Self-Care in The City of Angels

The other day I had a bit of a blow up, meltdown, implosion. It sucked. Lying in bed crying is a great thing to do when you're miserable... FOR A LITTLE WHILE... but it's nothing to make a habit of, especially when you live in one of the best cities in the world for those in need to recover from feeling rejected.

Peg Entwhistle

Unless I'm wrong, poor Peg Entwhistle was the first actress to take a leap off The Hollywood Sign. I'm not going to say if she went to Whole Foods, meditated at The Vedanta Temple and got a massage from Nikom at The Raven things would have been different...

But really, a little self-care goes a long way in a city that thrives on chewing you up and spitting you out.

Sometimes Hollywood feels downright depressing

Because as a writer, actress, director, musician -- you have to know rejection is a part of it. And you do develop a thick skin but that skin has to be immersed and infused with oils, scrubbed down with salts, moisturized with Nightingale poop, plumped up with fillers and kissed all over by the force of the universe to be fully appreciated no matter what, in order to deal with all that is putting its grubby little hands over it.

Yep, sounds like someone had a bad day. So my first stop in trying to feel better -- oh wait, my first stop was a cheeseburger at The Oaks Gourmet in Hollywood.

My little friend, Nancy, met me there. I didn't take any pictures. You wouldn't want to see what I did to this burger or what I looked like in this moment in time. Oh, the best is I say to the incredibly handsome guy at the checkout register (everyone there is incredibly handsome or super-chick-hot -- I kind of think it's a pre-req to getting a gig there) that I'd like a burger, medium rare, no this or that, etc. etc. And then I go, "You know what? I'm emotionally eating. Can I have the Greek Salad as well?" Their Greek Salad is SO good. It has mint and is light and not too onion-y and tastes fresh - really fresh. Like the tomatoes are tomatoes I'd choose. Anyway, he goes, "So, not the burger, just the salad?" And I go "No, I said, I'm emotionally eating. So both. Thank you!" He was too hot and skinny to have any idea what I meant but smiled like the good young optimistic sport he was.

Kirsten Dunst at The Oaks Gourmet (kind of like me & Nancy)

Nancy's like my trudging bud. She knows my pain. She ALWAYS makes me laugh. And if every day I could meet her at The Oaks and eat a burger, one of the best in Hollywood, that would be heaven. No, come on. That would be disgusting. I'd have a major cholesterol problem. Okay. Moving on.

I went home, cried and lied around and listened to my meditation mp3. It's this woman, Micaela Boehm from Vienna (I decided that. I don't actually know where she's from). She's a hypnotist I saw years ago and I still listen to the recording she made for me.  I put on my eye mask, lie down, and press play. She goes So now to begin with I want you to make yourself very comfortable. And just allow your body to sink down, into the soft service, adjusting your body so that you can rest for a few moments, allowing your body to... rest... your mind to drift aimlessly... effortlessly... drifting from thought to thought... while your body begins to sink down... feeling all the stress and tension of your day... and letting yourself sink down... unwind...slow now...as you... drift...float...flow... I don't know what else she says because I immediately fall asleep every time.

Then two of my closest friends checked in. I was "called to action" and met up with Else & Stephanie who let me cry like a colicky baby and got me to laugh at myself.

My Real Housewives Companions, Else & Stephanie

These are the guys I can say the straight dope to and they're kind enough to remind me I'm not always such a downer. They're pretty awesome and I started to feel like people did like me and my Stuart Smalley self was gonna be okay.

Doggone it, people like me!

But the next morning when I woke up, with swollen eyelids, I was kind of like, Wow, people don't like me.

I knew I could just feel sorry for myself for endless pointless hours or I could get into action. Trust me, feeling sorry for myself can be like a super ugly default and a job unto itself. But I chose to do otherwise. First stop?

Meditation at the Vedanta Temple in The Hollywood Hills.

The Vedanta Society of Southern California

This is SUCH an unassuming place. It's tucked away on this teensy street right above Hollywood, off of Vine. It's located in one of the oldest, smallest, and most charming enclaves of LA, The Hollywood Dell, where all the houses look like craftsman cabins where magical elves live.

I forgot to get good pictures of this area so here's someone's garage across from The Temple

So peaceful, unpopulated, beautiful, mellow. I went into the temple, pulled up a cushion, and started to meditate. It felt good. I was at ease. I felt so peaceful and quiet.

And then this lady walked in. 

Wasn't sure if it would be frowned upon to take pictures but sometimes being subversive makes me feel better.

