2010: Remembering a Year

2010
I literally can't believe 2010 is coming to a close. It has definitely been a year I will remember for the rest of my life. Looking back to last January, I would have never guessed where I am today. 

In January, I started my final semester at the University of Kansas. Also I began my second internship at the largest public relations agency in Kansas City. I was on the track to not only graduate but also secure a good job somewhere in the Midwest. While I had no intention in staying in Kansas City or moving home to Oklahoma, I did predict I would move to either Chicago or Dallas to start my career. 

By April my job search was in full swing, but I was unfortunately coming up empty handed. Finally I made a decision, which put my on the path to where I ended up. I decided to go out on a limb and do the unexpected- move to Los Angeles. Why Los Angeles you may ask? First I despise cold weather, and Los Angeles lowest temperatures get into the 40s on a rare occasion. Second I needed a drastic move in my life. My family has lived in the Midwest since the middle of the 1800s. So why not move the Davis namesake to the coast. Finally Los Angeles seemed like the land of opportunity, full of new adventures and challenges.

In May, I walked through the Campanile and down the hill to KU's graduation. I had did it. Four years and two degrees later, I was a college graduate. I will never forget that day, and I will always be grateful for the amazing time I spent at KU. Sadly in July, it was time to say goodbye to the town I had called home for the last four years. It was bittersweet to say the least. Leaving not only my home but the familiar as well. I knew I made the right decision to move to Los Angeles, but for a moment I wanted nothing more than to spend eternity in Lawrence. 

Right before my big move to Los Angeles, my mom and I took a spur of the moment trip to New York City because I had never been. Before leaving I worried I would fall in love with NYC and think I made the wrong choice of where to move. I loved the hustle and bustle of NYC, and I love the fashion and the shopping. I loved the culture, the food and the art, but upon take off I knew I belonged in Los Angeles. 

Finally in late August my family packed up a Uhaul, and my mom, dad and I headed west for Los Angeles. The trip took three days, but only because we took some interesting stops along the way. First we stopped at the diner, which was the half-way point from Chicago to Los Angeles on Historic Route 66. Next we took a little detour up to Santa Fe to examine the "Mysterious Staircase" at the Loretta Chapel. On the morning of the third day, we rolled into Los Angeles and unpacked. My parents hung around for a couple of days before they said their goodbyes, and I was alone.

Well alone for one whole day until my roommate got there. I live with a friend from college, Lauren, which has made the transition to Los Angeles much easier than if I lived alone. Also in Los Angeles is another friend from college, Natalie. I had made it. I was finally actually living in Los Angeles now was time for the first big challenge- find a job. I had been looking since about May but had no luck because employers were wary if I was actually going to move or not. 

I ended up taking an internship at a film production company to gain experience in the entertainment industry. To pay my rent, I sought a job as a waitress. After about a month of searching, I appeared to be unqualified to be a waitress. I turned to retail as a last resort, which I got a job fairly quickly at BCBG. Now I spend two days a week as a developmental intern and about four as a "stylist" in a mall. 

I continue to look for a full-time job in the entertainment industry and know in 2011 I will be successful. While 2010 was an amazing year for me, and I know 2011 will bring just as many challenges and excitements as 2010. I am always looking to the future and what is to come, and how cheesy this may be I know it will be bright. 

A Possible Thanksgiving Fiasco

Since this year I will not be returning to my family’s traditional farm Thanksgiving in Kansas, I decided to have a mini pre-Thanksgiving feast with my friends. The females usually prepare the giant feast while the men are out hunting. Unfortunately I am normally left out of the process because there are just too many cooks in the kitchen, which means recreating my favorite dishes was going to be a challenge.

The first step was to secure all my family’s recipes. Thankfully my mom was kind enough to track down and mail me all the recipes, which got my planning off to a good start. Next step was attempting to find all the ingredients. I wanted around a eight pound turkey since the dinner was only going to be for a few friends, unfortunately I had to settle on a twelve pounder! Needless to say we will be having turkey leftovers for a while.

