Confessions of a Southern Girl During Hollywood Awards Season…

Awards season madness has come to a close…and what a crazy, yet amazing few months!

A few adjectives to describe this experience: starstruck, exhausting, exhilarating, Leo-fied

When I started my new job in the Awards department at Paramount, I had no clue what I was getting myself into. Lots of late night screenings, tastemakers with super famous stars (so difficult, I know) and bunches of awards shows. No wonder I haven’t written in months!

Who would have thought that Hollywood’s awards season was built around such a big campaign – making sure you get every aspect of the film out to the members of the illustrious Academy or your movies might just miss the mark of a nomination? Just watch E!’s Secret Societies of Hollywood and you’ll learn exactly what I’m talking about…

And for this small town girl, getting to see Leonardo DiCaprio every couple of weeks wasn’t too shabby. You can only imagine my reaction…Jack Dawson, is that you?!

By the time the Academy Awards aired, I was certainly invested in the filmmakers and actors, hoping and praying they’d get some recognition.

By far, the nicest cast of all time – NEBRASKA! June Squibb is literally the sweetest woman EVER. She’s always happy and had so much fun at all of the events. Then, there’s Will Forte – mister MacGruber. Did y’all know he’s been to Abingdon, VA? He even guessed that’s where I was from when I told him I grew up on the TN/VA line. Small world, huh?

You just never know who’s going to show up to the awards shows or events. Tom Hanks, Brad Pitt, Ben Affleck…I mean will my jaw ever stop dropping?! I guess some people are just used to this kind of life, but one thing’s for sure…I’ll never take it for granted. These experiences and opportunities I’ve gotten during awards season will stay with me for a lifetime. Not only that, but being around so many people who’ve followed their passions and are living their dreams is so INSPIRING! 

The Golden Globes and Oscar parties didn't hurt either. Here we are at the Paramount Golden Globe Party… Go TEAM AWARDS!! :)

How cool would it be to go to those all the time?! It makes me wanna keep makin’ moves and accomplish my goals. One day I’ll be interviewing all of these talented people myself! ;)

Now that things are slowing down… it’s that time of year for country music awards shows and Vegas trips. What can I tell ya…I’ll never have too much of Vegas and country in my life!

Stay tuned for what’s next in 2014 and 25 - the year to thrive!

And of course, always have faith!!

Vow to be spontaneous in 2013!

Well y'all...since it's a new year, my roomie and I decided we're going to get off the couch and be more spontaneous!

Yeah, we've lived in LA for over a year, but there is SO much we have yet to experience. So we have vowed to do something new and adventurous each week.

I must say we're doing pretty well so far!

We started out 2013 pretty darn strong if you ask me. Our first weekend, we brought out our inner child and headed to the LA Zoo!

It was a great day! We saw all the animals and definitely got our exercise for the day. You should definitely go once!

And later that night, even though we were tired ladies, we headed to Santa Monica to The Wilshire. It was a new bar we hadn't tried yet, and we'll definitely be going back!

Later that week, I interviewed an up-and-coming country artist named Chris Janson! Check out my blog here:

http://spotlightcountry.com/spot-on-chris-janson/

Also, I got to work the ABC Press Tour. Talk about a blast - and not to mention, lots of celebs! We got to help with different panels like for Pretty Little Liars and other shows. And later that night, we escorted the celebs to the red carpet! Obviously, I fell in love with Sean Lowe (The Bachelor). What a hunk! But I also saw stars from Revenge, Happy Endings, Nashville and Scandal. You name an ABC show, and I bet I saw somebody from it! It was such a cool experience and made me want to be a correspondent so much more! Basically television critics and bloggers come to the press tour and interview show producers and actors, and then go back and write reviews. What a cool job!

Let's see - we're in day 22 of January, so there's definitely been a lot going on...

Guess this will be a long blog so I can catch y'all up with my LA adventures!

Last weekend, I went to brunch at the Beverly Hills Hotel. You've gotta try this place out at least once. It's such an experience and feels so 'Old Hollywood,' which is cool! I had the Maine Lobster salad. Talk about good food!

