OHIO Travel Diary

Last month I had the opportunity to travel to Ohio for my best friends Birthday. When I first mentioned the location to people I felt heavily judged but Ohio is lowkey lit. Off the Rock & Roll hall of fame alone, I would go back. I spent fourth of July weekend doing the basic: Cincinnati Zoo, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Indians Game, and Put-in Bay.

I am OBSESSED with Fiona the Hippo. She has been so adorable and her story is so sweet. She was born 6 weeks premature and only weighed 29 lbs. The normal weight for a baby hippo is 55-120 lbs. She couldn't stand and needed to be fed by bottle, this was the first time they ever bottle fed a hippo. No one prior ever milked a hippo... dead. I'm dying. After about a month she was teething and hated the bottle and she became dehydrated and had to have an IV. She has been very well on her way since then. She is definitely a sensation and made us all forget that the Cincinnati zoo is the one that killed Harambe. 

I do want to take a quick second to laugh about how my friend slipped on a tomato at the Air BNB. I literally told her it was there but she wasn't listening. 

If it didn't require living in Ohio, I think I would consider being a buyer / private label buyer for the R&R hall of fame. It is 6 levels of history that are so inspiring and aesthetically amazing. The roots of rock are Gospel, Blues, R&B, Country, Bluegrass and Folk. Rock is a vibe, its not a genre, that's why artists like Tupac and N.W.A are inductees! I loved looking at all the memorabilia and seeing the history. This is a recurring theme that I will discuss in more posts! Long live rock. 

We picked our baseball game solely because it was  $1 hotdog night. I only consumed 2 but  I regret nothing. The Indians won AND there was a fireworks show at the end. 

Have you ever heard of put-in bay? Yea, me either. Its a little island with cute shops and a cute winery. You rent a golf cart and basically just be old all day. It was fun, definitely not something I knew existed but it was relaxing AF.

Why does summer have to end? 

-Tamara

HELLO MAY

I don't know if I will get used to May not being hot AF. Its been gloomy for the past week in Portland. Since I got back from vacation I haven't really had a minute to keep my head above water. There are a lot of things changing around me at work, life, and I have a lot going on in my head with my side projects. I think on vacation I finally, after like 5 years, took a minute to just live. Isn't that sad? I kind of thought about what I wanted to do, what I would rather be doing, what I can do but don't. I was joking a lot about 2018 being the year of "Living my best life." but its kinda true.
I think its time to do more of the things I have always wanted to do but haven't. That is so vague... I promise it will start to make sense.

LOVE, MARA

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PHX TRAVEL LOG | THE DESSERT MUSEUM

I AM BACK! I am jet lagged but I am so happy to have gone to my homeland and hang out with my family, city hop, eat good food, and just relax. My first 2 week vacation ever. Thats right. I have never been allowed to go on a 2 week vacation before, so I am extra thankful to not only have the ability to go, but also have the encouragement to take time off to myself. So where do we start? Let's start where my vacation started: MANILA.

I was born in Manila, Philippines. I lived in PH for like maybe a year and then moved to the US. I have been back to PH 4 times now, and it changes so much everytime. I am also much older now since the last time I went, but that didn't mean I didn't want to be a kid and eat desserts and play in instagram heaven. My cousin works for the Conrad Hotel in Pasay City which is just off the Mall of Asia, and also on top of the Dessert Museum. Because of my travel schedule I landed in PH before my mom, so Cyn-cha and I both had a stay at the Conrad and a mouthwatering tour of the Museum.

The Doughnut room starts out with a slide. You slide into the museum. 

A bathtub full of gummy bears is actually kind of an amazing thing. After the gummy bear room we headed into the cotton candy room. When they spun cotton candy the sprinkled it with powdered milk. I was very confused but the flavor wasn't bad. I don't prefer it that way, but it was a unique experience. 

It was really fun! If you find yourself in Manila I recommend going. 8 rooms and 6 desserts later I was a happy tourist.

