A Connecticut Recap

Connecticut 2013 was a fun trip.  

It started fast with a flight out Saturday night and an early morning phone call asking if I could go to a Louis Vuitton meeting on Monday morning.  Sunday was also the day to get up and going early with Mom and Dad to get to see Megan's baptism.  That was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. 

Sunday afternoon I went to NYC and wandered the city for a few hours before checking in at the hotel before the meeting Monday morning.  

Monday, I spent in the city at LV training and learned all about how we're going to use our new work phones to clientele and learn how to train the rest of the store.  After the meeting I went shopping for a couple hours on 5th Avenue and eventually met up with Mom, Dad, Rick & Beth and Alena.  

Tuesday, Mom and I met up with Megan, Mattingly and Myla at the outlets in Clinton.  I enjoyed a hot dog and shopping with Mattingly.  Mom and I also went to New Haven and went to Gant, J.Press and a couple other places before heading home.  Tuesday night we also went to the Rock Cats game.  I saw Miguel Sano play; maybe we'll see him up here with the Twins next year.  

Wednesday, M3 and I went to the Hill-Stead Museum in Farmington for a couple hours with lunch after at Red Robin and a trip to Westfarms.  We also grilled out Wednesday night and mom made my favorite vegetable and cheese dish! 

I was off to NYC again Thursday.  I spent the whole day there, taking the train in at 7am and getting back to Union Station in New Haven at 12:15am.  I got into NYC early and walked down Broadway on my way to SoHo where I spent most of the day before eating dinner with Adam and Alana at Edo Sushi near the Flatiron Building.  After dinner I wandered back up Broadway and 5th before hitting a late train back to New Haven.  

Friday was a relaxing day that we just spent at home with a quick trip to New Haven to stop at J. Press again for an awesome shawl collar sweater.  

30.

Leaving the 20's gives you many feelings.

You're a full fledged adult no matter where you are in life.  No turning back.  

Turning 30 makes you think about what you didn't do; so make goals in your 20's and bring them to fruition.  Packing your 20's and 30's in to your 30's might be a long road.  

Turning 30 also makes you think what you did do.  I graduated high school and college.  I have had two main sources of employment and numerous smaller things.  

Don't forget to make friends.  Don't forget to call people for fun.  Well, in today's age maybe text people for fun.  

Fail.  And then try it again.  

Teach your kids not to be a perfectionist.  It's not worth it.  And if they are try to beat it out of them.  Well kindly beat it out of them.  

I've had a progressive 10 years of finding things of luxury in the food and style world.  It's a constant progression.  What's next, who's next while maintaining a firm grasp on what should last and the basic foundation of food, style and life.  

I got married.  :)
We travel to the coasts.
Can you believe it's been 5 years in July?  Huh?  

Spend time with people.  But also spend time alone.  

Find someone who prods your thoughts along.  Trust those thoughts and turn them into action.  

Care what others think but don't care too much.  

Take walks and jogs and runs.  Hit the gym and check out the sunsets.  

Take pictures.  Make memories.  

Turning 30 is just like being 29; but it is not.  

I mean,

no one is reading anymore...but just write like you just don't care.



And now time for some rarely seen, never before seen or forgotten photos.

  

 

Happy Birthday Mattingly!

Happy 5th Birthday man!

How has your day been?  What have you done?

Do you remember all of these pictures?

Hopefully Katy and I can come see you soon!

Love you Mattingly!

Birthday Ideas *Update

1. Flight to NYC for a couple day trip to wander and shop and tour 

2. Flight to Chicago for a couple day trip to wander and shop and tour 

3. LV Cabas V Tote. It's from the 2012 Mens Spring Fashion Show if I remember correctly.

What would happen if I could get my hands on this tote?  This would be the ultimate statement bag, something I'd use every day carrying to work.  The Gaston V logo would be awesome to have making me known but only to those who know LV.  If not, I can always hope for the F/W bags from the fashion show next time this year.  This look like this.  :)

This bag.  

All of these. 

This coat.

This bag.

More unique, less usable but this bag. 

This makes me want a cape.  This is supposedly part of the women's collection next fall.  And this makes me want a cape.  I'd wear this even though it's women's.  And it's something I'd buy all of you.

This was from F/W 2012. And I'd wear that in a heart beat.  

And since I'm cold all the time you know as well as I do that I'd wear it. 

Masai Rug

At training in NYC I was decorated with a Masai rug folded and styled on my like this one on the right. The pattern is different, the one that connects to the link above.

