Splendid

doors shutting...

I snapped this picture in London while we were waiting for the tube to come.

 

Made with Studio Calico Front Row kit, Marcy Penner printables and evalicious flair.

cheers mate

I love the instagram prints from Persnickity Prints!  I was so excited when these arrived the other day. 

     

(using the Studio Calico Front Row kit)

instaweek.

Well, we had a nice spring break...Las Vegas wasn't very warm so we didn't swim or hang by the pool like we'd hoped, but we were busy house and school hunting anyways.  Anyone who knows me either in person or through this blog knows we are a family of gyspies.  My husband is a corporate gypsy and he has a great opportunity within his company that he couldn't refuse, so we're moving again...Us, you say, that's weird... but yes, it's true.  Las Vegas was pleasantly better than I thought.  We'll live in the outside suburban areas, with more greenery and nice outdoor spaces.  So come May, after the girls' finals, we'll be moving westward.  I hope you'll bare with me through the moving process and my absenses. 

Thanks. 

windowlust

I just found this, I thought I'd put it up before. I saw this window while walking in Amsterdam last month and fell in love with the fun, eclectic assortment of globes and plants.  I dream of a window like this, although you need a super cool house for it to go in... fingers crossed for one day...

 

(most of the supplies are Studio Calico Front Row kit)

<3 <3 <3

I love this picture of Dave and I in Amsterdam last month.  We took one of those hop on-hop off canal boat tours (well, actually we bought a 2 day pass because it was nice to go on the many canals through Amsterdam and be able to get off and go eat or go to a museum, then get on again and go somewhere else) (plus it's much cheaper than a cab) (plus it was freezing a couple of the days there so it was nice and toasty warm inside).

I snapped this picture with my phone and uploaded it to instagram. A couple days later I noticed the sweet Alexandra had this on her instagram.  At first I didn't notice who it was, then I did and was so excited, she totally suprised me. Isn't it cool? 

evalicious europe mini

I won this seriously awesome scrapbook mini kit from the talented Evalicious' blog hop.  I was super excited when it arrived, once I saw all the colors and scrapbook flair and tags I knew I'd use it to document our recent trip to Europe. 

 
       
   
   

 
 
         

Thank you evalicious for this fantastic mini book, I absolutely adore it!!!

European vacation recap

Just a photo recap...Even while it was cold this time in Europe, seeing old friends and favorite places makes me smile when I think about it.  Dave and I went to London for a week and Amsterdam for 6 days, and it was the longest I'd ever been away from the girls. That last few days I won't lie, my heart was aching for them, but it was great to get away with my husband who I don't get to spend too much alone time with. (most of these are from my iphone, sad, but carrying around my huge Canon does get tiring. I used it in London and Amsterdam a couple times, and at Stonehenge).  

There are many more pictures, but I won't bore you further.  This was a great trip, so many interesting things to revisit in London, seeing my lovely friends Diane and Jen, yummy restaurants, hair of the dog, British trains and countryside,  Stonehenge...and Amsterdam so many new experiences, Anne Frank House, Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh musuem, old cobblestone streets, the canal tours, walking through the Red Light District (gross) and Jordeen neighborhood, these are memories I will remember fondly. 

California Academy of Sciences

Last summer while on summer break in San Francisco we went to the California Academy of Sciences. These are just 3 of the many pictures I took while we were there, so I have lots more to scrapbook. 

Using part of an Amy Tangerine kit and some of her super cute products, I love the cheery, bright colors, reminds me of her :)   and this fun day! (I realized I spelled Francisco wrong after I sewed it on, duhhh.)

around we go.

I loved this blurry picture from the carousel from Pier 39 in San Francisco over winter break. We spent a few days in the bay area and went to some of SF's fun family spots, this night was Pier 39. We ate clam chowder in bread bowls, watched the sea lions barking at each other and all other normal Pier things like salt water taffy and the big carousel. More of some Amy Tangerine goodies are here, the kits she gave me have some of the loveliest goodies!

I do love that city!

mind the gap.

We're here. 

Remembering last summer

Still continuing on with my pile of pictures I need to scrapbook.  Here's a quick page from an Amy Tangerine kit she gave me last summer when she was teaching a class here in Florida.  It was great to see her again and have lunch and catch up, and of course take her class. I just opened the kit the other day and love all the bright colors and fun pieces!  These are from our trip last summer in Portugal, these are from Lisbon, I have 2 other pages coming soon. 

