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What To Expect at a Pig Roast

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Living in North Dakota as a California native has been an interesting experience. When people ask where I am from and I tell them I just moved from San Francisco they think I am crazy, but it’s working. I moved here to be with my husband and am trying to make the most of it. We have been lucky enough to experience some really cool events and parties while we are here, and this is by far one of the best! Corbin’s friend just had his 20th annual Pig Feed at his ranch in Tiago and it was so cool. They got a pig and buried it 6 feet underground and covered it with corn leaves, foil, and lots of dirt and let it roast for about 16 hours, and the result was amazing.

Here is a photo recap of the weekend:

First Stop – A Legendary Whirl-a-Whip from Dakota Drug in Stanley, ND. The only store that still serves this 50’s treat. You must stop here!

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The juiciest pork I have ever had! 

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Gracie enjoying the view of Lake Sakakawea from the Ranch


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They had a beautiful fireworks show – loved it, but it freaked out Gracie and she ran away and hid under the neighbors RV…took us a while to find her 😦 

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We ended the night with live music from the stage overlooking the lake. We did plenty of karaoke (they call it kuh-ro-kee in ND)  and embaressed ourselves alot! Such a fun family friendly event. 

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Hiking at Theodore Roosevelt National Park – Medora, ND

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We checked a fun experience off our North Dakota bucket las weekend and visited Medora for my husband’s birthday! Medora is located about 3 hours West of Minot and is part of the Badlands! South Dakota also has Badlands and there is even a national park with the same name. The scenery looks pretty similar and is just such a beautiful sight and so unique for North Dakota since the state is primarily flat.

Here are some of our favorite experiences from our weekend getaway. Hiking in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, The Medora Musical, downtown Medora, and more!

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You have to check out the Theodore Roosevelt impersonation at Town Hall – so good, even if you are not a history buff like me


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My first time seeing wild horses! This was in TDR National Park


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Gorgeous Feral Horses, we came at just the right time


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Inside TDR National Park


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Just beautiful…


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The fried steak at the Medora Music Pitch Fork Fondue, super tough to chew, but fun to experience ($29 a person)


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We stayed at the Rough Riders Hotel and the breakfast at Theodore’s was SO good!


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Basic – but so good


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Bison in the backcountry

This was by far the coolest part of the weekend. We did some small quick trails, all under a mile, but this one was by far the most intense. In order to get to the backcountry and see the bison you need to park at Peaceful Valley Ranch and cross the river. Now I know why they call it the “The Little Muddy,” because it was dirty! It is about 1.5 feet deep and pretty muddy. Thankfully my hubby gave me a piggy back ride! The loop is 5.8 miles and we were not sure we were going to do the whole thing and went a little unprepared in my opinion. It took us about 2 hours to do the whole loop and only two of us brought a bottle of water. Definitely bring a backpack and make sure everyone has a few bottles of water because there aren’t many trees so don’t expect shade on this trail.

The whole weekend I was so excited to see bison but could not find any along the roads – I think you need to go pretty early, around 7am to spot them. When we entered this trailhead a man let us know there were tons on the top of the plains and we would for sure see them.

I have to be honest, I have never seen WILD bison, just a few in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park (weird, I know), and a few in Jamestown but they were fenced. We must have passed about 30 of them and I was so scared. I just stayed far away, like 75 feet away, and walked around them to get on the trail. When we reached the top of the plain we also saw six antelope which were very pretty. They were very skittish so we didn’t get very close. There were plenty of prairie dogs around too.

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On the way down, we came across another herd of bison. These were right on the trail so we had to take a big detour to avoid them!


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VIP service across the Missouri River! Thanks love.

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My Next Trip: Montana and North Dakota

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Have you even been to Missoula, Montana or Minot, North Dakota? I am excited to visit these two beautiful states and explore nature with my one and only. Let me know if you have any recommendations! 

Time to Start Blogging Again!

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It has been way too long but I am getting prepared to start blogging again. I will be sharing photos and stories about my travels, work, and fun! 

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Happy New Year!

