Picky Bar Giveaway

We promised that after a two week blogging hiatus there would be great things in the new year, and today's great thing is a giveaway.

Last year I shared a "Keeping it Real" post by professional runner Lauren Fleshman (post here)?

The post resonated with me given that I write my own "Keeping it Real" posts on a regular basis. So what does Lauren and her "Keeping it Real" post have to do with our giveaway? Well, long story short, Lauren lives in Bend, OR and is a co-founder of a company called Picky Bars. I had the pleasure of meeting Lauren when we were in Bend for Thanksgiving and visited the Picky Bars office with our friend Matt who works there as well.

Picky Bars are super tasty energy bars with a 4:1 carbohydrate to protein ratio that are gluten, soy and dairy free. And my favorite thing about these bars....there is NOTHING artificial in them. Picky Bars are the perfect fuel during or after a long workout. They come in 6 yummy flavors including my favorite Cookie Doughpness.

You can even join the Picky Club and get bars sent to you on a monthly basis. Picky Bars is currently offering 25% off the first month of the Picky Club with code "kickinthepants". They have also offered C&C readers a special 10% discount using the code "cardigansandcouture." I highly recommend giving them a try. I'm a Picky Bar fan!

And because we want to start the new year with something great, we are giving away an entire box of Cookie Doughpness Picky Bars to a lucky C&C reader.

Since I'm a big fan of adventure, I want to know when/where you would eat your winnings? Maybe you have an upcoming ski trip or are planning a hike. Or maybe you are a busy mom and every day is an adventure and carrying one of these yummy bars in your purse would get you through it. To enter, you MUST comment at the bottom of this blog post (comments section) and let us know you did in the rafflecopter widget below.

The winner will be announced on Friday!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

C&C on the Move

This past weekend we packed up the car for a weekend of camping in Central Oregon. We knew that there were forest fires in the area, but we were hopeful that the winds would be in our favor.

Mt. Hood

Unfortunately, we drove over Mt. Hood and quickly realized that the winds WERE NOT in fact blowing in our favor. It was a tough decision, but after two hours in the car we decided to turn around.

This is the plume of smoke. We were still to the North of it. 

I mean, who wants to camp in an ash tray?

So, we decided to stay North of the smoke and camp on Mt. Hood. Well, that idea was good, in theory, but at 5:00 p.m. we found that campsite after campsite was full. Ughh!

So, nearly 5 hours after leaving the house we made the call....to head back home. What? Crazy, I know.

Thank goodness for popcorn and a movie

First we made a quick stop in Hood River to refuel and stretch our legs. It was by far the highlight of our day.

We dined right along the Columbia River at a great restaurant called Solstice, and right next door there happened to be the most amazing gelato stand called Cicci. I had the "Gorge Berry" and it was phenomenal. I could have gone back for seconds and thirds.

The Mini Fashionista enjoyed playing at the river park playground, and then we hit the road again.

Rock Climbing, her next sport

Eight hours and nearly a tank of gas later, we found ourselves back at home. Fear not, we still got our camping in. We pitched the tent in the backyard, made a fire, roasted some marshmallows and then went to bed. All three of us lasted the entire night in the tent!

We had to laugh at the whole thing....especially given that one of the Mini's favorite books, A Camping Spree with Mr. Magee, ends just as our camping adventure did.

For anyone with kids, I highly recommend this book as well as others by Chris Van Dusen. The Circus Ship is also one of our favorites.

C&C on the Move

One of our favorite places in the state of Oregon is Bend. Located about three hours South of Portland, it is the perfect place for a weekend getaway in both summer and winter! 

Luckily, my +1 has a number of clients there, so we make frequent trips. This past Thursday, we headed down for a long weekend. The main objective, besides client meetings, was a 12 hour adventure race! 

For those of you not familiar with Bend, let me give you a quick run down. It is located on the Deschutes River in central Oregon. Mt. Bachelor is less than a 30 minute drive from the town center, and the great outdoors are right in your backyard. Hiking, alpine and x-country skiing, paddle boarding, river rafting, mountain and road biking and countless other activities are just minutes away. 

It's really a beautiful place! 

Given that my +1 was in meetings all day Thursday and Friday and was racing on Saturday, the Mini Fashionista and I had a lot of stroller and park time! She also got to go for her very first horseback ride. It was pretty awesome!  

One of the other great things about Bend is that they have a barre3! So I was able to get in my workout while the Mini played in child care. The highlight of my Friday morning was being recognized by a C&C reader, Amanda, who had recently moved to Bend from Colorado. Amanda, if you are reading this, it was so great to meet you, and thank you for being a C&C follower! You truly made my day! 

Now back to the activities...Wherever we go, we have our favorite dining spots. Bend has no shortage of awesome eateries. Jackson's Corner, Spork, Backporch Coffee, and Sparrow Bakery are a few of our favorites. This trip, thanks to the recommendation of barre3 owner Darcy, I discovered Sarah's Raw and Vegan Cafe. They make the most amazing smoothies that they sell in mason jars. While I was there I tried the coconut chocolate dream, strawberry banana and pineapple coconut bliss. They were all so tasty! I can't wait to go back. 

And no trip to Bend is complete without at least one stop at Backporch coffee for a latte and an Ocean Roll (from Sparrow Bakery). So, what is an Ocean Roll? It starts with a traditional croissant dough, then they add a layer of cardamom, sugar, and vanilla, roll it up, add a splash of egg wash, and bake it to golden perfection. These are without a doubt the best pastry I have ever eaten. PERIOD! 

The Mini did her share of eating as well. And you can't truly enjoy good food without good friends, so we made sure to dine with some of our favorite people, like her Uncle Chris and our friend Heather. 

So while I had my own 12 hour adventure of trying to entertain a two year old (without a nap), my +1 was off adventuring through the rivers and mountains on foot, bike and kayak. He and his teammate finished the "12 hour", 75 kilometer race in just over 8 hours and in 1st place. Go Team! 

Don't they look tired? It makes me tired just thinking about how far they went! 

So, if you are looking for a fantastic weekend, or week long getaway with great food, scenery and access to the outdoors, check out Bend!