Studio/ adventure time

Like I said before I had a few more summer outfits up my sleeve. 

I also wanted to post about this awesome studio I got to record in this summer. Perfect! I can kill two birds with one stone. Arizona in the summer is no joke let me tell you. Triple digit heat the entire time I was there. While the trip was a great recording time. It seemed like anything that could go wrong did. It went so wrong. But now I guess I can laugh about it. That's what you have to do. You have to laugh at these things because it can't possibly be real life but in fact it is. 

Let's start at the beginning. 

I accidentally forgot about Father's day and that is when I booked my trip. The hubby was gone anyway so it completely slipped my mind. So we had to change the flight. My mom who was coming to watch the kids had to change her flight. It was a pain. Then other problems came up with location. I almost had to make a studio in my house to record. We ended up making it happen last minute and secured some studio space. It ended up being a beautiful studio so it didn't bother me too much. 

I was actually packed with no issues and to the airport on time and everything. Starting at 7am. 

After sitting and waiting for awhile waiting for the actual plane to arrive. They finally told us that there was something wrong with it and we had to switch planes. So I moved to another gate and they ended up calling me to the desk. I was going to miss my connecting flight so they switched me to a non stop flight. Sounds great right? No. It was not great. They asked me "What does your bag look like?" I knew that was going to be trouble.

I moved to my new gate. That's gate change #3 if you are keeping count. As I'm waiting for this new flight their entire system goes down. Like no flights going out,  nothing works anymore. I'm stuck! I think I waited like 3 or 4 more hours. Then when they went back up I stood in line to get on only to find out it wasn't my flight. I was on the next one. After waiting for that flight I finally got on so drained and exhausted. Especially with not having a break from wearing the mask. 

I landed about an hour or so later then I was supposed to. Only to find out guess what... They lost my bag! I had a feeling and sure enough it happened. Thankfully and I mean thankfully I had a change of clothes in my carryon bag because I never do. We rushed straight to the studio and got to work. 

We only got to work for a couple hours because we were late. We managed to get some good takes but we were both running on fumes. Exhausted and hungry it was insane. It was too late to have anything delivered to the studio so we made plans to grab something close by. Alas! It was closed we parked along the little strip where there were restaurants and shops. (That area is a college town). 

As soon as I stepped out of the car. I. KID. YOU. NOT! My sandal broke! It broke and not in the normal flip flop way where it just come out of the little hole and you can pop it back in and you are good to to. Nope! Not my luck today! It was a clean slice on the strap! There was nothing nearby except a Urban Outfitters (too expensive for a quick sandal fix) and a little boutique. I don't even remember the name of it. But shout out to the sweet girl working who took me in looking like a disheveled drunk gimpy person. Together we scotch taped and stapled the crap out of that sandal. At least to get me through to dinner. 

He walked and I limped to the restaurant where I begged them to sit us anywhere I didn't care we just needed food. Then I completely lost the hostess as she was leading us to our table. (Keep in mind she was standing behind a post/wall in the middle of the room. But we'll keep that part for dramatic flare. We ate our food then went to Target. As I tried my hardest to remember all the things I needed that were in my missing bag. I overhear that dreaded announcement over the speaker. "The store will be closing in 15 minutes please gather all your items to the front of the store." NOOOOOOOOOOOOO I didn't even know the layout of the store. I'm scrambling trying to make my brain work on overdrive. I managed to think just enough to get what I needed and I was off to my hotel. 

I get checked into my room and collapse on the bed. After getting all situated with all my stuff. Carry on bag and all. I realized I needed something more. I needed one more thing to make this day even better. The Lord heard my cries and granted me such a gift. My monthly friend came for a visit and that was just the cherry on top on the best day ever!

P.S The next morning I realized I didn't have all my medications so I had to walk in the triple digit heat to the store to grab more supplies. The good thing about it is I did get a couple awesome songs out of it. Got to record in an amazing studio Saint Celia Studios in Tucson, Arizona! Shout out to them! It was a fun little adventure.

P.S.S My bag finally did come THE DAY BEFORE I left to go back home. But I did get a $100 voucher over it. Which probably wasn't an even trade but whatever at this point. There was also still some issues with flight changes going back home but I still made it in time. 

The moral of the story here is go check out my song "August" which is out now. Now that you know kind of its origin story.

In love with Summer

 It's still warm here so I'm going to say that Fall has not officially started yet. I'm going to sneak in a few more summer outfits before I have to transition. 

I haven't even started decorating for Fall yet. 

When do you start putting those pumpkins out?

Last year I waited too long because I was so distracted. I'm trying to not be this year. I don't know what's got me overthinking decor lately. I'm being too indecisive. I just need to go with it. That's when my best creativity comes out. 

But you know I can't resist when Target Dollar spot puts out those cute pumpkins. I probably have way too many at this point. 

But we are going to go with it. Put pumpkins EVERYWHERE!

So here's to those last few summer outfits you want to wear a few times before Sweater Weather is here to stay. 

 

 

 

 

 

Greece: Athens {Part 1}

 I'm going to be doing a ton of Greece posts in the next days or weeks. I want to make sure I get all the details for our amazing trip. I know I never finished the Scotland trip. I've had a lot of computer issues. Mainly because I have too many pictures. Then I run out of time before the next blog-worthy event happens. Then I looked down at the Calendar and it's already almost the end of the year. This has been the least amount of blogging I've ever done since I started. 

I thought I was doing good and staying on top of it but I guess not. So here it goes!

 

GREECE DAY 1

 

ATHENS 

 We arrived early afternoon to Athens. We had an overnight flight which was a good flight. We had comfortable seats, good food. Plenty of content to watch on the plane. Headphones, blankets, eye masks etc. were provided to us. It had been so long since we had done an international flight I had forgotten some of the perks. I think the ben and jerrys ice cream was a nice touch. That was fairly new. 

