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

connected or disconnected?

I should really feel popular right now.

I’ve got:

• Blog followers
• Twitter followers
• Blip.fm music buds
• youtubers
• 20.sb pals
• over 1,600 Facebook fans

But, no matter how plugged in I am, the phone never rings…

Am I just the sum of my likes and comments?

Why with all this connecting do I feel less connected?

Do you miss the days when you could tell someone something and it wouldn’t be blasted all over the Internet? I do. It was called a Secret.

It’s weird that we’re getting used to limiting our thoughts to 140 characters, right? We could all go a little deeper and say a lot more. Or are we afraid Attention Spans have gotten too short and no one will listen? (Wait– are you listening? Exactly!)

When was the last time you received a hand-written letter? Can’t remember can you? So sad.

What if LOVE LETTERS become extinct?

What will we save in our attics? Thumb drives?

Does “Social” Media really make us social-able, or does it disable us socially?

Remember…. Intimacy?

POOF! Right?

I’m gonna go write Niles a real letter. He just lost his boyfriend and can use some Evie love… (Wait– how much postage does it take for a letter these days? I just realized I have no idea.)

Does Social Media make you feel more connected or less? Lemme know in the comments. Thx!

Liked that? Check out:

• Quality: Trying to hold on…
• Vids & Webisodes: My Faves
• Making Wishes: 26 Ways

Liked that? Check out:

• “Social” Media?
• Silent Running*
• Feeling Safe: Knowns vs Unknowns

Why do we feel safe with KNOWNS when there’s often greater possibility with UNKNOWNS?

“Conundrumly-speaking,” why is it human nature to–

distrust CHANGE?

Working in the ER is a little like working in Washington -

• There are too many chiefs.
• So many things go wrong.
• Customer satisfaction isn’t the best.

I was all prepared to totally rag on Saturday morning’s Annual Volunteer Meeting. I started taking blog-notes ready to catch any embarrassment that might occur.

These meetings are dreaded by most Volunteers because the changes that are announced usually make things harder on us to do our jobs. Instead of being Volunteers who help people, we become mini Policemen (like we can’t take visitors to certain areas, even if the patients are really scared and want someone they know with them.  Whaaa…  that’s not fair!)

Charlayne starts it out with her typical overboard positive passionate pep talk (her favorite book is the “Magic of Believing”) and ends with:

The doctors and nurses tell me how grateful they are that you’re here, even though they don’t interact with y’all as much as you’d like.

(There’s one in particular I’d like to um, interact with more. Oh yeah!)

So that’s Charlayne’s set-up to the CHANGES — the real point of the meeting.

But surprisingly (Monday morning is always filled with inspiration) the new changes sound like they’re gonna actually benefit the patients and their families.

Now we can –

• Offer blankets and pillows to anyone in the waiting area.
• Take two visitors back to see patients.
• Answer family members’ questions instead of pretending like we don’t know.

And you want to know what’s weird? The Volunteers started bitching about how the new changes won’t work. Like:

Now there’ll be dirty blankets and pillows ALL over triage.

Why do we resist even GOOD CHANGES?
What is it that makes what we know better than what we don’t know?

I for one am glad we’re allowed to bring blankets to patients in the waiting room. Now I won’t have to sneak them in like I did before. Ahaha!

(Why are we so afraid of change? What changes scare you? Share in the comments.)

Liked that? Check out:

• ER Volunteer “Floater”
• ER: CODE RED – Diet Karma
• Hospital Heartthrobs: Mixed Messages

Okay, so it’s another Monday morning and since I don’t have an Acting job right now (or any job, sadly) I just called Charlayne and told her I’d be okay with “volunteering” to be a “Floater.” A Floater is someone who gets called in when a regular Volunteer has something going on in his/her life and since I don’t have much going on –

I’ll Float For Now –

When I can–

Till things pick up –

Which’ll hopefully be soon.

I’m already having second thoughts though–

Apparently now I have to go to the Annual Volunteer Meeting. Noooo! Next Saturday morning! (Good Times, right?)

ALL the Volunteers on ALL the ER shifts get forced to go and apparently some people use it as a suck-up session (like those kids in school who drove us all nuts) or a venting session, so it can go on and on (ugh!)

