Monday, December 21, 2009

Mexico pics | Weekend with friends

Hi my friends!

How are those Christmas preparations going? I'm just about done with my Christmas shopping. Hooray! I only buy gifts for the people that I actually get to see on Christmas Day so that keeps my list pretty manageable. I do go to a few houses that day though, but I love house hopping. In fact, I look forward to it every year! :) We start at my family's home early in the morning, then we head to Richard's parents house around 1 pm, sometimes we visit his cousins next since the whole family ends up there in the evening (but we don't exchange gifts... we just eat! LOL!). At the end of the day, we head to our BFF's house. After all that, we're tired and we usually have a lot of presents to bring back with us. So the next day we rest and clean up the mess that's left behind...

Anyway, let me stop my rambling to show you some photos of my recent work trip to Playa del Carmen, Mexico. We were there to launch one of our newest publications, Experience Riviera Maya, an in-room destination guide for the hotel association.

The trip started with us getting pulled over by the national military. They looked a bit intimidating with big machine guns. They asked us to get out and searched the truck. After a few minutes we were on our way and, thankfully, everything was okay. We learned they usually pull over locals at these checkpoints to look for illegal weapons and such.




Later that day, we attended our event...



After the event, someone in the group got an urge for Häagen-Dazs so guess where we ended up after midnight?! I have never seen such a fancy Häagen-Dazs joint. We sat down, we were handed a huge menu with tons of ice cream, shakes and even fondue options, and a waiter came up and took our order. Pretty cool, huh?



And here are a couple of destination shots I took while on a fast-paced walking tour...




Overall, it was a successful and productive trip.

This past weekend, I spent the afternoon at Damaris' house. Her home is decorated so beautifully for the holidays. This is just one wall in her house!



I got to see some sweet friends, including Maritza. It was so much fun to meet her daughter and see her adorable grandson for the first time. He's such a good baby!




And this is the BEST belated birthday present I have ever received!!! Look at this beautiful throw pillow she made me with my initial on it! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it! I showed it to Richard and he liked it, too. He said to me, "Where's my pillow? We need one with my initial on it to match!" LOL! He's too much!




I'm working on Days 11-13 of my December Daily album so I'll post pics of these pages soon. Also, I'm giving away a Jenny Bowlin 2009 Year in Review mini album. Check back soon to enter the giveaway!

Merry wishes and joyful dreams!
Vanessa

2 comments:

Uniquely Ella said...

OMG I love Playa del Carmen and Cabo. What a cute baby and that hand made pillow, just for you. I can tell your friends love you a lot, maybe.... cause you are soooo sweet. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Maritza said...

Wow, you sure do get around. LOVE THE PICS. I had a nice time yesterday. Looking forward to many crops for the new year. So happy you liked the pillow, it was my pleasure.