Lana

A Much Needed Vacation in Tahoe

A Much Needed Vacation in Tahoe - Lake View

Lake view from the Tahoe Rim Trail

A Much Needed Vacation in Tahoe

In case anyone was wondering why there were no posts on Wednesday and Friday, it was because I was taking a MUCH needed break! My hubby and I headed up to Lake Tahoe for the week and took in the views and fresh mountain air with some hiking, jet skiing, a little gambling of course, and exploring the beautiful Heavenly resort which we both hope to return to if and when California gets a significantly snowy winter again! Both of us have been to the snow numerous times, I had been to Tahoe once to snowboard (Northstar and Mt. Rose), but he hadn’t been up here at all. I hadn’t seen it in the summer, so really this was kind of a first for us both! I had thought about making a post at the beginning of the week to announce my absence but I thought ah heck…the break was needed so bad and I had so much to do leading up to it that I figured it would be good for me to just not worry about it. Also, I had my STRÖM review on Denimology and I didn’t want to wait much longer than Monday to post it since it actually had gone live on Friday.

On the last day of our vacation, I was also very pleasantly surprised to find my piece about my denim obsession published on The Jeans Blog! This awesome UK-based denim blog is the work of Lorna Burford of Raindrops of Sapphire, which is the blog that inspired me to start my own after beginning reviews for Denimology. Lorna is also the editor over at DenimBlog, which, along with Denimology, was my source for reviews before I would purchase my own jeans many many years ago! Lorna had contacted me to write a piece for her Denim Tales section on The Jeans Blog, and as life would have it, many things got in the way and it got put aside until I took a few days off from work a few weeks ago and got it done. And here it is! I am so stoked about this, and it just goes to show one of the things I love about blogging and bloggers…many out there are very kind and more than happy to help each other, and even collaborate at times! So thank you Lorna! You can check out my piece here!

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Lana

Back from Vacation to Another New Year

Back from Vacation to Another New Year - Me Angel's Landing

Me atop Angel’s Landing, Zion, Utah!

Back from Vacation to Another New Year

Happy new year everyone!!! I can’t believe we’re on to 2015. Now it’s time to get back to the normal swing of things. For our winter break, my hubby and I decided to ditch civilization and head out for some much needed natural therapy. We’ve talked a lot about going out to Utah, because I remember so many beautiful cross-country family road trips when I was a kid, and I was aching to go explore that area again, and he’d never been there. We headed out to the incredibly gorgeous Zion National Park, and Bryce Canyon National Park. I actually didn’t realize that Zion is only about two hours out from Las Vegas! Both of these places are unreal! To most of us, a brand new year means a nice fresh start, or trying something new and challenging our comfort zones. We certainly did that. I am NOT a fan of heights, but we charged up the super-intimidating Angel’s Landing in Zion. Many parts of this trail leave you on paths that are only two or three feet wide with a 1,500 foot drop on either side. Fortunately you have chains to hold onto, but still! Holy vertigo and fear-activated jello legs. But I did it, and it felt amazing! This is the second time I challenged my fear of heights, with the first being a skydiving adventure my hubby surprised me with for my birthday several years ago! Man it feels good to go head first into something new that you never thought you’d do, and succeeding! This kind of experience definitely translates into many areas of your everyday life, and it was the perfect way to start the new year, as a reminder that the sky is the limit.

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Lana

Authentic Artisan Footwear by Inkkas

Authentic Artisan Footwear by Inkkas

Authentic Artisan Footwear by Inkkas

I love stories of hard-working artisans being discovered by impressed travelers that happen to be entrepreneurs, and catching their big break. There’s something so genuine about an artisan craft—you can see the love put into an artisan’s work, through the blatant creativity, attention to detail and the use of quality materials sourced locally. In the end, we’re all just trying to make it in this world, and I love to support the little guys who pour their blood, sweat and tears into their projects. Lately, with the rise of eco-conscious fashion and awareness of our individual yet global fashion footprint, more of these humanitarian, fair trade brands are popping up everywhere. The now-familiar Pura Vida Bracelets shares a similar story to new footwear and accessories brand Inkkas, in terms of fashion entrepreneurs discovering artisans on a to a remote location.

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Lana

Santorini Dreaming

Santorini Dreaming

Photo Credit: chris1961 on sxc.hu

I’m Santorini dreaming, again…one of my biggest dreams is to visit Greece…Santorini (or the island of Thera), to be exact, and with the summer rapidly approaching, my incessant swooning has been revived. There is something so magical about the vast expanse of ocean surrounding a hillside of pristine white, sun bleached architectural wonder. I think I am fascinated with the place the same way I am drawn to deserts…although Santorini is obviously human-created, it almost has the same, clean, basic, “untouched” look as a desert does. Plus blue being my favorite, calming color and white maybe reminding me of my peaceful childhood days staring up at the pretty white walls and ceilings of Mission San Luis Obispo when my mom would bring me to church, might have something to do with it. I don’t know. But it’s a huge spot on my bucket list, as well as many other, more tropical areas around that side of the world (actually, all over the world…tropical areas perfectly fit the reason why I love deserts!).

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Lana

Who Needs a Segway Anyway?

Running Tours

Tour the world on your feet!

Who Needs a Segway Anyway?

I am an avid runner…I’ve always been super high energy, so much in fact that, while I LOVE travel and seeing new things, I always feel suffocated at the thought of not being able to get my workout in! That is, unless, I know there’s going to be a lot of serious, on-your-feet action going on already. So, I was pretty excited to find out about Go! Running Tours! Go! Running Tours was started by two running tour companies, Running Copenhagen and Running Tours Barcelona, and became an umbrella company for other running sightseeing tour companies worldwide, assisting people who desire such tours to find the best, most professional tour guides available. They also aim to promote the idea of running tours as a preferred method of sightseeing by helping improve the industry “in terms of sharing best practice between operators, harvest synergies, support new tour operators and build cross-border partnerships.”

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Lana

Prohibition Era Fashion and Theatrics in San Francisco

The Speakeasy SF

Photo Credit: PureWow

Prohibition Era Fashion and Theatrics in San Francisco

When one thinks “fashion,” initial thoughts may be visions of anything from outrageously whimsical conceptual designs gliding down a catwalk (especially since Fashion Weeks around the globe are currently wrapping up) to the latest on what the sixteen-year-old next door was most recently spotted gallivanting around in from Abercrombie & Fitch…but regardless of what fashion means to an individual, almost all designs and ideas came from a vintage style somewhere, at some time in our colorful past. Vintage garb certainly has a place in today’s style world, with multiple antique stores or vintage shops popping up like daisies and gracing their store windows and the streets they reside on with beautiful, intricate apparel and accessories from the past that might make one think, “They don’t make them like they used to…”

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