One of Seattle's favorite summer weekends just passed. The Bite of Seattle which happens every July is a showcase of delicious Seattle cuisine. I try to go every year and try something new! It's a fun atmosphere with music, local vendors, amazing food, and beautiful summer weather (usually) at Seattle Center. This year was different for me because I noticed all of the different social media opportunities restaurants and companies took advantage of during this event. I was excited when I saw that eSurance had a Twitter photo contest using hashtag #tweetwhatyoueat! The most exciting part was that I WON!!!
Every booth had a sign promoting the contest along with the food vendor's twitter handle. What a great way to promote local restaurants and start following them for food specials and updates!
Other than eSurance's contest, I loved the Groupon and PhotobombNW booth! You get a free photo and a chance to share what your favorite local spot is. It can be a restaurant, park, etc. just anything local that "you heart beats for." If you Instagram your photo and hashtag #lovelocal, you will be entered to win $200 from American Express.
I really enjoyed the way the Bite used different social media channels to share what was happening at the Bite this year. Other than food, I also loved watching Dock Dogs! It's a distance jumping contest for dogs! Dogs willingly jump from a dock to fetch their toy in the water. It was so impressive and cute to watch the dogs!
I hope all you Seattleites were able explore the Bite this year. It was a great day to enjoy our amazing summer weather with good eats. If you missed it, be sure to mark your calendars for next year!
It was a blast dancing and marching with the UBER Seattle crew during the Pride Parade on Sunday! (UBER is "Everyone's Private Driver" and you can find a ride any time and anywhere by downloading the app on iPhone or Android device. Find out more details here!) The scorching sun didn't stop this parade veteran! I was super energized and excited to lead the pack (which included 3 UBER vehicles) the whole way down from 4th & Seneca to Seattle Center where confetti, drinks, and cookies awaited. I met a bunch of cool people and we rocked it! We danced, blew bubbles, handed out beads and candy, jumped, ran, and shouted RIDE WITH PRIDE and anything else UBER. I waved my sign like crazy so the crowd could cheer and recognize UBER and take advantage of the Pride special it was offering for first time Uber users.
Bring it on!
How did I get a chance to join the party?! Simply tweeted and volunteered via email! I also received a free UBER tank which are quite a hit I must say. I was getting tons of compliments while walking around the Seattle Center Pride Fest searching for a post-parade meal.
Pumped that we got to do this together!
Bird's eye POV. See that black hair in the front? That's me!
If you haven't tried UBER then do it! It will save you time and a parking headache!
Thank you UBER Seattle for having me! My sore calves and I will never forget.
As a finance rep in the wireless industry, you get to be the first to see all the new goodies the store gets to sell! This ultra-thin tempered glass screen protector by BodyGuardz is hands-down the best screen protector I've ever used. If you're the type that doesn't care for anti-glare/anti-fingerprint screen protectors because you want to use your phone as mirror (is that just me or is at least one other person out there uses their phone for that too?) then this is the one. Okay that might not be the sole reason for this screen protector but if you're looking for something that protects and actually feels like your screen as if you don't have a screen protector on then this is the one!
I've tried $30 Zagg Invisishields plenty of times in the past and they did not work for me because they'd always bubble or peel at the edges because of my case or hot weather. The cheap $10-15 film-like screen protectors that come with 2-3 a pack did the job for me except that they scratched easily. What's a girl to do? Go screen protectorless?! I think not.
Thank you BodyGuardz for creating something different. Like I said earlier, it doesn't even feel like I have a screen protector on my phone, it just feels like the screen! If there is one thing I didn't like about it, it's the round-raised sticker used for the home button. It's provided so you can access the home button easier since the screen protector adds extra depth. I put mine on wrong, so the square in the middle of the circle home button is now a diamond.
This is my second time going white river rafting in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. The first time was with my bests on the Tieton River when the first LivingSocial deal was offered for it and of course my adventurous side got super excited and immediately texted them "we have to do this!" I am so glad that LivingSocial and Groupon continue to offer deals for activities like this because it's so much fun! And this time I was able to buy it for mine and my boyfriend's one year anniversary! We both love doing outdoor activities and this was PERFECT, especially
with the beautiful weather we've been getting early this year!
The deal I bought was through Orion and our leader Xander was awesome! It's a great group and they provide transportation the river, paddles, the raft, water boots, and a wetsuit. They just recommend wearing non-cotton clothing and extra clothes for afterwards. You travel with 3-4 rafts with 4-6 people each and go along the Wenatchee River, play games and survive the rapids. Your leader will shout out commands to help make sure you stay afloat!
