so...my big 2-4 is coming up soon, and as sort of a birthday adventure, my mom and i decided to meet in the windy city last weekend! she and her friends, linda and kathy, and linda's daughter, kate, were already planning on making the trip, and i just tagged along--meeting up them from the west coast!

three things you should know about me: 1) i love to travel, 2) i love the fall, and 3) i love my mama! so, basically the trip to chicago was pretty golden from the start!! we just went for the weekend, and spent the time at our hotel on michigan avenue, as well as at linda's son, miles', apartment in hyde park, where he goes to college (coincidentally, he lives two blocks from obama's house, too, which is just funny to me).

but, the weekend was great! i loved spending time with my mom and friends and we had a lot of fun in the crisp, autumn weather, walking up and down the magnificent mile, shopping, and looking at the fabulous architecture of the city. i love chicago. i think i could live there. i especially loved the smell of crushed up fall leaves everywhere. we don't get a whole lot of that out here! mom and kathy went to see wicked (which i loved, and i couldn't wait for them to see!), and the hopgood's and i went to see a performance by second city called, "no country for old white men." it was obviously a political satire, and it was really funny. it was neat to be at second city, where so many talented comedians get their starts.

anyway, it was an amazing weekend, and i loved the escape from routine, since i usually need a change from the norm every once-in-awhile! ok, without further ado, here are some pictures:

cannonball-eyes, bear, and may moger (their high school nicknames!!! isn't that hiliarious?!) at the university of chicago.



this was my first night there, and mom was out past 9:30pm and chugging her root beer!!! craaazzyyyy! joni, we're such party girls...



kate and me



trump's new building, along with some lovely gothic architecture



the rest of the gang left a day before i did, so i wandered the city streets, listening to music, and just all-around enjoyed myself! here are some pictures from that day--they're from my phone so they're not the best quality!

A brisk wind
Meets my skin
Turning my cheeks and lips
A rosy shade of pink.

Like the blood-orange pumpkins,
Glossy and round,
Squatting amongst their vines
As they litter the landscape.

The brown ground
Sifts through my pale fingers,
Leaving light, dusty prints
On my deep denim jeans.

An unmatched blue sky
Breaks only for white wisps
Of weightless cotton clouds
And the orchard ceiling

Where tree-lined rows
Grow green for miles
And sweet red apples
Fall to rest at their feet.


the girls: mj, alex, holland, liz, and me

wow. what a face. we had fun playing dress up at the riley's farm general store. i love colonial times...grandmom, do you remember the bonnet you made me that looks eerily similar to this one!?

our orching crew: all the girls, plus justin and seth

holland taught me a tumbling stunt to get me on her shoulders, so we could get the best apples!


our apple buckets...

by far, the best picture of the day. it captures so much action--i just love it! seth was trying to teach us how to juggle, and clearly CLEARLY i had mastered it...

apple face has a whole new meaning.

ah, snow white and her poison apple...

holland, lizzie, and me by a picturesque, old truck

there were HUGE pumpkins!

holland and justin, two of my favorite people :)



APPLE ORCHING PART TWO

after our long and "fruitful" day of orching in oak glen, california, (in absolutely perfect, crisp, fall weather, i might add) we headed back to good ole santa monica to justin and seth's house. there, we had a huge group over to enjoy the "fruits" of our labor. we baked apple pies and made caramel apples, and enjoyed a delightful evening of conversation and laughter around the fireplace. oh yeah, and i had a major sugar rush from sampling throughout the baking process...it was a lot of fun!

mj and me working on pie filling with our apples hand-picked from the orchard!

lizzie concentrating intensely on her lattice pie crust!

holland's friend, yuni, making a delectable caramel apple!


below are the full albums on facebook, again. courtesy of justin ladd, event planner extraordinaire!!!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2016472&l=e4492&id=135000032
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2016473&l=d6696&id=135000032
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2016474&l=a0ace&id=135000032

next weekend, i embark on another fall excursion--meeting my mom in chicago...i'm sure there'll be much more blogging to come!! thanks for reading.

tuesday night, i got an invite to go to a screening of the new film , the secret life of bees, with my friend jess, who works for an actor's trade publication. the film comes out october 17th, and i give it major stars and recommend you go see it! anyway, it's based on a book, but the film is great.

sidenote: i love that it's over a year later, and i still can't get enough of living in this city. there are always exciting things going on, and it's also within driving distance of so many awesome places (including up north, where i'm going this weekend to an apple orchard!) and, even though i've done lots of work/spent a good amount of time on studio lots, i still get that sense of hollywood magic every time i set foot on one! which, brings me back to the secret life of bees...so, jess and i went to the fox lot in century city and went to a private screening of the film. it is beautifully made, well-acted (some actors include: dakota fanning, queen latifah, paul bettany, sophie okonedo, jennifer hudson, and alicia keys), and the story is touching and poignant.

after the film, there was a q&a session with the writer/director and two actors, dakota and latifah. i'm not going to lie, it was cool to see them in person. dakota is so bright and intelligent, and latifah seemed really warm and kind. it was great to hear insights about acting and their anecdotes from behind the scenes of the film. times like those just always solidify my desire to keep chasing this. i know it's what i want to do. :)


then last night, holland surprised me with random tickets to a gavin degraw concert!! i'd seen him in concert once before, my freshman year of college in st. louis. last night, he played at the house of blues in hollywood, which was a fun venue. his brother opened for him, along with this band, charlotte sometimes. i liked their music, but the lead singer came across as pretty arrogant, so i didn't care for her much. but, gavin was fabulous live; he has a really rich, smooth voice, and is talented with piano and guitar as well. we had a great time, and i'm posting some pics below for you to peruse!






like i said, this weekend, i'm going apple "orching" with some friends up north (there will most definitely be pictures!). and then next weekend i'm meeting my mom in chicago, which i'm sooo excited about!!! i can't wait for these two very fallish experience, it still feels like summer here, so i need an autumn fix!!