A STARving Artist's Guide to Surviving in LA!

Surviving in LA!

Hey All! Just sharing the wealth of knowledge on stretching your dollars as a starving artist in Los Angeles. Here's step one, not starving! Please feel free to share with fellow artists. Fake it until you make it, never give up and BREAK A LEG!

Everything pictured here can be found at "99 Cents Only" stores. With the exception of the the $2 wine, everything is under a dollar, some are even 2 or 3 for $1. Of course, their selection does vary but you can always find produce, grains, juices, etc. Being health-conscious can be very difficult on a budget but do your best to make wise decisions that you can stretch.

Grocery List: 

Paper Towels - they are the select-a-size type so you can conserve the earth and your wallet

Frozen Strawberries - plain and simple, no additives

Mozzarella Cheese - I also bought fresh spinach to make mini pizzas with it

Kettle Corn - for you sweet-n-salty tooth

Mac n Cheese - by Back to Nature, afforable, microwavable "no artificial preservatives or flavors"

Bread - by Hollywood Bakery Russian - no corn syrup

Pudding - Handi snacks, not healthy but only 90 calories and delicious

Sweet Corn Tamales - fresh frozen by Eco Tropicals packaged in eco-friendly recycled material

Coconut Water - No sugar added by Maui & Sons

Apples - For keeping the doctor away

Red Wine - To Life! - for preventing type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis and cancer oh and the buzz ;)

They also have everything household and beauty...stay tuned for that!

Return to LA LA Land

I spent almost 4 months shooting in Florida and bam I'm back in LA and back to work less than 12 hours after landing! WOW, am I grateful! Today was an amazing day! I assisted a fantastic photo shoot with a really amazing team, gracious artists and managers. One of the musicians wore a necklace from my yet to be released jewelry line so now there's more work to be done. Hopefully, this is just the beginning of an amazing future for these artists, a great working relationship as well as a successful and unexpected launch for my new brand! So I'll be busy handcrafting jewelry for more artists this month for an upcoming shoot and continue juggling being on both sides of the camera....YES AND YES!

"An Artist Tribute" benefiting The Lupus Foundation of America

http://anartisttribute.eventbrite.com/


Fab C. Productions, LLC alongside Miami Social Media Group & The City of Miami Fire Department invites you to "An Artist Tribute" Benefiting The Lupus Foundation Southeast Florida Chapter. Artist's well known and locally will showcase unique art and photography dedicated to Lupus survivors at the new, and what has become one of the most lavish venue’s in Miami, Grand Central, at  697 North Miami Ave. - August 27th, 2011.

Lupus Foundation of America, Inc.  is the foremost national nonprofit health organization dedicated to finding the causes of and cure for lupus; a chronic, autoimmune disease that can damage any part of the body (skin, joints, and/or organs inside the body). Their research estimates that at least 1.5 million Americans have lupus. It is believed that 5 million people throughout the world have a form of lupus. Many celebrities such asToni Braxton and Trick Daddy are affected with this disease.


Contact Fab C. Productions for more info!


https://www.facebook.com/fabcproductions


Click for more info about this weekend's event!


http://www.wlrn.org/event-calendar/an-artist-tribute-lupus-foundation-of-america/

Taste It -the comedic feature film :) COMING SOON!

It's been a crazy few months! Life is really wonderful right now:) I'm in Miami working on a hilarious feature film, "Taste It" which will be released later this year. It's so funny it's more than likely that you will pee your pants but you won't even be mad about it because you'll keep laughing at the next scene! It's seriously so funny! <--I now realize the irony in that. Anyway, I'm having an amazing time working on it. Our crew is slaving away for our fantastic production value and our actors just keep stepping up their game more and more. It's an amazing feeling to be a part of a project with so much heart, passion, talent and hilarity involved! My character, Kate Rosen, is the lovable "corn fed" girl, as the director, Zach Weil, called her which apparently means "All-American", go figure! She's cute, the off limits little sister, not the bad girl but definitely the college girl who knows how to have fun with her three best girl friends. As Andres Lefevre, who plays Fritz put it, it's "an exciting movie about the recession"; it's a great comedy with a plot about real people, relate-able characters their relationships, their triumphs, their discoveries and self-realization all tied together with booze, beautiful girls and raunchy humor ;) It stars John McGlothlin, Playmate Francesca Frigo, Adam Chefitz, Andres Lefevre and yours truly, Katie Rotolo. You don't want to miss this one! This is going to be a big deal, people are already buzzing about it and we still have two weeks left of shooting! Keep your eyes and your ears peeled for updates. "Like" our fan page to stay informed and check out all of the behind the scenes shots. We won't disappoint, PROMISE! http://www.facebook.com/TasteItTheMovie

PLEASE READ AND SHARE! Make a Resolution for the good of others this year! It's Simple!

Happy New Year! It's that time of year guys! Time to make a resolution! This year make one you're not going to dread keeping up with. Drink one less coffee a week or a month and give that money to a charity! Volunteer at a local shelter or Boys and Girls Club. We come up with all these outlandish goals this time of year every year and often don't follow through with them. This one is easy and it will make your year better knowing that you bettered someone is need's life!

