Style your Sole

The TOMS Vagabonds took off this morning for their 12wk road tour. To celebrate their departure TOMS had a big breakfast and a "Style Your Sole" all staff send off party for them.

How can i not represent where i come from???

Staying True to the STL =)

OSCARS!!

If i could blog about the past week of work I WOULD! But i signed my life away that I would not share TOMS news till it breaks, so you will have to wait to hear about the BIG BIG things happening for the company of TOMS.

Many of you know today is my favorite day of the year...OSCAR DAY!! Lucky me to finally be in the hometown of the award show.

I rode my bike down the coast today to check out the Spirit Awards and was able to see Mickey Rourke, Anne Hatheway, Alec Baldwin, Claire Danes, etc. go by into the white tent on the beach.

I thought it would be a lot more fun then it was to line up to see the stars, but i decided today it's pretty hoosier. I don't think i will go celeb hunting/seeking anymore. They are normal people and I would rather just see them in normal ways.

As fun as it is to see the hype of the Oscars around town for the past couple of days, the best spot to be on this night is still at my parents house in webster.
I love telling people how much fun this night is and how it's been my favorite family tradition since i was a kid.
My parents go all out preparing themed food to go along with their favorite movie (for example, indian food = slumdog millionaire) The only rule at the party is that you must have your ballot filled out by the time the show begins. As soon as the opening credits start, pencils are down.
I'm not kidding when I say the house gets intense on who has the most correct pics. My main goal is to just beat my dad, but everyone that attends really does their homework by seeing all the movies and reading up on movie magazines/web articles the week before.

To guarantee i make the STL time deadline (and to stop my parents from calling/emailing me to make sure i give them my pics) I am posting them on the blog.

Lets see how many I get right this year...

BEST PICTURE
"Slumdog Millionaire"
No brainer...LOVE LOVE LOVE this movie and it will be a HUGE upset if it does not win.

BEST ACTRESS
Kate Winslet, "The Reader"
She is way over due to win, even if i don't think its her best role, she's good in everything

BEST ACTOR
Mickey Rourke, "The Wrestler"
Ahh, Its a toss up between Sean Penn and Mickey, but I was so taken with this performance and the story of his character.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Viola Davis, "Doubt"
I could very well get this wrong by not going with Penelope Cruz, but i don't think it was a typical Oscar winning performance and Viola Davis stole the movie with her main scene with Meryl Streep.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Heath Ledger, "The Dark Knight"
like anybody else in this catagory even has a chance

BEST DIRECTOR
Danny Boyle, "Slumdog Millionaire"

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Dustin Lance Black, "Milk"

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Simon Beaufoy, "Slumdog Millionaire"

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
"Waltz with Bashir" (Israel)

BEST ANIMATED FILM
"WALL-E"

BEST ART DIRECTION
"The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button"

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
"Slumdog Millionaire," Anthony Dod Mantle


BEST FILM EDITING
"Slumdog Millionaire," Chris Dickens

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
"The Duchess," Michael O'Conner

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
"Man on Wire"

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"Slumdog Millionaire," "Jai Ho"
can not wait to see this be performed on the kodak stage...i want everybody to be out of there seats dancing!

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
"Slumdog Millionaire," A.R. Rahman

BEST MAKEUP
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,"

BEST SOUND EDITING
"The Dark Knight"

BEST SOUND MIXING
"The Dark Knight"

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
"The Pig"

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
"Presto"

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM
"Smile Pinki

Ecclesia

Only in Hollywood can you go to a church and have BUSTER from Arrested Development be serving as a deacon during communion.

***

I found a church to visit this past Sunday, Ecclesia. A staff member at TOMS recommend it to me and i finally found a ride to get me there. The Church is located on Hollywood Blvd (where all the stars on the sidewalk are) The Service takes place in the historic Hollywood Pacific Theatre. It's a beautiful building and has such an old feel to it -- love old buildings with tons of character.
The style of service is very similar to the Journey, so i felt very comfortable and quickly connected to the sermon style.

It was refreshing to be back in a church community and to see another side of LA people away from TOMS and bars/clubs.

