The Upton Sinclair House

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Last weekend while doing some research on the net, the Grim Cheaper discovered that a home in Monrovia where legendary author/screenwriter/movie producer/politician Upton Sinclair had once lived was currently for sale.  So, while I was in the area visiting my parents this past Friday afternoon, I just had to go stalk it.  For those who never had the pleasure of a required reading list in high school, Upton Sinclair was the Pulitzer-Prize-winning author of over 90 titles, the most famous of which was 1906’s best-seller The Jungle, a fictional, but truthful account of America’s meat packing industry during the turn of the century.  I read the tome during the summer before my junior year of high school and even though it was easily one of the worst books I have ever read – like in my entire life! – I will always have a very special place in my heart for it as the day I started reading it a HUGE, white Himalayan cat appeared out of nowhere on the doorstep of my then-home.  Thinking he had run away from a nearby house, my mom and I put signs all around our neighborhood announcing that we had found a lost cat.  When no one claimed him after a week my parents said we could keep him and I could NOT have been more excited.  In that weeklong interim, though, we kept him in one of our downstairs bedrooms, secluded from the rest of the house, as we had another cat and were afraid the two would not get along.  I literally spent every waking moment of those seven days in that downstairs room, all the while reading The Jungle.   I read that entire book with him by my side and even though Norman, as we came to name him, passed away six years ago, every time I see The Jungle on my bookshelf I think of him and our first week together.  So when the GC told me that Upton Sinclair’s house was located just up the street from my parent’s new apartment, I could not have been more excited and just had to go stalk it.

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And I am so glad that I did!  The Spanish-Colonial-Revival-style property, which boasts 3 bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms, and 2,380 square feet of living space, was originally built in 1923.  The home was designed by Frederick H. Wallis, the Los Angeles-area architect who, along with his partner Samuel Tilden Norton, constructed the Los Angeles Theatre, the William Fox Building, and the Los Angeles Financial Center.  Upton Sinclair lived in the residence from 1942 to 1966 and, in the writing studio that he had converted from a garage, penned his Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel Dragon’s Teeth, as well as numerous other tomes.  That studio has since been transformed into a guest house, but according to this San Gabriel Valley Tribune article, the special fireproof vault that he had built to house his many manuscripts is still intact.  The residence is a Monrovia Historic Landmark, a National Historic Landmark, and is on the National Registry of Historic Places.  It is currently for sale for a cool $1,195,000.

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Of the home, Sinclair once said that it had the “perfect peace to write in . . . a garden path to walk up and down while I planned the next paragraph”.  And I have to say that he was right – the property is truly idyllic.  While I was there, all that could be heard were the sounds of birds chirping and a soft breeze rustling the trees.  There was also an owl hooting away somewhere on the property – I kid you not.  Oh, what I wouldn’t give to live in this home and have my own garden path to stroll along while contemplating the next paragraph for my blog each day!  Something tells me that the GC would never go for the $1.2 million price tag, though.  I’m guessing he would make me give up my Starbucks addiction if we were to buy this place.  Winking smile 

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: The Upton Sinclair house is located at 464 North Myrtle Avenue in Monrovia.  You can visit the home’s real estate listing here.

The Justin Halpern “Sh*t My Dad Says” Book Signing

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A few weeks ago, my best friend Kylee made an off the cuff remark to me about “Sh*t My Dad Says”, the Twitter account that is currently taking the internet world by storm.  And even though the site currently boasts more followers than Lauren Conrad’s, at the time I had never actually heard of it.  This shocked Kylee to no end and she commanded me to sign onto the internet immediately to check the page out.  Well, let me tell you, I absolutely loved what I saw.  Sh*t My Dad Says is penned by 29-year old screenwriter Justin Halpern, who regularly posts the unconventional, and absolutely hilarious, musings of his 74-year old father, Sam.  As he says in his Twitter bio, “I’m 29.  I live with my 74-year-old dad.  He is awesome.  I just write down the sh*t that he says.”  I was shocked that Kylee, a self-proclaimed Twitter-hater, was actually following someone’s feed, but as she explained, “Sh*t My Dad Says is the ONLY reason Twitter should exist!”, which I think is just about the best compliment ever.  I’ve been a loyal follower of Justin’s ever since that conversation with Kylee, as has my fiancé.  So, when I heard that the Twitter-star would be doing a reading at fave bookstore Vroman’s on May 12th, I immediately called up the Grim Cheaper and made plans to attend. 

