$$$: $301 +

$$: $201-$300

$: < $201

Scottsdale, AZ

The red rocks and desert temps of Arizona, mixed with the style and flare of Los Angeles = Scottsdale. Great restaurants, awesome nightlife and totally relaxing spas await those looking for a quick, inexpensive (for the most part) escape!

** Don’t forget to download The Secret List: Scottsdale **

$$$: The Sanctuary at Camel Back

$$: The Mondrian Scottsdale

$: W Scottsdale

Mexico

Mexico is a cheap Spring Break heaven for the college coeds. But that doesn’t mean you can’t find an amazing, luxury property sans boozing-it-up boneheads. Here are my three favorite Mexican getaways for any budget! (Book during the end of April, first of May for non-spring break prices)

$$$: The One & Only Pamilla

$$: Paradisus Riviera Cancun

$: Mosquito Beach Adult Only Hotel

Southern California

I love Spring on the West Coast. Whether it’s an Santa Monica, Laguna or San Diego; So-Cal has coastal towns offer great temps, plenty of sunshine and the perfect flip-flop experience that you need to help you mentally come out of Winter hibernation. (Avoid May Gray & June Gloom in parts of Southern California)

** Don’t forget to download The Secret List: Los Angeles **

$$$: St. Regis Monarch Beach

$$: Shutters on the Beach – Santa Monica

$: Tower 23 – San Diego

Paris, France

This may sound a bit cliché, yes – but Spring in Paris is AMAZING! This is one of my favorite times to visit this incredibly modern, romantic and exciting city of love!

$$$: Hotel Daniel

$$: Hotel Le A

$: Hotel Clos Medicis

Marrakech, Morocco

Marrakech? Really? YES!!!! If you want something different and exciting- Marrakech offers the most bang for your buck! Culture & history mixed with a seductive sexiness that is found NO place else in this world!

** Don’t forget to download The Secret List: Marrakech **

$$$: Riad Lotus Privilege

$$: Villa des Orangers

$: Riad 72

The world is fascinated by Italy’s most famous region, Tuscany. There are countless books written about a person’s first hand experience living amongst the Italian Cypress trees in the rolling vineyard covered fields of this great region. Probably the most famous area within Tuscany is the wine producing region of Chianti. Specifically, the Chianti Classico region is definitely one of the most visited. It offers a multitude of vineyards, hill top medieval villages and quaint farm houses that have been converted into restaurants, villas and hotels. Patrons rush to this area to create their own, ‘Under the Tuscan Sun’ experience.

Rob and I have explored this region many times before. We’ve rented a car, gotten lost, consequently found some really cool places as a result of getting lost and had some great experiences in the Tuscan hillside. But, none of these prior experiences compared with out recent trip to Tuscany’s wine epicenter, Chianti. In the past, we just grabbed a map and found our way. This time we decided to do something different. We contacted Bravo!, the premier travel concierge in Italy and inquired about possible tours. The wonderful thing about working with Bravo! is that they can tailor your day-trip to your wants and desires. We explained that we were looking for something different, off the beaten path.

Bravo! customized an amazing, exclusive VIP private tour of the rolling hills of Chianti, the medieval village of San Gimignano and lunch at a hidden Michelin Star rated Osteria and a tour of one of Chianti’s oldest and most interesting wineries.

In the morning our English speaking, well educated and personable tour guide and private driver Michael, picked us up at our hotel, JK Place. Immediately he began telling us what to expect during our day trip through the beautiful hills and winding roads of the Chianti region of Tuscany. Along the way, he spoke to us about the history of Tuscany, the Tuscan people and of course, about Italy’s most prized possession, vino! Keep in mind, this is not a rehearsed script that Michael is reading from. He had a deep love, appreciation and understanding of his culture, country and history that we hung on every single word that left his lips. It was one of the most fascinating conversations that we’ve ever had with a tour guide!

Once we arrived in the hill top village of San Gimignano, we were escorted to the front gate and set free to explore this medieval walled town. In other cities, such as Florence, most or all of their towers have been brought down due to wars, tragic accidents, or community projects. However, San Gimignano has managed to conserve fourteen towers which have become its international symbol. It is so much fun to get lost in the winding pedestrian streets of this village. The town contains four squares: Piazza della Cisterna, Piazza Duomo (where the Collegiata is located) Piazza Pecori, and Piazza delle Erbe. It is also worth a visit to the Museo Criminale Mediovale (The Museum of Medieval Torture) to see some of the town’s darkest moments in history.

