Breakfast at Tiffany’s | All That Glitters

One of the best things I did last year was start All That Glitters. I think of it as a mixture of both a guide to and celebration of life in Los Angeles. I love this city and while I am always struggling with what’s next and how to get there, I love my life too. I love this blog. Thank you for taking the time to read it.

Today, as we enter the last week of January 2013 (which is pretty hard to believe), I want to take a step back and officially close out all things 2012 with my top 10 personal favorite blog posts from the year. Each of these were not only fun to write, but I was also happy with how they turned out both in content and my somewhat mediocre photography skills. Within each of the ten posts also lies some my happiest memories of 2012.

{TEN.} Graffiti Coffee Bar – Perhaps it’s a sentimental choice because this was my first real blog post, but I think it’s also because this set the tone for how I wanted my blog to be: topical, sharply written, while saluting and celebrating my love of all things L.A.. However, even I found it completely ridiculous to even think lattes and valet parking should ever go in the same sentence. (Oh! A latte sounds so good right now! I’ll be right back…)

{NINE.} Making Arrangements – Me as Martha Stewart for a day (okay, maybe more like 30 minutes) trying to make my own floral arrangement with a little help from Lauren Conrad (of all people). My favorite D.I.Y. post of 2012. I was so proud of my little creation.

{EIGHT.} Dirty Dancing in the Cemetery – A look at my first time experiencing the super popular young L.A. thing to do on a hot summer Saturday night, a Cinespia film screening at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. This post reflects on how I had the time of my life and the first time I’d ever seen a shooting star in the night sky. Hey, like the post says – I live in L.A.! Shout out to myself on what has to be my most cleverly titled post.

{SEVEN.} How I Spent 100 Years in Hollywood – My night at the Hollywood Bowl celebrating Paramount Studios 100 years in the movie making business, told with the help of George Costanza and the most notable movie music in all of cinema. A night to remember and a post that I always look back on fondly.

{SIX.} Farmers For A Day – The day I left the city behind and headed out to the country (ok, not literally the country but it wasn’t too far from it) and spent some time on an apple farm picking fruit and hanging with the native country folk. This was a day of trying something new and it being oh so fun!

{FIVE.} Food To Die For: El Coyote Mexican Cafe – My account of what happens when you eat at my favorite Mexican Restaurant in L.A., El Coyote. Please read carefully, you’ve been warned of the side effects of food consumption on these premises. Oh! And God bless re-fried beans!

{FOUR.} Snow in L.A . – Psst! Hey you. Yeah, you! I’ve got a little secret to tell you. It snows in Los Angeles. No, really. Seriously! It snows right in the middle of LA and I’m letting the cat out of the bag. I loved this post because it meant that festive time of year was finally here. It was officially Christmas!

{THREE.} Cupcakes and Cashmere L.A. Book Signing – A treat to stop by and say hello to my favorite blogger, Emily Schuman of Cupcakes and Cashmere fame, at her L.A. book signing. Cheers to the art of blogging!

{TWO.} 2012: Best in Books, Guilty Pleasure – My delicious account of the book(s) that rocked my world during the summer of 2012. It was so much fun writing this post and reliving all the delectable moments between Anastasia Steele and our dark friend, Christian Grey. (Insert mischievousness voice here) Happy reading and laters baby!

{ONE.} Mission San Juan Capistrano – Admittedly, I like this post more because of the crisp stunning images that bring me back to such a relaxing and happy day spent on boyfriend’s birthday. This is not my wittiest post when it comes to writing (see #2 and #4 above for that fix) but I think of this day as my most memorable from 2012 and in the end, it’s these types of posts that stick with you.

Thank you for reading All That Glitters! I hope you enjoy the posts as much I enjoy writing them. I promise you 2013 will be filled with even more sparkle! 🙂

Location: 2301 North Highland Avenue, Hollywood

Unquestionably, if I had to pick one of my absolute favorite places in all of Los Angeles, it would be The Hollywood Bowl. The open sky, a perfect view of the Hollywood Sign right in front of you, and the unique vibe of “Bowl-goers” picnicking and hanging out on the grounds before the start of a live musical show. It’s an exciting place to be, and while the nearly 18,000 seat venue would be intimidating, I always found it to be one of the most intimate places you can possibly be in LA. There isn’t a bad seat in the house (and trust me, our seats were about as high up as you can go). I spent my second night in a row over the holiday weekend under the stars. This time, celebrating a century of movie music with Paramount Pictures.

{Making our way to the high, high (read: cheap) seats} 🙂

{“Bowlers” hanging out before the big show}

{View just as we arrived to the amphitheater}

Host, Jason Alexander; conductor, David Newman; and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, took us on a journey through the best musical scores of our time as Paramount Pictures turned 100 years old. An opening montage comprising 174 feature film clips from their library kicked-off the night. What a treat to look back over some of the most famous movie sequences scored with live orchestral music. After ~~George Costanza~~ Jason Alexander took the stage for a short opening monologue, the night took a turn to highlight those films that are particularly memorable not only in picture, but most importantly, in sound; touching every decade since the 1920’s. The great scenes from Sunset Boulevard, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, The Godfather Trilogy, Titanic, and Mission: Impossible (among others) projected on the big screen as the full orchestra below brought each frame and line of dialogue alive with the recognizable melody that made the film iconic.

It was a night filled with humor, music, film, and the best tuna on wheat Subway sandwich I’ve ever had (my personal happy point). What a wonderful way to celebrate Hollywood’s only remaining and oldest film studio. Happy Birthday Paramount Pictures! Thank you for your part in cultivating my love and life filled with cinema. Here’s to another 100 years of movie magic and making it to Mission: Impossible 33 (where yes, Tom Cruise will still be alive to star in the film, looking exactly the same, and doing his own stunt work).