Nia Sioux on my Radio Disney Show

I’ve posted about activist and dancer Nia Sioux on Life Unfiltered in the past- check out my #WCW story on her here, and after getting to know her during our Fearless Everyday interview, I felt she is a perfect role model for young people. Though I never say anyone is perfect (perfection doesn’t exist) Nia has so many traits including dedication, compassion and strength that make her a solid role model for those of you out there in our age group. Her and one of my friends who has also appeared on Fearless Everyday Montana Tucker recently collaborated with Tarte Cosmetics to head to Disneyland and share what being confident means to them. I love these girls!

Listen to Fearless Everyday with Nia Sioux all week long on Radio Disney HERE!

Fearless Friday: Modeling in Rhode Island

Wearing Lilly Pulitzer at Ocean House Hotel in Rhode Island

One of the reasons I’ve always been vocal about my eating disorder is because I want the young men and women out there who follow me and admire to work in fashion/entertainment to know every side to this industry. No one can blame a job on giving them something like an eating disorder, but I certainly think my obsession with succeeding in the fashion industry at the time didn’t help the ongoing insecurity and body issues that I started dealing with as I got older. I haven’t modeled in ages, but when Ocean House and Lilly Pulitzer asked me to participate in a fashion show for charity in Watch Hill, RI (next to Taylor Swift’s house) I wasn’t about to say no. Growing up on the East Coast, I’ve always been into brands like LP because I adore the East Coast vibe. Dressing during the summer in places like Connecticut and New York is completely different than what people wear in LA. Since I’m from the EC, I like the EC style much more…but that’s just me. I’m conservation when it comes to my style of dressing. I’m always down for cutoff denim and a tank top, but I don’t necessarily like exposing as much skin as the LA summer style calls for.

On Thursday I flew from LA to Boston and had what was supposed to be not even a 1 hour layover, which turned into the worst night ever with my flight being delayed until 1 AM, eventually canceled and rescheduled to the following morning (to which I would’ve missed the event) so I ultimately made the decision to get a hotel in the city for a few hours, convince my Uber driver to drive me from NY to RI at 5 AM for less money, and chalk it up to experience. I’ll never take a layover to JFK during the summer EVER AGAIN and I won’t be flying back to JFK this summer unless it’s absolutely necessary. All that matters to me is that I showed up and did the best I could during the day, but it was probably one of the most exhausting 24 hours of my life. When it comes down to running a company, any entrepreneur can relate to the desire to stick with their word and show up to something they agreed to. I was exhausted during the day but I didn’t care because I was running on adrenaline and the excitement of what was happening during the day!

I was so happy to have shown up and met the people I met, from local bloggers and celebrities to media and two incredible teams (LP & Ocean House pulled together a fabulous event). It was a day I’ll never forget and a modeling experience that will go down in my books for forever!

If you find yourself struggling with body image issues or an eating disorder, call the 24-hour ED hotline at 1-800-931-2237.

A Girl and her Bucket Bag

Wearing accessories by Josephine Alexander Collective.

I frequently ask my assistant to come up with new places for me to take pictures at. Alexis, thanks in advance for always dealing with me. Point being, today she came across the coolest coffee shop in Burbank called Palm. The difference between LA and NY is that NY has picture opportunities every 2 feet. LA is like a treasure hunt. You can’t just walk outside unless you’re on Rodeo Drive to find some new hip spot that’s beautiful and uber cool. I miss NY everyday for that reason and more!

I came across Josephine Alexander Collective a few weeks ago and as someone whose not super into fashion anymore, I fell in love with their accessories. I like coming across brands that aren’t sold at stores like Macy’s or Revolve because you get the opportunity to wear something unique. In LA, everyone is always wearing the same clothing, same sunglasses and same handbags. Where did the love for being unique go? Since I’m traveling to Turkey to see my sister and nephew this weekend and we’ll be spending most of next week on an island called Bodrum off of Turkey, I wanted to get prepared for beach style in the summer heat. One of my most prized wardrobe pieces is a Sam Edelman bag I bought on Poshmark last year for $50, and every time I wear the bag people think it’s some crazy expensive designer and constantly stop me on the street to admire my white bag. Ha ha, plot twist! Why look like everyone else when you’re so much better off being yourself?

Josephine Alexander sent me these unique earrings and this nifty bucket bag I’m pictured in above. I paired the bag with my new Banana Republic dress, and felt like I was already on the island even though I’m still in LA! Bucket bags are trendy and hold everything. I was sent a different bag by Lilla P that’s a similar style, and both of them are now closet staples. All of the bags on her site are handmade, and quite unique if I say so myself. There’s bucket bags, and then there are JAC bucket bags.

What’s your summer statement piece?