After about an hour of touring inside the walls of San Gimignano. We went back to meet Michael at the car and headed off to Badia a Passignano to have lunch at Osteria di Passignano. This Michelin Star rated casual Osteria sits in the heart of a 215-hectare vineyard owned by the Antinori family and adjacent to a monastery that dates back to 395. The building which now houses Osteria di Passignano, as well as the Antinori wineshop called ‘La Bottega’, is an 18th century building near the abbey entrance.

When we drove up the private driveway to this massive monastery, we knew that this place was going to be amazing. Once inside the Osteria, we were promptly given a welcome glass of sparkling wine and a tasting ‘from the chef’. I have to say, when I put this small offering into my mouth, it was a religious experience. I quickly told our waiter how outstanding I thought this creative combination of polenta and other local ingredients was. He replied, “It can not be outstanding yet.” What he meant was, this is only the beginning and each course will build in flavor and excellence. So if I start with “outstanding” that leaves no room for improvement!

The Osteria’s menu varies according to seasonal availability. This means simply that they only use the freshest, high quality local ingredients. From the bread and pastas that are handmade with stone-ground organic wheat, to the perfectly seasoned salads, to the tenderest portions of steak, everything was delicious! After all of this food, how could you possibly put one more morsel into your mouth! Well, you can’t until, you read what is offered on the properly named dessert menu, “Sweet Hell” (taking a little inspiration from the Divine Comedy). It also reads, ‘All Hop Abandon, Ye who enter’. The desserts are named after the seven deadly sins (which after eating a few, my butt agreed that these desserts were definitely deadly!) Personally, I think every dessert menu should have this warning! Obviously, we had to see what all the fuss was about. So, we ordered not one, but two of their famous sugary concoctions! I’m not sure if we were in heaven or hell, but either way it was amazingly sinful!

Now of course, during our lunch we had a glass of the famous local Badia a Passignano Riserva Chianti Classico. There is just something so wonderful about sipping a wine that literally came from the earth you are standing on. As we were leaving, we stopped to chat with the local sommelier. Now, I don’t mean some stuffy, guy teaching you to swirl and spit. I mean, real honest to goodness wine expert that not only loves his trade, but has an endless amount of information, history at his disposal inside his head. He told us that the adjacent monastery, that is in the heart of the vineyard, was built and is still occupied by Benedictine monks. He explain to us that the Antinori family who owned this winery, and has been making wine for 26 generations (since 1365) and has vineyards all over the world. Then, he offered to take us into the cellar of that ancient monastery to see where the Antinori family stores and ages their wine. This is not something that is open to the public, so we were quick to take him up on the offer. Once inside this cold, dark, massive cellar, we saw hundreds of oak barrels housing the ’sleeping wine’. We walked from room to room, learning more and more about the history of the monastery, the monks that live inside and of course of the wine making process.

Once our tour of the wine cellar was complete and our bellies were full, we hopped back in the car with Michael for a nice ride back to the JK Place. Of all the experiences that Rob and I have had around the world, this one is definitely up there among the best. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience!

# # # #

Bravo! offers many types of private, VIP, behind the scenes and exclusive tours and services. Bravo! has the contacts in Italy to arrange unparalleled experiences and services that you will NOT find anywhere else! For more information on Bravo! read Rob’s blog.

Badia a Passignano’s “La Bottega” and “L’Osteria” are open every day from 10am-11.30pm; La Bottega and the Sala del Torchio are open for tastings on Sundays (10.30am-6.30pm). Tel/Fax: 055-8071278.

We’ve all watch the news, heard the stories and have seen the pictures of Haiti. Maybe you have already donated some money to the numerous charities that are sending volunteers, supplies and food to ravaged Port-au-Prince. It’s also possible that maybe you don’t have a ton of money to donate and wish that you could help. I have the perfect answer for you!
One of my fellow bloggers, Diana from  The Chic Life , was inspired by this vegan bake sale taking place in NYC by Super Vegan, that she decided to organize an Online Bake Sale for Haiti! She’s a great girl who’s harnessing the power of the internet to help those in need! This is a chance for all those Suzie-Homemakers to help in a big way!
There are two ways to participate. ‘Bake it’ or ‘Eat it’. It’s as simple as that.

Personally, I’m making my famous ‘dark chocolate cherry & nut clusters’ Yummy!

Check out the details below for more information!

Bake Sale for Haiti Details:

• This bake sale will be online, so you don’t have to be local to bid.

• Shipping will be for US and Canada (bakers will indicate where they are willing to ship to).

• The Chic Life be posting bakers and what they’re donating as they are received (trying to have the list complete the day before the bake sale).

• The bidding on the bake sale will take place Wednesday, January 27th, 2010 all day – from 12:01 am till 11:59pm ET.

