Two weekends ago, I got to go to my favorite place.

Yes, that place.

Also known as Disneyland, the happiest place on earth.

Arianna, one of my very good friends, goes to school in southern California. Last summer, we bonded over our mutual love for Disneyland and all its magic, and devised a hypothetical visit. Of course, with my love of planes, combined with my love of Disneyland, combined with the fact that I haven’t seen Arianna since summer… I couldn’t pass that up.

The school year progressed, fall semester ended, and all of a sudden it was the middle of February. If this was going to happen, it couldn’t wait. And of course, I couldn’t wait. So I flew to California.

I arrived on a Friday night and celebrated Engineer’s Week USC-style, with a super fancy banquet where I met a bunch of Arianna’s friends. We still went to bed early (well, not so early to my eastern time self!) so we could get an early start. Not that I was excited or anything.

The park was super crowded since it was a Saturday, but we got to ride a ton of rides. We made it on almost all of my favorites: Indiana Jones (i got driver’s seat in the jeep!), Storybook Boats, Alice, the Tower of Terror, and Pirates. We missed out on Splash Mountain, because for some reason it was closed for most of the day, and the entire Matterhorn was down for ultra-maintenance as you can see on the left. So Sad! The lines were long, but we hadn’t seen each other in a long time, so we had plenty to talk about.

I hadn’t been to Disneyland in nearly four years – probably one of the longest Disney dearths in my lifetime. So for me it was simply magical to walk through the streets, listen to the music, and eat Mickey ice cream bars. And, coming from a Cleveland February, seeing the sun was pretty magical as well.

What amazed me the most, though, is how much love my 22-year-old self has for this place. Disneyland contains a timeless joy, a simple sense of wonder that can be appreciated by both large and small. It is truly an incredible place. And, more than anything, I want to be an intern for them.

Here is a list of 5 things, in no particular order, that I would love my fictional Disneyland boss to say to me:

1. Sam, Little Japan on the Small World ride has a hole in her sleeve. Can you go stitch that up?
2. Hey, Monstro needs a new coat of paint. Can you climb up there and take care of that?
3. We need help designing costumes for the new parade – do you have any ideas, Sam?
4. There are 1,000 burned out lightbulbs on the Electric Light Parade floats… that’s a good job for an intern!
5. Sam, program this bird so his mouth moves in time to the music.

I think I have a lot of skills that Disneyland would appreciate. I also think my passion for the place would carry me through jobs as tedious as #4. But I digress.

On Sunday, Arianna gave me a tour of the USC campus – what a fancy place! We ate delicious frozen custard at Manhattan Beach, and, listening to the sounds of the ocean, I got to walk along the waves’ edge as night fell. I had my first ever In-n-Out burger experience, which was awesome, and then it was time to go back to the airport. I waved goodbye, thanked Arianna, and wished her luck for Monday (it was supposed to rain! how terrible.)

And then, standby travel lost a fraction of its glitter. There was no room for me on my 11:30pm flight back to Cleveland, so I spent the night in LAX while maintenance men power drilled screws into every wall near my perch. When morning finally came, I made it onto a 6am flight that connected through Dulles – I even got to go to my house for an hour! Surprise!

But regardless of the miserable night in the airport, and my absence from class and work on Monday – the trip was beyond worthwhile. I saw Arianna, who reminded me that I have a friend all the way across the country who is awesome and hilarious and cares about me. I saw the sun, which reminded me of its cheerful existence in times and places other than Cleveland February. And I went to Disneyland, which reminded me that it is my favorite place of all places.

my favorite place: disneyland is a post from: Fluffyland Craft & Sewing Blog

Two weekends ago, a number of events occurred. Brad had just received his passport, and it was anxiously awaiting use. I was feeling antsy, since I hadn’t been on a trip in awhile. Brad read about Poutine, a Canadian dish involving french fries, cheese curds, and gravy. And Mike got a new campus job.

So I said, “hey, we should go to Canada.”

And then, we did. A week of planning, lots of international hotel calls (yay google voice – free to canada!), some scurrying and homework-finishing, a five-hour drive, and then – we were over the border.

