Tag: filming locations

Samantha’s Meatpacking Digs!

Yet another New York location that Mike, God of Stalking, found for me is the new apartment Samantha moves into early in the third season of Sex and the City. This same apartment was featured throughout the end of the series’ six season run. And I absolutely could not figure out its exact location. According to IMDB, the apartment was located on Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District, but after extensive searching on Google street maps, I soon realized that that information was not correct. So, as usual, I enlisted Mike’s help in finding the apartment and, sure enough, he located it in a snap! 🙂

I sent Mike the above screen captures from the Season 3 episode of SATC entitled “Cock-A-Doodle-Do”, which featured Samantha’s apartment quite prominently. He immediately recognized the overhang located at the end of Samantha’s street (pictured in the second screen capture above). It seems Mike had stalked that very overhang earlier this year, after it was featured in the Will Smith movie I Am Legend. Eureka!

So, while in New York a few weeks ago, I dragged my boyfriend right out to stalk Samantha’s Meatpacking digs. Sadly, though, her apartment building looks very different today than it appeared back in 2000 when SATC filmed there. In the early 1900’s, the Meatpacking District was solely an industrial neighborhood, housing over 250 of New York’s slaughterhouses and warehouses. In the 80s, prostitutes and drug dealers moved in, turning MePa, as it is sometimes called, into a seedy and run down part of town. But during the past ten years or so, the entire Meatpacking District has undergone a huge transformation, turning it into one of the most trendy neighborhoods in New York. During this transformation, many of the old slaughterhouses and buildings, including Samantha’s, were given complete face lifts and no longer look as they did a decade ago.

You can see in the above photographs how very different the loading dock area in front of Samantha’s apartment now looks. While it is still, for the most part, recognizable as Samantha’s apartment, the entire bottom floor of the building was recently given a complete makeover and is now home to a trendy restaurant named Spice Market.

And when I saw the building in person, I realized that Samantha’s apartment building on SATC was actually made up of two different exteriors that are located right next door to each other. The front door Samantha is shown exiting and entering on the series (pictured above) actually belongs to the building located directly next door to the building used as hers on the series.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Samantha’s front door is located just to the right of the entrance to Fusion Physical Therapy & Sports, located at 407 W. 13th Street. Her apartment building is actually the building next door, located at 403 West 13th Street in New York’s Meatpacking District.

January 5, 2009
Mr. Big’s Church

One New York location that I have long been wanting to stalk is the church featured in the Season One episode of Sex and the City entitled “Oh Come All Ye Faithful”. In the episode Carrie, while doing some research on religion for her weekly column, stumbles upon Big and his mother coming out of a church one Sunday morning. As usual, Carrie gets a bit carried away and returns to that same church the following Sunday, in full church regalia, to spy on Big and his mom. At the end of the episode, after Mr. Big introduces Carrie to his mother as “my friend”, the two wind up breaking up – for the first of what is to be many times.

This location was fairly easy to find as in the episode Carrie refers to the church as “Park Avenue Presbyterian”. While not the actual name of the church, when I googled “Park Avenue Presbyterian”, the address of a Presbyterian church located on Park Avenue popped up and, sure enough, it was the one used in the episode. In real life it is named Central Presbyterian Church and it is currently undergoing renovations, so I was not able to get the best photographs of it. But you can see in the above screen captures that the exterior doors look just as they did on SATC.

Filming for the “Oh Come All Ye Faithful” episode took place both inside and outside of the church. And while I did venture inside for a quick peek at the interior, I didn’t take any photographs as I have to admit I would have felt just slightly uncomfortable taking pictures inside of a church for the sole reason that a show by the name of “Sex and the City” was filmed there. I would have just died if a priest had walked up to me and asked me what I was doing! LOL The church is very beautiful inside, though, with stained glass windows, stone archways, and a huge altar, and I am happy to report that it looks very much the same today as it did back in 1998 when the episode was filmed.

