Tag Archives: travel

This here is the Perfectly Flawed weekly round-up, so if you missed me on Pinterest & Facebook, this is where I’ll be sharing some of that LOVE on Fridays. Enjoy!

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Earth Day crafts, Chipotle, and More!

This week was the first week of Earth Month. This month for Natural Living Tips I’ll be covering how to green your clean. Yep, we’ll be making homemade cleaning products. Good for the planet and your loved ones!

The family is getting itchy, we need to travel:-). Though we’re taking a family trip to Key West in a few weeks, I can’t help but be thinking of the kids and I’s road trip this summer. I’m having visions of places like these:

After seeing this image on Pinterest, I now must read A Street Cat Named Bob. I’m thinking it may provoke tears in a way Dewey did.

Yesterday the kids and I stocked up on the veggies needed to make our own natural egg dyes. Beets, carrots, red cabbage, yellow onions and spinach. Take a look see here for more.

There is still time to get in on Hybrid Rasta Mama’s giveaway. A one-gallon bucket of Gold Label coconut oil and her e-book. You can enter through April 9th!

Until the 14th to purchase one of Chipotle’s upcycled/repurposed lunch bags, made out of old billboards. With your purchase you get a coupon for a free burrito on Earth Day, April 22nd.

Do you need some cool Earth Day craft ideas for kids? Here you go!

Leaving you with this picture of Addy getting ready to feed the Tarpons in the Florida Keys. She really did love it, can’t you tell:-)?

Peace!

I’m deliriously excited!  Arriving in San Francisco in 17 hours! I’m completely embracing turning 40 in NINE days and I’m starting off the celebration with some personal time in Big Sur, CA, all alone in the trees then I’ll join some of my very best girlfriends three days later for some time in wine country!  This is not my first time here, but I can’t get enough of Northern California, the coast, the country, the unbelievable availability of fresh, locally produced foods.

Right now I have no idea how exactly I plan on spending my alone time, as this is somewhat uncomfortable for me. Rain is predicted on Tuesday and Big Sur is not a place you want to be tooling around in a possible downpour, so I’m planning on spending the day in. The house I’m staying in, The Rainbow House, is a 10 minute or so hike up a steep incline in the trees and I’ve been told that a pack on your back with all food and clothes needed is recommended. Ok then. A quick stop in Carmel on my way there will provide me with all my provisions. I’ve loaded up my I-tunes and Kindle, packed lots of hot tea and a rosemary/mint candle, I’m ready!!

Thursday morning I head back up to San Francisco to pick up my girlies at the airport and we head up to Guerneville, Russian River area! See I’m not a Napa girl. I love the Russian River, Guerneville, Healdsburg, and Sonoma. We have a beautiful home in the hills there. Friday I’ve scheduled a bike ride through Healdsburg stopping at four wineries and a picnic lunch in between and the Saturday we’ll spend some time at MacLeod Family Vineyard again, a private tasting in the vineyard then onto Sonoma Plaza for lunch at Girl and the Fig. After lunch we’ll continue onto some of my faves like Viansa and Cline.

Sunday We’ll breathe deeply in Jenner. The coast here is unforgettable! Ahhhh….!!!

Times Up!
This has been my Sunday 5 minute Stream of Consciousness.

Want to try it? Here are the rules…

* Set a timer and write for 5 minutes only.
* Write an intro to the post if you want but don’t edit the post. No proofreading or spellchecking. This is writing in the raw.
* Publish it somewhere. Anywhere. The back door to your blog if you want. But make it accessible.
* Add the Stream of Consciousness Sunday badge to your post.
* Link up your post at all.things.fadra.
* Visit your fellow bloggers and show some love.

The PFFamily in Key West - May 2011

I was up pretty late last night, four glasses of wine not settling well in my belly. I read, actually finished my current book, A Modern Witch, and then turned to my I-phone for a little research on a couple of things I wish to begin in the new year.

Last year around this time I posted about how I’m really not into making New Year’s Resolutions. I still refuse to put that much pressure on myself, but I do have a laundry list of things I’d like to do, change, see, stop doing, etc.

Before I begin my list for 2012, let’s see how I did in 2011.