Friday night, we arrived at our Toronto hotel and headed to our first stop: Big Smoke Burger, allegedly home to the best burgers in Toronto and some fantastic poutine. I say allegedly because I have not tried any other burgers in Toronto – but I don’t doubt that theirs are close to the best. And poutine, as weird as it sounds, was incredibly delicious.

The next morning, we got up early and ate a box of Tim Horton’s Timbits, like true Canadians. Then we acquired our day-long subway passes and began exploring. We started at the St. Lawrence Market, and were amazed at the selection of produce – where does Canada grow all these things?

We bought Kinder Surprise eggs, which are apparently considered contraband in the U.S. But we ate them all (except the surprises!) before crossing the border again.

After further meandering, we headed toward the harbor for a tour of Toronto’s Steamwhistle Brewery. The small brewery is located on the historical grounds of an old roundhouse – you know, the place where the trains go on the circle and get spun into their different garages? I had never seen one in real life, so my 8-year-old Brio-loving self was thrilled to see a roundhouse in real life. It was so cool!

The best part of this brewery tour was the brilliant green that Steamwhistle uses for their packaging. It was everywhere!

After the tour, we headed toward Chinatown for an afternoon lunch. We dashed into an art store, where I bought 13 sheets of the most adorable paper of all time. Then we all had the classic Sam Janis foreign country experience: finding a new fabric store.

Toronto’s King’s Textiles was located near Chinatown, in what is called the Fashion District. The location is a little bit run down, with lots of (awesome) graffiti. But the fabric store was just my type, with a filled-up warehouse feel and creaky floors that you can’t hear because all the sounds are so well-damped by the cloth.

It was large, but not enormous – however, due to the towers of fabric and the eerie stillness of the air, it would be easy to get lost forever. Mike loved that he and Carrie could stand on opposite ends of the aisle pictured, nearly shouting, unable to hear each other.

The only downside of this store was the pricing – fabrics were more than I like to spend. But I was on vacation, and we were in a big city, so what could I expect? I bought a cute turquoise knit and plan to make a henley of some kind.

While in the Fashion District, we happened upon the giant thimble at the top of this post. That discovery and its photographic proof justify my trip entirely.

The Fashion District isn’t like the Garment Districts in Paris or New York – the area was mostly dedicated to clothing stores, although I did find a few stores selling buttons. And with two boys in tow, my shopping freedom was limited.

Everything in Toronto closes early, presumably because it’s so cold. So we took the long way home, stopped at some stores and ate more poutine, then took the subway back to the hotel. The subway was one long, continuous car with accordion joints and moving floors to accomodate twists in the track: Brad and Mike insisted on riding where the floor moved.

We got in the car and drove to our Saturday night hotel near Niagara Falls, and ate grilled cheeses at a strange diner that looked like a spaceship.

After Church Sunday morning, another Tim Horton’s breakfast, and an exploration of Canadian Wal-Mart to find milk that comes in bags, we headed out to look at Niagara Falls. I have decided two things: 1. It is a large waterfall and 2. It is a very cold place to be in early February.

We were hoping for something louder, more menacing perhaps – but the rushing water was, instead, almost of the peaceful sort. Near the falls, the mist was falling down on us as snow flurries, which was way cool – but a further reminder that February is not the best time for a visit.

We froze, I took lots of pictures, Mike ate yet more Tim Horton’s, and then we headed back to school. Our work was waiting where we left it, but we felt good – especially me. Who picks up and goes to another country for the weekend? I like the idea of being that person – again.

hellooo-oh, canada! is a post from: Fluffyland Craft & Sewing Blog

Today’s challenge photo is my tongue-in-cheek response to the “flowers” prompt, as I’m not much of a floral photographer: a shot of a vintage advertisement displayed in the Guinness storehouse tour.

But if that’s not flowery enough for you, here’s the gorgeous spread set out in the streets of Dublin on a fine Saturday morning!

Be sure to come back tomorrow – I’m planning an awesome surprise!

This photo is part of oh so lovely’s 30 Day Photo Challenge. Today is Day 14: Flowers.

flowers: Guinness advert is a post from: Fluffyland Craft & Sewing Blog

For today’s Challenge, “From A Distance”, I knew I had the perfect picture – because I don’t think I’ve ever had more distance between myself and a subject than when I took this shot of the Italian Alps.

