Next time you see a way to donate to RMHC, consider giving a few coins, or more! I have been involved with the Ronald McDonald House Charities since college. I was the philanthropy chair for RMHC in Alpha Delta Pi at UNCW. I am proud to have been an ambassador for them here in Sydney for the last year. Watch this video to see how local communities can help make a difference in the lives of seriously ill children receiving treatment in hospital. RMHC provides a home away from home for their families. It is an amazing charity.

Want to know how I keep my blonde hair healthy and bright? It’s not always easy. Being out in the sun and swimming in salt water can really dry out my hair. I had a bad experience when I was pregnant where my hair became so dry and brittle it was like straw. I’m not sure if it was because I became so low on iron or what. I did have to have an iron infusion because my levels got so low. Babies suck everything out of us don’t they!? LOL All worth it of course but that was tough. My energy levels were so low and my hair looked bad!! I did a lot to get it back to where it is now. Watch this interview I did with my favorite stylists in Sydney to see what they advised! Stylist Bondi Beach. Woot woot!

Brooks and I are heading back to the USA for some Proud American coverage for Fox News Channel in Norfolk, Virginia. Don’t miss it! More details to come. Check me out on social media. Can’t wait to see everyone!

Hi Friends! I am proud to announce I have become an ambassador for the Ronald McDonald House Charities! This weekend is the first event I'll be helping out with...RBC Race for the Kids 

Please click on this link if you would like to join me or donate to the cause!

RBC Race for the Kids is an exciting series of fifteen charitable runs supporting children’s causes and the fourth year RBC Race for the Kids has been held in Sydney. 

Our goal is to raise over $100,000 for Ronald McDonald House Randwick (RMHR) and attract 1,000 runners. Funds will go towards helping RMHR make a home away from home for seriously ill children and their families and will support refurbishing an isolation unit and creating a sanctuary space at the Randwick House.

The day is guaranteed to be fun for everyone who attends. People of all ages can run, skip, jog, scoot, walk with your dog, or pram around the 5km or family routes. After the race join the family festival for a bite to eat or a cool drink. Our new Ambassador Sydney Thunder Cricketer, Chris Green will also be taking part on the day and there will be a whole host of exciting activities for the entire family including goodie bag challenge, bouncing castles and interactive fun zones and much much more.  

Grab your colleagues, friends and family and spend a Sunday raising money for a worthy cause. If you can't make it on the day why not sign up to be a remote runner? We will send you a pack and then you can create your own family 2k or 5k run, walk or jog.

Check out the schedule below: 

Registrations Open: 7:00am

Warm Up: 8:40am

Welcome Speeches: 8:50am

Race Start: 9:00am

Festival Zone Opens: 9:15am

Race Presentation: 10:00am

Head Line Performance: 10:30am

Event Closes At: 1:00pm

We look forward to seeing you on the day!

Check out the Christmas table decorating segment I helped host on my favorite Aussie morning show, Studio 10! It's all about staying within budget and still looking fabulous! Natarsha Belling and I interviewed lifestyle blogger, Jen Bishop, of Interior's Addict.

"I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas." It's always been one of my favorite Christmas carols and something my brother and I used to cross our fingers for every year. Sledding, snow men, snow angels, snow cream, snowball fights - it doesn't get much better for a kid. Growing up in North Carolina, then beginning my TV anchoring career in Ohio, and spending five years at Fox News Channel in New York City - I was lucky enough not to just sing about having a white Christmas, but actually have a white Christmas - a number of times.

This year the only white Christmas I'll be seeing - isn't snow - but white sandy beaches. Santa will be riding a Sea-Doo instead of a one horse open sleigh, and ugly Christmas sweater house parties will be replaced with ugly Christmas wetsuit beach parties. For real! You see it's summer where I live. I live in the place Americans fondly refer to as The Land Down Under. I'm not complaining, just noting the stark contrast.

