Goodbye, LA!

What's better than an Emmy?

Friends!
This is a photo of the folks who hung out to the very end.

It was so much fun to see everyone, share old stories and catch up.

Day 4 - Greystone Reunion

Today was a beautiful end to what could easily have been a depressing trip.

I completely adore my old compadres from Greystone. When I was bemoaning our Emmy loss to a colleague she said, 'When I worked on that show about Egypt, we lost to Beauty Pageant Babies.' I was surprised by how comforting I found her confounding loss.

I left Greystone in 1998. It was film school in earnest.  I learned so much working there AND I made amazing, life-long friends. When I knew I was coming for this weekend, I suggested to a couple of friends that we have a Greystone reunion. At their encouragement, another friend posted something on Facebook andtonight 30+ people meet at the Sportsman's Lodge in Studio City to celebrate the past and where we are today.  It was amazing. What an extraordinaire group of people! It was definitely the highlight of my entire trip. It was so great to see so many people and reminisce about this significant juncture in our lives.  The prestige of having Greystone on my resume definitely launched my career in NYC. I am forever grateful for for the knowledge, confidence and support base that working there gave me.

Day 3 - Taking Meetings

The weather in LA can seduce you so easily because it is always perfect. Long term, it deceptively hides the passage of time and before you know it even though you just arrived "yesterday"you've lived here five years already. I've said many times that I think the reason celebrities have such a difficult time aging is because there are no seasons in LA, nothing to clearly mark the forward marching tick tock of time. I say all this because it as been absolutely beautiful here -- sunny but not too hot.

Today was filled with meetings with old colleagues. I drove all over the city and barely walked at all (only 4,501 steps when I easily hit 10k dally in NYC).

The highlight of my day was the back lot tour I got after lunch at NBC/Universal Studios. The photo above is from the "War of the Worlds" set. There is a house up in the hill above the studio and they have views of smoggy LA and this plane wreck.

Emmys Re-cap

I had such an amazing day yesterday despite the loss.

I cannot thank my good friend enough for helping make it all happen. When I told her I was coming she made hair and make up appointments and today she helped me navigate what would have been an even more stressful day if I had attempted to plan it myself. To top it all off, she and her husband chaperoned me to and from the ceremony.

When the I arrived at the Beverly Hills Hilton it was like arriving at a film premiere - red carpet, paparazzi - and I was a bit taken aback mixing with so many behind-the-scenes television luminaries. Standing in the lobby, surrounded by men in tuxes and women in evening dresses, what I had previously thought of as just an award ceremony suddenly felt like an event. I arrived in LA feeling proud of our show but lacking confidence the episode we submitted was "informative" enough to win. Sitting at our table, I began to fill more and more optimistic about our chances. Then our category was announced and I held my breath as the words, "And the winner is..." were said. I was completely stunned to here another show's name called. I wasn't disappointed to lose as much as I was shocked by the winner. Now I understand how Trey Parker and Matt Stone felt to lose an Oscar to Phil Collins. The show continued but it was all a blur. I wanted to be somewhere else with a stiff cocktail.

Before the ceremony started, our EP said, 'Win or lose, I made a reservation at Spago for dinner right after the ceremony.' We started with cocktails and ended with one of every dessert courtesy of the chef. Good company and amazing food in a gorgeous setting -- it wasn't quite an Emmy but it sure did soothe the sting of a loss.

The highlight of my day was a text from my mother that simply said: I love you. You won in my book.

Go Get 'Em Tiger

Recently, The New York Times poised the question whether or not this cafe makes "the best iced latte in America?"

$6 later, I'm here to report -- it is ok. The homemade almond-macadamia milk give it a unique flavor but "best in America" requires more. So far, I would give Blue Bottle's New Orleans iced coffee the title. It is the perfect mix of coffee, milk and simple syrup and the chicory flavor makes it stand apart from all other iced coffee drinks I've tried.

It is truly an honor just to have been nominated

My consolation prize

Congratulations to Steve Harvey.

The countdown begins

Headed to the show

All done up and ready to go.
Next shots are from the Emmys!

I hope there are still sequins left on my dress when I arrive.

Painted Lady

This was a challenge.
I don't wear a lot of makeup.
I don't like a lot of makeup.

The transformation begins

First hair. Then make-up.

I had in my mind that I wanted an Up Do but after seeing my dress, the stylist talked me into keeping it down.

It is a little wind blown here but looks nice.

Day 1 - Studio City, CA

I'm in Los Angeles for the Daytime Emmy Awards. It is a little surreal.

Getting here was rough. My flight was delayed and then the rental car agency was so over booked it took almost an hour and a half to get a car. I didn't get to bed until 1:30a PST. Of course I woke up at 7a local time so I'm beat.

I ate breakfast at the Queen's table (a table my friend always keeps set just in case the Queen pops by North Hollywood). Afterwards we went to a farmer's market and shopped for dinner.

The highlight of my day was...I started to say this hike I went on around Lake Hollywood which is a dammed up body of water up in the hills BUT I think my highlight was seeing my friend's old cat. I was with her when she adopted him as a kitten and now he is a frail old cat with a regal demeanor. The cat reminded me of Gus which brought back a lot of tender memories.

The hike was a nice break in the middle of the day. It was great to catch up with my friend. We had a long talk about finding a good man and it made me realize how much we've grown up since we first met in 1994. Wait!!! I can't believe we've been friends for 20 years already. Time flies.

The day ended with a screening of "Tomorrow Never Ends" (Tom Cruise/Emily Blunt) at the Television Academy just down the block from where Greystone used to be. Good movie but the theater had two 10-15ft tall Emmy statues book ending the screen. They were a constant reminder of why I'm in town and acted as a catalyst for my nerves.

This sun-kissed fountain was outside the theater. Another reminder of tomorrow.