Supposedly at the meeting Charlayne will tell us all the new rules. What for? Hospital rules always change, so why give up several hours on a weekend to find out the latest rules that’ll probably change before the next weekend? Don’t get me started on rules for Volunteers. I mean, they want us to help people, but they keep coming up with rules that make it impossible to help people.

But fine – I’ll try to be open and non-judgmental (ha!) until I, at least experience one of these meetings myself. Maybe there’ll be some cute boys there, although I seriously doubt it.

Volunteers tend to be pretty much limited to:

• Med students, who need  the hours,
• Nursing students, who need the hours.
• Empty-nesters whose kids have left for college.
• Oldies (with brains and bodies that still work) looking for purpose.

Don’t get me wrong, there are rewards to volunteering in the hospital like SUPER CUTE DOCTORS (one in particular) and FRIENDS like Mira and Tyrell who make even the most stressful shifts tolerable and GRATEFUL PATIENTS who tell me I’m an “Angel”  (LUV when that happens). I mean, I wouldn’t sign up to be a Floater if there wasn’t some feeling of satisfaction.

Still, I wish I could skip the meeting…

(What do you wish you could skip this week? Share in the comments.)

Liked that? Check out:

• Feeling Safe: Knowns vs Unknowns
• ER: CODE RED – Diet Karma
• Hospital Heartthrobs: Mixed Messages

www.youtube.com/watch?v=M948pizKuxk

Certain oldie-but-goody-vids still make me cry like Susan Boyle showing the world that what’s inside is more important than what’s outside and the “all time” best wedding dance vid “JK Wedding Dance” (which totally makes me want to plan my wedding even though at the moment I don’t have a groom in mind.)

Whenever I need to smile I just watch the “Chest Bump Montage”, which appeals to my inner-goof and I can’t explain why I think “Idiots” is so funny, I just do.

The entire “Mr. Old Spice” campaign totally rocks (not only for me, but for gazillions of others – Who knew?) I just can’t believe I got into it at the end of the campaign, because I have so many questions I’d like to ask Isaiah Mustafa (oh yeah!)

I’m just now introducing myself to webisodes (um, nice to meet you, even though I think people who make and watch these probably are a little psycho — in a good way of course.)

Look, I’m the first to admit I’m new to this world but now I finally have time to watch — (a benefit of being unemployed.)

Part of what’s amazing to me is the talent that’s shows up in these whack-isodes on My Damn Channel and FunnyorDie (Megan Mullally, Zoe Saldana, Elizabeth Banks, Kate Bosworth, Paul Rudd, Rashida Jones, Topher Grace…)

I think “Children’s Hospital” is totally out there, but I’d be very happy to step in for Malin Akerman when she’s making some mega movie, because actually now I have hands-on experience in the medical field and Malin and I are EXACTLY the same type (hint hint Rob Corddry!)

What = Funny is SO relative, right?

Personally I’m not into raunch, although I know many are.

I like --

• a “little” suggestive
• romantic embarrassment
• finding the funny when it comes to the heart

That’s why MY Best Web Series Award would go to— “WAINY DAYS“, obvi!

(Apparently I’m not the only one who thinks it’s great, because David Wain got the 2010 Streamy Award for “Best writing in a comedy series.”) “WAINY DAYS” has so many amazing webisodes from #1 – “Shelly” to the current #32 Donna--  there’s just so much to love while laughing.

And a word about Megan Mullally — I just luv, luv, luv her – whether she’s on the recently canceled “PARTY DOWN” or playing the “ER” Kerry Weaveresque Chief on “Children’s Hospital” or as Donna on “Wainy Days” she’s just SOOOOO good. I’ll take her “Own Special Blend” of comedy any day of the week.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=aukH24thCOY

(What vids and webisodes do you find funny? Share in the comments!)

Liked that? Check out:

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

magically thinking

Wow! I never knew there were so many opportunities to make wishes before I started researching this post.  Here are 26 (2+6=8) of my faves. Of course, my wish for the first one would totally depend on who’s riding the horse .

