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Author Archives: jasminedesirees
- autumn in new york: part 1
  
  Posted at 8:37 am by jasminedesirees, on December 1, 2015
  
  I still have a couple more posts from Seattle to share (I may have mentioned how much I LOVED that city) but I’ve been traveling a lot lately, so I wanted to mix it up a bit.
  
  The week before Halloween I was lucky enough to get to fly to New York for a week to work out of the NY office for my job. A lot of the people I work with every day are there, so it was really nice to actually meet everyone in person after talking to them every day on the phone for months.
  
  I stayed at the Empire Hotel right near Central Park West, so every single morning (no matter how late I’d been out the night before) I forced myself to get up and go for a run. I was training for the triathlon at the time, but also it was just so beautiful there I felt like I could run for hours and never get tired.
  
  I was there the week before the New York Marathon, so every morning while I was running, there were groups of workers putting up bleachers and getting ready for the race, it kind of made me want to stay and run it. I probably would have died, but I did say after our last marathon a few years ago, the only way I would ever run another one would be if we did NY.
  
  I was so excited to go to NY in the fall, I’ve only been there once before, in March. The leaves were starting to change, but I was excited for some cold weather, and it was actually really nice out. At this point I should just get rid of all my winter clothes, it’s not in the cards for me, apparently.
  
  I worked in the office Tuesday-Friday, but didn’t book my flight home until Sunday night, so I had a couple of days to creep around the city and explore, and one of my very best friends came out to spend the weekend with me. She lives in Indianapolis now, and I hadn’t seen her since her wedding, over a year and a half ago, so it was an amazing weekend for lots of reasons.
  
  I’ll be traveling to NY a lot more starting in January, so I’m excited to spend more time in the city and explore a lot more. If you have any suggestions for cool places to visit or restaurants to check out, please let me know!
  
  Posted in New York, travel, USA | 2 Comments | Tagged autumn, Central Park, Manhattan, New York, travel
- seattle: discovery park
  
  Posted at 8:52 am by jasminedesirees, on November 23, 2015
  
  We only had 3 days in Seattle, but we definitely made the most of them. On the morning before we flew out, we set off from our hotel, swung by Pike Place for breakfast, and then kept walking north along the water.
  
  We wandered through the Sculpture Garden, and kept walking until we got to the end of the walkway, and into a strange labyrinth of warehouses and roads. We were trying to get to Discovery Park, but we ended up kind of getting lost and had to call an Uber to come take us the rest of the way, otherwise we would probably still be there.
  
  We got dropped off at Discovery Park, just north of the city, and picked a random hiking trail (there are tons) to try to find our way to the lighthouse at the end of the point.
  
  It was an absolutely gorgeous fall day, and the views on our hike were incredible. Right near Discovery Park there is a military base, and we stumbled upon what must be the most adorable Base housing in the history of the world.
  
  As a former military spouse, I was violently jealous of anybody who got to be stationed there and live in such a picturesque location.
  
  Eventually we found our way to the lighthouse (I kind of have a thing for lighthouses). The beach near the lighthouse was quiet and peaceful and was covered in so much driftwood that I briefly considered taking up whittling or furniture making. There were baby seals playing in the water along the shore.
  
  By the end of that day, I had pretty much decided I was going to move to Seattle one day, and I called my husband to tell him so. It won’t be for a couple of years, but I can tell that the PNW and I would get along.
  
  I suppose the argument could be made that I was there on the most beautiful, sunny weekend of the year, and I might not like it there most of the time when it’s grey and rainy, but that sounds like two-years-from-now Jasmine’s problem.
  
  Posted in Seattle, travel, USA, Washington | 1 Comment | Tagged beach, discovery park, hiking, lighthouses, seattle, travel, washington
- lake havasu triathlon
  
  Posted at 9:59 am by jasminedesirees, on November 18, 2015
  
  Last weekend, I did my second triathlon, in Lake Havasu, Arizona. Our first triathlon was a couple of years ago, in Honolulu, Hawaii.
  
  This time my mom, my sister and I all did it together. I had been thinking it was time to start training for something all summer, I am a very goal-oriented person so I have to keep setting up new challenges for myself or I get bored and lazy.
  