You can even incorporate your personal resolution into helping someone else. Let's say you want to lose 5 lbs or 50 lbs or perhaps just be more physically active join http://www.teamintraining.org/ in the fight against cancer! Their coaches will help you towards your fitness goal. "If crossing the finish line after running or walking 26.2 miles or 13.1 miles, cycling 100 miles, completing a triathlon or hiking adventure while helping cure deadly diseases are things you've always wanted to accomplish, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team In Training ^® will make them happen." How cool is that? Free training in return for raising money and awareness about cancer and cancer research sounds like a pretty sweet deal on both ends. Maybe another charity like AIDS Walk hits closer to home. Join them in the fight against HIV & AIDS. You don't even have to walk. You can just donate. Or let's say you want to QUIT SMOKING for real this time! If you donate half of the money you spend on cigarettes a month, you'll be healthier, still be saving money and happy that you're helping others!

You can even visit http://www.change.org/petitions to sign a petition at no charge to stand up against something you believe is wrong or you can start your own! Maybe you'd rather help your favorite celebrity in raising money towards their foundation like http://www.crowdrise.com/sophiabush, a smart, talented, actress raising money and awareness to save the Gulf.

The point is simple we need to be less selfish. So let's make that a resolution! Next time you walk into a coffee shop and spend $12 think about the smile you could have put on a child's face with that money, literally visit http://www.operationsmile.org/ to help give these chance to smile. Their Mission:

"The goal of every medical mission is to fulfill a child's greatest wish: the chance to be normal.

Our unique and successful medical mission model is the foundation for providing safe surgeries for children around the world and building a long-term sustainable solution.

We mobilize medical volunteers across the globe to treat children with cleft lips, cleft palates, and other facial deformities, and leave a legacy of trained medical professionals, surgical equipment and professional partnerships to help carry on the work after our team of medical volunteers has left."

My very good friend Fabienne Claude of Fab C Productions, does several charity events a year to raise money for Operation Smile as well as other wonderful foundations. Contact her today to find out how you can help! It doesn't have to be money. You can even donate your time. http://www.facebook.com/fabcproductions. She also works with http://www.soles4souls.org/ organizing fashion shows to raise money and shoes for this great organization that donates shoes to adults and children in need. Find out how you can Donate shoes, host a shoe drive, or provide disaster relief to help shoe charity.

Another thing to think about, other than resolutions. Let's say a friend's birthday is coming up. Why not spend a few less dollars on their materialistic gift and instead donate those dollars to a great cause? Print out the confirmation and include it in their card so they you did it in their honor. Asking them what charity they prefer might even be a cooler idea. Or buy them one less $8 cocktail and know that you put a smile on a child's face that so deserved it and wouldn't have it otherwise. Besides your friend doesn't need to make a bigger fool of them self on their day ;) You'll both be happier knowing that you did something wonderful for someone else.


Happy New Year everyone! Even if you just donate once this year or 10 hours of your time I hope you do it because helping others it was life should be about :) I've given you some resources now you just have to do it!

http://www.charitynavigator.org/ Will help you find a charity you can trust!

Charity Navigator, America's premier independent charity evaluator, works to advance a more efficient and responsive philanthropic marketplace by evaluating the financial health of over 5,500 of America's largest charities.

http://www.jessicashopeproject.org/ Jessica’s Hope Project is a newly founded 501 c 3 non-profit organization that focuses on sending fitness-oriented care packages overseas to all branches to the military in many different parts of the world. It started with a simple email to the CEO of 24 Hour Fitness. We are now trying to raise money to cover the shipping of care packages overseas to our deployed military. To date we have sent over 200 boxes to our troops and raised over $3700.

http://www.jimmyv.org/ "The V Foundation takes great pride in its fiscal responsibility and is proud to announce that it gives 100 percent of all new direct cash donations to cancer research and related programs."

http://kaboom.org/ "Did you know that $46 can buy two basketball nets? Help us realize our vision of a playground within walking distance of every child." Help kids have fun while leading an active lifestyle. Did you know nearly 1 in 3 children is overweight or obese?

Your five minutes a day can change the world!

Ok everyone, it's really simple! Start by logging off Facebook now go...! Everyday we spend so much wasted time online. I mean how many of you truthfully are guilty of looking at someone's status, end up going through their pictures, finding someone else interesting or you haven't talk to in a while then going to their page?..you get the drift. Think about how much time you WASTE on social networking sites. Yes, there are some great causes on Facebook and I'm in no way saying there aren't also valuable resources and contacts but can we just deal with 5 minutes less of it? Can we take 5 minutes out to research something important that is impacting us, our wildlife, our pets, our children, future children...? Let's bless forward. If once a week we signed a valuable petition or bought one less coffee to donate to help save the rain forest couldn't we change the world? We may not be able to storm the Oval Office to tell the boss how we really feel about every issue but we can do our part in making positive changes. People think their one voice, one vote won't make the difference but if we stop being so negative and ignorant and we all give our one vote that'd be amazing! Miracles could happen! The world's population is almost almost 7 billion people?! You're not the only one who is trying to convey a certain message. Spread knowledge, learn, research and most importantly give back and take care of this beautiful place we destroy everyday. Yes, we are all guilty of it by living the lives we do but by not being ignorant about things we can make small changes that can go a long way.

