Moon Gazing

Tonight, for the first time in 6 years, I got to play with my telescope. Unfortunately we weren’t able to see any of the planets that were out, because my lenses aren’t super powerful but the moon looked really amazing. All the little kids in my neighborhood had the cutest reactions to seeing the moon. It was just lots of fun. My dad and I just ordered a new piece for the telescope so hopefully we will be able to see more planets soon.

reagan and katelyn looking at the moon

britton seemed to be the most excited out

of all of the kids. By the end of thenight

he told his mom the he totally needed one

for his next birthday. I turned to her

and told her, don’t worry, she just

needed to save $1000 dollars or so.

                                                                 
 

Happy Birthday Reagan Brooke! In honor of my baby sisters birthday, today’s Travel Thursday is dedicated to her. I asked Reagan, if there was anywhere in the world that she would like to see, where would it be? She chose Australia which is lucky for me because that is also on my list of places to see. I mean really, who wouldn’t want to?

Australia

Beautiful Coastlines and beaches are just a couple of things this country offers. I would probably spend most of my time soaking up the sun. Brisbane, Aus. has so many beautiful beaches to explore. Fabulous markets of handmade and international products and cuisine happen allover the city and surrounding cities.

 bondi beach

Diverse wildlife is also a must see in Australia. kangaroos, Koala Bears, Whale watching, Penguins. They have it all. Beautiful National parks.

If you love architecture (which I do) then of course you have to go see the Sydney Opera House. That is definitely on my top ten of buildings I have to see. The Sydney Harbor Bridge too.  I think the Parliament House building is incredible, something I think I would love to see live in color.

Reagy girl… when we get our chance to go… don’t worry. There will be plenty to do.

THINGS

This seems to be a new trend happening on blogs. The List

Gray=things I might do one day

Green=things I have done

1. started your own blog

2. slept under the stars

3. played in a band

4. visited hawaii

5. watched a meteor shower

6. given more to charity than you could afford to

7. been to Disney

8. climbed a mountain

9. held a praying mantis

10. sung a solo

11. bungee jumped

12. visited Paris

13. watched a thunder and lightning storm

14. taught yourself an art from scratch

15. seen the hagia sophia

16. had food poisoning

17. seen the statue of liberty in real life

18. grown your own vegetables

19. seen the Mona Lisa at the Louvre

20. slept on an overnight train

21. had a pillow fight

22. hitch hiked

23. taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. built a snow fort

25. held a lamb

26. gone skinny dipping

27. run a marathon

28. ridden in a gondola in venice

29. seen a total eclipse

30. watched a sunrise or sunset

31. scored a goal in a soccer game

32. been on a cruise

33. been to Havasupi

34. visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. seen an group of polygamist

36. learned a new language

37. had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. seen the colosseum in person

39. gone rock climbing

40. seen michelangelo’s david in person

41. sung karaoke

42. seen Old Faithful erupt

43. bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. visited Scotland or ireland

45. walked on a beach by moonlight

46. been transported in an ambulance

47. had your portrait painted [characiture]

48. gone deep sea fishing

49. seen the sistine chapel in person

50. been to the top of the eiffel tower in paris

51. gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. kissed in the rain

53. played in the mud

54. gone to a drive-in theater

55. been in a movie

56. visited the great wall of china

57. started a business

58. taken a martial arts class

59. visited russia

60. been on a ghost tour

61. sold girl scout cookies

62. gone whale watching

63. gotten flowers for no reason

64. donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. been sky diving

66. visited a concentration camp

67. over drafted on a bank account

68. flown in a helicopter

69. saved a favorite childhood toy

70. visited the lincoln memorial

71. eaten escargot (I didn’t even think if this while I was in paris)

72. pieced a quilt

73. stood in times square

74. toured the everglades

75. been fired from a job

76. seen the changing of the guard in london

77. broken a bone

78. been a passenger on a motorcycle

79. seen the grand canyon in person

80. published a book

81. visited the vatican

82. bought a brand new car

83. walked in jerusalem

84. had your picture in the newspaper

85. kissed a stranger at midnight on new year’s eve

86. visited the white house

87. killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. had chickenpox

89. saved someone’s life

90. sat on a jury

91. met someone famous

92. joined a book club

93. gotten a tattoo

94. had a baby

95. seen the alamo in person

96. swam in the great salt lake

97. been involved in a lawsuit

98. owned a cell phone

99. been stung by a bee

hopefully one day I well get to change some of the grey to green. more will be added to the list too i'm sure but for now this will have to do.

SCOTLAND

Tartan. Castle. Haggis. Heather. Loch Ness. Celtic Knot. Green. Highlands. Clans. Gaelic. Bagpipes. Isles. Thistle. Superstitious. 

When I went to Europe last summer, I did have the opportunity to go to Scotland with a small group of friends but because we only had a weekend and so much we wanted to see, I was there for less than 24 hours.

 This weeks Travel Thursday is for my beloved Scotland.

