A friend just sent this to me and I thought I would share.... gotta love freebies!! Click here and enjoy!!Iguana's, kayaking, beaches, sunsets.
By The Style Sisters - Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Isn't he just adorable?! Freaky is more the word. There are tons of them around here in St. Thomas and all around our hotel. We were able to photograph some of them up close and personal!I call this one Godzilla (for you Kelly and Conner)! These pups are quite large and scary looking!
Over on the island of St. John we saw all these Kayak's ready and waiting for people to hop and and enjoy the ride......
Here is the beach area right outside our hotel door. I love the bright yellow umbrellas don't you?
My sandy toes...............
My hubby and daughter walking through the hotel area and beautiful bougainvillea flowers.
The hubs, Madeline and her hubby Peter on the ferry headed over to St. John's island.
I tried to frame the water hitting the rocks below with the palm tree branches. 
This was the sunset at the end of the day...
We did not get on any more of our stand by flights so .......luckily my cute hubby has some frequent flyer miles and was able to use his points to get us from Atlanta to Miami and then to St. Thomas. We finally arrived last night around 9pm. Today we all went on this Virgin Island ECO Tour. Kayaking, snorkeling and a short hike. 
At first I was not too excited about this as my hubby was waking us all up early this morning and hurrying us all along through breakfast...."c'mon it is time to get going! Hurry hurry". All the time I was thinking.."Hey mister, we are on vacation!" but my son-in-law needed to get to the airport early this afternoon to fly back home today so it was understandable because we wanted him to be able to join us on this fun family activity.
Here we all are... standing on a small beach in St. Thomas looking out to St. John's Island.
The kayaking was awesome!
Although....... my daughter Emily and I did have a little trouble steering our kayak and we ended up crashing into the other kayakers plus we also crashed into the bushes (or should I say the mangroves). Our guide taught us much about the mangroves and why they are so important ecologically and also why they are important to their economy. The mangroves are large rooted plants that help protect the shoreline and boats from Hurricaines. They also help protect new baby fish and in fact they call it a nursery for them. At the end of our tour our guide told us that we burned something like 700 calories!! Yeah for us!! After we kayaked to a small beach area we then donned on our snorkeling gear and began to look for amazing things in the water. Emily was a bit freaked out by having fish swimming so close to her in the water but finally overcame her fears and enjoyed the whole experience. It was a great day!
Here is a picture of a baracuda that we saw!
Sea Urchin that felt really prickly in your hand.
Gigantic school of yellow striped fish!
At first I was not too excited about this as my hubby was waking us all up early this morning and hurrying us all along through breakfast...."c'mon it is time to get going! Hurry hurry". All the time I was thinking.."Hey mister, we are on vacation!" but my son-in-law needed to get to the airport early this afternoon to fly back home today so it was understandable because we wanted him to be able to join us on this fun family activity.Here we all are... standing on a small beach in St. Thomas looking out to St. John's Island.
The kayaking was awesome!
Although....... my daughter Emily and I did have a little trouble steering our kayak and we ended up crashing into the other kayakers plus we also crashed into the bushes (or should I say the mangroves). Our guide taught us much about the mangroves and why they are so important ecologically and also why they are important to their economy. The mangroves are large rooted plants that help protect the shoreline and boats from Hurricaines. They also help protect new baby fish and in fact they call it a nursery for them. At the end of our tour our guide told us that we burned something like 700 calories!! Yeah for us!! After we kayaked to a small beach area we then donned on our snorkeling gear and began to look for amazing things in the water. Emily was a bit freaked out by having fish swimming so close to her in the water but finally overcame her fears and enjoyed the whole experience. It was a great day!Here is a picture of a baracuda that we saw!
Sea Urchin that felt really prickly in your hand.
Gigantic school of yellow striped fish!
Hopefully off to St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands!
By The Style Sisters - Monday, July 28, 2008
Yes...one more time we are trying to fly stand-by to our destination. This time we are trying to get to St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. As many of you may have read in older posts...it is not always the best way to fly so we shall see. So far we have gotten to Atlanta, Georgia but the rest of the flights don't look to good so we are trying to figure out some other options. In the meantime here is a photo of where we hope to be by the end of the day. Wish us luck!
Found this great blog http://www.callmethrifty.blogspot.com/ and this gals name is Carmen and she finds amazing things at thrift stores and then fixes them up!
This the night stand she found for $5.00 before and this the after photo!
She has more photos on her blog.
Not only does she find furniture to fix up but she also finds $4.00 dresses for her oldest daugther,
$1.50 tablecloths and a $2.00 gap pink corduroy jacket that still had the tags on it!! Truly a thrifty shopper! Go and check out her blog she will inspire you to shop for deals!
