Travel – Page 15 – Karla's Cottage

Seawitches

By Karla Nathan / November 20, 2016

Our Sister Trips to Sarasota always include crafting time. And lots of Halloweenish witchy things too.

This year, we turned some black hats covered in sheer fabric into seawitch hats. I dyed them before I packed, and threw bags full of goodies into my suitcase for doctoring them up. (witch-doctoring, I mean)

I whipped mine up fast, thinking I would be using it as my beach hat all week, since it was so comfy and soft, plus had a wide brim to keep off the sun.

Once it was shell and flower laden, it wasn't nearly as comfy. It tended to list to the heaviest side. So, not a good sun hat, unless I wanted to tie it on like a bonnet.

While they didn't end up being our full time beach hats, we still got to play around and wear them sometimes.

And they made great silhouettes against the sunset.

And some of our condo neighbors told us they liked them too. And we overheard others whispering, as they pointed at us, "Those are the ladies that turn into witches!"

Of course we do! Being a sister seawitch is the BEST!

a sorry attempt at sand scuplting

Travel

By Karla Nathan / November 18, 2016

The sand at Siesta Key was the perfect texture to play with. I decided to make some Halloween pumpkins from it.

Bobbie found this fish part that made ideal teeth for a creepy smile.

And a barnacle covered shell made a good, warty looking nose.

They were easy to make and I got cocky. Sissy and I missed our pups and I thought I'd make us a little sand Yorkie.

Well, a ball for a pumpkin is a little more simple than a dog's face. I had a cute one done, and its muzzle kept falling off.

After trying to rebuild the snout a few times, I gave up and pretended it was a kitty.

To give her a Halloween feel, I threw in a witch's hat. I should've made a seaweed broom to go next to it, huh?

There is something to be said for sitting in the sand and building stuff with it like a kid. I sure missed my grand fairies, while doing it, but sure had fun on my own.

Seashell fairies and a day that turned into a Stephen King horror story

sea shell fairies, Travel

By Karla Nathan / November 16, 2016

In October, I got to spend a few days at the world's prettiest beach, Siesta Key. And in appreciation of my wonderful time there, I left a little fairy near the waves as a thank you.

Honestly, it is a beautiful, beautiful place to be, and not just in my mind, it is always winning America's top beach lists, like this one.

Of course, are there any BAD beaches on Florida's Gulf coast? I'd be surprised. There are grains of sand in every type, and as much as I love the powdery, cool sand of Siesta, I enjoy wiggling my toes along other shores too. This fairy was made as a thank you to Turtle Beach, a little way south of where we stayed in Sarasota on Siesta Key.

We had more to be thankful for there than just a pleasurable stroll in the sand…. we were grateful to get home safely!

In the search for more shells than we'd been able to pick up where we were staying, I looked online and saw that there was a slightly deserted area at Midnight Pass, south of Turtle Beach where shells were abundant, if you didn't mind a bit of a walk. So, we drove to the end of the road, and took off walking along the beach, down the sand to what looked like the end of civilization and filled our bags with pretty shells. We also lost track of time, and realized it was getting late as we headed back. So we trudged through the sand back the way we'd come.

And we trudged.

And trudged.

Then trudged some more. And I regretted my decision to not bring a water bottle thinking it was a pleasant day and we were only going on a short walk. (Kind of like a 3 Hour Tour).

We hadn't picked a landmark when we left our car. So we kept on a trudging and tried to find where we'd parked it. We were getting a little worried, tired, hot, thirsty and bug bitten by then.

As the sun was setting, we came across a couple who told us we'd walked way, way too far past our car and needed to turn around. They said the easiest way back was to follow the Yellow Brick Road.

?????

And then showed us the way through their condo complex, which was actually a side walk with yellow bricks that led to the road, which led us back a mile or more to our car. Much easier than walking through the sand. And much better than walking the wrong direction.

(this is a preliminary sketch for my art journal, not done yet)

Here is the co-inky dink part- I live in Kansas, and if you've read my blog, you might have noticed that I'm a big fan of Yellow Brick Roads and all that goes along with them. This guy who helped us lives in Florida, but was actually from a town nearby me in Kansas.

And he told us that we'd walked by Stephen King's beach mansion down at the tip of the key. Well, it was Halloween week, and we'd been totally immersed in "Fright Fest" on AMC, including a day long Stephen King marathon the day before! Here we were lost in the dark, practically trespassing in the yard of the king of horror.

