Creative Escape 2010: day 2

It'S sO mUCh FuN to re-live Creative Escape 2010 through my blog, thanks for joining me to reminisce! The incredible "CE vibe" is still with me and I'm sure will stay with me until CE '11 when I can get another "CE fix" (Sal is wincing right now, I'm sure, LOL)!!

So I'm back to share more of my CE joys, there were SO many! Thanks for joining me for "day 2" at the event, which was actually the official first day of CE, Thursday. I was busy all week catching-up on work/home/life (thanks for your patience!), but tonight I'm hopped-up on a highly-caffeinated Starbucks chai tea so I'm up for a long post..... ready?

But first, I forgot to post about the clever way that the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort welcomed the hundreds of arriving CE'ers ... such a beautiful display of stones/pebbles, meticulously shaped into the words "Creative Escape", so very "Arizona"!
My 2nd day at CE got off to an early start ... got my breakfast "to go" so that I could eat it while waiting for the on-site "CE store" to open. Yes, I wanted to avoid the disappointment of missing out on special CE-themed, one-of-a-kind goodies. Turns out I overestimated how early I needed to arrive there --- I was FIRST in line, LOL !!! You can see my black bag marking my place at the head of the line of happy CE'ers:
A Phoenix scrapbook store called Scrapbooks, Etc. (which just happens to be the LARGEST sb store in the southwestern USA, whoa!) comes to CE and sets-up a "store" for us right in the convention center. We all go absolutely GAGA in there!!! All sorts of great sb'ing supplies ... many unique, and in the colors of the event (this year they were turquoise/teal/aqua/black/white --- such a gorgeous color combination, and so sophisticated). So the doors opened and the FUN began! Look at all that FABRIC too! Scrapbooks, Etc. has expanded their inventory to include sb'ing AND fabric, and they kindly brought tons of fat quarters to the CE store.
After shopping, it was time for the event to officially open ... the fun begins at the Registration Desk (those teal balloons look just like the ones Sal and I had at our wedding --- fond memories!!),
(Notice how even the signs at CE are embellished so beautifully?) No detail is overlooked ...

There we picked-up our tote bags, name tags (complete with gorgeous damask ribbon lanyard), and class project booklet (which CE calls our "inspiration manual", I love that!).

After donning my fab nametag and tote, I was off to the Technique Boutique ... a series of "stations" where we either pick-up essentials for our classes, or do a "make-n-take" that will be used in one of our classes. One of the best stations was the mini-class taught by Wendy, the creator of glimmer mist herself ! ... as the name implies, glimmer mist is a spray ink in the most amazing array of shimmery colors, and you know how I love bling so it's a favorite product of mine!

At another fun station we picked up a fruit bar, offered in lots of fruity flavors, yum!
And another station was set-up for us to have the event photographer snap our "official" event photo: Next it was off to the Trunk Show, which was a meet-and-greet with the 8 teachers and a chance to see lots of their projects and art out on display. My fave among the teachers is always Heidi Swapp, scrapbook designer extraordinaire and founder of Creative Escape. I always love meeting up with her and chatting, and spending time at her project table, in awe of her incredible creativity and talent!

This is a STUNNING "Italia" mini-album that Heidi made after teaching in Italy some months ago ... after admiring it on her blog, it was terrific to be able to see it in person, and look through it page-by-page. So glad she brought it to the Trunk Show, it's a work of art!

You might have noticed that in all the photos I'm wearing what I call my "Heidi necklace". It was designed by Heidi for Creative Escape 2009, and I loved the style and CE symbolism of it. Details of the various charms are in my September 7, 2009 post. It's a special piece of jewelry!

I continued around the trunk show, chatting with all the teachers, getting autographs, enjoying the creative scrapbooking displays. One project in particular, by teacher Pam Black (more on the teachers in my upcoming "CE: day 3" and "CE: day 4" posts), was a scrapbook page that captured my recent excitement over the book & movie Eat Pray Love --- how fun is this ?!
So after all the festivity of the Technique Boutique and the Trunk Show, it was time to wrap-up the day with the Welcome Ceremony. All 400+ of us gathered to hear about specific event details and for an introduction to the teachers.


After each teacher was introduced, she was given a special gift ... a handmade craft apron, gorgeous! Made from sparkly aqua and silver fabrics ... which were available at the CE store, of course!

(photo courtesy of Heidi's blog)

Then it was off to enjoy dinner and relax with friends and sleep (what's that ???) to be rested for an early wake-up on Friday morning to begin classes. I was exhausted, but oh-so-happy! :-)

I'll be back soon with "day 3" and "day 4". Stay tuned, and thanks for sharing my CE journey!

