April 19th-April 25th - Modeling & Mike Returns To LA!

Friday I had the day off so I laid outside on the balcony and enjoyed the sunshine!

The next day I had a go-see for Stride Rite that was close by and went quickly. Monday was Earth Day and Modnique.com who I model for paired up with TreePeople which was really cool!

That day I actually worked for Modnique modeling ABS dresses by Allen Schwartz which were gorgeous!

That was a lot of fun as well as I modeled summer dresses and tops for Modnique's online shops! Afterwards I headed to a go-see for Pakar Mexico where the clients traveled to LA to cast their models.

The next day I booked TiLLY's Fall catalog! The location was a house and there were children who were so cute and shot first while we were getting ready. For our shoot there were four guys and four girls and they told us to create our own scenes and interact. Having a boyfriend I did not want to interact with the guys too much but the photographer set up some scenes they wanted and I did a couple solo ones so it turned out okay. I was excited to find out that TiLLY's is opening a store in my hometown Rochester, NY!

Summer issue (Fall is not out yet)

After the shoot I was heading to the apartment when I heard that Georges St-Pierre from the UFC was making an appearance in LA. I went home and looked it up because my Dad watches the UFC and I saw that right then he was doing a book signing at Barnes & Noble. I rushed over bought a couple copies and I waited in line for two hours! I did not mind though because I wanted to get a signed copy for my Dad for Father's Day! 

Wednesday was Modnique's stylist Ashley's birthday and she is so fun and sweet! When I worked on Monday I brought her a card and chocolate because I was not sure when I would see her next. That morning I had a casting at Private Label By G and I tried on some beautiful dresses.

I love their lobby/showroom! 

Later I had a go-see for Abercrombie & Fitch where Ford set up a certain time for me but there were so many people both who had appointments and who walked in. For the casting they took photos in my swimsuit and videotaped an introduction about myself. That night Mike came to LA and I picked him up from the airport! The next day Mike and I celebrated our love and for brunch we went to Olive & Thyme! 

We had delicious sandwiches and I could not help but get hot chocolate! Then I quickly went to a go-see for the Saint Grace lookbook and I tried on a maxi dress that was cute. After we went to Urth Caffe and got green tea bobas and vegan pumpkin pie! 

Later Mike shocked me by giving me a beautiful bracelet from Tiffany's! Then I gave him a cool belt from Diesel and custom guitar picks! We got ready to go and Mike took me to an incredible restaurant on Sunset Boulevard called RivaBella.

The interior was stunning and the food could not have been better! We had such a great time together!

Afterwards I surprised Mike and got us VIP tickets to the Laugh Factory comedy club. We saw several comedians including Erik Griffin and Brody Stevens and they were all hilarious! I am so glad we had an amazing day!

June 22nd - Two Year Blog Anniversary! Thank You Viewers!

It is hard to believe I have been recording this journey for two years now! In 2011 it started with my journey modeling in Singapore and then spending some time at home with my family in Rochester, New York. At the beginning of 2012 I moved to New York City and spent the year pursuing modeling but ran into a lot of obstacles. Keeping hope and determination I made a dream of mine come true at the beginning of this year by signing with FORD Models LA!

Singapore

Rochester, New York 

New York, New York

Los Angeles, California

The past two years have flown by but so much has happened that I am so thankful for! Thank you Mary Therese and Kent Friel for starting my modeling career back in 2004! Thank you Chantale Nadeau for being a great Mother Agent and getting me signed! 

Thank you Abrams Artists Agency New York for including me as freelance talent! Thank you FORD Models LA for not only signing me but being so welcoming and accepting my personal values that sometimes conflict with the modeling world! 

I am thankful for every client, photographer and model I have worked with! This journey involves endless learning and meeting great people. Every person who has been a part of my life has impacted me and I blessed. I cannot tell you how much the support from my loved ones means to me! My parents have believed in me and supported me all along which is such a blessing. 