While there, I just had to take a picture across the street from the church, at the location where Carrie stands when she first spots Big and his mom. The really sad part about this photograph is that I hadn’t actually seen the “Oh Come All Ye Faithful” episode for a while, yet, for some reason, I still remembered exactly how Carrie was standing in the scene. I am beginning to think I really need to get a life! LOL Turns out, though, that while I had Carrie’s pose down pat, I actually had the wrong location!! LOL As you can see in the above screen capture, Carrie is actually standing in front of the building to the right of the one I posed in front of. LOL Although that building has since been painted white, it still has the same wrought iron window coverings with circular cut-outs.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Central Presbyterian Church is located at 593 Park Avenue on New York’s Upper East Side. You can visit their website here. In “Oh Come All Ye Faithful”, Mr. Big and his mom exit from the church’s side doors which are located on 64th Street. The brownstone where Carrie stands in the episode is located just across the street at 107 East 64th Street.

December 30, 2008
Miracle on 34th Street

I wanted to publish this post on Christmas day, but unfortunately ran out of time. 🙁 Better late than never! Anyway, one of my all-time favorite Christmas movies is the 1947 film Miracle on 34th Street. So, of course, every December while in New York, I drag my boyfriend out to stalk the main filming location used in the movie – the famous Macy’s department store located at the intersection of 34th Street and Broadway.

The Miracle on 34th Street Macy’s, which is also known as the Herald Square Macy’s, is the company’s flagship store. With nine floors and 2,150,000 square feet of shopping space, it has the distinction of being known as “The World’s Largest Store”. In fact, Macy’s takes up almost an entire New York City block! It’s humongous! R.H. Macy first opened the New York branch of his department store on the corner of 14th Street and 6th Avenue in 1858. The store moved to its current location, a nine story building designed by the architecture firm De Lemos & Cordes in 1902. The Palladian style building which houses Macy’s became a National Historic Landmark in 1978 and has one of the only wooden escalators currently still in use.

Both the interior and the exterior of the Herald Square Macy’s were used in the filming of Miracle on 34th Street. In fact, the filming of the movie required more power than Macy’s had on hand, creating the need for additional power sources to be set up in the basement of the department store. Even though filming took place over sixty years ago, I am happy to report that much of both the interior and the exterior of Macy’s are still recognizable from the movie. Besides Miracle on 34th Street, Macy’s was also featured in the 1956 film Lovers and Lollipops, the Beat This: A Hip Hop History television special, and Kanye West’s “Heard ‘Em Say” video. Popular essayist David Sedaris also wrote a short story entitled “SantaLand Diaries” based on his real life experiences working as one of Santa’s elves at the 34th Street Macy’s.

But Macy’s most significant claim to fame would have to be its incredible SantaLand department, which takes up almost all of Macy’s eighth floor during the Christmas season. During the month of December, all of Macy’s nine floors are completely decked out with wreaths, ribbons, and twinkle lights. Walking into Macy’s at Christmastime is like entering a winter wonderland. But nothing quite compares to Santa’s New York home – the place where children of all ages can sit on the real Santa Claus’ lap.

SantaLand has seen quite a few changes since Natalie Wood first visited it and sat on Santa’s lap in Miracle on 34th Street. The modern day SantaLand is a magical holiday wonderland, complete with numerous miniature railroad displays, dancing bears, and talking trees that look like they came straight out of Disneyland. My personal favorite SantaLand character is an animatronic elf who cleans a miniature railroad display case (pictured above). His hand actually goes back and forth wiping the case clean with a red cloth. 🙂 So cute!!!

I highly recommend stalking the Miracle on 34th Street Macy’s, especially the real Santa Claus and the SantaLand department. There’s nothing else quite like it to get you in the Christmas spirit! 🙂

Oh, please Santa, bring me anything from Louis Vuitton! 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Miracle on 34th Street Macy’s is located at 151 West 34th Street in Midtown Manhattan.

