dry.bar

i actually discovered this trendy place from a post of Emma Roberts leaving the dry bar @ thevoguediaries. so i did a little research & found their website right away. 

the website is adorable & you can make appointments online. it was so simple, i thought i did something wrong. at any rate, since my hair has been in rehab & i refuse to let anyone cut off any more legnth until it grows, i decided to treat myself with a simple wash & blow dry.

everyone that worked there was really nice & knew what they were doing. you can do a simple blow out to a full on updo or spiral curls. & they greet you with your choice of H20, champagne, or wine.

I will definitely go back before a special night (or when i'm too lazy to do my own hair) check it @ www.thedrybar.com

crimes of the heart

this is for my sweetest and greatest friend of all time. 

"You're going to come across people in your life who will say all the right words at all the right times. But in the end, it's always their actions you should judge them by. It's actions, not words, that matter."

"I finally understood what true love meant...love meant that you care for another person's happiness more than your own, no matter how painful the choices you face might be."

"We fell in love, despite our differences, and once we did, something rare and beautiful was created. For me, love like that has only happened once, and that's why every minute we spent together has been seared in my memory. I'll never forget a single moment of it."

"Sometimes you have to be a part from people you love, but that doesn't make you love them any less. Sometimes you love them more."

"It happens to everyone as they grow up. You find out who you are and what you want, and then you realize that people you've known forever don't see things the way you do. So you keep the wonderful memories, but find yourself moving on."

photo diary.

 late night snapshots. hollywood: eden & the colony.

 

"ID me i dare you!!!"

the egg chair... i can't even...

unable to function all of my fingers properly, as this is my attempt to flip someone off. 

princess for one night.

& the morning after... 

how did we end up with this elf?

friday the 13th

May 13th, 2011: my lucky 21st birthday. lunch @ Urth Cafe. 

after lunch my chai tea fix, we went to check into our rooms at the Renaissance Hotel on Hollywood & Highland. (another surprise) - my maud & i got massages at the hotel spa, savannah and hannah lurked around hollywood blvd, and then we got ready for the night.

i had not thought about what i was going to wear, hence the fact i didn't know i would not be getting ready at my own apartment....and for those who don't know me  it is a legit process. it requires many decisions such as; shoes, jewelry, belt, purse, bangles, etc. normally i try on 500+ outfits & end up wearing the first thing i had on. naturally, i freaked out when i realized i had to take everything with me in the morning. thanks to my personal assistant for the day (hannah) i got to the hotel with enough options for my OCD liking. i wore my pink Elizabeth & James dress...

we proceeded to pop open a bottle of champagne, toasts were made and then i opened my presents... i swear i kept forgetting it was my birthday. i was too caught up in the fact that these silly girls were in town. not to mention, my 21st. ha i kind of still don't think it's real. i can guarantee you i will be nervous to by alcohol for the next few months or so... & awkwardly avoid eye contact at the check out as if i'm using a fake when i'm not. haha why am i so awkward!?

my sister couldn't make it out here, but as always she went above & beyond. she put together a scrapbook for the night & on each page was a challenge i had to do when i was out. (for example: take a shot with mom and dad, get 21 kisses, convince someone your day job is working as a Disney Princess) ... this is me reading her card, tearing up like an emotional mess.

 nextttt stop, dinner @ Koi. OH WAIT. HOLD UP...

quick change. as per usual, i had an impulse to put on my BCBG dress at the last second. i must say, i was very happy i did, even though everyone was all "FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DO NOT CHANGE OR WE WILL NEVER GET OUT THE DOOR"

 dinner @ koi. they spelled my name "Samanta" ......?

 the table.

***for those fashion junkies: i got the Elizabeth & James dress @ Kitson & the BCBG dress (romper actually) @ a thrift store in Burbank that only sells clothes from closed film & tv productions. the prices are insanely cheap & they have each item marked with which film/show they were used in.

sneaky sneaky

i already mentioned that my best friends surprised me this past weekend for my birthday. this is me opening the door to the really cool minivan they gave my dad as a rental... i was about to hop back in my car, but my padre told me to look in the backseat to see who happened to be on his flight.

 if only there was a picture of my face. i was so confused/thrilled/happy/...confused. my parents definitely pulled a fast one on me. props to my mom for being able to hold in her excitement when she was with me the days prior to this... she has a hard time keeping these things to herself plus she had to make up random lies... i.e. her response to "why are we going to pick up dad if he got a rental car?"

once i wrapped my head around the fact that these two lil beezys were actually in LA, they got in my car, we headed to my place, & after by the time we got to my apartment, having them here felt normal and as if time stood still as we picked up right where we left off.

the deal with all my best friends are that they all live across country scattered in different states. Hannah lives in Tennessee, which is where I am from so we manage to see each other more often then some of my other bests. we got to spend a lot of time together when i went home this past December. i stayed in Nashville for 3 months and during that time we were pretty much attached until she had to go back to school in Knoxville. clearly, i had to follow her there for a weekend visit before i jetted back to Cali.