And this past weekend was the best! My bestie from New York came to visit, and boy were we spontaneous! When you have someone coming to visit, it's an excuse to do things you haven't done before!

Plus, she must have been our good luck charm because we literally saw at least one celeb each day she was in LA! Crazy!

We went out for a nice lunch in Beverly Hills on Friday and saw Derek Hough!

Then on Saturday, we headed to the beach! We went to Santa Monica for a day in the sun, and we even went to the pier and rode some rides! Here's the gorgeous view from the top of the ferris wheel:

I felt like a kid again. I don't know what it is, but my friends can tell you...I act like a crazy person when it comes to riding roller coasters haha!

After our excursion, we decided to go to a dive bar to relax and chat. And guess who's there?! None other than Mr. Legally Blonde, Luke Wilson. He was just chillin' with the guys.

Then on Sunday, we decided to hike up to the Hollywood sign. It's seriously been the most beautiful weather in LA. 80 degrees in January! Is this real life?!

It was so pretty! And after such a hike, we were hungry ladies, so we headed off to Sunday brunch at BLD. We wanted to try something new, and it was a great place! We even saw Chuck Bass dining at the same restaurant. Let me tell ya...the dude has swag haha!

Our goal was to try as many new places as possible, so next stop was MILK! Yummy ice cream and milkshakes, and since we felt like we were on vacation the entire weekend, we said why not?!

You can see I enjoyed it... Tasted like heaven to me haha!

We were so sad when the weekend came to an end and we had to take Nina back to the airport. But before she left, we took her to experience The Grove - one of my favorite places in LA. We were just enjoying our lunch as Scott Speedman walked by. Now, I mentioned a while back that my roommate and I literally record like 20 shows a week on our DVR (probably a lot of random ones that y'all don't watch). This guy was the main actor on Last Resort, but it got cancelled. I literally just glanced up and there he was crossing the street. It didn't end there...we walked through the Farmer's Market and saw Joe Manganiello enjoying his lunch. Can we say Magic Mike?! Like what?! We obviously need to get out more on the weekends haha!

Overall - January has definitely been a successful month. And it's not even over yet!

I can only imagine what other adventures 2013 will bring, and I can't wait to share!! :)


Always have faith!!

Life...you never know what's gonna happen!

Shew it sure has been a while! And so much has happened since I turned 24 (the year to soar, for those of you who may have forgotten)!

Thanksgiving has come and gone...

PS...I met Wilson Bethel in the airport. What a hunk! ;) He was on my flight on the way home for Thanksgiving, and wouldn't you know he's supposed to come on our after show for Hart of Dixie - great segueway into a conversation I must say. Also, the Dean from Community was on my flight. I see him around the Paramount lot occasionally, so that was kind of random as well. This is the FIRST time ever that I've had some celebs on my flight, so that was a pretty eventful redeye for me!

It was great to be at home for Thanksgiving and to catch up with family and friends. But as I titled this blog post, you just never know what may happen. My precious Meme passed away while I was home. How blessed I am to have gotten to spend an amazing Thanksgiving with her. She was the best grandma a girl could ask for and I will strive to be like her everyday of my life. It's nice to know there's someone looking down on me from heaven. Like I said, life is unexpected sometimes. That's why friends and family are so important. You never know what may happen, so take advantage of every moment life has to offer.

After I got back from home (and I can't believe I'm heading back there in like 6 days!!!), it's been a whirlwind of working, birthday parties, holiday parties and more! We had an awesome holiday party at AfterbuzzTV with Maria Menounos and another one with the UVA Entertainment LA alumni group last night. So much fun! And there are many more to come this weekend. Can't wait to celebrate! Slash it's about time I go Christmas shopping, huh?!

Happy Holidays everybody!!


Always have faith!!

When you need a good laugh...

Head to The Parlor on Melrose!

Every Monday night The Parlor has a comedy night and it's SO much fun! I went last night with a couple of my friends and we literally cracked up for a good 3 hours.