But that wasn't the end, as we finally neared our car, and thought the saga was over, we heard a terrible fight and a woman screaming for help in the clump of trees on the other side of the empty parking lot. We were in a isolated area, at night, creeped out and tired. But we called 911 and locked our doors, waiting for a policeman to come and save the poor screaming woman, whose cries stopped as a man drove off on a moped. We didn't hear her after that, and hoped she was safe. The officer sent us on our way and went looking for her with a high powered flashlight.

I hope she is okay. I tried to look up Sarasota 911 reports but had no luck. We went back to our happy, cozy, Siesta Key condo on the sand, hoping for the best for that poor woman who had screamed with such fright. And our own trek through the sand as we searched for our lost car in the dark for hours didn't seem as bad any more. We were safe and I sure hope she is too.

Tri-Unity

celebrations, family, Sacred Circus, Travel

By Karla Nathan / October 2, 2016

Isn't this cute as a bug?? We got it so we could go to the performances that our kids do at festivals.

I even hippy-ed it up with some swirly lights for the weekend that we were at Tri-Unity.

It is small, only 16', but with a canopy and a pop up tent out front, we had plenty of space. Will I fix it up? I'm not sure. After the big remodel job we just went through, redoing something isn't feeling all that enticing right now. We'll see after I recover. For now, it's pretty cozy and nice inside.

And when we will camp, we won't spend much time inside. I know we didn't this time. The grounds were beautiful, and the event was child friendly, with a cute area set up just for the little ones.

And it was even prettier at night.

The Sacred Circus rig was under a lit tent and the silhouettes of the performers were mesmerizing.

Watching the aerialists through the tent was almost like watching mermaids swim in a colorful sea. Their movements were graceful and flowing.

There was non-stop entertainment, too.

A series of musicians filled the stage late into the night, and the day was started with a drum circle.

During the days, there were workshops. I took the nature walk and learned about edible plants. You could learn to belly dance, hula hoop, fly through the air on a trapeze, meditate, drum, among a few dozen other classes.

Or just hang out with the kids and get your face painted.

And then join them in a parade.

And relax with yoga.

I liked watching the many painters, and petting dogs.

There were some interesting painters there.

But the best part? Time with family.

And friends.

I'll leave you with some more pictures of the weekend, and will show you the circus performance in an upcoming post. Be prepared for lots of grammie style gushing over grand fairies!

Between the Beach and the Hard Rock- thanks to Gloria Gayner, I Will Survive

celebrations, family, Travel

By Karla Nathan / June 25, 2016

Our trip to Orlando started with a drive to Cocoa Beach. Years ago, we started going there because it was the closest ocean access to Disney. Now, we go because we really like staying at the La Quinta by the pier. It isn't a fancy hotel, but has a beautiful balcony view of the water, and is a comfy place.

This year, Sugarwings was old enough to rent a boogie board. Kia and I mostly bopped up and down with the waves and played in the surf. She kept trying to catch tiny fish in her hands and actually managed to do it, too. I told her that she'd be perfect to be stranded on a deserted isle with. She can catch fish bare handed, plus is a vegetarian and doesn't eat them, they'd all go to me.

My handsome husband isn't an ocean guy, so he didn't get in much. He is more of stroller along the shores than a swimmer.

And our oldest teen? She refuses to let sun touch her body. She is an expert at staying lily white. Which I wish I was at her age, then maybe I wouldn't be so wrinkly and spotty…

Due to our flight being cancelled on the way out (we had a fun day in KC, going to movies and lunch while waiting for another flight), our time at the beach was cut short. We had a full day there, then moved on to Universal Studios.

If you stay at one of the on site hotels, you get a free pass to skip most of the lines. Or you can buy one for EIGHTY NINE BUCKS. geesh!

Good thing we got free ones, because if I'd bought those, I'd have been sad, many attractions didn't even have lines and we wouldn't have needed them anyway. There were times I was very glad to have them, and they were helpful. And we were thrilled with the Hard Rock Hotel. My sweet husband, who is not a fan of Disney, puts up with a lot of princess foofala on trips, and since it was Father's Day week, we thought he should have a place he would like to stay.

It was one of the nicest places ever. The pool was ideal, Sugarwings and I hardly left it when we weren't at the park. She participated in all of the poolside games and contests that she could.

