All You Need is Now

Calling all 80's fans:

Remember Duran Duran? Yeah, Duran Duran! Simon Le Bon, John Taylor...need I go on?

They have a new single out called, "All You Need is Now" and you can download it for free

on iTunes here.

What are you waiting for? It's free! Go! :-)

Travel Tuesday: Muir Woods

 Before I start on Travel Tuesday can I play catch up from Saturday?

Ginger and I spent the day here in Berkeley window shopping and working on this at Scrapbook Territory:

We were first admiring these last winter when KL had this Tannenbaum project for sale through her Kenner Road website. She brought it back in a slightly different form for last October's Silver Bella and Ginger and I were all twitterpated about making one. We basically had all of the supplies but for the jello mold which we picked up at the Vintage House here in town.  I don't know how KL dreams up these things but this is by far the most adorable thing ever!

OK - so now on to Travel Tuesday: Muir Woods

It's all about something local here in the Bay Area. 

I swear I will never move out of the Bay Area as long as I live. Within a 4 hour drive you can reach Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Francisco, Napa and Carmel. How can you beat that?

Muir Woods is a national monument just north of San Francisco in Marin County. You get to enjoy the infamous scenic drive up Highway 1 before reaching the entrance. 

The coastal redwoods are awe-inspiring and almost hard to believe that it is located only 11 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge and the bustling city of San Francisco.

The paved trail is very people-friendly and the self-guided tour allows you to wander at your own pace. There are 6 miles of trails if you are in the mood for a bit more of a workout.

I had a friend visit from the East Coast last year and I took her here as well as Stinson Beach up the road. Here are a few photos I took:

This is from a lookout point off of Highway 1:

If this place doesn't make you a nature lover, I don't know what will!

On a final note, I celebrated my birthday on Monday and enjoyed a lovely dinner with my family and my parents. Here's a photo of my favorite drink: the lemon drop. Mmmm!

December

How did it get to be December? 

For that matter, how did this get to be the last month of 2010?

Here I go again. The start of my second December Daily. 

I told myself I wasn't going to create one this year but after seeing this my ever-growing box of holiday-themed goodness:

and this class offered by Shimelle I decided to take the plunge. It's a pretty great online class for $35. I decided to treat myself to an early birthday present. Besides twice daily prompts and exclusive digital goodies {yay!} it also gives you access to this class every year from here on out for free! Think of it as a gift that keeps on giving!

Come on, what are you waiting for? The class starts today!

Travel Tuesday: Yosemite

I have already managed to miss last week's Travel Tuesday but what can I say? I was preparing for a complete Thanksgiving feast at my house for a party of 25. Yes, you heard that right: 25. That mad final hour dash to whip the potatoes, toast the buns, cut the turkey {and the ham!} and at the same time making sure everyone's wine glass {or beer bottle} was full.

Here's my table all ready to go.

Gift bags for each family.

It was also my mother-in-law's 82nd birthday. Happy birthday Nilta!

OK, so back to Travel Tuesday.

With all of this super cold weather and Sierra snow I couldn't help but think back to last year's day trip to Yosemite. Yes. I'll say it again: day trip. It's a 4-hour drive each way and I would never attempt such a feat but being a passenger rather than the driver? Totally do-able!

We left at the crack of dawn and got up to Yosemite before noon. The backdrop in the snowy meadow we were playing in was unbelievable.  There was a thick layer of mist sitting on top of the snow so it made us all feel as if we were living in a dream.

Yosemite is definitely a beautiful place in the summer but the winter scenery is just as incredible. 

Photographs can never do any justice to what the human eye sees. You don't have to be religious to believe that Yosemite is truly God's Country. 

If you are lucky enough to visit and don't want to pay top dollar to stay at the Ahwahee Hotel and you don't want to go too rustic at the Lodge then by all means I highly recommend staying at Tenaya Lodge in Fish Camp, which is about an hour outside of the park. It has cozy beautifully appointed rooms, a heated pool and jacuzzi, a gym, restaurants, a great room with a fireplace and board games and puzzles you can check out for free and even an ice skating rink. 

Even if you don't stay at the Ahwahnee Hotel you must go to their Sunday Brunch in the main dining room. The food is incredible and the views through the floor-to-ceiling windows are spectacular. 

If you have been to Yosemite, what part of the park is a must-see or must-do for you?

Are you ready?

For Thanksgiving, that is?

Luckily, hubby does most of the grocery shopping and is responsible for the well-being of the bird when it goes into the oven on Thursday morning.

I am responsible for readying the house and making the mashed potatoes and veggies at that last mad hour before the meal is served.

I am seriously dreaming about my mom's homemade pumpkin pie. 

Her apple pie is just as divine.

I'm off to boot camp in a few hours to try to work some sort of calorie deficit for the week so that I can eat all of that holiday goodness on Thursday.

I hope I am not alone on that thought? 

So I meant to post a few pictures from our 4-day trip to North Lake Tahoe a few weeks ago. It was such a relaxing weekend! You can't go wrong with watching movies, working on a 750-piece puzzle and playing lots of card games. 

We drove to Virginia City, Nevada on Veteran's Day to watch the parade. It was freezing but we enjoyed the gold mine tour and the cute little shops. 

I found a few quaint antique shops {yay!} and found a few goodies to take home. 

Darren and Grandpa

Darren was thrilled to take a picture of a real cowboy.

If anyone has any favorite side dishes they like to serve at Thanksgiving I'm open for suggestions and ideas!

Thanksgiving ideas

Thanksgiving is next week!

8 days to be exact.

It's going to be at my house and we'll be having over 20 family members over.

I am sort of at a loss for how to decorate the tables. I've seen quite a few ideas while blog hopping but nothing quite caught my eye until I saw this posted on Twig & Thistle:

This fits into my 2 most important criteria:

1. free or very inexpensive {LOL}

2. quick and easy to make

You can print out the PDF for free {!} at Silverbox here.

Please share any links to any cute Thanksgiving decor or other ideas if you have them!

Travel Tuesday: Cadeques, Spain

Did Tuesday arrive again this quickly? 

Today I am reaching way back into the photo archives for this one.

Date: September 1996

Setting: 5-week long backpacking trip to Europe covering 5 countries with my sister and 2 friends

This is a stop in the coastal town of Cadeques, Spain in the Spanish Riviera.

Memorable moment: drinking sangrias before noon in the famous Bar l'Hostal where Mick Jagger and Salvador Dali used to hang out.

This place was memorable in our trip because it's a lazy town with not a lot of crowds and is peaceful and quiet. This was the only time we were able to kick our aching feet up, hang out by the pool and reflect on our trip.

This is a photo of my sister. The white home behind her in the background is where Salvador Dali lived and painted. Cool, huh?