I decided to get a head start the night before by making the desserts. A classic pumpkin pie was an obvious choice, but to spice things up I made an apple pie with a caramel pecan topping. This was my first time making either of these pies, and I decided to be extra ambitious and make my dough from scratch as well. Here I encountered my first problem, I only have one pie pan so I had to use one of those cheap foil ones for my pumpkin pie. Well they are definitely cheap for a reason. As I started to pour the batter into the tin, I noticed there was probably going to be more filling than room. Instead of doing the intelligent thing and simply not pouring the extra filling I decided to test the limits of my little tin pan. The pan won… The filling started to overflow over the edges of the pan as I frantically attempted to create a “dam” of dough around the edge of the pie. It wasn’t very pretty when it came out of the oven, but thankfully tasted amazing! 

 (This does not giving the apple pie justice)

Finally the day was upon us, and the rest of the cooking commenced. The first task of the day was preparing the turkey for roasting. This step was definitely easier said then done. I planned to rub the turkey with a sage, thyme and rosemary butter under the skin then stuff it with the same herbs and some lemons. Watching hours of Food Network convinced me it would be easy to slip my butter creation under the skin of the turkey, I was in for a rude awakening. First I had to take out all the gross innards of the turkey before I could even consider adding my butter rub. I attempted to wedge my hand under the skin of the turkey with little avail, but finally I was able to stuff enough butter under the skin to make it nice and crispy. With my mom’s instruction I placed my turkey in a special bag, which would guarantee it to be “moist and delicious” upon removal from the oven. Don’t worry this ends up backfiring.

Next came the sides, which were surprisingly simple. Side dishes have always stolen my heart from the main dish, so I was very excited to make my favorites. First I started some creamed corn in the crock-pot because it takes four hours to stew. Next I sautéed chopped onions and celery in a little butter for the base of my dressing. Then I mixed in some (stuffing cubes)- yes I cheated- with chicken broth. Once the bread soaked up all the liquid, I popped it into the oven in a casserole dish. Finally my absolute favorite, I mixed up a sweet potato casserole. This was relatively simple since I cheated a little and used canned sweet potatoes. I combined a little cinnamon with the sweet potatoes and stirred in chopped pecans. Then I topped the whole casserole with mini marshmallows and popped it in the oven.

The dinner was a success, and I was very thankful I did not poison any of my friends or catch my apartment on fire! I am now definitely more confident in the kitchen and feel I can conquer bigger challenges such as soufflés and risotto.

Something on the Side

While I am currently interning at a production company and absolutely loving it, unfortunately the gig is not paid. In order to continue living in California, I needed to get a side job. After a month of searching for a waitress job, I found out I am unqualified because I do not have two years previously experience. With this I tried my luck at finding a job in retail, since of course I love fashion and shopping. Thankfully I am much more qualified for retail and was hired at BCBG Max Azria two weeks into my new search.

I start on Wednesday and can’t wait! Not only will I finally have a small income, but I also get to be surrounded by fabulous fashion. Now I know retail isn’t a dream come true, but it will get me through and keep me on the track for a successful career in the entertainment field.

Gold Stars are Kinda My Thing

West Hollywood knows how to do Halloween right. The iconic Santa Monica Boulevard shuts down for more than a mile as approximately 500,000 people strut down the street. It is definitely something you won’t see in the Midwest. From typical costumes such as firefighters and angels to more extravagant outfits such as peacocks and Lady Gaga, every costume you can think of was represented.

While I struggled to decide on costume, I finally selected to portray the Glee character everyone hates to love, Rachel Berry. The largest factor in my costume decision came down to the fact I had the perfect “Rachel” outfit combining a maroon, pleaded skirt with a yellow, argyle sweater. If anyone watches Glee, Kurt famously describes Rachel’s wardrobe as looking “like a grandmother and a toddle at the same time.” To ensure people didn’t mistake me as a tacky schoolgirl, I crafted a heart badge with bold, black letters spelling out GLEE. 