Downside. Obviously the face masks. I opted for the disposable ones for the flight because it was the most breathable one. But still really hard to sleep with. In fact I don't think I slept at all. When we landed we ended having to take a bus into the terminal. After that easy peasy. Got all our bags, exchanged a little bit of money and we headed out to meet our driver. One of the lovely perks of planning a trip with our lovely travel agent. 

As we drove to our hotel I realized more and more that it looked like Southern California. I had to keep telling myself "You did not land in Ontario, California. You are in Athens Greece".  Since it looked pretty familiar I totally fell asleep on the ride over. We checked in early to our hotel. Second perk our travel agent requested our room be ready early. Which it was and I was so thankful. I was able to sleep in a bed without a mask. Leaving us plenty of time to get rest and showered before our evening tour of the Acropolis and Parthenon. 

We stayed at the Athens Gate Hotel. Gorgeous hotel with friendly staff. Not to mention the amazing view from the Restaurant on the roof. Some of the rooms had the view but we opted for the more affordable one. You can still see the view with dinner reservations or just having a drink in the evening. Of course the complimentary breakfast in the morning has the same view. Great food too! 

  

The location was so convenient as well. Across from the Temple of Olympian Zeus, Hadrians Arch, and the little street that leads to the Parthenon and Acropolis filled with gift shops, restaurants, etc. It was also a spot for the Hop on Hop off Tour Buses. Which is one of my favorite ways to travel a new city. 
We met up with our tour which is a must in Athens. I definitely recommend doing it in the evening especially if you get in that day. It's a great way to walk around and it's not too hot or crowded like in the morning or afternoon. 

After our tour we got Gyros and ice cream and a drink at the rooftop bar of our hotel. 

I could eat Gyros every single day. I also love how they showcase their ice cream in Greece. They look so fancy and delicious. I'm not a huge adventurous eater so I'm glad Greek food isn't that scary. 

There are other cool tours to do in Athens. Walking tours, Food tours, Cooking tours. I didn't get a chance to do these but it would've been fun.

 

 

 

Home Decor

 Now that I am over my jet lag I feel like I can get my act together on this blogging life. 

The kids started back to school the day after we got home. Remind me to not plan a trip like that again. Yes! The kids are back to full in person school. Last year we had some back and forth that was really tough. But we are finally back into a somewhat normal routine. I am officially living that sahm life where I can get some cleaning, alone time,  and some TV watching done. 

I can focus on some decorating projects. I have been so focused on what I should do or not do that I wasn't actually following through with my ideas. So I decided to just do them and sit with them. I can always change things up later. This last week I had one of those very moments. My friend was in town for the day and we talked about another idea I had for my office/studio. She thought it might be pointless because we are moving again. (Maybe soon, maybe not) But I really wanted to just move in and finish projects. The next day I was just needed to do something creative. 

A little back story. It was the anniversary of my Dad passing away suddenly. I always never know how to feel exactly. I felt moody, numb, sad, not sad. It's always a guessing game to be honest. I needed a good distraction. Since the kids were at school and I had the house all to myself I got to work. 

Originally I wanted to print out sheet music to my own songs to put them all over the wall. Then I found this little book of sheet music from old hymns in some of my dads old stuff. I decided I would use those instead because it is what I had on hand. I figured I would pick ones out but as I sat there looking through all of the titles I realized a new/better idea was born. The names of these hymns were so encouraging. "Jesus heals a broken heart", "God answers prayer", "My Redeemer", etc. I felt like I was taping up the full armor of God onto my wall. I got emotional. It turned into something that it was meant to be. I love when that happens. I am thankful to be able to notice when it does.

Floral: Michaels, Sheet music: Family, Mirror: Five Below

Checking things off my bucket list

 

Well, the plan worked! I planned just enough stuff to keep us busy this summer that we made it through without the hubby. It was only a couple of months but still a good amount of time. Especially without the routine of a school. Now I feel like our summer is officially beginning. The whole family is back together again and we are getting ready for our big trip of the summer. We are celebrating our 15th Wedding anniversary. That's even crazy to say. I have no idea how 15 years have come and gone already. You always think those sayings are dumb and cliche. But "Time flies by"! It really does. 

We are crossing two things off our bucket list with this trip. ::Drumroll Please:::::

 

 

We are headed to Greece!! 

We are doing a Mediterranean Cruise. We've never been on a cruise before. Two main reasons I've never been on a cruise. 1: TITANIC! Enough said right? The other one is the movie The Poseidon adventure. Where a huge tidal wave comes and flips the ship upside down. Terrifying !! So terrifying they needed to make a reboot. One of those movies was enough for me. Also, please tell me why as soon as I book the cruise. The Poseidon adventure (new one) is advertised on my TV. 

Those were my childhood fears that kept me from going on a cruise. Now my grown up fear is my claustrophobia. Which has thankfully gotten worse as I get older. That's a real problem if you book a room that has NO WINDOWS. They even have rooms with the tiniest, smallest window known to man. 

I'm grateful, thankful, ecstatic to have book a room with a balcony. I still don't plan on staying in the room very much but a balcony helps. We will be stopping in Santorini, Corfu, Rhodes, and Mykonos. It makes me want to watch My big fat greek wedding again and Sisterhood of the traveling pants.
Clearly my life/memories revolve around Movies. 

Know of any movies that take place in Greece? Let me know in the comments below.

I'll be busy planning all my outfits. Finding all the fun traveling amazon finds. Watching all the Youtube videos on Greece and cruises. 

Anyone else do that?

Just me.... ::shrugs:: okay.