Providence & Boston - A Picture Diary

{Stumbled upon the Capital Building while waiting for our train into Boston}

Had an amazing business trip in Providence last week! I was there for our New England division Food Show and had an absolute blast! It was crazy busy but fun and adventurous to say the least... 

Enjoy the pics :)

{stayed at the Omni Providence... which was PERFECT because my room was a 5 minute walk from the show and I could also sneak away to go to Providence Place throughout the 4 days there... I oopsed some Madewell black jeans and my DREAM trench from Zara... hey my 30th is coming up and I'm in the "treat yo' self" mentality}

{Monday night drinks at Fleming's} 

{Monday night dinner at Cassarino's}

{exploring Federal Hill}

{after drinks at Eddy}

{home of the BEST clam chowder at the show}

{that time I met Bachelorette contestant Jared Haibon... I was blushing so hard because everyone at the table was making fun of me.... but we ended up having a pretty fun conversation and even went back to his bar later Tuesday night after dinner at Venda}

{a bakery account we visited on my day in the field that had an oven that was over 100 years old}

{the gates at Brown University}

{Prospect Terrace Park... where the founder, Roger Williams, looks over his city}

{BOSTON! Dinner at Globe before catching an Uber to Fenway!}

{Walking through the history of Fenway was a really cool experience!}

See you soon New England... where shall I go next??

Friday Five! New England Edition

{Boston!!}

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This week I successfully knocked off 2 more states from my travel bucket list. While my business trip was specifically for Providence, Rhode Island, I was able to get away to Boston for a night to explore some Fenway and some

I feel it’s going to be a long Friday of playing catch up but I would not take back a thing from this past week! New England is beautiful!! I wish so hard that I was staying the weekend to continue my explorations… I guess I’ll just have to make a point of planning a personal trip out to this amazing and historic part of the country. God Bless America (and god bless my lack of plans this weekend)! 

Friday Forte:

{Fenway Park… Check!!}

{Providence, you quaint little town you}

{that time I met Jared Haibon}

{DELISH food at Cassarino’s}

Friday Five!

{Bell’s celebrating MJ’s 30^th!}

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I feel like I blinked and it’s the weekend again! I spent half of this week on the road and the other half vigorously playing catch up. Food show season… Gotta love it!! All last weekend was spent de-cluttering (using my variation of the KonMarie Method), and I must say it’s done wonders for my mood this week. Not only in the morning when I’m hurrying to pick out my clothes, but even in the evenings when I’m relaxing in our home, or even at work when I sit at my desk knowing that everything is in order. De-cluttering is truly a liberating experience and I can’t wait to continue the project this weekend.

Happy Easter lovelies!!

Friday Forte:

{Before I Die by Candy Chang… proud to say I own the hard cover as well as the kindle version so this inspiration is always with me}

{Rosie likes decluttering with Marie Kondo as well!}

{tower of yummy at Carlucci’s in Rosemont}

{sweetwaters birthday cake}

Women’s Foodservice Forum - Dallas, Texas

I mentioned in my last couple of Friday Five’s that I would be attending the Women’s Foodservice Forum Annual Leadership Development Conference in Dallas, Texas. The trip was even more amazing than I thought it would be. I’m not going to bore you with TOO many details about the seminars themselves.  Let’s just say it was an incredible uplifting experience for me personally as well as for my career. I could only be so lucky to attend again next year…

Some key call-outs:

The opening session had speakers such as AnnCompton and Candy Chang (I was EXTREMELY inspired by Candy Chang’s presentation as the founder of the Before I Die” project). I’m looking into starting this wall here in Grand Rapids… stay tuned J Other general keynote speakers included (but were not limited to) Ann Maria Chavez (CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA), Nely Galan (Independent Producer), Dr.Elizabeth Lombardo (author and celebrity psychologist) and Arianna Huffington (author and co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post).

In addition, these are the breakout seminars I attended (in case you’re interested):

•       Keys to Successfully Building your Network with Chris Helder
•       Go Big or Go Home: Breakout Success Strategies for Gutsy Women with Kate White
•       Leading with Purpose: Becoming an Influential Leader with Eric Boles
•       Humor That Works: How to be More Productive, Less Stressed with Andrew Tarvin
•       Just Say It! Make Any Conversation Easy with Shari Harley
•       Thriving in the Age of Distraction with Curt Steinhorst
•       3 Distinct Challenges of Living in an Information Rich World with Curt Steinhorst