Mini Pip

Vacation: Part 2 (San Diego)

After our quick trip to Arizona, Drew's vacation pick was next. We originally planned to go to Napa Valley but because neither of us are too interested in wine, he thought San Diego would be better.

The first night there we decided to order room service and stay in the hotel and sleep. After the adventure of Arizona and all the traveling, we were exhausted.

The first day we went to the zoo! This was my favorite part of San Diego and it was clear why this zoo was so popular. I think we vacationed at a good time because it wasn't very busy but it was hot!

After a long day at the zoo, Drew picked the restaurant, Fogo de Chao. This was the most unique dining I have ever experienced and the service was phenomenal! It was similar to a buffet style with a salad bar but the main part of the meal was the meat. There were 16 different meats to choose from, each one brought to your table by a server. It was up to you what meat you wanted and how many "rounds" of meat to be brought over. I highly recommend this restaurant.

The next day we went to one of the beaches for a hike. The view was beautiful but we didn't prepare for any beach going so we didn't stay long.

There were a few fabric stores I wanted to stop in since we were in the area. The first, Beverly's, was incredibly disappointing. It was another version on JoAnn fabrics, without the huge amount of sales and coupons. The next Discount Fabrics, was great and I bought a vinyl remnant and two yards of this stretchy print.

We ended the trip with a visit to Old Town, which was cute and worth the stop but very tourist oriented.

I know this post seemed 'short' compared to Arizona but I just didn't have the same feeling about California. While we had a good time in San Diego, I don't want to go back anytime soon. My problem is that you have to really plan your trip. It's a little difficult to just go off and explore and most activities are expensive. We chose not to do Disney or Sea World because we didn't want to spend the money and since we didn't pack for the beach, activities were limited and there was only so much hiking we wanted to do.

The trip as a whole was much needed and I'm so happy we had time to get away but I'm excited to be back because I have so many projects coming up! Fall is here and that means I need to add some new apparel to my wardrobe and my etsy needs a MAJOR update (shop will remain in vacation mode for a bit longer) so come back and visit for some new sewing adventures.

Vacation: Part 1 (Arizona)

It has been pretty quiet around here and I apologize for that but I went on vacation! I've been wanting to visit the Grand Canyon for years and Drew and I finally got the opportunity to. We left early Sunday morning and landed in Arizona around noon. We booked a hotel two hours from Phoenix so we would get a chance to see more than the canyon. We stayed in Flagstaff and that is where I first fell in love with Arizona. I was amazed how the state went from mountains and cacti to pine trees and flower fields so quickly.

Our first night in Flagstaff was perfect. We went into town and stopped in a bunch of shops viewing their local and handmade crafts. What really caught my eye was the effort each shop put into their displays. When I go to some stores here in Jersey, I can tell the owners just don't care but in Flagstaff, there was clear passion in each shop. One store in particular stopped me in my tracks, Sage Brush Trading Co. had a truck on their wall and vintage pieces displaying their items.

The next day was exploring the canyon. We wanted to hike but because of the limited amount of time we had, we could only take a short hike. We chose "Ohh Ahh Trail" which was said to take 1-2 hours. After just that little bit, it's on my bucket list to hike to the bottom. I can't explain how amazing the Grand Canyon is and no picture can do it justice.

Drew's sister told us to take the Sunset Tour so we hopped on a bus right before the sun started setting and saw some incredible views. We stopped at a few main sections of the canyon then watched the sun set at one point.

On Tuesday we had our flight to San Diego at night so we spent the morning in Sedona. It was about a 40 minute drive to Sedona from Flagstaff and again the landscape changed. We were still driving through trees (although a little more woodsy this time) but then these beautiful mountains were added in making the drive spectacular. I will admit that the population seems pretty low on these drives but I would move there in a heartbeat.

Sedona had a very quaint town, a little quiet because of the time we went but cute shops and gorgeous scenery make it a very pleasant experience. We looked up activities in Sedona before going and saw it was a pretty active town with many hiking trails. We decided to do one of the easier trails, "Devil's Bridge". We weren't prepared for the 3/4 mile walk just to get to the trail (because our rental mustang couldn't get to the start of the trail) so it took much longer than expected. But the view was amazing.

Right now, my heart is still in Arizona. My mind is slowly coming back to New Jersey.

 

 

Bombshell on the Beach

It happened! I finally got to the beach, at the very end of the summer. But that's ok because I busted my butt to have my one piece bombshell to wear! Drew and I visited his family on Long Beach Island on Sunday and we got 3 whole hours of sun and sand!! (and a half hour of some of the best ice cream I've ever had)

You may remember my swim skirt from the bombshell pattern. I made that first to get an idea of how the one piece would come together and fit. It went together super quick and very easily. I even added cups to the top for a little added support.

What I wish I did was take into consideration that this pattern is made for a woman 5'6" tall. Being 4'10" I had quite a few inches flapping in the midsection. It wouldn't have been that bad if I made a solid color suit but with the print, the overlap was very noticeable. All I did to fix this was sew down a few inches in the side, basically making a tuck to hide the extra bits. It isn't perfect, but I'm happy with it and I've never felt more comfortable on the beach.

The fabric is from Spandex House and I can't tell you how much I love this print. It's been hard finding a swimsuit fabric that had a print other than polka dots. This has polka dots, but those giant florals give this such an awesome look.

After making my own swimwear, I'm not sure if I want to buy a bathing suit again. This was such a lovely pattern and it has really opened my eyes to sewing more active wear...which might help with my upcoming half marathon...