Archive for ‘Things to Do!’

September 15, 2011

Austin: What to Bring to ACL (10 Essentials)

We learned what to wear to ACL a few days ago, now this one’s for the boys and girls … what to bring to ACL. Rule #1: as little as you can and still be comfy! Behold, the ten items you need (a sneak, click on the pick for the full ten-item board):

What to bring to ACL

http://re.pn/b/R4XW

Additional notes:

1. Water bottles must be either factory-sealed (2-1L allowed) or empty. This is why I recommend the Vapur: it folds. There are CamelBak refill stations all around the park, so USE them and don’t pay for water.

2. Snacks are technically not allowed, which is why I suggest minis. They hide under bandanas.

3. If you take nothing else from this list, wear your damn sunscreen. Don’t be an idiot and get sunburned.

August 29, 2011

Aspen: Ashley Turner Yoga Bootcamp at King Yoga

Aspenites, if you can make time this week (8/30-9/2) from 11:30a-1p, you need to be doing yoga bootcamp. L.A.’s top yogini ASHLEY TURNER is doing a week-long bootcamp series at King Yoga. Based on Ashley’s upcoming DVD YOGA BOOTCAMP, this week program is specifically designed to wring out every nook and cranny of your body while radically shifting self-sabotage + negative habits in the mind and heart! Strongly recommended to be taken as complete series; individual classes may be purchased.

I went today and am signed up for all week. It’s a phenomenal experience, incredible mind and body workout. I can’t wait for the rest of the week!!

Click HERE to sign up! $25 drop-in.

Ashley Turner Yoga Boot camp

August 23, 2011

Austin: The Fashion Week Primer

It’s officially in swing! Tonight through Saturday, the third annual Austin Fashion Week is hoppin. Or shoppin? I may be missing an ‘s.’

Chedule?

Tuesday, August 23: Jewelry Showcase at the Driskill Hotel

Wednesday, August 24: Swimwear & Resort Wear Runway Presentations at the Driskill Hotel

Thursday, August 25: Eclectic & Edgy Runway Presentations at the Driskill Hotel

Friday, August 26: Classic Couture Runway Presentations at the Driskill Hotel

Saturday, August 27: Austin Fashion Awards Presented by Sono Bello at ACL Live

Additionally, the Austin Fashion Week Showcase events will take place from Sunday, August 21 – Friday, August 26 by area of town:

  • Tuesday, August 23: West Austin presented by the Hill Country Galleria
  • Wednesday, August 24: South Austin
  • Thursday, August 25: 2ND Street District
  • Friday, August 26: North Austin

To create your customized schedule, use this page or download the app. Technology is awesome.

Austin Fashion Week

Like all good Austin festivals, Fashion Week even has extra events, like these LOFT (hello, they’ve been doing a great job of late with their lines!) parties:

LOFT fashion week austin

*I worked with Matt Swinney, co-founder of Austin Fashion Week, on one of my latest articles, for Giving City magazine (as well as some of my other fave fundraisers!). Check it out online here: The Guide to Great Fundraising Events.

July 22, 2011

Austin: Live Center Stage

I dare you to show me a woman who doesn’t secretly love Center Stage. The movie brings out the inner ballerina in all of us, simultaneously showing the challenges and beauty behind ballet. Plus romance. And rule-breaking. Without Black Swan creepiness and sans toenail shots. Hell, I even love Center Stage 2: Turn It Up, probably mostly because I have a girl crush on the female lead. And I want her abs. Anyway, the Austin Film Festival and Ballet Austin are hosting a special screening of Center Stage followed by free admission to Ballet class after the film on Sunday, July 24th at Butler Dance Education Center at Ballet Austin.

The screening is at Ballet Austin’s AustinVentures StudioTheater on Sunday at 3pm. Tickets are $10 (free for AFF members with RSVP) at www.balletaustin.org/film. Bonus! a pair of ballet shoes signed by the Ballet Austin Company will be given away to a lucky audience winner.

All proceeds benefit the Ballet Austin Academy Scholarship Program.

July 21, 2011

Aspen: It’s Me or the Dog

As you probably know from my postings here and obsessively on twitter, it’s never going to be me or the dog. We are a package deal. I am one of those dog owners. Who has her dog on her phone case (I’d take a pic to show you, but I take most of my pics with my phone, so that is a physical impossibility). But for the Vermonster, it very well could come down to Him or the Dog. I won’t elaborate on who might win.

