Clearing Out the Clutter, Rediscovering My 15 Minutes of Fame.

Since I am home for much of the summer versus hitting the road like I do the rest of the year, I am cleaning out the clutter.  I am posting clothes on Ebay and Smashion, I had a yard sale over the weekend, and I purging the junk drawer, closet, box....wherever I can clean, I will!  While cleaning out one of my end tables, I can across some great entertainment memorabilia.  Much of it was from the 2007 Academy Awards, the program, ticket, and a few of the entertainment magazines from the event when I was on the red carpet versus covering the red carpet.  I also came across a July 25, 2007 People magazine and I couldn't remember why I held on to it, but here's what was happening just four years ago:

1.  Eva Longoria and Tony Parker got married in France on 7.7.07.  I guess that wasn't their lucky number.

2.  The MailBag featured letters from readers who were thrilled that Billy Ray Cyrus was "Raising a Teen Star (The Right Way!)".  Sure, dating men in their 20's, taking half-nude photos on your iPhone, and grinding against a pole at the MTV Music Awards is definitely a great way to raise your Disney kid.

3.  Lindsay Lohan was partying.  Oh wait, that hasn't changed.

4.  Charlie Sheen got engaged to Brooke Mueller.  I wish I could tell the girl, "Run for your life!"  Oh well, we all know how that one turned out.

5.  The main article focused on rich teens like Hilary Duff, Daniel Radcliffe, and the High School Musical kids who are now officially.....rich adults.

Finally, I came across an article and I knew why I had kept the magazine.  Take a look at this photo.  Look carefully.  Maybe you see someone familiar?

 Leave it to me to have my 15 minutes in People magazine with a drug possession/arrest article.

Choose Your Own Adventure

It's another edition of Choose Your Own Adventure.  I've been running all over Hollywood covering events, so pick the one that interests you the most.  I can't even keep up with everything I am doing, but it is all compiled in one central location.

1.  New Media Film Festival:  Eddie Carrington wrote a great article in the Examiner about the New Media Film Festival and he kindly gave me a shout out.  Thanks, Eddie!  Also, the LA Film School published their photos from the festival and they included a couple of them from the live stream.  You can see the photos on their Facebook page and a shout out to Ben for taking and posting the photos. Thanks, my friend!



2.  Gracie Awards:  You can see all of my photos here and check out the interviews above with Meredith Vieira, Peggy Fleming, Dr. Laura Berman, Linda Ellerbee, Mayim Bialik, and more.

3.  Diva Talk Radio:  A big thanks to Gina Parris and Kelli Claypool for having me on their show yesterday.  It was a 30-minute discussion on my journey and the myths of Hollywood.  Don't believe the hype, ladies!  If you missed the show, you can listen to the episode here.

4.  Godspell:  If you missed the news, "I'm a Broadway Producer!".  Find out how that happened here.  The opening night was officially announced yesterday, so I have marked November 7, 2011 on my calendar.  Yep, I'll be there opening night at the Circle in the Square Theatre as two of my longtime friends team up to bring the revival back to Broadway.  2011 is turning out to be the year of dreams for me.

Photo Courtesy of LA Film School.

36th Annual Gracie Awards

Last night was another dream of a lifetime:  The 36th Annual Gracie Awards.  The Gracies honor "programming for Women, by Women, and about Women".  It is presented each year by The Alliance for Women in Media Foundation and it is a powerhouse event.  What do you do when you have a room filled with your broadcast heroes?  It took all of my might not to burst into tears while interviewing Meredith Vieira.  Instead, I begged her to stay on The Today Show.  She's still leaving.  Okay, at least I got to interview the gal.  Many of these women paved the way for me to have a career in broadcasting from Meredith to Shaun Robinson to Linda Ellerbee and I had the opportunity to interview them for Mingle Media TV.  Here are the magical photos from the evening:

 A dress I pulled from the back of my closet and my vintage Via Spiga shoes. 

 Shaun Robinson from Access Hollywood.

A supermodel looks excited to meet me! Christy Turlington.

 A true pioneer in the industry, Linda Ellerbee.

 Holly Robinson Peete from The Talk.

 Yvette Nicole Brown from Community.  I think we should be friends, she's a lot of fun.

 The figure skating geek in me is dying here. Peggy Fleming and Gracie honoree, Anne Thompson from NBC.