Also, The church is one block from the Kodak Theater = where the Oscars will take place this Sunday. I'm considering this a huge sign that i should return for another visit Sunday and stick around to get a glimpse of the Oscar festivities =)

more info on Ecclesia...
http://www.churchinhollywood.com/pages/page.asp?page_id=46346

The Intern House

The first video was such a hit, i decided to post another one!
Keep in mind...
15 people live here
and we make it work pretty well

sad day

i found out that my cat (lily) was put to sleep today
big bummer

and it's my moms birthday and i can't spend it with her
bigger bummer

i really would love to be home today
at my house in webster
eating my dads chili for dinner
and watching brothers and sisters with my mom at night

its a sad day in LA for the first time since i got here

It's not always sunny in LA....

On Wednesday night the roomies and i headed down to the beach for a night bonfire. That day had been another perfect California day, high 70's, blue sky's, etc for like the 14th day in a row. Not bragging, it's just the truth.
When we got down to the beach we noticed a large ring around the moon. I had never seen a ring around the moon this large and it's a pretty incredible site.

When i got home i looked up what a ring around the moon meant...

Moon halos are caused by tiny ice crystals that have gathered twenty thousand feet above the ground, as thin, wispy clouds. These clouds are so thin, you might not notice them at night, if it weren't for their effect on the moonlight. Incoming light rays from the moon are bent--or "diffracted"--by these ice crystals at an angle of twenty-two degrees. This means that in addition to the direct moonlight, you will also see diffracted moonlight in a circle twenty-two degrees away from the moon. This is about the distance of your fist, held at arm's length. Like a rainbow, this halo can even be slightly colored; red on the inside, and blue on the outside. And, yes, it can mean that rain or snow is coming soon. Those high, wispy clouds could be the forerunners of storm clouds right behind them.

LA is now on its 2nd day of pouring down rain and high 50's temperatures...the locals are freaking out.
Is it the rings fault?? I think so.


this is the logo the LA time uses when it rains...love the question mark detail that makes no sense.


I also just heard the weather is great in St Louis.
Enjoy it while you can.
The sun is only on loan and California will need it back very soon.

California dreamin, On such a winter's day

TOMS staff was out of town Thur-Sun in Monmouth. Blake (founder of TOMS shoes) treated them all to a long weekend of skiing for xmas. This meant the interns were given a 4 day weekend because no one was in the office to give us work.
Here are pictures to document the weekend...enjoy =)

***
Devika's (bottom left) dad wanted to treat all the interns to a carry out dinner on Wed night. Devika picked out a great Indian restaurant not too far from our house and we were able to choose a dish. The Nann was incredible and we all want to go back for the afternoon buffet. (This is our kitchen/dinning room area by the way)














Thursday a couple of the girls and I spent the afternoon in Culver City. We got our eyebrows threaded (will never do it again), had lunch in this area of the picture and walked around Sony Pictures















That night I found a bar close by (thank you Yelp.com) that had Thursday night Trivia. None of my roommates had ever been to a trivia night...never!! It was a good change from the typical LA places we have been going out to. It wasn't dark, there wasn't club music, people were not dressed up and they had draft beer. Hopefully we'll start being regulars.














Friday the majority of the TOMS interns and Vagabonds went to a taping of the Chelsea Lately show (http://www.eonline.com/on/shows/chelsea/index.jsp)
Before I came to LA i had never heard of her. Thanks to many of the TOMS staff and some of the interns I know pretty much everything about her now.






















all of us who went






On saturday i took a break from the Real World house and our family friend Susan came and picked me up for the day/night. Spent the afternoon walking around Beverly Hills while she got her hair done. We went to Korea Town for dinner = amazing. (I'm craving one of the dishes that we had while i type this right now) and after dinner we took a long drive down Melrose and Sunset Blvd...now i really feel like i'm in LA after this day.














sunday was the super bowl and a few of the roommates went to Costco to buy pizzas, wings and dip. For once i loved being on west coast time, with the game starting at 3 it ended by 7:30! It was a little odd for it to be light during most of the game and for it to be 76 degrees outside.

***
Back to work now. We have another roommates birthday tomorrow and one of the TOMS staff guys is playing guitar at some club tonight. As always there is never a dull moment with 15 people always around.

Have a good week