So last week I was lucky enough to be asked by CarlLewis films to be involved in their entry to MK's 48 film challenge, and having worked with Carl & Lewis previously, and after experiencing their determination and dedication to the end product, I jumped at it.

So for those in the dark about a 48 hour challenge, it's a time thing- you're given a certain criteria for a story and then you have 48 hours from that point to write a story, plan shot lists, get everyone in, make up, shoot, move locations, fight the losing light, battle the wind, edit it, put some music to it, and get it back in all within the 48 hour period. Needless to say I've skimmed a lot of the jobs so the sheer enormity of this isn't justified in my description.

But it was so much fun. Having an amazing team put together, everything ran smoothly and we were pretty much running on time the whole day. And the entry won our category! So Congratulations to CarlLewis films & everyone involved- I really enjoyed the day, despite throwing hot water over my hand in the first take of the day we got it haha!

All awesome photos below are taken from the set stills photographer- Ben Gregory-Ring who can be found here.

Soooooo this is a little delayed I know but this week has been all kinds of crazy (Crazy exciting included) but those of you who haven't seen my actress Facebook page won't know I was lucky enough to go to 'The Intern' premiere  (basically an amazing friend had a ticket and invited me- forever in debt!!)

So I got into the swing of things, made a killer dessert (From Chocolate covered Katies' blog linked HERE)- chocolate cookie dough brownies (Which can I add were INCREDIBLE) and midway through cooking I linked up my phone to my speakers and started having a good old jam.







Instead of thinking about the other things on my list, I danced.... like an idiot... then and there chocolate spoon in hand, brownies half made and I laughed out loud at myself.




I sang, and cooked and danced and got so carried away in that moment I loved it!



Dinner got made, everyone liked it, dessert went down a treat and I got my emails done and my to do list with no stressing and no time pressure.

FOOOOOOD post!!!

Okay well recipe fitness post... thing... okay

Soooo I am a huge foodie- genuinely I am eating one meal planning my next one, looking forward to eating again- Crazy. I love snacking and have actually been called a 'Zebra' by multiple people because I graze on food all the time- hey I like food okay?!

Any way I've been spending a lot of time in the kitchen recently and decided to try smoothie bowls.

Now I know what you're thinking because I was thinking it too- That's not eating. Will I feel full? Am I technically drinking breakfast? That's not breakfast, it's a drink and so on, but honestly this quick brekkie sees me straight through to my morning snack with ease.

Not just that, but they taste amazing and are so instagramable- what more could you want in a breakfast?!



Now I have experimented with throwing in spinach and the like and honestly I'm yet to figure out the 'ideal' to not have that tangy taste- but that just means I have to keep making them till I nail it... what a shame ey? ;)




Bascially I use a frozen banana, 1 cup greek yogurt, 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk, 1 scoop any flavour protein powder, SMALLLLLL handful of spinach (So maybe not a handful... maybe a teeny fingerful... can omit) and a handful of ice. whizz all that up with 2 TBS chia seeds and boom you have your base.


Then throw whatever you fancy on top! Berrys, cacao nibs, banna, almonds etc- go crazy!



Experiment with your base too- why not throw in some frozen berries or cacao- find what you like and enjoy making it! Let me know your base recipe so I can give it a go (Any excuse to keep making these!)


Have a good Monday lovely people
x

Hey guys!




So for those of you who have managed to escape my website and actress Facebook page won't know that I've just got back from a month of filming in France, Germany Switzerland and Cameroon for TV pilot- 'Lifeline'.





 I also was then lucky enough to be back in the UK for one night and then fly to Vegas with my older brother for business conferences for our latest family journey (More on this will be revealed soon). But how cool is that? Flying to Vegas (Or Disneyland for adults) for work... you can tell I'm still buzzing from that!












Any way while I was away on set, I got back into my routines of meditating and exercising daily (If you haven't heard of it, the free 'Headspace' app is an incredible way to get into meditation without the frustrations!), and it did absolute wonders for me. My clarity and identity came back as I left the 'rat race' and stopped wearing a watch- at times I couldn't tell you what day it was- what complete and utter serenity and freedom?! Bliss!!








So in this moment, I decided that I had no blog identity... I kind of dipped into a bit of this and that, but no solid plan, you know?... If you don't know where this is going- I now have one!!