  I started training in August, but gave myself until September to sign up, to make sure I had at least started training by then. Training was a lot easier this time, since we had a pool in our building complex in Arizona, I could swim almost every day. When I was training for the first one, I had to go down to the local community pool, and fight off 13 year old SPEED swimmers for lane time a couple times a week.
  
  I also biked and ran a few days a week, so I felt like I was pretty ready for it.
  
  The Thursday before the race, we drove up to Vegas, and spent Thursday night and Friday night creeping around there. I didn’t go to sleep until 5 am on Thursday, and woke up quite ill (it’s always the red wine) the next day, which maybe isn’t the mark of a serious athlete, but my family is really fun, and we don’t get to see each other all the time, so we tend to take full advantage when we do.
  
  On Saturday, we drove down to Havasu, picked up our bikes (we had rented them before hand) and then rode them to our hotel. Unfortunately, we all through our purses (with our phones) into the truck while we were riding, and we got left behind about 15 seconds after we left the parking lot. So we got to drive around for a bit, and finally ask a nice man at a gas station for directions.
  
  Once we finally found the hotel, we went to pick up our race packets, the race started and finished at London Bridge beach park, and then went to the store to load up on snacks. We did a cross country half marathon in San Francisco a few years ago, and the only thing that got me through it was an Oreo at the rest stops every few miles, so I made sure to have some of those on hand.
  
  Also when we did our Mt. Rinjani trek, I gave myself one Oreo for every mile I successfully climbed (it was SO hard). At least I have a sophisticated rewards system?
  
  The morning of the race was pretty chilly, we had packed up and put on all of our numbers the night before, so we just jumped on our bikes and rode down to the beach park. We had about 45 minutes to get set up, get our wet suits on, and chat with other racers, before we went down to the lake to start.
  
  We were doing the Olympic Tri, which is approximately 1 mile swim, 25 mile bike ride, and 6 mile run.
  
  The swim was fine, although it was definitely the worst part. It always is. This tri was a lot smaller than our first one, so we weren’t getting kicked and swam over, which I appreciated, but the wet suits we had rented were pretty thick, and made swimming a little harder, and breathing as well. It felt like we were in the water forever, but we actually finished in pretty good time.
  
  The bike ride went well, it was a pretty good course until the very end where we had to turn around to come back and there were 3 enormous hills that we had to go down, and then back up the other side. And I mean, enormous. I didn’t even feel comfortable going down the hill, let alone capable of riding back up the other side.
  
  The run is always my favourite part, we put on some tunes and got it done. A few other runners said we looked like we were having way too much fun.
  
  The whole experience was great, although I would definitely not do a triathlon alone. It’s way more fun when you have other people to commiserate with.
  
  After the race, we went for drinks, and then made the three hour drive back to Phoenix. I was worried I would be sore the next day, but we all felt good enough for a marathon shopping session, before we eventually passed out collectively at around 8 pm.
  
  Posted in Arizona, travel, USA | 1 Comment | Tagged bike, lake havasu, Las Vegas, run, swim, triathlon
- always say yes
  
  Posted at 8:05 am by jasminedesirees, on November 16, 2015
  
  “Never say ‘no’ to adventures. Always say ‘yes’, otherwise you’ll lead a very dull life.” ~ Ian Fleming
  
  I’m writing this from a beach house in Waianae, Hawaii. I booked my ticket Friday night, and left Saturday morning.
  
  I struggled for a few minutes, over whether or not this was a practical thing that a normal, well-adjusted person would do, and then realized, I don’t care.
  
  Posted in exploring, Hawaii, loveliness, quotes, travel, USA | 1 Comment | Tagged adventure, beach, Hawaii, ian fleming, quotes, travel
- seattle: pike place
  
  Posted at 7:50 am by jasminedesirees, on November 2, 2015
  
  During our trip to Seattle, one of the places I liked the best was the Pike Place Market. It’s obviously a must visit destination for anyone spending time there, but I expected to spend an hour or so browsing, and then get on with the rest of the trip.
  
