Category Archives: Film

Highlights: Wrapping up the Holidays

Posted in Accessories, Breakfast, DIY, Fashion, Film, Food, Fun, Treats by

Mid-way through January already…geesh! It’s been so much fun reminiscing about a very memorable holiday season with you! I’ll be wrapping up my winter adventures with a few fun extra highlights gathered during my Christmas vacation. Next week, I’m looking forward to officially wrapping up the entire 2012 calendar year with a look back at all my favorites in film, leading up to my top 10 personal favorite blog posts of the year! Enjoy the long weekend gang! Here are this week’s final highlights from the holidays:

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{My new earrings worn on New Year’s Eve. LOVE.}

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{New year, new way to make breakfast. While I’m no stranger to making breakfast on a Saturday morning, I have to say it was a nice change of pace on a Thursday morning over the long vacation to get up and try something new. Rather than scrambling plain eggs, I decided to punch things up and add some bacon and spinach and opted to make roasted potatoes and toast on the side. I couldn’t have thought of a better way to start a Thursday.}

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{Making my first cup of tea in my new tea kettle that I got as a Christmas gift. There’s something so ritualistic and cozy about making tea the old fashioned way on a hot stove.}

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{As a stocking stuffer, I received this awesome sweet treat from Baked By Melissa. 3 mini cupcakes dipped in chocolate. What a great idea! I found out that you too, can have these bite sized goodies delivered right to your door step from their New York based shop. Check out their website for details.}

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{Baby it’s cold outside. Luckily, this new super soft scarf from The Gap helps.}

Golden Globes: Fashion Hits and Misses

Posted in Accessories, Beauty, Fashion, Film, Fun, Handbags, Shoes by

Not to brag, but this past Sunday I spent nearly four hours with the Hollywood elite at the Beverly Hilton Hotel sipping a cool beverage while rocking the most awesome ensemble to rival the stars…all from the comfort of my boyfriend’s apartment. Okay, so technically I was a few miles down the street, drinking bottled water, wearing a sweatshirt and some shorts; but hey – I was comfortable, warm, and had the best seat in the house!

The 2013 Golden Globe awards were surprisingly very entertaining this year. From the awesome duo hosting duties in funny gals Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, to the surprise range of unexpected winners (didn’t see Argo beating out Lincoln!), and some pretty moving acceptance speeches (paging Jodie Foster!). It’s also the time to discuss all things fashion. Prior to the broadcast, I spent an hour and a half watching the Hollywood glitterati make their way down the red carpet. Here are my top 5 best and worst dressed ladies. Looking forward to Oscar Night!

BEST DRESSED: The Hits

 {Taylor Swift}

Taylor Swift

 {Jessica Alba}

jessica alba

 {Kate Hudson}

hate hudson

{Emily Blunt}

Emily Blunt

{Shaun Robinson}

Shaun Robinson

WORST DRESSED: The Misses

{Sienna Miller}

sienna miller

{Emily Mortimer}

Emily Mortimer

{Mayim Bialik}

Mayim Bialik

{Rosario Dawson}

rosario dawson

{Alyssa Milano}

alyssa milano

**Disclaimer: Since it’s obvious I wasn’t at this year’s ceremonies snapping high res photos, all pictures are courtesy of Yahoo.com! Photo sources are noted below:

Taylor Swift – Photo By Steve Granitz/WireImage
Jessica Alba – Photo By Steve Granitz/WireImage
Kate Hudson – Photo By Jason Merritt/Getty Images
Emily Blunt – Photo By Jason Merritt/Getty Images
Shaun Robinson – Photo By Jason Merritt/Getty Images
Sienna Miller – Photo By Steve Granitz/WireImage
Emily Mortimer – Photo By Steve Granitz/WireImage
Mayim Bialik – Photo By Steve Granitz/WireImage
Rosario Dawson – Photo By Steve Granitz/WireImage
Alyssa Milano – Photo By Steve Granitz/WireImage

The Christmas Project – Results

Posted in DIY, Explore, Film, Food, Fun, Inspiration, Treats, Uncategorized by

Christmas was officially over, but I was luckily still in the beginnings of a long holiday vacation. I love it when you have so much time off that you don’t even know what day it is, or even care for that matter.

