PhillyFest!

Geez, I kinda fell off the wagon with blogging there for a minute! I made it to and from Philadelphia successfully and even though it was still cold, it felt so nice to be in 40 degree weather with no snow in sight. (Plus we're going to Florida in two weeks, yesss!)

I'm watching United States of Tara and don't feel like trying to be witty, so here's the trip in pictures. Good night!

We went to a great coffee shop called Menagerie.

Gaby and I in the 1700s.

I thought this was like some psychedelic bell, but I guess it's just foreign.

The Liberty Bell!

Nicole, Doug, Gaby, me, and Andrew!

We ran up 66 steps like Rocky!

Waterworks (like Monopoly!)

Any trips planned for you?

Croatia 35mm Film; Part 2

another few choice photographs from the trip taken with 35mm film:

on our way to a vineyard on the island of vis for dinner, we were able to stop for this photo op.

inside is the "blue cave" on the island of bisevo. at the right time of day the sun makes the interior glow. don't have great photos of the inside, but definitely a sight to see!

a view from our villa, which was in the village of prijevor, near dubrovnik. unfortunately a fence (and a snake sighting) kept me away from that orange tree!

taken outside the pile gate of dubrovnik

andrew's favorite souvenir

inside the walls of dubrovnik

<3 dubrovnik

andrew and his sisters in montenegro - i totally regret not making them step on that weed though!

spotted a cat while walking the wall of dubrovnik

view of the area that we took off on our kayak tour. we learned that a game of thrones scene was shot here!

outside dubrovnik's walls. such beauty!

i can't believe we've been back just about a month. i wish i could always be on vacation!

Postcards From Italy

i am finally home from my fifteen day vacation to croatia. we were there a majority of the trip, but also saw a little of montenegro, slovenia, and venice, italy! maybe scheduling the venice days at the end of the trip wasn't the greatest idea (emotions were high, people were tired, etc.) but it was a pleasure to visit, especially if it does in fact sink one day. i didn't think venice smelled too bad, but dang, was it super expensive, especially compared to croatia! restaurants and bars charge like three euro a person just to sit down, even if you buy a whole meal, so that added on about $20 a sitting for our group. i don't think it was my favorite place in italy, and i'm not even sure i'd go back, but i'm glad i went! here are a few shots: ) 

Not to Brag or Anything, But...

so this is it, andrew and i will be headed to europe on friday! It's scary how fast time flies sometimes. i think we have gathered most of the supplies we'll need (dual voltage flat iron, really nice headphones, travel journals, new swimsuits!), and we have the itinerary mainly set. we are trying to learn some important phrases (kave, mollim = coffee, please). we even practiced going over the canadian border memorial day weekend because we fly out of toronto (eh, no issues!). since croatia is a fairly less-traveled destination, i'm not sure how much preparing we can really do, but we are super excited! here are a few of the places we'll be visiting!

trogir, croatia: we are spending a couple of nights here before taking off on the boat. can't wait to explore it!

split, croatia: we're taking off on our rented sailboat from here. yes, we're sailing. i'm hoping not to be the (wo)man overboard.

isle of hvar, croatia: one of our stops as we sail! eric clapton was just there, I hear!

isle of brac: another island on our tour of dalmatia.

dubrovnik, croatia: we are renting a villa here for about a week (I'd be staying in hostels if I wasn't going with andrew's family, so this is beyond belief). they are filming "game of thrones" here, which I've said before,

but we love that show! i hope we get to have a beer with peter dinklage!

budva, montenegro: hopefully one of our excursions from dubrovnik. it's supposed to be really beautiful here.

mostar, bosnia and herzegovina: we are really hoping to go on this excursion as well. i think the bridge is the most iconic part, but i'd love to see bosnia!

venice, italia: the members of our group have all been to italy, but not to venice! i'm really excited for this part. gelato, bellinis, gondolas, cappucinos, and tiramisu!

and that's our trip! i'm hoping to have internet access so i can update you all. have you ever been to any of these places? what's the best vacation you've been on?