In my research I discovered a site: http://www.real-wishes.com/ where you make a wish and keep going back to reinforce it for eight days (besides putting an 8 in the mirror at 11:11). I have absolutely no idea if it works, but they don’t ask for any personal info and it’s free, so it’s worth a try, right?

Wish Superstitions:

• Make a wish at the sight of a white horse.
• Make a wish when you cross a new bridge.
• Touch blue and your wish will come true.
• If you make a wish before you go up a hill and do not look back, your wish will come true.
• Make a wish each time you eat a green M&M.
• If you find a four-leaved clover, hold it above the head and make a wish.
• Upon entering a strange house go to the kitchen and make a wish. It will come true.
• Make a wish when you see three birds on a telephone wire.
• Put a watermelon seed on your forehead and make a wish before it falls off
• When you see a gray cat, look at its fore feet and make a wish. If you see it again, the wish will come to pass.
• Make a wish before you blow out the candles on your birthday cake.
• Make a wish on the first star you see at night.
• Throw a coin in a fountain; make a wish when the water clears so you can see your reflection.
• Make a wish on a new pair of shoes before you wear them for the first time.
• Make a wish with another person on a wishbone. Each takes an end and pulls until it breaks. The person with the largest piece of bone gets the “lucky break” and the wish.
• Make a wish on the first robin you see in the spring.
• Find a penny, wear it in your left shoe, and your wish will come true.
• If you drop a dish cloth, step over it and make a wish.
• Wishes made on Midsummer’s Eve (June 23) are most likely to come true.
• Hold your breath and make a wish while crossing a short straight bridge.
• Make a wish when you see the first star and do not speak until you see another. The wish will come true.
• When you see a shooting star, if you say “money” three times you will have a full pocket book.
• If you find a horseshoe with the toe towards you, throw it over your right shoulder and make a wish.
• If you see a crow flying through the air, make a wish. If he does not flap his wings before he goes out of sight, the wish will come true. If he does flap his wings, look away, and if you do not see him again your wish will come true.
• Make a wish and throw a piece of wish vine over your right shoulder into the weeds. If it grows, your wish will come true.
• A wish will come true if you make it while burning onions.

Oh, and btw – I also discovered that “A frog brings good luck to the house it enters.”  But I guess it depends on whether or not he turns into a prince and likes the smell of burning onions. Ahahaha!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Fcft9j_ExQ

(What brings you good luck? Share in the comments.)

Liked that? Check out:

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

It’s another Monday morning and once again, I feel totally confused by my Sunday night ER shift.

Every time I see Dr. A at the hospital, I suffer from “white coat syndrome-itis.” My pulse races. My chest gets all red and splotchy. I get nervous in a way that only happens when I’m in a really important audition.

BUT I’m super confused by his ambivalence. Sometimes I can tell he’s really into seeing me. Other times he’s seems completely allergic to my charms.

Here are the good signs…

• When I catch him looking at me (before he looks away).
• When he stands really close to me (and I know it’s not an accident).
• When he remembers something I said (when I didn’t think he was listening).
• When he mentions something I wore (when I didn’t think he noticed).
• When he laughs at something I said (when I wasn’t even trying to be funny).

On the other hand, we do work together and he seems kind of paranoid about doing anything that’s not doctor-ish. I guess he is supposed to be there for a reason  – um, like saving lives.

In my never-ending goal to figure out how he feels, I’ve decided to research other hospital relationships (even though they’re not exactly real). But hey – isn’t TV based on real life?

(Grey’s Anatomy)
Alex Karev: “For a kiss to be really good, you want it to mean something. You want it to be with someone you can’t get out of your head, so that when your lips finally touch you feel it everywhere. A kiss so hot and so deep you never want to come up for air. You can’t cheat your first kiss. Trust me, you don’t want to. Cause when you find that right person for a first kiss, it’s everything.”

(Private Practice)
Dr. Pete Wilder: “Listen, about the fantasies. Just wanted to say that I’m not above a fantasy or two… about you.”

(ER)
Dr. Doug Ross: “I’m not a grown-up doctor. ”
Nurse Lydia Wright: “Yes, we know.”

(ER)
Dr. Luka Kovac: I don’t even know who she is!
Abby Lockhart: She knows who you are.
Dr. Luka Kovac: I don’t think so.
Abby Lockhart: Oh, Luka, every woman who works in the hospital knows who you are. Trust me.

