Phuket, Thailand + Kansas City
We have a guest googler, Jen Byrne with us this week! And she did a 10K Day, which means Alison didn't prepare one, or anything at all, actually. But she did bring dessert, and the microphones, so she's still good for some things. Jen is in Mamma Mia! at American Stage in the Park with Alison right now, so go check them out if you are in the Tampa Bay area! Jen tells us about some of her other interesting roles and experiences, including having a plaster mold made of her head and having to breathe through straws in her nostrils. Somehow this leads to the ladies holding their fingers under their noses and testing if they breathe out of both of them. Because according to our guest googler's google search, 85% of humans breathe through only one nostril at a time. Please enjoy all the odd breathing sounds coming through your speakers. We know you are checking right now, aren't you?
A quick reminder about our upcoming events…we are going to be speaking at two podcasting events this year! On August 24th and 25th we will be in Philadelphia at the Respect Podcast Festival, and then on September 6th and 7th we'll be in Atlantic City, New Jersey at the Mid-Atlantic Podcast Conference. We'd love to connect with our listeners in these cities, so if you will be around hit us up on the Bae page, so we can make a plan to get drinks! Seriously though, we will meet up with you and drink all the drinks. Okay, not all of them, but you get the idea.
Oh and hey, have you guys heard our #10KSaturday bonus episodes yet? Last week Alison interviewed her 4 year old daughter and 7-year-old friend. It was hilarious. You can listen to the fifteen-minute-or-so episodes wherever you get your podcast fix, on our Listen page, or if you go to our 10K Saturday page you can listen to or read the interviews. All the things.
Alison didn't prepare anything, so she decides to be obsessed with the whiskey she's drinking while they record. She pitches it as if she's well informed, but really she is just reading words off the bottle. But she really does like Wild Turkey American Honey.
Lulu has moved Rodan + Fields Enahancements Lash Boost from a trial period to her official obsession. Thank you to our 10K Dollar Bae Rachel for giving us this product to try! We were curious after we heard about it while we were recording My Cheeks Hurt with Alan Seales!...we were at his house and as we were talking about lash extensions (how did we get on that topic with him? Guess you’ll have to listen to find out) and his wife Kristal told us about how she didn't need extensions anymore since trying R+F Lash Boost. Lulu and Alison have been using it for a few months, and while they had good results about eight weeks in….now around five months in and Lulu can’t stop singing its praises.
Staying on the beauty product train, Jen is obsessed with Fresh's Soy Face Cleanser. For those of you with sensitive skin, this product is THE ONE. She raves about how it is strong enough to get off stage makeup, but doesn't irritate the sensitive skin around your eyes and lips. AND you can buy a travel size to test it out first, just click on that link! #winning
Alison is wishing for these Gloves with Nubs...they are rubber gloves with silicone scrubbers built in, so no sponge required! She saw them on an ad on Facebook, but the ad was in Spanish, so she had to do a little research to find the right ones. She hates doing dishes so very much, so she is hoping with these she would be not so opposed to the chore.
Jen is wishing for a new car. She's not sure if that's within the rules, but we are on board with her big picture thinking. Jen's thinking a Subaru Crosstrek would be nice. And by that we mean she's done two years of research and is pretty sure it's the one. (Our producer has a Subaru and fully endorses this decision, they are the best!)
Lulu wants to see King Lear in NYC, with Glenda Jackson as King Lear. She is just dying to go. Like the second she can, she will.
Originally, Jen was planning a meditation glamazon style trip, because she found this incredible five-star hotel and wellness resort, Keemala Phuket. She stays in their Birds Nest Pool and Villa setup, which is just a whole other level of luxury. On the side of a mountain sits your "bird's nest", with a personal pool connected. A personal pool that no one can see you in, so the ladies unanimously agree that it'd be naked time! Jen didn't end up doing any of their experiences, but you have to check out their offerings, especially their spa packages. Alison and Lulu ponder whether wellness retreats mean no alcohol. Because that would be a factor. Jen is happy to relay that Keemala believes in the benefits of wine, for one. Sign. Us. Up. So Jen has booked her accommodation, and an incredible one at that, and does us proud by following that selection with a shopping spree. An Amazon Prime order and trips to Anthropologie and Saks, among others, have her ready to go! Scroll through the images below to see everything that ended up in her suitcase.
Jen is excited about luxury that is renting a car and driver. She books one through Traveliss, and she even looked up gas prices, and is going to give him gas money. We are impressed by her thoroughness. Now, because she wants to be mobile, she is also going to rent a scooter to have on hand. Her first activity is to rent a private speedboat out to her islands of choice. So she heads to Phi Phi Island, James Bond Island, and Krabi island. Walks on the beach, catching some rays, and some snorkeling are in store.
Now that she's had a guided experience, she is going to hop on her scooter and visit some sights on her own. She heads to Kathu Waterfall, and then takes fruit to Monkey Hill to feed the wild (and very free to roam about) monkeys. She rents a sarong to cover her shoulders and knees out of respect as she visits the Big Buddha.
