Dirty Dancing | 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: 6000 Santa Monica Boulevard, Hollywood

I spent Saturday night under the stars Dirty Dancing in the Cemetery. Rest assured, it was completely legit and conducted with the utmost respect. Let me explain…

One of the things that I’ve always wanted to do was go to a Cinespia screening at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Only in LA is there an organization that actually screens films in a cemetery, and only in LA is there a line 2 miles long to get in.

After a rather hectic day of people canceling and flaking for whatever reason (some valid, some not so valid) I finally made it. A stint in the line that wrapped around the block full of largely 20 and 30-somethings down Santa Monica Boulevard was a sight to see. People camped out in lawn chairs, holding picnic baskets, pillows, blankets, coolers, and lots of Trader Joe’s bags full of goodies from the store. By the time I arrived, the line was already moving so it didn’t take much time to get into the cemetery gates and meet the person holding our spot.

Part of the fun was chatting and people watching as the sun set and the darkness took over. A huge perk of Cinespia is that you can pretty much bring whatever you want. One of the girls in our group brought some wine to share, and some of the people camped around us brought candles, which I thought was extra classy.

Around 8:30 the night’s film, Dirty Dancing, started to mass applause. The projection was crisp, the night air warm, and the grass a bit damp. I’d suggest bringing a low lawn chair and a thicker blanket, as well as a sweater to this one.

For the next 2 hours, I laughed and sang and laughed some more as people commented next to us on certain scenes, or the audience clapped at classic lines from the film (“Nobody puts Baby in a corner”). I even saw my first ever shooting star! (Hey, I live in LA – we don’t see these often.) It flew by just above the screen and everyone gave a huge cheer! It was a great time to say the least, and a true testament to the endurance of cinema. Only in the movies can you have a 1987 film, set in 1963, with 1987 sounding music; and have thousands sitting near graveyards in 2012 to watch it. The best part, of course, was the big scene at the end of the film and the memorable dance between Johnny and Baby. The crowd sang and clapped and some even danced.

The funny thing is that as I got into my car, I had an itch to play the big song from the film’s finale. I fished out my iPod and 2 continuous plays of “I Had the Time of My Life” later, I was home.

The Cinespia season is wrapping up soon, but if you have some time over the next 3 Saturday nights, I highly encourage you to go. Just plan ahead and expect a huge gathering.

You’ll have the time of your life! 🙂