Episode 81// Meet my Best Friend Alix

Making new friends is not easy, especially in cities. When I moved to LA I struggled with meeting the right people (I like to have high standards for my friends!) & meeting people like me. For the first year I felt incredibly alone in California, which I’ve never experienced in any of the other cities I’ve lived in. As I’ve gotten older I’ve realized that friendships come to quality over quantity: you don’t need that many friends… what you do need is people who support you from day 1. Alix and I met when I was broke & living in a terrible Bedstuy, Brooklyn apartment- I was selling music festival tickets on Craigslist and met her in a subway station to sell them to her… it’s been years, and she’s one of my closest friends and someone that truly has all of the qualities you want in a friend!

If you find yourself not knowing what type of friends you should look for, I always gage my interest in being friends with someone based on a few traits. I’ve always been someone whose really good at identifying healthy personality traits and unhealthy ones. For example, if I make plans with you multiple times and you cancel, you’re super flaky and I hate people who are like that. Why? Because I don’t have enough time in my day to do what I want to do, so if I’m putting time aside to hang out with you, it’s for a reason! Don’t waste my time or yours. If you find your friends constantly flaking on you, it may be worth sitting down with your friend and telling he/she how you feel. If they continue to cancel on you, the friendship might not be worth your time.

Second, I look for someone who is genuine. I work in entertainment and unfortunately it’s quite often that people will want to hang out with me for the sole sake of the fact I’m verified on Instagram, or have followers. To me, that’s the silliest way to judge someone because you can’t attribute kindness or a chill personality to the amount of followers someone has. Because of that, I know when someone is not being genuine. If you’re talking about me behind my back and my other friends tell me, that’s so not cool. If you find your friend talking to a guy or girl that you’re talking to, that’s not cool either. There’s enough fish in the sea, find your own man! Don’t waste your time on a friend who is beating around the bush when it comes to being friends with you.

Last of all, I look for friends who give me the same respect I give them. I work a lot and I miss out on a lot of fun times because I’m incredibly passionate about my job. My close group of friends knows that, and I know they’re equally busy. I’m getting better at telling someone that I can’t hang out because I’m busy or tired, but I hate disappointing people. If you have a group of friends who really understands you for you, you won’t have to worry about canceling last-minute occasionally or missing out on certain times. Plus, the times you spend together will be even more fulfilled if you aren’t seeing your friends each day of the week.

Listen to more about how I chose my friend group & my advice for those of you struggling with finding the right crew during episode 81 of

#WCW, Meet Jeni Bauer, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream Founder

It’s summer, so why not continue on the path of talking about all things light, cool and tasty? Last week I chose Coolhaus ice cream founder Natasha as my #WCW, but while eating ice cream this week, I realized that there’s another major boss babe/ entrepreneur who I also admire. Jeni Bauer is the founder of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream, which is a million-dollar company with stores across America and ice cream sold in retailers like Whole Foods. Jeni has collaborated with brands like Estee Lauder to bring their famous makeup to an ice cream flavor, and recently collaborated with Tyler the Creator to create a mint chip flavor in honor of his style of performing and personal taste.

I’ve listened to Jeni’s How I Built This interview with Guy Raz on NPR, and her humble yet honest perspective on being an entrepreneur, wife and mom is inspiring. She studied at Ohio State University after working at an ice cream shop as a young girl, which exposed her to her love for ice cream. Jeni negotiated to buy a gelato machine for $14k instead of $30k, which is when she began making her own ice cream. If you’ve never had Jeni’s ice cream, it’s some of the best out there. Her stores recently took away all toppings (to my disappointment) to make the ice cream the center of attention at each and every boutique store. I’m a whipped cream addict, so I can’t say I love that they took away toppings, but I also think her marketing plan completely sets her ice cream apart from the other brands on the market. With 2 LA locations (Venice and Larchmont Village) Jeni’s Ice Cream is a splendid knockout. Both locations are packed every time I walk in for a scoop, which is often because boy do I love that ice cream.

Let Jeni’s traditional route of college and 9-5 jobs inspire you to pursue anything you want, while realizing that there is never a time too late to start your own startup journey.

Thanks for continuing to satisfy my sweet tooth, Jeni!

Why the Something Navy & Amanda Seyfried Fued Matters

I’ve been in this industry long enough to have seen it all. From celebrities making mistakes and putting something online that I can’t even fathom young people seeing, to moguls and CEOs being called out for harmful behavior in the workplace, to everything and more…let’s just say Alexa has an opinion on everything. But I’m aware of my platform, and I’m aware of the person I want to be seen as. That person isn’t the one to nastily reply to someone on Twitter or Instagram, and definitely isn’t the person to stir up drama with someone else in the industry. If I’m not that person offline, what would make me that person online? Entertainment is a small world where everyone knows everyone, and I don’t want to deal with BS. I’ve got enough going on in my life! I like to say it to everyone…rise above people, rise above.

