I am taking today off for Memorial Day, but will be back tomorrow with a new location to stalk. 🙂 Hope everyone is enjoying their three day weekend and taking a moment to remember those who lost their lives fighting for our country.
Brad and Jen’s Honeymoon Hotel
As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, this weekend was a big one for me. The biggest perhaps! My boyfriend (of over eight and a half years!!) finally popped the question!!!!!!!!!!! 🙂 And I, of course, said yes! This changes things quite a bit for me, as from now on I will no longer be dragging my boyfriend to filming locations all across L.A. I will now be dragging my fiance!! 🙂 LOL My boyfriend realized long ago that if he was going to propose to me it had better be at some sort of filming location. And, let me tell you, he came through big time!!!!! Although, I was the one who actually discovered the location for him. 🙂 A few weeks ago, while searching for the mansion where Brad and Jen got married, I stumbled upon this article about a little boutique hotel in Palm Springs named the Ingleside Inn. And when I read the words “Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt came to the Inn after their media frenzy Malibu wedding” I literally almost hyperventilated right there at my computer! I immediately called my boyfriend and said “WE HAVE TO GO HERE!” LOL
My boyfriend actually already had plans to attend a work event in Palm Springs this past weekend, so he booked us a room at the hotel. And I was FLOORED, ABSOLUTELY FLOORED! Well, that “work event” turned out to be a surprise engagement party for me with all of our closest friends [including Mike, from MovieShotsLA :)] in attendance. My boyfriend proposed about 45 minutes before the surprise party right there in Villa 4 of the Ingleside Inn. It was a pretty magical experience. 🙂
The Ingleside Inn was first built as a private residence in 1922 by heirs to the Pierce Arrow Motor Car Company fortune. In 1939, the residence was purchased by Palm Springs’ first councilwoman, Ruth Hardy, who turned the 2.5 acre property into an exclusive inn and private club. Rumor has it that she would interview guests before their stay to make sure they were worthy of vacationing at her Inn. 🙂 In 1975, after Ruth passed away, the Inn was purchased by New York native Mel Haber, who still owns and runs the property to this day. In fact, on Friday night while eating dinner at the Inn’s onsite restaurant, Melvyn’s, I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Haber who confirmed for me that Brad and Jen did in fact spend three nights at the Inn immediately following their wedding. 🙂 🙂 🙂
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The tiny inn is like no other place I have ever visited. It boasts only thirty rooms – each one different – and, even though it is within walking distance of Downtown Palm Springs, is completely secluded. It is quiet, peaceful, and intimate. When we checked in, a bellman escorted us to our room and gave us a real key – not one of those plastic key-cards that most hotels use. The air conditioning had been turned on prior to our arrival, so that our “villa” would be nice and cool for us upon entering. Our bed had been turned down, there was a mint on each of the pillows, and a fruit basket was placed on the dresser. Each morning a newspaper was delivered to our door and the fridge was re-stocked daily with complimentary fruit juice, soda, and bottled water. All of the hotel employees knew us by name, knew our room number by heart, and would walk by repeatedly while we were lounging poolside to make sure our every need was being attended to. It was service at its finest!!
The rooms, which are very reasonably priced (almost unbelievably so!), are slightly old-fashioned, but in a good way. While staying there, I really felt as though I had stepped back in time. I must say, though, that if you are at all a fan of hotels like The Standard in West Hollywood (which I’m not), then this is definitely not the place for you. The Inn is not a spot to party or live it up. It is the kind of place you go to truly get away from it all. Which is my kind of place! Oh, and did I mention that there is a Starbucks within walking distance? What more could a girl ask for?
My favorite part of the hotel had to be the pool, though, which is open 24 hours. Even though the Inn is only a short block away from Palm Canyon Drive and Downtown Palm Springs, while laying by the pool I felt like I was worlds away from civilization. I remember thinking to myself ‘No wonder Brad and Jen came here!’ 🙂 Ingleside Inn is the kind of place where cell phones in common areas are frowned upon, so the pool is like a little secluded haven. It was heaven!
Also heaven was the poolside lunch I ordered from Melvyn’s, the Inn’s fine dining restaurant. Melvyn’s has won countless awards, including “First Place in Fine Dining”, “Most Romantic Restaurant”, and, my personal favorite, “Best Place to Spot Celebrities”. 🙂 Both the restaurant and the Inn have also been featured repeatedly as “One of the Ten Best” on television’s Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. Melvyn’s also features a Rat Pack style crooner who sings the Standards nightly.
