They are here!!!!

My girls have arrived!!! After quite the journey from Asia to Europe and then home, Daphne and Piper are now settling into life here. Roger did such a good job of adopting these girls, he even thought enough of them to buy them some clothing and shoes to help start their lives off with me! Their first photos however, are in their traveling duds...more fun fashions will come, but this is how they looked when they arrived on my doorstep Tuesday evening!!

so, without further hesitation, let me introduce to you Piper!



I just love her glasses (of course, I mean...I love glasses right? LOL) and her swanky scarf! She is a gal after my own heart as while I was in San Fran, I picked up a bunch of cool scarves and wraps!!

and now let me introduce to you, Daphne!



LOVE the pink long hair and purple eyelashes! Daphne is a custom girl!!! I can totally see her decked out in my more gothic attire, sporting the other, more hidden side of myself!!

Of course, even while traveling side by side, the girls didn't have a chance to really meet each other. Here they are, finally getting to know one another. I think there will be some fun times ahead for both Piper and Daphne!!



All kidding aside...yep, my Blythe dolls are here. I had asked Roger this last time he was in Asia that if he had some time, could he go to these (of course I gave names, addys and numbers..LOL) stores and see about getting me a doll. He not only got me a doll (Piper being first), he got me two of the Neo Blythe's and 4 of the Petite Blythe's!!! Some clothes, shoes and wigs!! He bought the first one at Junie Moon in Japan, but said that the store sucked!! They only had the one doll for sale and hardly any clothes or anything..he doesn't understand how the store stays in business! The second doll, Daphne, was a custom done for the store in Singapore that he went to. He said he saw her sitting under a glass dome and asked the clerk about her. The clerk said.."oh, that is a custom, very rare, only one made" and Roger said, "can I buy her?" and the store owner said "sure!" so Roger said "wrap her up!!" SCORE!!! I love her. Her face has been sanded to remove the shine (like on Piper's face) and her eye chips are different, one set (which I'll photograph later) is really wild!!! and her pull chain rings are these really pretty beads (they are the things you pull to change the color and position of the eyes...yes, they have 4 different eye positions and colors!!).

I am just loving these dolls. It took me awhile, I had been dragging my heels on the whole Blythe craze but I finally caved and I couldn't be happier! A new addiction for me...Yay! Some new "children" to photograph....Yay!! and talk about clothes!! Sheesh...I think I'll go broke with some of the cutest dang outfits that I've seen on Etsy...already I've bought like 3 different outfits...now I need some shoes and glasses and hats!! The clothes Roger got me are cute too!! and the wigs are such a riot!!

So, there it is, my new hobby of sorts!! When you hear me talk about my girls now, you'll probably wonder..humm..Mandi or Piper or Daphne! Ha ha....life really is good!!

Until next time,
Blessings!

Well hello there!

hey! We are home again from our weekend in San Francisco. Wish I could say it felt good to be home..LOL...however, by now, ya'll know how much I'm loving it here in the Midwest, specifically here in the boring, podunk burbs, but, such is life..(sigh)..

San Francisco was the BEST! I swear, Mandi and I are totally ready to pack up our sh*t and move immediately! Even though the temps were low 70's and off the bay it felt more like the 60's, it was sunny, blue skies every day! And up in Muir Woods and on Haight Street, it was total summer living!

We did the basic touristy stuff as well as just hung out, walked, people watched, ate and had fun. I wish I could tell you guys everything about the vacation, but that would take way to long to type, LOL, so I'll just throw out some highlights with some pics!

Thursday we arrived, late due to lovely United Airlines and their so-called "on time" feature! Literally we sat for 3 hours on the plane, at the gate! Luckily, one of the perks to Roger traveling like he does is free upgrades and so Mandi and I had first class and it was fabulous...it made the waiting at the gate a little better...plus we got to have drinks and stuff so that was cool. However, due to the late takeoff and time change, we lost pretty much the whole afternoon on Thursday...but, we made up for it on Thursday night! We checked right into the hotel and off to the Wharf we went. Our hotel was located right on the Wharf (well, like 5 blocks up...no biggie) and so it was easy to just walk down and see the sites. Of course we saw the seals, Alcatraz, all the fun people and street musicians that play for money on the boardwalk, the vendors, and the food! We had dinner at a fabulous place Roger and I went to on our first visit to San Fran years ago..food was still da bomb! After eating, we trucked ourselves over to Ghiardhelli Square for some ice cream and, of course, Ghiardhelli chocolate!! Then we headed back to our hotel and totally crashed out!

Up early on Friday, we had some breakfast and then walked the Wharf for a while...after lunch we had a scheduled tour up to Muir Woods. On the way we hit the Golden Gate Bridge (hard not to when you have to drive over it...soooo cool!!), the Marin Headlands and of course, Muir Woods. It is absolutely amazing in the woods. The Redwoods are phenomenal and it is so quiet and peaceful, very spiritual inside. It smells amazing too..very clean. In fact, the guide said..this is some of the cleanest air you'll ever breath, take it in!!! I did...lots of slow deep breaths...felt great! Here are a few shots...however, as with anything majestic and amazing...photos just don't do it justice!





