Category Archives: LA fun

Are You Looking For a Little Help From SupperNanny?

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Seems they’re in the process of relaunching the hit television show, SUPERNANNY.  This time they plan to go with a with a new American born & bred nanny.  And in the meantime, when they fly the finalists out to LA they’re looking for several local Los Angeles families who would be willing to put these potential nannies to the test.  You know, give them your toughest, brattiest, most challenging, problematic kids and problems.

Rest assured, all the women up for the role will first go through intensive interviews and then a select few will have to prove their skills by interacting with children and their parents at home.  These tests will be taped, but they will only be used for viewing by the network and will not be aired.

The ‘Test Family’ Basics:

  • The families will be on stand by and confirmed the day before the shoot.
  • The families will be compensated $300 for up to 3 hours of their time, but we don’t anticipate being there more than 2 hours.
  • Families are needed on 8/31, 9/1, 9/6 and 9/7, but they will only shoot on one of the dates.
  • Families should have at least 2 children in the home and would like the advice of a professional to address a few behavioral issues the parents are concerned about such as potty training, tantrums, pre-teen and teen attitude, etc.

If you are a parent who is frustrated with an issue – it’s an issue for this parenting expert.

Of course, they know that your response is, “What? Up to 3 hours is all I get?  I need a week!”  and they invite all parents to apply for the full help of Supernanny!!!!

If you’re interested in being considered as a SuperNanny Test Family, please call Courtney Marino at (323) 904-4680 and let her know you are interested in the possibility of being a test family.

Best of luck!!

Free Ticket to OC Fair This Friday

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This Friday, August 12th, they’ll be free admission and free parking from noon-1:00 at the OC Fair.  They’re also throwing in free, one-way skyrides (my favorite thing to do at the fair), from noon – 4:00.  AND they’re offering up $2 rides, food and games – again, until 4:00!

If money is tight, this is a great way to still have some fair fun!  And if you plan on making a full day of it, you can also get free lawn seating for the Three Dog Night-America show later that night.

Not a half bad way to spend the day.  And as we all know, the OC fair grounds are a good 10 degrees cooler than things here in the Valley.




Casting Call: Are You a Thrifty Bargainista?

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Is your family the thriftiest in America? Do you refuse to pay full price? Are you always on the lookout for the best deals?

Calling all coupon experts, yard sale fanatics, thrift store wizards, swap meet junkies and super savers for a brand new show on a major network! We are looking for teams of two or more – couples, siblings, best friends etc. This show will be the chance to put your bargain hunting skills to the test in a fun competition and win a big prize!

If you live in Southern California and will do anything to save a buck. Please email your story and a photo to Ellen Rakieten Entertainment.

Interested parties are also welcome to contact her directly.

Emily Sweet
Casting Producer
Ellen Rakieten Entertainment
Office (323) 860-8623

FREE: Green Living Workshop

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A friend of mine is leading a Green Living Workshop in Tarzana this Saturday.  Unfortunately, I won’t be able to make it as I’ll be teaching, but I know it’s going to be full of great information….and it’s FREE!!

It’s a 3-hour workshop that will cover learning how to save money, reduce waste and help make Tarzana your neighborhood environmentally safer and healthier (you don’t need to be a Tarzana local to attend).

They’ll even be offering raffle prizes and handouts AND a free continental breakfast during registration.  And almost unheard of in this part of town…free parking is available both on site and in the parking structure.

Check it out!!

You can register for this FREE class here via Eventbrite.

Oprah Network Casting: L.A. Family

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OWN has asked to get this out to local L.A. people/families, in case you or someone you know would be a good fit:

The Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) is now casting families for an amazing new transformational TV Show!

A neighborhood support project – It takes a village

Seeking families in the Greater Los Angeles Area who are struggling with their kids:

Families must have at least 1 child age 6 to 17 who lives at home.

* Teen problems – all kinds!
* Kids being bullied – or worried parents of bullies!
* Single parents raising kids and working
* Parents struggling with their children’s behavior
* Military families struggling with active duty parents
* Families dealing with sudden change –  birth, death, divorce, illness

To Apply:
Please write a brief description of your family’s situation, or tell us about the family you’d like to help.
Please send ASAP – deadline at end of week!

Please include:
— Names and ages of everyone living in household
— City, and type of home (house, condo, apartment)
— 1-2 current photos
— Your contact info –  name, email and phone number

Please reference family last name and city in subject line.
Click this link to email your submission

Priscilla Ahn and Seattle’s Best

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Last night my husband and I were invited to attend Priscilla Ahn’s record release party at the Village Recorder. It was a fun night and as one would expect, Priscilla put on a great show.

