Thurgood Marshall Front Row Fashion Show

Is this dress not GORGEOUS?!  Seriously. I was contemplating walking off the runway and slipping out the back door. Do you think anyone would have noticed? ;)

I recently walked for designer Angela Dean of DeanZign in the 4th Annual Thurgood Marshall Front Row Fashion Show.  This event has become one of the largest fashion shows in New York City that not only showcases the talents of emerging and established designers of color, but also celebrates icons who have influenced the fashion world with their style and commitment to their art.  With Sherri Shepherd hosting, honoree celebrities such as  Naomi Campbell in attendance, and a tribute to Michael Jackson, it was exciting to await backstage ready to walk down the runway.

Its also nice to run into a familiar face when working on jobs. I met model Jacob Thomas working my first NYC fashion show during Couture Fashion Week. I am wearing an outfit for Walmart, which got absolutely no media attention whatsoever. Why is that? Don't I make Walmart style look fashionable? :)

On the contrary, it was easy to find photos of myself online with DeanZign. When I walked onto the stage with this gorgeous creation, the audience applauded. And that felt wonderful!

And here I am WORKING it.

L'Oreal Seattle and Los Angeles

I finished up the L'Oreal West Coast Tour last week, ending in Los Angeles. The company generously extended my plane ticket date and I had an amazing additional week visiting and reconnecting with good friends. I have missed California so much!

Modeling these three shows with Lauren and Nikita has been an incredible experience and I am truly thankful for these two new friends. I'm looking forward to working with them on upcoming projects and hopefully L'Oreal again at some point (Paris maybe?) And fingers are crossed. 

So does this mean I don't get to have my hair touched up every two weeks anymore? Well, that's a bummer! :)

My first time in Seattle!! What a beautiful city. 

On top of the Space Needle

Los Angeles

With our beautiful show director Maya

Our Asian hand signals 1, 2, 5!  At a restaurant in Venice Beach

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And of course a video of our Los Angeles experience!

Big River

I saw a wonderful production of Big River by the Actors Co-op in Los Angeles over the weekend. I absolutely loved it! 

 Now I may be a bit biased  because there are a few reasons why I love this musical in the first place. Growing up, Mark Twain's novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, was one of the books I reread over and over as a child. When I saw my first professional musical in Washington DC during a Junior High class trip, imagine how ecstatic I was that part of our itinerary included a dinner theatre production of Big River! I fell in love with how the story, which was already so familiar to me, was brought to life on stage with music. It was also one of those defining moments when I suddenly realized just how utterly amazing, and what a work of art, theatre can be. 

 Several years ago, I saw Deaf West Theatre's version of Big River. What made this production spectacular was that the actors were deaf. They hired additional non-hearing impaired actors to speak the lines and sing. The hearing impaired actors portrayed the action of the story and signed. The "actor teams" would create an incredible movement piece with sign language that  complimented one another during the musical numbers. It was SO BEAUTIFUL that I had tears in my eyes almost the entire time. And looking out into the audience during intermission it was incredible to watch the majority of the audience communicating with their hands. It was a sight to see. I convinced all my friends and family to accompany me to a second performance. 

So I am very happy that my visit to LA happened to be at the same time my very talented friend Sean Hankinson was performing as the lead, Huck Finn, at the Actors Co-op's production of Big River. 

 Yes, I may be a bit biased, but I am also a harsh critic when it comes to theatre productions, especially in Los Angeles. And I say with confidence that this is a musical worth seeing. 

 And I was able to find half off tickets through Goldstar! They are also great for cheap entertainment tickets in general.

  

After the show with my best friend Erin, Sean, and another friend Alicia from Chapman who I haven’t seen for years!  

The Invisible Dog walk

I spent Sunday afternoon taking a leisurely walk in Brooklyn with my invisible dog. About 2000 people did the same. (This number seems a bit exaggerated to me, but that's what the other sites are saying...) Nonetheless, a whole bunch of us walked the streets with harnesses attached to leashes, sipping on coffee, having lunch at pet friendly cafes and visiting pet stores to purchase doggie treats for our canine friends.

I participated in Improv Everywhere's most recent mission.

My friend Lauren Reeves invited me to come to the "top secret" shoot. All I knew about this particular improv group is that they are known for going pants-less on the subway. So I was very relieved when people started walking out of the "secret" building with their invisible dogs and no missing clothes.

Watch one of their most famous stunts that took place in Grand Central Station. Its pretty awesome.




My favorite moments of the day were all the children who were so joyfully excited to be petting my invisible dog. One little girl who was participating insisted that she was walking an invisible Iguana. For me, well, I decided to walk the spirit of my childhood dog, Sparky.

Hell Froze Over Is A Winner!!

Hell Froze Over was screened at the New York Television Festival over the weekend and won the Outside The Box Award, and was also recognized in The Hollywood Reporter! I am very excited for my friend and star of the show Tracy Clifton, and the creators of this fun and innovative web series. 

Just in case you need to be refreshed, Hell Froze Over is about a girl who goes and dates every guy she's ever rejected. But don't just take my word for it! Go to www.hellfrozeover.tv and check it out yourself. 

And make sure you look for me in Episode 103 Threesome and the After Date Interviews :)

Watch Glee!

For the past few weeks I have been seeing posts on facebook and hearing friends talk about how awesome the new tv show Glee is.  Finally, I sat down this evening and watched the first three episodes. 

Needless to say I am hooked. 

And now I have a new crush. ;P

So if you like song and dance, rooting for the underdog or just feel the need to nourish your "inner creative nerd", then watch Glee. 

Now I wish I had not given up on those expensive singing lessons years ago.... 

L'Oreal San Francisco

This past weekend was incredibly fun and I LOVE how L'Oreal styled my hair. I worked with two beautiful models Lauren Reeves and Nikita Kwong. 

The best part is I get to do it all over again next weekend in Seattle!

I had a good 5 hours before my flight home and got to see a good friend that lives in the Bay area. He took me to this amazing Chinese restaurant called the House of NanKing. Its so amazing that its worth noting here :) 

 

And my floral detox tea had a flower bulb in it, and within 5 minutes it bloomed! 

I'm easily captured in awe at little things like that :) Cheers!