She kept moving around. I don't know why. I was trying to think of nothing but sometimes would slightly open my left eyelid to peek over and make sure she wasn't doing something weird. She wasn't. She was just fidgety. I was like that on a plane once to Barcelona. I was sharing a bunch of seats with some woman and I couldn't get comfortable and I kept moving around and she goes, Settle down! and I was like paralyzed for the rest of the flight and didn't sleep one wink. I didn't say sharply Settle down! to this fidgety lady in the temple. I like to think of myself as evolved and she left before my meditation time was up. Oh, that was the other thing. I set my timer on my phone to meditate. Then when she came in, I felt completely like I should turn it off and couldn't stop obsessing over that. I was so relieved when she left. If that lady is reading this, Thank you, Lady!

Hug a tree at The Vedanta Center in Hollywood

Afterwards, I had to go to the dentist. Let's not get into that shit, although I will say, I have the best dentist EVER and he's super nice and travels all over the world and takes incredible pictures. If you need a dentist, look up Dr. Kurtz in Glendale. He rocks (and he likes rocks).

Then off to Whole Foods. My friend, Dina, who is an integrative nutritionist and has a company called Well Is Good reminded me that good food makes me feel better. She's ALWAYS right and besides, I wanted to spend money but spend it productively in a safe atmosphere. So I went to adult Disneyland, otherwise known as Whole Foods, The Happiest Place on Earth (including Bed, Bath & Beyond).

Whole Foods on Arroyo Parkway

Either you hate or love Whole Foods. I get it. I've been there. But right now, I wish I lived in this place. And the one on Arroyo Parkway, which is like award winning and everyone knows it's super nice, is filled with magic beans and good vibes. I mean look at this guy...

Pat, The Sandwich King

I am not kidding. This kid is like a freakin genius. He knows sandwiches and I'm a sandwich maven/snob. If you're at Whole Foods and need a sammy, I pray for you that Pat's working. That's all I can say.

And this lady? I live for this lady. She is SO nice to me. Every time. I will wait in line so I can see her. She always has a nice thing to say and anyway, she's like one of those people that reminds me people are good and nice and nothing really matters. And she always has a nice extra touch, like super fantastic earrings. She's like Flor at Von's in Eagle Rock who usually has a flower in her hair and Dorothy at Gelson's in Hollywood who ALWAYS remembers you.

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But Whole Foods, there's just something special about really good food.

Just found out the Salmon is on sale this Friday for $8.99 per lb.

I don't drink and I don't smoke.

Food is what I got. So trust me, I am going to make the most of it.

Save a cow, eat a pumpkin!

And as good as all that was, no journey towards feeling better about yourself is complete, in my humble opinion, without a massage. LA has a billion choices from excellent super cheap (like Pho Siam on the edge of downtown) to uber dripping in indulgence shmance (like The Spa in Beverly Hills at The Four Seasons). For me though, when I'm really in need, when I don't want to compromise, but I can't justify spending a car payment (or worse) on a massage, I go visit Nikom at The Raven in Silverlake: My all-time favorite massage maybe on the planet.

This guy is a master.  A true master. The guy who owns the place, Barry, took extra care when he hired his staff. Some people are just healers and Nikom is one of those men. I got The Custom (where you discuss what ails you and the masseuse tailors his/her massage to fit your needs). I scheduled an hour, which is $100.00. Now that's not the most expensive massage you'll get but it's not really cheap either. I was splurging. I was going all out. And I'm SO glad I did. Because I noticed he was going over an hour. I was surprised. Now I had called just an hour before to schedule this and might have miscommunicated how long I wanted my massage. That's what I thought had happened until I went to the receptionist to settle up. She said he went over because he felt I needed it! Can you imagine? They still charged me $100.00 but he was generous because HE IS A HEALER!

But first, let me tell you, you walk in and it's like you're suddenly in Bali or something.

And the whole place reeks of sage, and I love this smell. I know to some people it's pot-adjacent but I love love love...

Native Sage, 10 bucks, at The Raven in Silverlake

It's the whole place that heals you. Every little thing...

Massage Beds at The Raven

The Main Area

Inside my massage room

You know, I can't remember how I first came across Nikom. Was it through my friend, Amanda, or did we both find him around the same time? I can't remember. All I know is when the going gets tough, the tough, battered, bruised, sad and emo -- if they're smart -- go to Nikom.

And that's it! That's what it took to feel okay, ready to take on the world, cease the self-pity party. I should say, that's what it took this time. Trust me, I have a lot in my quiver to nurse a bruised ego. Because I live here. I like it here. I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to keep trying, persevering and I have to know that rolling with the punches requires some extra TLC.

But man, I wish I had chosen some profession in the self-care industry instead of wanting to be a writer.

I would be really rich right now, right?

The Vedanta Society (Hollywood Temple) which also offers classes, lectures, meditations and private meetings with their head swami is located at 1946 Vedanta Place, Hollywood, CA 90068. It's open from 6 AM to 7 PM Every Day.  Park on Vine for free but always check the signs.

