Hallelujah

Last week was a little bit nutty. I went from the World Shoe and Accessories trade show in LasVegas where I met with magazine editors and footwear accounts for three long days, to a whirlwind weekend of weddings in Salt Lake. I hadn't been home to Utah in almost a year which means I hadn't seen that my sister Elizabeth is pretty much all grown up. She looks and talks like a high school kid. I guess I wasn't quite ready for that and I had to pretend it was my cold and not the lump in my throat making my voice sound funny when she said hello. I was 15 when she was born and she just turned 15. Weird. We drove out to Kaysville to see my mom and Greg's new house, which was lovely as well and then came back to the SLC to hook up with Emily at her cute new apartment.
After we met up with Em and Callie, we headed over to Cafe Rio for some dinner and some friends. I didn't say this at the time but I'm afraid maybe the 4th South Cafe Rio is not quite as good as our old Fort Union haunt. Maybe it was an off night.
At least the company was good. (hey danny, if you don't want photos like this on the internet for all to see...don't steal my camera!)
We ended up shutting down Cafe Rio and talking in the parking lot for another few hours. Here is what the album cover will look like when Elizabeth, Callie and Kersten finally start their band.
And then the elusive Chuck came to Emily's! Elusive only because I haven't been to Utah in so long and Chuck has become a virtual member of the family in that time. He and Emily are really cute and have a hard time being more than five inches away from each other.

The next day I went up to Oakley for my friend Jennifer's wedding. Jen is from the group of 10 rowdy 14th ward kids I grew up with. We don't really see the boys anymore but the girlies have stayed close and I was so glad that my work schedule didn't interfere with me getting to go to her wedding. She and her mother have fantastic taste so I knew this would be a beautiful affair. I was not disappointed. I rode up to the wedding with one of my oldest and dearest friends Ashley and her husband Rob. They are cute enough but this baby Mason of theirs is really much more fun to photograph.
The wedding was in a place called Rendezvous ranch and quite frankly-I can't imagine anything more romantic than getting hitched in a place this beautiful. Jen and Aaron were so adorable. They have been dating off and on for eight years but you would have thought they were two giggly teenagers all day.
There was some Irish Dancing.
And Andrea's tiny, adorable, sleeping Ben. Holding babies this small might be the best possible thing that can be done with your arms.
There was laughing. (rob and ashley, parents of mason) (told you they were cute)
and plenty of old friends. This is Allison, Chelsea, me, the lovely bride Jennifer, Ashley, Andrea and Wendy.
After the cake was cut and toasts were made, Aaron sat down with a guitar and played Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" which is Jennifer's favorite song. It's not really a great wedding song per se, but it really is so beautiful. He played the Jeff Buckley arrangement which I think is the best of all the covers I've heard.
Note to self: this is what happy wedding days look like.

I rode home with Andrea and Adam and Adam kept up giggling pretty much the whole time. I love it when my friends marry entertaining boys. If Adam ever stops using surprise swears or making sarcastic sex jokes, he will be totally useless. They dropped me off at the Salt Lake Hardware Building where I found my mom and Emily were busily putting together centerpieces for wedding #2 the next day. A talent I did not inherit is the ability Emily and my mother have to take a bunch of kinda random stuff and make it look cool.
I also found Chuck doing this. (Which is nothing. Which is all I can do when it comes to decorating for a wedding too.)

Wedding number 2 coming right up...

When the Cat is Away

Friday my sister Emily went to work and left Elizabeth and me alone in her house. Can you really blame us for taking advantage of the situation?

Home Sweet Home

After almost three solid weeks of travel I am finally at my house for two whole days before I have to pack another suitcase! WHOO HOO!

Whatever, I have had all manner of F-U-N the last little bit which I will get to posting as soon as I find a way to get a full eight hours of sleep so my eyes will stop crossing.

No Sleep Til

I mentioned awhile back that one cool part of my job is that sometimes I get to hire my friends. And it gets infinitely cooler when I get to go to New York with said friends to film some content for my brand's website. So two weeks ago, the three of usDamian, Matt and me(not pictured), traipsed around Williamsburg (on some record breaking hot and humid days), following a dancer/free runner/yoga instructor/personal trainer/inspiring woman for our first 60 second spot.
First of all, let it be known that New York is pretty much an amazing city. I know it's loud and dirty and crowded and that can turn some people off. I'm not even sure how well I would handle living there. But everytime I go, there is an energy to the place that you feel you the minute you get off the plane that I have never felt anywhere else. I never get enough sleep in New York because I feel like every single second is a potential adventure. The first night we were there I sat in a curb in SoHo somewhere at 12:30, talking to my sister on the phone and marveling at how much activity there was on a random street corner, in the middle of the night on a Monday.
That night I also got to visit my dear friend Jed who recently relocated to New York and now works for a cool post-production house in SoHo. This is the view from one of the roofdecks in his office. We ate yummy Thai food and caught up on his big city adventures.
One of my childhood fantasies was always to play in the fire hydrants like the kids on Sesame Street. I really had to hold myself back from joining the kids playing in this park fountain.
In the two days we followed her around Weena nearly wore us out.She stood on her head
She vaulted
she jumped
she flew. (ok, i'll just admit right now that this might be one of my favorite photos I've ever taken. I l-o-v-e it.)
She was having so much fun I really couldn't contain myself from trying the ropes as well. This was all I could manage but I think you can see on my face-playing on the playground is really, really fun. I need to do it more often.
One of the highlights of the shoot was when we all got busted for trespassing because we had the audacity to ignore the complete lack of "no trespassing" signs and assumed that an open gate meant we could get in. Dumb dumb dumb. However! The guys managed to get a shot of Weena's leg in perfect unison with the Empire State Building that was totally worth all the tickets.
One of Weena's clients used to work for Martha Stewart. Everything in her apartment was some kind of awesome, but I was particularly fond of these plates on the wall.
The last night Damian and I met up with some friends from our secret internet club. We are very blurry but that is because I have learned that if you give the camera to tourists over a certain age-you either get no photo at all, or something very blurry. We are adorable. I promise.
The piece turned out awesome but you don't geta> to see it yet. A very good reason to stick around...

