Caroline on Crack | September 2010

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Monthly Archives: September 2010

September 29, 2010

10 Tips on How To Throw an Awesome Blogger Prom

Blogger Prom crowd by heatherkincaid.com/blog

Word on the Tweet says that last week’s 2010 Blogger Prom: Hollywood Confidential at Yamashiro was a smashing success. And while the glamorously dressed blogger attendees that night enjoyed the beautiful venue, the yummy nosh, tasty drinks and each other’s company and thanked us for putting on such an event, they might not really know just how much work went into it. So, I figured I’d just share the components of what made it such a “success.” Sure, this may be only the second blogger prom we’ve thrown, but I’d like to think that as bloggers we have developed a sense of what our peeps like and what makes an event a hit.

BPC group hug by heatherkincaid.com/blog

1) Have a committee comprised of people who can each bring something to the table and who work well together. Our Blogger Prom Committee is made up of these fine people, and although most of us share the same contacts, each of us also offers unique expertise in certain areas. Really rounds out the event. And if anything the fact that we’re all good friends really helped us get through the truly stressful times during the party planning process. When I felt overwhelmed, I knew I could lean on them as well as vent my frustrations without any judgment.

2) Pick an intriguing theme. After the fun ’80s theme last year, we worried how to top it. We took suggestions on Twitter and Facebook, asked our friends, asked each other and still didn’t know. Finally after weeding out zombie, disco and Enchantment Under the Sea options, we agreed on going for glamor this year, old Hollywood glamor to be specific. We wanted our guests to dress up. Hell, WE wanted to dress up.

3) Choose a kickass venue that can accommodate your crowd and either has a view, a fun activity or is buzz-worthy. Having our theme set made it easier to filter out the venues that didn’t fit. But finding a venue that was not only fabulous, spacious and would do it only for the publicity proved to be difficult.

Partaking of Chef Brock's famous tacos by heatherkincaid.com/blog

However, it was during a night cap with bloggers Mattatouille and Teenage Glutster when the subject of prom came up and Mattatouille suggested giving Yamashiro a try. With Yamashiro’s newish Thursday farmer’s market, I knew they were trying to change up their image.

For years, they were known as the beautiful Japanese restaurant where you either got married or took out-of-towners for expensive but mediocre sushi. This Mountain Palace, seemingly out of reach for the average Angeleno looking for a casual bite, is accessible via a winding road and offers only valet parking.

So when fellow BPC member Lindsay of LAist had arranged a tasting preview of Yamashiro’s brand-new bar menu, it seemed like the perfect time to bring it up. Fortunately, General Manager David Comfort and Chef Brock loved the idea. Hosting a bloggers-only party, what better way to get us up there?

Suffice it to say, the crew at Yamashiro was an absolute dream to work with. Restaurant event coordinator Alana Ulloa helped us to lay out a party that would take over the gorgeous koi pond room as well as Skyview room. We couldn’t ask for a more perfect setting.

And after the party, everyone kept saying how they saw Yamashiro in a whole new light. Mission accomplished!

Live Tweets by heatherkincaid.com/blog

4) Don’t make it all about you. Unlike last year, this time we decided to do it for charity. Sure that would mean charging our guests but all proceeds would go to a good cause as well as help assuage any concerns potential sponsors might have about doing anything “for free.”

So, on BPC member EstarLA‘s suggestion, we went with Operation Frontline. Since BPC is mostly made up of food bloggers, supporting a charity that teaches families how to prepare healthy, tasty meals on a limited budget, was a perfect fit. Suffice it to say, at the end of the event, we were able to raise $2,400 for them.*

5) Wire the venue. Since it is Blogger Prom we had to make sure our social media-addicted guests could Tweet, Foursquare and live blog to their hearts’ content so once again BPC’s TaraMetBlog hooked us up with Verizon Wireless, who ended up having to send over eight engineers to wire the restaurant, which already has very spotty coverage. It was a lengthy process but it was worth it. The huge screen in the koi pond room displaying live #bloggerprom tweets was a big hit. We used Twitter to not only announce when someone won a giveaway prize but to call out our Blogger Prom King and Blogger Prom Queen aka Leading Man and Leading Lady. By the way, congrats to Food Marathon and JozJozJoz. May your reign be a blast.