Things I will be working on in 2011:

Family – Feel good about this. We moved to the country and began homeschooling, lot’s of family time.
Travel – Good here too. We began our yearly family trip overseas with Ireland in March, road trip over the summer along with nine days in N. California with PFMan celebrating an early 15 year anniversary. We took two cruises with a highlight on one out of San Juan, taking us to Curacao, Dominica & Aruba. To round it out, we also took a couple of much needed camping trips, one to North Georgia, one to Ginnie Springs in North Florida. Ahhhh….
Positive energy & intentions – This a failed miserably, well not entirely because I still have intent and know my triggers to self destruction.
Eating clean -Did well for a few months only. I did really well with giving up coffee and drinking more tea. Got to August then crashed. Have to reboot this one.
Organization – This will be a never ending battle, lol.

So what about 2012?

There are many personal accomplishments I would like to achieve this year. In the kitchen I want to learn how to make Thai and Indian food, get better at meal/menu planning and stocking the kitchen, learn to make bread, start canning regularly, shop at farmer’s markets and from local ranches and farms more often and consistently. This year is the year to get the chicken coop and run built, I’d like to have 3-5 egg layers:-). Also, get the hydroponic garden started and plant the Meyer lemon trees. We’re thinking things like, sweet potatoes, lettuce, strawberries, green beans, tomatoes, cucumbers and herbs at least. Going along with natural/sustainable trend we need to get the compost reinstated too!

Other Personal plans: Begin yoga and stick with it, it WILL be tough for me but I must prevail. Part of the Self-help, positive energy & intentions theme. Thinking about Tai Chi as well. Michael and I will get bikes, the kids are just getting them on New Years Eve (we’re celebrating our family Christmas when we return from NY).

In the house we need to get the great room painted and focus on the meditation garden off the master bedroom and Asian decor in the master bedroom/bathroom. I need to get the studio organized too, both the Tails Collection shooting/office areas, as well as organizing the arts/crafts area for Addy and I. There is so much space to work with, so I will most certainly get a bit overwhelmed, ha.

Travel plans! To start off the year and celebrate my 40th b-day, I’m heading to Big Sur for three nights! Doing a hike-in and staying ALONE, to reflect and get centered, hopefully, ha:-). Then driving north to meet my girlfriends for some time in wine country. The kids and I have a 6-8 week road trip planned for the June/July. Heading back to Big Sur, taking 2ish weeks to get there, stopping in AL, LA, TX, AR, UT and CO. PFMan will meet us out west for a 10 day California Adventure, then the kids and I will head back. I CAN’T wait!! And cross our fingers for Vienna/Paris for the Holidays.

Now I realize this is super loaded, these are just top priorities, which change, we tend to be indecisive at best, or as I like to say, Perfectly Flawed. Some things may not happen, others may be added, but at the end of the day or year, it will all be another super adventure, surrounded by my PFFamily and that makes me smile.

Happy New Year everyone!
Buon Anno!
Ein glückliches neues Jahr!
Feliz año nuevo!
Bonne année!

I can’t help but look back at PFMan and I’s trip to Northern California this past July. We went to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary, a bit early. I’m planning on going back in February to mark 40 years here on earth. Can’t think of a better way then to be surrounded by girlfriends, sipping wine, hiking in the redwoods, biking through wine country, etc.

PFMan had such an amazing trip. We did all of the above, took an incredible pedal ‘n paddle tour in Healdsburg, a town we absolutely LOVED! We booked the excursion through Getaway Adventures, our guide Tommy was super personable, knowledgeable on the wine growing process and the area. We started with a bike tour leaving from the Alexander Valley Campground, through the beautiful countryside filled with vineyards, first stop Robert Young, AMAZING wine here! This was one of three wineries we became members at and one of our favorites of the trip. Their Chardonnay is so rich and creamy! Then we headed to de Lorimier. Also good, but the highlight here was the beautiful pergola under which Tommy had set-up a seriously yummy spread of meets. cheeses, homemade salads, etc. Sweet! Time to sit back, relax before heading out the the Russian River for our 5-mile kayak trip back to the campground. A wonderful day, I highly recommend it!

