Rest in Peace Davy Jones

The Monkees filmed at the Screen Gems lot the same time we were filming Bewitched. I loved the show & like most of America, I thought that Davy was the cute one. I was lucky to spend quite a bit of time with Davy over the years. He was always funny, charming & ageless. I think a nice tribute would be to download your favorite Monkees songs from ITunes. I did that long before today!

The Montblanc Princesse Grace De Monaco Collection

Oscar Week of 2012 was overwhelming & exhausting. I was as giddy as a little girl to be invited to 18(!!) Gifting Suites & Parties, but then the unimaginable happened. I became SICK. Not a little cold, no problem, kind of sick. But 103 degree fever, coughing, delirious sick. By Saturday, I couldn't get out of bed, couldn't drive & also couldn't possibly miss the party that I was most excited about: Oscar Champagne Brunch at the Bel Air Hotel to introduce the Montblanc Princesse Grace De Monaco Jewellery & Watch Collection. I attempted to put makeup on in the car as Darren drove. The event was even more spectacular than I had imagined. Hollywood stars past & present filled the space: Teri Hatcher, Rosario Dawson, Donna Mills, Morgan Fairchild, Rosanna Arquette, Giada DeLaurentis, Robin Tunney, Kate Mara, Lydia Hearst, Petra Nemcova, Kate Flannery, Sharon Laurence, Kelly Carlson, etc. etc. I was too sick to eat the lavish Wolfgang Puck brunch, but it looked delicious. I've always considered Grace Kelly to be the most beautiful actress ever and the Montblanc collection is a lovely tribute to her. The pieces are in the shape of rose petals, the rings have three intertwined bands to symbolize her three children. Her son Prince Albert was there as well. One of the highlights was sitting with Tippi Hedren who graciously invited me out to visit her Shambala Preserve. Let's hope she doesn't catch my cold & change her mind!

Breaking Bad

photo credit: Araya Diaz WireImage.com Every year Darren & I tryout a new series, that we somehow missed. Once it's won a bunch of awards & has our friends talking, we decide to give it a try. It's nice starting a series after it's been out for awhile because you can rent the 1st season DVD & watch a little marathon. We've done this with Damages, Mad Men & next is Breaking Bad. I took a break from Oscar Week festivities to attend a Breaking Bad event at the Television Academy last night & the series looks truly "addictive"! For those with wardrobe questions, I'm wearing a brown Michael Kors dress, Stuart Weitzman leopard wedge sandals, Alexander McQueen Novak bag & a Minky Couture scarf (that was given to my dog Zuma earlier in the day. The scarf is super soft & Zuma was photographed in it before I was!).

Erin Murphy's Beauty Secrets- Hair Color

I received several questions this week about my hair color. About once a year I get it colored professionally, the rest of the time I color it myself at home. I'm a natural "California" blonde, which means I get lots of highlights by hanging out at the beach or by the pool. I've tried lots of home coloring products & finally found the one that I like the best: L'Oreal Couleur Experte Express. The difference between this & most other home products, is that the kit offers the two step process that you get in a salon (base & highlights). I go back & forth between two different colors (both blonde), Iced Meringue & Toasted Coconut. First you use the base color all over for about 15 minutes, then rinse & let your hair dry. After this step, my hair looks awful! It's very drab & all one color, but don't despair! The highlights may seem intimidating, but they're very easy to do. The kit provides you with two different applicators, but I use my fingers. Select some random starnds around your face, plus a few underneath & in back, wait about 20 minutes & rinse, use the conditioner that's included & style as usual. The kits are available at most drugstores & cost about $10. What do you pay to get your hair colored? The average in Los Angeles is over $250! Have fun, don't be afraid. Hair color isn't permanent.

