It’s patio season!

Ravamp-Patio-HeaderSummer solstice has arrived, and you know what that means? It’s time to take the party outdoors!

If you follow me on Instagram you already have seen many sneak previews of what I’m about to show you guys today, a patio revamp.4-IG-picsOn week days I’m running errands and cleaning house. I want to spend as much quality time with The Guy on weekends, as much as possible and not worry about chores or laundry. It can wait. Weekends are for family time, and the past number of weeks we’ve been both outside here on the patio resting after our runs together, or even having a bite to eat out here while the sun sets. It’s perfect.

Patio-revampSuppers on the patio, with our bistro set from O.Co made for the perfect way to end our weekend. Do you like what we’ve done with it? It was so bare before! We have been living in California over a year, and we had yet to invest in our outdoor space. I had no idea what to do with the place until I remembered when we lived in Canada we had this sweet little bistro set, and I wanted to do something similar outdoors, again.

homemade-pillowsThat palm tree over there is real, mind you. Considering I kill every plant I’ve ever owned within a few weeks, I’m hoping for the best. So far so good, I bought the plant about 3 weeks ago, and it seems to be doing good thus far.

UE-BoomEntertaining outside in California doesn’t require too much planning seeing as the weather is predictable for the most part. Sunny skies throughout the day, with cool temp’s following dusk. All you’ll need to finish off the night is a couple of swallies, some music, and a blanket, then you’re set for an evening of fun on the patio.

UE-Boom-in-handsLet’s chat about this UE Boom for a moment here. This portable bluetooth speaker is water resistant (it comes in a larger size that is 100% water proof, and yes you can chuck it in a pool and it won’t get damaged) isn’t that wild? This little speaker plays loud enough music to get us dancin’ and has incredible bass to it, and the battery life is good for up to 15 hours — which will bring you well into the morning if you’re having a grand ol’ party. Can I be invited to that one? As you can tell from the size of it in my hands, it’s easy to pop into your purse, suitcase or even bring it to the beach with you while you’re having a time with your friends this summer.

If I was made of money, I could buy up to 8 UE Boom speakers and sync them all together to create a completely wireless set of stereo speakers. I was chatting to the Logitech PR people at a tech event the other week, and one of the women mentioned that she used this in a family members home because their wiring system was outdated and simply placed a bunch of the UE Booms around the house for a party. Awesome, right?

Patio-weatherThe design of it is quite sleek, and they come in an array of colours including limited edition designs. The plus minus sign isn’t for decoration as I had originally though (duh moment right there), it’s for the volume. Go figure. Ha!

Patio-areaI bet you’ll be somewhat impressed to hear I made those floral lumbar pillows. I loved the H&M pillows but they were too large. I bought one of them anyway, and cut them down to a size I wanted, and used a lime green Ikea pillow cover to use as the backside. I’m impressed with myself, to be totally honest with you. But I wouldn’t recommend you ever using the product called heat & bond. Too much stress, and the pillows might bust apart at any minute. But for the meantime, I think they look decent.

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Alfie-on-chair

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Petting-Alfie

Alfie-in-plantAlfie and I have a grand time on the patio during the afternoons, I think he’s enjoying his perch a little too much. What do you guys think? I am probably being biased, but isn’t he the cutest dog you’ve ever seen?

Anyway, pop on over to my patio if you’re in the area! I might even make you a cuppa tea while you’re here :)


O.co bistro Set | Ikea ravenea potted plant | H&M outdoor rug | UE Boom | Ikea seat cushions

Disclaimer: Thanks to O.co & UE Boom for sending the items for me to re-vamp my patio in style!

 

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June Glossybox & Hanging out with Olympic Swimmers

I know Tuesdays are primarily reserved for Beauty Talk Tuesday, but I’m going to be mingling a few topics into one today: Beauty & Fitness. I’m not much for introductions, so let’s jump on in.

My honest thoughts of what I received in my June edition of Glossybox. Ahem, even though I thought my last months box was June, but it was actually May.June-2015-GlossyBox

  • Être Bellle Cosmetics: Aloe vera ultra moisturizing gel (Most likely won’t use this product)
  • Doucce blush brush. This is supposed to be round top a kabuki brush, mine is distorted and shaped like a heart and I’m not sure I like the quality (I will 100% give this product away)
  • Aloe source luminosity masque (Wish this was sealed, I won’t be using it)
  • ORLY nail lacquer: Oh Cabana Boy (I love this colour and formulation, will be buying more ORLY for sure)
  • Too Faced Cosmetics: Better Than Sex Mascara (I’ve been eyeing this mascara up for a while, and I’m finally excited to try it out!)

I’ve been wearing the ORLY nail polish since I got it, removed it once it then re-applied. It’s a gorgeous bright pink with blue undertones. I’m going to buy the full-sized with how quickly I seem to be going through it.