Having people from all over the world view my blog is shocking but so heartwarming! Every single view is meaningful to me and I love that we can use technology to connect across the globe! I wish that I could mention every country that my blog has had views from but Google just keeps track of the top ten.

    

 United States of America!             Canada!                        Germany!          

     

            Singapore!                      Philippines!                          Russia!

  

             Australia!                     United Kingdom!                   Malaysia!

                                            
             
                                                      Indonesia! 

A sincere THANK YOU to EVERYONE!!

I hope to be an example for others whether they have support or not to go after what truly makes them happy. The purpose of life is to find our own inner peace and joy and to help others. Everyone goes through hard times but that makes the good times even better and the key is to try to stay as positive as possible and be in the present moment.

Achieving one of my big dreams gives me an incredible feeling but getting signed is just part of it. Now trying to book jobs and doing photo shoots is another challenge but I love it! For the bigger picture I also have other goals and aspirations, especially becoming Miss USA and going on to Miss Universe! 

Each person's journey is special and beautiful in it's own way. Thank you again for sharing mine with me and I look forward to your continued support by viewing my posts and feel free to share any feedback!

Life is in the journey.

April 13th-April 18th - Living In Hollywood!

On Saturday I headed back to Los Angeles by myself! Since I was nervous to be alone while checking into an apartment I reserved for the first time my friend Erica came with me which was so sweet! We went to a grocery store and then talked a while before she headed home. That night I woke up abruptly from hearing a drunk man being very loud outside! I was so scarred I put my suitcase and a chair in front of the door haha The next morning I told Erica and she said that's Hollywood for you!

She was right Hollywood was very busy and a little crazy but the next day I got to walk around and see how exciting the neighborhood was! I was one street from Magic Castle, the Chinese Theatre and a ton of shops.

At night I watched the MTV Movie Awards and one of my favorite parts was Emma Watson's Generation Award acceptance speech, so cute! 

On Monday I stopped into the agency and they said that just incase my iPad fails I should have my printed book so they gave me the official Ford portfolio that I have dreamed of having! 

When I got back to the apartment I was completely shocked and so saddened hearing news about a bombing in Boston. Immediately I was praying that the least damage possible was done, that they caught the bomber(s) and that my Aunt Susan was ok! My Aunt lives two streets away from the finish line but she was thankfully at work! It is truly devastating what happened but I like to think about the strangers who helped one another and what a great job the Boston Police Department did.

The next day I got to model for Modnique.com again that I love doing! We did clothing lines Nick & Mo and Insight! 

On Wednesday I worked for TiLLY's modeling their clothing for the website! It was in Irvine, California so I had to leave at 5:30am to get there by 7:00am but it was neat seeing the sun rise while I was driving there. I met the e-commerce crew and the hair/makeup artist Andrew who were all nice. We shot all day with a break for lunch and they said we did well on getting as many outfits done as we could!

That night I heard about the terrible explosion of a fertilizer plant in West, Texas. I really wanted to do a fundraiser for the Salvation Army who was providing refreshment, food, blankets, emotional and spiritual care. I tried for weeks setting it up through CrowdRise.com and they did try to help me work it out but unfortunately the Tax ID number that the Texas Salvation Army gave me did not work in the system. Anyway, I am glad that the community helped each other and gave blood to those in need.

It was very nice of Shoebacca.com to donate shoes and clothes!

Thursday I had a casting for REI outdoor clothing that was downtown but went quickly. Then Andrew from the Tilly's shoot told me to stop by his salon to cut the dead ends off of my hair. My friend Erica is an amazing hair stylist at Studio DNA but it was nice of him to offer and I wanted to see his place at Salon Republic. My hair felt much better after, thanks Andrew!

Later I went to the Andaz hotel for a casting for Next shoes and there were bunch of models waiting in the lobby. Some of the girls and I were talking and I realized that my parking meter was about to expire! I had to leave the casting and run almost a half mile down the road and back again, but I made it just in time for my group to go into the go-see! The clients were from Europe and they were very nice!

