Greetings "mon," from the Virgin Islands

We are here at St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands and it is wonderful! The water is so warm and blue and the weather has been warm and humid. Such a difference from being at home. We went on a kayaking/snorkel tour around this protected lagoon area call the Mangrove Forest. The trees were beautiful and grew right into the water.

Here is my crazy mom and sister, they were having a hard time steering their boat at first, running into trees and gettting stuck backwards and all sorts of problems. But eventually they figured it all out and even beat Peter and I into the dock at the end, we were sad...

Our guide was really interesting, telling us all about the ecology of the Red Mangrove trees and how they help protect the island of St. Thomas' boating industry, reefs, and homes. They act as an important buffer duing strong tropical storms or hurricanes. We went on a little walk around this island where our guide found a conch shell with the mollusk was still inside! He also told us that if you find a perfectly intact conch shell without any holes in the top it means that a octopus probably ate the mollusk because otherwise humans and lobsters can't get the mollusk out without damaging the shell. The next day we went snorkeling on our own on the island of St. John (which is my favorite of the two islands we went to, and if you ever get the chance to go to the U.S. Virgin Islands, don't even hesitate, go to St. John. It is worlds above St. Thomas.) 

Anyways, we saw some pretty amazing things that day, unfortunately we didn't have the advantage of a guide with an underwater camera. What we saw was an octopus!!! Tons of gorgeous corals in purples, yellows, and blues! Peter and my dad went out together for a while when my mom and I needed a rest. Unfortunately for my mom and I, they saw a sea turtle (Peter even touched it!) and a sting ray! 

We had such an amazing time. We are burnt to a crisp mostly because the first day we were there we didn't have any sunscreen. The weather was beautiful and the sunsets were picture perfect!

 We even saw Black Beard's Castle. It was closed because there were no cruise ships in port that day so we just walked around the grounds. 

We found some sweet little fruits called Caneps. They look slightly larger than a green grape with a peel on the outside. You pop the peel off and then suck on the gooey insides until all you have left is the pit. (You spit that out of course...) They kind of have a tangy taste almost citrusy. Peter smuggled a few home and plans to plant one in our house, we will see how that goes...

Well all and all the trip was amazing other than the fact that we were expecting a pretty easy trip home however due to a delay coming out of St. Thomas and really bad weather in Atlanta, it ended up taking us about 35 hours. Not a fun time but we were together and I was feeling somewhat alright so that was an improvement. 

More Wish

Although I don't focus a lot on fashion on this blog, which is almost strange because fashion design was one of the things that led me to believe in myself when it comes to so many of my other loves and interests like photography, sewing, and home decor. 

Our most recent Bloglight, Wish Magazine, has a great fashion section on their site. 

Their most recent focus, Mini-Break Style, is so inspiring to me mostly because I LOVE the 

looks from the 30's, 40's and 50's. Some of you may know that Audrey Hepburn is my fashion icon! Wish does a great job taking some of those feminine, tailored, an

d classic styles and giving them a bit of an update, AND giving us ways to incorporate them into our daily wardrobe. 

Granted that my mid-section will soon be expanding far past what most of these styles will look "cute" with,  but I can still get ideas for now and after when I will be feeling sick of maternity clothes and elastic waistbands. 

Not only is Wish practical (even though if you look at some of the p

rices of the clothing they feature is beyond any of our budgets for food or rent, they spark ideas and a search for something similar and well within our price range!) but they are for the most part more modest than the rest of the world's fashion magazines. I don't know if that is a trait of the Canadians or if the magazine just realizes that showing more skin doesn't equate to beauty. 

Lets check out a few of the suggestions they have to offer:

We often fall victim of the quick outfit and just throw on a basic t-shirt when we are in a hurry but my philosophy has always been, it is just as easy to throw on a blouse as it is a t-shirt. It is the same movement and it is not like you have to really do that much extra to get a blouse on, maybe a few buttons... that is rough! But think of how much more like a woman you feel when you wear a nice blouse as opposed to a t-shirt? Look at how beautiful the woman below looks and it see all so effortless. Tousled hair, simple, natural looking makeup and a nice polka-dot blouse to really make you feel like you have stepped back into 1940. Her red nails add the perfect compliment to the whole outfit. 

I LOVE this look! 

