Summer Fridays with Kristen Bell and Maroon 5

Happy summer! After the longest winter ever here in NYC, it's officially summer and it feels pretty damn good. There's something about going through a really brutal winter that makes you appreciate the great weather we're finally having even more.

Most Fridays, I've been heading out to my Montauk house but this past Friday, I stayed in the city for an assignment that turned out to be really awesome. American Express did an "Epic EveryDay Getaway" contest where winners were chosen via social media to have a weekend of unique experiences in NYC.

The contest was hosted by Kristen Bell and I got to hang with the winners on Friday as they did SoulCycle in the middle of Grand Central, got glammed at Milk Studios with blowouts from DryBar, makeup by Sephora and dresses from Rent the Runway capped off by a super intimate concert with Maroon 5.

Soul Cycle is always a fun workout (if you're not familiar with it, picture spinning class meets a dance party) but doing it in the middle of a legendary venue like Grand Central was amazing. Kristen did the class with the contest winners, along with Real Housewives' of New York newcomer Kristen Taekman. Two Kristens for the price of one!

Speaking of Kristen Bell, congratulations are in order for her because news just broke that she's expecting her second baby (which explains why she was wearing baggy clothes all day). During our interview for SheKnows, the actress said she loved getting (and keeping) bigger boobs while pregnant. "They get like monster and they're up high." she told me. "It's what I imagine having breast implants would be like, but you get them for a year. It's dope." Looks like she gets to keep them for another year now, so mazel tov.

All kidding aside, Kristen was super sweet, down-to-earth and a great interview. She took a lot of time to chat with fans and pose for pics and you can tell she's just a cool chick. I'll post the link to the full story when it's live.

Later that night, it was time for the Maroon 5 concert at the Bowery Ballroom. It was my first time seeing a show at this LES venue and it's pretty small and intimate...there's really not a bad seat in the house. I got into Maroon 5 back in high school before they were everywhere and remember seeing them at small venues like the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, so it was cool to get to see them again in a similar venue even though they're huge now.

Adam Levine was sexy on stage back in the day and I'm pleased to report he's still got it (along with a full sleeve of tattoos, but I digress). Say what you will about him (that bleached blonde hair was not his best look), but he's a great performer.

They played a bunch of their hits new and old, as well as their latest single "Maps" for the first time. But I think my favorite moment was when Adam did an acoustic version of "She Will Be Loved" before being joined by the whole band. Cheesy, yes, but the boy's got pipes. Video to come but in the meantime, enjoy this GIF.

I got to head to the beach the next morning, so I feel like I got the best of both worlds last weekend. As I mentioned in a previous post, I've been doing some Hamptons reporting so I'm excited to share my very first story for Travel + Leisure. I have more coverage coming out next month so I'll post that in the coming weeks.

Speaking of live music and Montauk, here's a video from Surf Lodge's concert with Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros a few weeks ago. Surf Lodge is one of my favorite places on earth to see live music and if you watch this video, you'll see why. Edward Sharpe is always so good live and it doesn't get much better than seeing them at Surf. There's even a marriage proposal mid-concert.

Post by The Surf Lodge.

Hope everyone's summer is off to a great start so far!
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Lobster de Mayo With My Ladies & Cooking Tips From Katie Lee

This Saturday in NYC was the first annual Lobster De Mayo, which is basically my dining dream come true. The event featured 18 of the city's best restaurants creating lobster dishes for tasting as well as Patron tequila cocktails and pairings. My roommates and I were in culinary and cocktail heaven sampling all of the deliciousness during the fest at Capitale.

My favorite dishes were the poached lobster from Betony, the mini lobster rolls and lobster mac and cheese from Catch and the truffled lobster and salmon sushi from The General. 

Foodie supermodel Chrissy Teigen attended the event, which was hosted by The Food Network's Katie Lee, who shared some of her summer cooking tips. While many of the dishes there were super elaborate, when it comes to cooking crustaceans yourself, she says to keep it simple. 

"I usually just steam them and I'll put down a bunch of newspaper on the table and let everyone have at it. We always eat outside and have corn on the cob, potatoes and cole slaw," she said.  If lobster's not necessarily your thing, Katie suggests summer salads when entertaining at cookouts. "If I'm having people for a barbecue, I make all my salads ahead of time and then all I have to do is grill the meat," Katie says. 

But salad doesn't have to mean strictly lettuce as a base. "I do a lot of grain salads, like quinoa or farro, and I'll put some fresh veggies in there with some light vinaigrette," she explains. If you're clueless about what to marinate your meat in, Katie recommends chili powder, lime juice, garlic and olive oil. "If it's chicken, let it marinate at least an hour," she suggests. "And don't be afraid to salt your meat!"

Katie also said she'll be spending a lot of her summer in the Hamptons, and so will I. Our Montauk house starts Memorial Day weekend and I'll be doing some freelancing out there for Hamptons publications, so it should be a great summer. What's your favorite summer go to dish to make (or eat)?