I sat in the front of the raft! It was SO MUCH FUN! I'd highly recommend sitting in the front for a great white river rafting experience. You get to lead and get the most wet! It's such a rush.
Alright, well I'm going to be a little ghetto and post a screen shot of one of our photos from the photographers site (riverbooty.com) because I haven't received the hard copy yet.
April 6-20 I'll be backpacking through Thailand with Aleks (my boyfriend), Paul, and Nate! Words cannot even express how anxious and excited I am to explore! I've only been to the Philippines in that part of the world so I'm very interested to see how it compares. We booked our tickets at the end of November last year and I can't believe that the day is finally here! I am so proud that I was able to fit all of my things in my cool new Osprey backpack from REI. I'm notorious for over packing and at first I was like: are you kidding me?Two weeks in Thailand with only THIS much space?! *gulp. Alright, DONE!
Peace out America because we're going to Thailand! First stop Seoul, Korea for our layover! [insert airplane emoji here]
I am a quarter of a century old as of November 7! Thank you to all my family and friends who celebrated and/or greeted me a happy birthday!
Now that I am a year wiser I plan to be smarter about money saving, filter my apartment and stop being a hoarder, and really push to pursue my dreams/career.
I am learning more about myself and the world as I get older. I value every experience and interaction and try to take something away that I know will help me grow.
Six years ago on this day I celebrated the big 1-8! My parents asked if I wanted a new car or a Debut as my present and of course I picked the Debut! I only turn 18 once and I know I'm going to get a car eventually! (By the way, a Debut is a Filipino coming-of-age celebration. It's like the Latin American tradition of a Quineanera.)
Planning for my grand celebration was like planning a wedding- seriously, my 18th birthday was actually on November 7 but my dad was in Kuwait so we pushed it to March so he could be part of it and so we can have more time to plan!
Here is the break down of the main parts of what a Debut entails:
-Choosing an Escort (he would be the one presenting me to society)
-Selecting my entourage: 9 guys and 9 girls to be in my court and do the special cotillion dance which is a waltz (and making sure they can come to practice every Wed. for about 3 months, good times)
-Picking another 18 guys to be part of the 18 Roses dance (each guy presents a rose and slow dances with me for a minute)
-Picking another 18 girls to represent my 18 Candles (each girl had to give a speech to me about our relationship, memories, wishes, etc.)
And the rest is pretty much like a wedding with finding a dress, dress maker for the dress I designed for my the ladies in my court, venue, decorations, flowers, give aways, programs, invitations, choreographer, tux place, cake, DJ, slideshow, entertainment, food, hair/make-up stylists, videographer, etc.
The night went something like this:
Introduction dance of the Debutant, escort, and court
Prayer & food- performance, slide show while eating
Father Speech and Father/Daughter Dance (I started crying when I danced with my dad!)
The Cotillion waltz to "Only Hope" - Mandy Moore from A Walk to Remember
Speeches from my court
Dancing
Candle speeches, dances with my Roses
Cutting of the cake
My thank you speech
Crimson Haze step/dance performance (our high school dance team that I was a part of)
All in all, the point of this post was to share my grand cotillion waltz!
FOR YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE:
Such a magical and amazing night. One of the best nights of my life! I am so blessed for the family and friends I have in my life. They are all wonderful and have impacted me in some way. I will never forget and will always be thankful that they shared this special night with me!
My mom, sister, and I are going to the Philippines tomorrow for about 3 weeks! I am so excited! This is going to be my third trip to the motherland. The main reason why we are going is because of my cousin Allen's grand wedding! (check out their awesome site: http://www.allenaileenluna.com) I'm a bridesmaid, my sister is a junior bridesmaid, and my mom is sponsor! I can't wait to see how the wedding is going to turn out and to meet his fiance Lhayne (pronounced like the word "line"). I know that she has been planning this wedding for so long and I've heard rumors that there are going to be fireworks! So we'll see!
I am also really looking forward to going to Boracay! I heard it's been voted as one of the best beaches of the world! We weren't able to go during our last visit because there was a storm so hopefully we'll make it this time. *cross fingers*
It's going to be a fun-filled three weeks and I can't wait to spend time and bond with my mom's side of the family. I better practice speaking Tagalog! I hope it'll feel more like summer when I get back too. I better make sure I've packed everything and met the baggage weight requirements! See you later Washington!
I love recording random videos on my iPhone and I was excited when I discovered the Super8 video app! The app is free for a limited time and promotes Paramount Picture's film "Super 8" which premiers on June 10. The app has some awesome video features and can't wait to use them!
