When Tara Met Blog: May 2009

Back in the USSR

The most anticipated stop on the Scandinavian cruise we took was seeing St. Petersburg, the former capital of Russia. The city only gets about 60 sunny days a year and luckily we had two of them during our two day visit where we toured several palaces, museums, churches as we tried to soak in as much as we could. Although seeing the remnants of the days of the Tsars was amazing, the majestic palaces and artistic steeples sharply stood out amongst the former plain Soviet Union government apartment buildings, which was very surreal.

My three favorite sights included the summer palace, The Hermitage Museum/Winter Palace and The Church of Spilled Blood, which you can see in the following video I put together and features works by Picasso, Michelangelo, Monet, Raphael, Van Gogh and more:

Besides seeing the sights we also drank sips of their popular vodka, ate Russian blinis (pancakes with yogurt and caviar) and purchased several Matryoshka dolls (wooden dolls that fit inside each other and get smaller and smaller with each layer).

Tallinn, Estonia

I'm back from the Scandanavian cruise and it was amazing!

One of the most unexpected surprises on my trip was visiting Tallinn, Estonia, which was the city I was least looking forward to seeing, but ended up being one of my favorite stops. The medieval old town looked like a town in a Disney tale. It's a corny comparison, but I couldn't help but think it looked like the town of Far Far Away from Shrek.

While walking the cobble stone streets, Raphael and I tried their local Saku beer and had thin crust salmon pizza (every corner seemed to have either a cafe, pub turned pizzeria) outside Town Hall Square.

We also walked up the many steps of St. Olav's Chruch tower for some magnificent views of the city.

Never been to Estonia? Well, take a look at my video for a view into this wonderful city:

Steve Martin's Big Bad Banjo concert

Last week, I attended Steve Martin's Big Bad Banjo and Conversation with humorist Dave Barry at Club Nokia in LA Live downtown. I'm not necessarily a banjo or bluegrass fan, although I don't dislike it either. After all, the kid on the banjo in Deliverance had a good tune going. I am, however, a big Steve Martin, the Renaissance man. We all know he can do comedy and act, and he even wrote the witty film Bowfinger too. A few years ago, I saw his paintings at The Belagio in Vegas and have been reading his witty articles in The New Yorker for years. I became a true admirer of his though after reading his novella Shop Girl and The Pleasure of My Company. I especially like how he describes different characters, very unique. For example this is his description for just a supporting character:

I see something that describes her more clearly. It occurs in the pauses in her speech when her eyes fix on an air spot roughly waist-high and she seems to be in a trance. And then suddenly it's as if her mind races, trying to catch up to real time, and she continues right where she left off. If you saw her in these moments, you might think she was collecting her thoughts in order to go forward. But I see it another way: her mind is being overwhelmed by two processes that must simultaneously proceed at full steam. One is to deal with and live in the present world. The other is to re-experience and mourn something that happened long ago. It is as though her lightness pulls her toward heaven, but the extra gravity around her keeps her earthbound."

Anyway, back to the banjo and the concert. If all the above wasn't enough for Steve, he has also won a Grammy Award alongside Earl Scruggs, and recently released an album, The Crow (listen here). At Club Nokia he performed and picked along with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's John McEuen and the Steep Canyon Rangers to songs that he wrote himself. The music was fun, foot stomping and surprisingly pretty. The best part of the night though, was that it started with an interview with Steve discussing his music and how he picked up the Banjo. Turns out he's been playing since he was in high school at age 17 and he keeps a banjo in several rooms throughout his home. The interview was infused of course with funny quips, the best being his Billy Bob Thornton-like response when asked how it was playing with Dolly Parton to which he said "Would you ask Tom Petty that question?" lol. I was in the standing area only, which kind of sucks since I'm not six foot tall, but we elbowed our way up to a good spot. Proceeds from the concert benefited the Los Angeles Public Library.

