good evening everyone! i am just about to leave for my overnight flight to miami - and then i'll be whisked away to the island of jamaica for a few days (i'll be back in los angeles on monday evening) to attend my good pal stephanie's wedding in lovely ocho rios! of course i'm bringing my trusty laptop with me but i'm not sure if i'll have internet access ... so i might be quiet just for a couple of days - i promise to update popbytes and twitter when i can! (it goes without saying i'll take plenty of pictures) i wish i could tweet from my iphone but the international rates are a bit high but i'll try to work something out! much love to everyone as always - popbytes over & out for tonight ... xoxo
good evening! i'm thrilled the weekend is here - tonight i'm heading down to on the rox at the roxy over on the sunset strip ... i'm playing host for a small shindig - a gathering of local twitter, social media and blog addicts (along with press folks plus anyone else who wants to have a good time along with super tasty drinks!) it should be a total blast - i even picked up a cute new outfit at american apparel for the occasion - i seriously needed a night out and this party fits the bill oh so perfectly! many thanks go out to my pals heather & nic from the roxy - they've always been way cool to popbytes - and i always have an awesome time whenever i'm over there! i'll check you guys tomorrow - i hope everyone has a great weekend ahead of 'em! popbytes over & out for tonight ... xoxo
hey hey! so yes ... today popbytes turns six years old - i can't believe i've been running this blog all by myself for so long (except for my pal DJ paul v.'s awesome mashup posts on thursday mornings) plus i've managed to hang onto my day job (people think i do popbytes full-time but i actually don't - although it feels that way) sometimes i don't know how i keep myself from coming unglued at the seams! as far as this past year is concerned - i must give much love to twitter which has totally helped me connect to all of my readers plus i've made a number of new friends (you guys know who you are ... i love each and everyone of you) i swear i'd tweet all the time if i could ... sometimes blogging can be a little isolating - just sitting behind the computer - so it's been incredible to strike up engaging (and sometimes silly) conversations (using only 140 characters per tweet!) which helps to add even more of a personal touch to the site! this year i also covered the biggest story during all my years of blogging ... the unexpected and tragic passing of michael jackson back in june - in the realm of entertainment and pop culture - his death at age 50 was a major event - for sure the biggest passing since princess diana but i wasn't blogging back in 1997 (i should have been!) hopefully we won't have something happen on the level of MJ's death anytime soon - these past few months we've unfortunately lost a number of great people - the summer of 2009 will definitely go down as an eerie one! but rather than focusing on the negative things - i always try to keep things on the positive side around here - as you know i love to post about things i like - rather than trash stuff i don't - so i tried to figure who my favorite six people are and i came up with the graphic below ... super sexy david beckham was the only guy to make the cut - of course i totally love a bunch of other peeps but everyone down below is totally tops in my eyes - especially whitney houston as of late - i'm so glad girfriend's back! (i thought about including amy winehouse instead of britney spears but she's so off my radar right now ...) looking towards the future - i obviously plan to carry on as usual and i'm still thinking about trying to do some video blogs - i think that might be fun - and if you happen to have suggestions or thoughts about what you'd like to see more of on popbytes ... please do let me know! thanks for continuing to check out my blog - when i first started it as a fun unemployed project - i had zero clue i'd still be writing on popbytes six years later - here's the next six years! popbytes over & out - much love to all as always - xoxo (and make sure to follow me on twitter if you're not already!)
