New Favorite Song

This one makes me want to dance.


Warm Heart of Africa by The Very Best. The Very Best is a combination of talent -- vocals by Esau Mwamwaya and music by the bizarrely named Radioclit.

WOW WOW WOW!!!

Unbelievable! Alexis came in 2nd in the street skate competition at the X Games!! Check out video of her moves on this link. She crushes it!

ESPN's Josh Brooks says:

In a heart-warming story, Alexis Sablone, has come back with a vengeance recently, after finishing her architecture degree at Columbia University, she's employing the same go-for-it attitude in her revitalized skate career.

While Mario Aguirre from the Los Angeles Times adds:

About a 90-minute delay Thursday allowed the weather to go from piercing hot to tolerable, paving the way for fans to stick around for the start of the women's skateboard street final. In return, the crowd at Home Depot Center got to witness quite a duel.

Marisa Dal Santo and Alexis Sablone traded sharp maneuvers in the first of their three-session competition, each pulling away with a score of 135. But Sablone faltered in the second, and Dal Santo remained consistent to score her second X Games gold medal ever. "Just do what I do," [Dal Santo] said. "They're all my friends and they're all real good. It's kind of a lot of pressure. But I just did what I knew I could land, and stuff that wasn't too out of reach for me."

Can't blame Marisa for playing it safe, but next time watch out because Alexis is going to land an ambitious trick and blow everyone else out! Way to elevate your sport, Lex -- congratulations!

So You Think You Can Dance

By far, my favorite show on tv is So You Think You Can Dance. It's campy and girlie and just wonderful. I love it so much that I have blogged about it before and went to the Season Finale last year.

These are my favorite dances of this season.





I am furious that Janette (in the 2nd clip) was voted off last week. She was clearly the best dancer (as Mia Michaels announced), but as Cat Deely would say, "It's up to you, America. Vote for your favorite dancer." And sadly, it's more about popularity than talent. Or maybe America thought that Janette was SO GOOD, that she didn't need any extra votes? In any case, my money is on Ade or Brandon this year. And note, Brandon is in BOTH of the dances above!

Live forever?

Now that I've passed a landmark birthday, I've been reading the health section of the LA Times and found this interesting fact.

Of the planet's current 6.5 billion inhabitants, no more than 25 people are older than 110.

Hope that number will increase - a lot - by the time I near triple digits!

Taylors

For my actual birthday, I had a nice, mature, 35-year old (gasp!) dinner at the famous Taylor's steakhouse in Koreatown. The restaurant has been around since 1953 and still run by the Taylor family, so you know it's good!



Here are Kim, Andrew, me and Ingrid before Ingrid left for the airport and us remaining three packed in ceasar salad, bacon wrapped scallops, onion rings, culotte steaks, baked potatoes, veggies and THEN DESSERT. Birthdays rock!

Also want to thank all you lovelies for the beautiful flowers and gifts and balloons and so much more. The wealth of special treatment made me forget that I'm now middle-aged! xoxo

SURPRISE!!

AUGH! I cannot believe my friends are so sneaky -- and fabulous and thoughtful -- and crafty and scheming -- and loving and generous. I was completely shocked about my surprise birthday party -- so much so that when I walked into the kitchen and everyone was screaming at me, I was more confused and stunned than surprised!

Thank you so much to Carly, Ingrid, Olanna and Poppie (I went alphabetically!) for organizing a party that I will never forget. Here a few photos!









Love this one of Ingrid pouring champagne into Jason's mouth. Why bother with a cup?!


Definitely not my best picture, but I didn't have any other snaps with Olanna and her Mom!


Sadly no pictures of so many others -- I really wish I had one of Poppie and her belly in a bikini. Stunning! Her bod's hotter than most women when they aren't preggers!

Sexy Lexy

Lucky me, Alexis was out in Southern California recently competing in the Maloof Money Cup -- the highest paid skateboarding competition in the country.