LOVE, MARA

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COMPLEX CON 2017| DAY 1

The second year ever of complexcon, my first year ever attending. We decided to take day one slow and arrive a little after the opening. Lines were easier to manage and we were quickly swept into the transactional vibe of the floor that is ComplexCon.

Of course the first order of business was heading to the three stripe booth, we were here for work after all. After cutting through the velvet ropes I found myself staring up at Pharrell, Chad and Shay. The adidas booth had soooo many assets in it. Travis Barker and his son came by, Asap, and  (randomly) Ocho Cinco came by too. I didn't like how the booth only had retail and not as much interactive experience. They displayed franchises that exist, but I know there are a few new things that would have been perfect to premier here. Regardless, it stayed packed and people really loved it. It didn't look like anything else there. The only thing trendy was there was a Pusha T Bodega and I walked past maybe 3 or 4 other brand Bodegas (including the actual brand called Bodega.) Still the top booth there! Bonus points for ASAP shouting FUCK NIKE like 3 times. 

We quickly got split up and roamed the floor for a few hours. Undefeated and Nike both had a lot of hype around their booths and drops. Nike had an interactive AF1 custom lab, the only complaint I heard was how long it took to wait and then custom. Puma had a booth that looked really cool but I didn't understand it. It wasn't clear if you could buy something or listen to a panel or what? I'm keeping an eyeout for them because they did paste up the collabs coming up including ones from Fubu, Mac and MCM. I need to get my hands on something MCM or Fubu. I don't even know how they pulled either of those but thats for the culture.

PRE VACATION TRAVEL TIPS

I teamed up with SimpliSafe a while ago to share some travel advice! I know it can be kind of stressful to not only vacation but travel in general. There are plenty of tips out there on how to make it through a long flight, packing, or just surviving an airport. I have a worry free checklist on how to be safe and diligent while gone. If you live in a city or somewhere that you might feel uneasy this checklist is for you!

BACK FROM BELIZE

Living in Houston made it easy to take a trip to Belize for my friend Grace's bachelorette party! Southwest has a direct flight via southwest for under $300 (well when I bought it) and its only a quick 2.5 hr flight. Belize was beautiful and the weather was delightfully sunny the entire time. 

We stayed at a resort and enjoyed the beach, paddle boarding, a catamaran with snorkeling, lots of food, and lots of pool time. I am at least 6 shades darker from the sun and I regret nothing. 

Belize has a lot of cultural foods and their version of seafood ceviche was one thing I never said no to eating. On the Catamaran they made it for us and I actually was seasick! I threw up right after our first 1 hr snorkel session. Swallowing saltwater does not go well with already feeling an unbalanced equilibrium. 

Sharing a laugh with the Bride to be! 

The lovely ladies from the weekend! We are just missing Sebastian! We ate dinner at the cutest spot on the island! Everyone was so sweet. 

One of my favorite parts of Belize was Caye Caulker Island. The beach looked like a postcard. It looks so unreal. Of everything on the island Caye Caulker did look the most damaged from the hurricane. They were already in the process of rebuilding but the beach looked AMAZING. 

One of the snorkel stops was Shark Ray Alley. Im really upset that I got seasick because this looks AWESOME! Belize is somewhere I wouldn't mind going back to. In Belize we stayed off San Pedro which is a super quiet and chill smaller island. After arriving at the airport in BZE you will need to take either a small plan or a boat ferry to San Pedro Island. I took the small plan upon arrival and its only 15 minutes. THE PLANE FITS LIKE 10 PEOPLE! Its so small. After our trip we took the boat ferry which is nothing like the ferry's in Galveston. It was larger than a speedboat but I swear it went as fast as one. Our boat took about 2 hrs.
I have a few more photos from this fun trip! I'll be doing a couple more travel posts this week to share them all. I just want to be on the beach again.

UGH, Cheers to the work week!

Have a great weekend!

LOVE, MARA

CURRENTLY OFFLINE: End of Summer Playlist

HTX to BZE starts now! I'll have a fun recap on Monday for everyone. I thought my phone would work but it looks like I will be disconnected for the next few days! Fingers crossed I get wifi. LORD BE A WIFI PASSWORD.

