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Check out this beautiful cake that Nathalie made for her Mum’s birthday!!

“I know how happy it makes you to see your recipe books put too good use, so I thought I’d send you my most recent concoction from HIAV…your fabulous Lemon cake! We’re having it tonight for dessert, it’s my mom’s 69th Bday.” – Nathalie

The cake recipe is from How It All Vegan and available for purchase HERE.

What? I’m back in LA? Wasn’t I just here??

Oh yeah. I was JUST here 5 days ago … or was it 6? Holy crap I’ve fit a lot of living into few days!!

I got into LAX late and Jane was already at The Greek doing sound-check so I dropped of my bags at the hotel and hopped a taxi to the venue. My cab driver was hilarious. He told me he immigrated from communist Yugoslavia to Prince George BC where he was a logger for many years. When I told him I was from Victoria – he almost crashed the car. He had spent a few years in Victoria before he and his wife moved to LA to be closer to her family. What a small weird world we live in.

Got to The Greek but missed sound-check. Poop. Met up with Arnold and his lovely wife and we went and grabed some french-fries at a dive diner that is just down the street from the Venue. The Greek is so far away from any real food … Good thing I packed a few Lara Bars. 🙂

Arnold and I walked around trying to find a good spot to park and take photos but The Greek is a weird theater for that – plus they are REALLY tight with their camera restrictions and you can only shoot from certain areas.  🙁

We went backstage and tried to find some good spots to shoot there but the stage was packed tight with equipment. Bummer.

The show started and I managed to wiggle up to the front of the stage and stood beside my friend Baub and rocked out to a few songs.

I’m so short that it was difficult for me to see the band from where I was so I went backstage and found a good spot near the side of the stage.

From that spot I could see the entire band and watch the audience rock out. At one point I felt completely out of my body and I realized that my brain couldn’t compute that I was watching my favourite band from backstage at The Greek. So I took a moment to close my eyes and ground myself. This was the last night I was going to see the band on this tour and I wanted to be present for it.  🙂

It worked. I was back in my body and I can still recall that feeling of standing on the side of the stage watching the band. If you had told 14 year old me that this week would have happened .. she would have told you to “shut up” and gone and sobbed with joy into a towel in the bathroom.

At one point during the show the band started playing Head over Heels and I heard a voice behind me say “I never know when you’re supposed to clap your hands…” I turned around and grabbed the arms of Andy Richter and showed him how to clap along. WHAT?!! Whoops. I thought he was someone I knew. *laugh*

My camera was being weird and I tried to record a few songs but the only one I managed to capture was Cool Jerk. A bunch of people I knew rushed the stage and started dancing behind Jane and the whole time I was filming I kept thinking … “why don’t you just go out there and dance” but I wanted to capture it all on video. I now live with a deep regret that I wasn’t a Cool Jerk.  🙁 Oh well. It’s probably for the best. I don’t think I have the lung capacity to sustain dancing for the entire song. *laugh*

After the show I went backstage to say hi and Jane asked me if I was able to grab food before the show … I shook my head no and she dragged me to the craft-service table and told me to eat. 🙂 I filled my guts with baby carrots, hummus, crackers and grapes.

There were ALL kinds of famous people backstage. Linda Perry, Sara Gilbert, I heard a rumor that Jodi Foster was in the room but I didn’t see her. There was also a rumor that Gwyneth Paltrow was supposed to be there. I saw Clem Burke again and I waved at him like were old friends but I’m not sure he remembered me from the Star Ceremony party. *laugh* I’m such a geek.

The SadSadConversation crew were also in full effect. Andy Richter, Josh Charles, Samm Levine (who I was still tongue tied around), Steve Agee, Sarah Thyre and a bunch of other people that I recognized but couldn’t remember the names of (sorry).

It was a lot of fun but my STUPID camera was acting up so I only got a couple of blurry photos … dang it.  🙁

We all wandered down to the after-after party and I loaded up on popcorn, more baby carrots and some watermelon. I was starving.

Jane wanted to head out to the after-after-after party so I went into her dressing room and helped her pack up her stuff.