Creative Escape 2010: day 1

My body clock is finally getting back on "east coast" time, it always takes me a while. So I'm getting unpacked, catching up on things at work, running errands ... back to reality!

I had such a FAB time at Creative Escape 2010, as always it was an amazing event! And with all the fun & festivity & friends, I didn't have a spare second to blog from Arizona, sorry! I hardly had time to sleep it seems, LOL. So I'll be sharing the details with you now, one day of the event at a time.

When I left for CE, it was SO difficult to say good-bye to Sal ... and how do you say good-bye to these sweet angels ???

I knew I'd miss them so much! But, I also knew I would see them in just a few days, inspired and rejuvenated!

The trip to AZ, although at a painfully early hour, went smoothly and during my flight to Phoenix, I saw "pillows" of clouds as far as the eye could see ... kinda dreamy:

I got checked-in to my cozy room at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort, with a spectacular view awaiting from my balcony:

After an early wake-up and a 5-hour flight that morning, a visit to the Aji Spa is just what this girl on an "escape" needed! So I began with a delicious lunch at the spa cafe ... a sage and cheese panini served with homemade onion dip, fresh-baked pita chips, and peach iced tea:

And then a cool & refreshing mango sorbet bar for dessert .... !

All the while I had this calming view to enjoy during my lunch:

Then I cooled off from the desert heat with a dip in the spa's tranquil pool, followed by a massage specifically designed for fatigue & jet lag (and the spa discount for CE'ers was great, too!). PeRfeCT !! I felt like a new woman, and I was officially ready for CE !!

Since my trip to CE was so last-minute, I had very little time to prepare for the event outside of gathering my sb'ing supplies and anything I could find in my closet in the event colors (turquoise/aqua/teal/black/white). But you know that even my feet had to be adorned in CE finery! So I packed up a bottle of teal nail polish, aqua & teal ribbons, and scissors (as a scrapbooker, I had several varieties of these with me anyway, of course!) and did this in my hotel room, fun!:

Then I met up with my gal pal Susan from Atlanta (waving hello!) and we were ready to let the excitement of Creative Escape 2010 begin!

I'll be back soon to post "day 2" of CE !! :-)

Thanks for stopping by,

heading home .....

Another fabulous Creative Escape has come to a close, time to go home. Loved it !! It was my 3rd and they just get better and better! I'm now waiting for my shuttle to the airport, thought I'd let you know that I'm still here! I did zero blogging during the event, a result of too much fun -- and too little sleep!!! LOL

After I'm home and adjusted to east coast time again, I'll be back here with all the fun CE details and pics. I miss Sal and Buddy and Aruba so much, can't wait to hug them all !!! xoxo

Have a great week !

Susan

live from Gate E1 !!

I was up early today and at the airport by 5:15 AM {yawn!}. Sal was SO sweet to get up so early for an airport run.

So I'm on my way to Phoenix and Creative Escape, woo hoo !!!

CE officially starts tomorrow, but I always like to arrive a day early to relax, get over jet lag, and enjoy the resort amenities. A true "escape"!

But I already miss Sal, Buddy & Aruba terribly. XOXO to them!!!

More later from the Arizona desert .... where today's temp will be 108 degrees F !!

not ready yet ... not even close!

Just printed the boarding pass for my flight to Phoenix tomorrow and reality is hitting me ... hard! I'm still not packed, haven't finished gathering/sorting my scrapbooking supplies, and I have some things to finish up at the lab. Yikes, get moving Susan!

But in my defense, I was fighting a headache yesterday that was soothed greatly by a yummy dinner that Sal made (thanks sweetheart!) and an evening dip in the pool.

That said ... I won't be blogging about our visit to St. Augustine until after I get back from Creative Escape. So, some of my near-future posts will be in reverse order, LOL!

Gotta run ... more tomorrow! :-)

OMG, Arizona here I come !!!

I will be attending Creative Escape 2010, I just signed-up this morning !!! And I leave for Phoenix in less than 3 days !!!
I had absolutely no intention of going ... but because enrollment is down they just extended an irresistible offer for last-minute attendees -- a FREE hotel stay at the event venue, the stunning Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort, whoa! So that combined with a FREE round-trip flight (courtesy of my frequent flier miles) means I can enjoy this indulgent (best evah!) scrapbooking getaway for a lot less $$$.

I have SO much to do before I leave, my head is SPINNING !!! It's not like me to book spur-of-the-moment trips, I'm such a plan-it-well-in-advance kind of gal. So this feels bizarre and exciting all at once!

