Change Of Plans...

A lot of people keep asking ... 

We have had a change of plans 

on this whole Brazil thing.

Back in December we had a huge scare with my mother-in-laws health.  Her health is fragile.  She ended up on life support and we didn't know if she would be able to make it off of it.  Luckily she did, but it made us realize that with her health in this condition things can happen so fast and we don't want to be half a world away.  So the Brazil dream is on hold again until who knows when!

So we decided to pursue another dream!  

That of owning an RV!

Meet the newest member of our family!

We have named it ...

The Potato Wagon

To honor her Idaho heritage.  

We bought her from a cute little farm couple in Idaho who loved her and took care of her.  And we will too.  It is just perfect to haul around our little tater tots!

Now, where shall we go first???

~ ~ ~

Where are your favorite places to visit?

Just So You Know...

I didn't totally drop off 

the face of the earth!

I've been travelling...

and just so you know...

Yep! Pretty much!

Be back soon...

Look Kids! A Christmas Tree!

Sadly, it's not my own Christmas tree!  My kids are still sad we don't have our tree up!  But I found them one at our hotel we stayed at during our family medical crisis this week!

I ended up on kid duty while all the siblings attended to their mother in the ICU.  As a result, I found myself paying attention to the hotel decorations a lot. 

We stayed at my favorite budget friendly hotel in St. George.  Once they found out the reason we were there, they upgraded us to a suite so that we would be more comfortable.  Isn't that nice???

It's a beautiful little hotel with great rates and a really nice hot breakfast buffet where you can dine on eggs, omelettes, waffles {with a selection of tasty fruit syrups as well as your standard maple}, oatmeal, fresh fruits and more! 

One of my favorite things about St. George is that they have palm trees!  Yes!  In the hot, dry Utah desert!  They're not native, but they somehow survive down in that climate.  In fact, when I was a kid we used to drive down to California to visit my grandparents and we always looked forward to seeing our first palm tree because we thought we were getting close to grandma's.  Now I realize those first trees were in Utah and we still had a loooong ways to go to get to Pasadena!  Hey, I guess whatever helps make a long trip shorter then GREAT, I guess!  LOL!

If you ever need to make a stay in St. George, 

I highly recommend our favorite hotel:

Best Western, Abbey Inn

Portuguese lessons

While in DC we met two Brazillians that were also attending the conference my husband was at.  We spent a delightful evening with them one night practicing our portuguese, and they practicing their english.

Our Brazillian friends are on both ends.

I was pleasantly surprised that I remembered so much of my portuguese after nearly 20 years.  There were times during the conversation when I understood every single thing.  Then there would be times when I all of a sudden couldn't understand what they were saying at all, but I was encouraged when they told me my accent sounded like a native Brazillian, thank you very much!  I'm sure once I get back to Brazil that I will pick it up again quickly.

One of my favorite parts of the evening was exchanging texting acronyms in our respective languages.  You know, lol and brb etc.  I kept seeing a bunch on my Brazillian friends FB conversations that I hadn't been able to figure out yet and now I know!  Hooray!   We also gave each other tongue twisters!

We gave them:

Peter Piper picked 

a peck of pickled peppers.

And they gave us:

O rato roeuo 

a roupa do rei de Roma.

Click here to see the translation and hear how it sounds.

Just click on the little megaphone icon in the lower right hand corner

of the portuguese box.

It's hard, but I'm working on it!

By the way,

if you ever meet a Brazillian and want to give them

a fun but tough phrase to say, give them ...

World War Three

but be prepared...

they will probably want you to say

geladeira

and 

paralelepípedo

And this concludes your 

portuguese lessons for the day!  

:D

Tchau meus amigos!

My home away from home!

In my last post you could see a tiny bit of the room I stayed in.

So today I thought I would show you

where I stayed while I was gone.

I loved our room!

It was so totally my style!

I loved the simple chocolate, white and 

creamy yellow color scheme

with its hip and graphic 

trellis wallpapered wall and 

white drum shades.