I left the casting and was driving to my apartment when I noticed a helicopter ahead up in the sky standing completely still. I had a feeling that something was wrong and when I saw two others doing the same thing forming a triangle around Hollywood I decided to drive away. 

Then I heard sirens and saw police driving towards where I was trying to get away from. When I got further away I pulled over and called my parents and my phone died, I was so scared! Luckily I had an emergency charger they gave me so I called a non-emergency police number and after holding for a while I asked if it was safe to go to my apartment and the woman advised me not to as there was a bomb threat one street from my place! 

(LAPD bomb disposal unit at the scene)

Right away I called Erica who lives in Burbank, California and she said I could go to her house until things were safe! I was so thankful and when I got there her and Jason were starting a movie. We had snacks and watched Safety Not Guaranteed which was a cute movie about preparing for time travel.

After I heard the man who made the bomb threat was arrested and everything was settled down and safe I headed back to me apartment and tried to get some sleep!

April 1st-April 12th - Home For Celebrations!

April 1st was the day that Cookie Dough's Mom Sasha was born. We visited where she is resting in peace and wished her a Happy Birthday. I won't get too deep and sad on here but I truly miss her every day and I will always love her. We will always be a part of each other. <3

I worked at Scott Miller that night and the next day Mike and I went to Javas and saw Mike the owner who we are friends with. Later we ate at Colie's Cafe where we are also friends with the owner and then I worked at Scott Miller again across the street.

On Wednesday my best friend Liz came over to hang out which was nice! Later for dinner Mike's family and I went to their friends Lori and Roland's house and it was amazing. Their house is gorgeous and they prepared several courses, finishing with warm poached pears mmm!

The next day I spent time with Massimo and had fun playing outside. At night for dinner Mike's family and I went to Mike's Aunt Arlene and Uncle Harold's house because it was Arlene's birthday! Mike's cousin Arielle came from Manhattan to celebrate as well as his Uncle Jack from Nyack, New York and we all had a nice time together. 

On Friday my Dad and I went to Mendon Ponds Park and there were a ton of deer in the fields!

My family and I have gone for years and we never realized that they have an educational organization that houses and cares for permanently injured birds. We checked it out and got to see so many cool birds and even a bobcat! 

The next day was Mike's Dad's birthday! I hope you had a very Happy Birthday Scott! During the day I worked at Scott Miller and then at night Mike's immediate family, his Uncle Jack, Aunt Arlene, Uncle Harold, Michelle from Scott Miller and I all had an amazing dinner at the house and finished with some yummy cakes! We could have added this one to the collection haha

On Sunday I went to St. John Fisher College where I graduated from to support Fisher Dance that I used to be the President of. I like to go back and support the team and see what songs they use and what choreography they come up with. I only knew a few girls on the team this year and they were graduating so I was glad I could go to their last show!

April 8th was my Mom's birthday!! It was a beautiful, sunny day so we went for a hike through the woods near our house which was really fun! Then my Mom and I went to Scott Miller and I treated her to a pedicure! We had such a nice time getting our nails done together :) Later for dinner we went to an Italian restaurant and enjoyed everything we had! 

At night we went to the mall for a little while and then hung out at home. I hope you had a great day Mom! This was a special day to me because we got to celebrate the best Mom in the Universe, I love you!

The next day I went to The Village Bakery for lunch with Mike and our friend Charlie and then I worked at Scott Miller at night. On Wednesday my best friend Liz came over and we made pasta at the house to have for lunch and hung out before we both had to work. The next night I went to a girls dinner with Mike's Mom, Aunt and two friends, it was sweet of them to invite me! We ate at Next Door Bar & Grill and I got a vegetable dish that was really delicious! Also, I saw my friend Kyla there who I had not seen a while so that was nice.

Friday was my last day home before leaving for Los Angeles again. I spent time at home and Mike came over later and started to show me how to do a rough sketch of Cookie Dough! 

Later my Mom had to stop by karate so I went to the dojo with her. My Mom does so much to run the school and seeing what a success it is makes me very proud of her! 

Then I finished packing and rested to get ready to leave for Los Angeles the next day!