Some say you can't buy happiness, but I'm thinking maybe you can!
Showing posts with label make your heart happy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label make your heart happy. Show all posts
4.16.2013
8.23.2012
San Diego Getaway Recap
The heat here has been unbearable. Combined with high humidity. I know, we live in the desert. But come on, it's late August!
I had last Friday and Saturday off, and really wanted to get out of the heat. We first talked about going to Tucson and driving up to Mt. Lemon for a picnic, then spending the night at the base of the mountain at a hotel and getting some pool time in. Then, we heard that the forecast was for rain both Friday and Saturday. That ended the picnic and pool idea!
Alec suggested San Diego. Well, that's all I needed. My heart had already packed its suitcase and was waiting by the front door! So we booked a room in Carlsbad (biggest, cheapest room I could find on 3 days notice.
We picked the girls up from school an hour early, and headed out of town. Alec decided he would be bored and opted not to go at the last minute. And we decided to take the new car to see how she handled the long drive. She did great, and I especially loved taking photos from inside the car, via the sunroof!
We didn't get to the hotel until 8pm, then headed out for some dinner. We went with a Mexican restaurant, and was a bit disappointed. Well, that happens sometimes. At least we did not eat at a chain! Then we went for a drive along the coast, hoping for a night time walk on the beach, but it was around 11pm at this point and super dark. And we're not familiar with the area, so we decided to play it safe and head back to the hotel instead.
Saturday was jam packed! Mark and I went to hang out by the pool for a bit, while the girls lounged in the room and took their time getting ready. For some reason, they haven't wanted to go to the pool with us the last few vacations. Katie's hair being one reason.
We checked out of the hotel and headed to the Carlsbad Outlet Mall. Everyone got $20 to spend. Mark picked out a new football jersey for $20, Emma chose 2 new cases for her i-touch for $21, Alec was lucky to get a pair of Fossil sunglasses for $20 (after many photo messages with Mark modeling), Katie kept her money to use another time, and I scored with a Fossil watch that I have been wanting for over a year. It retailed at $135, but was $29.99 at the outlet store. Then, I got to take another 25% off. So, it ended up costing me $22.50. Sweet!
Next we took a leisurely drive down the PCH to head Blick's Art Supply in Little Italy and then lunch at Anthony's Fishette at the Embarcadero. We sat at a table by the water and watched all the boats in the Bay. Pure Paradise!
Finally, at 5 pm, it was time to hit the beach. Ended up at Mission Beach. It was crazy busy, like I have never seen it before! May have had something to do with the heat (I've never been to San Diego when it was so hot and humid, even at the beach). Yeah, I know. Just what we were trying to avoid. The girls went in the water about waist deep and jumped in the waves, while Mark and I just went in to our knees. The water was warm after the first few seconds and I seriously regret not changing into my swimsuit and heading in further. I missed my opportunity to swim in the ocean. I'm afraid October will be too cold!
Then it was time to head home. A little later than we planned. It was about 8pm, and we stopped for coffee, and had a change of heart. Mark agreed to get another hotel room and leave in the morning instead. But, we were not so lucky! No hotels left in the city! It was crazy! We stopped at 3 only to be told they were sold out, then I pulled out the I-pad to try hotels.com, but there were 4 hotels in the area with a room available. Yes, I said 4. And they were charging crazy prices. The Best Western in Chula Vista wanted $750. Seriously. Best Western. Chula Vista. The room should have been under $100.
Back on the road, and onward to Yuma. We did stay at the Radisson in Yuma. It was midnight and we were ready to crash. And I'm starting to have trouble seeing at night. A bit more strained. Gosh, I hate getting older! But then we only had to drive 2 1/2 hours in the morning. Mark had to leave for his football draft 10 minutes after we got home, and I left for work 30 minutes later. Too crazy!
Lessons learned:
1. do not attempt to go to San Diego for 1 night. 2 nights need to be the minimum.
2. do not assume the beach will be cool (temperature wise).
3. do not assume the beach will have less that a million people fighting for space in the sand.
4. sometimes your luck runs out (perfect parking spaces all day long, but no hotel room to be found).
5. you can add eyelashes to your car's headlights. Yep. Saw it on the PCH.
6. shopping for bargains can be fun.
7. sometimes you just don't feel like taking so many photos. it's OK. really.
8. i still love San Diego and would move there in a heartbeat if Mark would join me.
9. we need to save up some money and splurge on a new mattress. loved the ones at both hotels.
10. sometimes finding an entire display of markers can make you stop breathing. like the Pitt pens.