Since the beginning, both Ingleside Inn and Melvyn’s have been celebrity havens. In fact, an entire section of a past issue of People Magazine was devoted to the many celebrity weddings that have taken place at the Inn, which include that of Frank Sinatra and Barbara Marx, Angel’s David Boreanaz and Playboy Playmate Jaime Bergman, and David Ashrow and actress June Allyson who stated “Everyone should be married at Ingleside Inn at least once in their livetime!” LOL The Inn’s celeb guests include Lance Bass, Bob Hope, Goldie Hawn, Kate Hudson, Greta Garbo, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Shriver, Salvador Dali, Sylvester Stallone, opera singer Lily Pons (who lived at the Inn for over 13 years!!!), John Travolta, Liza Minelli, Cher, Clark Gable, Barry Manilow, Elizabeth Taylor, President Gerald Ford, and John Wayne, just to name a few.
I honestly cannot recommend stalking the Ingleside Inn enough! It is truly a magical place! All weekend (even before he proposed) my boyfriend kept saying “I’ve found my new favorite Palm Springs hotel!” 🙂 And, thanks to my boyfriend – ahem, my fiance – the Inn is no longer just the place where Brad and Jen spent their honeymoon, but the place where I got engaged. 🙂
Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂
Stalk It: The Ingleside Inn is located at 200 West Ramon Drive in Palm Springs. Brad and Jen stayed in Room 148 of the hotel (pictured above). My boyfriend proposed to me in Villa 4. 🙂 You can visit the hotel’s website here. Rooms run from $120 to $600 per night.
The Mansion Where Brad and Jen Got Married
There are some events in history that people remember as if they occurred just yesterday. For instance, my mom remembers exactly where she was, right down to what she was wearing, on November 22, 1963 when she found out that President Kennedy had been murdered. Well, I wasn’t alive when JFK was assassinated or when man first walked on the moon. But I do remember exactly where I was and what I was wearing on July 30thof 2000 when it was announced that Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston had finally gotten married. 🙂 Now, some may not qualify that event as being historic, or even memorable, but for me it was. I was in Hawaii with my family at the time and the day beforehand I had found out that one of my closest friends had passed away. I was absolutely inconsolable. My parents didn’t really know what to do with me, so they decided to bring me down to the hotel bar in the hopes that a cocktail and a sunset might bring me some sort of comfort. As we sat at that outdoor bar watching the waves crash on the sand, I heard Jennifer Aniston’s name on the television set behind me and my ears perked up. The announcer stated that sources had confirmed that my girl Jen had married Brad Pitt in a ceremony on a Malibu bluff the previous evening. And it was the first time I smiled in days. 🙂 So, a few weeks ago, when I found the location of the mansion where Brad and Jen tied the knot, I just had to go stalk it.
I had read long ago that Brad and Jen had tied the knot at a five acre seaside estate belonging to television producer Marcy Carsey (of 3rd Rock From the Sun, Roseanne, and The Cosby Show fame) that was located on the 33000 block of Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu. But I had no idea of the home’s exact location. Until I found this fabulous website, which led me to the right spot. 🙂 Yay! From what I can tell from the few photographs released of the couple’s nuptials, the actual wedding ceremony took place on the circular patch of lawn located in front of Marcy’s home. Their reception took place in a large tent on an empty parcel of land located just south of the estate. You can see the wedding set up in the above paparazzi photograph, which was taken the day of Brad and Jen’s wedding.
Unfortunately, virtually none of the home is visible from the street. 🙁
If you head a few hundred feet up nearby Decker Canyon Road, you can just make out the outline of the mansion’s roof . . .
. . . and you can see the empty patch of land where Brad and Jen’s reception was held. But other than that, sadly, there’s not a whole lot to see. 🙁
Which is why God created aerial images. 🙂 LOL You can see a great aerial photo of Brad and Jen’s wedding mansion here.
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According to People Magazine, Brad and Jen’s wedding cost over $1 million and featured 50,000 flowers, a 13 minute fireworks display, four live bands, and a gospel choir! Their 200 person guest list was strictly A-List, and included Courteney Cox and David Arquette, Edward Norton and Salma Hayek (who were dating at the time), Cameron Diaz, Melissa Etheridge (who serenaded the couple), David Schwimmer, Kathy Najimy, Dermot Mulroney, Jon Lovitz, David Spade, and Lisa Kudrow. During their vows Jen promised to always make Brad’s “favorite banana milkshake” and Brad vowed to “split the difference on the thermostat”. Knowing how things turned out after that little homewrecker Angelina Jolie got her claws into Brad, doesn’t the whole thing kinda bring a tear to your eye? 🙁
Located directly next door to the estate where Brad and Jen got married, is the 19,340 square foot mega-mansion originally owned by Verna Harrah, widow of William F. Harrah, who was the founder of the famous casino hotels of the same name. In December of 1999, Verna sold her collosal mansion to Mark Reynolds Hughes, creator of Herbalife Vitamins, for a cool $27 million. Less than six months later, Hughes passed away of an alleged prescription drug and alcohol overdose in the master bedroom of the home. He was 44. The manse was subsequently purchased by billionaire venture capitalist Howard Marks.
