Thursday, October 16, 2008

Home From Glamour Reel Moments

Wow! What an amazing trip of a lifetime! I can't thank the people from Suave enough!!!

So, let's see where I left off... on Monday, we all went to Lukaro Salon in Beverly Hills and got manicures and pedicures, then Luke O'Connor, owner of Lukaro Salon, did our hair. This place was gorgeous! And no one there was all pretentious and snobby either. Luke is a really super nice, smiley guy! :) (Did you know that he did Debra Messing's hair for Will and Grace? And now he styles Julia Louis-Dreyfus's hair for The New Adventures of Old Christine. The manicurist was funny (in the way that she said what was on her mind) and told me I was crazy for having 6 kids and that my nails were awful and my cuticles were horrible. Umm thanks? LOL

There I had a yummy lunch and talked to the Suave reps about the brand. Have you guys seen this Suave commercial? I LOVE it! Who can't relate to this? Suave gets it. You become a mom and the kids are the center of your world. Taking time for yourself just isn't as important anymore. But there comes a time when the kids get a bit older that you start thinking - hmmm, maybe I should spend a little time on me again. I know I feel 100% better when I've taken a few minutes to do my hair, put on some make-up, and dress nicely. And I love that they show a little bit older kids in the commercial. The Suave reps said that was on purpose. They're not aiming their message at moms who have little babies. Of course you let yourself go when you have a baby! Baby comes first. What mom is going to worry about her hair when she only got 2 hours sleep last night, right? But they know it's important for moms to put themselves back on their "to do lists" and take a moment to care for themselves.

Anyway, I love the commercial and I think Suave gets moms. Besides, their products work and at a fraction of the price of most other ones.

OK, so after the salon, I walked down Rodeo Drive. Did you know that everyone in L.A is a size 4 or smaller? It's a law. If you gain weight, you have to relocate. I think it could be depressing living there.

Later that night, we went to Nobu for sushi. I've never had sushi. There's just something about eating raw fish that turns my stomach. Still, here we were at this Hollywood Hot Spot and I figured, if I'm going to try sushi, this is the place to do it. I probably won't ever have better sushi than this. I tried it. It didn't taste bad. Still, I couldn't get over the fact that it was raw, barely dead fish. It's a mental thing. Michelle tried sushi for the first time too. I think she and I are both happy we can say that we did it and happy that we can say "no thank you" the next time someone offers us raw fish wrapped in seaweed. Unless I'm stranded on a deserted island and have no way of making fire, I don't see myself eating it ever again. This is why I always pack Twizzlers when I travel. I figure if I crash in the ocean, I can live on Twizzlers and won't have to eat raw fish. Just sayin'...

Tuesday began with a brunch OUTSIDE! We ate outside and the weather was just perfect! I've got to say - I am in LOVE with California weather! Sunny, warm, blue skies, no humidity. The no humidity thing was great for my hair, but I have to admit I was thirsty the whole time I was there and my skin felt kinda dry and I started getting nosebleeds by the time I left.... Still - my hair wasn't frizzy at all! Or maybe it was just from Suave Sleek No-frizz Cream.

Anyway, we had brunch with Suave and Glamour reps. We got to meet Kiwi Smith (writer of Legally Blonde among others), Francesca Silvestri (producer of Glamour Reel Moments), Leslie Russo ( Glamour Associate Publisher), and Andrea Buchanan (Glamour Reel Moments directing alum) and listen to the story behind Glamour Reel Moments. Glamour chooses 3 stories from the thousands submitted by readers. Women in the film industry, like actors and writers, are given the opportunity to get behind the camera and direct real stories and about real women. It's a cool thing!

After brunch, Liz from ThisFullHouse.com, Michelle from Scribbit.com, Amy from MomAdvice.com, Beth from RoleMommy.com, and I did some sightseeing. We went to Grauman's Chinese Theater, the Hollywood sign, and Santa Monica. I really had such a nice day seeing these amazing sights with these amazing women! Liz is a gorgeous sweetheart who is so much fun to be around! Michelle is tall, thin, beautiful and demure. Amy is a fellow shutterbug, Beth has this really great laugh and they're both so cute and little, I just want to put them in my pocket and take them home! I feel like these girls are my BFFs now!

Then it was on to the premiere! How exciting! We arrived at The Director's Guild Theater and walked the red carpet! When we got inside, we stopped for a picture. Everyone was smiling nicely except me. I was nervous. I laugh when I get nervous. I looked like I was on drugs. Seriously, I heard people muttering, "What's with the blogger on crack?"

Then we stood back and watched for the celebrities to arrive. Unfortunately we couldn't take pictures there. :( I tried to discreetly take a little video with my Flip though... There's just something strange about seeing celebrities up close. I mean, they're just ordinary people like you and me, but something about the fact that you see them on tv makes it all kinda strange. I would like to have talked to a few of them and complimented them on their films, but I felt out of place and didn't want to intrude and be "the dork who thinks she's good enough to talk to us", ya know?

Since I'm a total dork and almost never watch tv and certainly don't follow the lives of celebrities (mainly because I'm too busy following my kids around!) I had no idea who I was seeing most of the time. I had to ask my fellow bloggers who everyone was. I'm sure I'm forgetting a bunch of them, but these are the names I can remember: James VanDerBeek, Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow, Demi Moore, Kiwi Smith, Courteney Cox, Matthew Perry, a whole bunch of Arquettes, David Spade, Ashton Kutcher, Sheryl Crow, Matthew Perry, Lucy Liu, Kirsten Dunst, Jennifer Aniston, Laura Dern, Matthew Perry, Rita Wilson, and Anna Farris. Did I mention that Matthew Perry was there? I'm sure there were more, but I have no clue who anyone is. I'm just proud of myself for not yelling out, "I love you Chandler!" in the middle of the films.

