Saturday Morning Browsing: What is new on the web?

"Working" by the pool at our private pool in Newport Beach (We were upgraded by Hyatt)
“Working” by our private pool in Newport Beach (We were upgraded by Hyatt)

 

What’s New on the Web?

A few weeks have passed since I offered my What is new on the web feature. Between our home renovation and travel schedule, my time has not been my own. I squeeze in as much as I can each day, but there never seems to be enough time. Do you feel that way?

I started this Saturday morning post in order to highlight a few nuggets that I discovered on the internet. There is so much content to read and discover, my guess is that you can’t get to it all either.

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Fun Times at TBEX in Minneapolis- The Future of Travel Media

TBEX in Minneapolis

TBEX in Minneapolis

 

I have just returned from TBEX in Minneapolis – What is TBEX?

What is this thing with the fancy futuristic sounding title?

“TBEX is the largest conference and networking event for travel bloggers, online travel journalists, new media content creators, travel brands and industry professionals. Each year, TBEX partners with fantastic host destinations in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific to bring the travel industry’s most creative minds together to learn, network and do business.”

  • The first TBEX was held in 2009 after an email was sent to six friends
  • Since then, it has grown into the world’s largest travel community, with conferences held annually in North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific
  • Each TBEX conference attracts 600-1000 delegates from around the world, making it the best opportunity for DMOs, travel brands, PR firms and their clients, to engage with the most influential travel bloggers and leading digital content creators

TBEX in Minneapolis ~

TBEX in Minneapolis
These Travel Rockstars are from left: Sara of TravelwithSara, Cheryl of WhatBoundriesTravel, Lisa of TheTravelPharmacist and Betsy of PassingThru

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Seattle: A Mother/Daughter Road Trip to Lake Chelan

Lake Chelan

Lake Chelan

A mother/daughter road trip to Lake Chelan ~

We began our road trip on a beautiful, sunny day in Seattle. Yes, seriously it was sunny! My Seattleite daughter and I wanted to squeeze in one last adventure before our move back to California.

My husband and I had been living in Seattle for 8 months while our 1937 fixer upper in Pasadena, CA was being renovated. We chose to live in downtown Seattle so we could live closer to our daughter Alex and experience the “city” way of life. We loved it.

Road trip to Lake Chelan

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Come Join Us on Instagram in Midlife

Instagram in Midlife

Instagram in Midlife

Instagram in Midlife and every life ~

It has been months and months since I wrote about Instagram in Midlife. Finally, I see that many more people of my generation are embracing this social media platform.

I am thrilled to welcome my friends from Facebook as they join “IG” or “Insta” for short. Facebook is so 2015… Instagram is simple, no politics and it is perfect for all generations. No one cares how old you are, they just want to look at your photos.

I absolutely love the creativity and fun Instagram brings. I hope to encourage those of you who have not yet joined who are taking photos on your smart phone. With the IG app on your phone, it is a snap to share a photo.

Because really… If I don’t take a photo did it really happen? Ha!

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New York City: Singing the Praises of Salvation Taco

Salvation Taco

Salvation Taco

Salvation Taco ~

Meg, my bi-coastal bestie, is my New York City restaurant secret source. Her latest suggestion was to go to Salvation Taco, which was created by Single Michelin Star chef, April Bloomfield and her partner Ken Friedman who was recently awarded the JBFA Award for Best Restauranteur. Just last night Meg said “You and Craig would love Salvation Taco. The food is fabulous and the views from the rooftop bar are amazing! My dear friend knows what we like and it was just as she suggested! Only three blocks from our hotel, we strolled over to have a casual, tasty, taco lunch.

As a fan of clever design, I especially liked the colorful atmosphere and kitchy Mexican vibe. Located in the Murray Hill area of Manhattan, the restaurant is only about a year old, we had a a really great meal and the service was outstanding. The design of the rooftop deck is something out of the movies. It honestly looks like a movie set, just beautiful.

Salvation Taco - Cheesy Empandas with tomatillo salsa
Cheesy Empandas with tomatillo salsa

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13 Things To Do With Your Adult Kids

fun things to do with your adult children

fun things to do with your adult kids
Taking a hike in Washington on a very cold day in November

 

Fun things to do with your adult kids ~

fun things to do with your adult kids
Seattle Sounders Game (Soccer)

 

Lately I have been receiving email requests for ideas for fun things to do with your adult kids. As our kids have gotten older and become adults, the family dynamics have changed and we seem to put more thought into what we will do as a foursome when our schedules allow us to all get together.

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Saturday Browsing: News From the Web

Saturday morning on the Web

news from the Web

News from the Web ~

Our moving from Seattle to Los Angeles has put a cramp on my ability to gather news from the web. We drove for two days and then we flew off to New York for a week, so life is especially busy and a little confusing. We are camped out at Craig’s mom’s house about 13 miles east of Pasadena, so we are still vagabonds for another few weeks. The fixer upper home we are renovating is almost finished. Can I get an Amen!

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Adventure on the Hudson: America’s Cup in NYC

IMG_4113

The America’s Cup in New York City on the Hudson River ~

The excitement of the America’s Cup has returned to the East Coast. For the first time in nearly 100 years, the race was held in New York City on the Hudson River. Team New Zealand won the event after a number of qualifying races in order to pick a challenger for the defending Champion, Oracle Team USA. My husband Craig works for Oracle and we have been Americas Cup fans for a number of years.

America's Cup
The view of the Freedom Tower and the skyline was breathtaking from the Hudson River.

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Road Trip: Back to California

road trip

This morning we leave to drive back down to Pasadena for the last Road Trip. Craig, Rocco and I are packed to the gills with all of the crap we have collected in Seattle for 8 months. We sent 12 boxes back to So Cal and will be vagabonds for another month while our home …

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The Pasadena Empty Nest Fixer Upper Update!

 

kitchen remodel
The refrigerator and freezer panels are waiting for the appliances to arrive. Next up: The hardwood floor to be finished and hardware for the cabinets. There is paper covering the new floors for now.

Another update for the empty nest fixer upper…

More progress, more decisions, more changes, rinse, repeat. It does seem that the little house in Pasadena has made some significant progress, but with that progress came a couple of setbacks.

Every time we are cruising along at a healthy pace, something happens that slows it all down just a bit. The tile that I had originally picked for the front of the fireplace arrived and I was taken aback at what I had chosen. There was nothing about it that I liked. The architect urged me to choose something more traditional, more “old Pasadena” and we made the choice together. I now see that the colors were wrong, it seemed old fashioned, but I made this decision in the middle of the last few (horrific) months of my dad’s life. I made a mistake.

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