Love Is In The Air

I just love Valentine's day, and it's right around the corner! What makes my Valentine's day special is that it is also my wedding anniversary weekend! This February 13th will be our One Year Anniversary! YAY! What are you doing this year for your loves on Valentines?

Oh I just LOVE Valentines Day! 

LOVE inspired candy bar at our Wedding 2/13/10

XOXO! 

Be My Valentine For Life

Tory Burch Reva Ballet Flats

One of my favorite past times is shopping, after all I am a girlie girl who loves labels, fashion & all things in style!  I have been obsessed the past year with Tory Burch Ballet Flats and after talking about them forever, my husband said, "well why don't you just buy some?" (after all I did have some Christmas money to spend!) So yesterday I went to the Beverly Center and FINALLY purchased my very own pair of Tory Burch shoes! If I had unlimited funds, I would buy them all but especially the pink & leopard ballet flats would be a must for my closet!
                              
I chose a classic style that I would be able to wear all the time, so here's the pair I  decided to go with! Classic black with the silver logo.

Every girl is allowed to love fashion, right? P.S. Thank you to my Santa Lowther & Gin Gin Mason for the Christmas money to purchase these beauties!
Happy Shopping! 

The Hollywood Bowl

One of my favorite things to do in Los Angeles is go to concerts with my husband at the Hollywood Bowl. We have gone to see Dave Matthews, James Taylor & Carol King, John Mayer to name a few! The Hollywood Bowl is just walking distance from our apartment so it's always fun to walk over to catch a concert on a cool LA night for a date!

John Mayer 

Going out to another show at the Bowl! 

Dave Matthews

I always love to see DMB, but I think I have to say my favorite show this year was to see Jack Johnson! Maybe because he is one of my favorite artists, but he was just so good live! I sang along to every single song! (sorry Bryan!)  Here is one of my favorite songs, please try not to listen to the tone deaf lady singing and cheering along while filming this song! ha! Just wanted to share one of my favorite past times to do with my husband out here in LA LA land! Rock on!

The Hollywood Bowl is a famous outdoor amphitheatre located in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles. The Hollywood Bowl is well known for its band shell, a distinctive set of concentric arches that graced the site from 1929 through 2003, before being replaced with a somewhat larger one in 2004. The shell is set against the backdrop of the Hollywood Hills and the famous Hollywood Sign to the Northeast.

Honky Tonk Reesie

I can't believe I forgot to share this video with you guys! My niece had her very first dance recital this past December. So here is her debut, all the way from Plano Texas, miss Reese Jane Perkins, dancing queen! (and the YOUNGEST in her class!)



p.s. I was a psycho aunt and made sure to get to the recial an hour before the doors open and yes, I was second in line (some old lady who was knitting & saving spots for her family beat me to be first in line) However, when the doors opened I ran and got to the front row so I was right in front of Reesie! haha, stage aunt perhaps?

Tacky Christmas Sweater Follow Up

Hi again! I totally forgot to post photos from the tacky christmas sweater party I went to with my sister Pam and her husband Kevin! They were seriously the cutest couple there...I think the votes for best christmas outfit were rigged because Pam or Kevin should have won! :) I had such a great time visiting them in Dallas for a week before we all drove to Houston for Christmas. We also went to Reese's first dance recital which was awesome to be there for! So here it is, the final outfits that we wore to the party!

Kevin & Pam, cutest tacky couple! 

Me & My Sister Pam

Cheers! 

Laguna Beach

Last weekend Bryan and I left the hustle and bustle of LA for a weekend road trip to Laguna Beach! (It's about an hour or so from Hollywood) We stayed at a charming hotel right on the beach where we could sit out on the balcony and enjoy the ocean, go for long walks on the beach and of course watch the sunset together. We had a lovely time!

Merry Christmas

I could watch this video over and over! This is my adorable niece, Reese Perkins (2 years old) and she is excited about Christmas this year! She loves to drive around with mommy & daddy (and Aunt T when I flew to Dallas over the holidays!) She knows who Santa is and asked him for a "red tinkerbell" (the red headed tinkerbell) She knows all the words to Christmas songs, and especially loves singing "Santa Clause is coming to town."

Sam Mason singing at Carols By Candlelight

This is my father in law singing at a huge church program called "Carols By Candlelight" in Jackson Mississippi!
Amazing Job Mr. Mason!

