Our last week was filled with a lot of reminiscing over the past 10 weeks, and we wanted to share with you a few of our favorite things, in no particular order:

A) Our first cupcake adventure in Austin, TX. We bought a total of 11 cupcakes between the two of us and ate one on the steps of the Capitol in the rain. This was day 1 of our favorite tradition!

B) The Shoe Box race at Evangel. Check out our week 7 video to watch this hilarious competition. Good job Cayla for being the winner!

C) Surprising the Northwest team in CO. This goes down as the most epic surprise ever and includes a 20 hour drive, lots of new friends, sea level cupcakes, and the best surprised face we have ever seen, thanks to Gypsy!

D) The TCU event. We both graduated from TCU in May, so it was a huge blessing for us to go there and share what we are doing to change the world with the place that taught us the importance of doing so. GO FROGS!

E) Listening to the radio. We now have a Vagabond memory connected with every popular song currently being played on the radio. Probably because we have listened to it for a little over 14,000 miles.

F) Lauren Allen’s TOMS collage. Our UMHB campus rep made us a piece of art that has been on the dashboard of our van, literally leading the way for us on tour.

G) JANE. Our TOMTOM navigation is named Jane and has gotten us where we need to go by telling us to “Keep left. Then keep left. Then go straight on and take the motorway.”

H) Bonnie Brae: 1 mile. The sign in Denton, TX that became the name of our Chevy Express 3500 15 passenger van.

I) House sitting for the friend of the sister of the mom of a Vagabond. It was so interesting to see how many connections we made through friends, family, and people we met on tour.

J) Playing Mexican Train and Golf ALL day Thanksgiving. For about 8 hours, we played games until we were so tired the dots on the dominos started to blur!

K) Rufus, the precious 11 week old cat we met in Chicago… and all of Laura’s other animal friends she made

L) 2 words: Midnight Madness. It is what we call the mood we get when we are really tired, or have been in the van for too long!

M) Tortilla Michael. We are SO glad Michael Goodman could make it to Edmond, OK with us!!

N) Socks with TOMS?! We finally broke down and wore socks with our TOMS when it got too cold. For Kelsey, that was less than 70 degrees, but Laura could probably make it without socks in the snow.

O) Being tourists in Chicago. We walked the Magnificent Mile, went to Millennium Park, ate a hot dog and deep dish pizza, and came across a huge protest.

P) The accent. Somehow in Santa Monica we started talking with a British accent and we can not seem to stop. We met The Carport Girls in Maryville, MO who are in the same situation. “And we know, darlings, it is mildly hard to stop!”

Q) McDonald’s Happy Meal toys. Yeah, we ate there. A lot. And have all the toys saved in our van!

So that is just a taste of the never-ending memories we have from this incredible epic roadtrip to give children shoes. What a trip.

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After Thanksgiving we spent the infamous Black Friday at the epitome of all shopping areas: The Mall of America. The mall was booming with crowds of people, but it didn’t stop Kelsey and me from riding the rollercoasters located in the center of the structure. Nor did the crowd stop us from walking around every level to check out all the stores. At the end of the day our legs were sore but we felt accomplished for surviving such a hectic atmosphere. The weekend was spent hanging out with the Bakken family curling up on a couch watching movies. It was a nice relaxing finish to our Thanksgiving break.

Now we’re in Iowa City, IA with Bekah, the sister of Leah (see blog of Leah below!) gearing up for our event tonight. It is weird to think that Kelsey and I only have five more events left for this whole tour before we head back to California for one last week. We’ve been on the road for over 60 days yet it is still hard to believe the experience is almost over. But what a joy it will be to return to Santa Monica and be with our TOMS family once again. A few things we’re looking forward to: Pinkberry, Yummy Cupcakes, late night vagabonding, EDPs, Third Street Promenade, the beach. Eleven more days… eleven more AWESOME days… See you soon Saaaaanta Monica!