I got to cross the tape into Go-Go’s territory! 🙂

We all headed back to the House in the Hollywood Hills that we had visited just a week before and we celebrated into the wee hours by turning the living room into an 80’s dance party again. So much fun.

Got back to the hotel around 5am (What?) and slept until noon. While I got ready to catch my flight and I said my good-byes to everyone. Nooooo! Was it really time to go back home? 🙁

As I left the hotel I could hear Jane’s voice down at the end of the hallway. She was in the conference room filming a new segment for Vh1 Behind The Music (they are doing an updated version to include the Star ceremony and the 30th anniversary of BATB). While I waited for my elevator I may or may not have eavesdropped a little to Jane’s conversation with VH1. Tee hee.

I got home and could barely express to Gerry how much fun I had …  🙂

So thank you Belinda, Char, Gina, Kathy. Thank you Art, Leah and Norty. Thank you Susan, Travis, Duke, Jimmy and Meg. And most especially thank you Jane for bringing me into the fold and helping to make my 2011 summer the best summer EVER!!

I wonder what will happen next summer…?

I flew Virgin from Sea-Tac to San Fran. I’d never been on Virgin airlines before (insert virgin joke here…)

It felt like I was on a Studio 54 airplane …

My pal Jimmy came and picked me up from the airport and got me settled at the house. There was a lot of dog canoodling going on … 🙂

Malcom and Angus are amazing dogs. Jane calls them the 2-headed Hydra and it’s an apt name. They seem to do everything in unison. I hope one day they can hang out with Fergus. I think the planet might explode with awesomeness if they met.  🙂

I grabbed Peanut as my sleeping buddy and went to bed early. Tomorrow was going to be a long day/evening and I wanted to be in fine form.

Got up early and marveled at the fog … SF. I love you.

Then I started working on brunch with Jane’s sister. She was making a big brunch for friends/family and I was in charge of chopping fruit!! I also made a green smoothie for everyone to drink (bananas + spinach + water = yum).

The spread was awesome and Meg very kindly made sure that the Nicoise salad was vegan friendly and put the non-vegan items on a separate plate. What a doll. 🙂

We ate. We laughed. We canoodled with the dogs.

It was a perfect way to spend some time with friends.  🙂

Then it was time to head down to the Fillmore for sound-check!! I met up with my friend Arnold and we hung out in one of the boxes and watched rehearsal. We watched them work on the sound – and once the sound was perfect the ladies started working on a new arrangement for Mother’s Little Helper.

Every tour they do a different cover song and this year is a wicked version of the Rolling Stone classic Mother’s Little Helper. I guess they wanted to change up the drums for the SF show and they worked on the song for about 20 minutes. I kept pinching Arnold because how often do you get to watch the GG’s work on a song?? 🙂

The concert was fantastic. I was having camera issues and only managed to record one song … it’s the opening song and how funny is it that the ladies walk on stage to “hot blooded”. *laugh*

The great fun of having an all-access pass is that I can wander just about anywhere and watch the show so I made my way all around the theater and watched from a bunch of different vantage points.

So so fun. 🙂

I also got to have a good look at a Jason Mecier’s mosiac mural of BATB. What a crazy piece of art!! Made with all of the GG’s junk!! Toothbrushes, sleeping masks, mascara tubes, etc. I would buy it in a heartbeat if I had a spare $2000 hanging around.  🙂

I fell into bed with the sounds of We Got The Beat still pounding in my ears … what does tomorrow bring? OH YEAH! Another flight. This one to LA for the GG’s show at The Greek! 🙂

The bus ride up to Seattle was fun. Before we left Portland the bus drove to Whole Foods and everyone hopped out of the bus and ran in to grab groceries for the drive. I was feeling a little giddy… Am I really grocery shopping with the Go-Go’s?? *laugh*

Everyone got settled on the bus and while I had everyone in one room I decided to hand out some goodies. I brought everyone a Canadiana Chocolate bar and because it was Belinda’s birthday in a few days I gave her a few extra goodies. A tin of Yum Yum Sore Throat Tea because her voice had been giving her trouble, a Canadiana Chocolate bar and a pair of Do-Ni Ballet flats because after being a fan for so many years I know that ballet flats are her shoe of choice. 🙂

And because I had them all trapped in the same room at the same time I also asked them to sign my Vacation reel-to-reel. Yippee!