I love these pictures, it makes me smile at the memories associated with them.  Tomorrow Dave and I leave for Europe for 2 weeks, 1 week in London, 1 week in Amsterdam. My mom came out and is staying here with the girls since it would be too much school for them to miss. Usually they travel with us, and I have never been away from them for so long, so I'm freaking out a little.  I know it'll all be okay and they are super close with my mom, but I have to admit my heart feels a little sad to not have them going with me this time. But I look forward to seeing old friends, like Steph Baxter, and spending adult time with Dave (wink). 

tres vite

I have wanted to scrapbook this picture for 2 years, a cute little car from the streets of Paris.  Throughout Europe there are these older, tiny cars and even though in the States we have Fiat or Mini Coppers, I find these old beauties so charming. 

Alexandra, I thought of you:)

Dearest Heart

Pictures from our Labor Day weekend celebrating little sis' 9th birthday at the beaches around Bonita Springs on the Gulf. Loveliest beaches around Florida in my opinion. 

Related articles

Paradise Coast

Where is Bonita Springs, Florida?

Flora

I am so bad about using kits, even nice ones from like Amy Tanegrine or Studio Calico.  I seem to put them aside to use in a minute, then months later I open them up, only to discover the treasures inside. This is a Studio Calico kit from I think early summer. I used it for a simple photo I snapped of a book while in California in July. 

Does anyone know the name of this kit? Hope everyone has a great weekend!

pumpkin patch

Another autumn spent here in Florida, our second, and I think this fall festival was better than the last. We went up to Boynton Beach/Delray Beach to this cute farm stand that had quite the nice fall festival. The wind was out so it cooled it down a bit, making it feel almost fallish. Hurricane Sandy is heading up the coastline so we've had little humidity and I can tell you I LOVE IT!!!

Apple cider donuts, pumpkins and scarecrows, corn mazes and crafts, reminding us of the northeast or western US fall festivals, it was a good day. Any good fall festivals around your area? 

it was a good weekend

Hanging out with my pal Vee back in May was a great weekend.  We have lots in common and I just think she's one of the sweetest, nicest people I know.  I finally scarpbooked these a couple days ago.  I need to go see her again. OR Miss Vee, are you coming here soon for a family trip? 

feed the birds

Two years ago when we went to Paris we visited Notre Dame Cathedral and saw an older woman feeding the birds in the front courtyard.  The girls naturally found it charming and much like the scene from Mary Poppins.  The woman obviously spoke French, but we communicated through gestures and smiles and she shared her bird feed with the girls.  She even poured some over little sis' head and the birds flew all around us and a few landed atop her head. Big sis and I laughed with delight, but Dave, always the germaphob, was worried that the birds would give little sis some weird bird flu. :) 

 

After I was all done with these two layouts I realized I put pics of the Eiffel Tower... I should have put Notre Dame..duh. I made two almost identical layouts, one for big sis' and one for little sis' albums.

mariposa

A month or so before we moved from Mexico City we went up to Valle de Bravo which is about an hour and a half away in picturesque mountains, and there is something magical that happens once a year. Millions of monarch butterflies migrate thousands of miles from Canada to Mexico and we were so excited to see it. Dave and I hiked the steep path up the mountain and the girls rode horses until we reached the crest of the mountain where suddenly clouds of yellow-orange wings fluttered about.  It truly was magical, butterflies landing all over your body, so many butterflies on branches of the trees overhead their weight actually made the branches bend. 

I'm glad I finally got around to scrapbookiong these, I had forgotten what a fun day this was. 

Foi bonito!

(That's Portuguese for "it was beautiful!")

Finally I uploaded last month's trip to Portugal.  This summer was wonderfully delicious with so many awesome travel experiences and seeing old family and friends and making new friends, I neglected crafting and blogging.  But I felt as the days whipped by at light speed, each day was a joy. 

First off, the Portuguese are lovely people, warm and friendly and the area we stayed was serene and smelled of the sea.  Estoril is about 20 minutes from Lisbon and each day we walked along the cragly stone walkways that frame the coastline, past many shops and beaches, past cafes and kiosks selling local novelties. The last 3 days we rented a little Fiat and drove to Lisbon and other days up to Sintra where we hiked forever it seemed to reach an old Moorish castle and sat in the town center people watching and having a foamy cappuccino. Cascais by the sea is quaint with it's narrow streets, paved with bluish-grey and white tiles designed into waves that are lined with brightly painted storefronts and restaurants. And the countryside up towards Spain is something from a storybook with vineyards, small villages and orchards dotted along the skinny two-lane highways.  I felt at times like Clark and Ellen Griswold from National Lampoons European Vacation when they rented the small car and drove through parts of Europe.  Dave drove like he was on the Audubon, zipping past old men weathered from the sun selling fruit on the side of the road in huts or children playing soccer in an open field.  Every once and awhile we'd climb over a small hill and get a glimpse of the sea below, then quickly turn away and headed north. We ate at smallish family owned restaurants with handmade rolls and garlicky shrimp and chicken. We ate two nights at a yummy Indian restaurant (Indian you say in Portugal?  But I was smitten.), and there was the nightly espresso and lemon gelato... 