Pack this

Things I have done to avoid having to pack for a week long journey to Las Vegas and Salt Lake:

-taken a nap
-gone for a bike ride
-made a snack
-made dinner
-made another snack
-watched What Not to Wear
-played on the internet
-ichatted
-counted how many pairs of shoes I have (too many)
-talked to my roommates
-sent some emails
-downloaded a little music

It's been almost five hours since I hauled my big suitcase out of the garage and pretended I was going to get this packing done before midnight. I'm not. I have three days of business meetings and casual dinners in Vegas, two weddings and lots of family/friend hangouts in Salt Lake, and I have to makeup for a week of marathon training lost to the summer head cold. This is not just throw some skirts and shoes in a bag and hope for the best. This is panic inducing meet-with-accounts-and-fashion-magazine-reps-then see-people-I-haven't-seen-in-almost-a-year-hang-out-with-my-style-icon-sister wardrobe pressure.

Oh and also, I am totally lazy. So there's that.

kindred spirits

Once upon a time a little girl got her very first grown up job. It was a magical job, one that left her with three truths that later proved to be myths
1. That she would always work in a place populated with enough cute single boys to keep her busy for years
2. That her job would always make her feel like she was part of something big and important
3. That her coworkers would always feel more like sisters than cubemates
That girl has grown up now and realized that jobs are jobs and fantasy stops on the career path stay magical mostly because they are the exception, not the rule. HOWEVER, I have been extremely spoiled to have two of these sister coworkers breeze through HB this summer and although neither visit was nearly long enough, I was delighted to get more than a quick dinner on an overscheduled trip to Utah (although i will always take what I get when it comes to these girls).
This weekend it was one Lori Elizabeth and her lovely husband Steve who could be one of the greatest couples of all time. Steve and Lori met during our Olympic days so I got to watch the whole process which I'm sure makes me adore them all the more. And the bonus is that when we are all together, no one falls asleep or rolls their eyes when we start in on our SLOC-speak. Anyway, I'll cut the flowery nostalgia in a minute but I warn you that I love these two beyond reason and the flowery compliments probably won't stop.
Lori and Steve arrived on Sunday evening and we went straight to the beach. I have grown just the teeniest bit used to this place so it's always fun to have visitors remind that I'm pretty darn lucky to live here. Lori used to be that little reminder in Utah when she'd gush about the mountains we looked out on everyday. I'm sure I'll do the same for them when I come to visit in Park City!
The beach was crawling with surfers and Lori was properly astonished at their skills.
And Steve was properly astonished at how lucky he was to be with the two cutest girls on the beach. Lori is one of the most effortlessly classy women I have ever met. Even when we were walking on the beach, she manages to give off this halo of Audrey Hepburn-esque grace. It is really quite delightful.
We took advantage of the beach showers before we headed to dinner
and then since the next day was Pioneer Day in Utah, we paid tribute to the Pioneers of Surfing.
And of course we dined on fish tacos. The only time I am sad that I don't drink beer is when I'm eating fish tacos and someone orders a Corona with lime. They just look like they belong together. So I held Steve's once just to feel really authentic.
After dinner we played "surfer makeover" with Steve
maybe?
maybe not.

