My Favorite Weekend: Lisa Rinna
Lisa RINNA has already proved herself quite a mover and shaker in “Dancing With the Stars,” and now she’ll get a chance to show her chops with red carpet under her feet, hosting the TV Guide Channel’s Emmy Awards pre-show Sunday night with another “Dancing” alum, Joey Fatone.
Rinna lives in the San Fernando Valley with actor-husband Harry Hamlin (yet another former “Dancing” star) and their daughters, Delilah Belle, 9, and Amelia Gray, 6.
Steak and candy
On Friday the kids will have a play date with friends, so Harry and I will have a date night, which is a nice way to start the weekend. That usually means dinner and a movie in Sherman Oaks. Harry likes action flicks or political thrillers; I tend to pick romantic comedies. But we’ll start with dinner at El Torito in the Galleria, and we always have the same thing, this delicious fajita skirt steak. It’s so yummy, and the place is nice and cozy and right in the neighborhood. Then we’ll head for the movies. I’ll get Reese’s Pieces and popcorn and mix them for dessert.
Working up a sweat
On Saturday morning I’ll get up early and go with my girlfriends to a Spinning class at Body & Soul Workout in West Hollywood. It’s fantastic, a great workout. Then just down the street is the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, where I’ll grab a Moroccan mint latte and then go home and hang with the kids.
Later, I’ll take Delilah to Dawn Barnes Karate Kids in Sherman Oaks. Then the kids will usually have another play date, and Harry and I might head to the Ivy for lunch, or my girlfriends and I will go shopping at Barneys. Or we might just take the kids to Malibu for the day, walk around Carbon Beach and have lunch at Tra di Noi. The kids have been going there since they were both 4 weeks old. There’s a park and a playground, and if the kids finish eating, they can go play while you watch them and finish your own meal.
Then we’ll walk on the beach some more and eventually come back toward home and stop at Mulholland Grill in the Beverly Glen Circle shopping center for a late-ish dinner. They have these chunks of Parmesan cheese with aged balsamic vinaigrette drizzled on top that the kids just love. Afterward, we’ll go home and put the kids to bed.
Time to groove
On Sunday, we’ll go out to the backyard, where we had a dance floor put to practice for “Dancing With the Stars.” We turn on the disco music, the kids put on Rollerblades, and it gets pretty crazy. We’ll have breakfast at the Beverly Glen Deli at the Beverly Glen Circle. It’s become kind of a tradition, there are a lot of kids around, and they make great multigrain pancakes that I just crave.
Then we’ll check in at our boutique named after the girls, Belle Gray, in Sherman Oaks. We’ll run to the Farmers Market in Studio City and get kettle corn and snow cones, and the kids will visit the petting zoo. And we’ll go out to the Calabasas Belle Gray, say “hi” to the girls, maybe change the mannequins in the window, then we’ll go walk around the Commons there, where they have a pond with turtles, a Borders and a market if we need anything. After that, maybe we’ll catch a matinee at the Edwards 6 and have an early dinner at Mi Piace in Calabasas. And then we’ll drive home after a perfect weekend.
-- Mark Sachs