Dinner At The Palm

The aroma as you walk through the door is intoxicating.

Start off with a signature cocktail~

Dive into the bread and butter.

Slice into the wedge salad... It's off the charts!

But for me, it's all about the melt in your mouth, full body orgasm I experience from the Filet Mignon.

Heaven on a plate.

Finish with a cappuccino and one of their delicious desserts.

I love The Palm-

You always get what you pay for!

Expanding My Empire...

I'm always looking for exciting new ways to branch out and challenge myself. As far as I know, you only get one shot on this planet, so I want to live it to the maximum. That means constantly pushing myself past the comfort zone and into scary uncharted territory...

Call me an overachiever. Call me a hustler. Call me a man who wants to build an empire...

Just don't call me lazy.

For my latest adventure- I've decided to combine my love of dance and music and incorporate it into a fun, inspiring dance class that mothers and their daughters can take together!

What better way to bond with your daughter than with fun pop music and sassy choreography?

Laugh, exercise and develop the skills to be a dancer!

It's fun. It's fabulous. It's bring moms and daughters closer together.

Best of all...

It's the perfect opportunity for moms and daughters to discover their inner Pop Star!

Fried Pickles and Family!

I love my family and I'm obsessed with fried pickles...
Today I got both!
Honestly, there is nothing better than spending the day with my grandparents eating delicious comfort food.
It was a wonderful day!

When You're In A Valley... Climb Out!

At the top of every mountain I rediscover how beautiful the view is.

Exhilarating and totally worth the climb!

Then I remember that I have to make the exhausting and emotional

trek back down into the valley to search for a new peak.

There- in the darkness of the valley, I discover what I'm truly made of.

Do I have the strength, faith and passion to climb again?

Or will I give into the fear and doubt?

Then I stumble upon a beautiful lake where I least expected it refreshes my soul.

Suddenly the peak ahead doesn't look as overwhelming as it did the day before.

I'm ready for another climb!

Each expedition has me soaring to new heights.

A Visit From Grandma and Grandpa!

My grandparents are in town...

We took a trip to the neighborhood where I grew up.

Memory Lane-

It's good to have my family here with me right now.

One hug and I was instantly at ease.

I've had a rough month.

Stress, doubt, anxiety.

You know? All of those things I'm supposed to release!

My family always reminds me to smile.

I'm grateful they made the trip to LA to see me!

...and the movie stars!

Food Coma

Woke up in a food coma...

I love Saturday night's out with friends!

A feast of pasta, wine and gossip.

For dessert?

A stop off at Yogurt Stop.

Now, off to the gym!

Mangia! Mangia!

Everyone was correct.

Osteria Mozza is wonderful. (Even though the service was not.)

I'm so grateful for my amazing friends and delicious dinners...

Social Media Meltdown

Having a social media meltdown...

I need to take a break from Facebook and Twitter.

Google+ is going to take some time to figure out...

I think it's gonna be worth it.

It's Complicated...

Rage...

Angry that Photoshop keep shutting down-

The easiest tasks take the most time.

I really need a vacation!

A Trip To Pasadena...

I took the night off for a fun trip to Pasadena...

Then I remembered there really isn't anything fun about Pasadena.

No offense- It's all white. I mean right...

But getting there is fun.

Driving through Hollywood, pass downtown, around Dodgers Stadium...

Los Angeles is beautiful.

Sucked In...

The Rachel Zoe Project is hideous.

The over-the-top drama over clothing and fashion is ludicrous...

It's not like she's saving a life-

She's just styling Jennifer Garner to look like a woman.

Granted, that is a miraculous act!

Still her theatrics are outrageous...

I cannot get enough of it!

Delusional and Happy About It...

Often times I feel like I live in a forced delusional state of mind-

Then I remember that in order to make a dream come to life, I have to believe it will.

My delusion has worked so far in my life. Still, I never stop wondering if one day it's all just going to come crashing down around me?

I guess it really doesn't matter if it does. I mean the worst that can happen is that I have to pick up the pieces and start something new...

But it's not like I don't do that every time a project ends, a curtain falls or I don't get a part that I've auditioned for.

I think it's important that I check in on myself from time to time just to make sure I'm still happily doing what I love-

I'll admit, I wish I was making more money.

(At least enough that I wouldn't be so stressed at the end of every month...)

But at the end of the day I get to do what I love. I'm still madly passionate about performing and creating. I'm thrilled when something that I poured my heart and soul into is enjoyed by others.

Until that exhilaration ends... I'm forced to live a delusional life!

Faith in the Dark...

It is in the darkness that it is most important for me to keep the faith that there will be light again.

No matter how many times I've experienced getting trapped in the thickest woods of the unknown, I'm reminded that the only way out is to move forward without fear- and trust that I will find my way along the path.