The iPhone App Store description says, "Using Super8 you can make your own vintage movies and add lens, filter and shake effects, arrange clips and scenes the way you want them; you can even add your own credits."
Here is a quick video I did at Pike Place Market a week and a half ago to test out the app!
Got any movie ideas? Let's make a video together! :)
This past weekend was too much fun! I booked my stay at the Inn at the Market (@innatthemarket) for the weekend of April 16 not realizing it was also 4/4^2/2011 aka Foursquare Day (@4sqDay/@4sqSea)! How perfect was that?! Because of course I was planning to attend Seattle's 4sqDay celebration at Gordon Biersch! Meant to be! I arrived at the IATM around 12:30 pm and the gentleman who took my car was super friendly and the ladies at the front desk were so warm and welcoming! I also showed them my check-in and received a gift! 4sqDay was already off to a great start, plus I unlocked my 4sq 2011 badge for that check-in too! They handed me the keys and I was off to room 711. I opened the door, walked in, and was blown away! Did I really win a complimentary one night stay here?! The room was both cozy and spacious. While checking out the view, I felt like I was in another city seeing 1st Ave through one window and Elliot Bay through another. The city was alive during this partly sunny day and I loved the energy! After taking pictures of the room and putting away my bags, I headed over to Pacific Place to meet up with Jen (@JenerationY) for 4sqDay!
4sqDay Seattle was packed with Foursquare users! I didn't even get a shirt! I was so sad because I really wanted one and was hoping to win one during the raffle. It was nice to chop it up with some peeps and tweeps but Jen and I left the event early and we gave our raffle ticket to our awesome friend Akvile (@hyph_en). About half an hour later, she tweets us asking who had ticket #64 and it was me! Whoo-hoo! I won a gift certificate to Blue Star Cafe & Pub! It's definitely always exciting to win! #allidoiswin
After going around to a few places downtown and with Jen ousting our friend Andy as the Nordstrom Rack mayor, we decided that it was pretty much mandatory to celebrate 4sqDay to the fullest! So we decided to play tourists in our own city and go to some Seattle hot spots! It was totally appropriate for the weekend too because we were staying at the Inn that night which is kind of funny because Jen lives literally two blocks away, haha! And so we went around, asked around, and had so much fun venturing through the Emerald City! Here are some pics!
Rachel the Pig!
Unlocked the "excELLENt fan" badge here! #4sqday
Can you believe I haven't seen that movie yet?!
We did not know there was a carousel at Miners Landing!
This is probably the only time we'd ride it haha!
Feeling curious about our futures at the Ye Old Curiosity Shop!
Infamous Gum Wall
Catching the monorail to Seattle Center!
Nothing was going to stop us from touching the center!
Jumping picture fail but we kind of look like ballerinas lol
Happy 50th Birthday Space Needle!
Didn't know it was that young and I've never been on top of the Space Needle!
Pacific Science Center Arches
Had to take advantage of any picture opp!
Got back to my room and it was set up for bedtime!
The night was still young though, Pintxo's for dinner!
Sunny Sunday! Wish I could've stayed longer.
After a fun weekend of living it up in downtown Seattle as tourists, I must say that it really did feel like we were just visiting! Seattle had lovely spring weather and Pike Place was very lively that Sunday morning! After checking out of the Inn, we went to breakfast at Local 360 in Belltown then went to Zumba at Twice Balanced in the U District and then stopped by Ballard's Sunday Farmers Market. What a feeling good, feeling great kind of weekend! We love you Seattle and we would definitely want to come back again! ;)
Last night I went to Spring Fling Seattle at the Broadway Grill and had a great time! My room is still a mess from cleaning out my closet and sorting through clothes to figure out what I wanted to donate to Seattle Goodwill. It was fun seeing and meeting fellow tweeps of Seattle, and learning about Urbandipity, Wishpot, and Viva La Vida! The venue was cute and the food was delicious and free! I also tried an Effen Cherry Cosmo made with Effen Vodka and it was very tasty as well!
Highlight of the night was #winning! I brought my friend Sherrina to the event and it was her first tweet-up and she and I both won raffle prizes! Hayyy! She won a bottle of Bluewater Organic Vodka, who knew that an organic vodka existed?! I won a complimentary one night stay with one guest at the Inn at the Market and $50 to Pintxo in Belltown! I am stoked about my winnings and need to plan on who to bring and when because it's only valid for the month of April. This is the second time I've won something at a tweet-up, whoo hoo! Jen and I have been to so many and somehow get lucky. *knock knock* I'm glad Sherrina enjoyed her first tweet-up, I need to rally up some more tweeps and bring them to fun events like this one! Thanks to all the sponsors who put this event together!
