Thursday, July 29, 2010

VIP Memphis Magazine July 2010: Letter from the Editor



This month in honor of Independence Day and the summer heat, six local bartenders have shared their chilled red, white and blue drink recipes for you to serve during your own events and festivities. We’ve named these sweet refreshing drinks “Essence of Summer”.

And speaking of summer, I visited Vignettes new showroom and found several summer color choices that I would like to include into my own home design. You can read more about Vignettes’ color recommendations in our Spaces +.

I had the opportunity to sit down with Chef Ben Vaughn of Au Fond Farmtable and learn a bit of history about his culinary experiences and how they led him to open a French market and bistro in midtown Memphis. I can’t wait to begin attending his weekly cheese classes, and I recommend you do the same.

June has been a whirlwind of many firsts for me, including a road trip down the west coast with my husband, a family wedding at the Malibu Family Winery and of course, the editorial responsibility for VIP Memphis magazine. I am so excited about the upcoming opportunities and I have had a blast this past month attending and sponsoring some of the greatest events of the season. Cystic Fibrosis Foundation celebrated Memphis’ Finest Young Professionals which we were honored to be presenting sponsors. I had the chance to get to know Nancy Nichols, organizer for Women ‘n’ Wine this month. Also, I will be joining the Women + Running group this season and will be writing about my progress in upcoming months.

Have a safe and Happy 4th of July and enjoy the issue!

Kristen

Friday, July 23, 2010

Women + Running Week One

Week one turned out to be a lot of fun. I heard that out of 1,500 registrations approximately 600 of them joined the Beginning Runners group...I'm impressed Memphis! Pictured below is me and River Workout instructor, and my personal trainer, Stacy Chick. Thanks again to Stacy and Breakaway Running for providing me all the swag to keep me cool and dry this running season.



I ran three days of week one at the pace of 1 minute run, 2 minute walk. Week two steps up a notch to a pace of 2 minutes run, 3 minutes walk. I tried that yesterday on a treadmill and it actually wasn't so bad, except for the minor shin splints I got last week. Let's just see if I can add heat and humidity and keep up the pace this evening. Hope the rain holds off until after the run.

Wish me luck!

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Jerry's Sno Cones

Three words. Jerry's Sno Cones.

If you have not yet tried Jerry's Sno Cones, may I recommend the White Wedding Supreme? Or the Raspberry Supreme? Or the Tangerine Supreme? Do you see a pattern here? Supreme equals "add layers of vanilla soft serve to my sno cone". Oh my gosh, where has Jerry's been all my life? How am I just now figuring out that it exists? And only 5 minutes from my house? Blake, Cami and I went for the first time on Saturday and tried the sno cones. I'm already craving another three days later - although from previous reviews, the burgers look great too! I may have to stop by for lunch sometime.

For those of you who have never been to Jerry's, it is located at 1657 Wells Station Road - take Summer Avenue to Waring and go north. Jerry's is cash only and you should expect a line of at least 15-20 minutes. Menu and photos below:






Let me know what your favorite flavor is..

Friday, July 16, 2010

Women + Running Registration

Today is day one of MRTC's Women + Running program at Shelby Farms. My mom and I have registered for the program - me for Beginning Runners and her for Power Walkers (because she broke her shoulder 4 weeks ago and has not been approved to run yet by her physical therapist). Here we are at registration last week:



Teams are organized into Power Walkers, Beginning Runners, Intermediate 1, Intermediate 2 and Advanced Levels. Registration is going on so there is still time to sign up at womenrunwalkmemphis.com.

My goal is to build up to running the graduation 5K after 9 weeks of training with local running coaches. My coach will actually be my River Workout trainer Stacy Chick - how lucky am I? She actually helped me pick out shirts, socks and a new pair of kicks from Breakaway Running.

Today, we will run 1 minute then walk 2 minutes for a total of 20 minutes. This shouldn't be too hard.

Check back next week for my progress report!

Monday, July 12, 2010

Jaime Camil


I had the pleasure of meeting actor and emerging Latin superstar, Jaime Camil, at a meet and greet last month at Art Under a Hot Tin Roof. The event was a benefit for Rally For Kids. Below is a photo of my publisher Kat, Jaime and me. Jaime will be a new guest star on this season of Desperate Housewives. Look for Jaime this fall or go to his website jaimecamil.com.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Memphis Invest

I wanted to take a minute and tell you about my friends Chris, Brett and Kent Clothier Sr, at Memphis Invest.

Memphis Invest is a Memphis-based, family owned firm that works with investors to build long term wealth through real estate. The MemphisInvest.com team provides investors with strategically-located residential real estate properties that provide positive cash flow, tax benefits and peace of mind investing as an alternative wealth management. By concentrating on the fundamentals of real estate investing and great customer service, these guys offer the only true turn- key option for real estate investing in Memphis.

Memphis is the perfect city to invest for many reasons. Due to its low cost of living, affordable housing and surprisingly stable rental market, Memphis offers advantages that few cities in America can boast. A few other statistics: Memphis was 21% undervalue entering 2010. Over 48% of Memphis residents rent their housing. Memphis is home to four Fortune 500 company headquarters.

Than Merrill and JD Esajian, stars of A&E’s Flip This House, and FortuneBuilders.com have teamed up with Memphis Invest to host the Ultimate Cash Flow Buying Tour, a two day buying conference and tour to be held in Memphis on July 9 - 10, 2010. Guests will have a chance to learn about investing in Memphis from the experts and an opportunity to network with the MemphisInvest.com and Fortune Builder teams and will also be available to meet one on one to discuss the buying and investing process including property locators, closing attorneys, insurance agents, rehab specialists and property managers. Guests will also have the opportunity to tour available homes in the stages before, during and after the rehab process.

If you are interested in earning cash flow each month and building long term wealth through real estate, visit http://bit.ly/al07Jd to join the bandwagon and learn what these guys have known for years. There is no secret, and they want to share their knowledge with you.