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It has been some time since I have had a chance to sit down and blog but I wanted to wish everyone a very Happy New Year! I hope 2013 is amazing and I can’t wait to see what is in store for me. I have not really had a chance to sit down and prepare my New Years resolutions but wanted to make sure to jot down my initial thoughts. And here they are:

  • Move to San Francisco (even if it is temporary!) It will happen!
  • Travel more! So Far I have Sedona and Sonoma planned!
  • Visit my family’s culture and background in Ireland. And stop in London and Spain
  • Move up in my career and take on challenging opportunities
  • Write more
  • Learn to speak Farsi
  • Learn a new skill. Take up new hobbies
  • Run more. I did my first race in 2012 and then ended up doing 4 races total! Mostly 5k’s. Hope to do a 10k this year!
  • Volunteer more and help others
  • Get more organized
  • Try new things, don’t say no to scary sports/activities
  • Plan more parties and host more family and friends
  • Live everyday like it is my last
  • Learn to cook….gourmet cooking that is

More to come later!

My New Years in SF…one of my favorite places!

SS Jerimiah O'Brien

SF skyline

Finished Race #2: 3.5 Miles in SF

I finished my second race of the month-it was the JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge. I am stoked and did surprisingly well… I finished in 32 minutes, which is a 9:22 pace. It turns out I came in 7th for all the women at Shutterfly and we had 186 people attend! The race was 3.5 miles around AT&T park but my Nike Plus said I ran 4.36 miles so I am convinced the race was not marked correctly! It definitely felt much longer but either way, I RAN the whole thing!

Posted by Brittany Welby

Crossing the Finish Line at My First Race

(That is colored cornstarch in my hands.)

Well, I did it! I completed my first 5k run! I still can’t believe it. My whole life I have hated running, just despised it. And here I am crossing the finish line last week. I ran the 5k in just under 30 minutes and felt great. My legs were a little tired and at some points I was feeling sore but as the paint sprayed me every so often, I knew the finish line wasn’t too far away! My mom was there to snap this photo of me and she said I was about the 20th person to cross the finish line! Woo hooo.. It really feels good to see my progress and accomplish something I never thought was possible. I learned that a lot of running is mental and just telling yourself you can do it. I am mentally stronger now and love that I can push myself even harder than before!

Next up, 3.5 miles in San Francisco for the Shutterfly Corporate challenge in SF!

Posted by Brittany Welby

How to Address your Wedding Invitation Envelopes

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If you are getting married soon and wondering what the etiquette is for addressing your wedding invitation envelopes then check out my recent post here! There is so much to think about…how do I invite “their guest,” where does my return address go, and so much more! Check out the Wedding Paper Divas Blog for more inspiration and etiquette!

 

Easy Bake Cupcakes…Almost

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I think it is quite funny and fitting that I am watching Julie & Julia coincidentally and trying to make cupcakes. I make cupcakes all the time but this time I tried these very cool new cupcakes liners from Bed Bath & Beyond. They are pretty awesome because you do not need to use a muffin pan-you just place them on a cookie pan and voilà! Well, almost. I placed all the cupcake liners soooo close to each other and I did not think about them expanding (rookie mistake, right?). So now I have cupcake brownies….or Square Cupcakes! O well!

I tried a new way to frost my cupcakes too! A DIY frosting tool-A handy Ziploc bag-just add the frosting into a Ziploc bag and squeeze the frosting on in a circular direction. How fun! If this is your first time like it was for me, don’t actually seal the bag, twist the top of it so it doesn’t explode!

PS. Even more ironic…I learned something interesting about the film after I was done watching it: Julie & Julia is the first major motion picture based on a blog.

So I was watching a movie based on cooking and blogging while I was cooking and blogging and didn’t even know it! 🙂 Funny.

Tips for Choosing your Wedding Hairstyle

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Today I am sharing another post I wrote on the Wedding Paper Divas blog.

This week’s Pantone color is Rose Smoke and we love the romantic feeling of this hue. Earlier this week we shared a romantic updo that we love and it pairs nicely with a romantic winery wedding. Today we are going to share more wedding hairstyles we love and the themes and wedding gowns that would pair seamlessly. The first thing to take into consideration when choosing your wedding hairstyle is your dress. Your wedding hairstyle should complement your dress and not compete with it. Your dress and the style of your wedding should really influence the style of your hair. For example, if you have a romantic sweetheart gown, a low side-swept style with tight curls would be gorgeous.

Click here for the full post!

curly wedding hairstyle

Image  via  wedding trends