Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows, Santa Monica, CA USA

LA is a massive city. Less of a city, it’s simply a massive area. I live and work in Pasadena, and while Santa Monica is an easy 30 minute drive with no traffic, this time can double, triple, or even quadruple based on traffic. So I take my trips out to Santa Monica very seriously. […]

Suiran, Kyoto, Japan

Soooooo much sightseeing. Our feet were aching from miles and miles of walking through the narrow streets of Kyoto. Halfway through our trip and at least 12 solid Japanese meals in, my body (and mind) needed something satisfying in a different way. Our first day away from Hokkaido, I used points to book us at […]

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Griffith Park Golf Shop, Los Angeles, CA USA

A golf date. Not my typical outing, but who could resist hitting up a driving range after work to relieve the stress of a long day while catching up with a friend? Sam took me to Griffith Park Driving Range, a beautiful public range and banquet hall halfway between Pasadena and the rest of Los […]

W Hotel, Austin, TX USA

SXSW is a nonstop event. It’s hard to describe the experience, but essentially, major mainstream/well-known b2c “tech” companies (and I use the word “tech” loosely) have events throughout the city over a 10 day period, and visitors hop from one destination to another, absorbing as much as they can. Half a million attendees, lots of […]

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Cheeca Lodge, Islamorada, FL USA

Nothing says vacation like ordering lunch poolside. In fact, it’s pretty hard to combine the words “work” and “poolside lunch” in the same sentence… although maybe I’m just in the wrong industry! Several weeks of nonstop work ended with Saunders family vacation in the Florida Keys. We chose a spot that was easy for everyone […]

Montage Hotel, Laguna Beach, CA USA

We love having visitors in California, although it rarely happens.* My mother has made it a yearly mission for herself though, and we love it! This year, she took us to the Montage Hotel in Laguna Beach, a couple of hours south of Pasadena. An absolutely gorgeous, stunning property, the Montage is uniquely situated on […]