She's so modest, she would probably never tell you this, but being a proud sister, I must. Alexis skated street style and she was ranked 2nd going into the finals.

To see some really cool photos of Alexis skating, click here and here. The second link is of consecutive photos, and watching it makes me so nervous!!

The reason for my tension is because although Alexis killed it in these photos, at one point she landed wrong, cracked open her head and yet still continued to skate even with blood gushing out! Unfortunately, the injury (not surprisingly) affected her performance and she finished in 5th place. However, the judges knew skillz when they saw it and Alexis's was acknowledged with the Destroyer Award and earned her some bucks too! She's so cool.

X Games are next!

LATE POST NOTE: Alexis won third place at the Dew Tour Skate Open in Boston! Check her out on the podium here! I insist that you click it -- you'll be so impressed!

Poppie & Amos's Shower

Yesterday, I had the honor of being one of the hostesses for Poppie and Amos's co-ed baby shower last weekend. Part of my role was to make the party favors which were fun salsa bottles with a personalized label that had "Hot Mama and Cool Daddy" on it next to a picture of Poppie and Amos. With it came homemade tortilla chips from Umi. I was so happy with how it turned out and it seemed that the guests liked them too.

Here's part of the process -- below is label removal. Soaked in a little hot water, the old labels peeled right off. But I just loved the image of line up of all the yellow lids on my counter. Yes, I'm a nerd -- I get off on organization!



And here's Carly, the bow tying expert! We could easily pick out her perfect, looped, even bows on the bags next to Ingrid and my knotted messes! On each bag was a picture of Poppie and Amos as babies in their high chairs. And there are the salsa bottles with the fire roasted couple on the jar! Thanks to Andrew for his help designing the label. Such a fun project with a successful payoff!



Sorry, Carly. We all know you are fabulously fit and in the picture above, your pretty dress is billowing unflatteringly, but I loved the action shot!

And here's the sophisticated, glamorous, and fun decor at Gretchen and Randy Newman's house in the Palisades. This is a clothesline with baby onsies, little socks, bibs and many pictures of Poppie and Amos as little ones. There's are two of Poppie looking adorable.



The tables were so creative -- each one had a different centerpiece. Some with alphabet blocks, others with baby duckies, another with a red wheelbarrow. Really cute, touching items. Classy!



And as you can see in this picture with Ingrid, Poppie is very pregnant. Yes, I realize there is no such thing as 1/2 pregnant or a little bit pregnant! This is what 8 months looks like.

Laura and George, upon their arrival, with Carly.

Poppie and her girlfriends -- Laura, Carly and Ingrid.  How unbelievable does Poppie look?  Radiant and goddess-like!



Here I am talking with my favorite radio DJ, Jason Bentley.  I'm trying not to gush!  Jason's Morning Becomes Eclectic show has introduced me to so many of my favorite songs.  One which I even blogged about here.



And more of my favorite party-goers.



I used the high-tech, house camera at the party, and not my own camera, so these are the few shots that I have.  I'll try to get more emailed to me because such a special afternoon should have a full, complete entry!

And lastly, I must throw out my heartfelt appreciation to Roswitha (Amos's Mom), Gretchen (Amos' step-Mom) and Toni (Poppie's Mom) for putting together a wonderful event. It was my first time co-hosting a baby shower, and these ladies set the bar high!

Changs

I am rich! And I define wealth by loved ones and family. Thus, my uncle Barry, his wife Joanne and my two cousins Henry and Jerry came from Shanghai to Southern California. Before visiting Vegas and the Grand Canyon, they stopped in LA and took me to dinner at Din Tai Fun -- my Mom's and my favorite dumpling house in Arcadia. The Changs liked it, but said it is not as good as the Din Tai Fun in Taipei. I hope I can compare soon for myself!



It had only been a year since we'd seen each other but it was so good to catch up with them -- the boys are going to a different school in September, but they will still play basketball and baseball. And a funny thing I learned on this trip -- I asked Joanne what her maiden name was before she was married. She replied, "Chang." Thinking it was a confusion with the language, I explained what 'maiden name' meant, she repeated, "Yes, it was Chang." How wonderful would that be? No need to change your driver's license or get new monogrammed towels!

