Spotted - BFF Leonardo DiCaprio and Lukas Haas at the Century City Mall. After spotting Lukas back in November, and running after Leonardo and his girlfriend Bar Rafaeli in February, I finally mustered up the courage to speak to them, and by them, I only really mean Leonardo. He looked nervous as I told him about my previous stalking endeavors, but was very nice and charming, and we all took blackberry photos together. My next effort will be getting his digits :)


you know you love me, t.

Life is so busy - I will not be updating for a while - stay tuned !! xo

Spotted – J. Wahl smoking a cigarette and drinking a Diet Coke outside an office building on the corner of Century Park East and Santa Monica Blvd. After asking him if he had change for a $20 bill, he informed me that he only carries around credit cards.

In other people’s “celebrity” sighting news, spotted – Adrian Grenier eating at Le Petit Four with an unidentified friend. Yalda and her mom took pictures of him yesterday :)

you know you love me, t.

Right after I come back from India, I find my new issue of Vogue May 2009 with Indian supermodel Lakshmi Menon gracing the cover. The spread inside is devoted to her hometown of Goa, where we spent 4 days. The photos really capture India’s beautiful culture, and I am so delighted to to have experienced Goa and Delhi. Namaste!

Just came back from India, am still on sensory overload and dreaming of the bold and bright colors, the refreshing temples, and the benevolence of the people. Thank you to Sid and Mona for a brilliant time and a beautiful wedding!

But before I recoup, a public service message -- Listen up LA! Get outside, HEAT WAVE 09 is happening. Bust out your Seals & Crofts and free Ben & Jerry’s and do it. Let’s party like its 1863 - Happy Ridván! See you in the sunshine.

As a former library page in the children’s section of the Los Angeles County Public Library I am beyond excited!!

Everything a girl could want - put together nicely thanks to Karl for the Fall 2009 Ready to Wear Chanel show in Paris.

Can I just say that I want to change my job to some sort of purveyor of cool that approaches high school students and asks them where they got their amazingly awesome clothes?? I did that today at the Century City Mall (as I do EVERYDAY) and I loved it. And then one of the girls asked me if I went to Beverly High- best conversation EVER!

I don’t care if she looks like the main character in “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?” - Mischa looks fab here. I want to be able to rock those rings and that hat! I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, there is no way homegirl wears Keds apart from the ad campaign.

Iran Accuses 7 Jailed Leaders of Bahai Faith of Espionage.
These types of charges are so archaic and sinister that it should sadden anyone who believes in love, peace, and unity. There are seven Bahá’ís being held in jail solely because of their Faith. Thank you to Rainn Wilson for writing about it and for everyone around the world who has been praying fervently for justice to prevail. Contact your Congressional representative to support House Resolution 175 about the situation of the Bahá’ís in Iran http://iran.bahai.us/.

I’m flying out to NYC in just a few hours, where everyone has Gossip Girl’s number.

Nobody has mine.

But if you need to get in touch with me, I promise I’ll hit you back: talalalalalalalalala@gmail.com.

Lonely Boy sightings encouraged.

Spotted – Leonardo DiCaprio and Bar Rafaeli walking together at the Century City Mall. After walking past them [and regaining my composure] I turned around and waited about three feet away for Leo to finish signing autographs for a few ten year-old girls. He glanced up, saw me coming after him, and he and his supermodel girlfriend turned around and started to run away from me... I can seriously die happy now. Leo and I made eye contact. Even though there was a bit of fear in his eyes.

you know you love me, t.

Because today is my half birthday ...

Whoever is buying, start saving - I need these Balenciaga Hoofs.

Wonderful – the Chanel Spring 2009 Haute Couture Collection – everything in the collection is white, or black and white. Most impressive? All the flowers, headpieces and little caps were created from paper! Oh, Karl, you are so creative in this time of economic downsizing. Get your scissors and construction paper out, kids. We are going to make this happen!

Dear Rest of the World:

Probably you have already heard it from your other friends in Los Angeles, but I wanted to make sure that I drove the point home. It has been over 80 degrees lately here. New York, Paris, Toronto, Munich, and Moscow, enjoy your highs of 20. Chicago and Montreal, good luck out there with -5 today. I hesitate to mention that I am headed to a patio at this time to barbecue. Outside, of course. Now carry on with whatever it is you do out there in the cold.

keep warm,
Tala

PS. Although having fun in the sun, we did lose a dear friend to Los Angeles today. R.I.P. Indie 103.1 – I was pretty bummed to hear the news. Joe Escalante, Jonesey, and the rest of the Indie 103.1 team, thank you for years of awesome music.
PPS. This news does not deter me from putting my Ipod on full blast and lounging out by my pool in the middle of winter. Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

My blackberry photos from San Francisco this past weekend. A prize goes to the person who can correctly name which television show the last photo was featured in.

