Another eHarmony Success Story!

No, not us, silly! .... I'm talking about our friends, Clive and Amy!

Isn't her wedding dress gorgeous?!  Clive and Amy got married in this quaint Spanish-style courtyard:

I couldn't get enough of the "California" painted on the side of the building.  Perfect for an outdoor So Cal wedding!  The most memorable part of the wedding for me was when the bride and groom sang a duet together of Stevie Wonder's "A Ribbon in the Sky for our Love". It was beautiful and moving and such beautiful, poetic lyrics!

Clive and Amy, we wish you a lifetime of happiness!  May God bless your marriage and your life together!

Seeing Friends in California

Of course, one of the real treats of our So Cal vacation was getting to reconnect with some dear friends. Two of my closest friends that I made while living in LA were these two ladies, both named Jennifer.  :)  Jenn (on the left) is an awesome friend who just collected a masters degree in counseling on her way to completing a doctorate!  I'm very proud of her dedication to achieving her goals. Jen Disney (on the right) is my amazing and talented photographer friend. We are a couple of goofy gals when we get together. It's like our inner children come out to play. I think we connect because we both have artistic spirits. Check out her amazing wedding photography website here.

We were also able to meet up with our adorable friends Dave and Liz. Tell me they aren't precious:

We met in a small group through our church, and just hit it off from the get go!  Liz is also an actress, and it has been fun supporting each other as we share a similar life path.

I am always amazed by friendships that are able to pick up right where they left off. That is what I have in my friendship with Liz. It was so great to sit across the table from them and have really great fellowship over a two hour lunch after not having seen each other for the past five months.

We had a few other meet-ups with friends while we were in town, but these are the only ones for which I have photos. It was really great to see everyone! 

"...a sweet friendship refreshes the soul." ~Proverbs 27:9

Reunited and it Feels so Goo-ood!

I didn't really intend to be posting so sparsely in recent days. My only real excuse is that life got in the way, and to be honest, that's a good thing. I worry a little bit about myself sometimes that I spend so time on the internet that I might be missing out on "real life".

Well, lately, there has been so much real life going on!  In late July, Brian and I took a trip out to California for a friend's wedding. We thought that as long as we were going to be back in LA, we might as well make it a vacation!  It was so nice being back in a temperate climate.

As soon as we pulled away from the airport in our rental car, we drove straight to the beach!  We splashed and body surfed at Laguna Beach, and the next day we rented boogie boards and played in the water at Sunset Beach (I love that beach!).

Normally, I would be judging myself for looking a little heavier than I'd like to be in the above photo, but not tonight!  Brian and I just got home from seeing the wonderful movie Julie and Julia. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it. Meryl Streep is flawless as Julia Child. The food in the movie was awesome and it looked so delicious that my mouth is watering just thinking about it!  What I loved about the portrayal of Julia Child in the film is that she was a statuesque woman who absolutely loved food!  While I am no culinary genius, I do appreciate good food.  I have also found that as lovely as a slender figure looks on a woman, I find a full-figured, statuesque woman to be a lovelier physical ideal.  So to heck with self-loathing!  Today, I am embracing my build and loving myself as I am.

In the spirit of the love of delicious food, we made a stop at the Crystal Cove Shake Shack, an Orange County roadside institution, known for its incredible milkshakes. I ordered a shake locals call the "monkey flip": a vanilla shake with chocolate, peanut butter, dates and banana. All I can say is, "Yum."

The beach bum in the car with me ain't too shabby either!

More on our vacation to come soon!

Awesome Closing Weekend

The closing weekend of "Our Leading Lady" was wonderful.  My friend, Kelly, flew in on Saturday afternoon to make the drive back with me. We drove to Redondo Beach because I wanted to go to the beach one last time before leaving for Texas. 

While we were there, something amazing happened!  Not 100 yards off the coastline, we saw whales!  Can you spot the three dorsal fins and one fluke (tail) below?

That night, we met up with my blog buddies who drove down from San Francisco. From left: Tommy' Mommy, Jelly Jules, Me, Autumn's Mom, and Cherry. This was our dinner at El Torito Grill...my fave Mexican Restaurant in Cali!

Then they all came to see my show:

We all had so much fun over dinner, we decided to go out afterward for dessert at Denny's! Thank you for making the trip, ladies!  I had such a great time seeing you again (and meeting you, Liz!)

On Sunday, several local friends came to see my show!  These ladies are from my acting class.  

About a year or two ago, the Hollywood Prayer Network matched me with a wonderful woman named Patty who committed to pray for me and my acting career. We have e-mailed and talked on the phone, but met in person for the first time on Sunday. She gave me these beautiful roses. So sweet!

It was a great closing weekend!

