#we found a jewelry vendor there one day while playing and bought some of her pieces

[rurinnfane]

Life is weird, I was invited into a family’s home to share a (delicious!!!) meal with them at the Kewa Pueblo feast day today… and this event is a direct result of my mom recently starting to obsessively play Pokémon Go with me

[cassothepoet]

Father of child

When I was four, my father had brought my immediate family over to America. We were staying at the house of my grandparents that really wasn’t my grandparents, while we looked for a place to stay. I had been attacked and mauled by a stray dog that nearly tore my left ear off, and chewed up the left side of my face. My bottom left lip was ripped and split apart, stretching almost to my hanging ear, making me look like I was half of joker. I was rushed to the hospital covered in blood with no medical and my mother came in crying with my favorite foods and snacks in efforts to cheer me up, yet she couldn’t bring herself to a smile. To this day I still have the scar on my lower lip that never did heal correctly.

When I was five, my father would take me everywhere. He would often scold me for leaning on the glass in jewelry shops, or jumping in puddles. We would go to many vendors and stores, and he’d always bargain for the cheaper prices.

When I was seven, my father bought me a pair of white sketchers that light up because I begged him for it. I wore them to school the next day and got them dirty, and out of fear from his anger I rushed home before he did. I took a brush and some soap and proceeded to wash them the same way I watched my mother hand wash everything, and as an extra step I soaked the shoes in water. Of course I could only do the best, my tiny little hands could do. My father came home to my shoes hanging with a puddle underneath it, and stormed into the room and beat my older brother for his irresponsibility of being my keeper. My brother resented me for years because of that, but that made him more attentive to my well-being . That day, the lights had died out.

When I was ten, my father found me lying on my bed ten minutes after school had started. I lied to him and told him I was sick, because all I wanted to do was stay home and play games on my PlayStation all day. He didn’t come and sit on my bedside to feel my forehead for a fever, nor did he ask for symptoms. It was almost like as if he didn’t know what to do, but he just took my word for it and left. I overheard him talking to my mother on the phone telling her that I was sick, and asking what he should do. From his responses it sounded like my mother just gave up and let me get away with my blatant lie. when she came home from work my mother had an obvious frustration towards me because I was miraculously feeling much better. she was holding a grocery bag with ingredients to my favorite dinner, but for some reason she didn’t use using any of them at all that night.

When I was fifteen, I had overdosed on psychedelics and found myself handcuffed to the frames of my hospital bed, a neck brace, and bruises on my chest from the male nurses trying to hold me down as I fought back in my psychotic state. When I was finally sober, my father walked into my hospital room. He didn’t come and sit on my bedside to check if I was okay, despite having chairs available. Instead he just stood there, close enough to hear him talk softly. He didn’t raise his voice, in fact he didn’t say much at all. He simply examined me for a bit before making eye contact, and out from his mouth he uttered, “I am disappointed.” Then he left. I overheard my father trying to pull words of comfort to my mother as I could hear her uncontrollably sobbing. She had no snacks, no grocery bag, and she couldn’t even bring herself to walk in and see me. Judging from what I hear, i don’t think she had a smile on her either. At that moment I had lost it. I was internally screaming, yelling for my father. “Dad, please come back. can’t you just beat me, I’d rather have you break my arms and legs instead of hearing that from you. Can you just beat me, please.”to this day, I still have the scar on my bottom right lip where my canine tooth had pierced.

A week later of not speaking with my father, he bought me a new phone to replace my broken one because I asked. My father took me everywhere, and had asked me which of the watches looked best in the glass of the jewelry shop. We went to many vendors and stores, and I jumped over the puddles to keep my brand new shoes clean.

A month later I came home to my mother cooking my favorite dinner, we ate and laughed and talked about things and I even asked my dad to buy me a car when I get my license. He agreed. That night, the house felt like a home.

Then a year later my father left. He didn’t explain why, but he said something about being called to his homeland.

I may have been a teenager with a lot more understanding of why things happen, or why they were the way they were, but I was angry at my father and I didn’t know why. The home that I just recently got back had started to fall apart once again, and I could feel the separation between us brothers. We did everything in secret and never really spoke to each other at the house, we never talked about how our day was, or have said good morning or goodnight. I was forced to have no father figure in the house and left to figure things out on my own, but it wasn’t like I ever went to my father for anything anyway.

He was never the type of parent to give me advice before my first date, but be the one who would give me a ride there. He would never speak about how he felt and his emotions, but would often cry at night. He never helped me with my school work, but made sure I was tucked in and sound asleep before school, and he never would tell me how to deal with things, but would show me how to. All I wanted was a father who would raise me like how they did in the movies, with a treehouse and the front lawn covered with the cool toys they’d bought me like a bike and a RC helicopter. Singing songs together during car rides, and having movie nights or going on a family vacation. I didn’t have any of that. Instead I got a family that hardly spoke to each other, and never really ate at the dinner table.

When other kids would ask about my father I’d reply saying that my Dad practically didn’t raise me. Well, at least that’s what I believed.

One day I wanted something to accompany my wrist, a watch. I walked into the jewelry shop, went over to the watch section, and I looked at the ones in display. I found one that caught my eye and I leaned forward to get a closer view, and right before my hand touched the glass, everything in me screamed to whip my hand away, and so I did, Why did I do that? Nobody ever told me that it was a bad thing to touch the glass? And that’s when it hit me, It was my father who showed me. I remembered having my first ever job interview, and the best step in preparation for it wasn’t to get my resume in check, It was to make sure I get a good nights rest. Why did I do that? My father showed me. Whenever I was going through things I’d go through them alone, and I’d always try my best to hide my true emotions because I didn’t want others worrying about me. Why did I do that? My father showed me. When I would go on first dates I didn’t worry much about what I should say or talk about, or where to take her, Instead I made sure that I was there on time. Why did I do that? My father showed me. I often would give people the benefit of the doubt and would even give multiple second chances, but when they’ve let me down, I’d never raise my voice in anger but instead, just simply tell them how I felt. Or when I need to fix something broken, sometimes the best way to repair it is to buy a brand new one. Or when someone of the friend group is going through things and making mistakes left and right, I wouldn’t be upset at that person, instead I’d be angry at everybody else for their lack of comradery. Why did I do all of that? It was because my father had shown me. In times of emergencies, even if you don’t have the time, nor money, nor effort, you must spend what you have and then sacrifice some more because it is your duty to tend to them. Why do I believe that? Because my father had shown me.

For a long time I believed that my Dad wasn’t the one who raised me, I thought he was selfish for never telling me anything but instead he wanted to show that he was strong and dependable. I thought he wasn’t kind because he turned his face away from me in my lowest, but instead he waited for me to draw strength to face him and in return he fixed the things that were broken. I thought he was foolish for believing my lies of being sick, but instead he had that much trust in me and I broke it. I thought my dad never raised me, but he did, with his motions. The day I bought my new watch, I looked at myself in the mirror. I chose the watch I chose because my dad wouldve picked the same thing, and I even got it for the price he would’ve bargained for. As I looked at myself I couldn’t help but notice that I started to resemble him. Not only in physical appearance, but in character as well. Who knew that my dad was trying his best at being the perfect role model, oh you, father, of child.

[nancypullen]

Last Weekend

Who has two thumbs and got to have two birthdays this year? This girl!  There is absolutely no good reason for a woman my age to have two birthdays in  the span of a week - but that’s what happened.  Because the Edgewater Pullens are busy, busy people with many commitments, they were pulled in several directions on the weekend of my birthday.  I assured Tyler that my big plans were shopping for yews and decorating for fall. I mean, I was turning 59, it’s not like we had a bouncy house and a piñata waiting.  So they arrived this past Saturday with my favorite girl, and had packed their pizza oven and this delicious cake.

Four layers of deliciousness topped with petits fours and macarons. Holy cow! Before slicing that cake the Edgewaters fired up their pizza oven and produced pie after pie of gourmet pizza. I didn’t lift a finger!  My favorite is their fig, feta, and walnut pizza with a little honey drizzle.  It’s out of this world!  Jamie makes her own pizza dough and it’s perfect.  Tyler whacks them into the oven and it takes about 90 seconds to achieve perfection.  They’re quite a team. A funny card with an Etsy gift certificate made me a little emotional.  It’s hard learning to receive from your kids, it’s supposed to be the other way around.  It makes me uncomfortable when I think of them spending their money on me, I’d rather they reward themselves with a treat for their hard work, or pick up a delicious dinner on a busy day when they don’t feel like cooking.  They’re so sweet to me and I’m not sure I’ll ever find a way to thank them enough.

Anyway, we had a wonderful weekend. Our grandgirl (and oh, she IS grand!) has inherited a bit of my love for Halloween, spooky stuff, and witches. I swear, I didn’t push any of that on her, she found her way to the light on her own.  Look at this adorable pumpkin she painted for me!

Also, when we were in her room playing Barbies (we are always getting ready for a ball, that’s the script every time) she added a character to the mix. Meet Griselda.  She was the apple vendor at the ball. There were princesses dropping left and right.

At least when they were felled by poison apples they looked good. We spend copious amounts of time choosing dresses and accessories.

That’s how we set up the dress shop. Accessories are sorted into categories - shoes, jewelry, tiaras, purses.  Those gowns? You can buy a bundle of 6 for about $7.99 on Amazon. They even come with bags of accessories.  They’re easy for little fingers to get on and off the dolls because they just have a velcro closure in the back. She loves ‘em.  I also bought some cheap furniture so the dolls can lounge with refreshments between shopping trips.  See where their house is located?

Everything stores in that nightstand! So convenient. But it’s not all gowns and crowns.  Well, it is most of the time, but we do play board games, play outside (though it was a rainy weekend), make Play-Doh cookies and pizzas, and all sorts of other fun stuff.  At this age everything  is an educational experience. Shopping for ball gowns? Let’s talk about prices, how much we have to spend, colors, sharing, etc.  Board games are great for that too, plenty of opportunities for counting, drawing conclusions, taking turns, learning to win and lose well, and so on.  Here’s a little something that was cheap to make and fun to do.  

Draw a face, number some strips of paper one through six and tape or glue them on, then grab some dice (you only need one) and some kids’ safety scissors.  They roll the dice, identify the number, and then take a snip from that strip.  They get to match the dots to actual numbers while working on scissor skills.  In educator terms, this also helps with subitizing. That’s when we can accurately recognize a number of something without actually stopping to count. “Hey, look at those three horses.” or “Did you see those two big pumpkins?” Our brain does the work without us having to count off the items.  It was fascinating to watch how quickly the grandgirl started recognizing the dot patterns as three or five, etc.  It’s just repetition and because there are quite a few numbers to snip, it works.  It’s also good for some giggles as the haircut starts to look a little crazy.  Considering that she’s only four and there are thirty-six dice rolls required to finish the game, it was not instant gratification but she stayed engaged the whole time. That’s a win.  I know that she gets plenty of instruction at her preschool, so I don’t go heavy on this stuff.  It’s her weekend too and no one wants to work on the weekend, right?  She’s so smart, her little brain is just a sponge. Nothing wrong with a break. Besides, it’s just as important to encourage imagination as it is to feed them curriculum.  Did I mention that she thinks we have a dungeon? This summer she noticed the vents around the foundation of the house and asked what was in there.  I may have nonchalantly replied, “Oh, that’s just the dungeon.”  Without batting an eye she asked, “Is there anyone in it?”  So of course I said, “Well, Grandpa threw the garbage man in there for being late.”  Sorry, it was the first thing that came to mind.  Our town garbage service was struggling at the time and they weren’t picking up on our scheduled day.  It’s since been resolved, but my precious and beautiful grandgirl was fine with him being in there.  She’d peer into the darkness of the vent and say that she was pretty sure she could see him.  I’d always say things like, “I’d better remind Grandpa to let him out.”  She asked if we could open the door to the dungeon and I’d say that we’d definitely do that when the weather cooled off a bit.  Well, the weather cooled off.  Don’t doubt for a minute that Grandpa and Grancy had a plan.  Remember, this girl likes to be spooked.  Grandpa bought some Halloween bones at Walmart.  If I’d planned better I would have purchased a work shirt with a name tag from Goodwill.  But the bones were enough.  This weekend while I was upstairs playing dress shop with little miss, I sent a text to the mister.

Now, before you call social services you should know that we traumatized our own children the same way and they are both perfectly normal...ish.   Right in the middle of dithering between a yellow and blue gown, I stopped and said, “Ohmygosh, *insertname*! I just realized that Grandpa never let the garbage man out of the dungeon!”  Without missing a beat our little Wednesday Addams said, “Let’s go look.”  So we marched downstairs and alerted Grandpa to the potentially dire situation in the dungeon.  The grandgirl was determined to lead the expedition and had a flashlight in hand.  We went outside into the chilly drizzle and started for the side of the house.  She stopped and snapped a stick over one knee proclaiming, “If there are spiders I’ll knock down the webs with this stick!”  I applauded her courage. It’s a wonderful coincidence that the door to the crawlspace is a heavy metal thing that you have to slide away - very creepy and dungeon-like.  As Grandpa slowly slid the door aside and the bones were revealed, her eyes were as big as saucers.  Then without skipping a beat she said, “Heee’s dead.” the way you might say “All gone!” to a toddler.  Not a bit bothered.  I gave her back a little nudge and said, “Go on in...” and she scrambled back and said, “No way!”  The flashlight clicked off and she suggested we close up the dungeon.  That was that.

She did, however, hang the information over my head for the remainder of the day.  We’d be right in the middle of a bit and if my Barbie was less than cooperative she’d mention that she’d hate to have to talk about the garbage man.  Did my granddaughter just blackmail me?  Pretty sure she’s in on the joke and having a ball with it.  She loves nothing more than to stay in character all day and add to a story.  If not, I’m sure her teachers are getting an earful about the skeleton in our dungeon.  The Caroline County Sheriff’s Department should be showing up any time.  So that was my weekend - cake and corpses. Is there any better way to start October?  I can’t think of one.  I hope your month is off to a beautiful start.  If not, go buy a pumpkin. You can’t be unhappy with a pumpkin on your porch, balcony, or in your window. Heck, just sit it beside your tv and enjoy. Sending out love~~~ Stay safe, stay well, stay spooky!

[mariustears]

2.5k words of Marius angst + mild Marius x Rosa. The fic is inspired by this post.

Forever

A word so full of lies, that even the best liar couldn't make it believable.

Marius stands in a room. It's dark and empty, at least he assumed it to be. He couldn't remember how he got there. It didn't seem like there were any windows in the room considering that he would probably be seeing some sort of lighting coming from the outside if there were any, even if it was night outside. Was he in a basement perhaps?

He took a few steps forward, then a few more. He couldn't tell where exactly in the room he was, or how big it might be. It was even hard to see the silhouette of his own hand in front of his face.

"-rius!" A voice? It sounded familiar, it sounded like the voice of someone he could only vaguely remember and yet it sounded like he knew it as well as he knew his own voice, a part of him, long forgotten.

"Marius! There you are!" Marius turned around, even if there was someone in the room with him, he couldn't tell. The voice came from all sides but it was as quiet as a whisper.

"I was wondering where you went. Don't just go running off like that, I'll get worried!" The voice got louder but it was still so far that Marius feared he would miss the words if he dared to answer. But even if it was louder, Marius didn't know who it was, it could be his kidnapper for all he knew. How big exactly could this room be if the voice was this quiet, and what did they even mean?

"Look, I found a chrysanthemum in the garden. They're pretty, right? Someday I'd like to own my own flower garden and plant the prettiest flowers!"

Marius remembered. Giann. When he and Giann were children they liked to play in the garden together. Giann loved flowers and liked showing Marius the ones he found especially pretty, sometimes even hoping that Marius could draw them for him. But how did he hear them now? Giann was gone… but then how could he hear his voice so clearly now…?

"Who are you! Don't play tricks on me, show yourself!"

The lights in the room went on but due to Marius' eyes having adjusted to the darkness that previously engulfed the whole room, he was now blinded by the sudden brightness. It took him a few seconds until he could fully open his eyes again but he couldn't believe what he saw after opening them.

Marius was no longer standing in the odd room, he was now standing in the middle of a beautiful garden. It was his parents' garden. He looked around a few times, repeatedly opening and closing his eyes in confusion. This wasn't possible. How-

"Hey, Marius…" Marius turned around towards the voice. It came from a boy sitting on a white bench nearby a giant fountain. It was Giann. He was looking towards the fountain, or more specifically towards the boy who was sitting on the fountain with his feet dangling in the water, Marius. "... remember when I told you that I'd like to own a flower garden in the future and plant all the epiphyllum in the world for mom?"

"Promise me you'll take care of it when I someday won't be able to anymore, okay?"

The boy at the fountain turned his head towards Giann, seemingly not believing what he just heard. "Don't say something like that! You'll take care of it forever! You can't just leave it all in my hands… I don't even know how to take care of flowers..."

Forever. Oh how he wished that their forever would have been just a bit longer…

"Well, maybe you should listen more to what I tell you then! I've explained it to you so many times already!"

Giann stood up and walked towards the fountain, he stopped next to the boy in the fountain with a grin on his face. "Giann…? What are you doing?"

"You just have to water most flowers every once in a while, just like…"

Giann put his hand into the water and…

*splash*

...splashed a generous amount of the water into the boy's face. "...that!" and after finishing his sentence he ran off, deeper into the garden, in hopes that Marius wouldn't be able to catch him, as he knew that the consequences of his actions would be bad if he did end up being caught.

"COME BACK HERE!"

