Weekend in Austin!

Last Thursday I headed to Austin, Texas!
I went for the 2015 Rodan + Fields Convention.
Last year it was in Atlanta {read about it here} but this year it was in Austin!

Waiting to board the plane....I always get a little nervous flying by myself now that I have kids, but the flight was great (the flight was full of Cal Bears fans who where flying out to Austin for the Texas vs Cal football game) 

Hello, Austin!

I got in on Thursday evening & headed right to a team dinner. Our team leader hosted a dinner for all the Level 5 leaders on our team. 

 Some of the girls on our  team:

 After dinner we headed to Gordough's Donuts...a donut food truck!

When I posted on my Instagram for Austin food recommendations, Gourdough's was recommended by a lot of people. 

  So many amazing donut choices!

We decided to get 3 donuts to share:

 

My choice was the Flying Pig....a donut with maple glaze & topped with BACON!

 Everything's bigger in Texas, including their donuts!

The other 2 donuts we got were The Black Out....topped with chocoalate chips & brownies & fudge. We also got the Dirty Berry...topped with strawberries & chocolate.

These donuts were not like anything I have had before...SO good!!!

I liked the Maple Bacon the best....I've never had anything like it before! 

The next day, it was time for our first full day of convention.

The doctors came out and made some pretty amazing announcements!

One of the most exciting ones is that we are launching into AUSTRALIA next fall!!!

This is SO exciting! Right now we are only in the US & Canada, I am so excited to launch Down Under! If you are in Australia or know people in Australia, this could be a great opportunity for you. Let's chat!

After the first session I ran into Ashley! We have been blog friends for about 6 years. We got to meet in person last year at convention & I was so excited to run into her again this year! She is the sweetest!

Some girls from our team headed to lunch in downtown Austin. 

Whenever I travel, I want to eat the food that is local to the area....so while in Texas I wanted to get as much BBQ and Tex Mex as possible! 

Again, based on the recommendations, we went to Lambert's for BBQ lunch.

I got the brisket sandwich with jalepenos.....SO good!!!

After lunch, on my way to my next session I ran into Erika & Kathryn!

So fun to finally meet them in person. Can't believe that out of 10,000 ladies we ran into each other! They are both so sweet!

At our afternoon session, the doctors announced that Rodan + Fields Unblemish line is now the #1 premium acne brand in the US!!! I am not surprised...Unblemish is my most popular product...it works on teen skin AND it works on adult skin. If you are in your 20s, 30s & 40s and still suffer from acne/hormonal acne, Unblemish is perfect for you!

That night, we had another team dinner. We headed to Ranch 616. It was so delicious!

In the spirit of ordering Texan food, I had a jalapeno lime cocktail rimmed with chili sugar. SPICY!

Team Dinner:

I ordered jalepeno chicken.....I love spicy food :)

After dinner, we headed to 6th street and went to "The Ranch"

Such a fun night!

One of my favorite parts about this side gig is the friendships & the women I get to "work" with.

The next morning we headed back to the convention center.

They announced  our new line for men called "Beyond the Shave"

This regimen is perfect for the men in your life! Men need good skin care also. This is especially perfect for men who get razor burn or irritation from shaving!!! 

Later on that day, I was in our expo lab learning about new products & I ran into the Chairman of Rodan + Fields, Amnon Rodan (his wife is Dr. Katie Rodan). He is such a great guy and does so much for the consultants. He is also one of the best dressed guys I have ever met. He always has fun suit, shirt & tie combinations!

For lunch, we headed to Maudie's...a Tex Mex place that was recommended on my IG.

We got it to go & it was SO good!

Their queso was delicious. We don't have queso in California. I can't stop thinking about it. LOL!

We had our last session after lunch & the Doctors also made an announcement that R+F is having is unprecedented growth. Check out this slide:

  Let me put this in prospective from the actual growth in premium skin care companies over the past five years:
Shiseido= 4.2%
Estee Lauder= 4.6%
Clinique = 5.4%
Lancome= 6.5%
Rodan + Fields 106.5%!!!!!!
It's an incredible company and the opportunity is really amazing for anyone to take it and run with it. 