There were comedians from Chelsea Lately, Comedy Central and more! It's always nice to start a work week off with a little bit of laughter, and that's just what we did!

It didn't hurt that there was an LA Laker there watching the show as well. Ron Artest aka Metta World Peace was watching the show too. And the comedians had no problem calling him out a time or two haha!

Another check off the bucket list! Who doesn't enjoy a comedy show every once a while. Doesn't hurt to laugh! I'll definitely be going back!


Always have faith!!

I wanna be more like Rob...

Rob Dyrdek that is...

I don't know about y'all, but I'm seriously obsessed with watching re-runs of Rob and Big and Fantasy Factory. Not only do I laugh to the point of tears, but not gonna lie...that guy inspires me!

I just don't understand how he comes up with some of the things he does. Like having Drama ride a bull or purposefully getting attacked by a shark just to say he got attacked by a shark. He lives on the EDGE...something I think we all need to do a little bit more - although maybe not to the extent of getting attacked by wild animals...

That guy knows how to have fun while always finding ways to inspire others and give back. That's what makes me like him so much. He's inspiring, yet hilarious!

Since my roomie and I record every re-run on our DVR, you can imagine our embarrassing excitement when we saw Drama as we drove down Sunset Blvd. It went a little something like this...

"That guy looks familiar (while glancing at a white Range Rover next to us)."

"OMG that's DRAMA!!!!!"

Then for the next few minutes, all you hear coming from our car is "AHHHHHHHH WHAT?!?! AHHHH NO WAY!!!!!"

It's safe to say the Drama sighting made our night! Our friends in the back seat found us to be quite obnoxious.

What can I say? It's the little things sometimes...

So the moral of the story is...I wanna be more like Rob Dyrdek - super fun, a tad bit weird, a good ole friend and a giver, all why doing what I love to do. You know that's gotta be a fun life!


Always have faith!!

Labor Day weekend fun...and oh yeah, my 1 year anniversary in LA!!

I can't believe I've officially been in LA for a whole year! Oh how time flies!

I hope everybody had an awesome Labor Day weekend! I know I sure loved having that extra day to relax and hang out with friends!

Even though the weekend was pretty laid back, I still managed to do a lot!

My favorite part about living in a big city is getting to try new things - especially restaurants! So this weekend I tried quite a few new places. My roomie and I had a fun Friday with dinner and a movie. We decided to walk to a sushi place right near our apartment and it was awesome! Now I know we'll keep going back. I don't know if that's a good thing or not haha. Then we went to the Grove and watched The Campaign! It was the perfect movie to sit back and just laugh. That Zach Galifianakis is one funny dude haha!

And Saturday was a fun day too...We had a girls day that ended up turning into a girls night out (of course)! We laid by the pool and then got all dressed up and went to dinner at Caffe Roma in Beverly Hills! One thing is for sure...us girls sure have a hard time making a decision. After dinner, we literally sat in a parked car in Beverly Hills trying to decide what to do next. Poor guy with his blinker on waiting for our parking spot just sat and sat! But finally we decided to head to the Beverly Hills Hotel.

Now I had read about the Beverly Hills Hotel when I read all of the A-List novels (basically the LA counterpart to Gossip Girl haha). So I'd been dying to try it out. So much fun! The hotel is just as gorgeous as I had imagined and the Polo Lounge was really relaxed and a great place for chatting with the girls. We even saw Nicky Hilton sneaking out of the hotel! I definitely want to go back. And maybe one day we can rent out one of the bungalows haha. Big dreams!

And then Monday...Labor Day! We celebrated Labor Day and my one-year anniversary with good ole Los Angeles by the beach in Santa Monica. It was the perfect beach day, and being that I do live in Cali, I should have a little tan, right? It was definitely a sun-tanning, hamburger eating type of day. What better way to celebrate?

It's always nice having that extra long weekend, especially when you get a chance to appreciate all the ways your life is blessed!

So it's one year down...wonder how many years there are to go in this crazy love affair with California?


Always have faith!!

The perks of living in LA...