The lights went back off, and once again, Marius was left in complete darkness. What was that? How could he see such a distant memory so vividly even after all those years?

Minutes went by, minutes that felt like hours, minutes that were spent thinking about what he saw. "Forever." It wouldn't leave Marius' mind. It was such a simple thing said by children who did not know that there was no forever for anyone.

Marius had always promised to protect Giann, while Giann had always promised to protect Marius. Forever.

But there was no forever for them. Marius had failed his part of the promise. Marius had failed to protect the one he spent his whole childhood with. The one who always believed in Marius' dream of being an artist. The one who had been there for Marius until the very last moment. And he failed to do something as simple as protecting him.

Marius' legs gave in and he now found himself kneeling on the ground, tears slowly but surely making their way onto his cheeks.

He lost track of time eventually. How long did he spend on the ground? He didn't know.

Marius stood up, his legs had fallen asleep at some point and with no wall being nearly to support him he was struggling to stay up.

Suddenly, the little vision he had was gone again and he could feel something being held in front of his eyes.

"Buh!" The object in front of his eyes was gone again and he was suddenly standing on a busy market street with many vendors having small tables set up with their wares. Someone took his hand to spin him around and the contact made him realise that the object in front of his face must have been two hands holding his eyes closed.

"Have you been waiting for a long time? I'm sorry… I was stuck in traffic for a while…"

He turned around with the hand guiding him and...

...Rosa? But how-

"Hey, is everything okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."

You were back? But this couldn't be, both you and Giann were-

"Where have you been? I was worried for you! I… I thought that you were…" Marius finally managed to say something, but his fear and worry had made his words come out louder than he wanted them to be.

Rosa looked back at him, unsure how to respond. "Marius I was just stuck in traffic, I'm sorry that I worried you. I should have messaged you when I had the ability to..."

"No it's fine, I'm sorry I was just a bit lost in my mind and didn't expect you to arrive so quickly, don't worry about it."

It didn't seem like Rosa fully believed what he said, but he couldn't come up with anything better to say.

"Hmm alright... should we check out the market then? Don't tell me you also forgot about the reason we wanted to meet up here!" Rosa laughed, it was that beautiful laugh that Marius had almost forgotten the sound of.

"Of course not! How could I forget!" He took her hand in his, the comfortable warmth of her hand spread over his whole body, until it reached his heart. He missed this, he missed seeing that smile, hearing that laugh and most importantly, he missed her. But why did he miss someone who was only gone from his sight for maybe a day?

Marius and Rosa walked through the Market until they arrived at a specific vendor. They sold jewellery and small handmade trinkets. Their wares weren't of the cheap sort but the quality looked to be quite high too. He saw Rosa stare at a special necklace, it was a golden chain with a golden rose attached to it. The gem in the middle of the rose seemed to be a ruby.

"Oh, Miss! Would you be interested in the necklace? It's quite pretty, don't you think? I made this necklace with the idea of young love in mind. The ruby represents the new found love, while the rose surrounding it represents the strong bond that will hold the love together for as long as you take good care of it."

"Ah, it looks very pretty but I'm sure it's not cheap… especially considering the hard work that you must have put into it!"

As much as she tried to keep her eyes off of the beautiful necklace to look at the vendor, Marius could see that she liked it.

"I'll buy it."

"Marius no, it's fine! You don't have to-"

"It's an apology for earlier. Make sure to take care of it well so our love doesn't wither, okay?"

Rosa turned away from him but it was too late, Marius had already seen the slight pink hint on her cheeks.

"What a wonderful choice! And because you two are so lovely, I'll even give you a discount." The vendor was an elderly man, so it didn't feel fair for Marius to take a discount, especially not considering that he had handmade all of his jewelry.

"There is no need for a discount, I don't mind paying the full price. Your jewelry is high class compared to the necklaces you can buy in stores nowadays, I admire your work." The vendor looked happy to hear the compliments, Marius felt bad that he had to sell his works so low but he knew that it was hard to sell jewelry that didn't have a name associated with it.

Once Marius had paid for the necklace, they both made their way through the rest of the market. They had bought a few things like clothes, vases and other handmade things.

"Stand still for a moment." They were now on a less busy street, the perfect moment for Marius to finally put the necklace on her. He let go of her hand and checked through their bags to check where it was.

"Hm? Is there something wrong?" Rosa stood still with a confused look on her face while Marius grabbed the small box with the necklace from one of the bags.

"Nope, just wait and see." Marius stepped behind her, opened the small box, and gently put it around her neck.

"How does it feel?"

Rosa held the rose shaped piece in her hand before answering, "It's beautiful… thank you."

Marius walked in front of her to see for himself, she was right. It was beautiful. But not as beautiful as the person wearing it.

"Almost as beautiful as you."

"Marius von Hagen!"

"What? Can't I tell the truth?"

Marius loved moments like these with her. Moments where they could laugh together and where he could see her face slowly getting that nice hint of pink that he found so pretty on her. He wished they would never end, perhaps even that they would last forever.

They continued walking down the street until they could hear a voice screaming for a thief, a man dressed in dark clothes ran past them while an elderly woman tried to follow. "Please help me! He stole my purse!" She screamed towards the two.

"Wait here, I'll catch him!" Marius put his bags down and ran after the man without looking back. The man was quick but he didn't seem to know the area very well. They ended up at a dead end eventually, the man managed to jump over the wall thanks to a dumpster in front of it but he seemed to be tired of their cat and mouse game and dropped the purse before disappearing.

Marius went back to the street where he left Rosa and the woman. He felt bad for just running off without saying goodbye but every second counted and he would see her again once he was back anyway, right?

He was almost back, just one more block before he would be back. But then he stopped in his tracks. Marius could hear sirens and they sounded like they were coming from… no…

Time stood still. Marius felt sick, as if he knew something was wrong. This was for something else right? A lost cat in a tree, or maybe the woman called the police because he took so long? That had to be it. Yes, he was just overreacting.

Marius ran around the block, there were two police cars standing at the street he had left them at. He could see the elderly woman but… where was Rosa? She was surely just behind one of the cars, right?

"Ma'am, so you went to the store on the other side of the street to call the police and then she..." Marius could hear people talking once he came closer but he couldn't make out much of what was said.

"Sir, we can't let you through here." A police officer stopped him. Marius felt dizzy. He could see their bags laying on the ground. Where was she?

"Where… where is Rosa?"

"Rosa?"

"The young woman with brown hair who was waiting here for me with an elderly woman! Where…" Marius could see the elderly woman talking to an officer until she noticed him. She pointed towards Marius and then walked towards him with the officer.

"He is the man who chased the thief for me! He was walking down the street with the nice lady!"

"Where is she-"

"Sir, please calm down. I'll explain everything to you."

Marius was let through by one of the officers and told to follow the officer who was talking to the elderly woman.

"So Ma'am, you've stated that he had followed a thief who had stolen your purse, correct?"

"Yes, he…"

Marius couldn't concentrate. He kept looking towards the bags, towards where she should be standing, waiting. He had gone through this exact scene before. He had lost her once before. This was another memory.

He walked towards the bags, ignoring the officer telling him to wait. There was an alleyway nearby that he hadn't noticed when they walked on the street together.

He took a few steps towards the alleyway. There was something shimmering in the small sun rays that had found their way into the dark alleyway. He walked towards it.

It was the necklace. A golden chain with a rose attached to it and a ruby in the middle. It was ripped apart, possibly broken in a fight.

Forever. He had once again wished for a forever. And once again it was taken from him.

Marius kneeled down to pick up the necklace and when he looked up, he was back in the darkness.

Once again, he couldn't protect the person he promised it to.

Once again, he had failed.

Once again, he had lost someone he loved.

Once again, he was sitting on the ground, the tears now slowly falling onto the rose.

Marius opened his eyes after a few moments, or was it hours? He didn't know.

He was now in his bed, looking at the ceiling. It was a dream, all of it.

A dream that will forever haunt him. A dream that will forever remind him of his failures.

Forever. A promise that will eventually break into tiny pieces, no matter how hard you lie to yourself.

[tchallasbabymama]

M’Baku’s Love Chapter 7

Hey lovelies! I originally wanted to get this done by Valentines day so y’all could get a double update. Close enough, right?

Anyways, check out my masterlist HERE to catch up and check out my other stories.

Word count: ~5500

CW: smut, drug use

Monae’s heart started beating out of her chest the moment he turned and left her at her apartment door. She hadn’t been on a date with someone new in seven years and had just started to panic when she remembered that she and M’Baku had already gone on what most people would consider dates. The only exception was that now they were both free to express their feelings for eachother. 

Her buzzer rang out as she finished the sharp point of her eyeliner, and suddenly all of her nerves vanished. It's just M’Baku, she told herself, chill out. Just the thought of him made her giddy and she ran to the living room to buzz him up. She bit her lip in anticipation and waited for the knock on her door.

It didn’t come when she thought it would, so she looked out the peephole and saw him fidgeting with his hands, pacing back and forth before he turned to knock on the door. She couldn’t get over how handsome he looked, but she wanted to play it cool. She waited a few seconds before opening the door so he wouldn’t think she was standing there waiting for him the whole time...even though she definitely was. His eyes trailed up and down her physique and she was thankful her brown skin hid her blushing. Her outfit was doing exactly what she had intended.

“Hi”

“Hi, yourself,” her eyes raked up and down his body, too.

They stared at each other for a moment before she moved aside so he could come in. The moment the door closed he pulled her in for a kiss. 

“You look amazing,” he held her hand and twirled her around so he could get the full view.

“And you look like a whole snack. You sure you don’t want to just stay in?”

He laughed and snaked his arms around her waist, “I’m sure.” He kissed her forehead and let her go right as Juju came over to say hello to her new favorite person.

“Can I get you anything? Water, juice, whiskey?”

“Water would be great, thank you.”

“So about this art festival, have you ever been to one?” she asked as she poured him a glass of cold water and handed it to him.

“Of course, we have them at home all the time,” he sat on the couch with Juju and let her curl up in his lap. “We Jabari are very talented people.” 

Monae loved how prideful he could be when it came to his tribe, but it was always accompanied by a bittersweet feeling deep inside her. As much as she loved that about him, it always hurt to think about him returning home to rule over his people. 

“Well, I’m almost done getting ready, so just give me like five more minutes.”

“No rush, I will just be here with my new best friend, Juju,” he said, partially to Monae and partially to the cat.

Monae playfully rolled her eyes and shuffled back to her room to put the finishing touches on her makeup. She put her shoes on while she let the liquid lipstick dry on her lips, and grabbed her purse before heading back to her living room to find M’Baku on the floor trying to get Juju to play with a cat toy. She snuck a quick picture on her phone before she made her presence known.

“Having fun?”

“I was trying to, but someone will not cooperate,” he looked up before turning back to the cat, “I thought we were friends.”

Monae couldn’t help but laugh at his antics, bringing a smile to his face as well. He dropped the cat toy and hopped up, pulling her in by her waist and kissing her cheek so as not to mess up her lipstick.

“Ready?”

“Let’s go!”

M’Baku went to wash his hands as Monae searched for her keys.

“Where the- oh, duh, there they are. Ok now I’m actually ready,” she said excitedly before turning to her fur baby, “Be good, Juju.”

The cat meowed and the two humans were out the door.

When they arrived at the festival, Monae’s eyes lit up at all the sights and sounds and he couldn't help but stare at her face as it brightened.

“So where to first?” he asked, looking around at all the vendors and stages set up around the park.

Monae looked up and saw someone pass by eating elote that looked like it tasted like heaven.

“Excuse me, where’d you get that?” she stopped a lady walking by.

M’Baku simply stared at Monae’s beauty as the stranger directed them to the food truck.

“Thank you!” she said excitedly before pulling M’Baku over in the direction of the food court section of the park.

“You’re hungry already?”

“The food is like half the fun of these things, come on!”

Monae found the elote truck and gladly waited in the quickly-moving line. M’Baku’s arms wrapped around her waist and he rested his head on top of hers as they slowly swayed to the music coming from the  stage on the other side of the food trucks.  She loved when he did that, he made her feel safe and secure. 

When they finally made it to the front of the line she ordered two elotes, one for both of them.  The vendor handed them to her and she took a bite of hers, doing her usual little food dance as she handed M’Baku his.

“Ohhh my god, this is so good. Try it.”

M’Baku bit into it and his eyes widened, “Hanuman, that is good.”

“Told you! Ok now that we’ve taken in some of the culinary arts, lets see what else there is. Visual art, vendors, or performance art/music?”

“Let us start with visual art, then performance, then vendors.”

“Deal,” she rose to her tiptoes and pecked his lips. He smiled and held out his arm for her as they walked towards the visual art section of the festival. They both enjoyed the small art galleries, but yet again M’Baku mostly found himself staring at her as her eyes examined the pieces. Whenever she had the opportunity she would always stop and talk to the artists, some she knew some she didn’t. She even suggested a couple apply for positions at the center. 

“Stop working and just enjoy the festival,” he whispered in her ear after she handed a sculptor her business card.

“I’m not-” she was cut off by him giving her the look with one of his bushy eyebrows raised, “Ok fine. It’s hard to turn it off sometimes.” She shrugged and he grabbed her hand, bringing it to his lips for a kiss.

“Ready to see some of the performances?”

“Of course.”

“Without scouting for talent.”

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

“Fine.”

M’Baku chuckled at her attitude, he’d have something for that later.

They arrived at one of the stages just in time to catch the beginnings of an interpretive dance to “Whitey’s on the Moon.”

M’Baku hung onto Gil Scott-Heron’s words as the dancer moved across the stage in a hauntingly beautiful display of his raw talent. When he finished to a standing ovation and left the stage, making room for the next performer, M'Baku and Monae decided to stay there for a while until their stomachs rumbled again, reminding them that all they’d had to eat that day was breakfast and elote.

“Damn, I heard that all the way over here,” she joked as they got up to go find more food. This time M’Baku found a vegan food truck and they fell in love with their seitan Philly cheese steaks before heading back into the festival. The sounds of a popular local spoken word artist reciting a poem about gentrification filled their ears as they made their way over to the vendors. 

M’Baku and Monae walked through the crowded marketplace hand in hand, stopping periodically to take a look at what the artists had to offer. He noticed Monae had stopped at the booth of an old man with salt and pepper locs down his back to check out a delicate handmade amethyst necklace. He smiled when he saw how her eyes lit up when she looked at it, but she put the necklace back and walked towards M’Baku, grabbing his hand so they could head to the next booth. He stopped her and pulled her back into him.

“You changed your mind about the necklace?”

“It’s a little out of my budget right now, I just gave Jazz her tuition money for the fall.”

“But you want it?”

“Well, yeah, but-”

“Then it is yours, love,” he turned to the artist. “Excuse me, could we purchase this necklace along with the matching bracelet and earrings.”

“M’Baku!”

He leaned down and tilted her chin up to peck her on the lips, “Hush, you are getting the set.”

Monae blushed and tried to fight the smile creeping up her face. While she wanted to protest, she had never had a man spoil her before and she found that she liked the feeling. Sure Derrick had money, but he was Ebenezer Scrooge when it came to spending it, so this...this was new.

“Did you want to wear them out or should I wrap it up?” the older man asked Monae.

“Um, I’ll wear it out.”

M’Baku reached for the necklace and she turned around so he could place it on her. The cool metal of the gold chain shocked her skin as his hands dusted over her collarbone and carefully clasped the necklace together. He bent down and planted a soft kiss on her shoulder before turning her around to get a good look at the necklace that contrasted so beautifully against her brown skin.

She had goosebumps all over as she slid on the bracelet and popped her earrings off. She put her new earrings in and modeled them for M’Baku.

“Lookin good, miss!” said the jewelry-maker.

“Thanks!” she responded excitedly and M’Baku chuckled at how adorable she could be sometimes. “And thank you.” she turned around and planted a kiss on his lips

“No problem, love. You forget I am rich,” he winked at her and she stood there shocked for a moment before he led her to the next tent. He bought her a handwoven basket, and at the next tent he bought her the most beautiful painting she had ever seen. She was really enjoying the sugar baby treatment and he loved spoiling her. The whole day he barely bought anything for himself, instead just spending money on his lady. 

-------

When they couldn’t carry any more they decided it was time to go back to her place for the next part of their date. Monae had convinced him to smoke with her tonight and watch Friday, and she couldn’t wait to see how he would be while high. Would he be talkative? Would he have a panic attack? Would he get the munchies? She would soon find out.

When they got to her place they set her loot down in the living room and she immediately jumped on him.

“Thank you for everything,” she said between open-mouth kisses. He grunted in response and pushed her back into the wall, hands gripping under her thighs as her legs wrapped tight around him. His lips traveled to her neck and he bit down.

“Please just fuck me already, M’Baku,” she moaned out.

That was all he needed to hear and he walked them down the hall to her bedroom with his face still partially buried in her neck.

When he made it to her room he laid her down on the bed and crawled on top of her.

“I had to watch you walking around in these shorts all day, getting jealous when they would get stuck between your thighs...watching your ass jiggle. You did that on purpose.” His hand traveled down and unzipped her vintage high-waisted denim shorts, sneaking it’s way into her underwear and teasing the soft patch of hair above her pussy. His fingers travelled even lower and she let out a moan as he circled her clit.

“I did.”

“Tell me why.”

“Because I wanted you to w-want me. I wanted you to watch my hips move so you could see what they can do to you.”

