Mexican Adventure - Part III

I am back with another post about our amazing trip to Mexico. We came home with so many wonderful memories that I can't help but share a few more :)

The resort was gorgeous and there was so much that you could do there, but the food at the resort was definitely a highlight of each day! Unlimited buffets welcomed us through the day, plus there were 8 incredible restaurants throughout the resort that were open for dinner. We enjoyed trying out the Brazilian restaurant, the Steakhouse, and the Japanese restaurant... which was a show as well as a meal!

The fresh fruit and the desserts were my favorite part of each meal!

The Grand Palladium had 4 resorts in one and each resort has it's own look that made it unique.

The Riveria had these awesome sculptures in their courtyard.

We did a tour along the river that runs through the resort.

We enjoyed seeing the flora and fauna of Mexico.

These lovely critters were everywhere and they were the size of cats! Yikes!

Luckily the crocodiles were contained!

When evening came around, we were greeted in our room with a towel sculpture and chocolates on our pillow!

On Friday night we reserved a spot at the Beach Barbecue. It was amazing how they transformed the beach into a beautiful al fresco dining experience.

Mexican themed decor, more food than you could imagine, pleasant company and local entertainment all contributed to a great evening.

Another highlight of our trip was a massage on the beach!

The Resort had a top class spa on the premises and they also had beach huts near the pools and the ocean where you could enjoy a massage. Mr. B and I decided to have a massage at the beach and I can't even begin to tell you how wonderful it was! Listening to the waves and feeling the breeze while someone massages you with hot oil... can you say heaven?

I feel very blessed to have enjoyed this special trip with my hubby. I hope we will have the opportunity to visit this beautiful area of the world again sometime.

Little Red Wagon #91

Deanna over at Little Red Wagon has challenged us to make something using heat embossing this week.

I will admit, heat embossing is not my favorite thing to do and I had a really hard time coming up with an idea. Then I decided to make up a couple of candle jars for my patio table and I made up some heat embossed seashells to decorate them with!

I started with a recycled canning jar in which I put a layer of crushed seashells and a candle. Then I tied some jute around the top of the jar and added my embossed seashells.

To make the seashells, I started with Kraft cardstock. I used some Sizzix dies to cut out the shells and then I added some fabulous Zing Embossing Powder for an absolutely gorgeous finish!

Thanks for the challenge Dee! I would not have thought to do this if I hadn't been challenged!

Pop on over to Little Red Wagon to see what the other Girlfriends made! I am sure you will be delighted with all the great ideas :)

At The Cottage

We had a wonderful get-away at our friend's cottage near Wiarton this past weekend. It is such a beautiful and peaceful place and we had a great time reconnecting with our dear friends.

Our friends are the most gracious hosts ever!

Tony and Mary are another dear couple that are a part of our small group of long-time friends. They also spent the weekend with us.

Mr. B and I totally enjoyed spending time catching up with all that is going on in our respective lives... weddings (congrats again Mary and Tony on your new daughter-in-law!), the comings and goings of our children, work, family, etc. We also enjoy lots of laughter and reminiscing about the good old days!

Since my birthday was on Friday and Mr. B's is tomorrow, we were surprised with a birthday celebration that included the most yummy cake ever! It meant a lot to be remembered and to celebrate with good friends.

One of our favorite moments at the cottage, was watching the sunset. The brilliant colors of the changing sky just take your breath away!

No we didn't fall into the water! I just really liked this photo so I thought I would include it in my post :)

Sunday afternoon came all too quick and we had to head home. We all promised each other 'the same time next year!' ...and I can't wait. Their cottage is just as this little quote says, "A little piece of Heaven on Earth!"

TSF Product Challenge

Each month Two Scrapbook Friends offers a Product Challenge and I decided to join in this time! For the Product Challenge you purchase a small kit of scrapbook supplies for under $4.00 and then you are challenged to use a bit of everything in the kit to make up a layout, card or project.

The papers were so bright and fun this month! I worked with a one-page sketch from from Allison Davis at Sketch Support and I used a photo of my sweet niece, Hannah.

I added some alpha stickers for my journaling and I made a banner with a scalloped circle punch.

One of the items in the kit was a wooden washer. I punched a large circle from the pattern paper, covered the washer and then added the little embellie from the kit!

You can see other Product Challenge creations on the Two Scrapbook Friends Layout Gallery! Thanks for looking ~

Mexican Adventure - Part II

We only left our all-inclusive resort twice while we were in Mexico. Once was to take a trip into Playa del Carmen, a city just north of where we were staying.

We were told that there were two ways for us to get to Playa del Carmen from the resort. One was to take a taxi, which would cost about $30.00 US. The other was to leave the resort, walk out to the main highway and wait for a local bus to stop and pick us up. The bus would only cost us $3.00 US. When I asked if it was safe for tourists to take the local bus, the concierge said, "Oh yes! They are safe and air conditioned and very comfortable." So we thought – why not?

Even though I had an uncomfortable picture in my head of local men and women riding the bus with us (complete with sombreros and carrying chickens and goats!), we headed out to the highway. The ‘bus’ was actually a minivan of sorts that accommodated 12 passengers plus the driver. Luckily one was arriving just as we walked towards the road, so off we went. Much to my relief, there were no animals on the bus and everyone seemed quite ‘normal’. (lol)

When we left the resort the sun was shining, but by the time we drove 20 minutes north, the clouds had gathered and it had started to downpour! We were going to be dropped off at the ‘bus stop’, which was about 5 blocks from where we wanted to be. (It was actually just the side of the road in an out of the way part of city.) As the driver brought the bus to a stop, the princess in me started to panic and I wanted to shout, "I DON’T DO RAIN!" Instead I turned to Mr. B and asked, "So, what are we going to do?" He said, "I guess we are going to get off the bus and start walking!" That was not what I wanted to hear.

Oh my gosh! Within the first half a block we were completely soaked. I mean completely! We had no umbrella (although a few locals offered to sell theirs to us for a 'good price!'), we had no hats, no jackets, nothing. We kept trying to duck into little stores and restaurants along the way, but eventually we had to just keep walking.

When we reached the main tourist part of town, Fifth Avenue, the rain started to die down a bit and the sun came out. So then, not only were we completely wet, but we were hot and sticky as well! Can you say FUN?

Eventually we dried out a bit and started to enjoy our time in the city. There were lots of shops selling everything from jewelry to clothing to tequila.

One of the first places we stopped in had the world's largest Tequila collection! It was amazing! Tequila bottles in just about every shape and size were on display and for sale.

Some were so beautiful it was tempting to buy them just for the bottle!

The buildings were colorful and interesting.

Local talent entertaining the tourists.

Fifth Avenue is a 2 mile long, pedestrian-only street that offers restaurants, bars, shops and hotels and it runs parallel to the beach.

We're not sure!?!

So, despite the rain and then the blistering heat, we had fun exploring this interesting city. We were also very glad to get back to the resort for a swim in the pool and a great dinner!