Kelly and I hit the road this morning and made it to Tucson, AZ!  You know you're not in California anymore, when you see this display at Wal-Mart:

I'll likely not post again until I arrive at my new home in a couple days. Until then, may God bless you all!

Closing Weekend of "Our Leading Lady"

Well, it's been a fun experience getting to be part of this production of Our Leading Lady, and I'm so grateful to my husband for supporting me in my decision to stay out here for a few more weeks after he moved to Texas (where he has already started his new job) so that I could play "Clementine Smith".

Just Friday night, Saturday night, and two shows on Sunday, and we're done!  I'll be hopping in my car on Monday morning to drive with a friend out to Texas to start a new life there with Hubs.

I'm getting so excited to see my blog friends who are driving down from San Francisco on Saturday. Ladies, Clemmy sends her kisses and promises to do her very best at Saturday night's show!

Love and hugs to all for a wonderful weekend!

xoxo,

Starshine

Great Visit With Mom

My mom came out to LA for my opening weekend, and like the BEST stage mother EVER, she came to the show three times!  Thanks, Mom!  This is my mom standing in front of The Neighbhorhood Church (which houses the theatre) in Palos Verdes.

Fun bit of family history:  My maternal grandparents wanted to have a Southern California adventure/chapter in their life, so they moved out to Palos Verdes in the 60s and lived here for five years!  Mom and I found their old house:

...and this is the insanely breath-taking view from their old house. On a clear winter day, you can see the beach, downtown LA, and snow-covered mountains in the background.

It was a fun stroll down memory lane!  Thanks for a wonderful visit, Mom...I love you so much!

Normal is a Relative Term

I got an e-mail from my mom last night in which she said she was marveling at how Hubs and I are living life as usual even though there is really nothing normal about our lives right now.

Isn't that the truth!

We are in serious transition right now. Half of our belongings are already packed in boxes. Our bedroom furniture sold yesterday, so our bed and box springs are just sitting on the floor and we're using TV trays for night stands!

I'm rehearsing a show right now and Hubs has finished his previous job and hasn't yet started his new one, so we are keeping crazy hours.  Late nights and lots of sleeping in...yea, me!

Meanwhile, we're living life as usual--spending time with friends, oil changes, meals, etc.

Life is good, and there are definitely no complaints here.  We found renters for our condo here in CA after we move, so that is a huge answer to prayer, and the major furniture items we hoped to sell have sold.  So like I said, no complaints.  

But as far as life as usual goes?  Well, normal is a relative term, right?

Skiing in Snow Summit

We couldn't have chosen a more beautiful day to go skiing! It was sunny and clear, and we were all bundled up in our ski duds, so we weren't too cold!

Snow Summit overlooks Big Bear Lake, so as we skied down the slopes, this was our spectacular view!

I highly recommend skiing on a weekday...the runs weren't crowded with too many people, which was great, considering that I haven't skied for 16 years! (It was a little disconcerting to do the math and realize that Spring Break of my freshman year in college was really 16 years ago...YIKES!)

I have to admit, I felt really cute in my new black parka!

As we drove out of town the next day, I had Hubs pull over at a few places, so I could take some pics...  I loved this pic of the frozen lake and the boat docks, which must see a lot more action in the summer!

Gold Mountain Manor

In the final chapter of our ongoing quest to experience the best of California before we move to Texas, we spent a couple days in Big Bear Lake, a mountain town in Southern California. 

We stayed at a charming bed and breakfast called Gold Mountain Manor, and we just LOVED staying there!  It's like a log cabin mansion with cozy decor...just beautiful!

This was the rustic four poster bed in our room...

...and this was the cute little fire place next to the bed...

...I felt like I was on my second honeymoon!

As if I wasn't already charmed by the place, they sweetened the deal by informing us that they have a hot cocoa station, complete with mini marshmallows!

The breakfasts were gourmet, and they were happy to accommodate my vegetarian needs.

 

We loved Gold Mountain Manor, and would highly recommend it for anyone who wants to have a mountain getaway.

In fact, I'd give it five out of five pine cones!  

San Diego Zoo!

In an effort to see as many of California's state gems as possible before we move to Texas, we made a trip down to the San Diego Zoo with our friends Jenn and Dave. It was so fun to get to visit a place that I've heard about my whole life. I really loved it and had so much fun taking pictures of the animals and the scenery.  It was a gorgeous So Cal day--sunny and clear--perfect for a day spent outdoors with friends!

For some reason, the whole time we were there, the theme song to Three's Company was going through my head!

Alexis, you were in my thoughts as I was walking through the zoo, since I know that you and your family adore the zoo. I couldn't believe it...just as we were about to walk out the zoo at the end of the day, an artist who was selling his work had this on his display:

The day closed with an absolutely gorgeous and huge full moon!