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

night skiing is one of the greatest things ever created.

snow light is a post from: Fluffyland Craft & Sewing Blog

Today, with the exception of the first photo, we are featuring a guest photographer: my brother Ben! Didn’t he do a good job?

Today was a more challenging day. We were up early and out the door by 9:15, and decided to start by going down a blue square trail on the back side of the mountain. I think I’m a timid skiier… I would be content to go down the green trails all day, especially when I’m still working on technique (looking at ben’s pictures, i realized that i crouch way more than necessary). The more difficult trail, especially as the first one of the day, was a scary one for me.

I went down two more trails today, including another blue square. But for today, I was content with my three runs and came back to the little room.

The boys did another run before lunch, then went back out for three more afterward. I’m planning on getting as many runs in as I can tomorrow, our last day.

fearful descent is a post from: Fluffyland Craft & Sewing Blog