Video: Dueling Banjos - Steve Martin & The Muppets

LA Cupcakes: Buttercake and Polkatots

For my most recent LA Cupcakes MeetUp a group of 15 of us hit up Buttercake Bakery again, but this time we tried their new digs in West Hollywood, which just opened on April 14th. The owners were recently at the cupcake challenge and invited my group back to try their mocha, butter cream, peanut butter, coconut, chocolate and red velvet cupcakes once again. They still have their original shop in West LA too, but their new one on Sunset Boulevard is much larger and in a very chic neighborhood. What I like most about this bakery though is their wide selection of baked goods that go beyond cupcakes (lemon bars, petit fours, chocolate espresso cookies), but I also like their cream cheese cupcake frosting on their coconut and red velvet cupcakes. Even better is that they offer both standard sized cupcakes for $2.25 and mini cupcakes, which are only 75 cents! By far the cheapest minis that I've found.

In March meanwhile, we ventured up to Pasadena to try Polkatots Cupcakes, which also makes cakes and sells candy in their welcoming and vibrant shop. Some of their everyday cupcake flavors include coco-loco, vanilla princess, dalmatian, lemonade, happy monkey, strawberry shortcake, red diva and bunny hop. According to their two professional female chefs, Melany and Alma, they are enemies of shortening or artificial flavorings since they love the real stuff! My favorites were their strawberry shortcake, strawberry lemonade and Dulce De Leche. Minis: $1.50; regular: $3.00. A week after our meetup Polkatots won Best Overall for their Dulce De Leche cupcake in the cupcake challenge. Congratulations!

Got Milk? Got lovely hair and nails?

Toma Leche, or Got Milk? in America, held a fun blog event last week at Hollywood's Estilo Salon. On hand was Robert Ramos, a celebrity stylist for stars like Jessica Alba and Eva Mendes. He told the crowd that you don't have to spend a lot of money to have beautiful, healthy, shiny hair, but maintaining a healthy diet, like drinking milk, is key to having A-list locks and healthy nails. Our hair is over 90% pure protein and apparently milk is a great source of this strength-building nutrient--just a cup of low fat milk packs 10g of protein. Robert also gave quick consultations with each blogger on what they are doing right or wrong with their hair.

During my one-on-one consultation with the very nice Ramos, he told me that he really liked my color and how healthy my hair was. He also approved the layered cut and even encouraged me to add more and to have more fun with my hair. He then spritzed some of his volumizer, which smelled like candy, into my hair and messed it up a bit and moved my part to the side. He agreed that my hair had a mind of it's own to part striaght down the middle and he said that he encourages his clients to go with what the hair wants and then work from there. He went on to say, "If I'm reading you right, you're a bit edgy, so I wanted to style your hair that way too." I asked him who his favorite celebrity client was and he said Jessica Alba, because she's adventurous and always likes to do something different with her hair. I was so inspired I purchased his volumizer, lol.

The event also had manicurists to paint our nails (yes, it's good to be a blogger!). Unlike Jessica Alba, I wasn't adventurist and went with a clear pink coat, since I always smudge and ruin my coat as soon as I they put color on my nails. I talk with my hands too much and am always in a rush I guess. My friend Karen got a pretty coral color that several bloggers than requested after seeing hers.

Also at the event was the bakery MILK (fitting, no?) with yummy cookies, brownies, macarons and red velevet cupcakes. Yes, cupcakes just seem to follow me ;) I'm not complaining.

Other bloggers at the party included Katy from ConstantChatter.com, Sweat Pants Mom, Los Angelista, Say It Don't Spray It and Traded My BMW for a Minivan.

Out of the office: Cruising in Scandinavia

Thank you for your visit. I am currently out of the blogosphere and will be returning on Tuesday, May 26. For the next week, blogger will kindly be posting my pre-drafted posts for your reading pleasure, so do check back.

I plan to be relaxing and sightseeing on Princess Cruises' 10-day Scandinavia & Russian Cruise, where I'll be visiting seven countries in just 10 days--Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Russia, Estonia and Poland. Hopefully, I'll bring back some fabulous vodka's in the area depending on TSA regulations that is, but more on my trip when I come back.