Perhaps to head off that terrible fate, I should attend this Saturday’s event. I mean, Nali dawg is a rescue dog and IS occasionally a pain in the ass. Like, any time I try to take her around strangers.

Friends of the Aspen Animal Shelter Winterskol Skijoring Clinic

Friends of the Aspen Animal Shelter (only THE best place ever to board a dog) is bringing Victoria Stilwell, the star of Animal Planet’s It’s Me or the Dog, to Aspen on July 23, 2011 for a series of events to raise money for its Spay/Neuter & Rescue Campaign. Wayne Pacelle, President & CEO of the Humane Society of the United States will make a special appearance at all events and John Oates, of the famed rock duo Hall & Oates, will attend and perform at a private patron dinner.

Victoria Stilwell and Wayne Pacelle will appear at a special luncheon for 100 VIPS at the Aspen Animal Shelter from 11:30am to 1:30pm on July 23rd.

At 5:30pm that evening they will appear at the Aspen Animal Shelter for a public event where Wayne will speak on animal welfare issues and Victoria will share her insight on positive-reinforcement dog training and explain why positive training is a better practice than punitive, dominance-based training techniques. She will address her fondness for rescue animals and will demonstrate her positive training techniques with several problem dogs.

To close out the evening, Victoria, Wayne and John Oates will attend a private dinner with 20 patrons at a local home where John will perform in an intimate setting. Tickets to all events are available through Friends of the Aspen Animal Shelter at 970-927-1771 or email FAASaspen@gmail.com.

Event Pricing:
VIP Luncheon (luncheon only): $250/pp
Evening Event – VIP seating: $150/pp
Evening Event – General Admission: $50/pp
Patron Dinner: $2,500/pp

Packages:
Patron Package (All 3 events; VIP seating:) $2,800/pp
VIP Package (Luncheon, VIP seating @ evening event): $350/pp

July 2, 2011

Austin: Yoga for Good … Blackshear Elementary School

Community Yoga Austin Presents: FIRST SUNDAY for Blackshear Elementary School

How awesome is this? On Sunday, July 3rd Community Yoga will collaborate with Eastside Yoga, Blue Dahlia Bistro, and other East Austin businesses to raise money to bring a weekly Yoga class to ALL of the students of Blackshear Elementary School, starting in Fall 2011.

Blackshear students are majority minority, with about 60% of its population being Hispanic and about 40% of the students being African American. 99% of the students are eligible for free and reduced lunch, so we’re dealing with an impoverished community without access to extracurricular opportunities that are often experienced by more advantaged students from higher socioeconomic backgrounds.

Yoga is an atypical extracurricular, but it’s such a cool opportunity for the kids. Exposure to and experience with yoga at such early stages in their development will help them internalize key elements of the practice in order to support and strengthen a sense of inner calm as they move about their daily lives. So without further ado, you MUST attend the fundraiser classes!

9:30-10:15  BY DONATION meditation class at Eastside Yoga

10:30-11:45  BY DONATION hatha yoga class at Eastside Yoga

*I say, do them both!

ALL DAY: 15% off ALL food & drinks at Blue Dahlia Bistro (with coupon that is available on the Community Yoga website) & Blue Dahlia will also donate 10% of ALL SALES from that day to support the program.

RAFFLE ITEMS: gift cards & items from the following businesses will be on raffle at Eastside Yoga, Blue Dahlia, and also online through the Community Yoga website:  Zandunga Mexican Bistro, East Side Pies, Blue Dahlia Bistro, Give Back Yoga, & several more.

All proceeds from the classes, dining at Blue Dahlia, & the raffle will go to fund the semester of Yoga at Blackshear. This is an amazing example of how awesome the Austin community is—support it!

More info? community-yoga.org

 

June 10, 2011

Aspen: OUTSIDE in Aspen

This weekend, Outside Magazine again hosts its outdoor adventure weekend in Aspen! If you didn’t pay $100 to sign up for a guide-led activity (there’s still time, check the list here—you can climb Castle Peak with the original Bachelorette winner Ryan Sutter!), there’s still tons of FREE fun to be had.

SATURDAY:

8am–4pm Base Camp open to public: includes sponsor tents and giveaways and Birkenstock Recovery Lounge: Free chair massage and foot treatments, oxygen lounge, recovery smoothies, Spin to Win prize giveaways, Birkenstock demos and tune ups.

