Hob-knobbing with celebrities....

by Brittany Geragotelis

I know this e-mail is LOOOOONG overdue, but I've been a bit busy—in and out of town, getting some much-needed R&R, catching up on my reading, etc. Better late than never, right? Okay, so what kind of delicious dish do I have for you today? Well, a few weeks ago, I headed to LA for a few more celebrity photo shoots. The girls were amazing and after we were finished, I walked away with some pretty crazy/awesome memories. So, if you can keep a secret, I'll give you a sneak peek at what (and who) we shot.

Debby Ryan: Sure, she's a Disney channel girl—well-mannered, pretty, multi-talented—but this one's got a little bit of edge to her. Don't get me wrong, the former "Suite Life on Deck" co-star and upcoming "Jessie" star is fully worthy of her mouse ears, but there's more to this fiery redhead than the kid-friendly shows she's a part of. (Hint: Disney's toting her as the next Miley or Selena!)





















Corrine Foxx: As Jamie Foxx's daughter, she's become a regular on the red carpet as her dad's arm candy. Though she's not planning on following in his footsteps anytime soon, she proved to us that she's learned a little something from the Oscar winner over the years.






















Christa B. Allen: She played the young Jennifer Garner in 13 Going on 30, and the comparisons don't stop there. This upcoming "Revenge" star is smart and sweet and totally one to watch!






















Jasmine V: Look familiar? Besides having a killer voice and an album coming out later this year, Jasmine once had the Biebster singing "Baby, baby, baby" to her. The two were an item before he moved on to Selena!






















Bella Thorne: Turn some music on and watch her go! The star of "Shake It Up" on the Disney channel claims she never took dance classes before scoring the role on this booty-shaking show.






















Megan Park: The "Secret Life of the American Teenager" star was even more beautiful in person than she is on the show. Though not at all a faith bully, Megan was opinionated and intelligent just like her character Grace.






















Sasha Pieterse: You'd never know that the girl who plays manipulative and conniving "A" on the ABC Family show "Pretty Little Liars" would be so young, but Sasha is actually only 15! She was sweet as pie and had a quiet confidence about her that left you wanting to know more about the girl who plays bad so well!
















Ayla Kell: Okay, I only recently began to watch the ABC Family show "Make it or Break it," and though I don't usually like watching gymnastics, I couldn't help but fall in love with this show. I'd liked Ayla's character, Peyson, from the start, but it wasn't until I met her at our shoot that I realized just how freaking COOL the she is! A bit of a tomboy, Ayla has a strong sense of self as well as an extreme background in dance (she's a classically-trained ballerina and even danced at ABT!). But beyond that, she's just really down to earth, a hard worker and.....did I mention she's so freaking cool?!?!?!















Hope you like the pics! Tomorrow, I'll be posting pics that I took while hanging out at Jamie Foxx's house. Oh yeah, I said it! Stay tuned!

5x5,
B.

Guess which celeb's house I'm hanging out at this weekend?

by Brittany Geragotelis

Before I get to the celeb-studded weekend plans, can I just mention that yesterday I reached #23 on the HOT list on Wattpad, the site where I've been publishing my book, Life's a Witch? This is the highest up I've ever been and it's no surprise that it happens to coincide with publishing the chapter where I reveal who the traitor is in the book? Have you read it yet? What did you think of the reveal? Were you surprised? Did you kinda already know? Were you happy or frustrated? Whatever you thought, be sure to leave your comments below. I'd love to hear what you think.

photo credit: American Cheerleader magazine

On to more celeb-related info...I'm about to embark on another weekend in LA for two celebrity photo shoots. The first is with new Disney It-Girl, Debby Ryan. If you have a younger sibling or child between the ages of 5 and 14 (or are an adult who just LOVES the Disney channel....hey, there's nothing wrong with that), you likely know who Debby is. If you don't, Debby spent the last three years on "The Suite Life on Deck" playing Bailey Picket, with twin cuties Dylan and Cole Sprouse. Well, this cutie-patootie just turned 18 and is starring in her own Disney show called "Jessie", debuting this fall. Disney's already toting her as the next big thing and since Miley and Selena have both moved on, it looks like there's a spot open for a new Disney Princess.

courtesy of Corinne Fox

We're also shooting Corinne Fox, Jamie Fox's daughter. Now the cool thing about Corinne is that she's actually a cheerleader NOW. And if that weren't enough, she actually cheers on the same squad as Kendall Jenner (can you imagine what it's like to be on that squad?). So, we're going to spend some time with the teenager to talk to her all about her cheer experiences, as well as the fact that her dad credits her as the reason his music career is what it is today. And Corinne herself seems to have a natural talent for the music world...she's been spending a lot of time in the studio behind-the-scenes learning all there is to creating records. So for this shoot, we've been invited over to Jamie's in-home recording studio to shoot Corinne in her element. Jamie's even offered to take a few pics with Corinne for the magazine! How cool is that? I'm going to be hanging out at Jamie Fox's house this weekend! How random.

But the celebs don't stop there. We're also shooting Christa B. Allen (ABC's new show "Revenge"), Jasmine V (Sony/Epic recording artist and Justin Bieber's ex!), Bella Thorne (Disney's "Shake It Up"), Megan Park (ABC Family's "The Secret Life of the American Teenager"), Ayla Kell (ABC Family's "Make It or Break It") and Sasha Pieterse (ABC Family's "Pretty Little Liars). It's going to be an INSANE shoot, but I'm beyond excited to see what these girls are like in person!

photo credit: ABCFamily/PLL

photo credit: Seventeen magazine

photo credit: ABCFamily/Randy Holmes

photo credit: Disney Channel/Shake it Up

courtesy of Jasmine V

photo credit: ABC/Revenge

I'll be sure to take plenty of pictures and I'll be sure to update after the shoots!

5x5,
B.

The show I've put off watching...until now

by Brittany Geragotelis

I was a hardcore gymnast from the time I was 8 until about 16. In fact, when I quit, I was training for the Olympics. From the day that I was told that's where I was headed, I started to stress out big-time. I woke up every morning thinking about how I might mess up in front of the whole world. And by this age, I'd also started to realize that if I made a mistake, I could actually die. In basketball you just miss a shot or in volleyball you hit the net. Not a lot of danger there. But in gymnastics? One misstep and you're paralyzed or worse.

But I digress. The point is, gymnastics was my sport. It was my passion and what I trained all my young life for. And I cut my career and dreams short because of fear. Needless to say, I haven't watched gymnastics since. I haven't seen a single Olympics since I've quit. I can't stomach it. It just reminds me of what I could have been...

photo credit: ABCFamily/Make it or Break it

Because of this, I've been putting off watching the show, "Make It or Break It" on ABC Family ever since it started. But I recently finished watching the entire "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" series and needed a new show to watch. So, at the insistence of several friends, I gave it a go. And although it brings back certain old feelings and I definitely miss those days of training hard for something, I'm actually enjoying the show.

The stars don't exactly have gymnast bodies and some of the drama is a little over the top, but they do get some stuff right. The gymnastics scenes are intense and super fun to watch and the politics that come along with the sport are spot on. I can't help but feel like Jessica Bendinger's movie Stick It helped pave the way for this show in terms of the public's interest in these tremendous athletes. Way to go Jessica!

Either way, I'm definitely getting sucked into "MIOBI" and if you haven't already checked it out, you should--Even if you're mourning the loss of your own gymnastics career. I promise, It'll be worth it!

5x5,
B.