On Halloween night, Lauren and I headed over to West Hollywood to partake in the festivities. At first the street was sparsely crowded, but as the sun set throngs of people flooded the street from Doheny to La Cienega. Some of my favorite costumes included the boy from UP!, three Lady Gagas and the two witches from Wicked. My costume was a hit on the street! People, mainly guys oddly enough, yelled, “Hey Rachel” or “I love your show!” Even a few asked to take their picture with me. Overall the night was a huge success. If you are ever in Los Angeles for Halloween, I recommend checking out Santa Monica Boulevard for a one-of-a-kind experience. 

The Hollywood Life

Since moving to Los Angeles two months ago, I haven’t really participated in the bar scene. In the last week though my eyes have been open to the Hollywood experience. Starting last Saturday Natalie, Lauren and I attended a friend of a friend’s “black and white” birthday party at Crown Bar in Hollywood. Crown Bar set right off of Santa Monica Boulevard is the perfect mix of loungy, cozy booths and a nightclub. Top 40s music fills the air while people sway to the beat on the small dance floor.

Tuesday night, we celebrated Natalie’s 23^rd birthday with a surprise visit to Big Wangs. From the name you can probably tell this is not a swanky club. To paint a better mental picture, Big Wangs is the west coast version of Buffalo Wild Wings. Another surprise came when Natalie announce it was karaoke night. I’ve karaoked before, but it was years ago in at a dive back at Grand Lake. While Big Wangs wasn’t exactly a crowd of my peers, but it was definitely still nerve wracking to sing in front of any type of crowd. We narrowed down our song choice to Taylor Swift or classic Brittney Spears, but at the last moment we picked the always crowd pleaser Madonna “Like a Virgin.” Our names were called before we had mentally prepared for this possible social humiliation. Thankfully we sang our hearts out as the crowd sang along with us!

Last night a club promoter convinced us that Ecco Lounge was the place to be in Hollywood on a Wednesday night. When we arrived, there was an interesting mix of people in costumes and people in normal going out clothes. Evidently Halloween starts early in Los Angeles just like in Lawrence. An interesting part of the night was when people from a reality show arrived. It is definitely a different experience to see mics attached to the back of a cocktail dress. The best part of the night had to be when someone started throwing money into the air for people to catch. You think I’m kidding, but I made $5 just for going out. Natalie fared a little better catching $15, just enough for one drink!

I love the Hollywood scene, but I don’t see myself getting too wrapped up in it. I enjoy getting dressed up and going out with my friends, and I don’t think that will ever change.  

Halloween Help!

As Halloween quickly approaches, I am faced with the decision I normally look forward to each year. What to be for Halloween? Usually I have two outfits and have known what I am going to be for at least a month. Now Halloween snuck up on me, and I can’t seem to decide what to be. I realize I might be getting a little “old” to dress up, but I figure I better get my fill before I actually do get too old! Also West Hollywood pulls out all the stops for Halloween, which means dressing up is a must.

I originally planned on being Lady Gaga, but I feel there might be an over saturation of her this Halloween. Every year I try to be something creative, or simply make a costume out of things I already own. Last year my roommate and I were Disney Princesses, which I believe was my best costume throughout college. Although it is a close tie with junior year when I dressed as Audrey Hepburn, my favorite actress and style icon.

Sadly I am not in college anymore, and I don’t know if I can pull off ridiculous outfits such as a Victoria’s Secret Angel or a lace Gaga bodysuit. Basically I need help! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Also there is a group of three attending the West Hollywood festivities, and I think it would be fun to do a group costume. 

Mood Changing Weather

I have let my blogging slide in the last week, and I don’t have the best excuse. While I have had five interviews in the past week, I still have plenty of down time to blog, but I guess I haven’t done anything terribly interesting lately.

The weather has been absolutely gloomy for the last week and a half, and I think it has taken a toll on my mood. I feel as if I have moved to Seattle. Since I moved to Los Angeles almost two months ago, it has rained or misted for almost a whole week or more! Seriously. I thought I moved to Southern California not the frigid Northwest. One of the things I looked forward to most was the beautiful Los Angeles weather; however, it appears my streak of weird weather continues. The other night I had a nightmare it snowed! In a couple of months I will look back at this moment and be very thankful the snow was only in my dreams.