So that was just one day, we also met with some very good friends, who in previous years had moved to N. California, for some trippin’ through wine country. It’s hard to pick a favorite day, but this one ranked high. On a friend of Wendi’s recommendation we ended up at Viansa. OMG! LOVE! This was our favorite vineyard/winery of the whole vacation. It felt like we had stepped off the train in Tuscany. The wines, every one we tasted, were all amazing, of course we became members, ha. They also have a large selection of marmalade, honey, sauces for everything and very unique I must say. I walked away with Truffled honey, and Chardonnay Carmel sauce. You can easily picnic here. They have a deli of sorts with packaged meats, cheeses, salads, and fresh baquettes. We grabbed a bottle of wine, an assortment of noshing grub and headed out to a table. This was one of the best lunches ever. Great friends, beautiful view, great food! Then we moved onto Cline Cellars and the goodness never ended.

We simply had way too much fun on this vacation. We spent a total of nine days in N. Cali, six of those in Wine Country, three nights in Guerneville (Russian River area, Redwoods – Hello!) and three nights in Sonoma, on the Plaza. We stayed at the El Dorado Hotel, right across the Girl and the Fig restaurant, a favorite of mine! We were also able to make it over to Bodega Bay, (Alfred Hitchcock – The Birds). Wowzer, COLD! But we had some super splendid clam chowder soup at the Spud Point Crab Co. and took the stunning drive up the coast to Jenner Beach. Watched the sea lions basking in the sun and playing in the water, took a nap in the car at Goat Rock, a walk in Armstrong Woods…. Enough said!

Other places we enjoyed immensely!

Willow Wood Market Cafe in Graton, Ca! – In the area? You must stop here.
The MacLeod Family Vineyard – I’ve been here twice now and will be going again. Call and make an appointment for a tasting/tour, you won’t regret it! Here’s a bit on the Vineyard when I went with my girlfriends this past February, this is becoming a trend:-).
Harvest Moon Cafe (just love the name) The ambience and food were both very good – in Sonoma on the plaza.
Spoonbar at Hotel Healdsburg!
Zazu – Farm to table in Sonoma
Also – The first three days of our trip were spent in Big Sur, you can check that out HERE!

Peace!

I'm a sucker for a castle in the countryside.

I’ve never really be fascinated with France.  Haven’t had the desire to go to Paris like so many do, I’ve always been more interested in Italy, Ireland.  PFMan and I had a wonderful first trip to Italy in Spring 2009, then we took Gavin & Addy to Ireland in March of this year. We could of course go back to either again and again only touching on places we’d like to see and spend more time in.  I do so desire to get back to Italy!  As a family, we have a goal to go abroad once a year, so we’ve been trying to plan the trip for 2012 and we’re having trouble.  The issues, money, time and all of agreeing where to go.

We did a little Family Poll last night to help us decide, everyone had Italy and France listed in the top 3.  Addy is crazed with the desire to visit Paris. She’s eight and badly wants to see the Eiffel Tower.  Gavin is really more interested in going to Venice, Paris 2nd, PFMan would love either, and I, of course, would love to go back to Italy but suddenly I’m interested in the French Countryside with a short jaunt to Paris, and stopping in Bruges, Belgium if at all possible.  Here lies the other dilemma, time. We only have two weeks.

First, let’s back up and explain why suddenly I’m even more interested in giving up my beloved Italy trip for France, the country I’ve not been to excited about visiting.  Not to say that I don’t want to go to France, there have just been other countries that have been higher in priority.  My family background is Italian/German so these naturally interest me more, I’ve never been good at pronouncing words in French so this really intimidates me, I’ve heard they don’t like Americans…. Ok, so back to my new found desire to see France? Well it all has to do with pictures.  Yep.  I’m motivated by stunning images of the French Countryside.  Being a photographer myself, it’s no leap for me to be inspired by beautiful photography and I recently hit the mother load.  You see, I love travel photography, I love food photography so when I stumbled upon this blog post by Cannelle et Vanille about her trip to Southwest France to teach a food styling and photography workshop, I was sold.  Not just because I must be involved with a workshop like this in the future, but my goodness, just look at these pictures!  The setting, it’s storybook and the food, hello!  I want to spend DAYS toodling around here.  Then I started clicking on the blog posts of the other ladies who attended this workshop and saw this!  Here’s the link to the cottage on VRBO.  Oh yes, we are!!  At least we hope to.  The plan is to head there in late March.  The weather will be cold, but the crowds will be sparse and it will also be more affordable.  So here I am somehow being magically swayed into ditching my beloved Italy for two weeks in France, yep, and stopping in Paris of course.  Time to spruce up my French.

Peace.

Pacific Coast Highway!

