Movies, Music and Missions

This weekend was packed! Friday I rewatched "Fireproof": a must-see movie for anyone who is married. It's such a great reminder on how to maintain a solid marriage. I had such a good cry (most movies make me cry - even Disney) and it felt great. Dana golfed with buddies with work so we both had good "me time".

Saturday I did the "Race for the Cure" with a bunch of girls from work. It was an absolutely beautiful day and it was fun to see Smartfood being sampled to a lot of eager women!

After brunch at my favorite brunch spot (Breadwinners), I took an awesome nap (my favorite activity really) and then did a dance class with more girlfriends from work. I'm using the term "dance class" here loosely.... It was fun, but really tough!

Saturday night the Hottingers invited us to the George Strait concert with a bunch of other friends from work. So fun! It was the first event at the new Cowboys Stadium, which is the largest domed structure in the world and totally amazing. The HD screen in the middle was pretty much the size of the football field! We were lucky to have seats in a super nice box as part of a Mercedes event. Go Mercedes! For those of you we don't work with, this might sounds like a lot of "work" events, but really it's a testimony of how much people from FL are a part of our lives.

Sunday the founder of the International Justice Mission (IJM) spoke at our church. Gary Haugen changed my life when I heard him speak a year ago at a Leadership Conference. His organization fights to save children who are victims of slavery or the sex trafficking industry. It was a dream come true to meet someone who I admire so much in person! Everytime I hear someone like him speak I feel like God is hitting me over the head telling me to go do something important with my life and not get caught up in the small details of life that just distract us from being his agents of change on earth. Luckily, I'll actually be partnering with IJM a bit in India on rescuing minors from brothels and rehabilitating them.

Afterwards I had another Swap party where I traded clothes and home decor with friends. Everyone ended up with so much great stuff! I'm really becoming addicted to these exchanges now. They are the essence of guilt-free shopping.

Filled to the brim with Happiness

Dana read that the key to happiness is meals spent with friends and family. In that case, I'd say we had a pretty happy anniversary weekend in California! Here are the highlights:

- A swanky dinner with Caroline & Justin at the Viceroy Hotel in Santa Monica (undergrad friends)
- An amazing brunch at Huckleberry
- Walking around the Farmers Market and shopping at the Promenade
- Dinner & dancing at Ma'Kai Lounge with Tom, his girlfriend Missy, Doug & Kailyn (b-school friends we haven't seen in forever!)
- A homemade Brunch at Neerav's place (peanut butter pancakes - I'm hooked)
- Wine tasting outdoors on a beautiful day in Malibu
- BBQing with Travis, Kara and their 3 sweet little girls

Celebrating 5 years!!!

Last Friday we celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary and I just feel incredibly blessed to have found such a perfect partner for me. The time has really flown by. Before we got married, the whole idea of marriage really scared me. I had no idea of what it would be like and how challenging it would be to really make it work. Thankfully, marriage is so much more fun than I could have ever dreamed. I'm very grateful to God for bringing us together!

MTV Movie Awards

Dana and I went out to LA this week to sample Smartfood (the new brand I recently launched) at the MTV Movie Awards celebrity gift house. We handed out our snacks at a mansion in Hollywood Hills and met a lot of celebrities from popular shows like 90210 (new and old), Melrose Place, the Office, Heroes, Gossip Girl, Lost, High School Musical, etc. It felt like there were a lot more "B" list celebs than the "A" list stars that we were anxious to see, but it was still fun to see people we recognized.

I was interviewed by the local news and we did a drawing for some clothes from FORM - an amazing NY designer (and a college buddy of Dana's!). We weren't able to go to the actual event, but the experience was pretty cool. I was a bit sad that no one from the show "The Hills" showed up (a picture with Spencer and Heidi would have been fun), but everyone raved about our new nutritious and indulgent-tasting sweet popcorn. This week was one of the reasons we really love working together - joint work trips!

My New Do

I finally got hair extensions and now I have a whole new look. Check it out!!!


