101 in 1001: A few big work developments!

I’m really excited to be absolutely pounding through my second 101 in 1001 so far…after kicking it off less than two months ago, I’ve already checked off (or made plans to check off!) several items on the list. As many of those are professional at present, it’s an added bonus.

First, and most exciting, I’ve been invited to represent my employer on the 2017 Greater Twin Cities United Way Campaign Cabinet, checking off #52, “Get more involved in the United Way!” Joining just 40 other professionals in the Twin Cities area, the invitation is an absolute honor and will enable me to not only bring greater visibility to my employer’s campaign, but to shape and impact the campaigns of some of the Twin Cities’ biggest and most dynamic companies. The networking opportunities are killer, the mission is inspiring, and I can’t wait to be a part of the United Way’s next season.

Second, in February and March I checked off #41, “Plan an event for my board.” As I’ve mentioned in the past, I hold a position as a boardmember for the Saint Paul Public Schools’ finance curriculum, and it’s been a total adventure over the last year. I’ve learned so much about successful administration and partnering with the community – experiences I count myself very lucky to be having this early in my career. In February, we hosted 150+ high schoolers at my office for “Career Day,” with over 30 volunteers from my company running sessions on interview skills, resume reviews, and professional networking. The day was an absolute riot – I don’t think I stopped moving for the entire 6-hour event – and we got amazing feedback from students, volunteers and SPPS administrators on the day.

Then, in March, we welcomed 120+ sophomores to the office for “Branding Yourself Day,” a series of sessions on how to build a personal brand and ensure that these students have the skills and self-awareness to present themselves well. I ended up teaching several of the 45-minute sessions, covering everything from how to shake hands and dress properly to what makes brands successful in the millennial age. The day culminated with a 1.5-hour etiquette lunch taught by a professional etiquette coach…everything from how to eat to converse to generally succeed at a business luncheon. I had such a great time, and again, the feedback from the day was fantastic.

When days at the office get dull or I get dissatisfied with life, it’s always nice to know I have these relationships and experiences tucked in my back pocket. Serving the communities I live and work in, and representing my company positively in the Cities, doing what I love…does it get better? I’m incredibly grateful to the Greater Twin Cities United Way and to Saint Paul Public Schools for trusting me with these platforms, and can’t wait to continue growing in my civic and philanthropic engagement, whatever the next steps on that path may be!

Today's noteworthy minutiae.

- Current highbrow music I'm obsessing over: Kevin Puts's "Millennium Canons." Current lowbrow music I'm obsessing over: Flo Rida's "Cake." Make of that combo what you will. 

- I stayed up entirely too late last night with Hal and Matt, neither of whom I had seen in weeks (closer to a month in Matt's case) despite the fact that I live with Hal. My alarm this morning went off mid-dream about Adele trying to perform in an opera. She was not very good, and Hal (in my dream) was not very pleased with her performance. 

- I'm really excited for the Netflix "Anne of Green Gables" series, primarily because I am utterly besotted with the Anne books always and forever. I remember being very young (second grade, probably) and checking them all out from the Lake Marion Elementary library. Because I was the kind of girl-child who judged books by their covers, I tried to start with "Rilla of Ingleside," as it had the prettiest cover...even though that's actually the last book in the series. Once I corrected that little error, I fell hard for Anne and all her adventures, and tend to re-read the series in its entirety every few years or so.

- I'm super ready for spring-like temperatures, as I was flu-stricken through last weekend's gorgeous weather. Last night I switched out my black purse for a hand-me-down hot pink Kate Spade courtesy of Mama, and today I'm wearing a delightfully neon scarf with my usual work uniform of black pants and a chambray. Of course that means that this morning it was in the thirties and I froze all the way into work. Fail. 

- "West Side Story" is on at the Ordway right now starring my favorite Twin Cities theater boy, Tyler Michaels, and I'm pretty sure I need to rush tickets soon. 

- Yesterday I had the most intense, visceral craving for a Ben's Cookie from London. I immediately texted Kaitlin, my Ben's Cookie partner in crime, and we ended up down a rabbit hole texty conversation about crab dip, cat GIFs, and save the dates. Gotta love bestie shorthand.

- PSA: Anthropologie has Volcano-scented hand lotion now (like the iconic candle), J.Crew is 30% off and my favorite striped t-shirt now comes in red (I bought it and my boss made a Where's Waldo joke), and Target has insanely cute shoes right now. You can all thank me later. 

Happy almost-weekend, campers! 

101 in 1001 #79: Try a bourbon/whiskey tasting.

