{Babylonstoren}

Just 45 minutes outside Cape Town exists a place and hotel that I dream about when I want to get away from it all. Let me just break it down..large gardens that produce every imaginable herb, fruit and vegetable where their emphasis is on good, simple, juicy and tasty food - straight from the garden to the table. Are you with me on this one? Seriously just look at that food and those accommodations...so clean and beautiful looking.

To see more of Babylonstoren go here.

gold leaf burled bowls

Loving the above bowls made here locally in Arizona. If I had one I could certainly find a place for it on a desk or a table. In case you need to see a picture of a desk or a table then I posted the below..

Also if you feel the need for one of the above gorgeous gold leaf burled bowls then you can go here to get in contact with the makers.

Aloha

Did you know that you could buy a home for $280,000 in Maui? Well that is at least what our server at Momma's Fish House told us because he had just purchased a home up on the countryside. He, his wife and baby had come to the island from California with high hopes of some great surfing. He loved it so much that he joined the other 35% of Californians who make up Maui's population. I think $280,000 for a 1800 square foot home on Maui doesn't sound too shabby....but could I really live on an island? Speaking of surfing I just found out what a hang ten really means...how in the world? Also while in the ocean I was plummeted by a powerful wave and thought about a) the power of a tsunami and b) how I would stick to wake-boarding and not attempt to surf. Really surfing is hard and takes some serious skills...like those "no fear" kind of skills.

Anyway Maui was our destination as a last minute trip and boy it really worked well with our life. I'm not too sure it worked well with the life of Grandma and Aunt Linda though...angels I like to call them as they took care of the home front while we were away. It was the longest we had been away from the kids but a much needed break. While we were away we kept mainland communication to a minimum..which meant no internet (note to self: do that more often). In my opinion, Maui offers such a diverse experience so it really is a great destination for all . The first part of the trip we stayed in a budget hotel and then the second part of the trip we splurged on a nice oceanfront resort. We came to the conclusion that on Maui a nice resort was not our style. We like to get out, move our bodies, find secret nude beaches (because we did) and explore...so a nice place with all the amenities doesn't suite our fancy. In fact a nice comfortable bed with the sound of the waves crashing outside our window was all we needed. I could go on and on but am thinking I will stop..however if you are planning a trip over there and need some good suggestions on places to see, places to eat and places to stay then email me. I feel like we experienced enough over there that I could offer some great suggestions...many of them budgets friendly ideas. Aloha, Mahalo and Go, Fight Win.

P.S. - I think I just may follow a ton of blogs because my google reader was over 2000 unread posts when I got back. Still trying to figure out how I am going to handle all of my internet dealios. I sure can't wait to see what kind a fun and creative stuff you all have been up to.

kitchen kitchen, who is in the kitchen {a guest post}

When Helena asked if I wanted to participate in her "In The Kitchen" series I did a special little clean up and added some flowers just for her. If you want to sneak a peaky of how my kitchen exists today then go here.

Now the kitchen has been on my radar to spruce up. Since I took the pictures for Helena's blog I have taken off a cabinet door next to the one that was already missing a door in the above photo. I then backed the shelving with mirror.

Next on the list of things to do: purchase a kitchen island, install a backsplash, add some new lighting, pick out a new rug and paint the cabinets..I would love to share the process for any insight that you all may have. Also it is always a motivator to finish things when you put things out there. Have any of you all installed your own backsplash? if so I'd love any tips.

On deck..an affordable option for a kitchen island. the below cabinet can be found here and is actually not slotted for an island but I think it could work for my space. I will let you know.

I seriously love Helena and think you might want to check her out over here. You can also see the other fine ladies that she has featured in her kitchen series, right here.

Hopefully you all had a great weekend!

P.S. - Helena also posted my favorite turkey meatball recipe. I love that it is a recipe that both my husband and kids like.

many facets {new hardware..almost}

I really love things that are faceted and so when I came across the above new hardware that Jessica designed I was immediately drawn to them. I especially have my eye on F-02. Oh and Jessica blogs over here if you want to stay in the know with her ventures.

lamps, bracelet

summer vacation has officially commenced

{swimming today at Nana & Baca's house..which may have included some red shoulders after it was all said and done}

Pls. excuse the blog silence. It has been the last week of school for us which for some reason has added a few extra activities here and there...some may have been extra-curricular I admit. Anyway summer vacation has officially started today and we couldn't be any happier to not have such a rigid schedule.

Summertime for us here in the desert means that sometimes even the pool gets too warm. When that happens then it is time to hit the road to avoid being trapped in air-conditioned buildings at all times. Last year I swore I was going to leave for most of the summer so we will see where we end up summer 2011.

Do you all have any fun summer plans?

P.S. - This is HUGE that I have hit the season in life that I finally feel comfortable enough to take the kids to the pool all by myself...even if at times there were more kicks than giggles if you know what I mean

I want to go to Austin

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If you are like me then you have a great love of travel and an appreciation of really cool hotels. I've had my eye on the Hotel Saint Cecilia in Austin for a couple of years and was really excited to see the above photographs taken by the duo lioninoil. To see more of lioninoil's work go here. I like how they describe themselves as having experience in graphic design, architecture, photography and web design..what a great combo.