santiago + LB saturday

This past weekend literally flew by. On Saturday morning, I got up and headed down to Hillcrest to visit my hairstylist. Santiago has been working on my hair for over a year now. He always does a fantastic job and we share a lot of laughs during my frequent visits. I’m proud to brag that he’s worked on celebrity hair such as Selma Hayek.

In the afternoon, I headed up to Laguna Beach with my family for a nice dinner and a show. Our dinner was at one of my most favorite restaurants in Laguna! We started off with a really good bottle of 2006 Indian Wells Riesling by Chateau Ste. Michelle (so elegant). For appetizers we had the “Ahi Tuna Tartare” and “Prosciutto Wrapped Shrimp”. I ordered my usual, “Day Boat Scallops” for my entrée. For dessert, we ordered the best dessert EVER, “Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding with Bourbon Crème Anglaise and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream”. Yes people, it is even more delicious than it sounds. You have no idea! If you want to know what restaurant I am raving about, just ask me! :)

After dinner, we headed over to watch the Pageant of the Masters (only a short walk from the restaurant). This was my first time going to this annual art exhibition. My Mom said it was a great show so, we made sure to get our tickets early since it sells out every year. Our tickets included entrance into the Gala Benefit Event to celebrate the 75th Anniversary which was hosted by Neil Patrick Harris (aka Doogie Howser, MD). In case you are wondering, he looks exactly the same as when he starred in Harold & Kumar, lol. Anyway, the highlight of the Gala was a raffle for a 2008 Mercedes SLK. I bought 5 raffle tickets for 20 dollars and I was feeling really good about it. How cool would it be to win a Benz for $20?! Yeah well, I’m still daydreaming about it because out came Doogie to pull the winning ticket and before I knew it, some guy named “Rafael” had been picked out of the thousands of tickets. The worst part was, he wasn’t even around to claim his prize (since it was “need not be present to win”). C’mon, how could you not be present? Most people were there for the show. Hmmm…makes you wonder!

So, the show began at 8:30 and ran until 10pm. Once the curtain rose, I saw a large piece of framed art hanging inside the stage. Moments later, the narrators’ big booming voice would begin to describe the art piece and its historical significance. I sat there staring at the various statues and art pieces that would appear on stage individually for about 5 minutes. I remember thinking to myself; this is a little weird (and slightly boring). About 20 minutes in, my Mom elbows me and hands me her binoculars. She mumbles, “That’s so amazing”. I look at her and grin thinking she’s had way too much wine. I take a peek through the binoculars and see the framed art pieces very closely. I notice the details of the painted canvas. Finally she nudges me again and says, “How do those people not move?”. It seriously didn’t dawn on me that within the oversized paintings and life-like statues were REAL PEOPLE posing there. I immediately perked up and my interest sparked. Even with the binoculars, you seriously couldn’t tell! About 45 minutes into the show, they show the audience exactly how it is done. The oversized frame is brought onto the stage, and then a flat looking surface with people moving about gets wheeled into the frame. The lights dim and when they turn back on, the once moving people are frozen as a rock in a solid pose replicating the art piece. It was pretty crazy once you realized what these people were doing. They seriously looked like they were painted into the canvas. There were even kids involved! It is dubbed, “living pictures”. The best part of the entire show was their “annual finale” which was “The Last Supper”. It was pretty breathtaking. If you haven’t seen the show, I recommend checking it out at least once. The locals in Laguna go every year. http://www.foapom.com/