11. one tank of gas in Lexi is all it takes to get home from San Diego.
12. traveling with 2 kids is WAY different than traveling with 4 kids!
I had last Friday and Saturday off, and really wanted to get out of the heat. We first talked about going to Tucson and driving up to Mt. Lemon for a picnic, then spending the night at the base of the mountain at a hotel and getting some pool time in. Then, we heard that the forecast was for rain both Friday and Saturday. That ended the picnic and pool idea!
Alec suggested San Diego. Well, that's all I needed. My heart had already packed its suitcase and was waiting by the front door! So we booked a room in Carlsbad (biggest, cheapest room I could find on 3 days notice.
We picked the girls up from school an hour early, and headed out of town. Alec decided he would be bored and opted not to go at the last minute. And we decided to take the new car to see how she handled the long drive. She did great, and I especially loved taking photos from inside the car, via the sunroof!
We didn't get to the hotel until 8pm, then headed out for some dinner. We went with a Mexican restaurant, and was a bit disappointed. Well, that happens sometimes. At least we did not eat at a chain! Then we went for a drive along the coast, hoping for a night time walk on the beach, but it was around 11pm at this point and super dark. And we're not familiar with the area, so we decided to play it safe and head back to the hotel instead.
Saturday was jam packed! Mark and I went to hang out by the pool for a bit, while the girls lounged in the room and took their time getting ready. For some reason, they haven't wanted to go to the pool with us the last few vacations. Katie's hair being one reason.
We checked out of the hotel and headed to the Carlsbad Outlet Mall. Everyone got $20 to spend. Mark picked out a new football jersey for $20, Emma chose 2 new cases for her i-touch for $21, Alec was lucky to get a pair of Fossil sunglasses for $20 (after many photo messages with Mark modeling), Katie kept her money to use another time, and I scored with a Fossil watch that I have been wanting for over a year. It retailed at $135, but was $29.99 at the outlet store. Then, I got to take another 25% off. So, it ended up costing me $22.50. Sweet!
Next we took a leisurely drive down the PCH to head Blick's Art Supply in Little Italy and then lunch at Anthony's Fishette at the Embarcadero. We sat at a table by the water and watched all the boats in the Bay. Pure Paradise!
Finally, at 5 pm, it was time to hit the beach. Ended up at Mission Beach. It was crazy busy, like I have never seen it before! May have had something to do with the heat (I've never been to San Diego when it was so hot and humid, even at the beach). Yeah, I know. Just what we were trying to avoid. The girls went in the water about waist deep and jumped in the waves, while Mark and I just went in to our knees. The water was warm after the first few seconds and I seriously regret not changing into my swimsuit and heading in further. I missed my opportunity to swim in the ocean. I'm afraid October will be too cold!
Then it was time to head home. A little later than we planned. It was about 8pm, and we stopped for coffee, and had a change of heart. Mark agreed to get another hotel room and leave in the morning instead. But, we were not so lucky! No hotels left in the city! It was crazy! We stopped at 3 only to be told they were sold out, then I pulled out the I-pad to try hotels.com, but there were 4 hotels in the area with a room available. Yes, I said 4. And they were charging crazy prices. The Best Western in Chula Vista wanted $750. Seriously. Best Western. Chula Vista. The room should have been under $100.
Back on the road, and onward to Yuma. We did stay at the Radisson in Yuma. It was midnight and we were ready to crash. And I'm starting to have trouble seeing at night. A bit more strained. Gosh, I hate getting older! But then we only had to drive 2 1/2 hours in the morning. Mark had to leave for his football draft 10 minutes after we got home, and I left for work 30 minutes later. Too crazy!
Lessons learned:
1. do not attempt to go to San Diego for 1 night. 2 nights need to be the minimum.
2. do not assume the beach will be cool (temperature wise).
3. do not assume the beach will have less that a million people fighting for space in the sand.
4. sometimes your luck runs out (perfect parking spaces all day long, but no hotel room to be found).
5. you can add eyelashes to your car's headlights. Yep. Saw it on the PCH.
6. shopping for bargains can be fun.
7. sometimes you just don't feel like taking so many photos. it's OK. really.
8. i still love San Diego and would move there in a heartbeat if Mark would join me.
9. we need to save up some money and splurge on a new mattress. loved the ones at both hotels.
10. sometimes finding an entire display of markers can make you stop breathing. like the Pitt pens.
11. one tank of gas in Lexi is all it takes to get home from San Diego.