I did want to give my input on the situation that occurred yesterday with actress Amanda Seyfried and blogger Arielle Charnas. Arielle runs a popular Instagram page and clothing company, and is someone I’ve never met but know many people who know her and have worked with her. What happened is that Arielle posted an image of herself after giving birth, and Amanda caught wind of the post and called Arielle out, stating that she was insensitive and narcissistic to not be aware of the platform she has by putting out that picture. I have seen the picture of Arielle, and I also took time to scroll through her social media platforms to see what other content she posts.

There’s a blurry line (ALWAYS) between social media and reality. You follow your favorite “influencers” and bloggers because there is a part of you that knows you may never live their glamorous life, but everyone wants to feel like they are close to yachts in Mykonos and $3,000 Goop leather handbags. That’s a true statement because I’ve done the research on it to back it up. Do you really care that much about Olivia Culpo’s shoes, as much as you are fascinated by her life?

When in reality, your Arielle’s and Gwyneth Paltrow’s of the world may be doing who knows what behind the camera to get their body or their wardrobe. They may be bulimic, anorexic, millionaires, dating a millionaire, depressed, angry…or, they may be happy as a clam, working their tush off to pay for their personal trainer who helped them get back to their body post-baby. You just don’t know. Because that’s social media. You will probably never meet Arielle or Amanda Seyfried IRL. There is no reason for you to unless you are a stalker and slightly obsessed. You may never meet me IRL!

The point of this post is to bring attention to the fact that the world and the internet world are so different. They are not even comparable. It is to each their own to post their (underweight in my opinion, healthy in others) pictures of their body. Because it’s that persons Instagram page, not yours. Would I do that? No, especially when I know what young people out their struggle with relating to their body. That post also made me feel insecure, but I don’t follow her and I never was following her. What you should realize from this incident is that some of the people you desperately admire and follow are not who they are IRL. By posting a picture that’s insensitive to the people who follow you, you show your true colors. And many “influencers” and bloggers do not have the right intentions, I’m sorry to tell you. The amount of people I know who claim on their Instagram that bread and sugar is bad, when you see them out at events gorging on every single dessert, glass of champagne and loaf of bread is disappointing. Why is authenticity so incredibly rare nowadays?

I take so much pride in being authentic. The reason why many of you follow me is because of that. I’ve made mistakes, I’ve said silly things, and I’ve reversed that by apologizing and saying I screwed up. I’m human. But I’d never offend someone by posting something that potentially could, because when you make a living off of a career in the entertinment industry, you need to be absolutely selfless.

So if you felt insecure by that post, unfollow her. If you didn’t, proceed on. Let her post what she wants to post even if it’s “rude” or “insensitive” but it’s up to you to determine how that post made you feel. And you should never call out a body and put it down. That’s just not cool.

Xo,

Alexa

Alexa’s Morning Protein Smoothie with Cuisinart

This is part of a collaboration with Cuisinart.

When I moved to LA I started making protein smoothies way more often than I did in other cities. When I lived in Boston I used to go to the gym in the morning and then proceed to actually make breakfast (I love egg whites and avocado on corn tortillas!) but there’s something about living in LA that makes me feel like time is always running out. I’ve proceeded to save some time by making my morning smoothie the evening before. Right after I eat dinner, I’ll take my Cuisinart blender (this one to be exact) out of the cupboard and put the ingredients above in it to blend the perfect smoothie. The neat thing about this blender that sets it apart from Nutribullet is that the set comes with multiple containers, and each are different sizes. If you want to make a small smoothie, you can make that using the smaller container. I like to use the larger one for my protein smoothie since it obviously fits more ingredients, but I haven’t had time to use any of the smaller containers yet. I also enjoy using the different lids for different reasons. In the morning I’ll change the lid of the smoothie on the way to the gym so that I can sip it directly from the container, which is super efficient!

In terms of the space and sizing, this blender is super tall and not wide, so you can fit it on top of your fridge or in a small cupboard without taking up too much space. I’ve listed more facts about this blender below:

Use the blender to chop up flaxseed

You can blend, chop and travel with all of the containers

Stainless steel means it’s safe and practical for all ages

The high, low and pulse mode makes the blender easy to use and chic

What do you have for your morning breakfast? Let me know in the comments below!

