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Griswald Family Vacations with Teddy: Renewing My Appreciation for Sarah Silverman and Masturbation

May 22, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Blackened Pork Chops Saskatchewan-style

Teddy poising with one of our blackened pork chops Saskatchewan-style!

 

Some of you that were following along on twitter, G+ or facebook last night might have been wondering, “What the FU#%$^@#$@#!???”  Well, you see I was and I am enjoying a long overdue Griswald Family Vacation with Teddy in Saskatchewan, and as is generally the case when Teddy and I travel together, after our blackened chicken (& pork chops) Saskatchewan-style, the conversation moved on to more worldly topics …

“So Sarah Silverman just came out with this rap on masterbation … so yeah, what was my point???”

 

“Ok, I don’t remember my point on the Sarah Silverman masterbation rap video, only that it was a touchy subject.”

Curious, this led to a search for ‘Sarah Silverman mastribation’ on youtube and the inevitable debate, which after a glass or two of wine, we had online as to whether mastribation was spelled ‘mastribate’ or ‘masterbate’. Luckily for us, the act of mastribating has never required a licensing test, as as we discover we were both wrong, it’s MASTURBATE.

So the video …

 

 

… seems we didn’t need to know how to spell masturbate to find that either, only ‘Sarah Silverman Perfect Nights’. Rather apropos for our perfect night!

Filed Under: All the Gossip, For Kicks, Griswald Family Vacations, The Tube, Travel Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Luxuriating in a Staycation at Four Seasons Seattle

April 29, 2013 by 2 Comments

For those of you that know me well, you’ll know that I am not really a staycation type – Brie is, as you can see from her latest adventure on Roamancing, but I’m not.  I am a get out and explore, preferably on foot type. Or at least I was until 2 weekends ago, when I enjoyed the most relaxing girl’s getaway with Jen Pollack Bianco and Erica Hargreave at the Four Seasons Seattle.

 

Walking up to the Four Seasons Seattle

Approaching our luxurious home for the weekend, at the Four Seasons Seattle.

 

Now Seattle has a tonne of interesting things to do and see, but this getaway was a chance for us to catch up and thoroughly unwind, as we’d all had a couple of months high in stress and work, and poor Jen was sporting a walking cast.  So rather than spending the weekend racing all over Seattle, we decided to enjoy the hotel and our time together, aside from a Gourmet Seattle Tour with Savor Seattle, that I will tell you more about either here or on Roamancing, and you can read about on My Life’s a Trip.  The funny part of this was we were not alone, we met a number of other Four Seasons Seattle weekenders in the rooftop hot tub, staycationing for the weekend (most of them from Seattle).  Now I have to say that says a lot about a hotel, when it is where the locals go for a mini-break without even leaving town.

 

Fireside on the Four Seasons Seattle Rooftop

Mingling with locals over beverages, a warm fire, a swim and the hot tub on the Four Seasons Seattle Rooftop.

 

I am no slouch when it comes having experienced some high end hotels around the world, thanks to having often accompanied my Dad (in my early years) and Erica (more recently) on trips where they were speaking.  So while, I have slept in my share of motels, while doing quick jaunts across the country and simply needing a shower and a save place  to crash for the night after 12 + hours of driving, I also know what to expect from a high end hotel. The Four Seasons Seattle did not disappoint, and as I discovered in my trips to the hot tub, travelers become addicts of the Four Seasons, and I can certainly understand why.

 

Fireside in the Four Seasons Seattle lobby.

At home, chatting in comfort, fireside in the Four Seasons Seattle lobby.

 

So what exactly did we enjoy about our staycation at the Four Seasons Seattle?  Oh let me count the ways …

The fact that we got to enjoy the local art and culture of Seattle without leaving the hotel!

 

Four Seasons Seattle features local artists.

Enjoying one of the many pictures by local Northwest artists, featured throughout the hotel.

 

Yes, I know we were just across the road from the Seattle Art Museum, but as I previously mentioned, we were luxuriating in just spending time together, and not rushing off to see things.

 

Seattle Art Museum digital art display.

Jen taking a picture of SAM’s new digital arts display.

