Month: April 2008

Posted on

Mr. and Mrs. Homewrecker

It’s no secret that I am a HUGE Jen Aniston fan and so NOT a fan of Brangelina – but my boyfriend did manage to drag me to see Mr. and Mrs. Smith while it was in theaters. So when I found the address of the house from the movie in my fave stalking book, I just had to stalk it. In the movie, Brad and Angie live in a really pretty white clapboard residence that reminds me a lot of the house from the movie Father of the Bride. And it just so happens that both houses are located in Pasadena.

The restaurant where Brad and Angelina dance in Mr. and Mrs. Smith is called Cicada and can be found in Downtown LA. Cicada is actually an oft used filming location – it was the very same restaurant where Julia Roberts flung an escargot across the room in the movie Pretty Woman. At the time it was known as Rex II Ristorante. Cicada was also featured in Bruce Almighty, Final Analysis and Indecent Proposal. While I have never dined there, I’ve heard that it is absolutely amazing!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Mr. and Mrs. Smith house is located at 1565 San Pasqual Street in Pasadena. The restaurant from the movie can be found in the Oviatt Building in Downtown Los Angeles at 617 South Olive Street.

Posted on

Celeb Dining in the Desert

Got a tip from a good friend who lives in Palm Springs that Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell often frequent the Mexican restaurant Armando’s Bar and Grill when they are in the Desert. So I just had to go stalk it this weekend. Armando’s is a really cute little Mexican restaurant located right in the heart of the El Paseo shopping district in Palm Desert. We didn’t get a chance to eat there this weekend, but we did a quick walk-through and neither Kurt nor Goldie was anywhere to be found. 🙁 Oh well, maybe next time! The same friend also tells me that Goldie and Kurt now own a home in Ironwood Country Club, located just a few miles away from Armando’s. Sadly, Ironwood is a guarded club and you can’t enter the property without an invite from a member.

While stalking Armando’s I happened to discover a store that I think is now my new favorite place in all of Palm Springs! It is called Heiress and I don’t think it sells anything that is not pink or sparkly. 🙂 My boyfriend said it looked like a Pepto Bismo bottle threw up inside. 🙂 According to the lady working there, Nikki Hilton and Britney Spears have both visited the store. They sell really cute clothes and jewelry – all of which are reasonably priced. I bought an adorable “Carrie” style necklace that says “Blonde” – I love it!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Armando’s Bar and Grill is located in Palm Desert at 73260 El Paseo. Supposedly Kurt and Goldie dine there every single weekend. El Paseo is similar to Beverly Hills’ Rodeo Drive and is a fabulous place to shop. I HIGHLY recommended visiting there if you are in the Desert. Heiress can be found directly next door to Armando’s, on the corner of El Paseo and Lupine Lane. Ironwood Country Club is located at 73735 Irontree Drive, but if you don’t know a member, you can’t get on the property. 🙁

Posted on

The Hills Update!

On tonight’s episode of The Hills, Lauren, Lo, and Audrina move into their new Hollywood digs. I stalked this location a while back and thought I’d re-post LC’s new address. You can read the full post here. 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Lauren’s new house is located at 1627 N. Orange Grove Avenue in Hollywood.

Posted on

Where Trista and Ryan Got Married

Even though I have not been a big fan of this season’s The Bachelor, I was a HUGE fan of Bachelorette Trista Rehn back in 2003, so this weekend while in Palm Springs I just had to stalk the hotel where she married Ryan Sutter in their million dollar wedding extravaganza. The nuptials took place on December 10, 2003 and were watched by over 26 million viewers. The ceremony was held at the hotel the Lodge at Rancho Mirage and my boyfriend and I actually stayed there quite a few years ago, long before Trista and Ryan were even a gleam in ABC’s eyes. I had been dying to go back to stalk the hotel ever since the wedding aired on TV and I finally made it there this weekend.

Unfortunately, the Lodge closed back in August of 2006 to undergo an extensive remodel and it has yet to reopen. During the remodel, the property was actually purchased by the Ritz Carlton Hotel Company and it is set to open as the Ritz Carlton Rancho Mirage in the fall. Sadly you can’t get very close to the property and there isn’t much to see at this time. But I am definitely planning on doing a little stalking of the Ritz this winter when it reopens. 🙂 I sure hope that the gazebo where Trista and Ryan got married is still there.

Side note: A few years ago I also stalked Jerry Ferris from the third season of The Bachelorette. Jerry was the jilted bachelor who had his heart broken on national TV when Jen Schefft refused his proposal. He was also my celebrity crush of 2005. 🙂 I knew from watching the show that Jerry worked at an art gallery in LA and after doing a bit of stalking, I located it. Jerry could not have been nicer (or cuter) in person and I was absolutely floored to meet him. Unfortunately Jerry’s art gallery closed a few years back, but it used to be located in The Grove shopping center in LA.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Ritz Carlton Rancho Mirage is located at 69-730 Highway 111 in Rancho Mirage. You can visit their website here. The hotel is scheduled to open in late 2008.