  What actually happened was that we kept finding ourselves back there each day, finding new things each time. It helped that our hotel was just a few blocks away, but each morning when we set out for the day, we found ourselves first heading for Pike Place.
  
  The main thing that kept us coming back was the food. There were so many amazing places to eat in and around the market that we couldn’t have tried them all in 3 days, but we did our best.
  
  Our first morning we stopped at a little shop in a back alley near the market and ate the most amazing breakfast sandwiches. I don’t even like breakfast sandwiches, but I loved this place.
  
  I actually bought all of the ingredients this past weekend to try to re-create it at home (sharp cheddar, eggs, tomato, fresh basil, english muffin), and it tasted exactly the same. I may or may not have eaten one for every single meal for the last two days.
  
  One of the things I loved about Seattle was how they used their back alleys. Some of the best places we found were tucked away down cute little alleys, and it was such a good use of the space.
  
  We also tried chocolate hazelnut pastries from Piroshky Piroshky. This little bake shop is right across the street from Pike’s Place, and it’s one of a few places (including the original Starbucks) where there is always a line.
  
  As we were strolling by I remember thinking that there was no way anything they sold in there could be worth waiting that long, and then I think I must have blacked out because the next thing I knew, I was overcome by the aroma of fresh baking and found myself in line.
  
  If you do go to Piroshky, try to creep into the little shop before getting in line, so you can get a sense of what you might want to order. I was so fascinated watching them make all of the pastries through that window that once I got inside and it was my turn, I realized I had no idea what I wanted.
  
  The line moves quickly, and I didn’t want to be the person to hold it up, so I just panicked and blurted out that I wanted “the one with chocolate”.
  
  Just down the street, right on the corner is a cheese shop, where you can watch cheese being made through the window, and also sneak in for samples. In our case, we snuck in for samples a LOT.
  
  They also made amazing macaroni and cheese and other snacks, and we bought some and camped out on the curb, people watching and enjoying the deliciousness. There were street magicians, people in all kinds of different outfits, and a man playing dirty songs on piano on the street corner.
  
  In addition to the food (let’s be real, it was mostly about the food) the flowers they sold at the market were gorgeous. There were rows and rows of florists selling enormous, colourful bouquets for five dollars a piece.
  
  Every morning I almost bought one, but it seemed like a shame to buy it to have it sit in the hotel room, and then have to leave it behind.
  
  We also checked out the gum wall (it’s cool, but if you stop to think about it for any amount of time, it’s horrifying) and made friends with the fish vendor at the farmers market.
  
  Even with all the time we spent exploring the area, I’m sure there are lots of things we didn’t get a chance to try, but I’m pretty satisfied with our choices.
  
  Posted in Seattle, travel, USA, Washington | 1 Comment | Tagged food, marketplace, pike's place, seattle, travel, washington
- seattle: chuhily glass garden
  
  Posted at 8:00 am by jasminedesirees, on October 19, 2015
  
  We wanted to see as many things as we possibly could in Seattle, which included the EMP and the Space Needle, so we ended up buying the City Pass because it was cheaper in the long run. We ended up getting tickets to the Chuhily Garden and Glass, which is right next door to the EMP Museum.
  
  There were a few sculptures outside in the park as we were walking by the building, and I thought they looked pretty cool, but we were mostly going because we had free tickets.
  
  But as soon as we walked through the door, I was blown away. There were a few smaller sculptures in the entrance way and lobby, but the first big sculpture was ocean themed, and it is absolutely breathtaking. I could have stood there all day and stared at it.
  
  But once we left that room, and went into the next, we were greeted by a light filled room with an entire ceiling filled with multi-coloured glass sculptures. And that’s the way it went. Every exhibit was my favourite, until I saw the one that came after it.
  
  By the time we had wandered around and looked at all of the different pieces, I was completely in love with Dale Chuhily (the artist), and I was convinced I was going to buy a small blown glass piece to take home with me, which is not something I normally do at museums.
  
  I was quickly relieved of that notion when we got to the shop and realized that for even a small sculpture the size of a bowl, it was thousands of dollars.
  