When it came to festivities and the goals I set for myself to celebrate the season (dubbed The Christmas Project – thanks, I came up with that myself!), I did pretty well, though admittedly there were some…um…hiccups.

1. Decorate my apartment. 
Result: DONE 
While my prized glitter poinsettia plant (pictured in the header) died about 2 weeks before Christmas, all was well when my Christmas tree came along and provided the warmest, festive feeling whenever I was home. You can read about my tree experience here.

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2. Watch at least 2 Christmas themed movies a week.
Result: DONE

Love Actually kicked-off a Holiday flick marathon for the whole month of December. Along with The Holiday, This Christmas, Just Friends, Home Alone, Fred Claus (which was so awful I turned it off so this might not count), Rare Exports, and Gremlins.

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3. Get Christmas shopping done well before Christmas.
Result: DONE

I can proudly say that thanks to my pre-planning using a secret Pinterest board, this gal was done Christmas shopping by December 21st! Some of my favorites to hand out this year was an engraved business card holder for my boyfriend’s Mom who just started a new jewelry business, and tickets to The Groundlings (the best improve show in L.A.) for my boyfriend.

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4. Bake something festive.
Result: FAIL

Let’s just say I did A LOT of eating of festive inspired cookies, but failed to actually make them. Honestly, this was the holiday goal I knew would be the most challenging for me to get to, even as I was typing it I wasn’t very confident. For now, this handy collage of images I made from Pinterest images will have to do in place of the fact that I was too lame enough to follow through.

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5. Lots of Hot Cocoa.
Result: DONE

Okay, so I didn’t exactly count how many cups I’ve had, but suffice to say that I had at least  2 cups per week.

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6. Be present.
Result: DONE (to the best of my ability)

This one is hard to gauge whether or not I actually accomplished enough to say one way or another. On the one hand, I listened to Christmas music, watched movies, decorated my apartment, wrapped gifts, and spent time with some of my favorite people celebrating the season. However, it’s no secret that this Holiday season was overshadowed by some bad news both personally and in the world around me. Suddenly, I felt guilty and a sense of missing cheer about wanting to be active in the season in light of certain events. I will give myself an “A” for effort because as I reflect, I know I did the best that I could, given the circumstances. Once we hit Santa Cruz and got into the spirit, I couldn’t have been more present and welcomed the feeling.

Highlights: Christmas Eve, Christmas Day

Posted in Explore, Film, Food, Fun, Treats by

During the Holidays, most of the fun for me comes from the build-up, immersing myself in the spirit of the season. Weeks of planning, shopping, listening to holiday music, wrapping presents, going to festive parties, stopping by The Grove, sipping warm beverages, decorating and then enjoying the warm glow of a Christmas tree; and before you know it, it’s showtime…

CHRISTMAS EVE

After a relaxing and lazy start to the day, we spent Christmas Eve in Downtown Santa Cruz walking along the quaint Pacific Avenue.  It was an afternoon perusing charming boutiques and the used book and music stores. Of course, out of all the boutique places around us, I go and buy something from The Gap (I know, which is like everywhere!). I also tried my boyfriend’s favorite cookie from his old stomping grounds (delish!) before meeting up for a casual dinner and movie with his family. We ended the night with a short drive around town to look at Christmas lights in the neighborhood. It was definitely beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

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{Strolling Pacific Avenue.}

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{Enjoying the famous Lemon Drop cookie from the Pacific Cookie Company.}

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{Admiring the marquee of the old Del Mar Theater.}

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{Inside the Del Mar. Our Christmas Eve movie was Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away in 3D. Warning: amazing visuals, super boring and shallow story line.}

CHRISTMAS DAY

Rise and shine, bright and early. Christmas day had arrived and it was filled with lots of smiles, gratitude, food and good company. Let’s just say Santa was very kind this year. It’s always the things you’ve had your eye on, but mentally filed away for another time that happen to magically appear under the tree that are my favorite. I also love a really good surprise. This year after giving and receiving gifts that couldn’t have been more perfect, my boyfriend went and did the unbelievable. The last gift opened was a paper confirmation of a 3 night hotel stay in Carmel. Our Northern California Christmas was being extended! Here are just few photo highlights that don’t even begin to capture all the highlights of that special day. I was in such a fog of happiness, I rarely took my camera out.

