Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts

Monday, June 8, 2015

Australia & New Zealand

 well, i am back from my trip! i actually came back about two months ago, but i just haven't blogged until now! i really need to get back into blogging...

anyways, it was an amazing trip. so much happened & i felt so many things on this trip. it was a much needed getaway.

although, i won't go into too much detail (because fitting two weeks of vacation into one blogpost is a scary thought!), i'd like to share little details with you through photos : )

 i got to meet (& stay with!) two of my blogger friends! first i stayed with sarah. she was so loving & i thoroughly enjoyed my time with her. i got to meet her caring family & tour her family's business. & she took me to kikki k!! i loved kikki k. i stocked up on so much stationary goodies.
then i stayed with katyha in sydney! we went on a great little adventure in sydney, walking to all of the places i wanted to see. i got to see the opera house, which was a big highlight! we also caught a glimpse of mia wasikowska while we were out for the night at bills eating pavlova. (i love pavlova now!!!)

then i hopped on a plane & met with my sister for the first time in eight months. it was such a great feeling to have my sister again.



 in auckland, raquel & i ate good food at the food truck garage as recommended by amanda of here comes the sun & visited the auckland art gallery. fun fact - my instagram photo of the veggie burger was regrammed by the food truck garage instagram : )

after spending a few days in auckland, raquel & i started our road trip around the north island of new zealand! we drove on the left side of the road on the right side of the car...& i drove for a bit as well! i didn't like it...
 after spending some time at the hot water beach, we made it to matamata aka hobbiton! seeing hobbiton was a dream come true.



after a surreal experience in matamata, we hit the road again to the tongariro alpine crossing aka mt. doom. i have an amazing story of how we hiked the tongariro crossing, but i will just say that it was 7.5 hours of almost nonstop walking in extreme weather conditions (the shuttles were even cancelled because of the bad weather), high winds, high altitude (hard to breath!), & up steep mountainsides for over 12 miles. i still can't believe that i did it. the views were incredible. it's an experience i will never forget.





 after our hike, i could barely walk & woke up in pain many times that night. the next day i downed pain killers & went caving - glowworm caving. it was incredible.

during our road trip around new zealand, we stayed at many hostels (backpackers) & airbnbs. this one was really cute.

 it was a fantastic trip & i was sad to leave my sister. she is coming to visit in september though (on her way to india!) & i am so happy about that. i miss her.

Thursday, June 26, 2014

my little craft booth

 i had a little booth at my city's art walk in the beginning of this month! i was so excited & was prepping for the past month. i had a lot more photos of it, but they accidentally got deleted :( i used a couple of my vintage suitcases for the set up along with my succulents to hold the price signs & my vintage picnic quilt as a tablecloth. i sold lavender sachets, upcycled tote bags, my crafting zine, collage kits, & catnip toys. it was a pretty good turnout & i'll be doing it again in july. i also have the best booth partner!


Saturday, March 29, 2014

mini adventures


right now i'm sitting on the couch, listening to & watching the rain outside while eating two slices of toast from trader joe's & wearing my sweatshirt from my alma mater. it's such a cozy day & i hope to have a sewing afternoon today after church : )

i've been thinking about all of the mini adventures i've been having lately. even though i've been kind of feeling down (a lot sometimes) about not finding a job, i'm actually loving my life right now. i love having the free time to just do things i want to do. i often get to visit miguel, meet lizzie for coffee, or just spend a few hours crafting. anyway, i just wanted to share a few photos from the mini adventures i've been having.

1. (see above photos) the donut shop around the corner from my house is moving in a few months. i'm so sad. i have fond childhood memories of my dad bringing home a pink box of donuts once in a while on friday nights. so, one friday night my parents & i visited it one last time & picked up a dozen. i just love the pretty pink packaging they come in. (i think i'll start a #prettypinkpackaging collection.) my favorite donut is a tie between glazed old fashion & maple old fashion. delicious!

2. as you know, i've been looking for a full-time job. i went to a job fair for the first time. it was a good experience! employers were asking for resumes & business cards, i got a call back, etc. anyways, on the way back home (it was an hour & a half away...) i stopped in the town where miguel works & met him for his lunch break at the european deli we both like. it was so simple, but pretty perfect.

while i was waiting for miguel to go on his lunch, i passed an indie theater that was showing the grand budapest hotel! i was so so excited. it was really hard to find places that were playing that film near where i lived. so i had to see it. after we had lunch i said goodbye to miguel & bought a ticket for the next showing. i had never been to the theater by myself before, but i kind of liked it! it somehow made the film so much more personal? i don't know how to explain it, but it was such a good experience & definitely an adventure! (the movie is fantastic by the way!)

