Adventure: the Great-Life-with-Laughter Table

Well, last November I bought a dream kitchen table.  You know the picnic table style: stained and recycled wood, pull out benches, seats 6-8 people…big, wide, wooden beautiful.

I saw the table at the Melrose Trading Post, a must-go for all of you LA residents!  I ran my hand across the top and for a moment, I daydreamed of friends filling the table, wine glasses full, delicious food and laughter, so much laughter just pouring out of my open apartment windows.   I was in an apron and at the oven… *record scratch*… I am not a cook, much less own an apron!  Sigh, oh yes!  I have a boyfriend that is absolute magic in the kitchen – daydream record back on.  So, Chris by the oven and there I am, refilling wine glasses. chiming in on conversation and hosting.  It was a radical visual.

So yes, I might have broken the monthly budget with awful timing, approaching holiday travel and Christmas shopping, but I bought that “great-life-with-laughter” table.  It happened on the spot.

Now, all we needed was hungry friends to fill it!  Never mind that we really don’t even own a full set of wine glasses, or proper plate and bowls yet..that will come with time. 

So, this past week, our table runneth over.  Chris and I hosted a dinner party with friends and every spot was taken with an ottoman pulled up to the table’s end for extra seating.  #bliss

I turned around at one moment in the course of the evening with a wine bottle in my hand, laughter pouring from the table out the window, delicious smells coming from the oven that Chris was standing by and I just smiled.  Well, I smiled and then did a mild freak out  and chanted my excitement to our friends that our table was full for the very first time ever.  Friends laughed again. 

My daydream record had become a real life record.  It’s such a beautiful thing when that happens.  I say keep daydreaming and some times, you just have to jump, make the purchase and make life happen from there!

And, we even had a surprise birthday song that evening.  Oh, how I love the great-life-with-laughter table.

Project Inspiration: Amanda Casgar

As I dig deep and look into who I really am, I look into who I invest my time with and how they have moved me in what I have called Project Inspiration.

I wanted to take this time to tell you how my dear friend, Amanda Casgar has inspired me and been a part of my life evolution.  She is newer to my World, but just as much impactful.  She really is the hostess-with-the-mostess-stand-for-your-goals-in-the-utmost-powerful-way-insanely-innovative-powerful-total-New-Yorker-that-walks-fast-and-talks-fast-loving-poopoo-platter-creating-joke-teller of a friend.

Dear Amanda,

I remember sharing a hotel room with you on one of our numerous trips to Vancouver for work.  We were talking, laughing, sharing and you said, “hey, can we be friends for a long time?”.   I had never been asked that question directly, and of course, my immediate response and reaction was, “yes please!”.  And I meant it.  We phone one another often, and by often, I mean a lot and we have the luxury of the work connection, however, some times work friends become real life friends and I am so happy we made that shift.

What I wanted to let you know is that who you are has and continues to shape who I am every day.

First and foremost, you are my goal stand.  And I wish I could think of a cooler analogy and I am sure you will think of one in 13 seconds, but you stand for my goals.  Period.  I say I want to do this, here comes Amanda with an opportunity.  I am thinking maybe I should go this direction with my goals, here comes Amanda with advice and someone to connect me to.  Now, I know you are the ultimate matchmaker for people.  But I am so happy that I was already taken in the love domain and you took the path of matchmaking my deepest, scariest, most radical goals with possibility in my life domain.  I am inspired by how you stand for me, how you stand for others.  It pushes me to listen, listen, listen to and be in possibility and find opportunity in the coolest of ways. 

Amanda, you are the epitome of the phrase, ‘hostess with the mostest’.  You can make a full on snack bar out of an empty refrigerator.  You can make a roundtrip grocery shop in 17 minutes for a full week of delicious-ness, in what would take me at least 92 solid minutes.  And this truly reflects how much you care for other people; how much you care that there is an environment for people to feel comfortable, satisfied and always  just enough wine.  I admire your party-throwing abilities and how you care and love others so they feel invited and ‘at home’. 

You are a funny human being.  I smile and laugh so much when I am around you.  You have this quick wit, one liner, loud type of humor that everyone gravitates to.  Never a dull moment, be it in a yoga class, a full on dance party, or on a 5:30am run, in which I have no idea how you enrolled me to be up that early;  you lighten a mood and throw out some vocabulary word we all have no knowledge of and then make another joke about that.  You relate quickly to your audience, connect and truly leave a legacy.  It is a true gift to be someone who people never forget – you are one of those people.  I am inspired.

You are the Director of Innovation.  When it comes to creativity energy and cool ideas, I call on you.  I look forward to every conversation and especially the future you will create, as it will never look the same as the last idea, as yesterday; it will never be old news.  You will never be old news.  So fresh, so vibrant, and some times risky.  I am inspired by your thought process and the way you stand for it; it allows me to think big, be a bit risky and ask for more in all areas of my life.

And Amanda, you are just fun.  I know every time we get together that I will walk away smiling because we had radical conversation, deep belly laughter and get real moments of presence and gratitude.  Always the life of a party, always a good time; I would definitely opt to be stuck in an airport with you for 8 hours any time. 

You are a great friend I am so happy to have in my life.  The true life of a party, the host of a party and the entertainment at the party; one might ask, “how do you do it all?”.  But that is who you are and it is amazing.  Thank you for being my friend now and for a long time, for standing for my goals in the most beautiful way, for being a perfect host and rocking life on the regular with your huge ideas and innovative ways.  I am so inspired by you.

As you continue to rock in this life, keep being who you are. And I promise that I will do the same.

Inspired,

Jacki Carr

Too Early Morning Jog

Of course, YOUR idea!

Dance! Party!

Adventure: Smile until your Cheeks Hurt!

I was having one of those weeks, or as Gina put it…a HELLuva week!  Not that anything went wrong just super busy.

So, we called a GIRLS night with Margaritas and lululemon as the outfits of choice!  No heels in this group that night!

We got the chips and the salsa and swam right through a couple margaritas – ice and salt please!  We let go.  We shared. And we laughed so hard our cheeks hurt. 

And literally, it was just what I needed to roll me into the weekend!  An adventure that I didn’t even know was going to be one!

Go have a Ladies Night or a Boy Night adventure!  Make sure your cheeks hurt after!!