June 17th-June 27th - Friends & Food!

Monday I drove my Dad to the airport which was sad but I am glad that he got to visit, it was a lot of fun! Then I headed to a go-see for Jupi Corp where I tried on a dress from Kardashian Kollection. After I went to dinner with my Mom's friend Leigh and her son and brother. Leigh and her son Noah were in California looking at school's for him to go to and they all treated me to dinner at Aroma on Sunset Boulevard which was so sweet! It was nice to catch up with them!

The next day I went to my friend Erica's house and we had an awesome cooking session together! First for drinks she crushed up berries and put them in limeade and ginger ale with mint leaves on top and it was so good! 

Then we baked a berry and nut quick bread that turned out to be sweet and delicious! I would enjoy eating it any time of day but it would be perfect for breakfast. 

Our main project was making an eggplant frittata! We grilled eggplant and chopped up a bunch of vegetables and cooked them in eggs, it turned out great! 

That was a lot of fun, thank you Erica for teaching me how to cook! Then when I got home I watched Danielle Bradbery win the Voice! The next morning I went hiking at Runyon Canyon because I was going through a stressful time. 

Later I met up with Alexis who I used to model with in 2010 in Toronto! We both have Chantale Nadeau as our mother agent and now we were in LA together. We got a quick dinner with a couple of other people she knew who were going to Twenty Five Degrees in the Roosevelt Hotel and it was good!

On Thursday I went to a go-see for Junk Food Clothing where I tried on a shirt and they took pictures. At night I hung out with my neighbor's dogs Lilu and Tigger and first they played and then they napped while I watched TV, too cute!

The next day I was chosen to try out for the music video of Enrique Iglesias' new song "Turn The Night Up." There were several girls there and a choreographer showed us how they wanted each of us to dance along a wall and then sitting in a chair. The girl in his video did not end up doing any of that but she is pretty! Saturday was my blog's two year anniversary, yay! During the day I went to Santa Monica beach with my friends Alexis, Mikayla, Heloise and some of their friends! 

Then Alexis and I headed to a dinner at Sadie Kitchen and Lounge with a big group of people which was good and then we stopped at Sound Nightclub for a little bit.

After we went to Hyde Lounge and then we had a sleepover! The next day we walked around Beverly Hills and looked in stores. Then I went to an event with Alexis and her friend Tracey Mills who designs for Kanye West's clothing line. Later Alexis and I got a bite to eat at Bar Marmont and stayed a little bit for the birthday party of one of Madonna's backup dancers. 

On Monday I didn't do anything all day except go to a hip hop dance class with my friends that I met at Spoon by H cafe. It was challenging but it felt good to be dancing again! The next day I had a go-see for Shape Magazine and they had me do some workout moves in their office. Later was my friend Alexis' birthday celebration! A group of us went to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner which was nice.

Then we went out to Emerson where they had a table for her and at midnight she turned 21! Happy Birthday Alexis! On Wednesday I had a go-see for Colosseum clothing and then I said bye to Mike because he was heading back home. The next day I was on hold to work for Just Fab but I didn't end up booking it so Alexis and I hung out and went to Spoon by H mmm!

June 11th-June 16th - Father's Day In California!

Tuesday morning I cuddled with Cookie Dough and said bye for now to her and my Mom before my Dad and I headed to Los Angeles! My Dad had not been to LA in a while and I was so happy that he could come for a Father's Day trip! The flight went well and we got settled in our apartment that was very nice! We got some food from the grocery store and I went to bed to get up the next morning to work for Modnique.com! Even though my Dad was in town I always love working for them and he was happy I got booked!

When I was done I picked him up and showed him the outside of Warner Bros. in Burbank. Then we ate at Mo's restaurant that I like and we had a good time!

After we went to Hollywood and walked down the Walk of Fame by the Chinese Theatre and through Hollywood and Highland shopping center to see the touristy sights and street entertainers.

I pointed out Magic Castle to him which is a hotel with a club that magicians and their friends go to! Then we headed back to the apartment and I watched some of the Miss USA Preliminaries! Afterwards we went to The Grove to look around at the shops and we saw Iron Man 3 at the theater!

The next morning we went to Spoon by H because I wanted my Dad to meet the family who owns it since I have become friends with them! They enjoyed meeting each other and the food and tea were delicious as always! It was also Mike's dog Massimo's third birthday and we Skyped with them to say Happy Birthday!! 

  

After we went to The Huntington Library and Gardens where I did a photo shoot for the Weddings by The Ritz-Carlton magazine a few months ago. We took a tour around the property and saw different plants and then went to the Chinese Garden which was beautiful! 

Then we went to the Japanese Garden which was a little different but still beautiful and also had an authentic Japanese house that the Huntington family had shipped in. 

Then we got to see tons of really cool bonsai trees and bamboo trees until we got to the Rose Garden! 

