2014

2014 has swept by us....And there are many post that I wanted to get into the blog, but did not. Blogging is a fun thing for me. I work full time as a Realtor, and if I am busy...very little little blogging happens. I feel with work, I am pushing it to travel as much as I do. But, I have chosen to make the most of this life, while I have my health and can financially do so. So many friends of mine have passed,  or health does not allow them to travel or to do the things they love. Life is precious..every day.
I love this pic we took in the eve of the Eiffel tower....what a beautiful moment in our year.

Spellbound was Everything and More...

Just returned from Spellbound 3, a yearly art retreat held in Pasadena, CA, hosted by the dynamic mother-daughter team of Shea Fragoso and Debbie Murray of A Gilded Life. The event was located at the historic Langham Huntington Hotel in gorgeous Pasadena, California.

Pre-Event soiree at the A Gilded Life Studio in LA was sponsored by Spellbinders. They had make and take journals that were embellished with their beautiful Spellbinder bezels. This is one of their sweet employees helping me with this project. I hate that I forgot her name. She was so kind and I enjoyed talking with her.

Everywhere you looked that night, the place was full of eye candy...I love this place.

Then the next day, we were hosted by the French General to lunch and a beautiful erring class. Here I am with the beautiful Kaari Meng, owner of the FG. 

One of my favorite parts of the event is the swaps that take place during the event. I participated in the Christmas ornament and the Chantelaine Swap. Here is a photo of my Chantelaine Purse Swap partner, Charlotte. She overwhelmed me with the beautiful necklace she made for me.  She is a very special art friend, that I met at another event and we were swap partners. 

The ornament swap was title "The Beautitudes" and each of the 10 participants made 10 ornaments for the beatitude they were assigned. This is my ornament. 

It was 3 days filled with classes by talented teacher.

Meeting up with art friends...

 The final day was a trip to the Rose Bowl Flea Market. We made lots of good finds to bring home!

I have just briefly told you about this...if you have the opportunity to go to one of the events sponsored by the Guilded Life, it is like nothing you have ever experienced.  I look at this pic of the girls on the bus and it just makes me smile.

Spellbound Preparation

Final weekend preparation for Spellbound in Pasadena, California. Table gifts are a nice treat that some of us bring for the girls at our table. We are assigned to a table with girls from around the country, for a few of our meals, swaps and speakers. Generally there is 6-8 girls at a table. This year, I am sharing some of my vintage finds from France.

Here are the teachers that will be here this year. I will be posting more pics later of this event.

•  Beth Quinn  •  Colleen Moody  •  Debbie Murray and Shea Fragoso  •  Pamela Huntington  •  Riki Schumacher  •  Terri Brush  •

Fall Glittered Retreat

Fall Glittered Retreat held at Paper Crown in Oklahoma City

Festivities began with a beautiful evening get together with food and swaps.

Do I look excited with the purse I received? Don't know if I could do that pose again...

Good friends from Canada came to join to fun

Group pics of class projects

Sharing meals together

Gifts for Everyone!

Fun Shopping

just a great weekend creating with fellow artist

Dinner in Cassis

Our first day in France, we enjoyed a drive to Cassis for dinner and leisure. This is one of my most favorite places in the world. 

Drinks before dinner, with our French & Canadian friends

Dinner along the port

Wonderful food

Walking around the city after dinner

What a wonderful memory.

Bloom

"A flower does not think of competing with the flower next to it. It just blooms"

Great thought for living life.

Saint-Maximin

Forgive me...after two weeks in France, I left for an art retreat with the week of returning. I plan to show some of my beautiful photos from this trip. Got so much to tell you in the next several post. Here is todays....

Dave and I drove to Saint Maximin for the day to the market and to see this quaint village. We found a beautiful church...what a wonderful find.

Basilique Sainte-Marie-Madeleine de Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume

The basilique is a monument of history. Sainte-Marie Madeleine is supposed to be buried in the crypt.

France is around the corner...

Visions of France await me...

4 more days.

Travel Planning

My question to you today....is, do you spend much time on planning your vacations? I have heard that sites like kayaak and hipmunk offer the best airfares to give you a range of options? Are you someone that constantly checks airfares, to make sure you get the best price?

Do you plan your wardrobe, coordinating it all, so that you can travel with less clothing?

Do you research the area you are visiting, to see what are the attractions in the area? I love Virtual Tourist that offers reviews on the hotels, restaurants, sites to see...

I would love to hear your stories and what do you obsess about.