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{Sneak peek at some of the wrapped presents.}

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{Surprise! I’d been eyeing these awesome purple hand blown glasses from Maison Midi on La Brea for months!}

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{Picture this: A 4.5 pound bag of Hot Tamales, gift-wrapped! I didn’t even know they came this big!}

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{Victoria’s Secret gift card. Always a welcomed present.}

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{Getting ready for dinner.}

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{Hotel confirmation for a 3 night stay in Carmel!}

Happy 2013!

Posted in Explore, Film, Food, Fun by

It’s Monday, January 7th and for me this means back to life, back to reality, back to work. It also means 16 days to catch you up on since my last post right before a much needed winter vacation from reality and work! And I’ve got to tell you, A LOT can happen in 16 days: a mini road trip to Northern California for the holidays, a day in San Francisco getting to know the real Walt Disney, Christmas in Santa Cruz with my boyfriend’s family, a surprise trip to Carmel, good food, good company, A LOT of eating, A LOT of movie watching, and A LOT of time reflecting and resetting for a new year.

Despite the happiness, then bumpiness, chaos, and missing cheer that came with this past Holiday season; I have to say, the magic of the Holidays as we got closer and closer to Christmas turned things around in an instant and the spirit of the season made for a very memorable and happy ending to 2012.

So sit back, relax, and take a short journey with me as I relive (okay, catch up because I’m seriously behind) on blog posts sharing all of the fond moments over the last 2 weeks and to wrap up a very challenging, but life changing year. The good news is those Mayans couldn’t have been more wrong and we made it to an uncharted 2013 calendar year.

Here’s to the year I’m believing that dreams come true. The year I turn the big 3-0. (Luckily, I still have quite a few months more to adjust and absorb this unbelievable fact!) And the year that All That Glitters, will be more luminous than ever. I can’t wait to see what happens!

Happy 2013! Cheers! 🙂

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{How I rang in 2013 – with a glass of Martinelli’s Apple Grape Sparkling Cider!}

Highlights: Sprinkles of Joy

Posted in Cocktails, Explore, Film, Food, Fun, Treats by

All That Glitters is a blog I developed to celebrate life, even if it’s in the smallest of daily pleasures and happenings, and to always find the sunshine. What I’ve come to like about writing these posts is that I’ll stop, notice something, think “this is a highlight!”, try to capture the moment visually, and in that brief minute my perspective changes. Since I write these posts at least once a week, it also forces me to always keep my eyes open to the positive around me to find my “Highlights.”

I didn’t want to end on an unhappy note right before Christmas after yesterday’s entry, so I’ll share a few special moments that did bring sprinkles of joy during trying times:

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{Every time I look over at my Christmas tree.}

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{Meeting a friend for a glass of sangria during happy hour at Pink Taco. I couldn’t get over her strawberry margarita served in a pineapple shell! It made me smile. My sangria was great but came in a mason jar. :)}

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{Getting lost in Breaking Dawn: Part 2 for a few hours on a rainy Friday night in Century City. Pretty cheesy flick (as they all are), but I’m a fan of the books and like to see the films.}

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{One last evening spent at The Grove to get some hot chocolate and much-needed Holiday cheer.}

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{On a particularity chaotic morning, I can’t tell you how amazing it was to stop in to Jamba Juice and treat myself to a large orange juice. Nothing beats fresh squeezed.}

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{The best gift wrapped present I’ve gotten so far.This sweet box of Godiva chocolates from a work colleague. Loved the leafy detailing.}