Near the Rose Garden was the Huntington mansion where we did the photo shoot for the magazine so we separated from the tour and I showed my Dad where we took pictures around the beautiful house. 

We found out that inside was an art museum because the family collected a lot of art. We saw so many interesting things including Pinkie by Lawrence in 1774 and The Blue Boy by Gainsborough in 1770.

Afterwards we went into the conservatory there and saw neat tropical rainforest plants in the 16,000 square-foot greenhouse!

Then we headed back and went to eat at Bossa Nova near our apartment. I had a caprese sandwich and plantains which were good and my Dad enjoyed his meal too. Then we went to Sam Ash Music and Guitar Center and went into the Platinum room to look at guitars.  

Friday morning we got up and went hiking at Runyon Canyon! We went up the medium level path and I told my Dad how difficult it would be but he did way better than me haha! We had fun and enjoyed the view! 

We went back to the apartment and got ready for the day and then I took my Dad to the Ford office to see my agency and meet my bookers! He thought it was really nice and I was glad he got to see it! Afterwards we headed to Venice Beach and laid out in the sun, it was a little breezy but nice and then my Dad went swimming in the ocean. It was too cold for me but after we played frisbee on the beach which was really fun! 

Then we headed to Santa Monica Beach and walked on the pier. We listened to a couple of musicians performing and watched the sun start to set.

For dinner we ate at Aroma on Sunset Boulevard, we sat inside and there was music blasting too loud but the food was good! The next morning we went to Caffe Primo for breakfast and sat on the outdoor patio. Afterwards we went to a knife store that the Modnique.com photographer Sean recommended he visit! I was glad that my Dad enjoyed looking around and talking to the workers about some knives. Then we went to the Vedanta Temple in Hollywood that my Dad read about online!

We walked around and then went inside and meditated for a little while. Before we left we went into the gift shop and looked at books and statues and we bought an incense holder for Mike that was a wooden elephant. That was nice and relaxing and then we went to The Counter for dinner which is known for their burgers. Later at night we went to the Laugh Factory in Hollywood!

We saw a handful of comedians including John Henson from Talk Soup and Wipeout! 

Each one was funny and a couple of the comedians were so hilarious we laughed pretty hard, I was so glad that we had fun! Then the next day was officially Father's Day! In the morning we walked to Golden Bridge yoga center because my Dad heard that spiritual master Swami Premodaya was going to be having a workshop that day. 

We walked around Nite Moon Cafe and looked throughout the store and rooms at the center. It was a very nice place but we could not find the workshop anywhere. Still it was cool to look at the books and jewelry that they were selling and before we left we saw Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa who is the co-founder.

Afterwards we went to Santa Monica beach and on the street by the pier there were a couple of really good break dancers performing!

Then we laid out and played frisbee for a while which was a good workout running on the beach and was fun! Later we got ready for dinner and went to Cafe Med on Sunset Boulevard! We sat on the outdoor patio and had such a nice dinner! I was happy that my Dad enjoyed his seafood mixed grill dish.

After we went back to the apartment so that I could watch the Miss USA 2013 pageant! All of the contestants looked beautiful and I was rooting for Joanne Miss New York USA and Brittany Miss Georgia USA because she was Miss Georgia Teen USA my year at Miss Teen USA! In the end I wound up loving the winner, Erin Brady from Connecticut! Congratulations! 

Then I took my Dad to see the Sunset Marquis hotel in West Hollywood. Mike and I used to stay on the street of the hotel and became friends with the manager so we walked around and my Dad thought it was really nice!

Then my Dad had to get ready to head back home. It was so nice being with him in California and I am so glad he had a great trip! I hope you had an amazing Father's Day Dad, I am the luckiest daughter to have you and Mom as my parents, I love you!

June 2nd-June 10th - My Birthday & Connecticut!

Sunday was my birthday and I was excited to celebrate with friends and family! I told my parents that I did not want any gifts and instead I made a fundraiser for the American Red Cross disaster relief to raise money for the efforts in Oklahoma after the destruction that the tornadoes caused. A sincere thank you to those who donated!

My parents got me gifts anyway and so did other loved ones which they shouldn't have but I love every gift and card that I received! 

Every other year I usually have my party at the beach but this year there was a chance of storms so everyone went to Mike's house and we had fruit, cheese, salad, chips, pizza and cake mmm! We all hung out, ate and later went outside and played frisbee and football which was really fun!

A big thank you to everyone who sent me birthday wishes and each person who came to celebrate with me, you all made this day special and memorable! It was also my best friend Dennise's birthday the same day! I am honored to be her birthday twin and I hope she had an amazing weekend! <3

I am blessed to have the most amazing people in my life.