And it looks to me as if Howard also purchased the once empty parcel of land where Brad and Jen held their tented wedding reception and which originally belonged to the Carsey estate. As you can see in the above aerial photographs of the two neighboring properties, it looks as if the Howards moved their property line over quite a bit.
Even though not much of Brad and Jen’s wedding mansion can be seen from the street, I was still floored to finally be stalking it. And even though their wedding occured during a difficult time in my life and their marriage ended rather unamicably, somehow thinking back on the day when I learned about my idol’s nuptials still manages to bring a smile to my face. 🙂
Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂
Stalk It: Brad and Jen’s wedding mansion is located at 33148 Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu. Mark Reynolds Hughes’ former house is located directly next door at 33064 Pacific Coast Highway. For the best views of the homes, head a few hundred feet up Decker Canyon Road, which is located just south of the properties.
San Francisco City Hall
I think it’s pretty safe to say that I’ve read just about every biography on my girl Marilyn Monroe that’s ever been published. So, imagine my surprise when I came across an article the other day which stated that the starlet married her second husband, baseball legend Joe DiMaggio, at San Francisco City Hall. How in the heck did I not know this before??? I grew up in San Francisco for Pete’s sake! City Hall was pretty much right in my own backyard! In fact, I even stalked the place back in October, during my last trip to the City by the Bay. I had yet to blog about it, though, because it was extremely windy the day I was there and I only got out of the car long enough to take one photograph – the one pictured above. Check out my hair! LOL So, the other day, after reading about Marilyn’s San Francisco wedding, I sent my good friend Nat, who lives in the area, on a stalking mission to take photographs of City Hall for me, so that I could finally blog about it. 🙂 Here goes!
San Francisco City Hall was built in 1915 by architect Arthur Brown, Jr., who also designed Coit Tower, the War Memorial Opera House and Pasadena City Hall. The Beaux-Arts style building that stands today is actually San Francisco’s second City Hall. The first, which was built in 1899 and stood at the corner of Grove and Larkin Streets where the public library is now located, was completely destroyed during the 1906 earthquake. Rescue workers were able to salvage the statue that stood atop of the original City Hall’s dome and planned on placing it on the new building. Unfortunately, the statue fell off the back of a flat bed truck while being transported to its new location and was destroyed. LOL LOL LOL How’s that for irony?? The current City Hall measures over 500,000 square feet, takes up two entire city blocks, and cost over $3.5 million to build! Over ten acres of marble were used in the construction. The building’s dome stands at 307.5 feet tall, trumping Washington D.C.’s Capital Building’s dome by 14 inches.
Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio’s wedding took place on January 14, 1954 in the third floor chambers of Judge Charles S. Perry, who was a close friend of Joe’s. DiMaggio’s other good friend Reno Barsocchini and his former manager Lefty O’Doul were the couple’s only guests. Sadly, the marriage was short-lived. Marilyn filed for divorce only 274 days later. City Hall is also the location where Mayor George Moscone and County Supervisor Harvey Milk were shot to death by Dan White on November 27, 1978.
San Francisco City Hall has been featured in countless movies and television shows over the years. The interior of the building’s rotunda showed up at the very end of Raiders of the Lost Ark, where it stood in for the Washington D.C. building where Indiana Jones agreed to let Marion Ravenwood buy him a drink (pictured above). City Hall was also used in Bedazzled, The Rock, A View to a Kill, Dirty Harry, Milk, Tucker: The Man and His Dream, The Towering Inferno, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Dharma and Greg (in the “Much Ado During Nothing” episode), Foul Play, and Bicentennial Man, just to name a few!
I highly recommend stalking San Francisco City Hall. It is an absolutely beautiful building and just seeing the dome alone in person is worth a drive by! And, although I didn’t venture inside while I was stalking the place, the first floor area is open to the public. Free tours are also given three times daily, Monday through Friday, at 10 a.m., 12 p.m., and 2 p.m. San Francisco City Guides also offers free interior tours of City Hall every Thursday at 11:00 a.m. You can visit their website for further details.
