Saturday, June 30, 2012

Thailand, Days 2 and 3: Hua Hin

No trip to Thailand is complete without time at the beach.  I mean, they made an entire movie about just that, intuitively named The Beach, starring Leo.  Here's the quote from IMDB:
Twenty-something Richard travels to Thailand and finds himself in possession of a strange map.  Rumours state that it leads to a solitary beach paradise, a tropical bliss - excited and intrigued, he sets out to find it.
I'll ruin the suspense:  the map leads to the decidedly blissful ocean front Hilton Hua Hin, with extensive manicured grounds and multiple pools.



Our rooms were exquisite and very lux, with a wrap-around balcony and beautiful views.  



Unfortunately, such living is training Krystle for the good life.  I guess I better work on that promotion.

Just like Leo, we spent most of our time relaxing and splashing around in the pool, dunking the Mrs. 



But I hear you asking, what about the actual beach?!?  After a little coaxing, I got everyone into the ocean.  The scariest thing out there were some sharp rocks.



Rachel was of course scared of the tiny crabs that had infested the sand between the high and low tide lines. She somehow convinced me it was in my best interest to protect her recently manicured toes from tiny crab pinches.

Being right on the ocean, near some very productive fishing grounds, means any and every kind of seafood is on hand, fresh out of the water.  Upon arrival we started off lunching on some lobster:

After a rough day by the pool (see above), we supped on more crustaceans and fish:




Did you know prawns are an aphrodisiac?

Finally, just a few minutes from our hotel was a night market, with food, art and various crafts.  It was very chill and a lot of fun.

As you can no doubt tell, I have no idea what The Beach was actually about.  You'll have to tell me, who had more fun at the beach in Thailand, Leo's character or us?

Monday, June 25, 2012

Thailand Day 1: Relaxing, Good Food, and Family

Our Asian vacation began in Bangkok.  We stayed with my Dad at his new spacious house that we had never been to before, so that was fun.  


Our first day was pretty low key.  We slept in and took in some sights.


Then we got massages and facials, which was just the pampering that we needed after a very long flight in a cramped old plane that didn't even have individual TVs.


And no, Jesse had no say in the matter!


MK Suki is one of my favorite places to eat -- serious comfort food (healthy too!)


We also had some dim sum there, and made sure to order pork buns, which are Jesse's favorite.


Throughout our trip, we just saw a bunch of hilarious sights that remind you of the fact that you are not in the U.S.  Take this for example.  Bangkok is a very congested city and parking is at a premium.  They have really cool high tech parking lots that tell you exactly how many spaces are left on each level and where they are.  They also have designated parking spots for certain types of cars, certain credit card holders, and "ladies."  Yes, folks, ladies:


There is also a cool new building that is designed in a shape of an elephant (behind us on the left side of my head):


And then there are kinda gross sights like this open truck with fish in it and guys just sitting on top of them.


One of our must-dos every time we are in Bangkok is to visit Pan Pan.  Jesse and I have been to Italy and had great Italian food there and here in the U.S., but the best Italian food we have ever had is in Bangkok!  Pan Pan is a restaurant owed my one of my Dad's best friends, and he always spoils us with an abundance of food.   




This lasagna, for example, literally melts in your mouth.  Yum!


After dinner we got to meet up with some of my family on my father's side, which is always nice, and a good ending to a great first day!




Thursday, June 21, 2012

Hens' Den Teresa Collins Fabrications Linen Layout

The beige, red, and black color combination of Teresa Collins Fabrications Linen line is the perfect compliment to the pictures we took of our trip to Taos with my mom and Jeff.  I love all of the brads and embellishments that come with this line, and wanted to create a cool page element with them.  Click here for details on how I made this layout. 



Monday, June 11, 2012

June Newsletter

My newsletter project this month is a pair of cards that I created with Prima's Nature Garden line.  


There are many more projects to see in the Hens' Den's June Newsletter:


Open publication - Free publishing - More cards

And last, but not least, I want to share a layout that I created using My Mind's Eye's Lost & Found 2 Sunshine line (I love the details in this line and fussy cut doilies from their patterned paper):


Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Not your typical sun

We're back from Thailand and Japan!  I promise to post pictures soon, but in the meantime, here are some pictures that we took right before and after our trip.  Interestingly enough, both sets of pictures are of the sun.  Right before we left, we had a solar eclipse.  Jesse and I put on sun shades and went to the dam near us to get a good view.


We were able to take pictures of the solar eclipse by putting the glasses over the camera lens:



Neat huh?  Jesse and I were not the only ones taking a look (see the crowd of people behind us?)


Strangely enough, a couple days after we got back Venus passed over the sun.  It is tiny, but you can see it in these pictures (the dark spot in the top right hand corner of the sun):