I look back on the journey I have traveled so far, and it's clear that some of the best adventures and fondest memories came during the roughest of terrain.

So today, despite my greatest efforts to self sabotage and give into my fear...

I'm going to take a deep breath, smile and let it go!

The Emmy's are on, I have friends coming over to enjoy some homemade spaghetti and we're going to have an amazing party.

Nothing good comes of doubt, and nothing bad has ever come from a positive thought.

Over Thinking... Seriously! Over it.

I woke up feeling pressure today.

The stress of over thinking everything.

I know how this scenario ends... I spend too much time worrying about something, and then it all pans out.

I just don't understand my need to obsess. Especially after experiencing time and again the effects of positive action.

Obviously we are conditioned to think, feel and act based on instinct. My instinct has never lead me astray, yet I continue to doubt it.

Still, there are days when no amount of coaching, meditation, reason or thought will change my point of view.

So I guess it's up to me to let go- and let God.

TGIF Poem

The time has come-

The end of the week.

I worked my ass off...

Now I'll drink!

Wine and Opera!

Today was one of those days...

No matter how much work I did, it feels like nothing got accomplished.

So now I'm going to release the frustration and meet up with a good friend for a few glasses of wine and enjoy the evening while watching one of our closest friends perform in Eugene Onegin at the LA Opera!

It's not about giving up, it's about surrendering to the energy of the day!

What better way to unwind than with bottles of wine and opera?!?

Who knows, maybe I'll even be able to sneak in a little nap...

at intermission (of course!)

Wake Up!

It's hard to leave the comfort of my cozy bed- especially when I'm snuggled up with my puppies and morning cartoons are on!

Thankfully I have a project worth waking up for!

I love getting my day started early while I'm working on a new creative opportunity.

I'm a creature of habit-

I start the coffee,

take the puppies down,

feed the puppies,

pour my coffee,

feed myself,

check in on my emails, Facebook and Twitter,

Finally, I sit down at my desk and review the To-Do list that I made the night before...

It gives me the structure that my life as an artist needs.

I also enjoy writing this blog each day...

This gives me a jump start on forcing my mind to just write!

So thank you to everyone who wakes up with me in the morning and reads it!

You are a part of my morning (and sometimes evening) routine.

Have a beautiful day!

Six Word Essay On Dancing in my Thirties...

It hurts to battement my leg!

The Artists' Way...

The driving passion,

The burning desire no matter how many time you've been rejected.

The thrill once you finally get a chance to shine-

The disappointment when that goes away and you're back in the same darkness.

The hope of a new opportunity in the distance.

The faith that you're meant to do "this" and nothing else.

The frustration of a disastrous day.

The exhilaration of a day that feels like heaven on earth.

The insane highs and low.

The realization that no matter how accomplished, you will always have to fight.

The discovery of learning how to survive as an artist and still eat or pay rent.

The acceptance that the artist is in me, and will never go away.

Remembering

Ten years ago today, my roommate woke me up in a panic. We sat in our mid-town Manhattan apartment crying as we watched the events unfold on television.

I'll never forget the smell in the air that night, or how it lingered as a reminder weeks after the tragic day.

My heart will never understand such an evil act. My mind will never be able to release the images, smells and sights that I witnessed...

But today, I want to send love, energy and prayers to the victims and survivors of 9/11.

To all of our uniformed heroes- I give you my undying gratitude. Thank you to all the men and women who dedicated their lives to serving the United States of America.

More Proof that God is Great!

The past two years of my life have been among the most rewarding I've experienced...
I don't pretend to have it all figured out- and I imagine I never will. But I am so proud of the growth I've made in both my personal life and on my career path.

That being said, there are still those times when the struggle of following your passion takes it's toll! (Please see yesterday's entry...)
In the past two years I've been blessed with great jobs, fun adventures and success in creating my own opportunities.
After my company finished the year long process of developing, producing and shooting a new television pilot, I realized that I had no other jobs lined up in the immediate future.
To a "normal" person with a Nine to Five job, that probably sound outrageous. But for an actor, it's very normal. Still, it's never easy! As I get older the presences of the "unknown" gets tougher to stomach. It's natural to fall into panic mode.
Then I remember... NOTHING positive results from fear and doubt.
So I began focusing on creating opportunities. As soon as I shifted my outlook the path was clear.
Then the unexpected...
I go to my mailbox today and to my surprise I received a residual check for an episode of Cold Case I was on four years ago!
The best part is that it was exactly enough to pay my rent for another month!
God is great! I give it up to God because these residual checks only seems to come when I'm on the verge of a total meltdown.
So yet again I realize that the stress and self-doubt are worthless!
At least this time I arrived at my faith a lot sooner and the heavenly check from a random TV rerun came a lot faster!