Traditions

Do you have any family Christmas or Hannakuh traditions? This year Bryan is spending Christmas with me and my family for the first time, and I'm so excited to share my family traditions with him!

Christmas Eve: My family all goes to Houston to my parents house, and after we enjoy a Christmas meal, we go into one of my favorite rooms in our house (one of the living rooms) and we give each other Christmas gifts! There is one tradition that I get very stressed about. (only when people forget to put on the hat or get bored of this tradition!) Whoever is GIVING the gift, MUST wear a santa hat while giving it to the other family member. The person that has just been given a gift then puts on the Santa Hat, goes to pick a gift and gives it to another family member.
After all the gifts are open, the room is a mess with wrapping paper and goodies, we leave a note for Santa along with Milk and Cookies. Then all the kids (me, my sister, my brother, Reese my niece and our husbands, Kevin and Bryan) go to sleep! I think Mr. and Mrs. Lowther get some sleep, they have to cause that's when SANTA comes!

Christmas Morning:
We (siblings & husbands) wait for each other to wake up, and then we walk down the stairs together in order of age! (pam's idea, she calls it "RANK" I think she created this tradition so she would always go first down the stairs) When we get to the bottom, usually my mom and dad are standing there with cameras and then we run to our stockings and the christmas tree to see what santa brought us!
Santa also leaves a trail of a million hershey kisses on the places that he walks around the house! He also responds to our christmas notes for him, and he even thanks us for the cookies!

After we open gifts, we race to see who can pick up the most hershey kisses and put thm in our stocking. Oh! I almost forgot my FAVORITE tradition of all!! About 10 years ago I gave my older sister, Pam, a paid of HUGE grandma panties wrapped in a box from Victoria's secret to play a prank on her! The next year, she had sewn something on the same pair of giant panties, wrapped in the same box and gave the pair back to me. Since then, every year whoever has the panties adds something to the panties and gives it in the same box wrapped as a fancy gift to the other sister. It is always entertaining, and truly a tradition that is silly, but special between my sister and I.

I was spoiled ever since I was born! 

                                     Pam (my older sister) and I have ALWAYS loved Christmas

Giant Panties after 10 years of our tradition of adding something & re-gifting

My dad ALWAYS gives my mom the most romantic gift! I love their love. 

I'm getting so excited to spend Christmas with my family! What are you excited about this season? HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Cheers! 

Hollywood Mom Blog

Hey friends! While working in casting on a variety of TV shows and especially my current gig casting kids for a candid kids show produced by Ryan Seacrest, many parents have sent me followup emails asking for guidance on what it takes to have their child work in showbiz, and what steps to take as a parent looking to get their child more auditions, an agent, acting classes, headshots, etc.

For all the parents out there, I have a great website to recommend to you! 
My friend Tracy Bobbit, is the creator and writer for  www.hollywoodmomblog.com. 

"Hollywood Mom Blog is the brainchild of Tracy Bobbitt, the mother of an aspiring child actor who has her finger firmly on the pulse of the entertainment industry as it relates to child actors and their parents and the hectic lives of today’s moms; the daily balancing act of marriage, motherhood and business in the glamor capital of the USA.  With a background in writing, film production, design and marketing and as the spouse of award-winning Feature Film Property Master, Russell Bobbitt, Tracy is more than qualified to helm the tour bus on your bumpy ride through La La Land.

Even if you don’t live in Hollywood, if you find yourself juggling multiple jobs, events and responsibilities while pursuing your child’s passions and you do it with the facade of glamorous calm, YOU my friend are a HOLLYWOOD MOM."


Check it out! 

 

MDX Guitars, more than just custom made…

(Press Release) – Dec 06, 2010

For over twenty five years Dwight Maddox has created incredible custom made guitars for members of Blind Melon, L7, FREEKBASS, R.L. Burnside, Zac Brown Band, Train and 3 Doors Down just to name a few. He is now starting a new project with Ray Scheuring, Bret Michaels’ bass player. Each guitar is made from raw cut wood, hand picked by Dwight, and crafted with precision. He consults with each artist about what they want their guitar to look like, and pays attention to every detail requested. Several artists have commented on how their guitar is more than just a guitar, it’s a piece of art.