Dave had 3 days of work and I met a couple of the other wives there with thier hubbies, lovely ladies who I can't wait to see again. Then the last 4 days was just Dave and me, it was our Luna de Miel... we got married when we were very young and nver had a real honeymoon, so we made this our luna de miel (honeymoon in Spanish). Foi bonito!!

Paradise Coast

Hello there!!  Are you still talking to me even though I have been absent?  This past couple months have been awesome, full of loads of great adventures and travels, but I have neglected crafting, blogging and keeping up with regular life... But now back to reality, the girls are back in school and last weekend was our last summer hoorah in the beautiful Paradise Coast ( Naples and Bonita Springs, southern Gulf coast really). We went for the 3 day weekend to celebrate little sis' 9th birthday (today!! Happy birthday big girl!!) and enjoyed days at the beach, mini golfing, jet skiing, shelling and lots of yummy food. 

It was a good weekend.  Happy birthday my little one, I love you so much and am so proud of you. We wish you a year full of lots of love, safety and good times. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

California dreamin'

Hey everyone, we've been traveling around the western US for 3 1/2 weeks enjoying seeing family and friends, being here makes me miss them all like crazy. Lake Tahoe beaches, rafting down the Truckee River, lots of meet-ups with old friends, a day trip to Virginia City, staying up late, sleeping in, walking around San Fransisco (de Young Art Museum one day, California Academy of Sciences another, Golden Gate park, clam chowder on the wharf), high school reunion, big sis' 12th birthday, water park, shopping in SF, Saturday morning farmer's markets, and much more...   Soon we will return to Florida, but this has been a great summer vacay so far.   

We have loved seeing old friends, visiting old stomping grounds, feeling the cool California and Tahoe breezes, and of course being with close friends and family.  It had been too long.  

Now, 3 days back in Florida before we're off to Portugal and Spain!

How has your summer been so far?

 

summer sun...

loving being back at my parents; the air is warm, but dry, the food brings back fond memories and hearing my children laughing and the seeing their smiling faces makes this feel like the best summer yet. 

grand

(using the Studio Calico So Cal kit...love.)

the glades

Yesterday we spent the day in the everglades for Father's Day.  The girls thought it would be a fun outing with their dad to do the whole airboat thing and see an alligator show. We've lived in south Florida for a year now and haven't ever been on an airboat or seen an alligator show, so it sounded like a good thing for dear ol' dad. The everglades are huge, and as beautiful as it is, it is also very dangerous. 

The weather was beautiful, not as hot as it usually is in June, and the captain of our airboat gave us a great tour of the beautiful everglades. We saw 3 alligators and many different species of wildlife. He explained about the exotic vegetation that grows there (most of it is dangerous), the insects that live there (most of them are dangerous) and to never put any body parts over the edge of the boat or in the water (also extremely dangerous). The alligator show was interesting, although it's not a career I'd fancy,it was pretty cool. The show on Animal Planet Gator Boys is shot there and our gator show entertainer J-Mart is on the show. We held a small baby alligator, and while it used my hand as a diaper, the little gator dude was pretty neat, too.  It's crazy to think all of this is literally in our backyard, like our house was the everglades at one day long ago. We often have gators found in residential areas, and it's not strange to hear about people finding gators in the small lakes behind their homes or even in their swimming pools. One thing is for sure, the everglades are beautiful, mysterious, and for sure someplace you do not want to get lost. (or run out of hand santizer). 

remember, go back

I found these pictures the other day from when we were in Bodega Bay, California.  I don't know why, if it was because it was our big summer break from Mexico or what, but I love this summer's pictures.  We came back to the States for like 5 weeks and 12 of those days were spent seaside camping in my parent's RV.  It was a great summer full of really wonderful memories, so when I look back at these pictures, it makes me feel sorta sad and wistful. Life here in Florida has been good, but not like these days in these photos. I want to go back. 

Luckily we're going to California and Lake Tahoe for 3 weeks this summer.  2 weeks at my parents, 1 week in San Francisco and then Bear and I have a week in Monaco and Nice, France! Hopefully make some new, lovely memories!

( btw, I used the Studio Calico So Cal kit.)

today forever

I really am the luckiest. Two nights ago I stayed up late after watching the Real Housewives of NJ reruns and did this. Taken a few months ago in Naples, Florida, I love this picture of my husband and me, but mostly because when I look at it it reminds me of how lucky I am to have him. 