good evening! i just got back a few minutes ago from the happiest place on earth - disneyland! oh yes it's a very happy place - although i don't think it's the happiest place ever (maui is definitely happier than anaheim...) but overall i had a great time! i was worried saturday at the park was going to be super packed but actually it wasn't all that bad (plus the weather was perfectly warm - i'm trying to send good weather vibes to all my peeps on the east coast - it sounds oh so cold there right now) unfortunately two of my favorite attractions - 'the haunted mansion' & 'it's a small world' were both closed (i was like OH NO!) and then just as i was boarding 'splash mountain' (i literally was seated) the ride broke down and everyone had to leave after waiting in line - ugh! thankfully my boyfriend's niece & nephew (ages 4 & 6 - visiting from australia) both had an excellent time - the park really is for kids - so i'm glad they enjoyed themselves and were well-behaved (i seriously need to go back to the california adventure park which i've never been to - i think i'm done with disneyland for awhile) below are two pictures of moi - chillin' with an adorable billy goat at the mini petting zoo they've got - i could have hung out with 'em all day - i love goats and their cheese (but i didn't like how their horns were cut off - you could totally see and feel the stumps - poor goats) tomorrow i have a bunch of things to catch up on - i so need it to be a productive day - popbytes over & out for tonight...xoxo
hey everyone! another super relaxing day down here in hawaii - tomorrow we're driving to hana which is supposed to be incredible - i can't wait! this afternoon i chilled out on the beach with a couple of very tasty strawberry daiquiris and henry miller's 1934 novel tropic of cancer which is one of my favorite books of all-time - lately i've been itching to read it again - it's a bit of an undertaking but well worth it - i highly recommend checking it out if you haven't read it already! anyways it sounds like things are still semi-slow in the gossip world (except for all the stuff about john travolta's son jett passing away - so sad) this week i will try to post as much as i can - i feel totally guilty for taking a small break from popbytes but i really needed to recharge myself (i have been at this over five years without a break...) so when i get back to los angeles next week - things will be back to normal - perhaps even better than before! popbytes over & out for tonight...xoxo
PS many thanks to popbytes' pals madcao & jay for sending me this article in today's new york times all about maui! last but not least - thanks my dear popbytes' reader marilyn who sent me an email earlier today - you totally rock!
good evening! oh i had an intense (yet fun) friday night - my imac has been recently crapping out (it turns off all by itself after about an hour of use...not good times) so it was time to head to the apple store and invest in a newer model! (plus it was kinda my birthday present to myself!) i got home and set-up everything (while listening to kate nash's brilliant made of bricks - then i tossed on blackout - the oh so hot album from ms. drama herself - britney spears!) but then there was issues with the firewire transfer - which thankfully have all been resolved! right now i'm about to settle into a homemade pizza and a little TV - of course i'll be tooling with my new mac until the wee hours of the morning (along with playing a little assassins creed on PS3 - i finally beat bioshock which overall was awesome - so i've moved onto a new game!) popbytes over & out for tonight - xxoo!
hey y'all! just so you know (not that you really care) but my internet is out again - it was back on almost all day yesterday but went out last night and is still off right now!!! basically i'm calm (at least that's what i keep telling myself...) plus i've got an earlier appointment (friday morning) for them to come check out the modem etc - but i think it should clear up before then - or at least i hope it does! (i am still convinced it is something in my neighborhood and not my apartment...) i've been so very stressed about the situation - it's like not breathing for me - and it makes me realize how dependent i am on having net access but right now i can't do anything - so i might as well not give myself an ulcer over the situation! anyways if it comes back on tonight - i will for sure let you know! popbytes over & out for now...xxoo!
hey kids - happy sunday! so can i tell you - i'm about to lose my mind - my internet has been down since early yesterday morning - i have been on the verge of freaking out for the past twenty four hours! (right now i'm at a cafe down the street which thankfully has wireless access) i've restarted the modem probably close to 1000x - plus i've been on the phone with time warner cable a bunch of times - and still no internet! i'm totally convinced it's a problem in my area but of course they want to send a technician out to my place...guess when the earliest appointment is? NEXT MONDAY! i'm hoping that the problem will have cleared up by then - otherwise i really will lose my mind! so please bear with me - i intended to get a lot of stuff done but instead i watched hairspray twice on blu-ray and i've been playing with my new playstation 3 - now i've got all the systems - i'm such a video game addict! (i'm still more impressed with xbox & wii than the PS3 but i really wanted a blu-ray disc player - those movies are better than HD DVD in my humble opinion!) popbytes over & out for now - please keep your fingers crossed that my internet comes back on soon! much love to all as always - xxoo!
good morning everyone! it's friday - and tonight i'm going to see jennifer lopez & marc anthony which i'm actually super excited for - i know it's going to be the ultimate guilty pleasure concert-going experience! anyways last night i mentioned that i had one pet still to post about here on popbytes - so i thought why not toss him up this morning? meet max - my new parrot - he's a yellow naped amazon - who is less than a year old (their lifespan can be up to eighty years!) and oh my gosh - i never thought i could take to a bird the way i've taken to mr. max - he's insanely adorable - and very talkative! (but can be quite loud sometimes!) some of his favorite phrases include: i love you, whatcha' doin' big guy?, come on max - he's constantly learning new noises and words - it's quite amazing how smart & complex these animals are! although i never saw myself owning a parrot - now that i have him - he's just the best thing ever! (besides my three dogs who are semi-curious about max but that's about as far as their friendship goes!) i'll have to take some video of him hamming it up - it's hilarious! popbytes over & out for now...xxoo!