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We had a sweet event at Rockhurst where nearly everyone designed their own pair of TOMS. We also ventured to Platte City for a low-key Style Your Sole party with Trevor “RULES” Cole and his high school friends. Last Friday we had an amazing turnout at our Mizzou event (Go Tigers!) where we sold 87 pairs of shoes and four t-shirts. On Saturday we headed back to Kansas City for the night (we can’t get enough KJ in our lives!) and ate a delicious barbeque meal at Oklahoma Joe’s. We met up with DRob at The Potter’s House in Springfield, MO on Sunday for our MSU event and had a great time meeting those who came to event, especially Miss Cayla who so graciously let us spend the night at her house. Monday was our SEMO event in Cape Girardeau, MO with Rachel H. We left her house early the next morning to head to St. Louis for the day. With our Jilly’s Cupcake Bar cupcakes in hand we stopped in front of the Gateway Arch and continued our “baked good eating/state monument visiting” tradition. In case you were wondering… we’ve now hit four state capitols. Four of four. We’re on a roll…

Sidenote: I don’t know if you listen to the radio as much as we do but we just can’t seem to get enough of Pink, Katy Perry, and T.I. Keep it coming radio stations. We love listening to the same three artists every hour on the hour for an hour.

VAGABONDS: We miss and LOVE you with our whole hearts!!

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Saturday we had a day off from the hustle and bustle. It was much needed time for both Kelsey and myself to rest and relax with our Horned Frog family. On Sunday we had an event with Haley who is the campus rep for UT-Arlington. We had the opportunity to show the documentary in a movie-theatre setting. A few girls painted their shoes and every one enjoyed the delicious cookies Haley’s mother baked. After the UTA event we darted back to Fort Worth for a low-key event at the TCU on-campus apartments. Kanika and her fellow RA friends provided tasty lasagna during the screening of the documentary. This event was small but awesome because it gave us an opportunity to talk to tons of people about the upcoming TCU event on Tuesday. On Monday we visited Plano Senior High School’s National Honor Society meeting. Special thank you to Ms. Denton for allowing us to show the documentary in her classroom. Big thanks as well to Dillon who some might call the “Troy Bolton” of PSHS…go Wildcats!

And then on TCU Tuesday, we finally got to do our long-awaited event at our beloved alma mater: Texas Christian University. During our undergraduate years at TCU, Kelsey and I were both instilled with the passion to create change in the world and become ethical leaders and responsible citizens in the global community. It was obviously such a joy to be a part of the TCU Social Justice Festival because we were surrounded by incredible world-changers. There are so many people to thank for hosting this wicked awesome event, such as Kim Jones, Invisible Children, and Amnesty International. We also want to thank Esther Havens Photography, Wishing Well Africa, and Falling Whistles for having an influential presence on this campus. In our eyes, you are the jam. Our next blog will mostly consist of pictures so you can visually see all the great things we’ve updated you on so far. Until then, grab a bag of pumpkin Hershey kisses…they’re Kelsey’s current fav candy.

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Yesterday was unlike any other day. We decided to make good use of our morning in Austin and go to not one, but two, cupcake shops. In total we bought eleven cupcakes (and in case you’re wondering, yes, it is still just Kelsey and me for this team, but what can I say? We LOVE cake!). So with our cupcakes in hand and the rain pouring down, we ran to the steps of the Texas State Capitol building and each enjoyed a delicious yummy cupcake overlooking the capitol lawn. We aim to make this cupcake/capitol venture a regular occurrence in as many states as possible. Current count: 1.

Over the past two days we have had some fun events around Austin, TX. UT campus rep Jules and her friends at the University of Texas put on a fantastic event where we sold 64 pairs of shoes. I have to admit that this group of Longhorns created some of the most artistic shoes I’ve seen to date. I loved walking around the art tables looking at all the beautiful TOMS that were being created. Well done ladies!

At our event in Bastrop, TX, Sharon and Andrea Gaylor had a wonderful set-up of art supplies and food, including an amazing TOMS Shoes cake (see below). There was an awesome local band called Jim and the TOMS (take a wild guess what they’re named after…) that played during the Style Your Sole party. Kelsey and I agreed on our drive from Bastrop that both Andrea and her mom are two wonderful people that both inspire and challenge us to be more serving. They have an incredible store on Main Street that sells items and products that incorporate “giving back to others” in their business models, TOMS Shoes being one of the main products Andrea showcases. There are so many people in this world aiming to serve and give to others. We’re proud to be among them with this Vagabond Tour. Thank you to all who continue to inspire us to do more for others.

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Goodness, it has been awhile since we updated you on our latest and greatest… but good things are happening in Texas. We had a helpful hand from Invisible Children at our University of Texas at San Antonio event. We sold 22 pairs of shoes at a hookah bar called Sultan’s. It was a grand time. Then we sold 43 pairs of shoes at St. Mary’s University. Annie and her friends had a table full of art supplies, tons of food, and a sweet set-up for our documentary screening. After our time in San Antonio, we headed to Houston for the Westheimer Block Party. It was an interesting day and a great opportunity to tell tons of people the TOMS story. While in Houston Kelsey and I had the joy of meeting up with some great college friends who were so intrigued by TOMS Shoes and the Vagabond Tour. It was a neat experience to share our passion for being a part of this movement with such dear people in our lives. (Go Frogs. WHOO!)