Bon Voyage,

Tara

Spring Cleaning Giveaway: Windex All-In-One window cleaner

I've been given five Windex Outdoor All-in-One glass cleaning tools to giveaway to my readers or the random visitor. What is it? Think of it as a Swifter for windows. It's a tool that provides a faster, easier way to clean outdoor windows. I bet you my mom is going to post a comment for this one as she's a freak about cleaning her windows, while mine are woefully neglected. Maybe I'd be better about it if I had this wand though? At least I would be at first, lol.

With this kit, you can say goodbye to hand-drying windows with Windex's Special Sheeting Action Formula that prevents streaks and spotting. You can clean 20 windows with a single pad (refills available) and reach up to 11 ft. so you can safely and easily tackle tough outdoor grime without the hassle of using a ladder. Cleans outdoor windows in just 3 easy steps: SPRAY window and cleaning pad with garden hose. WIPE window with cleaning pad. RINSE window with garden hose. No need to hand dry. Sounds good to me.

To enter, simply post a comment here with something amusing. Remember to include a valid email address or link to a blog where I can find a way to contact you. Also, if you Tweet This you will automatically be entered into the drawing twice. A total of five winners will be selected randomly using an online random number generator on the evening of Wednesday May 27th. Good luck!

Update: Congrats to Michele P, quelleheure4 and April Showers.

Olympian Shawn Johnson at Lunchables event

With summer just around the corner, Oscar Mayer Lunchables is sponsoring a Lunchables Lunch Your Tummy Right Tour, a cross-country tour that aims to inspire kids to achieve success. The tour partners with Camp Woodward, the country’s biggest action sports, gymnastics, cheer and digital media camp that offers week-long summer sessions to kids ages seven to 17. USA Olympic gold medalist and Dancing With The Stars' Shawn Johnson, was on hand for a meet and greet at the Golden State Gym in Burbank, Calif. today to spread the news about the tour.

As you probably know, Shawn won the gold medal last year for the women's balance beam and also earned three silver medals in the team, floor exercise and individual all-around categories. Raphael and I were glued to the TV for the gymnastics portion last summer, which was new to me as I'm mainly a winter Olympics fan, but I was definitely taken with Shawn and the entire US team's achievement over China.

In person, I was equally taken with the mature and smiley 17-year-old. I was of course expecting her to be tiny, as most of the gymnasts are, but at only 4 feet 10 inches, I felt pretty tall for a change, which doesn't happen very often since I'm 5'2. As expected, her legs meanwhile were pure muscle, like a race horse, I couldn't stop staring at the sheer strength of them.

At the gym, Shawn talked with the enthusiastic young gymnasts in cute leotards, watched them preform routines, clapped in encouragement and even challenged them at a headstand contest (I'm sure there's a more technical term for it though).

While there, I learned that Shawn got started in the sport at only age three and that she didn't think the Olympics was a reality but at age 12 she qualified for state and onward she went. “The key to my success has been hard work, determination and the support of my mentors and coaches,” said Shawn. “The Lunchables Lunch Your Tummy Right Tour inspires kids to achieve success – and have fun while doing it! I’m looking forward to sharing some of my stories with kids across the country.”

When asked why Dancing with the Stars she responded that she was always a fan of the show. She also said that after the Olympics she was wondering what to do next because she wanted a break from gymnastics as she's never had a break until now. Then, the show actually called her to participate after she mentioned in an interview that she was a fan. She's now a finalist in Dancing with the Stars and was wearing a black Livestrong-like wristbands that read Shawn and Mark with the phone number to vote.