Snow Day in Bell Canyon

We live in one of the greatest neighborhoods for families: Bell Canyon! Our kids committee puts on so many fun events: Halloween Haunt, Easter Eggstravaganza, Movies in the Park & Snow Day. Kids in Southern California don't have the opportunity to wake up to a surprise sprinkling of snow, unless you happen to be Tori & Randy Spelling. Our neighborhood does the next best thing, we make the snow. Once a year on Snow Day, a truck comes in & turns the hills by the Equestrian Center into a winter wonderland with sledding & snowball fights. So much fun!! Follow @Erin_Murphy

Social Media Bootcamp

I'm all about continuing education. It's impossible to know everything about everything. Some topics, like social media are constantly changing as new technologies surface. So let me share some of my favorite tips from Social Media Bootcamp. It's always nice to put an active link in your posts, something for people to click on. To put a link, remove the "www" & put http:// . That way your readers don't have to copy & paste the url, they'll be able to click directly on the link. Some Social Media sites, like Twitter, limit the length of your tweets, so you'll need to shorten your links. A really cool link shortener is http://bitly.com. You simply enter your link & Bitly will provide you with a shortened link, analytics & also a QR code & it's totally free! One of my favorite concepts to keep in mind about social media is that it's "social". No one wants to be talked at, there needs to be some interaction & communication. Don't forget, keep all your posts light, bright & polite! What are your favorite social media tips? Follow @Erin_Murphy

Erin Murphy's Vlog- Grammy Gifting Suite

Walking in LA...

You may know the song...Nobody walks in LA. Well, recently I took a walking tour with Red Line Tours & loved it! I've never taken one of the Hollywood Bus Tours, never bought a map to the stars homes. I've always thought it would be fun, but also thought I'd be enjoying the bus ride incognito & one of the other passengers would turn & say, "HEY, don't I know you?! You're that girl from that show...right?" Well when Red Line invited me to the unveiling party for their beautiful new 'Icons of Hollywood' tickets & promised a behind the scenes walking tour as well, I jumped at the chance! As an added bonus I got to hang out with friends Kate Linder (Young & the Restless), Romi Dames (Hannah Montana), Mary McDonough(The Waltons), The Livingston brothers (My 3 Sons) & many more. I loved going inside the Hollywood landmarks & learned tons of fun facts. Did you know that Sid Graumann came up with the idea for the red carpet? The first red carpet event ever was for the movie premiere of Robin Hood in 1922 at the Egyptian Theater. Also fun, at the party after the tour I spent half an hour talking to the legendary Ruta Lee & her handsome husband about the joys of alpaca ranching!

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Just My Thoughts..

I do not 'choose sides' when people break up. I'm sorry your ex wasn't a good partner for you; but they can still be a good friend for me. 

My Review of Smash

I saw the preview episode of the new NBC series Smash on an airplane today & let me be one of the first to say that I smell a hit! The show follows the making of a broadway musical about Marilyn Monroe & the two young actresses vying for the lead (Katharine McPhee & Megan Hilty). I can't even remember who won American Idol the year Katharine McPhee was the runner up, but hopefully she won't be in 2nd place this time. The pilot reportedly cost $7.5 million with a budget of approximately $3.5 million per episode. With a cast that includes Debra Messing & Anjelica Huston & a production team that includes Stevn Speilberg, I can practically guarantee that this Glee meets American Idol & Chorus Line will be a SMASH! The series premieres on Monday, February 6th at 10:00 PM, but you can download the pilot for free right now on ITunes.

Showered With Gifts

One of the wonderful advantages of being 'semi-famous' is being invited to Gifting Suites. In the days leading up to virtually every awards ceremony (Golden Globes, Emmys, Academy Awards, etc.), Gifting Lounges pop up all over town at hotels & sound stages. The Suites are a win/win situation for everyone involved. The companies are able to get their products in the hands of some high profile folks & in return the celebrities are gifted with some fabulous items! Over the years, I've gotten game systems, toys, bikes & adorable clothes for my kids & some wonderful things for myself & husband too. I'm more than happy to wear the items to red carpet events & when I tell the company owners that I love their products, I MEAN IT! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!

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Alpaca Porn

It's Wednesday, otherwise known as "Hump Day", so what better way to celebrate than a little alpaca porn.. which has proven to be very popular with my blog readers. This is one of my black girls, Toscana, with her boyfriend Champion Canzelle's Swahili. Alpaca color genetics are very confusing, but we're hoping for a grey baby, which is the rarest alpaca color. White is the most common. The video gives a good example of the male alpaca "orgling". Follow @Erin_Murphy

We Vacuumed Our Dogs!