Since I was flying in a giant jet, we were at an incredibly high altitude, and the tips of the alps were just barely poking through the cotton-batting-like clouds. It was so beautiful, I had difficulty looking away long enough to extract my camera from my bag; but of course, as usual, I’m glad I did.

As I was staring and snapping away at the breathtaking sight, I saw another plane in the distance!

And then the other jet flew right by! After my foray into piloting small aircraft, I’m sure the pilots were talking to each other, and I wish I could’ve heard them.

This glorious view was the perfect end to my perfect trip to Rome in February to visit with one of my best friends.

This photo is part of oh so lovely’s 30 Day Photo Challenge. Today is Day 13: From a Distance.

from a distance: the italian alps is a post from: Fluffyland Craft & Sewing Blog

We flew into Dublin on July 14 at around 4pm. By the time we had waited for our bags, procured our rental car, and driven circles around the airport due to a persnickety GPS, we were tired and hungry.

Within walking distance of our hotel was a pub with a fancy restaurant above it, and it proved to be perfect for our weary traveling souls. I happily ate this mushroom meat pie, which was simply fantastic (i think all food should be served in pie form) along with that legendary first pint of Ireland Guinness.

After dinner, we headed to O’Donoghue’s across the way for a bit of traditional live music. We headed back to the hotel in the rain, and picked up some ice cream bars at the grocery for dessert. All vacations need lots of dessert!

Day 2 started with a glance across the street at these wonderful yellow doors. I just loved them.

We walked to the Irish Museum of Modern Art, which sounded really cool online but turned out to be pretty lame – almost all the exhibits were closed when we were there. The museum’s best feature is its building: it resides in a renovated 17th century hospital.

We passed by the Guinness factory, which is always bustling since over 10 Million glasses of Guinness are consumed each day worldwide!

We watched them load kegs onto trucks using the special forklift – it’s got little prongs on the bottom to pick up a whole pallet at a time!

We then headed to the Guinness Storehouse for a tour. While the storehouse is not the same as the brewery, the tour was awesome and gave a great explanation of the brewing process, with videos and props. The coolest thing I learned was the trade of cooperage, when men would form the big wooden casks by hand. It was so time-consuming to make even one cask!

Then we learned how to craft the perfect pint of Guinness draught. The perfect pint of Guinness must be filled almost all the way from the tap, and then left to sit for 2 minutes to allow the nitrogen carbonation to settle. After this two-minute wait period, it is topped off and ready for drinking. Above is the picture of my perfect pint, although it is half-finished!

On day 3 we saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2! And I was overjoyed. What a wonderful end to the books and movies of my childhood, even though it makes me so sad that they’re over now. After the movie we headed down to county Cork!

Stay tuned for the next Ireland recap!

ireland photo recap, days 1, 2 & 3: dublin is a post from: Fluffyland Craft & Sewing Blog

July started with a wonderful trip down to Roanoke to visit with my cousins and aunt for the Fourth!

The following weekend Brad flew down for a lovely short visit, which included pistachio frozen custard and delicious Cheerwine (cherry soda).

Then my family and I went to Ireland! It was a wonderful trip and we saw many beautiful things. And I drank true Guinness – my life will never be the same.

We left the day before HP7 came out, and I couldn’t wait 10 days before seeing it! So we saw it in Dublin, and I was overjoyed and so pleased with the execution. What a wonderfully well-done conclusion to such an incredible series of books.

So I decided to leave it all behind and head to Hogwarts. See you in a couple of years! I’ve got magic to do.

tidbits of sam’s july is a post from: Fluffyland Craft & Sewing Blog

Day 2 of Rome was full of walking around, exploring, and eating good food: the three best things to do in a new city. We visited more churches, and I got to see a good portion of Rome’s “must-see”s, including the Pantheon, La Fontana di Trevi, the Spanish Steps, and the Coliseum.

But you know me. I get most excited to take pictures of the little things. Like this darling tiny orange car!

And the perfect miniature boot in this shop window display…

And the tiny little silk elephant hanging from this shop’s door handle!

(ps: click any of these photos to enlarge!)