Our biggest event to date occurred at Coffee Station in College Station, TX where the Texas A&M Aggies represented their love for TOMS. We sold 100 pairs of shoes!! It was so exciting and such a thrill to see so many people flock to the table to try on a pair of TOMS. Thank you A&M for topping the charts for the TX/MW region! Today we had an event with Elly from Westlake HS who threw a wicked awesome beach volleyball tournament. We sold 46 pairs of shoes! (Congratulations to Team Obvious Obviously for winning!)

We’ve been meaning to write this for a few days, but major shout out to Katy, Hajar, Stephanie, Heather, Rebecca, and Dustin for being so amazing. Thank you for inspiring and encouraging us on our trek across the Middle USA. You rule. And to our fellow Vagabonds, we miss and love you guys with our whole hearts. Go big or drive by…

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So we decided it would be best to introduce ourselves this time around. Seems appropriate now that we’ll all be spending some good ol’ quality time together via blog-world. We are the Texas/Midwest Vagabond team, ready, steady for domination. In this picture you’ll find me (Laura) on the left and Kelsey on the right. “Taxi on the right!” Background information: I just graduated this May from TCU. Ironically, so did Kelsey. But we weren’t friends. No, really. We weren’t. BUT WE ARE NOW! And we’re having an amazing time on the road becoming long-lost friends. I grew up in San Antonio, TX and Kelsey grew up in Texas City, TX. Texas City = legit town in Texas. The most Texan place in the world. Kelsey’s three favorite things are: 1) Blackberry Sprite from Sonic, 2) OPI nail polish, and 3) her iPhone aka her computer/best friend. My three favorite things are: 1) friendship bracelets, 2) taking pictures of clouds and sunsets, and 3) So You Think You Can Dance. It is nice to meet you all, but enough about us… let’s update you on what’s recently happened in our neck of the woods.

Texas State showed up at Sewell Park for an afternoon Style Your Sole and later stuck around for the screening of “For Tomorrow.” Since the crowd was fairly small we had the opportunity to discuss the documentary and how TOMS has progressed since 2006. It is always cool for us to know that people are being inspired by TOMS to become more involved in the issues of this world. We also had a Style Your Sole event at the house of one of our campus reps in Lakeway, TX (go Lake Travis High School!) It was a small but intimate event where Kelsey and I got to know a couple of students who are working hard in giving back to their community.

To close out this blog we just wanted to share a few pictures with you guys that highlight some of our first events…

Kelsey, Kendell, and Kelli at ACU

Kelsey, Wrap Boot/Artist Zach, and Laura at ACU

Curious Baby and TOMS Van

Style Your Sole at Trinity School of Midland

Kelsey, Blake Mycoskie (founder of TOMS Shoes), and Laura at Abbot Kinney Festival in CA

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As for today we had a superb event in Abilene, TX at Abilene Christian University. We set up shop on their lawn next to The Bean and had a constant flow of interested people coming to try on pairs of shoes. There were great live musicians, mad-skilled artists, and wicked awesome TOMS lovers. We sold 60 pairs of shoes in only a few hours. Thank you, ACU Wildcats!

Kelsey and I can’t begin to explain our awe of the amount of shoes we’ve sold in the past two days. Imagine what the total count for the ENTIRE Vagabond Tour will be come mid-December…the number is limitless! Continue to spread the word to all your family and friends about the Vagabond Tour stops coming your way! Let’s change the world. Who’s with me?

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We feel so lucky to be on the road representing TOMS Shoes and telling everyone about the TOMS Story. Just last night we had the opportunity to share it with the ice cream scooper at Coldstone Creamery. She was in love with the One for One promise TOMS delivers and vowed to visit the website as soon as she got home from work. Any interaction we have with people can turn them into one more supporter of TOMS. What an awesome pressure to have on our shoulders.

We’re having a great time here in Chandler, AZ visiting with a co-worker’s mother. She has been so hopsitable and kind to the both of us. She’s about to show us the sights in this area so have a great day everyone! We’re looking forward to blogging more often, sharing our pictures and videos with you, and joining each other in changing the world. Not too shabby, eh?

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