The Memory Bee

10.22.11 Happy birthday to Mom and me!

Today my mom and I shared our birthday together starting with breakfast at the beach with my dad... is there anything better? It's about ten degrees cooler than usual here (high 60's-low 70's) for this time of the year, so we sort of bundled up and enjoyed the sunshine! I love being here with my mom for our birthday... I'm so thankful for every year we have together... lots more years to come!

What a gorgeous day!

We browsed in some shops on Anna Maria Island and then stopped at the beach...

Not too many people out on a chilly day! I waded in the water and found a couple sand dollars but we'll have to come back next week when it warms up to the 80's again.

My husband sent me these beautiful flowers! I think he's a keeper!

All the birthday wishes on Facebook have really made my day special! Thank you, thank you!! It's been a happy day - heard from both of my boys... what more does a mom need?!!

10.20.11 What's up?

It's been a busy couple of weeks getting ready to come to Florida and then on to California... getting my new classes ready to go and all that involves, but it's done and I'm here and ready to go! You know I travel all over but the Sarasota airport is the only one that has a greeter like this sweet lady who's always there with a smile and a piece of candy as you get off your plane. Love it! She just makes me smile!

My mom and dad and I headed straight for a couple Goodwills and dinner at Hungry Howies... Florida traditions! It's a little too cool for the beach until the weekend so we're getting lots of shopping in! I've found a few treasures already!

A couple vintage yearbooks for $1 each from 1951 and '52 from St. Petersburg; an adorable cross stitch sampler with the perfect sentiment for my travels, that I'll reframe for $2.99; and throw rug in great pastel colors for $6.99; and the best deal... a new Keurig coffee maker for $2! I took a risk on the coffee maker because I found it in the Goodwill Bargain Barn where you can't plug anything in to see if it works but for $2, I thought it was worth the try and it works great! It's $99 on Amazon. I also got a pile of books for 25 cents each. Love the treasure hunt!

Just a quick family update too... pray for Brandon in Iraq - he's going through a tough time right now but we're looking forward to him returning home soon! The troops are officially leaving Iraq early! Yeah! And Jeremy has a sweet new girlfriend Rebecca that we love... aren't they cute?!!

I'll update with my treasures again soon! :)

10.13.11 Just one more day in London

After my whirlwind day in Paris, I had just one more day left in London to take in the sights. I started out taking the Underground to Westminster where I saw the Queen! See...

Do you think it really was her under the mask... just mingling with her subjects? :)

I stopped at the Westminster Abbey gift shop and bought an official picture book about Bill and Cathy's wedding (I mean, William and Catherine!) and then found this little sandwich shop where I bought myself a little picnic lunch that I ate on lawn in St. James Park with a view of the palace. I was so comfortable in one of these nice chairs until a guy came up to me and said that I had to pay to sit in a chair. Being cheap, I moved on!

Buckingham Palace was open for tours and viewing Catherine's wedding dress, but the tickets were all gone for the day. I was soo bummed!! I was off again down the Mall to Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery (where there's a restroom... notice I know where to find them in each city? :)

From there is was on to Liberty, the department store famous for their fabrics. I had walked into the ground floor of the store before but never explored further... it's my new favorite department store in London! Such cool architecture and a whole room of Liberty fabrics and trims and buttons and more. Fabulous china and kitchen department... I want it all!

By the time I was done there, my feet were done in, too. I had a massive blister on the ball of my foot... good thing it was time to head home. Hope you've enjoyed the tour! I'm waiting to hear back from my travel agent who has been working on putting together the arrangements for a shopping trip to London and Paris next spring. Watch for more about that soon! Email me if you want more details (if you've emailed me about it before, I have your email saved and will send you the info when I have it.)

10.11.11 One day in Paris

Because I wanted to get the most time possible in Paris for the day, I booked a ticket on the 5:15am Eurostar train. You know what that means... a 3am wake up call! After flying 11 hours from Cape Town to London all night the night before, walking for miles that day, and then this EARLY wake up call - I was beginning to think I'd lost my mind! But two and a half hours later... PARIS... and I was ready to go!

