Rants & Raves: Volume 2

Posted in Life, Series by C.

I was fascinated to learn not too long ago, that statistics show, on average, a person has around 50,000 thoughts a day. Some argue that the amount of mental chatter in our minds is even higher than that, at an upwards of 70,000!

It prompted me to create a new series, “Rants & Raves,” sharing arbitrary thoughts that are on the mind as of writing time, or reflections I’ve been collecting to share that would tie in nicely. (You can read more about why I was so drawn to the idea of the human thought process on a more philosophical level, by visiting my Volume 1 post from last fall.)

Writing is typically such a cathartic experience because in many ways, it naturally helps to process the overwhelming volume of chatter going on in the mind, much of which, has no real purpose other than just being there. Sometimes a gal just needs to rant…and rave. A few random, compulsive, completely unproductive, not-so-deep thoughts as of late…

Rants & Raves: Volume #2

–>Rant
To every salesperson working in retail: I do appreciate your asking if I need help the moment I walk through the door as a form of greeting. However, if I politely say: “no thank you, I’m just looking,” this doesn’t mean that you can now stalk me around the store, talking up the merchandise, telling me how cute everything I touch is. It further doesn’t help that once I finally get you off my back, that your colleague then hones in on me. Being asked by SIX different people in a Banana Republic if I need help within a 10 minute span of time is ridiculous and only makes me want to leave. You’re harassing your customers. Trust me, if I need help with anything, I know exactly where to find you. And P.S.: I don’t need you to ask me (repeatedly) if I’m “aware of your current promotion” if the signage posted on EVERY blank wall in the store tells me that all items are 40% off. I can read, thank you.

–>Rave
It’s 86° degrees today, hitting a high of 90° by Friday. God, I love L.A. Now my pedicure won’t go to waste.

–>Rant
Scandal has gone off the deep end. (Warning: spoiler alert ahead if you’re not caught up.) This season hasn’t been strong in general, but this new story-line where we kidnap Olivia Pope and hold her ransom so that the Vice President can get his war with West Angola, is stupid for so many reasons I can’t begin count. But let’s try anyway:

The writers managed to skim over an important plot point: HOW a V.P. can take over a sitting U.S. President’s Secret Service and turn his entire team against him. Hello?
Who in their right mind would actually declare war risking THOUSANDS of lives, to save ONE? No President would ever do this (I don’t care if he is, ~~was~~, is, (oh, who the hell knows at this point?) hittin’ it.
Olivia convinces her captor to “sell” her to the highest bidder, prompting him not to give it much thought, but to actually take her out of her holding cell and give in to her “suggestion.” Really?
Oh, and JUST as the D.E.A. determines her location and comes to save her – she’s already on a plane, presumably to be put on the market for ransom (again). Hmmm.
This means they’re dragging this story line out even longer!

If Scandal doesn’t get it together, I’m skipping the rest of this season. Yes, I guess this means I’m no longer a Gladiator. White hat gone. Whatever.

–>Rave
God bless the beautiful soul who had the final say on the operating hours for Yogurtlands everywhere. Because of them, I can get into my sweat pants at 10:30pm on a Sunday night and haul ass to the land of unlimited fro-yo and cookie dough toppings.

–>Rant
I have a love-hate relationship with online ordering. On the one hand, I love the ease and often less expensive cost of items. On the other hand, I have no patience and absolutely hate waiting for things to ship. I’m usually so excited, I want it now! I don’t care if it’s Amazon’s super efficient 2-day shipping. Sometimes even this feels too long. I might not have such a problem with waiting overnight for a package. That seems much more reasonable. The caveat is that I refuse to ever “overnight” anything…or pay for shipping in general. I do whatever I have to, to avoid paying for shipping. Yes, I’m one of those annoying people that will Google: “(insert store name/website here) free shipping code.” I also have a huge grievance when something costs more to ship than the actual item I ordered. In what world is this okay?