A beautiful little sitting area

and a small kitchenette finished off the space.

It was a nice place to come home to every night!

My kind of souvenirs

When I travel I like to buy things I will actually use again, not some crazy knick knack with the location emblazoned across it.  I like to shop and hunt and find things I can't get where I live.  So I like to shop stores we don't have and try local hang outs and restaurants etc.

One day while in DC, I met up with a DYT friend from Maryland to go to lunch and do a little shopping. 

We had a fabulous time and found this cute skirt and bracelet at a consignment shop in Old Town Arlington in Virginia.

I also found this beautiful berry colored pashminas and this scarf on my travels also.

Now when I wear that cute pink skirt I will remember the shopping trip with my DYT friend from Maryland.   Or when it gets cold and I throw on my pashmina I will remember my wonderful, fun filled trip to Washington DC.  Those are the kind of souvenirs and memories I like to remember my travels by.

Spending some time with " The Greats"

Poof!

I'm back!


I was away again...did you notice?

I was off spending some time with

"The Greats"


Great men of history

The Lincoln Memorial

Great architecture surrounding me

The White House

at Arlington Cemetery

and my GREAT husband!

The Hubs listening intently to the Slavery tour at Monticello

I was off galavanting around the Washington DC area
and having a fabulous time!

But now I'm home and
getting back to real life
{and laundry}
again.

I've missed you all!

Stay tuned!
More to come!

Exciting News!

I have been dying to talk about this!  And I think I actually can now!  My husband just took a new job that might help take us back to Brazil in about a year or so!  I am so excited!

~B. in Brazil, circa 1993

We feel really good about this career move.  Moving back to Brazil has been a goal of ours ever since we first got married.  We absolutely love that country!  The rhythms, the people and the scenery really get into your soul!  And I feel like we just took a huge step closer to that goal!!!

So we are getting our passports updated {and getting the kids their first passports!}, getting our house ready to sell or rent {probably rent since the market isn't that great, plus it will give us something to come home to someday} and just getting things in order so that when the time comes we will be ready to go!

And thanks to the movie Rio, the kids are actually getting excited to go too!   I am in love with this movie because it is actually very close to what I remember of Brazil.  The portuguese sprinkled throughout, sounds of samba, the crazy soccer obssession, the scenery, even the monkeys are the same type that used to hang out in the trees outside my bedroom window!

Though my monkeys were on the smaller side and didn't do that funky capoeira dancing like they do in the movie! ~wink~wink~  That would have been cool though!  :D

So for your listening pleasure, I bring you one of our favorite  Brazillian rhythms and songs from the movie!

Stop the Car!!!

Sorry for the extended absence my dear friends! And thank you for the concerned emails from some of you ~ no, I did not die from the illness I had and no, I wasn't completely ignoring the world while watching Monarch of the Glen either!  I had taken some darling young girls to a church youth conference and was without internet for a week!  And I lived to tell the tale! 

We were merrily driving down the interstate, when all of a sudden, what to my wondering eyes should appear!  But a sign from Beaver touting their #1 water in the United States!!!

Shut up!

Stop the car!!

I have to taste this water!!!!

We made a quick exit!

Pulled into a gas station.

Ran in and looked around.

Hmm.

All we found were these:

What?

No Beaver water???

We left and I was determined

to find some the next time

we passed through.

And this time...

I had an evil little plan!

This evil little plot included

a trip to Tar-jay to purchase

an incognito {yet very cute and stylish!} 

insulated soft cooler.

{They look like they could be cute 

diaper bags, you know?}

Said plot also included

water bottles and

a nifty water dispenser
{to go inside the cooler!}.

So we drive back into Beaver on the return trip.

We decide we are going to go to the

cheese factory {that we also saw a sign for},

because hello, cheese???

YUM!!!

via

We stock up on cheeses.

Chat up the cute cashiers

~ they were seriously so nice!

And get our water.

From the tap.

Oh yes!

I got a cooler full of water!!!!