 Kimberly Locke from American Idol performed.

 I just wanted to say, "Whoa", into the mic, but I didn't want to scare Blossom....er, I mean Dr. Mayim Bialik.  Yep, Blossom is wicked smart.

 Morgan Fairchild looks like she is 30-years old.  I don't know what she is doing, but it looks good.  She told me she is held together by "superglue".  Ah, the girl has a sense of humor!

 I just want to go for a cocktail with Access Hollywood Live's, Kit Hoover.  She's pretty cool.

One of my sports broadcasting heroes, Hannah Storm, and her awesome biceps.

By the way, I will be a guest on Diva Talk Radio with Kelli Claypool and Gina Parris today at 11AM PT/2PM ET.  Come join in on the discussion. You can listen here.

Photos courtesy of Mingle Media TV.

The Coach Kristin Collection

 Kristin Spectacular Leather Willow Small Shoulder Bag in Silver/Grey Multi

I am no stranger to Coach bags, so I was thrilled to open my mailbox today and find a wonderful surprise from Coach:  a gift certificate!  Coincidentally, their summer offerings are from the Kristin Collection.  I think it was meant to be even if the spelling is just a bit off.  I picked out three different looks from the designer; two based on size and one based on color.  I like the small shoulder bag for those nights out on the town when you just want to carry your iPhone, ID, lip gloss, and keys.  I think the sunny yellow (Although I do have an ASOS yellow clutch already.) in the satchel is the perfect pick for summer.  Finally, the tote is ideal because I am often lugging a laptop, iPad, iPhone, makeup, shoes, and hair necessities all in one bag.   Which one should I pick?  Help me decide in the poll listed below.  You have until Monday, May 30th to vote. (As you know, my polls are always a bit tongue in cheek.

 Kristin Leather Satchel in Silver/Yellow

Kristin Elevated Leather Tote

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Food, Inc.

Now that I am off of the road for the summer, I am focusing on eating better, eating local, and working out a bit more.  Now, don't get me wrong, you know I love my bacon cheeseburgers and cupcakes, but I am making an even greater effort to read labels, eat food with fewer ingredients, and don't let the corn growers try and fool me by changing high fructose corn syrup into corn sugar.  Sorry, farmers, it's just not natural.

I spent part of my Sunday shopping for organic goodies at my local farmer's market.  For $22.25, I was able to buy fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, cherries, spinach, flowers, spicy red pepper hummus, fresh feta with sun dried tomatoes, and spinach and feta tortillas.  Everything was locally produced, organically raised, and I know exactly what I am eating.  I am tired of reading labels of processed foods with a huge list of chemicals, it bothers me that the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) finds this okay.  I am pretty sure it is no coincidence that we have seen an increase in cancer and other illnesses as processed food has become the norm in our grocery stores.

If this topic interests you, now is a good time to add the 2009 documentary (and Academy Award nominee for Best Documentary), Food, Inc., to your summer Netflix list. I will warn you, it is not for the squeamish, but I can bet you that it will change the way you eat meat and chicken. It sure had an impact on me.  While you cannot always control what type of meat you eat at a restaurant, you can sure shop for meat/chicken without hormones or antibiotics for your own home.  Grass fed, wild caught, and humanely raised will be words in your grocery shopping vocabulary after watching this documentary.  If you want to argue the cost on the organic meat with me, I will argue the cost of your medical care in the long run.  Give it some thought and let me know what you think.  Have you seen Food, Inc.?

*Update* 3 Suggestions for Healthy and Affordable Eating:
1.  I always hear that organic is too expensive.  It's not.  Check out your local farmer's market or go to Walmart. (This is the only time I am going to recommend Walmart, kids.)  Walmart has a strong and affordable organic produce line in their super stores.  These are the Dirty Dozen in produce, these are musts for organic. (The article also includes the Clean 15 where you don't have to worry as much.)

2.  Plan your meals.  Do you want the best recipes and the easiest, fastest way to prepare delicious meals for both carnivores and vegetarians?  Check out Sam The Cooking Guy.  Every recipe is amazing and simple.

3.   Coupons!  You know I am the queen of coupons and sales, I hate to pay full price.  Here is a great resource for organic coupons:  Focus Organic.

Feel free to share any other tips I might have missed.

