Sometimes you just have to say yes and figure out the rest! That is how I decided to go all the way to New York City to attend the Blogger Block Party given by HGTV Magazine – A blogger adventure!
Can I just tell you how lively, invigorating, colorful and fun it was? I honestly had no real idea what it would be like, but had complete faith that HGTV does everything right, so this (free) event would be no exception.
How I learned about the HGTV Magazine Blogger Block Party –
A little back story…
As you know Craig and I have been living the downsizing/renovating house adventure of our empty nester lives! We sold our larger home in Orange County and moved to Pasadena to be closer to our families, find a smaller home and a new fixer upper project.
Southern California weather is so warm so much of the time, that it allows us to wear flip flops all year round. Summer fashion is uber casual so virtually everyone wears flip flops/sandals with every type of outfit.
Rhea Footwear contacted me recently to see if I was familiar with their patented no slip footwear. I was definitely not aware and really happy for the connection!
Ironically, I actually have a fear of falling and/or slipping! I was the perfect candidate to take a look at their innovative products. Because of a trip planned to the Northwest, last month I tried out the adorable no-slip black boots first. Not only were the boots fashionable, but super comfortable and gripped the ground without feeling clunky. The no-slip sole is especially important for traveling in wet weather and on unstable surfaces. Do you worry about slipping like I do?
Now that it is summertime, I wear flip flops at home everyday. I am constantly chasing after my dog Rocco and tossing the ball with him in our back yard. Our yard is mostly concrete, so the no slipping feature is such bonus for me. I can run after him with no fear of slipping and look cute while I am doing it (LOL).
A walk through Central Park is always a necessity when visiting New York City. Even in the snow, even in the rain, even in the sweltering, muggy, damp, crowded summer!
I wrote the post below almost two months ago when all of the good byes to Vin Scully had not quite started. Since our meeting, the Vin Scully Farewell tour has begun. He has been interviewed, filmed, photographed, hugged, sung to, given the key to Los Angeles, awarded plaques and been surrounded by love from fans, ballplayers, friends and family.
Honestly, I don’t know how he and his wife Sandy have kept up with all of it. Through all of these accolades, Mr Scully just waves it off, “Enough, I am just me” He says.
The Dodgers even clinched the National League West on his very last day announcing at Dodger Stadium. No Hollywood movie could have played this scenario better. It is astounding how spectacular his good byes have been and the amount of cheering and tears that have been shed.
He is the man, no question. I am super sad that we will no longer hear him announcing the Dodger Games. Craig will be in San Francisco today just to hear Vin call the game with the Giants for his very last time ever. Mr Scully is a legend with a golden voice and a heart of gold that goes with it.
Craig was just ten years old when he started listening to Vin Scully. He would put his small transistor radio next to his ear or under his pillow to listen to the Dodger games. It was most likely past his bed time, but he didn’t care, it was baseball season. In 1970, Craig said he became obsessed with the Dodgers and played the “Pop Tart” game. Inside the Pop Tart box was a paper scorecard where he wrote the stats, stayed organized and focused on Dodger Blue.
My grandparents bled Dodger Blue, they were HUGE fans. I can clearly remember them sitting under their backyard willow tree in the summer heat, listening to Vin Scully’s play by play and keeping score. My grandma kept the scorecard on her lap and she would keep score for every game. The summertime in the valley was so hot and they had no air conditioning, so grandpa would bring a cooler of cold drinks and they used that as a side table.
Are you a podcast listener? Are you part of the social media world? There is a brand-new exciting and intriguing podcast called How Social Are You?. This podcast is the brainchild of a long time friend of mine Mark Lindheimer. Mark is the COO of one of the largest and most influential Instagram based luxury lifestyle travel companies in the world.
On the podcast Mark examines how social media has impacted his life and business and then interviews others to find out how social media has affected them and their world.
We recorded a fun and informative interview which talks about how my life, Adventures of Empty Nesters and social media all interact. I believe that social media is here to stay and that we all need to create our own boundaries and allow it to enhance our lives and keep us connected.
Are you looking for advice for the new empty nester?
It is August and new empty nesters are now arriving at the most difficult of the empty nest hurdles. Navigating the college send off, dealing with the new freshman’s anxiety, the anticipation of the actual “goodbye” is a lot to deal with. Not to mention how you use your acting skills to pretend this is all for the best and you are “so excited” for their first year away at school.
Of course you are excited and proud of your 18 year old baby who has accomplished such amazing things! But the fact is, that adorable, perfectly delicious child of yours will not be walking back in to your house for a while and certainly NOT on a daily basis. This my friend is not an easy situation to handle. Some of you will breeze through this process and some will cry a little more than you want to. That was me.
Why pay nearly $5.00 a pint for organic blueberries when you can pick them yourself for $2/lb! Since Pasadena is not anywhere near a blueberry farm, it would make picking blueberries nearly impossible at home. However, I was on my way to Seattle where there are many blueberry farms, so the time was ripe!
Listening to a conversation with Frank Gehry at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles was a pretty awesome way to spend an evening! Christopher Hawthorne, architecture critic of the Los Angeles Times, interviewed Mr. Gehry on stage. They talked a lot about his early beginnings and coming to Los Angeles as a teen from Canada.
He is now 87 years old! Who do you know that is still being interviewed, sought after, hired, consulted with, admired and revered at that age? Easy going and truthful, strong willed, creative and sweet, I was totally captivated and so was Craig.
Rock and roll and midlife fit together like a melody and lyrics. We grew up in the 60’s but we found our rock and roll stride in our high school and college years in the late 70’s and 80’s. From high school sweethearts, to now at 32 years of marriage, we have been listening and discovering music and bands, as well as attending countless concerts for almost forty years.
I thought it would be fun to do a Flashback Friday post. Today’s post incorporates May 30th – August 30th 2015. Oh my, a lot can happen in one summer.
Flashback Friday 2015 – Summer Edition
In the summer of 2015, my Dad was still with us, I went to Kennebunkport for the first time and Nick graduated from UCLA! I had a blast at a UCLA sorority reunion and we went to a music festival called Outside Lands in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. Craig and I filmed an infomercial for the Perfect Cooker in our very un-perfect kitchen in the fixer upper. We discovered new places to walk in our new neighborhood. We had a great time in New York City, discovering new places to go and we also discovered some great places to eat in Pasadena. And last but not least, we started the adventure of living in Seattle for “6 months” which turned into eight.
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