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For those who aren’t familiar with Sh*t My Dad Says, Justin’s dad offers a completely unique – and extremely amusing – take on life.  More than that, though, upon closer inspection, his bits of advice are also extremely wise and even profound.  And while I’d be remiss if I didn’t warn that the guy drops more than the occasional F-bomb, his fresh – and profanity-laden – brand of blunt common sense is thoroughly enjoyable to read.  Just a few of his musings include:

– On the first day of kindergarten – “You thought it was hard?  If kindergarten is busting your a**, I got some bad news for you about the rest of life.”

– “I lost 20 pounds . . .  How?  I drank bear piss and took up fencing.   How the f*ck you think, son?  I exercised.”

– “No, I’m not a pessimist.  At some point the world sh*ts on everybody.  Pretending it ain’t sh*t makes you an idiot, not an optimist.” 

– “You worry too much.  Eat some bacon . . . What?  No, I got no idea if it’ll make you feel better, I just made too much bacon.”

– On waiting in line to see Jurassic Park: “There is no movie good enough for me to wait in a line longer than the run time of the movie.  Either we’re seeing something else or I’m leaving, and you can take a cab home.” 

See what I mean – hilarious!  Justin’s dad reminds me so much of my own father, that I just had to share the site with him.  My dad took one look at it and said, “You know, I should really start my own Twitter account.  Can you show me how to do that?”  I politely declined, though, because while my dad is no doubt hilarious, the man has absolutely no filter, or shame for that matter, and it scares me a bit to think about what sort of things he would post on a Twitter feed.  😉

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During the Vroman’s event, Justin, who is absolutely HILARIOUS in person, read a chapter of his book and answered the audience’s many questions about how the Sh*t My Dad Says Twitter account came to be.  As it turns out, Justin had actually been recording his father’s musings in a notebook for years, long before there ever was such a thing as Twitter.  After moving back home at age 28 following a break-up with his long-time girlfriend, Justin began posting his father’s bits of wisdom as his daily away message on Google Talk.  And then one fateful day a friend suggested he start tweeting those quotes.  Justin followed that sage advice and in August of 2009 opened up “Sh*t My Dad Says”.  For the first two weeks the site had only 5 followers.  Then, on August 14th, one of Justin’s good friends, the author of the fake Michael Bay Twitter page, sent out a “Follow Friday” tweet (in which twitterers can suggest other feeds their readers might enjoy) which mentioned Sh*t My Dad Says.   Within hours the site went viral and it now boasts over 1.3 million followers – a number that grows exponentially each and every minute.  Within a week of his site blowing up, Justin was fielding offers from book agents, book publishers, AND network executives!  Today, less than ten months after his first tweet, he has published a book (which debuted at Number 8 on the New York Times bestseller list) AND is the co-executive producer of a television show (along with his writing partner, Patrick Schumacker, and Max Mutchnik and David Kohan of Will & Grace fame) called $#*! My Dad Says (or Bleep My Dad Says, the network is not yet sure) which is premiering this fall!  The series will star non other than William Shatner as Justin’s dad (an actor who I actually can’t picture in the role, but being that I’m not a casting director,  I guess that’s not really my call).  Overnight success?  Well, yes and no.  While Justin may have gone from total obscurity to having over a million fans in a matter of weeks, he had actually been pounding the Hollywood pavement trying to make it as a screenwriter for over seven years before all of that happened.  Which begs the question, when are the book agents and Hollywood producers going to start knocking on my door?  😉

