Lily Inspiration: What I did on my summer vacation.

This summer Rick and I took a little road trip. We drove from Victoria to Oliver B.C., down through Washington State to Pendleton Oregon and then across to Portland. It was a lot of driving, but so much fun.

We relaxed at Tinhorn Creek's guest house and drank in the view.

Wild horses near Osoyoos. I didn't want to get any closer....now you know that I'm a huge wuss.

Rattlesnake country, the Grand Culees.

We took a tour through the Pendleton Woolen Mills. Sounds dorky but we really enjoyed it.

The mill was built in 1909. A lot of the equipment they still use today was made in the 1940's.

Quality control area.

We made some cushion covers from wool that I picked up at the mill.

Studio Update: Farm Vacation

I was slated to post the Studio Update this week, and I'm pretty sure all the girls at the studio are busy sewing our fall clothes, but I'm on vacation at my parents farm in Ontario... so, I thought I'd share a few photos from my trip.

I found a few antlers in the barn - they're returning to Victoria with me for our fall scarf display.

There are plenty of Canadian thistles around the farm - great print idea.

I found rolls of raw wool in the shed.

Another print idea... chevron of a tractor tire.

I really like the hay rake.

My mom made 2 fresh raspberries pies the first day home. Yum!

My mom made two fresh raspberries pies the first day home. Yum!

Lily Inspiration: Homes away from Home

Today I will be venturing off into the wilderness (after we get out of Calgary I suppose) for a month long road trip with my best fella. We will be travelling all over BC, Alberta and the Yukon. Our general route incorporates visits to friends in big cities, family, and a pal currently tree planting up in Manning. Below a very rough map of our route, as we once we finish paying visits to those good aforementioned folk we will be going wherever the wind takes us.

During the trip our awesome 1994 Toyota Previa will be our home away from home, decked out with a leisurely bed in the back, a trunk full of supplies, mini cooler, poorly made curtains (by yours truly) as well as a bunch of books on tape, books in real life, backgammon, sketch pads, guitars and a harmonica.

(me sewing in some velcro around the windows for curtains)

I've been having a ton of fun polishing up the Thunderwagon into cozy home away from home and making up new and interesting ways of organizing and containing all the things for our trip. Seeing as we won't usually be near computers, my blogs will most likely be few in July, but expect some awesome shots and accounts of travel once I return.

Sayonara!!

New Garden State Colours!

I'm home again after a very pleasant week in Mexico. We went to Isla Mujeres on the east coast, a short ferry ride from Cancun. Drank lots of beer, ate great food, read lots between my many naps, and got a bad ass sun burn--all the things you want from a holiday.

Just before I left, we finished the first run of the new Garden State Dress, and I snagged one for my trip. I wore it four out of seven days--LOVE IT! The new fabric is bamboo and is great for traveling: breaths, doesn't get stinky, and washes well. The style of the dress was great too, as it feels casual but has class. Right now Apple Green and Periwinkle are available, and very soon we will have Tomato and Turquoise.

Hope you enjoy the photo of Rick and myself practicing for retirement.

My Nicaragua Vacation Part 5: Hotel Spa Granada

As promised, here are some shots of the interior of the Hotel Spa Granada. Built in 1802, a presidential home for many years, taken over by the Sandanistas in the 1980's and used, if I recall correctly, as the offices of the Ministry of Health, then returned to the family, and currently run as an upscale hotel.

I stayed there for one night. It was $95 for an enormous room with a king-sized bed, massive bathroom, two beautifully furnished balconies, lovely pool courtyard, a complimentary spa treatment and awesome breakfast. It was 4 times more than I paid for other accommodations on the trip, but soooo worth it (if only my boyfriend had been there to enjoy it with me!).

My Nicaragua Vacation Part 4: Granada Markets

My Nicagara Vacation Part 3: Granada

Granada is a Spanish colonial city that was built, and boomed, in the 16th and 17th centuries. It is one of the best preserved colonial cities in Latin America (not ravaged by earthquake or war). The architecture, colour and liveliness of the town adds up to a mesmerizing experience. We made sure to return to Granada for our final day and night to soak up a little more of its gorgeous light, exhilarating market, and beautiful accommodations.

Here are a few vistas that I enjoyed.

Views from the balconies at my hotel room in the Hotel Spa Granada. More photos of this gorgeous hotel to come...

Street scenes:

View from our room at Casa Del Agua onto the courtyard pool. A room for three persons was $54 with air conditioning and hot showers (a real luxury on this trip).

Granada bus depot:

My Nicaragua Vacation Part Two: Big Corn Island

The only major problem encountered on the trip was being stranded, with 2 of the 4 people I was travelling with, on Big Corn Island with no confirmed plane tickets (on a really busy, puddle-jumping route) and with only a few Cordobas left in our pockets in a cash only environment with no bank machines. Our plane tickets got messed up online, and when we went to resolve it in person they cheerfully wrote on our tickets that we were confirmed to fly out with our travel buddies on the 9:00am flight at the end of a 5 day stay on Little Corn Island. But when we arrived back on Big Corn, via a harrowing panga ride (small speedboats overcrowded with wide-eyed tourists and their luggage racing over 3 meter swells), we were informed that they had neglected to confirm our ticket information with head office. So, all we had were tickets with a date scratched onto them, no booked flight out!

We had to wait on stand-by twice that day, but did not get on a flight. Not much fun waiting for hours in a tiny, hot, shack of an airport terminal. But there was a pretty sweet upside - we were in Caribbean paradise! In between waiting on standby, the few Cordobas we had left bought us beers from a thatch roof cabana on the edge of one of the most beautiful beaches we experienced on our trip, and lunch was provided by a roadside Starfruit tree. When it became clear that we would not be making it off the island that day (and no guarantees that we wouldn't be stranded there for a few more days), we were down to our Visas to purchase anything. It turned out that there was one hotel that accepted Visa - the most expensive accomodation on the island! So, darn, we had to book into a luxurious, waterfront cabana, swim in their infinity pool, and dine on lobster in their excellent restaurant. Oh well...you have to be flexible when you are travelling, right?

We did get on the first flight out the next morning, and as much as we enjoyed staying in the lap of luxury, we were happy to be on our way to Granada to meet up with the rest of our party and tour the gorgeously colourful colonial town that I will post photos of next.