“Oh I’ve seen what they can do,” he thought back to when he played drums for her as she danced. Her hips were mesmerizing and even then he imagined how they would feel grinding on him with his dick buried deep inside her. 

His fingers found their way even lower to her dripping pussy and lightly trailed up and down her lips.

“Show me again.” He commanded as he pulled her up off the bed and undressed her slowly, planting kisses on every new visible patch of skin. When he got to her thong, he grabbed it with his teeth and pulled it down and off her legs. He dove into her pussy like he was starving for her and his fingers found their way inside her. His tongue lapped at her pussy and twirled around her clit before he sucked it into his mouth, tongue still swirling around her pearl as he sucked and she moaned louder and louder. His fingers sped up inside her and he rolled his neck from side to side, moaning into her pussy. The movements of his head and the deep vibration of his voice made her legs tremble. The repeated “Mhmm” coming from between her legs sent her over the edge and her body convulsed before letting out a deluge of her juices onto his eager tongue.

M’Baku licked her sensitive pussy clean, teasing her with his thumb lightly circling her clit.

“M’Baku, baby, please.” her voice was soft as she begged for his dick to stretch her wide open. 

“I like how you sound when you beg. Do it again,” he said with a devilish smirk on his face.

She sat up on her knees and crawled to him, making sure to keep the deep arch in her back as she moved. When she reached him she sat back on her heels and looked at him with her best puppy dog eyes.

“Please, M’Baku. I need you inside me.”

His already hard dick got increasingly uncomfortable behind his zipper, so he reached down and freed the monster, laughing as he stepped out of his pants at the stunned look on Monae’s face.

“I knew it was big, but...damn, that’s a lot,” she said with her eyes wide and barely blinking.

He moved closer to the bed and stuck his tongue out as he leaned down. She did the same and their tongues met in a wet and nasty kiss right as she reached out to feel his velvety smooth dick. She traced the vein along the bottom of his shaft and he moaned, rutting into her hand. 

“Please,” she begged against his lips. Before she could register what was happening M’Baku had her on her back and his head was rubbing against her entrance as he kissed her deeply.

He pushed in slightly and she let out a sharp moan so he pulled back out.

“Relax, babygirl.” he cooed, “This is going to take some time but you have to work with me, ok?”

She nodded and bit her lip, “Ok. It’s just...a lot.”

“I know, but you can take it,” he kissed her deeply again, pushing in a little deeper, then pulling back out. He repeated this over and over until he bottomed out and she was a moaning mess. He stayed still inside her, just reveling in how she fit around him and allowing her to feel every inch of him as he stretched her out. Her hips started grinding up into his and he took that as her sign to start moving.

He pulled his hips back and rolled them forward, pulling a deep moan out of her and making her nails dig deeper into his back. He slow-stroked her until she had tears in her eyes and was begging to cum, but he wouldn’t let her. He wanted her out of her mind when she came, and she wasn’t quite to that point yet. He grabbed her legs and flipped her over on her stomach without pulling out and pulled her hips up towards him. She threw her ass back on him and he met every thrust with a deep stroke of his own, slapping her ass and adding to the clapping sounds they made with their bodies. His balls hung at the perfect height to stimulate her clit at that angle and as his thick uncut dick slipped and slid deep inside her, her eyes rolled back in her head at the overstimulation.

“Mmmm’Bakuu!”

“You like that?”

“Y-yes!”

“Mmm, I know you do.” his hand wrapped around her neck and pulled her face around to kiss him as he plowed even harder into her.

“Oh my god! M’Baku, Mmm’Baku, ooh baby right there. Yesssss, yes, yes, yes.” she cried out as he slowed down and stirred his dick inside her, whining his hips as he held her down by the back of her neck. Just as she had gotten used to his flow he slowly sped his thrusts back up and the bed slammed against the wall. Monae worried about her neighbors for a moment but the thought left her mind as soon as his fingers found their way to her clit. 

“I need you to cum for me so I can cum on this pretty ass of yours.”

Monae loved the thought of him cumming all over her ass and allowed the rising tension to take over her body. 

“Mmm, I feel you tightening around me. Cum for me, babygirl.”

Her body convulsed again as her orgasm washed over her, leading him into his. He pulled out just in time and his warm seed covered her round ass cheeks.

She pushed her legs back and laid flat on her stomach before breaking out into a fit of giggles. He soon joined her and the two of them revelled in their afterglow giddiness. 

“Let me get you a towel, where do you keep them?”

“Hallway closet,” she said dreamily.

He found the linens and grabbed a washcloth before lumbering back into the room, dick swinging and ready for more.

“Ready for round 2?” he shouted as he ran warm water on the rag and made his way back into the room. He wiped her down as she scoffed.

“You’re gonna have to let me recuperate a little, that was...intense.”

His brows furrowed.

“Intense, as in…?”

“In a good way! Intense as in I’ve never had sex feel like that before. I’ve never cried from it feeling so good.”

“I’m glad I could do that for you,” he smirked, the cocky side of him satisfied in knowing he was the best she’s had.

“I bet,” she chuckled, head still laying on her arms.

“I tell you what, how about we watch Friday and you get me high?”

“Honestly, that’s one of the sexiest things you’ve said all night.”

They laughed as he helped Monae up off the bed. He leaned in to kiss her lightly and she pulled him in for more.

“I thought you were too tired for round 2,” he said against her lips between kisses.

“I am.”

“Then stop kissing me like that,” he chuckled as he placed a soft kiss in the crook of her neck.

“Fine,” she said with an eyeroll and he slapped her on the ass. “Ow!”

“Watch the attitude,” he warned.

She felt a chill go down her spine at the deepening of his voice, but she felt the need to listen to what he had to say.

“Yes sir.”

“Mmm, I like that,” he bit his lips and kissed her one more time before tearing himself away from her to keep himself from getting all worked up again. His dick was still hard and he didn’t want to make it worse. He grabbed his underwear and slid it back on while Monae wrapped herself in her short satin robe and walked in front of him on the way to the living room, ass bouncing and thick thighs peeking out underneath. He sent a quick prayer up to Hanuman for self-control.

“First, we should order food because I don’t know about you, but I just worked up an appetite and I already know I’ll have the munchies after we smoke this.” She pulled a pre-rolled joint and a lighter from the hand-carved wooden box on her coffee table.

“What do you have a taste for?”

Her eyes traveled down his body to his half hard dick and her pussy jumped at the thought of slobbering all up and down his shaft, “Don’t ask me that right now.”

“You are making this very difficult, I hope you know that.”

“Payback’s a bitch,” she shrugged. “How about cauliflower hot wings and vegan nachos?”

“Perfect.”

They made their way to the couch and sat down while Monae ordered the food from a local shop. “Damn, they don’t do delivery. Next idea?”

“It’s right by my building, how about I run home and grab some comfortable clothes just in case I end up staying the night? I can pick it up on the way back,” M’Baku offered.

“You know you’re staying the night,” Monae said matter of factly, making her favorite gap-toothed smile appear across his face. 

“Oh I know,” he winked and stood up to go put his clothes on. 

-------

When M’Baku returned she had their plates and napkins all set up, and the movie was pulled up on pause, ready to go. For some reason she had placed huge glasses of water on the table as well.

“Ok, so here’s the plan: we’re gonna smoke a little of this joint, then watch the movie, then start smoking the rest halfway through. Cool?”

“Cool, where do you want the food?”

She gestured to the cleared off coffee table and they settled into the couch. Monae lit the joint and took a hit, showing him how it’s done. She took another before passing it to him.

M’Baku put it to his lips and inhaled, prompting his lungs to spasm and throw him into a coughing fit.

“And that’s what the water is for,” she handed his glass to him and he took a few sips.

“That was very unpleasant,” the chief complained as he continued to cough lightly.

“Because you’re not used to it yet. It gets easier to control your lungs, but even I still cough sometimes.”

“So how long have you been smoking?” M’Baku asked, his eyes reddening as he passed the joint back to her.

“I started pretty late, junior year of college. I don’t like feeling out of control of my own body, so I was scared to try it.” she took a hit and blew the smoke out her nose. “Eventually I made some friends who smoked and I got a few contact highs hanging with them, so I figured I might as well try the real thing and voila, now I’m a smoker. All the propaganda really worked on me.”

“Yes, I have read about that. It is one of many things that confuses me about this country,” he said, taking the joint back and trying a second time. This time went smoother, but he still coughed a little.

“There you go, getting better already. How do you feel?”

He looked at her with low bloodshot eyes and she fought to contain a smile, losing terribly. 

“What is it?”

“You look high as shit!” She busted out laughing and he followed suit, both laughing until tears fell down their faces. When they calmed down Monae took a couple more hits off the still-burning joint and passed it back to M’Baku.

“Ok, last one then we start the movie.”

He took one last hit and sat back into the couch, leaning into the corner with his plate of “wings”. Monae pressed play and grabbed some nachos and a couple wings of her own before getting comfortable right next to him.

She turned to him and recited the opening monologue with a smile on her face, “I know you don’t smoke weed. I know this, but I’m gonna get you high today,” she pointed at M’Baku, “ ‘Cause it’s Friday, you ain't got no job, and you ain’t got shit to do.” He snickered as she delivered her performance.

Throughout the movie, M’Baku’s roaring laughter shook the small apartment and for a while there she was seriously concerned about her neighbors filing a complaint. 

Around the time that Craig finally got high, she lit the joint and they went back to smoking. After they finished it, M’Baku was floating on cloud nine for the rest of the movie.

When Deebo got knocked the fuck out, Monae looked over at M’Baku’s grey sweatpants and saw the bulge of his dick. She licked her lips, wondering what it tasted like and by the time the credits rolled she was already on her knees pulling his dick from his pants.

“You sure about this, babygirl? You don’t have to,” he slurred.

“I know,” she said as she stuck out her tongue, swiping it along the underside of his dick.”But I want to.” She planted open mouth kisses up and down his shaft and he moaned at the feeling of her lips and tongue on him. She spit on his dick and used it to lubricate his shaft, twisting her hands up and down like a pepper grinder. She pulled back his foreskin and let her spit drip onto the tip of his dick, then stuck her tongue out to twirl around his meaty head. His toes curled as she just sucked on the tip, making it nice and sloppy for him before pushing it deeper into her mouth. Her tongue worked the underside of his shaft as his toes dug into the rug.

His hand made its way to the back of her head and he rolled his hips forward, letting out a deep moan. She increased her suction and the pitch of his moans increased right along with her. She pushed him deeper and let him slide down her throat, closing around it and sucking his dick like her life depended on it. She wasn’t able to take down the whole thing, but she used her hands and a copious amount of spit to handle the rest. 

“Hanuman, that feels good,” he groaned out, his head rolling back on the couch. “Mmm Monae, just like that.” 

She pulled off of him with a pop and stared into his eyes, “You like the way I suck your dick, baby?” She held eye contact as she took him back in her mouth as deep as she could take him. 

“Mmmhm,” he moaned out enthusiastically, unable to form words while her mouth traveled up and down his thick shaft. He clenched and unclenched his fists and his breaths grew ragged. “I-I’m going to cum.”

Monae already knew, she could feel the vein under his dick going crazy. As soon as he finished his declaration, he erupted down her throat and she continued sucking until he gave her every last drop. He had to beg her to stop and she giggled at knowing that she had power over him, too. 

The rest of the night was spent talking and giggling at nonsense, with some serious conversation sprinkled throughout. At one point the inevitable conversation about their future was brought up as they laid cuddled up in her bed. They both thought it would be better to rip off the bandaid and talk about it sooner rather than later.

“I know we have an expiration date, but I try not to think about it,” she whispered while tracing her fingers around his broad chest. 

“I think about it more than I care to admit.”

“Really?”

“Mhm, the other night I couldn’t sleep so I laid in bed thinking of ways to make it work for us… Would you ever consider moving?”

“To Wakanda? That’s a lot to ask at the beginning of a relationship, M’Baku.”

“I know, but I’d regret it if I never asked,” he kissed her crown and pulled her in closer to him. They sat in silence for a while, both already thinking of their unavoidable goodbye. M’Baku sighed, “I was not planning on falling in love while I was here. I wanted to remain unattached, but you came running in and ruined my plans.”

Monae laughed and he smiled down at her.

“Well then, you’re welcome for running into you that day. Your plans were probably boring anyway.”

“You have certainly made my time here more colorful,” he looked at her maroon colored fade, changing the subject to something lighter. “What color is next?”

“I might just go platinum blonde. I’m actually seeing Keke, the girl that does my hair, next Saturday, so we’ll see if I change my mind by then.”

“Whatever color you get will look beautiful on you.”

“”Thank you, sugardaddy,” she kissed his cheek and he looked down at her in confusion.

“Sugardaddy?”

“Yeah its a term for a guy who buys you nice things and takes care of you. Sometimes they want something in return for the sugar, but some of them just love spending money. You seem like that type.”

“I just enjoy seeing a smile on your face, what type of sugardaddy is that?” he leaned in for a kiss and she obliged.

“That’s the best type, daddy,” she giggled out as he started to tickle her sides.

“Say that again.”

“Ok, ok, stop.” she tried to catch her breath from laughing so hard. “I said ‘that's the best type, daddy’.”

“Mm, now say that last part by itself.”

A smile crept up Monae’s face as she gave him what he wanted. She looked him dead in the eye and put on her sexiest voice.

“Daddy.”

“Mmm.”

“You like when I call you daddy?” She climbed on top of him and pulled his dick out from his sweatpants for the second time that night before carefully sliding down onto him. She stared into his eyes as she took every inch inside her.

“Mmm, yes. Ride me, babygirl.” he slapped both her asscheeks and she let out a scream of pleasure and pain. 

“You like how I bounce on it, daddy?” She repeatedly dropped her ass onto his lap and brought it back up again, and he was mesmerized by the way her breasts jiggled in his face. He was able to latch onto one of her nipples and tease her pierced bud as she switched up her rhythm to move her hips back and forth. She held his head to her chest as he ravaged her nipples and she moaned loudly as his dick massaged every spot inside her she could find. Her hips cycloned round and round, making his dick stir her insides like a pot of macaroni. 

“Mmmmhmm,” he could barely speak with the way she was putting it on him. Never in his life had he had someone ride him and take him completely in, but Monae fit like a glove.Her hips rose and fell and he could feel her orgasm approaching. Just as it did, she reached down and choked him, eyes rolling back as she released all over him. When she choked him his body reacted involuntarily and he released inside of her. She kept riding as he filled her up and she leaned back to watch his dick throb as it pumped his seed into her.

“Fuck that feels good,” she whispered.

“You like when I fill your pussy up?”

She bit her lip and grinded her clit into him, wanting more, ”Yesss.”

Monae rode him for a few more rounds before she collapsed on the bed, a mixture of their cum spilling from her pussy. He wiped her up with a warm rag again and decided to run a bath for her aching body. He didn’t see her standing in the doorway to the bathroom as she watched him pour in the bath salts and test the temperature of the water. She loved how rough he could be, but it’s the sweet things like this that really made her melt. When he turned around and they locked eyes she blushed as though she had just been caught.

“I hope this helps,” he smirked, “You’re going to be sore tomorrow.”

“I’m already sore now. I don’t want to even think about tomorrow.”

He chuckled and held out his hand to her. She took it and he helped her into the warm water before washing her body with her loofa. She enjoyed his pampering and when she got out he wrapped her in the fluffiest towel he could find before carrying her back to the bed and lotioning her body.

“How do you feel?”

“Relaxed,” she responded, barely awake. He chuckled and kissed her forehead, tucking her in before she drifted off to sleep to dream of her Jabari chief.

Next Chapter

Taglist: @maddeningmayhem , @theblulife, @devnicolee

[ask-the-great-gatsby]

Places To Visit: Asheville NC

These are some cool as heck places to visit if you ever drop by historic Asheville NC.

The Grove Park Inn

- There's quite a bit of F. Scott Fitzgerald/20's history here. He stayed there in '35 to detox from alcoholism. My grandma used to work here, and it's a really nice place. If you like ghosts and spooky stuff, room 545 is supposed to be haunted by the Pink Lady. You can just visit the place, or actually book a room there. It's really pretty to come around Christmas time.

The Biltmore Estate

- The entire estate is hard to cover in one day, but it's very very interesting. Sometimes they have art events and exhibits going on there, and it's really neat. Really beautiful home interior and it's all very well preserved. Oh, they also sell 1920s style flapper bucket hats, I got one and wore it around. My grandma used to work here to. They have some amazing restaurants on the estate, they turned the old horse stable into one. There's also an inn on the estate you can stay--its nice. Pricey though. Never stayed there before, but since my grandma worked there, I toured the place.

Honeypot Vintage

- This place is on the downtown strip of Lexington Avenue. They sell a lot if 60's, 70's, and 80's clothing and apparel there. It's all in really good shape, but it's a bit pricey. Worth a visit, especially in the summer.

Earth Magik

- I recently found this place and went in there with a friend. They have a super nice pet snake in the back. They sell crystals, gemstones, and the staff are friendly. I bought some ammonites there. They do spiritual readings and palm readings in the back, and have all the crystals metaphysical properties listed beside their displays on the floor, if you're into that. Most if the things in there are very moderately priced, very affordable. I love that place.

Cornerstone Minerals

- A super neat rock shop, but usually pretty expensive. It's always really quiet in there, and they have super nice staff, with very very helpful information cards that they offer with each stone/crystal/fossil you buy. The staff are also very well educated on what they're selling, like, I learned how the entire Orthoceras species went extinct from the staff and nearly cried about it in the store. Check this place out, even if you're just looking for info on the crystals.