DC with Vee

My lovely, sweet friend Vee invited me to come stay the weekend with her and I jumped at it. It had been almost 2 years since we first met face to face, but for awhile before that we'd been blogger pals. She is such a good person, kind, funny and of course talented. We hung out at her house and had cocktails at happy hour at TGIF, walked around DC Saturday and drove through Virginia and had her yummy chocolate chip pancakes Sunday. Her children are wonderful, polite and I look forward to when our kiddos can all get together. ( and I got to sit in the Vee craft space...pretty rad.) 

 

Smithsonian American Craft exhibit, (taken by Vee)

We were so bad, we didn't get any pics of us together and I lugged around my big ass camera and barely took it out.  So lame. 

Can't wait to see her again soon!

 

 

she sells seashells by the seashore

We went for a little picnic on the beach today in Naples.  Dave had to fly to London for work, feeling rather bummed we couldn't go with him this time, we decided a beach day was in need. On the way down we drove through Alligator Alley and I'm not joking that we easily saw 100 alligators on the side of the road in a canal and on the shores. Crazy!! Then we were star-stuck by wild dolphins swimming along the shore at the beach, it was lovely!





It was a good day.

some warmer pages

From my winter Christmas mini album to warmer weather layouts, I finally scrapbooked some of the dolphin swimming pictures from our day in the Keys a few months ago.  

Same design, just different pictures, one for little sis, one for big sis.  And below, my three favorite people!

I don't know about you, but I am having a hard time keeping up with blogging. Sometimes I think I should just go on a blog vacation.  Do you ever feel like that?
Well, I ordered my Project Life album, I'm getting things together to start it hopefully this week.  Anyone else doing one?

Tall tree...

Last week we had to stop to climb this tree. The pictures do not do it just, it was a massive beast of a tree.  So many long strands of branches and willowy vines dangling down, it beckoned my girls to come up for an investigation...

I am so thankful for my girls!

finally.

So sad, I've been working on this mini (or not so mini, I can't even shut it ) and it's done. From over 2 years ago and moved around through 2 countries, last week I glued in the last picture. Almost a month of European pictures; 11 days in London, 4 days Venice, 5 days in Manchester and ending 5 days in Paris). Whew.  But seriously, one of my most favorite times of my life, a vacation of a lifetime, a dream really!  Here's a little bit of it. 

 

 

There's many more pages, I made a lot of fold out pages and pockets for souvenirs and trinkets.  I wanna go back and do it all again.

Flipper's home

Yesterday we went down to Marathon, Florida to the Dolphin Research Center for a "dolphin encounter" as they call it.  Little sis had said she wanted to swim with dolphins for her bday gift from us, and after asking around about places that have safe, clean and humane dolphin experiences, we found out this place was the best.  The DRC is the original home of Flipper and they currently do rehab and house dolphins that other aquariums cannot keep.  It's a beautiful little place and you can tell the staff really love these flipper-ed guys and take really good care of them.  What a beautiful afternoon!  The girls loved it as much as I did! Bear acted as photographer and took pictures. 

 

Little sis started it off with a hand shake, so cute, they come up and stick their little flippers in your hands.

Then they gave us each a kiss on the cheek!

 

 We got a dorsal pull ride and got to do hand signals for them to show us their favorite tricks!

 

The DRC also has small water park area and some beautiful waterfall and gardens.

    

After we grabbed lunch at this neat little place on the water (the ahi tuna nachos were delish!). The windows are all open and while it was warm and humid, it was also relaxing. We watched the boats pull up and dock in the back, people coming to grab a piece of key lime pie or a cold beer from the bamboo-covered bar. (And while there was a lot of Tommy Hilfiger tropical shirts going on, but it was still nice...)

          

  
(Pretty sure she cheated here...)

and finally, had to laugh and snap a photo of this beauty. I just about peed my pants at this billboard, so fab-u-lous!

Sketch Thursday

October Afternoon's Sketch Thursday  was a great sketch, and it prompted me to grab a couple pictures.  These are from our European vacation 2 years ago...I still haven't scrapbooked that trip...or the European trip last year, I am slacking...

Hope everyone has a happy, safe weekend.

Vacation getaway...

The August prompt over at the Creative Type is Vacation; like in a place you've gone or a place you would like to go.  So come play along!  This month we're kicking off a new Creative Type, with a couple new designers, prizes, You Tube Videos, and some rad guest designers, so come over and check us out!!

Here's mine;

Even though I've been super lucky to live in another country and travel a good bit of the world, I really, really love the daydream of touring America in an airstream trailer.  Stopping off at famous diners and eateries, picking what highway to take as we come to it, going to out-of-the-norm museums, sleeping with the windows open so you can hear the crickets at night, smores at each campfire...sounds so great!!

