January 6, 2009
Chandelier Balloons
Lovely black chandeliers for your new black walls. Found here.
Rachel Hagen
rachelhagen@gmail.com | http://www.rachelhagendesign.comRachel Hagen has quickly established herself as one of Utah's most sought-after young interior designers. She has been quoted in design magazines, highlighted as a speaker at women's conferences on the subject of fashion and design, and is a featured designer in the 2008 Utah Parade of Homes.
January 5, 2009
New Year
How are your New Year’s resolutions? I’ll be working on my all this week.
Illustration by Andrew Bannecker.
January 4, 2009
Beautiful love story
This is such a sweet story; the love of these two is like me and Pixi’s love. And my sister made a good note about the Sarah Jane post when I mentioned “our next daughter’s room.” No, we do not have a daughter; nor do we have any kids for that matter. Sometimes I refer to Pixi as our daughter… which, I’m aware, can be a little extreme.
January 3, 2009
Costa Rica in Review
Aside from waking up to this view every morning…
and the going to the beautiful beaches every day…
And the awesome waterfalls
We had a lot of fun doing other activities like zip lining through the thick Rain Forest
Getting VERY up close with some wild life: crocodiles, bats, monkeys, sloths, weird rodents, and lots and lots of lizards.
Our favorite place to eat lunch was at this shack on the beach. Delicious food.
Attending church in the lds missionaries’ apartment; and then being invited to a baptism. The sunset baptism in the bay was a major highlight.
We went white water rafting. The first half of the rafting trip was terrifying (you can read about it on Mick’s blog). But once our raft got our groove, it was actually a lot of fun.
We had so much fun in Costa Rica and we so lucky Mick’s parents invited us to go. Thanks so much for the awesome trip!
January 2, 2009
Sarah Jane Studios
Okay, one last calender suggestion. Although, technically these illustrations aren’t calenders…just monthly illustrations. Sarah Jane Studios is a local artist with some fantastic talent. Check out her etsy shop here. I want these in our next daughter’s room. They’re so adorable.
January 2, 2009
Mary Engelbreit Calender
Santa used to get this daily calender for me every year. I love the whimsical illustrations and fun quotes.
December 30, 2008
Costa Rican Sunsets
I’ve lived in two places that claim to have “the best sunsets.” Yes, Arizona and Hawaii have breathtaking sunsets, but I think Costa Rica has them beat.
December 29, 2008
Poas Volcano
After the coffee plantation we put on our jackets and took a short climb up the Poas Volcano. We were so high we were up in the clouds…
Once the wind blew the fog and steam away, we were able to look into the crater:
This was the most desolate, barren, lonely place I’d ever seen. You can only see a little part of what we were able to see, but just looking over the crater gave me an uneasy feeling. Luckily on our walk down the volcano I made friends with Costa Rican wildlife to lift my spirits. I wanted to pet and love this little fella so badly, I had to put my hands in my pockets to resist the urge to pet him.
December 29, 2008
Countryside
After San Jose’ we left the city and headed out to the mountains. The countryside here is absolutely beautiful: rolling green hills with the thick rain forest as their backdrop. Luckily the scenery was beautiful enough to take my eyes off the scary roads we were driving on. While in the countryside we stopped off at a coffee plantation to learn how coffee beans are harvested. Very interesting process.
I can’t get over how big and beautiful these hydrangeas are. They’re the size of my head!
It’s amazing how quickly the landscape changes here. One second we were in a beautiful coffee plantation, and fifteen minutes later we over looking what I image hell to be like…
December 29, 2008
San Jose’
Well we’ve made it here. Costa Rica is a beautiful country with so much to do and see. We flew into San Jose’ and spent the morning down by the markets getting to know the people and culture. Here we are in a park nicknamed “The Mango Tree Park”… I’m sure you can guess why. Our lovely tour guide seems to know everyone (throughout the day he would wave and honk to other drivers saying, “oh that’s my best friend”) Fransisco also happens to be really good friends with these men at the central park:
According to Fransisco, all these men do all day is sit around and give people nicknames (hence the name of the park). Our nicknames were real original: Barbie and Coconut Flower (Mick was wearing an orange shirt the color of a coconut flower).
While in the park we also made good friends with this special gentleman who decided to serenade me with his maracas. Luckily Mick didn’t get too much of me in this clip: after about 30 seconds of his song it got to be a very awkward performance. It was very nice of him to do, nonetheless.
December 28, 2008
Black Sand Beaches
Black sand beaches. Good because they’re different and beautiful.
Bad because they’re incredibly hot on my feet; and the water is pretty murky. After we finished riding some waves, we were relaxing on the beach and saw these jumping out of the water. In the same area we were swimming.
Luckily the warm water keeps me coming back for more.
December 27, 2008
Winged Friends
The birds here are very friendly and let you get really close. Their colors are absolutly beautiful and inspiring.
December 24, 2008
Reflections of Christ
If you missed the Reflections of Christ exhibit, you missed out on some amazing pieces. Thanks Mark for your work. Hopefully we all can remember the true meaning of Christmas. Have a Merry Christmas!
December 19, 2008
Hasta Luego
We’re ditchin’ this cold weather and heading off to Costa Rica with Mick’s family. In order for my mother to keep her little Rachy close by, and for a personal record; I’m going to TRY to do a little blogging/travel log.
December 18, 2008
Clontarf Castle
Bringing it back to my Irish roots: Clontarf Castle in Doublini is absolutely beautiful. Classic castle exterior with modern decor. One day I’ll get there.
December 17, 2008
Gingerbread House
I don’t get how people make magnificent gingerbread houses. I guess I just don’t have the patience nor the engineering skills. Here are some pretty extraordinary ginger bread houses.
Gingerbread farm. Template found here.
Noah’s Gingerbread ark.
Mt. Rainer found here.