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Justin could NOT have been nicer – or funnier – during the reading, and not only did he pose for a photograph with me and personalize the book I purchased for my dad, but he even added the following inscription: “Don, I’m sure you can probably relate to some of the stuff in here.  Hope you enjoy the sh*t my dad says!  Justin”  Like his Twitter page, Justin’s book is absolutely HILARIOUS.  Actually, come to think of it, it’s even funnier.  If you are at all a fan of his Twitter site, pick up a copy of the book.  You will not be disappointed!  You can watch an interview with William Shatner and see a few clips of the new series here.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: Vroman’s Bookstore is located at 695 East Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena.  You can check out their upcoming celebrity and author events here.  You can purchase Sh*t My Dad Says here and you can follow Justin on Twitter by clicking here.

Raquel Welch’s “Beyond The Cleavage” Book Signing

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Ever since my mom found out that actress and 1960’s/1970’s sex symbol Raquel Welch was scheduled to do a book signing for her new tome Raquel: Beyond the Cleavage at Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena on the evening of April 22nd, she became absolutely obsessed with attending the event.  And, even though I wasn’t exactly sure who Raquel Welch was (at first I actually thought she was one of the original Charlie’s Angels!), I agreed to accompany her.  Unfortunately though, because my father was in the hospital for most of this past week, my mom wound up not being able to attend the signing.  My entire family is pretty much spent – both emotionally and physically – at the current moment, but we are heading back to Minnesota to enroll my dad in the Mayo Clinic in a few weeks and hopefully the doctors there will be able to figure out what is wrong with him and restore some normalcy to our lives.  But I digress.  Even though my dad had been released from the hospital and was back at home on Thursday night, my mom said that she just didn’t have the energy to attend the signing, so, since I live pretty close to Vroman’s, I told her I’d go in her place.  I dragged the Grim Cheaper along with me, which is how, this past Thursday night, two very unlikely fans found ourselves sitting at Vroman’s Bookstore amidst about 150 Raquel Welch enthusiasts, waiting to meet the raven-haired icon. 

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I expected Raquel’s signing to be absolutely jam-packed, but when I arrived an hour and a half prior to its starting time, there were only about 15 people in the audience.  As the minutes ticked away, though, more and more fans showed up, but there were still far less people in attendance than I had originally anticipated.  By my estimation, there were only about 150 fans in the audience by the time 7 o’clock rolled around.  Before Raquel made her appearance, one of the Vroman’s staff members explained the rules of the evening.  Now, I’ve been to quite a few book signings in the past and this was the first time that rules had ever been established beforehand.  The staffer explained that no photographs of the star were to be taken when she entered the room nor while she was speaking and that the only time pictures would be allowed was during the actual book signing.  She also stipulated that Raquel would not be posing for ANY photographs with the fans, nor would she be personalizing the books, which I thought was pretty ludicrous.  At all of the book signings I’ve ever been to, the authors have ALWAYS personalized their books.  I mean, what is the point of getting it signed, otherwise?  It is also pretty rare that an author won’t pose for photographs with their fans.  I mean, if someone is going to shell out $28 plus tax to pay for a book and then wait upwards of two hours to get it signed, I really feel that the very least a star can do is personalize it and pose for a quick photograph.  The restrictions were pretty maddening and led me to believe that Raquel would be a full-on Di-va with a capital “D”.

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Which, I am happy to report, actually couldn’t have been further from the truth!  The event started right on time and Raquel walked into the room promptly at 7 p.m.  We were told she had actually arrived at Vroman’s thirty minutes early, which, in and of itself, is a non-diva maneuver.  And I have to say that she was absolutely BEAUTIFUL in person!  Like AMAZINGLY beautiful!  I wasn’t expecting her to be quite so luminous.  Raquel’s not nearly as short as I expected her to be, either – she was about my height, 5’4”  but my fiancé said she was wearing pretty tall heels, so she very well could be significantly shorter when wearing flats.  She was also extremely friendly and warm and waved and said hello to all of the people she walked by while making her way to the front table. 