I just can't quite put my finger on why I LOVE scarfs and big sunglasses and striped pants but I wish it was something I could wear once a week! Doesn't she just look like class personified. One thing I have trained myself to get over is a hesitation about wearing scarfs. They are such a flowing, beautiful addition to an outfit. Whether used in your hair or around your neck or even I have seen some as a belt, scarfs are like the woman's tie, a bold, out of the box way to accent your wardrobe. Yesterday I wore a scarf on my head, mostly because I woke up late and didn't have time to really do anything with my hair. Peter starting calling me his Gypsy woman but towards the end of the day he really loved it and I started to feel really comfortable with it on my head. I have a feeling that I will be seen wearing that a whole lot more often while my hair is growing out again. 

As for the striped pants, just go for it! Be bold and be daring and who knows, you may completely fall in love with them too! Remember that vertical stripes create the look of length and height and horizontal stripes (or large plaids) cause width. If you find a pair of striped pants it doesn't hurt to try them on in the secret of a private dressing room! Go a head, try some on...

When I came across this, I couldn't believe my eyes! A one-piece bathing suit in a fashion magazine! And do you know what the commentary on this one was, "A one-piece can be just as sexy as a bikini." WHAT??? I thought you could only be "sexy" if you were flaunting your belly button around for everyone to see. You mean, that isn't true, the fashion world has been lying to me? One-pieces really do exist? Yes, my friends, and they aren't that difficult to find. Looks like the brand which this lovely lady is wearing, Christina, can be found at JCPenny and Macys. Another great resource for modest, adorable swim-suits is Layers Clothing and it looks like most of these places are having great sales on their swimwear so what better time to buy for next year than now? 

Audrey Hepburn photo courtesy of The Bargain Queen

All other pictures from Wish Magazine's Website

Bon Voyage!

Peter and I are off for a little R&R the next couple of days to the beautiful St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. A much needed break for the both of us!

We are excited because we are going with my family for a little B. family vacation. It will be amazing to get out of this burning heat and off to the beach, where if the baby permits (aka, I don't feel terribly sick) we will be doing a little kayaking and snorkeling. 

Hopefully you all got to take a fun vacation this summer! See ya when we get back... all nice and tan!

Holy Smokes!

So time seems to slip right past me right now... I have been pretty darn sick but things are looking up, slightly. 

For those who asked... our due date is officially February 19, 2009! So we are beyond excited (although when I try to show my excitement I get really tired and so unfortunately I just look annoyed.) 

That makes me 10 weeks along! We had our first doctors appointment last week and we couldn't hear the heartbeat so the Dr. took us in for a little ultrasound to figure out exactly how far along we really are. It was so cool to see the little 1 inch thing in there (although it looks like a sci-fi doppler radar) but we did get to SEE the little baby's heart beating! What an amazing thing it is to think that another human being is being grown inside of me!

Just to give everyone a better idea the baby is about the size of a grape! Peter likes to make fun of the food comparisons and when we eat things like grapes he always says, "Oh look I am eating the baby!" ... gross!

This next week may continue to be a little crazy and I may continue to go for a bit without posts but once life settles down again I should be back to my regular routine! 

I have big plans (well as big as my budget will allow... which isn't big at all, in fact it is like next to nothing!) for the nursery so I will be posting the cutness that I find. For now I will be searching for both genders but once I hit 20 weeks and we find out what we are having, I will be totally focused! 

Oh and CONGRATS to Christian and Kenna... Peter's brother and his wife... who just found out yesterday that they are having a BOY! I am so excited that the cousins will be only 2 months apart!

Happy 4th of July!

All graphics and video production were created by Madeline

Bloglight: Wish Magazine

I feel terrible that I missed my July post... I guess it is only the 3rd but I had plenty of time to get it done on the first but was a slacker. It must be the heat of the summer getting to me.

To get on with the Bloglight for this month... I found this great Canadian (I know, I know it is Independence Day here in the states but our Canadian friends to the north just celebrated Canada Day on the 1st.) magazine that has it all AND it is a slightly different [more European] way to look at decorating. 

The magazine is called Wish 

and I totally recommend that you take some time and go check it out. 

 

Here is one article about Maximizing your Space! Great for Newly Nesters with small apartments. 

They also have a great visual archive of a lot of their past articles which are all just great. I can't even say enough about this website but you should really just check it out. Every time I get the chance I look up this site and just allow my little decorating feast. 

I haven't tried any of their recipes yet but the food photography makes their dishes look amazing! I am getting hungry just sitting here thinking about it. 

Doesn't that dessert just look decadant! So simple but yet a perfect and great way to pull together an awesome looking dessert that people will swoon over. 

I think I am liking the way Canadians do things!

Enjoy the feast for your eyes {Canadian Style} as you flip through the pages of this wonderful website!

*and don't forget to let me know what you think!! Also, if you have found a blog or website recently that you think is worthy of a Bloglight just e-mail it to eyesofmad [at] gmail [dot] com.*