Women in Travel Summit 2015

Last weekend, I attended the 2015 Women in Travel Summit in Boston, MA. A conference created by the Go Girl Travel Network, WITS is "the first and only travel summit by and for women."

Around this same time last year, I did attend the workshop for the Women's Travel Fest in New York City, but missed the main conference. Since then, I have been looking for opportunities to learn about travel and to meet new people who also interested in doing the same. 

I honestly don't even know how to begin describing the personal impact of WITS. Each session I went to was both informative, inspiring, and honest. The most important thing I took away from WITS is that it is possible to live your dreams--you just have to be ready for the challenge.

Here are the sessions I attended, live-tweeted and then Storified for your convenience:

• Cashing in on YOU! How to Turn Individuality Into Visibility and Bankability in Life, on the Job and in Business- Catrice Jackson of Catriceology Enterprises and self-proclaimed "BOSSLady of Branding" shares her tips on branding and how to stand out among the crowd using your personal essence

• How to Make Google Like You and Other SEO Strategies to Increase Your Site Traffic- Brooke Roberts, Founder/CEO of Yoga Travel Tree and former Senior Vice President of GoAbroad, gives a creative breakdown of SEO best practices for blogging using dating metaphors

• Press Trip Panel- Four travel experts share their tips on how to gain access press trips and get the most out of them

• Surviving the Long Game: Building a Blog and a Career That Will Last- Stephanie Yoder of Twenty-Something Travel talks about how to build a strong foundation for your blog for a successful future

• Protect Yourself: What's Yours is Yours (If It's Legally Yours) Stories from Bloggers Who Learned the Hard Way- Jessica Ainlay, a self proclaimed "trilingual world-traveling storyteller and entrepreneur," discusses how to protect your blog and intellectual property 

Next year's Women in Travel Summit will be held in Irvine, CA! For more information, visit Wanderful (formerly known as Go Girl Travel Network) website, Facebook or Twitter.

Paris Creperie

When I need to fulfill my Francophile daydreams, a trip to the Paris Creperie in Brookline always does the trick. I ordered the Lilli's vegetarian crepe for a change--the strawberry and Nutella crepe is my usual go-to. 

As I proud as I was to order a healthier option, I couldn't resist getting the Nutella hot chocolate. I didn't want to forgo my sweet tooth altogether...

Lilli's

Parmesan infused crepe with avocado, cheddar cheese, broccoli, roma tomato, asparagus and spinach

Nutella hot chocolate

There's nothing like finding a little bit of Paris at home...

Boston Calling Spring 2014

For many years, Memorial Day weekend was spent by the beach or marching in the town parade. 

As much as I love going to the beach, I am happy to have spent this year's Memorial Day weekend with Ryan at Boston Calling music festival. This was our second time attending.

Boston Calling, which has been a two-day festival, added performers for Friday night this season--Jack Johnson was the headliner--but we didn't get tickets. It worked out just fine, though--Ryan and I grabbed lunch at Tavern in the Square in Allston, then spent most of the day relaxing. 

Tuscan Quinoa Veggie Burger at Tavern in the Square:

House-made vegetable burger with roasted vegetables, quinoa, sweet potato & black beans. Served on a multi-grain roll with a side of pickles

Grilled eggplant, roasted portabella mushrooms, mozzarella cheese, and pesto

 

The Neighbourhood

We saw The Neighbourhood and Death Cab for Cutie on Saturday, then Tegan and Sara and Bastille on Sunday. I already saw The Neighbourhood last fall at Lupo's in Providence, but was happy to see them again.

The other three bands--Death Cab for Cutie, Tegan and Sara, and Bastille--exceeded my expectations. I definitely didn't expect that they would sound bad live, but I don't think I had anticipated how amazing they would sound and perform. I can proudly say that I knew the majority of the songs all of the bands played.

Also, you'll notice that Ryan and I are wearing the same pair of sunglasses. We went to Urban Outfitters in Quincy Market on Saturday to find sunglasses and we immediately picked up the same pair. 

Death Cab for Cutie

Leather jacket, wedge sneakers, black dress... I think I dressed right for an urban music festival. 

I couldn't help but notice a lot of girls wearing flower crowns and tie-dye maxi skirts at Boston Calling. There isn't a dress code for these things, but Boston Calling isn't the same as Coachella...

Arm party gets real on Day 2

Tegan and Sara

Bastille

Everyone dancing to "Pompeii"

I had a really great time at Boston Calling this weekend. I'm thinking about getting Saturday and Sunday tickets in the fall to see Lorde (Royals, Team, etc.), Spoon (The Underdog, Mystery Zone), The 1975 (Chocolate, The City) and Twenty One Pilots (Holding Onto You, House of Gold). One day I hope to see hellogoodbye on the roster, because that would be a dream come true.

