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! 

Follow me on Twitter @cristinagibson and Instagram @cristinablairgibson

Miami Me! Art Basel, Here We Come...Again

It's already December and tonight feels a little like Christmas Eve to me because I'm so excited to be going back to Art Basel again tomorrow! But instead of making a list and checking it twice like I did in my younger years, it's more like checking the weather forecast in Miami obsessively and making sure you're confirmed for all the fun parties.

Art Basel is an annual art festival where people from around the world come to enjoy the beautiful beaches, star-studded parties and oh yeah, the art! Last year was my first time going so I thought I'd revisit some highlights from 2012.

Basel is all about the bashes and one of my favorites was the Dom Perignon Luminous Rose party at Wall, which is the club inside the W. The party brought out a bunch of bold-faced names like Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, Kourtney Kardashian, Scott Disick, Demi Moore and many more.

Photo credit: BFA

Sure, it's cool to see celebs but I loved the bubbly, which was freely flowing all night. This particular type of Dom is pink and comes in a cool glow in the dark bottle, which were on display everywhere at the party.

But I think my favorite memory is when I went on a random boat ride with a bunch of friends on my last day in Miami. It wasn't a yacht or anything fancy, but we had the best time cruising around the waves and enjoying the sun and sea. There's just something magical to me about being on the water.

We even got to see a dolphin during our boating adventure, which is way cooler than a celeb any day!

This year, I'm staying at the Mondrian South Beach and I hear the pool is amazing so I don't even mind that I'm getting up at 4 a.m. to make my 6 a.m. flight down because that means I'll be working on my tan poolside before noon! Signing off for now so I can get some sleep before the big weekend, but check back for more updates soon from South Beach.

Follow me on Twitter @cristinagibson and Instagram @cristinablairgibson

Art Basel Bound and Bicoastal Besties

Hello from the friendly skies! This is my very first time blogging from 30,000 feet high...gotta love technology. I'm currently en route to Miami for Art Basel. I've been to Miami many times but this is my first time going for Art Basel, which is a huge contemporary art fair. I'm super excited to ditch NYC's freezing temps for some fun in the sun and get some culture, of course. In addition to lots of exhibits and shows, there's also tons of parties happening this weekend in South Beach. My friend Rhiannon Ally, who anchors CBS4 Morning News in Miami, is graciously hosting me for the weekend so I'm excited to catch up with her and hit the town. Diddy, Demi Moore and Lenny Kravitz are already down there so I'm sure I'll be in good company.

Speaking of good company, I also got to catch up with another one of my best friends Whitney English this week in NYC. Whitney and I first met in LA, when we both worked at E!, and now we still get to work together at SheKnows.com. Whit, who also has her own blog, was out here to interview Jenny McCarthy. During her downtime, we hit Washington Square Park together, attend designer Monika Chiang's 1 year anniversary party, did dinner at Fig and Olive with another one of our LA-turned-NY BFFs Katie and check out Kristin Cavallari's Chinese Laundry shoe launch party at Avenue. All in a day's work!

I can't believe it's already December! Our Movember party at Southside last week was a big success and raised more than $2,000 for charity. Thank you to everyone who attended and donated! Big thank to you Roberto DePalo, who took a ton of great pics for us, too.

Credit: DePalo Photography

I'm signing off for now but I'll try to post more this weekend. Miami, here I come!

Get all the action in real time on Twitter @cristinagibson and Instagram @cristinablairgibson