Not only did we stop by all sorts of big tourist areas, but Katie also found a few sites less frequently traveled. The Capuchin Crypt was super interesting to see while bordering on incredibly creepy… the wikipedia article explains it well, but it was basically a series of rooms decorated with the bones of old dead monks. And decorated really is the proper word… individual bones were stuck to the ceiling in artistic formations. It was absurd but really, really cool! Unfortunately no pictures were allowed inside :(

Then we got lunch at a deli… my sandwich was hard salami with fresh mozzarella. It was such a simple sandwich but it was so perfectly delicious; that simplicity is one thing we Americans don’t understand and I’d say it’s what makes Italian food so wonderful. I also had a delightful peach juice box :)

We ate in a park near the Coliseum, and then I found a playground!

I loved the block with the 4 popsicles and took so many pictures of these that an Italian guy came up to me:

him: something in italian that sounded like a confused question… my guess: why are you taking a picture of this?
me: i like the ice cream! (pointing)
him: gelati? (a word i understand! because it’s an important one.) more italian

While I could get by using my Spanish knowledge to read signs and such, I can’t understand spoken Italian at all. And making conversation with Italian dudes who hang around playgrounds wasn’t high on my list of priorities. So that’s when Katie and I left the playground.

We also went to the Basilica di San Clemente, which is a basilica on top with two layers beneath it. The bottommost layer was initially a Roman house of sorts (1st century AD!) that was used by the Christians for Mass when it was illegal to practice Christianity in Rome. Going down through the layers was incredible, like stepping through time. We saw old remnants of frescoes on the walls, a small ancient water supply way, and old pottery. I can’t imagine having to go to Mass underground! And with such huge risks! I owe my religion’s survival to some amazingly brave people.

We got to go to an Italian Mass on Saturday night at a church just around the corner from Katie’s apartment. It was a tiny church; there were less than 20 people at the service, and most of them were nuns. They handed out a leaflet with all the Mass parts in Italian, so I could even read along with everything! It was a really great part of my trip; I love how the Catholic Mass never changes, no matter where I am or what language they speak there.

Dessert dinner! We ran by a bakery on our way home and picked up way more pastries than intended (this was just my plate!). Katie made a great salad and then we had pastry sampling time. I actually saved most of these for later, it was a great show of self control on my part. Although, for all their glorious food, Italian desserts don’t hold a candle to France.. or Germany.. or Spain. That’s my vote.

Excited Sam & the Giant Egyptian Playmobil

No explanation necessary.

It was a beautiful day in the ancient city!

roma: bones, playgrounds, mass, & biscotti is a post from: Fluffyland Craft & Sewing Blog

Katie, one of my best friends from high school, is studying abroad in Roma. How could I pass up this opportunity to visit? Now I get to add Italy to my growing list of places I’ve been… it’s wonderful to have that list grow. Every time I get to a new place I feel like I learn so much instantly! I witness the new culture and the language and the scene, and my brain grows in a direction it never knew existed. It’s a phenomenal feeling.

So here’s day 1 of my little trip. I flew in, successfully navigated their public transportation system (with a few delays), and then we headed out to explore her little corner of the city. There are gorgeous churches on every street, so each time we came across one we’d stop in and marvel at the architecture and the extravagant decorations. It’s simply amazing that there are so many of them and each is unique and so beautiful.

I got to have my first real Italian cappuccino, which was pretty close to heaven on earth. The coffee was so perfect and flavorful, and the foamed milk gave it just enough balance.

I was so excited to come across this knit graffiti in Rome! Of course, we already know how giddy I get over knit graffiti, but to see it on the other side of the ocean was pretty neat.

We found a pretty bead shop (one of a few) and spent quite some time oohing and aahing over the beautiful & diverse assortment of handmade beads. Beads are probably my favorite thing to buy when I go to a new place. They’re small, easy to pack, they tell a story about the place, and I get a craft and an accessory out of them. So fun. I loved all the glass baubles that were hanging from the ceiling of this shop! It had a very relaxed & creative atmosphere.

It seems that half of the houses in Rome are orange or yellow. I just love these colors, especially against their backdrop of perfectly blue sky. I also love all the shutters, the balconies, and all the extra little details. So many pretty things.

buongiorno, roma! is a post from: Fluffyland Craft & Sewing Blog