London Trip

I just got back from my London trip last night and needless to say, I had an amazing time there. I didn't want to come home, it was such a great trip!

I love British people. They are so great. I love how they say, "mind the gap" when you get off the Tube, or "I fancied a holiday..." ahhhh!!! It was all just so great.

It's going to take me a while to blog about everything I did, so I'll start with the first part of our trip, which was Bath. Here are some pics:

 Regency Tea Room at the Jane Austen Centre

 The Royal Crescent 

 Well's (not Wales) Cathedral 

ummm...something weird happened here. But this is the Glastonbury Tor... a place that is rumored to be the mystical island of Avalon.....? 

 view from the top of the Tor 

 Glastonbury Abbey 

 King Arthur's grave?.....

 Ok, this tree has a cool story behind it. The story is that Joseph of Arimathea would come to Glastonbury to sell and trade tin. After Christ was crucified, he took a branch from a tree, brought it to Glastonbury, and put the branch in the ground. When he did, it grew and blossomed. This tree only blooms on Christmas and Easter and the Queen is always given a branch from the tree on Christmas morning. 

 Annndd... this is the Chalice Wells Gardens. A place where Joseph of Arimathea is rumored to have hidden the Holy Grail, and the locals say the water is red from the blood of Christ

 Yes. you can drink the water. It tastes like rust. 

 The well. 

 Another sign about Joseph 

 The Roman Baths! 

 Stonehenge 

 Avebury Stone Circle (which is actually a little bit cooler than Stonehenge, in my opinion) 

 This was the Inn where Elizabeth met Darcy in Pride and Prejudice! 

 Castle Combe

Our b&b in Bath

There are the first few days of our trip! I will blog some more and post more pictures. 

Going to England

So... I told myself I wasn't going to blog anymore.

But I was wrong, I miss it a little bit. And I need your help!

First, I need to tell you that I am going to ENGLAND in October! I am going with my mom and sister and I can't WAIT. But, we are having a hard time deciding on all the places we want to go, and that's where you come in.

Here's our plan so far:

Stay in Bath for 2 or 3 days, visit places around there.

Stay in Wales for 2 days.

Go to London for the last 5 days of the trip.

Here's some towns and side trips we're thinking about going on:

First: Glastonbury - a town where Joseph of Arimathea is rumored to have hidden the Holy Grail and also where King Arthur is rumored to be buried?

promising so far.

Second: Chawton - where Jane Austen wrote several of her books

How quaint. 

Third: Stourhead Gardens (I'm pretty sure I NEED to go here)

lovely, isn't it?

Fourth: Wells (not Wales)

hmmmm....

Fifth: Lacock - old village where Pride and Prejudice and Harry Potter were filmed.

Sixth: Pembrokeshire Coast in Wales (pretty sure I need to go here)

Other ideas: the "Jack the Ripper" Tour in London, Canterbury, Oxford, Bath (for sure), and other places I don't remember.

Anyone have ideas or must sees?? Where would you go??

Tampa

Here are some pictures from our trip to Tampa, we had SO much fun. It was great being able to visit Steve's brother and sister-in-law and play with their kids. :)  It was hard to come home. After this trip, I decided that I really wouldn't mind living in Florida. Why? Well, for one thing, a flight to Europe would be a LOT cheaper out there than it is here. I could go to London and Paris all the time! Maybe.... Also, you have the beach close by, that is an obvious reason. AND, I would get to be close to these cute kids! Enjoy the pictures!

 Brynn

 Alexis and 

Steven

 We saw baby alligators!

 Brynn, Alexis, and Carter

 HARRY POTTER!!

 The whole family.... tear...

 Siesta Key Beach

24 days of Thankfulness

Here it is: The annual thankful list, it's a little cliche, but it's just the perfect time to do it!

At the beginning of November I was going to blog about something I was thankful for everyday until Thanksgiving... which obviously didn't happen. So, to make up for it I will write a list of 24 thank you's for Thanksgiving.