Posted on

Stalking Barry Manilow, Part II

Last time I was in Palm Springs I did a little stalking of Barry Manilow’s house, but thanks to Richard, who posted a comment on my previous Barry post telling me that Mr. Manilow’s home actually has TWO addresses, I was able to stalk the other side of his house this weekend while I was in the desert. Barry’s house is so ginormous that it apparently fronts two roads and therefore has two addresses!! Unfortunately, though, there isn’t a whole lot to see from this side of the house either. 🙁

While we there Barry’s gate opened and a Porsche SUV with Nevada license plates drove out! It wasn’t actually Barry driving, but I am pretty sure it was his car, as he is now performing regularly in Las Vegas. We followed the car (only because we had to drive in that same direction – honest!) and the person drove into the local car wash. My guess is that it was the personal assistant out to get Bar’s car washed. 🙂 The pic to the left is a farway shot of the car that came out of his house.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Barry’s house can be found at 200 W. Camino Encanto in Palm Springs. The back side is located at 2196 S. Camino Barranca. Even though you can’t see much of the house thanks to large gates and trees, being that I am a HUGE Barry fan, it was still pretty cool just being there. 🙂

Posted on

The Princess Diaries

This weekend while doing some San Francisco Stalking, I dragged my boyfriend and my friend Nat to the “Grove High School” filming location from the movie The Princess Diaries, which I must confess I was a big fan of. 🙂 I am a total sucker for any teeny bopper movie! When we arrived at Grove High School, I recognized it immediately by its large circular staircase, and was shocked to learn that in reality it is not a school at all, but actually a private residence! The house is incredible in person and way huge!! I can’t even imagine living there!

The home is in a beautiful neighborhood that borders the Presidio of San Francisco. The Presidio is San Francisco’s former Army base and is now a park. The picture to the left is one of “Grove High School’s” neighboring homes. I definitely recommend a drive-by of this location, even for those non-stalkers out there, as the neighborhood is definitely a sight to see! Anne Hathaway’s house in the film is also located in San Francisco, and while I didn’t get a chance to stalk it on this trip, it’s definitely on my list for next time!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Grove High School is located at 2601 Lyon Street, at the intersection of Lyon and Green Street, in San Francisco. Mia and her mom’s home can be found at 724 Brazil Avenue. It is actually a real life former San Francisco fire house that was built in 1911.

Posted on

Police Doubt Fire . . .

One of my favorite movie lines of all time is “It was a run-by fruiting!” from Mrs. Doubtfire – Robin William says the line to Pierce Brosnan after throwing a piece of fruit at his head at the local pool. LOL So, this weekend, the Mrs. Doubtfire house was on my must-see list of San Francisco stalking locations. The home looks pretty much exactly as it did back in 1993 when the movie was filmed and I recognized it immediately. This location was a snap to find as it is actually referenced in the movie – Miranda gives Mrs. Doubtfire the real address of the home when she tells him where to go for his nanny interview.

The next stop on our SF stalking tour was Robin William’s house, located in the Sea Cliff area of San Francisco. Robin purchased the home in 1991 and lived there with his wife, Marsha, and their children, for the past 17 years. Apparently the house was the site of numerous fund raisers and events hosted by Robin and his wife over the years and was THE place to trick-or-treat in San Francisco. Sadly, Marsha filed for divorce from Robin this past March. You can’t feel too bad for Robin, though, as he pulled a Jude Law back in 1988, when he left his then wife for Marsha, who was his son’s nanny!

Robin’s house is a HUGE pink palace (according to Zillow the place is a whopping 9,310 square feet!) complete with a dinosaur topiary. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a pic of the dinosaur, though, as most of it is hidden behind a large wall. Robin also has an ornate depiction of the comedy/tragedy mask above his front door, which, being an actress, I thought was very cool! I might need to get me one of those for good luck! 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Mrs. Doubtfire house is located at 2640 Steiner Street, at the corner of Steiner and Broadway, in San Francisco. Robin Williams’ home is located at 540 El Camino Del Mar in the Sea Cliff neighborhood of San Francisco.

Posted on

San Francisco Stalking!