Well, what else could I possibly want.

Gift Card to Martin Patrick 3
Gift Card to Black Blue
Gift Card to Len Druskin
Gift Card to Nordstrom

I mean this pretty much covers it.  There's so many other things I would want or take but it's mostly a time identified by me at a fairly specific time and place.

Gant Rugger, Tommy Hilfiger, J.Crew, Billy Reid, Todd Snyder, Band of Outsiders, Shipley and Halmos, ...

A plane ticket to run a road race somewhere--Chicago, New York, Connecticut, Boston...
A trip to watch the NYC Marathon in the fall?

A MacBook Air

Tons of money for a new car for Katy in the fall.
I want this, Jeep Wrangler 4x4.  Katy probably doesn't.  :)

Who knew your son, brother, friend and stranger would be this high end luxury driven and interested.  

Tell me if you guessed it.  Or if you saw it somewhere in childhood or adult hood.  

2012 and other news

As usual I thought I did something wrong or a client was calling to chew me out.  

This time it was different.  

This time Katie called with responsibility news.  I'll be heading to California for three days at the end of February for some Leathergoods business meetings!  That was a fun thing to hear; I'll be able to meet more LV employees and see how well I can relay information, tasks, business and more to Katie!  I'm looking forward to it but am nervous for it too.  It's a good amount though.  When I was in college we used to say if you weren't nervous before a race, no matter big or small, you didn't care enough about it.  I think the same applies here.  

2012 Review

How cool is it that Katy and I both got new jobs this year within the span of a month.  

Now if the next step happens in the next couple of years for each of us maybe we won't have to retire at age 78.  

I don't think about retiring much but at some point we might want to have some money put away for it.  I'm not saying we don't.  I'm just saying ensuring we're okay is important.  

I didn't run any road races.  Lame.  Loserish.  But I got a new Garmin watch in 2013!  Because the last one I had just died.  Thanks to REI for taking care of that.  

I didn't have many written goals.  This year I might have more.  I'll just need to put them where I see them.  

I must read more.  I must write more.  Wait is this becoming my goal list?  

Randomness over.  This was a short year in review.  Really I'm just sitting at Dunn Bros.

  

We're Alive

Hello 2013.

Katy and I are alive.  In fact we are alive and well.

We enjoyed Thanksgiving with Bob & Deb, Bob's mom Gerry, Josh, Laura & Malin and Bopa.  It was a great mix of family and relaxing.

I will try to get better at blogging.  What kills me is the loading of pictures and the time it takes up.

I didn't work until 1pm the day after Thanksgiving so it was quite the normal day.  In fact, the season was quite normal except for the last ten days which got pretty intense.  But we had many more intense days at Herbs throughout the season.  And now, they're doing inventory.  And that's nasty compared to ours.

Christmas Eve was great.  I enjoyed two four day weeks back to back.  At Herbs it was 5 long days each week.  We were again at Bob and Debs with the same group of people.

I am still into fashion.  Style.  Big time brands and unique clothing.  I need to get a blogging and twitter thing going.  I'd love to explore retail consulting.  But I need to know more.  I'm still apprehensive about becoming a "store manager" or something like that.  Nothing will prep me.  You just have to do it.  I've found that there is no being prepared in a job.  You just get entrusted to doing it and you have to come through.  I just want to know someone knows I can do the job or will be there to back me up.

I want to curate something.  Decide on what is cool and what is not.  Be credible or something.  

That is a jumbled up paragraph.

Should I run Grandma's marathon?  OR Twin Cities?

Will anyone volunteer with me at Twin Cities in Motion?

Should I get an MBA or a new job.  Or what classes should I take to gain knowledge and confidence.

Confidence is huge.  Teach your kids to be confident.  Somehow.  Failure is not bad.  Getting it right and progress is just fine.  Don't take critique personally.  How early you can do that in high school and college effects that.

Katy is busy with work at work and at home.  But she is killing it.  I think she's doing a great job right now.  I love her for all the work she does.  It's wonderful to see.  It makes me want to keep up.

But another life lesson comes out here.  I don't take life competitively.  Why?  I wasn't taught that.  I was taught to be competitive with sports and select activities in life.  How can you be competitive in life?  That must make life suck. Or stressful.  And you know what?  Look at my face when I get stressed out.  Exactly.  Pick and choose your "life competition."

2013.  Gotta go make a list of things to get done.