I aim to use this as a platform for the 4 main parts of my life, to share with you guys my experiences as an actress (on sets, auditioning, character prepping etc), my fitness journey (including any gluten free recipes, training regimes, or body image epiphanies), my inspirations  (so everything motivational and mindset orientated), and finally the social elements of my life (friends, family, and experiences). Each one will be written about in rotation, 1 per week- that's right you lucky people now get 4 blog posts of my ramblings per month. I'm going to trial this for a couple of months and see how it goes, so anything you want to hear or read about, let me know!


Chal for now lovely people,

Keep smiling :D

Makenna x

                                                                          Hey!




So I've been out of touch for a while- I tend to prefer blogs when people have something to say- you know?



Okay so I'm currently in the middle of shooting a TV pilot which means I'm between countries and amazing locations and life is pretty awesome.



Cue the point of this entry... So when I was younger I really struggled with body image and eating habits as I'm pretty sure the majority of our society does at some point. And from that I've learned that I have to let go of that when shooting or away as I can't control when or what I eat 100% of the time... still learning.

Everyone on set is amazing and bend over backwards to ensure that I have stuff I can eat (I also have a gluten intolerance). This post is more me expressing my journey to mental well being.



 I'm currently rereading a book (and plan to do so multiple more times for the rest of my life) that I've mentioned before in a blog post called 'Creating a bug free mind'. It basically teaches you to let go of our society taught pressures and worries and relearn to live in your now and your present.




These last few weeks shooting have really honed that for me, I'm currently learning to let go of the guilt I usually feel when I have missed countless gym sessions and eaten odd foods at odd times because of the basic fact that I'm working and doing something that I really truly love to do which means that at times I may be working odd hours and my usual go to foods can't come with me on the flight. Hey, that's okay (See? learning ;) )

My point is I almost let myself become overwhelmed with my food control and body image and almost completely missed this incredible filming experience that I strived for and worked for that is happening right under my nose!!!


So today's message is (in my Mum's very wise words), be kind to you. Don't miss your now because you're stressing about things you 'should' be doing. Have a lay in every once in a while, sit and watch the world go by or pick up your hobby for a bit. Remember we work to live, don't live to work- treat yourself and stop to smell the roses. Be on your side and don't beat yourself up- from personal experience it's much better when you are your own side...



                                                                      Stay happy :)

                                                                       Makenna x

...what I'm doing.     

Okay.... hands up who can say this?

Now hands up who's slightly afraid to admit this?

*Cue 'Mean Girls' moment where pretty much everyone puts their hands up both times and awkwardly laughs about it*



I'm just reminding you all that it's okay!

I'm a massive perfectionist (like most of us), and always struggled with the idea of doing something 'wrong' or looking stupid because I don't know what I'm doing. As an actress I learnt pretty quickly that there's no room for that awkward 'I don't want to look stupid' dance that we all seem to do. Wanting feedback but don't want to do things 'wrong'? How can you improve if you don't show off those flaws to someone to get that feedback to change it? Madness. Reality check- no one knows what they're doing 100% of the time all the time *Slight nod to Anchorman quote there*

And if they did, imagine how boring that would be? Imagine you could do everything, ever, always... You'd lose that sense of progress, achievement, determination to get better- and reaching that goal. What would you strive for? What would be your goals? How would you find motivation to do stuff if it all came so easy to you?

Sometimes we (well I know I used to), get caught up in wanting to be at our goal, wanting to be perfect at everything, not wanting to make mistakes, and today I'm asking you why? Isn't life so much more fun when you can live and learn and laugh at your mistakes?

Makenna x

Hey! Long time no blog... Sometimes I feel like I have no epiphanys for you or wise words or ramblings... Sometimes I just write and see what I end up with... Like today... so hey!

New year! Yay! Always such a good time- new bursts of motivation, decisions being made, directions being taken- I love it! My blog post today is a little late I guess but I feel it's a lesson we could use always- Limits... why do we have them?

We grow up and suddenly hit a point where we find our confidence knocked, we struggle with self doubt and the big wide world tells us things are not 'probable' or maybe not even possible. Well screw it. The only person who can limit you is you. I think we forget what we're capable of in every sense of the meaning- we forget that our body can adapt, our mid can grow and we can push ourselves out of our comfort zones and live!

So this is another little nudge from me to you (And me to myself)- do things in 2015, push yourself- If you don't do anything new, in 5 years time your life will still be the same!

Just a reminder- you're awesome and we've got this!



Makenna x