What's your vacation daydream?  Or do you have a picture from vacation you want to scrapbook?  Make a mini album and show us!!

and it was hot and muggy

and buggy, but we loved spending the day in Key Biscayne together.

and it doesn't look like it, but behind us was a large, looming dark cloud, then it started to rain.  But we were still together.

fancy that...

In London it's bloody cold this winter...the first 3-4 days were actually not too bad, damp and chilly, but the last 5 were SOOOOO cold! While I usually like the winter cold and really don't mind a brisk day, it had been really nipply...but I'll take it happily. I love this city!!!

 
 
 
 

We went down to Harrods one afternoon. We've seen it before, but each time we're amazed at the store's grandeur.  It goes on and on, one room of designer clothes spilling over into another room of fine gourmet foods. We bought a few trinkets as gifts for family and had lunch at the Chinese counter. 6 chicken-chive dumplings and 3 jasmine blossoming teas=28 pounds....but the experience was so worth it.
   
 
 
 

The girls also met their British pen pals, who've they've been corresponding with for 4 years. Last year when we were here they were sick and couldn't meet up.  But this year we met up at the British Museum and had a lovely day!  Big sis and her pen pal are the same age and little sis and her pen pal are the same age. There is a middle sister in their family and little sis and her bonded quickly, now they have decided to be snail-mail pals, too!

  
   
 
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 

On day 6 we went to The Sherlock Holmes Museum located at 221b Baker Street.  What an amazing place, all the authentic Victorian items whisked us back in time. The girls loved it, and I must say, I did, too.  
 
 
 
  
 
  
  
  
 
We also stopped by the Tate Modern  Museum. While most of the art in there is not my favorite type of art, it's still a beautiful museum with many great pieces by quite a few famous artists.

 

Matisse
 
Jackson Pollack

 

Joan Jonas

  
 
And a day with my lovely, lovely, lovely pal Steph at the Natural History Museum and later dinner, was fun.  Last year we met for the first time since (we're both crafty bloggers and are on the Creative Type DT) at Hampton Court. It was great to see her again!! My daughters adore her and love her "fancy" way of talking.

  
  
 
 
 
Can't wait to see her again next year (hopefully it won't be SO cold.) (geez.) (Or she could always come visit me here in the US whn we move back in a month...ahem...)

Another day, London Tower and London Tower Bridge.  Dave was free that afternoon to join us! He hasn't been to that part of London for many years, so I was glad he was able to come with us more this time.  

 
  
  
  
 
 
 
  
 
In the Salt Tower there are these beautiful, ornate carvings in the walls from the prisoners held there hundreds of years ago.

Portabello Road was fun, too.  We looked at many antiques, cute boutiques, bakeries and fun kitschy things. The girls each got a matryoshka for their collections and I bought a Matryoshka pepper grinder. Dave bought me an antique ring as a surprise when I was inside a store, making it even more of a special gift!

  
  
 
  
  
The last two days we just sort of went wherever the Underground took us.  We ended up at places such as St. Paul's Cathedral, walked over to Shakespear's Globe, back to Big Ben, Hyde's Park to watch skateboarders and ultimate frisbee players, Hamleys Toy Store in Piccadilly and through Borough Marketplace.

  
  
  
   
  
 
  
  
  
  
 
  
  

 

It was, as always, a fantastic city to visit.  We ate yummy pub food, had fun with new and old friends, toured a lovely city and can't wait to go back next year!

A wish and review...

Hi there new year! I'm glad to meet you...I hope you'll be good to me this next year.  I'm looking forward to being friends..And I'm wishing you all the most wonderful year to come!  Can you believe it's 2011?  Any special wishes for this new year?  Mine is smooth transition. We have a lot of big things happening, even in the first 3 months, and I wish, eyes tightly shut, for a smooth transition, free of hiccups and nervous feelings, my girls effortlessly making new friends in a new town in a new school...poor chicas...Dave's new position turns out to be the best ever...I get to shop at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods once again-whoop!....unpacking our little treasures that have been in storage for over 2 years now ( my milkglass, antique camera collection, half of my clothes, cooking gadgets), look for a new home, need to buy a new car, a new couch, find a school for the girls, find a new hairdresser, find new doctors, new acupuncturist, new driver's license, new phone number, pray the girls are happy, poor chicas.... well, you?  What's your wish?  I hope we both get ours.

Now onto a year in review with pictures...I made 2 mosaics.  I thought about doing more, I take a lot of pictures, so 2 was hard to cram in only the most important. Which is hard, because each day is important to me... There's quite a few trips and special times missing, but this gets the 2010 gist across.

