De-lish

happy 10th birthday blue lollipop road!

Holy moly it’s TRUE! We just turned TEN this week!

I still remember the instant the name “Blue Lollipop Road” popped into my head. I was in the Outer Banks of North Carolina happily driving down the road the day before a friends wedding. At the time I was engaged myself. I couldn’t wait to start writing and sharing stories about my travels. I also wanted to create a way to help others find more freedom in their lives because so many people constantly shared with me that they felt stuck.

Here we are 10 years later and I get to help people simplify and better manage their time, space, and money, so they can have the lifestyle they want.

Oh happy day!

I went for a solo walk last weekend on the beach in South Carolina. It was right after a crazy storm. The air was so incredibly humid- as if I was on a tropical island. I was in heaven. Here’s a photo:

Kiawah Island Sunset Beach Walk

I walked so long it became pitch dark by the time I turned around. I may have gotten a little lost, but I loved every minute of it.

When’s the last time you were so in love with what you were doing you got lost in time?

At one point as I wandered through the warm night shallow waves, I posted a different photo of the sunset with this, on Instagram:

Ever stop for a minute in your days and think about what you would do if you didn’t have any more? I do. All the time. Maybe too much. The good thing is, I celebrate everyday like I’m doing right now, during my no filter sunset beach walk. Don’t like something in your life? Change it. That’s the BLR Lifestyle. We all have far too little time to waste any of it. Respect the clock. What are you waiting for?

For 10 years now, plus far more I’ve been inspired to keep reminding myself and others around me, that we don’t have to wait for anything; approval, perfect timing, or permission.

The Big Red Lollipop

(Isn’t this the coolest? It’s a life sized red Blow Pop sculpture! Not a blue one, but I like it. I took this photo in San Antonio, Texas Thursday night during a delicious client dinner at Battalion. I thought it was perfect timing for the BLR birthday week.)

Life is so simple, and we complicate it. Aren’t the best times spent with people instead of things? Isn’t a meal shared with interesting conversation and laughter, the best kind of medicine? Don’t you think it might do your body good spending a night out looking up at the sky, instead of staring up at the television?

Not much sticks around for 10 years. My engagement didn’t last after the launch of Blue Lollipop Road (thank goodness, because I’ve finally found my right person!), my friend who got married that weekend in the Outer Banks is now divorcing, and there have been a zillion other ups and downs since then. What sticks for me though, no matter what swirls around in this crazy life, is that everyday is a chance and choice to change what’s not working. We are never stuck unless we don’t have our health. The things that weigh us down or break our hearts are not worth keeping us stuck, as days tick by.

I hope I get to continue sharing my stories and doing the work I love for 10 more years, another 10 after that, and more. I hope the same for you.

Call Me, Maybe?

(Yep, they still have a row of phone booths in the historic San Antonio, supposedly haunted Menger Hotel.)

Ready to get kicked out of the drone zone? Call me, maybe…

#GetUnstuck #LessStuffMoreFreedomHappyLife #StartDriving

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this is how two vermonters celebrated today

Ben & Jerry’s FREE CONE DAY! I had to get a photo of the 40th Annual poster on the window as we waited in line:

Ben & Jerry's Free Cone Day

Not surprisingly, the place was packed, but the line moved fast. The wait gave me just enough time to play around with a magnet board meant for the kiddos:

Ben & Jerry's Free Cone Day

Coffee Coffee Buzz Buzz and Chocolate Therapy, please!

Ben & Jerry's Free Cone Day

(See what we did with the cone wrappers there?:)

It’s nearly 8PM now, so this glorious ice cream give back event will be over by the time I press publish, but don’t worry, it’ll be be back again. In the meantime, grab yourself a pint of your favorite flavor at the grocery store. You can cozy on up with your buttercup, and listen to the great story of Ben Cohen & Jerry Greenfield, and how they started their delicious frozen empire on NPR’s How I Built This.

We love you, Ben & Jerry! Thanks for loving us back and showing it.

#DoGood #GiveBack #CelebrateEveryday

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celebrate everyday: day 34

2.3.18

Today I celebrate big messy tables of Chinese food:

Chinese Takeout Feast

Chinese takeout is perfect for moving in, moving out, those nights when you’re feeling a little lazy about cooking, or when you want to go visit a friend who’s just had a surgery for an injury that hurt worse than child birth.

Ouch.

Fortune cookies and good company make everything better.

#Feast #LiveSimpleDoMore #PivotTribe

*Want to build a better community of people? Call me! (804.339.6514) I can help.

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celebrate everyday: day 28

1.28.18

Today I celebrate French Onion Soup. The at home version we made this afternoon:

French Onion Soup

…wasn’t quite as pretty as what we got last week at Bistro Jeanty, (a must go to in the Napa Valley):

Bistro Jeanty

…but, hello! Soup that’s topped with bread and melted cheese on a winter Sunday?! Oui, oui! It’s tasty, no matter what it looks like.

Good food, I so love you.

Bistro Jeanty

What are you feasting on?

#ExperiencesNotThings #Travel #Foodie

*Feeling stuck? So bored you’re falling asleep in your soup? Call me! (804.339.6514) I can help.

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celebrate everyday: day 22

1.22.18

Today I celebrate cheese (of any kind), because it’s so damn good. Fresh burrata and epi bread:

Burrata and Bread

Appetizer of champions, tonight! (PS ~ Have you heard cheese builds muscle? It’s true.)

What are you feasting on?

#Eat #Foodie #Travel

*Want the scoop on great places to nosh when you travel? Call me! (804.339.6514) I can help.

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celebrate everyday: day 11

Sometimes days are long. And stressful. And Expensive. And your car gets towed. And you’re tired. And the kids are screaming at you, along with your boss. (By the way, do you realize you don’t have to take that crap?)

Today I celebrate easy dinners:

Easy Dinners

(Don’t worry, moms…we had greens, too.)

Pizza is freaking delicious. And affordable. Especially from this place. (If you live in Charlotte.) And It’s easy. Yum. Next time you’re exhausted, call in an order for a pie and throw together this salad in 2 minutes or less when you get home. You’ll need:

1 bag arugula
Parmesan cheese
Pine nuts
1 lime
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Squeeze 1/2 to a full lime into small bowl with 3 tablespoons of olive oil, and a few shakes of salt & pepper. Whisk together, pour over greens and toss with shaved parmesan and pine nuts. Add a glass of wine (not in the salad of course, but right along side it), and voila! Full and happy.

What are you eating?

#EasyEats #Feast #Dinner

*Are your days too busy and chaotic? Need to simplify things? Call me! (804.339.6514) I can help.

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another successful breakfast by schoolhouse maple

Breakfast

…by successful, I mean delicious dips in the warm maple syrup that my friends Jon & Dana Finny make. My mangled because I still can’t get the hang of flipping pancakes properly, still taste amazing, doused in this stuff:

Breakfast

Ahhh…warm fall balcony breakfast mornings.

Thanks Jon & Dana!

You want some? Get some! (Did somebody say holiday gifts?) Drop Jon & Dane a line:
[email protected]
Mmm…

#LessStuffGoodFriendsHappyLife #Nosh #SmallBatch

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