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The Met Gala, Mother's Day and My Sister's Single

So in case you were living under a very unstylish rock, the annual Met Gala was last night here in NYC and basically every celebrity in the world was there to show off their fiercest fashion. My best dressed awards go to Emma Stone wearing Thakoon and Rihanna rocking Stella McCartney. These ladies were killing it in their crop tops.

How did we all feel about Beyonce's face net and plunging studded sheer dress? I kinda love it. Golf claps for Jay-Z, who suited up nicely for the occasion in his white tuxedo jacket. Despite his hit "Tom Ford," Jay's dapper look is not by the designer. Both Bey and Jay wore Givenchy Haute Couture by Riccardo Tisci for the Costume Institute Gala and they win my best dressed couple award (sorry, KimYe).

Worst dressed of the night has to be Katie Holmes in this Marchesa mess. I love yellow but this gown is awful. Leave this look to Belle from Beauty and the Beast, girlfriend.

Lupita Nyong'o was another fashion fail in this Prada number, which totally says "Flapper on an acid trip." 

Who's look did you love and hate from the Met Gala? 

Mother's Day is this Sunday and if you haven't gotten your mom a gift yet, there's still time to get shopping! On Sunday, I did a gift guide for Fox & Friends if you need some inspiration.

Check out the segment here for some ideas. As a surprise for my own mom, I put pictures of her in the Pottery Barn frame thinking she'd get a kick of out of having a cameo in the segment, but you couldn't really see them on camera. It's the thought that counts though, right? Love ya, Mom! I wore a Vineyard Vines Derby dress that day, which you can see better in the pic below. Shout out to my roomie Lindsay for waking up bright and early with me at 5:45 a.m. and coming along to help out! After I finished with work, I went to meet my sister Erica for brunch at Agave, who was in town for a meeting about her new song.

My sister is a music teacher as well as a singer/songwriter and her single "Take Me Over" with Tim White is out on iTunes today! Listen to it below and go buy it here...super catchy. Congratulations!

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Talk Thirty to Me!

So this is first ever blog post as a 30 year old! I officially kissed my 20s goodbye and entered a new decade as of Friday, April 25. Am I supposed to feel different? Do I sound older, wiser and more mature?

To ring in my 30th, I wanted to wear something special to celebrate. I didn't want anything that was short or super young that looked like something I wore in Vegas for my 25th (pretty sure that was an Herve Leger knockoff). After looking around in vain for the perfect dress, I ended up borrowing this Yigal Azrouel number from my friend Yasmine last minute for my party at Up & Down. I loved the bright color and how it was sophisticated yet still sexy.

Before the party kicked off, I got glammed with a St. Tropez spray tan at Euphoria and a blowout at Rodolfo Valentin. I did my own makeup using Internet starlet/beauty guru Michelle Phan's Night Life Palette from em cosmetics, which we got at a YouTube event earlier that week. Admittedly, I'm not always amazing at doing a smoky eye but the instructions and guide were easy to follow and the results lasted all night.

Thank you to ShadowPR for setting up my party! And what's a birthday without a few surprises? Apparently, Leonardo DiCaprio was also there that night (thanks for coming out!) and Paper mag and DKNY were doing a party downstairs toasting their cover girl Rita Ora so we got to meet her briefly.

We also ran into James Franco the night before at a Tribeca film fest after party, which was exciting considering my roommates and I follow him religiously on Instagram and think he's hilarious.

All in all, it was a great weekend...thank you to everyone for the well-wishes and coming to celebrate! I'm looking forward to seeing what adventures my 30s will bring. Stay tuned!
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Spring Cleaning: Declutter, Donate and Make Money

When I moved to NYC from LA, I came with just a few boxes. But somehow over the past 3 years, I've managed to accumulate a lot of stuff. Since I was moving apartments, I wanted to declutter and get rid of anything I wasn't wearing or using.

Even if you're not moving, spring is a great time to clean out your home and wardrobe, and you can make money doing it. Win, win! Here's 5 ways to make your declutter count:

1. Sell back designer clothes and items you're not wearing for a Nordstrom gift card. The Fashion Project teamed up Nordstrom to give $40 gift cards to customers who donate 5 or more designer items, plus they'll give proceeds to your charity of choice from the resale. You need to have originally paid $50 or more for each item. You don't even have to leave home: sign up online and they'll send you the shipping materials to send in your goodies, then mail you the giftcard so you can buy yourself new clothes.

 2. Get money for your old laptops, digital cameras and iPods. We all have old clunker laptops and outdated devices sitting around unused. BestBuy offers you an online quote for your old gadgets and a gift card when you bring them into the store to use for new gadgets.

3. Ditch your old cell phone and get a giftcard. You can bring any old phone or tablet to any AT&T store and they'll give you a gift card to use on your next bill or purchase. Verizon is offering gift cards for $100 to $300 for old iPhones in good condition through 3/31.

4. Donate for a tax break. If you take your used clothes to your local Goodwill or Salvation Army, they'll give you a receipt to fill out for a tax deduction come April.

