Sorry sorry. I know I am severely backlogged again. Sometimes this happens. I still have to post pics from Vegas and KatieHunt's Bday and Xmas Parties etc. (and I know I never did an official Katie & Semmeseys Wedding post or a Farshid's Wedding post or a Southern Decky 2010 post from last year, I still have a bunch of those pics in my - To Do Folder, someday maybe they'll get done) But being busy and backlogged is good. It means I am ever closer to buying my West Hollywood DreamPenthouse. I think it might happen this year. SuperYay.
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Soooooo.... while I have these pics ready to go I might as well post them to keep you entertained. This past weekend I went upstate to Lenox, MA (really close to Deerfield) where my bride and groom Andrew and Nikki rented out a gorgeous mansion/estate and held a fabulous fairytale wedding.
Literally they looked like a prince and princess in a castle.
It was FREEZING, but beautiful and sunny out.
And in the late afternoon it started to snow, so I dragged the groomsmen outside and took some killer sunnysnow pics.
The boys were so cute and bromantic with each other!
The bride and bridesmaids too were very easy to photograph.
Every time I see this picture I think of the show "Pretty Little Liars" even though I've never seen it. It just looks like poster for some kind of TV series about bitchy hot chicks that do mean things to each other. Love it.
I love Christmas wedding!
The couple didn't want to see each other before the ceremony. So this is what we came up with, being VERY careful not to let either of them go around the corner.
Lovely tear-filled ceremony.
Happy glass-stomping.
Dinner was delicious and filled with wonderful funny speeches.
And the danceparty was off the hook.
The groom's sister brought down the house with an incredible performance of "At Last". It seriously may have been more powerful than when Beyonce sang it to the Obamas on Inauguration Night.
And then things got really silly.
The fun thing about continually raising my rates is that the weddings I end up shooting just get prettier and more expensive. And expensive weddings usually mean happier people. And all of this makes for better pictures. Win-win-win!
TEL AVIV, Israel — The Israelis are developing an airport security device that eliminates the privacy concerns that come with full-body scanners. It's an armored booth you step into that will not X-ray you, but will detonate any explosive device you may have on your person.
Israel sees this as a win-win situation for everyone, with none of this crap about racial profiling. It will also eliminate the costs of long and expensive trials.
You're in the airport terminal and you hear a muffled explosion. Shortly thereafter, an announcement: “Attention to all standby passengers, El Al is proud to announce a seat available on flight 670 to London. Shalom!”
Just bought a pretty pair of shoes for a pretty little lady!
While at the Loubie store there was some celeb from the new Bourne movie that I didn't recognize. He had two bodyguards and the storepeople were all buzzing about him after he left.
EEEEeee! Can't wait to wrap these up and give em them to their lucky new owner. I really love the bag though. Might keep it to carry my dirty laundry around in.
I know... I have over 30 best friends. I'm greedy. We've been over it.
But each of the people I consider a BFF is truly special in his/her own unique way. And I'm in a unique line of work where I work and meet with new people on a daily basis.. and a lot of them are truly just wonderful, talented, inspiring, beautiful people. So I can't help myself. Sometimes I just have to befriend them. (It also helps that actors make great daytime buddies and lunch buddies while most of my office-drone friends slave away in their cubicles.)
So when Anthony walked through my door a few months ago for his headshot session being all charming and hilarious and cute but neurotic (he had concerns over a cold sore that had formed from biting his lip when he was eating a late night sandwich like a savage), I immediately fell in love.
You may recognize Anthony as the latest cover model on my website. He's the first thing that pops up when you go in.
What's even more interesting is that Anthony - from his hair, to his eyebrows, to his nose, to the rest of his bone structure - looks a lot like the white-version of our long-lost friend PWu!
It's bizarre.
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Anyway,
Long ago Anthony and I had talked about seeing the Book of Mormon.
We've been to the lottery at least 3 or 4 times and have failed to win each time.
So when the deal finally popped up on GiltCity, I jumped on it.
Even the crappiest seats in the house routinely sell for $400+...so the fact that our GiltCity deal came with a 2-hour VIP reception with food and drink made the whole thing kind of a no-brainer.
We were SOOOO excited. Literally twirling and jumping up and down as we headed toward the theater.
The set is gorgeous. Of course we're not allowed to take any pictures once the show starts, but our seats were middle and center.
And the play itself? F*CKING UNBELIEVABLE.
It is SO good.
From the INSANE lyrics, to the singing and dancing and complete absurd lunacy in-general, it truly is in a league of its own and there has never been anything like it.
I literally found it hard to breathe at times. But there were actually a lot of people who didn't find some of it amusing and sat there stone-faced for a lot of it.
We discussed this afterwards and I guess, yeah, even if you think of yourself as the most open-minded and with-it individual...nothing can really prepare you for countless AIDS jokes or to hear someone sing, "FUCK YOU GOD IN THE ASS MOUTH AND CUNT!!!" over and over. The first time it's actually kind of jarring.
