By Sally Beerworth
& The Joy of Ex Foundation
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Interview Outfit
I recently interviewed for another position here at my company. It is located inside a factory, so dress is usually limited to: flats and no skirts. With that in mind, this was my outfit for the event: professional, casual, & practical. I felt comfortable and confident in a fun print top and the softest ever cardigan.
All three clothing items were bought at Nordstroms - which is an experience all in itself. The salesgirl helped to set up a dressing room and brought in many other work options for me to try on.
All three clothing items were bought at Nordstroms - which is an experience all in itself. The salesgirl helped to set up a dressing room and brought in many other work options for me to try on.
Iceland Day 1: the Iceland that didn't happen
Saturday afternoon (2/9/2012), Ben and I have safely arrived at our gate at SeaTac International Airport, having breezed through check in and security. We board the airplane, a Boeing 757, each seat has its own monitor, blanket, and travel pillow - What A Dream! Having never flown on an international (Bahamas doesn't count) flight, this was such a treat to experience.
We cozied into our seats and, being total nerds, opted to watch the flight path and information in lieu of any actual movie or television show. About 2 hours into our flight, the in flight entertainment and all the lights went dark. It was alarming to say the least. We weren't in any turbulence... the power just went out, no oxygen masks were dropped and things just seemed quieter. Again, being total nerds, Ben and I raced through the reasons why the lighting system would fail - we came to two conclusions: 1) someone did a bad repair on the IFE wire or 2) an engine was sucking up too much power and in return, the lights and IFE system shut off. It turned out to be related to the latter (report found here). About 5 minutes later, the captains said they were working on the problem. About 10 minutes later the lights came back on -- we thought "Hallelujah! We're back on track!"
Well, not so much. The IFE returned, and now, instead of going to Iceland, we were flying to Edmonton, Alberta - Canada. 15 minutes later, the captain gave a 5 minute spiel in Icelandic. Our Icelandic counterparts started to look defeated and I turned to Ben and remarked that the Captain's English version would be a sentence long. Luckily, that wasn't the case - we were going to spend the next 24hrs in Edmonton (hotel paid for by Icelandair) and would be contacted about the flight the next day.
We spent the night/day watching hockey, Bolt, and otherwise indulging ourselves in cable television. I wasn't going to risk being outside to brave the 12F weather. Ick!
After a very chaotic re-check in the next day, we left Edmonton for a 6 or so hour flight to Iceland around 3pm, Sunday afternoon. We landed in Keflavik around 6am, Monday morning... and having paid for the previous night, we were thankfully able to quickly check into our hotel.
And that's how we lost a day in Iceland but gained a stamp in our passports.
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| Icelandair Economy Class Seating |
Well, not so much. The IFE returned, and now, instead of going to Iceland, we were flying to Edmonton, Alberta - Canada. 15 minutes later, the captain gave a 5 minute spiel in Icelandic. Our Icelandic counterparts started to look defeated and I turned to Ben and remarked that the Captain's English version would be a sentence long. Luckily, that wasn't the case - we were going to spend the next 24hrs in Edmonton (hotel paid for by Icelandair) and would be contacted about the flight the next day.
We spent the night/day watching hockey, Bolt, and otherwise indulging ourselves in cable television. I wasn't going to risk being outside to brave the 12F weather. Ick!
After a very chaotic re-check in the next day, we left Edmonton for a 6 or so hour flight to Iceland around 3pm, Sunday afternoon. We landed in Keflavik around 6am, Monday morning... and having paid for the previous night, we were thankfully able to quickly check into our hotel.
And that's how we lost a day in Iceland but gained a stamp in our passports.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Pre Iceland: Packing & Cold Weather Essentials
1. Tuesday Scarves, made by a local Seattle artisan, were a life saver in the often windy, chilly Iceland weather. Besides the flannel one below I also wore a similar, faux fur one too. Highly recommend buying them! They were easy to pull up and over my ears too. Two of my favorites in her Etsy Store now: Flannel Cowl Scarf and the Faux Fur Cowl Scarf.