5. Donate old prom dresses for a discount on new designer clothes and to give another girl a chance to go to prom. If you have once worn homecoming, prom or bridesmaid dresses, Becca's Closet is a great charity to donate to for less fortunate girls to wear, and you can get a discount to Nicole Miller as well as a tax write-off when you give a gown.

If you live in NYC, Becca's Closet is having a Spring Fling fundraiser party this Wednesday at Hotel Chantelle with open bar, apps and awesome raffle prizes. Come party for a purpose!

For more closet cleaning and organizing tips, check out my segment for Fox & Friends. Happy Spring!

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Warming Up With The Rock in Florida

I love living in New York City, but during this time of year, I miss my LA days just a little bit. As a born and raised Jersey girl, I like to think 5 years of California living didn't completely make me soft, but I'll be the first to admit this winter has been brutal, with constant blizzards, single digit polar vortex days, massive slushpuddles and dirty snowbanks at every intersection.
So when I was invited to a set visit for Wake Up Call, The Rock's new reality show filming in South Florida, the answer was obviously yes. I've never gone on a set visit before so I figured this was a good opportunity to see another aspect of the television business and get some much needed vitamin D and sunshine. Win win.

While I've watched my fair share of reality TV (don't judge), I haven't ever really seen them filmed from a production aspect. There's so much prep and setup that takes place long before cameras even start rolling. When you're watching one single scene in a show, there was likely hours of work that went behind capturing it.
Wake Up Call premieres this fall but the premise of the show is that Dwayne Johnson, who was arrested multiple times himself before turning his life around, gives "wake up calls" to real-life people in need of help, whether it's a deadbeat dad or struggling business owner. Through his interventions, he helps people admit mistakes, face challenges and improve their lives. You definitely see an emotional side of the participants on the show as well Dwayne, who's a father himself. During our interview at the conclusion of the day, he revealed what gave him his own personal wake up call and memories of working on the Fast and Furious franchise with the late Paul Walker.

There are also guest stars involved in many episodes. On the day I visited, it was Juicy J from Three6Mafia...or you may know him from Katy Perry's current hit song "Dark Horse."

He took the red eye from LA just to be there (maybe that explains why he wore sunglasses indoors the whole time.)

The rapper dished about making the crazy music video for "Dark Horse," which comes out this Thursday, and features Katy as an Egyptian princess wearing a grill, as well as those crazy rumors about him getting Miley Cyrus pregnant.

I'll post the links to coverage when the stories are up on Cambio. I also got to hang with my parents, who live down here most of the year, at the pool today so that was an added bonus. I'm currently blogging from the Ft. Lauderdale airport since my flight back is delayed, but at least they have free wifi. Next time I'm posting, I'll be back home but I'm bringing some warmer weather with me, I promise!

Just like in any long-term relationship (my three year NYC anniversary is in March), every now and then you just need a break and some perspective to appreciate what you have, and this trip was the perfect time to reflect, recharge and refocus. Thank you to TNT and The Rock for having me and I'll see you soon, NYC! 

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Super Bowl Sunday and Awkward Moments

Happy Super Bowl Sunday from New York City!  I've gotten to cover Super Bowl in the past in other cities such as Phoenix, Dallas, Tampa and Miami but this year, the game came to me. Last night was DirecTV's annual Super Saturday night, which always features a live performance and this year definitely didn't disappoint. Jay-Z was the scheduled performer and not only was he awesome but Beyonce even joined him for a song too!

I am seriously obsessed with these two! Cutest couple ever. Justin Bieber is also in town for Super Bowl and was spotted skateboarding through the 11th Annual Leather and Laces party, which we went to on Friday. At least it's better than drag racing while high on weed and Xanax, right?

In other celeb encounter news, I got to sit down with the cast of That Awkward Moment recently, including Zac Efron, Michael B. Jordan and Miles Teller. The movie is sort of a rom-com from a male perspective about three best friends who vow to stay single in NYC.  Living in Manhattan, you recognize a lot of the places they filmed and can definitely relate to some of the situations! You can see some of the interviews below:

For all those wondering, yes, Zac really is just as cute in person as he looks. I also realized I never wrote about my Sundance trip because I got sick afterwards and was trying to catch up on work and get better for this weekend, but it was amazing. The weather was perfect and our house crew was the best. I finally got to ski this year, too!

I've also been busy apartment hunting as I'm moving out of my current place, which I've lived in for 3 years. I'm happy to report that after a week of searching and seeing depressingly shoebox sized apartments, two of my best friends Katie, Lindsay and I found a spacious and charming new place with an awesome bar right off our lobby. Success! We celebrated last night with a delicious dinner at Benjamin Steak, where we sat by Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick who were on a dinner date. You can tell they're still totally in love. 

Besties and now roomies!

Success! If anyone has any great mover recommendations, holler. In the meantime, I'm off to get ready for the game. GO BRONCOS! 

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