travel

I love being able to mix the pocket pages with some regular style layouts. It takes the pressure off trying to make layouts for all the pictures from a trip, and lets me focus on the photos I most want to scrap. Also, it's just so much easier to include more photos this way. A perfect system!

In May we had a great chance to go with some friends to Victoria, Canada. I had never been to Canada, and I'd been real keen to go, so I was quite excited about this opportunity. Plus, the more I heard about Victoria, the more it sounded like my kind of place. And it was really wonderful! I'm definitely hoping to go back soon.

The drive up through Washington is quite beautiful, driving along Puget Sound and then the Olympic mountains come into view. We took the ferry from Port Angeles direct to downtown Victoria, which was quite exciting.

On Monday I mentioned that I had realized I didn't have a proper travel bundle. What ultimately prompted me to remedy this was the decision to make my parents a photo book for Christmas. If you've been reading this blog or been around the site for a while, you know that I travel a lot. You may also have realized this is because when I was 12 my parents moved my family overseas, first to Bolivia and then to a few other continents. Seventeen years later they returned to settle back in the States.

A few weekends ago we took a long day trip to Eastern Oregon to see the Painted Hills. Declared by some to be one of the seven wonders of Oregon, I didn't know anything about them myself, but was, as they say, along for the ride. I can confirm that the hills were indeed painted and quite lovely.

A good chunk of my designs are travel inspired. But in the past I've tried to keep things more generic because no one really wants the travel theme interpreted 500 ways. But then I realized I don't actually have a proper travel bundle. By doing a thing too many times I ended up not doing it at all, until now...

It's a busy holiday season for me! Jordan and I just got back from our Thanksgiving trip to Memphis and now we're jumping right in to preparing for his family to arrive for Christmas at the end of the week! Just a little time now to finish up Christmas shopping, do a little cleaning and try not to feel like a crazy person!

A few weeks ago Jordan and I visited the Wildlife Safari Park about two hours down the highway from us. We had bought a Groupon a while ago and the time had come for us to use it! I wasn't sure what to expect from a safari in the middle of Oregon nowhere, but it was a pretty cool experience. We got up early so we could arrive promptly when the animals were hopefully still awake (before afternoon nap time). They were and we had a great time driving among exotic animals not usually seen in our parts.

A few weekends ago we made a last minute weekend trip to San Francisco to visit Jordan's brother who was recently stationed there with the Coast Guard. We had a busy few days seeing the sites and visiting furniture stores.

I've started to go back into the archives to pull ideas for themes for my kits. Today I have a bundle inspired by my family's time in Slovenia. My parents lived there for one year, and visiting was a European fantasy come true. When we went, it was my first time to Europe and I feel like there is not a better country in Europe to visit. The capital city, Ljubljana, has a beautiful river running through it, with beautiful old buildings lining the side.

I've got a new bundle for you this week, surprisingly it's all about Road Tripping! I know I'm not the only person this summer to have hit the open road and enjoyed the highway. I can't wait to see all the lovely layouts I know you'll make!