2. Pack Layers. it was great to be able to mix and match items too, so pack and buy in the same color families. This Athleta top was a big favorite to wear underneath a thermal or with my vest. Also, this top is pretty cute (and practical!) too. Don't forget your gloves too! No need for huge skiing gloves, it's not that cold or snowy out there.
3. Camera and underwater camera too. Having a fancy pants camera to capture the northern lights was key. hands down, absolutely necessary. We also were able to grab some landscape and scenery pictures that we plan on blowing up and framing. If you plan on snorkeling or going in the blue lagoon, I recommend buying the underwater camera before your trip... it cost us about $20 to buy the $7 camera. Also, buy an (european/ two prong) electrical outlet adapter... we got ours at Radioshack, but they're cheaper online (Grounded Europe Adapter
) if you plan ahead! Remember you can only plug things in there that are rated at 220-240 volts - most modern/new laptops and chargers are.
4. The travel basics: leave your big bag at home, and invest in a small purse and a backpack. Our backpack came in very useful: kept papers from getting folded or lost, had lots of room to pack extra scarves and the camera, my purse even fit in there too!
5. Phone Info: once on the airplane, set your smart phone to airplane mode and keep it there the entire trip. Your carrier will probably charge you for any text or call made or received during your international roaming. Airplane mode will prevent this. The cool thing is that there is a ton of free Wi-Fi in Iceland (hotels to coffee shops). So turn on your wi-fi and do internet from there. If you don't have a smart phone, just keep the phone at home or off the entire trip. Side note, the GPS/ maps feature was useless in iceland unless we were connected to the internet (I still have no idea why it didn't function well). So it leads me to my last pre-trip advice:
6. Buy a Travel Map
and one of those touristy Travel Guide
books. Then cross check all the restaurants to the internet to verify they still exist - because sometimes even a year old book is outdated!
3. Camera and underwater camera too. Having a fancy pants camera to capture the northern lights was key. hands down, absolutely necessary. We also were able to grab some landscape and scenery pictures that we plan on blowing up and framing. If you plan on snorkeling or going in the blue lagoon, I recommend buying the underwater camera before your trip... it cost us about $20 to buy the $7 camera. Also, buy an (european/ two prong) electrical outlet adapter... we got ours at Radioshack, but they're cheaper online (Grounded Europe Adapter
) if you plan ahead! Remember you can only plug things in there that are rated at 220-240 volts - most modern/new laptops and chargers are.4. The travel basics: leave your big bag at home, and invest in a small purse and a backpack. Our backpack came in very useful: kept papers from getting folded or lost, had lots of room to pack extra scarves and the camera, my purse even fit in there too!
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| Ben, the official backpack wearer |
6. Buy a Travel Map
and one of those touristy Travel Guidebooks. Then cross check all the restaurants to the internet to verify they still exist - because sometimes even a year old book is outdated!
Friday, February 22, 2013
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Trigger Foods
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| knifes - west elm market |
I loved this article about trigger foods.
I've noticed, if I let myself indulge in a starchy, carby treat, I will then be eating starchy, carby food all day, every day. It gets totally ridiculous and I feel out of control and like poo on day 3 of my starch binge.
How do I escape it? I wake up, and at every meal, every thought, and every action - I say to myself "My body only wants nourishing foods, only nourishing foods energize me" - very similar to the author's affirmation of "I am worthy of nourishment through love and healing foods. I release all unhealthy thoughts around food"
A day of repeating that, breaks the cycle and reminds me to love my body and everything I feed it.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Monday, February 18, 2013
Iceland Teaser
Look for recaps and advice about Iceland travels over the next two weeks! Ben and I had so much fun and there's still so much we want to do there!
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Galentines Day
Happy Galentine's Day!
I'm in Iceland this week, so I'm missing out on Galentine's Day with my girlfriends - but I wish only the best to all the lovely ladies out there!
Lots of Love,
Dana
PS - galentines day cards!
Thursday, February 07, 2013
Wear This.... Blooming Love
Skip down the block with your beau on Valentine's Day in this lil' ensemble:
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| Milly Floral Print Dress |
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| J.Crew Bow Dress |
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