Big THANK YOU to my surrogate stalker Nat who took all of the above photos. 🙂
Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂
Stalk It: San Francisco City Hall is located at 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place in San Francisco.
The Michael Jackson Exhibit by Julien’s Auctions
As I’ve mentioned once before, even though he has some major issues, darn if I don’t love me some MJ! So when one of my readers, Amanda, posted a comment this morning about the Michael Jackson Exhibit that is currently being held in Beverly Hills, I just about had a full blown panic attack right there in my own living room. HOW IN THE HECK HAD I NOT HEARD ABOUT THIS??? LOL I immediately called my dad, who also loves himself some MJ, and the two of us headed right over to Beverly Hills to check out the exhibit.
The Michael Jackson exhibit was originally slated as an auction to be hosted by Julien’s Auctions company. Michael Jackson himself hired the auction house, which specializes in entertainment memorabilia, to sell off virutally all of the contents of his now defunct Neverland Ranch. At the last minute, though, MJ changed his mind and decided to cancel the auction and buy back all of his memorabilia from Julien’s. But he did agree to go through with the scheduled exhibition of his valuables, which is open to the public now through April 25th. And I am so glad he did, as my experience there today was nothing short of incredible!!!!!
I was literally on the edge of my seat for the entire drive to Beverly Hills! And the exhibit did not fail to disappoint! The first thing you see when walking up to the exhibition area is – are you sitting down for this??? – the famed NEVERLAND RANCH GATE! I have wanted to see that gate for as long as I can remember and was so disappointed when I stalked Neverland Ranch back in 2007 and discovered that it wasn’t visible from the street. I was so floored to see that gate in person, in fact, that I couldn’t imagine there’d be anything inside the exhibit hall that could top it! But, boy, was I wrong! The Neverland gate was just the beginning! 🙂
In a very lucky twist of fate, after asking a security guard a question upon entering the exhibit, I was referred to a man named Michael Doyle. Well, it turns out that Michael is the administrator of the entire exhibit and a SUPER nice guy. After I told him a bit about my blog, he ended up taking me on my own mini private tour of the exhibit!!!!! Unbelievable!!!!! 🙂 According to Doyle, the 30,000 square foot, 1,400 lot exhibit took over nine months to coordinate. The removal of the items from Neverland Ranch alone took ninety days! Doyle was at the ranch during that entire ninety day period and got to see up close and personal how the King of Pop lived. What an experience! When I told Doyle that I had actually been to Neverland Ranch, he said “Oh, you were invited there?” LOL I had to clarify and tell him that no, I had not been invited to Neverland Ranch, but had stalked the outside of it for my blog. LOL LOL LOL While I was speaking with Doyle, he got a call that Sharon Osbourne would be touring the exhibit later that day. I guess even celebs are fascinated with the King of Pop. 🙂
The entire exhibit, which feels very much like a museum, is set up in such a way that visitors feel as if they are actually stepping inside of the real Neverland Ranch. Before arriving, I was nervous that cameras would not be allowed, as I knew that I’d want to take pictures of EVERYTHING. Well, I really needn’t have worried, as cameras are not only allowed, but encouraged!!! The ultra-friendly security guards and docents kept telling us to be sure to take a lot of photographs. And my dad and I sure complied!! The two of us took over 200 pictures while there! Obviously I can’t post all 200 pictures here, as this post would be never-ending. So, I had to choose a few of my favorites. 🙂
On display are numerous costumes that the King of Pop wore during performances. Seeing them in person I could not believe how tiny MJ is! According to one of the docents, he has a 28 inch waist! I took the above photograph for comparison – now, I am a small girl (a size 2 usually) and look how much smaller Michael is than me! He’s like half my size!!!
Michael had 114 arcade games at Neverland Ranch, all of which are in working order and on display at the exhibit. Apparently, when the auction was still set to happen, the arcade games were garnering the most attention. Not from Michael Jackson fans, though, but video game enthusiasts. 🙂
On display were both a personal letter from then-president Ronald Regan offering his condolences after the pop star’s accident while filming a Pepsi commercial,
and the original contract MJ signed with the William Morris Agency on May 21, 1970. As an actress, seeing his agency contract absolutely fascinated me!
Numerous awards were also on display, including a fairly banged up American Video Award for “Beat It” from 1983.
Countless Disney items were featured, most of them presented to the pop star from Disney themselves, including several animatronic window displays which were located at the entrance to Neverland’s movie theatre.
