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well, raquel is gone now. you can follow her india adventures here! after waking up around 2am & dropping her off at the airport, my family & her boyfriend ate a delicious breakfast (yummy potato pancakes for me!).

so after we got home & took a few hours of sleep, my dad & i went & saw super 8. i really loved it. it was quite charming & i thought the acting was good! go see it & tell me what you think, ok?

while i was at the theater i saw that they are making a new footloose! which is a tiny bit exciting, but i have a feeling that they will ruin it... :/ so i'm not entirely sure how i feel about it... what do you think?

now i am spending some time at petunia's! we are about to eat some pizza & watch the office. (even though i don't really get that show or like it! ahaha)

replies:

brynna: : ) i'm glad you think so!

jo: hello! oh good! i hope she has her best holiday there like you : )

amy: let me know if you try out the totoro origami! oh man! really? tumblr has blown it for you! but yeah, i'm frustrated about where they are taking castiel's character!! arg. he is like my favorite : (

nicola: eee! i kind of got the idea of when you sent me all those letters you wrote at different times : )

natalie: i know! i'm so excited for her!!

happy india

my sister is leaving early early tomorrow morning for india. i'm so excited for her! but i will miss her too : ) i wrote letters for her to open on different days that she is there. she will be there for six weeks!

i've been finding a few things i like...

1. this website dedicated to cute boys & their kitty cats (thanks g!). some of them are a bit odd, but some of them are adorable too.

2. this father's day post from rubyellen's blog. i love it because i call my dad papi too. also, it i have a fuji instax mini too : ) but mostly it is just too cute!

3. kinfolk magazine will be debuting soon! i'm so excited for it. the people behind many of the blogs i follow are a few of the collaborators for it. i love what they are about: "Kinfolk is a collaborative effort to encourage a more natural approach to entertaining. It's the marriage of our appreciation for art and our love for spending time with family and friends."
4. i want to fold this totoro origami!

replies:

nicola: you must go on an adventure like this! perhaps even the grand canyon?? hmm?? : )

amy: i don't like heights at all either! so when i was up there, i was holding on to something at all times haha. i was scared : ) but it was spectacular! & about spn, it definitely had it's moments, but rarely i thought! & i won't ruin the end, but...i didn't like it at all! arg...well, tell me when you finish it & what you think of it : )

grand canyon

on the way to the grand canyon from las vegas, we stopped at a colorful general store along the famous route 66.

when we finally made it to the grand canyon, my mom & i woke up around 4am to hike around the canyon & catch the sunrise. it was beautiful. epic, to say the least.
the canyon was amazing! & i definitely recommend others to see it. it almost looks unreal & like a painting.my sister & ithere were quite a few deer just wandering around eating. they seemed to be used to all the tourists. i was so excited to see them! so pretty.

replies:

natalie: i think what you are remembering is the venetian (the first two photos are actually from there). that was my sister's favorite casino. so pretty! empanadas ARE super yummy.

dandelionkisses: oh my goodness wendy! hahaha. wasn't the cosmopolitan unbelievable?!

pauline: your comment made happy! it actually is kind of a loud place...but i'm happy my photos made it seem like it wasn't hehe. i didn't gamble because i'm not really into that sort of thing : )

lina's little guide to las vegas

las vegas was fun! so many things to do & even more things to see. i've decided to give you a small guide to a few things in las vegas to do, free stuff, & food (at the same time as telling you what my family did & sharing some photos!)

there are so many casinos & resorts along "the strip" which is down along las vegas blvd. just about every casino (if not all!) on the strip has free parking in their garage, which is really nice. one of the things i didn't like is that people can smoke almost anywhere & everywhere it seemed. (i'm too spoiled in california i suppose).
one neat free thing was just outside of the mirage. every hour starting at 8pm is a volcano show which lasts about 5 minutes. it was cool to watch. (especially being right in front of the beatles love : ))

the very first thing we did when we got to our hotel at the stratosphere was attack each other with the long pillows on the beds : )the stratosphere is known for the tall tall tower (almost like a needle?) that you can go to to look out at las vegas, ride the different rides at the top, dine, & shop. since we were staying at the stratosphere, we got to go up to the top for free (otherwise you had to pay $16 per adult). it was a really nice view, but since i'm afraid of heights it was a bit scary!i thought this sign was cute : )many of the casinos were larger than life. but my favorites would have to be caesar's palace (shown here in photos! so beautiful!) & the cosmopolitan (which just opened two years ago). i don't have any photos of the cosmopolitan, but it was almost otherworldly inside! a lot of new technology & mind boggling modern art. definitely should check it out. plus across the street from it is urban outfitters : )

caeser's palace is, as you can take a glimpse from the photos, gorgeous. & even has a shopping mall inside which includes anthropologie!my dad used to box, so he had to pose for some photos : )the only photo i have of the cosmopolitan. the big "THE" of the cosmopolitan. hehe.i bought a really nice soft shirt at anthropologie for only $10!! i love how they package it : )now food. well, just a couple of blocks from our hotel (the stratosphere) was a small stand selling venezuelan food called i <3 arepas. arepas are so good! & they also sell really good empanadas. pretty cheap too!