I've come to a realization lately that I am one of the (un?)lucky people of the world who is an alcohol equal opportunist. You name it, I like it...well, with the exception of Stoli Razz (hi, junior year. WOOF.). That said, I hold a special place in my heart for champagne, and, less typical for a girl, for whiskey. 

Maybe it goes back to my younger years, when my dad would make Manhattans after work and let me eat the bourbon-soaked cherries after he finished. Maybe it's the complexity and depth of a truly good whiskey. Maybe I'm just a masochist and enjoy the burn. But whether it's in a craft cocktail or on the rocks, I've really come to enjoy whiskey in most of its forms. 

Like I mentioned, I think I got it from my Papa Bear, so when his birthday rolled around last October and I found myself looking for the perfect gift, something whiskey-related came to mind. I almost bought him fancy whiskey stones, until I found out that he was already receiving a set from yiddle brudder Jonny. Then I started Googling whiskey classes in the Twin Cities, and found out that one of the Midwest's largest whiskey tastings, Whiskey On Ice, was held in the Twin Cities every April. Before I knew it, I had purchased two passes, printed them off in a cute whiskey-themed card courtesy of PaperSource, and was good to go. 

Fast forward to Sunday of last weekend. I was four days into the most brutal virus I've ever had as an adult...basically, if I wasn't puking I was asleep.  And Whiskey on Ice was looming. 

What's a girl to do? Follow the patented Papa Bear Method For Getting Over Illness: Flush that sh*t out of your system by going about your normal routine, daily Manhattan and all. Thank god for Jodester and her convenient purse pack of Tums! Long story short, I rallied like a true champion, and 5pm saw Daddy and me rolling into the Minneapolis Depot. 

You guys. SO worth it. 

We showed up and got checked in before heading into the Depot's events space, which was lined all the way up and down and in the middle with booths of tasting - over 60 all said and done. There were also several different food tables and water stations, a silent auction, a cigar bar and cocktail lounge, and a VIP seating area. Padre and I started in the middle, where the local whiskeys seemed to be concentrated. 

Well, for the most part. Our first taste was a searing 120-proof Aberlour A'Bunadh that left both of us with eyes watering (and left no doubt in my mind that this was going to kill the last of my flu bug). We worked our way down the line, trying a variety of whiskeys from Wisconsin and Minnesota with mixed results. 

What I did appreciate about the local distillers was their pride in their product, and just how many of them were relatively new to the game. I feel like local breweries were a huge thing about five years ago, and now they're totally established. Now it's shifting to being all about the distillery, and I'm so intrigued to see where the scene goes in the next several years. 

Having tasted plenty of local blends, we shifted our attention to the big leagues...

I fell in love with Balvenie pretty fast...we tasted the 12-year Doublewood, and then the rep offered us the "VIP" 25-year aged single-barrel tasting. HOLY omg, it was incomparable. Other notables from the day: Woodford Reserve's double-oaked, Macallan 18 and Rare Cask, and Teeling - which is apparently right around the corner from the Guinness factory in Dublin. Mom and Dad will have to make a stop in May! (The Teeling rep made us mini Manhattans and won my heart forever.) 

Speaking of Irish whiskeys, we found and fell for Green Spot on the recommendation of an attendee who was a self professed Irish snob. It was just the right amount of smoky for me with very little of the hardcore, peaty flavor that I don't love. Highly recommend. 

We also really loved our stop at my dad's home planet, the Crown Royal table...he bonded with the rep in no time over their mutual detestation of Crown Maple, and we liked the Reserve we tasted. It's no XR, but it'd do for a weekday, essentially. (I KID I KID.) Not going to lie - the biggest takeaway from the day for me was that I prefer bourbon to anything else on offer, and tend to like less peaty, mildly smoky flavors. Just like Papa Bear. 

Other favorite part of the day: checking out all the packaging, duh! Emily has totally rubbed off on our entire family...when we were in wine country over Christmas, we spent so much time checking out labels and branding, and Dad and I did the same thing all day on Sunday. A few of my favorites above from a Chicago brand we really liked...so many cool and different approaches!

By the time we left, I had a fantastic buzz going, and a newfound appreciation for the sheer variety and complexity of the world of whiskey. We cemented a few old favorites and found some new ones to check out...all in all, a win of a day and a great time with my Papa Bear!