(Once again I made the mistake of arriving with no local currency but after a few minutes of panic when my ATM card didn't work again... I found a machine with English and then I was good to go!) My first stop was the Louvre. Not to see the art... but to use the restroom! Ha!

It was the greatest feeling to not have an agenda; to just wander and take in the people and the beauty of the city on a mild, beautiful fall day. As I walked along the Tuileries from the Louvre to the Place de la Concorde, I spotted the Eiffel Tower in the distance. Just so cool!! I had to pinch myself, amazed that I was really there!

I decided to hunt down Angelina's along the Rue di Rivoli, which is famous for their hot chocolate, for my late breakfast. Ooh la la... the cocoa is amazing! Do you see the color of that chocotate in the pot? And the extra little bowl of whipped creme... heavenly!

The only thing that could have made it better would be to share it with a friend!! Feeling refreshed, I headed back on the path toward the Champs de Elysee.

I wandered over a bridge to take pictures of the Seine and thought that the Eiffel Tower looked so close... surely it would be easier to walk there rather than walk to find a Metro stop. Ummm... not!! I walked and walked and walked, figuring that if I went in that direction, I'd have to find it eventually. About an hour later, I finally did get there, and it was worth it, but it's a LOT farther than it looks!!

It was definitely taxi time and time to head to my favorite department store, Printemps.

I love this shot on the escalator... visually amazing! On the sidewalk outside, a man was creating a huge chalk creation... I did give him a euro for his picture. :)

Next on my non-agenda was a stop at Pierre Herme for the macarons. After taste tests at many famous places... I can testify that these are the BEST. Just amazing! They melt in your mouth!

As evening approached I decided to just go and sit as Parisiens love to do, soaking in the atmosphere, watching the people, drinking a cappuccino, nibbling my macarons.

I had to include a picture with my toes! The flowers in the Tuileries Gardens and the Palais Royal gardens were gorgeous... a riot of color!

Back to the Louvre (do you see the man just lying on the sidewalk? He didn't have a cup out as a beggar. Just napping? Hmm...) and the Metro to Gard du Nord for the quick trip back to London. My feet are just about done but it was a perfect day!

10.9.11 A Day in London

On my way home from South Africa I made a little stopover for a couple days in London. I have one bit of advice to anyone thinking of doing this alone... do not arrive without any cash in the currency of the country! I always just use my debit card to get money from an ATM when I arrive in a country, but this time my ATM card was blocked after being in South Africa and so I had some anxious moments about what I was going to do. Usually you would have someone else to borrow some from but... I did have a few US dollars that I converted to British sterling at the airport until I could get to my hotel and call my back to unblock my card. (That call only cost $48! Yikes!) Anyway...

I took the Heathrow Express train to Paddington Station and then a cab to my hotel, dropped off my bags, and then was back on the tube on my way to Covent Garden and Cath Kidston!

Heaven!! From there I had a bit of lunch at Le Pain Quotidien at Covent Garden and did a little more shopping. I love the "hands" art installation that they have there now. So random!

From there I headed to Marleybone High Street and another Cath Kidston location. There are some great shops along the way like the Emma Bridgewater store. I needed some strength so I stopped at a patisserie for a yummy pastry and a cappuccino.

My overwhelming impression of London this time was the gorgeous flowers that were everywhere... spilling out of window boxes, along fences, in hanging baskets... just fabulous! The pubs seem to have the best ones! Here's some pictures...

My last stop for the day was at Selfridges... and guess what they have there...

Next up... my day in Paris!

10.7.11 SA 5: Shopping in SA

Every country has unique shopping opportunities but some of the funniest to me are the one's I've seen in South Africa.

Would you like to buy a bean bag chair? Just pull over... lots of colors to choose from!

How about a rattan chair?

Maybe some metal ornaments for your lawn?

maybe a "scarecrow?" (I actually love these! Love the bright colors!)