As you can see from the logo, the color theme for this year's event is black/white/turquoise (last year, it was black/white/pink/green). So, I've already been to the drugstore picking up a CE essential (perhaps you recall my pink and green toes from CE 09? LOL):

A big thanks to Sal for being so patient with me today, I've been giddy with delight! Love you sweetheart!

Time to start packing!

eating praying & loving !!

Whew! What a busy, busy week.

We visited with my parents after exploring St. Augustine, and then came back home and jumped right back into work, chores, errands, the stuff of life. So here I am finally, after just now beginning to feel caught up!

I'm sorting through and editing our St. Augustine pics (still?), so I'll post about that soon.

But in the meantime I wanted to share the fun we had seeing the movie Eat Pray Love. I've been waiting for it all summer and it didn't disappoint! The timing was so cool ... the movie opened the same weekend that we were at my parents', so I got to go with my Mom, her neighbor Karen, and Sal (who reluctantly joined us for what is undeniably a chick-flick, isn't he such a good sport?!?). If you love a story about introspection and/or travel and great cinematography, then grab a girlfriend (or a willing husband/boyfriend, LOL) and let yourself go* to the theater for a journey through Italy, India, and Indonesia!

* EPL's tagline

And speaking of "eating", my Mom and I made mango soup (well, more like I bought the ingredients and she made it, since I don't cook --- unless making ice cubes counts??). The combination of mango and cilantro is delish!

the recipe (modified to be vegetarian):

2 large ripe mangos, peeled and roughly chopped

1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated

1/2 tablespoon fresh lemongrass, chopped

1/2 cup vegetable broth

1/2 cup plain yogurt

2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped

Place mango, ginger, lemongrass and vegetable broth in blender or food processor fitted with metal blade and puree until smooth.

Place in large bowl.

Add yogurt and stir to combine.

Chill.

To serve, ladle soup into bowls.

Garnish with cilantro.

Serves 6.

Enjoy the weekend,

sand, surf, sun, Susan & Sal

Hi there ... here I am, finally! Been on the go here and need to get you "caught up" ... thanks everyone for following along with us on our getaway!

We're exploring St. Augustine, Florida now, but I didn't have a chance to post about our visit to Amelia Island, so I'll start with that. As I had mentioned, Sal and I had an adventure planned for last Tuesday and the weather (thankfully!) cooperated. We went for a horseback ride ... on the beach! Yes, Amelia Island is one of the few places in the United States where this is allowed, so it was a special treat!

It was AMAZING and ROMANTIC ... I was savoring the tranquility of it ... actually, we found that Amelia Island is all about serenity, laid-back and peaceful. We rode for about an hour in virtual silence, enjoying the view, with only the sounds of seagulls chirping and the waves crashing ashore. So unforgettable!

We spent the rest of our time on the island doing a little exploring of the neighborhoods (always curious how the locals live) ... went on a picnic and a nature walk ... did a little shopping in the charming downtown ... but we mostly took in the island's beach vibe. Amelia's beaches are very w---i---d---e, peaceful, pretty. It's easy to find a quiet stretch of sand all your own, no crowds:

A few things set Amelia's beaches apart from ours back home ... SAND DUNES (so pretty with the sea oats gently swaying in the ocean breeze) --- reminded me of Cape Cod! ... lots of SEA FOAM, I've never seen so much! It actually "rolls around" on the beach in the wind, and it glistens in the sun, so pretty:

... and the sand is VERY DENSE, you barely leave footprints when walking on it! We saw people riding bicycles, skateboards, and even driving 4x4 vehicles right on the beach!

To me, there aren't many things more inviting than a walkway to the beach

and Amelia Island had plenty of them! A great destination for our 20th anniversary celebration, just the 2 of us.

Soon I'll be back with pics and deets of our stay in St. Augustine. So tired, must sleep!

Enjoy the weekend,

beginning our 21st year together .....

We had a lovely anniversary celebration, but today we bid farewell to Amelia Island and will head south to spend the first few days of our 21st year together in historic St. Augustine, Florida. We've never been there and look forward to exploring it ... another adventure!

I have many photos to share of our Amelia Island visit, but I have to run now (I slept in too late, what am I on vacation or something?? LOL) ... will post them soon, along with pics of our stay in St. Augustine. Promise!

Thanks for stopping by! :-)

20 years ago today ...

... we were married at 1:30 pm EST !!!


The details: we were married at my childhood parish of St. Jerome Catholic Church in Largo, Florida ... the wedding was officiated by long-time friend Fr. Joseph Pellegrino ... our wedding colors were peach & teal ... my bouquet was filled with peach carnations, white roses, baby's breath, and ivy ... my gown was a shimmery crystal organza fabric, with lots of small ruffles ... our first dance was to "our song", Endless Love by Lionel Richie & Diana Ross.