 

Erica could nerd out on nature’s art throughout the Four Season’s Seattle, as the natural stone from local mountains in the walls, include beautiful dendrites.

 

dendrites and local art

Notice the dendrites in the beautiful stonework, complimenting the artwork of local artists.

 

Art Restaurant (which we will be writing more about, and you can read a tease on from Jen) delightfully tantalized us with scrumptious and creative taste buds tempters from the Northwest and Seattle’s local foodie scene.

 

ART features the local food and flavours of the Northwest

Loving the local flavours of ART.

 

We were pampered in the lap of tranquility at the Spa with their signature facials. (more to come on this from Erica on Roamancing and read up on Jen’s Spa Experience here)

 

Spa at the Four Seasons Seattle

*sigh* Just feel the tranquility.

 

Enjoyed the welcoming and knowledge staff, who seem to love their jobs, and all had a story to tell that added a personal and memorable touch to our experience and the knowledge they imparted to us.

 

Hostess at the Four Seasons Seattle ART

The lovely hostess at ART!

 

All the extra personal touches, from knowing our names when they greeted us, the biscotti with our morning lattes, the bottle of water at our bedside each night, to delivering drinks to us in plastic tumblers right to the hot tub.

 

Bloody Mary in the Four Seasons Seattle rooftop hot tub

Kicking myself for not getting a better picture of the dreamy gentleman that delivered these bloody marys to us in the hot tub.

 

My bathroom (yes, mine – stay out Erica and Jen) of relaxing bliss!

 

Four Seasons Seattle Bathroom

Love bathrooms with a nice big soaker tub, comfy robes and a walk-in shower.

 

Our rooftop playground, with a heated pool, fire pit and hot tub.

 

Rooftop Pool at Four Seasons Seattle

Lucy Duck enjoying a splash in the rooftop pool at the Four Seasons Seattle.

 

And if we really wanted to stray out to explore Seattle, it was all right there on our doorstep – from Seattle Art Museum, to Pike Place Market (and Beecher’s Handmade Cheese), to the Gourmet Seattle Savor Seattle Tour we took.  Oh and we can’t forget Fran’s Chocolate (although I’m trying to tell my taste buds to, as it is such a wicked temptress).

 

Pike Place Market

Exploring the market at Pike Place.

 

Okay, I think now is the time to bid you adieu, so I can hit the sack, and blissfully dream my way back into my luxuriously comfortable Four Seasons Seattle bed!

 

Goodnights Sleep in a Four Seasons Seattle Bed

Such a luxuriously comfortable sleep!

 

Kisses,

Emme xoxo

PS. In Full Disclosure: As always, the opinions and thoughts shared here are our own and honest ones. We are bought out by no one. In the spirit of disclosure, it should be noted that on this trip, we were guests of the Four Seasons Seattle and our hotel room and spa visit were complimentary.

Filed Under: All the Gossip, Travel, US Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Pub Crawl Hollywood Style in Brie’s Neck of the Woods

March 24, 2013 by 1 Comment

I’d been craving a night out for a long time.  I mean a really good night out that measures up to the true definition of partying.  When we found a pub crawl that was scheduled in Hollywood, close to our neck of the woods for St. Patty’s Day, there was nothing to be considered … I was in!  I pictured the old college days where droves of people would move from pub to pub, laughing and living it up on the streets. We gathered up a couple friends and hit the town primed with excitement and high expectations.

 

All Powered Up and Ready To Go!

All Powered Up and Ready To Go!

 

We checked in at the Pig and Whistle right on Hollywood Blvd, and got outfitted with wrist bands, plastic travel cups, a map and free tickets to the Supper Club.  There were drink specials being offered at each pub, but only for certain hours of the night.  You had to consult the legend to figure out where to go when.  Our first stop was Hooters. Who would have thought they would have been a stop on a pub crawl, and a St. Patty’s pub crawl at that!  I think the walk to Hooters set the tone for the rest of the night!  If you’ve never been to Hollywood, I must explain that you think the Walk of Fame would be glamorous, but it is in fact the most opposite to that! There is a whole culture of ‘super heroes’ who hang out and make a dollar off everyone who wants to take their picture.  These are adults dressed up in really cheap costumes that are often saggy and quite well worn.  With that in mind, it was no oddity that our friend bumped into and apologized to Batman on the way.  It was bizarre though to have Captain America in the restaurant seated right beside us, hanging out with Spiderman, who had his costume half off and hanging by his waist.