Enter The Earth

- This place is located in The Grove Arcade, and it's another moderately priced crystal place. If you can't tell by now, I love rock shops. Very friendly and helpful staff, and you also get info cards there, to. Out of every crystal shop on this list, this place has the most out of all of 'em. While you're at The Grove Arcade, check out re other shops in there. Fudge shop, barber shop, jewelry shop. Not to mention, the 20's history there I worth your while. The building was built in '26, I believe. The interior shows it.

Of Wand And Earth [This place is in Marshall, a small town near Asheville, so it's a bit out if the way but DEFINITELY worth the visit.]

- Really locally owned, very small, and very adorable crystal shop 20 miles from Asheville. The staff are calming, friendly, and love to chat! I've bought a lot from their shop, and they are very very good with prices. They have a pretty wide selection for such a small shop. One woman who works there knows a lot about metaphysical properties, chakra, and meditation, if you're looking for that kind of info.

Regeneration Station

- One real kickass antique place--but not your average antique shop. Massive building, a lot of ground to cover. There's all kinds of different vendors in the building, some sell antiques and oddities, others sell homemade products and handmade creations like jewelry and clothing. There's a crystal booth in there called 420 Love Street, and I've met the booths owner. Very nice affordable prices on the rocks. He doesn't deal so much with metaphysics, just sells the rocks. They sell a lot of 20s-80s era things in there, like clothes, militaria artifacts, books, helmets, dresses, jewelry. All of them are local vendors, to. The owner and founder of the place recently passed away in an accident, and they have a super cool mural on the wall dedicated to him when you first walk in the door. It's a big neon green building, you can't miss it.

Bryant's Antiques

- One of my favorite antique places. Super nice building and staff, once again. There's a lot of 1920s clothing, books, jewelry, purses, hats, and shoes there. There's a bunch of neat knick-knacks in there, and they're always playing 60s music. This place is almost 9,000 square feet, much bigger than it looks from the door. Don't underestimate this store. Nice prices for the most part, and booth C34 always has a sale going on. It's part of like, a little antique strip mall. There are I think like 4 shops beside this one, one sells a lot of coins and keys that are all like, really really old (I got an old British coin there from 1860 something for like .50 cents) and the shop at the opposite end of the mall is like, nothing but 1950s things. Check 'em all out.

The Antique Tobacco Barn

- Take a friend. This place is big as hell. You'll get lost if you're alone in there. It's happened to me before. Successfully managed to lose my grandma for 30 minutes when we went in there together. Wear comfortable shoes, it's a lot of walking and you'll be there for a while. Very cold in the winter, very hot in the summer. Dress temperature appropriate. You'll need to. Literally anything antique you can imagine is in that store. Craziest thing I've seen in there has probably been a prison bathtub and a prison toilet, sold together, or the map of North America that was labelled entirely in backwards German. I'm not saying that to say that I can't read German, im saying that because everything was printed backwards, but in German. I've bought a lot of military artifacts in there. When I say they have everything there, I do mean anything and everything. If you think of it, it's probably there somewhere within the 77,000 square feet that makes up the building. There are 75 different antique dealers there.

Helen's Bridge

- Allegedly haunted by the ghost of a distraught mother who's child perished in a house fire--the mother hung herself from the bridge due to the immense sorrow she felt due to losing her child. A really chilling experience, honestly. I've been there twice, and both times I've been there, I've left feeling emotionally shaken.

Points Of Light

- Another crystal shop!! Very nice display and selection, and the owner is world's nicest. Very very nice place to come and relax in the presence of super calming crystals. Theres some chairs in there, gathered around a very very large sphere of clear quartz. You can bring a book and sit and read beside it. Its wonderful. Very very nice prices as well. I've bought a lot of fluorite from there.

Raven & Crone

- This is a cute little witchy shop in Asheville and the staff are real nice. Incense, wands, crystals, bottles, and advice. Palm readings and free tea samples. Really local and small, very calming place. Check it out, definitely worth your while.

//There's a lot of places I didn't mention because there's too many to remember, but these are definetly places I would recommend going, because they're my favorite. Check out the shops near these shops, and the shops near these shops beside the original shops I mentioned. There's a lot of cool stuff here, and a lot of 20s history.

[goodlawdmaude]

Southeast Asia 2018

I honestly thought I would give up on detailing my travel adventures by blog, but revisiting the indelible record of my old posts about previous adventures has inspired me to write a cursory summary of our more recent (... a relative term) trips. 

SO, respecting chronology, let’s start with our Southeast Asia trip of 2020. Jarod and I left for Bangkok, Thailand on 2/7/2018 and returned to San Diego, CA on 2/28/2018. A lot of the notes below were taken throughout the trip and are arguably a bit too circuitous and detailed. Regardless, here it is: 

DEPARTURE: 2/7

Our travel day was roughly 30 hours, involving layovers at SFO and Tokyo/Narita. It was pretty torturous, but we did technically eat ramen (airport ramen) in Japan (and admired the fun KitKat flavors). We arrived late on 2/8, exhausted from the travel. After landing, we took a taxi to the hostel, showered in the shared restroom, and went to sleep. 

BANGKOK: 2/8 (late) - 2/10

2/9 (Day 1)

We woke up tired and had breakfast at the hostel with our dear friend Ben before setting out to explore old town. We grabbed some BOMB street food (40baht per plate), then wandered into a small wat (thinking it was the Grand Palace) and eventually into the Grand Palace --  brimming with the craziest swarm of tourists imaginable. From the palace, we walked to Khaosan--where we met our college friend, Alison, and her sister--for local food and beers. The street was lively and vibrant - full of henna stalls, carts pedaling fried scorpion, and vendors with brightly colored clothes and jewelry. After finding a taxi driver who would use a meter, we drove home and rallied for dinner at a local seafood spot (the menu was extensive and almost overwhelming). From there, we stopped at a cozy bar and drank grapefruit Sculpins before walking home and crashing.

CHIANG MAI: 2/10 - 2/13

2/10 (Day 2)

Jarod, Ben, and I flew in uneventfully and took taxi to our room - a little loft above a local bar. We grabbed lunch two doors down, then went for a run/work out at a nearby flower-filled park. When we returned to shower, we found it impossible due to low water pressure. We had to ask the staff to turn on the pump 3x to get through our showers. Clean, we headed to a nearby square for the Saturday night market. We purchased potstickers (40b), spring rolls and kebabs (50b), and soups (40b each), and feasted family style. From there, we took a tuk tuk to The North End jazz bar and coop, where we watched two jazz bands playing while the crowd overflowing into the street. We met Allison and her sister, Jess, back at the night market for 11pm crepes and divised a plan to hike Monk's trail the next day.

2/11 (Day 3)

After waking up around 7, we met Alison at her hotel and then drove off to the Monk’s trail. The trail was clear and hot and peaceful--clearly demarcated by orange ties of fabric. We arrived at a (pretty low key) temple buried in the hillside with a stream running through it. From there, the trail got quite steep and the hike became reasonably vigorous. We eventually arrived at our summit - another temple. It was grand and gold and gorgeous, but also pretty packed with visitors who had driven up. We bought some fresh orange juice and snacked in the shade, overlooking a valley/neighboring hillside. We spent some time exploring, then headed back. We got a delicious lunch at a restaurant near Alison’s, then returned to our Airbnb, went through another saga of showers, and took naps. We went to scope out the Sunday night market, which was huge and overwhelming - packed with people and hand-made goods. We met Alison at Dash! for dinner, shared a carafe of wine, and ate the best khao soi ever while enjoying live music. From Dash! Alison and I went back to the night market, where we saw a group of men playing exotic instruments. We headed home and called it a night. 

2/12 (Day 4)

In celebration of Ben's birthday, we had a gluttonous breakfast at German bierhaus. Ben had to take some work calls, during which J and I met Alison and drove to Mae Sa waterfall. Swam in the 10th fall - deserted - hiked back, and lunched on the ground in a little hut. That evening, we were picked up at 4 for a cooking class. We toured an amazing local market, then to cooking school where we made 6 courses, but had to leave before dessert to avoid being late to a lady boy show. Took red truck to Warmup and got cocktails and a beer tower. Took a "taxi" to another club but it was closing so we went home. 

LUANG PRABANG: 2/13 - 2/16

2/13 (Day 5)

We took a tuk tuk to the airport, got through security without an issue, and were on the ground in LP around 4 in the afternoon. We got a ride from the airport (courtesy of our guest house), checked in, then hit the town for a run. We joined a public Zumba class (led by a random person in the park), then ran back and showered. We dined at the restaurant on our block - including amazing chocolate fondue for dessert. Luang Prabang was breathtakingly beautiful; I was already obsessed. 

2/14 (Day 6)

We woke up early to see the monks’ almsgiving and to exercise. After a large group passed through, we did a circuit in the open yard of our guest house, then showered and got breakfast.  From breakfast, Ben went to do some work, and Jarod and I went to find our way to Kuang si falls. We took a bus from the lobby of our guest house. The aquamarine falls were gorgeous, but busy. After a short but steep climb, we arrived at the top. We opted to extend our trek (2km) to "spring water cave.” We jogged there, sweating profusely, and found an oasis of quiet as well as the cave. After exploring a bit, we headed back and descended the way we'd come, stopping half way down for a quiet dip in the freezing water. We dried off and hurried down, grabbing a mango shake and egg crepe before hustling into the van in the nick of time. When we returned, we showered, rested briefly, then headed out to grab a sunset drink with a view of the Mekong before hitting the night market for dinner. We grabbed mini potstickers, spring rolls, pork bun, and delicious wholesome soups, then crowded around a crooked table to eat. After dinner, we got dessert at a neighboring pastry stand, then went for drinks - a free shot and 20k 2 for 1 cocktails. "Drink like a fish for the price of water," they said.

2/15 (Day 7)

We woke up around 730, got breakfast at our place, then got ready to hike Chompet! We took a boat across the river (loaded with locals, motorbikes, and a couple cars). There was a small strip of town by the port point on the other side, but it was much different than the side from which we'd come. There were chickens everywhere, locals on dirt bikes and front porches, and very few tourists. The hike took us down a remote dirt road with gorgeous views of the Lao country side. The people we walked past stared (and often smiled) at us. At one point, we encountered a herd of water buffalo roaming the trail. They also stared at us. We forked off the road onto a footpath, continuing to weave through the jungle. We passed several temples, paying entry to see one of them (Chompet), and admiring others from a distance. The Buddha there was flanked by a sign for donations for "water, electricity, and education. We went back to grab lunch and to recoup before heading out for evening massages. Afterward, we wandered into a family-owned restaurant - run straight out of their house and had delicious "bo bun" and spring roll lettuce wrap style appetizer with greens and noodles. From there, we went to the night market for some shopping, where I had my first taste of Lao coconut pancakes (OMG!!)

HANOI-->CATBA-->SAPA: 2/16 - 2/23

2/16 (Day 8) Lao --> Hanoi

We woke up around 6 and tried to get ready quietly. We made it to Hanoi uneventfully, dropped our bags at the hotel, and went to walk around. There were lots of families out and about for Tet, wandering around the lake, dressed nicely, taking photos, and getting very annoyed if you walked through their photo. There were balloons and street vendors everywhere as well as people praying and burning incense at temples. We stopped for lunch on our way back, splitting a bahn mi and a tofu rice in tomato sauce as well as crepes. For dinner, we went to a place recommended by our hotel. We sat in children's plastic seats on the sidewalk, waiting for service. There was no menu; the waitstaff brought their one dish to us immediately. We went to bed around 10pm and got the best sleep ever. The room was cozy and clean and we (thought we) were all set with our 11am ride to CatBa the next morning. 

2/17 (Day 9) Hanoi --> Cat Ba Island

We slept great and got up around 7am. We ate breakfast at the hotel, then went up to the room to get packed and ready for our bus pickup at 1030. Our bus never came. Around 1115 Jarod whatsapped them to ask if someone was coming. They replied that there was an issue with the bus and asked if we could take the 2pm. Our concierge called them for us, ultimately only to confirm that we would take the 2pm bus. With that, we left our bags and walked to west lake. Most places were still closed for Tet, so the city felt a bit unwelcoming. On the way, we got a 25k dong banh mi to share for lunch. We got back to the hotel around 130, to be informed that a bus had come for us at 1.... but would be back at 2. We sat patiently. At 3, there was still no bus. Jarod whatsapped once again, and was told the bus WAS on its way. Around 315, a sweaty, stressed out guide burst in and ushered us to the bus. The bus was crowded, and we had to sit in he back with our knees smushed into the seats in front of us, but the ride was beautiful - flanked by rice patties (with ornate graves in them) and fields of green and lakes. When we finally got dropped off at our hotel, we were met with a surprise. "Did you book through booking.com?" A ~12 year old girl asked on behalf of her family. Yes, yes we did. She said the electricity was out but that they would put us somewhere else for $10/day. They then walked us across the street to a hotel with a Vietnamese name and non English speaking staff. We went out for dinner at one of the few open restaurants, then watched a little tv and went to bed, sandwiched between two fuzzy red blankets.

2/18 (Day 10) Cat Ba Island

We woke up around 7, went down for breakfast, then hurried over to Asia Outdoors to book a kayak tour on the bay. We were loaded onto a big boat with a dining area and an upstairs deck. We sat on the deck, admiring the incredible views of the bays... floating villages with dogs running around... green water... giant limestone cliffs... We continued for about an hour before we stopped and were loaded into our kayaks. We rode around to seahorse lagoon where we sat quietly in hopes of seeing a langur. We continued paddling around and talked to our guide some about his background, learning that he makes $6/day kayak guiding. We headed back to the big boat, jumped quickly into the ABSOLUTELY FREEZING BUT AMAZING water and had a delicious lunch of tofu, chicken, fried fish, rice, steamed cabbage, potatoes... etc.. After lunch we got on a separate small boat back. Jarod tipped the guy 200k dong (<$10) and he exclaimed "bloody hell!!!" In excitement. He also warned us that our taxi back "might be a bit inconspicuous.... but I'll phone them"... luckily, it ended up being pretty conspicuous. We made it back to our hotel and showered in our weird (but amazingly warm) bath/shower combo. From there we went to an "early dinner." We failed to be served at two different restaurants (did manage beers at the second one), went to a third restaurant, starving now and a bit drunk on our empty stomachs. This restaurant was also a mess, but we managed to get dinner here. We went back to our room, dropped off laundry for $2/kg at our hotel, (told it would be done in 5h), and went to bed. 

2/19 (Day 11) Catba-->Hanoi-->Sapa

We woke up around 7 to pack, eat, and be ready for the bus at 9. When I went to get the laundry, the woman tried to give me someone else's laundry and had a hard time understanding that it wasn't mine. She finally showed me to the laundry line, where our clothes were hanging- still quite damp. I collected them and blow dried what I could, but it was a mess. The bus came for us around 915 and was much less crowded. In Hanoi, We walked to Lilly's travel agency, dropped our bags, double checked the details for our trek, got cash&paid. We then got a 3 course lunch (~$20) and met up with Ben. For dinner, we went to a restaurant down the street where I had my best meal of Vietnam ("dry noodles" with lots of peanuts and mint). Lilly’s called us a taxi, which took us on a short drive to the train station, where we had to meet someone to get our tickets. The ticket holder was sitting inconspicuously in a corner texting, but we found her. We had to wait a bit, then boarded the train which had really awesome 4 person compartments. We pretty quickly went to bed, leaving the light on the bunk above Jarod on, for our 4th member. He came in shortly thereafter, got into bed, left his light on, and started snoring. He left it on all night. The beds were hard and the train was noisy, but it was definitely a great travel option. 

2/20 (Day 12)

We woke up to a knock on our cabin door. We got ourselves together and got off the train, expecting to find someone with a "Jarod backens" sign who would drive us from lo kai to sapa (~1h). We had to wait awhile, but finally some young punky looking guy showed up. He walked us around a variety of vans before gesturing for us to climb in one. Once inside, a woman solicited "money?" For the ride. We had paid for our agency, so we refused. The ride up was beautiful but very windy and I felt quite car sick. When we got to sapa, the driver said "three people" and pointed out to a hotel/restaurant. We uncertainly got out and headed in and sat down. Luckily, our guides found us. There was a table of 4 other women who were a part of our group. We got breakfast (eggs, pancake to share, and tea), paid for the extra pancake and drinks, then embarked on our trek with a group of 5 women (French mother and daughter, 23yo Swiss best friends, and a Canadian girl with heavy black makeup) led by a group of wiley guides, dressed in black home made cloaks, long shorts, and fabric wrapped around their legs between their ankles and knees. Some wore simple sandals for the trek; all of them were tan, wrinkled, spunky, and dirty. The climb up was steep, and the views were incredible. On the way up, we climbed above the clouds, finding baby puppies, piglets, horses, etc. We stopped several times to breathe and once for lunch, where we were served heaping piles of fried rice or fried noodles. From there we hiked a while longer, our entire trek taking approximately 6h. When we arrived at the home stay--which was a newly built building with quite nice amenities--we sat outside and were served tea. We showered and got dressed and dinner was served around 7pm. The whole day, the tribeswomen had been talking a lot about "happy water" (rice whiskey) and how much we would drink. They weren't lying, but they DIDNT mention how much we would EAT! They served us (a table of 8-joined by a bohemian 37yo woman from Oakland) pork, chicken/duck on the bone, pork with lemon and mint, mushrooms, green beans, spring rolls, and white rice. They had a large family gathering of 15 or so at the table behind us. Different women kept coming to our table and urging us to eat more, often times plopping rice into our bowls. Later in the evening, the happy water came out in a jug with an angry birds logo on it. Mama Sho insisted we all drink, so we did. Jarod, the bohemian, Erin from Canada, Ben, and I sat around drinking a good long while. At one point, concerned I may be sick if I went on, I proclaimed THIS IS THE LAST ONE, took a shot, then went to the bathroom. When I returned, another one had been poured for me, but Jarod took it for me. We were spilling everywhere and it was a festive amazing mess.