Happy 20th anniversary to my sweetheart !!! I love you, Sal !!! So happy to be married to you !!!

To celebrate, we're enjoying a quiet day together on beautiful (and romantic!) Amelia Island ...

it's Tim's special day!

Happy 13th birthday today to our nephew, Tim! He lives in Gulfport, Florida.

Wishing you lots of FUN as you become a teenager, Tim! :-)

Love,
Aunt Susan, Uncle Sal, Buddy & Aruba

romance, island style!

Today we arrived at our "getaway location" to celebrate our anniversary this week ... on Amelia Island! It's located in far NE Florida, off the coast of Jacksonville. I've always been curious about it, and finally we're exploring it. I love Florida!

The beaches here are so tranquil, beautiful, ROMANTIC! We're still getting our bearings ... so far, we've strolled one of the island's pristine (and oh-so-WIDE) beaches (just after a rainstorm passed), briefly drove through the quaint Fernandina Beach downtown, and enjoyed a delicious dinner (Mexican food, yum!). We're staying in a suite at the Residence Inn Amelia Island, so fab!

Looking forward to sharing pics and details of our visit ... stay tuned to Where In The World?. Weather permitting, we have a special adventure planned for Tuesday. And then later on in the week we're heading south to visit another Florida treasure.

We're missing Buddy & Aruba so much already! But they're having a vacation of their own with "Grandma & Grandpa". Buddy already found his way into an empty Pizza Hut box! ;-) Adorable!

Off for a soak in the hot tub .....

Have a great week,

it's Mark's special day!

Happy birthday today to Sal's brother, Mark! He lives in Gulfport, Florida.

We wish you a FUN & ENJOYABLE day, Mark! :-)

Love,
Susan, Sal, Buddy & Aruba

a new (and exciting) month ...

Hey there and happy August!

The last week of July was such a blur for me, lots going on. But let me start with the BEST part of all ... Buddy's visit to the cancer clinic yesterday. It was time for his remission progress exam, bloodwork, and lung X-rays. Such a time of panic and anxiety for us! But ... everything came back FINE !! We are SO thankful !! Outside of some signs of aging, like mild cataracts and a bit of arthritis in his back, Buddy is doing incredibly well on chemotherapy!! Thanks to everyone for your prayers and concern and well-wishes.

I took a day off last week ... spent it at The Spa at The Breakers resort in Palm Beach. Not that I frequent such swanky spas, but it is a perk of living locally and having a giftcard from my sweet husband! Sal had given me a giftcard for Christmas 2008 ... yes, over a year and a half ago! Life had just been too crazy (and at times too difficult with Buddy's illness) to slow down and fully savor a spa visit. Or, as I like to call it, a "spaaaaaahhhhh" visit, LOL. So, I booked a kiwi-coconut body scrub, and it was delightful! They use sea salts from Bali for the "scrub" and then add in the tropical fruit oils for skin hydration and a heavenly aromatherapy.

A bit of serendipity added to the day's pleasure ... I arrived early and asked if they had any water aerobics classes going on that day and, sure enough, one was starting in just a fw minutes! So I hopped in the pool and joined the fun ... the teacher took a pic of a few of us:

The weather was perfect ... bright sunshine, blue skies, warm but not-too-hot because of a nice ocean breeze ... so I decided to stay for lunch and indulged in a veggie burger with a (virgin) pina colada, sitting poolside and overlooking the ocean.

Afterwards, I napped in an oceanside hammock slung between 2 palm trees (so inviting!) and then spent time floating in one of the resort's 4 beautiful pools.

Overall, a day of true relaxation and tranquility ... I needed it! Thanks, sweetheart, for a wonderful gift! I enjoyed it a little late, but loved it just the same.

I'm SO excited about August ... this month will be filled with exciting and fun times! Soon Sal and I will celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary and we have something SPECIAL planned (stay tuned for all the deets!). Yes, our "big" celebration will be in Maui later this year, but we couldn't let the actual day go by without some fanfare, right?!?

And in mid-August, the movie Eat Pray Love will hit theaters. I've been waiting all summer for it! I loved the book ... can't wait to see it come to life on the big screen. And HSN will be airing a special EPL series of shows. I'll be tuning in to what exotic goodies they have, all inspired by the memoir's journey through Italy, India, & Indonesia.

This month is also a special anniversary for Sal ... 10 years ago, he began his work as a professor. Sweetheart, I wish you many more years of fulfillment in your professorship and research endeavors! Love you!

Wishing you an August filled with fun as summer (unfortunately) begins to wind down....