Click here and do a small favor to your earth, yourself and your peers. Some of these take under a minute and you don't have to put your full address ever when signing. Just a simple petition against something that's wrong and you just put something in the blank, others are e-mails. Take 5 to right an email on how you feel about the issue. Maybe nothing will come of it but maybe something great will. Besides what do you have to lose? One less picture comment?

http://www2.aspca.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=73165.0

http://www.change.org/petitions/more_petitions?change_id=2811&event_id=31703

Since about 1750 human activity has increased the concentration of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Measured atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide are currently 100 ppmv higher than pre-industrial levels.^[22] Natural sources of carbon dioxide are more than 20 times greater than sources due to human activity,^[23] but over periods longer than a few years natural sources are closely balanced by natural sinks, mainly photosynthesis of carbon compounds by plants and marine plankton. As a result of this balance, the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide remained between 260 and 280 parts per million for the 10,000 years between the end of the last glacial maximum and the start of the industrial era.^[24]

It is likely that anthropogenic warming, such as that due to elevated greenhouse gas levels, has had a discernible influence on many physical and biological systems. Warming is projected to affect various issues such as freshwater resources, industry, food and health.^[25]

The main sources of greenhouse gases due to human activity are:

• burning of fossil fuels and deforestation leading to higher carbon dioxide concentrations. Land use change (mainly deforestation in the tropics) account for up to one third of total anthropogenic CO₂ emissions.^[24]
• livestock enteric fermentation and manure management,^[26] paddy rice farming, land use and wetland changes, pipeline losses, and covered vented landfill emissions leading to higher methane atmospheric concentrations. Many of the newer style fully vented septic systems that enhance and target the fermentation process also are sources ofatmospheric methane.
• use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in refrigeration systems, and use of CFCs and halons in fire suppression systems and manufacturing processes.
• agricultural activities, including the use of fertilizers, that lead to higher nitrous oxide (N₂O) concentrations.

The seven sources of CO₂ from fossil fuel combustion are (with percentage contributions for 2000–2004):^[27]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_gas

-not the most reliable resource but they're pretty on point on this issue :)

Believe in the magic of Christmas :)

One day, hopefully in the far away future there will be a film about my life. After I die, that is. Until then everyone will just get far less interesting, censored snippets of it. Today was quite the adventure to say the least! As most of you know, financially I'm at the lowest of lows in my life..there's a point in knowing that...I'm car-less, and broke but because I am my mother's daughter I walked to CVS to buy a bottle of wine for a Christmas Eve celebration, 25 minutes later and $35 later I walk out with a bottle of champagne and a small gift for my friend's daughter who's throwing the soiree..off to the house to grab the laundry, get dressed and of course push back my departure time and check on the next bus time. I'm good, dressed, ready as I'll ever be, gifts wrapped, in hand and I off to a pajama party. 3 blocks later at the corner of where I need to catch the bus I wait..I step onto the bus....wait it's the wrong bus? Well, where's the one going here...uhh (looking up cross streets in my phone) Shit, good thing the light is red so I have time to go from the NE corner to the SW before the right bus swings by..I'm on it! I'm golden! 10 minutes til my transfer..K cool...Confirm this is the right stop to catch the connecting bus with the driver except she has no idea..awesome! Luckily, the guy waiting at that stop knew I was in the right place because he was waiting for the one I needed...sweet! Now, I catch this one for 45 min til my next transfer...got this in the bag. Now, I'm sure I'm heading East but when I get of the bus I get mixed up, again on the wrong corner and watch my bus drive away..sweet! That's what I get for asking two 20something year old guys stoned out of their mind "Which way's SW"? doh! *Thinking* K, I'll wait...How long could the next one be? I'll google map it with public transit selected..ahhh! Why does it say go up a couple blocks in which direction? I'm not sure now..and to catch a different bus?! Too confusing I'll just see if this one comes again...10 minutes go by. Hmm..Let me Call my friend..maybe her husband can pick me up here instead of from the third bus closer to their house. He says yes...I start walking towards him, but it's the wrong way. I only know this because thank God he made the man who invented Apple who hired the guy who hired the guy who hired the guy who invented the iphone who stole it from someone else or however it landed in my hands who knew the guy that invented the little blue gps dot on my screen...phew...Thank little baby Jesus! So I start walking the right way..but we pass each other so I back track a few blocks to meet him at Carls Jr. And now we're on our way! My champagne, the gift and my fuzzy snowflake pj pants made it in one piece..and that was all before the party started...that's when things get awesomely weird amongst a small group of awesome people, champagne, baked goods, the naughty and nice kind ;) and Christmas cheer. I'll save the party details and the even wilder ride, lost, really long walk home for a later blog. Merry Christmas! It's bed time...Have to be up early to give back and see before my eyes how much worse it could be and help those in real need :) Remember the real reason for the season. My reasons, are love, family, friends, adventure, and selflessness. I'm thankful for all of you because you believe :)