This was the first of three locations where we stayed while in California, it was magical! Big Sur is breathtaking, it harbors a vibrant energy that you can feel everywhere you go.  We ate our most favorite meal of the entire 9 day trip here at the Big Sur Bakery & Restaurant.  It was so incredibly simple, a salad of Bibb lettuce, shaved fennel, fresh shaved parm cheese and a beautiful Meyer Lemon dressing.  Sublime!

We choose to use VRBO.com to find a home rental to stay in and we hit the jackpot. On top of mountain, about 1100 ft. up, the view of the coast was amazing and the house… their are no words! No TV, phone, computer, complete peace, just the two of us.

Take a look for yourselves!
Peace!

Hoopin' at Ginnie Springs, a life experience!

I mentioned a while back that this fall we have decided to begin homeschooling the kids, both of them. They would be entering 3rd and 5th in August. We have thought about this since we were pregnant with Gavin, he’s turning 10 in June. It’s not been the right time until now. We do love the school they’re in, it’s not about that, however I do feel that a lot of time is wasted in Public school, we will get a lot more done in a much shorter amount of time with homeschooling. Anyway, I’ve been putting off digging in to figure out curriculum, how much, what kind, how little – I’ve wanted to focus on this school year, my business and the details of selling our home, etc. but with this school year winding down in a few weeks, it’s time!

I actually noticed that the math worksheets my son is receiving in class are from a homeschooling website, www.homeschoolmath.net. They have the greatest worksheets! I know the first year will be trial/error, finding out what works best for all of us. We travel a lot and always make the kids take journals with them, write about their experiences, what they learned. When we return home we give them a quiz and we forever talk about things we learned to keep it fresh and unforgotten, for all of us! All that said, I’m a little overwhelmed feeling I should be a bit more prepared, but the other side of me says it will all come. There are many resources here in Pinellas County and I’ve joined some forums/groups and know others who have home-schooled and those that still do, so this calms me.

I would love to hear any experiences from others, please share! Did you use curriculum, how much, did you un-school, etc?
Thanks:-)!

Continuing our journey in Ireland, we spent a day driving through a portion of Connemara in West Ireland. I had been told it was possibly the most beautiful countryside in all of Ireland, and since I can’t compare it to any other Irish countryside, I whole-heartedly agree! We did half the loop, starting in Galway City, heading west towards and through the Eastern Boundary of Connemara, Maam Cross. Our first official stop, aside from the many ‘pull aside the road to photograph sheep’, was the little town of Roundstone. This is still the favorite town we visited on our trip. It was almost a ghost town this time of year, not many businesses opened yet for the Spring. We stopped into O’Dowds, on the pubs in town. It was cold, so I had an Irish Coffee, so cliche’, and we ordered chowder, which we had as often as possible, it was both necessary with the temperatures, and better than most in the States.

We chose to take the R340 south, then a coastal country road West to R341 south to Roundstone, this allowed us to witness so many adorable yet breathtaking coastal towns and lots of sheep!

1st Part of Drive

The lovely creatures on the way to Roundstone:-).

Next stop Kylemore Abbey.  We left Roundstone going north, then East through Clifden.  Oh, I wished we had had more time to explore Clifden, it was breathtaking coming up on the town.  Much larger than Roundstone, we only had time to drive through to make time for Kylemore Abbey and getting back to Galway City for dinner.

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Kylemore Abbey, the stunning structure rose up out of the ground, almost glowing.  It was overcast by the time we arrived and it began to rain before we walked over to the Abbey. Really, it was just magical in this weather, with the steam coming off the lake and the grayish sky.  Personally I was drawn to the Gothic Church on the property, being a fan of this style of Architecture.  If we’d had more time we would have also toured the Victorian Gardens as well.

On the way back to Galway City, we stopped briefly in Leenane, home of the only Fjord in Ireland. Amazing how the mountains drop down into the river like that.  I can only imagine what seeing them in places like Norway must be like.

The fjord in Leenane, Connemara.

We could have easily spent a week just exploring Connemara, beautiful countryside and quaint coastal villages, and have I mentioned the mountains.  I was really ignorant arriving in Ireland, I had no idea they had mountains the size we saw.  Snow-capped and beautiful!  All a part of the Connemara landscape, and I haven’t mentioned yet the warmth of the people.  We found that the Irish are born raconteurs, they love to tell a story.  If you ask an Irishman a question, ask knowing you may learn some history.  A very open, helpful people they are.  So much so that prior to our trip we had read to get lost, ask for directions, it’s a great way to meet and learn about the locals.