 

Captain America dining with an off duty Spiderman

Captain America dining with an off duty Spiderman

 

We realized we were the only pub crawlers in Hooters, so downing our beers, we studied the map to move on.  Little did we know, that was to be our best beer of the night!

 

Pub Crawl Map

Pub Crawl Map

 

At our other stops we had to give the bartender our plastic cups and we were only able to drink Bud Light if we wanted the $2.00 pub crawler special.  One place made us go to the back of a long line of regulars to wait with hopes of even getting let in.  Pub crawlers are not supposed to wait in line! We got the feeling that the pubs were kind of annoyed to have us there, plus picture the embarrassment of drinking out of a little plastic cup while the regular patrons had fancy fun ones. I would also like to add that there wasn’t a single thing Irish about any of the bars we stopped at!  Not even one tune to dance the jig in celebration.  Who knew my small home town back in Canada would be more capable of planning big street parties than Hollywood!

 

You have to admit, this is pretty funny!

You have to admit, this is pretty funny!

 

Did I mention we got tickets to the Supper Club?  We decided it was time to make ourselves feel special and head over to this swanky place.  When we presented out tickets they said “Oh no, these tickets are for the Premier Supper Club … that’s around the corner.”  Well, of course it was. Not the same people … not the same! We did go check it out though, but they told us since it was past 12:30 am our tickets were expired and we’d have to pay to get in.

Added to the oddity of the night, were the new methods of guys trying to get a kiss.  Since there really weren’t the droves of party people on the street decked out in green that I was looking forward to, I would shout “Pub Crawlers!” to any we could identify.  One guy replied to me with a “Woohooo, mouth 5!”  At a separate location, another guy asked my husband if he could have his permission to fish kiss me.  These are the types of things that made this pub crawl let-down one of those best nights ever.  That, and the effect of drinking a ton of cheap beers. When you’re with the right people, anything can be fun. Having the ability to laugh at a bad night allows you to end up with some of the best memories!

I know some people who were definitely not having a good night…

 

True Hollywood glamour-limo take down!

True Hollywood glamour-limo take down!

 

What’s going on in your neck of the woods?  Tell us all about it and share it with the #OurNeckOfTheWoods hashtag.

 

Filed Under: All the Gossip, Brie Mason, Buds, Travel, US Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Ford Escape ~ a Road Tripping Tease

March 22, 2013 by Leave a Comment

I love road tripping!  Last year alone I drove Vancouver to Toronto twice, and to and from Toronto to Memphis.   I love listening to tunes in the car, catching up in person with friends I rarely see as I drive on by, meeting delightful characters (like Ross Neilsen) in the most unexpected of places, and rolling into small communities to discover some great diner, eavesdropping on the conversations of the locals. For this reason, as my latest trip from Vancouver to Toronto approached, I dearly wanted to drive (and was somewhat jealous of a friend that did drive Vancouver to Calgary for their winter holidays).  I’d done the drive in the Autumn and the drive in the Spring, so the idea of the drive in the Winter, very much appealed to me, to hit the road and see the winter beauty of  5 Provinces ahead of me. Alas, I wanted to maximize the time with family and friends in Ontario over the Winter Holidays, and not cause my Mom undue stress to her health, so I flew.  But all the while I kept thinking about my test drive road trip in the 2013 Ford Escape, imaging how ideal it would have been for such a road trip through Canada’s Wintery Wonderland.

 

Carlos, Lucy Duck and our Ford Escape for the Day, the Green Lantern

Carlos, Lucy Duck and our Ford Escape for the Day, the Green Lantern

 

I’ll get into the hilarity and adventurous fun of Jill Amery‘s and my day together on our Ford Escape for a Day Adventure this past Autumn, over on Roamancing, as it really was a wonderful day’s escape in our own backyard.