2/21 (Day 13)

We woke up to Ben's knock around 850am, letting us know breakfast was happening. I felt horribly nauseous and hungover, but went down and managed to eat one pancake before going back upstairs and collapsing in bed. Eventually, I managed to get dressed and out the door for our hike. It was a warm and sunny day. We hiked to a waterfall where I put my feet in. We hiked to lunch--at which point I was feeling significantly better but not great--then hiked home. We laid on the ground for a bit and decided to have a push up contest instead. While we were doing our silly contest and rolling on the dirt, a new, large group of guests came in. We felt like idiots but continued our work out. After, we sat outside with some tea and met the 3 new guests - very nice German policemen. We talked about politics and gun control, then excused ourselves to shower. Dinner was served a little later that evening. Many of the same dishes were served, but our group was much larger, the family did not eat with us, and the pressure to eat and drink was greatly diminished. (Everyone admitted at one point or another that we drank too much the night before.) After dinner, we went to sit outside with the German boys and were joined by the Swiss girls. We went to bed around 930. I thought a lot about how close I was to the animals on the farm that were composing our dinners

2/22 (Day 14)

We woke up around 8, after sleeping quite hard for quite a long time. We went and sat outside and drank some tea/coffee with the German boys. Ben came and joined us - he had been up a while walking and playing with the friendly dog that was tied up. One tribeswoman came to peddle her goods, finding willing buyers in the Germans. We had a big breakfast of eggs and pancakes with honey, then got dressed, said farewell to the Germans, and embarked as a group of 5 on our last hike. It was a bit challenging-we had to walk on some narrow edges and I was worried about falling into mud pits. We walked to lunch and got soups, agreeing as a group to walk the 9k back to town rather than be shuttled there. It was a steep climb - our most physically difficult day by far. We made it back to the coffee shop we had started at. Mai showed up and gave us bracelets and hurried away -"Um Mao, so what about the bus??" Ben asked as she tried to get back in her car. She told us it would come at 5. We said goodbye to MamaSho and went inside to get something warm to drink. We wiped down with baby wipes and changed, then waited. Our shuttle came, and we quickly learned our driver was an absolute maniac, driving super aggressively and honking an insane amount as we picked up other travelers. We finally started driving down - during which he was much more careful. On the way down, we inexplicably stopped at a vegetable market and some people bought goods. We continued the slow descent and got in around 7pm. "Oh, you can get your tickets in that restaurant," the driver mentioned as an afterthought. We went to the restaurant, got the tickets, and ate dinner. We boarded the train and (once again with an awkward 4th-man interloper) went to bed.

KOH LANTA: 2/23 - 2/27

2/23 (Day 15)

We woke up on the train,  walked briskly to Lillys with Ben, and said quick goodbyes before taking a taxi 40 minutes to the airport. At the airport, we got Burger King breakfasts for the perfect amount of dong we had left (the cashier actually asked for 2800... to which Jarod responded "I have 2700?" which was accepted.) We had a layover at DMK, and eventually made it to Krabi. With some trouble, we found our driver, got in a big ass luxurious van and hit traffic immediately. We arrived at our hotel on Koh Lanta around 8pm, showered, and then got dinner at the hotel restaurant. I got salmon, Jarod got pineapple fried rice, and we had chicken satay and a fabulous brownie with ice cream. We went to bed, planning to wake up early and exercise.

2/24 (Day 16)

We woke up around 7 and went down for breakfast. They had an assortment of delicious Thai food (leftovers?) as well as eggs bacon pancakes toast yogurt fruit etc. We ate our fill, then went on a little run. It was so hot I felt like dying, and our stomachs were a little upset. After, we spent some time by the beach/pool, then headed out to walk to lunch. We got lunch at Greenland - the owner turned on the fan when we arrived and was very nice to us. Really good massaman curry. For dinner, we walked to ShantiShanti down the road where we ate curries and crepes with cinnamon and toffee ice cream. 

2/25 (Day 17)

We woke up around 7 and went down to breakfast before our work out. We did a circuit followed by a short run, then went straight to the beach. We hung and read for much of the afternoon, taking a break in the afternoon for a light lunch. After several hours in the sun, we walked to The Salty fish for sunset drinks. After sunset, we walked to Coconut grove for dinner.  After finishing a carafe of wine and our meal, we went to our hotel bar to catch their happy hour. We got mai thais and sipped them on the day beds. We went to bed early.

2/26 (Day 18)

We woke up around 630 and went straight into our workout--starting with a jog after seeing there was someone in the gym. We did our most intense circuit while the other girl (still in the gym) did some VERY lame exercises with zero intensity... while pointing the only fan directly at herself. We finished our work out and went down for breakfast. We sipped coffee by the ocean and read for a while before going up to get serious about sunscreen and water. Around 1130, we walked into town to book our ride to the airport and get our nails done. I got the worst gel manicure ever and Jarod got his first pedicure. All in all, very fun and worth the small expense. We got lunch at a Rastafarian place on the beach, then walked our way on the beach back to our place. We sunscreened up and went to sit by the water. Around 6 we showered, changed for dinner, and drank some beers on the porch while checking in on 2018 goals. We walked across the street to get a taxi to klong khong beach (kwans), and accidentally haggled up the price of a crazy motor bike cart ride. There was live music at dinner and good khao soi. We walked home and went to bed.

2/27 (Day 19) --> Back to Bangkok

We woke up around 630, ran, stretched, got breakfast, and packed up. Our shared van to the airport came early (?!), arriving just as we were checking out. We went to pick up several more people, often making incorrect stops (to ask for directions?) and struggling to find the correct passengers. We arrived at the airport around 230, and though no monitors showed our flight, we found our correct terminal. We snacked on wafers, dried mango, and peanut M&Ms, then boarded with our bags ;). Upon arriving, we spent a low key evening in our hotel, getting mentally ready to end our glorious vacation. 

[payprosalaska]

How To Declutter And Organize | Just another WordPress site

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I was so tired I couldn’t face my cluttered disorganized kitchen so we often ordered pizza. I found out I had spent more at the pizza place than I had in my bank account.

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I never realized how much money clutter was costing me. Expensive take out food, costly disorganized grocery shopping, throwing away food we never ate, buying clothes I never wore, buying stuff on sale because I might need it, office supplies I never used and the toys my kids never played with.

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To complicate things I continued to make bad decisions. In a frustrated decluttering frenzy I accidentally threw out some valuable jewelry, (left in a pocket of a pair of jeans I gave to charity).

I donated an expensive carpet and then I had to spend money to replace it. I sold my nice dishes and kept my cheap ones. I was dumping the things I loved in the name of clutter!

What was I thinking! This increased my fear of letting things go so I just hung on to things even tighter.

The internet information I gathered told me to organize my clutter. So I, bought organizing products. Guess what….. some of them were the wrong size, others ugly and….. most of them just added to my disorganization.

So now I had containers of things stacked everywhere.

You’re probably wondering what I did. Well… I was so angry about the wasted money and even bigger mess I gave most of the containers away.

My daily battle was in the kitchen. It was so disorganized… I could never figure out where to put things.

Deciding dinner started at 5 o’clock- with a quick dash to the store. My grocery bill was huge.

I probably trashed around 40% of the food we bought.

Don’t get me started on the mess in our office. Piles of paper, chaotic, bill paying system and boxes of disorganized files. I just didn’t know where to start or what to throw out.

I was a grumpy mommy and rotten partner. Household tasks were so time consuming… I couldn’t relax at home. My stress and unhappiness were starting to go off the charts.

I was tired of the same generic how to.

It didn’t give me support or change the way I thought about stuff. In fact all it did was make me waste a lot of money and end up creating even more clutter.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg

So here I was in my shrinking home… feeling more and more depressed because my dream of an easier lifestyle and beautiful home were drifting far away.

I didn’t seem to be able to get my head above it all.

Have you ever felt like this, so stuck, not knowing what to do?

Desperate to find some answers?

Luckily as chance would have it I came across a community organizing course. To make myself feel better I enrolled and I loved it.

I started to understand at a deeper level why decluttering was a problem for so many people.

I asked my friends with great organizing genes about their habits, systems and routines.

I talked to people I knew who had conquered their clutter to live happy simpler lives.

I got a decluttering buddy and… started to test drive my ideas. As I downsized my stuff. I tried out the best of the best strategies to help others declutter their home and get organized successfully.

I learnt so much from every decluttering project.

As you can imagine all this experience really paid off.

So I dumped the advice that was useless and kept the concepts that were inspiring, fun and worked.

And PRESTO-6 months later…. after many late nights and weekends at the computer I’d done it.

Get Organized Get Happy is wonderful. The e-book’s simple steps really worked to transform my home. The Befree planners make it easy to connect to your vision making clearing clutter and organizing straightforward. The strategies create positive visible results quickly.

Clarissa Patterson Interior and Costume designer, Sydney Australia

Get Organized Get Happy is full of wisdom and practical tips that inspired me to “let go” of the things that were cluttering up my life. What an amazing difference to my home.

Anna Birch, Teacher, Sydney Australia

This is a must read e- book. Full of easy tips anyone can do. It made decluttering and decision making easy. I come home from work and relax. House is tidy, dinner planned and waiting.

Louise Yakmission, Nurse, Manitoba, Canada

Here’s a quick preview of the valuable information you’ll have at your fingertips.

What you get is a proven practical room by room, step by step blueprint with flexible strategies that you can make your own.

Easy to understand language… and specific tips for all those clutter hot spots in your home like clothes, closets, files and paperwork.

I’ve included 5 decluttering methods so you can swap, change and use what really works for you and the one decluttering technique that you must know.

Not everyone is the same, or has the same amount of clutter so these strategies and techniques can be tailored to your energy, time and mindset.

And that’s just a small taste of what’s in store

I even have special sections to simplify and organize your life. Things like menu planning, staying motivated, how and where to start and organizing kid’s things. I’ve even added quick routines that keep your house tidy and clean. There are motivating quotes, moral boosters and easy, organizing tips.

Did you know that getting rid of clutter eliminates 40% of housework in the average home? (Ottawa Citizen, newspaper (1/14/00

I never knew that decluttering one area of your life could help in so many other areas. Now getting organized is quick and easy. Love the decluttering and organizing blueprints without them I would not have been able to take the first step without Get Organized Get Happy.

Irena Nikolic, Teacher Sydney, Australia

Now I would like you to experience what your home can be:

Just picture this for a moment. You come home tired from work or a day out. You open your door….smile and relax because you see a welcoming clean and tidy home. You walk into your spotless kitchen and make some tea. Your favorite dinner is in the fridge all ready to be cooked.

Paperwork, bills, laundry are under control… everything is where it should be. You feel contented and confident. Every item has its home so putting away is easy. There is nothing for you to do but sit down, relax and enjoy your time. Your home is a creative inspiring place to be. Your weekend is free for fun. What a joy.

There you have it… I don’t know about you but I wish I had all that information when I was overwhelmed by my stuff and in the middle of my clutter crisis.

Simple Solutions for Your Everyday Clutter Problems

14 Planners in total so you can follow the re-imagine, re-think, re-do, re-style and reward strategy. These planners take minutes to fill out. 7 Decluttering Blueprint templates for the main rooms of your home, don’t have to think just follow the steps to make clutter fly out of your home 7 Organizing Blueprint templates for the main rooms of your home for more expert hand holding so every item in your home is neat and tidy

Only for those who are sick of paper clutter and lose information all the time an absolute essential for anyone with children.

26 Home Binder templates for you to use, for chores, cleaning, cleaning schedules, school information, grocery shopping plus much more

The best part- the price, and to be honest with you if I added up the countless hours of hard work I’ve poured into this e-book, and all the evenings and weekends I sacrificed, I would have to charge you hundreds of dollars of labor.

Considering you would have to pay at least a thousand dollars to hire a professional organizer for a few days… (not to mention all the mega costly decluttering mistakes you’ll now avoid)…I want to keep it reasonable… around the equivalent price of a container or two at your neighborhood storage store.

How am I doing that? Simple. Here’s my Zero Risk Guarantee. Check it out

Still not convinced Get Organized Get Happy The Simple Guide to Declutter and Organize your Head Home and Heart is the best deal on the market? Don’t Decide Now! Buy it, try for a few days and if you still don’t think Get-Organized Get-Happy is worth every penny I’ll buy it back,

Procrastinating can be a costly mistake. So to avoid disappointment act now and order a book before the price goes up.

So there you have it –you have two choices

1. Keep doing what you’re doing and pray that things will get better OR

2. Take a stand and get rid of your clutter

You have nothing to lose, right

Here’s to living a little lighter

Click here to get How To Declutter And Organize | Just another WordPress site at discounted price while it’s still available…

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The post How To Declutter And Organize | Just another WordPress site appeared first on consultant pro.

[birthright-magic]

July 21st (Packers Tank, Express Shorts, Bow Flops)