Also on display was a huge collection of the singer’s blinged out clothes;
and sparkly gloves;
including THE glove;
his wax figure from Madame Tussauds in London;
his household furniture, including China, silverware, and glasses;
hundreds upon hundreds of statuaries;
a huge collection of cars, including three limousines, a Neverland Ranch firetruck, and several mini-cars that look like they might have once been part of a Disneyland ride;
and his tour bus complete with a ginormous plasma TV and a huge marble bathroom with a bidet.
But my absolute favorite part of the exhibit was the large stage set up in the main room that featured a huge movie screen that played the Michael Jackson: Live In Bucharest DVD on loop. It was amazing to be walking around what basically amounts to a replica of Neverland Ranch while listening to music from the pop star himself. My dad pretty much stood mesmerized watching that DVD for a good 45 minutes. 🙂
And, of course, I just had to do the Thriller dance. 🙂
I cannot recommend stalking the Michael Jackson exhibit enough!! If you are at all a fan of the pop star, or are enthralled with celebrity in general, you MUST stalk the exhibit. It was an AMAZING experience for me – a once in a lifetime, really – and I can’t even believe I got to see it all with my own two eyes. BIG THANK YOU to Amanda for letting me know about the auction!!!!
Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂
Stalk It: You can visit the Michael Jackson Exhibit by Julien’s Auctions through this Saturday, April 25th in the old Robinsons-May building, which is located at 9900 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills, directly next door to the Beverly Hilton Hotel. The exhibit is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is $20 per person. Parking is $10. I’d allow yourself a minimum of two hours to see the exhibit. Ladies, if you carry expensive purses, I suggest you leave them at home as you will have to check all bags at the door. Cameras, however, are welcomed and encouraged! 🙂 You can visit the Michael Jackson Exhibit website, where you can watch videos about the exhibition and browse through the five auction catalogs, here.
Paradise Cove
One location I have been wanting to stalk ever since I first moved to L.A. nine years ago – has it really been nine years??? – is Malibu’s Paradise Cove. Countless movies have been filmed at the Cove, but I wanted to stalk it for one reason and one reason only. Back in April of 1999, it was the location where Britney Spears filmed the music video for her hit song “Sometimes”. And I absolutely LOVED that video. I can still remember the first time I watched it on TRL just about ten years ago. And ever since that day I have been dying to see the white pier featured in the video in person. So, this past Saturday, I finally did just that. When I happened to mention to my mom that morning that I was on my way to stalk the Cove and the reason why, she said “Oh Lindsay, when are you going to get over this Britney obsession?” LOL
Paradise Cove, as we know it today, came to be in the early 1950s when a man named Joe Morris purchased two adjacent parcels of land and combined them into 70 beachfront acres complete with a private cove and a beach cafe. In the beginning, the area was a fisherman’s hangout, a place for sea-weary workers to not only launch their boats, but to kick back and grab a drink after a long day on the open water. The Cove gradually turned into a beachfront community, a place for local families, tourists, and celebrities alike to hang out by the sea. In the 70s, Joe sold his land, his beachfront restaurant, and his private cove to the Kissel family, who turned the area into a waterfront mobile home park. Joe’s son Bob was heartbroken over the sale and in 1998, he returned to Paradise Cove and purchased his father’s former restaurant. He renamed it Bob Morris’ Paradise Cove Beach Cafe and remains the owner to this day. The above photograph is of a picture on display at the Beach Cafe of my girl Marilyn Monroe posing on a cliff above the restaurant many moons ago.
Most of the action of Britney’s “Sometimes” video takes place right on the Paradise Cove pier. In the video, while hanging out at her beach house, Britney spies a cute boy playing nearby in the sand. She rushes down to the local pier, where her back-up dancers, dressed all in white, are waiting for her. The group then performs a very “Britney” dance routine (of course, I memorized it!) for the boy. I know, I know, the premise sounds incredibly lame, but – trust me – the video is adorable! You can watch the “Sometimes” video here.
In person, the pier looks exactly the same as how it appeared in Britney’s video. The only difference is that, in real life, there is no “Kenny’s Cove” sign located over the entrance. Apparently the video’s producer, Nigel Dick, thought an entrance sign similar to the one that adorns the Santa Monica pier was needed for decoration. He decided to name the cove after the video’s location scout, Kenny. 🙂 Love it!
Had to do it! 🙂
Paradise Cove has been featured in countless productions over the years. In American Pie 2, the Michigan lake house the boys spend their summer at was actually a facade the producers built on the beach at Paradise Cove just North of Bob Morris’ Paradise Cove Beach Cafe. That’s the Paradise Cove Pier behind the boys in the above screen capture. Producers also built a fake lighthouse on the end of the pier for the production.