 
 
Travel, birthdays, holidays, lost teeth, living abroad, meeting new friends, visiting with old friends, crafting, heartache over lost pets, lessons learned, all in all, it was a good year.

mariposa.

We had a mini-vaca in Valle de Bravo/Avandero this week. A couple nights and days spent sitting by a campfire, eating amazing Mexican food, jumping on a trampoline, playing with some puppies, listening to the waterfall outside our hotel window, as well as hiked up a mountain (literally, I'm exhausted) to see the millions of monarch butterflies that cover the trees and forest floor as they do each winter when they migrate here from Canada.  Just amazing to see.

  
 
This picture does nothing to show how many there were magically fluttering around.  There were thousands and thousands, dangling upside down in trees, so many the weight of them making branches bend. It looked like bright, orange leaves falling to the ground or blowing in the wind.  They covered the path and we had to be careful not step on them. They landed on our heads and shoulders, the girls were so excited.

 
The girls rode horses up the mountain because it's a STEEP 3 kilometer climb (roughly a little over a mile and a half).  Dave and I hiked it.

 
 
We stayed at a nice, little hotel called Refugio del Salto. Our cabana was next to a waterfall and it was so wonderful to sit out on our balcony or go to sleep at night with the pounding water relaxing us. We ate breakfast in the restaurant overlooking the waterfall and spent a afternoon and night sitting by a campfire with new and old friends.

 

 
 It was a good mini-vacation...

not another sweater for Xmas....

Not that I don't love me a dandy sweater, or some fun wedges, or any other piece of clothing...but I love to travel, too.  This next 2 months are FILLED with it, too!!!  The end of January I will be going here again... 

 
LONDON!!  My favorite city in the world!  
And then we're going to here...

 
 
(photo credit)   Barcelona, Spain...que bueno!!!

 
(photo credit) Madrid, Spain, mas bueno!!

There's a real chance of Argentina, too, but I have to wait to see on that (but crossing my fingers!)
The other places, not as fabulous; Las Vegas soon (sorry LVites)and then later in February to pretty Scottsdale, Arizona. My wonderful husband won a 4 day vacation at the lovely Sanctuary Camelback Mountain Resort and Spa in Arizona. Woo-hoo! PLUS, the most fab-u-lous thing, is March 1st I'm moving back to the US...muchas gracias...more on that later once I have concrete details.

So, like I said, I love a good sweater, but this ain't too shabby either...

la vida buena

Valle del Bravo is about an hour and a half from my house here in Mexico and I love it there.  It reminds me of the area I grew up in the States around Lake Tahoe or areas of Nevada City; clean mountain air, the refreshing pine smell, crickets off in the distance, BBQing in the night, the smell of wood smoldering is very comforting...

Golfing, massages at the spa, swimming, nature walks, horseback riding, delicious food, heaven...

 
 
  
  
  
  

 
  
  
  
 
I can't wait to go go back! That place is lovely and reminds me of where I grew up, it makes my heart smile...

bisous, bisous

I figured it's about time that I scrapbooked the pictures from our Europe trip earlier in the year.  Here's a couple from the 5 days we were in Paris.  I'm also starting a mini book of the whole 3+ weeks we were there. More to follow soon...

 
When I turned 30 (a few years ago, ahem...) I made a list of 100 things I wanted to do in my life.  One was french kiss at the Eiffel Tower.  This year I got my wish...( blush...)  Do you love little sis' sweet, smiling face in the picture? yeahhhh...and I used the last Studio Calico kit for these two, almost all of them, but I can never entirely stick to just one kit when making a LO.

 
This is across the street from the Eiffel Tower, a fun, old-fashioned carousel...Little sis was all to happy to go for a hair-raising ride!

summer vacation mini

I finally got around to finishing my summer vacation mini book.  I actually have one page half done (of our San Fransisco trip), but the rest is done.  It was a fun one to make, I love minis, I don't know why I don't do them more often...

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
2 months total away from Mexico on vacation, traveling through the US seeing fam and friends; 9 days spent in an RV on the beach, walks through the Redwood Forest, many photobooth pictures with Dave and friends at my fave bar (the signature Fred and Ginger cocktail was my summer drink), roller-coasters, pink, sticky, pink cotton candy fingers, concerts (General Public in Truckee under the stars and Matisyahu in a hazy, pot-filled auditorium), Saturday morning farmer's markets, DRIVE-THRU Starbucks (!), shopping in San Fran (God I miss UO), clam chowder on the wharf, yummy ice cream from Bi-Rite creamery, ocean waves crashing on the beach, Crafting Wednesdays, Tahoe Mondays (and the occasional Thursday), Forever 21 stops, American tv, annual girls trip to Ohio with dear friends whom I miss the other 361 days a year, Trader Joes (God I miss TJ's...), thrifting, thrifting and more thrifting, BBQs with family, riding my bike along the river, my morning walks through the forest each morning, State Fair Carnival, El Pollo Loco, time spend with my mom (miss her so much!), sand between my toes, sleeping in, hoping summer would never end. I loved making this mini book, all the pictures hold such wonderful memories!  
 

mas moda; island of the dolls

I saved these from a couple weeks ago when we went to the Xochimilco and visited the island of the dolls (Isla de las Muñecas). Fitting for Halloween, no?