This was a memorable day, for sure. It was the day things started to change, mentally and spiritually, for me. We had breakfast at the hotel, then checked out so we could get going to Har Herzl - the memorial cemetery. It was deeply moving, and I honestly tried not to get weepy, but I did. The soldiers shared their stories in broken English, holding back tears, talking about friends they’d lost and tragedies they’d experienced. It was very intense and made me think that maybe I am not doing enough with my life (and fucking Jacob had the audacity to share a story about how 9/11 personally effected him.... UGH). We were here for a while and heard a few interesting stories and saw interesting graves and memorials. After this, we got on the bus to go back to the Old City. Elishay sat next to me on the ride and said he was tired, that he was going to put his head on the seat in front of him. I was like “uhh, you can lay on my shoulder” and he did, and it was sweet. He eventually got hold of my hand and played with it super gently and it’s not like I was turned on, but it was so gentle and unexpected that I definitely felt something. Neither of us made a big deal, but we got to the Old City and went separate ways. I pretty much wanted to be alone and explore all the quarters by myself. As soon as we walked in, some white guy was like “Go Pack Go!” and I noticed he was wearing a Badgers shirt! (I was wearing my hat and tank top so I looked like a huge fan, heehee.) I walked alone for a while, then somehow ended up walking with Aaron - he was sweet but just not interested in me at all, and a little awkward to be honest. We were walking in the Arabic quarter and I was getting a lot of attention from the vendors - I’m sure that made Aaron uncomfortable but I clearly loved it and just ignored it. I ate a nasty ass bagel with avocado and hung with Crystal most of this time. She let me hit her cool strawberry weed Juul and I bought jewelry for Corrie in this little shop where I got RIPPPPPED the fuck off. We had a tour of the underground tunnels of the Kotel, which was not that interesting and everyone in the group was complaining about it and sounding like typical disrespectful Americans. I tried to keep my mouth shut and find something interesting or memorable to hold on to but... the only thing was that silly video about how the wall was built back in the day. After this, we got dressed conservatively - in my long beige dress - for more time at the wall. This time I had way more time and space by myself at the wall - to touch, silently pray, and reflect on my life and my blessings and my wishes. I wrote a note to tuck inside the cracks and was glad that I had little to ask for and so much to be grateful for. After we left the wall, we went to go check in to our new hotel! It was right outside Tel Aviv and sat literally on the Mediterranean Ocean! I believe we ate dinner here, and the sun was setting absolutely perfectly indescribably beautifully on the ocean, and we had a perfect view. I sat with Illana, Sukey, Aaron, Nir and Elishay. Elishay asked to sit next to meee! I offered to do Sukey’s makeup for the night our in Tel Aviv. After dinner we started getting ready, I was wearing like whatever and first went to take care of Sukey. It was the first time we really connected and it was like mehhhhh. She had a weird vibe but I had fun doing her makeup and testing my skills. Illana was there with Greenberg doing her makeup (which ended up SUCKING and Illana said she wished I’d done her makeup that night, haha). Sukey looked CAKED and had her titties out and it was nice that she felt all cute and people complimented her look and she told them I did it 😊. So I got myself tarted up, put on my wine bodysuit, floral denim skirt and bow flops. Straightened the hair as much as I could and wore my heart hoop earrings and put on lashes and lipstick and posed for pictures with friends in the lobby before we left! Okay get ready, cause this is going to be the long and detailed part of this post. 😈 We got to Tel Aviv and walked in the street to this little strip of bars. Mind you, it was a Sunday night and it was still pretty boppin’! We started off all together at the busiest bar we saw. We went inside and found it difficult to get service. I hung with Raven for the first time (she was wearing THE cutest top and that’s how the vibe started) and she was trying to order shots, so I waited with her and had a shot with her. We took a snapchat together! I think I had one more shot here, then somehow wandered off with Molly and Alex. These girls were the SHIT - they hung with me all over town. We walked up and down the strip, checking out different bars, popping into interesting ones and having tequila shots for 10 shekels a pop wherever we went. I think at some point I must have made it obvious that I wanted to walk around alone (to hit my pen maybe? Who knows why drunk Hailey does anything...) So I told em I’d meet them later? I think I’m mixing this part up but I’ll fix it later. I was walking near the other bar, and Elishay came up to me. We were talking and walking together for a while I think, and he eventually asked me “Are you dipsy?” I couldn’t help but laugh and pretend I had no idea what he was saying. I was like “dipsy?” And he said, “you know like a dipsy?” Hahahaha I’m dying just thinking about it. But I said yes, I was dipsy. We must have been alone on the back streets because I remember him pulling me closer to him by my waist and kissing me. Uhhh, he was literally the best kisser I’ve ever met. He touched me, but not too much, used good tongue, moved his head, didn’t bump teeth, made the tiniest noises of appreciation, moved kinda fast, stroked my hair, cupped my ass, pulled me close to him... wow. And this was just the first time. We pulled apart at some point and I told him I NEEEEEDED more weed. I told him to ask people for carts and this was my favorite part of the night. We walked down these little back streets, me giggling next to him as he showed my empty cart to people on the street and asked in Hebrew where he could get one. Most people just started at him or said no... haha. My favoirte was one group of girls who looked at him and said “ew” - HAHA. We stopped on a darkly lit corner and I can’t remember who leaned in this time, but we kissed again, a little hotter, a little heavier this time. He pulled back and said “you’re really good, you know?” That was a massive ego boost... I haven’t made out with anyone like that in a loooong time. Not even Morgan likes to kiss that much, so. Anyway, at some point Dakota joined us... he was third wheeling it so hard, and Elishay and I were kind of playfully figuring out how to get rid of him. I think Elishay told him that there were some people at the other bar waiting for him - and he went over and E said “good, he left us” and kissed me again. I’m sure I was definitely making some kind of noise and I’m pretty proud I didn’t do anything too slutty. I really thought his beard would bother me, but it really didn’t. We sat down on a bench near the bar we sent Dakota to, and we kissed one more time there - God it was so good. I had not been touched or kissed like that in.... um. Literally ever. We eventually got up cause I said I wanted another shot, and I think I ran into Molly and Alex again. Molly was like “uhhhh Hailey what happened to you?” and she told me my lipstick was all messed up - so I told them and they were like EEEE!! And yeah, we went walking and bar hopping again. We went to the tree bar, where I talked to some man who was sitting alone at the at the bar. No one has ever smiled that big at me. I love being drunk enough to be super cute and friendly, but not drunk enough that I act stupid and annoying. I had this perfect cute buzz going, and the guy at the bar loved me and so did the bartender. We remembered we liked tree bar, then went on to the next one. I can’t really remember the order of these places but there was one place we went where there were three girls behind the bar. We came in, they looked at us, we walked to the bar and they ignored us. We walked out pretty quick. I think the next place was the Mexican style place. There was another guy sitting alone at the bar that seemed interested in us - we chatted for a while, cheersed with him, then ran to the bathroom. The bathrooms were the CREEPIEST thing I had ever seen. Mine had a giant pink panther statue in it, was totally dark, and had creepy classical music playing it it. I initially ran out of it, like, almost unable to go in and shut the door, but the girls were peeing and I had to piss so.... I ended up taking a selfie with the pink panther statue thing. After this, we said bye to the guy at the bar (I think there was a mega cute guy in the back bar of this restaurant...) and went down the street to this convenience store - don’t know why. We had fun in the perfume section (we all sprayed ourselves with Moschino!) and went down the street to the fountain where we took cute pictures and talked about Elishay a little more. After this, we passed by these cute guys who were drinking wine in the park and had their cute dog with them. I was pretty sure they were grilling me... couldn’t be sure. We stopped in some bar where we literally waited FOREVER for service, and the guy was a giant dickhead and I can’t remember why... we were being cute and sweet - no idea why he had an attitude, but. Oh well. We shot it and left, vowing never to return. We walked past those guys with the dog again and I told the girls we should go say hi. I lead the way and said hi to the dog, talked to the guys (about birthright? I think?) and then were on our way back again. I think the night was over at this point, and we walked back to the bus. We drove back to the hotel and all went our separate ways -  I went with Lily, Anna, Crystal and Laurie to smoke a J together, then went walking on the beach! I dipped my toes in the Mediterranean, danced around, played with the girls, spied on Lior talking to Ayelet, watched as Elishay hung around waiting for me and ended up talking to Aaron in the hopes that he had some bud or wanted to hook up or something. We talked for a looong time - I don’t know why, I think I honestly expected him to smoke me up somehow. Elishay was texting me, telling me he went to the hotel and then Molly texted me telling me he was hanging out on the 3rd floor. Eventually, Aaron and I walked inside at about 3am and he told me bluntly that there would be no smoking. WOMP. I think I went to bed right after this... how could I have slept!?

[travellovekai-blog]

The first time I wrote about this modest little island Isle de las Piedras (Stone Island) I showed you the less traveled side. Today I’m going to share more about this great getaway but on the more touristy side. There are a ton of activities you can partake in on this side. There’s several restaurants and a couple of small hotels you can visit here. The majority of them are directly on the beach with palapa style area’s to sit, relax, eat and play. Since Jeff is still in Alaska this time I went with a girl friend of mine and another friend’s young daughter.

We decided to go to El Velero the entrance was colorfully inviting and my friend knew a few people here so why not. The menu here has a great selection of fresh kinds of seafood prepared in pretty much any way you might want. The owner Miguel or Micheal as some have come to know him is the “grill master” here. His creative grilling is done on a large half barrel grill. Miguel is especially proud of the house specialty Zarandeado fish. We started with a shrimp ceviche it was delicious and amazingly fresh. Later in the afternoon, we ordered a fish burger to share and some chicken tenders with papas for our young friend. The fish burger was very good and inexpensive at just 80 pesos. I washed mine down with the locally made Pacifico beer. Pacifico is made right here in Mazatlan, in fact, I can see the factory from my house. When you visit this side of the island I highly recommend checking this place out.

Our waiter Sergio was extremely nice and accommodating. He shared lots of information about the island and answered our many questions. He even knew of a man who made custom business cards in Mazatlan, which was great since I’d been trying to find someone for a while now. Sergio actually used to own a restaurant on the island where he made very good sushi. Sadly the place was sold out from under him. He intends to open one again as soon as he can find good property here. It has been a bit of a challenge for him since the island is so small and in order to be successful, it is best to stay close to the beach.

When we first arrived the beach was still calm and mostly empty. This did not last long. Soon it was filled with many, many families all running and playing. There was a vendor walking around with horses and another with a small pony. It was fun to watch all the people, I even watched a few people riding the horses. Lots of visitors rode on the banana boats being pulled by small racing boats or large ski jets. The energy level is without a doubt much higher on this side. People watching is a great time here.

Since we had our friends young pre-teen daughter with us we did a lot of water activities of course. I’m pretty sure this young lady is part fish. To keep her entertained when we weren’t in the beautiful water we played crazy eights and dice games with her. She even came up with one of her own sort of a Pictionary game but with using pesos. Very creative I must say. I found it very unique to hang out with a preteen who wasn’t literally stuck to a phone or electronic gadget. She was having a blast just playing games, swimming and bringing us cute collections of shells she gathered. This is something I noticed a lot here in Mexico, the children are very creative with entertaining themselves. It is so reminiscent of my own childhood you know before computers were even created when you had to sit or stand in the kitchen to talk on a phone, and you only came inside when it was almost dark. 

There are some of the local’s walking around selling their wares. Both myself and my friend are suckers for silver jewelry so we had to be supportive of the locals and buy a couple of things. I bought some beautiful Mexican blue fire opal earrings and a charm. Both items were shaped as turtles may favorite! The combination of my two favorite turtles “Tortuga” and the blue fire opal was irresistible to me. My friend purchased a couple pairs of dangling silver earrings.

We ended our fun-filled day at about 4 pm to head back into Mazatlan. It was such a great time I can’t wait to do it again soon. Next time you’re in Mazatlan you really should take to time to experience the awesomeness of this island. Just taking the water taxi over in itself is worth the trip.

Please share in the comments if you have any ideas or questions.

As always we are so happy you’re here. Please sign up for our weekly newsletter and you’ll receive a free photo ebook and you’ll never miss the newest post. Every Friday we send you a new fun recipes from around the world and anything that you may have missed during your busy week. Don’t forget to follow us on your favorite social media’s. Just click below to follow.

  Our guides and content are completely free. We make a small commission at no extra cost to you whenever you use our affiliate links. So please if you enjoy the content consider using our links. Thank you for all your support! XOXO Kai and Jeff

A day at El Velero’s The first time I wrote about this modest little island Isle de las Piedras (Stone Island) I showed you the less traveled side.

[emilyemcnabb]

Ashley and Ali’s Phuket Wedding

When Ashley and Ali decided to have a destination wedding, they knew The Amari Phuket in Thailand was just the place. Ashley had traveled there multiple times with her family growing up, and it held so many beautiful memories for her. With 30 of their friends and family they turned their ‘day’ into a week-long celebration. The gorgeous floral design by Pennae Floral and skillful planning by The Wedding Bliss Thailand brought everything together to create this stunning wedding. And we’re so glad that Grey Likes Weddings Collective member Terralogical flew in to photograph all the unique details with creativity and excellence.

What made the wedding special and unique?

Ali & I decided to have a destination wedding as we wanted a small, intimate ceremony and to ‘be in the moment’ and surrounded by our loved ones. When looking at destinations, we knew The Amari at Phuket, Thailand was perfect. I had traveled there 6 times with my family growing up, and it held so many beautiful memories. My Dad had mentioned many years before that he could see me getting married on The Jetty there one day while the sun set, and Ali & I couldn’t agree more. With 30 of our friends and family loving the idea of attending our destination wedding, we all booked our flights from Sydney to Phuket. The week leading up to the wedding was just as beautiful as the day itself; we watched as all our friends became family over the week-long celebration.

Being a venue with so many beautiful memories, having our wedding day there made it feel complete. The Jetty is a secluded part of The Amari and a hidden oasis in Phuket. It overlooks Patong Beach, and it takes you on a beautiful 10-minute walk through a rainforest to get there. The view on the way there and when you arrive is absolutely stunning, and when the sun sets, the views just get better. The location and venue of the wedding, alongside The Wedding Bliss’ vendors is what really made our wedding day unique.

We told our family and friends that there was another special guest that was yet to join us, but would meet them on the wedding day. As they gathered to walk along the rainforest to The Jetty, a gorgeous baby elephant appeared – our special guest! The baby elephant played with the guests, stole bananas from them, and smothered everyone in kisses. The baby elephant was a highlight for so many of our guests, and we can totally understand why because we fell head over heels in love with him too.

We were also lucky enough to have the best vendors possible. The Wedding Bliss took away all our stress, and delivered far beyond our greatest dreams. Terralogical, our photographers, flew to Phuket from Bali and captured our special day in a way that has made us laugh and cry while gazing at the photos 24/7. The Amari Team provided the most beautiful venue, but their staff were so incredible that they felt like guests. Tan Pla Up Band allowed us to personally select all the music, and they really set the atmosphere of the night. The Wedding Bliss coordinated all of the vendors, recommended the best of the best, and ensured everything ran so smoothly. We were so lucky to have them be part of our special day.

Tell us about the gown and where/how you found it!

As soon as I saw the Hollie 2.0 on the Grace Loves Lace website, I knew it was the one for me. My Mum and I flew from Sydney to the Gold Coast to visit their beautiful boutique. The moment I put the dress on, I lit up, it was the perfect match. It reflected my personality and I knew it would complement the wedding venue and climate in Thailand perfectly. It was important to me that the dress was Australian made with amazing quality, and all Grace Loves Lace dresses are made on the Gold Coast using French lace and silk!

What were some touches added to make the wedding personal?

I designed all the invites from start to finish, and I made sure that everything else on the day had the same look and feel, from our welcome bags each guest received, through personalized coasters, photos and signs; everything was designed and created through my eyes.

Given we had 30 guests, we threw tradition out the window to make the night as intimate as possible. We had a long table with every person sitting with either their partner, family or friends to ensure everyone loved who they were with and simply had fun. The bridal party (in particular) were so happy to get the opportunity to enjoy every moment with their loved ones, rather than having to sit in a bridal party pair.

We ordered a personalized swing from ‘Fibreshack’ with both our names on it so our guests could enjoy photos on it or just relax. The exact swing now hangs in our home, and we feel like we bought a piece of our wedding day back with us. Rather than having a guestbook, we created advice cards with envelopes ranging from 1 – 20 years. Each year, we will open an advice card from one of our guests to remind us of who was there with us on our special day. Overall, we wanted our wedding day to reflect us, and we were involved in every little detail and step of the way to ensure our personalities and love for one another was reflected throughout the day.

What was the most memorable part of the day?

One moment is far too hard to pick! From dancing with my bridesmaids to The Spice Girls while we got ready, to seeing my husband’s face as I walked down the aisle, having the baby elephant walk us back down the jetty and smother us in kisses, through to spending the night laughing and creating memories with our family and friends, it was all truly so special.

Something I will always remember will be sneaking away to the end of the jetty to privately dance with my husband, under our arch, surrounded by the sea and looking back at all our family and friends dancing on the dance floor! It is a snapshot in my mind that we got to spend an intimate moment together and just stop and reflect and appreciate the whirlwind of emotions we had experienced on our wedding day.

Tell us how you met and became engaged.

We met in a coffee shop through mutual friends on the 7th of February 2012. I didn’t think I would see Ali again, but he tracked me down on Facebook and the rest is history. I still clearly remember the first time I saw him at the coffee shop, as he was attempting to park his car several times, and I don’t think I have ever laughed as hard. Ali then proposed in Noosa National Park on the 10th of February 2016. I was quite upset at having to walk 2km in the rain, and complained the whole way, however it turns out it was the best 2km I ever walked as he got down on one knee at the top of the hill. I practically skipped back down through the park with the biggest smile on my face.

  Photography: Terralogical // Planning and Styling: The Wedding Bliss Thailand // Florals: Pennae Floral // Venue + Cake: Amari Phuket // MUAH: Neil Donkin // Wedding Dress: Grace Loves Lace // Wedding Jewelry: Salita Matthews // Bridesmaids Dresses: Sheike // Grooms & Groomsmen: Country Road // Grooms Bow Tie/Suspenders: Woodandbeau

  The post Ashley and Ali’s Phuket Wedding appeared first on Grey Likes Weddings | Wedding Fashion & Inspiration | Best Wedding Blog.

[shellythakur-blog]

10 Gifts that you can give to your boyfriend this Christmas

 Christmas is a day away and I know some of you guys haven’t given your Christmas gifts to your loved ones yet, specially your boyfriends. Finding the perfect Christmas gift for your boyfriend is hard (hello, I know the feeling lol), here are some of the gifts that’ll be perfect to give to your boyfriends this Christmas.

 1.) Watch

I obviously listed this as the top 1 because this is the gift that I gave to my boyfriend, yes, my boyfriend. It’s good to give this as a gift because it can be used everyday and it adds up great style to guys tbh. Most guys are into analog watches than the digital ones. If your boyfriend is an “on the go” kind of guy, I think it’ll be better to give g=him the digital one because it lets him determine the time more accurate than the analog one. A great shop for watches that I know is 1989 Watches. They have a variety of watches from casual and everyday kinds to the formal ones and the quality is great too. The link of their shop where you can browse everything is down below.

 https://www.1989watches.com/

 2.) Bangle

Guys these days are getting into jewelries and a good gift this christmas (if you’re prepared enough) is a bangle. Lots of brands are creating their own signature bangles but the best option I could think of that will surely be worth it and fashionable is a bangle from Charriol. Here is the link of a site her in the Philippines that could help.

 https://iprice.ph/search/?term=charriol+bangle

 3.) Pomade

Well obviously, guys are done and over with using claydo waxes. In today’s time, pomades are becoming a thing. A good pomade depends on which brand and what kind it is. It can be used for shine, steady, etc. I know a good brand which is MAN. My sister bought from MAN Pomade and it was good (for me). Everything’s worth it and affordable. The link is placed down below.

 http://www.manpomade.ph/products.php

 4.) Sweatshirt/Hoodie

Since it’s Christmas and the cool breeze won’t end right away after Christmas, it’s a good idea to buy either of the two or both (if you’re feeling generous). H&M offers a variety of cool and cozy hoodies and sweatshirts that’s affordable and the good deal about it is that H&M likes giving out price drops specially for Hoodies and Sweatshirts. The colors and designs are great too. The cloth used can differ from think cloths to thick ones that can be uses in cold places like Baguio or even outside the country. The link of H&M PH’s shop is attached down below.

 http://www2.hm.com/en_asia5/index.html?gclid=CjwKCAiAmvjRBRBlEiwAWFc1mIcA7O1bi1_kCTA5K9v2EViH3ynAR7rmsIRNolfMSZnLhQd_AAhQUBoCbGkQAvD_BwE&s_kwcid=AL!859!3!228802127726!e!!g!!h%26m%20philippines%20online&ef_id=WVTzSwAAAGXOfgQF:20171223092953:s

5.)  Shoes

Shoes are one of the best gifts any girl could give to their boyfriends. It kind of makes the guy feel special because the girl knows his size. There are lots of great brands out there and there are a lot of designs as well. Great shops I know are “The Athlete’s foot” and “Sole Academy”. both have a variety of brands and they both have the pair meant for every guy. There are also limited edition pairs available only in these shops.