(House)
Cameron: “Could pain medication cause an orgasm?”
House: “I wish.”

(ER)
Dr. Doug Ross: “You can get through my door.”
Carol Hathaway: “Anything wearing a bra can get through your door.”

(Grey’s Anatomy)
Derek Shepherd: “It’s not the chase.”
Meredith Grey: “What?”
Derek Shepherd: “You and me. It is not the thrill of the chase. It’s not a game. It’s… it’s your tiny ineffectual fists. And your hair. ”
Meredith Grey: “My hair?”
Derek Shepherd: “It smells good. And you’re very, very ballsy. It keeps me in line.”
Meredith Grey: “I’m still not going out with you. ”
Derek Shepherd: “You say that now.”

(ER)
Dr. Kerry Weaver:‘You know what? I’m really very flattered. It’s just that I’m, uh… I mean… gosh, you’re such a beautiful woman. You’re… you’re so beautiful. But I’m… I… I’m straight… I mean, I don’t… I’m straight. Oh, God. Oh, my God. I don’t know… I don’t know what’s… ”
[starts laughing, then stops abruptly]
Dr. Kerry Weaver: “I mean, I’m sorry… I just… I don’t… I feel very… ”
[exhales]
Dr. Kerry Weaver: “… I’m… You know what?… I… I just… I mean, I… I guess I never even really considered this.”

(Private Practice)
Addison: “I don’t want to be just another notch on your acupuncture table. I want more.”
Pete: “What do you say we just see how it goes… tonight?”
Addison: “I can work with that.”

(ER)
Carol Hathaway: “What if the elevator moves? You could get killed!”
Dr. Doug Ross: “Well, then you won’t have to worry about a commitment.”
Carol Hathaway: “Doug, I’m serious!”

(Chicago Hope)
Geiger:” Am I the only one in this hospital not having sex?”

(Grey’s Anatomy)
Meredith Grey: Don’t look at me like that, like you’ve seen me naked.

Thanks Meredith — that’s EXACTLY how I feel!  Actually in my case he has NOT seen me naked, but I feel like he can see a part of me no one else can see (and that’s a little scary!)

To be continued… (ahahaha!)

(What on-the-job romances or almost-romances have you experienced? Share in the comments.)

Liked that? Check out:

• Monday Morning: Being Human
• ER: CODE RED – Diet Karma
• Valentine’s Day

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!

Hotties

On the home page of IMDB Pro right now is a picture of Betty White with the heading –

“HOT IN CLEVELAND is TV Land’s most –watched ever.”

Imagine – FOUR WOMEN  (the youngest of which is 49) who in one show manage to bring in –

THE MOST FANS of  TV Land’s History!

Four Actresses whose total ages add up to: 246!

Seriously this is HUGE news in a world where actresses like me start to worry when we’re barely on the wrong side of quarter-life.

Even though I had no idea what channel TV Land was on (thank god for Tivo!) I watched “HOT IN CLEVELAND” last night to see four sitcom legends (all previously on mega-networks) do something out-of-the-box and in-the-box at the very same time.

And BTW, they were – AWESOME!

HOT IN CLEVELAND may be pure sitcom but it manages to–
NOT feel outdated.

The jokes are modern–
but not dumb-funny,
or potty-humor funny,
or trying-too-hard funny
just– FEEL GOOD FUNNY

KUDOS to–
Jane Leeves, Valerie Bertinelli, Wendie Malick and Betty White!

You ladies are–

HOT and HILARIOUS.

Way to go super-smarty producer Sean Hayes! Bet you’re laughing all the way to the bank. (And you managed to make TV news that rivals the Lakers’ big win and Roberto and Ali flying through the air in LION KING!)

Interestingly, HOT IN CLEVELAND is now the hottest show in TV Land’s history. How cool is that!?

(How hot do you plan to be when you’re hovering around the half-century mark? Share in the comments.)

Liked that? Check out:

• 2010 Emmy Awards: I vote for MODERN FAMILY
• Vids & Webisodes: My Faves
• Film Faves: Currently Speaking