Saturday, January 22, 2011

Hot in Hollywood?


Photo montage of the day:


1. my attempt at being edgy - green nails. heard they’re in!


2. trying to dress up the natural wave with some hair bling at work.


3. being an adult means sitting in LA traffic for hours on the commute home.


4. my favorite flats made a trip to the office.


So yesterday was day two at the office, and I’ve got my first bit of exciting news to share: I will be attending US Magazine’s Hot Hollywood party this spring, and oh yeah…the Oscars too.

I’m seriously so excited I can’t even pretend to do that whole I’m-so-over-it-not-even-impressed thing! But it’s not the celebrity guest list that has me counting down the days to the red carpet though (although if I find out Carrie Underwood is attending either event that will quickly change) - it’s more the fact that my impending introduction to the fashion, glamour, and glitter of Hollywood have me feeling a little like Cinderella at the ball. Or in my case, the cubicle.

 Yesterday pretty much started out the same as Monday. I went with another intern to Starbs again and grabbed another round of venti-chai-somethings, and was still put oddly at ease by one of the baristas. This one didn’t call me darling, but he did compliment me on my “nice blouse.” Big fan of that Starbucks!

Other odd jobs included calling on a Women of Hollywood SAG awards gifting suite for our event coordinator and running to grab some paperwork from the William Morris Endeavor off Rodeo Drive. WME was interesting. When I walked into the lobby, I had no idea where I was. About every 10 seconds one of the four receptionists at the long white desk would get a phone call on their Britney-esque ear piece, during which each respective receptionist would kindly crush the garbled dreams of a hopeful actor or actress on the other end of the line.


After overhearing the receptionists’ side of more than a few of these one-way conversations, I finally decided to ask just what exactly WME was. When I finally walked up to the desk to ask, one of the male receptionists gave me a polite smile that seemed to say “you’re clearly a half-wit farm girl, but I’ll tolerate you because your ignorance is charming,” and informed me that WME was a talent agency.


He wasn’t lying, either. Once I sat back down in the reception area (that overlooked the Hollywood sign towering in the distance over Rodeo, by the way), I googled the agency and found a list of several of their clients, which included Ben Affleck, Shia Labeof, Jennifer Garner, Olivia Wilde, and Vanessa Hudgens, just to name a few. And yes, Karley from Sunnybrook farm was indeed impressed.


After returning to the office, our boss took all of the interns out to lunch and answered our star-struck questions (i.e. who have you met? where will we go? what all will be doing?). Overall, day two was a success. We’ve got some fantastic events coming up at the office, and I can’t wait to share them all with y’all! But in the mean time, check out the latest inspiration pics I found while snooping around people.com at work. I’m loving Hilary Duff’s style lately! .


         


xxo

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Decide that you want it more than you are afraid of it.

Bill Cosby

Monday, January 17, 2011

The Intern Diaries


Is it ironic that one of my new year’s resolutions was to spend less time talking about other people and that I’m currently interning at a celebrity gossip magazine?


Don’t answer that. Day 1 was fun! I scoured around for inspiration pictures to help me think of something fun to wear, and pretty much fell back on a version of the JCrew “uniform” I always seemed to sport a version of during my days in retail. But you can never go wrong with the Crew, right? Right!


During my weekend what-the-heck-do-I-wear search I came across a few faaaa-bulous ensembles that I have to share. Hope they inspire you as much as they did me!






Per the suggestion of my roommate, I left about 30 minutes earlier than necessary and showed up so early at work that I had plenty of time to walk across Wilshire and grab a cup of coffee at Starbucks. That was my first Starbs run of the day—the second would come later, when I went back with the other US intern to grab coffee and scones for the office. Venti steamed vanilla chai soy latte with no water, anyone? Anyway, the barista (he was there both times I went) called me darlin’, which somehow put me at ease as I polished off my bagel and banana with a half-caf Americano on the patio before returning to the office building where US and Rolling Stone are housed. Livin’ the dream.