–>Rave
I realize this is now the second time I’m mentioning Fifty Shades this week (pardon me). Spotify took it upon itself to alert me that the soundtrack, released yesterday, was available for streaming. I had some time to kill while I got some work done. Dammit, if I didn’t love the hell out of it. Like. Every. Single. Song. From Frank Sinatra to Beyoncé, it’s got a fresh, passionate sound. I found myself grooving along more than I expected to. It actually has me excited for the movie now in a way that makes me uncomfortable to admit to anyone. Ugh. So I’ll just do it on my blog and if it gets backs to me…at least I’ll know who reads it.

Do you have any rants or raves to share? I’d love to hear them.

Thanks for indulging me! x

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Image credit: “Neourban Hipster Office” by markus spiske used under CC BY 2.0 | Modifications: text added to original.

9Feb2015

5 Reasons This Week Will Rock!

Posted in Series by C.

I think a big redeeming quality about the week ahead, is that everyone will feel the undercurrent of l.o.v.e. as we make our way toward Valentine’s Day on Saturday. Hopefully, this means that most people you encounter this week in particular, will be in a pretty chipper mood. Then again, perhaps the undercurrent will feel quite the opposite for those of us who choose to reject the Hallmark holiday altogether and celebrate Single’s Appreciation Day instead (trust me, I’ve been there). I don’t know what the plan for Valentine’s Day is as of writing time, but when I asked my boyfriend what we were doing for V-Day yesterday, he looked at me blankly and said, “I don’t know…bring you flowers?”

I made a deal with myself at the start of the New Year that I would have something to look forward to every single day. Most days find me looking forward to small pleasures: a morning latte, a night solo in with Netflix over a homemade meal, or simply excited to start a new read on my Kindle. It’s made 2015 a great start so far and the perfect excuse to continue with this series, which tends to share the slightly bigger highlights of the coming week, building excitement along with it. Essentially, it was designed to trick myself out of the Monday blues…and it does.

With that, my 5 reasons this week will rock!

1. Girl’s Night Out: I can’t wait to unwind with a classic G.N.O. later this week, hitting the equally classic dinner and a movie circuit. I was simply going to leave it at that, omitting the part about what movie we’ll be seeing so as to not embarrass myself completely. But what the hell! The movie, good or bad, is going to blow the box office out of the water this weekend…and I’m curious. So yes, you’ll find me and a gal pal at the Arclight ready to enter Christian Grey’s red room of pain, a.k.a. Fifty Shades of Grey. I’ll further stand in my truth by adding that yes, I read the book; yes, it was an annihilation of the English language; and yes, I continued reading it despite this. It was a book club selection chosen by one of the members some years ago. I had no idea what it was about when I first started reading it; so let’s just say, it caught me totally off-guard…and was “eye-opening,” for lack of a better word. My expectations for the film are pretty low, but it should be a fun way to kick-off the weekend.

2. Both Sides Now: I’ve seen Love, Actually almost every Christmas in recent years as a tradition to get into the holiday spirit. I was always struck by the scene where Emma Thompson’s character receives a Joni Mitchell CD from her husband as an early Christmas gift. There’s a line where she states that Joni Mitchell “taught her how to feel.” I’ve been on the prowl for something new, and for whatever reason, that line came to me when logging on to Spotify, looking for something to zone out to while I got some work done. Joni Mitchell’s 2000 album, Both Sides Now is my current life soundtrack and will be in heavy rotation this week. Her voice is mesmerizing on this album. It’s not usually what I find myself listening to day-to-day at all, but I guess that’s the funny thing about getting older, your taste evolves.

3. “The Theater” (in my best British accent): To balance out my slightly more ~~exhibitionist~~,”overly-romantic?” theater-going experience at the movies, I feel good that I’ll be going to a more traditional theater-going experience to keep my street cred. My boyfriend and I are off to see a friend in her new play. I’m looking forward to the drive out to Pacific Palisades and a matinee performance.

