Navarre Beach, FL

White sandy beaches and emerald green waters...it was beautiful and we soaked every last minute of it up!

We got an awesome deal for a 1 bedroom condo right on the bay. We enjoyed views of the beach from our balcony and bay from our kitchen window. It was only a short walk to the beach. The condo even had a private fishing pier that we took full advantage of to catch a dinner or two. We even went crabbing but we were unsuccessful in that department.

We caught 4 speckled trout, 1 mackerel, 2 sea catfish, and 2 other fish that we didn't know what they were. We only kept and cooked up the trout which was absolutely delicious!

We enjoyed lots of time in the water.

Dave experienced his first time snorkeling with his new snorkeling gear.

Dave was in this position for about two hours straight  (now envision what his back might possibly look like today). He combed through the sea bed digging for extra special seashells for me...

We had quite the collection (this isn't even all of them) and I can't wait to figure out the perfect way to display them in our home to remind us of our trip.

We both received terrible sunburns (notice my leg above) despite our efforts to avoid it.

The scenery was all breathtaking and as you might imagine I was going crazy at all the photo opportunities that surrounded me...

We enjoyed seeing all of the creatures that made the beach their home...

I saw my very first Jellyfish (in the wild). The water was crystal clear.

We enjoyed beautiful sunrises coming up over the bay...

And amazing sunsets at night...

Best of all we enjoyed some quality time with one another! It was really our first vacation (aside from our honeymoon) that we weren't going to see family.

It couldn't have been more perfect...

Read more...

HOT, HOT, HOT

Can you believe we are going on our third year here in Arkansas. Each year has brought us many adventures experiencing what life and weather is like in the south. For each year we have been here, I have deemed an appropriate name for what I have remembered it by. The first year was what I call, "the year of the tornadoes". We had only been here a few short weeks when these crazy storms began to roll in, many of which came quite close to the proximity of our home. I remember thinking..."what have I moved too"!

The second year I refer to as "the year of the rain". We experienced record rain fall in Arkansas. It is always amazing (and devastating) to see people being rescued by boat from their homes or cars. It is crazy to have work canceled and freeways closed due to flooding.

Although this year is far from over, I have already deemed it "the year of the unbearable heat". The first two summers in Arkansas everyone kept saying..."oh, this is such a mild summer".  After hearing it for two years I just figured that was the normal temperatures and everyone was just trying to scare me. I can recall going to lunch with a lady from church shortly after I moved here. She gave me a myriad of information regarding how to survive in Arkansas. She explained to me what the heat index meant and even gave me a handout showing a chart of how to calculate temperatures based on the humidity levels.

At the time I thought, "I know all about the heat...I grew up in New Mexico and lived in Las Vegas and Phoenix. Boy, was I wrong! I now know what unbearable heat really is. For several weeks now the temperatures have been hovering in the 100's. Add the heat index (caused by humidity) and you can make that about 115 degrees outside. It was even reported the other day to be 122 degrees with heat index here in Central Arkansas! 122 degrees...that is insane! No humane should ever reside in a place that has temperatures that HOT!

I walk outside and within 3 minutes I am completely sweating and my makeup is literally dripping off of my face! It is just not right. But in all reality there are perks to living in the most beautiful state in the USA. I mean I get to wake up to this outside my window every morning...

So I guess I will suck it up and deal and simply hope to survive till spring (my favorite season here in Arkansas). Happy Summer! Hope everyone else is staying a little cooler than me!

Read more...

Rosemary

My friend, Michelle, asked me to take her sweet little Rosemary's 6 month pictures. The heat and humidity has been unbearable around here, so we opted for most of the pictures to be taken indoors. She was just too cute, that I couldn't resist sharing some of the images with you...

Read more...

Creepy Crawly Creatures

We experience a lot of interesting creatures in Arkansas. I found one of the more crazy ones sitting on my lemon tree the other day. He was so strange looking that I just had to share a few images...

When I first found it, I thought it was a snake. Upon further inspection I decided that it wasn't a snake, but I had no idea what else it could be. It was so ugly and viscous looking. I grabbed a stick to try and remove it from the tree, but as I did, a crazy snake like tongue came out of it's mouth and it released a horrible smelling odor. At this point, I was doubting my earlier confirmation that it was not a snake and decided to do a little internet search before I went any further with the crazy creature.

I learned that it was a Giant Swallowtail Caterpillar. It apparently disguises itself to look like bird dropping on a tree branch or leaf.   It turns into a big beautiful swallowtail butterfly. It is crazy to think that something this atrocious could turn into something so beautiful!

I was finally able to remove him from the tree, he was pretty upset with me. I threw him over my fence and hoped he will not return until he turns into a butterfly, and then he can visit as much as he wants.

I would much rather find one of these in my garden...

or some more of these...

Read more...

Lucky Girl

Have I ever told you that I am one lucky girl! 

That's right...perhaps the luckiest girl ever!

My husband dearest made me the most amazing White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake for my 26th birthday. It was beautiful...like a piece of art! Okay...I know I am probably a little overly excited about this cheesecake, but it truly was amazing and I was so impressed by his culinary skills. It was his first attempt at a cheesecake and it was perfect in every way (other than he accidentally stuck his finger in the side of it-oops). And I will assure you, it was ever more beautiful in real life than it is in this picture! 

Okay, enough about cheesecake! It was a great birthday weekend filled with awesome food and awesome friends. It feels very good to have year 25 behind me. Let's hope that year 26th has lots of good things in store!

Us at Benihana's

We enjoyed a wonderful dinner (and show) at Benihana's with lots of good friends on the eve of my birthday. Did you know that if you sign up for their birthday club they send you a $30 gift certificate for your birthday each year...SWEET! And trust me, the food is delicious.

Praying that my birthday wishes come true...just kidding! 

I was actually clapping as they sang to me.

To add to my husband's awesomeness...He bought me a new "super duper" lens for my camera (a Nikon 70mm-300mm VR lens). The thing feels like it weighs 500 pounds! I can't wait to get out there and practice with it.

Lots of thanks to my Davy and all my friends for the wonderful birthday wishes! You all made my day very special and made me feel like the luckiest girl ever!

Read more...

{MUSE}

{MUSE}

If you haven't been by in a while, I am now updating my design blog regularly with a little bit of weekly design infatuation. Every Friday I try to feature something that I love in the design world. I fill each post with lots of inspiring pictures to get your wheels turning and your creative side to shine. So take a little visit over to:{MUSE}

http://musebykara.blogspot.com 

Read more...

Thanksgiving Point

I think I am cursed! The two times I have gone to a tulip festival the weather was freezing cold (although it was perfect the weeks prior to both of my visits) and the tulips were mostly dying off because of the weather! Either way, even a dying tulip seems beautiful and I was still able to capture a few fresh ones.

My mom asked my dad to take her to the Thanksgiving Point tulip festival for her birthday while we were up in Utah! It was certainly a site to see, freezing cold or not! My parents zipped around on segways while my grandparents and I enjoyed the scenery from a golf cart (easier to make frequent stops to take lots of pictures)!

My silly grandpa with his mad driving skills

Arn't they cute on their little segways!

My dad snuck this picture of me at work! Sometimes you gotta get down and dirty to get a good image (look at my heels popping out of my shoes-ha)! It may look like I know what I am doing...but I don't!

The sweet owl that built a nest in the side of a cliff at Thanksgiving point.

Read more...