#WCW: Coolhaus Ice Cream Founder Natasha Case

Natasha Case is the genius behind Coolhaus ice cream. After taking her idea to Coachella to test it out with her co-founder, (fun, girly and delicious ice cream sandwiches to be sold to the public) Case realized she was on to something. You’ve probably see Coolhaus on social media somewhere: the ice cream is a hit among the millennial crowd. How could ice cream (as simple as it is) be transformed into something sexier and cooler than it’s ever been? Her passion for women inspired her and her co-founder to focus heavily on women empowerment as a drive to make the company a success. What’s even cooler is Natasha went from working a corporate job at Walt Disney to launching an ice cream company! If you ever think it’s too late in life to pursue your true passion, it’s never too late.

Natasha, you’re making life cooler and sweeter than before. Keep rockin’ and empowering women all over to start their own company and eat treats while doing so!

Think you’re a fit for WCW? Email us on Instagram or here.

Episode 80// Allison Kaye, SB Projects

EPISODE 80: I can’t believe we’re 80 episodes in to This is Life Unfiltered! The last time I was at this podcast studio was when Catt Sadler stopped by to talk about social media and mental health. Since then, I’ve been recording at my WeWork office and at Radio Disney in Burbank. The last time I was at my podcast studio in Culver City I hadn’t even started on Radio Disney. Wow, time has flown by!

This week, Allison Kaye stopped by. If you’re not familiar with her, she is a force in the entertainment industry, helping make talent like Ariana Grande AND Justin Bieber’s careers. Along with CEO of SB Projects Scooter Braun, Allison finds talent and makes them into worldwide phenomenons. She’s also a mom, a lawyer and a genius (in my opinion). In this interview with Allison, we dive into the reality behind being such a successful executive, what you wouldn’t know about your favorite stars and how she balances being a mother and a total boss babe. I am so honored she could stop by and take the time to chat with us, and inspire you all to follow your dreams and NEVER let anyone tell you no.

Also this week, I co-hosted This is Life Unfiltered with my best friend Alix! You can hear more from her next week and all over my social media.

Follow Allison at @allisonjamiekaye on social media.

Alexa’s Guide to Cape Cod

Cape Cod is one of those spots I’ve always wanted to visit but never made time to go to. Growing up in Eastern Connecticut, I was only a few hours away from the Cape (like 4) and all of my childhood friends raved about the towns on the coast, but the decent trek up the coast seemed silly to me. There’s towns a short while away from where I’m originally from (like Madison and Old Saybrook) that are quaint and filled with local ice cream parlors and cute shops- why leave the area when everything I need is right there?! On my journey to be fearless, I figured the perfect time to explore Cape Cod was now. On a whim, I emailed a few hotels last Sunday and instantly heard back from 2 incredible properties. One was the Waterford Inn in Provincetown, MA and the other was Ocean Edge in Brewster, MA. I’m incredibly unpretentious (if you can’t already tell 🙂 so as long as I’m surrounded by people I love and amazing food, I’ll go anywhere. I actually wasn’t expecting Cape Cod to be as boujee as it is. From fancy coffee shops with overflowing promotion of oat milk, and idyllic white houses, Cape Cod is a spot to go to be seen. But, the Cape lacks the annoying, pretentiousness that a place like East Hampton has- and I instantly recognized and loved that.

We stayed in Provincetown, MA for one night, which is when we stayed at the Waterford. We had dinner at their amazing restaurant Spindler’s, and even went back for lunch the following day to eat more of their peaches and burrata. If you’ve never had peaches and burrata together, head to any grocery store right now and buy both. It’s seriously the best combo/ meal I’ve had in 2019!

After wandering around Provincetown (the high street is super cute, I’d walk all the way up the street and plop down on the beach, it’s relaxing) we drove to Brewster, where we stayed at Ocean Edge. I love bed & breakfasts and I love hotels. If there is free breakfast at the B&B and the breakfast is actually good (Waterford had unlimited local coffee, fresh fruit and incredibly moist banana bread) then I’ll stay at a B&B for sure.

But, Ocean Edge was a force to be reckoned with. Each property was so unique. I ended up staying two nights at Ocean Edge over one because I didn’t want to drive back to Connecticut with my boyfriend (who had to work the following day) and I figured since one night was free, I would pay for another night.

We had dinner on their terrace, which included lots of oysters and fresh fish. The following morning we had breakfast and played tennis, before heading to the golf course. I’m a terrible golfer but there’s something about golf courses I dig. They’re so fancy and the food is always tasty. I have so much fun driving the golf cart in circles too. When I buy a house one day, I want to have a golf cart.

That’s what I did for 3 days last week: ate, slept and wandered my way through Cape Cod. I had delicious coffee at the owl coffee shop in Brewster (they have paleo muffins too) and biked down the street, which didn’t have as much as Provincetown but biking down a residential road is always fun because you get to see the big houses! Sometimes it takes so little to excite me, I know.

Have any of you been to the Cape?