A Week in Greece - Athens

Happy Beautiful Sunday!

It occurred to me that I never shared on my blog some beautiful pictures I took when I visited Greece this past July. This trip was a generous wedding honeymoon gift from my sister and brother in law. To explain in words how blown away we were by Greece's natural beautiful... I have none. The country was/is amazing. We visited Athens to see the Acropolis, followed by 3 days on the Island of Naxos, then concluded with 2 days on the Island of Santorini. I could ramble on and on so instead I will share a few pictures the next 3 days of each stop so you can admire the beauty too. If you ever get a chance to visit, you must! That is all I can say.

These first few pictures are in Athens. The Acropolis was a site to see and our main reason for spending the night. Of course some food shots will be tossed in.

I'll be back tomorrow with pics from the Island of Naxos.

Happy Sunday!
Jen

Bahama Paradise

Hi Friends!

Just wanted to share a few pics of my cruise to the Bahamas last weekend. It was amazing! Just the getaway I needed after so many busy weeks at work. We celebrated my Dad's 70th Birthday too. 

See ya later Miami! You can tell it was rush hour time in this pic.

We sailed on Royal Caribbeans Enchantment of the Seas. 

Day 1 Stop was in CocoCay for some beach time.

The water was so blue!

Day 2 Stop was Nassau, Bahamas. We took a taxi and ventured to Atlantis Resort.

The resort has beautiful architecture. It is a little dated but they are making improvements throughout.

I hope you all have a fantastic week. Thanks for visiting my little space. :)

Jen

Getting back into the Groove of Things

Happy July Friends,

I hope all of my US readers had a wonderful 4th of July holiday whether it was time spent relaxing at home, on vacation or just catching some fireworks. I was able to enjoy a spectacular view of fireworks on the 39th floor of a condominium building in Downtown Miami. No matter which way you turned your head to view Miami, you could see fireworks at all distances. It was truly an amazing sight to see. Even driving home on the highway, you could still see fireworks all around. 

I am slowly getting back in my groove since I moved into my new house. I love where I live now. I have a new sense of peace when I'm at home now. No more landlords or neighbors down below to worry about! We only have to worry about the Homeowners Association which is merely making sure my garbage cans are not left in front of my house. The house itself is a slow work in progress. People weren't telling lies when they said it can be a money pit. There is always something to replace, or fix. But we love it! It is ours. That part hasn't sunk in yet for me. I still have this resistance to put holes in the walls to hang pictures, until I remind myself that I can do what I want. 

Besides the house, not much else has gone on except the same old thing. We did enjoy a cruise vacation in May. We spent 6 days and 5 nights on the Carnival Splendor. We visited Grand Turk and the Dominican Republic. We enjoyed ourselves for the most part. We weren't really blown away by our trip like we were hoping, but maybe cruises are not really for us. Maybe Carnival is not really for us, so we are going to try some of the other cruise lines and see which we like better. Regardless, we took in some pretty sights during our trip. I mean you really can't beat the view of a gorgeous sunset while out on the ocean can you?

We spent our time in Grand Turk at a private beach. We had a great time swimming, kayaking, and snorkeling. They also had a Caribbean lunch for us as well as drinks. It was very nice. Besides the beaches, there surprisingly isn't anything else on the island to see.

The Dominican Republic was also interesting. We missed the tour we originally booked, but managed to get on another one. We rode on a bus to Puerto Plata and saw a few sights along the way. This tour was kind of disappointing. They basically drove us to Puerto Plata, pointed out some buildings, took us inside a church where people were ready to take pictures for a tip and then took us to a gift shop. That was all. It made us realize why all-inclusive resorts are so popular in the DR. 

The tour bus did drive by a lovely beach where they stopped to let us take some pictures.

On the creative side, I have couple pics to share of projects I have finished recently.

A Knitted Beanie Hat 

Yarn: Expression Fiber Arts - Dewy DK Yarn in the colorway "Message in a Bottle"

Some Scissor FOB creations for my Etsy Store

I have also been knitting some socks. I had to start a new pair because my other pair I started is still MIA in boxes that we haven't unpacked in the garage yet. I also started a new crochet blanket for my baby niece since I wasn't enjoying the knitted one I had started for her. I'll share pics on these next time. I'm also working on the model stitch project for X's and Oh's. It's a cute design that I think you all will like when it is released. 

That is all for now!

Thanks for Stopping by and Visiting!

**Hugs and Love**

Jen

A Glimpse of Sanibel Island, FL and some Stitching Too.

Happy August! I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer so far. School will be starting again before we know it!