I'll be kicking off my Christmas morning with a cool swim at Australia's most iconic beach, Bondi Beach, and then heading to my brother-in-law's house for a poolside Christmas feast with 'prawns' the size of your fist! That's 'shrimp' for folks in our corner of the world!

It's that time of year again when the calories don't count!!!!!! Yay! Eat what you want! That's the rule I'm going to live by as I take on my Aussie Christmas feast in Sydney this year. And to make me feel home for the holidays I made several batches of a famous Kooiman family sweet treat.... Peppermint Forest Christmas Shop Pecans!

Being that I am just wrapping up my 8th month of pregnancy, I am VERY excited to be using the excuse... "I'm eating for two" when it comes to this Kooiman Christmas staple.

During my time in New York City hosting Fox and Friends, producers sent me home one year to make the pecans, chat with my mom, dad, & bro about our North Carolina traditions, and pay a visit to the family biz. To WATCH the video, click here.

Every year growing up I would help my mom bake batches and batches and batches. Then during several busy holiday weekends, I would walk around the Peppermint Forest Christmas Shop serving the customers the famous pecans along with shortbread and hot apple cider.

So what are these special pecans I speak of!? Quite possibly the best Christmas goodie on the planet! The treats are great with ice cream and pie for dessert, they are a decadent sweet potato soufflé topper, a divine salad cruncher, and the old faithful way to eat them is just as a standalone, festive snack.

You should try them out! Here is the recipe:

From Taylor Swift touring Australia - to a potential Pussycat Dolls reunion - to movie awards - to a Roseanne reboot... I've got your entertainment news on Australia's Studio Ten! Check it out! This is my favorite Aussie morning chat show. Such a talented group... and the perfect mix of serious and fun!

FRIENDS! Don't forget to leave me some comment love on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Also, please tag a girlfriend in the posts if you think she's interested in the content from AnnaKooiman.com

"Putting all these factors together, the conclusion from several of the doctors was that the problem was likely something that couldn’t be easily cured. Something like cancer."

This opinion piece first ran on FoxNews.com.

I’ve enjoyed Thanksgiving as an American living in Ohio, North Carolina and New York. And now I enjoy living in Australia – a wonderful place except … Aussies don’t celebrate the wonderful holiday.

This is quite understandable, given that Australia is a place far, far away – where back in the 1600s there were plenty of kangaroos, but neither Native Americans nor Pilgrims.

What do you think of when you smell apple cinnamon and pumpkin spice? It’s something we don’t even have to think about as Americans, right? The holiday season, of course

I’m willing to bet you’re getting a warm, fuzzy feeling inside your tummy this very second. It’s why Starbucks makes such a killing this time of year selling their festive lattes. Those tempting aromas mean Thanksgiving is here and Christmas is just around the corner.

Let’s continue my game for a moment. What do you think of when you smell coconut sunscreen and salt in the air? Again, as Americans our mental rolodexes flip to beach vacations in the months of June, July and August.

OK. Now flip everything you know on its head. Let’s travel to another hemisphere. Let’s go to the wonderful land of Oz! A faraway land where the seasons and corresponding months are just the opposite of all I’ve ever known.

This turkey taco chili is so simple, delicious, and nutritious! I have made it about 100 times, 100 different ways. After a lot of trial and error, this is definitely a recipe worth sharing! Let me know on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube if you try it!

• INGREDIENTS:

• 1.25 lbs ground turkey (.5 kg turkey mince)
• 1 can kidney beans
• 1 can cannelli beans
• 1 can sweet corn
• 1 can crushed tomatoes
• 1 carton beef stock (can also use chicken or veggie)
• 2 sweet peppers (red/yellow/orange)
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 1 packet guacamole seasoning

• GARNISH:

• arugula/cilantro/avocado/Greek yogurt/cracked pepper

• INSTRUCTIONS:

• Combine kidney beans, cannelli beans, sweet corn, crushed tomatoes, and guacamole seasoning in large pot. 

• Stir ingredients in large pot. If you will be at the house, go ahead and begin cooking on low. 