Six Word Essay on Catering...

I hate serving nasty ungrateful people.

Just Get It Done!

You know those people that start a really cool project, creation or adventure and then abandon it half way through because they're worried that it's not perfect?
Yeah- I am not one of them!
I get shit done...
So it's frustrating to work with people who don't.
I've never understood how someone could be so smart, talented or ambitious, and yet so unmotivated to follow through.
I'm sure several factors including; insecurity, fear of failure and perfectionism are all in part to blame. Still, I can only imagine that it must suck to have dozens of unfinished dreams.
I vowed a long time ago, after watching several of my more talented friends give up on their dreams, that I would stay focused on a project until it is finished. Of course things don't always go the way we hope. Nor do they always turn out the way we expected. Nevertheless, I believe if an idea was promising enough to start, it should be worthy enough to finish.
Forget perfection. As a self-diagnosed Type A personality with a need for perfection, I've accepted that the people who succeed in life are the ones who show up!

Strictly Ballroom...

I forgot how much I love the movie Strictly Ballroom-
It's everything that Dirty Dancing wanted to be but didn't accomplish.
The "dance training" montage is amazing.
I love that a movie can make me happy and sad all at the same time. But more importantly, I'm grateful that a film can inspire me, distract me, transport me and remind me of my passion...
Especially after a day like yesterday.

Six Word Essay On My Career...

I'm so ready to make it.

It's Got To Get Easier... Right?

It never fails-
Just when you think you've got it all figured out... Bam!
An unexpected punch where it counts.
Life is full of ups and downs. I remind myself of this on a daily basis. (Often multiple times a day!)
The fact remains, it's never easy to accept a defeat.
After such a creative month, I find myself scrambling.
The opportunities for creativity still exist. Sadly, the time and resources have disappeared.
I'm doing my best to stay focused and positive- After all, that was the key to my growth and success in 2010 and for the majority of 2011 so far.
So my current situation is a setback.
All I can do is brush off the negative experience and move forward.
I want to complain about all of the "little" things that contribute to a much greater problem-
But I know from history, that positive action has a greater impact than focusing on the things I cannot "fix."
Which is why I'm writing this blog. This is my opportunity to take a deep breath, release the anxiety and doubt and start looking for new possibilities.
I guess deep down I realize: "It" never gets easier.
I've just got to remember that "it" is only as difficult as I allow it to be.

Labored Day

Late breakfast.
Completely ignoring all of my emails.
Walk to a friends house-
Crash poolside with an eclectic playlist gently pounding.
Sun beating down while I read a delicious novel. (Freedom by Jonathan Franzen)
Fire up the BBQ.
Carne asada cooked to perfection by the master griller J.P.
Later- snuggling on the sofa with my besties and my puppies for a movie night!
What a wonderful Labor(less) Day!

Indulged

I may have eaten too much.
I know I drank too much.
I'm certain I partied too hard...
I indulged for one day, and I'm sure it's going to cost me five days of hard work.
...It was worth it!

Fall Is In The Air...

The sweet crisp smell in the air.
Twilight comes sooner than you expect-
It reminds me of the start of a new school year,
Those days are long gone.
But the magic remains-
Every sports bar on every corner is jam packed with cheering football fans.
It's hard to resist the roar of the crowd!
Or the taste of a fresh draft beer.
Fall is in the air!

A Friendly Reminder...

My grandma is always reminding me how important it is to take care of your friends.
There will be moments in your friendships where you will be faced with tough decisions. Do you remain silent while watching a person you love self-destruct or do you express your concern in the most honest and sincere way possible?
Either way, you risk losing a friend.
Tonight was a friendly reminder that love and concern is always appreciated. Not every friend in my life would have been so open, unguarded and responsive to hearing my fears... Which was a wake up call to me. A true friend will always be open to accepting help- in whatever form it comes, they're usually the first to offer it as well.

Where'd This Week Go?

Is it Thursday already?
Remember when you were a kid and you couldn't wait for Friday to come?
Of course I still LOVE weekends! However, I'd just like to get more accomplished in between the days off! Otherwise I end up working when I'm supposed to be playing!
I've finally accepted that no matter how much time you have... It's never going to be enough!
So I'm ending my workday now. I'm going to meet up with some friends at a bar in West Hollywood to celebrate the birth of another friend.
I feel a little guilty not getting everything checked off my list today-
But as I say repeatedly on this blog... LIFE IS SHORT!
...Let's not forget, I did produce a TV pilot last week. So I think I'm entitled to a little down time! (Even though I should probably be working double time to get this thing on the air!)
Guess what?t
That will be on the top of my list for tomorrow!