The trip up to Seattle was uneventful but nice. There was lots of casual chit-chat, TV watching, ipad looking and napping. I spent most of the bus ride up to Seattle editing video I had shot of the band and uploading it to the official Go-Go’s youtube page.

We arrived in Seattle and the ladies went to their dressing rooms to get ready for the show while I grabbed a cab to my hotel. I was spending the night in Seattle while the ladies were driving the bus back down to Seattle after the show.

Jane offered me another ride but I had already booked my flight from Seattle to SFO so I took a pass. Plus the drive from Seattle to SFO was going to be 13+ hours and the thought of being stuck in a bus for that long without having my own personal space wasn’t appealing. 😉

I got settled in my hotel. Grabbed a shower. Walked up the street to a vegan restaurant that had been recommended to me and had what was one of the worst vegan meals I have had in a long time. What a disappointment to see such bland un-imaginative vegan food. Especially after having such an amazing meal at Portobello in PDX the night before.  🙁

I grabbed a cab back up to the concert venue and as I arrived I realized that the GG’s were already playing and I could tell by where they were in the set list that I had missed the first 3 songs. WTF!!! I ran into the Merch woman and she told me that she show started early at 7pm. Not the usual 8pm.

OH SHIT!! I should have double checked with the tour manager about the time of the show … I sprinted down to the stage expecting to find a crowd of people dancing their asses of like they were the night before in Portland but much to my shock there was an entire packed field of people sitting flat on their asses. What! SACRILEGE!! You do NOT sit during a GG’s concert. How could you??

I went backstage to watch from the side-stage and watched for a few songs … The band were not playing at their best. I’ve seen them enough times to be able to say that the energy of the audience directly effects the energy of the band and it seemed that the crowd sitting on their butts was effecting the show.

So I went and stood in front of the stage and started dancing … Then a group of woman joined me and we all smiled at each other. I said “Why is nobody dancing??” She said “It’s Seattle! Nobody ever dances. Let’s show them how to have fun!”

And we did. Much to the chagrin of the security and the people sitting in the front row…

Sorry … but you’re at a GG’s show. GET OFF YOUR ASS!! 🙂 More and more people started to join us and that’s when the band moved into Cool Jerk. I started filming because I knew that the band usually brought audience members on stage and it’s always a fun part of the show … The people Jane picked to come on stage were perfect and full of energy! The guy in the hat is hilarious.

After Cool Jerk the crowd started to loosen up and everyone got up to dance. Yes!! Finally! 🙂

After the show I said my good-byes to the band and the crew and went to the front of the building to catch a cab. I called a few cab companies but the wait was going to be over an hour. Yikes. I saw a bus stop across the street and figured out on my iphone that this bus would take me almost all they way to my hotel (with one bus transfer) so I waited. And waited. And it started to get dark.

If you follow my blog then you know that I am a survivor of an attack and I sometimes get spooked when I have to travel alone at night. I called Gerry and he kept me company for a little while but it’s so expensive to talk on the phone from the USA so I kept him updated with text messages.

A dude came to join me at the bus stop and I was really scared for a second until I noticed he was wearing a Go-Go’s tour T-Shirt *laugh*  so instead of freaking out I went over and asked him if he knew when the next bus was coming. He asked me where I was headed and I gave him a general idea and he told me he was going to the same area and he would help me with the bus transfer.

We got on the bus and he sat a respectful distance away from me. Then when the stop came he told me and pointed to where the next bus was. We both got on the next bus and again he sat a respectful distance away. That’s when I could feel tears bubbling up inside me. Uh oh.

He rang the bell and told me I had reached my stop. As I walked by him I asked his name. “Abdul” I said “Thank you Abdul. You’re a really nice guy and the world needs more poeple like you.”

I got off the bus and ran up to my hotel which was only a few steps away. I got into the hotel room and started sobbing. Abdul reminded me that the universe is 99% full of lovely people and that it’s the 1% of assholes who ruin lives.