 

Jill, Lucy and I in our Ford Escape for the Day, The Green Lantern

Jill, Lucy and I in our Ford Escape for the Day, The Green Lantern

 

Below, however, I shall focus on a few of the elements that really made a rather desirable road tripping vehicle for me:

Comfy Driving

A must, if you are driving any sort of distance.

 

If Jill can drive all day in these, you know the Ford Escape has got to be comfortable!

If Jill can drive all day in these, you know the Ford Escape has got to be comfortable!

 

Safe

Well, I think this video says it all …

 

 

… if we could walk out of the vehicle alive, after Jill’s driving there, you know it’s a damn safe drive!

Foot Activated Trunk Entry (Hands-Free Liftgate)

With my level of clumsiness, this is a feature that has been long overdue in my life.  The best part of this, is that it works best if you gracefully sashay your foot under the rear bumper, making you feel like quite the fabulous dame!

Phantom Parking (aka Rear View Camera and Active Park Assist)

… or as Jill liked to call it, Poltergeist Parking. She was much better at this than me, as I kept getting nervous, and rather than focus on my mamba dancing, I’d grab for the wheel.

 

 

A Car That Talks to Me (aka Voice-Activated Navigation & Command Center)

Now, while I admit to not being the best with voice command technologies, I do see the appeal to this, having had to pull over the car to look things up on my phone, answer my phone, and change CDs on a road trip.  Once we get over our differences and become more familiar with each others isms, I am sure Siri and I will become the best of friends.

In-Car Charger for my Tech

Brilliant! Exactly what the road trip aficionado needs. Thank you!

Push Button Start

For when it’s cold out, you can actually start up the car before you get in it, which once again would have made this brilliant as a winter road tripping vehicle.

Sky Light

For soaking up the sun, cloud spotting, and star gazing, when I inevitably crash in the car for the night, along a country road or in a park somewhere.

 

Enjoying soaking in the rays through the sky light!

Enjoying soaking in the rays through the sky light!

 

Environmentally Aware

Highly important to me, as despite loving the road trip, I want to do whatever I can to limit my environmental footprint.  Plus, this vehicle is designed for bringing a few friends along for the ride.

 

One of the Ford Escapes Eco-Features.

One of the Ford Escapes Eco-Features.

 

So all in all? …

 

 

Thanks to Highview Communications and BC Ford Canada for inviting me to join in the fun, adventure that was the day.

PS. In Full Disclosure: As always, the opinions and thoughts shared here are my own and honest ones. I am bought out by no one. In the spirit of disclosure, it should be noted that on this trip, my expenses were paid by Ford Canada, as a guest of Highview Communications.

Filed Under: All the Gossip, Events, For Kicks, The Tube, Travel, Vancouver Events Tagged With: , , , , , ,

One Crazy Drink

November 16, 2012 by Leave a Comment

It’s Friday and my mouth is watering for a good night out this weekend.  As I fell asleep last night, visions of Coronaritas were dancing in my head.  What’s a Coroninarita you ask?  It’s the drink that’s still haunting me from last weekend (but in a good way!).  It’s the drink that’s like a song you can’t get out of your head.  It’s the drink that lets you pretend you’re on vacation, so in a way it’s like a good book that takes your mind away on an adventure.  With the mood it sets, one might envision themselves as a young spring breaker at a beach bar.  It’s the drink they’re serving up just down the street on Ventura Blvd at my local bar, The Spitting Chicken Cantina.

 

TA-DA!

 

Just as the name suggests, it’s the fusion of a Corona and a margarita.  As you drink the margarita, more Corona slowly comes out.  AND….it’s MASSIVE! They give you two straws to suggest sharing it with a friend, much like the infamous couple slurping spaghetti from the same plate.  You do get a little fooled by the appearance and the feeling you get just by looking at it, because I have to admit, the taste is a little weird.  For some reason, your behavior gets a little weird too by the time you reach the bottom…Hmm…  Bring it on!

 

If it’s been a rough week, I suggest maybe getting a double!

Filed Under: All the Gossip, Brie Mason, Buds, For Kicks, Recipes, Travel, US Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,
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