December 29, 2008
Tavern on the Green

One of my favorite places in New York to grab a drink is a restaurant called Tavern On The Green. So, on Monday night I immediately recognized the Tavern as the location where The Hills Finale Live From NYC was held. Oh, how I wish I could have been there! 🙂 The Tavern has long been a New York institution. In 2007, over 500,000 people dined there, grossing it over $38 million in revenues. According to Wikipedia, it is the second highest grossing independently owned restaurant in the U.S., second only to Tao in Las Vegas!. But the Tavern actually had very humble beginnings. The structure now known as Tavern on the Green was first built in 1870 and served as Central Park’s Sheepfold, a shelter for the many sheep who called the park home. In 1934 New York City’s Commissioner of Parks Robert Moses renovated the building and turned it into a restaurant. Forty years later, in 1974, Warner Leroy, the son of Wizard of Oz producer Mervyn Leroy and Doris Warner (Harry Warner’s daughter), purchased the restaurant and began a $10 million renovation turning the Tavern into the ornate crystal and glass masterpiece it is today.

Tavern on the Green is no stranger to the big or small screen. Besides The Hills Finale Live From NYC (which was filmed in the Crystal Room), the Tavern has also appeared in Ghostbusters (Rick Moranis fights with the “terror dog” outside the restaurant’s Crystal Room), Rich Girls (MTV’s really, really dumb reality show about Tommy Hilfigers’s daughter and her best friend), New York Stories (where Woody Allen shares a meal with his mother), Misery (the site of James Caan’s novel release party), Hitch, Yo! MTV Raps, ElimiDATE, Only When I Laugh, Stella, Crimes and Misdemeanors, The Eddy Duchin Story, Made, Portrait of Jennie, The Out-of-Towners, and Wall Street. And I am about 99.9% positive that Carrie and Big dined in the Tavern’s lantern covered outdoor garden in the Season 2 episode of Sex and the City entitled “The Caste System” (pictured above), but I haven’t been able to confirm that yet. And according to the latest issue of People Magazine, Tavern on the Green is where my girl Jennifer Aniston ate Christmas Eve dinner every year as a child. 🙂

Tavern on the Green is a beautiful place to grab a drink or a bite to eat. Although a few tour books have labeled the restaurant tacky, I would have to disagree. The Tavern’s gaudiness and over-the-top decor are exactly what make it so appealing. Where else, but New York can you dine in a crystal ballroom complete with glass walls, hand-painted and hand-carved ceilings, brass and copper mirrors, walls decorated with 52-foot murals, and thousands upon thousands of twinkle lights? It is one of the most unique, special restaurants I have ever visited in my life. I absolutely LOVE IT! 🙂 And while the Tavern is pricey, it is worth saving your pennies to experience its rare ambience at least once in your life. I absolutely love the Tavern’s small cocktail bar (pictured above), but during the summer months nothing beats its outdoor garden, which is lit by hundreds of colored paper lanterns. It’s absolutely beautiful.

But the most magical time of year at the Tavern is Christmastime. The interior of the restaurant is covered with countless wreaths, ribbons, and candy canes. But it is actually the Tavern’s outside that is the most awe-inspiring.

Coming upon the Tavern from Central Park, it is almost like a beacon in the night. The trees in the front and the back are completely covered in twinkle lights – thousands upon thousands of them. I’ve honestly never seen so many in my life! Tavern on the Green gives Clark Griswold a run for his money! Pictures truly don’t do the light display justice – it must be seen in person to truly be appreciated.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Tavern on the Green is located at Central Park West at 67th Street. You can visit their website here. Reservations are highly recommended! The bar is first come, first served, but arrive early. It’s standing room only even on weekdays.

December 24, 2008
The You’ve Got Mail Brownstone

A few years ago, while in New York, I dragged my boyfriend out to stalk many of the filming locations from fave romantic comedy You’ve Got Mail. I had managed to find almost all of the locations except for the most important one – Meg Ryan’s Upper West Side brownstone from the film. For some reason this location was a tough one for me to find and, unbelievably, I wound up locating it about two days after I returned from last year’s New York vacation. 🙁 Talk about bad timing!!!

