Whimsic Alley

I recently heard about a Harry Potter themed store, called Whimsic Alley, located in Los Angeles. I have NO idea how I wasn’t aware of this sooner. While they were in town for Christmas, I took my parents, who are also big Harry Potter fans, to this store located on Wilshire Blvd. The large space was set up to look like a row of stores in Diagon Alley. Each little section sold different things; for instance, there was a store for robes, one for jewelry, one for wands, one for magical supplies. They also had a ton of merchandise from all of the various films. They did a great job of staying in theme with Harry Potter magic. I spent a while browsing every little item they had, and eventually settled on buying a large bag with the Hogwarts crest on it. It was a hard decision between that and a necklace with a snitch charm.

Work Christmas Party

My office held their annual holiday party this week. I wasn’t able to attend last year because I had the flu, so this was the first one I’d ever attended. We went to a really nice restaurant nearby called Buffalo Club. They had a little lounge area and long table set up for us in the back. I couldn’t decide between 2 different items on the menu, and one of my coworkers was having the same trouble with the same items, so we each ordered one and then split it! Before our food arrived, we played a White Elephant gift exchange. I’d never done a gift exchange like that before. It was a great way to handle a work gift giving situation, so that no one has to buy a bunch of gifts, no one is left out, and no one’s gift is perceived as unpopular. I ended up with a pair of AMC Gold Experience passes and a bunch of movie theater candy, which was a pretty perfect gift for me.

Utah!

Over the weekend, my boyfriend and I went to Utah. I’ve been to Utah several times during the summer, but have never been in the winter. I’ve also never really seen snow, like real live snow collected on the ground. It was SO AWESOME. It was all fluffy and white and pretty, and it was everywhere!! IIt was really cold while we were there (to me, at least) but I layered appropriately and never felt overwhelmingly cold.

We stayed at this really cool resort in Park City, the same place where Sundance takes place. While we were there, we went tubing, which was so much fun! I don’t think I could ever be coordinated enough to go skiing or snowboarding or whatever, so this was much more up my alley. All you have to do is sit in a inner-tube and fly down a hill. It was great!!!

I really want to go back someday. Utah was so beautiful in the winter.

Gym

After months of talking about it, I’ve finally joined a gym! A couple of the girls from work and I went in on it and only have to pay a very reasonable fee. Conveniently, one of the gyms is right next door to my work. It’s not one of the fancier gyms in LA, but it’ll do for what I need it for. I only know how to use a few of the machines, but hopefully I’ll be able to figure out the other ones.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?

Mindy Kaling recently did a book signing for her new book, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? And Other Concerns at the Grove. This was the 2nd book signing I’ve been to at the Barnes & Noble there, so I kind of knew what I was getting myself into. I got there early enough that I was in the 2nd group of people: not super far in line, but close enough that it shouldn’t be too crazy a wait. Mindy did a little Q&A and reading beforehand, which was pretty cool because she’s really funny and personable. The character she plays on The Office, Kelly, is one of my favorites. Plus, I really admire that she is not only an actress on the show, but also a writerand producer, and has had a ton of say on the direction of her character over the course of the show.

Anyway, after that, the signing started. I figured it wouldn’t take very long to get through the line, but then it turned out that she was spending a little time with each person, plus signing the book and taking a picture. Which is nice and all, but it made the wait time quite a bit longer! During my wait, I started reading the book and actually got through half of it! After nearly 2 hours, I made it to the front of the line! Mindy signed my book and then the employee took an awkward camera phone picture because I forgot my camera. Oh well.

Dentist

I finally broke down and decided to use my health insurance, which I’ve had for nearly 2 years without using it. Over Thanksgiving, while I was still in Houston, I went to the dentist, my first trip there in TEN years!! I was absolutely terrified that I would have cavities, or worse! One of my coworkers recently went to the dentist after nearly as long a time as I, and she had a bunch of cavities.

The ordeal was pretty much what I remembered from past visits. At the end, they gave me the good news - I had no cavities!!! WHEW. I guess I can go another ten years before I go back, then!

Day Zero Project

I’ve never been much a fan of New Year’s Resolutions. That said, I love the idea behind the Day Zero project, which encourages you to make 101 goals to complete in the next 1001 days. I feel like 3ish years is a good amount of time to accomplish some pretty awesome things.

You can find mine here.

One of my goals is to blog about each goal I complete!

Nightmare Before Christmas 4D

For Halloween, my boyfriend and I went to the El Capitan, where they were showing Nightmare Before Christmas in 4D. That’s right, a whole extra dimension! Not only was it in 3D, there were also elements of the movie that actually took place right there in the theater, jumping off the screen. This mainly amounted to fog, lights corresponding to other lights on the screen, and ‘snow’. It was a pretty cool experience and a great way to spend Halloween.

Long Beach Comic Con

Over the weekend, I attended the Long Beach Comic Con. This is the first non-San Diego Comic Con that I’ve ever attended and it was, of course, significantly smaller. But there was still a lot of cool programming to attend and booths in the Exhibit Hall to check out. For instance, I went to a panel for Robot Chicken, a panel that would have been nearly impossible to get into at SDCC. The Hall was a lot smaller, but it was still packed with both booths and people.

There weren’t as many people dressed up in cosplay as I usually see at SDCC. Also, there were very few lines for things, which are omnipresent at SDCC. I felt it was definitely a good Con with a lot of potential. It would probably be a great alternative for people who want that experience, but with much fewer people.

Marilyn Monroe

This is an insightful look at Marilyn Monroe’s life and career. She was so much more than just a ditzy blonde actress and tragic figure.