I was so thankful for my JCrew’d out ensemble when I met the West Coast Editor soon after arriving at the office. In her ultra skinny jeans, suede red pumps, oversized white tunic and crisp coral manicure, she could have stepped right out of the pages of the catalogue. And yes—she even has a British accent. Half the office was in sweats thanks to a sleepless night spent exporting the Golden Globes issue to New York, but the other half was dressed per usual in all the glamour that editorial journalism stands for; dark wash denim, high heeled booties, slouchy tops, and oversized shades.


It’s a world I always knew existed, and I’m so excited to get to sit in on a little slice of it. Even if it does mean carting buckets of caffeine to and from the little Starbs on Wilshire. xx.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

First day as an US Weekly intern on Monday. Wish I could get away with this ensemble at the office! Blake always nails it with a perfect mix of dressy + casual separates. Love it!


My project for the rest of the weekend officially has become scrounging around my wardrobe to come up with an appropriately fun/eclectic/professional ensemble for day 1 at the office. I’ll post the inspiration picture and final result as soon as I come up with something!


Happy Saturday! xxxoo

Friday, January 7, 2011

Warning! Country Strong Review

Do not read this if you would rather die than read a spoiler about the film Country Strong.


Or should I say Country Wrong. or Country Weak. Titles aren’t really important…here’s what is:


See the movie if you have enough alcohol on hand to drink yourself into a coma. You’ll need to designate a good four hours or so to knock yourself out so that you can sleep off the depression you’ll inevitably leave theaters with after the credits roll. Do yourself a favor: download the soundtrack and forget wasting money on a ticket to see the movie. All of the actors can sing, and no one’s lying when they say that Gwyneth Paltrow’s acting is good enough to make a cowboy holler. But the storyline is spun with a kind of heavy that never lifts.


Gwyneth’s character Kelly Canter is like a countrified Britney Spears minus the head shaving. Her story will have you feeling anxious throughout the entire film as you futilely await Kelly’s victorious career resurgence, and ultimately, you’ll probably feel the urge to check yourself into rehab after leaving the theater. The highlight of the movie is Kelly’s big comeback, although she kind of ruins the whole coming-back aspect when she intentionally overdoses on pills five minutes after walking offstage and dies unloved and alone (I told you it was depressing).


Country Strong won’t make anyone’s dreams come true and it might just discourage a few up-and-coming singers to rip up their big record deals and head back to the safety of a small town. But then again, that might not be such a bad thing after all.


On a brighter note, the dress Kelly/Gwyneth wore during the final song of her goodbye performance was stunning! Check it out:



I can definitely see that dress winning pageants. Stunning! But for a country concert…not quite so sure.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

"Whatever"

That’s my mantra for 2011, if you were wondering. Yes, really!



Here are the ways not to interpret my new go-to word:


- in a Valley Girl-esque drawl, i.e. “Whateverrrrrrrr.”


- as another way of saying “I could care less about life.”


- as the response of a coach potato/bum to any question, i.e. “Do you want to bathe? Go out and try to get a job?” “Whatever.”


- as a less X-rated version of screaming “F-off, world!” (sorry, I know that’s a little tacky)



None of those come close to summing up the meaning of my whatever, because my whatever is a positive thing. For me, it means that I’m 100% open to whatever God has for me. after my internship this summer, for LITERALLY the first time in my life, i have zero plans for my life, career, income, future, etc…and i’m excited about it! Over the past few years I guess it’s just finally clicked; I’ve realized that fear is futile, and worry robs the joy of the present by suffocating you with anxiety about a future that can’t be controlled or foretold (that one comes from my dad’s arsenal of wisdom. shout-out pops!)


The coolest, most freeing thing about living sans-fear is that it opens up the doors of possibility. This 2011, I’m resolving to go on a few adventures in full anticipation that great things come when we acknowledge that the only closed doors are the ones we refuse to let ourselves believe we’re capable of opening. That being said, here are my New Year’s Resolutions (I guess this means I have to keep them!):


- to dream big without apologizing for it


- to start a business with my friends (a successful one!)


- to make exciting connections


- to embrace my unknown future


- to live one day at a time


- to always give thanks


- to remember that I am not living for myself, but for my Creator, that in all things I might reflect His grace more



Be on the lookout for new blog posts. I’m blessed to be working at an internship with US Weekly Magazine this semester, so I should have some fun stories to share!


xxooxx

Karley with a K. Todos los derechos reservados. © Maira Gall.