• About an hour or two before you want to eat the meal, brown the ground turkey with the taco seasoning. Also chop and sauté the peppers with a bit of taco seasoning.

• Combine cooked turkey and peppers with everything else in the pot. Increase the heat to medium. Stir periodically. It is ready to serve in about and hour. But it can be held for a good while on low.

• This is a mild chili. I've added Frank's Hot Sauce in the past for a little kick. I think that adds just enough zing, but prefer it just like as I've laid out above. 

• Garnish as you wish. I like to use arugula (rocket as they say in Oz) and avocado. I add Greek yogurt, lime, and cracked pepper when I prep it for my husband. Choose your own adventure!

• ENJOY! 

Happy 10th Birthday Baxter Bear! I can't believe my baby is 70 in dog years! I wanted to make his day extra special. The highlights... a long walk at Bondi Beach in the morning, sunset chasing and fetch at the dog beach in Rose Bay (Sydney, Australia), a bath and grooming session with mama, and doggie pup-cakes! I have a peanut butter pup-cakes recipe that I have attached below. I'll also link to a few other recipes if peanut butter isn't your (or your dog's style). Leave a comment here or hit me up on social media and tell me what you think!

PREP TIME: 5 minutes

COOK TIME: 15-20 minutes

INGREDIENTS: 

1. 3/8 cup peanut butter
2. 3/8 cup honey
3. 1 egg + 1 egg white
4. 3/8 cup applesauce
5. 1.5 cup flour
6. 3/4 cup oatmeal
7. 1.5 tsp baking soda

TOPPING:

1. 1/4 cup peanut butter
2. 1/4 cup honey

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray cupcake tray and/or line with cupcake papers. Mix together all ingredients. Pour mixture into 12 spots on the cupcake pan. Bake about 15-20 minutes (depending on your oven). Let cool. Mix together peanut butter and honey for topping. Spread over each of the 12 cakes. Enjoy with your furry friend! 

These are quite dense and peanut-buttery. Careful not to put too much extra topping on or it may be tough for your big guy to eat! Baxter was hilarious eating his! And a little tidbit... They don't have any oil in them so I didn't feel to guilty eating two of them! You shouldn't either! Enjoy! xoxo

I like to use beach sprays two ways... I'll give my mane a little misty mist... spritzy spritz before I head down to the sand... and let the wind do the styling for me.... Or I'll use it on dry hair that is looking limp and haggard... to give it some swagger. ;-) Give it a whirl... You'll be singing... "I Whip My Hair Back and Forth" in no time!

I just discovered a super fun and flirty pink lipstick and have to share! I normally wear more neutral colors like MAC Brave Lipstick with MAC Cultured Lipglass (gloss) or MAC Please Me Lipglass (gloss) on top... But this new MAC Viva Glam Ariana Grande lipstick makes such a statement. I've been getting so many compliments. It's not an everyday color in my book... but it is definitely a head turner... and screams energy and confidence!

I have been counting down the days until my Baxter Bear gets to be with me here in Bondi Beach, Australia. A lot of you have asked about Baxter on social media. And I haven't wanted to talk about it much because it is so hard. It is a painstaking process and it seems ridiculous. My heart aches when I think about it. Off and on I have been cursing the Aussie quarantine regulations. But I understand why they are in order. Australia is a wondrous place with unique and protected ecosystems and leaders want to keep it that way. The strict conditions are designed to manage biosecurity risks. 

Friends! How ya feelin!?! I have missed you so much since my big move from television in New York City! Let's keep in touch. I'm so happy you found me here. I'm getting settled into my new home at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia with my husband. My hope is that this lifestyle blog dares you to dream... inspires you to take on new life adventures... and welcomes you to travel along with me on mine! xoxo
 

I am all about trying to live a beautiful and balanced life. This lifestyle section is a mix of whatever shenanigans I'm getting into... fashion, beauty, or home products or hacks that have made me happy... and hopefully they will serve you well too!