Upon my return from New York last December, I popped in my You’ve Got Mail DVD – which happens to be another known cure for New York homesickness, second only to watching Sex And The City reruns. 🙂 Anyway, in one of the final scenes of the movie, as Kathleen Kelly leaves her house and walks toward the 91st Street Garden to meet NY152 for the first time, she walks past a garbage can with ” W 89″ painted on the lid. Eureka!! That little stalking clue led me to search West 89th Street on Google Maps and I quickly found the brownstone used in the film. On an ironic side note, a guy named Jonathan recently posted a comment on my You’ve Got Mail post alerting me to the garbage can clue. I guess great minds think alike. 🙂

So two weeks ago, I was able to finally stalk Kathleen Kelly’s adorable brownstone. And I am happy to say that it looks almost exactly the same today as it did ten years ago when filming took place. There are, of course, a few differences, though. Most notable is the gold intercom that Tom Hanks uses to talk himself into Kathleen’s home in the film. In real life that intercom does not exist. Most likely it was just a prop that was added for filming and then removed when production ended. The brownstone’s front doors are also slightly different from how they appeared onscreen and, again, I believe set decorators brought in new doors for the filming that were subsequently removed. Aside from that, though, You’ve Got Mail fans will definitely recognize the brownstone as Kathleen Kelly’s.

I can’t tell you how excited I was to finally be stalking this location – especially since I had been searching for it for years! For any You’ve Got Mail fans this one is a definite must see and I highly recommend stalking it! 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The You’ve Got Mail brownstone is located at 328 West 89th Street on New York’s Upper West Side.

December 23, 2008
“I’ll Have What She’s Having!”

While in New York two weeks ago, I just had to drag my boyfriend to the deli where the famous “I’ll have what she’s having” scene took place in fave romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally. I found this location a few years back in my favorite New York stalking book, New York: The Movie Lovers Guide , but had yet to stalk it. So I was super excited to make the trek during this trip. And while we didn’t get a chance to actually eat there on this vacation, I, of course, popped my head in and asked the cashier if it would be OK to snap a few pics of Harry and Sally’s table. He promptly pointed out where filming took place and told me “Sweetie, take all the pictures you want.” 🙂 I so love New Yorkers!

The deli, which is named Katz’s, is absolutely HUGE in person, much, much larger than it appeared onscreen. But other than the difference in size, the deli looks pretty much exactly as it did back in 1989 when the movie was filmed. And if there is any question as to where the famous WHMS scene took place, you need look no further than the large sign with the arrow hanging down from the ceiling of the restaurant which reads “Where Harry met Sally . . . hope you have what she had. Enjoy.” 🙂 Love it!!!! While I was stalking the famous deli, Harry and Sally’s table happened to be empty, so I was able to sit down and snap a quick pic. 🙂 A bit of WHMS trivia – it was director Rob Reiner’s mother, Estelle, who passed away this past October at the age of 94, who uttered the now famous line “I’ll have what she’s having”.

While Katz’s is best known for its appearance in WHMS, the deli has actually shown up in quite a few productions over the years. It was featured in the movie Donnie Brasco, in the scene where undercover agent Johnny Depp grabs a bite to eat with some of his FBI agent buddies. It was also featured in Across the Universe, Off Beat, and a Law and Order episode. Besides being a filming location, the deli is also a big time celebrity mecca and the walls are covered with thousands upon thousands of autographed head shots. Just a few of the stars who have visited the famous deli are John Voight, Mike Meyers, Elijah Wood, Ben Stiller and his parents Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, Liev Shriber, Keanu Reeves, and Henry Winkler aka “The Fonz”.