• Bids will be accepted via comments and email, but they will have a separate bidding page ready for the actual bidding day.

• All money raised from the bake sale will be donated to the American Red Cross Haiti Relief and Development Fund.

After 12 hours of air travel, only to land in a freezing cold New England blizzard, we just wanted a hot shower, a warm meal and a comfy bed . The closest that we were getting to being home, was my home in Beantown, XV Beacon. Rob and I had plans to hit one of Boston’s great restaurants, but we were exhausted. We knew that Chef Jamie Mammamo co-owns some of our favorite Boston restaurants like Mistral, Sorelina and Teatro and he also co-owns the hotel’s restaurant, Mooo. To make things easy, we decided to just walk downstairs and grab an early dinner at Mooo.

The first thing that struck us was the decor. As in all of their restaurants, they keep it modern without losing that intimate and elegant feel that you desire when you are out on the town with special someone. Our table, tucked in a cozy corner in the back of the restaurant had two oversize chairs that made us feel like royalty being shielded from the paparazzi at the next table.

First we glanced at the drink menu. We saw an exceptional list of great wines, definitely known as one of the best in the city; however just coming straight from the grape fields of Tuscany, we opted for one of the seasonal specialty cocktails. For me, the pumpkin pie martini was calling my name. When it arrived with a dollop of whipped cream, I knew it would not disappoint!

Once we had our drinks, an absolutely sinful pan of freshly baked rolls arrived! This is when I knew we were not just ‘grabbing a bite’. This was going to be amazing.

Now for the main menu. The only problem that we had was making a choice! How can you with items like Kobe beef dumplings and main lobster bisque to start off, followed by choosing the perfect cut of steak. Would we choose be the perfectly seasoned filet, the crowd favorite Delmonico or possibly the 100% Kobe Kagoshima Prefecture from Japan. By the way, Kobe is now “in fashion” in many steakhouses across the country, however, not all Kobe steaks are created equal. Many steakhouses promote “Kobe-style” beef, taken from domestically-raised. This is not the same as real, Kobe that is flown in from Japan and served in restaurants like Mooo. Once we’ve decided on our steaks, for me the lean eight-ounce filet and for Rob the Delmonico, it was time to choose sides. I prefer vegetables with my steak, like the nice exotic mushroom mix, but honestly, the Moo mac and cheese with lobster was calling our name! So, we decided on both.

Then, the dessert menu came. I should have never looked. With items like the S’More, Bananas Foster and Bailey’s Hot Fudge Sundae for Two, this dessert menu is sure to bring you right back to your youth (with an adult twist of course).

After we ate as much of the insanely decadent bananas foster as we could, we paid our check and went upstairs to our room and crawled into that comfy bed that we were so desperately needing. Yes, we ordered way more food than we could have ever eaten. We did not finish most of it, but we definitely do not regret our choices!

My Team ~ The Savage Girls

Six Weeks Out From Showtime!

My last blog regarding my results was in early October ‘09. I had proudly lost 8.5 lbs and many inches. I had done well, I had the experience and the background to do this. But at that point, my goal shifted. I wanted to not only compete at the Ms. Bikini America Championships, now I wanted to make the Top 10 in my division! This is when I hired fitness competition guru Cathy Savage and her team to whip me into fitness competition shape during the last six weeks of pre-contest prep. You’ve probably seen Cathy on MTV’s Made. She’s the master when it comes to getting girls stage ready (FYI- She also has a lifestyle program for those who don’t want to compete, but just want the abs!). During the six week period, I sent Cathy’s team front and back check-in pictures weekly so they could determine the course of action in regard to my nutrition and exercise plans. Each week slight changes were made to allow the maximum results. There were days I felt exhausted and days I felt exhilarated. It was truly a challenging mental and physical journey.

Viva Las Vegas

On November 17, 2009 I boarded my flight to Viva Las Vegas with a cooler filled with cooked chicken breast, egg whites, sweet potatoes and asparagus. The best part of the flight was watching four or five super fit people with coolers presumably filled with chicken board the plane. By this point, I had done everything that I could to change my body, now it was time to have fun, enjoy the process, rock the stage and put my hard earned results to work.

