i had the pleasure of sitting next to tim on my flight from iowa to minneapolis. after chatting with him for 5 minutes i was already hooked on what he was doing, not to mention in awe and full of inspiration. tim ran 63 marathons in 63 days–check out his story here. truly amazing!
meet nils.
along with under armour, nils skiwear is a fabulous technical ski and active wear line i have the pleasure selling this winter season. i spent the last three days in orange county learning the new collections for the 2013 season and i am so excited with what is in store.
this was my first year visiting the headquarters and it is tradition for all the reps to have dinner at the home of nils and his wife, nancy. truly wonderful people and it shows throughout the company with how they do business.
an o.c. dinner: cooked by chef david, an exquisite chef based in the so cal area. sit around a huge table like a family by a blazing fire made by nils swapping stories about traveling the world. so fabulous!
did i mention i met a wonderful lady who is dating the producer of the oscars and trades her front row seats sometimes to famous designers in exchange for iconic fashion pieces? had to throw in a little hollywood for you.
rockefeller plaza
planes, trains, and automobiles seem to be the re-occurring theme for my month of november because it has been jam packed with travel. with that comes the holidays!
i was recently in new york city the week before thanksgiving to manage an event called meet the breeds. this wasn’t my most recent trip, but a great one none-the-less. meet the breeds–what the heck? ever seen the movie best in show? imagine that. great event for an animal lover like myself. i must say it was quite entertaining.
these two are legit dog celebrities
as i have said before, walking cities is one of my favorite past times and a great way to take in the different neighborhoods while stumbling upon unique, fun places. without doubt, manhattan is one of the best cities for this. dinner with friends and 8 miles of walking from central park to the brooklyn bridge were just a few highlights.
walk through central park
stumbled upon this place for the best grilled ham & cheddar biscuit i have had the pleasure of noshing on to date. it’s a good thing i was walking all day. for those of you H&M lovers, i happened to be there during the opening premiere of versace’s line into the stores, talk about a zoo!
leopard print is forever in my heart
putting up the tree is no simple task
fall is trying to stay strong against winter coming
found the apples
i will leave you with a food tip: for one of the best burgers i have ever had, visit the burger joint and get the burger with the works. don’t be fooled by the dark curtain that hides this lovely little place in le parker meridian hotel. thanks to my cj banks ladies for the tip.
why? not only did the cyclones win last weekend and have a winning record for that matter (barely), i got to reunite with family and friends from college for an annual tailgate back in iowa!
while touring campus it was nice to know the university trees sport the college colors
love these girls, and the crazy part is half are missing in the photo! double the love!
this photo makes me laugh every time i see it so i had to share-everyone doing their part in helping initiate brian
….did i mention it was brian’s first official time tailgating? whaaaaat?! good thing he learned with the pros. thank you to all of my friends and family who made the weekend what it was, you are all precious gems. until next year ladies…
great food. better lives.
farestart is a local non profit organization that provides culinary training and job placements for homeless and disadvantaged individuals here in seattle. as a food lover myself, i can’t think of a bad reason for having more chefs in this world!
one thing i love about volunteering is that there are so many amazing organizations that can benefit from people’s personal passions if people make the choice to help. combining two of my loves: food and spanish, i have been helping translate newsletters and nutrition elements for spanish speaking families with children that receive the great meals these chefs in training cook. not to mention, using this as an excuse to help refresh the ol’ grammar.
for all you peeps out there that continuously dedicate your time to a good cause, i salute you! fyi….farestart is usually in need of helpers for shelter runs so if anyone is interested in joining in on the fun, let me know!
i recently spent a week cycling across my great home state of iowa doing RAGBRAI! for those of you who like a million different ways to have a good time in small towns all while being active, this is the event for you.
team pit stop
bikers, bikes, everywhere!
beer bongs amongst the cornfields
welcome signs made out of hay bales
louisville chuggars!
iowa pork chops
lots and lots of dancing...first place in the booty shaking contest!
the open road!
biking with my bestie!
see you next year RAGBRAI!
lake michigan above the 44th parallel
these past few days i had the pleasure of driving around the entire state of michigan to pay visits to some of the countries best pet food stores. let me tell you, michigan is a little gem of a state that shouldn’t go unnoticed, and if you have the chance to pay it a visit, i would highly recommend it.
lake superior
i stayed in the “UP,” as locals say, which is also known as the upper peninsula for those of us not from the midwest. the peninsula is surrounded by two of the great lakes: superior and michigan, and loaded with tons of forests! i saw the largest moose i have ever seen in real life chilling out along the banks of the highway as if he owned the place. how great is that? i should have snapped a picture.
swarms of bugs hatching on the lake
if i wasn't driving by a lake view, i had this view
for all your dog lovers out there, this is for you.
i had the privilege of taking part in the annual chicago white sox dog days where the fidos of chi-town get to go enjoy america’s past time for a night. my booth was helping educate people on the effects of pet obesity and ways to help give their pet a healthy lifestyle, sponsored by hill’s science diet. did you know a little extra weight on pets can be a big problem? to help put into perspective, an average sized chihuahua that is 1 lb over weight is equivalent to an average sized woman being 38 lbs overweight. crazy!
…our last few days in thailand were spent on ko phi phi in a five-star resort…called the holiday inn. what?? yes, for a whopping $150 us dollars/night, we stayed in luxury. lounging in hammocks, sun rises and sun sets, getting lost on hikes, soaking in the sun, and loads of delicious seafood describe the last few days. my last set of pictures below for you to view. thailand treated us oh-so-well and i know i will be back to visit soon…at least i hope. until then, keep smilin’.
covering my burned nose on the way to our beach
arriving to the resort
while checking in, greeted with cold wash clothes and fresh juice drinks
our bungalow
the view standing on our balcony
lounging
sun set on the cliff
sun rise on the beach
trying durian fruit! smells horrible.
sand rinsing stand outside each bungalow
hiking to the highest peak..and getting slightly lost
view on peak
while brian is taking this picture, i am trying to get him to come closer due to the giant spider the size of my hand that is hanging down an inch away from him.
we found a secret infinity pool
loving the elephant
paradise
brian almost looks like he is floating due to the tiny hammock
sweet pillow chairs to lounge in
perfect ending to a perfect trip
brian and i decided to have our last few days in thailand be a bit more luxurious so we ferried over to stay on the ko phi phi islands. i now realize what the hoop-la is all about regarding these tiny, beauty-packed havens. with jagged bluffs, clear aqua waters, and white sandy beaches who isn’t going to fall in love slightly with the scenery?
the only downfall about staying on ko phi phi is everything costs a bit more. for instance, most places in ko phi phi don (the larger, inhabited island) can only be reached by long tail boat. this keeps you a bit at bay for exploring unless you want to charter a boat for the day.
our purple wearing long tail driver
since we had to charter a long tail boat to get to the resort we were staying at we figured we might as well go check out the famous maya bay on ko phi phi leh, the tiny uninhabited island. we spent a few hours boating around the island, snorkeling, swimming to random beaches,and checking out caves. it was beautiful!
prior to getting in the long tail
our boat had a shade spot
on the way to phi phi leh
snorkeling maya bay
steep cliffs everywhere!
brian modeling the beach we swam out to
caves near maya bay
what is not to love about this?