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And even though the Vroman’s staff had forewarned the fans that if anyone took a picture of Raquel while she was speaking, they would be asked to leave and their cameras possibly confiscated, THOUSANDS of flashbulbs went off as soon as she entered the room.  You can see how bright the camera lights were in the above photograph.  And they pretty much didn’t stop going off the entire time!

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Raquel gave a very brief speech prior to signing her books, in which she stated that she has long been a fan of Vroman’s Bookstore because it’s an “old girl” like herself (the place was founded in 1894) and that it’s still going strong, which is also much like herself.  She even called the place the “book lovers’ book store”, which just about made me want to swoon as I, too, absolutely LOVE Vroman’s.  She talked about how much respect she has for writers now that she has completed a book, as it was very grueling work.  Tell me about it, honey!  😉  Raquel was extremely vivacious and charming during her speech and not AT ALL the diva I was expecting her to be after hearing her restrictive book signing policies.  Which brings me to a point.  Sadly, many of the people in attendance Thursday night were . . . well, to put it in plain language, creepy.  One man was wearing pajamas – not kidding – and quite a few others had on ripped-up, dirty sweatpants, disheveled hair, and looked as if they had rolled out of bed about two minutes prior to the event.  The guy behind me in line reeked of cigarette smoke and kept making odd grunting noises the closer he got to Raquel.  Seeing the myriad of oddball fans made me wonder if the icon was refusing to take posed photographs for her own protection.  I’ll never know for sure, but the whole thing made me sad.   Note to fans – if you are going to meet someone you admire at a signing, don’t wear pajamas or ripped-up sweatpants, run a comb through your hair, and, at the very least, take a shower!  I mean would you want to meet and pose for a picture with someone who had done anything less?  Gross!

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After Raquel’s speech, the signing began.  Because I had gotten there so early, I was the fifteenth person in line and didn’t have to wait long to get my mom’s book signed. 

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The whole event got kind of crazy as soon as she started signing books, though, and about thirty people rushed right up to the front table and began snapping photographs.  Book signings are usually pretty calm events, so I was surprised when this one incited such hysteria!  It was pretty funny to watch. 

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I was pleasantly surprised when I reached the front of the line and Raquel stuck out her hand for me to shake!  She was SUPER friendly and, as I said before, very warm.  I think she got slightly offended, though, when I told her that the book was for my mom, who was a huge fan of hers.   Ah well. 

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I am also very happy to report that Raquel did (sort of) pose for pictures with those fans who had someone accompanying them who could stand off to the side and snap a quick pic while she was signing their book.  My fiancé has a camera with a speed-burst shutter, which means that he can take a multitude of photographs in the space of one second, which he did while I was standing with Raquel.  Unfortunately though, the two of us couldn’t quite seem to get it together in any of the photographs and we were never looking in the same place at the same time. LOL  But at least I got a picture with her . . .

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. . . and a book signed for my mom.  As you can see, though, Raquel did not personalize it, which I thought was pretty darn janky.  🙁  Ironically enough, the woman sitting next to me during the event actually told me that it was better not to have my book personalized.  That way when I die, my family can sell it on eBay for a profit, whereas a book endorsed to “Lindsay” would be worthless.  NO JOKE – she actually said that!  LOL 

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When we left Vroman’s after the event had ended, we spotted Raquel’s limo waiting in the parking lot, so, of course, I just had to take a picture with it.  🙂  All in all, the evening was a great experience, despite all of the ridiculous rules put in place prior to Raquel’s arrival.  I had a blast meeting the icon and seeing how friendly, upbeat, and BEAUTIFUL she is in person.  My mom may have been the family’s sole Raquel fan prior to Thursday night, but now there is definitely a second one.  🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: Vroman’s Bookstore is located at 695 East Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena.  You can check out their upcoming celebrity and author events here.  And you can purchase Raquel: Beyond the Cleavage here.