April Fools/April Flu

As briefly referenced earlier today, I'm still recovering from legit THE most punishing virus I've ever had in my entire life. I don't know if it was the flu, norovirus, or some kind of demonic possession, but from about last Wednesday to Sunday, I was pretty much a candidate for America's Most Appealing Sickie. We're talking puking so hard that the girl from "The Exorcist" looked like a little bit of cute baby spit-up, fever and chills, full-body ache and absolutely zero appetite. Basically, if I wasn't hugging the base of my toilet, I was passed out asleep. 

Needless to say, the only April Fool this year was me. I think I've mentioned in the past that I have a terrible habit of writing notes in my iPhone when half-asleep in the middle of the night, and apparently mid-plague is no exception. I just went to delete my Target list and found this gem: 

Yeah, clearly English. I vaguely remember a hallucinatory dream about Target selling piccolos, but the rest of it (Washington tulip field? What?) is a mystery to me. Gotta laugh. 

Hal was a total champ through the whole process - not only was he quiet as a dormouse and totally patient with my mess and inability to so much as leave my bed, but upon a desperate plea for ginger ale, he MAJOR delivered with THREE two-liters. Talk about going the whole nine yards...let's just say there are a lot of whiskey gingers in my future. 

Other bright spots: 

I know it's totally not ideal, but this level of sickness is so clutch for jumpstarting weight loss. I'm down seven or eight pounds in the four-day span...due in large part to the fact that all I managed to choke down was half a bagel, half a can of Campbell's Double Noodle, and a couple dry English muffins (plus half a two-liter of ginger ale). 

Saturday was a stunningly gorgeous spring day in the Cities, and while I was stuck inside in my fortress of nastitude, I did make it out of bed for a couple hours in the afternoon. Wrapped up in both our couch blankets, I opened the windows in our living room and enjoyed some fresh air while admiring the gorgeous flower arrangement that was delivered to me at the office earlier last week. Complete mood booster despite the plaguey grossness of my day.

I also dove deep into the plethora of Disney Channel Original Movies available on the internet, which are ideal for knockout illness because it's totally acceptable to fall asleep midway through. Particular faves from the week: "High School Musical" 1 AND 2, "The Lizzie McGuire Movie," and these awful ice skating movies, "The Cutting Edge" and "The Cutting Edge: Going for the Gold." 10/10 recommend if you're so sick and tired you can barely lift your head off the pillow. 

Finally, my hand soap is legitimately my favorite thing in my bathroom. It's Crafter's & Co Honeysuckle, and it smells absolutely heavenly...total bonus when I was washing my hands a dozen times a day. My mama got it for me at Hallmark, and I highly recommend it. 

At any rate, I'm over the hump now and back at the office, where it sounds like this particular illness is making the rounds. Not totally 100% again, but I managed half a sandwich for dinner and only needed a 45-minute nap after work to function...so we're calling it a win. Here's to overcoming the exhaustion and getting back to full speed right in time for a crazy-busy cycle at work and in life!

Bookworm: March 2017

YIKES. This was a super light month of reading for me, largely due to a ton of other obligations outside of work (and the amount of time I've spent in theaters seeing "Beauty and the Beast," and watching HBO's "Big Little Lies" at home...oops.). I really miss the act of reading - between jam-packed work days, barely surviving the flu, and all the other moving parts in my life, it's been far too long since I sat down and simply read a book. I'm truly ashamed to say this is the first month in I don't even know how long that I didn't read a single new book in its entirety. That said, I snuck a few old favorites in almost as a coping mechanism/security blanket when things got crazy...so without further ado: 

Re-reads: 

Big Little Lies, Liane Moriarty: I had to pick this up again after marathoning the show, because I couldn't remember who died and who was the murderer. It'd be a perfect beach or vacation read - it's not totally trashy chick lit, but it's frothy enough to be relaxing. Ms. Moriarty's characters are multi-dimensional, and the twists and turns of the plot are gripping enough to be interesting without being like... "Gone Girl"-esque levels of insane.

A Company of Swans, Eva Ibbotson

Magic Flutes, Eva Ibbotson

The Morning Gift, Eva Ibbotson

A Countess Below Stairs, Eva Ibbotson

A Song of Summer, Eva Ibbotson

A word on Eva Ibbotson: these stories are all young-adult level, which means I can blow through them in about three hours. I've read each of them close to a dozen times since I was an actual young adult (teen) reader. Ibbotson's prose is lovely, and her subject matter holds so much appeal for me - many things I love, including the opera, Brazil, London, both World Wars, and the British nobility, are her common subject matter. They're the literary equivalent of a cozy blanket and warm cup of tea for me, and I love that. 

Here's to more books in my hopefully very-near future!! EEK. Send recommendations!