hey everyone! i made it safe & sound to chicago...let me just say today was one of the longest days ever - and considering i only slept like two hours last night - i'm way tired i can barely even think straight but everything is totally fine! i was able to check into the adobe max conference which kicks off early tomorrow morning - plus i was able to get in a drop of sightseeing with my pals joey & tina! the best thing (besides a giant ferris wheel ride at navy pier) was an hour long architecture boat tour along the chicago river - which was really fascinating & inspiring - a totally great introduction to the city - which is actually really freakin' windy! poor joey got a small piece of debris blown into her eye - plus she got a blister from walking all over the place! it seems to be a really awesome city but i cannot imagine how it would be in the winter - it must be brutal! by the end of the night we all decided to grab some deep dish pizza which was really good but super filling - i think i'll stick with thin crust but it was worth a try! ok i so seriously need to go to sleep - i'll check you all at some point tomorrow - popbytes over & out - xxoo!
hey hey! i've been super busy all day long organizing stuff here - i have so much crap it's not even funny! i've thrown away a lot of stuff plus moved a bunch of boxes into storage - i don't know how i accumulated so much stuff! right now i need to start getting ready so i can head over to the hollywood bowl to catch underworld which i'm very excited about - i think the show is going to be killer - although i wish i had off tomorrow - i know i'll be dragging ass at work but it'll be worth it! below is the video for one of their most popular tracks born slippy which was also featured in the film trainspotting! i will update this post when i get home (plus i'll need to watch a drop of the video music awards before i go to bed - i have to see how britney spears did with her much anticipated comeback performance!) i'll check you all later - popbytes over & out for now...xxoo!
good morning y'all! last weekend i added another pet to the popbytes mix! meet candy - a five month old little girl long haired chihuahua - i already have two dogs (parker & fidel) and i really wasn't too keen on getting a third one but one of the neighbors on my block was trying to give her away - and once i saw her i simply couldn't resist - she really needed a good home - plus having a little female energy in the house is a good thing! she's super sweet and a little naughty but she has fit right in here - and now she's losing her baby teeth so i keep finding little teeth all over - and she's chewing everything in sight but that's what puppies do! she has already claimed her princess status - and has all things pink - after having boy dogs for so long - it's so much fun to have a girl doggie! i'm already convinced she needs to have her headshot taken - she's perfect for the movies! anyways i'm not really feeling that motivated today after having three days off but alas it's time to get back to work :( popbytes over & out for now...xxoo!
good evening! first off happy mother's day to all you cool moms out there - i sent my mom (along w/ my brother) a nice set-up of white orchids which she seemed to like! i've had a terrible day though - i was pulling into a parking lot and hit the curb by accident (oops!) which gave me a flat tire along with a dented rim - not good times! tomorrow morning i've got to bring the car in (on the spare tire) and get everything fixed asap - i do love living in los angeles but having to deal with a car can be such a pain in the ass!
tonight i'm bringing you a sampling of pictures from my trip back east - i hadn't been back in so long - a trip long overdue - i'm going to do my best to get back there more often! i had a little shindig on one of my nights in NYC down at fontanas on the lower east side - i saw a few people i hadn't seen in years (hello to cindy, sarah & jaime!) plus some people i had only met through email like the good folks behind brooklyn bunny (thanks to popbytes) it was great to put faces to the names! i even met popbytes reader hannah who was way cool! (we pretty much closed the bar down at around 4am!) i also told my new pal jim i'd mention his new blog nobody knows - so make sure to pop over there!
i also had to stop by the apple store on 5th avenue (after having a delicious solo lunch at le cirque where i spotted ivana trump) it's a gorgeous store and i simply couldn't resist picking up one of those adorable ipod shuffles in green! after that i had a kick-ass facial at exhale (on central park south) which i'd for sure recommend - i was feelin' fresh & relaxed (plus i managed to attend a party for tori amos's new album & squeezed in a matinee of a chorus linewhich rocked!) i've also got to toss out a huge thanks to my friend gillian who was totally the hostess w/ the mostess!
after NYC i was back on long island at my folks where i got to spend a lot of quality time with their awesome dog cassie who is one of the most energetic & smart dogs i've ever known (she's a border collie - they're way smart creatures - it's crazy!) there's pics of cassie & i plus some quick video i shot of her in the backyard - then we all headed up to boston to attend my little (eight years younger) brother david's graduation from northeastern - i don't get to hang out that much with my brother so that was really the best and i got to meet some of his super cool friends (hello to grace & matt!) the actual graduation ceremony was overwhelming & huge - and early in the morning - i don't see how anybody could say it was a good time but it wasn't all that long - we somehow managed to grin & bear it!