This weekend while visiting San Francisco, my friend Nat put together a custom made stalking tour of The City by the Bay for me. She said she had a new found respect for me, as she hadn’t realized how much time and energy finding locations took until she put together the tour for me. I make it look so easy! LOL 🙂

One of the first stops on our tour was the park where the Tanner Family had their famous picnic in the opening credits of Seasons 1-4 of Full House, one of my fave sitcoms of the 80s. The Tanner’s picnic was held in Alamo Square Park, right in front of the famous Seven Sisters homes. The Seven Sisters, or Painted Ladies, as they are more commonly referred to, are a group of seven very famous, very beautiful Victorian homes that were built in the 1890s. The homes are such a huge tourist trap and frequent filming location that they are also known as “Postcard Row.” You can see the picnic location and the Seven Sisters in the opening credits of Full House here.

Our next stop was the Tanner Family home from Full House. Their red-doored house is not one of the Seven Sisters as is commonly believed, but is actually a different VIctorian home located a few blocks away on Broderick Street. The front door is no longer painted red and there is now a large tree blocking most of the front of the home, but it is still very recognizable! You can see the home in the Full House opening credits here.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It:The Full House house is located at 1709 Broderick Street, just off Divisadero Street, in San Francisco. Alamo Square Park is located in the Western Division area of San Francisco. Invasion of the Body Snatchers also featured a scene filmed in Alamo Square Park. The Painted Ladies can be found just across the street from the park at 712-720 Steiner Street. The man who built the homes, Matthew Kavanaugh, lived in number 722 during the 1890’s.

Posted on

Cooking by JLo!

Two weeks ago, while in Pasadena, my boyfriend I happened to walk by Madre’s, the restaurant owned by Miss Jennifer Lopez. Madre’s, which opened up in 2002, serves up Latin food inspired by JLo’s grandmother’s recipes – food she ate when she was still just Jenny from the Block. When you step inside Madre’s, there is no denying that it is a JLo creation – it is very frilly, very girly, and very ornate. It definitely has its charm. Madre’s is also a frequent filming location, and was used in a recent episode of Desperate Housewives. It was the restaurant where Gaby had her first lunch with Mayor Victor Lang, whom she later marries.

My boyfriend and I ended up not eating at Madre’s, but ventured on down the street to Magnolia Lounge – an adorable little bar and restaurant that occupies a space that was a former speakeasy. The restaurant, which is pretty much hidden behind an antique store, was, according to Pasadena legend, the location of the San Gabriel Valley’s first speakeasy back in the Prohibition days. We spoke with the owner who said that when she was excavating the property before the restaurant opened, she found extremely old wine bottles in the cellar, which are now on display in the main dining area. Magnolia is a very cool little place, with a great center courtyard, and it was really fun sitting there sipping champagne, imagining how it looked back in the 20s.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Madre’s is located at 897 Granite Drive, just off of Lake Avenue, in the historic South Lake Avenue Business District in Pasadena. Magnolia Lounge is located just a block south at 492 S. Lake Avenue.

Posted on

Leaping Off Into The Great Unknown

Trapeze Last week, I made a pretty big life changing decision and quit my job. I have decided to pursue acting (and, of course, stalking) full time – no more having a day job and fitting my acting pursuits around it. From now on I am going to pursue acting 100 percent. 🙂 I am extremely excited, but at the same time absolutely terrified! I told a co-worker the other day that I felt like I was jumping off a cliff into the vast unknown. So it was pretty apropos that I spent this weekend doing just that – leaping off a board 30 feet in the air while learning the flying trapeze!

My good friend Nat had a birthday party this past Saturday at the Circus Center in San Francisco and we spent the entire afternoon trapezing and learning various other circus skills. I was extremely excited about the party, because ever since I saw the Sex and the City episode where Carrie learns to trapeze, I was dying to try it myself. In the SATC episode, Carrie repeatedly attempts to try a “catch” move, but she just can’t seem to let go of the bar to reach for her partner.

I really didn’t think I’d be afraid to trapeze, being that I am not afraid of heights. But, let me tell you, when I started climbing up that 30 foot ladder, my knees started shaking and I became completely freaked out!! I so did NOT want to jump. But even though it was completely scary, I took the plunge and sailed through the air – three times! I never got to put my feet up on the bar and hang backwards like Carrie eventually did on SATC, but I was pretty proud of myself nonetheless. And even though I was petrified, I absolutely loved every minute of it! Which gives me a lot of hope for this new chapter in my life.

At the end of the SATC episode, when Carrie finally tries the “catch”, she misses and falls, but realizes that she has a great safety net – her friends – who will always be there to catch her. I, too, have a great safety net – my friends and family – which makes this huge leap into the unknown just a little less scary. 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: TSNY (Trapeze School New York), where Carrie learned to trapeze, is located in the Lower West Side of Manhattan, in the Hudson River Park, on West Street at Houston Street, on top of Pier 40. You can visit their website here. Circus Center San Francisco is located at 755 Frederick Street. While not a filming location, if you are in the area, I HIGHLY recommend going! The staff could not have been nicer or more patient with all of us amateurs. Circus Center is an awesome place for a party! You can visit their website here.