Cruise

My boss found this great article and I wanted to share parts of it with you. I'm sad summer is over and vacations are ended. But here is a great idea if you are looking for a fall vacation. It's called a repositioning cruise and it's an 11 days or longer cruise while they reposition the boat from where it is no longer needed to the new hot spot. Cruise lines are trying to make these trips more enticing to travelers by offering stops at some pretty amazing place. Oh and did I mention they can be as cheap at $70 a day?! Norwegian Gem offers a cruise starting November 26th. They fly you to Barcelona then put you up for 2 nights at a deluxe Barcelona hotel till the board date. Stops include Cannes, livorne, Rome, Corsica and Malage for 6 days then on to the Straits of Gibralter. You then sail to New York City. 13 day cruise including 7 days at sea. Find it at Online Vacation Center. It costs $1,799 a person.





Or try this one on for size. It departs Sept 25th from Seattle. You stay in a four star hotel for 2 days before getting on the boat, the Celebrity Infinity (and upscale boat) and cruise for 16 days. Two nights at sea sailing to San Diego, a dat at sea, then a stop in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, a dat at sea, then Acapulco and Huatulco, Mexico, another day at sea then Puntarenas, Costa Rico, a dat at sea then a day going through Panama Canal then Cristobal, Panama; Cartagena, Columbia then two days at sea and end up in Fort Lauderdale. This cruise is $1,299. Sounds like a blast to me. So if you are looking to get away this fall try a repositioning cruise. Check Travel Themes and Dreams for this one.

Natural

Confession time...I am not that great at the all-natural, organic thing. I recycle, I eat fruit and veggies but more often than not I still buy the regular produce. But I am trying. And if all organic, all natural products come in these super cute packages then I will switch today.
Nellie's All-Natural Products are non-toxic, hypoallergenic, and environmentally friendly that reduce waste. The graphics and the site are so fun to look at.

Instead of dryer sheets try these beautiful dryer balls. And they last up to 2 years. If you don't have to buy dryer sheets for 2 years that is totally worth $19.99
Whitener, oxygen cleaner but with no chemicals.
Only takes a tablespoon to do a load even for big loads! And without chemicals I bet it smells amazing.
Laundry soap in perfect portioned pouches.
I just ran out of dryer sheets and detergent and am definitely going to give these a shot.

Beach

I have a bit of a beach addiction and have been feeding it regularly this summer. I had to share some of the photos of an amazing storm that rolled in behind us when we were at the beach but never quite hit the beach.

The lightning and thunder was amazing and a little scary.

Can you see the line right down the middle where the storm clouds and the fluffy white clouds meet up?

The sky over the ocean looked like that. I turn directly around and took a picture of the sky behind me.

Pretty great, right?

This was the bad boy that finally convinced us to leave the beach. He seemed a bit too close for me. The drive home was nuts. Torrential rain and giant puddles.

Back to normal posts tomorrow.

Funky

I'm not exactly sure if I could pull off the looks at Love to Love You but I'm sure CDB and BAA could. I wish I could though. They are so fun to look at and so super girlie! These are my favorites but there were so many it was really hard to pick.

Cute little blouse.

Adorable ruffled skirt

Great jersey dress.


I bet my mom is going to tell me she had clothes like these in the 70's and all I have to say to that is WHY didn't you keep them??

Casual

I tend to wear t-shirts to work each day. Most of the time they are just boring but I would love to get some from Critter Jitters and spice up my work wardrobe.

Cute cattail t-shirt.
Look...a chandelier! Could this shirt scream me more. I love this.

The kids I watch would love this shirt. Silly dinosaur with bunny slippers and it's a great shade of pink.

Great color and cool design.

Tree roots on a gray shirt.


If I'm going to wear t-shirts I really should make them a nicer version.

Fun House

I am loving pretty much everything at Huset. In fact, I'm having a really hard time picking just a few items to share with you. But I'll try.

They have fun kids stuff including these hangers. Also, check out their kids clothes.

Love this clutch!

This lamp is so amazing. It has trees cut into it.

We all know I have a bit of a pillow obsession. This one is really great.

Sailcloth

I just stumbled on 44 knots and some of the greatest totes. All totes are made from 100% vintage sailcloth. So you can feel good about buy recycled and look so cute at the same time. I call that a win/win. The bags come in three sizes.

Large- 21" wide x 14" deep

Medium- 15" wide x 17" deep


Small- 13" wide x 10" deep

It's almost like you could extend summer a bit by carrying one of these bags.

Yum

Cuff goodness from Dirty Story

Picnic

Before we know it fall will be upon us. So I think it's time to start planning lots of big Labor Day parties to celebrate the end of this lovely summer. I was visiting Hostess with the Mostess and she found a bunch of different wonderful melamine plates you can use for this picnic and any other picnics in the future.

Why not try a new drink recipe out, too. This one combines the delicate flavors of tangerine and lavender with the kick of tequila. The unique and slightly salty flavor of tequila really comes through. You can substitute rum for a slightly sweeter taste. (I would have to sub the rum because I like sweeter drinks)




Tequila Tangerine Dream

1 tangerine (1/2 for juice and 1/2 for tangerine slices)
2 sprigs fresh lavender
1 oz. simple syrup
2 oz. silver tequila
crushed ice
club soda

Peel the tangerine. Juice half of it and set the juice aside. Remove pith from the other half and cut into small pieces. Put tangerine at the bottom of a tall glass, then add the syrup, juice and some lavender petals. Muddle this mixture. Pour in tequila. Pack crushed ice on top of this and then top off with club soda. Garnish with lavendar or tangerine twists. (It’s prettier to leave the lavender petals in, but if you would be bothered by some getting in your mouth, strain them out)

How about following some of Ina Garten's recipes and making it a real gourmet party that everyone will be talking about. I think this would menu would make anyone's mouth water. And truly wouldn't be that hard to make.
Summer Dinner in the Garden
Corn chips with salsa
Tequila lime chicken
Sautéed fresh corn
Provencal tomatoes
Frozen key lime pie

Happy planning.

What dreams are made of...

If I had a million dollars and could do anything the first place I would go would be Greece. I mean look at these pictures...who wouldn't want to visit?!

Book Plates

I want to put these book plates from Oiseaux in the front of every single book I own. Of course, I would want them to say my name and not Sarah but otherwise perfect. I think they are lovely. Not sure any of my books are good enough to deserve a book plate.

Please....

Take a moment and check out these pillows from Letter Perfect Designs. I wish I could make pillows just like these. I want to fill my house with them. Maybe I should try to make one.
The simplicity of this one is perfect. This is the one I want to try to make.

Box 64

This piece from Box 64 Studios is so pretty. I would love to attempt something like this.

Photo Wall

This is officially the coolest photo idea for a wedding. I have read many blogs where people are raving about this idea and I had to share it. I want to have a huge party and make a wall like this. It is too perfect.

Photowall by Bliss Productions