Pecans Roasting on An Oven Rack... My Attempt At Chocolate Turtles with a Twist: Cayenne Pepper

No chestnuts roasting here just yet. Spiced pecans, yes. I am trying a twist with my home-made chocolate turtles this year by using spiced pecans instead simply using raw ones. The spiced pecans have a tiny kick because of the addition of Cayenne pepper. I suppose I could name these "Snapping Turtles" :) I am unsure if the crunch of the spiced pecan is too much. I'll find out. Chocolate turtles are time consuming to make, but I love caramel so I consider it worthwhile. I make the spiced pecans (See how in my Spiced pecan recipe blog post). Then use those as the base for the turtles.

An Actor's Decemeber Weekend Comforts = A Good Read, Heavy Blanket, & a Warm Scented Cologne

Following my challenging trip of filming out east last week, it's a welcome distraction to receive an order of cologne from independent Portland based perfumer Slumberhouse and to have a great book to read over the weekend. The scent I ordered from Slumberhouse is called Rume. A spicy rendition that brings to mind the visits I made to my Grandmother's farm. Specifically standing in her kitchen peering over the sides of a ruby-red carnival cut glass bowl, perpetually filled with spiced gum drops. It's a wonderfully warm cologne scent. The audio book I have is Sisters Red. A coming of age story about Scarlett March & her sister Rosie as they hunt down Fenris (Wherewolves). So far it's a great weekend. I plan on spending more of it curled under a blanket, listening to the book, and sipping something warm.

What are your comfort items on a weekend when you are wanting to unwind and de-stress? What do you do?

Funny Audition Requirement: Beautiful Feet Bottoms

This weeks audition has me competing for the role of a male who is described as having "beautiful feet." The photo is from the audition. Acting is one of the few industries that's required to actively hire people according to their race, gender, & public opinion of their beauty. It's understandable. If a script calls for an obese male with long red hair and paper-white skin, it would be hard to cast Beyonce in the role. Still I find myself chuckling at auditions when I am asked to speak so they can hear my pronunciation, or in this case- to remove my shoes & socks so they can see the bottoms of my feet. 

Getting My Feet Ready For Their Close-up

Before the audition I make a quick pit-stop into my medicine cabinet, take out the bottle of French lavender scented body oil that I use after showering (see my Body Oil blog post). I tug off my shoes & socks only to see small lint bunnies between my toes. I fold up my jean hems. Step into the bathtub. Turn on warm water and rinse the bunnies into the drain. Returning to the bottle of body oil. It's scented with French Lavender, which I find is a pleasing scent for feet. I take care to rub it between each toe. I rarely spend this much time pampering my feet, but it isn't often a requirement. I forgo socks. While having my feet photographed for the audition, I am very aware of tension in my toes and try to relax everything as much as possible. I don't recall ever having spent so much time looking at my feet before. Actors do some weird things. Art imitating life. Life's surreal sometimes.

Anyone else have to do quirky things for their job?

Pre De Provence Triple Milled Soap, Sensitive Skin Soap Holy Grail

So excited today to introduce you to guest blogger & my good friend Kathryn Vento. (@KathrynVento) She's a fellow actor who shares many of the same interests as I do, and many of the same zany quirks. I asked her to do a guest post for me about the triple milled Pre de Provence Soaps. Drumroll please...

Buying soap is a minefield for me- one filled with hives and puffy skin and itchy reactions to drive you mad. If you haven't figured it out yet, and aren't completely grossed out, and yes, decided to keep reading, I have sensitive skin. REALLY sensitive skin. I am a natural redhead and unfortunately this is not an uncommon part of that package. I love being a redhead- it's just a little frustrating when buying what should be a no-brainer, everyday product. Chalk it up to the American body care industry's drive to put more cheap (translation: irritating) fragrance and cleansing ingredients into their body care products, for what I deduce is to reduce costs and increase profits. Which for most is not an issue. And I while I would like nothing more than to buy one of these gorgeously scented, silky creations that feel like a creamy dream in the shower, they have me frantically itching like a dog with fleas within an hour of using them. (Oh yeah, I'm THAT sexy. Oh baby, turn me ON.) And this lovely allergic reaction can intensify for days. In short, years of sensitivity has turned me into a research scientist when I look at ingredient lists. A soap savant if you will. Which has led me to try every unscented product on the market. Some are good, some are not, and I eventually found a few that worked fairly well.