Avahnni even entered the hula hooping event. Sugarwings won the hula hoop water relay twice. So, when the DJ asked for adult volunteers, I figured that I'd get up on the stage and maybe be in a water balloon toss, or something along those lines.

But dang, once I was out of the water, chosen as a volunteer, I discovered…

oh my…

It was a lip sync contest.

oh noooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

I don't sing. I can't remember words to songs. I have no rhythm. I dance like Martin Short, if I'm at my best.

The other contestants were cute college girls, swaying to the music and holding up their cocktails. Girls who knew how to dance.

When I was asked what genre of music I wanted, I requested "grandma music". Maybe something from a cartoon or from the 70s? I was given Disco. Oh no. I do not Hustle. Panic was setting in.

Then, I looked around and realized that while there might have been 200 people there, Sugarwings was the only one I knew. So, I went for it. I went as silly and dramatic as I could.

I let the Martin Short in me come out full strength in my dancing and that won the contest for me.

It was a highlight of my trip. Thank god there are no photos. I still am surprised that was me, up there in front of the crowd in a swimsuit, dancing and being silly. My mom would've loved it, she was goofy too.

As much as I loved the Wizarding World, I could've been happy at that pool all week. It even had night time family movies, with underwater speakers.

No matter how much fun a trip is, it is wonderful to be home. And to see progress done on the new room while we were away.

When Sugarwings started reading the Harry Potter books, I told her that I'd take her to Universal to see Hogwarts when she finished them.

Then, her Daddy married the mother of the biggest Harry Potter fangirl ever. So, we decided to change the trip to a "Welcome to the Family" vacation for the fangirl and her sister.

We are lucky to have these two girls in our lives. They are smart, polite, talented, funny, sassy, and cute as can be. We love it that they are such good influences for Sugarwings and Dewdrop.

And we love it that they are now our very own grand fairies.

Plus, I got a bonus trip to Florida out of the deal!! I'm missing those seashells already. Tell me again, why do I live in Kansas instead of near a beach?

Disneyworld vs Universal

family, Sugarwings, Travel

By Karla Nathan / June 20, 2016

Last week was the worst imaginable for the city of Orlando. So much tragedy, so much heart ache. But that town is such a well oiled machine of tourism, filled with professionals, that we probably saw less of what was going on right there in front of us than we would've if we'd been at home in Kansas watching the news. In person, we didn't see any signs of turmoil, or heightened security.

On our last night, the performance of La Nuba was dedicated to the victims of the shooting and that was moving, but the only reference we saw to any of the horribleness that had occurred during the week. I'm sure that the citizens of Orlando were hurt, frightened, angry, and saddened, and I have to admire their bravery in not being beaten down.

Visiting Florida and the attractions in Orlando has been one of my favorite things over the years, but now even more so, after seeing the toughness of that town and the way the people there were not going to let the terrorists win.The town has a special place in my heart.

You don't come to my blog for stories of terrorism and sadness, though. I debated even mentioning the trip at all. But my posts are also my diary, or journal, and while I feel a sort of survivor's guilt about being in a bubble of happiness while such ugliness was occurring, I still want to fill in the pages of my life with the stories of what I've done and where I've been.

So, onto happier talk?

And what could be happier than a frozen butter beer in Harry Potter Land on a hot day???

This was our first trip to Universal, we were there to visiting the wizarding world.

When I was a teenager, I went to Disneyworld the summer that it opened. After watching Walt talk about it for years on Sunday nights during the Wonderful World of Disney, and a lifetime of begging to be taken to the original park in CA, I was beyond thrilled to finally get a taste of that Wonderful World myself. And it didn't disappoint.

Maybe since I wasn't a child myself on the first trip there, I never outgrew it? Add in a few decades of not being able to afford to visit, and then experiencing it through Sugarwings' eyes, and I am as hooked now as I ever was.

But this trip, we only walked through Disney Springs to see the Cirque De Soleil with our circus performer grands. (and they LOVED the show, Kia's eyes were riveted to the stage and she applauded so hard for the aerialists that her hands must still be sore)

So, I had a "Minnie" Disney fix, not a full one. This trip was about wizards. Which were AMAZING! Everything about Universal was so well done, especially Potterland. The Hogwarts Express especially. And the dragon in Diagon Alley?? wow!

Yes, I loved it all.

And it was an ideal park for teens, the big girls appreciated the more thrilling rides.

The food was great, the park was well run and friendly.