My boys and I had a little summer beach getaway of our own last weekend. We visited Sanibel Island, FL which is about 2 1/2 hours away from Miami. It is on the west side of Florida. This was a first time visit for us. It was such a peaceful couple days away. We stayed at a resort where the beach was right behind it. We didn't have to go far down the street for good food either. Of course, when you vacation in Florida in the summertime, you always take a risk with the weather. It was storming the first day we arrived. The next day was better for swimming but still cloudy. These gorgeous skies appeared on the day we were leaving.

Beautiful Sanibel Beach, FL

Sea Shells Galore!

Sanibel Island is known for its seashells. Normally you can walk around on the sand and not be bothered by them, but the bad weather changed that. The shells in the water were so exposed from the rough waves that it felt like I was walking on glass. Not pleasant at all. Note to self: bring water shoes next time just in case.

We ate so well last weekend. When we vacation, we go out of our way to find the mom and pop restaurants. We refuse to eat at the big chains.

Glorious Sunset

We will definitely be going back. We decided that our vacations going forward will be at least 3 nights long. Our visit last weekend was just not long enough.

Now for the stitching. I did make some more progress on my "Sunflowers in Summer" by Country Cottage Needleworks. Please excuse the wrinkles from my Q-Snap.

It is slowly coming along. My goal is to finish it by the end of summer. Not sure I will make that goal, but I'm going to try.

 Thank you so much for visiting. I do try to get around to reading everyone's updates on their blogs too. I highly suggest if you haven't done so already, to sign up for Bloglovin. That way I can become a follower and see your blog updates.

(Edit: It seems I had a changed setting for comments on my blog. Its fixed! You should be able to leave a comment if you wish.)

Happy Stitching!

**Hugs and Love from Sunny Miami**

Jen

Our Adventure to Kennedy Space Center

Hello Friends:

I would like to share with you all our recent vacation adventure to the Kennedy Space Center. I won't share all of the pictures I took, just some of my personal favorites.

 In case you aren't familiar with Florida, Cape Canaveral is located on the East Coast of the state on the beach about an hour away from Orlando. It is a primary cruise port for ships sailing out of Florida. Cape Canaveral/Merritt Island is also known for the Kennedy Space Center. 

This was our first visit to Kennedy Space Center. It was an amazing experience for us. Disney and Universal Studios are fun don't get me wrong, but if you are ever in Florida, you must take a day to visit the Kennedy Space Center. It is a very educational place to visit. I personally left there with a deeper appreciation of what NASA does and has accomplished throughout the years. The time of the space race was intense. Many mistakes were made and unfortunately lives were lost along the way in the name of space exploration and technology development. These are things I did not realize until my visit here. It was definitely an eye opening experience into history.

There are many indoor air-conditioned exhibits including two IMAX theatres. A wonderful thing given our icky Florida humidity. These are just two of a few exhibits outdoors. It was a gorgeous March day. Standing next to these rockets definitely put into perspective how big rockets really are. There are a few different types of tours offered, but we learned unfortunately that most of them should be booked in advance of your visit because they always sell out ahead of time. These tours also cost extra in addition to your regular entrance fee.

Interestingly enough, the Kennedy Space Center is situated on land that is only 9% developed. They are also a Wildlife Sanctuary. They offer round the clock air-conditioned bus tours around the restricted area so you can see the different buildings and launch pads while also seeing the nests of rare birds along the way. They do have quite a few alligators on their property also.

The bus tour we took ended at an exhibit where you sit in a room that looked just like mission control. You experienced a simulation of what it felt like to be in that room when a launch countdown was in progress right down to the room shaking at blast off. It was such an exciting feeling and it felt so real too. 

You can also touch a (very small) piece of the moon at one of their exhibits.

We enjoyed the 3D IMAX presentation of the Hubble Telescope. That was very interesting.

But the real highlight of our visit was seeing the original Space Shuttle Atlantis in all her glory.

According to the tour guides, they never moved it after it landed the last time. They built this building around it. It is so awe inspiring to see this up close especially if you remember seeing it launched as a kid for its missions.

If you plan on visiting, make sure you plan ahead. You really should plan a whole day for your visit. Many of the exhibits have little movies at the beginning before they let you walk on. These take up most of your time within each exhibit. Overall there is so much to do and see, you will definitely want to have time to experience it all. 

If you still are in the mood for some beach time, you can always visit Cocoa Beach. It is five minutes down the street if you are staying in Cape Canaveral. It is as peaceful and laid back as it looks.

Thank you for visiting. I hope you enjoyed reading about our adventure to the Space Center. I will be back soon with another post. 

**Hugs and Love from Sunny Miami**

Jen

A Vacation to Remember

Only a few more days till Christmas! Can you believe it? Are you ready for it? I'm almost there. I finally got smart about Christmas shopping. Online shopping is so awesome especially if you are like me and don't have the patience for lines and crowds. I'm just crossing my fingers that the rest of my packages get here before the big day as promised! I also have a few last minute gifts to make. I hope I can pull those off before the big day. We are having our parents over for brunch on Christmas Day again this year. I have ideas for a better one than last year. So excited!