Except for this first part of my blog...I'm being sarcastic.

Today was the day I attempted the trip to the Los Angeles DMV. Yep...the place where you go and once you're inside, you may never come out. I was literally at the DMV today for 4 hours! WHAT?!? And I even had an appointment!

You read that right...an appointment. Who has to make a dang appointment to go to the DMV?? At home, you just walk in, say hey to the employees (whom you most likely know by their first names) and you're in and out of there without any hassle!

That's just not the case in LA. Luckily, having an appointment allowed me to skip the line that curved around the entire building...but I've never seen so many people trying to get licenses. Shew!

Last complaint, I promise...I thought okay, I'll give it one day and get everything accomplished. But nope! I'll be going back to finish getting my car registered. It's never-ending ahhhhh!!!

Luckily, at lunch I was reminded of the perks of living in this city. I'm just standing in line at my favorite salad place and lo and behold, there's Giuliana Rancic waiting in line too! So that was exciting!

After spending hours at the DMV, I get a reminder of why I love this city in the first place. It just makes me more excited and inspired to work towards my hosting goals. Little reminders like seeing a successful host like Giuliana keep me working hard towards my dreams! ONE DAY!!! :)

So the moral of my blog today is that any day in this big city can seem bland or crazy and the next thing you know, you walk right past someone who reminds you of why you're here in the first place! You just never know what's coming next!


Always have faith!!

What a weekend!!!

I seriously had the best weekend ever!!

On Saturday, I shot my hosting reel in Beverly Hills! I just had the best time ever. There were four of us who went out with our hosting teacher and a camera man and we shot a bunch of footage all over the Beverly Hills area!

We went to a jewelry store (Alan Friedman Jewelry) where I got to wear a $115,000 ring! Ahhh...I have never worn something that cost that much money! Shew! But it was so fun getting to wear the ring for my shoot and talk about the jewelry that is used to make the stars sparkle on the red carpet! So much fun!

We also went to the "eyebrow king" in Beverly Hills - Damone Roberts! We got to interview him and check out the salon which was amazing! He has done the eyebrows of every star from Beyonce to Channing Tatum! I seriously had the best time ever! :)

Then today...my friends and I decided to make a day of it in Beverly Hills! We met my roommate who works at MGM for lunch at a place named Jack n Jill's! So yummy!! Then we hung out at Bouchon - a French restaurant which is across from the Montage Hotel. It was gorgeous. We were sitting next to a beautiful courtyard and just enjoying the day!

Get this...there were a bunch of kids playing in the courtyard while we were sitting there, and two of the boys were Victoria and David Beckham's sons! So crazy...I can even spot celeb's kids now haha! Cruz and Romeo Beckham were just playing around and having fun with their friends. Then later that night, Dianna Agron passed by to eat at the restaurant. I swear I see that girl everywhere! She's been at two restaurants where I've been and then I see her when I'm at work all the time! Small world if I do say so myself!

Overall...it was a great weekend! I feel truly blessed to be in such a fun and entertaining place surrounded by great friends!

Hope y'all had a great weekend!! :)



Always have faith!!

Throwback to high school TV shows!

So for those of you who know me...you probably know that One Tree Hill is my favorite show!

I used to lie to my friends (you know who you are) so I could stay in and watch One Tree Hill instead of going out with them at college. Sad I know. I have a problem haha!

Last night we went out in Hollywood, and lo and behold Stephen Colletti was there! Yes...he dates back to my high school days when I loved watching Laguna Beach and the love triangle between him, Lauren Conrad and Kristen Cavallari. Good times! After Laguna Beach, he ended up as Chase on One Tree Hill. How exciting right! He was hanging out with friends and another actress from the show, Chelsea Kane.

I even walked up to him and asked if I could put my water on his table haha! Nice guy!

I know I say it a lot...but you really just never know who you're going to run into! The people I used to want to be friends with in high school because of their TV show are now people I run into randomly!

Instead of six degrees of separation, it's like one or two out here in Hollywood! Crazy!


Always have faith!!