also really good is paymon's mediterranean cafe & lounge (hookah lounge that is!). along with the amazing mediterranean food they have, they also have italian & indian food! wednesday night 5-9pm is 25% off the bill : )

i also really encourage you to look at those pamphlets for tourists. a lot of them have good coupons like free gelato at whole foods & free appetizer with two entrees at margaritaville.

i think that is all for now...there may be more that i will add here later!

now i am at the grand canyon : ) photos soon!

replies:

brit: yes, you've been there huh? anything you recommend?

natalie: i love plane rides too!! it's like one of my favorite things. especially people watching at the airport : )

amy: yes, you simply must go to the grand canyon amy! i'm surprised you haven't! oh & how do you like season 6? i have my opinion, but i would love to hear yours!

shayla: hello! i do make atcs! do you? maybe you would like to trade : )

flight

raquel graduated! & it was lovely. i painted black block letter signs for her : ) now i am off to vegas with the family! i actually JUST got off the plane & am waiting to get a rental car. on the plane i watched my boys on supernatural & played games with the controller they provided. airplanes are really nice these days...anyways, can't wait to check into the resort (!!) & eat breakfast!! so hungry right now. after vegas, it is off to the grand canyon for some epic sights i'm told. nature is so beautiful.
replies to everyone: thank you so much for all your well wishes to my sister! she really is amazing & was so embarrased when she saw my blog post....ooops : ) but i just had to tell you all!

making future headlines

this is my sister raquel. she is amazing. let me tell you why:
she skipped junior year & graduated from high school at 16.
one year later she graduated college with three aa degrees (international relations, spanish, & liberal arts) at the age of 17.
two years later she is graduating from the university with a ba in global studies. (for most people this takes at least four years) she is now only 19. her graduation is this weekend!

this summer she is interning in india & is learning hindi.

i am leaving today to go to her university & help celebrate her graduation with her! i'm so proud of her.

arts & crafts

1. i really liked this rug at ikea... : )

2. i had a few of my atcs on display at a gallery in canada. they were traded for me & these were sent back to me!

3. there was a great sale at the craft store & i stocked up on some yarn & embroidery thread for the friendship bracelets i will be making today. fun stuff!

replies:

nicola: awww thank you!! hehe : )

mini

whew! i am sorry i have been away so long! i've been quite busy with graduations, outings with friends, & helping my mom with things around the house. & soon i will be on a family vacation. wow. & i thought i would have more free time when i was out of school!

anyways, the first photo is just some stamps my mom picked up & i thought they were awesome! they are "go green" postage stamps. they give many different example of how to be more environmentally friendly. click on the photo to see it bigger!

& i'm really loving my new instax mini 25! i recommend it for sure. just buy it online though, because at urban outfitters it is quite expensive! OR you can enter to WIN one like it on little chief honeybee!
i took it when i visited raquel a while back & took photos of her & her boyfriend (on the right) & her friends with their boyfriends. they loved them! (especially the boyfriends hehe).

lastly, if anyone has any photo suggestions for mine & nicola's here--and--there blog, please leave comments!!

well, that's all right now, or at least all i have time for right now. i'll be blogging again soon - hopefully!

replies: (i'm just replying to last the last post, i'm sorry if you commented in previous posts! thank you though : ) & i hope it's ok!)

natalie: yay for fans of the head & the heart. i'm so happy to share them!

dandelionkisses: you & your bro DO look awesome. omg omg really?? a korean market?! gaaah. you HAVE to take me.

em [the writer]: thank you! i was quite pleased with my outfit :))

my-my: yes! i was so shocked when it happened! i was not expecting it at all hehe.

clark: yes, they are so good! have an amazing time seeing them next month!! i know you will.

nicola: hehe i knew you would like the ringo tag! i would totally text & call you if we could!!

amy: did you know about the head & the heart already??

sarah~mechelle: it is though! it just adds a certain something that you don't get through just listening to an album.

make it easy: it really was!!

hellomissa: hiii! aww : ), well we will just have to go thrifting together & see what we find!

fashioneggpplant: hello! thank you! the beatles are awesome : )

aren: awww your comment made me so happy! i had never heard of the head & the heart either, but i am so glad i found them!