At night Mike and I watched Wreck-It Ralph which turned out to be a really good movie! On Tuesday I left to go to Connecticut with my Dad to visit and help my Grandma around the house. That night my Grandma had some pictures and newspaper clippings out which were really neat. One newspaper article was about my Uncle Victor scoring in the top one percent in his class in the country. Later going on to study at Notre Dame and MIT, his intelligence was remarkable and we miss him greatly. 

The next day we went grocery shopping with my Grandma and later in the day I was outside when all of a sudden two huge black dogs came running at me, I love animals but I was pretty scared! I got my Dad and we found out they were very hyper but nice dogs. 

We started playing fetch with them and one ran away and jumped in the pond. He was swimming and then he tried to get out but it seemed like something was biting him! He would all of a sudden go underwater and was trying to get something off of him! We realized he really could not get out so my Dad ran to call someone because he was going to get too tired and drown. While he was doing that I did not give up I went to another part of the pond and called him over and he finally got out! 

The next morning I went for a run down my Grandma's street because I want to work on toning to compete for Miss New York USA. Then we went to stores with my Grandma after and the next day until we went to The Painted Pony Restaurant for dinner. I ordered a small pizza and it was huge!

Saturday my Dad and I were leaving Connecticut but first we took a picture of my Grandma with a doll made in 1900 that was her Mother's. It was really neat to see something made over a century ago and to hear about the history of it in my family!

Then we headed back home and the next day my Mom thought of riding bikes on canal so we did that and it was a challenging workout but a beautiful view and really fun! 

At night the hairstylist Oribe had a show in Miami that Mike and his family attended and I was able to stream it on the computer to watch it from home. On Monday I did errands and got ready to head back to Los Angeles!

May 28th-June 1st - NYC & Friends!

Tuesday morning I headed to the airport and flew to New York City! On the flight I finally saw Argo and I thought it was really interesting. I landed at JFK airport and took public transportation to my apartment which was a little difficult with two huge suitcases...

I finally made it and my roommate's Mom was home and she made vegetable pasta that was really good! Sarah and Dennise came home from work and it was so exciting to see them after not seeing them for over four months! We caught up on each other's lives and it was also my first time seeing Dennise since her arm was fractured in multiple places because a mugger pushed her down on the cement! :( I don't want to get too emotional about it but it sickens me that someone could do this to a stranger, never mind to such an incredible person like her. Then we all watched the movie Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World which was cute.

The next morning Dennise and I had breakfast and my friend Lauren who I used to work with at Maialino restaurant came over to see the apartment because she was going to be subletting my room for two months. Then Lauren and I went to yoga at Yoga To The People which felt great! Afterwards we went to Hane Japanese restaurant that I love!

I showered up and headed to Turtle Bay which was a cool bar where my friend Ritz was hanging out with coworkers after work. We left and got a little something to eat at Le Pain which was yummy. She treated me and got me a card for my birthday that was so sweet! 

Back at the apartment I hung out with my roommates and Dennise's Mom and boyfriend Tommy. The next morning I went to get my nails done with my good friend Julie which was so nice to be able to do together! Afterwards I headed to Times Square to meet with an artist who had given me a picture for free over six months ago and I wanted to pay him for it. I felt bad that it took me so long but I would never forget something like that!

It was neat to see Courtney's new work and he was happy that I could stop by and catch up! For mail orders you can contact him at newyorknewart@yahoo.com. After, I headed to Sarah's work and got to meet her co-workers and then her and I got lunch at Dishes and ate in a park nearby which was fun!

Later in the day there was a going away party for one of the managers where I used to work at Maialino who was taking another job within the USHG company. People gave speeches and two employees even made a song which was hilarious and afterwards I got to see a lot of the people I used to work with which was so nice! 

Then our friend Danielle came over to the apartment to talk because she was going to rent out my spot for a couple of weeks. After, my roommates and I went to dinner to celebrate Dennise and my birthdays since we were both born on June 2nd! We went to Hane and it was perfect, I was so thankful to be able to be with two of my best friends and to celebrate Dennise's birthday with her! Thank you two for making this birthday so special for me, love you!

The next morning Sarah came with me to Dunkin Donuts and then I was heading to the bus stop to go home. I realized it was going to be too difficult to take the subway there with my all of my luggage and the short amount of time I had until the bus left so I had to try to find a cab in rush hour but Sarah helped me run after one and I made it! It was my first time taking the Megabus and it was pretty good!

It was nice to be home and we went to PF Changs right away to eat but then I found out that my Mom had not been feeling well lately and my Dad had been in the hospital because he thought he was having a heart attack! It was sad to come home to that news but I was glad my Dad turned out to be okay and that I could spend time with them. Afterwards I went with Mike and his family to Grinnell's for dinner with Carrie, a photographer we are friends with, and Matt her husband which was nice.

On Saturday we ate with Mike's family during the day and later with mine and got ready to throw my birthday party the next day!