Hope to see you again, Boston Calling...

Harvard, iExperia Boston, and Newport Polo

Still exhausted from the weekend...

I left for Boston early Friday morning to catch up with a friend over lunch. Ricky was visiting Cambridge for the week after coming back from a two-year stay in Brazil. After lunch, we went to Urban Outfitters, walked around Harvard's quad, and checked out an all-natural market on campus.

Life-size game of chess at a market on Harvard's campus

First time at Harvard: would not have guessed the quad would be this colorful

Friday's Outfit: Faux Leather Jacket, New York & Co.; Vest, Nally and Millie; Jeans, Express; Bag, Steve Madden; Shoes, H&M

From Cambridge, I took the T to Downtown Crossing to meet Ryan. We shopped around for a bit--he got dress pants at Macy's, I got a few things at H&M--before heading back to the apartment. The reason why I visited Boston in the first place was to go to iExperia at the House of Blues, so we went to that later in the evening...

Yes, that's a giant robot walking around the House of Blues

Friday Night's Outfit: BOYS graphic high-low mini-dress in white, $10.00, H&M
The go-to dress for the rest of the semester

I went back to Newport early on Saturday to get back for the Newport Polo finals match in the afternoon. Needless to say, it was an awesome experience seeing a polo match for the first time.

Best seat on the field

Polo with the roomie!
Photo Credit: Lauren Kane

Filling in the divots

The typical college student spends Sundays going to the gym, doing homework, or (gasp) sleeping in. Instead, I spent my Sunday promoting the honors program, speaking with prospective students and their parents. Now about that homework...

Nearly a semi-pro at honors admissions

Fourth of July Weekend

Every Fourth of July, my family and I usually do the beach-and-BBQ routine at home, but this year, I spent the holiday in Manchester and Boston with Stephen and his mother, Gail. It was a welcome reprieve--the last break I had allowed myself was Boston Calling during Memorial Day weekend.

On the Fourth, we spent most of the day at the beach, then went to a party hosted by Stephen and Gail's family friends. When we returned to Boston, we even caught the fireworks from the Esplanade.

It's a rare occasion that I dress very preppy. I would have kept wearing the shirt all day if it wasn't for the fact it was sweltering outside...

Nothing says summer like seafood...

Or a warm ocean breeze...

The following day, Stephen and I walked along Newbury Street and ate lunch at La Voile. We stayed cool window-shopping in well air-conditioned stores (Ralph Lauren had the best AC by far) and drinking plenty of Starbucks. We also watched a documentary of Madonna's Blonde Ambition tour before I had to catch my train back to Rhode Island...It was intriguing, to say the least. 

Les crevettes et les choux at La Voile

I worked the rest of the weekend at Laura Jean Denim Shop and managed social media content for some clients, but it was fine--the trip to Manchester and Boston made the Fourth of July weekend worthwhile. 

New arrivals at KC Shoes at the Pier

Vegan Leather Dress by Sanctuary, available at  Laura Jean Denim Shop

Accessories by Frye, available at Laura Jean Denim Shop

Dress, necklace, and sandals from Crosswynds Traders

Hall of Fame Tennis Championships start tomorrow--it's going to be crazy busy in Newport...

Boston Calling

This past weekend was Boston Calling, the city's first ever music festival. I went on both days of the festival and had a great time watching some of the hottest alternative bands: Matt and Kim and Fun. were on Saturday; Ra Ra Riot, Of Monsters and Men and Young the Giant on Sunday.

All of the acts I saw were great live.

The rain on Saturday wasn't the best--it was wet and cold standing in the audience--but it didn't interfere with the high energy in the crowd (roughly 20,000 people attended Boston Calling).

I would have seen all of the acts on Saturday if it wasn't for the fact that every hour lr so necessitated a Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts break...

I didn't stay for The National after Of Monsters and Men and Young the Giant on Sunday. Honestly, I'm just happy to have seen Ra Ra Riot.

Of Monsters and Men

Refinery 29 held a contest for a festival outfits on Instagram and Twitter. Considering the weather, I hope I looked decent:

Day 1, Main Stage--Jacket, Metro Station; Lucky Brand jeans, Crosswynds Traders; Kimchi Blue silk clutch, Crosswynds Traders; Boots, Forever 21

Day 2, Lunch Break at Faneuil Hall--Dress, Urban Outfitters; Necklace, Gossip Boutique

It's been announced that there will be a second Boston Calling held on Saturday September 7th and Sunday September 8th. The headlining acts are Vampire Weekend, Passion Pit, and Kendrick Lamar.

Needless to say, I'm going.