Coolhaus fans by heatherkincaid.com/blog

6) Present lots of food options. Yamashiro was open to our inviting other food venues as long as we focused on their own bar bites and Chef Brock’s uber popular farmer’s market tacos. So we let them handle the savory while we handled the sweets. Because of the limited space, however, we didn’t want it to get too crazy in that Skyview room where we’d also have a dancefloor and DJ Steve. So we stuck to the basics of cheese, ice cream, chocolates and of course cupcakes.

The Cheese Impresario, a big hit at last year’s prom, returned but with a bigger spread. Ice cream truck, Coolhaus, seemed the perfect fit with their ice cream sandwiches in edible wrappers; that way our cocktailing guests wouldn’t have to contend with messy spoons. ChocolateBox Caf� brought a fun, beautiful selection of chocolates. And Crumbs, although bailing from the event last-minute pfft!, still had their cupcakes out.

7) Bring on the free booze. And of course, the sure way to get bloggers to go anywhere is to promise and deliver lots of free booze. Cocktail hookup and international BPC member, Natalie of The Liquid Muse, not only designed a cocktail especially for the event — Pinky Confidential — but lined up a Dalmore Scotch tasting as well as sponsors Zaya Rum, Cabana Cachaca and Casa Noble Tequila. We were even able to score a hosted bar at the after prom party at Test Kitchen.

Pinky Confidential cocktail by heatherkincaid.com/blog

For the discerning beer drinkers, I invited eminent beerologists/authors, The Beer Chicks, to do a tasting. They were able to line up brews from local Eagle Rock Brewery.

Oh, and if you’re going to have booze at the event, always make sure to present your guests a safe way to get home. For this party, Y Drive LA set up a stand in valet and gave our attendees a 10% discount off the services.

8) Give prizes and gift bags! These are not necessary components for a good party but they are mandatory for an awesome party. What can I say, bloggers like their swag. And if they can win a valuable prize, too, well that’s just the icing on the cake.

This year, even though we cut our list of giveaway prizes from 36 to 19, all were still highly covetable. Heck, even though it was against our BPC rules, I still wanted in on the giveaway. La Descarga gift basket, Fred Segal Eyes designer sunglasses or The Edison’s Downtown Romance package? Yes, please! But no, I kept my name out of the bowl. In any case, since our event is for charity and bloggers, generous giveaway and gift bag sponsors weren’t too difficult to come by.

With the gift bags, we amassed a vast collection of goodies, which totaled $300 in value! And every bit of paper in that gift bag was worth something, be it a voucher for a free Sprinkles cupcake, a Manila Machine ube cupcake or admission to an American Cinematheque theater.

9) Get your guests’ feet moving. It ain’t a party if they can’t dance. Originally we were going to have a live jazz band play in the koi pond room to welcome our guests but the band canceled just a week before the event. What can I say? They got an actual paid gig. Fortunately DJ Steve, from last year’s prom, offered up his services again. And even though the jazz standards he spun weren’t exactly what our young bloggers knew how to dance to, the music brought our theme and venue to life.

10) Never be afraid to ask for help. This time we made sure to recruit volunteers. (Thanks to BPC’s ShopEatSleep for organizing them.) At last year’s prom, all of the BPC members were too busy making sure the party was running smoothly to even enjoy our own event. So we learned our lesson and asked friends, Tweeps and PR girls if they wanted to lend a hand. For one hour of work, they’d get a gift bag and two hours of fun. Seemed like an even trade.

In any case, we wouldn’t have been able to actually enjoy this year’s prom without them. Huge thanks to Dre, Christina, Chris, Sam, Sean, Stefani, Caleb, Bridgette, Tu and David! And shoutout to Goldstar and BPC member Happy Go Marni for handling the event’s donation page and ticket sales and to BPC’s HC for handling the Blogger Prom Twitter, Facebook page and event blog!

So that’s it. Thanks to all our guests for looking so gorgeous and taking part in what was a big night for us, the BPC. It made us feel good to see the fruits of our months’ labors come to life and be enjoyed in such a way.