Now to round out her Phuket experience, Jen gets ready for a night out. Who knew that Phuket is known for its nightlife? Well now Jen does, as she gets ready for a night of clubbing. Since the partying doesn't start til after 10, she's going to take her time getting pampered. She gets the works at Nail Bar 188, we're talking a mani/pedi, eyelash extensions, a full body wax, and a henna tattoo. All glammed up, she puts on her temperature regulating silk dress from Lunya - wait, what?! that’s a thing?! - Lulu is freaking out, she HAS to have this. Jen heads out for an evening at the Phuket Weekend Night Market to see, eat, shop, and wander away time until she's ready to let her hair down and dance the night away at Illuzion Phuket. An incredible day, and she is our first guest googler to hit $10,000 exactly.
The state line dividing Kansas and Missouri goes through this up-and-coming city. It made National Geographic Traveler’s Best Small Cities 2018, and Food and Wine recommended going on a “drink cation” here. Sounds good to us! Lulu found an adorable yet affordable bed and breakfast called Southmoreland on the Plaza. Each of the 12 rooms are named after people famous in Kansas City, and the decor "reflects the era in which they lived, something about their personality, or their interests". Lulu selected the Kathryn Winstead room, named after the woman who founded Winstead’s, a local burger chain which Food Network ranked as the best burger in Kansas. Food critic Calvin Trillin says it’s the world’s best cheeseburger. Hopefully Lulu gets a chance to try it! She wanted to grab breakfast and coffee at Pirate’s Bone, "the only local, minority, alternative, latino, immigrant owned specialty drink / Plant-Based food kitchen". However they are closed because of needing a bigger space and low foot traffic...so you can give to their fundraising campaign.
Instead Lulu has some corned beef hash at You Say Tomato. Next Lulu heads to the Hallmark headquarters to take the Hallmark Live Tour, where you get to talk to a writer, illustrator, designer, photographer or sculptor on staff. You get to see Christmas trees, watch a bow-making machine, hold an Emmy (wait, a Hallmark movie won an Emmy?!), or buy ornaments. Lulu goes to the shop website to buy ornaments as souvenirs, where instead she finds a plastic egg-laying spring hen stuffed animal. In addition to laying eggs, it also sings a parody of "Sexy and I Know It" ..."it's springtime and I know it". Lulu is going to buy one for everyone that leaves us a review on Apple Podcasts. She wants to have an even 100 reviews, and at 69, we need 31 reviewers who want to be rewarded with a singing chicken. It's sure to delight-slash-annoy-the-hell-out-of-you. Does she really think this is a good incentive?
After that, umm, unique experience at Hallmark, Lulu heads for lunch at Q39, I mean while in Kansas she has to get some barbecue! She buys all of the rubs available in their shop, then orders the cheese fondue and a literal platter of meat. Possibly the most exciting of her lunch is that every single side they offer is gluten free! So she get's all of them. For a digestif she gets their whiskey dip cocktail, which is an Au jus ice cube in a shot of bourbon. Alison and Jen are not enticed by this, but Lulu is brave enough to give it a try. Alison suggests we do a weird drink challenge like we just did with our weird food challenge video. Oh no, Lulu is regretting her cocktail bravery immediately. But she'll push through if you hit us up on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter and tell us your weird drink recipes.
Lulu’s next stop is The Monarch Bar, a stunning white and grey decor palette leads your eye up to the 1000 acrylic butterflies hanging over the bar. Each cocktail is named for a type of butterfly, and the ingredients are inspired by the regions covered by the migratory patterns of said butterfly. That's about as bougie of a bar menu description as we've ever heard and we are HERE. FOR. IT. Also feeling the elixirs with electrolytes that you can get there or take home, because we aren't 22 anymore and rehydrating after an evening of imbibing is an absolute necessity.
Lulu is so in love with this bar, that she felt she needed to look as fabulous as the place looks. She buys this MNM Couture gown that literally looks like a butterfly thanks to some ruffles and layers. As if a butterfly turned into a fairy princess, Lulu describes it. Of course she found the perfect shoes to go with the dress, these wing slingbacks by Sophia Webster. She decides to go to Primp and Blow to get a blowout and scalp massage, and then deciding to go a little wild, she gets a full head of Dream Catchers hair extensions. Most of her 10K budget later and she is going to look gorgeous perched on her barstool.
After her libations she saunters to her next spot, the Corvino tasting room where she has the prixe fixe menu with beverage pairings.Wanting to look fabulous in one more spot, she heads to the Blue Room at the American Jazz Museum to see Ida McBeth. She tweets out to Kansas Citians asking for people to join her for the show, and she’s going buy Ida’s album for everyone that came!
Still decked out in her gown, she heads to Winstead's for the "world's best cheeseburgers". She also buys a butterscotch malt shake, which surprisingly did not get her all the way to 10K. She needs to spend more money. So remember how she wants more reviews? She's going to give 100 more lucky (?) reviewers that spring egg-laying chicken. Please don't let this deter you and do leave us a review. Because instead of a chicken, Alison and Lulu will mail you a 10K Dollar Day Postcard. That’s much better.
CHECK OUT THE CHARITIES WE FOUND IN THE CITIES WE VISITED:
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