Like this one. . .

I've been hearing this song a lot lately (guess why -- it has been at the office -- hint, hint). It never gets old. Hope you love it too.

Herbs

In the past, I have never had a green thumb. So I am overjoyed with the success of my small herb pots. Check out my basil, mint, and parsley. Unfortunately the rosemary is slow going, but with all my daily doses of TLC, I'm sure they will sprout enormously soon. More pictures as the little guys grow. . .

4th of July in Santa Cruz

Becky's friend, Sarah, was so kind to open her waterfront home to us for of the 4th of July and also as cool, Michael and Lalaie came down from San Francisco to celebrate!

Michael -- breathing in the fresh ocean breeze? Screaming for joy? About to chug his soda? Shrieking at a flock of evil seagulls preparing to descend upon him?



Matt having a Priscilla, Queen of the Desert moment.



Filming of an eccentric short movie called "A Love Story" staring Matt and Matthew, directed by renowned San Francisco artist, Jason Fritz.



OLD SAYBROOK, holla!



Lalaie and Michael enjoying a near perfect loving moment and I only type "near perfect" because is that a Pabst Blue Ribbon? Feoooool!!



I know fireworks are never fun pictures, but try to imagine how unbelievable this one was exploding right in front of us. Then take that and make it a hour long. Fireworks thrill me like, for other people, watching your favorite baseball player hit a grand slam. Pull your hair out exuberance!



And here's one of me with a camera set on long exposure and a sparkler. Electric!



Lastly, I wanted to throw big ups to Young Tran for doing all the grilling for the huge group. The food was scrumptious and was cooked in shifts for the tofu-based hot dogs and burgers, then veggies, then meaty meat. And throughout that lengthy process, Young didn't miss a moment! Check out what else Young eats here.

Northern Cali

Road Trip! While driving to Santa Cruz for the holiday weekend, I drove by an exit for Donovan Road, but driving and taking pictures is pretty dangerous, so all I got was this blurry bit below. Pretty sunset though!



Oh how I love to pick my own food, or as my dad would say with his Boston accent, "haaahvist" my own food. Here's Bella picking berries with one for the basket, one for her mouth. This day we collected olallieberries from Swanton Farms. Olallieberries are a mix between blackberries and raspberries -- delicious.



And here's my sensational hosts for the weekend. The happy Bawarshi family -- Ziad, Becky and Bella. Even looking at this picture makes me feel so warm and smiley -- imagine how great I feel when I'm actually with them!

Bruno Premiere

Big thanks to Austin and Shawn for inviting me to the Bruno premiere. Unbelievable over-the-top fun! Rush out to see Bruno -- but be prepared. Some bits go waaaaay too far and are so very wrong.

Bruno's entrance on Hollywood Boulevard while making his way to the Manns Chinese Theater.



Austin in the center wearing the cream blazer while working the premiere -- doesn't he look like the epitome of a classic studio exec? Actually, maybe he looks more like a classic movie star?



We took full advantage of the vodka sponsored photo booth. Here are 2 of the 20 photos taken.





Here's the hot vampire, Eric, from True Blood. We chatted for a bit and Alexander Skarsgard is every bit as sexy as his character, even without the fangs.





And this brilliant picture is Shawn and I talking to Sacha Baron Cohen. What a night!!

(500) Days of Summer Premiere

At the premiere of Fox Searchlight's "500 Days of Summer". Great, honest love story with killer music and really creative directing. I heard a studio exec say at the after party, "Marc Webb directed the sh*! out of that movie." Gotta love LA!



Me with one of the stars of the film, Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Adorable Zooey Deschanel plays his love interest.

DC -- Part 9 -- Last one

After Father's Day Brunch. Love this picture!

DC -- Part 8

At the Roosevelt Memorial.