Post Blogger Prom coverage
Blogger Prom Flickr Group
Official Blogger Prom photos by Heather Kincaid

* If you’d like to donate to Operation Frontline via Blogger Prom, you still can via this Goldstar page, through the end of October. Thanks!

Categories: Cocktails, Dining, Featured, Los Angeles, Nightlife

16 Comments

September 28, 2010

Sneak Preview: Scoops Beer Ice Cream for LA Beer Week

Scoops Framboise Pear Ice Cream

You know what sounds uber refreshing right about now in the midst of this hellacious hellfire that we call September in LA? Beer and ice cream! And I’m not talking beer floats, but actual ice cream that is beer flavored. Unfortunately you’ll have to put that craving on hold until LA Beer Week in a couple of weeks when Tai Kim, owner of Scoops Ice Cream, debuts his beer ice cream, all made from artisan beer!

But I can give you a preview of what you have to look forward to. This past weekend, I was invited by Food GPS and Scoops to a sneaky peek of the unique flavors and we even got an exclusive look behind the curtain, so to speak, of how Tai makes his fabulously yummy ice cream.

Here’s some video breaking down Tai’s process into three steps.

1) Mix flavor components together and pour it into the ice cream maker.

2) After about 10-15 minutes pour more beer into the machine.

3) After 15-20 minutes scoops the finished ice cream into the tub.

In case you wondered, each tub of beer ice cream contains a 16-ounce bottle of beer. So, no, you can’t get drunk off it. “Asking how much ice cream one has to eat to get drunk is like asking how many poppy seeds one has to eat to get the same effects as heroine,” said Josh. And when I had some ice cream, I couldn’t really taste the actual beer itself. Out of the seven flavors we sampled, I could only really get a sense of beer from the Unibrou Quelque Chose cherry which tasted almost fizzy.

Scoops Beer Ice Cream

The Guinness Tiramisu, which I was excited about, only tasted like chocolate. The Chimay Apricot only really tasted like apricot. And that yummy-sounding Framboise Pear was only raspberries and pear. Not that they were bad-tasting ice cream, they just weren’t especially beery. However, the Firestone Union Jack IPA Mocha did have a bit of a bite but it was very subtle.

Out of all the test batches, I’d have to say that my favorites were the Bruery Autumn Maple Molasses and the Lost Coast Tangerine Wheat Ale Hazelnut. I really hope they make it to the actual premiere on October 11. And even if for some strange reason they don’t, you still can’t go wrong with any of Tai Kim’s Scoops ice cream. You have to try his wasabi-coconut one!

By the way, I highly recommend buying the corresponding beer to go with the beer ice cream, both to be enjoyed at home of course. Drinking that beer with it just brings out the flavor more.

The beer ice creams debut on Monday, October 11 at 7pm and will be available through October 17.

In other beer-ice cream news: Food GPS will also be conducting Beer Float Showdown II for LA Beer Week on October 10! This time, instead of just two bars, we’ve got four: Boneyard Bistro, Ladyface Alehouse, Simmzy�s and Tony�s Darts Away. Tickets are $25 online/$30 at the door and everyone in attendance gets to taste and vote on their favorite beer float. 50% of the proceeds will go to Share Our Strength, a nonprofit that works to end childhood hunger.

Scoops
712 N. Heliotrope Drive
Los Angeles, California 90029 (map)
(323) 906-2649
Facebook: Scoops Ice Cream

More pics of Scoops Beer Ice Cream preview after the jump.

Categories: Dining, Los Angeles, Sweets

2 Comments

September 27, 2010

Win Exclusive Invite to Table 20′s Cocktail Punch Party With Best LA Bartenders

Matt's Three Faces of Van Gogh by Caroline on Crack

Who's the best bartender in all of LA?

***CONTEST CLOSED***

So I have the skinny on a must-do event for cocktail enthusiasts. It takes place next Monday at Takami Sushi downtown and will feature six of L.A.’s best bartenders and their never-tasted-before cocktail punch recipes. Guests will be able to try all the concoctions (each serving is 4-5 ounces) for free and mingle with fellow boozers.

The bad news is that it’s invite-only and oh-so exclusive with about 100 guests. But the awesome news is that I get to pick five of my lucky crackheads to go!