I highly recommend stalking Katz’s as it looks like a very cool place to grab a bite to eat. Who knows, you might even spot a celeb while dining. And the place was jam packed while I was there, so you know it’s gotta be good! 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Katz’s Delicatessen is located at 205 East Houston Street in New York. If you’re in the neighborhood be sure to check out the Lower East Side Tenement Museum’s Gift Shop located at 108 Orchard Street. It’s the BEST New York themed gift shop I’ve ever been to!!! My boyfriend could hardly drag me out of the place!! LOL

December 22, 2008
Via Quadronno

One of my favorite places in all of Manhattan is a teeny, tiny Upper East Side cafe named Via Quadronno. I stumbled upon the cafe three years ago, but had yet to blog about it because up until my recent New York vacation I had no idea what a major celebrity stomping ground it was. Two weeks ago, while sipping cappuccino in the cafe’s cozy dining room, I happened to ask our server if any celebs had ever frequented the restaurant. I was shocked at her response! It seems Via Quadronno has its very own celebrity fanclub, with members including Madonna, Sean Connery, Robin Williams, Steve Martin, Scarlett Johansson, ARod, Tom Hanks, Matt Dillon, and, my fave, SJP and her husband, Matthew Broderick.

But not only is Via Quadronno somewhat of a celeb hot spot, it’s also a filming location! Well, sort of. 🙂 While watching SATC reruns the other day (which is the only known cure for New York homesickness), I was bowled over when I noticed Carrie and her friend Skipper walking past Via Quadronno’s exterior in the Season One episode entitled “Models and Mortals”. At the time the episode was filmed, though, way back in 1998, the space was actually occupied by a different cafe altogether – a chocolatier named La Maison Du Chocolat. But the exterior still looks very much the same – it’s just a lot cuter now.

To be honest, I actually didn’t recognize the restaurant at first. What I recognized was the large green sign located behind Carrie in the above pic. I knew I had seen the sign in person before, but I just couldn’t place where. Thankfully my boyfriend was standing nearby and exclaimed “Hey, that’s the gold dealer that’s next door to Via Quadronno.” 🙂 Eureka! We had walked by that sign everyday on our way to have morning cappuccinos. Maybe my boyfriend’s a better stalker than I give him credit for. 🙂

I HIGHLY recommend staking Via Quadronno – it’s definitely worth the trip even if you don’t encounter any celebs during your meal. The tiny cafe (seating capacity is 40!) is absolutely ADORABLE! Their croissants are out of this world and normally I don’t even like croissants! LOL My family and I ate breakfast there every single morning while in New York and we never, ever got tired of it. It is the best!!!! In fact, it’s been voted the “Best in New York” several years in a row. No wonder celebs love it! 🙂 I’ve only ever visited Via Quadronno for breakfast, but I hear their dinners are amazing, as well. I honestly can’t say enough about this place! Go, go, go to this restaurant – for the charming atmosphere, amazing food, friendly service, and celeb clientele!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Via Quadronno is located at 25 East 73rd Street on New York’s Upper East Side. The chain also has restaurants in Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Coral Gables, Florida. You can visit their website here.

December 19, 2008
"And Your 40s Are To Pay For the Drinks!"

Another day, another SATC location. 🙂 One of the must-see locales of my NYC stalking vacation was the bar where Carrie Bradshaw and her personal assistant, Louise, drank Bellini’s and commiserated over their broken hearts in Sex and the City: The Movie. The bar used in the film is called Bemelman’s and it is located inside the famed Carlyle Hotel on New York’s Upper East Side. According to fave book Sex and the City: The Movie , the SJP flick was the very first production ever allowed to film inside the legendary bar. It is at Bemelman’s that Carrie gives Louise this sage piece of advice: “Enjoy yourself – that’s what your 20s are for. Your 30s are to learn the lessons. And your 40s are to pay for the drinks!” 🙂 Love it! 🙂