Best of all, we took a pic together on the balance beam:

Shawn will make special appearances at select tour stops to share stories about how to achieve your personal best and follow your dreams. The tour is open to all ages and will be free of charge, so if there's a stop by you, do bring your kids, nieces, nephews or just grab some random child so you can meet Shawn too ;) The complete tour schedule is as follows:

· May 7-9, Grand Rapids, Mich. at the Tulip Time Festival
· May 14-16, Memphis, Tenn. at the Memphis in May Festival
· May 21-23, Charlotte, N.C. at the Speed Street 600 Festival
· May 29-31, Tampa, Fla. at the Taste of Pinellas Festival
· June 4-7, Nashville, Tenn. at the Riverbend Festival
· June 11-14, Chicago, Ill. at Navy Pier
· July 2-5, Norfolk, Va. at the Norfolk Harborfest
· July 11-12, Buffalo, N.Y. at the Taste of Buffalo
· July 24-26, New York, N.Y. at the Quick Chek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning
· July 30-Aug 2, Columbus, Ohio at the Ohio State Fair
· Aug 6-9, Madison, Wis. at the Wisconsin State Fair
· Aug 13-16, San Diego, Calif. at the San Diego Zoo
· Aug 20-23, Sacramento, Calif. at the California State Fair

Also, official game tickets are available inside specially-marked Lunchables Lunch Combinations packages for a chance for 50 kids and a lucky friend to win VIP tickets to Camp Woodward.

Note: Oscar Mayer Lunchables is a Weber Shandwick Chicago client, however, I do not work on the account or event, just attended with other bloggers like SoCalMom and SweatPantsMom, whose beautiful young daughters by the way were taller than both Shawn and I, lol.

Working the Los Angels BBQ

Today, I spent 7 hours on my feet collecting money and serving up some barbecue at the second annual Los Angeles Barbecue Festival out on the beach in Santa Monica. The organizer, Dan, from Drink Eat Play is a friend and he was looking for extra hands, so I manned a food booth and Raphael took the very popular beer tent. I was actually stationed at the Texas Thunder BBQ, which came in all the way from "the country of Texas" as their banner read. I was serving up some yummy beef brisket, which was smoked for 14 hours! Several of the people who purchased a plate from me came back to say how it was the best smoked BBQ there. I managed to rake in $36 in tips, which I thought was pretty impressive as one guy even put in a $5 bill, but when it was later split six ways with all the cook staff, not so impressive, lol. I also got into some smack talk with a Red Sox fan and one dude said, "hey beautiful in blue" and I quickly responded "hello bullshitter in black." I didn't say it mean though and he laughed :)
Also, there was Polkatots Cupcakes, which I'll be writing about more next week and Dandy Don's pouring root beer floats with homemade ice cream.

Giveaway: Keds Green Label Canvas Sneakers

Despite having conducted several giveaways here before and having blogged about green topics too (Do This, Not That! 20 Green Tips) this is my first official green giveaway. In honor of the popular tennies brand, Keds, announcing their first green label, we are giving away two pairs ($55 each) of their new eco-friendlier kicks.

What makes the Keds Green Label Canvas Sneakers green?

100% Organic Cotton
Laces are made from 100% recycled water bottles (cool!)
Recycled rubber outsoles (20%)
Non-toxic inks and dyes
PVC free
Eye-catching colors made from natural resources

To enter, simply post a comment here and share a green tip or something you're doing to be greener. Remember to include a valid email address or link to a blog where I can find a way to contact you. Also, if you Tweet This you will automatically be entered into the drawing twice. Two winners will be selected randomly using random number generator on the evening of Wednesday May 13th. Good luck!

Update: The lucky winners are freakgirldotcom and Jamie. Congrats!

Phone interview with Neil Patrick Harris

Today, Mars candy announced that they will be delivering real chocolate joy to millions of Americans via the launch of their Real Chocolate Relief Act. With actor Neil Patrick Harris, the candy company passed out thousands of pieces of chocolate to New Yorkers at M&M’S World in Times Square this afternoon. As part of the new campaign though, every week through the end of September, Mars will give away a quarter-of-a-million full-size packages of real chocolate on Free Chocolate Fridays. Americans can claim one of 250,000 full-value coupons each Friday (begins tomorrow May 8 at 9 a.m. EST) by visiting RealChocolate.com. The coupons will be limited to one per person, per week. I'm in! And if I wasn't already, Mars (a Weber Shandwick Chicago client) hooked me up with the following phone interview with Neil Patrick himself.

