I got back from L.A. last Monday, and I've been battling between making returns to designer showrooms and catching up with my sleep.....sounds absurd huh? I was pretty much burnt out and needed sometime to just breathe and revive myself.....did I manage to accomplish it??Somewhat.....with some unnecessary interfering thoughts here and there.
Anyway, back to L.A..........What an awesome place, I really liked it. Great weather, pretty laid back people and beautiful areas. I have been to L.A. before, but to Orange County and Laguna Nigel. This time I was in Beverly Hills and West Hollywood (and downtown L.A. which was ok, a little on the sketchy side!!!). It had a lot going on and seems to be quite hip. The hotel we stayed in,
STAY, was vibrant......YES......very vibrant ( color wise, decor, style, people, etc.)
Julia and I shared a room, and it was a steal, $35 per person per night!!! The only downside was sharing the bathrooms/toilets with the rest of the floor, there were about 4 of them on every floor I believe.
We got to the hotel at 3am ( thanks to the long line at Budget car rental, there were about 12 people in line and only one rep serving everyone....it took forever!!!) and only slept for 4 hours. We got up early enough (like 7am) to head to Beverly Hills and scout the location of the shoot,
The Thompson Hotel. Let me tell you, this hotel was dark, and with a certain touch of retro elegance......I loved it, and was super excited to be shooting there. The sales manager showed us around, Jenna Abrams, and she was really cool. We then went to
Smashbox studios, where we met with
Barrett Sweger, he was going to assist
Julia at the shoot. He also gave a great tour of the studio:)
We got back to our hotel, went through looks, confirmed our locations and we were set to go the next day. Our call time was at 7am, so we hit the sack early and got up by 5am and hit the road. Now, I know I didn't mention who the celebrity we were going to shoot......Ladies and Gentlemen.....
Kelly Carlson, from hit TV show Nip/Tuck. I felt confident with everything I had picked, however, we did face some challenges....as in Kelly didn't want to wear some of the suggested looks, the sun was not co-operating while we were shooting in the rooftop, however, we still managed to make it work and everyone was happy in the end!!! One of the funniest incidents was when I put my foot in my mouth accidentally......which in a way broke the ice between Kelly and I......I was looking through a magazine and had made a remark about Eva Longoria's hairdo at the Golden Globes, as in it made her look older......little did I know that Kelly's Publicist was also Mrs. Longoria Parker's.......OOPS!!!! Sorry Eva, I am a stylist and it was just an opinion, no harm done, I still think you're beautiful:)
By the time the shoot was wrapped,
Julia and I just lied down in the suite's kings size bed.....beyond exhausted and discussing the whole day, then we made it back to our hotel room. I showered and crashed......and
Julia wanted to go out, but she ended up fast asleep herself.
The next day, we packed up, took some pictures, met up with some of
Julia's friends for brunch at this really fun spot called Gjelina in Venice Beach area......AMAZING Food, great vibe, waiter was hot, and I spotted
Jason Statham there with his buddies. After brunch, we took a walk by the beach, saw some interesting and crazy people. Ella, one of the brunch friends we met, showed us around and we all had a good time. Another nice fellow was Chris (Ella and Davis's friend), who offered to return some gowns and dresses I had borrowed from a showroom in Melrose place......Thanks again!
We caught the Red eye to NYC, got there at about 6:15am, completely broken....tired....and needed some rest. Would I do this again???Absolutely.....Did I learn a lot?? Definitely.....Was it worth all the demands and hassles? Well, would it be just as fun if it weren't? You tell me;)
