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Walking The High Line in New York City.
July 22, 2018
in New York, travel, United States

New York. State of Mind.

It had been two years since I last took a vacation. Two years since I boarded a plane. Two years since I left Illinois, the Chicagoland area, at all. I hardly believed it myself when I went to write that in an Instagram caption three weeks...

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Joey Chestnut wins the 2018 Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest on the Fourth of July at Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York.Joey Chestnut wins the 2018 Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest on the Fourth of July at Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York.
July 8, 2018
in competitive eating, New York

The Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest on the Fourth of July

I used to watch the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest on TV every Fourth of July. For some people, Independence Day meant fireworks, barbecues, parades. But, for me, it meant sitting in front of ESPN and watching a row of gurgitators consume as many...

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Miki Sudo wins the women's competition at the 2016 Nathan's Famous Fourth of July hod dog eating contest at Coney Island.
August 4, 2016
in competitive eating, Fourth of July, holiday, New York, travel, United States

Women eat too, you know.

Every Fourth of July the best eaters in the world congregate at Coney Island and go head to head in the world's greatest hot dog eating contest. Half of those eaters are women. You might not know that from the media coverage of the contest. After all,...

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Joey Chestnut wins the 2016 Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest at Coney Island.
July 13, 2016
in competitive eating, Fourth of July, holiday, New York, travel, United States

On traditions, the Fourth of July, and a hot dog eating contest.

Joey Chestnut and Matt Stonie took their prime spots at the center of the table and, from the moment the clock started ticking down, they were both fully focused on the win. For the first few HDBs they were neck and neck but, by two...

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New York from New Jersey.
July 8, 2016
in New York, North America, travel, United States

New York. This Year.

I spent Fourth of July weekend in New York. Obviously. It was my eighth visit since my first time in 1999 and my seventh Fourth of July spent in the city since 2007. Whew. I was there, mainly, for the annual hot dog eating contest but,...

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Men's Contest at the 2015 Nathan's Famous July 4 Hot Dog Eating Contest
July 10, 2015
in competitive eating, Fourth of July, New York, North America, travel, United States

Every Dog Has His Day.

On July 4, 2007, at the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, Joey Chestnut ate 66 hot dogs to Takeru Kobayashi's 63. It was a historic feat: no one had ever out-eaten 6-time champion Kobayashi in hot dogs and some speculated that no one ever would....

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Nathan's After Party at Professor Thom's
July 7, 2015
in competitive eating, New York, North America, travel, United States

A New York Minute.

It was in bar in Sevilla, Spain, many years ago now, when a fellow backpacker asked me what I liked most about traveling. I paused for a moment before saying, "When you're home and wake up the first thing you think is, 'what do I...

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Val Bromann - Choosing Figs
July 21, 2014
in New York, North America, Round the World, travel, United States

A walk in Gowanus with Amber.

I didn't know Amber until I showed up on her doorstep three years ago to crash on her air mattress in Brooklyn for a few nights. Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago and I was moving in again (this time upgraded to a...

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New York
July 18, 2014
in New York, North America, Round the World, travel, United States

Things to do in New York.

It was my sixth time in New York but the first time I stepped back and thought, time and time again, "I could live here." I could live in New York. I really think it had to do with the advent of the smartphone, allowing me...

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Life List: Walk cross the Brooklyn Bridge
July 16, 2014
in Life List, New York, North America, Round the World, travel, United States

Life List #183: Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.

The one touristy thing I had on my New York to-do list was to take a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. I was planning to go solo, but, when my friend Kristin told me that she'd never done it before either, we decided to meet...

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Hi, I’m Val. I spent most of my 20s in a standstill, unable to pick which path in life I wanted to take. I wanted the nomadic life of a traveler but also wanted the husband, the condo, and the teal couch. Unable to decide which life I wanted more, I did nothing. I lived my life in limbo. When I turned 30 I’d had enough of putting my life on hold and decided to start “choosing my figs.” So, I quit my job and bought a one-way ticket to Europe. After 3 years on the road I’m back in Chicago, exploring the city, learning guitar, decorating my apartment in too much teal, cuddling my cats, and planning my next adventures.

            

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2006 –

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WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO IN YOUR LIFE?


Feeling stuck? Sick of living your life in limbo? Want to finally do all those things you always say you're going to do? Sign up for the Choosing Figs newsletter now to get a FREE e-book with tips on starting your own life list, inspiration for things to do in life, and worksheets to get your life goals out of your head and into action!


Your information will be used to send you our Life List e-book and subscribe you to our bi-monthly newsletter. View our full Privacy Policy.



            


MEOW | Is Val in Chicago?