In Lethal Weapon 4, Mel Gibson and Rene Russo lived in a trailer/house also located just to the North of the Beach Cafe. Their house was also just a facade built for filming. You can see the Cafe’s exterior just to the right of Mel Gibson in the above screen capture.
The pier is featured twice in Indecent Proposal. It first shows up as the location where Woody Harrelson proposes to Demi Moore in the beginning of the movie. Then, at the very end of the movie, it is where the two reunite.
Other productions filmed at the Cove include Rockford Files (James Garner lived in a trailer on the beach), Gidget, Monster-in-Law (JLo and Michael Vartan explored the Cove’s tide pools in the beginning of the movie), Alias, Charlie’s Angels, X-Men (Spider-Man creator Stan Lee served hot dogs by the sea) and The House of Sand and Fog. The Beach Boys also shot the cover for their Surfin’ Safari album at the Cove (pictured above).
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I HIGHLY recommend stalking the Cove – but be forewarned, it’s not cheap! Parking there costs $25! Yes, you read that right! Which is the very reason it took me nine years to stalk the place. Stealing a term from my friend Mandy, I long ago dubbed my boyfriend the “Grim Cheaper” because the guy just hates spending money. Five years ago, when we went to stalk the Cove for the first time, he took one look at that $25 parking sign and turned the car right around. LOL What we didn’t realize at the time is if you grab a bite to eat at Bob Morris’ Paradise Cove Beach Cafe and spend more than $20, the parking fee drops to $3, which is not bad at all. So, after stalking the Cove this past Saturday we marched right into the cafe and parked ourselves on some bar stools. And while we had a good time and the food was definitely yummy, I think we actually missed the boat on that one. What we didn’t realize is that there is actually a back patio area where you can sip a cocktail while sitting outside under the sun, watching the surf. But the rules for the back patio are pretty confusing because while the cafe provides the outdoor seating, they do not actually own that particular area. So, you can buy a bottle of wine or beer inside the restaurant to take outside, but the bottles have to remain closed until you reach your sandy destination. If you open your beverages before you leave, you will have to finish them inside. Confused? So was I.
Basically, Bob Morris’ Beach Cafe acts as a liquor store and sells full bottles of wine and beer that you can purchase at the bar and then take outside to drink on the back patio area. I SO wish I had known that at the time, as the patio looks like a really fun place to grab a drink, put your toes in the sand, and watch the sun set. Oh well, it looks like I’ll just have to go back to stalk the place again. 🙂
Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂
Stalk It: Paradise Cove is located at 28128 Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu. You can visit the Paradise Cove website here.
Taverna Tony
This past Saturday afternoon my boyfriend and I met up with my former boss and his wife for some coffee at the Malibu Country Mart – where we sat next to Brian Grazer in the playground area for a good 45 minutes. But that’s a whole other story. 🙂 After hanging out at the Mart for a bit, we decided to grab a bite to eat and I could not have been more floored when my boss’ wife suggested the famous Greek restaurant and celebrity hotspot Taverna Tony. Tony’s is a veritable celeb mecca in Malibu and pretty much anyone who’s anyone has dined there. I’ve been absolutely dying to stalk the place for years, but somehow just never got around to it. Until this past Saturday night! 🙂
Google the terms “Taverna Tony” and “celebrities” and a whole smorgasbord of famous names will appear, including Pamela Anderson, Courteney Cox, Kate Moss, Charlize Theron, Stuart Townsend, Britney Spears, Gwen Stefani, Brooke Burke, David Charvet, Paris Hilton, Benji Madden, Salma Hayek, Shannen Doherty, Al Pacino and my girl Jen Aniston (who is of Greek descent) – all of whom have dined at the Malibu restaurant. Unbelievably, we did not spot any celebs on Saturday night, but to be honest, for once, I wasn’t paying very close attention. I was too busy gabbing. LOL But I get the feeling that seeing a celeb at Tony’s is pretty much a sure thing, so you can bet I’m going to return in the near future. 🙂
Before dining at Tony’s on Saturday night, I had never sampled Greek food, so I had no idea what to expect. Well, let me tell you, it was FABULOUS! I have to say that Tony’s serves up some of the BEST food I’ve ever eaten in my life. The servings are absolutely ENOURMOUS and the prices are extremely reasonable – especially considering it’s located in Malibu. Tony’s is the type of place where you can eat a healthy meal or completely throw your diet out the window. I opted for the latter. LOL If you’re game for doing the same, I must suggest the Flaming Saganaki Cheese appetizer! Second to fried calamari, it is probably the worst thing on earth you could possibly eat, but OH-MY-GOD! It is A-MA-ZING! I could have eaten an entire platter of just that! LOL
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I honestly cannot recommend stalking Taverna Tony enough! Even if you’re not into the whole celeb thing, I can pretty much guarantee you’ll love this place. 🙂
Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂
Stalk It: Taverna Tony is located at 23410 Civic Center Way, in the Malibu Country Mart shopping center, in Malibu. The feature live music and belly dancing nightly. You can visit their website here.