This party is the grand finale for the Table 20 Best Bartender in LA contest. For weeks before, you were given the chance to nominate your favorite drink slingers in all of Los Angeles. And then my fellow judges and I had to visit the top six contestants and vote for a winner. Well, the party is where it’s all going to go down. The contestants — Matt Biancaniello (People’s Choice winner) of Hollywood Roosevelt’s Library Bar, Joseph Brooke of The Edison, Max Diaz of Cicada Club, Devon Espinosa of The Tasting Kitchen, Dee Ann Quinones of Susan Feniger’s Street and Alex Straus of Hemingway’s Lounge — will be there. Only one of them will be announced as the Best Bartender in LA. BTW, your guess is as good as mine as to who will walk away with the title. And you won’t want to miss it. The tears, the cry of defeat, the roar of victory, the free cocktails!

To even get a chance at an invite, you must already “Like” my Facebook page* (that’s how I know you’re serious about me) and then do the following 1-2 punch:

Post on your own Facebook page: “I want to win an invite from�@Caroline on Crack’s Crackheads to next Monday’s exclusive Table 20 cocktail punch party! http://wp.me/pNkdL-1pL” The “@” is to make sure it links back to my page.
Leave a comment on my FB page telling me you did the above so I’ll know. And I’ll check!

I’ll close this contest Saturday, October 2 at 9am, tally up the entries, pick five winners and check their Facebook pages to make sure they posted on them. The five winners will then be notified via Facebook.

Good luck!

* Got this idea from my fellow judge at Vixen’s LA Happy Hours. She’s all smart and stuff.

Categories: Cocktails, Featured, Los Angeles, Nightlife

1 Comment

September 27, 2010

28th American Wine & Food Festival: Gorge, Gulp, Groove

Angelini Osteria pastas and meatballs

I’m still floating. This past Saturday’s 28th American Wine & Food Festival at Universal Studios Back Lot was an orgasmic food-wine-booze fantasy from which I never wanted to wake up. Every year I look forward to going because as I had said before, it is the mutha of all food festivals and if I had to go to only one food fest a year, I’d pray it would be this one. Is that over the top? The grand scale of it, the layout, the venue, the renowned chefs, the vast variety of wineries, and all that food! Come on!

Me and Thomas Keller (Caroline on Crack)

Me and Thomas Keller of Bouchon

But this year, to make the most of my time there, I got organized. On the tram ride up to the event, instead of enjoying the studio tour as usual I went through the event map and marked off the locations of all the chefs and wineries I wanted to visit. The game plan was to check out the must-see chefs first, gorge myself and then spend the rest of the evening grazing, strolling and sipping wine. Suffice it to say, it was a huge success.

With the sun still in the sky when I arrived there at 6, I was able to shoot pictures of all the yummy noms I had and even of the chefs before they got all flustered and busy.

Chef Gino Angelini of Angelini Osteria wouldn’t stop long enough to pose for pictures but I got to chat with Joe Miller of Joe’s Restaurant about his refreshing heirloom tomato with gazpacho sorbet and sneak under Thomas Keller’s arm while he was playing with a Bouchon beach ball.

Instant favorites were Angelini Osteria’s pumpkin ravioli and homemade meatball, Yuji Wakiya’s crunchy and seasoned sushi rice golden sand, Comme Ca’s mouth-watering braised ox tail agnolotti with bone marrow butter and chestnut creme and Blue Ribbon Sushi’s spicy crab handroll with delicious seaweed wrap. By the time I hit up Holsteins slider and potato chips, I also hit the wall.

Why so glum?

Even though I had a list of suggested wineries to try, I stuck to cocktails. Unfortunately I found only a couple of decent ones here. It would be cool, and make a lot more sense, if AWFF started featuring well-known bartenders alongside the famous chefs. As it was, the cocktails here were made by very pretty girls with very limp shakes.

But the bartender for (ri)1 whiskey looked as if she just got word that her puppy was run over. “I really worry about her,” said my fest companion Lindsay of LAist. “How is she going to make it through the rest of the night?” The woman just would not crack a smile, let alone respond to any questions or banter we tried to initiate AND she did the slowest cocktail shake I’ve ever seen. Eesh. Fortunately, that didn’t spoil our high spirits for too long.