 6.)  Perfume

We all know that girls love their boyfriend’s scent. It’s like a reminder that the smell tells them that “this is your boyfriend”. it became guys’ determinant. A guy with good taste in perfume attracts a lot of girls tbh. Well for your boyfriend, perfume can be a good gift idea. Choose a scent that the both of you will like. Choose a perfume that best suits your boyfriend and choose it from Lacoste. The link is attached down below.

 https://perfumes.com.ph/collections/vendors?q=lacoste

 7.) New Game

Some guys love playing video games specifically NBA. Some date nights turn into “Game nights”. We can just play with them or simply be with them to support them while playing. Another gift idea is the NBA 2K18 that is officially out now!! head over now to http://nbastore.com.ph/nba-2k18-ps4.html to purchase it.

 8.) Time

Time as I must say, is the greatest gift you could give to your partner. Making time for him will always be different and it makes the guy feel that he’s not just seen when there’s a spare time. See to it that you’re making enough time to spend with your guy and make the most out of it. Go out with him as much as possible and make him feel that he’s not just an option but a priority.

 9.) Love

Love, obviously he’s your boyfriend and you love him enough to say yes to him. Love is something that shouldn’t be made complicated and toxic. It’s not supposed to be kept but rather it’s to be given away (to the right guy). it may be hard to find that guy who’ll make you genuinely happy and the guy who’ll take away all your insecurities and fears by just showing you how he really feels, but if you found that guy already, keep him. Love him the way he deserves to be loved and everything will be worth it.

 10.) Value

It’s easy to say that you love a guy but the value and the affection that you’ll give will be a big thing for him. Doing this even though it’s not Christmas is a must. Be extra this Christmas, fine. Value him by telling him how much he means to you. Value him by just hugging him despite having an argument with him. Cook for him. That’s one way of showing him that you value him enough to exert an effort and cook for him.

  There you go! Here are the Top 10 best gifts that you could give to your boyfriend this Christmas. Happy Holidays!!! xoxo

[homeiscalifornia]

Mystical, Musical, Magical Valle de Bravo

So how did I spend my Sunday in Mexico, I hear you ask. I did not go to mass, that’s for sure. Before going to sleep on Saturday my tía Martha asked me if I wanted to accompany her to mass at 7:00 am and I laughed so hard I almost fell off my chair.

The following day, my tía Martha asked me if I would like to join her, her husband (tío Jose), her two sons (Sergio and Jose David), and Sergio’s wife and two kids to a Toluca vs. I have no idea soccer game. I said no because I already promised my tía Bertha I would spend Sunday with her.

My tía Martha looked at me like I just ate a child.

“Laurita, you don’t understand, we won't be around people, we will have a private room where we will be watching the game and there will be servers bringing us food.”

I felt kinda bad but told her that although I appreciated the invitation, I already promised my tía Bertha that I would spend Sunday with her and that I didn’t really like watching soccer.

That last part is a lie, of course. I LOVE watching soccer but not because I care about the game. No- I watch soccer for the men (the really attractive ones). ;)

My tía Martha looked a bit upset but decided it was best to stop insisting and began to walk me over to my tía Bertha’s house (people coddle me too much here, she lives next door!). When I got there, my tía Bertha had cafecito and cookies waiting for me. I don’t really like store-bought cookies but damn those Chokis are the best damn ultra-processed crap I’ve ever had. Highly recommend them, unless you’re on a sugar detox. Then there came the tamale. Boy, was I excited for the tamale! I took a bite and realized it had an odd texture. I looked at my plate and yup, it was meat. I tried to not make a big deal out of it because I didn’t want my aunt to feel bad but that was the first time I had meat in 9 years. My tía Bertha apologized profusely and I played it cool saying, “Oh no, don’t worry!” And guess what? I did not make a single disgusted face. Am I going to heaven or what?

After this gross episode of me eating a dead animal, my tía Bertha and her husband, tío Alonso, announced we were going to Valle del Bravo (jot it down, guys, JOT IT DOWN). I had no idea what the hell this was but my tía Bertha told me it was known as a “Pueblo Magico” (~ooohhhh~). My cousin, Gabriela, her one-year-old baby (Valeria), and her husband (Sergio) were also joining us so we waited for them. Once they arrived we said hello and Sergio began to drive. While he drove, we had a long chit- chat about how funny my dad is and my tía Bertha confessed he was her favorite cousin- someone please give my father a cookie (a Choki, of course). We also talked about weddings, boyfriends, why I don’t have one (because I’m ugly), and Mexican politics (it’s a mess and we still don’t know who’s running for president next year). As we talked, I noticed the scenery began to change. We went from rural Mexico to lush green forestry. It’s like I was magically transported to Yosemite and I swear to Jesus, I did not know Mexico could look like this.

Our first stop in Valle de Bravo was the “Velo de Novia” waterfall. As we walked down the rocky terrain (mind you, I was wearing wedges but managed just fine), we ran into this mini flea market type thing where indigenous people were selling rebozos (like scarves but better), jewelry, Mexican peasant shirts, pottery, etc. If you know me, you know I love Mexican pottery so of course, I told a man to reserve a cup and a teapot for me to purchase on my way back.

As we walked down, the path got steeper and rockier so I prayed to the Lord Jesus to protect me while I cussed myself out merciless for not bringing flats. I effed up. Anyway, once we reached a place with a decent view, we took some pictures and watched some weirdos swimming right by the waterfall. My tío Alonso told me that when a single woman comes to see the Velo de Novia for the first time, she must shower with the waterfall’s waters or else, she’ll never marry. He asked me if I wanted to climb all the way down so I could at least wash my hands with the water. There was no way in hell I was walking down there so I guess I will never marry and will die smelling of cats and attics.

After the short painful realization that I will die alone, we began to make our way back up and surprisingly, this was much easier than climbing down. When we passed by the little vendor stands again, my cousin, Gabriela, was kind enough to buy me the teapot and cup I wanted. I told her I had money but she was like “No Laurita, let me buy you a gift.” Isn’t she the sweetest?

Our next stop was lunch. To be quite honest, I was more thirsty than hungry but JESUS SANTISIMO! The Italian restaurant my tía Bertha selected was out of this world. Guys, I seriously thought I had experienced fine dining at Georgetown and Europe but not even 1789 beats this place. Dipao is classy and knows how Mexicans like their Italian food: with lots of chile. Dipao’s interior design is kind of modern but it has a bunch of plants inside so it has a gardenesque kind of vibe. Even the bathrooms are nice! So nice! Wow!

To eat, I ordered a pizza with marinara sauce, cheese, and mushrooms (you know I love mushrooms) and to top it off, I had a tequila shot with my tío Alonso. Everything about this place was absolutely perfect: the design, the staff, my pizza drenched in chile de árbol. I had a lovely time there with my family so if you ever find yourself in Valle de Bravo, do yourself a favor and go to Dipao.

Our last stop was the center of Valle de Bravo. I swear I could hear angels singing as we drove around looking for parking. I don’t think I can do this place justice but imagine: a colonial town with little white buildings with brown trim, a colossal church by the plaza in front of a majestic mountain, a mariachi band playing from a gazebo, and people out and about rushing in and out of the taquerias and panaderias. And then, hugging all of this, is a crystalline lake.

Once we found a parking spot, we began to walk around. Upon seeing the church (kinda hard to miss), I asked if we could step inside to see and take pictures. My aunt said yes so off we went and, wow! I was speechless. Why is it that churches in Mexico are so darn beautiful?!

After this, I began to shop around and Jesus, am I good at spending them pesos! I bought some corn husk flowers, a fancy tortillero (the thing you put your tortillas in to keep them warm), a Mexican embroidered pillow, three Mexican peasant shirts, and a jewelry box for mother dearest. I regret nothing.

After my frantic shopping spree, we slowed down to walk around the lake. While walking I noticed the sun was beginning to sink into the horizon, giving the entire place a golden glow.

…

Guys, I think I am in love and not just because Valle de Bravo is full of insanely attractive Mexican men with sharp jawlines and dark hair. No, this place is charming beyond words. It’s serene yet chaotic, simple in its beauty yet full of intricacies.

To be quite honest, I think Valle de Bravo might be my favorite place in the world (sorry Paris, you’ve been knocked down) and I am certain that not even Gabriel Garcia Marquez could make up such a magical little town. This place surpasses imagination. It’s music, it’s life, it’s color, it’s spirit, it’s Mexico.

[decouvrir-le-monde]

(warning: this is a stupidly long post)

Beyond National Borders

Well, it’s official on Facebook, so it must be true. I’m living in Hanoi, Vietnam. I’m going to be here for two months, and some might say that’s too short a time to be called *living somewhere*, but to me it really does feel like it. I’ve been here about three weeks and I’m settling in. It’s astonishing how quickly difference becomes normal.

I’m living beyond the borders of my native country. That much is obvious. But I’ve been thinking a lot about boundaries in other ways as well.

  Beyond Cultural Boundaries

Something I noticed from getting to know a lot of the foreign teachers last weekend, was how much more I am in Vietnam than they are. What I mean is this: they live in an expat community. Despite having lived here since August, a couple of them were remarking that they know very few Vietnamese people. They all live in the same neighborhood–in an area of Hanoi saturated with expats. And when they go out, they do so with their foreign teacher friends. I went to a movie with them on Friday.

two out of three caught unawares

Hearing them talk about that experience made me think of my travels last summer. We often tried to engage in the country–eat foreign food, read about customs, pick up basic survival words in the language, etc–but so much of a place is its people. And we had very little opportunity to communicate or forge friendships with anyone. And as I hinted at in blog posts from that time, it made us feel isolated–like we were drifting above the substance of the place, rather than truly walking on the ground, among the people. Maybe I should only speak for myself, but from talking to him I know Andrew felt something very similar.

I’ve found that there’s an inherent cultural boundary between people: language barrier, different customs, etc. And often when traveling, people build their walls up by following the natural inclination to self-segregate. By engaging in what’s comfortable–only going to restaurants with English menus, hanging out with fellow English speakers, avoiding situations where you might have to interact with people across a language barrier–we avoid the “foreign”.

I don’t fault those who do this. Because when I was without a local host family, I did the same. Even now, if I’m out on my own, I still tend to avoid situations. But immersion is so much more interesting: I get to go to restaurants only locals go to, I get rides on motorcycles often, and I’m constantly learning tidbits of language and culture.

  Learning Outside School Walls

In everyday conversations, I learn things I never would have found out otherwise. While playing with my baby host brother one day, I asked Mr. Hai about the silver anklet he always wears. I learned that in Vietnam, silver is traditionally believed to ward off the flu and other sicknesses. I then noticed that many of the BME staff have little pieces of jewelry that they wear near always–a delicate ring, a necklace. Son has a bracelet chain of silver.

Eating dinner with my host family, and navigating the constant offers of more food, Ms. Yen explained something that made it click: giving food is giving love. She explained that during the war (40/50 years ago) food was scarce. People were starving. There were profound implications of giving food away at that time, and these have endured. And so, I can better appreciate the custom that I was finding increasingly difficult.

family dinner

My first weekend here, Mr. Hai took Son and I to Hoàn Kièm Lake. It’s a huge lake with a small island in the middle and a mythos attached to it–legend has it that the Emperor Lê Lợi, who was given a magic sword to fight off the Chinese in the early 1400s, was called upon by the Golden Turtle God to return the sword in this lake in 1428. Thus, the lake is now called Lake of the Returned Sword. Every weekend, the streets around the lake are closed off, street vendors collect, a tiny amusement park is opened, and locals come to enjoy the weekend with their families. There are street musicians, child-sized cars to play with, art shows, and a temple to visit. All this surrounds a beautiful lake, surrounded by weeping willows grazing the water’s surface.

a little fledgling policeman!

The Red Bridge connecting the Temple to the shore

15 year old Son refuses to smile in photos 😀

Turtle Tower and an onlooker

  Last week, Ms. Thuy’s daughter, Đung, came to visit, and I got to meet her. She’s the first person my age who I’ve met, and (leaning heavily on Google Translate) we made plans to visit the Temple of Literature later that week with a couple of her friends. One of her friends speaks English very well and she acted as a sort of tour guide. I had researched the Temple of Literature–it being one of the major tourist attractions in Hanoi–but I had not been able to get a clear idea of what it is really. A library? A temple? Visiting with locals gave me insight. On the surface, it looks just like a beautiful temple and garden. But I found out that it is really a temple for the students of Hanoi. It was built in the 11th century, as a tribute to Confucius, and has been largely untouched since. Apparently, students flood the Temple during exam season in prayer for good scores. Afterwards, we went to their favorite restaurant for bún chả. So far, my favorite meal here.

the beautiful pathway of the Temple of Literature

One of the many shrines inside

Selfie culture here is a Big Thing

the intricate entrance to the temple

riding on a motorcycle!

eating bún chả with new friends!

this is bún chả: a sweet broth with meatballs and pork, served with glass noodles, vegetables and small citrus fruits

  Just eating dinner with the family, I’ve been introduced to tons of new foods. Many new fruits–pomelos, custard apples, “fat bananas”, and nhans (look it up, it’s very strange-looking, but delicious!). Also I think the fruit that I thought was a lychee nut, is actually a rambutan. Regardless, I’m a fan.

fat bananas!!

a very blurry picture of a custard apply

my rambutan?

I’ve been eating a lot of fruit here, with almost every meal. “Fat bananas” are a special treat: they are about half the length of a normal sized banana, and almost taste like all the banana flavor of a regular banana is condensed to half the size. Sweeter, tangier, and yummier than a normal banana, fat bananas are a new go-to.

But I’ve also been introduced to a bunch of other new cooked foods. I haven’t been trying everything because I’m still struggling to find the omnivore inside me, from being vegetarian at home. But I’ve been eating lots of rice, boiled veggies, eggs, some salmon, and meat broths. I also bought peanut butter today. But the best thing I’ve been introduced to is actually quite simple. It’s my favorite, not necessarily because it tastes the best, but almost exclusively because of its name: it’s called monkey rice. You grab a handful of sticky rice from the rice cooker, and roll it around in your hands until it takes on a shape. Then you eat with with whatever toppings you feel like. That’s it. But I like the image of a monkey eating rice that way. Just because it seems like that’s really how they would do it.

Last week, I made friends with Son’s Vietnamese English tutor. She came to the house and ate dinner with us. She offered to take me to the Ho Chi Minh Museum, so last Wednesday, that’s where we went. We met some of her other students there, they wanted to practice their English and meet an American, and it was fun getting to know more people my age. But the museum was an experience in itself. It was built after Ho Chi Minh’s death in the 60s, and it memorializes all the places where he lived and worked. It sort of took me off guard how mundane his office and living quarters are. I was expecting something similar to when I visited Versailles. But maybe that was the point; that he lived like the people, and thus should be loved by the people. The museum centered around the idea of nationalism. The honor of fighting for your country. The greatness of Ho Chi Minh’s time in power. The kindness of the man himself. There were many quotes–both in English and Vietnamese–from those who fought America in the Vietnam War, and those who met the leader himself. There were POWs talking about being tortured by Americans. There were accounts of Ho Chi Minh’s philanthropy. One quote that stuck with me was from a female soldier who met Uncle Ho. She recounts that he asked where she got her name from. After telling him that her grandmother gave it to her, Uncle Ho (as they refer to him) decides that her name doesn’t suit her. He has a better name for her: a word meaning “flower” to represent her beauty and grace. She writes, ‘I am honored and proud to use this name for the rest of my life’.

Ms. Thu Hang and I by Uncle Ho’s pagoda

A selfie next to a random church that we found

A wax model of Uncle Ho in his study

posing in a lamp store in the Old Quarter

Traveling is education. Traveling changes the way you think. It is learning outside the walls of a school.

Day 15-22: Beyond Borders (warning: this is a stupidly long post) Beyond National Borders Well, it's official on Facebook, so it must be true.

[loreli78-blog]

San Antonio is one of our favorite places in Texas to have a weekend getaway, we love to go down there even just for a day and come back home at night. Our favorite place to hang out with friends and family is down at the River Walk. The river walk is where the happening especially at night, plenty of restaurants, cafes and bar located just along the river. You can request a mariachi music to play right by your table with a few bucks for a group of 3 or 4 people who will perform it. It was fun and the people are very nice and friendly, the whole atmosphere is just casual and relaxing. Hotels and mall are also located just a walking distance away from the river walk. On this trip, we had our friends and we decided to gave them a little tour around San Antonio.

Day 1

MISSION SAN JOSE

https://funterest.blog

HISTORY

In 1720, Fray Antonio Margil de Jesús founded what became the best known of the Texas Missions, San José y San Miguel de Aguayo. Viewed as a model of Mission organization, Mission San José was a major social center. The unique architecture of its church and the richness of its fields and pastures led visitors to comment on its beauty. The size of the complex bear’s witness to San José’s reputation as the “Queen of the Missions.” Mission San José was moved twice from its original site until it was finally built at its present location, set back from the temperamental river to a place on a small rise. At this time, it entered into a period of great achievement. Mission San José became the showplace of the Southwest. The present church of Mission San José was begun in 1758 with the cornerstone laid by Governor Don Hugo Oconor and Gaspar José Solis, a Franciscan inspector. It was not completed until 1782 but became “the most beautiful church along the entire frontier of New Spain. ( source via)

Remains of Priest’s Quarters, Mission San Jose, San Antonio, Tx.”

San José, as it became known, was the largest of the missions in the area. At its height, the community contained about 350 Indian neophytes, sustained by extensive fields and herds of livestock. Viewed as the model among the Texas missions, San José gained a reputation as a major social and cultural center. It became known as the “Queen of the Missions.” Its imposing complex of stone walls, bastions, granary, and the magnificent church was completed by 1782.