  I was creeping around on Groupon the other day looking for massages, when I found a glass blowing class. It sounds kind of dangerous, I’m assuming playing with molten liquid glass is not really a hobby for the un-coordinated, but maybe it is my secret talent.
  
  I’m coming for you Dale.
  
  Posted in Seattle, travel, USA, Washington | 0 Comments | Tagged art, dale chuhily, glass blowing, seattle, travel, washington
- you get what you need
  
  Posted at 10:00 am by jasminedesirees, on October 16, 2015
  
  Lately I’ve feeling a little bit unsure of what’s next for me. There are a few things I’ve been working towards, but everything I want to do suddenly feels daunting and impossible, and I don’t really know why or what changed.
  
  Last night I went to yoga on the roof of the W in Scottsdale, and at the end of class, our instructor played excerpts from this speech. It was exactly what I needed to hear.
  
  Posted in loveliness | 0 Comments | Tagged inspiration, jim carrey, life
- seattle: emp
  
  Posted at 9:34 am by jasminedesirees, on October 6, 2015
  
  A couple of weekends ago I was lucky enough to spend a few days exploring Seattle. We had gorgeous weather, so we were able to spend a lot of each day outside, wandering around. We fit so many things into our time there, but it didn’t feel rushed.
  
  One of our first stops on the first day was the EMP, a music and cultural museum right beside the Space Needle. There were exhibits on Jimi Hendrix, Nirvana, Fantasy and Horror movies, and Star Wars costumes. It was really interesting, I loved the Nirvana exhibit, and seeing Jimi Hendrix’s passport was awesome.
  
  Also, they had Sirius Black’s coat from Harry Potter, and Jarrett’s entire outfit from the Labyrinth, probably the greatest movie ever made, and the cappuccino’s in the restaurant were amazing.
  
  They had an exhibit on Chuck Jones, a longtime animator for WB who was responsible for a lot of the Loony Tunes cartoons. He had a quote that I really liked, “All worthwhile endeavors are 90% work and 10% love, and only the love should show.”
  
  Posted in exploring, Seattle, travel, Washington | 0 Comments | Tagged emp, jimi hendrix, kurt cobain, music, nirvana, seattle, travel
- burn it down
  
  Posted at 8:56 am by jasminedesirees, on October 2, 2015
  
  “Barn’s burnt down —
  now
  I can see the moon.”
  
  -Mizuta Masahide
  
  Posted in art, inspiration, loveliness, Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged loveliness, mizuta masahide, poetry, quotes
- weekend in monterey
  
  Posted at 8:39 am by jasminedesirees, on September 29, 2015
  
  A couple of weeks ago I flew to Oakland and drove to Monterey for a weekend of beaching and wine tasting with some of my favourite ladies. We spent Saturday wine tasting in Carmel Valley (definitely recommend the wine trolley, as clearly nobody could drive) and then hung out on the beach for a bit.
  
  It was very strange there were thousands and thousands of little fish washed up on the beach flopping around, it was really sad.
  
  I’d never seen anything like that before, so a few of us spent about an hour racing around trying to throw as many as possible back into the ocean (alcohol may have been a factor) so they could live. It was a pretty fruitless endeavour, but we probably saved a few.
  
  We looked it up, and apparently if there are whales or pods of dolphins in the area it can push some of the fish closer to shore for safety, but then they can get beached.
  
  Monterey is such a cute town, there is so much history and the architecture is beautiful, but I’m pretty sure whoever designed the roads was drunk at the time, it is quite maddening to drive around, especially if you are driving a borrowed vehicle, that happens to be a stick, and also have no idea where you’re going (or so I’ve heard).
  
  We did dinner, drinks and dancing on Saturday night, and dragged ourselves to the pier in the morning to drown our sorrows in salt water taffy and clam chowder (or fettucine alfredo in my case) before the drive home.
  
  We spent more than an hour stuck in traffic, because that’s just what life is like, and we also didn’t find Clint Eastwood, which was the main goal of the trip, but it was a successful weekend either way.
  
  Posted in California, travel, USA | 0 Comments | Tagged beach, California, monterey, travel
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