Adventures at Disney California Adventure

Last week, my sister Gina and our friend Chaeli (pronounced Shelley) went to California with my dad for the 2012 National Compassionate Friends conference.  I flew out on Wednesday night and dad and the girls came early Thursday morning.  Then we went to Disney California Adventure for the day and had a blast!

Me and Gina in front of the entrance to the new Cars Land

The new Cars Land was amazing.  It looked like we stepped inside the Cars movie!!  There were several rides including Luigi's Flying Tires, which was NOT worth the 1.5 hour wait.  The Radiator Springs Racers sounded amazing but was closed after a break down.  A cast member working in a gift shop said that ride breaks down almost every day.

New Little Mermaid ride!

When I was little, I watched The Little Mermaid almost every day, so I was stoked when we were able to go to Ariel's Undersea Adventure.  It was a cute ride and thankfully there was hardly any wait.

Me & Chaeli trying on ears

Because I'm getting married this year, I decided that I needed to buy some mouse ears!  So i picked out the sparkly white ones with the veil!!  I love them so much and am planning to wear them to my bridal shower next month.

It was an amazing day.  I'm glad we chose to do California Adventure instead of Disneyland, since I feel like it wasn't as crowded as Disneyland gets but with all the same amazing Disney magic!

love and coffee,

Lulu

Dakotas Trip: Mt Rushmore & Rapid City

After visiting the Crazy Horse Memorial, we drove to the "big heads" (as my dad calls it), Mount Rushmore.  Thanks to my mom and sister having been there in January, we didn't have to pay the $11 for parking and used their parking pass.  

There wasn't as much to look at compared to Crazy Horse, but it was still enjoyable.  It was great to be able to check this item off my bucket list!  Plus the weather was absolutely beautiful; a little windy but sunny and not too cold or too hot.  We had fun wandering through the gift shop and trying to figure out what we wanted to take home to remember our trip.

In front of Mount Rushmore

For lunch, we continued driving to Rapid City to dine at Beaujo's Colorado Style Pizza.  This is a restaurant that started in Colorado, famous for its whole wheat pizza crust eaten at the end of the meal with honey.  I remember going here as a little kid for their lunchtime buffet.  I was stoked when I found out that we could eat there on our trip! I recommend joining their birthday club; I got $10 off my purchase which was basically half off lunch for two.  The service was great and very attentive and the food was very yummy.  The only bummer is that their salad bar doesn't include different types of lettuce, just iceberg lettuce and spinach.  If you're ever in the area, I suggest you check out Beaujo's!

Coming soon....North Dakota adventures...

love and coffee,
Lulu

Crazy about Crazy Horse

Jared and I just got back from a wonderful road trip to the Dakotas.  The first thing we saw was the Crazy Horse memorial.  It is located south of Rapid City, South Dakota in the beautiful Black Hills.

It cost us $20 for the two of us, but before you say "That's too expensive to see a big rock" remember that this project is entirely privately funded.  The memorial does not accept government funding and relies on admissions and donations.  

The first thing we did upon arrival was watch a short film about the history of the memorial, which I found very informative and inspiring. We walked around the museum which showcases a lot of Native American history. The gift shop is huge and we had fun looking around to find the perfect thing to take home.  We settled on a few postcards, a pen for me to use at work, and a wooden Christmas tree ornament.  

Jared & I in front of the model

It was rather windy when we went but still really enjoyed it.  I liked seeing the models for the finished product.  Jared was there about ten years ago and was amazed how much work they've done since then.  Maybe in ten or fifteen years we'll bring our kids there...

More soon on our Dakotas trip!

love and coffee,

Lulu

I'm Getting Married!!

Me and my fiancee

Yup, I'm ENGAGED!  My lovely boyfriend Jared asked me to marry him last week.  We kept it a secret for a few days and then told our families and now I'm telling YOU!  We are so excited.  We are planning a wedding for the end of December 2012.

The actual proposal was very simple.  We were sitting on the couch talking about something completely different and he looks at me and just says, "Will you marry me?"  Of course I said yes.  We kissed and the rest is history.

Since I am a crafter, I am seriously debating doing some knitting for this wedding, maybe a lace shawl?  Hmm....the possibilities....

Lots of love,
Luci

A Use for Postcards

I've been collecting postcards for over a decade now and I have an entire shoebox of postcards from all over the world.  Sometimes I use them in my scrapbooking but generally they just sit in the box on the shelf.  Looking through them brings back lots of good memories from various trips I've taken or the people who have given them to me.

A couple weeks ago, I was looking through my box of postcards and thought, some of these would look really cool on my wall and started exploring options to use them in decorating.  My boyfriend, who used to be a framer at Hobby Lobby, was helpful in what would be really expensive and what wouldn't be.

Then I found a collage frame from Hobby Lobby, normally priced at $24.99 which I purchased for half price.  It took me a while to find the right collection of postcards that looked enough alike but still cohsive.

From left to right, top to bottom: New York City; Crested Butte, CO; Long's Peak, CO; Mt Hood, OR; Den Haag (Holland); Grand Canyon; Navy Pier, Chicago; Paris.

Got it hung up the other day in the dining room and I like the touch of color it adds to the space!

love and coffee,
Lulu

Start of a New Adventure

Most of you readers know that I don't stick to just one or two crafts but fancy several.  Quilting has yet to be one of them, but it has always fascinated me.  My great aunt Nancy is an amazing quilter who made me a gorgeous quilt for my high school graduation.  She has been super supportive via Facebook.  Hi Aunt Nancy! 

Last week, I took a plunge and bought a quilting book from the local quilt shop Stitcher's Garden.

I've really enjoyed flipping through the book and looking at all the projects and reading the how-to sections.  I think I will start taking a beginning quilter's class at the shop.

Then yesterday, I decided to take the plunge and purchase some fabric!  JoAnn's was having a Labor Day sale.

Today I washed it and pressed it.  I will try my hand at cutting with scraps leftover from other sewing projects.  I will keep you readers posted!

love and coffee,

Lulu

Laundry Quandry

This is my laundry room.  It is small but functional.  I love my tankless hot water heater and my snazzy energy-efficient washer and dryer.  However, I want my little laundry room to look pretty...

Painting is out of the question for a while and I think it would be way too troublesome to paint anyway.  I really do want to hang up my ironing board somehow, and I've been looking around at things to hang it it up with.  I think I found something I want at Target.

Maybe some colored bins on the shelf above the washer and dryer would be nice... Not to mention keeping it clean would probably do wonders!

Hmm, so many ideas.... What are yours?

love and coffe,
Lulu