I thought I had posted this a while back and somehow I hadn't - oops! Reverse to late May...aaaaaand scene.
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I just had the most unexpectedly lovely 5 days!
Stop 1: Dallas for Amy’s bachelorette party
I think my crowning achievement of this weekend is tied
between 1) ordering 10 honey butter chicken biscuits at 2 a.m., and 2) not
having a hangover after two nights of power drinking. Yeahhhhh 30 years old and
still kicking! (I feel like that’s an open invitation for karma to lay me out
the next time I drink but whateverrrrrrrrr I’m crazyyy remember?!).
We had a really big group—18 in total—which fortunately
included the ladies from Austin that I miss so much and of course, my favorite
beautiful bride Amy! So for me, it was sort of a double whammy to get to
celebrate Amy and do so with all of our mutual friends. In a way, weddings and
bachelorette weekends sort of substitute for our girls trips now, so we really
max out our time together…in the best way!
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| what up W! |
The highlight of the weekend was a pole dancing class, which
we naturally decided to take to an unnecessary level by dressing 80s for it and
pre-drinking for several hours before showing up. Which meant that I spent two
hours of laughing my ass off instead of working
it. In true costume-loving fashion, everybody went balls-out on their outfits
too, although I think these two take the cake:
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| Ain't no shame in this game |
There was a lot of other great stuff to love about the
weekend, but I especially loved seeing how different groups of girls that are
mostly connected in some way but maybe aren’t close can band together for a relaxing, dancy, hilarious, and
occasionally raunchy good time!
Stop 2: Ft. Worth for Mother’s Day
Since I was just a hop-skip-and-a-jump away, I rode with
Megan back to Ft. Worth and spent the next 24 hours with my mom for Mother’s
Day! Even though we definitely celebrated her, I think I got the positive end
of the stick. My mom recently bought an amazing house with a pool, hot tub,
etc., and now was the first time I was able to actually use it. Ho.ly.Moly. I
seriously felt like I was at Club Med. Since I was last there, they have really
amped up the outdoor décor and it is really beautiful. The pool is heated, there
are outdoor speakers playing music, the treadmill is set up in front of a TV,
and there’s a dry sauna…with a TV in it.
#wherewasthis15yearsago
We spent most of our time lolling around in the pool, chatting,
and me teaching my mom new phrases like “totes b’goats”—which incidentally she
thought was “choke my goat”. I made it clear that that takes on an entirely
different meaning.
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| Tex Mex lunch, obvi |
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| For those of you who know about my mom's shopping habits...right now she's on a bronze kick. Hence, the bronze pelican on the edge of the hot tub.... |
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| Ole Johnny boy (i.e. stepfather) waving from the hot tub. Loving life! |
Stop 3: Miami for a work conference
So I was already coming off of a truly wonderful 3 days in
row, and rolling that right into a conference on consumer trends, which really
dives into human behavior and why we do the things we do...well, that's just a nerd's dream. This conference was the bomb.com for 3 reasons.
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| ummm what?! |
First, not only was it great to be around a bunch of people
who more-or-less do the same thing I do, but it reinvigorated me to love what
I’m doing. Not to say that I don’t still feel like I’m missing something more
purposeful in my job, but at the core of what I do…holy cats, my job is interesting.
Some of the topics were: why playing video games is good for us, how to predict
food trends, differences between men and women, and how to tell a story with
your brands. DELICIOUS.
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| The hotel was way too classy for me, and I loved it. Eden Roc Renaissance on South Beach, do it. |
Second, I won a prize at one of the sessions and I got to
accompany a small group to a new restaurant called Tuyo, which is Norman Van
Aken’s latest and greatest—he’s apparently the shit, James Beard winner and
whatnot, look him up. We got to see a food demonstration and tour the Miami
Culinary Institute (the restaurant sits on top), and of course, eat his divine
food. My favorite part was sitting next to a woman named Ramin who is a
journalist but also a cookbook author, who has a lot of writing awards and is
generally just a fascinating person. The conversation with her and the whole
table was so bizarre and incredible, we covered everything from how George
Washington treated his slaves to Angelina Jolie’s double
mastectomy and what it means to predict the future of your health. Pretty
dynamic chatting, especially for not knowing each other before that day.
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| Flan demonstration. I drooled and learned nothing. |
Third, location location location. We were at a phenomenal
hotel called the Eden Roc Renaissance, right on the beach. I found time in the
mornings and after the sessions to walk, lay out, and enjoy the sunshine, sand,
and water. Let's not talk about the worst sunburn of my life, which I got after one hour of no sunscreen (long story) and was in hypersensitive pain for seven straight days. I forget how much I love the beach, probably because all of our
vacations revolve around skiing or weddings, but I think it’s amazing. Even
just the sound of the water is so relaxing; it’s impossible to be stressed out
there. And the fact that I got to get a little taste of the beach for free, on
work time, well…can’t beat that.
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| sunrise |