 
 
sweater- nordstrom rac

shirt- pull and bear

pants- bought a year ago somewhere in Philadelphia??

shoes- way old dr. scholl's I got on sale at macy's---hands-down the most confotable shoes I have

hat- bought in california, where?

necklace- UO

prelude to halloween; la isla de las muñecas

There is a part of Mexico City called Xochimilco that is very famous for it's canals and boats rides.  One can hop upon a canal boat and take a slow, leisurely trip through miles and miles of canals.  This is where Mexico City actually started thousands of years ago. People lived on the canal banks and on the small islands tucked in the waterways.  They fished and grew vegetables, used canoes and made barges to cross the water.  Now there is a huge population of greenhouse growers surrounding the area.  The largest florist market in North America is down from the entrance of the canals. 

We took a day to visit the canals and go for a boast ride. I nice man named Lupe steered the boast using a long stick. We asked him to take us to the isla de las muñecas (island of the dolls), famous on many travel chanel shows for the strange, eccentric man who lives there.  Many years before he started decorating his very tiny island with dolls; small, big, Barbie, peek-a-boo, with heads, without, all different types...He believed the dolls would ward off evil spirits and protect him. It was the perfect outing to get us into the mood of October's spoooooookiness...(insert a maniacal laugh here)...

 

  
   
 
Then we headed back down the canal and saw boats with singing mariachis, boats with ladies frying tortillas for sale, a large pig I'm sure on his way to be slaughtered, and a man coming by our boat with a assortment of plants for sale. We bought an ceramic elephant with a plant and a small ceramic pot with some sort of greenery.

  
We're having a kids Halloween costume and cupcake decorating party the week before Halloween.  We have our costumes picked out; big sis is a Grecian Goddess and little sis is a geisha. Dave and I are also having an adults only Halloween party. I was thinking of being Sookie and Dave could be a tall, bloody Eric . I have a vampire lady costume, we'll see about Dave. If you're celebrating Halloween, hope you're getting excited for it!  Any special plans or costumes?

wanderlust

I love that word, wanderlust.  Fits me perfectly.  I love to travel, go on long trips or short day trips.  Visiting new far-off places or just strolling through close-by neighborhoods to look at homes and gardens or see what we can find that's new or interesting. I thought I'd try to start doing a wanderlust post every now and then.  Just one or two pictures from an every normal day to neat trips we're on. Sometimes spectacular, other times more mundane. 

(picture taken on Prado Norte in Mexico City)

 
  This is were we often buy for our collection of Catrina dolls. Do you wanderlust, too?

Seaside camping...

The girls and I decided it would be splendid to spend 8 days on the northern California coast with my mom.  And it was.  I love the ocean, especially the Pacific coastline.  My parents have a new 40 ft travel trailer which I thought might be a pain and tight, but this thing has it all.  Bathroom, full kitchen, DVD/CD player, flat-screen tv, indoor/outdoor speakers, comfy beds...made me rethink trailer living...  We stayed in a RV park in Bodega Bay, about an hour north of San Fran. It was pretty chilly at night, more so than normal the local people said, but I loved smelling the eucalyptus trees and walking down to the beach and hearing the waves crash against the sand.  We loved making smores in the middle of the day and leaving the dishes in the sink until the next morning.  (My dad, "Mr. Clean," drove us up there, parked and hooked up the trailer, then left us = fab.u.lous.) We went to an Apple County Festival in Sebastopol (one of my favorite Cali towns from back in my Deadhead days) and ate apple fritters, bought handmade soaps, watched a canning demo, saw amazing crafts, big sis did a beekeeping demo (knowledge from her Philadelphia Homeschoolers beekeeping class) with a Sonoma County beekeeper, and listened to some awesome bands.  We walked through magnificent Redwoods, dazed by their grandeur and sublime beauty, all the while looking for gnomes and butterflies and treehuggers.  We played in the cold Pacific water and had sand in places sand should not be. We found endless supply of seashell booty and laughed at the boobing heads of sealions peeking at us way out in the tides to see what all the screaming laughter was about. We ate salt water taffy for appetizers at dinner and flew kites and made baby voices at sea lions on a pier. We went to farmer's markets and bought local, organic produce and cheese. We shopped in cute, little boutiques and perused shops with seashells, smoked salmon jerky and retro toys.  We went antiquing and thrifting in quiet, shingle-sided towns. We visited the schoolhouse where Hitchcock's "The Birds" was filmed.  We visited an old barn that birds lived in. We ate organic, handmade ice cream in flavors like strawberry jubilee and deep, dark secret. We visited local sites and lighthouses, climbing sandy hillsides high above, overlooking the ocean and sandy dunes. We walked along the Russian River and chatted with some people at the Sundance Festival (a gay community festival). We stayed up late watching Glee episodes on my computer and slept in until 10. We played games and rode bikes and ate fish-n-chips three times. It was a good week.

