Melted Crayon Art

Last week I decided that a new way to keep my inner child & creative juices alive (outside of production) is weekly arts and crafts...and this week is MELTED CRAYON ART. 

Supplies needed:

- assortment of crayons, 3-4 boxes

- white canvas 

- glue gun

- blow dryer

- news paper of sheet to put around the canvas (it splatters a lot)

Step 1:

pick your colors and arrange them on the canvas, tips facing down

Step 2:

glue one full side of paper on the crayon

Step 3:

firmly place the glue side of the crayon on the canvas...and get creative!

Step 4:

- prop up the canvas the way you want the crayons to drip, and make sure you lay the sheet or newspaper a foot surrounding the canvas...the crayons will splatter.

- hold the blow dryer about an inch from the crayons and start melting!

Step 5:

let it dry for 3-4 minutes before melting another layer, then enjoy your melted art from any angle.

Inspired by a Mr. Kate blog :)

Malaika For Life

We are so blessed to live in a country with clean water, food, and medical services. Unfortunately, we easily forget about the many countries that need our help….

Every 30 seconds a child dies from Malaria.

Malaika For Life is “a grassroots movement to stop malaria, save lives, and support communities with one simple gesture- buy a bracelet, save a life”.  Malaika means angel in Swahili, and these angels have helped treat over 25,000 Tanzanians in the past 2 years.

The women of Tanzania have hand crafted these beautiful bracelets that symbolize the life you can save from malaria. By wearing this bracelet you are a voice for their movement.

Become a part of the movement @ MALAIKAforLIFE.ORG

Wearing my Malaika for life bracelet in China while covering The World University Games for Fox College Sports.

Help GrowingGreat GROW

Here are 2 great ways to help GrowingGreat continue to inspire kids & adults to adopt healthy eating habits.

On Monday September 26th, Rustic Canyon Wine Bar & Seasonal Kitchen, Huckleberry Bakery & Cafe, Milo & Olive Milling Co., and Sweet Rose Creamery will be hosting a fundraising dinner for GrowingGreat. ALL the proceeds go to GrowingGreat and putting their garden & nutrition education program in 3 new schools...2 in LA, 1 in Santa Monica.

The dinner includes a 4 course meal with wine pairings, cooked by Rustic Canyon chef Evan Funke.

There are 2 seatings; 5:30pm and 8:00pm. Tickets are $150, and $100 of the value of each dinner ticket is tax deductible. 

Purchase tickets here -----> Brown Paper Tickets

(GrowingGreat's garden at Grand Elementary School opened today)

The second way to help GrowingGreat grow is through their silent auction...It's going on now through September 30th

Ridiculous foodie items & experiences to bid on, and all the money goes to GrowingGreat and putting their garden & nutrition education program in 3 new schools.

Place bids here -----> Foodie Extravaganza Online Auction

The Stoopid Rebelution Show

Last Saturday the Surf Roots team and I trucked it down to The Verizon Wireless Amphitheater to interview Slightly Stoopid, Rebelution & Don Carlos for the end of their Seedless Summer Tour. Slightly Stoopid was one of my favorite bands in high school, and I had never seen them live. Needless to say, I was pretty stoked for this interview and show. 

My first subject of the night was the Jamaican legend, Don Carlos. DC is one of the top "message" reggae singer in the world and Slightly Stoopid brought him along as their special guest. So during DC's interview he was sending a message of love to our viewers, only problem was I could understand about half of what he was saying.

Our next interview was with 3 of the 4 Rebelution boys. This band is the most humble and happy band I've ever interviewed, and having previously interviewed Eric, we picked up right where we left off...laughing. 

And the last interview of the night was with Ry-Mo the drummer of Slightly Stoopid.

After we finished the interviews our crew got to hang out backstage all night, and once the show started we were on stage rockin' our socks off :)

But at the end of the night, I have to say that Rebelution stole the show.

The Road to Shenzhen, CHINA!

Covering The World University Games for Fox College Sports was a dream come true.

Up until the day we left for China, I would wake up each morning pitching myself as a reminder that my dream was about to become a reality. Not only was I getting paid to travel across the world and cover sports all day (aaamazing), but my little sister Annie was hired as the Production Assistant. 

Our road to Shenzhen began 6 weeks before we left the country. Once Annie and I booked the gig, China was the only thing on our mind. From getting our visas, finding inspirational athlete stories, and learning everything about the 17 different events the US was proudly competing in…those 6 weeks flew by and felt like 6 days.

Once August 8^th finally arrived, we were ready to go….

The Granola Monster

Since I am so incredibly in love and addicted to granola...today I woke up and decided to make my own. With a little help from my 2 favorite brands (By Hand & Bakery on Main) and my favorite cook (Peggy Curry), I raced to whole foods to stock up on my ingredients and hit the kitchen determined to make the most delicious gluten free granola...and I did, I call it THE GRANOLA MONSTER.

Ingredients:

- Coconut oil- 1/4 cup

- Canola oil- 1/4 cup

- Honey- 1 cup

- Vanilla extract- 2 tablespoons

DRY

- Bob's Redmil rolled oats- 3 1/2 cups

- Oat bran- 1/2 cup

- Coconut flour- 1/4 cup

- Glutino gluten free frosted corn flakes- 2 cups

- Coconut flakes- 1 bag of Danielle's

- Shredded coconut- 1/4 cup

- Cinnamon 

NUTS/ FRUIT/ SEEDS

- Raw pecans, walnuts, macadamia nuts, sunflower seeds & dried cranberries- (I used a handful of each)

- Flaxseed- ground 1/4 cup

1) Preheat oven to 350º

2) Put all the dry ingredients, seeds, fruits & nuts in a bowl. Mix together.

3) Melt all your oils & honey on low, then add the vanilla to the pot (see above).

4) Pour the oils, honey & vanilla into the bowl and mix it all together with cleanly washed hands.

5) Then lay flat on a cookie tray with parchment paper. Make sure to pat it down so it's not too thick, when it's too thick it won't hold.

6) Sprinkle cinnamon on top

7) Bake 30 minutes- 15 minutes on one end, then spin the tray in the oven for another 15 minutes. 

8) Let it cool for 20 minutes- that's when it hardens. 

Then enjoy

Enjoy your granola with:

- Almond milk

-Soy milk

- Fresh fruit

- Ice cream

- Coconut yogurt

I made sure to be eating my granola the entire time I was writing this blog to remind myself how delicious it is...and I finished it. Whoops.

Game Changers- Believing You Can

This summer was the best working summer of my life. It all started when I met a Fox Sports producer while bartending at Sharkeez in Manhattan Beach. He over heard me talking about wanting the Cannon 7D for my birthday (which is the best camera ever BTW)...we got to talking, and after 20 minutes I pitched him a show idea I had about the MLS. He loved it and asked me to write the 30 minute show script. Even though I had never written a script like this before, I assured him I was well qualified for the job. 3 weeks later we met for a script meeting, 2 weeks after that we shot my pilot, and yesterday we wrapped the shooting.

Interviewing Omar Gonzalez, LA Galaxy's 2009 Rookie of the Year

Omar got behind the sushi bar at Katsu and made us delicious sushi.

Right after Omar thew out the honorary first pitch at Dodger Stadium...he thew a perfect strike.

It just goes to show anything is possible when you believe you can!