The three-day event was filled with registration, media, photo shoots, spray-tan appointments and a final Savage Team meeting. At the start of the meeting, Cathy and her team of choreographers, nutrition experts and past winners watched as we all stripped down and walked one-by-one as we would on stage for a final critique. In line with the 75 other Savage Girls, I felt more nervous walking for my coaches than I expected I would the next morning in front of the judges. I guess this is the first time during the weekend that I’d be judged. I hadn’t been on a fitness stage in six years! At that point I was thinking “what have I gotten myself into”. Then, one of the coaches said next and it was my turn to walk. I pushed my nerves out of my head and reminded myself of the commitment that I made to myself and the goal that I had set to make the Top 10. If I couldn’t walk in an empty ballroom for my fitness-family, how would I be able to do it in front of the real judges and audience! As I was walking up, Cathy looked directly at me and said “You look amazing!”. That’s it, it’s all I needed to hear. No more nerves. The guru of fitness chicks just told me I looked amazing.

Friday, November 19th, 6am ~ My alarm didn’t even need to go off because my body knew it was time to wake up. This was the day that I had been training for since August 9th. This is what every 5am cardio session and grilled chicken breast was for! Hair, make-up and I was ready. Backstage was a frantic place. I grabbed a quiet spot, put on my headphones and listened to my power song Kevin Rudolph’s “Let It Rock!”. My division was called and I was the 9th to go onto the stage. I was nervous, emotional, anxious and excited. My oh-so-supportive husband was sitting in the first row with some great friends that flew in for the event and my Mom who decided to surprise me in Vegas a few days earlier! I also knew I have the Team Savage in the audience getting ready to scream for me. From the moment my foot hit the stage, I was on. I gave it all I could in that moment. The best part was that I actually remember each of the 60 seconds, which in the past it’s always been a blur. But this time, I kept telling myself to enjoy the results of reaching my goal. As often, we set a goal and reach it, only to quickly set another. Not me, not this time. I was bound and determined to enjoy each and every minute of hearing that crowd cheer.

The Results Show

Saturday, November 20th, 10am ~ My division was called out onto the stage. We all showed up, ready to compete but only 10 of us would get the chance to walk the stage again today for the judges. This was the moment for me. This was my ultimate goal for this show, I wanted, no I needed, no I was going to make the Top 10. This is what I had on my vision board, this is what I had on my goal list, this is what I had in my brain over the last 12 weeks. It was in this moment that I would find out my fate. As we lined up on the stage, I definitely began to get a little nervous. The women that I competed against were stunning. But, I had no regrets, I can honestly say I did my best. Then announcer began… she called the first girl into the Top 10, wasn’t me, but still 9 more spots to go! Then I heard #93 Kimberly Murgatroyd! You would have thought that I just won an Olympic gold medal! I was beaming form ear to ear. I looked down and saw my husband and my Mom crying, which almost made me cry. I did it. I accomplished the goal that I set for myself, I made the Top 10.

Final Weight Loss: 15 lbs

Chest: lost 2.5″

Waist (smallest part): lost 3.5″

Ab (this is that muffin top, love handle area): lost 6″

Hip (widest part of the booty): lost 2.5″

Thigh: lost 2″

Arm: lost 1.5″

Going Forward

Post-show I felt amazing. Especially as I ate a delicious Hershey’s Cordial Cherry Kiss! Looking back over the last 15 weeks, I realized a few things.

1. I love the challenge of pre-competition diet and training. I love being able to create the physique that I want, when I want.

2. I love being on the stage. I enjoy the friendly competition. I love that it motivates me and gives me a goal to strive for each and every workout.

3. I love how my family, friends and team supports each other. From my daughter toughing it out through meals of chicken, my husband getting up for EVERY 5am cardio workout to my Mom & Dad planning the most amazing surprise. Support is key.

Going forward, I have already planned my competition schedule for 2010. First show is March 20, 2009! My goal has is to make the Top 5 in 2010. In addition, I will compete in the Fitness Division, which includes a 2 minute routine filled with dance, gymnastic, strength & flexibility.

This is something that I truly love to do. It challenges me every day. It challenges my will-power. It challenges my body. Life is about finding what you love to do and doing it. Don’t let excuses stand in your way of following your dreams in 2010. As we say, Excuses are over. It’s time to live!

XOXO

Kimberly

The perfect picture is one that triggers your memories. The perfect picture is the picture that makes you say “Remember that….that’s when….” When you’re taking a photo, there are no rules. Photos capture moments. When you’re traveling,  you don’t just want to remember the monuments in the places you’ve been. You want to remember how delicious the food was, funny moments with your friends and especially the magic moments with your family.

With the Holidays quickly descending upon us, many will be traveling abroad for a fantastic snow inspired vacation or simply sharing special moments with family.

I’ve had multiple pictures of my travels make it to CNN’s Travel Snapshots page. I also get tons of emails on how I take such great pics, so decided to give you three of my top tips for taking great photos. I’d also love if you share your favorite tips for taking great pics in the comments section!