8-8:45am & 11-11:45am Yoga Class for all levels with Aspen Yoga Society

8am–4pm Outward Bound Trail Restoration Sign Up. Sign up at the Outward Bound Tent to help restore the Ute Trail on Sunday [the Ute Trail is one of my favorite quick hikes in the Aspen area].

2–3pm Autograph signing with First Ascent pro athletes Melissa Arnot, the only Western woman to have summited Everest three times; Jake Norton, Everest guide and adventure photographer; and Ben Stooksberry, professional kayaker.  At ACES Kids Nature Corner tent in Gondola Plaza.

2–5pm Live Music Stage at Ajax Tavern featuring Colorado favorite band, Salem.

3pm Adventure Dog Demonstration with Mike Stewart of Wild Rose Kennels. At Outfitter Check-In Tent on Hunter Street.

SUNDAY

8am–4pm Base Camp open to public: includes sponsor tents and giveaways and Birkenstock Recovery Lounge: Free chair massage and foot treatments, oxygen lounge, recovery smoothies, Spin to Win prize giveaways, Birkenstock demos and tune ups.

8-8:45am & 11-11:45am Yoga Class for all levels with Aspen Yoga Society 

8–10 am Dagger Kayaks Paddle with the Pros at Sky Hotel Pool. Learn techniques and tricks with Dagger pro Brad Ludden and Dagger head designer, Mark “Snowy” Robertson.

9am–2pm Outward Bound Trail Restoration Project. Meet at Outward Bound Tent to help restore the Ute Trail.

3-5pm Athlete Panel Discussion – The Outer Limits: the Risks and Rewards of Extreme Adventure. PanelistsMelissa Arnot,  Michael Brown, Nick DeVore, Brad Ludden, and Ben Stooksberry. Followed by the Gear of the Year Giveaways.

This weekend is always a ton of fun, even if you don’t go on any of the guided tours, because there’s plenty of swag and free events with extreme athletes! Check it out :-)

 

May 18, 2011

Austin: Ultimate Scavenger Hunt

The summer-staple scavenger hunt is all grown up with the Four Seasons Austin’s summer-long scavenger hunt, with the chance to win one of more than 100 prizes! From Memorial Day (May 30, 2011) through Labor Day (September 5, 2011), the Four Seasons Austin Hotel’s Ultimate Austin Scavenger Hunt contest encourages everyone from locals to tourists to see the sights of Austin.

Austin skyline Four Seasons Hotel

“Our goal was to merge the fun of a scavenger hunt with modern technology and social media to encourage visitors to experience and share with others what makes Austin so unique,” says Rob Hagelberg, general manager.

To receive a prize, participants must complete at least 25 of 50 suggested photo tasks – ranging from two-steppin’ at the legendary Broken Spoke to viewing the Congress Avenue Bridge bats and tasting gelato at Whole Foods’ flagship store. You can’t upload until Memorial Day, but you can start snapping pics now! To view the 50 photo tasks, click on Ultimate Austin Scavenger Hunt contest website.

How to play? Photos must be uploaded to the “Contest” tab on the Hotel’s Facebook page, which will be visible starting May 30, 2011. The first 100 people to successfully complete 25 of the photo tasks will receive their choice of one of the following prizes:

  • One-night stay at Four Seasons Hotel Austin
  • Three-course dinner for two in TRIO, the Hotel’s award-winning restaurant
  • 50-minute spa treatment in The Spa at Four Seasons

In addition, one grand prize winner – the finalist whose photo album is voted the most creative by Facebook fans – will walk away with a luxurious vacation package that includes a three-night stay at anyFour Seasons hotel or resort in the continental US, round-trip airfare for two people and $500 in spending cash. The three finalists selected by Four Seasons staff will be announced September 7, with Facebook voting for the grand prize winner taking place September 7 through 14, 2011. The grand prize winner will be announced September 15, 2011.

What are you waitin’ for?

May 17, 2011

Austin Food & Wine Festival

… just another way Austin and Aspen are uniquely synchronized:

The Austin Food & Wine Festival

C3 Presents with Chef Tyson Cole, Chef Tim Love & Jesse Herman are creating the Austin Food & Wine Festival March 30-April 1, 2012 in locations throughout Austin. It is presenting sponsor Food & Wine (yep, the same as Aspen)’s first festival involvement in Texas.

Austin Food and Wine

“Our passion for food is integrated into each of our festivals—with the influence of culinary ambassadors Graham Elliot at Lollapalooza and chef Tim Love at Austin City Limits helping keep the local flavor of each event on par with the entire festival experience,” said Charlie Jones, founding partner of C3 Presents. “It seemed only natural that we expand this passion to host a culinary destination festival in Austin, Texas dedicated solely to food and wine, where the food scene continues to surprise and delight us.”