I Miss The Wonderful Smells

The only problem was that I missed, well, smelling GOOD. Not smelling like freshly melted plastic toys (mmmm- singed Barbie hair). Any fellow unscented product buyer knows what I am talking about. You get all excited reading the label thinking, GREAT! Finally! I have found the ONE! (Some search for the perfect mate, me for the perfect soap. Yes, this quest lasts a lifetime- my own personal Holy Grail. And I'm kinda serious. Oh what a sad, sad little sensitive life I lead…) So you open it up to smell said product, and you're met with that god awful plastic smell from Dante's fourth level of hell. But then you think, well, it can't be THAT bad. The smell will go away after a few minutes, right?? (When, when WHEN- will I ever learn? Sigh. Like a sucker at a county fair Sam I am, I'll win that prize, I will!) So you go ahead and try it out, with great hopes. Great, foolish idiotic hopes because you know better. You know what lies ahead. And. The. Smell. Does. NOT. GO. AWAY. And while you may not itch, you're thinking that THIS is just as bad, and back to the store you go with crumpled receipt in hand (because you were convinced this was the ONE, and you threw out the receipt and had to go digging around in the trash can to find it. One more humiliation to add to the list).

Pre De Provence Soap

Which brings me to my latest venture into the great surfactant wilderness: Pre de Provence triple-milled Milk scented soap (Triple-milled means it doesn't dissolve into (very expensive) goo once you set it down. It actually lasts *Gasp* a long time. Who knew such a thing existed?). The scent doesn't linger, but I'd much rather have this, as opposed to a smell so powerfully strong that it screams to everyone within a hundred yard radius (and maybe beyond): HEY!! HEY EVERYBODY!! I SMELL LIKE CUCUMBER MINT JASMINE HYACINTH SANDALWOOD JOLLY RANCHER CHERRY CHEESE POPCORN BOOGER EAR WAX AND ISN'T IT AMAZING AND DON'T I SMELL GOOD!! OMG SMELL ME!!!! Meanwhile, everyone around you and on the next block is gagging from your pretty, pretty smell. (A little HP Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans reference crept in there but you get the point.) So after trying out my new soap for a week- without allergic incident and cautiously hopeful- I absent-mindedly touched my arm and realized it was incredibly silky. Not that I have scaly gator skin to begin with- I may have been a woman without soapy scent, but I did require they leave me touchably soft. But this was a whole 'nother level. Baby soft. Then I realized why. Cue the Oh Happy Day song a la Sister Act II.

A Good Soap

While good soap can't change the world, it can give a few quiet moments of respite from the outside world. It can wrap you in copious, creamy clouds of richly scented lather, a bubble of warm steam and hot water, in a world that doesn't exist beyond the bath. And if you bathe at night as I do, off to sleep you go, with the warm smell of comfort cocooning you in your burrow of blankets, drowsy and drifting into dreams.

And that, my sensitive friends, and all you curious non-sensitives who've journeyed along with me, is the end- my Holy Grail of soap. 

Actor's Skin Care: Warding Off Dry Skin

Am hyper-aware of the state of my skin lately. Seeing that I am making a trip out east in two days, where I'll be on-set playing a sci-fi Alien, this is a good thing. The Alien costume/full body suit requires a lot of special effect make-up and rubber. So there is a good amount of spirit-gum applied to my skin, especially my face, holding things in place. It's while removing it all, with the spirit-gum remover, gentle tugging, and pulling to get it all off, that I am left a bit raw sometimes.

My Dry Skin

It was during some initial work with the special effects artist, that he pointed out how dry my skin was, and I ought to make sure it's hydrated for the shoot. So I've been taking extra measures to stay hydrated as that will lessen the raw-skin after effect.

My Hydrating Regimen

What I've been doing is: showering with warm (not hot water) as heat drys out skin, slathering on body oil after showering, drinking more liquids, applying face moisturizer day & night, and putting a humidifier on my night stand. All in hopes of keeping my skin hydrated. (I figure it can't hurt any to try anyways.) After doing this for the past two weeks I've noticed my skin feels softer. Which makes sense. Dry skin is harsh.

A Nice Body Oil

Am happy to see body oils offered by artisan perfumer Liz Zorn. I like hopping out of the shower and slathering some on as it smells great and keep my skin from drying out in this extreme winter weather. (If you havn't read about my discovery of men's body oil, take a peek at it.) Liz has some great smelling oils. I like the Dark Coffee Bean the most, but also have Invigorate Me, Heart Symmetry, Clary Sage, and French Lavender. They all smell great.

Anyone have any other hints or tips for keeping your skin from drying out & looking it's best? I know I'll be on the airplane for awhile and don't usually like how dry the air is on them. Leave a comment! Thanks.

7 Good Gift Ideas & 1 Bad One (I learnt the hard way)

My eyes have been feasting on all the great gift guides around. Seriously, I need to remind myself that I don't need ALL of it. I just want ALL of it. So, in classic mimic-style, I'm sharing too. Most of these are items from independent artists I've come across. I like indie artists, certainly because I consider myself one; being an independent film actor. I think it probably goes without saying, but I want to mention that I have no affiliations with the companies.