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2015-Toyota-CamryThis is our last weekend with the Toyota Camry which I’ll be chatting more about it when I get my YouTube vlog up. I’m enjoying the Camry much more than the Prius I had, because it’s a bit larger which I feel more comfortable in, and has a ton more power. Hoowee!

My husband will be kicking up his training a notch come July, so I’m enjoying our recovery runs as he likes to call it. More like a run goin’ out full tilt for me. Those run together knocks the good out of me. I do solo runs throughout the week, which I don’t blog about because I’m not entire sure what to say about it all. But I do have to mention, I’m pretty sure the only reason I sprint a 4:40min/mile at the end of our run is because I see our house, and I want to be finished. ‪#‎IHateRunning‬. Please bare in mind that I only sprint for maybe 150m, if that. I just like to know how fast I COULD run, if wild animals were chasing after me in the woods, I mean pfth ya never know. As for my regular pace I’ve been wearing my Garmin and check it every 30 seconds or so like a mad-woman to make sure I’m keeping the pace I need to. I’d prefer to keep it under a 9:40min/mile the entire run, which was easier this week — because my mind was preoccupied with family back in Newfoundland and pushed me a little extra.

Alfie-cooling-offAlfie and I hanging out on our porch after our run. He’s trynna get some shade to cool off! Buddy has some fast little legs on him, and he can definitely keep up with a slow-poke like myself. I think I’m in need of a new pair of Mizuno’s though soon. I’ve had these babies for a good year or more. Not that I put on a TON of mileage, because I’m not a long distance runner, but I can tell the cushion is startin’ to flatten.

Not the smoothest transition from talking about swimming to running, but…

I come from a family of swimmers, however I didn’t keep it up for the long run because I was a wimp and decided to quit after I failed my Bronze Medallion class when I was away at camp at the age of 16. But if you want to get into the nitty gritty, my husband, he’s a 5x Ironman Triathlete, my brother played Water Polo, my fav cousin ever ever is a swim coach and taught me to swim as a youngster, and my parents were yachters.

Needless to say, we were at the pool a lot as a kid, and even now with the husband as he trains for Ironman Lake Tahoe in September.

He wants to qualify for Kona this year. Crossing our fingers!

Flags-of-the-WorldOn Saturday my triathlete husband and I were invited to listen in on the Swim Today panel with 3x Olympic Gold medalist, Rowdy Gaines and two fathers of Olympic medalists at George F. Haines International Swim Center in Santa Clara.

Through SwimToday, teams nationwide are inviting new swimmers and families to experience the sport with incentives such as free swim team trial periods, and customized swim caps. 62% of families live within 10 minutes of a pool, and if you’re interested, parents can learn more about participating teams and find those nearest them by searching their zip code at Swim Today.

You don’t have to be particularly athletic to learn to swim. There’s a reason why swimming is almost the perfect exercise. It’s low impact and is a sport anyone can do, including those with sore arthritic muscles and joints. Because water is denser than air, you can work harder and burn more calories (650 in an hour!).

Swim-lanesThis Santa Clara swim club is a huge outdoor complex with 3 pools, two 25 yard and one 50 meter. So it’s pretty huge and little did I realize that same day, Michael Phelps was also there, along with other famous swimmers for the #ArenaProSwim this weekend. I guess this is the primo location for some competitive swim meets.

Swim-LaneYa knows I felt right fancy strollin’ around in the VIP section with my piddly BlackBerry takin’ snaps while photographers from companies like Getty Images were walking around with their humungo-cameras doing the same thing. While we were listening to the panel, this area was jam-packed.

pro-swim-lanesMichael Phelps swam in lane 5, right there for his 400m swim! Ahh!

Rowdy-Gaines-panelSwimming as I stated above, is such a family sport. You could simply see all the passion in their faces as they light up talking about it being a family oriented sport. You make friends with other families from other clubs. Sure there’s competition but you’re seeing them every week, and you come together in a tight knit bond, which was discussed on the panel this past weekend.

Me-and-Rowdy-GainesNaturally, me being the non-swimmer of the family I asked my triathlete husband to take a picture of me and the Mister G gold medalist from the 80’s. Weehehe!
Swim-with-Rowdy-GainesRowdy stated, pure and simple if you don’t enjoy it (in any sport) you’re not going to be any good. Ain’t that the truth. He has a wonderful sense of humor that meshes well with the kids. At the end of the swimming lesson he raced all the kids one length of the pool and said whoever wins, will get a million dollars. It was a pretty close call for one teen and him, swimming that length was all documented on a video I posted on Instagram.