THANKFULNESS LIST:

1. Living close to the mountains, going to Alaska made me appreciate this more for some reason

2. My church calling; love those young women!

3. WEIGHT WATCHERS. Thank YOU for teaching me to eat better so my stomach won't explode

4. Health Insurance

5. A warm place to go home to at night

6. Chocolate. What else needs to be said? 

7. My job, I love those little kids!

8. My country

9. Jane Austen novels and movies

10. College! I am so glad I had the opportunity to receive my degree

11. My parent's dog (who is my namesake), I'm REALLY grateful for her nowadays because she ate some rat poison just DAYS before Kat Call's wedding and almost died. :( I used to be grumpy about her name because this is often what happens at my parents house: "Annnnnnnniiiiieeee!" "What???" "Not you, the DOG!" 

I've learned to appreciate her more now. Love that little rascal. 

12. Food. Good food. I love it so much.

13. Books. Books. Books. Books. 

14. Indoor plumbing, electricity, and all that stuff that is wonderful.

15. Nature.

16. Yoga and Pilates. 

17. Pinterest (and thank you Courtney for bringing it to me)

18. My cruise to Alaska this year

19. Horses, and my cousin Nicole for teaching me how to ride

20. Good friends surrounding me (and will act like they're 12 with me)

This is what it's like when I'm with friends.

21. Family. Family, family, family! My immediate family that I grew up with, and the family the family that I married into. I love all of you SO much! 

22. Hot Chocolate. I drink this nearly everyday

23. Holidays, any of them. I love any reason to celebrate.

24. Last but not least.....

I'm thankful for this swell guy here. 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! 

Good-bye summer, hello fall

Ok, so I know it's been like... 10 years since I last blogged. For some reason... I really just didn't want to. Partly because I couldn't think of anything to write, and also because I didn't feel like it. Wedding planning and planning a fundraiser at the same time just takes a lot out of you (more on the fundraiser later).

BUT I am back. Not only back on the blog, but also back at work. I am at Rose Park Elementary working as a Pre-K assistant... it's pretty much awesome.

With summer coming to an ended, here are some great things that have been going on as we have ended the summer:

 How about that thunder storm a few nights ago?? That was crazy! you can't tell here, but our porch was flooding because there was so much water! Steven was shoveling it out moments before. See that bucket? That was filled just from water dripping from the porch above us within 2 or 3 minutes.

 Lots and lots of rain. Secret: I love summer thunder storms. 

Then there was "pie in the sky":

 I made this key lime pie for cousin Lara's bridal shower. I played around with a new recipe I found, so I'm glad it turned out ok (I was supposed to put zest in... but I didn't. I didn't want to bite into little green things in my pie).

 Pies at a shower? Best idea ever (thanks Lisa, Paige, and Courtney). Cupcake shops better watch out, because pies are making a comeback. There was also apple (with yummy streusel-type topping, best way to have apple pie), berry, pumpkin, heavenly coconut cream pie, two kinds of chocolate, lemon CHIFFON (love to say that) 

My mom and I did Holly's wedding cake/cupcakes/eclairs. Oh my gosh, the eclairs were so good.

We also had an ice cream party... which I have no pictures of. We just told people to bring ice cream, and it was wonderful. we made caramelized banana ice cream. and.... it was wonderful.

I was also going to blog about fall stuff I want to do, but I made mac and cheese (nope, not homemade... please don't judge) so I am going to go eat. I will try to blog more!

Martha Stewart

One day I was sitting here on this white chair I painted a while ago and decided to check out marthastewart.com, as I so often do during my free time.

There I was just browsing pictures when I suddenly came across this picture for a suit and tie combo:

hmmm... this suit and tie sure looks familiar.... it looks an awful lot like a picture I posted for father's day a few weeks ago...

I think Martha must've seen my blog and probably copied this idea. Yup. Pretty sure that's what happened (or my dad gets his styling tips from Martha). My dad is a pretty stylish and crafty guy, after all.

Holly is fabulous

And this is why...









Holly is one of my BEST friends and she is such a talented photographer and artist. She took these pictures of us before Katherine left on her mission. Check out her blog here.

Thanks so much for doing these Holly!!!! We love them!!