The movies were great! Each writer had a good story to tell, and each director did an awesome job! There really should be more women directors in Hollywood! I mean, you can only see so many car chases and buildings blowing up, ya know! You can check out these short films yourself right HERE! And there are some celebrity pics HERE.

From there, we went to the afterparty at Chateau Marmont. It was a really pretty place and we stayed outside most of the night where the weather was just gorgeous. I brushed up against Matthew Perry a couple times because I was stalking him it was so crowded I couldn't help it. It's a good thing he left before I drank enough to get bold and ask him to marry me. I ended the night at Mel's Diner on Sunset with the Suave girls.

Such a fun, once-in-a-lifetime experience!!! Thank you to Suave and Glamour for all you do! And thank you to my fun, new blogger friends! Go check out their pages if you want to hear more about the stars at the premiere, and see more pictures.

LIZ

AMY

BETH

MICHELLE

CINDY

LIANNE

NADINE

Enjoy the slideshow! I'll try to put a little video up before I leave for Florida.
I have to explain a couple pictures - the picture of Liz holding up a pack of cigarettes is because Kirsten Dunst left them behind and Liz and Michelle grabbed them up. The second to last picture in the slide show is me with Kiwi Smith. And tall, thin Michelle was mistaken for Laura Dern a couple times at the after party! LOL!

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20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dawn,
Just thought I would tell you that I enjoyed your Twitter comments durning your trip. Have fun in Florida.

Heidi said...

Love it! Love Matthew Perry. Thanks for writing such great stories!

This Crazy Thing Called Motherhood said...

I would've been right there with you, wanting to yell "I love you Chandler" and stalking him had I been there. lol I just love him.

Glad to hear you had such fun on your trip! My mom is coming from MN to visit me in December and she's already asked about fun Hollywood tours to do, so we will be at some of those same spots soon! :)

Brenda said...

WHAT?!?! They are your new BFF? I thought I was! Pout.

Anonymous said...

Dawn it's not always this dry in CA we are having a Santa Ana, that's when the wind blows over the Santa Ana mountains and drys out every last ounce of moisture in the body. It's great for my hair too. ;)

RefreshMom said...

Sounds like a great time. Yeah, you can't beat California in October (for the weather at least; I guess that's to make up for the lack of beautful color everyone else gets!).

And I'm so glad you're not a pretentious sushi convert. I frankly don't believe 99% of the people who loooooove sushi. I mean, really, what's to love about raw fish, horseradish-flavored mustard and seaweed?! No one really loves it; saying so just makes you one notch snobbier than the rest of us! Glad you didn't defect to the dark side.

MaNiC MoMMy™ said...

WOW! You did sooo much on your trip! A Blast!!!

RefreshMom said...

Looks like fun!

PS--why exactly did you cut the heads off of everyone in their fancy dresses? The black with the rhinestones was a great choice for you!

Liz said...

I had SO much fun with you, Dawn and yes...we are most definitely BFF's, forever. Have a great time in Florida!

Amanda said...

Oh my gosh! What a wonderful trip Dawn. I am so jealous. Although my screaming-at-a-celebrity moment would have been to Jennifer Aniston and am so jealous you got to see her. I love her. So glad you had such a great time. You deserve it!

Michelle said...

Wow, I am SO jealous of your dinner at Nobu. I would have eaten all your sushi for you. Mmmm that's yummy stuff!

And you don't want to know how long it took me to figure out you were videoing yourself. I kept wondering what you were playing with in your hands. Ummmm duh!

"See" you in Florida ;) Here's hoping we have no hurricanes!

Melissa said...

Ooooh. You were right in my neighborhood. Lucky you, you WERE here for great weather! Were you worried about the fires?

I agree with you on the sushi too. I decided to like it in college, but most of the time I just got the California rolls without raw fish. Finally I decided senior year that I didn't need to be cool and I could just live without the raw seafood. Bleghhh.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for letting us see all your great pictures! You went everywhere I'd want to go; I especially loved the hand & foot prints! And kudos to busting the sushi myth wide open. It's raw fish people! :o)

You looked terrific, the dress you chose was stunning on you!

Blessings, Whitney

Shari said...

Dawn: I am glad you had a good time. I loved keeping up with your Twitter, too. You are too funny. I do have to say (whether you agree or not) that you are very pretty. Thanks for sharing about your trip! :p

Megan said...

Ok, so I feel like I deserve a prize for making it through the whole Smilebox show. Loved them all, and there were oh-so-many to love!

Anonymous said...

Dawn!

You rock mama...I need to know the model of your camera because the photos are phenomenal. I had a blast with you my dear and honey we were all stalking Matthew Perry..

xoxox

Snookie said...

Sushi??? We call that bait!

Anonymous said...

Dawn, I think your next book should be a photo book! The photos are just gorgeous and so are you! Glad you had a great time - well deserved! Thanks for sharing! =)

Amy said...

You put those together so beautifully! I loved your photos and I am so glad I had another person who understood the need to stop and take a zillion pictures of random stuff on our trip :)

Have a wonderful time in FL! I can't wait to see those pictures!

BFF's 4EVA :)

Shellie said...

I'm back in love with California. Too bad I spent my whole 2 days there visiting doctors; your trip sounded like way more fun!