All the very best for a happy and safe Holiday season! 🙂

Highlights: Holiday Inspired

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It’s amazing how literally everything around you changes during this time of year to bring the spirit of the holidays alive. Magically, green and red colors infiltrate your world, the make-overs in store window fronts and shopping malls prompt you to spend away, Christmas trees pop up all over town, homes glow from the sparkle of lights at night, and egg nog, peppermint, and gingerbread everything become all the rage. 11 days until the big day. Here are a few Holiday themed highlights that have been making the season extra festive:

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{Starbucks’ new holiday themed paper cups.}

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{“Operation: watch tons of Christmas movies” has been going well. So far I’ve watched 5 festive flicks, including this fun stay at home and get cozy comedy, The Holiday.}

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{These adorable reindeer made from real Christmas trees.}

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{Goodies received from a recent holiday party gift exchange.}

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{Gifted homemade toffee crunch.}

The Christmas Project

Posted in Accessories, DIY, Fashion, Film, Food, Fun, Inspiration, Music, Treats, Uncategorized by

Welcome to December! And if we’re lucky, we’ll make it through the end of the world into an uncharted 2013 calendar year. Gotta love those Mayans! They certainly know how to stir up some drama. Couldn’t they have at least waited until AFTER Christmas to dub civilization over? That way, we at least get to die near our Christmas trees with a full stomach and new toys surrounding us? I suspect it will be pretty anti-climactic in the end, kind of like how Y2K came and went. This doesn’t mean that we won’t hear about it for the entire Holiday filled weeks ahead. So prepare mentally now for your Facebook feed to change tone; or not much at all if you have sarcastic, someecards.com loving friends like I do.

I’ve decided to challenge myself this month to not only survive the end of the world, but to grab 2012 by the balls and go out with a bang (probably not the best word choice in light of the end of time coming soon?). I really liked doing this for Halloween. I guess in theory it won’t be much different, you’re just swapping out pumpkins and horror for gingerbread and cheer! Being the slightly (okay, more than slightly) O.C.D. lover of setting goals and crossing things off lists that I am, I’ve decided to make festivity priority number one this Christmas. Here are my month long to-dos, a.k.a. – The Christmas Project:

1. Decorate my apartment.

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This year I want my very own Christmas tree! I made my first decorative purchase last week while at Trader Joe’s. This real mini poinsettia plant. It even had glitter on it! I couldn’t resist.

2. Watch at least 2 Christmas themed movies a week.

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This one will be completely do-able for me. Aside from being a total movie whore naturally, I already kicked this task off with my first festive flick, Love Actually (I never get sick of this one). Also on my list to bring in the cheer: Home Alone, It’s A Wonderful Life, The Family Stone, Trapped In Paradise (suggested by the BF), and a slew of others I’ll be watching thanks to Moviefone’s blog entry.

3. Get Christmas shopping done well before Christmas.

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I have a bit of a problem with waiting until the last minute to start Christmas shopping and then I’m in the throes of total chaos kicking myself. Not because I’m in the chaos (I kinda like being with other “last-minuters”) but because it takes circling 30 minutes just to find a parking space to even get in the door! Then again, I do tend to get the most creative and inspired when under pressure. Here’s an actual picture I took of the Westfield Culver City mall 2 Christmas’ ago on December 23rd (on my like 1 megapixel Blackberry I had at the time). What the heck was I doing in a mall 2 days before Christmas? This year, thanks to Pinterest’s awesome new secret boards; I’ll be visually prepared, organized, and done in a more timely manner…December 22nd, the latest. 🙂

4. Bake something festive.

1-Blog Pics{Photos courtesy of Pinterest and someone who stole them from someone else, who stole from someone else, etc..}.

I can’t decide if it will be cupcakes, brownies, or cookies – but they better look like snowmen, Christmas trees, a star, or something. These Pinterest photos I’ve been collecting (since like July) give you an idea of what I’m talking about!

