happy december everyone!!! i can't believe it's here! time continues to fly. but i have to say, i'm already ready for it to be 2010, no reason in particular ;)

anyway, this is the official thanksgiving blog!! we had a lovely potluck thanksgiving meal at my house this year, and (grandmom, i hope you're proud!) i helped make the turkey!! josh and i actually made it, and as you'll see, it turned out GREAT! we were so happy! it was lovely to celebrate being grateful for all our blessings with our wonderful friends. i hope you had a thankful day, too!

enjoy the delectable photos!

josh "chef boyardee" sneider



a dancing turkey!



we stuffed butter and garlic cloves underneath it's skin--YUMMMM!



boys being boys



hooray ali and her delicious pigs in blankets!



SUCCESS!! look at that bird!



turkeyyyyy!



nice plate, parky!



my plate's not so bad either!



ahh fun! please check out josh's face, he looks beyond full!



i am so thankful for friends, family, a wonderful house, an amazing fiance, provision to live where i do, sigh...just everything really! what are you thankful for this year?

well hello!!!

this has been a really fun week! let me tell ya bout it...

first off, last night, i got to see a screening of the final version of love naturally! parker came with me to the film school:



it went really well. for a student film, i think it turned out great! i wish there was a way to put it up here, but hopefully i'll have several parts of it on my reel, and that i'll post on here eventually. it was fun to see myself on the big screen again, and i think darlene was a success!

secondly, i had a BIG week because i auditioned for, booked, and shot a NATIONAL COMMERCIAL for expedia.com!!!!!!



now, don't get too excited, you'll only see my hands...ok, yeah, go ahead and get excited!! so, i booked the commercial as a hand model, and spent this past wednesday morning at the paramount pictures lot filming the 30 second spot!



it will air nationally, regionally, online and as an industrial for expedia. i'll definitely let you know when it comes out, but start watching in a little over a month from now, the main visual of the spot is my hands moving blocks around, and the storyline is going on inside each block! it's cute!

being on set was so great--i seriously got treated like a star--custom breakfast and coffee orders brought to me, on set manicurist (who has done the nails of a ton of celebs: gwen stefani, lindsey lohan, jessica simpson, vanessa hudgens, etc. etc.)



so much fun!!! i really hope that i get to do more hand modeling work soon! not a bad job, i'd say!!

thirdly, things in general are still swell! wedding planning is a lot of fun, and i get more and more excited to marry parker every day :) other than that, i'll be looking for more hand modeling work, and i'm still working with my ladies on their writing projects, so no complaints here!

my goodness!!! i can't believe it's almost the end of the year. wow! i ALSO can't believe that i turn 25 tomorrow!!!!! yikes! no more of this "early twenties" business...

so on the eve of my quarter century, what is there to write about? lots, actually.

a) wedding planning is going well! we finally picked a date and secured the location. it'll be in april 2010, and we're getting married here in the la area! neither of us can wait! :D our wedding website is currently under construction, but when it's ready, i'll surely post a link to it on here, so keep an eye out for that! we took a few engagement pics with our friend, jer, but the weather was bad, so we plan on taking some more. here is just a little taste, though...




b) last weekend, parker and i went to visit his parents and family in virginia! it was just the perfect dose of fall that i always crave this time of year (especially since living in la, where seasons don't exist). we did a ton of hiking, eating, and good old-fashioned hanging out. it was so crazy and wonderful knowing that i was sitting around a table with my future family-in-law!!! i couldn't be more blessed, though--i've said it before, but i'm inheriting the best family!




there are more pictures that i haven't gotten ahold of, but it was just beautiful and we were so spoiled! also, parker's older sister, molly got engaged to jesse, while we were there!! so wonderful to be a part of that!



c) i just made some changes to my professional website: laurenparrent.com. i added a bunch of links on my reels page to videos that i've done the voiceover work on! i've also been doing weekly improv with monkeybutlercomedy.com and i'm LOVING it! i've only been taking the class for about two months and i just got word that i'm getting promoted to the next level! i've always loved comedy, and feel that it's my forte, so it's exciting to see another route of acting being set in my path. hopefully there will be updates on this front soon!

d) we just finished celebrating one of my favorite holidays--halloween!!! i LOVE dressing up and trick-or-treating was always a huge deal for our family growing up. anyway, parker and i had two halloween parties, and thus, two costumes! let me tell you, we used a TON of cardboard! anyway, here we are as 1) the geico gecko and the money you could be saving with geico, (along with jon who was the geico caveman), and 2) ms. pacman and inky the ghost!




e) my mama is here for a visit!!! i can't wait to do a bunch of fun wedding and non-wedding things with her! hooray family!

ok, more soon i hope! take care!