4. “The Woman I Wanted to Be:” I’m in the middle of Landline (Goodreads winner for best fiction novel of 2014). Though I’m enjoying the book, I cannot wait to get through it so that I can get to Diane von Furstenberg’s new memoir, The Woman I Wanted to Be. I’m anxious to hear more about the life of the iconic designer in her own words. I admit, I have a bit of an obsession with DVF since visiting her Journey of a Dress exhibition last year. I hear she’s led quite the life. Then again, as a princess turned fashion designer, you’d have to. I’ll keep you posted on if it’s worth the read.

5. V-Day: While I got that aforementioned blank stare from my guy when probing about V-Day plans, I know I don’t have anything to worry about. He always makes holidays special, even if it’s just a simple night in with pizza and a movie. I’m not expecting anything over the top, I just look forward to spending the day hanging out together.

Wishing you a week of l.o.v.e.! x

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Header image credit: “coffee-cups-notes” by r. nial bradshaw used under CC BY 2.0 | Modifications: cropped, text added to original.

28Jan2013

2012 Best in Blogging: My Favorite Posts

Posted in Uncategorized by C.

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! 🙂

13Dec2012

2012: Best in Books, Guilty Pleasure

Posted in Books by C.

Let me start by saying that I know many of you will roll your eyes, possibly declare me insane, or stop reading my blog altogether by what I’m about to reveal. It’s no secret that I like to get lost in all kinds of stories. I’ve already reflected on my favorite fiction and non-fiction books this year, and not to brag, I have pretty decent taste as you can see. Usually. Sometimes. 🙂

Let me further say, before I get to the point (it’s coming), that this series was by far the WORST written and edited books I think I’ve EVER read. These certainly weren’t the best representation of superior writing in modern day literature. Embarrassingly, for whatever reason, this didn’t bother me enough to stop. (What is wrong with me!?) I hadn’t read such a page turner, if ever, like this. I was so entertained, annoyed, turned on, turned off, and turn upside down by my favorite guilty pleasure read(s) for 2012…

Fifty Shades of Grey

Fifty Shades Darker

and

Fifty Shades Freed

E.L. James (2012)

It started out as a book club selection to read the first novel only. I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I picked up the first book…and then the next…and the next. I spent two weeks in June trapped in the web (or rather the Red Room of pain) created by the alluring Christian Grey.

Synopsis: Anastasia Steele stumbles (literally) into Christian Grey’s office mere weeks before her college graduation to help out her best friend by conducting an interview for their college newspaper. Christian Grey is a 27 year old, gray-eyed, intensely flawed, but ridiculously hunky CEO and billionaire of his own self-made empire. He’s also pretty darn kinky. He extends his kinkiness to Anastasia. She agrees. He learns she’s a virgin, immediately has a fit, and gets over it. They have crazy sex. Engage in a little BDSM. Fall in love. More crazy sex. Fight. Break-up. Make-up. Fight. More hardcore BDSM. Some terrible sub-plot about stalking ex-girlfriends and Anastasia’s insane boss enters. More crazy sex. More BDSM. Bomb drops. Bomb resolved. More crazy sex. The End.

The Fifty Shades novels introduce its reader to a story, a mystery, and a fantasy that draws you in on page 7 and holds you captive for the next 1,500 pages. It opens you up to another world that is quite fascinating, complex, beguiling, at times extremely upsetting, but above all highly satiating and entertaining. You resent the characters, then you like the characters. You reject the situation, then you open yourself to the situation. It’s quite a roller coaster of emotions that E.L. James takes you through.

Admittedly, the characters and the given situations chronicled are quite unbelievable, unrealistic, and un-everything. (Pardon my bluntness, but a girl cannot have THAT much sex and not have even one yeast infection come up throughout the entire story. Oh, and she also happens to orgasm every. single. time.) Furthermore, I realize that themes in these books scream violence and promote what seems to be the ultimate unhealthy co-dependent relationship, multiplied. I also realize that despite these themes and this lack of reality, I interpreted the series as simply being fantastical and what E.L. James did best: she used her imagination (regardless of how twisted one might think hers must be to come up with this stuff!).

The Fifty Shades Trilogy is not for the squeamish at heart, nor the the conservative of mind. It can be, however, an interesting and ever so sweet escape.

“Laters, baby.”