 

 


 
   

 
 
 






 
 
 
 
  

 

 
 
 

 

 



 
  
  

 

 

  

What a lovely end to a beautiful summer.  This was by far one of my most favorite summers, visiting with friends and family, traveling a bit, going to Lake Tahoe, crafting, camping in Sonoma, all of it was awesome!  We go back to Mexico in 3 days.  I'm a little heartsick, but it'll be okay.

(I know this was a long one with a lot of pictures---but it was more for me, so thanks for hangin' in there!)

What was your favorite thing about your summer?
 

Ohio girls rock!

I'm FINALLY with internet here in Bodega Bay, California...my wireless was on the fritz. I was in Ohio last weekend for our annual all-girls weekend with some of my favorite people as previously mentioned in my last post.  Mandi was the hostess with the most-est, we all had a great time hanging out in her so fab apartment and crafting, laughing, drinking way too much, noshing, thrifting and antiquing....I miss them already and can't wait for next year.

Mandi**  and     Vee**

 

  

Pattycakes**     and     Steph**
 

Jen**   and Vanessa***

  
 


   
 
  

watching one of my fave's create...so rad!

 

as always, Patty got scared and hid in the bushes...geesh!

 
  
In Cleveland, at Luckie's Cafe...
 
  
(The rest are taken by the other girls)

I bought so much milkglass from the multiple thrift store stops I had to mail it all back...

 
Jen and me in front of an awesome antique store ( I miss this girl so much!)

 
This was so exciting-this is when Mandi found out she got a job blogging for Apartment Therapy!  We were not surprised, of course, she's uber talented!

And equally exciting was Vanessa found out her plans of opening her own coffee shop/cafe in York was going to happen!!  

 

 
What an awesome weekend!  I miss them all already, each has such a wonderful, lovely spirit, each full of special qualities that make me so proud to be their friend. Next year it's at my place, I can't wait, it's gonna be so fun!(thank you, thank you very much...in Elvis voice.)

midwest is best...

(source)

Today I leave to fly to Ohio to see my girls...we try to meet up at least once a year for crafting, gossip, shopping, cocktails and laughter.  I CAN'T wait!!!  Each one holds a special place in my heart and this time we even have a couple newbies joining us!  (Hello Vee and Steph, nice to finally meet you in person!)

 

    

 

Mandi, Pattycakes, Jen, Vanessa, we're together again, like super heros or something silly like that........

Farmer's Market

#4 on my summer list; visit a farmer's market...

little sis said, "Mommy, this looks like a nose!" Yeaaahh, fer sure, a nose...

we bought some yummy strawberries...

 



they were yummy, but tres yummy?  Hmmmmm.....

 

even at a farmer's market there are ninja wars with corn numb-chucks!  

Hope you are having a great start to your week!

disposable camera project, camera numero uno

I love this idea of leaving a disposable camera somewhere for people to find, snap a couple photos, then leave it somewhere else for others to find and do the same until the camera's film is all used up and they mail it back to you.  You in turn get to see where the camera has been on it's exciting little adventure, and with whom.  It sort of reminds me of when the girls and I used to do random love notes in Philadelphia (here and here and here).  We'd write mini notes with funny sayings or encouraging words or messages and stow them in the sugar packets at Starbucks, in between paper napkins at a cafe, in coin slots of parking meters, eye level in cracks in the walls or bushes.  We loved sitting and watching people unexpectedly finding these little word treasures and smiling ear to ear, looking around to see who may have left it. This community photography project makes us excited in a same fashion.  I hope people play along and really do mail it back once it's all finished.

 

So, the girls, Dave and I dropped off a camera in Polanco,a cool little area of Mexico City. We'll see what happens, and we'll post the pictures once it's been returned to us!! When we go home this summer we plan on dropping off a few in different parts of the US, so keep your eyes peeled around you for a small disposable camera, waiting for you to take it on an adventure...