Here's what I bought while there...

I thought this 1952 book about South Afica would be interesting to read and compare to today (plus I liked the color.) I also bought the book on mammals so I could identify all the pictures of "deer" that I took on safari. I bought the old book here...

Love their signage... such cool patina on them. Lots of treasure in there!

I bought the beaded piece in Hermanus... it reminds me of the fabulous beaded artwork at Spier. I love the bright colors in the button necklace too. Can't wait to wear it!

I had to get these sweet guys at Kichaka... they fit right in! I did get a floaty pen at the Cape of Good Hope but now I can't find it! Bummer... I'll have to go back to get another!

My days lately are filled with details of upcoming trips... new classes, stores and events to teach at, ordering the class product for my class at Tinsel Trading Company in November, and packing kits like crazy!

I'm excited about teaching the new Bessie Mates class... I LOVE the bright, rich colors!

The class sign ups for this fall are setting records... be sure to call the stores while there's still some seats left. I'm really looking forward to teaching these new classes!

10.3.11 SA 4: Cape Town

This is the almost the last installment of my South Africa adventure! I've enjoyed reliving all the happy memories and recording them here... now I just need to get them into a scrapbook, too!

We headed back to Port Elizabeth for our flight on to Cape Town... someday I'd love to see more of PE... it looks like a beautiful city on the Indian Ocean!

We landed in Cape Town and headed to our home for the next few days... the Spier Winery in Stellenbosch. Such a gorgeous area!

We had a delicious lunch at one of the restaurants at the resort... loved the decor and the meal! The ceiling was made from folded paper... so cool!

We spent the next day touring the coastline along the whole peninsula. It was just one gorgeous vista after another. I took about 800 pictures just this one day! We started out going to the top of Table Mountain. Last year we froze but this year there wasn't even a breeze and it was warm! So gorgeous! Even the dossies were taking in the sun! Melissa Kennedy from Austrailia strikes a pose with her husband David. What a nut!

Paula Cheney and her husband Jay pose in front of the Cape Town skyline.

From there we made our way along the coastline, stopping here and there for photos and for fish and chips at Kalkies in Kalkes Bay.

We stopped at Boulder's Beach to see the penguins and then made our way on to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. The beauty of the coastline and the Indian and Atlantic Ocean was just spectacular. It was one of my favorite things of the whole trip!

The water really was this amazing blue and so clear... you could see the bottom!

We don't have signs like this around here!

The next day while half the teachers taught their classes, the other half of us went on another tour along the coast to Hermanus which is famous for whale-watching. It's just so cool to see them frolicking in the water just off shore! We had a great lunch and enjoyed another gorgeous day! This picture is a whale breaching or jumping out of the water.

On the way home we stopped to take pictures at an overlook and found that parasails were taking off from the ridge right in front of us. Just magnificient... they would straighten out the strings of the "kite" and then walk a few steps, lift up their feet and then they were off over the valley. It was spectacular!

Nic Howard and her husband Paul, me and my husband Dave, and Melissa and David Kennedy on our adventure.

That night we had a special dinner at Moyo, a really fun restaurant at Spier. The face-painting, the African music, and the traditional food make it a memorable night!

Love these two... Ashleigh and Lynn.

It was another unforgetable trip. I love this country and am so thankful for the opportunity to experience the beauty and the kindness of this place.

I hope you've enjoyed sharing our journey! I just have one more little post about shopping in SA and then on to London and Paris! :)

10.1.11 The online store is open again!

Just a quick heads up that I've restocked my online store with all the retired kits that I have left and also added an option to purchase the instructions for past classes. These are the same instructions that would have been sent to students who purchased a kit at a store with the pictures of each page of the project to go with it. Most of the ideas and techniques can be used with other papers and embellishments that you have on hand. There is a very limited number of Product Goodie boxes too, filled with products from recent class kits. The class kits are shipped only to the continental US but the instructions can be sent anywhere!

Happy shopping! Email me if you have any questions. Click on this link to go there: The Memory Bee.