A Perfect Weekend :)

My honey and I were lucky enough to stay at a magical place here in the Florida Keys. It's a hidden gem, an idyllic paradise that I never even knew existed... My most recent press trip took us to The Moorings Village in Islamorada. And to my surprise we actually had a nice, relaxing weekend -- something we NEVER really get to do (we usually like adventures, not relaxing)! It was perfect. My only complaint was that it ended way too soon. Time flies when you're having fun!

We stayed at this oceanfront beach house... and the house came with a cat! Teehee! This cute kitty followed us around all weekend cuddling, purring and begging for food. I'm allergic to cats, but I gave in and pet her and she was so sweet!



And this was our "backyard"






This is the front of the house... beautiful!



We had a wrap-around veranda overlooking the ocean.



And a hammock tucked between coconut palms where we could relax...(and play with our weekend kitty)




The grounds were so lush and inviting... this used to be an old coconut plantation.



On Saturday night we had a delicious lobster dinner at Pierre's (YUM!) and watched the sunset.



This was the view out of our bedroom...



And this is the living room where Richard grabbed a book and sat down to read...



We fed kitty on Saturday night and then three cats showed up. LOL!




I just loved it here!!! (Did I say that already?!)



We also headed out and did some sightseeing on Saturday... (but not for long because I wanted to get back to the beach house)






I took LOTS of photos (what else is new?) and now I have lots more to scrap with my new Studio Calico kit, Partly Sunny. Yippee!

I really hope that we can return to this little hideaway one of these days :) It truly was a little slice of heaven on earth.

I'll leave you with a layout I lifted from Waleska Neris at Studio Calico... enjoy!



Peace and happy scrapping!
Vanessa

Memorial Day Weekend & Layouts to Share

I hope you had a wonderful holiday weekend. I also hope that you took a moment to reflect on what Memorial Day is all about. It's about remembering those serving our country and those who lost their lives as well. For me, it's about recognizing the sacrifices that my cousin -- a captain/commander in the US Army -- has made for her country. She was just deployed (again!) and she'll be gone for a year (away from her family and her children). My thoughts and prayers are with her and her fellow soldiers. I know she'll be back home safe!

Memorial Day also marks the beginning of summer. A time to be with loved ones and go to the beach, have a barbecue, etc. We had a nice day today with family and friends. We planned a last-minute barbecue/pool party and had a wonderful day. (Photos to come!)

This past week, I have been spending my extra time (what extra time? oh, yeah, my late nights when I should be sleeping!) playing with my May Studio Calico kit, Granny's Cupboard. I LOVE this kit and the design team really rocked it to the max. That's why I have been scraplifting numerous layouts and having fun doing it :) So far, I have completed 13 layouts and I have a couple more to go... Here are just a few...







I'll share more layouts with you later this week.

Peace and happy scrapping!
Vanessa

Reno/Lake Tahoe/Virginia City Photo Overload!

Hi my friends!

My work conference was great and it just so happens that Richard was also attending a conference four hours away in San Francisco. He drove up to meet me in Reno and we spent a wonderful weekend together sightseeing. We had so much fun! I have TONS of photos, but I will just share a few of my faves here with you...

The weather was beautiful... low 40's and 50's at night and 70's during the day. Of course, the higher the elevation the cooler it got. And there was still lots of snow in Lake Tahoe and in nearby Squaw Valley.

First, we drove around the entire Lake Tahoe. It was majestic! The first time I visited was in August, so it was great to visit again in May and still see so many snow-capped mountains. Wow.





Funny story: I got out of the car and walked a ways in this wooded area up to this pile of snow, but I kept telling Richard to hurry because I was scared a bear would be nearby! He laughed at me, but then it turns out we saw bear tracks, bear poop (with fur in it! eek!) and even tree trunks that bears had clawed into... so I guess my bear theory wasn't that crazy after all!




We even went sailing on a catamaran on Lake Tahoe :)



We also visited Virginia City (I visited first with my conference group and then returned with Richard), a historic town where many made their fortune in Comstock mining. It still maintains that Old West charm. I got to ride on a restored steam railroad train, saw wild Mustangs, and even entered a real mine for a tour.







At night, we drove to Downtown Reno...



I loved Squaw Valley -- it was full of snow! :) This was actually the site of the 1960 Winter Olympics.