Looking through the photo albums while waiting in reception was pretty cool. You see, the Village is famous for recordings by Steely Dan, Fleetwood Mac, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Tom Petty, The Stones, Supertramp, Pink Floyd, Smashing Pumpkins, Chili Peppers, Nelly, Gwen Stefani, BB King, John Mayer and many more known (and not quite so commonly known) acts.

Walking from reception to the party location upstairs was fascinating. Gold and platinum albums are every where you turn. I didn’t realize how common (?) it was for albums to go multi-platinum. Nor did I realize quite how long the Village has been there.

The small room (I guess it would be called a “theater” considering there was a stage) where Priscilla performed was awesome. Very high ceilings. Gorgeous art deco lighting and a balcony we’d all love to have access to in our own homes.

Priscilla’s new stuff sounds great. I’m not so sure they’ll be much radio play, but I’m sure you’ll be hearing a lot of her new stuff in movies and on TV (and maybe while you’re out and about shopping).

You can tell she was having fun last night. Lots of giggles and laughter mixed in with the music. Then again, that could have had something to do with with the yummy Seattle’s Best cocktails.

Not so sure what the connection might be between Seattle’s Best and Priscilla Ahn (or the Village Recorder), but I loved that they were there sampling their new level system coffee blends.

They were using Level 3 for hot samples as well as in their cocktails. I think I found my new favorite coffee. So mellow, smooth and well-balanced. Nothing like that bitter stuff you often find around town (which is the reason why I rarely drink drip coffee at local coffee shops).

I tired tracking down the recipes from their coffee cocktails, but no such luck. I liked the Wink and a Nod which I think was coffee, vodka and sweetened condensed milk…yum! Not sure what was in the Shake, Shake, Shake, but that was fine as I wasn’t a fan.

Overall, it was a fun night out. Especially since we’re mid-way through birth-a-versary week. 😉

Artisinal LA: A Fun Way to Shop

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Artisanal LA Spring Show 2011 at Santa Monica Place

This past weekend was the Artisinal LA show in Santa Monica.  I wasn’t lucky enough to attend their previous events (sometimes I feel like I live under a rock).  This year the event was held at the Santa Monica Place.

This was my first time at the recently remodeled Santa Monica Place and I have to say, I was impressed.  I loved the open air, beach breezes quality (completely different feel and vibe than the Century City mall).  And of course, the views were amazing.  Now if we could just do something about that traffic and the parking situation all would be good.

The event itself was awesome.  I went late on Saturday so the place was pretty empty (and crazy hot).  It was easy to move around and taste all the great foods and drinks.  Looking over the photos in the Artisinal LA Flickr pool, I obviously missed out on quite a few vendors.  That might have explained some of the empty booth spaces or I could have just made a wrong turn and missed out on something awesome.  It happens.

Some of my favorite products were (in no particular order):

  • Cookie Good – Wow, these were some amazing handmade cookies.  My favorite was the Peanut Butter Candy Bar cookie (it didn’t make it out of the parking lot before my husband and I devoured it!).  And I must say, I loved chatting with them (and am considering contacting them for an interview on my podcast series…when I get that up and running – LOL).
  • Gotta Have S’more – I’ll admit, I’ve known of Carmen for a while now as we’re both in the Crave LA book.  If you haven’t yet tasted her version of s’mores (and I typically don’t like s’mores at all), you will be in head-over-heels, can’t put it down, love!  They’re that good.
  • Sugar Bird Teas – I love tea.  A lot.  So I was thrilled to be able to sample some new tea blends.  Their Earl Grey with Vanilla sounds divine.  But I was impressed with their English Breakfast, a long time favorite of mine.
  • Brandt Beef – You hear about how much better corn-fed, hormone-free, sustainably farmed meat could be, but I wasn’t ready for just how amazingly good it was.  With how infrequently we eat beef in our home I just might be able to convince my husband that this is the way to go.
  • VeeV Açai Spirit – Vodka is my alcohol of choice, but to be honest, depending on my mood, I’ll pretty much drink any spirit (as long as it’s not beer, I’m good).  This was my first time trying VeeV and it had a very smooth, vodka-like taste to it – so I would basically use it in any sort of cocktail that called for vodka.  The Spa Cooler they were sampling was so very, very good.
  • Global Gardens – These guys had some great olive oils and vinegars on hand.  Their olive oil was nice and fruity, but it was their walnut oil that wowed me.  Made me wish I was a bit more confident in my cooking to play around with quality oils.  Both their fig and their pomegranate vinegars were beyond good.
  • Imaculate Confections’ Liquor Cakes – I mentioned that I’m a fan of liquor, right?  Well, it goes without saying that this gal also loves cake.  So combine the two and I am ALL OVER IT!  No really, I make a mean rum cake!  While I was tempted by all their awesomely, boozy cakes, I figured the hubs needed a treat, so I picked up the Dark Chocolate Stout (Guinness) Cake with Vanilla Tinted Glaze.  Um…I don’t like beer, but I loved this cake. Yes, I could taste the Guinness, but I could also taste the chocolatey goodness.  Plus I served it with sliced strawberries so that helped mellow the stout-ness.