So rich an enterprise was a natural target for Apache and Comanche depredations. Although they could not prevent raids on their livestock, the mission itself was almost impregnable. In his journal, Fray Juan Agustín Morfí attested to its defensive character: “It is, in truth, the first mission in America . . . in point of beauty, plan, and strength . . . There is not a presidio along the entire frontier line that can compare with it.” The danger was when working the fields or during travel to and from the ranch or other missions. With technical help from the two presidial soldiers garrisoned there, San José residents learned to defend themselves. Already proficient with bow and arrow, the men also learned the use of guns and cannon.

THE FAMOUS ROSE WINDOW

La Ventana de Rosa, The Rose Window, is located on the south wall of the church sacristy.  The window is described as the site where the Host was shown to gathered Mission celebrants during the Feast of Pentecost.

Sculpted in 1775, the Rose Window is considered to be one of the finest examples of baroque architecture in North America.  Its sculptor and significance continue to be a mystery.  Folklore credits Pedro Huizar, a carpenter, and surveyor from Spain, with carving the famous window as a monument to his sweetheart, Rosa.  Tragically, on her way from Spain to join him, Rosa was lost at sea.  Pedro then completed the window as a declaration of enduring love. (source via)

Beautiful artwork behind the altar

LIVING QUARTERS AND THE OUTDOOR STONE OVEN

The Surrounding walls of Missions San Jose are the living quarters of an Indian Soldiers.

Mission San Jose and its surrounding fields, called laborers, sustained a thriving community of Indians and Spaniards. Within the walls, Indian lived, worship and attended classes. They learned the blacksmith, to weave on European looms to cut stone and to make shoes and cotton clothes. Outside the walls, the mission Indians tended fields, orchards, and livestock.

THE GRANARY

A granary (first recorded in 1755) stored enough maize to supply the population of the mission for a year.

The granary at Mission San Jose

The granary at Mission San Jose

IMAGE: GOOGLE\GOOGLE IMAGE

Painting in the wall in the 1700’s

IMAGE: GOOGLE\GOOGLE IMAGE

IMAGE:GOOGLE\GOOGLE IMAGE

SAN ANTONIO MARKET SQUARE

For browsing and gift shopping, this is the place!

The Best of San Antonio in 2 Days

The Best of San Antonio in 2 Days

The Best of San Antonio in 2 Days

The Best of San Antonio in 2 Days

The Best of San Antonio in 2 Days

The Best of San Antonio in 2 Days

Market square The El Mercado and Market Square in downtown San Antonio is a fun way to spend some time and do some shopping.

The place is crammed with store after store of Mexican pottery, baskets, flags, jewelry, etc. We bought a couple of beautiful baskets to take home.

The best of San Antonio, Texas in days

The best of San Antonio, Texas in days

The Best of San Antonio in 2 Days

The best of San Antonio, Texas in days

It`s a very colorful place. The number of stores was overwhelming. Definitely, wear some comfortable shoes!

We like the variety of restaurants and outdoor vendors that we can casually check out after the busy Riverwalk. A great way to spend a Saturday, El Mercado has something for everyone. Live music, working artists, beautiful crafts and fantastic food.

Day 2

THE ALAMO

If you’re into history……this is a must see. My Husband and I really enjoy historical sights……maybe because they are the one thing older than we are. Our visit to The Alamo was truly a step back in time. Their self-guided tour was outstanding (and very reasonably priced). Forget the movies and get the real story. The folks connected with the site were very passionate about sharing and preserving this bit of not only Texas history but the history of this country. I can’t say enough about how much we enjoyed our visit. If you’re going to be in the San Antonio area please make time to visit The Alamo, you won’t be disappointed.

To stand on the grounds of the Alamo is a great experience that allows you to touch and see the great building from history. It is a true teaching moment for those not already familiar with the details of the heroic fight at the Alamo. The grounds are very well kept.

RIVER WALK

Riverwalk is my favorite vacation spot in San Antonio, whenever we are in San Antonio we always made sure to stop by at the River Walk even if only have few hours. Make sure this is the second place you visit while in San Antonio (of course the Alamo is the first and only 2 blocks away). We come here 2-3 times year… never gets old. Be sure the find a hotel near the Riverwalk and bring comfortable shoes.

The Best of San Antonio, Texas in 2 Days

The best of San Antonio,Texas in 2 Days

The best of San Antonio, Texas in 2 Days

The best of San Antonio, Texas in 2 Days

This where our tour ended, at the beautiful Riverwalk only at San Antonio Texas. We were serenaded with a mariachi music while waiting for our food to serve. What a place!!!! You”ll never be bored.

The Best of San Antonio in 2 Days San Antonio is one of our favorite places in Texas to have a weekend getaway, we love to go down there even just for a day and come back home at night.

[msjoyful23-blog]

Mother Africa: Cape Town

Day 1. South Africa was everything I thought it would be and more. My dream vacation consisted of reflection, introspection, admiration, sadness, excitement, and love all rolled into one week. My journey started in Johannesburg and although my allergies were fighting me every minute of every day since the plane landed I couldn't be happier to be in the Motherland. Seas of blackness everywhere. Not unlike the seas of blackness you see in the inner cities but pure and culturally sound to all that is South Africa. Johannesburg was only a pit stop on my way to my true destination: Cape Town. I have been literally obsessed with Cape Town after watching Blacks Without Borders (search in YouTube). This documentary highlights African-Americans who left America and found prosperity in South Africa. Most of them highly successful in America felt it extremely important to live in South Africa for the remainder of life. It's truly eye-opening and an amazing view into life as an American in South Africa. My goal for my trip was complete relaxation, lots and lots of fun, and possibly meet a rich Prince to move me to Cape Town away from Donald Trump and all the crazy! I know it's a fairy tale so I'll at least settle for a sponsor for citizenship 🤷🏾‍♀️. Cape Town provided all of the amenities one needs to fall in love with it. From the V&A Waterfront with its breathtaking scenery, local market shopping, Wineries, Safaris, beaches, museums, driving on the "wrong" side of the road, and last but not least the people. Cape Town boasts of its beauty and it's absolutely true. The mountains surround the city on one side and 2 oceans surround the other. What more can a tourist ask for? Day 2. Our hotel sits right near the V&A Waterfront with only a 10 minute walk to the fun. We were met by the most pleasant Front Desk attendant who was so happy to see us. You can absolutely say that she was just doing her job but how many times have you gone to a hotel or any place with customer service and the worker acts like you put a gun to their head and made them come to work? No. This woman was completely genuine and I absolutely loved hearing her accent and her favorite phrase "Oh my word!". Kholiswa made our stay that much more enjoyable. We didn't know what quite to expect when we got to our hotel. In Johannesburg our hotel was not as bad as the apartment on Coming to America BUT when the shower is RIGHT NEXT to the bed the whole hotel gets the side eye (except my giant ham and grilled cheese sandwich with fries and a salad with a chocolate shake for the low low price of $7 USD). Well to our surprise, The Protea North Wharf was EVERYTHING. It was literally a one bedroom apartment fully equipped with a full kitchen, washer and dryer, living room, dining room, and separate bedroom and bathroom. Now THIS is vacationing at its best. Those of you used to staying at The Ritz Carlton don't judge the rest of us for being excited about nice accommodations. Don't judge me. Any preconceived notions I had about Africa and hotels has been completely changed. Each day is jam packed with fun and exploration of all that Cape Town has to offer. Day two was spent lazily walking the massive V&A Waterfront with its many stores and restaurants for those who like to shop and eat. If listening to local music is your appetite you will find plenty of locals playing their hearts out as onlookers sway to the rhythm. If you want a light day just to walk around, eat, and people watch then V&A Waterfront is the place for you. There are also boat cruises with tours too! Day 3. Well our jet lag or being old caught up with us so we had a late start. The plan was to do the hop on and off bus tours but when you try and start at 2:00 it's not worth the price. Instead we headed straight for Green Market Square which was full of locals and sits in the middle of downtown (I guess). Green Market Square houses all of the street vendors selling wood art, African clothes and jewelry, as well as paintings. So many to choose from it can be overwhelming but for me it was like a family reunion. I was everyone's sister and they wanted me to buy. As much as I was amused and tickled by the local vendors I just didn't want to buy everything. It's a haggle situation so never pay what they ask. I bought a few pieces and even have a lady making me a dress because I HAD to have it and they way my fat is set up... Anyway, it's also a great place to people watch but the only drawback is the number of beggars approaching you. We have them in all societies, but I'm selfish and on vacation. Don't judge me. There is also a Woolworth's downtown which was totally interesting because I remember Woolworth from downtown Chicago as a young child. Well it wasn't a throwback but the real thing and even included a grocery section. Go figure. Another lazy and relaxing day in the books. We decided to cook our own dinner tonight because we could! That chocolate moose cake...let's just say I was on my fat girl. Again. Don't judge me. I'm on vacation. Day 4. Ahhhhh what we really came for...The Safari!!!! Aquila Private Game Reserve did not disappoint!!!! We were able to book this full day excursion with our bubbly front desk clerk. Kholiswa took care of everything except the bill of course. The Safari is a 2-hour drive from the hotel and transportation was included to and from the Safari. We were told to be ready at 6:40 am. Whew! That's early but our driver was on time! The two-hour scenic route included mountain after mountain and in between that there was vineyard after vineyard. They even sell grapes on the side of the road but I think they are stolen grapes from the various vineyards. Hey the struggle is real and hustle man is everywhere. The tour included a stop for coffee, breakfast and lunch at the reserve, and a pit stop on the way back (which we declined). We arrive in time to pay and have breakfast then off to the animals!!! Our tour guide, Kensington, had a bright smile and knew all about every animal including life span and gestation periods. He was so excited and genuine about his job which made the tour that much more enjoyable. The truck was an open style truck with no windows so we didn't quite know what to expect. The first wild animals we see are hippos and then zebras and rhinos 🦏. Zebras were in abundance and there were also a good number of rhinos as well. We next moved on to the ostrich, a wilderbeast, and some type of antelope. I don't remember the name and they weren't that interesting anyway. Next was the African elephant. Two of them to be exact! They were high up on the mountain so the park ranger left some supplements to coax them down and down they came! They were EXTREMELY close to our truck that I thought they were going to charge us! They did get closer to another tour truck and one stuck his trunk inside! I would have died!!! Hell I almost died from seeing it! Kensington was unbothered because he did not move as they were coming closer and closer! I called on Jesus a few times. He is a friend indeed! I digress. Next was the lions!!!!!!! Yasssssss the big furry cats! Simba and Mufasa's cousins! The lions were housed in a separate gated area because they were rescued from people who kill for sport (aka Donald Trump Jr) and placed in the reserve. They didn't learn to hunt so they are separated from the rest of the animals. We saw two male lions and a few female lions and cubs. These lions were on chill mode because they were not moved by our presence. It was hot and we were blocking their shade! They were so glad for us to move along and so we did. Our last stop was Geoffrey the giraffe and friends! They were so cute! According to our expert Kensington, the giraffe adapts to his environment. The giraffes we saw were not very tall because the shrubbery and trees are not tall. If the giraffes were taller they wouldn't be able to bend down to eat. So they grow according to their environment. If they were moved to areas with taller trees, Kensington said they would grow taller! Interesting fact I never knew about giraffes. Kensington also had sparkling wine and grape juice during our giraffe stop which was right up my alley! Our liquor pit stop is where we started talking to other guests who were mostly American. Seated right behind us were Stacey and Ann who looked to be late 20s or early 30s. Stacey is Indian American who lives in Atlanta and Ann is also Indian American who lives in New York. We all quickly bonded over our buffet lunch and our readiness to get back to the city for a nice shower! The sun was hot and I had reached my limit of outside. Y'all know I don't do outside or bugs. While waiting for that clock to strike 4:00, I spot one of the drivers who turns out to be Stacey and Ann's van driver. Y'all I think I found my sponsor. So me never meeting a stranger strikes up a conversation with Zaid because yes he is cauuuuute. Zaid looked all Dominican with a dash of Middle Eastern but was ALL South African. I asked was he married with kids. No. Yes!!!! I asked "Do you want a wife and kids? I need a sponsor for citizenship." lol Needless to say I got his card so we can talk more later. Zaid is now Bae and I'm about to be out this piece!!!💋😘😆 Tired from a long day in the hot sun and a two hour drive each way to the Safari, my body was in need of some TLC. The neighboring hotel advertised a 60 minute massage with a 30 minute reflexology treatment for 640 Rand and my pockets were all over that. See that's $40 US dollars and we all know in the US that would easily be $80 or more. Needless to say my massage was everything and that was the perfect ending to the perfect day. Day 5. The next day brings the perfect weather full of sunshine and warm breezes. We decide to tackle this day early because there is still so much to see in Cape Town. Our adventures lead us to the hop on hop off bus tours. We figured we could cover more ground this way. We start with the breathtaking views of Table Mountain. To our surprise the bus drives right up to the top and the views are simply amazing. The real attraction is the cable car to the peak of the mountain but the way my fear is set up I chickened out. Sorry. But you still get the appreciation of the views from the bus stop. Trust me. If you are afraid of heights you will still get a great experience if the cable car ride is skipped. I'll muster up some courage for my next visit. We hop back on the bus and head to Camps Bay Beach and OH. MY. GOD. I've never seen a beach more beautiful and peaceful!!!! The condos that overlook the water made me want to run and buy hundreds of lotto tickets because I just have to live here! It was still early and I was dying for some seafood but I settled for some delicious gelato (ice cream for us regular folks). We hopped back on the bus and I really wanted to do the South African Museum because I wanted to learn some history. This was a bust. It was a science museum about animals. Not my thing. I wish I had known before I spent my money. Back on the bus we go. Our love for shopping leads us right back to Green Market Square for more gifts and cute African attire. We were also curious about their hair bundles so we found a few hair shops to ask about pricing and quality. Weave is worldwide and I wanted to see how the hair game works in Africa. Our bus also took us past the Government buildings and to District Six. The interesting thing about District Six is it was the only neighborhood during apartheid where folks lived in "relative harmony". But like all racist regimes, they moved everyone out of the area and tore down the buildings because they believed Blacks and Whites were not supposed to live amongst each other. There are a number of empty lots now because of this and the area is slowly trying to rebuild. The other interesting thing is that apartheid ended in the 80s. Like literally yesterday and in our lifetime. Anyway, I highly recommend the bus tours because you can cover a lot in one day if you are short on time. Day 6. My travel buddy left a day early, so that left me on my own for a day. It turned out to be AWESOME!!! I was semi nervous about being in a foreign country by myself but I'm well traveled so I just tackled the day and made the best of it. I bought a two-day bus tour pass because it was economical and the easiest way for me to do my own thing and still feel safe. Today was wine tour day! I knew my friend didn't drink so I saved this part of the trip for my solo day. Perfect! The bus tour connects to the wine bus tour so I set out early that morning hoping to do all 3 wineries along the route. On the way to the wine bus the scenery is just breathtaking! The houses are gorgeous and are home to most of the diplomats of South Africa. While en route I did not realize there was a botanical garden named Kirstenbosch! I hopped right on off at that stop because if it was anything like what I have already seen in Cape Town it was going to be amazing. I spent only an hour at the botanical garden because I was on a winery mission. If I had more time I would have spent a few hours there. Everything was beautiful and if beautiful flowers, mountain views, and tranquility are your thing make this one of your stops. I hopped back on the bus because yes wine! The next stop was the wine bus connection and I was excited! First stop...Groot Constantia which means large or big Constantia. The vineyards are vast and the mansion is white with two restaurants on property. I probably should have eaten before the wine tastings, but I'm glad I didn't because I would have missed out on my fantastical seafood lunch. Anyway the wine tasting gives you the option of five white and red wines out of maybe ten choices. I liked all but one of my choices from Pinot, Shiraz, and Cabernet. The give you a few crackers but it doesn't help. Come on a full stomach or you will be tipsy like me afterwards. The winery does sell their wines and gives you options to ship them back to the US. It can be pricey and the minimum to ship is six bottles. I wanted to sample the dessert wines but that was not an option so I bought two bottles to take home. The next winery was pretty much the same only it was a restaurant style set up so you are able to sit. Good thing because my tipsy was off the charts. I'm pretty sure my blood alcohol level was past .08 at this point. I tasted my five wines anyway and knew I had to eat something soon and very soon. I met a nice couple who I struck up a conversation with and they gave me a dessert wine and restaurant recommendation. Good thing for me the restaurant was next door. Harbor House was a second location to the original which is on the beach near Camps Bay. Seafood was finally happening! This was my favorite meal of the entire trip. The food was fresh and the flavors danced on my tongue. I loved everything about Harbor House even the flirtatious waiters. I had sushi (AMAZING) as an appetizer and a seafood pasta with prawns, mussels, and a sauce that was unforgettable. Yes for Harbor House! Well as I sobered up I hopped back on the bus and went back to the beach because I'm a beach fanatic. I should have spent more time there but wasn't in the mood for sand. I just admired from afar and had more gelato! I rode the bus back to the V&A Waterfront because I wanted to end the day on the Harbor cruise close to sunset. Mission accomplished. I got to see the seals that hang out by the pier and got to relax on a boat to end my day. The Waterfront is another one of Cape Town's beauties. I highly recommend South Africa as a vacation destination specifically Cape Town. It is beautiful, relaxing, and fun with loads of things to do. You can't fit everything into one week so plan on coming back again and again! Throw away everything you thought about Africa because it's wrong. Africa is AMAZING and worth every penny spent! It's a must see and must do! Mother Africa I love thee!