Buffalo Plaid Vintage

I have been jealous of all the cute spring mantels popping up lately.  So last night, I went to the thrift shop and started looking for treasures to turn my mantel into something special. You see, I have more than a mantel, I have a nook …..a deep alcove to house a television.  The problem – I didn’t like the TV being up that high…so, I have a nook. What’s in my nook?  Take a look Tall glass jar – thrift shop.  Eggs that are inside are treasured eggs that the girls made when they were little. Chalkboard plate – just made it today!  I bought the white plate at Target on clearance and used chalk board spray paint. Little picture above the plate – thrift shop! Little dragon fly candle holder – thrift shop. Topiary – something I already owned. White candle stick – it used to be gold and I spray painted it antique white.  It was another thrift shop find. Little clay chick tea light candle holder –you guessed it, thrift shop. All the bottles are thrift sh

World, I bequeath to you today , one amazing young lady . I trust that you will treat her well…. This weekend, my daughter will be graduating from college.   S he graduated from high school in May 2009 and will be receiving her Bachelor’s degree in Communications with a minor in Professional Writing from the Ohio State University in March 2012 – in and out of college in less than 3 years! She accomplished this feat by taking college courses during her senior year of high school (for free ! ) and taking a few summer classes at a c ommunity college during her first two years. She is graduating with less than $2500 in student loans , p retty darn amazing!   She did not receive any financial aid. I am so proud of her! She worked no less than two jobs and paid for two thirds of her tuition with money earned from those jobs. I still don ’t think she realizes how lucky she is to be graduating almost debt free when most students are gr

Our fourth and final destination on our 9 day Mexican Riviera Cruise was Manzanillo , Mexico.  The city is known as the Sailfish Capital of the World.  Manzanillo is a major tourist and busiest sea port destination in Mexico.  We were told by Carnival that this was mainly a “working town.”  I wasn’t sure what they meant by this, but when we got off the ship and boarded the tour bus, I saw hundreds and hundreds of shipping containers as we drove down a major thoroughfare.  It was indeed a busy sea port! Carnival offered an excursion called “Beach and Shopping Tour” and it was $45.95 each.  The tour consisted of: · Begin with one hour of shopping in the fine stores located in the downtown area. · Drive through the port of Manzanillo, one of the largest on the Pacific Coast, towards the peninsula of Santiago. · Enjoy scenic views of Las Hadas Resort & Marina and the twin bays of Manzanillo. · Continue on to the Miramar Flea Market where you can shop for a variety of arts a

  Tendering away from the Carnival Spirit Since I just came off my third cruise, I thought I would put together a little cruise packing list.  I was searching on the internet and I came across so many sites that tell you to pack things like bra and underwear – well duh, I don’t need help remembering to pack things like that!   So, this is not your normal cruise packing list, this list contains stuff you might not think to bring.  Please feel free to add anything else you can think of to the comments section of the post.  1.      Walkie Talkies – since you won’t be using your cell phone on the cruise, these would have been invaluable to bring.  Notice I said ‘would have been.’ We were cruising with some friends and there were times that we wanted to get in touch with them, but we had to rely on pure luck to just “run into them . ”    2.      Power Strip – there was only one outlet to plug two items into (and it wasn’t in the bathroom). 3.      Jeans – even if you are go

This is the only excursion on our 9 day trip that we bought through Carnival.  The trip was 6 hours in duration and was $115.95 each.  It was worth every penny and would make my top 3 excursions list and I have been on several.  Want to race across the ocean on a speedboat going 40 mph, ride a horse through small streams and tropical jungle, or witness a beautiful waterfall while sipping on ice cold beers and eating baked chips dipped in authentic mouth-watering guacamole?  OK I’ll stop there, but there is more.  Let me tell you about the entire day! As we got off the Carnival Spirit in Puerto Vallarta , we were met by Pablo, our tour guide for the day.  There were about 20 of us in the group.  Once assembled, we went straight to the inflatable all-weather speedboat and hopped in.  I didn’t realize how far we would be going in the speedboat, but it was about 25 miles out, or a 35 minute boat ride going 35 – 40 MPH.  Our destination was the remote seaside village of Quimixto .  W

Stop number two on our magnificent 9 day cruise was Cabo San Lucas , or Cabo for short.  Cabo is a great spot for beach-goers.  With 360 days of sunshine, you can’t go wrong. Pulling into port, we had to be tendered in (a small boat ride from the ship into port).  Cabo is a beautiful sight for the eyes to see.  There are numerous fishing boats, water taxis, and sail boats adorning the harbor.  As you taxi in, excitement and smiles fill the air.  I can’t wait to get our day started! A little about Cabo: · is located at the very tip of the Baja California Peninsula · is bordered by the Pacific Ocean and Sea of Cortez. · it began as a small fishing village and is now one of the top tourist destinations. · Christmas is the busiest time in Cabo · cheapest time to go is June to mid-November which is when temps are hottest · hurricane months are September and October We had two days in Cabo although we had to be back to the ship by late afternoon each day.  On our first day, we aga