Gwen Stefani – IAMNOTASTALKER

Thanks to the earthquake which jolted me awake at around 4 O’clock this morning after which I was not able to fall back asleep, I am currently feeling a bit off my game. So, I have to apologize in advance if today’s particular blog post isn’t exactly up to par. Anyway, on with the stalking! Back in November, fellow stalker Lavonna tipped me off to a little milkshake stand in West Hollywood named Millions of Milkshakes which has become quite the celebrity hot spot as of late. The shop, which opened up in 2008, is basically a make your own milkshake bar featuring a virtual smorgasbord of over one hundred different ingredients (consisting of everything from chocolate chip cookie dough and Toblerone chocolate bars to fresh blueberries and protein powder), that customers can mix together in over 75 million different combinations – and yes, they actually paid a mathematician to calculate the number of milkshake possibilities – with either regular ice cream, non-fat frozen yogurt, or non-dairy ice cream. If you’re not brave enough to invent your own concoction, or don’t have the time to peruse the shop’s extensive menu of toppings – and believe me, it is overwhelming! – you can order up one of the many varieties created by and named after your favorite celebrity. Of course, once Lavonna told me about the place I immediately added it to my long list of “To Stalk” locations, but since I don’t get out to WeHo very often, I had yet to actually visit it. But since we were in the area two Saturdays ago eating at the nearby Marix Tex Mex Cafe, I just had to drag my fiancé a few blocks to the west to finally stalk the famous milkshake stand. And, let me tell you, the place was well worth the wait!

Millions of Milkshakes is an absolutely adorable little spot that was first opened up on Halloween day of 2008 by a British restaurateur named Sheeraz Hasan. At the tender age of 16 in his hometown of London, Sheeraz came up with the inspired idea of converting his family’s then-failing restaurant into a Hollywood themed eatery named the Tinseltown Cafe. His cafe became an immediate success and a few years later Sheeraz headed out to Hollywood, with stars in his eyes. He ended up becoming friends with Creative Artists’ Agency founder Roland Perkins and creating his very own Los Angeles news show entitled Hollywood TV. After the show took off, Sheeraz set his sights on opening up a milkshake stand. Using his Hollywood connections, he invited tween queen Miley Cyrus to make an appearance at his newly opened eatery which set off an immediate publicity storm. Shortly thereafter, the place became insanely popular with celebrities and non-celebrities alike. Just a few of the stars who have created their own signature shake at the now-famous milkshake bar include LaToya Jackson, Vivica A. Fox, Donny Osmond, Ben Stein, Aaron Carter, John Gosselin (UGH!), Leonardo DiCaprio, Lindsay Lohan, Spencer and Heidi Pratt, Stephanie Pratt, Antonio Sabato, Jr., Gwen Stefani, Adam Sandler, Tim Allen, Paris Hilton, all three Kardashian sisters, and fellow stalker Owen’s main gal Jennifer Love Hewitt. In fact, Millions of Milkshakes has become such a celebrity hotspot that Good Day L.A. recently dubbed the place “the new red carpet”. Love it! Also adding to the stand’s popularity (at least in my eyes) is the fact that they are almost always playing Michael Jackson music on the stereo. 😉

[ad]

Because my girl Jen Aniston has yet to create a Millions of Milkshakes signature shake, my fiancé and I opted instead to order Miley Cyrus’ creation. And even though I really can’t stand the singer/actress, I have to say that the girl’s got some good taste in shakes! The Hannah Montana star’s drink is made up of vanilla ice cream, chocolate chip cookie dough, and Reese’s peanut butter cups and I have to say that it was simply A-MA-ZING. Like quite possibly one of the best things I have ever tasted in my entire life! Sadly, because I am diabetic, I could only sample two small sips of the drink, but OMG you can bet I’m running straight to Millions of Milkshakes the next time my blood sugar is low. 😉

Big THANK YOU to fellow stalker Lavonna for tipping me off to this location and a Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all of my fellow stalkers! 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Millions of Milkshakes is located at 8910 Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood. You can visit their website here.

