LOVELIST | October...

Sometimes you just really need to get away, and when my friend Andy proposed a weekend getaway to Los Angeles, I took him up on the offer.  Between the fierce Hamburger Mary's Drag Brunch in WeHo, to 'Pawnee' City Hall visit, and of course the top pre-Halloween gear party of the year; I really had the best time in sizzling hot SoCal. So much so, thanks to a broke down shuttle bus and LA's nightmare rush-hour traffic, I got to stay another night(!)  Still California dreamin'.

The week I got back from California, I figured one October getaway just wasn't enough for me- and a road trip to Idaho was in the cards.  With friends Greg, Jeff and Adam, we headed to Lava Hot Springs; location of most of my childhood family vacations.  We had a great time at our adorable cabin, taking a dip in the toasty pools and soaking up the crazy rural nightlife.  

Black Mirror is kind of a dark modern Twilight Zone series, and most episodes paint a bleak picture of the not to distant future. However, the Emmy award winning episode from their third season titled San Junipero is one of the very best things I've watched (and re-watched) this entire year.  And yes, based on my experience, have some Kleenex handy!  (Bonus: The amazing 80's inspired soundtrack!)

Why ya'll acting brand new!? She didn't come to Salt Lake to play.. she came to slay.  And that's just what she did when the season 9 finalist took the stage at the Metro Music Hall a few weeks ago.  Yas Queen!

If you love Amy Sedaris like I love Amy Sedaris, well then you will LOVE her new wacky and wonderful TruTV series At Home with Amy Sedaris.  She cordially invites you into her home for all the crafting, cooking and hospitality tips you could ever want, need and never dream of.    

Contender for my favorite New Album of the Year, St. Vincent dropped her fifth album Masseduction.  There was a lot of new music to enjoy this month (as you'll see below) but I think St. Vincent got the most love (and plays.)  Favorite Tracks Include:  Sugar Boy, Pills, Los Ageless, Young Lover and New York.

Blade Runner 2049 takes place thirty years after the events of the first film, where a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K, unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what's left of society into chaos. K's discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard, a former LAPD blade runner who has been missing for three decades.

My girl Pink (Can we just officially drop the ! now?) gave us the gift of new music this month.  Her seventh album Beautiful Trauma dropped a few weeks ago.  I just love her so much. #GirlCrush for sure!  Favorite Tracks Include:  Secrets, Beautiful Trauma, What About Us and Better Life. 

In the hilarious dirty animated Netflix original series Big Mouth, teenage friends find their lives upended by the wonders and horrors of puberty.  Bubbble baah-ths loving Mya Rudolph as the Hormone Monstress is my absolute favorite!  Laugh, blush and learn something at the same time. 

While in Los Angeles my friend Andy introduced me to electronic music duo ODESZA.  It kind of provided the soundtrack for my California getaway.  Favorite Tracks Include:  A Moment Apart, Higher Ground, Late Night and Line of Sight.

Beck also dropped a new album this month!  In fact, his thirteenth studio album(!)   After listening to the first song, I was sold.  Favorite Tracks Include:  Colors, I'm So Free, Dear Life and Seventh Heaven. 

In the stylish and thrilling Baby Driver, a talented, young getaway driver relies on the beat of his personal soundtrack to be the best in the game. But after being coerced into working for a crime boss (Kevin Spacey), he must face the music when a doomed heist threatens his life, love and freedom.

Some of my favorite sitcoms were back with new seasons this month.  Last Man On Earth, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Black-ish and Schitts Creek all brought the laughs for my Must See Fall TV!

My friend Josh introduced me to electronic band Night Club while on our way to go see Shea. (Shout out to #4!) From the first sampling, I knew I was a fan.  Favorite Tracks Include:  Freak Like Me, Psychosuperlover, Dangerous Heart and Pray.

It's October, and on Food Network that can only mean one thing. Teams of talented decorators, pumpkin carvers, and candy makers go to war in the original trick-or-treat yearly series Halloween Wars!