And as if that wasn't enough!

We hit the drive through for lunch

and order ice cold waters

with our meals!!!

We chanted as we drove out of sight...

Bea~ver Wa~ter!

 Bea~ver Wa~ter!

Bea~ver Wa~ter!

~dreamy sigh~

It was a great day!!!

And now, I can relax at home

and savor the tastiest water in America!

So, how did it really taste?  While I don't know the criteria that is used in real water judging, I would definitely say that it was tasty water.  It really did win a water contest in 2006.  Beaver was named because of it's many nearby springs {and I'm guessing beavers too!} which is where their tasty water comes from.  It tastes cool and fresh!  Definitely worth stopping for!  And I would totally stop again!  In fact, I'm thinking it is a must stop location every time we go now!

My Dream Spa

When I was in junior high I wanted to own my own health and fitness spa in the hills of Northern California.  I imagined it nestled among peaceful green rolling hills.

Now I just want to go to one.  Like the Hotel Royal in France.  In fact, I would say it is my dream destination spa.  I have been dreaming about it ever since I saw it in Architectural Digest years ago.  It was committed to memory and every time I thought about my own spa, I decorated it like that one.

Like a cool glass of water! 

Speaking of water,

did I mention it is nestled
near the lake and mountains
in Evian, France?

Yes, where Evian water comes from!

See?  With my love affair with water,

could this place not be anywhere more perfect for me???

It's heavenly!

Like a breath of fresh air!

Oh those soaring cathedral ceilings!

The only change I made in my head

was to treat the ceiling with gorgeous clouds.

Someday I will go there.
Mark my words!

Damage Control

After 10 days of traveling and not eating my normal types of food, I have some serious need to do a little damage control.   There are lots of ways to go about the damage control. For me, it's cutting out the starchy breads and potatoes and loading up on lots of good veggies.

My favorite way?  

Green smoothies.

I usually just throw whatever I have in there.  But they always include some form of green like spinach, chard or kale and berries.  They are actually quite tasty {and nutritious!}.  My body actually craves these things!   But don't knock it unless you've tried it!

It's actually quite chic.  I mean, didn't you ever wonder what Rene Russo's green sludge was that she was drinking in The Thomas Crown Affair?  And her character in this movie is oh so very sleek and chic, my friends!  I have a hunch it was a green smoothie, or at least green juice.   I tried finding you a clip of that scene but I guess you'll just have to settle for this one of Pierce Brosnan.  Aaaahhhh!  Nice and smooth ~ just like I like my, um, green smoothies!  ~wink~wink~  Oh my, but we're getting off track here!

I also have a nice huge pot of homemade vegetable soup in the fridge that I loaded up with all kinds of veggie goodness that I am eating at will!  It is chocked full of cabbage, carrots, celery and other fantastic yumminess!

Soup is also the way Mireille Giuliano in French Women Don't Get Fat suggests as her way to do the same thing, though hers is a leek soup.

I've also hit the gym hard again this week.  I think my personal trainer tried to kill me for real this time.  She had no sympathy for my vacationing escapades {and lack of exercising even though we had mapped out a brilliant plan for me to do so on the road!}.  Oh well, I probably deserved it!

I'm sure there are other fabulous and healthy ways to work on damage control after traveling, so I'd love to hear how you handle it!

Traveling Comfortably

During my recent travels, I thought a lot about what it takes to create the perfect traveling wardrobe, particularly with the traveling portion, not necessarily the destination portion. 

Most people want to be comfortable when traveling.  While most people on our flights looked decent, {I mean, I didn't notice anyone wearing sweats or anything, though I'm not terribly observant sometimes either, so who knows!} a particular couple really caught my eye and stood out from the crowd.  They both looked comfortable yet extremely well put together.  And luckily for me, they sat near me on the airplane where I could easily observe them!