you've seen pictures here and there since may of my adorable roommates here at the commonwealth house. one of these lovely ladies, whitney, has a friend, paige (paigenewtonphotography.com). paige and her boyfriend (musician, david ramirez) were in la on a "folktography" trek, playing music and taking pictures across the country. they stopped in and stayed with us for a couple days, and paige did a commonwealth photo shoot for us!

we were going for a funky, fun, anthropologie, tea party in the park sort of vibe. here's a preview, but check out the link below for the rest of my gorgeous, smart, creative roomies!!!



http://www.flickr.com/photos/paigeann/sets/72157622538472208/

i can't believe almost a month has passed since i last blogged, AND since i've been engaged! wow, continued proof that TIME FLIES! we've begun wedding planning, which makes me so glad that i don't have a conventional, full-time job. it's going really well, but i don't have any details to report as of yet! i did buy my wedding dress, but SORRY, can't post that! ;)

in career news, check out the video below!!! my good friend, peter, was commissioned to make this video for MyEnergyTax.com, and i was hired to do the voiceover!



more news coming sooner than this past sabbatical...i had my first kogi bbq, which you'll learn more about, and we have a second annual apple orching trip very soon, not to mention engagement pictures, birthdays, a trip to virginia, and a visit from mom. aah, the fall is the best!!!!

yes friends, it's true, I'M ENGAGED!!!!!!!





my sweet fiance (aah, crazy!?!), parker, proposed to me last wednesday, september 9, 2009, fittingly around 9 pm. we're not obsessed with the number 9, it just happened to work out that way...

to make the story short and sweet, we went to dinner at a french restaurant in santa monica, and then planned on walking down by the beach, before heading back to parker's to play the newly released beatles rock band (which was a total ruse, but don't worry, i did get to play it finally and it's pretty sweet!). walking on the beach at night is a usual event for us, so it wasn't weird, but when we made it there, there were hundreds of people at the pier celebrating the 100th anniversary of it, and watching fireworks. parker knew about these but played it off so well. so, we walked and watched the fireworks, and made our way to our typical spot, a lifeguard stand where we had our first serious relationship conversation. we watched the end of the fireworks, and people on the beach started to walk towards their cars. once it was pretty empty, we hung around and talked, and then started to leave. as soon as i turned to go, white lights came on making a lovely glow atop our lifeguard stand. at that point i thought, oh man, this is IT!! parker then said some very sweet things, and got down on one knee, pulled out a ring (which i didn't even pay attention to until 5 minutes later, and it is perfect!), and asked "will you marry me?" i think i first said "mmhmm!!!" through my tears and hand over mouth excitement, but then said a clear "yes," and gave him a huge hug. turned out, our two friends, matt and jon, were staked a few yards away, warding off other beach-goers, and ready to take photos of us! (below is a link to the whole album in case you want to see more!)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2406820&id=15902030&l=21c9c923d5

after all that, we stopped in a hotel lobby right on the beach to "use the bathroom," which turned out to be an engagement party with 30 of our friends! parker went all out, and i felt so loved the whole evening, and since then, too, with all the congrats, calls, emails, and everything. we feel so elated and supported by our wonderful friends and family--so thanks to all of you for making this exciting time so special! no details yet as far as the wedding, but i'll keep you updated so check back! and, we're so grateful for many of you keeping us in your thoughts and prayers as we excitedly prepare for our marriage!!

well folks, prepare for a media rich post!



first off, instead of posting all my ireland photos here, i'd love for you to check out the whole albums that i posted on facebook. you can see them on the links below **even if you're not a member of facebook:

Part One:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2400307&id=15902030&l=535bfb92db

Part Two:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2400320&id=15902030&l=dbef25b826

the trip was incredible and sharon and i adored the scenic hillside country drives through southern ireland. we saw dublin, killarney, kerry, cork, shannon, bunratty, and many other strikingly green places! i'd love to go back sometime, independently of a tour, and stay at scattered bed and breakfasts throughout the countryside. ireland: recommended!


secondly, i'm so grateful to have the most wonderful, fun, creative friends! they're pretty much the coolest friends ever. as you probably know, parker and i went sailing for my birthday last november. he loved it so much that he and his roomie, matt, took sailing lessons to become certified sailors. we rented a sailboat this weekend and went out for the whole day. it was SO awesome! i just have to brag on my friends as friends, and also as crazy talented video editing machines...and pretty rad dancers, as you'll see in the short video that my friend, josh, made of our trip. check it out below!!

Sleepyhead Sailing from Josh Sneider on Vimeo.

awesome, right? and my boyfriend is a pretty amazing gangsta. all is well in la la land. now i'm just settling in after these fun trips. as the summer winds down, i'm expecting a few guests this week, and enjoying life as always. take care and talk soon!