I promised some pictures of my trip to the Grand Canyon, so here they are. These are a few of my favorites. I can not begin to explain how gorgeous the scenery was even on our drive from Phoenix to the Grand Canyon. We drove through Sedona on our way, and it was amazing. So much beauty to take in. The weather was perfect also. It only got really cold at nighttime.

On our way.

We made a stop to see this famous church. I can't remember the name. **Edit: This is the Chapel of the Holy Cross! I knew some sweet readers would help me with the name. :) Isn't it beautiful how it just sits in the rock like that? Just stunning!

The Beauty that is the Grand Canyon

My Boys in their Beanies I made them.

It just seems to go on forever and ever. It almost didn't seem real. It felt like I was looking at a huge painting that just went on as far as the eye could see and then some.

My son had a great time. He is 10 with a huge desire to see and experience everything. I know he will never forget this trip. We even saw Elk while driving around the park.

Gorgeous Sunset. 

We had such a wonderful time. It was a little bit of a go go kind of trip since we were only out there a few days, but we made the most of it. My Aunts made sure we had an amazing time. 

Of course, I had to make one trip to my other special happy place since it is Christmas time. Can you guess where?

But of course! Being the Disney Fanatic that I am, I just had to find a reason to go and see Christmas Disney. Although I won't lie, I like it better in the Fall. 

On the crafting side, I have been crocheting beanies lately. Since my boyfriend wore the one I made him to work, now friends and co-workers want them. A little extra cash during the holidays doesn't hurt! Some of my co-workers placed orders too.  A very exciting feeling. Here are few I've made:

For a Toddler Girl

A Green Beanie that my boyfriend's friend asked for.

This has been a popular request for ladies. It is made from a cozy, soft black yarn that has black metallic in it.

I have also been stitching. I've picked up one of my forgotten lovelies again. I haven't done too much so I will leave that for my next post.

For all who celebrate, I wish you a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy Healthy New Year.

Stay warm everyone!

**Hugs and Love from Sunny Miami**

Jen

Love and Fun in North Carolina

I had the wonderful pleasure of visiting Boone, North Carolina for the first time this past weekend. My boyfriend's best friend since childhood decided to get married in the mountains to his girlfriend of 7 years. My boyfriend was one of the groomsmen. I had never been to North Carolina before, and eagerly awaited for this trip for the last year and a half. To all my readers who call NC their home, I am green with jealousy. The natural beauty all around is just breathtaking. Miami is pretty with all of its beaches, but to me NC tops Miami. I tried to soak in my surroundings as much as I could between our busy schedule. I was trying to envision what this all must look like in the winter covered in white. 

I could sit outside and listen to the streams all day. We loved seeing the natural streams just rolling down the rocks as we drove through the mountains. The weather was chilly but lovely. It got into the 30's at night.

We found some time to visit Grandfather Mountain and the famous Swinging Mile High Bridge. It was windy and cold, but the views were amazing. 

My son had a blast and was the most adventurous of our group. He wanted to climb everything and see as much as possible. 

A view of the wedding area all setup and ready to go. They found a gorgeous country club in Linville for the cermony and reception. You would not believe how perfectly the sun decided to shine right when the bride and groom said their vows. It was so magical and something out of a fairy tale story. I cried at this ceremony.

Of course, I wouldn't be me if I didn't give them a wedding card handmade by me. The card turned out lovely and was really quick to make. I covered the card with embossed scrapbooking paper and decorated it with 3-D wedding stickers, and rhinestones. 

It was so hard to say goodbye when Sunday came around. This was a trip we truly will not forget. It was full of new experiences including driving up and down steep roads, driving 20 miles in pitch blackness at night, watching out for deer that just decide to jump out into the road. Yea...we don't worry about such things in Miami. We just worry about snakes and alligators! 

I will say that one of the nice positives of the trip was interacting with very friendly locals. Everyone we encountered would greet us with a Hello and just make polite conversation about nothing. In fact, we stopped at a gas station for coffee one morning. I got distracted getting into the car and left my cup on the top of the car. A nice gentlemen knocked on my window with a smile and had my cup in his hand. These are little acts of kindness that you are not accustomed to seeing in South Florida. People for the most part of very self-absorbed down here and can be just down right hostile over petty things. You are lucky to hear a thank you from most for just holding the door open.

I hope you enjoyed my pictures. It was tough going back to work today, cause my mind is still in NC. I can't wait to visit again.

Enjoy your week. We are one day closer to the weekend.

**Hugs from Sunny Miami**

Jen