We moved on to the lounge for the new Cosmopolitan Hotel, Resort Casino, Condos opening up in Vegas soon (grand opening on New Year’s Eve). There they were not only offering a couple of tasty-sounding cocktails to enjoy in their 46-people-capacity upstairs lounge but an iPad virtual tour of the new hotel and casino. Apparently Cosmopolitan is one of the only (?) casinos in Vegas with actual windows so you can see outside. The cocktails in the lounge were a variation of a Moscow Mule with Ultimat Vodka, hot ginger syrup, ginger beer and Angostura bitters and the Libertine, with Maker’s Mark, lemon juice, orange marmalade, rosemary and maple syrup foam.

Dessert lounge offering from WP24

Lindsay and I grabbed the Mules and headed upstairs to survey the festival and plot out our next moves. The restaurant booths near the Cosmopolitan Lounge were actually the ones that will appear at the new hotel. So yes, you can look forward to seeing Comme Ca, Blue Ribbon Sushi, Holsteins and STK in Vegas.

The lines during the festival itself weren’t too bad in the initial hours but when the dinner crowd rolled in, it became too much of a bother to stand in the lines for ice cream and cocktails.

And when I was determined to wait in line for the Ultimat Blueberry Freeze I was greatly disappointed by a watered-down drink that vaguely tasted of fruit punch with nary a trace of booze. Bew. No worries, though. Just set it down and walked up to the tables for Inception and Au Bon Climat wineries. Mmm, Pinot Noir.

At 8:30, we hit Sherry Yard’s Sweet Sanctuary Champagne and Port Lounge, which was packed with festival-goers looking for a sweet nightcap. A live band played tunes that everyone could groove to on the dancefloor. Lindsay and I grabbed a couple of glasses of port, some Payard chocolates and a table off to the side to people watch. “Who comes here to dance? And how can they dance after eating all that?” Lindsay asked me as we witnessed several examples of the White Man Overbite.

But then not two seconds later, she said that she, too, wanted to dance. Fueled by the drink, I joined her in bringing sexy back, and we probably worked off most of the 6,000 calories we had that day.

Highlights of the evening:

Food festival official utensil: The Knork! They gave us our own Knork when we checked in but it was also used throughout the festival.
Mozza’s chocolate-dipped frozen banana rolled in toasted coconuts. The perfect treat for the sultry night.
Bouchon’s seafood bar made of ice, a real stand-out setup out of the whole event.
Getting a picture of me with Thomas Keller. I know, it was cheesy but he made me do it. I swear, I originally just wanted a picture of him standing alone with his beachball.
Relaxing at the rooftop Cosmopolitan Lounge and surveying the fest.
Hitting the dancefloor with Lindsay and doing the robot with South Bay Foodies.
Running into Hadley of GrubStreet LA, Lesley Balla (formerly of Tasting Table), AriannaLA, Matt of DigLounge and Elise of LAist.

Categories: Cocktails, Dining, Featured, Los Angeles, Nightlife

4 Comments

September 24, 2010

All About Andy: The Warholian Exhibit at Royal/T Cafe

The Warholian Curator Eric Shiner

Last night was the press preview party for The Warholian, the new all-things-Andy-Warhol art exhibit at Royal/T Caf� in Culver City. Sponsored by Barbie — yes, the doll — and featuring tastes of limited edition “Tribute to Warhol” Dom Perignon champagne (normally $50 a glass!), how could I say no? Add to that the exhibit, with fun Warhol-inspired art work and actual Andy art, which was curated by Eric Shiner, The Milton Fine Curator of Art at the Andy Warhol Museum, and we had a colorful, arty night out.

Andy would have liked him.

During the party, Eric Shiner took us on a tour of the exhibit (click here for list of works), adding in interesting factoids about the elusive, wig-wearing artist. For instance, amazingly Warhol never did drugs or drank. Rather he made sure his entourage had plenty of that naughty stuff on hand so while they got faded he could just sit back and observe their antics while stone sober. And apparently Andy was devoutly religious, going to church nearly every day. For some reason I can’t imagine him praying in a pew.