12. traveling with 2 kids is WAY different than traveling with 4 kids!
8.22.2012
Bright Colors Make Me Happy
Happy Wednesday everyone!
Today I want to share my new teal blue wall splotches.
Why wall splotches? I wanted to add color but maybe not an entire wall. Like a smaller commitment. And I wanted funky. And yes, I wanted easy. (Reason why I did not paint the wall with chevron stripes).
So, my thought was to paint two splotches on the wall to act as a background for art. I hate the white walls. And I hate the way things tend to blend into the white walls if they have lots of white in them too. So I picked the space above the couch and another space above the sideboard. And I wanted them to be slightly different. So one is more of a straight line edge, and one is wavy.
I started by drawing the general shape with a piece of chalk. Again, I wanted it to be casual and not too perfect looking. No paint tape or measuring or even using a level. Just my eyeballs and a piece of chalk.
Then I painted in the chalked area. Then I stepped back and stared at it for a while. Then a made the area larger, both width and height. Then I stepped back and stared some more. Then I decided I wanted the edges to be less wavy, so I went back with the paintbrush and filled in the wavy area some more.
Then Alec came in the room and pointed out that I'm losing my mind painting all these colors in our home. It is too colorful already. And what on earth were the splotches? Why can't I just be normal like his friends' parents and have white or beige walls. And all the walls in the room, not just splotches or a yellow door or a red wall?
Silly kid. And to think he is walking around with half of his DNA from me!
Once the paint dried, I rehung the book text mirror, moved some plates from the kitchen wall, and moved over the magnetic dry erase board (really a shelf from the AS IS area at Ikea).
I love the pop of color. And Mark says he likes it (although he did have a strange look on his face as he said "yes, I do like it"). Well, if he grows tired of it, or I do, then it's 10 minutes to get it back to white. No biggie!
That splotch above the couch is still blank. I have a project I want to do to hang there, but it will have to wait until I have another day off.
And here is one last view of the wall. It's a huge wall that spans the kitchen and the family room.
Feels good to have a project crossed off my list. Now for the 82 other projects!
Have a happy day!
Today I want to share my new teal blue wall splotches.
Why wall splotches? I wanted to add color but maybe not an entire wall. Like a smaller commitment. And I wanted funky. And yes, I wanted easy. (Reason why I did not paint the wall with chevron stripes).
So, my thought was to paint two splotches on the wall to act as a background for art. I hate the white walls. And I hate the way things tend to blend into the white walls if they have lots of white in them too. So I picked the space above the couch and another space above the sideboard. And I wanted them to be slightly different. So one is more of a straight line edge, and one is wavy.
I started by drawing the general shape with a piece of chalk. Again, I wanted it to be casual and not too perfect looking. No paint tape or measuring or even using a level. Just my eyeballs and a piece of chalk.
Then I painted in the chalked area. Then I stepped back and stared at it for a while. Then a made the area larger, both width and height. Then I stepped back and stared some more. Then I decided I wanted the edges to be less wavy, so I went back with the paintbrush and filled in the wavy area some more.
Then Alec came in the room and pointed out that I'm losing my mind painting all these colors in our home. It is too colorful already. And what on earth were the splotches? Why can't I just be normal like his friends' parents and have white or beige walls. And all the walls in the room, not just splotches or a yellow door or a red wall?
Silly kid. And to think he is walking around with half of his DNA from me!
Once the paint dried, I rehung the book text mirror, moved some plates from the kitchen wall, and moved over the magnetic dry erase board (really a shelf from the AS IS area at Ikea).
I love the pop of color. And Mark says he likes it (although he did have a strange look on his face as he said "yes, I do like it"). Well, if he grows tired of it, or I do, then it's 10 minutes to get it back to white. No biggie!
That splotch above the couch is still blank. I have a project I want to do to hang there, but it will have to wait until I have another day off.
And here is one last view of the wall. It's a huge wall that spans the kitchen and the family room.
Feels good to have a project crossed off my list. Now for the 82 other projects!
Have a happy day!
8.13.2012
Art Journal
Happy Monday everyone.
I hope everyone had a relaxing weekend. I work weekends, so not a whole lot of relaxing for me. But I did take an hour yesterday to play in my art journal.
I knew it had been a while since my last play time in the journal, but didn't realize it had been 4 months! That is just too long!
I painted with my fingers, mixing paint and gesso on the pages. I accidentally made these cool paint bubbles on the leaf. I was drying the paint with the heat gun and bubbles formed. I have never had this happen before, but I thought it was cool, so I added more. And did some doodling. It was fun, even though I wanted to play longer.
