Wasn't Foolin' Around this April!

It's been one of those months…

Jam-packed with fun trips and new experiences…and there are many more to come!

So let's go back to the beginning.

In the weeks leading up to April, all I can think about is I'm about to get country-fied. Vegas is calling my name for the 49th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards. How could you not get excited about "The Week Vegas Goes Country?" There are tons of performances and great red carpet fashion and everywhere you look, there's a country star around the corner.

It was such a blast! I got to chat with some of your fave country crooners and hang out backstage in the press room for the show. Definitely a trip I'll never forget! Here are just a few of the fun things I experienced…

What girl would ever complain about watching some country studs compete for an archery win? Not me! Oh hey Chase Rice, Tyler Hubbard, Luke Bryan & Justin Moore!

And like I said, there were some stellar performances. You just can't get enough!

It's up close and personal with Mr. Brett Eldredge:

Then it was showtime. The red carpet arrivals were super fun to watch. There are literally tons of people camped out hoping to catch a glimpse of their fave singers. Fans literally scream at the top of their lungs to get their attention, and yes, some fans were crying…

It's also kind of hilarious that the same cars drop off a star and circle back to the same hotel where the show is taking place to pick up another one and drive right back to the carpet. Oh red carpets!

Lot of huge country stars took home ACM's this year and came back to chat with press about what it's like adding an ACM award to their name.

Here are a few pics of some of the winners. Can you say King George, anyone?!

Then there's country music's firecracker, Miranda Lambert!

And the sweetest and most humble sibling trio, The Band Perry.

Let's not forget what other fun was had. Once a small town SWVA girl, always a SWVA girl. Oh hey Abingdon friends! Thanks for a great dinner and teaching me your gambling techniques! ;)

#NashVegas was a blast as always. Can't wait til next year's ACM Awards!

Back to work for a few days, then it was off to San Diego, where I lived on a boat for a night! Who woulda thought!

Talk about a gorgeous and relaxed city…drastically different than traffic all-day every-day LA!

I felt super nautical chillin' on my friend's boat. For a second I didn't know what to do with myself since there was nowhere to be and nothing I had to do. Not gonna lie, I was a little anxious with so much time haha!

See how gorgeous the harbor is?! What a life!

Fast forward to the next weekend where I was lucky enough to head to Sony Studios to watch the latest installment (#50 to be exact) of CMT Crossroads being filmed! Ahhhh Katy Perry and Kacey Musgraves!

Such a cool concept of a show - bringing together a country artist with an artist from a different genre. They sing each other's songs together! Super cool.

Catch the show on CMT on June 13th! Here's a sneak peek of the set:

Of course there were palm trees…ROAR ;)

Next thing you know I'm off to the desert for California's largest country music festival aka STAGECOACH!!!!!

And it did not disappoint. The performers were on fire and the fashion was AMAZING…as in there were multiple guys in Daisy Dukes… Like how can you not stare?!

Of course it was a HUGE party. You're in the desert with not much else to do besides drink you a beer and hang with friends while listening to the likes of Eric Church, Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan. Not too shabby!

Plus talk about a gorgeous California sunset…

Then it was off to Music City to round out this amazing month. Told you I wasn't foolin' around this April!

Stay tuned for more on my latest trip and why Nashville has this Southern gal's heart…

#25theyeartothrive, people!


Always have faith!!

Free Fallin'

YAY for fall!!! Well, in like four days.

You know what that means... Pumpkin Spice Latte's at Starbucks and all your favorite shows filling up your DVR. Sweatshirt time and Halloween!

I know, I know... Do you really get fall in Southern California? Not really. I do miss the changing leaves and the football games for sure. But we all know I never wear jeans, so that's a positive!

I don't know what it is about the changing seasons, but it just feels like every time the new season comes along, you turn over a new leaf (pun intended).

It's a time for new possibilities and opportunities. I mean it is the end of the fiscal year, so who knows what jobs may open up. ;) But for real - now's the time to try something new or visit a different place. Because, why not?

I decided to kick off fall with some old and some new. Next weekend, I'm off to Palm Springs, courtesy of The Ellen Show (you know I can't afford to stay at a resort on my dang budget) with some college friends! We'll wine and dine and maybe even hit up the spa - start the fall off right!

Not only that, but I've also decided it's time to meet more people. So why not go to a ZTA alumni wine tasting (yay for sisters!) and head to the Southern Colleges Mixer later this week? I'm just gonna enjoy the everyday.

So I thought I'd just share a few of my favorites when it comes to fall:

1. I know I mentioned it before, but c'mon, it's a pumpkin spice latte! YUM!

2. And my favorite show EVER is back on TV. Finally! Who wouldn't fall in love with Nick Miller? I mean he's unemployed, acts like an old man and never cleans. But he's SO funny! Seriously, I'm in love.

3. Finally, an excuse to condone my candy obsession. Fall means Halloween which equals lots and lots of candy!

4.  Oversized sweaters. No need for those summer sundresses anymore... just cozy up and get warm! (This one might be a little much, boys.)

5. SOUP! Who doesn't love soup? I'm ready for it Chef Heather's!

Really, fall is the time to be free and to just enjoy the little things. After all, it never hurts to be reminded of your childhood and how far you've come. That's right...even if it means pretending to date a character on TV just because he makes you laugh.

Yep...life is good! :)

What are your fall favorites??


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!!

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!!

Checks off the bucket list!

What an amazing week!

I had no idea working at Paramount could keep getting better and better! To celebrate the studio's 100th anniversary, Paramount had a fun reception and special screening of 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' on Thursday.

So I'm just sitting in the Paramount Theatre getting ready to watch the screening and out pops Steven Spielberg! What?! But it gets even better...

Our CEO was asking Spielberg questions about the movie and then you hear another voice. Well whaddaya know... it's dang Harrison Ford! AHHH so cool! We literally got to listen to Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg talk about making the movie and then got to watch it, knowing what went into making it! Is this real life?!?

Here are some pics:

What an unforgettable night! 

Then, this weekend was filled with birthday celebrations! On Saturday, I went to Malibu Wines for a bday party. It was SO gorgeous, even though it did take 1 hour and 45 minutes to get there! Shew...I'll never get used to this awful LA traffic.

The winery was gorgeous. You have to drive all the way up the Malibu hills and past the ocean to get there. There was music and friends and fun! Definitely a check off the ole bucket list. Who wouldn't want to spend a Saturday in Malibu? Here are some photos from the day:

This weekend was just perfect! I couldn't ask for anything better. It really reminds me of how blessed I am to live in such a fun city with great friends and lots of new experiences! 

Always have faith!!