New Media Film Festival

Today is the official opening of the 2nd Annual New Media Film Festival here in Los Angeles.  To open the festivities, I will be hosting the red carpet LIVE tonight at 6PM PT/9PM ET on Mingle Media TV.  You can watch all of the festivities online here.  The lineup for tonight's red carpet includes famous faces like Erin Gray (Do you think she will mind if I sing the Silver Spoons theme song to her?) and perennial Academy Awards red carpet favorite, Sally Kirkland. (Click on her name, you will see what I am talking about.) I hope you join us for all of the fun and festivities tonight or, if you are in LA, head over to the festival's screenings this weekend.

Also, a big thank you to SAG New Media for the nice article summing up the panel I hosted at Digital Hollywood earlier in the month. You can check out the article here.

After a busy week, I am spending my weekend huddled at home.  What are you up to this weekend?  

My New Host Reel

It's here!  I finally managed to gather together all of my footage and drop it all off with my friend, Joe Gressis, of Secret Handshake Entertainment.  He went through all of the clips I bombarded him with, worked his editing magic, and whipped it into shape.  May I present, my new demo reel......




My host reel will hang out here on its own page alongside the sizzle reel for The Web Files.  If you haven't seen The Web Files sizzle reel, click here.  I am mulling some ideas for bringing back the show. So stay tuned!

Also, let me know what you think about my new demo reel in the comments below.  I am always looking for feedback.  What is your favorite clip?

Glimpsed Launch Party

My "go-to" dress by Deborah Viereck with my ASOS clutch.

Last night, I headed to Venice Beach to the Hotel Erwin to check out the launch party for a new app called Glimpsed.  Glimpsed is described as "a new way to share the faces and the places that make up your social scene and define your lifestyle." You can rate photos, meet new friends globally, and check out the hottest places in your area.  The app is FREE and currently available on the iPhone.

The best part of the night was the scavenger hunt to find all 7 of the Glimpsed logos and take creative photos with the app.  My friend, Maria, and I eagerly attacked this project.  We made sure she looked like she "photo bombed" each snapshot as I posed with the Glimpsed eyeball.  Then the photos were uploaded and shared with all of the Glimpsed users, many of whom where celebrating at the launch parties in San Francisco and New York.  The most creative photos with all 7 logos wins an iPad 2.  Wish me luck!

                                              How fun is this?  Photo courtesy of Calvin Lee:
Many thanks to Melissa Rowley for the invitation to the party and to JD Piche for being a good sport and taking all of these absurd photos for us.  Even if we don't win, we sure had fun!

The only party where it is socially acceptable to have your nose buried in your iPhone.  Photo courtesy of Calvin Lee.

Images of New Orleans

Before I go into all of my indulgent New Orleans photos, I wanted to start off by reminding you that life for many residents is divided into two time frames:  Pre-Katrina and Post-Katrina. In many ways, the people who came back to the city really wanted to be there and invested time, money, life, and love back into the city. They have a lot at stake, but Mother Nature always has other ideas.  What we see on the news is never the reality.  So, it's good to take a pause and think of the people who live in the flood plains or are picking up the pieces after the tornados in the Southeast, remember when you think you are having a bad day.....you probably are not.

Holocaust Memorial by the river......

A French Quarter delight for buttery, flaky croissants.....(Croissant d'or)

Ham and cheese croissant the size of my head.....

I wolfed it down in the cute courtyard behind the bakery....

What a treat to watch a traditional New Orleans wedding with the bride, groom, and all of the attendees dancing in the streets.....

A little respite by the rooftop pool at the Renaissance Arts Hotel in the Warehouse District....

My new Jessica Simpson shoes!

My hotel actually had a sculpture garden on the 2nd floor and an art gallery on the main level.  I loved this piece.

This photo made me laugh.  My glasses are crooked, I was cranky and hungry, and the street car was running way behind....

The Garden District.

A crawfish extravaganza!

Desserts from Sucré.....

You might recognize this house, it's from MTV's The Real World: New Orleans.   The new owners do not have the house number posted on the property and they have painted it beige to disguise it a bit from its well-known white exterior.  

I love my new maxi dress, but flip flops in the French Quarter leads to very dirty feet.  

One of my favorite streets in the Quarter.  I nabbed a similar photo during my March trip.