Filed under: Alexa von Tobel, Arkansas, Bhutan, blues, cheese dip, Delta Blues, friends, GrossNationalHappiness, happiness, Huey, Learn Vest, Little Rock, Muddy Waters, Pinetop Perkins, Sonny Boy Williamson, The South, things I see, travel, weather, work | Tags: Alexa von Tobel, Arkansas, Bhutan, blues, cheese dip, friends, GrossNationalHappiness, happiness, Huey, Learn Vest, Little Rock, Pittman, the South, things I see, travel, USA, weather, work
Alexa von Tobel is at it again. This time, she is helping us determine whether wealth is tantamount to happiness. What do we learn from her today? In short,
1. Money doesn’t necessarily make you happy. Duh.
2. The wealth gap in our country is extraordinary: the top 20% of the country earns 8 times as much as the bottom 20%.
3. There exists something called the Gross National Happiness (GNH) Index. By god, I think the Bhutanese are on to something by quantifying happiness as a kind of national commodity. Happy people are more productive, right?
Alright, kids, what are you going to do today to improve the GNH of your country, state, city, home? I might just schedule a field trip to Bhutan, Denmark, or Norway to learn from a happy example, you know? Let me know if you want to sign up! In the meantime, I am going to listen to some blues music (which I think is downright inspirational) and pick up a copy of The Geography of Bliss.
Have a beautiful day even if the sun isn’t shining above you!
Filed under: Alexa von Tobel, boot camps, checked bag fees, daily emails, emulsion, JLLR, Junior League, Learn Vest, liquid, NYJL, packing, peanut butter, rude men, solid, things I see, travel, TSA
I’ve come to love a website called LearnVest. When the company’s founder and CEO, Alexa von Tobel, visited my Junior League Financial Literacy meeting, I was hooked. Practical tools for working women who want to be debt free and more financially savvy? Sign me up!! I now am a devotee and an outright evangelist for Miss von Tobel’s wonderfully comprehensive website, designed to make women, well, better. I wait impatiently for her beautifully laid out, information-packed, daily emails (which take roughly 6 minutes to peruse if you’re really putting on your thinking cap) to populate my gmail inbox. Hey, you need a smart mid-morning read to go with that Lara bar, right?
I found today’s Learn Vest article on smart packing especially helpful. I am a frequent traveller. From the time I was tiny, riding around Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, and beyond, sitting in the back seat learning to read and playing the license plate game, to now, as I still travel (mostly fly) on at least a bi-monthly basis, trying to scare up resources for the non-profits I love to serve, I’ve been in planes, trains, and automobiles more than you can shake a stick at. This LV piece helps us avoid checked bag fees and offers some tips for fitting all of those “necessary” items in your teeeny bag.
Importantly, remember the TSA. They hate your peanut butter, so don’t even try to explain to them why it is a solid, possibly an emulsion if you want to get down to brass tacks. A kindly (and some may argue elderly) TSA agent told me about a year ago that my very special, unopened jar of Peanut Butter and Co. peanut butter was a liquid, or a gel, or possibly an aerosol, but certainly not a solid. I offered the scientific definition of a solid in rebuttal. The agent replied, “Ma’am, the TSA don’t much care about science. That peanut butter is going in the trash.” Duly noted, counselor.
As my dear friend and mentour, Dr. Antonio Lombeida, who once spent an entire weekend in Chicago armed only with the clothes on his back and what he had packed in a vintage, leather, doctor’s bag urges, “dress sharp, pack light.” Heed this advice, ladies; and, leave the peanut butter at home…after you read up on Learn Vest.
Filed under: Arkansas, birthday, brass band, Dr. Pepper, friends, Huey, Jetta, Little Rock, Mason-Dixon Line, NOLA, parks, Second Line, The South, weather, wedding, work
There has been lots of change in my life in the last month to say the least. I have moved to Le Petite Roche, gotten hitched, seen an amazing country on my honeymoon (what up Belize!!), and started a new job. I had a birthday somewhere in there too, but I barely remember it. My head is nearly spinning but not literally.
In case you don’t know about the Clinton Foundation, my new employer, and all of the amazing things the foundation accomplishes each year, you should check it out! Please come visit the Clinton Presidential Center when you are in Little Rock, too. I can’t believe I get to work here every day! As you all know, I’m not a Cardinals fan, but WJC is. Our temporary exhibit on the Cardinals is great, and I’m looking forward to what we have coming up in the summer and fall!
In short, I’m delighted with my new life. P and I are loving our new (to us) Hillcrest home, getting to celebrate friends’ birthdays, cheering for the Travs, and randomly bumping into good people we know at the grocery and everywhere else. Now, just to find a car for me! Any recommendations? See y’all soon!
xo,
BAW
Filed under: Babs Evangelista, bagpipes, bagpipes, best bridesmaids ever, brass band, Eiffel Societie, Episcopal, Hot 8, Marta Vincent, NOLA, Second Line, things I see, Trinity New Orleans, wedding
Hey everyone,
So, it looks like Pitt and I have survived our first 2 weeks of marriage. YAY! We wanted to share our wedding photos with you. Check em out, cherish them, order them, love them.
Love us!
Filed under: alcohol, Babs Evangelista, bagpipes, best bridesmaids ever, brass band, Brooklyn, Brooklyn Bridge, DUMBO, Eiffel Societie, Episcopal, friends, Hot 8, levee, Marta Vincent, NOLA, parades, parks, Second Line, subway, The South, things I see, Trinity New Orleans, wedding
So, I admittedly have the best photographer in the world, Babs Evangelista. So, she makes everything look magical. So magical in fact, that we asked (and she happily accepted) that she reimagine our wedding website. Here are 5 leeeetle reasons you should check it out:
1. Aforementioned fantastic photographer with an incredible instinct for great photo shoot locations.
2. You’ll get great restaurant and entertainment tips about New Orleans.
3. I write really compelling bios about my bridesmaids.
4. What else are you really doing at midnight on a Tuesday (or Wednesday, Thursday, etc…)
5. My wedding has bagpipes AND a brass band (Hot 8!!!). What?!
I hope you like what we’ve put together! See you on 21 April!!
xobao
Filed under: things I see
Say what you will about my lack of stress management and possible “overdoing” small details, but, at the end of the day, I did not fake any disease to fund my wedding.
Filed under: dance, Eiffel Societie, Episcopal, friends, NOLA, parades, Sazerac, Second Line, The South, things I see, Trinity New Orleans, wedding, words
Hey y’all,
This wedding deal is creeping up! To get you all prepared for the trip from the church to the reception, here’s an instructional video on how to Second Line. I like to think you’ll pick up on it quickly if you don’t know how to already.
Love you all! Can’t wait to see you in a week and 1/2!!
Study up, everyone!
xobao