New Year’s Resolution:

I’m trying to make it a December to remember. Two double oh nine resolutions to follow. Happy Holidays!

Spotted – Adam Sandler buying lots of books at Borders in the Century City Mall. So much fun-akkah to celebrate Hanukkah when you receive a present from Adam Sandler.

you know you love me, t.

LAST NIGHT
(omg)

(dying)

THEN

(tears)

(love)

(heartbreak)

In conclusion - best Chuck & Blair episode. Serious heartbreaks.

Miss Dior Cherie Sofia Coppola

Why was I not born to be a French girl with side-swept hair, wearing summer dresses on her bike while eating a rainbow of pastries?

I am crying hot salty sad tears of envy.

Not fair, dude.

Not. Fair.

disappointingly yours, t.

It is difficult to remember how I spent my Monday nights before Josh Schwartz graced us with Gossip Girl. My shameless addiction runs so deep that I dream of Chuck Bass, Blair Waldorf, and Blair’s headbands. Here is a sampling:

Oh, to be a young, rich, beautiful teenage prep student !!

Happy Thanksgiving to you, assorted girls, boys, kids, adults, lovers, haters, bffs, stalkers, secret crushes, not so secret crushes, and everyone else that reads all these musings!

“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.” - Marcus Tullius Cicero

While Britney’s Circus doesn’t drop until December 2nd, which happens to also be Brit Brit’s birthday, all of the songs from the album have been leaked* onto the internet and can be found through me! If you want to indulge your inner bubble gum dance pop, let me know and I will burn you a copy.

Btw, yes, it is actually very great. That girl sure knows how to make a comeback.


*Other albums which have leaked and which I have copies of include, but are not limited to, Kanye West’s 808s & Heartbreak and The Killer’s Day & Age.

Spotted – Lukas Haas window shopping with hipster friend at the Century City Mall five minutes ago.

you know you love me, t.

According to a production assistant, Karl Lagerfeld had specific demands at his set for Chanel’s latest ad campaign:

“He requested seven loaves of Pennsylvania Wheat Bread and a tub of I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter to be brought directly from New York to the set. My only job was bringing him the bread and the fake butter. Karl paid me $500 to do it, plus he paid off my $200 speeding ticket.”

The only payment I would request would be in form of a Chanel purse!

TODAY! Finally. I can not wait for all this to be over. It would be too soon if I ever heard the following words ever again: Joe the Plumber, maverick, hockey mom, Joe six-pack, William Ayers, or drill, baby, drill.
Four years ago, as I was flying back to Los Angeles from New York City, I watched the coverage of the Democratic National Convention on the plane. Even though I am not really into politics or politicians, I sat, riveted, as a young senator from Illinois gave a powerful and moving speech. Landing back in LA, I called up my friends and gave my nostradamus prediction for President in 2016 (assuming it was too early for him in 2008 or 2012). But, now, it seems as if the United States - and the world - is ready for him - and let us hope that he is also ready for us. No major news outlet has called it yet, but I am - congrats to the 44th President of the United States of America, Mr. Barack Hussein Obama II.

Spotted – C-list celebrities, models galore, a Project Runway finalist, and a couple of new-90210ers dancing at the GQ lounge at the Roosevelt Hotel Saturday night. Perhaps Jerell Scott will now make a dress influenced by a Persian girl and her friends following him around. Gosh, I wonder who that could be? ;)



you know you love me, t.

Have you ever had those moments where you just love Los Angeles so much that you take it in your arms and squeeze it so hard that you don’t realize until it’s too late that you’ve crushed all of its adorable little bones in your delirious, smothering embrace? I’m kinda having one right now after the Gen Art Fresh Faces in Fashion 2008 Runway Show on Friday night at the Petersen Automobile Museum hosted by Mandy Moore. Rising talents who showcased their collections were Nanushka, Quail, Wayne Hadly, Peonie, Wayf, K.Z.O., Laeken, and Maxine Dillon.

