Last week, Tuesday to be exact, caught me off guard. I was pretty amped right out of the gate, Monday was a loss, no school you get the picture. That means I get to do all of Mondays work along with whatever Tuesday throws at me. I feared I wouldn’t have the stamina. I took my normal route, as I approached the intersection I saw a man standing at the edge of the curb leaning towards the street. He was dirty, his hair was long, grey and curly. I thought to myself he looked like dirty Santa. As I got closer I slowed, he had a blank look to his eyes. He was a million miles away. I rounded the corner without taking my eyes of him. I adjusted my rearview mirror he remained motionless. Turn around Lindsey, turn AROUND! … you just bought a lunch, give it to him infact give him anything you have. I cranked an illegal uey and then I made another at the light and pulled up next to him, he approached the car as I rolled the window, I have him my bag with my lunch and bottle of water and the last $15 bucks I had. ‘Here I want you to have my lunch and there’s a small amount of cash, I wish I had more.’ He whispered thank you and took the lunch.  I pulled away quickly, I don’t even know why the rush. I felt the tickle in my nose, my throat ached. Oh here it comes. I buried my head in my mands and thought why do people have to suffer. Why are there people who have no one to love. I want to be everyone’s friend. I really do. I left my sunglasses on for a good 15 minutes while I unpacked my things. I hope that man feels like someone in this world cared for him if just for today. I looked at my breakfast, I could have given him that too I thought to myself as I sunk further into my chair.

Shake it off. Meeting time which ended with an unscheduled trip to Vegas the next day to attend MAGIC (retail apparel industry convention).

Home and it’s game on, feed kids, answer emails, find clean clothes, dust off suitcase, charge back up phone battery, finish Week 7, set alarm for 5 am. No snooze button I tell myself. No snooze.

I wake up at 4:59 naturally. How does that happen?

I roll through Starbucks and then on to John Wayne. I love the fact I live within minutes of a major airport. The word grateful comes to mind.

 Headed west just after take off. Everything was covered in a soft blanket of batted cotton. I love companies who tweet back.

We hit the ground running from airport to Mandalay to show floors. We started with the tents at Project, beautiful designer menswear. In a former life I worked for Giorgio Armani and as a daughter of a woman who was no stranger to a thread and needle, I have a deep appreciation for well made clothing. I love to turnout a jacket sleeve to find that every edge has been finished. Its a thing of beauty.

Norman Russell. Loved this brand, booth including the idea that they cut a limited number of selvedge denim and then that’s it. This is the “Cookie” I’m pretty sure there was an anecdotal story behind the name but I forget.

I admit, I have a soft spot for this brand, as a mother of a kid who at 16 has already hit the 6’3″ mark. Willis & Walker make good looking clothes for men, very tall men.  7 foot, Kevin Willis began to design his own clothes after retiring from the NBA. His choice of fabrics and attention to detail show his unmistakable passion for menswear.

ENKVEGAS section was womenswear featuring some very cool vendors, it was fun to poke around and check out what’s coming down the pipeline for fall.

After 8 hours of working I believe I have earned myself a big steak. We dined at Michael Mina’s STRIPSTEAK.

 

Only in Vegas will you find Vueve Cliquot (or Hello Kitty Champagne) in the sundries store.

Gazing at the busy morning commuters at McCarran I immediately recognize the Area 51 planes with their nondescript red stripe planes, also known at JANET (just another existent terminal). Seems the business of UFO research is still alive and well in the middle of nowhere.

Headed to POOL, this is where the cool kids hang out. Its a curated group of art and design driven brands and along the walls there are cash and carry booths hellooooo shopping!

I hung around the Polaroid by Art + Commerce Apparel booth for entirely way too long but you can see why. I promise you will hear more from me about them as I stalk the new Spring line. You can find/buy Polaroid shirts @ Polaroid.com.

 Lots of repurposed, Made in USA brands like Proof Eyewear, I love their wood wayfarers.

 You probably already know Oh Hello Friend, or you have seen something adorable pinned, chances are it was one of their products. I know them from ALT and Anthropologie aaaand the are local folks! I live close to their shop but I see they are opening an online shop very soon.

Could have watched these live installations all day long. Discovered Bird of Virtue’s laser cut wood jewelry and bought an amethyst ring that fit like a glove.

I can see we are on the Shamu plane. Oh universe the irony is not lost on me. I board and my heart sinks, I can see nose to tail images along the overhead compartment of orcas performing tricks. I am again reminded I need to finish my Blackfish post.

Time to grab that 55 minute flight home.

Make that 65 minutes. We ditched our landing, here we are nose up not down as it was seconds before. Guess there was traffic on the runway that was too close for his comfort, according to our pilot. I appreciated his conservative approach, pun intended, and thoroughly enjoyed the unplanned tour along the CA coast while we got back in line to land.

and a few hours later here I am back in reality.

Want to know how I fit in time to blog? I get up before the sun does. Its the best time in the world, its quiet and I can write forever.

I decided today is the day I start back with my yoga practice. I injured my back in this very same room last December.

Rewarding myself with food, its a weekend thing. Those my friends are zucchini fries on the right from A’s Burgers. I have been eating them since high school!

Got to see my niece Lily work out with her PT angel, Gina. The next photo which I need to get a copy of is of me giving Lil a big hug. It was amazing to feel Lily’s body melt into that hug. I miss those hugs. Even before the accident Lily was a big hugger, that was just how she greeted people wether she knew them or not. Reminds me of a story I just read from Oprah magazine about Amma the hug guru. My sister worked hard to get a great update together for Lily’s website, you can read it here.

We end the week on a warm day and Ava’s first horseback riding experience. Absolutely no hesitation or fear. She just totally gets it. I on the other hand have a healthy respect for such powerful animals.

10 articles//sites I bookmarked this week:

1. The Email Game – have you played this productivity game?
2.  19-ways-to-boost-productivity
3. Stitcher.com (discover podcasts)
4. upgraded (aka bulletproof) coffee (I ordered)
5.  foodmatters.com
6. forks over knives (I still need to rent)
7. Colorlovers
8. iStock ‘Free The Creatives’, a study
9. A Really Scary Headline About Kindergartners
10. GOOP’s Pinterest boards

Week 9 I don’t think you can live up to that amount of excitement. What a week.