I'm totally kidding actually. I discovered this new application on instyle.com that allows you to play around with new hairstyles and I'm having so much fun. I highly recommend it to anyone considering a new do. This is a "Blake Lively" hairstyle from my favorite show - "Gossip Girl" of course!

I AM getting a haircut today, but I'm planning to keep it short for now. However, here's another long style I thought looked pretty cute.

Changes Ahead

Most of you know that a lot of people are moving around roles right now at F-L. This is common... it happens at least 2x per year and typically each of us will shuffle around in one of these bi-annual moves.

So we've been waiting patiently and expecting to hear about changes for the past month or so. Today I found out that I will be moving on to our "Core Innovation" team. What that means is that I will be creating new products for Tostitos and Dips/Salsas.

This is big for 2 reasons.... First, it's my 1st assignment on a big "core" brand. (That is how we refer to anything that is roughly a billion dollars in sales or more) I've built my career to date working on our smaller, health & wellness brands. They're somewhat niche in appeal, but I love them. So this will be very different. It will be a learning experience for sure.

Second, work also let me know that they are approving my Leave of Absence to go to India to volunteer for 3 months. They've gone back and forth on this recently due to a staffing shortage, but I am now set to go in September! This should work out perfectly since the weather will be nicer in the Fall and I'll have more time to get tickets, a visa, and coordinate my plans. I'm really excited to take the "road less traveled" on this and get out there to really experience life and try to help others.

I guess this means no Thanksgiving with our families in Dallas this year, but I look forward to many more in the years ahead. I hope everyone can meet me in India for Thanksgiving or Christmas!

Run & Fun

Friday we had a really nice date night at this new Turkish place (Cafe Istanbul) that opened in Legacy Center. It was delicious and the prices were surprisingly good. Everyone seems to be raving about it lately!

Saturday I had my first Swap Party. Due to the recent "green" trends, swap parties are the latest way to "recycle" and update your wardrobe or home without buying new things. I think I'm hooked! 4 of my friends met and we all seemed to walk away with a lot of stuff we loved and it was free! Guilt-free shopping. What could be better. It went so well that I think I'm going to try it again next weekend with new friends!
Today I ran my 2nd half-marathon with Christina and I have to say it was A LOT easier than the first. Perhaps your body just gets used to it, or perhaps it was because it was 65 and sunny instead of 35, windy and rainy like the last one.

Afterwards Ryan & Stephanie hosted a yummy brunch for our community group. Stephanie is quite the little Martha Stewart so I always love any occasion to get together at her house. I leave inspired! They're expecting their first child in September and the baby room is looking super cute. I also love getting together with our small group because they're a bunch of goof balls and we love them. Brunch ended in a leg wrestling war if that gives you any idea.... : )

On our way home we did some shopping and then hit Paciugo for my favorite Sea Salted Caramel gelato that I'm always talking about. This evening I visited Paul & Kori to meet Baby Colt. Such a cutie! Kori seems to be doing great (even after a challenging labor) and also has put such a creative touch on Dane and Colt's rooms. No doubt about it - it was a terrific day.

More nice pics from our trip to California

A lovely Mother's Day hike...

Enjoying Mother's Day weekend in California

We're hanging out in Monterey and Carmel this weekend...celebrating Dana's mother.

Judy is a wonderful, loving, caring mother and we are very happy to be home. Dana's brother, Sam, even flew in from Hong Kong to surprise her as well - so we're all here!

Yesterday we visited the Monterey Aquarium. My favorite exhibit there is typically the Jelly Fish, but this time they had a special Sea Horse exhibit that almost brought me to tears. It was stunning! God certainly has some amazing creations.

Last night we ate a Greek dinner at Epsilon that really hit the spot. I LOVE Greek food, and unfortunately it's not one of Dallas' strengths.

Sam and I went for a run yesterday. It was beautiful, but the hills were killer. Since Dallas is so flat, I don't get a lot of practice running up hills.

This morning we're enjoying aebleskivers (round pancake balls) for breakfast. They're an Allen family tradition!