The “If U Seek Amy” House
A few weeks ago, Miss Britney Spears debuted her new video for the third single off her Circus album, the controversially titled “If U Seek Amy”. So, of course, I just had to watch! I was actually pretty excited about this video, as many critics were proclaiming that the old Britney was finally back. I was hoping for something along the lines of the Britney videos of old featuring adorable outfits, cute hairdos, and choreographed pop dances that high school girls everywhere (and – who am I kidding – I) would be copying. But, alas, that was not to be. I guess I just have to face the cold, hard truth – the old Britney will never be back. 🙁 The “If U Seek Amy” video is downright terrible. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more lame music video in my life. But, since I was in the area this weekend, I figured I may as well stalk the house where it was filmed. 🙂
The “If U Seek Amy” house was incredibly easy to find thanks to this article which stated that the video was filmed in Pacific Palisades and several paparazzi photos taken the day of the filming which clearly showed an address number of 14966 (pictured above).
Interestingly enough, though, the final “6” of the house number doesn’t appear in the actual music video (pictured above). It must have been removed in the editing room after filming was completed to ward off stalkers like me. LOL Nice try, Britney, but don’t you know the paparazzi document your every move? 🙂
It appears that both the interior and the exterior of the colonial style home were used in the filming of Britney’s new video. The interiors were used for the wild party scenes where a scantily clad Britney (wearing a pair of super cute pink high heels) dances with a group of friends. The exterior of the home is featured at the end of the video, where BritBrit – this time dressed up like a 50’s housewife – walks out of her white-picket fenced house with her husband and two children to serve the paparazzi some apple pie.
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It’s easy to see why producers chose to use the Pacific Palisades home, as it looks like the typical American dream house, complete with a white picket fence and gabled windows. It’s just the type of place you’d expect to find Britney’s 50’s housewife character living. You can watch the (incredibly lame) “If You Seek Amy” video here.
On a side note I have one more thing to say about the “If U Seek Amy” video – Holy roots, Batman! I think Britney really should have visited the salon to get her roots did before filming this thing!! I mean, I don’t let mine get even half that bad, and unlike BritBrit, I don’t have a stylist on the payroll!! Her roots were so distracting in the video that I pretty much couldn’t focus on anything else – which actually might have been a good thing! LOL
Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂
Stalk It: The house from Britney’s “If U Seek Amy” video is located at 14966 La Cumbre Drive in Pacific Palisades.
POP Champagne Bar
This past weekend I dragged my boyfriend out to stalk Pasadena’s newest hot spot – a little place called POP Champagne & Dessert Bar which opened its doors about three months ago. Being that champagne is my (and my girl Marilyn’s) fave cocktail, I have been dying to stalk this place ever since it opened back in December. Sadly I didn’t get around to it until this past Friday night. But let me tell you, it was worth the wait. I think POP might just be my new favorite bar. : )
POP is absolutely adorable inside. It has a very New York City feel to it. The decor is made up of exposed brick, huge leather booths, dark wood paneling, and sparkling crystal chandeliers. It’s exactly the kind of place you want to escape to after a long day at work (or in my case, a long day of stalking). 🙂 And while no movies have been filmed there yet, I can pretty much guarantee that it won’t be long before location scouts come a-knockin’!