5. Lots of Hot Cocoa.

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Again, I started this to-do already. My first official hot chocolate of the season, complete with whipped cream, captured above.

6. Be present.

Literally, be present. Not in a gift giving sense, but to really slow down and enjoy this time of year: the weather, the decorations while walking the street, my closet full of scarves, holding warm beverages, smiling at strangers, running up my credit card, parties, movies, shopping, wrapping presents, listening to Christmas music, and spending time with people I love to be around.

These are my Christmas to-do’s. I’ll report back after the holidays.

HAPPY DECEMBER TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD MONTH!

🙂

Highlights: End of November

Posted in Dinner, Explore, Film, Food, Fun by

Things have been going so well lately, that I don’t want to jinx it by even talking about it! November was an exciting month: the election, our visit to San Juan Capistrano, and Thanksgiving were huge successes. Here are a few recent small pleasures and sightings that added huge smiles to end a happy month:

A stop at The Counter for a custom-made burger and yummy fries last week before catching a flick over in Century City, had me try something different this time between the bun: cranberries! Let’s just say, it works. Yum!

While I don’t personally have formal Christmas dinners, I would totally use these cute flatware stockings that I saw while perusing Crate and Barrel on my Holiday table. They’re so festive!

These adorable snowman cookies I saw while in line for a latte at Starbucks. The best part: the scarf!

Christmas music has officially entered my life once again. My favorites: Josh Groban’s Noel, Mariah Carey’s Merry Christmas, and Pandora’s Christmas Station.

I hope November treated you just as kindly. Have a great weekend! 🙂

Snow in L.A.

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Location: 189 The Grove Drive, Mid-City

Without question, my favorite place to be in Los Angeles after Thanksgiving leading up to Christmas is a shopping center of all places. You read that correctly, a shopping center. And not for the obvious “you live in L.A. so you must be the poster child for consumerism while sipping your soy latte” reason you’re thinking (okay, there would most likely be a latte involved – minus that other stuff). When L.A. needs some Christmas cheer, we get in our cars, sit in traffic, update our Facebook status frustrated about sitting in said traffic, and head to The Grove!

The Grove is the ultimate one stop shopping destination (though they seriously need to get on adding an H&M to the block, like. now.), but this isn’t why I’m in love with spending time here as we embark on the journey of the Holiday season. It’s because it’s the Mecca for getting my Holiday festivity fix…well, as much as a gal can get in L.A.

The day after Thanksgiving, we headed over to The Grove to enjoy how an outdoor mall transforms into a fantastical celebration of Christmas. Lights everywhere, wreaths hang from lamp posts, and large ornaments suspend from rooftops right above you. Santa’s huge Mansion Cottage, complete with a digital “now serving” ticket numbering system (not kidding!) as you head inside the doors to give Santa your list of demands, sits at the center of it all. (Oh, what I would ask Old Saint Nick for now as an adult!) Music fills the air; and on that particular Black Friday night, fog was appropriately present enhancing the festive vibe. All this leads you toward the grand finale: a 100 foot tall white fir Christmas tree beaming with more than 15,000 lights and 10,000 ornaments. And it’s real, I’ve checked.

{Santa’s L.A. Mansion Cottage.}

{Standing at the base of the infamous 100 foot white fur Christmas tree!}

My personal favorite (though I’m sure super cheesy to those reading this from everywhere else in the world with actual weather) is the faux snow that drops every night at 7:00pm and 8:00pm as you walk about The Grove’s main street. It takes the whole experience to another level; and in this moment, I’m like a kid again, believing in the magic of the Holidays. 🙂

{Faux snow floating in the air.}

I urge you to make at least one trip to The Grove this Holiday season (if you’re in town) to experience the magic for yourself and hey, pick up a few gifts, or better yet – make it a dinner and a movie date night with someone special. There’s something in the air that a blog post nor pictures can accurately capture. Just be sure to be outside The Pacific Theaters at 7:00pm to get the only glimpse of snow in L.A. you’ll likely ever see.

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays!

27 days to go…

{Snow falling at The Grove.}