Cowboy Mouth’s lead guitarist John Thomas Griffith says “What thrills me most about working with Dwight and MDX Guitars, is his unselfishness to allow the guitarist to be an integral part of the design and choice of features. He has an uncanny southern charm, and 'there’s nothing I can't do' attitude. My blue suede MDX guitar is everything I'd hoped for. Versatile, with a capital 'V'. Great tone on the neck pickups, and bite from the bridge pickups. A solid well made guitar, hands down!”

Dwight Maddox is a man of many talents. Not only has he been making exquisite handmade custom guitars, he has embarked upon something that could help thousands of youths get food, shelter, and medical attention. Dwight is taking the scrap wood from each of the guitars he creates to make one of a kind hand made ink pens. Each pen set that is made comes with a certificate signed by Dwight, and the artist he’s made the guitar for. Each item sold will benefit the Better Life Foundation (www.thebetterlifefoundation.org). The Better Life Foundation was started by the band 3 Doors Down seven years ago, and has been benefiting hospitals, and other organizations to help children in the Gulf Coast area. The mission of The Better Life Foundation is all encompassing, to make positive changes in the lives of children, whether that be food, shelter or medical assistance to name a few. Each and every year the foundation works to raise funds to donate to various organizations and hospitals they believe will help them further this cause. Each guitar that Dwight makes can yield up to two hundred pens, all hand made to benefit this amazing cause.

Through his many years of touring with Cowboy Mouth as the Guitar Tech, Dwight has had the opportunity to meet a plethora of celebrities from the rock-n-roll world, television, and movies. One of these celebs is a fan of Cowboy Mouth, and would bring the band sushi to their bus, way before we saw him on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. During the summer of 2010, Dwight created the Pork Chop guitar for Guy Fieri, and it’s currently featured on the set of Guy’s Big Bite. The scrap wood from the Pork Chop guitar has been re-purposed into food flippers instead of ink pens because this guitar looks like a pork chop with a fork stuck in it. The Pig Tail Food Flipper replaces spatulas, tongs and forks. It turns, flips, moves and carries food in a flash. It doesn’t scrape up grease like a spatula and will not bleed or mark meats. These handcrafted culinary masterpieces are a perfect addition to any kitchen.

Visit www.mdxguitars.com for more information.

Tacky Christmas Sweaters

My sister Pam invited me to go with her to a "Tacky Christmas Sweater Party" while I'm visiting her in Dallas next week! I've never gone to one of these parties, so naturally, I went out to look for my outfit! Here are a few that I found!

I'm thinking jingle bell earings and a tacky christmas purse will complete the outfit! Stay Tuned! 

Thanksgiving With The Masons

Hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving! I had my first thanksgiving with Bryan's family and it was wonderful! We had two thanksgiving celebrations, first at the Mason's home in Jackson with Bryan's grandfather, "Gin Gin" Mason and then with the Clark family in Florida. (his mom's family)
                                       
                                  Susan Mason had a gorgeous thanksgiving display at her home!

Bryan and Gin Gin

Bryan and Mr. and Mrs. Mason 

Bryan and His Dad Golfing in Florida 

Me and B watching the Egg Bowl where MSU won! 

After spending Thanksgiving in Jackson with Gin Gin, we drove to Florida and stayed at a beautiful condo on the beach! Thank you Mason and Clark family for hosting thanksgiving, Bryan and I had a fabulous week spending time with family! 

Holiday gift for foodies who grill! pigtail food flipper made from Fieri's "PorkChop"

Chef Guy Fieri from the Food Network sent a Tweet out about my Uncle's latest design!

"Check out da sweet pigtail flipper made from scraps left from making da “Pork Chop” Guitar!. Get yers! http://mdxguitars.com"


Tweet from Guy Fieri

Moving On Up!

Today Bryan and I are moving from a studio on the 2nd floor of our building and upgrading to a one-bedroom on the 4th floor, perfect for a family of 2. I feel like we are really newlyweds moving into "our" first place!
When Bryan moved to LA from NYC, my single-girl shabby chic (tiny) studio turned into a hodge-podge of bachelor pad "manly things" mixed with pink, girlie, feminine decor. We called it our "love nest." But it's time we upgrade for more space and find a balance between feminine and masculine to create something that says "us" when decorating! Another fun perk, I get my very own walk-in closet! Yeah! 

Well, I better stop blogging and get back to helping Bryan move these boxes upstairs to apt 426! 

Thanksgiving Decor with Kristen Hilyard