The size is manageable for getting around, reminding me of how cozy Disneyland and California Adventure are, these two Universal parks are much like those, size wise.

The workers were so nice and friendly, going out of their way to give Sugarwings little tours of the rides if she was too leery of getting on one, since she goes more for the atmosphere than the rides.

but….

I still missed Disney.

Dr. Suessland was magical and very well done.

Do you notice anything odd here? We played in this park about 30 minutes and only saw two other kids briefly.

Another plus for Universal, at least while we were there is that it wasn't as crowded as I've seen when visiting Mickey.

And there are some breath taking views.

Here is what I think I figured out….. Universal is fantastically done, and has rides much more interesting to older kids. Less crowded, less expensive, extremely detailed, it is beautiful.

But, while there is plenty of magic and fun, and excitement, where is the heart?

Oh there are fun characters from lovable movies, but I missed the pulling of my heartstrings that I get at Disney.

Seriously, there is not one single thing about Universal that I can't recommend. It was quite wonderful and I hope to go back again. Especially if I have older kids with me.

And it could be just my imagination, or plain old nostalgia that has me so hooked on Disney.

But I don't think so.

Universal is a fun day out at a fantastic amusement park. I really did love every second of it and was soooo impressed with the park.

But Disney is a fun day into my childhood dreams and into my heart.

The quality of the park is every bit as good as Disney, and the themes, are just perfect. Jurassic Park? Yay! That T Rex at the top of the waterslide was horrifically real. I still shiver thinking about him (Sugarwings didn't go near that ride)

It also had Impact Wrestling Live.

what?

Yep, we went to check out the venue. My son Ryan is a big fan and I hoped he'd see us in the crowd while watching at home. We didn't stay long, although it was interesting to peek in on.

Sugarwings liked the park, even though she missed the princesses. She isn't a ride person, she goes for the atmosphere. She likes the shows, characters, performers, parades, and Universal does not measure up in that department.

When it was time for the parade, we scoured the sidewalks for a good spot to watch from. After my experience with the other parks, I knew that you had to get a seat early, before the viewing points were 15-20 people deep and you couldn't see anything.

It was surprising that there was only a scattered crowd for the parade, and we had multiple choices for watching it. Then I saw why, it was a handful of floats, and suddenly over. Not the extravaganza I was used to. But Sugarwings enjoyed it. Maybe sometimes, over the top isn't needed?

There is certainly something to be said for no crowds blocking your view, too.

Please note that none of this is a complaint about my trip, only a comparison between the two parks. Both are wonderful, I was just trying to put my finger on why I was feeling about them.

Angie’s castle in the sky

friends, Travel

By Karla Nathan / May 20, 2016

Beth and I recently spent an afternoon with Angie at her apartment on the Plaza. She has an enchanting place on the 8th floor within walking distance of the museum and overlooking the grand shopping district.

Personally, I've never been a city person, but after visiting this lofty space, I was pretty taken with the idea of living in the city.

We explored the Kaufman Gardens

and had lunch at the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art. I felt like I was on vacation, and the day was a getaway from my regular life, not a typical meal and shopping with friends.

When we arrived, Angie had a fruit plate for us.

And a thoughtful gift.

This apartment is only temporary, Angie is a country girl too and is looking for a home with some land after her wedding date in August. Although, with that vista from the living and dining rooms, this apartment doesn't feel small or closed in like most apartments I've ever lived in. The view is such an expansive space, that her rooms feel larger because of it.

And of course, they are filled with beautiful things. Her decor is light and airy too.

I don't know how I've lived in this area for so many years and have never explored the Plaza, except for a few shops here and there. The Nelson has this gorgeous dining room, that truly made me feel like I was a world traveler.

It was a quite a special day, with special friends.

I hope I get another day to visit and pretend to be a city girl before Angie and her fiance buy their dream house together.

My Hippie getaway

family, Travel

By Karla Nathan / April 27, 2016

Our weekend at the southern Missouri campgrounds for our boy's wedding was a lot more than just attending the ceremony. We had a whole experience of outdoor festival time, and my very first camping adventure.

Honey came along with us and I think she loved the trip more than anyone else. And that is a LOT because it was a pretty cool trip.

I'm not much of a roughing it type. I love being outside, yet I also need my comforts, so we rented a camper to sleep in. We did plenty of cooking out doors, but it was also nice to have a kitchen to use.