Arena-lane-swimDick Franklin, father of Olympic Gold Medalist swimmer Missy Franklin, and I had a bit in common. We had a quick chat about being from the East Coast of Canada; he being from Nova Scotia and of course as you guys know my husband and I are from Newfoundland. Dick grew up playing football and scuba diving, so when Missy was younger, he didn’t quite understand the technicalities of the swim sport. At around the age of 12 or so, Dick and his wife realized that Missy’s talent was something special and they needed to encourage it. Missy had always enjoyed swimming, getting up a 5am in the dark, and having her mother cook her breakfast and her father warming up the car in the driveway while it was still dark out. He joked she was havin’ a ball.  She always had fun. That intrinsic fun makes any kid move forward over the long haul.

Arena-Pro-Swim-SeriesSo a huge thanks to Swim Today for inviting us out to participate and check out the arena for the first time and talk about swimming being the #FunnestSport. Especially listening to the proud Father’s of Olympians just before Father’s Day. Well, and of course not to mention some of the super fit male swimmers coming out of the water, hooboy. Yeah, sure I needed to take a picture of that score board.

Are you a swimmer? At what age did you learn to swim? Are you looking for a local swim club near you?

International-Swim-Center

Pro-Series-Swim

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Swim Today
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European vibes at Santana Row’s Hotel Valencia

Hanging-on-BalconyWhether it be opening the french doors to a balcony over looking a courtyard, or the beautiful architecture outside and in. Hotel Valencia is a place I definitely want to spend another few nights at.

Iced-coffee-on-balconyOut of the four hotels Jenna and I stayed at, Hotel Valencia was both our favourite places. If I’m so daring, I would say it was most likely one of the favourite hotels I’ve ever stayed at in my life.

You can have valet park your car for $24 overnight, or you can grab a parking pass from the Valet crew outside, drive your car around the corner and park it in the garage and walk back to the hotel with your belongings, which is clearly what we did.

Hotel-Valencia-BalconyThis was our private balcony overlooking courtyard, beauty views. Quiet rooms, and not because the hotel was empty. The place was happenin’ wiht the grand opening of Cielo, which is a roof top bar. Unfortunately it was drizzling a little bit outside so it got bumped to the inside, to V Bar.

Hotel-Room-at-Valencia

Hotel-Valencia-flowers

patio-Hotel-ValenciaWhile it had both luxurious feeling to it, it wasn’t stuffy feeling. I didn’t feel as if I was in a hotel room at Hotel Valencia, while it looked rich in taste in the room, it still felt like a gorgeous apartment. Perhaps it was the added touches to the room, with the vibrant cushions on the bed, the leather club chair and a full-length mirror, perfect for outfit of the day selfies in my “wallpaper pants” as my husband likes to refer to them as. We were even greeted with some vodka cranberry left in our room — how did they know this was my favourite drink?!

We grabbed quite a nice meal at Citrus, also inside Hotel Valencia.Citrus-menu

Appetizers from the chef, and I also grabbed a lobster salad app – didn’t realize how huge the portion was going to be. It was amazing none-the-less.

Citrus-restaurantJenna ordered the grilled lamb which was served on bucatini pasta, squash and green olive. I opted for another seafood dish and got quick smoked wild salmon, red curry cous cous with pistachio tahini. So good! I want to go back, and lucky for me Santana Row is just a short drive away.

Citrus-dessertWe both decided on the speculoos caramel chocolate tart for dessert. It was espresso cremeux, milk jam, praline cocoa nib tuile, topped with chocolate chai ice cream. So caramely and brownie-like, it was incredible. Jenna said she wanted to re-create it at home for her boyfriend, it was that good.

Hotel-Valencia-patioAfter we came out from supper, I went around the courtyard taking photos of the patio at sunset. I kind of just want to live here. Forever.

The courtyard is a great place to people watch. Wondering if I can come up here without having staying at the hotel and enjoy an afternoon coffee with these types of views. It’s so breathtaking, and relaxing with their waterfall and flowers in bloom.

VBarSince Cielo wasn’t open for us to check out due to the rain, we headed over to V Bar and stayed for a few minutes.

V-Bar-balconyThis place also has a balcony overlooking the Santana Row shopping area!

Valencia-Hotel-Lobby

Hotel-Valencia-lobbyIsn’t the front desk area gorgeous? Hotel Valencia has a few hidden-nooks/half dome shaped rooms for their guests to have on sight meetings in the front lobby. I hadn’t seen anything like that before. I snapped a few photos of it but they didn’t come out as well as they looked in person, so you’re just going to have to trust my opinion on that one ;)

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Balcony-viewsThe next morning we checked out of the hotel, and had our complimentary breakfast (with a really large selection!) back at Citrus restaurant. I think it’s safe to say we both enjoyed ourselves the most here, with the beautiful European vibes Hotel Valencia has, and all the beautiful landscaping, balconies and gorgeous views.

Hotel Valencia
355 Santana Row, San Jose, CA 95128
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Disclaimer: Many thanks to Hotel Valencia for hosting our stay and meal at Citrus! 

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