$1.50 tablecloths and a $2.00 gap pink corduroy jacket that still had the tags on it!! Truly a thrifty shopper! Go and check out her blog she will inspire you to shop for deals!This the night stand she found for $5.00 before and this the after photo!
She has more photos on her blog.
I finally updated my other blog http://www.beyondthetable.blogspot.com/ so c'mon over for a visit and check out some beautiful dining rooms that will inspire you to do something new and different.
Do you love these or what??? I found these in the Mary Engelbreit magazine in, I believe, the February issue of this year and immediately fell in love with them!! So if you want to make some of these precious slippers just simply click here...Signed...
the youngest half of the Style Sisters... Tiffany
How cool and refreshing does this little water fountain look. All the directions are on the BHG website. I just love the sound of water trickling when I am outside. I am blessed to have a pool in the backyard and a Jacuzzi that flows into the pool and makes that lucsious sound. But if I did not have this I would for sure make this water fountain! I love the metal buckets mixed with smooth rocks and then the beautiful blue orb...it just feels cooler looking at it.
Here are some pics of our pool with our silly chocolate lab...she thinks the pool is just for her. She swims in it even when we are not home!
These pics were taken a while ago before all my flowers were in bloom so it looks much nicer now with lots of flowers all around the pool instead of just tons of cement.
These pics were taken a while ago before all my flowers were in bloom so it looks much nicer now with lots of flowers all around the pool instead of just tons of cement.
You may be asking yourselves where is she getting all the photos of the kitchens from back in 2002 and 2006? Well I will tell you my little secret...I started a Home Decorating Inspiration Note book years ago and filled it with all kinds of delicious interior design looks that I love.
I am a little obsessed with magazines and I hate throwing them away but my stash just gets too big sometimes and so I go through them and tear out any photos of rooms, holiday decor, ideas etc... that I think I might like to try to emulate in my own home or that I just love. I put them all in plastic covers and organize them by room (ie. kitchens, living rooms, dining rooms, etc and holidays ideas, and there is a category for decor items too). I put them all in one book and this is what it looks like.
I really wanted to be an interior designer once upon a time ago and took several classes in college and did end up working for a commercial design company (but only as a sales assistant and then in went into sales myself) and learned a lot but the most fun I have is just experimenting in my own home. I remember one class I took, the teacher had us use magazines, and tear out any photo of rooms or furniture and accessories that we liked and make a photo collage on poster board. 
She told us that this exercise can be a great tool to use with clients in the future because it helps them to see what they are attracted to and it will help you as a designer to meet their needs. So since then I have always bought tons of magazines and have done it for myself. It is really fun to do.
I am a little obsessed with magazines and I hate throwing them away but my stash just gets too big sometimes and so I go through them and tear out any photos of rooms, holiday decor, ideas etc... that I think I might like to try to emulate in my own home or that I just love. I put them all in plastic covers and organize them by room (ie. kitchens, living rooms, dining rooms, etc and holidays ideas, and there is a category for decor items too). I put them all in one book and this is what it looks like.
She told us that this exercise can be a great tool to use with clients in the future because it helps them to see what they are attracted to and it will help you as a designer to meet their needs. So since then I have always bought tons of magazines and have done it for myself. It is really fun to do.Leave a comment about what things you do to get inspired to decorate your own home?
Ta Ta For Now......I must get busy making my friends parents 50th wedding anniversary video it is going to turn out great! http://www.capturelivevideos.com/ is my little side business. Take a peek sometime.
Karin
I took this pictures about 4 years ago while on a home tour in the Salt Lake City, Utah area and fell in love with everything about it!! I love white kitchens so much! This is where I first fell in love with the robin's egg blue color of the walls. I can't seem to find the other pictures that I took of this house. It was one amazing home. I still dream about it.
Look at this black and white kitchen....I love the stripes and big check patterned fabric. I really like the glass cupboard doors on some of the top cupboards. The built in bench seating is just so adorable. It looks so inviting. I want to be there right now having a lovely breakfast...or lunch...or dinner...or even just a snack. :) (photo from internet I don't remember where)
This is probably one of my favorite kitchens....I call it Sweet Potatoes because of the sign in the background. I love the butcher block counter tops, the warm golden wood floors, the little "leg" styling of the cupboards touching the floor, the glass cupboard doors and the simple black knobs. OH yeah and the cute chalkboard sitting on the counter. This just says come on in everyone and let's have a meal. Doesn't it? (Photo from country living July 2002)
Okay now this is another one I love...It just says warm and cozy doesn't it. Again another chalkboard in the kitchen (hanging in the back from a ribbon), glass doors, old fashioned knobs, wood floors and ivy topiaries. (photo from Remodeling Ideas Dec/Jan 2004)
Well I didn't win the quilt :( so to console myself I decided to do a post on some of the beautiful flowers that my mom has growing in her garden. It just makes me feel better to look at something so pretty.
