It’s not often that I do a personal post… Most of the time, when I see blogs and it’s all about what someone did one weekend, I think “Why do they think anyone would want to read that?” and I move on with my life. There are some people, though, whose personalities shine through or whose lives or points of view are pretty interesting, where I will make an exception. I know a lot of people read celebrities’ blogs, too, so I guess this is interesting to some people! I just, in general, try to make sure that my blogs are helpful in some way - recipes, tips, giveaways, discounts, education… But this one, I don’t think will fall into that category. I hope you will forgive my exception to my rule!
When we were deciding where in California we should move to, so many people told me not to live in Los Angeles, because everyone is so fake, and that I would hate it.
This week, I spent two days there, and like the last couple times I have been there, I have found the exact opposite, so I want to share a bit about that!
Additionally, the reason I was in LA was really cool, so I wanted to talk about that a bit as well!
On Tuesday, the day I was to leave to go down to LA, I woke up to a non-functioning iPhone, which was the result of a tragic accident involving proximity to condensation. Absurd! And terrible timing. The reason the timing was terrible is that I had been looking forward to a routine week at home, but had my hopes dashed to bits when I got a facebook message asking me for a recommendation for a makeup artist in LA to do makeup for a photoshoot with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. I had the perfect artist to recommend - ME! I am a huge basketball fan, and a fan of both the Lakers and the Bucks, so I was pumped to go!
I just was significantly less pumped to go down there late, after going to the AT&T store to get a SIM card for my old iPhone 4S so that I would have some sort of navigation and way to contact people, especially in the event of an emergency!
Anyway, I made it there, and spent night #1 with my friend Nancy. She is a big part of the reason why I had such a great trip, and always do whenever I see her or chat with her on the phone! I see a lot of myself in her - we are both super driven. We read the same books, listen to the sam podcasts, and have very similar outlooks on life. Every time I spend time connecting with Nancy, I am more inspired, motivated, and refreshed than before!
We met doing makeup together for Temptu at a BCBG fashion show in Chicago. Here’s the picture from that night:
I don’t think she would be thrilled that I used that photo, because through amazing hard work and dedication to fitness and nutrition, Nancy has lost a ton of weight and looks AMAZING. Here’s a picture that does her justice… Obviously, I am seeing that we really should have taken a picture together one of the last two times we’ve seen each other… Next time, for sure!
In addition to all the mental benefits of spending a couple hours with Nancy before I crashed in her bed, she also gave me some belated birthday gifts which I am absolutely in love with:
So far, I have only tried the Wild Rose Vitamin C Petal Peel (the packets), which is brand new from Korres, and the Wild Rose + Vitamin C Advanced Brightening Sleeping Facial (the jar), but I love them both! I will be doing the grapefruit brightening masque tonight after late dinner, yoga, and some wine! (See a theme with the brightening stuff - my main skin insecurity is hyperpigmentation, Nancy knows it, and she came to the rescue)!
The next morning, I got up early and headed to Beverly Hills to the first location for the shoot with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. As much as I love working from home, I could definitely get used to a commute with this view!
The iPhone 4S camera (UGH!) does not do it justice one bit!
Anyway, I got to set and had the pleasure of working with Kareem. Here are a couple pictures of us in action, and of him behind-the-scenes!
AWESOME! He was so great to work with! We chatted about all kinds of things - Milwaukee, Madison, Donald Trump, Donald Trump’s ridiculous hair, giving cats Donald Trump’s hairdo (hairdon’t!), and he even gave me tips on improving my skyhook (keep practicing, it takes a bit of time counts as a tip, right?)! This is an experience I will definitely be telling my kids about someday, and I hope I get the opportunity to work with him again!
We had a location change… Which meant another scenic commute…
And here I am getting my workout in for the day - calf raises to reach Kareem’s head to powder him at the second location!
Aww yeah! =D
After we wrapped, I headed over to my friend Elle’s place! Like Nancy, she and I have a similar frame of mind and she has the same effect on me - energizing! She works for Mark Sisson of the Primal Blueprint, and Tommy met her when he went to PrimalCon. She was nice enough to host us in Malibu when we went to LA last month, which was when I met her and when we took this photo hiking to the set of M*A*S*H!
Again, it is abundantly clear that I need to take more photos when I see friends, because I really should have taken a selfie with her last night, too - even though it was a slumber party! Next time!
And hopefully, next time I won’t be dealing with my iPhone 4S! I need a visit from the Apple Fairy… My laptop is about 8 years old, and you already know about my phone. Maybe I should start hanging out in bars in Redwood City… 😛
Well, thank you for suffering through my personal blog post. The moral of the story is - spend time with people who bring you up! And, you can find them anywhere, as long as you are looking and open to attracting the right kinds of people - even in allegedly superficial Los Angeles/Malibu/Beverly Hills!
Ready for a Fit Foodie Friday tomorrow?
xoxo,
Mandie
P.S. Who are some people in your life that bring you up and inspire you?
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