I called Gerry. We had a long talk about how weird my day was and why I was feeling out of sorts. Riding in the bus, a terrible meal, arrived at the show late, the weird audience, having to take the bus, being away from home… it all added up to a melt-down.

I said my good-nights to Ger. Popped in my earbuds and did a ZZZZZZZ guided mediation to help me sleep and I woke up at 11am feeling like a new person.

HOLY SHIT! I was supposed to check-out at 11am so I called the front desk to get an extension and I got ready for my flight to SFO…

Friends of Animals (Victoria) has a fun new event coming up on Saturday, November 26th called the Fur-Free Downtown Dash.

It’s a sort of scavenger hunt for activists with an anti-fur theme. More details can be found on the FOA website HERE.

If you’d like to RSVP and are on Facebook, the event page is HERE!

There will also be prizes and goodies for participants, if the adventure isn’t enough to entice you. Hope you will join us!

Woke up the next day and rolled out of bed with a wee champagne hang-over. Or was it a period hangover?? Probably both.

We drove to a local diner where my friends ate greasy diner food and I filled up my tummy with oatmeal, toast and peanut-butter. Whoops. I guess I forgot I wasn’t eating gluten anymore. I also saw Rob Corddry in the diner … wanted to say hi but he was eating so I left him alone. How Canadian of me. 🙂

At brunch one of Jane’s friends talked about how he was going to visit Mike at his beach house after brunch … I was kind of not listening until I heard him say Mike-D. My stomach dropped “um. Do you mean Mike-D from the Beastie Boys?” Damn. I couldn’t go with them … I had to catch a flight to Portland. DAMN IT!!!

It’s ok. If I had met Mike-D I would probably have geeked out even worse then when I geeked out over Samm Levine.

After breakfast – I said my good-byes and headed to the airport to fly to Portland. I tried to nap on the plane but it had free wi-fi so I got sucked into a facebook black-hole. I also got an e-mail from twitter letting me know that Phil Lamarr had started following me on twitter. Yippee!

The Go-Go’s were playing a show the next day and I wanted to get in a good visit with my good friend Michelle (from Herbivore Clothing). Michelle and her daughter Ruby picked me up at the airport and we were going to go out for dinner but I was SO exhausted from the night before that we went to the local grocery store and grabbed a giant salad from their salad bar.

Wow. I needed some fresh veggies … the veggies immediately revived me and I felt 100% better.

We went back to Michelle’s house and Ruby introduced me to Sassy the Basset Hound. Sassy is notoriously shy … but I had her eating out of the palm of my hand by the next morning. Just call me The Basset Whisperer. 🙂

The next day we all got up early and started cleaning the house. Michelle’s parents were coming to visit and I told her there was NOTHING I would rather do then help her clean her house.

I wasn’t joking either. If you know me at all … you know I love to clean and organize!! So while Ruby had a playdate with a friend – Michelle and I spent the day cleaning and gabbing.

It was probably one of my favourite visits I’ve ever had with Michelle. Usually her husband Josh or other friends/family are around. I don’t think I’ve ever spent one-on-one time with Michelle before and it was so fantastic to get to know her a little better. We had the best day.  🙂

That night we went to Portobello for dinner. I have been hearing glowing raves and reviews about Portobello for a while so I was very excited to try it out.

Michelle, Ruby and I walked into the restaurant and asked for a table and the girl at the front looked at us like we were crazy. “Do you have a reservation…?” We didn’t. We never thought about making a reservation and the restaurant was booked SOLID. Oh no! 🙁

Michelle ran to the back to talk to the owner of the restaurant and the next thing I knew we were ushered into the kitchen to have dinner at the Chefs table. WHAT? How cool!!

Ruby was particularly chuffed that we got to eat in the kitchen. Truth be told … so was I.  🙂

The food was sublime. The whole time I was gorging myself I kept wishing my family could eat here so they could see how creative and delicious vegan food can be.

I can’t wait to get back to Portland and try my meal in the front of house. 😉

We bellies bursting with amazing vegan food we said our thank-yous to the chef and staff for accommodating us and hopped into the mini-van to get to the Go-Go’s concert.