The Zane Grey Pueblo Hotel

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While in Catalina this past week, as much as I wanted to stay at the Pavilion Lodge, my family instead opted to book a room at a little place called the Zane Grey Pueblo Hotel.  And even though it’s never been a filming location, because the hotel was once the private residence of world-renowned author Zane Grey, I deemed the site to be blog-worthy.  🙂  For those who have never heard of him (like myself prior to my recent stay at his former home), Zane Grey is the best selling author of 89 Western style novels, including Riders of the Purple Sage, The Lone Star Ranger, and Call of the Canyon.  Zane, who was born on January 31, 1872,  actually started out his professional career following in the footsteps of his father as a dentist.  Zane’s true passion was always writing fiction and playing baseball, but his father vehemently discouraged both pursuits.  In fact, when Zane was a young boy, his father discovered a story he had written and not only tore it up, but severely beat him because of it.  After marrying his wife, Dolly, in 1905, Zane began to finally pursue writing as a career.  It wasn’t long before he became a household name and one of the first authors in history to earn a million dollars.  At one point in time, Zane was also America’s highest selling author.

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In his lifetime, Zane Grey published over one hundred novels which in turn sold over forty million copies.  While most of his works were Western adventure stories, Zane also wrote books about his other passions, including sport fishing, hunting, and baseball.   Zane’s novels became so popular that after his death in 1939, his publishing company, Harper & Brothers, continued to release one of his unpublished manuscripts each year for the next twenty-four years.  All were wildly successful.  Fifty of Zane’s novels were turned into one hundred different Western movies and he has over 120 writer, director, producer and actor credits on IMDB.  What I wouldn’t give for that resume!  Zane even formed his own production company at one time to handle the high demand for movies based on his books.  One of Zane’s novels, The Vanishing American, was even filmed on Catalina Island. Legend has it that Zane brought in a herd of fourteen bison for the filming and left them there after the production wrapped.  The bison took to Catalina quite naturally and spawned into a herd of over 150 buffalo that now call the island home.

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In 1926, after falling in love with Catalina Island while vacationing there, Zane bought a parcel of land high on a hill in Avalon from William Wrigley and built a pueblo.   Zane called his home “a place for rest, dream, peace, sleep”.  Sometime after his death, Zane’s heirs turned the Pueblo into a small hotel.  What a FABULOUS idea!  I wish all celebrity heirs would follow suit!

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The tiny hotel features only sixteen rooms, each named after one of Zane’s popular books.  And while all of the rooms boast a view of some sort, none have a television, a phone, or a clock – an idea my fiance wasn’t too keen on.  The whole point of staying at Zane Grey is to really get away from it all.  The place touts itself as a quiet, peaceful retreat where you can spend a few days in total relaxation.  And I have to say it was pretty darn amazing!

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The hotel’s setting is simply breathtaking, with sweeping ocean . . .

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. . . and mountain views,

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large adobe verandas;

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a living room featuring Zane Grey’s original furnishings and a grand piano,

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and wild animals roaming the property.    My fiance woke me up extremely early one morning to show me a buck he had noticed wandering the grounds (pictured above).  The hotel is also blissfully quiet – whispering in common areas and out by the pool is encouraged.  Because I am not big on noise, I LOVE quiet, peaceful hotels.  In fact, the more quiet and peaceful, the better.  And it doesn’t get much quieter or more peaceful than at the Zane Grey.  Ironically enough, the only people not adhering to the “quiet” rule, were the people who worked on the property.  The receptionist and housekeeper were SO darn loud, it was almost comical.  So, other than wanting to strangle the two of them during most of the trip, my stay was highly relaxing.  And I would recommend the Zane Grey to anyone.  Even though the accommodations are a bit run-down and the service is highly sub-standard, we really enjoyed our stay there.

