Posted: October 25th, 2011 | Filed under: Travel | Tags: Chichen Itza, Mexican Wrestling Mask | 5 Comments »
We’re back and busting it big time to get prepped for Saturday’s Haunted Forest. I will try to do better with photos this year..seriously, I’ll try my best. Quick recap of some of the highlights of our trip.
Our excursion to Chichen Itza was as amazing and beautiful as I’d heard it would be. It was also exhausting, not from the steamy mix of heat and rain and endless hours walking around the ruins, but from having Tracy Flick in my tour group of only six people. BTW, Tracy was a burly Canadian. He knows more than you..about EVERYTHING.
Our group was comprised of 3 couples, Tracy and his long suffering wife, us, and a nice Australian couple. The drive out to the ruins (and back) is a couple of hours, so there’s plenty of time to get to know each other. We knew we were in trouble about 10 minutes in…7:45 am. When we pulled into the hotel at 9:00 that evening, we were quite relieved we made it through the day without causing any bodily harm. You’d be proud that I lasted until almost noon before I politely asked him to please let our guide answer my question, since I’d like to hear what the native expert has to say on the subject of Mayan customs. I was quietly thanked later by the grateful Aussies.
So we felt secure about our passports and such with a safe in the room….
…but it’s not the most reassuring amenity of the room.
We went to an outdoor market to pick up something fun for the Things…..
…and we found Mexican wrestling masks. Well, we had to try them on to make sure they were suitable quality..no? Watch out Rey Mysterio….
Cancun is not our scene…AT ALL. But we enjoyed exploring the Yucatan and getting the hell out of the hotel zone.
OK, time to get back to work, I have more bats to glue….
Posted: October 19th, 2011 | Filed under: Travel | Tags: Mexico | 3 Comments »
The CC and I stole away from the Things for a little alone time, and a belated milestone anniversary celebration. The CC loves the beach and really wanted to go to one…but in October? Not the best time to go beaching on a budget. After much research and Shatnerizing our best price, we decided on a hurricane special in the Yucatan. It’s raining now, so it’s living up to the hype, but it’s all good.
I always love a good foreign mag when traveling, and this Marie Claire México y América Latina did not disappoint. I don’t speak Spanish…I Spanglish, er Manglish my through the markets with the accidental French word thrown in just to make sure no one knows what the hell I’m on about. I hope that if they get too annoyed with me they’ll lower the price enough just to get rid of me. That said…I can tell you everything about what’s news in Marie Claire land.
My expert translation of the sensacional article in here to you is – Latin American Males between the ages of 20 and 30 may, or may not be impotent, and may, or may not be having affairs. They are also having too much sex, or not enough…
Estoy perdida, my friends…and stay thirsty.
Posted: August 3rd, 2011 | Filed under: Fawn Love, Food, Just for fun, Travel | | 3 Comments »
Just a photo dump of what we’ve been up to when I’m (clearly) not here. Sadly it’s almost over…school starts back next week…WAY too soon.
We’re trying to make the most of our last 9 days of freedom…long walks in the woods, Shark Week, lounging at the pool and not getting out of pajamas on rainy days…they grow up too fast to consider otherwise….
Posted: July 27th, 2011 | Filed under: Shoppin' and Junkin', Travel | Tags: enamel brass and wood candle holders, tile cross beads | 5 Comments »
Sorry for the amount of time it has taken me to follow up on the Brimfield fail.…I won’t bore you with excuses.
So my take away after 6 hours of tramping up and down the market…..two, or four things depending on how you view pairs.
The orange enamel brass and wood candle holders and the turquoise color tile beads. They were at least good value…$15 for the enamel pieces and $10 for the 2 strands of beads. I think I might have spent more on lemonade that day, but I’m not sure…I drank a LOT of lemonade that day.
….and NO, I’m not getting all born again on you people with the cross beads. I just liked them, and I thought the symmetry of the shape made it OK and not “I’M A ROSARY!” Not that there’s anything wrong with that…..just not what I’m going for here.
News? I’ll be moving out of the Downtown Antique Mall at the end of August. What will I do with my stuff? Wellllll…there might be a little collaboration in the works for a Pop-Up/Mini Flea this fall, but details are not finalized. Stay tuned…it will be fun and I think our local readers might be pleased with the plans….
Posted: July 18th, 2011 | Filed under: Shoppin' and Junkin', Travel | Tags: Brimfield Antique Show | 11 Comments »
That’s what I had for the Brimfield Antique Show and it didn’t deliver for me, or my companions. All 3 of us had waited our whole junkin’ and thriftin’ lives to attend this antique mecca, this patchwork of purveyors, the holy grail of thrifting…..only to hold back tears of disappointment. Actually, it was sweat pouring down our faces from the 94° heat, but this is a tale of woe, so work with me here.
Luck is where preparation meets opportunity, right? We were vacationing a 2 hour drive away from the market when we realized the summer show was going to be on during our stay. We were prepared to do anything necessary within our means to have the opportunity to hit this market, even if only for one day. After a little begging, pleading, and bribing of the appropriate males to entertain the Things and the other youngsters for the day, we were off.
I saw some wonderful things….
Can I tell you how much I wanted these? Sonneman maybe? Doesn’t matter. At 11:45 am I am told the seller is done for the day and he’s just minding her stuff. Nothing is marked of course, but I can bet it was out of my league. I thought about them ALL DAY. I even went back an hour later just to see if maybe she was there so I could talk to her about them…and she was gone daddy gone. Just a patch of grass left.
By the end of the day, I felt like this guy….
I hear you…what’s the problem? Looks like some pretty cool stuff, right?
Shall we discuss the pricing involved at this market? It was RETAIL. This is no longer a market for dealers, unless you’re a 1st Dibs dealer. It became obvious early on I needn’t have spent so much time scouting out the UPS booth. New England pricing did not fit into my frugal Nashville budget.
To quote my companion…”Do you hear that sound? That’s the sound of my heart breaking.”
We adopted that as our mantra of the whole experience. So we left, with a couple of tiny things, but nothing compared to our great expectations.
We were grateful to return to the cool breeze off the water at the end of such a long, hot, sad day.
Thrifting FAIL.
Posted: May 31st, 2011 | Filed under: Just for fun, Travel | Tags: Tennessee Renaissance Festival | 6 Comments »
Did we go back to England?! Nope. Try the Tennessee Renaissance Festival. There is a “castle” in the middle of the Tennessee countryside, just down the road from the Tractor Supply, (aren’t they all?) with a complete set up for the month long festival. The Things and I decided we needed a little adventure over the holiday weekend, so we headed out to Arrington, TN to check out the fayre.
Sadly, we didn’t take the castle tour this year, so no snaps…that line was crazy long.
If you’ve never been to a Renaissance or Medieval Festival, you need to fix that. Treat yourself. The people watching alone is worth the price of the ticket. Carnie GOLD. The Things were captivated, and even a bit scared at times, but in the end we had a HUGE time.
When we saw this guy…all I could think of was this. That song was stuck in my head ALL AFTERNOON.
The fairies/elves were everywhere…we were in love with the ears…..
I wouldn’t be a true patron of the festival if I didn’t partake in a little something…..maybe even something that might embarrass my kids?
Indeed, it is.
Turns out they LOVED it. Gotta try harder next time.