1. Beautiful Books

I was given a book on December 25, 1999 that is one of the most insightful gifts as an acknowledgement from the giver to me that they really were listening to me in my life and the book was a token of that. I have been giving books as gifts ever since. I find the cloth-bound classics released by penguin publishing to be very endearing. The designs are by Coralind Bickford-Smith and I think she did a very clever job with them. I see all of them online at Amazon.com for under $15 a piece.

Bad Gift Idea: Self-help Books
I 've stood in the self-help section at the local book shop, and while skimming the titles made mental note of who I know that ought to read the book. I've learned not to give them as a gift. It's the wrong platform for it. If I really want someone to read a self-help book, I give it to them in a private moment that isn't a holiday.
Although, maybe you are the type that likes to stoke the fire, burn bridges, and twist the knife in a bit deeper. ;)

2. Brass Octopus Necklace via Etsy

Forget wearing it. I wanna hang it in my bathroom. I saw this hulking necklace while looking online at Canadian necklace maker Chrys Designs on Etsy.com.. (For those that don't know, Etsy's a site where artists sell their trinkets & goods.) 
Brass Octopus Necklace $20, Chrys Designs Jewelry Etsy.com

3. Twisted Wick Candles

I have wise sisters. They've clued me in on the fact that if you give someone a candle and they don't like it- they can always burn it. Twisted Wick is cool because it's a small company with interesting wicks. The wick is literally twisted. Almost like it was raveled around a straw before it was dipped into the candle. The idea is it burns more evenly this way.
3oz. Spiced Clove candle by Twisted Wick $5.99

4. Rivertown Road Pour Homme Cologne

The number of compliments I get from this cologne is just amazing. Produced by independent artisan perfumer Liz Zorn. (I highly recommend looking into some niche perfumers, like Liz Zorn. Their scents are usually so much more interesting.) It smells a bit like Bay Rum, with a modern twist. Inspired by rivers, and rivertown people. Rivertown Road Pour Homme 35ml $135.00
She also has a 6 piece sampler set: Liz Zorn sampler set $42-$54

5. Mother-In-Laws Tongue Plant (AKA Snake Plant)

Not only is it a cheeky nod to your spouse's mother, it's also listed on NASA's list of the top plants to clean indoor air of toxins. Many people use this plant in their bedrooms as it can tolerate low light and it is at night that this particular plant creates oxygen. Mother-in-laws Tongue plants are readily available at local florist shops. Depending on size the price is usually $15-$45

6. Give A Goat & Two Chicks

Truly the perfect gift. Donate a goat and two chickens to children in need through the charity World Vision. The chicks grow up & lay eggs and a goat provides up to 16 cups of milk per day. Giving families a source of food, and income. World Vision is awesome as their mission is to help overcome poverty and injustice. 

This is my favorite gift on this whole list!

Donate Goat & Two Chicks $100 World Vision

7. Raw Lavender Blossom Honey
Bare Honey is wonderful. It's beyond organic. There is no chemicals, no treatments, no antibiotics, no GMO's, nope. Just raw natural honey.
Each jar has a sprig of lavender, (The aroma is so good) & the health benefits are long lasting too. Raw Lavender Blossom honey has a delicate and velvety texture, with a warm, lingering, lavender blossom finish.
4oz jar $7 Bare Honey

Also, I am always interested in suggestions or things you think I'd like. Leave a comment.

My Heroin Horror Film Screening At Underground Film Festival

Saturday December 3rd, Director Elijah Woodcock's thriller Dope Sick screens as a part of the Minneapolis Underground Film Festival during the segment Themes of Horror Shot Film Selections.

The film has Todd Parker (played by Paul Cram) in a Heroin addled haze, lost in the maze of a run down hotel where he encounters sexy prostitue Terra Crowe (Ladonna Craelius) who guides him through the twists and turns of his own mind attempting to escape his fate. Tickets $9 at the door, or $6 online.

There will be a Q&A following the piece.

Horror fans, take a look at behind-the-scene footage of how "The Keeper" creature was made for the short pshycological thriller/horror film Dope Sick. (Along with footage of bloodied beauty Ladonna Craelius.)

The monster (played by Michael VanHoever) was created by Special Effect Make-up artist Ryan Schaddelee. 

Dope Sick was directed by Elijah Woodcock and shot by director of photography Anthony Cousins. Written by John Karsko, Produced by Mason Makram, Brandon Van Vliet, Edward Throckmorton & Elijah Woodcock.

Full cast includes: 

Paul Cram, Ladonna Craelius,
Brandon Van Vliet, Ryan Drees, Mullet Michael VanHoever,
Jay Anker, Mike Borka, Anthony Cousins, Jesse Doheny, Chris Hunter, Punnavith Koy, Mason Mackram, Eric McCulloch, Jessica Van Vilet, Elijah Woodcock

See it