Let's Go Today, In a Heartbeat

i cannot believe how soon we are heading to croatia! today is may 2nd, and we leave june 8th. i am a little concerned because i feel like so many plans still need to be made for the trip and we need to buy a few more things on our croatia list... and in the meantime we are trying to figure out andrew's whole car situation. but overall i know it will be great, and i think we have most things booked at least - plane tix, hotels, villa, boat... yes! a boat! we are sailing between some of the islands for a few days of our trip. this is something i have never done. i have barely been on a moving boat (i have a few times though!), so i am somewhat nervous for this leg of the trip. i'm sure it will be amazing, and i read that the sailing is pretty smooth! we are also going to be staying at a villa in dubrovnik, which is where they are filming the game of thrones scenes that take place in king's landing. i realllllly hope they are filming there when we are visiting! that would just be an added bonus.

since we are actually flying into and out of venice, italy, we are also spending about two and a half days there at the end of the trip. i have been to italy, but not venice. i'm sure it will be gorgeous and that the gelato will be my friend. 

i wish i could post more details about the trip but i honestly don't know what it holds for us. we are hoping to go on a kayak tour in dubrovnik, which is pretty much the only water activity i have any confidence or skill at. we also want to venture a little bit into bosnia and herzegovina since it is so close by. montenegro too? and we'll be driving through slovenia to get to croatia from italy. 

have any of you been to croatia? where is your next trip to?

*i did not take the photos in this post, but i will soon have my own!

I'm Looking Through You

it's been a week at least, but i am not giving up on my blog! promise. so these are pictures of my new craft venture - pop up cards. i have only made 5 so far and probably spent about $35 on paper and cutting supplies, but i figure i can at least save money on buying cards for occasions by making them myself. i made an early mother and father's day card, a thank you card, a card for andrew's mom's 60th birthday, and the first was a card for andrew for valentine's day. i like it because while it is creative, it is also structured. not to mention how thoughtful it is!

SO, this week. andrew and i booked plane tickets from toronto to venice, italy in june. we are going to croatia for two weeks and it was about $400 cheaper to fly out of toronto than detroit or chicago. we are going to spend our last couple of days of the trip in venice, since we have all been to italy, but not to venice. exciting! i am so ready for gelato, gondolas, exploring a country up until now i knew absolutely nothing about, and just traveling in general.

florida is in a week and two days! we pretty much have our itinerary set - a day in miami, a day at disney's magic kingdom, and some other excursions like a detroit tiger's spring training game. it will be a nice low budget get away since we didn't get to go anywhere last year (if i haven't already mentioned that).

other than that we have just been busy working and trip planning. andrew needs to get everything set up to start taking classes at ferris GR to get his degree after all these years. i have found a mentor at steelcase who is trying to help me find a job more suited to my skill set. i am really appreciative for her help and hoping for an exciting opportunity here in grand rapids. i was so ready to up and move to chicago (but andrew can't join right now so that's not ideal) but if i can find something here, that'd be great! i will keep you updated.

happy oscars! who do you think will take home that golden man tonight?

Okay, It's Never Too Late To Save a Blog, Right?

if i can't be interesting in real life, i can at least be interesting on the internet, right? and yes, there's facebook, but usually going on facebook makes me feel bad about myself, so i try to post only important things, like online petitions and the fact that pinterest removed this picture of an elephant because of "nudity." bogus, man!

anyway, i think i should blog because i'm not good at saying the things i mean out loud. plus, i want to remember what i did on this day, valentine's day, 2012 and all the days after. so far i have mostly just gotten mad at facebook posts even though i have a valentine. but some people just overdo it and i'm annoyed. i also made a pop up card, which is like, my new craft. i invested $25 in it so far, so at least all my friends and family can expect some sweet pop up cards if i don't end up selling any. idk, i think it could be a thing!

i have also been listening to the beatles allllll morning. because i love them. cliché, but it cannot be helped. HELP!

so here i sit. i'm flying to florida in three weeks with my honey pie and i just got my j. crew swimsuit. it's super cute and i've been sort of eating lighter to compensate for my pale skin. i don't want to be chunky AND pale. andrew and i are also planning to go to croatia with the rest of his family this june. i didn't know a lot about croatia until we talked about going there. it should be an amazing trip! and they are filming game of thrones there, so that makes it extra worth it.

this evening andrew and i are going to happy hour at mangiamo. they have the BEST happy hour and it's seven days a week, which is great because one of us is always working during it on the weekdays. with some exceptions like today! i can't wait for sangria and goat cheese dip. then i'm hoping to persuade him to take me out to coldstone for some love it size scoops. yum, muah, all you need is love.

bonus points if you can figure out how many times i inserted a beatles song up there; )