Among the iconic Warhol pieces on display behind the glass cases, you’ll find that famous “Marilyn” and “Dollar Sign,” each one surrounded and complimented by Warhol-esque works by great artists like Jeff Koons, Takashi Murakami and Richard Prince. This exhibit asserts the notion that every piece of art work is touched by a little Warhol.

My favorite piece here includes the screen test video of the original subjects of Warhol’s series of film portraits filmed 45 years later. Interesting to see how these beautiful people with “star quality” have aged.

Vivian enjoying a Warhol banana cupcake by Caroline on Crack

Andy for all ages.

Besides the Warhol, I loved the Barbie dreamhouses display in the redesigned caf� store. I got to visit with the townhouse that made me so jealous of my little sister when she got it for her 7th birthday, as well as the much coveted Barbie Dreamhouse from 1978 and even the more recent three-story pink townhouse from 2009.

All very pretty, but since I am too grown-up now and lacking an imagination to play with dolls, I was OK with just admiring them from the other side of the glass.

During this exhibit, you’ll get to drink, eat and wear Andy. The caf� has a special menu with Warhol-named everything, from salads to high tea:

The Edie Sedgwich ($12): Turkey, Fontina, cranberries spread, toasted sourdough
Twiggy Salad ($11): Organic greens, edible flowers, mango, julienne carrots, light pear/grapefruit/white balsamic Dressing
Really High Tea ($25): Assorted savory canapes and desserts including cupcake with marzipan banana, Jello-enclosed fruits, macarons, and grilled cheese sandwiches, with a 3 Tiered Tray; Includes a Pot of tea of choice
Pop Combo ($8): 3 cheese grilled cheese with tomato bisque soup
Velvets Banana Pudding ($4)
The Candy Darling cocktail ($8)

Designer Lisa Perry also opened up a pop-up Pop Art store showcasing her mod fashions adorned by Andy art as well as some Lichtenstein. The items here are only a small representation of her larger collection which can be viewed online.

The Warholian exhibit is free and open to the public starting today through January 31, 2011.

Royal/T Caf�
8910 Washington Boulevard
Culver City, California 90232 (map)
(310) 559-6300

Categories: Art, Dining, Los Angeles

1 Comment

September 24, 2010

Studio DNA: On How To Be Lovely for Blogger Prom

Happy Go Marni and ShopEatSleep by Caroline on Crack

Happy Go Marni and ShopEatSleep with freshly glammed-up dos at Studio DNA.

For the theme of this year’s Blogger Prom 2010, we, in the Blogger Prom Committee (BPC), decided to go with the oh-so glamorous Hollywood Confidential — chic fashions from the Old Hollywood era. Very fitting considering our venue was the historic Yamashiro Restaurant in Hollywood. (More on this awesome event later.) In any case, I already had the dress for it: a black chiffon, lace, vintage-y little number. That part was easy. But what to do for hair and makeup, my Achilles’ heel of party prep? Pin curls? Finger waves? Wuuut?

Studio DNA's Danny LeClair by Caroline on Crack

Studio DNA's Danny LeClair bringing me a Mimosa. Aw.

For this I turned to Danny LeClair and his fabulous hair and makeup team at Studio DNA salon on Beverly Boulevard. Studio DNA in Santa Monica is my regular hair salon and needless to say I love their work. Shout-out to my hairstylist, Monica. Danny and his salon had very generously agreed to actually do the hair and makeup of all the ladies in the BPC, an offer that we all eagerly accepted.

The girls and I showed up at the salon four hours before the event to ensure there was plenty of time to get dolled up and back at Yamashiro for event prep. Danny greeted us with Mimosas and red wine to calm our nerves. So nice!

Since I was the lead on this appointment, he fixed me up with stylist Meredith (@lahairbymere), the lead on the BPC’s event styling. I felt like I lucked out. She was the stylist who wrote the tips on the “Getting the Hollywood Confidential Look” post on the Blogger Prom blog so I knew I was in good hands.

She didn’t have a fixed plan for my long hair but decided to create a faux bob to show off the nearly off-the-shoulder neckline of my dress. This sounded ideal to me as I had suspected that most of our female attendees would be sporting the sultry Veronica Lake style.