I just played around with my little digital camera and some of them really turned out spectacular if I do say so myself. Please don't take the pictures off of here unless you ask.
I just played around with my little digital camera and some of them really turned out spectacular if I do say so myself. Please don't take the pictures off of here unless you ask.
I really loved how this one turned out...you can see right down into the center of the purple flower. I think you can click on the photo and it will enlarge it for you ....and then it is even better.
Just look at all the details in the petals of the flower. By taking these photos it has taught me to "stop and smell the roses" more often and notice the tiny details in all of God's creations. Ahhhh. I feel better now about not winning the quilt give-away.
Win this gorgeous quilt at Old Red Barn Co. a very cute blog with a creative seamstress! Holy Cow this is just beautiful. 
This quilt measures 65" x 87". The front is made with the incredibly fabulous fabric from designer Sandi Henderson for Michael Miller fabrics. The fabric comes from Sandi's first fabric collection called Ginger Blossom which is bright, fresh but a little bit vintage-y feeling. I absolutely adore the entire line and am looking forward to getting my hands on some fabric from her second collection called Farmer's Market
CLICK HERE TO GO AND ENTER TO WIN THIS QUILT! Good luck and let us know if any of you win it!
I love to visit my mom's place in Veyo, Utah! My (I should say our ) mom is one amazing woman that loves to garden like nobody's business! She is out there every morning weeding, watering, planting, feeding, pruning etc.. and loving every minute of it!. Not only does she love to garden but she also just has a way of making her little oasis in the desert come alive for any and all who come to visit. It seems like every other month or so there is a wedding reception held in her yard or some other garden gathering or many a family member and their families coming to stay for a visit.
Mom makes sure there is always plenty of homemade delicious food to eat, she makes her own jams and jellies from the fruit trees in her yard and cooks with all her amazing herbs that she grows in her herb garden. She always has a plethora of homemade chocolate chip or apricot scones to eat for a delicious breakfast and homemade cookies, pies or cakes too. Mom creates a feasts for the eyes every time she sets the table to sit down and eat. Yes she is our own "Martha Stewart" but actually she has been Martha even before Martha existed!
Mom has a passion for anything French and has been blessed with a "eye" for creating beautiful things! She just has an incredible knack of creating little vignettes not only in her home but also out in the garden that literally take your breath away.
Just look at the "Play house" and the big white bird cage with Ivy growing all around it. I don't know if you can see in the background of the photo but those two trees are fruit trees. One is an apricot tree and the other is a pear tree.
Just look at the "Play house" and the big white bird cage with Ivy growing all around it. I don't know if you can see in the background of the photo but those two trees are fruit trees. One is an apricot tree and the other is a pear tree.
Would you just look at this gorgeous French looking pot filled with gorgeous flowers! How come I can't make my pots look like this or better yet keep them alive?
All the kids and grand kids love to go to Mom and Carl's house because there is always fun to be had. We play all kinds of fun games out in the yard like boccie ball, ping pong tournaments, squirt gun fights, Zip Bong, Dippity Dippity Dip (these two games are hysterical by the way). All the boys play football or baseball or even hit golf balls out there in the back. But the best part is just being together hanging out with the whole family!
All the kids and grand kids love to go to Mom and Carl's house because there is always fun to be had. We play all kinds of fun games out in the yard like boccie ball, ping pong tournaments, squirt gun fights, Zip Bong, Dippity Dippity Dip (these two games are hysterical by the way). All the boys play football or baseball or even hit golf balls out there in the back. But the best part is just being together hanging out with the whole family!
You must go check out Just a Girl blog! This was her Deal of the Decade post and was it ever a deal! She got this "sucker" for $27.00 (without the cushions) HELLO!! Truly this is one lucky girl. Her posts are so funny to read and there is some delicious photos of dreamy rooms on her blog as well as really cute and fun photos of the amazing things she has done in her own home. She is just like us....wants the beautiful expensive stuff but can't afford it so she figures out way to re-create things very inexpensively. Ohhh and check out her "closet chaos" post and see the after photos...She has really inspired me to get organizing and cleaning up my own closet. We are excited to keep checking out her blog.