& then there's Savannah (who is going to kill me for posting this picture) she has an ELF ear situation going on. hahaha sorry i'm not sorry... i met Savannah at the North Carolina School of Arts. we were the only normal 2 people @ that summer program, & luckily we were roommates. i knew i had met my match when we bonded over abnormal interests. i.e. yelling random names at strangers, lurking around campus wearing matching outfits (jean jackets included), lurking around the dorms, and making fun of people who lurked into our room to help themselves to our ipods, clothes, what have you... aside from reminiscing on how we met, i had not seen this stupid elf in over a year!! our last adventures took place in Nashville @ my ever so legendary Christmas party, where literally everyone i knew met each other and still to this day i'll hear "yeah, i met him/her at your xmas party"

santa monica.

spotted: planet blue bag

 *** fashion note: Savannah wearing my Wildfox heart sweat shirt. (purchased @ Kitson)

be who you are

my 21st birthday was yesterday. i didn't have any big plans originally, because i have been feeling a bit lost with who my real friends are out here or if i have any. so my parents came in town, which i needed to get a sense of clarity again. but they went beyond their normal amazingness & completely surprised me by flying out my 2 best friends. mind you, one is from Atlanta, one is from Nashville and they don't even know each other that well. so the shock of seeing them here in Los Angeles together for my birthday was the most surreal feeling. i was genuinely so stunned when i saw them and i wanted to break down in tears of happiness.

i think sometimes you need to just stop, breathe, and remind yourself of the support you have from friends & family. it's hard to embark on new directions in your life. i've taken responsibility of where i want my destiny to end up. and as much as i love to be independent, i find myself in those moments of feeling utterly alone. so despite my frustrations, despite my failures, and despite my moments of insanity... at the end of the day, i know how much i am loved. and as my sister reminded me in her birthday card "i am never alone"

 so here's to the best family and friends in the world. thank you all for such a great 21st birthday. xxxx

12th & porter

lately....

i've been back in nashville and having a blast. i have seen so many old friends that i adore and we have ben hitting up the nashville nightlife quite a bit.

12th & porter is a pretty rad venue where local bands usually perform and sometimes bigger names.

kid at heart

HEY, remember to love more. FIGHT HATE.

Okay, just a few more pictures from when my seester was i town!!! I already miss you Al.
We went to Universal Studios on Sunday, and I was in heaven. Not because of the rides, or the candy, or the crazy smazians, but because we were literally laughing the ENTIRE DAY.
We had so much fun, I can't even describe it. Just everything was really funny that day- probably because we would get bored in lines and come up with random topics that led to hilarious conversations...like remembering all the old TV shows that we use to love: Rugrats, Hey Arnold, Recess, Big Comfy Couch, Bananas in Pajamas, Bear in the Big Blue House, Doug... um okay we seriously listed so many more it was ridiculous, but these are the ones i remember lol(below) ali soaked after we swore to melissa that we would NOT get wet on the Jurassic Park ride... hahahah OOPS? ...we also honored the fact that when we were little we would take the head rest of the seats in the car. put them on our heads & sing..."we're sisters (bum bum) we're happy & we're singing & we're wh--ite. give me a high 5!!" (to the beat from a tv song. which i forgot that one too ha fuck)Anyways, it was a really fun day. I kid you not, my abs were sore the next day from laughing so much. i thought i was going to piss myself because we were geeking out so hard. no worries, I have self control.After a fun day sunday, we went to see "Going the Distance" with Drew Barrymore and Justin Long. I was a little disappointed because I was expecting better from my girl Drew B. But it was still really cute! I would recommend it anwyays!The story line is about a long distance relationship, which I thought was cool and not a story you see told that often. I could obviously relate to it. The objectives had high stakes, which inhances the circumstances."Going the Distance" goes to show that true love can work for people who are willing to compromise. It was very touching and also really funny! ... THERE ARE SO MANY MOVIE I WANT TO SEE RIGHT NOW.

ps. Modern Family is the most hilarious show on TV. so please, watch it! it's the type of comedy I like, where the actors are so good at portraying REAL LIFE and real situations that are just funny to see. you want to yell at the screen "OMG I DO THAT WHEN I FEEL AWKWARD TOO!" or whatever the thought is. you get my point?