My favorite Whole Foods is at 465 South Arroyo Parkway, Pasadena, CA 91105. Parking underneath the market.

The Raven Spa of Silverlake is located at 2910 Rowena Avenue, Silverlake, CA 90039. 323.644.0240. Street Parking Available. Always feed your meter extra since you want to relax after! They also have a yoga studio you should check out. In addition, they have a Raven in Santa Monica (I don't know it that well) as well as El Leon in WeHo which I haven't visited for a long time but when I did I absolutely LOVED it.

Enjoy!

This Weekend in Los Angeles

Amongst the two billion things you could do in LA this weekend...

The Spring Edition of The Beverly Hills artSHOW is happening this Saturday and Sunday from 10am-6pm.

Located at The Beverly Hills Gardens Park, this is a really fun way to spend a day.

FREE and happening outside, I'm already inclined. It features 250 artists - and all sorts of art: mixed media, painting, sculpture, photography....

AND there'll be a bunch of food trucks AND a beer garden. Check here for the deets on all THAT sordid goodness.

I think always, in LA, the most stressful thing is parking but in BH it's usually a lot more mellow. 

Just park in one of the BH parking structures and walk on over.

Now before I knew which food trucks would be there, I checked to see if my all-time favorite food truck, the Kogi truck, was going to plant itself at this shindig in BH. That's when I found out it would be in Venice this Saturday.

Photo courtesy of Eric Shin

Photo courtesy of Eric Shin

Parked here from 12 to 2:30, if you've never tried Kogi, I strongly recommend you get on that immediately.

But I digress.

In my search for Kogi I found out about the The Venice Art Walk & Auctions. This is a great event which happens to raise money for a wonderful cause, the Venice Family Clinic. There are bike tours, gallery shows, special exhibitions, live entertainment... FOOD TRUCKS...

If you're interested in the Venice Art Walk & Auctions, I urge you to check the site ahead of time. General Admission, which starts at 1pm, is FREE but limited to registered bidders and tour participants. Now if you want to and can afford a more hassle-free experience - and it goes to charity - for $150 you can purchase what they call a Venture Pass. With that you get early admission, entry into their silent auction at noon, $50.00 off $500.00 plus art purchases and their art walk collectible t-shirt. For $50 (more my speed) you can get a ticket for the art walk (which covers about 20 sites) and the auction.

I know. It all sounds a little complicate-y but it's about art and charity and Kogi. What could go wrong?

Parking. That I can't attest to. I don't like parking in Venice and got a parking ticket last night in the Valley so the whole parking thing has me in a real deal bad mood this a.m. That being said, just do some investigation ahead of time and check here for parking details from the event organizers themselves. Maybe it won't be bad at all and the Kogi truck will be in the vicinity. So either go for art and charity or go for Korean BBQ but whatever you do, get outside! It's going to be a great weekend.

Enjoy!

On The Way to Lisa Vanderpump's Restaurant I Met the Italian Film Star Gabriel Garko

If you're in Beverly Hills, a few suggestions. Use one of the public parking places, make sure your camera is ready, and walk around and have fun. It really is fun. I was just such a snob I had no idea.

I usually think of Beverly Hills from this vantage point...

As you can tell if you've read anything from this blog, I'm pretty much an Eastside gal. I'm not sure if it's because it's my style, my interests or my pocket book, but I'm comf on the Eastside (Hollywood, Los Feliz, Silverlake, Echo Park, Atwater, Eagle Rock and Highland Park). And yet, when one goes outside one's own comfort zone, the funniest things one might find...

This past Saturday, on the way to Beverly Hills to lunch with some ladies at Villa Blanca, Lisa Vanderpump's gorgeous restaurant, my friend Else and I...

We tend to take each other VERY seriously

...decided to take some shots before lunch of this Other Land, this Beverly Hills, this world I rarely really hang out in. There was this magnificent sculpture...

Endless V Sculpture by Juame Plensa

Tourists on a bus...

It was a hot day. That might not have been fun.

Stores that looked like they're made out of jewelry...

Didn't they get the memo that about 170 years ago we started using the "u"?

We paid homage to The Great One...

Even in their parking lot I felt under-dressed.

And we even saw the Beverly Hills version of Graffiti. By becca.

Unfortunately the mannequins brought up some of my girl issues...

Chanel Mannequins

And the cars made me feel a little lonesome for John Gielgud...

Ridiculous Car Porn

But I managed to relax and have a really good time amongst all this opulence. In fact, look at me feeling like I'm finally at home in Beverly Hills...

I look good in red

And so that was it. Just us, tooling around. Looking at this and that. And then we had that experience you so often have in Los Angeles when you see a film crew shooting something....

Universal sign of a film shoot.