 3. alisa & went biking together. i biked 5 miles. the bike-a-thon is in a week & i would like to bike in it again, so it's a good idea to start practicing! alisa took me to a place i've never been to before & we biked around a small lake & then watched the sun set. it was really a great afternoon. we packed up our bikes & then got italian food.
 4. miguel & i have decided that panera bread (with it's unlimited coffee supply, good food, & free wifi) is our new home. we spent four hours there one night drafting & job searching. it was really quite perfect.
 5. this photo was actually taken by miguel. it was while we were on our photoshoot! miguel & i were asked to model for a local photographer's new ad campaign. we were flattered & agreed. if you are friends with either of us on facebook, you would have seen the sneak peek of five photos. we will be getting a cd with all of the photos in three weeks, so when i get them, i'll be sure to share them!
 6. miguel & i love to find new places to eat in his city. i had heard of this pub many times before, but never went there as i thought it would be too expensive. however, after looking at the breakfast menu, it turned out it wasn't too bad. so we decided to go there for brunch. the pace was decorated so lovely, the english food was amazing, & the bathrooms had tube signs & everything just made me miss england & nicola! i asked miguel, "can we go here whenever i miss england?" & he said, "yeah." & i said, "good." so it looks like we will be back! haha.


 7. before i was comfortable driving to visit miguel, i used to take the train to visit him. now, it has been a while since i last took the train, but this last time i visited him, it turned out that i took the train back home. i usually love taking the train - i get to sit back, relax, & enjoy the scenery. but this time the train was stopped on the tracks before my stop for almost an hour. i had this view (below) the entire time & i'm not complaining : ) love the green grass!

 8. my mom & i have been on a plant kick lately & have been traveling to all of the local nurseries & farms, looking through their plant collections. she brought me back three succulents from her recent trip & bought me this pink tipped succulent from the local farm. it's so unique looking! while i was there, the farm cat was so loving & such a good model ;)



link love:

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

crafting in february

 i feel like i've been crafting a lot lately & it really makes me happy. i've missed just sitting & crafting for a couple of hours. valentine's day gave me the excuse to make a few handmade cards : )

i was lucky to have some pompom wire on hand to add to my valentines. i also used the app called over to create the cards!

 lizzie, my mom, & i celebrated galentine's day together with brunch on february 13th. the one rule was that we had to come with handmade galentine cards ;)

 my mom blew both lizzie & i away with her handmade cards! (the ones she is holding in the photo aren't hers but ours)

i also made a card for miguel using a photo that he had sent me found somewhere on instagram. it was perfect because he loves squirrels & i think kitties are awesome. i added some corny wordage & that was that ;)

 he seemed to like it ;) hehe. he brought me home some valentine flowers & we cooked dinner together. we had never deep fried anything before, but everything turned out pretty well!

my shop had it's first etsy order! so i made some quick thank you notes with over & wrapped up the order all pretty : )


i've also been writing letters & getting packages together. i would really like to get some sort of zine made. i'm not quite sure about what kind of zine yet, but i would like to have something that i can trade for other zines. if any of you are zine makers, please let me know! i would like to network with you : )

one last thing - i booked my ticket to thailand! soon i'll be seeing my sister for a whole two weeks! yay!

link love:

  • i visited my pastor's home last night to drop of some of my famous peanut butter cookies for his birthday & him & his wife have two energetic boys with toys around like they were having some serious fun. when i have kids, i think this collection of tips will be quite useful.
  • i am in love with this kitchen. (i probably wouldn't want it for myself, but i am in love with it just the same.)
  • these towels just seem so cool & stylish. i want one. or many ;)
  • i have a package of gnocchi in the cupboard & i think i'll be making this recipe with it soon.
  • i'm on kind of an air plant kick & am looking for a project for my arts & crafts group. this project might be a possibility for next month.
  • loved these scarf styles from a cup of jo!
  • i'll be making a trip to this new gallery/vintage shop/coffee shop/workshop in the near future!