Bemelman’s is named after the creator, illustrator, and author of the popular Madeline children’s book series, Ludwig Bemelman, whose murals adorn the bar’s many walls. Over fifty years ago, the Carlyle Hotel commisioned Bemelman to paint large scenes of animals frolicking in Central Park on the walls of their lobby bar. Instead of being paid for this feat, Bemelman and his family were given free room and board at the luxury hotel for a year and a half. Not a bad deal! 🙂 Bemelman’s Bar has long been a favorite of both celebrities and native New Yorkers alike. In fact, SJP is a longtime fan of the Carlyle in general. She spent many an evening at Cafe Carlyle, the hotel’s cabaret restaurant, while dating then-boyfriend Matthew Broderick. In fact, the two even spent their honeymoon at the Carlyle. 🙂 Currently Bemelman’s is a favorite stomping ground of Suri Cruise, who regularly attends the Saturday children’s tea with her famous mom.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to grab a cocktail in Bemelman’s during this New York vacay – so many places to stalk, so little time. 🙁 But I did pop my head in for a little looksie. The cocktail waitress even let me take some pics at the bar area, even though photographs are typically not allowed. From what I saw in the few minutes I was there, Bemelman’s looks like a very cool place to grab a drink and it’s easy to see why producers chose it for a little SATC filming. The bar is dark, intimate, cozy, and so very New York. It even features a 24-carat gold leaf ceiling – I’m not kidding! And to commemorate the filming that took place there in late 2007, Bemelman’s even named a drink after SATC’s leading lady. “The Bradshaw” is a mixture of Don Julio Blanco tequila, lime juice, cane sugar simple syrup, and X-Rated Passion Fruit Liquor. The drink is, of course, pink and is served in a martini glass dusted with pink sugar. Love it!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Bemelman’s Bar is located at 35 East 76th Street, inside the famed Carlyle Hotel.

December 18, 2008
The Seven Year Itch Apartment

In Vanity Fair’s October 2008 cover story, photographer Mark Anderson asks “Who ever forgets the first time they saw Marilyn Monroe?” Such a great quote! I remember exactly where I was the first time I saw Miss Monroe – sitting in my apartment watching The Seven Year Itch just a few short months ago. As soon as I watched the scene where Marilyn leans out the window of her New York City summer sublet, hairdryer in hand, and exclaims “I just washed my hair!”, that was it for me! I was a goner! 🙂 So this past week, while in New York, I just had to stalk the apartment building where that scene was filmed.

Needless to say the apartment building featured in The Seven Year Itch looks extremely different today than it did back in 1955 when filming took place. But thankfully it is still, for the most part, recognizable as the residence where Tom Ewell and Marilyn Monroe spent one hot summer in Manhattan. In The Seven Year Itch, MM’s character, “The Girl”, moves into a non-air-conditioned apartment for the summer. That apartment just happens to be located directly above married man Tom Ewell, whose wife and son are spending their summer in the country. “The Girl” befriends Tom and spends many an evening in his apartment, which is equipped with an “air conditioner in every room!” Hilarity ensues, of course, as Tom tries, very unsuccessfully I might add, to avoid falling under Marilyn’s spell.

The apartment building is featured several times in the film. It’s most notable appearance is at the very end of the movie when Tom realizes how very much he loves his wife and spontaneously decides to spend the rest of the summer with her in the country, leaving his air-conditioned pad to MM. How cute is that! Anyway, in the pandemonium, Tom runs out his front door, barefooted, and heads towards the train station. The ending shot of the movie is of Marilyn leaning out of Tom’s first floor window as she tosses him the forgotten loafers. 🙂

I was SUPER excited to stalk this location! The Seven Year Itch building was pretty much the top “must-see” locale of my New York vacation. It was amazing to realize that movie magic been made at this very spot a little over fifty years ago. And that Marilyn Monroe herself had once leaned out the window of the small, non-descript building I was now staring at.

For those of you in the market for a New York apartment, The Seven Year Itch building currently has a vacancy. 🙂 Let’s hope the apartment for rent has air conditioning! 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Seven Year Itch apartment is located at 164 East 61th Street in New York.

December 17, 2008
New York, New Look!