My thoughts? Quail designer Michelle Nguyen Williams paired all her models with the Alice + Olivia for Payless Rivington Ankle boots, in a moment of high fashion meets the streets. Everyone in the crowd – including models walking for Laeken – wore nerdy (made cool by hipsters) glasses. And choice songs of the season include Lykke Li’s Little Bit and MGMT’s Time to Pretend. But, really, no fashion show could ever feature as much scandal, outrage, rumors, and shocking behavior as Eleanor Waldorf’s on Gossip Girl ;)

Spotted – Heidi Montag with an unidentified agent type on the corner of Santa Monica and Canon, waiting to cross the street. Three things I noticed before realizing it was Heidi: (1) too much collagen filled lips; (2) too much bleach blonde hair; (3) is that a dress or a shirt?

you know you love me, t.

If I was a rock star, this would be my guitar case:

Decision 2008

Only because I love you, Leo.

Drew Barrymore is now on my hit list. Click HERE.

In other news: spotted- a former gossip girl canoodling with LA’s very own party promoter last night at Foxtail. Perhaps SBE needs a new intern now that Heidi supposedly doesn’t work there?

you know you love me, t.

duh nuh nuh nuh, duh nuh nuh nuh, clap clap - that little ditty used to excite me, sending shivers up my spine in anticipation. Now, it chills my beating heart and fills my stomach with bile.

Why? Because the CW ruined 90210. Kelly Taylor is a guidance counselor? Maybe she can guide the new cast of girls on how to steal boyfriends or backstab best friends. She certainly does not need to listen to other people’s drama after her own lifetimes of drama – being addicted to diet pills, having a cokehead mom, having David Silver see her naked when she got out of the shower that one time, getting date raped, almost getting raped, actually getting raped, killing her rapist, getting caught in a house fire, being stalked, having to go to rehab, having amnesia, being shot, being in a cult, having a miscarriage, and living with Donna Martin. She also got carbon-monoxided (damn you, Tara Marks, for not finishing the job!)

Perhaps a future conversation between a student and Kelly:
Kelly: So what is the problem, kid? Rape, coke, diet pills, rape, creepy new step-brother, drunk Mom, burns from a fire, stalker, or rape?
Student: You said rape three times.

And Brenda Walsh? Everyone knows Brenda should be living in France as a full-time diva – with Dylan McKay. But of course, after tonight’s revelation, my dream of Brenda and Dylan together forever came to a disastrous end. Kelly is Dylan’s baby mama. Groan. The horror of it all!

Brenda and Dylan were meant for each other. I had imagined a post-90210 world in which Kelly died of another coke addiction and Brenda and Dylan drove around in Dylan’s Porsche Boxster listening to R.E.M. Yeah, yeah, bite my tongue, right? Well, it doesn’t even matter because the new 90210 seems a little irrelevant in a post-OC world now dominated by Gossip Girls. Take that, CW!

duh nuh nuh nuh, duh nuh nuh nuh, clap clap.

This is what I want my refrigerator to look like...

I just flew back home from Richmond, Virginia, where I learned what NASCAR is, that mosquitoes can – and will – attack, and that Virginia really is for lovers, thanks to Neda & Robbie! Congrats! The wedding was filled with family and friends, with laughter and tears, and tons of accents – New Zealander, Australian, American, Persian, and everything in between. Looking forward to their superbeautiful, supertall, superamazing, supersmart, supertravelling children!

TONIGHT. MOTHERCHUCKER.

I can barely breathe looking at the ads.

WHY NOT LOS ANGELES?!

Yves Saint Laurent FREE bag and catalogue. I will pay someone to get this tote for me... anyone?? New Yorkers? Londoners? Parisians? Please!

Dear China, the International Olympic Committee, and all the amazing athletes: Thank you! I had the best two weeks watching images of courage, strength, perseverance, goodwill, valor, magnificence, compassion, resolve, determination, beauty, admiration, and humanity. Now, the games are over, and the only tv shows I will be watching have more to do with scandal than honor. Both Gossip Girl and 90210 premiere in one week. Stay tuned for appalling, outrageous, and shocking behavior from America’s teenagers (teenagers who, judged by their behavior, are evidently not getting any sportsmanship awards, either in the Olympics or elsewhere). YES!

Courage - Nike

I may not have had luck on my side this past weekend while in Las Vegas (getting stuck in an elevator, leaving my cell phone at McDonald’s, and clashing with an American Apparel employee at the Caesar’s Palace Forum Shops) but I certainly still do believe in the Olympic spirit. And so does Nike. Just watch. Just do it.

08.08.08 !!!!

The luckiest day of the year (according to the Chinese).

Let the games begin !!!!

