it's a piece of cake to bake a pretty cake

So, Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants turned 30 last Friday, and to celebrate I made a cake!  Jane helped decorate and my co-workers lent their lovely singing voices to create a little video.  We entered the video into a contest against all Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants.  Other hotels had their pastry chefs create a masterpiece, so we may not win by skill, but we should sure win for creativity and effort!

The fondant was made from a short cut recipe here:   What's Cooking America  Not only was it "easy" but it tastes yummy, too!

Special thanks to Abbi for filming and directing the cake decorating!  I wouldn't have even tackled this without your consult and help.  If we win, you're coming to the party to celebrate!

Here is our video:

I'll let you know if we win!!

Jurlique Spalidays

This year will be our 3rd Annual Spalidays at Jurlique at FireSky Resort & Spa, a Kimpton Hotel!  I am so excited to be helping out with this event again and hope to see some smiling, familiar faces on Thursday, December 9 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.!  Just like in years' past, we'll feature free mini treatments, samples and yummy drinks...

To RSVP and for more details, CLICK HERE!  Make sure to sign up to receive spa emails with specials and invitations to wonderful FREE events like Spalidays!

Hope to see you there!

Goodbye Lynn!

Thursday, I said good bye to one of my dear friends who is moving to Miami!  I am so proud of her for taking the leap and following her dreams.  I consider her a wonderful mentor to my career and I wish her the best of luck on the East Coast!

Love you Lynn!

Chapter 4: We've Moved... and I Have a New Job!

Hi friends! 

It's so exciting to be moved and settling in to our new home!  We had quite the team help us get everything over here.  The move was only about 7 miles from Josh's old house, but I am in a whole new neighborhood!  So far, I LOVE IT!  We are close to Josh's parents, my parents and a handful of Josh's great friends.  I'm further from work and my friends, but (and, remind me that I said this when I'm complaining in few months) so far, the commute is not so bad and it's really not that far from my friends.  We're a hop away from the 101, so it's easy to jump right on and zip wherever I need to go.

I am really looking forward to finding new places to eat and shop.  We are really close to a Super Target, so I should be set!  What I am most looking forward to trying, though, is Roberto's, a Mexican food joint connected to a Shell Station.  Their best feature, aside from the fact that Guy Fieri featured them on his show, Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives (watch here), is that they deliver!  I can see a tradition of ordering Mexican food delivery and watching movies in our future!

Our yard received the recent months of rain with no maintenance which proved to be quite the site when we finally showed up to the house with the keys.  Lucky for us, it cleaned up nicely and makes from some great before and after photos!

Josh put in all new blinds in the kitchen, dining room, living room, and all three bedrooms!  We also bought a new fridge (well, two to be exact, but the first one was too big).  The one we ended up with is just perfect, though!  I highly recommend B & B Appliances for any appliance you might need.  They sell appliances that are slightly dinged up, but still brand new and under factory warranty.  We can't even find the supposed "dent" on ours and chances are, you can find one where the dent won't even show when it's installed!  Both of the fridges we bought (ha!) were well under the suggested retail price and we have the same warranty!  We are also the proud new owners if a California King bed!!  Oh, how sweet it is to be out of a full size!!  We got a killer deal from R & S Mattress.  Apparently, Gary's "overstock" of California King beds got us a heckuva deal on a brand new, (it's illegal to sell used mattresses) bed!  He even delivered it for $10!  With both of these thrifty, big purchases, we saved almost $2,000!

In other exciting news, I was promoted yesterday to a Sales Manager position at FireSky!  I have been with the company for almost five years and have worn many hats in the Catering, Front Desk and Sales Departments.  As a part of the Kimpton "opening team" I have seen the hotel grow so much in the last five years and cannot wait to start in my new position.  I am thrilled to grow with a company that I believe in so much.  I will have the opportunity to train my replacement and make a clean break into my role.  If you know anyone who would be interested in the position, please let me know!

Enjoy the photos of our new home!

Before

After

Before

After

What To Do in a Recession

So it's no joke that the economy has affected each of us in some way. Even if you're just watching it on the news or hearing about it on the radio, everyone's life has been touched by the economy.

The travel industry has been hit hard. There is plenty to be positive about, especially if you're looking to travel right now. There is so much value our there to be had from hotel stays to airlines. You just have to look for it.

So, for those of you who know what I do, you might know that my day-to-day life has been affected by this so-called (ok, it's real) recession. From the moment I saw the giant recession wave approaching the beach of my life, I have tried to come up with something that I could do to support myself if things got really bad. I have racked my brain with some trade or talent that I have that would position myself with a positive income in the downward spiral our economy has taken on.

And I.think.I.have.found it.

No, it's not professional blogging. That market is far too saturated. And no, I don't foresee people paying others to walk their dogs, although this is a natural talent of mine. I can sew, knit and crochet, but not well enough to make a living at it.

Today, though, I finally figured out what I would do if things got really bad. After hearing on the news about people burning down their houses in order to "start over" and collect insurance, I figured that pawn shops would also be inundated with early 90s television sets, jewelry and furniture, etc. Hell, I can't even sell my extra printer on Craigslist for $20! It's an amazing printer!

So, after closely examining the market and realizing that it would be next-to-impossible to pose as a dog at the humane society hoping for an adoption, I have figured out what to do.

I will fly to a remote jungle destination. I will pack those things necessary to live in the jungle. Once I have become accustomed to jungle-living, I will discard my necessities and hike even deeper into the jungle. I will live off the land, killing wild beasts who try to bring me down. I will learn to swing from vines and find food. Then I will wait. I will wait for biologists, foresters or the like to discover me living in the jungle. When they find me, I will walk on all fours - or perhaps with only a slightly recessed Hominidae posture (that's what I would be literally, of course). I will grunt and feign a lack of knowledge of any language. My nails and hair would be long and wily excepting any natural wear and tear of survival tactics. I will show them, through visual cues, how I have "grown up" and survived alone in the jungle "all my life."

I figure I will be brought to some facility to be studied (think Tarzan and the like) for some time. I will slowly begin to "learn" English. Any other language besides Spanish I will have to feign an accurate learning curve for a jungle child. I will hope that those who find me will attempt to teach me the skills necessary to assimilate to "normal" society and I will "graduate" just in time for the recession to be over!

I will assimilate quickly and miraculously in normal urban life just in time! It will be fantastic and oh, what a story I will be able to tell.

For posterity sake, I thought I'd put this here, too...

Oh how I love my job! And that's not even sarcasm!

i was a bathroom attendant!