After our hike in the woods (a full 2 hours, it was heaven), we boarded the bus and headed out for Sausalito. Sausalito is a quaint little town, right on the water...very hoity toity high price and fabulous. Filled with lots of art galleries and small boutiques. Mandi and I looked around the art fair/farmers market they were having and then decided that we needed something to nosh on...headed over to a cute little Italian Bistro and sat outside on the front patio area so we could people watch and take it all in. We had the yummiest desserts, a peach tart with vanilla gelato and a chocolate hazelnut type of mousse thing...I endulged myself in a nice glass of wine! We then boarded the bus and headed back to San Fran. While driving back, our tour guide and driver said we had some extra time and since the weather was totally gorgeous and it isn't always like this, he was going to stop off at a great photo taking site for us! We had the most amazing view of the Golden Gate Bridge!! I love the picture I got.



A young couple offered to take a shot of Mandi and myself and I have to giggle when I look at what he took! Since taking some classes and trying to be more aware of what I see in my viewfinder, I would have never taken a shot like he did..oh well, at least I have something to document the two of us at the Bridge. Notice what he did? Umm..can you say no feet!!! Sheesh dude!!!




After dropping off our schtuff at the hotel, we headed down to the restaurant and had some dinner....walked the Wharf some more and came back to watch a movie and chill.

Saturday, up early again, breakfast and then more exploring. After lunch we headed to Pier 33 to catch our boat to Alcatraz! I love Alcatraz..it's always been a total fascination for me and Mandi has been dying to see it ever since I can remember! She was beside herself that we were actually going to get to see it in person, walk around it etc..

The boat takes about 15 mins. to get there, it's very breezy but it was so cool. Seeing the skyline of San Francisco from the boat as you head out to Alcatraz is amazing...

While this picture isn't the best...I love how her hair is all blowy and since I was there, I know how that happy face she has is feeling inside!!



The actual main prison is something to behold. Very cool. You get to take a self guided audio tour and can spend as much or as little time as you like wandering around seeing all the sights. The audio tour is narrated by some of the actual prison guards and inmates that were there on Alcatraz. I took a lot of pics inside the prison and a lot of the surrounding buildings and grounds as you make the journey uphill to the main prison. There was this stone type of box/hole thing and I told Mandi to sit in it...I thought it looked cool. Who knows what it was at one time, but anyway, I took her pic inside...



After our adventure at Alcatraz, we headed back to the boat dock, back to San Francisco's Wharf and had some dinner. We called it a night kinda early, decided to head back to the hotel and watch a movie.

Sunday we caught a taxi bright and early in the morning and made our way to Haight/Ashbury....

I'll continue on with that adventure in my next post and share some pics...it was the most perfect cap to our vacation and one place where both Mandi and I want to live someday!! LOL!!

San Francisco Here We Come!!!

Yippee!!!! In less then 48 hours Mandi and I will be hanging it in San Francisco, probably down on Fisherman's Wharf enjoying some cool sites and sounds! I can't wait!! It's been a few years since I've been back to San Francisco and Mandi has never been, so this will be fun. I can't wait to take her to see the Redwoods at Muir Woods, Haight Street with all it's funky fun, Ghiradelli square for some yumm-o ice cream and chocolatey goodness and of course, the cherry on the top of the trip, a visit to Alcatraz! I have quite the fascination with Alcatraz, it was the highlight of my first visit to San Fran, and Mandi seems to have the same fascination developing! Everything is set, all I need to do tomorrow is pack up our schtuffs and bright and early Thursday morning we are off!! I am taking my big gun camera with me, hoping that some of my lessons have paid off and I will get some cool shots..even dragging a bunch of my lens with me.

So, that's about it. Just been getting ready for the vacation and scrapping! Yep, I said scrapping! This past weekend I seem to have come out of my scrappy funk and the mojo was back in full force. I did another two layouts just these past couple days. The first one, of my boy, was inspired by my girl Cathy. She totally rocks the white space on her layouts and so I did my own take on her style. I really, really like the simplicity of this one. I really think more clean and simple is better for me. I don't stress about the layout nearly as much and I seem to get more accomplished! In the second layout I incorporated some digi elements (all from House of 3) and I really like the effect it gives. I have done this before, hybrid, but sometimes when I'm scrapping paper, I forget about the digi stuff I can use! I see myself totally going digi one day, I just really like the feeling I get from doing digi, but that's another story for another day..and, I seriously need to organize my stuff before I can begin really scrapping digital fully!

Enough of the yada, yada, yada...here's the layouts!

Ozzi


Relax


Alright, that is all for me. I won't be posting now until after the vaca...will be back with some cool pics to share!! Hope ya'll have a terrific rest of your week and weekend!

Until next time,
Blessings!