Edinburgh, Holyrood 

The city that we visited was Edinburgh. The moment I got off the train and walked up the step that would lead to the visitor center at the heart of the city,
I was already in love.  

Everything looked like a castle. It was so incredible. 

And the accents?... Mmm, yummy!

 While we were there, my friends and I went on a bus tour of the city where we went all over the city and they showed us over 30 sites and things to do in the city of Edinburgh alone. I could really get lost in Edinburgh for a while.

The Royal Mile

 Capital City, Edinburgh

Salisbury Crags

The Highlands

There are so many amazing things to see in the Highlands of Scotland. There are beautiful mountains and waterfalls, lakes and rivers, and so much green. There are hundreds of Castles, museums, gardens, ancient monuments… basically everything that a traveler would love to see.

Urquhart Castle

 Loch Ness,Urquhart Bay

 Ardvreck Castle

 Highlands

Isle of Skye

Part of the Highlands, The Isle of Skye is number one on my bucket list for Scotland. I absolutely love the history of Scotland and the history of Skye has to be my favorite. I love the story of the Fairy Flag,
and the history of the McLeod’s or the MacLeod’s

Skye is beautiful.

 Dunvegan Castle

The Outer Hebrides

 

Like the Isle of Skye, the Outer Hebrides boast some of the most amazing and beautiful islands in all of Scotland such as the Isle of Lewis and the Isle of Harris. Beaches. Whale Watching. Standing Stones at Callanais. Arnol Blackhouse. Moors and Lochans.

Lewis

Harris

Moors

Standing Stones at Callanais

If you ever get a chance to visit this amazing country, just make sure that you have plenty of time. Even if you only go to the capital city, Edinburgh, you are going to need at least a week to a week and a half to see everything. The Highlands themselves would take a long while to explore too. Scotland has to be one of the most beautiful places I have ever been, 

and I look forward to seeing so much more.

Stay tuned for next weeks Travel Thursday, to learn a little more about another fabulous place I would love to see.

CMT Music Awards

Besides the fact that Kid Rock hosted them, (what the hell? He isn’t country!), this years CMT Music Awards were pretty great. Carrie Underwood won the video of the year award with “Cowboy Casanova”, and the CMT performance of the year video for the live version of “Temporary Home”. Congrats Carrie.

Photo Credit: Jason Merritt/Getty Images

Some of my other favorites, like Miranda Lambert, Lady Antebellum won too.

The music performances were really great. “Timmy” McGraw’s Southern Voice, and Leann Rimes were my favorite for sure.

Come on ya’ll after seeing ‘em is it any wonder why LOVE country music.

places to see, things to do…

I guess its time for a theme day… lets call it “Travel Thursdays”, shall we?

Sort of like a bucket list of all the places I would like to see.

Recently I decided that I am going to travel and see the world for a living. Don’t misunderstand me, I still plan on having a career in Interior Design but I decided that like Vincent Wolfe, for inspiration I’m going to travel the world and experience new cultures.. Let’s face it. There are so many incredible things to do in this world. We have list all over the place, such as the 7 wonders, and each country has a “(random number here) things you must see/do in (random country/city here)” on their websites or in their guide books, so…. Why not? 

If you have ready any of my previous blogs, you may have seen that I have had the opportunity to travel to Europe and because of this I am addicted to in love with travel. There are so many countries that I would love to visit and things I want to see.

Bucharest, Romania

No, this isn’t because I want to be a vampire, or see a werewolf, but because if any of you have seen the movie Blood and Chocolate, you may have noticed that Bucharest has amazing architecture. Bucharest has its own Triumphal Arch. Much like its sister in Paris, I think that the Arcul de Triumf is absolutely beautiful and I would love to see it.

 

Architecture

Medieval, Neoclassical, Art Nouveau, Byzantine, Gothic

Because if its history Bucharest has very eclectic architecture

Looking at some of the buildings it’s easy to see why Bram Stoker chose Romania as his setting for the Novel Dracula. Some of the buildings do look like a place where a vampire, werewolf, or some other supernatural being would reside. Even thought this may be the case each building is hauntingly beautiful.  The palaces and churches are all equally amazing and I would feel very privileged to see them one day.

Cuisine

 

Like its architecture, Romanian food is a fusion of many different cultures. Once again because of their history there is a little bit of everything, from Germany, to Greece, the Turks, Bulgarians, etc. Soups with a sour taste are common, meats, veggies, pies. They have it all. Some of the dishes are quite interesting but it could be fun to try. Dessert seems to be a universal language because they have pretty much everything an American girl could want. Baklava, sponge cakes, cream tarts, crepes. Mmm. So good.

 

Amandine: Chocolate/Almond filled sponge cake

 

 Crema de zahar ars : creme caramel

 Cozonac : sweet bread

Yes I definitely think Bucharest, Romania would be an awesome place to visit. 

See you next week for my second Travel Thursday. Laterz