Meet Mr. and Mrs. Travel Chic

Mr. Chic

Mrs. Chic

Both were of a certain age.  Mr. Chic had a lovely head of salt and pepper hair while Mrs. Chic sported a perfect little blonde~grey{ish} bob.  Both wore a jacket of sorts to help keep them warm if needed, but could also be removed if needed, which the Mr. actually did.  Both wore a pair of jeans. His a relaxed fit medium wash denim. Hers a dark wash slim cut denim. Both wore a pair of brown driving moccasins.   These mockups don't necessarily do them justice ~ they were quite classy in person if you could have seen the whole package.

Classic and unassuming yet very comfortable.  I was impressed.  What a good example of how to travel comfortably yet stylishly at the same time!  Bravo!

Texas Travelogue

Did you think I had fallen off the face of the earth?  For the past 10 days I spent a lovely time galloping and galavanting across Texas.  I had planned to schedule a bunch of posts for you while I was gone, but only got one of them up.  So I'm going to pretend that people were stocking up on toilet paper, bread, and bottled water because my sudden absence made them fear catastrophe must then be near.  {Just humor me on this one! ~wink~wink~}

We spent a delightful time going from San Antonio with a visit to:

The Alamo!

Did you know that no surrounding buildings 

are allowed to cast a shadow over The Alamo?

The old mission style architecture

and grounds are beautiful!

We dined along The Riverwalk 

 {via}

  

and took a leisurely little boat tour.

 {via}

We visited a lovely and peaceful Japanese Tea Garden

Took a quick jaunt out to Fredericksburg, Texas ~ a charming little German settled town out in the Hill Country.  Lots of cute little shops to visit.  Apparently I missed Rebekah who was also out there the day before.  Wouldn't it have been fun to bump into each other on the street?

We enjoyed this street musician

with his accordion music!

When I think of Texas Hill Country, I think of

the charming white stone like this:

along with gorgeous old architecture

and rustic elements coupled with beautiful linens.

Aaahhh!  I love Texas Hill Country!

It's so rustic, yet elegant!

We spent a crazy amount of time out at Lyndon B. Johnson's ranch.  I mean, somehow hours passed and I'm not sure how!  I think there is a time warp out there or something!  But it was pretty interesting.  And now my husband wants a ranch just like his when he grows up.  I think he just wants his own airplane and runway somewhere!

Then we drove up to the Dallas/Fort Worth area to visit some family up there.    We headed out to a lake to let the kids play in the sand and water.  It was pretty windy so my daughter and I decided to take advantage of it and go for some windblown super-modeling!

After a few days visiting there we drove down to Houston.  The wildflowers are coming out and were so beautiful on our drive down.

We checked out the Space Center ~ we had to find out if you can still be an astronaut when you grow up. 

It was incredible to see these things!

Then we headed down to Galveston.  What a cute and sad little town!  Super cute with all the fun architecture.

It kind of reminds me of Daybreak ~ 

a little community near me.  

But it's sad because at the same time it feels a little run down right now.  There are lots of buildings that are empty or damaged, I imagine from Hurricane Ike.

We decided to spend the night beachfront across the street from this little fishing pier.  We went over to check it out.  This is what it looks like today.

This is what happened to it during Hurricane Ike.

And then, the morning after!

Gone!

But the sign survived!

Incredible! 

My husbands uncle, who works for Fema, said that the reports that came back from Hurricane Ike suggest that the entire little island of Galveston was covered in water from Hurricane Ike and the storm surge.

When I think of Galveston now, I think of one word.  Brave.  This one is one brave little island.  Bravely facing out to the Gulf Coast.

Then we roadtripped it  back to San Antonio again blaring and singing 80's music along the way.  {We have to thoroughly educate the kids you know!  What kind of parent would I be if they didn't know the classics???}

We spent two days out at SeaWorld 

watching the shows

And playing in the water park

{sorry, no pics of that!}.

We thoroughly enjoyed our little tour of Texas.  I feel like there is still so much left unseen.  Guess I'll just have to go back!  Oh bummer!  :D

Btw, most of these pics were taken with my iphone, 

so sorry about the quality and bluriness of some of them!