And a camper to keep warm in. The days were lovely, but the first night got pretty dang cold. I ended up sleeping with a pair of Toasty Toes on my feet and one stuck to my nose, even though I had a camper with a heater in it.

I'm a wimp.

There were lots of nice people, shows, music, and classes on many subjects like sustainable gardening, yoga, and meditation.

My new daughter-in-law was the yoga instructor.

I'm afraid I didn't take advantage of any of the classes. I kept busy playing with Sugarwings, enjoying the trails, and making a stone fairy on the creek's beach. But my husband did try the acupuncture and he loved it. Although, it was odd to see him sitting by the bonfire with needles sticking out of his ears and eyebrows. Out of the corner of my eye, I kept thinking he had a dragonfly land on his face and wanted to shoo it away.

During the day the girls practiced for their show, and also gave mini lessons to attendees who wanted to try the trapeze or lira. I tried the slack line. It is kind of a cross between a tight rope and a trampoline. I got so that I could balance while sitting on it, but had to watch out because if my attention wandered for just a second, it flung me off. And I didn't just fall of, it really has a lot of tension and bounces a person off powerfully.

I landed upside down in the dirt a couple of times before deciding that maybe it wasn't my thing. I tried the trapeze too, but not in a way that really counted. Kind of like something a 5 year old could do on a playground swingset.

There was a guy camped near us who could stack rocks in a way that defied gravity.

Hammers too! He was showing us how he did it, and both Avahni and my son caught on pretty fast. Again, not something I was good at.

The location was beautiful. Sugarwings loved every second of it, not even noticing the chill. Dewdrop was with her mommy and couldn't come, but I have a feeling she is a bit of a wimp like I am and might have been a tad cold also.

Although, I'm sure that she'd have had plenty of cuddlers to hold her and keep her warm if she could've come.

She was missed.

At the Hotel Del Coronado and some Sugarwings time at Disney

family, Sugarwings, Travel

By Karla Nathan / March 15, 2016

Before I went to the arty girls weekend on the island, I spent some time with Sugarwings and my handsome husband. She had school conferences a couple of days that week, so we snuck her out a couple more, and flew her off to Cali with us for a little Disney getaway.

Yes, I'm becoming a Disney freak. Mouse addict? Princess stalker? I don't know what you call it, but I caught a serious case of it. And while my husband the rest of the adults in the family are over the place, the girls and I are not. My husband does say he has one more trip in him to take Dewdrop, since she couldn't come this time. Then he is free and never has to go back with me.

But he does have moments there that he loves, like dancing Downton Disney with his grand fairy.

She and I don't get tired of any of it, and we try to soak up as much as we can. We decided that we would never leave the hotel without walking under the wizard's hat, even if going another way was quicker. You just have to walk under a wizard's hat if it is available, don't you?

The highlight of our girl's day at Disney (my husband went to visit friends and the beach, he didn't come to the park) was seeing Ariel.

We rode her ride too. We actually spent our extra "magic hour" before the park opened, trying to break our record of how many times we could go around and around on that. We hit five times in a row without having to get off, since there were no lines.

Sugarwings had her art journal with her and drew a frame on pages for the princesses to sign.

At the lunch in Ariel's Grotto, all the princesses stop to chat and while I didn't hear all of the conversations, a few were pretty involved, and the ladies were very nice about spending time with her. Many of them told me what a great kid she was, and had some laughs.

Sugarwings was very animated while telling Tiana that she admired her because she was a princess who took care of herself and worked hard. Their conversation turned to Rapunzel and Merida after that.

It was all pretty cute.

Sugarwings is about 9-1/2 now. And looks so grown up. I'm hoping this isn't our last visit to the grotto for lunch, I'll be sad if she is ever too cool to hang out with her grammie there. I know I don't outgrow it.

Neither of us got tired of hunting for Hidden Mickeys and we even found a few.

We certainly picked the right day to be there, a Monday in late February. We never even needed a fast pass, there were hardly any lines.

When there was a little wait, we had a system. I'd read a book on my phone, and she would listen to a book on Audible with headphones hooked to my phone. We were a pretty good team, and it was an ideal day. Great weather, no crowds, no rush, we did what we wanted, when we wanted to.

That is pretty much how the whole trip went, we stayed at Disney a couple days, then at the Hotel Del Coronado a few more. Our poor girl came down with a fever and we missed the San Diego Zoo, and even with that, we had a wonderful trip.

