July 14th-July 24th - Tree Sound Studios & The Dark Knight Rises!

Saturday night I worked and Ashlee Simpson and her boyfriend Vincent Piazza came in for a late dinner. She looked a little different than I remember because her hair was really short and blonde and she was very thin.

The next night Mike was flying into the city so that we could go to Atlanta together and I planned to make a big dinner for us. Unfortunately his flight was delayed six hours so he got in really late but we wound up eating the dinner that I made then anyway. We had edamame, salad, vegetarian french onion soup, sun-dried tomato penne pasta, and berries and yogurt!

Monday we headed to the airport and flew to Atlanta, Georgia because Mike and Tony were going there to work on music at Tree Sound Studios and to meet some people in the industry. Tony picked us up from the airport and drove us to Norcross where we all went to Panera to eat lunch. We checked into our hotel down the road from the studio and walked around.
Later we ate at Applebee's and then randomly decided to go to the arcade nearby! We ran around playing different games and collecting our tickets. Right before they closed Mike and Tony played an intense game of air hockey!

Tuesday we got Dunkin' Donuts before heading to Tree Sound Studios. When we walked in there were plaques all over the walls of artists who have recorded there including Beyonce, Justin Bieber, T.I., Outkast, Sevendust, Nappy Roots, Elton John, Usher, Fergie, and the list goes on.

We were brought to one of the studio rooms that Mike and Tony were going to be working in and the whole place was really cool. They had been there before but this was my first time so they showed me around a little bit. Our studio assistant Jeremy helped them set up and then Mike and Tony worked on music all day. Their manager Jon landed and met us at the studio and afterwards we brought him to his hotel and then we stopped at Guitar Center to pick up drum sticks so that they could record drums the next day.

Afterwards we went to our hotel and the three of us worked out in the gym and then we picked up Jon and all went to Olive Garden for dinner, yum! Then since we had so much fun the night before at the arcade we decided to go back again! We found a basketball game that was an actual set-up but still counts how many baskets you make versus your opponent in a certain amount of time. We kept playing over and over, so much so that it wound up being another workout! When we got back to the hotel we hung out in the car and talked about music and listened to Tony's playlist.

The next day we went back to the studio to work and the guys got a lot done! I mostly hung out, listened and enjoyed their work while doing things I wanted to do on the computer. Later in the day we met J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League producers who work there a lot and have made songs for artists such as Lil Wayne, Drake, Mary J. Blige, Rick Ross, Nas and Tech N9ne.



Throughout the day Mike and Tony's music started to spread through the studio and at night the GM, Mali Hunter, came into the studio and listened to their songs. Mali was so nice and hearing her ideas plus how she prepares artists for the industry was really cool. That night we all hung out in the lobby and her and the guys drank some Avion Tequila while I had lemonade 0:-)


After we left the studio Mike, Tony, Jon and I randomly decided to go to Waffle House at 3:30am! My waffle was really good but what was even better was how hilarious our server was! First of all I loved how she had some spunk to her and her and Tony were going back and forth just for fun. It was awesome though when she started showing us some crazy dance moves! She did some I have never seen like "A Raving Penguin" and it was too funny! We thanked her and left and when we were driving away she ran outside and gave us an encore of her performance in the parking lot! You had to be there to understand how funny she was haha

The next day while the guys were working in the studio Jon came in and said that Groove Chambers wanted them to go upstairs to meet with him. That was pretty exciting because Groove is a well-known producer and is very  connected in the industry. We went into this room that was almost hidden and when we walked in I was shocked. The room set up was awesome and had a ton of equipement. We all hung out and the meeting went really well, there is some cool stuff in the works!

While we were hanging out we heard someone say that they got the tickets for everyone and we found out that they got tickets for a bunch of the people at the studio, including us, to go to the opening of Batman that night! We were excited to see it but until then the guys worked on more music and we went and ate at Ruby Tuesday.

When we got back to the studio Mike showed me another recording room and it was huge! The live room was also really pretty with wood floors and a piano in the middle that you could see through big windows in the control room.

Afterwards they set set up their video game system that they play on a 16' screen and we watched Tony play a boxing game. Later at night we all headed to the theatre and they had so many showings of it we wound up having a theatre almost to ourselves which was about fifteen of us. Finally the much anticipated release of "The Dark Knight Rises" was here and it was pretty epic! I thought that the cast was really good and overall it was pretty intense!

I was so saddened to hear about the tragedy that occurred in Colorado at the premiere of the movie that night. It is completely shocking to think that someone could commit such an act. I know that the control of guns is important but it is crucial that people who seem to be having difficulties mentally are helped and monitored to try to prevent these horrific incidences. Myself as well as millions of people all over the world are praying and thinking about the victims and their families, God Bless you.

The next morning one of the interns at Tree Sound Studios drove me to the airport which was really nice of him. I flew back to the city to work the next day and Major League Baseball player Andre Ethier from the Los Angeles Dodgers joined us. I worked the next couple of days until I had off on Tuesday.

Since Sarah and I both had the day off we made a reservation at Lavo for lunch. They were participating in Restaurant Week so we each got an appetizer, entree, and dessert! I started out with a delicious margherita pizza, then enjoyed penne a la vodka, and finished with oreo zeppole with a vanilla malt shake which was incredible! I also really liked Sarah's fruit plate with sorbet but these fried oreos with vanilla were scrumptious!

We were so full when we left but we were right near Central Park so we decided to walk around. I cannot remember if I have ever walked in Central Park before, I know that I have walked around it but it was really pretty exploring inside. We also discovered a little theme park/carnival and a zoo in the park that I do not think I knew about! Afterwards we went to Saks Fifth Avenue to look for a pair of Alice & Olivia shoes that were on sale that Sarah wanted. She found them and bought them and then we headed back to the apartment.

Our roommate Dennise got back from a trip to Arizona and Utah that day and she got us gifts which was so sweet. She gave us each a cute holder that you can put something in which are also decorative because they have carvings in them and a colorful flower embedded on top made of stones. Also, we each got a bracelet that is made of special beads that fight off evil spirits and can prevent nightmares which is on one of my bed posts :) Lastly, she gave us cactus candy which is made from a juice they get from cacti which is neat, and I'm sure it is mixed with a lot of sugar because it tasted sweet like normal candy!

It was nice to have her back and for us roommates to be together again <3