Until then, enjoy my top 5 BELIZE VACAY tracks (YOUTUBE LINKS BELOW):

BANKS - Gemini Feed

DJ SNAKE- ENCORE... the whole album lol

MARTIN GARIXX- In the name of love

TWRK- Wheels in Motion

AYO KAY- Kings of Summer

Have a great weekend!

LOVE, MARA

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Michigan Travels

Today is day two of a two day Michigan work trip. As cute as this rural place is, I'm a little ready to be back in the city. Well, a real one, the photo above is me sitting in my cute little lofty boutique apt room over looking a snippet of downtown Grand Rapids. .
Tonight sharknado comes one and all I want to do is eat pizza and laugh. My flight kind of arrives while its on, so I'll miss watching it live which is my favorite part. Twitter really makes TV so much better.

I meant to publish my Summer playlist while in San Diego but my hotel didn't have Wifi! So enjoy it now to get through this humpday struggle.

CHEERS 

LOVE, MARA

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San Diego Comic Con: Days 3 and 4.

Tired or Nah?
Day three was the same story with Conan but the Mystery guest was the cast of X-Men. Dr. Who made an appearance as well. At the end of the Night Conan played "Smells like Teen Spirit" on his guitar and it was crazy. I was trying to look really animated in case the cameras felt like cutting to me in the audience. We were in the 7th and 8th row, so it was fun.

We almost have all the Conan Funkos, we're missing Conan 1. We have an extra monster so if anyone is down for tradesies.....

What to wear for San Diego Comic Con| Easy Tips and Tricks

What to wear, what to wear? Comic Con for me is just a fun experience to roam around and be comfortable. Like I mentioned, a lot of this experience is walking and waiting in lines... My ultimate must haves are simple.
SNEAKERS AND A BACKPACK.

Comic Con Fashion by malibumarablog featuring high waisted jeans

High waisted jeans
etsy.com

Backpacks bag
herschelsupply.com

Tech accessory
bose.com

GIRLS
hottopic.com

Melody Ehsani x Reebok Ventilator
nylon.com

When it comes to Comic Con I'm not into the whole Cos Play thing. I just want to be comfortable and maybe rep something I'm into. I actually have these Melody Ehsani Ventilators and I will be wearing them pretty much everyday.  I'm not a total nerd, so a shirt and jeans is fine by me.

Wanderlust: 5 bucket list Destinations

With Summer in full swing the idea of travel is on everyone's mind. Everyone needs a break from work life. Sometimes the vacation is a staycation, somewhere continental, or even a typical travel destination. Being me, I of course have a bucket list of rare and interesting natural oddities that I would love to see in person. Sometime before I die, I have to make this happen.

Rounding out the top 5 is Senegal's Lake Retba, or as the French call it, Lac Rose. Its a pink lake. Come on.Experts say the lake gives off its pink hue due to cyanobacteria, a harmless halophilic bacteria found in the water. Lake Retba has a high salt content, much like that of the Dead Sea, allowing people to float effortlessly in the massive pink water. Im not sure if I would swim in it, but a little boat would be fun! #photoop

HELLO KITTY Air plane arrives in Houston!

If you follow me on any of my other social media channels you have seen that I got the great pleasure of viewing the Hello Kitty plane as soon as it landed here in Houston, TX.

I pretty much died and went to heaven. I felt like I was in a Hello Kitty theme park for a little while.
Before the plane arrived from Taipei we spent time in an indoor area with music, exhibits, and lots of food! I tried a little bit of everything, dashing from food stations to selfie booths. I was basically at my own personal Disney Land, but much better. SANRIO LAND.

ATX | Spring Vibes Photolog

Day trips out of Houston are always a good idea. ATX was hosting a little thing called SXSW (just kidding its not little). On top of an Austin photo walk we went to a 3 on 3 basketball open gym to support our friends from the Kiel Colon Cancer foundation. In and out burger and cherry blossoms made the day complete. After days of cold and rain, I forgot what the sun looked like!