then it was back to long island via the ferry in connecticut (we did manage to stop at mohegan sun which could easily fit in on the vegas strip) which takes you to orient point - the last stop on the north fork of the island where i managed to snap a picture of a completely gorgeous sunset! last day i caught spiderman 3 with my mom which we both loved - early the next day i flew back west! although i wouldn't call it a vacation - since everyday was packed with running here & there but oh my gosh it was so nice to get away from the usual grind for a bit! thanks for bearing with me on this overly long post - popbytes over & out for tonight...xxoo!
MK, hannah, jim, jaime, sarah, & john outside fontanas
oh my word - i had to share this picture with you all - it just cracks me up! (besides i'll admit to having been in a huge dog mode as of late) this picture is totally really - i simply adjusted the background to be (back to) black (oh my amy winehouse) to make my chihuahua doggie mr. fidel and his orange drink of choice 'capri sun' stand out! can i tell you though that he has become some cranky recently - chihuahuas are totally crazy little complicated dogs that are either super scared or busy getting their 'napoleon' complex on! popbytes over & out for tonight - xxoo!
good evening y'all! this past thursday at the year of the dog film premiere i had the opportunity to meet ms. lisa marie - the adorable white pitbull pictured below (in her best pink dress!) she was so sweet & gentle the other night that once i found out she was going to be down in west hollywood today (on robertson just south of santa monica blvd) looking to get adopted - i simply had to go down and see her again plus snap some more pics in hopes of helping her find a loving family! there were a ton of cute dogs down there as well as some cool cats needing a home - if you're local to los angeles the 'mobile adoption' set-up is usually on the first three saturdays of each month!
the very lovely volunteer/handler lori and everyone else from best friends animal society were so grateful that i mentioned lisa marie the other day here on popbytes - it really is the very least i could do - gosh you know me & animals! i totally would take her if i could but she doesn't get along with other dogs but she'd make the perfect animal companion for anyone who doesn't already have a pet! i'm already jealous of her new owner - i'm telling you she is such a cool dog!
lisa marie climbed right up on me this afternoon and kinda sat on my lap - gosh she is such a love bug! so if anyone knows someone looking for a dog or could even help foster her - please make sure to get in touch with best friends animal society! i'll make sure to keep you all updated on lisa marie's status and if i can visit with her again - i will - she's a total superstar! popbytes over & out for now...xxoo!
i'm sure many of you have heard by now but my pal tabloid whore has decided to hang up her blog for the time being (i don't want to say forever - that seems all too final) i've had the pleasure of personally knowing her for quite sometime now and without our blogs we may never have met - so i'm so happy she decided to email me back in the day - the rest is blogger best friend history! i also totally understand why she's stopping the site and respect her decision - it's way overly stressful and running a popular blog means you're constantly dealing with it! i always seem to have a slight nervous stomach over blogging - i always want my blog to be the best it can be so i take everything to heart and lordy that can grow very tired really quick! (i'll admit to being a little jealous of her being freed from the blog and the stress!)
the good news is i'm currently 'in talks' with my friend to maybe do a now & then guest post right here on popbytes - oh my word i would love that! (as i know many of you would too!) she knows she's welcome here anytime - what are we going to do without her recap of the hills?!? i'll miss reading her everyday - she had a great voice for blogging which is so key with the gazillions of other blogs out there! anyways i'll keep you all updated on ms. tw! popbytes over & out for now - much love to all as always (especially tabloid whore) xxoo!
hey kids! tonight i headed down to TART on fairfax (right across from the farmer's market) and met up with my pal danielle who runs celebrity baby blog as well as her hubby josh who blogs the food section and i finally got to meet their darling baby girl anya (who was born last october) she was just adorable but slept most of the time - i wish i could take naps like that! i know ms. danielle through a mutual friend who isn't a blogger (not yet anyway...but she does know how to make a kick-ass screensaver) just one of those random coincidences that i so love! below is a pic of danielle & myself - and yes i'm wearing the same shirt i wore in my apology to britney spears...another random coincidence but i do happen to love that shirt! i'm thrilled tomorrow is friday - i worked & blogged my ass off this week - i can really use the weekend to recharge my pop batteries! popbytes over & out for now...xxoo!