The popular Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival will turn into a 501 C (3) nonprofit organization called the Austin Food & Wine Foundation and be the designated beneficiary of the Austin Food & Wine Festival.

www.austinfoodandwinefestival.com / facebook.com/austinfoodwine / twitter.com/austinfoodwine

*Aspen just released its one-day Food & Wine tickets for $395.

May 3, 2011

Stronger Faster Healthier + Discount!!

No, literally:  You can get Stronger, Faster, and Healthier with the goodies from this company.

They’re perhaps most famous for their fish oil (@SFHfishoil is, after all, their company twitter handle), but that’s not why I quite literally became obsessed with Stronger Faster Healthier. No, it’s their grass-fed whey protein that first attracted me, and the badass people behind the company that eventually sold me entirely.

I am proud to be able to also bring you a discount on Stronger Faster Healthier:

Get 10% off when you order through http://strongerfasterhealthier.com/ref/lifein

While I talk about plenty of products and things I love, and I DO, rarely do I become so passionate about a product that I hunt down their marketing people and beg them for a discount code for you guys. I’m just too busy for that! But that’s not the case with SFH, I just HAD to find a way to be able to share it with you. Doesn’t matter if you’re not a CrossFitter or athlete or you don’t even work out ever. You probably need more protein, and you definitely need fish oil, and you can get that from an awesome source in Stronger Faster Healthier.

Stronger Faster Healthier is a family-run company staffed by some serious badasses. Papa made his fortune doing other things, then wanted to encourage everyone to use preventive medicine to change healthcare to wellcare (LOVE that). That means exercise, eating right, and clean supplements. They do what they can to keep product costs down so the products are as affordable as possible (no one’s saying they’re cheap, but prevention now is a helluva lot cheaper than the alternatives down the line). His daughter initially thought, “fish oil?!” but believes in the company as much as anyone—and as an extreme sports athlete and former marketing rep, she’s seen it all.

I thought I’d seen all the proteins out there and had all but given up when my mom (who as you may know LOVES Dr. Mercola) found Dr. Mercola’s, which has a clean, natural taste. But cheaper and equally delicious if not better—hello, chocolate!—is Stronger Faster Healthier’s Pure Whey.

pure wheyfish oil

Another reason I’m so in love with SFH? A simple, easy to understand but still science-based explanation of what, exactly, whey IS (from their blog): Whey is a great source of easily digestible protein.  Whey protein is a by-product of cheese making.  Cow’s milk is 20% whey and 80% non whey casein protein.  In the production of high quality whey the casein fraction is separated from the whey.

At a more molecular level, whey is a mixture of beta–lactoglobulin, alpha lacto-albumin and serum albumin, and various immunoglobulins. Whey is rich in branch-chain amino acids (BCAAs) which are directly related to muscle building. For example, leucine (another BCAA) indirectly helps stimulate muscle mass by fueling protein synthesis.

Besides being smart and not snotty, the protein powder is so delicious that I drank a protein shake nearly every day for the past month. When I ordered the Pure Whey at 30 servings, I was sure it would last me longer than a month, because I don’t drink shakes that often. WRONG-O! I had my first on March 30 (according to my own tweets, below) and had my last on May 2nd. The protein is so good you CRAVE it! That’s stellar. (It also got me hooked on fauxoats …)

Screen shot of twitter

And what of fish oil? Why do you need fish oil? It’s all the rage with the CrossFit/Paleo/Primal community, but here’s the advice from someone else: Zen to Fitness’ 5 Reasons You Need Fish Oil. In short, fish oil CAN make you feel better, look better (bonus: shiny hair and nails), lose weight, manage stress, and sleep better. And SFH fish oil doesn’t taste like fish, doesn’t make you burp fish, and isn’t slimy going down. There aren’t many other fish oils that can say that (everyone agrees liquid fish oil is better than capsules, so don’t even get into those, plus you have to swallow a billion to get enough to matter).

I just placed an order for Recovery Protein too, so I’ll let you know how that goes. I encourage you to take control of your wellness and give Stronger Faster Healthier a shot! Let me know how much you love it ;-)

[You'll also notice that there is now a Stronger Faster Healthier button ------> in the upper righthand corner. You can use this banner to order any time and get the 10% discount!]

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