Oh how is it practically time to leave California? I have never had 8 weeks pass by so quickly. Before Alice encounters the Queen of Hearts, she is in the search of the path that will take her home. She can't seem to find it, and eventually is drawn to tears. I haven't been drawn to tears recently, but I have been searching for the path home. I've missed it. A lot. There's a lot of people and places to miss. Eventually, the Cheshire Cat opens up a path for her to visit the Queen of Hearts. She gets into lots of trouble her last minutes in Wonderland. Now, I'm not getting into any trouble this last week, but I am trying to make the last minutes count. Here's what I have been up to these last few days in California, my own Wonderland.
(7 photos in slideshow) Miscellaneous: Last week, we had the honor of going to the HBO headquarters and watching a new movie they just produced, Nightingale. It stars David Oyelowo who played Dr. Martin Luther King Jr in Selma. It was interesting, but I actually really liked it. After that, since we were in Santa Monica, Darby and I went to The Wilshire restaurant after a recommendation. It was delicious! The following day, I scored tickets to the newest season of America's Best Dance Crew. I took 3 friends with me and we had a great time. We saw SO many famous people! The episode airs on Wednesday, July 29 at 11:00 on MTV! We were front row standing, so I'm sure you'll catch glimpses of us! I couldn't bring in my phone AT ALL to the taping, so all I have is a selfie of myself before the taping. Friday night, the Grady LA group went to The Laugh Factory comedy club. We heard a lot of stand-up from a variety of comedians. It was a really fun night laughing hysterically with everyone.
(19 photos in slideshow) Writers Guild Foundation! A few days ago, we went to the Writers Guild Foundation. They have original scripts from SO many movies and tv shows through the years. I, of course, went right for the Harry Potter scripts. It was amazing to see what made the movie and what differences there were in the script. I could have sat there for hours reading through every bit of it.
(11 photos in slideshow) Rodeo Drive and The Ivy! After going to the Writers Guild Foundation, me, Darby, and Lexi went to travel down Rodeo Drive. We had to, it's a crown jewel out her in California. The workers on Rodeo Drive are just like they are in the movies - rude. They follow you around like you're poor and going to steal something. It was awkward, but a fun experience. Later that night, a group of us went to a celebrity favorite restaurant - The Ivy. I had some of the best food ever. They gave out free champagne (not that that made up for the price tag of everything else, haha!) It was gorgeous and we had the perfect outdoor seating. A must-go-to place if you visit California.
(8 photos in slideshow) Laguna Beach! Sunday, Darby and I went to Laguna Beach! It was gorgeous. Perfect weather and huge waves. We had a great time soaking up the rays of the sun. After being at the beach for a while, we went out to dinner at Las Brisas. It overlooked the ocean and we had the perfect view from our table. A memorable day!