I’ll say that I bought a gift for a friend at one of these booths mentioned above, but since she follows along I don’t want to ruin the surprise.  There were many other yummies to partake of, but these guys were by far my favorites.

The cool thing about all of this…in late May (5/21), many of these artisinal food purveyors will be setting up shop in a more permanent way at the Santa Monica Place’s new Market Place.  And my favorite cooking school, The Gourmandise School will also be setting up shop there.  I can’t wait (bet you can’t guess what’s on my birthday wish list?).

I didn’t think to bring my own camera (and my lemon of an iPhone takes horrible photos and has even more horrible connection capabilities) so I borrowed a few photos to share below.  But I do encourage you to check out the pool of photos on Flickr to see everyone that was there.

The KleanSpa table

I do love my Klean Spa products!!

p.o.p. candy

P.O.P. makes some awesome toffee!

Pork nuts aren't what u think @CastIronGourmet heh @ArtisanalLA

Pork Nuts...not quite what you might be thinking 😉

Photo Credits via Flickr: greenlagirl, marco1019 & Caroline on Crack

Prince: Opening Night at the LA Forum

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I should start by admitting that I’m not a huge Prince fan.  Like most folks my age, I’m a fan of his more known hits from the 80’s, but I can’t say I know much beyond Purple Rain.  But I was given the opportunity to join my husband at Prince’s opening night show (show 1 of a 21 day stint).  You can read his review of the night here, over on Soundspike (FB).

A couple things stood out that night:

  • $25 is a damn great ticket price!  Especially to see someone as awesome as Prince.
  • At 50+ Prince is still one damn fine entertainer – plenty of costume changes, lots of dancing, and some funny quips.
  • I had no idea he was such a strong guitar player (he’s the only guitar in his band – kinda wish he played more).
  • Be prepared for the show to start late (but wait it out in your seat so you’re not responsible for it starting even later).
  • Be prepared for the show to run LONG!  Our show was over 3 hours long and had 6 encores!
  • Wait it out until the very, very, very end…no matter how many times the band leaves the stage and the houselights come on.  They will be back.

I’m really glad I went.  Even if I’d have spent $150 for the show I’d have been glad I went.  It really was amazing.

My suggestion…get a hold of one of those $25 tickets (again, he’s doing a 21-day stint, so I don’t imagine he’ll be selling out each night).  Take your nosebleed seats and enjoy the show.  The minute you see people starting to leave after what they think is the encore, start working your way down to the floor.  Before the show is over, I have no doubt that you’ll be up close and personal with the man himself.

Lenka at the Troubador

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Tonight Lenka performed to a sold out audience at the Troubadour.  And once again, it was a great show.

I think the Troubadour is one of my favorite LA club venues.  The sound is good, it doesn’t tend to get too crazy packed (even on sold out nights), and it’s got some serious history.

Here’s an “official” (re: Sony) clip from the show for Everything at Once – loved the additional lyrics from the 4th graders.  Such fun!

One of my favorite Lenka songs…The Show.  There’s just something head bopping, sweet and sing-along about this song that I really love.  And of course, who among us can’t relate to sometimes being scared but not wanting to everyone see our fears.

I’m just a little girl lost in the moment
I’m so scared, but I don’t show it
I can’t figure it out, it’s bringing me down
I know I’ve got to let it go and just just enjoy the show

Who Doesn’t Love a Good Bargain?

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I think one of my favorite things about living in Los Angeles has to be the access to all the various sample sales around town. And not just sample sales, but whole, full-on events devoted to shopping the samples.

We have Shecky’s (though I’ve yet to go), Sassy City Chicks (love them), Pretty City (really looking forward to the next on coming soon) and the premiere Lucky Shops. But I must say, I’m most looking forward to Kurvee. An entire shopping event for the plus-sized gal. Awesome!

If you’re not up for a sample sale event, then be sure to check out Bargains LA and their killer sample sale app (available on iTunes). With the Bargains LA gang and their handy app, you’ll never be far from a sample sale.

Happy Shopping!!!