We met up with my friend Brian (who had saved us a seat on the lawn) but as the band started to play Ruby started to get really upset. “They can’t see me Mum. Jane can’t see me!!”

We walked a little closer down towards the stage but it was dance mayhem and no matter how high we lifted Ruby she was still very upset that Jane couldn’t see her. Michelle tried to explain that Jane was playing a show and was busy playing but Ruby wasn’t satisfied.

So I pulled out my “all access” laminate and snuck Ruby into the VIP area. Is that an abusive of power?? I think making a little girl smile trumps all the rules. Once we established our spot in the VIP area I asked Ruby if she was happy with the spot. She was. My work was done. 🙂

I asked her what she thought of the band and she smiled and said “They are VERY good at their job!” *laugh* Out of the mouth of babes … The concert was fantastic. A perfect Pacific NW summer evening under the stars.

The crowd was nuts … 🙂

The next morning Ruby and Michelle gave me a ride to the GG’s hotel. Jane had offered to give me a ride up to Seattle for the show so I didn’t have to take the train. What a sweetie-pie.

I hopped on the tour bus and waited for everyone to arrive … um … is this a dream??

Best. Bus ride. Ever.

The after-party at The Roosevelt was lovely and was held in the courtyard near the pool. It was for friends and family and there was a lot of hugs, smiles and good feelings at the party. I didn’t take many photos because I didn’t want to be intrusive (this party was private) and I was also feeling pretty crappy (stupid period) so I swallowed more pills and found a nice corner to hang out in.

Sweet Jane came over and made sure I was having fun …

She’s such a doll.

I got to chit-chat with a lot of really cool people … in particular I had a 30 minute conversation with Clem Burke. Yeah … that’s right. Clem FUCKING Burke the drummer for Blondie. I didn’t get a photo with Clem so here’s a photo of Clem and my friend Leah.

Clem sat down beside me on the banquette and we started chatting about how The Go-Go’s should be in the Rock N Roll hall of fame. It was a great conversation and the whole time I kept thinking about my friend Peter.

I lost Pete in 2000 and he would have gotten such a kick out of all the people I’ve met in the last couple of years. In particular Jane and Clem. He was a big fan of Blondie and loved Jane. It’s hard to enjoy yourself in a moment like that when you know you can’t call your friend and tell him the good news. It made me miss Peter very much.

As the party wound-down – Jane grabbed me away and we headed to the After-After party that was being held at the Velvet Margarita. This was a totally different kind of party then the Roosevelt. No windows. No fresh air. Loud music. All the beans and salsa you could eat. I was in heaven and I parked myself in front of the chips. 🙂

My pal Jimmy kept me company while I sipped on Dom.  🙂

I am totally photo-bombing in this group shot. It’s hard to see me but I’m over Jimmy’s shoulder.

It was such a fun party and then next thing I knew I was being whisked away to an after-after-after party at a house in the Hollywood hills …

The house was incredible. I felt like I had walked onto a movie set …

I don’t know the year of the house but I imagine it was built in the 20’s or 30’s?

It was an incredible house and the party was so much fun. Lounging around the pool with Jane’s friends talking about this that and the other thing. Again … not many photos … didn’t want to be intrusive.

My favourite part of the night was when the living room became an 80’s dance party. We danced the night away and the next thing I knew it was 2am and I crawled into bed with Peanut exhausted. What a day. Did all of this just happen in one day??

We got up early to get ready for the Star Ceremony … OH SHIT! Surprise. Guess who got their period.  🙁 I started feeling sick right away so I popped some pills (which I never do) because I did not want to miss the ceremony because of cramps. Can you imagine?

When we arrived to the ceremony there was a VIP area and I grabbed my VIP pass and wiggled my way to the front to a spot near the star.

I hoped I wouldn’t get in trouble for being so close to the front but I wanted to be able to see everything (I’m super short).

I managed to get almost right in front of the star and got some great photos of the Ladies and the star. This one is my favourite because of the woman standing behind Jane. She’s covering her eyes because of all the flashbulbs. It was intense.