So, I told myself once again, that I need to try to take time daily to play in this journal. Just a few minutes even. But it helps my brain and my heart when I make the time.
Do you take time to play? You should!
Laters
7.28.2012
Bee Happy
Just a little something to start off your Saturday morning with a smile.
Let me know what you did today to bee happy.
 |
| http://media-cache3.pinterest.com/upload/203013895672782128_bsVPKEIa_f.jpg |
Let me know what you did today to bee happy.
7.24.2012
Swoon
OMG!
I saw this giveaway on Young House Love. For a Kohler sink. A COLORED sink!
I actually made a gasping noise. An audible gasp when I saw the COLORED sink.
And my heart started racing.
Thank goodness we are renting. Otherwise, I would be obsessing over which color I needed to buy.
They are only $3,000. So I could totally afford one. Or even 2. Ha. Ha.
But seriously, I want one. For the "future" house. Maybe for the beach cottage.
Which color would you pick? I want the Riverby style in Palermo Blue.
7.23.2012
Dreams
Working on making my dreams a reality. Today is a day for painting canvases. I have some exciting things planned for the upcoming months. Will share more soon. But for today, I need to go grab an iced coffee and sit down in my partially cleaned art studio and get to work.
Artwork above is from Pinterest. I was bad and did not save the link to the original post. I will try to find the link and update the post later.
Now go out into the world and have a fabulous day!
7.22.2012
Pinterest Love
Something to Make Me Squeal Like a Pre-teen girl:
a baby polar bear
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| http://sarasmiles.tumblr.com/page/525 |
Something I could totally wear:
I have a striped shirt and similar jeans and shoes. Just need a yellow cardigan. And a different purse.
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| http://damselindior.com/page/2/ |
Something to Make:
My case is ready for a replacement.
 |
| http://expecttheunexpectedwithdenise.blogspot.com/2012/05/diy-tribal-print-iphone-case.html |
Something to believe in:
 |
| http://www.thewoodco.blogspot.com/ |
Something to admire:
 |
| no link information |
Something to Cherish:
 |
| http://www.etsy.com/listing/88653176/infinity-knot-diamond-ring-the-original |
Do you have any Pinterest faves from the past week? I'd love to see what makes your heart happy!
7.18.2012
Make Every Moment Count
Stumbled across this amazing video and had to share. Such great images and message! Hope you enjoy!
To see more work by this artist, visit Paper Fortress Films.
7.12.2012
Desk Redo
Here's that project I teased you with yesterday. It's my craft desk.
I resurfaced the top of the desk. Saw the idea here I picked up the multi roll pack of paper tape (1st photo) at Target (around $7) and added 2 rolls of colored duct tape from Lowe's (around $3.50 each). Then I taped, wrapping around the edges. The wider stripes are the duct tape. This took about an hour. Then I added a coat of glossy Mod Podge to help seal the tape. I let it dry overnight.
It turned out super cute. And super easy. And inexpensive. And it looks much better than the messy,old table surface. And I LOVE the pop of shiny color when I come into the room!
It turned out super cute. And super easy. And inexpensive. And it looks much better than the messy,old table surface. And I LOVE the pop of shiny color when I come into the room!
I have enough tape left over to resurface Emma's craft table. And maybe something else in the house!
Have a Happy Day! It's almost Friday!
7.11.2012
She Drew New Lines
Remember yesterday? When I said I made a promise to myself to get off the computer and paint? Or do a project? Well, I did both. Yes I did.
Here is my painting. I painted the background with a brush, but then started painting with my fingers. Wasn't too sure how it would turn out, but I'm happy. And it was fun. And I painted in my giant watercolor sketch book, which is something I haven't done since February. Wow.
I guess I cropped out the top right corner where I added the quote "She couldn't keep her colors inside the lines, so she drew new lines."
Here is my painting. I painted the background with a brush, but then started painting with my fingers. Wasn't too sure how it would turn out, but I'm happy. And it was fun. And I painted in my giant watercolor sketch book, which is something I haven't done since February. Wow.
I guess I cropped out the top right corner where I added the quote "She couldn't keep her colors inside the lines, so she drew new lines."
I'm finishing up the project I started yesterday. Come back tomorrow to see the finished result. It is super fun. Trust me, you want to come back and see it.
So your assignment for today is to do something for fun. Not to have hang in an artist's gallery, but just for fun. You know, something to make your heart happy!
And if you can't today, then at least commit to doing something later this week. But commit!
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