...which normally you spot, have a mild to lukewarm sensation of interest and then quickly decide to avoid. The truth is, I rarely feel the need to pull over and get out of my car to see what they're shooting. Most likely it's for an ad or something -- I don't know -- something that isn't going to be memorable. But from far away I saw an old-timey car and that seemed different and we became curious.

Gabriel Garko as Rudolph Valentino but he's on his cell phone

Fun, right? I'm thinking Who is this guy? I can barely see him. The sun's shining so bright. And just as we start taking some shots, they drive away. Well, not exactly drive away. I mean this is what a car shoot scene usually looks like...

car on a platform

I asked the tourists with their cameras out, Who was that guy? What were they shooting? No one knew. So me and Else walked around a bit. We figured maybe they'll come back. In the meantime, we got some more pics...

Pan at Beverly Gardens

Else thought this might have been put in around the 80's.

Tourists and a homeless person sleeping in the park, Beverly Gardens

And then the movie crew came back! We decided to be bold. We asked one of the actors what the movie was about...

He didn't know which got the attention of this guy:

One of the film's producers, Matteo Sapio.

Who told us this was an Italian film shoot, about the great silent film star Rudolph Valentino. Then this guy pops in for a snapshot...

Kind of looks like Derek Hough's Italian cousin

And then we asked, So Who is that? And he said, That's Valentino. That's Gabriel Garko. And that's when I met...

WTF?????

Look at my face. I'm shocked. At that particular moment I'm like who is this alien from another planet?  Is this man and I from the same species? What IS Gabriel Garko and what the hell do his parents look like???? (btw, couldn't find any parent pics online).

Wikipedia, not the ultimate source but it will do, says Gabriel Garko is an Italian film actor, a former model, and according to the film's producer, such a huge star, he literally can't walk out his door without being mauled by raving lunatic fans. But in Beverly Hills he's just this gorgeous mystery we stumbled upon. Garko is playing 1920's film star Rudolph Valentino in "Rudolfo Valentino, The Legend."

photo from The Rudolph Valentino Society

Rudolph Valentino's nickname was "The Lover." Fitting, isn't it?  Now I'm a married lady but anyone, male or female, would be weak at the knees looking at this guy. I mean Holy Moly...

So all I can say about that is THAT WAS FUN. I cannot wait for this movie to come out. In the meantime, we had somewhere to be. I mean, we had reservations and they had to get back on their car platform. So off to Lisa Vanderpump's we did go.

Lisa Vanderpump at Barnes & Noble, The Grove

Now I'm a major Housewives fan. I mean I might seem relatively hip, cool and edgy (or not, just don't tell me) but I watch RHOBH like nobody's business and have obsessed about it for years. I even went to Kyle Richard's book signing at Barnes & Noble...

And here I am with Kyle's husband, Mauricio Umansky...

We'll always have those 30 seconds, Mauricio.

But I never went to any of their businesses before. So my RHOBH friends and I decided it was time to lunch, just like the fancy ladies on our show do, at the famous Villa Blanca.

Fun, right? The restaurant, on Brighton Way in Beverly Hills is just downright gorgeous...

There are flowers EVERYWHERE. Sooooooooooooo Vanderpumpian.

Cushy seat sitch

Burrata Appetizer, very yummy

It's mainly California-Med type food.

Else's chopped Salad

My Chicken Salad

Stephanie's Pasta

And the staff was fantastic. This guy wasn't our waiter but we happen to know each other so he stopped by to say hello.

Me with Cutie Waiter, Brent

I mean even the bathroom is rather pretty

Bathroom at Villa Blanca

And not a terribly high bill, though the coffee was a bit of a goose.

Shocked at the price of a cup of joe.

After we paid, and it was all over someone asked us if we wanted dessert....

Hot Molten Lava Cake and Some Good but Odd Ice Cream

Being that we had already paid our tab I asked, "Is it free?" And that's when Stephanie remarked, "Well, there goes any illusion that we belong here." I think it was polite for her to use the "we." :)

Else, Stephanie and Me aka Yolanda, Camille and Kyle/Kim

It was so much fun. I can't say I was dying over the food or anything. But I don't really think that's why you go. It's a nice, pretty, sophisticated way to spend some quality time with your friends and gab and dish and talk about Italian film stars.

What a day. What an adventure. I'm so glad I went to Lisa's restaurant. My only other encounter with Ms. Vanderpump was at that same book signing. The best shot I got of her was this one. Ahem...

Lisa Vanderpump, looking good

And I'm so glad we took the time to pull over and see what's what with that film crew.

I bet this guy's famous too.

Villa Blanca is located at 9601 Brighton Way, Beverly Hills, CA. Reservations are recommended.

Click here for info for Beverly Hills Gardens 

Click here for Information for The Grove

Until next time, Buongiornio!