All the ladies looked amazing but I thought Jane looked FANTASTIC!!

She went old-school Hollywood glamour with a Marilyn wig and a retro dress that I got for her from Bettie Page clothing.

Jane spoke for the band at the ceremony (read transcript here) and it was incredibly touching …

Can you imagine walking the streets of LA as a teenager and then one day receiving a star on the Walk of Fame right in front of the very spot your punk band used to rehearse?? Goosebumps!

When the ceremony was over the ladies posed for photos. I’ve never seen a paparazzi scrum in real life and it was incredible.

A wall of lights flashing and the photographers yelling different names to get the ladies attention. Insanity.

Then the ladies walked over to the fences and gave autographs to the awaiting fans … This is a photo of Gina being swallowed up by the crowd.

I was standing watching the GG’s sign autographs and people kept screaming at me “JANE JANE! Sign my photo” I looked around to see where Jane was and I realized they were talking to me. I was like “Um … she’s over there” and pointed to the tiny blond woman standing in front of them.

While the GG’s were signing autographs I started schmoozing. First person I went over to say hi to was Bill Morrison of Simpsons fame. I work on he (and Jane’s) Lady Robotika website and we had never met in person so it was a treat to finally meet him in person.

As I walked around and met people – everyone asked me if I was Jane’s sister and more then one person congratulated me on my star and told me my speech was wonderful. What?? Did they think I was Jane? Did they not just see her 10 minutes ago in a blonde wig?? This continued to happen for the rest of the night. It was hilarious.

I looked around for Jane to see if she need anything from me and I saw her talking to a few people from the SadSadConversation.

I almost died on the spot. Standing in front of me was Steve Agee, Phil LaMarr and Samm Levine. I’m fans of all three of these gentleman. Steve is SO TALL I immediately felt comfortable around him (must be because Gerry is almost as tall) and talking to Phil was like talking to an old friend. Instant chemistry. Phil also asked if I was Jane’s sister … 🙂

I grabbed Bill and make him take a photo of all of us together.

I don’t really get nervous or giddy around celebrities. Not sure why … maybe it’s because my parents ran a theater company and I’ve been surrounded by actors/performers my entire life – but I could barely say two words to Samm Levine. I was SO excited to meet him. I wanted to let him know how much I loved Freaks and Geeks and all I could blurt out was “I like you…” *laugh*

Once the crowd dispersed my friends and I posed around the star. AGGGH!! Was all of this real?

As we walked up the street to the Roosevelt hotel for the after-party (VIP passes have their privileges)… a hobo came up to me with a dirty newspaper and asked me to sign an autograph. I said to him “I’m not anybody” and he pulled out a disposable camera and took a photo of me.

Then another man came running up behind me yelling “Jane! Jane!” he had a GIANT Go-Go’s sign around his neck. It was lit up with x-mas bulbs (and I assume a battery pack). I was so unnerved that everyone thought I was Jane that I waved to him and kept walking. I wish I had stopped and taken a photo with him.

We walked into The Roosevelt and into a private area reserved for the party and that’s when the insanity really started…

The Go-Go’s were given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Aug and I was NOT about to miss such a historic occasion. Not only were the ladies receiving a star but the star is located directly in front of where The Masque used to be which is the club that bands like The Go-Go’s, X, The Germs, etc all got their start there.

HISTORIC right?

I hopped a plane down to LA and I was so incredibly impressed with Alaska Airlines choice of veggie snacks. Vegan and Gluten free? HELLS YES!! If the crackers had been soy free then the entire package would have been perfect but that’s a first world problem isn’t it?

Arrived at Jane‘s and got settled in … basically I spent as much time as I could canoodling with her dogs. What a motley crew she has …

Don’t tell The Twins .. but Peanut is my favourite. 🙂

The view of downtown LA from Jane’s loft is amazing …

Her loft is amazing too!!!

We all hit the hay early … big day tomorrow! 🙂

A big thanks to VegNews for mentioning Sarah’s Place in their latest issue.  🙂

I had customers from Port Angeles come over and visit the store because of the article. So… Thank you. Thank you. Thank you! 🙂