Charity: Seattle Goodwill! I am definitely going to clean out my closet tomorrow so I can give back. I usually have a hard time with this because there's always the "you never know, I might wear this again" thought lurking in my head! But then I remember that the last time I wore this shirt was 3 years ago and I'm sure someone else out there would love it!
It's going to be a fun night! I'm also bringing my friend Sherrina (@SherrinaMS) to her first tweet up! Can't wait to welcome spring and meet some awesome tweeps! :)
Today Jen (@JenerationY) and I finally went to our first Zumba fitness class at Twice Balanced after purchasing a deal on Living Social back in September! It was SO much fun and just what I needed (especially after the Husky lost). I didn't know what to expect for Zumba but I loved it and it made me miss my dancing and stepping days! Our teacher Christy has such positive energy and a colorful spirit about her! You can tell she loves what she does and she makes class so much fun and makes everyone feel comfortable while whippin' out those dance moves! The music lifts you and your body just easily moves to the beat while getting a good workout. You just move to feel-good music and everyone is into it. All you see are smiles everyone's face even while breakin' a sweat! We are excited to go again next Sunday! Try it!
We played Arizona for the Pac-10 Tourney Championship on Saturday and won 77-75! One of the most intense games I've watched! I wish I could've been at the Staples Center. Please believe my heart was racing and beating so hard, I was jumping and screaming like no other! Just watch this clip and you will know why! I get goosebumps every time I watch it, what a sweet victory. Congrats to Isaiah Thomas and the Husky basketball team! Raise the Roof!
Today I went to my fourth Sassy Fit methods class* (formally known as boot camp). I've also attended one boolates** session and each class has left me sore, but the good kind of sore of course! Burns so good! I'm always introduced to a different kind of exercise especially when using the bands and I take notes so I can do them at home! It's a fun work-out environment: the music is great (at the beginning she played "Who's that Chick"), the instructors are
I decided to start Fit February for myself because I felt that in the last two or three months I wasn't doing a good job with eating healthy and staying fit. Around the same time last year, I was the same way so this year I decided to give it a name! A few friends have decided to join me for Fit February and make healthier choices. Yay!
Today the sun graced its presence upon the Emerald City and no other city or state appreciates the sun more than us Washingtonians! But please believe, when Seattle shines, it shines and we soak it up! Finally, I decided that I'd get my lazy butt up and run to my favorite running destination Gasworks Park. I would say the run is about
The last thing I need is another social networking site to check-in to! My friends already call me out for always being on my phone and being a Twitter, Foursquare & Instagram (find me: herromelissa) freak! What can I say? I love it! It's fun! And here I go signing up for GetGlue! I just started to explore and understand it and I say it's pretty cool. You earn stickers and you can even get them mailed to you for free! Oh wait, what is GetGlue? You basically check-in to movies, books, music, celebrities, video games, etc. that you're into and comment on it. You can also "like" them and write reviews.
There you go, that's what it is. I know I can just tweet or do a Facebook status update about what I'm watching or listening to but I guess when you're a social media maniac, it's cool when there's another site who will share those things for you with just a couple of clicks and post them to your Facebook or Twitter for you (and c'mon, you get stickers!). When you first sign up, it asks you to pick movies that you like and when you do, that's when the site really starts to get to know you and your future recommendations build off of that, it's a little intro course about how to use GetGlue. Just try and see for yourself! As for me, it's just another distraction, another feed to check on my iPhone while I'm at the bus stop or in line at the grocery store. Get on it! The more, the merrier. :)
It's been a week and a day since the awesome Seahawks vs Saints playoff game and I was invited by Jess to a #girlsNfootball party at Buckley's in Belltown to watch the game against the Chicago Bears. It was jam packed in there but luckily, we had the Green Room reserved for us. It was a pleasure meeting some fabulous women but it was a sad game for the Seahawks. We lost 24-35, only scoring in the 2nd half. Disappointing day for Seattle but still proud that we made it this far, GO SEAHAWKS! One of the attendees made these super cute swag bags for us!
I just bought tickets to attend Social Media Club Seattle's 2nd Anniversary Party sponsored by Banyan Branch in support of Jolkona! Check out the event and the cool prizes! $5 raffle tickets for a great cause. I'm excited to meet some social media pros/awesome tweeps! See you there! #SMCSeattle
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