Last year, for my mom’s birthday, my dad, boyfriend, grandma, and I all chipped in to purchase her a haircut with Nick Arrojo, the celebrity hair stylist from TLC reality show What Not To Wear. My mom absolutely loves Nick, so her haircut was the present to end all presents. And, as my dad likes to say, we opened up a whole can of worms with that gift because now my mom expects an appointment with Nick every year during our annual New York vacation. 🙂 LOL So this year, on our first night in the Big Apple, we headed over to Arrojo Studio once again for a little extreme makeover, New York edition. 🙂

I was SUPER excited to visit Nick’s studio this year as I was dying to talk to Shear Genius star and Arrojo Studio stylist Nicole Obert. Nicole had assisted Nick during my mom’s haircut last year and we both absolutely loved her. So when she competed on Shear Genius this past season my mom and I watched religiously and were absolutely floored when she came in second runner up! Even though I seriously doubted Nicole would remember me at all from last year’s appointment, when we arrived at the studio I asked the receptionist if he would have her come out so that I could say hi. Imagine my surprise when Nicole said she knew who I was AND that she had read the blog I wrote about her while she was competing on Shear Genius !!!!! How cool is that?????

Nicole ended up assisting Nick during my mom’s haircut this year, too. (Nicole is currently an Arrojo Studio Stylist -cutting hair three days a week and assisting once a week.) We all had a blast chatting with her during my mom’s haircut . . . AND while chatting she happened to mention that she needed a hair model for her class the following morning and asked me if I wanted to do it!

IF I wanted to do it???? Get my hair cut by Nicole from Shear Genius??? LOL Of course I did!!!! At first I felt kind of bad as I couldn’t let Nicole change my hair very drastically – I have to stick pretty close to how I appear in my acting headshots. So, unfortunately, she wasn’t given a lot of freedom to experiement with my hair. But I was SUPER EXCITED to get my hair cut by her, anyway! So, bright and early the next morning, I showed up at Arrojo Studio for a little Shear Genius! And I was literally pinching myself the whole time! 🙂

Nicole was SO MUCH FUN to talk to and hang out with during my haircut. She is absolutely hilarious in person and had me cracking up the whole time. We discussed everything from styling hair to what it was like to be on reality TV to celebrity gossip. I was floored to find out that Jo De La Rosa (of The Real Housewives of Orange County and Date My Ex: Jo & Slade fame) comes to Nicole for a haircut whenever she is in New York. 🙂 So cool!

My hair turned out INCREDIBLE!!!! Even though Nicole couldn’t really change my hair very much, I feel like she gave me a completely new look! She gave me a razor cut ala Katie Holmes’ bob (the one Katie had before she got all chop happy and hacked off all of her hair). I must say that I absolutely love my new ‘do and sometimes I can’t even believe it’s me when I look in the mirror. 🙂 I literally don’t recognize myself – but in a good way. 🙂 I look so very sophisticated, so very modern, so very “New York”! Nicole took me from “soccer mom” to “city gal” with several small swipes of her razor. I cannot wait to go back next year!!! Now if only I could style it as well as she did!!! 🙂 OH and I forgot to mention the cost of my haircut. Because Nicole was cutting my hair for an Arrojo Studio class, it only cost me $20!!! Yes, you read that right – $20!

Before . . .

. . . and after.

Oh, and, of course, my mom’s hair turned out great, too! 🙂

I HIGHLY recommend stalking Nick and Nicole at Arrojo Studio. While Nick’s haircuts are pricey ($500), they are worth every penny. Last year my mom got stopped constantly by random strangers complimenting her on her hair. 🙂 A haircut with Nicole is considerably less – only $68. BUT on weekday mornings, if you volunteer to be a hair model, you can get a “shear genius” haircut for only $20!!!!! That’s less than Supercuts!!!!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Arrojo Studio is located at 180 Varick Street in New York City. You can make an appointment with either Nick or Nicole by calling (212)242-7786 or by visiting the Arrojo Studio website. You can also check out Nicole’s website here. To inquire about being a hair model, and getting a cut for only $20 by one of Arrojo’s many talented stylists, you can call the studio directly.

December 15, 2008