A random selection from the site

  • Hamburger Hamlet from “Parks and Recreation”

    Hamburger Hamlet from “Parks and Recreation”

    ‘ Halfway through writing this post, I realized I probably should have saved it until February.  At that point, though, it was too late to start over, so I figured c’est la vie.  Here goes.  A few years ago, when I first saw the “Galentine’s Day” episode of Parks and Recreation, I recognized the restaurant…

  • The “Brady Bunch” House

    The “Brady Bunch” House

    ‘ Ever since I saw the “Silver Platters” episode of about 25 years ago and watched Marcia, Greg and the gang do their “Keep On Groovin’”‘”‘” dance, I was absolutely hooked on the show! I still find myself getting sucked into episodes every now and then if I happen to catch them on TBS. So…

  • Mary Miles Minter’s Former Mansions

    Mary Miles Minter’s Former Mansions

    ‘ The death of William Desmond Taylor remains one of Hollywood’s most notorious unsolved mysteries, over 90 years after its occurrence.  On the evening of February 1st, 1922, the 50-year-old director was shot and killed in his Westlake apartment complex.  Though there were suspects aplenty, no one was ever indicted in the murder and the…

  • Thorne Hall from “The Holiday”

    Thorne Hall from “The Holiday”

    ‘ If I had to pick a favorite movie character it would be Arthur Abbott (Eli Wallach) from The Holiday.  There’s nothing about him that I don’t adore – his kind heart, his wit, his charm, his championing of Iris Simpkins (Kate Winslet).  And there’s no scene that makes me cry more than the one…

  • The Pasadena Playhouse

    The Pasadena Playhouse

    ‘ My boyfriend and I happened to walk past the Pasadena Playhouse this past weekend, and I just had to walk inside to stalk it. 🙂 The Pasadena Playhouse, although not a filming location, is one of the oldest and most distinguished community theatres in the US. The Playhouse has hosted hundreds of notable actors…

  • The “Valentine’s Day” Floral Shop

    The “Valentine’s Day” Floral Shop

    ‘ This past weekend I dragged my new husband out to stalk the Burbank storefront that stood in for Siena Bouquet & Cafe – the flower shop/coffee bar belonging to Reed Bennett (aka Ashton Kutcher) in the 2010 romantic comedy Valentine’s Day.  And even though I didn’t particularly like Valentine’s Day all that much –…

  • A Weeklong Visit to L.A. with Friends!

    A Weeklong Visit to L.A. with Friends!

    ‘ I am heading to L.A. today to spend the next week with my friends Kim and Katie who are visiting from Kentucky (that’s Kim above during a visit last November).  We have a ton of fun stalking activities planned (you can follow along on Instagram) that will not leave any time for blogging, so…

  • Zipper Concert Hall from “The West Wing”

    Zipper Concert Hall from “The West Wing”

    ‘ Most actors will tell you that extra work is the worst.  But when I first landed in L.A. back in 2000, I did quite a bit of it and couldn’t have enjoyed myself more.  Just being on a movie or television set was surreal and provided an indelible opportunity to observe the inner workings…

  • Derek’s Apartment from “Little Black Book”

    Derek’s Apartment from “Little Black Book”

    ‘ The Little Black Book location that I was most interested in tracking down was the supposed New Jersey-area apartment building where Derek (Ron Livingston) lived and where his girlfriend, Stacy (Brittany Murphy), spent most of her time.  I fell in love with the adorably charming building upon sight when first watching Little Black Book…

  • Citizens Bank Building from “The Sting”

    Citizens Bank Building from “The Sting”

    ‘ Upon landing my new gig writing for Los Angeles magazine’s CityThink blog, I comprised a list of iconic SoCal locales to spotlight in my weekly column, one of which was the Santa Monica Pier Carousel from 1973’s The Sting.  The only problem was that I had never actually seen The Sting.  Neither had the…