travel

The last leg of our summer journey! The cruise dropped us back in New Jersey and we made our way to Niagara Falls.

You may have forgotten in the distraction of all my posts, that the whole point of our trip east was to attend the graduation of Jordan's brother from the Coast Guard Academy. It was wonderful to see the school and to be there for such a special ceremony.

Once we managed to drive all the way to the East Coast, it was time to do some sightseeing! Luckily, we were staying in the town of Newport, RI which is famous for its wealthy summer residents and the mansions they left behind. I toured several of the mansions, and experienced all the different ways excessive wealth can manifest into a house. Each mansion was different and they were all fun to see.

Here are some snapshots from our trip east. It took us about a week to make our way from one side of the country to the other. I was surprised by how noticeably different things were as we headed east. Once we left Omaha, everything started feeling much more populated. By the time we reached Connecticut I was ready to turn the car around and head back west. All the people everywhere! I couldn't believe how much it affected me, especially since I've been living in Oregon barely a year and have spent most of my life living in much more populated places.

8000 miles later and we've made it from the one side of the country to the other and back again. I have lost track somewhat of regular life, and I'm in the process now of trying to locate what it is I used to do before I spent all my time in the car. Today I hope to tackle our photos so I can make some more interesting posts, and also start thinking about the new bundles I want to make. This is just a little post to say Hi! I'm still alive, and here trying to figure out what to do next.

I'm excited this week to be releasing my Mexico Bundle. Over Christmas, Jordan and I went to visit my parents who are living in Monterrey. It was a lovely trip (read more about it here) and I was really excited to make some designs for it because they know about color in Mexico. Everything was bright and fantastic. I hope that's reflected in this bundle.

After several months at home, Jordan and I are preparing for a new adventure, this time by means of our mini van. We will be driving coast to coast, from Oregon to Connecticut, to see my brother-in-law graduate from the Coast Guard Academy. The whole family is then going on a Caribbean cruise, lovingly financed by Jordan's grandma. Then, of course, we have to drive back. So it will be something of an epic undertaking. While I have done road trips in the past, I have not driven from one side of America to the other. I'm ready to pack my bags and go!

A rather significant change happened recently, which I feel the need to memorialize here on the blog. When Jordan and I got married (almost seven years ago!), I received as wedding present a pair of shoes. Little did I know at the time how far and how long those shoes would take me. I am here now seven years later to put those shoes to rest.

A new giant bundle for you this week, all the way from Egypt! Over a year ago, Jordan and I took a dream trip to Egypt and finally I have scrapped the experience! And made this enormous bundle! Since I actually used this bundle in a project, it directly reflects how I like to scrap. And it doubled in size from when I initially thought it was finished, since there were a ridiculous number of photos to scrap. I hope you can find things to enjoy in this bundle, even if you haven't been to Egypt.

Over the Christmas holiday we were lucky enough to spend a couple weeks in Mexico with my parents. It was a fun and relaxing time, if a littler colder and rainier than we were expecting (January in Oregon has been a weather improvement, I have to confess). But we did see some sun, and the little town where my parents live is exceptionally cute.