Me in curls

Instead, my hairstyle was a complicated structure of circles and waves, held together by hairspray and about 40 bobby pins. Suffice it to say, my ‘do didn’t budge all night. Perfect for running around the event making sure everything was going smoothly.

My period makeup was done by the adorable Stephanie (@okaysteph). Since it was all about the lips back in the day, she went with a dramatic red lipstick called Chianti and lip pencil (Blood), and just applied false lashes, redid my eyebrows and added some gray eye shadow. Very minimal and clean. For my foundation, she custom-blended the perfect match to my skin color. So good that I just bought a bottle of it ($40 for a blend of four shades). I didn’t know that they custom blended foundation here AND it’s cheaper than what I normally spend on Laura Mercier foundation ($42)!

Having Danny and the crew at Studio DNA prettify us before the big event was a load off our minds and a nice treat before what was sure to be a very important and hectic night for us. Doing hair and makeup is usually the most stressful and time consuming part for lots of girls, especially when you want to look absolutely gorgeous on your big night whether it be a blowout party you’re hosting, your wedding or an Oscar party. Thank goodness we didn’t have to worry about that stuff as we had enough on our minds!

Big thanks to everyone at the Studio DNA salon on Beverly and especially Danny. The BPC couldn’t have emulated Hollywood glamor without you.

Photo by http://www.heatherkincaid.com/blog/

Prices: Event hair styling ranges from $65 to $125; event makeup is $65 to $85.

Studio DNA
7218 Beverly Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90036 (map)
(323) 930-0700

Categories: Beauty & Fashion, Los Angeles

5 Comments

September 17, 2010

This Weekend: Zombies or Glamour, Beer Me, Fancy Night Football

I’m so behind! Sorry, crackheads. This Blogger Prom is taking up all my time. But if you’re not going to the fantastic Port of Los Angeles Lobster Fest, here are some other things to do.

Saturday, September 18

Barnsdall Screening: LA Confidential
Co-Blogger Prom Committee member HC and I will be getting in the mood for our Hollywood Confidential-themed prom by enjoying the cinematic inspiration for our party: LA Confidential. Bring a picnic, blankets and some friends and join us in this gorgeous setting with Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hollyhock House as a backdrop. For the $25 admission you get three drink tickets or you can just do the movie for $10.

5:30pm. $10-$25. Barnsdall Art Park, 4800 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood (map).

Last Cemetery Screening: Night of the Living Dead
ZOMG, one of my fave zombie movies and it’s perfect that Cinespia chose it for the last screening of the season. I wish I could go to this one but already bought tickets to the Barnsdall screening. If I went here I’d t0tally dress up as a zombie. It’s going to be so creepy, especially when you have to walk past the graveyard to get to the screening area!

6:30pm. $10. Hollywood Forever Cemetery, 6000 Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles (map).

Sunday, September 19

Buy Your Tickets for the Dionicess VII – Dogfish Head & Decadence
Sure, LA Beer Week is next month but you’ll want to snatch up tickets to this October 10th beer dinner right now! It’s Dogfish Head Craft Brewery’s first LA event and they’ll be pairing five of their award-winning ales with five dishes created by Chef Greenspan of The Foundry on Melrose. Hurry! They only have a few tickets left!

October 10 at 1pm. $79. The Foundry on Melrose, 7465 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles (map).

Monday, September 20

30-Foot-High Monday Night Football at Station
I don’t like football but figured it was worth mentioning this because it’s the only football screening I’ve heard of that pairs cocktails with the ball game. You can sip on cocktails like The Last Word or Cucumber Cooler between screams of “Gooaaalll!” Oh wait, wrong game? In any case drink specials include 2-for-1 drinks during the game as well as $15 buckets of PBR. The bar menu which is about $6-$14 will have fancy Monte Cristo sandwiches and Quatre Fromages Pizza, too. And if you are actually there for the game, you’ll be happy to know it’ll be playing on a 30-foot-tall outdoor screen.

W Hollywood, 6250 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood (map).

Categories: Dining, Los Angeles, Nightlife, Recreation