She's with Coco

TMZ has "exclusive" coverage of Conan O'Brien's welcome to TBS in Atlanta: "Conan O'Brien at TBS -- Coco Signs of Success."

If you click "Launch Photos" and click to the second photo, you'll see Alert Reader Margaret McAllister right there with Coco!

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November was crazy with the busy. After a manic week before the Nashville trip was the manic week of the Nashville trip, followed by an unrelenting work schedule until life-long friend Margaret stopped into town for Thanksgiving week. (Then, of course, was the mania of Thanksgiving itself, which then hurled me headlong into the Holidaze.)

Margaret and I grew up almost next door to each other and have been friends since birth (well, hers, not mine, being older and all). Basically, I refer to Marg as my "pseudo sister." As with many other friends, FaceBook has enabled us to feel close while far away.

And both of us are a little like junkies on the FaceBook, and it became a running gag to mobile upload photos and status updates on everything we did. And using FourSquare, my friends where getting up-to-the-minute notifications of our whereabouts. The constant stream amused many, and understandably annoyed some. We thought we were hilarious, which is all we cared about.



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I found an excellent B&B (basically, an in-law apartment with a garden) in the Castro and we managed to cover the town during the week leading up to Thanksgiving.

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OMG the macarons at Paulettes! (Hayes Valley) Ridiculously good. Be sure to try the raspberry ones.

Shilpa and I were furloughed for the week (budget cuts at work) and she was kind enough to host dinner for me and Marg and some of our southern friends, Georgia bulldogs, or otherwise friends. She and Lindsay, fellow Kappa Kappa Gamma sisters and sports fans, became immediate BFFs and it turns out Lindsay's sister works in a department similar to Margaret's at Margaret's company in Atlanta. Small world indeed. I thought I had left my phone at home, so the only shot I took was with the iPhone.

With my iPod now fully loaded with music videos, by the end of the night we turned Shilpa's apartment into the Midnight Sun. And as so few of us were working on Tuesday morning, the "end of the night" was around four.

Margaret also managed to convince me to drive over to Berkeley just so she could get a salad at Café Intermezzo. ("All the way to Berkeley for a salad?! It's not like it's going to be fresh." "No! They make everything fresh!" "I meant the produce. It's winter. It's not like the tomatoes just fell off the vine...") But it was a beautiful day for a drive and a walk around Berkeley. And of course the salads were amazing (what IS it about their poppy seed dressing? On second thought, given Berkeley's reputation, I probably shouldn't ask.).



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There were even colorful vestiges of fall around campus.


We finished the afternoon with a tourist-required and tasty trip to Ghirardelli Square.

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After disco naps we joined Skot Land for a sneak peek (thanks Riley!) of The Fantastic Mr. Fox. Skot and Marg were perfect company for that romp of a flick. After a late and light dinner at Harvey's, where we unwittingly walked into stand-up comedy night (Harvey's was a must-see for Marg considering all of the notes and photos she gets from me there.). We were tired but thought we would hit a Castro bar or two just for the experience, even though it was the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and all but dead. As people had been making Midnight Sun jokes at the dinner over at Shilpa's, we thought we'd stop in there. Luckily for us, we passed the lovely and talented Ryan Rigazzi on his way home from BBB—I had not taken Margaret to the show as last I heard they had to cut back the Tuesday performances, but they are now back on a holiday schedule. Alas!

Ryan was still a bit wired from the show and joined us for a drink at the Midnight Sun before walking home up the hill. And so Ryan shared our WTF moment when we walked into the disco video bar and there was neither disco nor video, but a drum set, keyboard, and signs for "open mic night." Seriously? It was all rather odd.

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Finally, Wednesday morning came and Margaret had to leave to join her family at brother Andrew's in San Diego.

Definitely an awesome visit.

But all good things must come to an end.


And Margaret had to leave the magical City by the Bay.


Margaret McAllister did not like that.


Flickr set.