Cliffs of Mohar, The Burrens and Dublin still to come….

Note about the sheep: And in case you are wondering about the different colors sprayed on the sheep . . . this is a branding technique. When it come times to round up the sheep, their ownership can be sorted out by their colors. I dubbed them sherbet sheep:-)!

Galway City

The Luck of the Irish that is.  We just returned home from our family trip to Ireland, kinda piggy-backed on PFMan’s yearly trek out there to broadcast live for St. Patty’s Day.  This would have been his third year in a row and I was not letting him go without us this time!

We flew out several days prior to the broadcast, finding our way by car to Galway City where we called home for our first four nights.  We stayed at the Kilcullen House B&B which is about a 10 minute walk outside of the City Centre, close enough to enjoy the city, but a distance from the noise.  Many times while walking in Galway I felt as if I were a character in a Dickens novel or a miniature in a Christmas Village scene.  I love that, the old worldliness of it. 

Our favorite food in Galway was hands down found at Ard Bia in the Spanish Arch.  It’s located in the Arch which is very medieval in style, but once you walk inside, it’s the small, cozy and very eclectic eatery.  It was love at first site.  The menu is so creative, using local and sustainable produce and meat sources, which I love!  My favorite entree was the St. Tola goats cheese & pistachio cracked wheat cake with wilted greens, garlic yogurt & muhumara.  I will crave this until I return! Honestly we couldn’t decide what to order so we had them bring us the two most popular starters and mains.  We were NOT disappointed.

Other places we enjoyed eating: McDonagh’s, O’Grady’s on the Pier (actually in Barna on the coast near Galway), and Griffin’s Bakery! McDonagh’s is THE place to go for your required Fish n’ Chips, with many different fish types to choose from you can’t go wrong here. O’Grady’s was recommended to us by Emer and Russel, the Inn keepers at Kilcullen House. It’s located in the tiny coastal village named Barna, just outside of Galway. Located on the pier, great views and the BEST chowder I’ve ever had in my life, no kidding! Griffin’s Bakery, originally founded in 1876 also recommended by Emer & Russell. OMG, we each picked a pastry and thank goodness we got four, they were all DELICIOUS. Again, the BEST scone ever. I could have died happy.

I have to stop here, with the food, I haven’t yet mentioned the PUBS, or the Irish Countryside or our time in Dublin or…. So, you’ll have to stay tuned and for now, enjoy the pictures.

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A few weekends ago my friend Lea and I flew to San Francisco to have a reunion with two girlfriends who had both, weirdly enough, moved out that way November 1st of 2009.  Girl trip, wine country, HELLO!  This trip for me was a roller coaster of emotions, reuniting the girlies, my first time in wine country, the fact that I’m DYING to move to the mountains….

Yep, PFMan and I have been restless for years now, we’re a bit nomadic and need to change our scenery.  Things here in St. Pete have kept us here for 11 years now, OMG!  Though it’s truly a beautiful place to live, I desire trees.  Not palm trees, REAL trees.  So we travel to them as much as possible.

On this trip, I got to see Redwoods!  AHHHHHHHHH, like heaven, and we really only drove through them on the way to the dramatic coast.  Wow!  This trip was really one Wow after another, I can’t say enough and can’t wait to return!

Another most amazing part of the trip was our tour of The MacLeod Family Vineyard.  George and Daughter in Law, Margie took us on a tour of their small (well not to me), 50-acre family vineyard.  They educated us about the different varietals they grow, the root systems, the process, really interesting.  As we rounded a corner, off in the distance, in the middle of the vineyard was a farmhouse table set up with wine glasses.  I turned to Lea, “OMG, do you think that’s for us?”  It was!!!  I could have cried, it felt like a movie.  It was truly perfect, I’ve never experienced wine like that before.  My favorite, their Sauvignon Blanc which is truly a miracle because I don’t drink white, especially not SB.  We also tasted their Zinfindel and Merlot.  I was worried that I wasn’t going to like the wine once I got it home, but I did:-)! If you ever get to Sonoma, it’s a must.

We totaled 6-7 different wineries, saw the forest, the coast and shared great times with good friends. Couldn’t have asked for me, except to someday live there.