We ate it up though. Could not get enough.
If laughing hysterically for 3 straight hours does not forge a new best-friendship, I don't know what does.
I love love love loved it and downloaded the soundtrack as soon as I got home. I'm still laughing.
But don't take my word for it. Just listen to this song. The first time Bobby played it for me we almost crashed our car it was so funny.
YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS SHOW.
The original cast is moving onto bigger and better things, so GO SEE IT NOW. I know because Tom (Gaston) auditioned for the show a few weeks ago.
I'm so glad I saw it with the original cast. This show is going to be around for a LONG TIME and it may change Broadway forever.
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After the show we ate...like savages. Open bar and open food are two of my favorite word pairings.
Here's another vid of Andrew Rannels performing "I Believe" at the Tonys.
The song is better in the context of the show...but I think it's pretty good on its own.
So in my "Goodbye Email" to the Vegas crew I joked about how this was going to be the most epic weekend I was ever going to have until my 40th birthday Partyplane.
And then just now I find this:
So I am now declaring that this is officially what I am doing for my 40th birthday.
Well, I'm feeling that same kind of weird excited rush of glowing happy excitement and am quite sure that the universe is currently in the process of sending me some great stuff.
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So I flew back from Vegas and landed around 1am at JFK this morning.
And upon checking my email what is the first thing I see?
This kind of shoot has NEVER happened to me.
Ever.
In my entire career I've done one 3-person actors' shoot before. But never an EIGHT person actors' shoot. They usually just come solo or in pairs (because they get a little discount for shooting with a friend).
And as we all know, in China-land, 8 is the LUCKIEST number because it means to make LOTS and LOTS of money!!!!
So the fact that this shoot has plopped itself into my lap at the very tail end of the most epic and extravagant weekend of my life is not just a coincidence. It is clearly the work of the universe.
When you put good stuff out there, it comes right back to you.
This 8-person shoot is going to pay for every single dollar I spent in Vegas and then some!
Partybus, party suites, family dinners, alcohols, Bose sound system, limos, rain-dollars...EVERYTHING!
Everything went incredibly. The stars aligned. The joy and love and excitement and giddiness and laughter was out of control.
In the days and weeks to come, I will attempt to recap what took place here over the last 60-something hours.
I'm pretty sure, however, that I will fail to accurately convey just how amazing this weekend was. It was definitely of those "You had to be there" kind of things, where there were just so many hilarious happenings and inside-jokes, and snarky comments and witticisms, that it is impossible to fully describe and that to an outsider is probably just eye-rolling-ly excessive and obnoxious. I mean....LINDSAY LOHAN was at my 30th birthday. (We stood next to her while waiting for the elevator up to our megasuite.)
But I'm still going to try to recall and relay everything, because I want all 30 of us to be able to look back and remember the glory.
I feel so elated and content that I'm somewhat filled with a feeling of dread...this always reminds me of the Sex and the City movie when Charlotte has a similar experience:
Carrie: What makes you think something bad is gonna happen? Charlotte: Because! Nobody gets everything they want! Look at you, look at Miranda. You're good people and you two both got shafted. I'm so happy and... something bad is going to happen. Carrie: Sweetie, you shit your pants this year. I think you're done.
I feel like right now what I'm experiencing is a complete embarrassment of riches. Things are just going too well and I am too happy and this isn't right and the universe is bound to throw me some kind of curveball to maintain a sort of equilibrium. (Specifically I remember that right before I broke my ankle three-ish years ago things were going extremely well also.)
Is it just me or do super-successful, happy people sometimes feel this way?
I'm so grateful for everything I have right now. And for all the people in my life, and specifically the people who came with me on this amazing Vegas Adventure. I'm grateful for their presence and their presents. I'm grateful for my amazing clients and agents and business-partners whose business and referrals allow me to keep living this incredible life.
Sure, living in LA and being SLIGHTLY celeb-obsessed (understatement?) makes me sometimes compare myself and how I'm doing with my celebrity counterparts, which is idiotic I'm sure. ("Lady Gaga is 25 years old? WHAT have I been doing with my life???" is a common thought.) But when I step back and look at things, I'm really happy with where I'm at.
So yes. All I have left to say is thank you. Thank You for all your well wishes and all the positive energy and the laughter and the love that has been sent my way in the past week.
I will try my best to do my best and be the best and do what is right and good for the world.
I'm not sure if I believe in God. But I definitely believe in karma. And Oprah. And I hope that I have good karma. And I hope that if it is deserved or even possible, that things continue to go as amazingly as they have been lately. And that I can share this abundance of love and wealth and energy and happiness with everyone around me.
Landed in Vegas yesterday. Spent the day prepping things for my 30th birthday bash this weekend.
I can't believe 30 of my best friends in the entire world are coming in starting today to celebrate with me. This is going to be SO MUCH FUN I can barely contain my urine.