I hope you enjoyed our photos! I had been meaning to post these, but it's been a crazy exhausting week ever since we got back... I cannot wait to scrap these. Teeheee!

Peace and happy scrapping!
Vanessa

Heading to Reno/Lake Tahoe

Hi my friends!

I am on an airplane at this moment. I am a speaker and part of the editors panel at the North American Travel Journalists Association conference... Be back soon with photos!

In the meantime, check out my previous post with LOTS of layouts :)

Peace and happy scrapping,
Vanessa

Mother's Day & Scrappy Sunday

Hi my friends,

Today we celebrate all the wonderful mothers out there, including my closest friends and family. It's a day to be thankful, joyful and -- in my case -- to remember those we loved and lost. I am not going to lie. I haven't been much of a Mother's Day fan this year or last. In fact, last year I stayed home all day Sunday preparing for some medical exams just before my gall bladder surgery. This year, I spent Saturday night celebrating with my in-laws and today I had a wonderful brunch with my family. It was a somewhat difficult day for me because I miss my Mom and my Mami (grandma) so very much. Always. But I know they are with me every day. And that's what I hold onto...

So for all you mothers out there, Happy Mother's Day. Hug your moms and your children and cherish every moment you have together. :)

I've been scrapping and I have some more layouts to share so I hope you enjoy my latest creations.

Oh, but before I share these, let me just show you some new releases that I am drooling over. Have you seen the new Jenni Bowlin Play Date? LOVE those bright colors for the summer :)






And I am in LOVE with Studio Calico's newest release, Documentary. I cannot wait to see it all!



Both of these seem perfect to scrap my upcoming summer vacay! Yep, I'll be going on a looong road trip starting in Las Vegas and heading through Sedona, the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park (Utah), the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone, Idaho, Montana and Seattle. I can't wait!

Anyway, here are my layouts.

This first one was just finished today. I love that I got eight photos on one layout and I love the result!



This is a scrap lift of Stephanie Howell and I just LOVE this layout! Love the bright colors, that gorgeous Dear Lizzy ribbon and that deep green polka dot paper... it just makes me so happy!



This one was inspired by Christine Drumheller of Cocoa Daisy. I loved the layout she created and I had the perfect photo for it! I also added those rain drops that I have had in my stash for years... I remembered these after seeing Caryl's beautiful rain layout on her blog.




"My Goofy Silly Love" uses the new SC Anthology collection and rub-ons, which I love. They go on like butter!!! Another Stephanie H. inspired layout.



And finally, I've always loved the way Susan Weinroth combines colors and patterns. This is similar to a layout she had in her SC gallery...



Have a great week!

Peace and happy scrapping,
Vanessa

Scrappy Sunday

Hi my friends,

I hope you're having a wonderful weekend!

This past week, I got to see my dear friends, Esther and Barbara (along with Barb's DD, Amanda). We got together for dinner at this delicious Peruvian restaurant in Downtown Miami called CVI.CHE 105 to celebrate Esther's birthday. YUM!!! We had lots of fun. You may recall that's where we took my step dad, Jorge, who's Peruvian for his birthday. It's really delicious so if you haven't been, you should plan to go. Seriously.

Speaking of Barb, we got together at her house a few weeks ago to scrap and I didn't get around to posting the layouts I made while at her house. I finally got to use my new AC Dear Lizzy goodies so that was awesome. Although it was difficult to cut into that gorgeous blooming rose ribbon, I am so glad I did it! LOL!

This is a lift of Stephanie Howell (I love her style, it's so girly)... I mixed some Dear Lizzy with Cosmo Cricket Material Girl. LOVE it!



Now this is an Elizabeth Kartchner lift... cutting into those little clotheslines was a bit tedious but well worth it. :)



And this one was inspired by Jen Davis using the Material Girl paper and chipboard accents. How cute is that?



This weekend, I made two Easter layouts with some Jenni Bowlin, Dear Lizzy and other extras from my stash. I'm having a blast using lots of Spring colors! These were both inspired by layouts on the Jenni Bowlin Inspiration blog.


Thank you Esther for those beautiful crochet flowers :) I LOVE them! I've been hoarding these, but I finally decided to use them! Teeheee!



I hope you have some time to create and get crafty this week :) I have a framed print in my office that reads "Keep Calm and Carry On," but I recently came across another version that read "Keep Calm and Get Your Craft On" -- gotta love that! I need one of these...

Peace and happy scrapping,
Vanessa