Bay to Breakers

Sometimes I feel like I am a part-time San Francisco resident. With a short flight and staying with my sister, Cristina, I feel like I've grown to love the city by the sea. This last trip was to conquer another fear of mine....running long distances. I know a 10K is no marathon but to me, it might as well be.

Bay to Breakers was originally started to lift spirits after the San Francisco earthquake and has been a tradition ever since. Cristina, Barb, Andrew and I ran this past weekend and in Bay to Breakers style dressed up in costume. The three girls were the three blind mice and Andrew, for arguments sake, was the cheese.

Tour Guide baba ready to tackle San Francisco

Trolley ride was the calm before the storm

Blind mice struggling to find the camera

We found a nudie, it is Bay to Breakers after all

The rest of the weekend was filled with brunches that turned to lunches, cannolies in the park, and some inspirational sister talks. Very glad that we were able to cross off another adventure on the to-do list.

Adventure is always out there!

Jax

Dubai. Camels. Catamaran.

This past week has been so full of adventures I feel like it should almost be split into two. But I'll do my best to sum it up nicely.

My 26th birthday was amazing. I got to spend it traveling and exploring somewhere new! Dubai was an amazing adventure. Like any first trip to a new city, I always like to do the touristy things first then do the more local things. In no particular order we saw the Burj Khafia, Burj Al Arab, traditional souk, indoor ski resort, and probably the nicest shopping mall on the planet. Thank goodness Laurie is blessed with a sense of direction because she got us all over the city with very few detours :)

The Burj Khafia is currently the tallest building in the world. 

Since drinking is only really allowed in hotels, we found the Jumeriah Beach Hotel for happy hour and sunset with the amazing view of the Burj al Arab. 

The next day we went on a Desert Safari. The adventure started out with sand duning, but it wasn't your average cruise along a beach it was 45 degree angle sliding down the biggest sand dunes I've ever seen!! 

After the camels we got to enjoy a traditional dinner buffet and try the shesha. 

Once we survived that (luckily) we stopped at a camel farm where we could pet and ride the camels.  The camels were quite amazing animals to see up close, each one had a comical look to them and moved almost cartoonish with their knobby knees. 

The desert always holds a little place in my heart since when I was little I always remember sitting out on the sand at night looking up at the stars. So when they turned off all the lights and we just sat there in the the middle of the Arabian desert looking at the stars, I felt connected to the past.

Next adventure was one of my favorite. We took a catamaran from the Emirate Palace around the bay to an island that appears depending on the tide. It was absolutely breath taking. I will share photos but  I just don't think they could possibly capture how beautiful it was.

All in all this was a beautiful week. I enjoyed it very much and it will probably go down in the books as one of the best yet! Cheers to the next 26 years!!

XO,

Jax

rehearsals are FINISHED!

Every time I sign on to do a new synchro job I always feel like I am in pretty good shape, then I get in the pool for the first time and I absolutely DIE, then after a lot of work feel much better.

For the Yas Water World show with Aquabatix it's a tank show, which basically means that not only do you hold your breath for quite sometime you also have to keep yourself about 5 meters underwater. I quickly found out that my ability to float easily (which is handy for regular synchro) made this routine that much harder.

But once I got a hang of it by working with my awesome coach, Jaz, and duet partner,  Laurie, I felt much more comfortable and was able to perform a little bit more than the basic survival mode from the first couple of days.

I did my first few performances in costume with an audience and they each went well.  I was really happy to have the rest of the cast and backstage crew rooting me on and making me smile when I started looking a bit nervous.

Laurie, Anya, Beth, and me 

I'm excited now that rehearsals are done and I can say every last piece of energy for each show!!

XO,

Jax

Color Run Abu Dhabi!

After a long week of rehearsals today we got to experience not only the Color Run, but the Color Run in Abu Dhabi. Bucket list items being checked off like crazy. I was able to score a last minute spot in the race, and I'm so glad I did because it was a blast! Now that I know the routines a bit more and feel more comfortable, I'm able to relax a bit, which apparently in my book is running a 5K and having people chuck colored powder at your face :)

XO,

Jax

Abu Dhabi and the Sea Sprites

I realize it's been quite sometime since the last post on LivelyJax, it's been quite a crazy time for both of us. I've recently accepted an adventure in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emerates, and wanted to document this wild 6 week ride as much as I can.

I took a 16 hour direct flight from LAX to Dubai airport, which sounds like a long flight but compared to the other options it was as easy as a magic carpet ride. I may be exaggerating a bit because my knees, shoulders, and everything else was crammed into a very small space.

I made it safely from Dubai to our apartment in Abu Dhabi about two hours away where I'm living with Laurie, who is a fellow synchronized swimmer world traveler. I somehow managed to get across the world without any traveling hiccups, which is always a blessing.

Driving by the Dubai Skyline

On my first real day, Laurie and I woke up pretty early and sorted out paperwork with Yas Waterworld Park where our show is preformed.

Later on in the day we explored the Emirates Palace. We took a short tour of my (cough cough) future home, I decided that I would fit in the the royal lifestyle very well after passing a few Bentleys and Ferraris in the parking lot and stairwells for days.

I forgot to mention the very convenient Gold ATM. Yep my new palace has Gold-to-Go.

loving the architecture Etihad Towers 

XO,

Jax

diy: gold (or any color, really) 'dipped' champagne flutes

I was searching for an engagement gift for a very special couple and after lots of thought I decided handmade was the way to go!

My husband and I had received a very special set of champagne flutes as a gift for our engagement and after using them to toast many wedding planning accomplishments, our actual wedding night, one year anniversary and even just "cheers-ing" to make a regular old night special, I realized just how meaningful that gift has become to us. I set out to pass on the same sentiment by spicing up a pair of champagne flutes for our newly engaged friends!

I found the tutorial for these here by Erica of HonestlyWTF. Amazing blog...definitely check it out :) 

Here are some pictures of my DIY experience... 

Cheers darlings!

Hannah

weekend things

Happy Friday, everyone! Here are some things to keep you occupied this happy fall weekend...

Wear this or this!

Embrace a little DIY with this...(we tried another blogger's version, post coming soon!)

Make this indulgent treat

Read this (because who doesn't love the Olsen twins?!)

 If you haven't already, check this out because it's almost here!!!

And raise a glass of bubbly to celebrate this fairly new (4th annual this year), but obviously needed "holiday"!

Cheers, darlings!

Hannah