POP’s wine menu is quite extensive. In fact, I’ve never seen anything like it! They serve over 50 varieties of wine by the glass, including Merlot and Chardonnay for those of you who aren’t champagne drinkers. Their menu is A-MA-ZING and they serve up huge portions at reasonable prices. During their happy hour, which runs from 5 to 7 pm daily, mimosas, bellinis, and draft beers are only $4 a glass and most appetizers are 20% off. And on those rare days in Southern California when it rains, POP extends its happy hour to an all day affair. How cool is that? And – my personal favorite POP special – every single Wednesday they serve up glasses of Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label Champagne (the BEST champagne ever) for only $10! That’s like unheard of! LOVE IT! You can bet I’m going to be hanging out at POP pretty much every Wednesday night from now on. LOL
But my favorite item on the menu? The “Room Service for Mr. Lewis” appetizer which consists of a selection of fresh strawberries and two glasses of Gloria Ferrar Blanc de Noir champagne. If the words “Room service for Mr. Lewis” sound familiar to you, it’s because they should. They were uttered in one of the most famous romantic comedies of all time – Pretty Woman. In the movie Edward Lewis, aka Richard Gere, orders up some champagne and strawberries when he first arrives with Vivian at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel. He tells Vivian that strawberries bring out the flavor in the champage. 🙂 Movie references on a menu? LOVE IT! In fact, I think it’s safe to say that there’s nothing about POP that I don’t love! 🙂
As I always do when visiting new places, I asked our bartender if any celebs had been spotted at POP. Well, let me tell you, I almost fell right off my bar stool when he told me that douchbag Bachelor Jason Mesnick and girlfriend Molly Malaney had just been there the previous week! I couldn’t figure out what the heck those two would be doing in Pasadena, until I remembered that ABC usually puts the current Bachelor up at the Langham Huntington Hotel & Spa in Pasadena when they come to town for press events. I know this because a good friend of mine used to work at the hotel back when it was owned by the Ritz Carlton. 🙂 Well, after I heard that Jason and Molly had stopped in, I had about a million and one questions for our bartender. LOL Turns out he didn’t pay all that much attention to the pair because he “doesn’t really care about them”. LOVE IT! But he did mention that Molly was SUPER skinny. Like disgustingly so. He said that Molly and Jason were meeting up with some friends at POP which begs the question, who in the heck do those two know in L.A.?? They were probably meeting up with Bachelor producer Mike Fleiss to toast the big payoff (the After the Final Rose special was the most watched in Bachelor history!) from the scam they pulled this season. LOL Anyway, our bartender said that Jason and Molly didn’t stay long as Jason wanted to try out the Vertical Wine Bistro (owned by Terminator producer Gale Anne Hurd) located just around the corner from POP. Jason was probably hoping to run into Gale so that he could give her a headshot – now that his Bachelor fame is waning he needs a new day job. LOL Our bartender said that quite a few celebs have stopped into POP since its grand opening, but unfortunately he didn’t know any of them by name.
I HIGHLY recommend stalking POP!!!! It is a very fun place to grab a drink, even if you are not a champagne fan! You can bet I’ll be stopping in regularly in the months to come. 🙂
Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂
Stalk It: POP Champagne and Dessert Bar is located at 33 East Union Street in Pasadena. You can visit their website here. POP is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Tom and Gisele’s Big Day
Last Friday night while watching my new favorite show Talk Soup (why on earth I was not a regular watcher before is beyond me!!!!), a news flash splashed across my screen announcing that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady had wed supermodel girlfriend Gisele Bundchen the previous evening. According to reports the hush-hush ceremony took place on the evening of February 26th at Saint Monica’s Catholic Church in Santa Monica and only a few guests were in attendance. Even though I am in no way, shape, or form a fan of Tom or Gisele, since I just happened to be in the area this weekend, I thought I’d stalk the church where their nuptials took place. 🙂
I’ve actually been to St. Monica’s Church quite a few times over the years, as it used to be my boyfriend’s local parish. It is an absolutely beautiful place, inside and out, and I am not at all surprised that Gisele and Tom chose it for their top-secret ceremony. The church was established way back in 1886, but the church that now stands at the corner of 7th Street and California Avenue wasn’t built until 1926. There is also an elementary school and a high school on the site. Since it’s inception over 123 years ago, St. Monica’s has grown to become one of the largest Catholic congregations in the Los Angeles area.
Saint Monica’s Catholic Church is no stranger to celebrity. It was featured in both the 1956 film Full of Life and the 1944 Academy Award winning musical Going My Way. Barry Fitzgerald, the lead character in Going My Way, was actually based on former St. Monica Monsigor Nicholas Conneally. Besides Tom and Gisele, other celebrities who are fans of the church include Martin Sheen, Brooke Shields, architect Frank Gehry, and Lawrence Welk. Lucy Lawless aka Xena, Warrior Princess, was married at St. Monica’s in 1998 and the memorial services for both Chris Farley and Lucille Ball were held there in 1997 and 1989 respectively.
Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂
Stalk It: Saint Monica’s Catholic Church is located at 725 Santa Monica Boulevard in Santa Monica.