5 minutes before the interview...I'm staring at my cell phone waiting for it to ring. I'm thinking, Neil Patrick is about to call you, how will you answer it? Hey, sup NPH!? How goes it Doogie? Suit up! Ahh, don't forget to hit the record button!

CELL VIBRATES and I realize that he'll be hearing my Golden Girls ring back tone, lol!

"Hello, this is Tara" (no last name, like I'm Cher or something or as if he's calling to make a doctor's appointment, yeesh).

So, tell me, how was it passing out candy in Times Square today?

Neil Patrick Harris: It was a lot of fun. Because of the barricades the crowd kept looking on wondering who was going to preform or something. I think it's great what Mars is doing though and am glad to be a part of it.

What was your favorite candy growing up?
NPH: [From] Mars candy it would be Snickers, which is pretty complete and filling.

How about now, what’s your addiction?
NPH: Right now it's Pinkberry. I bought the whole cast Pinkberry during our wrap party. (I then dorkily asked him what his favorite topping was and he said he likes strawberries and blueberries, the traditional ones. I then went on to tell him about the secret menu option of the mochi topping and he said that it sounds like the In and Out secret menu and that he'll have to try it.)

I saw the Mother's Day e-card you recorded for the Noreen Fraser Foundation about women getting a mammogram and I also saw you at the Stand Up To Cancer show, is cancer a cause that particularly resonates with you? (Yes, I sounded like I was reading from a piece of paper and I was)

NPH: For Stand Up To Cancer my friend was producing the show and asked me to be involved. But since my mother's friend is a cancer survivor and my boyfriend's mother died last year from Leukemia, it just seemed like now more than ever it was important to do. For Noreen Fraser they just asked me to give two minutes of my time to record the message while I was on set, so it seemed like the least I could do. View his e-card here.

I love your character Barney on How I Met Your Mother, how is it playing such a snarky dude?

NPH: Barney is a hoot. He has such a great voice and they're always writing him monologues and new rules to say, so it's not boring and I'm highly caffeinated.

Do you relate to him at all?
NPH: Yeah I like to laugh, but I'm not as alpha male as he is, but I suppose that's a good thing, because I'd be getting in all sorts of trouble.

Do you have a good group of friends like he does?

NPH: A great group of friends. Most of them are married and have kids so I live a pretty quiet suburban life in Studio City when I'm not filming.

Besides How I Met Your Mother what else are you working on?

This is when my phone stopped recording, so I'll have to summarize his response, but I was able to hit record again just afterward. He said that he is co-producing a Los Angeles version of the hit off-off Broadway interactive theatre experience Accomplice: New York, but Accomplice: Hollywood. Apparently, it's a live clue based scavenger hunt that takes place entirely on foot throughout Hollywood Boulevard and at different locations. He said it's an interactive and intimate experience. Also, one of the characters is a blogger (yay!). He said I had to go and blog about it and I was like hell yeah! No, I didn't really say that. I probably giggled and said yes, I blog about everything, lol.

As a celebrity you're often talked about online, what do you think about blogging and online media?

NPH: I think it's a great tool to find out people's opinion's on things, but it's important not to believe the first thing you read, which was probably more the case five years ago when blogging started. It's also a problem that news organizations are quoting bloggers as if it's fact.

Do you Twitter?

NPH: (Laughs) I don't twitter, everyone keeps asking me about the twitter. Twitter is the new Beanie Baby, isn't it? I don't, I would, but I would twitter just with a private group of friends. I don't quite understand the idea of twittering for the masses. It seems a little bit invasive, but maybe I'm just a private person. It seems weird to twitter I'm at this restaurant right now. As a celebrity quote unquote that seems dangerous. It might be fun to let my friends know that some movie was cool, but then again you could just call them on the phone. (UPDATE: months later NPH started tweeting at @ActuallyNPH)

In the first episode of How I Met Your Mother Barney says, "I'm so blogging this!"
NPH: (Laughs) Yeah, Barney's blog kind of dropped off. (I then added, Barney will have to start twittering now anyway and he laughed again).

