Vancouver, Beijing, Hong Kong, and Back Again

IMG_0128_sq_webIf you go on a trip to Asia, when you come home your children will look like this <<<<<.

I could end the post there. But I suppose I will elaborate. If you have been following my instagram feed then you’ve followed me on my two week excursion to Hong Kong. Here’s a quick synopsis, and a few photos to boot.

+ Vancouver—It was suppose to be a quick day trip but it was met with tragedy. Our party of three was whittled down to two due to a death in my friend’s family. I missed her so much on the trip but was glad we were not all the way in Beijing yet. It made getting home for her a lot easier.
+ Tried to conquer my fear of heights at the Capilano Suspension Bridge (Photo below)
+ Got stuck in Beijing due to bad weather.
+ Got touristy and visited the Big Buddha, Victoria’s Peak, and the Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery.
IMG_9035_web+ Never got used to the humidity
+ Or the heat.
+ Shopped. A.L.O.T.
+ Did press checks for MiniLou on mainland. The main purpose of the entire trip. Incredibly happy with everything we are doing in the new company. Can’t wait for you to see product!
+ Danced in the street with my travel partner Tausha in Lan Kwai Fong in honor of World Cup.
+ Ate a few noodles.
+ Shopped again.
+ Hiked the Dragon’s Back
+ And thought the heat unbearable.
+ Ate more noodles (Seriously, where was the rice?)
+ Discovered I love Taiwanese food
+ And remembered how much I hate Duran fruit.
+ Was ruthless video taped while taking a bite of it.
+ I am sparing you the video.
+ Don’t ask for it because I’m not showing it to you.
+ Visited Macau but failed to give myself enough time to really enjoy it.
+ Bought a Mahjong set which put my luggage over the weight limit.
+ Am determined to remember/learn how to play again.
+ Am happy to be back in my home with my sweet little ones.
+ Got back to my baby boy who called me “mama” before the trip and for some reason now calls me “mommy.” Not sure what happen there but not complaining.

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IMG_9154_webSo there it is in a nutshell. It was a wonderful business/pleasure trip and it especially made me excited for MiniLou! For more photos, I recommend checking my instagram feed. Will be back with some good stuff soon!

Happy summer!

Carina

Silhouette Design Store JOANN Stores

48 Hours in Texas and New Mexico

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48 hours in New Mexico and West Texas isn’t a lot of time to do much, but I made time to eat a lot of Mexican food and take pictures of the livestock (haha, see below). I flew into Lubbock, TX and drove to Portales, New Mexico—a charming little town that houses Eastern New Mexico University. There I was greeted by the host of Creative Living’s Sheryl Borden, who is probably one of the nicest people I have ever met. (photo above: It was too hard to pass up taking a photo of a pink bug. Slug Bug!)

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Sheryl and I taped three segments for her PBS show Creative Living. I believe the segments should air at your local PBS station (check your local listings) sometime in the third and fourth quarter of the year (more on this when I find out air dates). I’ll also post our segments on my youtube channel when I get my hands on the videos. (photo below: Sheryl and myself on her set).IMG_6696_web

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Obviously some super important explaining happening above. ^^^

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I always love to see behind the scenes of something like this and two members of Sheryl’s crew was nice enough to snap photos for me with my camera. The set has a full kitchen and living room area.IMG_6793_web

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Serious control room. ^^^  IMG_6807_web

The foodie in my was pretty happy on this trip. There is something so fun about discovering places I have never eaten before. A couple of places to mention: I loved the carne asada tacos at Taqueria Jalisco. I also stopped by the Taco Village and loved their beef tacos (near the airport—a plus!).

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I’m on my way home now and it should be a busy weekend including the Yard Sale at The Cottage! Be sure and check it out for some amazing deals. I also get to attend the wedding of a college girlfriend and maybe even stop in at our neighborhoods big band dance. I’m looking forward to getting home!

And although it has only been 48 hours, I’m excited to go home and snuggle my Charlie-boy and girls.

Carina

 

 

Silhouette Design Store JOANN Stores