She and I had lazy mornings on the balcony watching the water, wrapped up in hotel robes and reading our books.

The Del gives each kid a backpack with scavenger hunt tools and hints, so we played that game for a while.

We explored the hotel, ate fancy dinners, and watched the Sandcastle Man with his masterpiece. Yes, quite a trip, and all building up to my artful girls getaway. I really felt lucky and blessed.

I'll leave you with a few more pictures of the week. And here is a favorite song from my youth, so dreamy and sweet. And about Disney, too.

Somehow, we did end up with cookies and did not die, but I sure learned a lesson

Food and Drink, Travel

By Karla Nathan / March 13, 2016

One of the reasons (of many) that I wanted to attend this luxury event in Coronado Island was to take a lesson in making macarons, taught by a French Chef.

Well….. there were some issues with that.

First of all, there was a slight gassy smell coming from the 90 year old oven in the morning when it was fired up. The oven was said to need two hours to warm up, but when it was turned on, it didn't seem right.

I hardly noticed it, even though others were complaining. The home's owner was called and he said not to worry.

So, we went on with our morning.

But it got worse. And worse, and worse.

Stupidly, I went along with ignoring it, just complaining about the smell a bit. I did open windows on a couple floors. This is a 13 bedroom house, so is huge,and the smell was prevalent throughout. Which should have set off alarms in my head. But apparently I am a dumb ass.

Well, eventually, we all decided that waiting for the owner to care enough to handle it wasn't a good idea. The gas company was called, Beth and I went outside for fresh air and to escape explosions. I don't know why everyone didn't evacuate, one person took a nap due to a headache from the gas. If we'd had a lick of sense, we'd have brought her outside, not let her nap!!!

Now, if you are ever anywhere with a gas leak, please be smarter than us. You should LEAVE THE BUILDING. Call the gas co. or fire department from another location. When the technician arrived, he said that a cell phone call could set off a static spark that could ignite the house.

The old oven had given up the ghost, and we were lucky to have not become ghosts ourselves, according the the gas company. The repairman said it was not a matter of "if" but "when" it would have blown up if we had gone on with making cookies.

Yes, I felt dumb as dumb can be for blissfully ignoring the situation and going about my business. I'd like to say I was dizzy from the gas and not making rational decisions, but I'll admit to being plain old careless and stupid and am lucky to be alive.

Well, we lived. The gorgeous house did not blow up. And I learned how to make macarons. Although, the chef insists that all the ingredients must be measured and I am more of an eye baller. She told me, "good luck with that".

Well, I am on a lucky streak, what with being alive and all, so maybe my cookies will be fine.

We couldn't use the oven, and honestly didn't even want to.

I figured the toaster oven should be fine, but the chef said NO, it wouldn't. I figured I'd give it a shot anyway. Some of the cookies weren't as nice as they should have been, but we just piled on tons of extra filling and ate them that way.

They tasted magnificent.

There was one pan load from the toaster oven that looked good though. Very good, I'd say. The chef pointed out that they were a bit brown on top, but I didn't care. I think they are lovely. After all we'd been through that day, I WAS GOING TO HAVE MACARONS and I was going to enjoy them.

Here they are next to our other projects, a crown and a button necklace. I brought some extras to make the necklace and ended up making one long chain of buttons and another, shorter one with some of my rhinestone pieces added. My crown took on a blue bird of happiness theme, and has a lot of extra rhinestoney goodness pieces added to it too.

The kitchen might have been a time bomb, but man it was cool. See those wooden doors? Those are the original, ice box style refrigerators. Still in use. That is the fridge for the house.

This is the butler's pantry, I think.

This door might have been one of my favorite things in the house. Out of soooooo many beautiful things to chose as a fave.

Like this tattered velvet hand rail.

The dainty tile.

The garden trails.

Trees filled with fresh oranges.

Murals in the dining room.

And the chaise lounge in my bedroom suite.

What a lovely suite it was, two bedrooms and a full bath, with cozy beds each topped with a pillow with our names on it.

The house was a mix of comfy, homey furnishings from the family who'd lived there for decades, and antiques. The structure itself seemed to all be original, and the trim work was over the top, especially the dining room ceiling.

But the very, very best part? Interesting new friends to laugh with! And to not die with. I'm glad our headaches and upset stomachs from the gas faded away, not one of us exploded, and we even got to kind of finish one batch of macarons.