Thank you, John McCain, for bringing Paris Hilton and Britney Spears into the presidential elections. Due to your recent “Celeb” campaign ad, the mindless masses are now paying attention. Your ad has had more than 1.8 million hits on YouTube, it has been played on network and cable news stations, and it has raised comments from hundreds of watercoolers across the nation. The thousands of references to this ad, the rebuttal by Paris Hilton, and the free air time would normally lead me to conclude that this was a genius advertising move. It is better to have bad publicity than no publicity, right? Wrong. Perhaps that is true for actual “celebrities” like Paris and Britney, but not for someone trying to become the President of the United States. Barack Obama is not a celebrity – he is a “symbol”. And what about other “icons” turned “politicians”? Ronald Reagan? Arnold Schwarzenegger? Aren’t they from your own political party? Don’t you think if Paris and Britney can bring more attention to a campaign than even the most fierce battle over taxes and foreign policy, then there is something already amiss going on? My condolences for your impending loss.

Last night Yalda and I went to see The Virgins play at Spaceland! It was an amazing show. We danced with the hipsters, sang along to Rich Girls, stalked Lucy Liu, who was in the front row with us, and made fun of Jesse Metcalf as he was standing next to us in line for the valet. Will The Virgins have to change their band name after they become wildly successful and have tons of groupies waiting for them backstage?

Good Morning, Southern California!

Was that an earthquake? Or did you just rock my world ;)

rockin and rollin from the 24th floor,
Tala

I’m Not Here to Make Friends!


Okay, okay, we get it. You are not here to make friends. But you definitely are here to get your fifteen minutes of fame.

Speaking of... Heidi’s fifteen minutes have resulted in a question on Jeopardy. This is a sad day for America.

A couple evenings ago, I began to get ready for a “night in.” Instead, I ended up sitting next to Wilmer Valderamma’s table at Beso, dancing with David Hasselhoff at Les Deux, and crashing a party at the Roosevelt. Whoever said that staying in was the new going out never had the chance to live in LA.

You may not know this, but somebody is having a birthday this week... That’s right, it’s your old buddy America :) And to celebrate, President Bush has given all his loyal subjects Friday off. With the specter of a long flag-filled weekend looming in the horizon, some folks have decided to check out a little early- including me! I will be at Zuma, lifeguard station #7 from tomorrow till Sunday. Come out and catch a wave, eat some pie, and wear your stars and stripes. Happy Independence Day!

Welcome to SUMMER OH EIGHT.

So buy a new bathing suit, take out your sunscreen, put on your stunna shades, and join me on the beach bus to Zuma. Destination: WAY TOO HOT SUMMER.

Breaking News! Britney is an aunt. Please welcome Maddie Briann Spears into our pop-culture-loving lives.

The best part about the NBA playoffs were the Denali commercials. Seriously. Looking forward to the resurrection of the Lakers in 2009!

"Are You a Dope in Real Life Too?"

“Spencer is the man!”

“For what?”

LOL! But, seriously… for what, Heidi?!?!

Shoes of the week:

Song of the week: “Bossy”

Worker of the week: Leonardo DiCaprio

Article of the week: “The Tao of Mary Kate”

Upgrade of the week: Strawberry Shortcake

Interview of the week: Anna Wintour with New York Magazine

Quote of the week:

“One day in the distant future, the children of our children’s children will look back upon the ‘aughts’ for retro inspiration and stumble upon the sartorial black hole that is Paris Hilton. Her egregious crimes against fashion are too numerous to list here, but in this photo of Her Tragedy, accompanied by her boyfriend Benji Madden, the offending look is very wannabe It couple: If you took a snapshot of Kate Moss and Pete Doherty from two years ago, photocopied it 27 times, covered it in Velveeta, ran it through a Hot Topic sample sale and then sold it as a cheap knock-off on Canal Street, it would look like this picture.” – Elizabeth Spiridakis

Collabo of the week: Converse / Pharrell / Santogold / Julian

Party of the week:

Back to 90210??

Just got back from Poland (cześć) and Israel (shalom). AMAZING. Will post some photos up soon. A little jetlagged now, but had to share this video. Not sure how I feel about it :/

I’m en route to Poland and Israel! I’ll be blogging back in a month!

Totally disgusting and intriguing at the same time. This is getting out of hand. And no one is actually to blame. Not Karl, not Mary-Kate, not Vogue. An entire change of mindset is necessary.

Hello: floral prints, Gossip Girl, avocados, purple, Hard Candy, dance parties, NARS lip gloss, Miu Miu heels, Connect Four, zipped hem jeans, XIV.

Goodbye: horizontal stripes, The Hills, pears, yellow, E=MC2, posing parties, NARS lip stains, Miu Miu flats, Checkers, carpenter wide-leg jeans, Area.