hamburger Mary’s (bingo night) – a RIOT!

I feel hungry, just thinking about this list…

(What are your Restaurant and Club Faves? You don’t have to limit it to L.A.– Share in the comments.)

Liked that? Check out:

• HOT IN CLEVELAND: funny find!
• ER: CODE RED – Diet Karma
• 2010 Emmy Awards: I vote for MODERN FAMILY

www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQTFsbS013Y

Pilot Season for me was a BIG disappointment and I have to admit, a new low point, but picking myself up and reaching for the top is what acting’s all about (or so they say, whoever “they” are.)

There’s nothing quite like getting out in nature and breathing in the fresh air to remind me there’s a big world out there and I shouldn’t be afraid to explore it. It’s all about “acting” positive, right?

It’s like my Dad always says about a pebble. If you hold it up to your eye, it looks really big — like a boulder — but if you throw it as far as you can, it just becomes a small grain of sand.

Hope is Always in the Big Picture

My 2010 Pilot Season Pebble is already looking smaller to me. The good thing about acting is that there’s always something around the corner. After the Upfronts this month, auditions start up again with recasts. Yay – hope…

My HD Mino Flip Camera keeps reminding me --

It’s all in the way you look at it.

(What helps you stay focused on the big picture? Share in the comments.)

Liked that? Check out:

• HOT IN CLEVELAND: funny find!
• Film Faves: Currently Speaking
• Vids & Webisodes: My Faves

Since there are SO MANY songs to love,  I’m calling this--
my fave list-- currently.

Undoubtedly, there will be countless additions as new entries linger--

In the jukebox of my mind--

I start with “Clair de Lune”, the song I loved to play most on the piano when I was nine and end with the “Heart of Life”  because it makes me feel like everything’s gonna be all right.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXoia1sqXfQ

Clair du Lune (Claude Debussy)
Annie Mae (John Lee Hooker)
In Your Eyes (Peter Gabriel)
I’ll Be Seeing You (Billie Holiday)
Dirty Diana (Michael Jackson)
Music (Madonna)
Concrete Schoolyard (Jurassic 5)
Tracks of My Tears (Aretha or Smokey)
In My Life (Beatles)
I’m Looking Through You (Beatles or Steve Earle)
Sex (I’m a ) (Berlin)
Use Me (Bill Withers)
The Stroke (Billy Squier)
Soul Singing (Black Crowes)
Change (Blind Melon)
Memphis (Bob Marley and the Wailers)
One Belief Away (Bonnie Raitt)
Spit It Out (Brendan Benson)
Piece Of Me (Britney Spears)
Carry The Zero (Built to Spill)
For The Boys (Cardigans)
If You Were Here (Cary Brothers)
Wicked Game (Chris Isaak)
The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth (Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah)
Nightshift (Commodores)
The Light (Common)
Fortunate Son (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
Ohio (Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young)
Carry On (Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
Pusherman (Curtis Mayfield)
Everywhere  (Fleetwood Mac)
Harder Better Faster Stronger (Daft Punk)
Lonelily (Damien Rice)
Mona Lisa and Mad Hatters (Elton John)
Till I Collapse (Eminem and Nate Dogg)
She Came In Through The Bathroom Window (Joe Cocker)
Free Fallin (Tom Petty)
Try A Little Tenderness (Otis Redding)
Imagine (John Lennon)
The Heart of Life (John Mayer)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=TS8NvoMudy8

Like me the list is eclectic and always changing.

Stay Tuned for more…

(What are your current song faves? Share in the comments.)

Liked that? Check out:

• HOT IN CLEVELAND: funny find!
• 2010 Emmy Awards: I vote for MODERN FAMILY
• Film Faves: Currently Speaking

experience cool

Since so many of you checked out my Fifty Facebook Fan Page Faves, here’s “Part II.”

Facebook is SO addictive, right?!

Dexter
SALT. Optics
7 for Mankind
Friday Night Lights
Fashion Rules
Sundance Film Festival
Entourage
Runyon Canyon Park
The Well-Dressed Home
Sprinkles
True Blood
I Need A Vacation
Magnolia Bakery
Fred Segal Santa Monica
Balenciaga
The Avenues – Art, Fashion & Design District
The Mercer Hotel
Stella McCartney
Urban Decay
Sex in the City
Billy Talent
Vox Jaguars
Neon Indian
Martin Margiela
Sweet Lady Jane
Free City
Malibu Country Mart
Sushi Roku-Katana-Boa
Saturday Night Live
Teen Line
The Dears
Diablo Cody
Fox Searchlight
Brothers and Sisters
Intro to Photoshop
Soho House
Relook Beauty Series
PopCardz
Saving Spot Dog Rescue
Chanel

(What are your Facebook Fan Page Faves? Let me know in the comments.)

Liked that? Check out:

• My 40 Song Faves: Currently
• Good Acting: Getting a Callback
• Things That I Love: A Random List