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A bit of celebrity trivia for you – directly across the street from the Zane Grey hotel is a huge, modern style home that, according to several people I talked to on the island, Sharon Stone was interested in purchasing at one time.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: The Zane Grey Pueblo Hotel is located at 199 Chimes Tower Road in Avalon on Catalina Island.  You can visit their website here.  The accomodations are very basic and sparse, so if you are looking for a fancy hotel this is DEFINITELY not the place for you.  For higher end accomodations, I’d instead recommend the Inn on Mt. Ada.  The house Sharon Stone thought about buying, but didn’t, is located directly across the street from the Zane Grey Pueblo at 124 Chimes Tower Road.

I Heart New York!

Tonight I am taking the red eye to New York City, leaving behind the land of tank tops and cutoff shorts for the land of down parkas and thermal underwear. My family and I are taking our annual winter vacation to my favorite city in the world – the Big Apple! So today, before my flight, I thought I’d blog about a location I stalked on my last trip to NYC.

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I have long been a fan of a series of mystery novels that take place in and around the island of Manhattan. The series is written by former New York District Attorney Linda Fairstein, who worked in the Manhattan D.A.’s office for over thirty years before retiring in 2002. Linda first served as assistant district attorney for four years before being promoted to the head of the Manhattan Sex Crimes Unit where she spent twenty-six years prosecuting perpetrators of sexual assault and trying numerous high profile cases. In 1996 Linda began writing mystery novels based on her experiences in the D.A.’s office. Her first novel was entitled Final Jeopardy and it centers around heroine Alexandra Cooper, who, like Linda herself, is head of the Manhattan Sex Crimes Unit. Mark Twain did say to “Write what you know.” 🙂 Since her writing debut, Linda has gone on to publish nine other mysteries in the series, each one better than the last. I absolutely love Linda’s novels, not only because they are great reads, but also because Alexandra visits real life New York locations in the course of her travels. Not wanting to restrict my stalking solely to movie locations, on my last trip to NYC, I set out to stalk some of the sites featured in Linda’s books.

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The first location I set out to stalk was PJ Bernstein’s Delicatessen and Restaurant, a favorite stomping ground of Alex Cooper’s. In the series, Alex lives just upstairs from the deli and visits it in each and every novel. Apparently they make fabulous matzo ball soup. So, last December, I just had to drag my boyfriend there. I was absolutely floored to see that the Upper East Side deli was exactly as Linda had described it in her books. The owner was extremely nice, although somewhat baffled at the fact that I was taking photographs out front. When I explained to him why I was doing so, a lightbulb went off in his head and he started laughing. He couldn’t believe I was actually stalking a location from a fictional book. LOL He told me that he knew Linda very well and that she visits his deli almost daily, but sadly we did not see her during our visit.

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The next location I dragged my boyfriend to was Alex Cooper’s swanky Upper East Side apartment building. I was happy to see that the building was also exactly as described in the books – long curving driveway with a drop-off area, two doormen out front, and a little gated garden. I didn’t get very good pics of the building, though, as the doormen looked a bit unhappy at the fact that I was posing for pictures out front. LOL

I must say that it was very cool stalking these locations from Linda’s mysteries; almost as much fun as stalking movie locations. If you haven’t yet, I highly recommend checking out the Alex Cooper mystery series, you won’t be disappointed!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: PJ Bernstein is located at 1215 3rd Avenue in Manhattan. Alexandra Cooper’s apartment building is located just around the corner at 211 East 70th Street.

Coming Soon to a Bookstore Near You!

Sex and the City author and creater Candace Bushnell’s new novel, One Fifth Avenue, hits bookshelves later this month and what better way for her to promote it than by doing a book signing at the greatest bookstore on the planet – Vroman’s! On Monday, September 29th, at 7PM, Candace will be doing a reading and signing of her new book. I absolutely cannot wait to see the real Carrie Bradshaw live and in person. 🙂 I am hoping she will chat a bit about Sex and the City, as well as her new book. I have attended several readings at Vroman’s in the past and they have all been fabulous, each lasting well over an hour with plenty of time for audience questions. I cannot wait!!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Vroman’s is located at 695 E. Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena. The CB event is free and you do not need reservations to attend. I recommend arriving early, though, as Vroman’s events can get pretty packed.