I'm not embarrassed to say that I asked for a vacuum cleaner for Christmas. With a house full of kids & pets a vacuum cleaner is a necessity! Actually anything that keeps our home cleaner & more organized is a necessity. I received the amazing Dyson Animal with the pet grooming attachment. As soon as Darren & I took down all the Christmas decorations, we decided it was time to "vacuum the dogs". The attachment is similar to a dog slicker brush; but instead of leaving piles of hair all over the floor & stuck to our clothes, it cleverly sucks up the hair as you brush. I'd have to say the first time you use it is a two person job, but once Zuma & Lucky got used to it, they sat happily. I swear they smiled!

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Making TV Magic

Now that the Press Dome Campaign is running, I can show you a little behind the scenes footage. One version of the commercial has a segment with & little wink & nod to Bewitched Magic. I'm frequently asked about how we make things appear & disappear on Bewitched. Here's a little video tutorial that gives a good example of the "freeze process". Kids love the results if you want to try a little movie making on your own.

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Beneath The Darkness Premiere

Last night my hubby & I went to the premiere of Dennis Quaids' new film Beneath the Darkness at the Egyptian Theater. For the first time in his career Dennis played a bad guy & once I got used to that idea I kind of liked it. Co-starring in the film & also co-producing is my old pal Brett Cullen. Brett & I worked together over 20 years ago in a western TV series called Young Riders. That show was also the launching pad for future Academy Award winners Melissa Leo & Josh Brolin. After exiting the theater I was met by a friendly crowd of autograph seekers. Just fyi, if you ever see me out & about I'm always happy to sign anything. The fact that people still ask is beyond flattering. Although, it does make me wonder how people seem to have an endless supply of Bewitched 8 X 10s on hand... Follow @Erin_Murphy

Press Dome Campaign

I've been wanting to talk about this since we shot a few months ago, but I had to wait until the Press Dome campaign rolled out. I'm really excited about this product from United Home Tech/ Chef Concepts. The project was a pleasure start to finish: especially working with the amazing team at Cesari Direct up in Seattle. They sent me samples before we shot, so I was able to use them in real life situations & they really do work great! They can keep dinner warm for up to an hour. They're perfect for bringing snacks to school, a game or

a party, they can stick directly to the kitchen countertop & in my favorite test for freshness, they kept Sprinkles red velvet cupcakes fresh for seven days! I think they would have kept them fresh even longer, but we ate them. www.pressdome.com http://unitedhometech.com/ Follow @Erin_Murphy

All About Eggs

I've received a lot of mail asking about chickens & eggs, so I'll try to answer some of your questions. There are many different varieties of chickens, we currently have 5. Some chickens are dual purpose, eggs & meat. But we ONLY eat the eggs. I'd have a hard time eating a pet that we've raised from a chick. The chicken pictured in this post, Marzipan, (photo credit: Christopher Ameruoso for OK! Magazine) is a silkie chicken. I like to refer to them as the "kittens" of the chicken world. Silkies are darling, fluffy & very mild-mannered. They are wonderful with children & will sit happily on your lap. Every time someone new sees one of our silkies they ask "What is that?". I have several friends who've gotten chickens after meeting mine. Silkies do lay eggs & the eggs are about 1/2 the size of a regular chicken egg (see photo for comparison to a Buff Orpington egg). They taste the same & they're perfect for recipes & as a "diet" egg. Farm raised eggs really do taste better & it's nice to know that our eggs come from happy chickens! Follow @Erin_Murphy

Healthy Cooking Segment- Avocado Chocolate Mousse?

HAPPY 2012!! Let's start the New Year with a healthy cooking segment: Avocado Chocolate Mousse. I know it sounds weird, but It's delicious! If you don't tell people that avocado is the main ingredient, they'll NEVER figure it out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_yQIWmMagE

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Alpacas Mating

I thought you might enjoy this PG video of one of my alpacas, Brighton, visiting her boyfriend, Champion Canzelle's Mombasa. Alpacas are induced ovulators,like bunnies, which means they don't come into heat. The act of mating causes them to ovulate. The male alpaca makes a funny sound called "orgling' while mating. Alpacas are pregnant for about 11.5 months, so we're hoping for an 11/2012 baby. Baby alpacas are called cria & are one of the most adorable things on the planet! http://youtu.be/g8WGaqUWv5U Follow @Erin_Murphy

Have a Magical Holiday Season!

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