Two weeks ago, while out doing some Oscar Weekend stalking, I dragged my fiancé to Marix Tex Mex Cafe in West Hollywood, a restaurant which has long been one of my girl Jen Aniston’s favorite places to dine. And while Jen has always been pretty vocal about her love of Mexican food and margaritas, I had never actually heard of the eatery until last year when a woman in one of my acting classes mentioned that she had spotted the actress there on numerous occasions. Well, let me tell you, I just about died upon hearing that! For whatever reason, though, I had yet to stalk the restaurant. So, when I realized that my fiancé and I were in the West Hollywood vicinity this past Oscar Weekend, I begged him to make a little lunchtime pit stop at the Tex Mex hot spot. It should come as no surprise that the Grim Cheaper was not AT ALL keen on the idea of grabbing a bite to eat at a place frequented by a famous actress, as he thought the prices would be outrageously expensive. I am happy to report, though, that Marix was EXTREMELY reasonable and that even the Grim Cheaper enjoyed himself while there! 🙂

[ad]

Marix is an absolutely ADORABLE little restaurant tucked away off of Santa Monica Boulevard on a tree-lined side street in uber-hip West Hollywood. The eatery is small, casual, and intimate and it’s not at all hard to see why Jen frequents the place. Not to mention the fact that it serves up some fabulous food! Like FABULOUS! The chicken fajitas were A-MA-ZING, as were the tortilla chips and fresh salsa. I literally gorged myself while there. The Marix staff also could NOT have been more friendly and I am happy to report that the place lacks any of the pretentiousness that is usually prevalent in L.A. area restaurants. I literally cannot say enough good things about the place and wish I lived closer so that I could frequent it more often.

Marix Tex Mex Cafe has actually been a long time favorite of Jen’s and was even mentioned way back in December of 2001 in this People Magazine article about the star. According to my friend from acting class, Jen can usually be spotted on the restaurant’s SUPER CUTE front patio which is pictured above. I hear Jen doesn’t frequent the place as much as she used to, though, thanks to the paparazzi who discovered the celebrity hot spot a few years ago and have been a constant presence ever since. Other stars who have dined at the eatery include Jessica Simpson and her BFF/hair stylist Ken Paves, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, and their daughter Coco, Kate Hudson, Oliver Hudson, Ian Ziering, Brad Pitt, Angie Everhart, Dexter’s Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter, Ron Livingston, Gwen Stefani, Gavin Rossdale, Pamela Anderson, Michelle Rodriguez, Wanda Sykes, The Biggest Loser’s Bob Harper, and Wilson Cruz of My So-Called Life fame.

And while we didn’t run into Jen while dining there, we did spot former Bachelorette contestant Jerry Ferris at the table directly in front of us. I noticed Jerry pretty much immediately upon sitting down, but, while I knew he was famous, neither my fiancé nor I could place who he was. I asked our waitress if she recognized him and she in turn asked the other servers on duty, but no one seemed to have any idea whether or not he was even famous. Am I the only person who watched Season Three of The Bachelorette???? LOL Anyway, by that time I was going absolutely crazy because I KNEW I recognized Jerry, but could not for the life of me figure out from where. Then all of a sudden it hit me like a ton of bricks – sitting in front of me was the man who had stolen America’s heart (or at least mine) on Jen Schefft’s season of The Bachelorette. I had absolutely LOVED Jerry on the series and was actually lucky enough to have met him shortly after his reality TV stint ended just about five years ago. Well, as soon as I figured out it was him, I told my fiancé I wanted to ask for a photograph, but that I felt bad since he was eating at the time, to which the Grim Cheaper said, “You ALREADY have a photograph with the guy (pictured above) – please do NOT bother him again.” LOL Sadly, I listened to the GC and did not go up to Jerry (HMPH!), but I really regret doing so as he had been a TOTAL sweetheart to me when I met him back in 2005. Ah well! Maybe I’ll run into Jerry during my next Marix stalk. 😉

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Marix Tex Mex Cafe is located at 1108 North Flores Street in West Hollywood. They also have a second location which can be found at 118 Entrada Drive in Santa Monica. You can visit the Marix website here.

Tag: Gwen Stefani

Millions of Milkshakes

Marix Tex Mex Cafe – Jennifer Aniston’s Favorite Restaurant