Overall, it was really easy speaking with Neil Patrick. He was pretty low key and friendly. Voice sounded just like it does on TV, which kind of had me tripping that it was coming out of my cell phone instead of the tube.

Lucha Va Voom!

Yesterday, I spent Cinco De Mayo (The Battle of Puebla) at The Mayan theater in downtown for Lucha Va Voom!

Lucha Va Voom is part comedy show, part wrestling, part striptease and part I don't even know. It's a spectacle and way more than what I was expecting. The line to get inside was around the corner and onto the street, even for those holding tickets. Once inside the old movie palace, which was made to look like you're in an ancient Mayan pyramid, it looked like a piñata had exploded everywhere, it was so colorful. Seats are first come first served, but we managed to grab a bench up on the balcony overlooking the ring for the Luchadores--authentic masked Mexican wrestlers. We sipped some margaritas and ate some of the best tamales I've ever had while waiting for the show to start.

First, a funny film was played to explain what we were about to see and went over the rules of Lucha Va Voom. Then the entertainment kicked off with two comedian hosts, Blaine Capatch and Tom Kenny (the voice of Sponge Bob Square Pants), who provided funny commentary throughout the show. Then a couple of dancers that got the crowd roaring and finally four leotard-fitted luchador characters came out to fight. It was like the movie Nacho Libre but sillier believe it or not. There was one fighting team dressed as chickens, a big man looking dressed as a woman, a peacock headress guy and many other unique get ups. It was more The Three Stooges than wrestling though, but it was funny thanks to the comedian commentary and the enthusiastic crowd. The energy inside was actually amazing, I felt like I was at a Mexican Moulin Rouge. Every time the announcer would yell into the mike "Lucha" the whole theater would yell back "Va Voom!" It was definitely a fun experience. My favorite joke of the night was when the announcer said that the Mexican wrestlers had come straight from Mexico City, so we were all exposed to the Swine Flue now and would have to stay in The Mayan for two weeks.

The next Lucha Va Voom show is on June 24th and 25th, tickets are between $30-$50. Here's the video that I took:

Early detection

Noreen Fraser, one of the great ladies behind Stand Up To Cancer, has launched her own foundation website focusing on womens cancers and encouraging women to get a mammogram and pap smear test. Early detection is key after all.

On her site (noreenfraserfoundation.org or MenForWomenNow.com) you can send a free Mother's Day e-card video from celebs like Jack Black, Jason Segel, Neil Patrick Harris (who I'll be interviewing on Thursday!), Gavin DeGraw and Ryan Secreast. Hope you send them to the woman you love.

Meanwhile, on May 13, my doctor has to take some bioposies on my cervix again. Fingers crossed that another operation isn't required. It's been two years and thought I was done with all this shit. Either way, she said they are pre-cancerous, thus the importance of me going regularly for my tests and why I'm with Noreen on encouraging others to do the same.

Dancing with the Star

Guest Blogger: @kathleenbush

A couple of weeks ago, I was Dancing with the Stars, the Happy Star that is. While Tara was recovering from her softball accident, I dutifully and happily stepped in to cover the Carl’s Jr. Bourbon & Burgers event at the hip Crown Bar in Hollywood. The super-exclusive event launched the franchise’s brand new Kentucky Bourbon Burger.

Also at the party were Andy Puzder, CEO of Carl’s Jr., celeb mixologist Erica Lancelotti, who handcrafted a signature bourbon drink for the event—the Twisted Bourbon, and Laker girls. Other LA bloggers were there too including Esther from EStarLA. Although, the best celeb sighting of the night? The Happy Star mascot breaking it down on the dancefloor with a hot babe for most of the night.

Check out the below video from the event to see my interviews with the CEO and learning more about bourbon from the mixologist.

Here is the cocktail recipe for the Carl’s Jr. Twisted Bourbon, which was bour-bastic semi-fantastic!:
· ½ Lemon & ½ Lime – sliced & muddled
· Ice
· 1 Tsp Agave Nectar
· 3 oz. Bourbon
Shake vigorously. Top with club soda. Cheers!

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