We went home and placed bets on the Miss Universe pageant (no really, we did). We were NOT happy when Miss Japan lost to Miss Puerto Rico. We think Emmett Smith messed up the judging. But we did get to see the dress from Project Runway so...not a complete loss. Then Lori and I made Steve sleep on the couch and we talked ourselves silly in the very place our third musketeer Bev and I talked ourselves silly last month. It doesn't matter how old I get, I love love love a good sleepover.
The next day we got up early to go SURFING! Steve has a long held surfer fantasy and so he signed us all up for a surf lesson. Since he is a killer snowboarder, we were pretty sure he was going to be totally awesome at it. We were sooooo excited as we drove to Bolsa Chica life guard tower 19 in the rental PT Cruiser.
see? i'm so excited (scared to get bonked by a surfboard!)
Here is what we learned about surfing. It is really hard. And the ocean is really in charge of the whole adventure no matter what you think to the contrary. We swallowed alot of salt water, we found out we need stronger abs, a few of us ended up with bumps and bruises and after two hours, we didn't have alot of extra energy for things like walking, talking, driving, or lifting things.
However, you can see that we also looked pretty darn cute
And felt pretty hardcore.
I don't think the ocean has seen the last of us
seriously though, aren't they just too cute to believe?
We showered and had lunch and then scattered to the airport and the office. And I was left with that weird sensation that feels like homesick that I get these days when people I love go home. Thank heavens for cars and airplanes and Pioneer Day holidays that let us pretend we still go to the European Connection for lunch everyday.
I miss you guys, let's play again soon.

hijacked

i WILL recap my awesome work project in New York and i WILL fill you in on what fun visitors and fantastic adventures we had this weekend but my energy and writing abilities have been ZAPPED by the dreaded summer cold...i believe this is my third in the last two months. Note to self: load up on vitamin c before you step on one more airplane or sleep in one more strange bed (hotels people, hotels).

see? i don't even have the get up and go to capitalize my sentences. so i'm going to bed embarrassingly early for the second night in a row and crossing my fingers that this devilish disease will have run it's course by morning and i can get back to making everything i do look terribly exciting on the internet. (although you may have caught on that sooooo much of my dullness ends up on the cutting room floor.)

Update

My computer is not cooperating with me on photo uploading so I'm going to have to do my New York post next week.

For now, a quick update on my marathon progress.

I had a really nasty eight miler last week that kind of spooked me. I felt tired pretty much the whole time and ended up having to walk two of the miles. Then my trip to New York really did a number on my weekly short run schedule which led to a bad dream Thursday night that I showed up for the race and only made it through two miles before dropping out. My travel schedule is outlandish the next few weeks and I knew this week's 10 mile long run was a make it or break it mental game.

Friday I was really careful about food and water-I only ate things that would work with me out on the road and made sure I was totally hydrated. I got to bed early and woke up at a reasonable hour to avoid the scorching sun. I had a good playlist, a water belt, and money for a halfway point Gatorade at the gas station. I ate a banana and an english muffin with peanut butter and headed out. The first mile was a little brutal. I couldn't really get my legs and I just kept thinking how FAR the gas station was. But then the music kicked in, I got into my rhythm and finally settled into the run. Before I knew it I was almost four miles in and actually ran into my friend Amy who is sort of perpetually training. We ran together for a bit and then there was the gas station! I wasn't even tired where the week before I was making promises to myself about what treat I would get if I could just gut it out to mile 5. I refilled my water, sucked down a fruit punch Gatorade, laughed with the guy who said it was too early on a Saturday to be that sweaty and hit the road again. By mile 9 I was almost delirious with joy-one mile further than the death march of last week and still feeling great and making good time. At that point I saw my neighbor Sara heading the other direction but she graciously offered to run my last mile with me to keep my spirits up.

So I did it, I cleared the 10 mile mental hurdle. I will be out of town every single Saturday for the next five weeks so Seattle, Utah, San Francisco, Tampa and D.C.-get ready. I'm not backing down now.

Rained out

Yesterday was one of the hottest day of the year in New York City. I am here on a project for work that involved walking around in the blinding sun all day filming things(I am being cryptic because a truly delightful post about this trip is forthcoming). After spending the day overheated and sweaty, we decided to head to Times Square as one of the guys in the group had never been. We went into the subway in sweltering heat and came out to complete monsoon-esque rain. People were jammed in every door way and under every awning trying to avoid the rain.
But not us

After the overwhelming heat of the day it was way more fun to splash through puddles and get soaked to the bone. Here we stopped in a music store to look for the new Sufjan CD and squeeze out our clothes.
We enjoyed some New York cheesecake and then the skies cleared up just in time to take the best Times Square photo ever of Matt, Damian, and garbage day.
Stay tuned....

The Palo Alto

My friend Jared is a really fantastic furniture maker. Awhile back he had a cool idea to make a chair that could travel around and "visit" his friends across the country. The chair has been living with Keith and Dave in LA but last Friday it made it's first move. To me.

I met up with Jed and Jared for breakfast and furniture.

All it took was a handshakeand some help loading her into my car

and now my family room's awesome factor just went up about a million points.

Hello Chair. I love you.

OK, now breathe

So uh, I just saw a photo of my sister Elizabeth kissing a boy.
Which is fine. In fact, it's better than fine. It's awesome. I'm glad to see that there is a teenage boy out there who gets how rad she is. What is NOT awesome is that I think my baby sister has a hotter love life than I do right now. Really the only thing I can hold over this sister's head anymore is that I can drive and I only have 11 more months to rub that one in. She's officially a girl who kisses boys and she's doing better than the sister twice her age.

I'm now taking applicants who can help me redeem myself.