And this is just the beginning...we are only in the US & just launched in Canada..such exciting times!

Saturday night was our Gala! 

 It's always fun to get dresssed up :)

Guess who was the host of our Gala?!?!

The one and only Mario Lopez!

I was always more of a Zach Morris fan on Saved by the Bell, but it was still so fun having Mario Lopez there...aka Slater. I mean..hello dimples! ;)

After the Gala, there was the Gala After Party.

My business partner Lori & I earned the VIP party. 

I loved this fruit palm tree!

 

Awesome views of downtown Austin:

The doctors came by to thank us. I just love them!

One last meal on Sunday morning before I headed home....tex mex breakfast tacos. Yum!

It was a great time at Convention 2015. I can't wait for next year...in VEGAS!

 Who's coming with me?!?

I am so glad I said "yes" to Rodan + Fields in November 2013. It has truly been a blessing to me personally & financially to our family. It was something I said I would NEVER do. But, I am so glad I stepped out of my comfort zone and decided to go for it. I mean, I had nothing to lose (and I get a great discount on skin care that I believe in! It's a win-win!)

Maybe you are looking for something like this in your life (or maybe you aren't!) 

But, if you are the slightest bit curious about R+F I would LOVE to chat with you about it, send me an email!  

melissa_larson17@yahoo.com

We are currently in the US and we launched in Canada in February, so it is still brand new in Canada!

And, good news to all my Australian readers....we are launching to Australia in Fall 2016, so exciting to be a part of a ground floor opportunity!

Anyone who joins my team today until September 30th gets a FREE box of Acute Care!!!

That is an awesome deal!

If you aren't interested in the business side, but want to get started on the best skin of your life, I can help you with that also!

5 Rodan + Fields products were named "Top Products" by Allure Magazine (including Acute Care!) Another one of those products, the MultiFunction Eye Cream has been sold out for a while, but I have some to give away! 

We have lines to target brown spots and sun damage, anti-aging, blemishes and sensitive skin. 10% off, free shipping, and a free eye cream ($60 value) Email me to order! 

Quantities are limited!!

Happy Friday & hope you all have a great weekend! 

Ham + Jam Sandwich {with Brie & Arugula}

In June, Kevin and I went to Sonoma/Napa Valley for the weekend as one of his 40th Birthday celebrations.
The first day we were there, we went to lunch on Sonoma Square. Whenever I go to new restaurants, I try and order something that I have never tried before. One of the sandwiches that stood out to me on that menu was called a "Ham + Jam". It was a ham sandwich with strawberry jam & brie cheese on a baguette. I was intrigued, so I ordered it & it was AMAZING.
I knew that I had to "re-create" it and put my spin on it once I got home.
I made it a few times over the summer & I made it again last night for dinner because it was too hot to cook dinner (we have been in triple digits here in California for a few days) so I decided to make the Ham + Jam for dinner!

Here is what you need:

 - Wedge of Brie Cheese

- Honey Ham ( I use Hormel Natural Choice)

- Jam (I use my Homemade Strawberry Jam)

- Arugula

- Sourdough Bread (the one in Sonoma was on a baguette, but I like it on bread better)

This sandwich is SO easy to make. 

Spread jam on both sides of the bread:

Add chunks of brie to one side & ham on the other:

Add arugula (the one at the restaurant didn't have arugula, but I like to add greens to my meals :)

Put sandwich on Paini maker:

 I keep the sandwich on the panini maker for 5-6 minutes.

If you don't have a panini maker, you can wrap the sandwich in foil & bake at 350 for 5-6 minutes (or until cheese melts OR grill it on the stove like a grilled cheese sandwich :)

After it is done cooking, I usually add a little more arugula.

This sandwich is SO good. The flavors really go well together. 

Ham + Jam is my new favorite sandwich.

I have only tried it with strawberry jam, but I think it would also be really good with apricot jam or fig jam, I am going to try one of those flavors next time.

Hope you love this sandwich as much as I do...let me know if you make it!

Disclosure: This post was written as part of my participation in the Hormel Foods Extended Family Blogger Program. While Hormel Foods provides me material and necessary resources to complete various activities, the thoughts and statements in this post are my own.