Strolling Around Town

I have been feeling a little down lately, so I took a trip over to Mount Dora to help cheer me up. I took a stroll around the town to take pictures, bought a cupcake from my favorite cupcake place Cupcake Delights, and then had lunch at Cody's on Fourth. The weather was great - sunny with blue skies yet very windy. Mount Dora is such a quaint little town with beautiful scenery... there are quite a few pictures but I want to share this beautiful town with you, the town that I basically call my second home.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain

Oh how I wish I could do this; just sail away to somewhere new; New York City or Europe would be preferred *grin* Discover new things, culture, people, art... oh what a life.

These yellow buildings are the Lakeside Inn the beautiful inn on Lake Dora. This inn is a part of the historic hotels of Florida.

I walked down towards the lake and found these pretty and colorful buildings.

Bright vibrant colors... they remind me of buildings you would see on the coast in the Mediterranean. I picture buildings in Nice, France; what a beautiful place. And how I long to visit there again.

These books are carved into the walls along one of the streets in Mount Dora, they outline a window and a used bookstore used to occupy the inside. I love these carvings. Whoever did these is a talented artist.

This is a new pastry shop that is opening up in Mount Dora called Le Petit Sweet. They haven't opened yet, but I took a peek inside the window and I cannot wait until they do! I mean you know me and my love for sweets. 

This is the used bookstore's new location. I love the hand painted books; again whoever did these is a great artist!

A quote by Mother Teresa.

This place has an amazing Irish Whiskey Onion Soup, but unfortunately they aren't open on Mondays so I was unable to get a bowl for lunch *sigh*

I enjoy taking trips to Mount Dora. When I am here, I am at peace with the world. I love this town and all of its beauty and uniqueness it has to offer its visitors.

Until next time Mount Dora...

xo

*Shine like Glitter*
Mount Dora is a beautiful town to wonder around and leave your troubles behind.
If you are anywhere near they area and haven't checked it out I suggest you make the trip.
It is an artsy fartsy town. But I have a few favorite shops here.
Cupcake Delights... have the best cupcakes
Barrel of Books and Games... where I pick up most of my books and can't refuse a stop in every time I am in Mount Dora.
Goblin Market... best Irish Whiskey Onion Soup
Along with more.
If you have been to Mount Dora I'd love to hear your favorite parts and/or favorite shops.
Just leave them in the comments for me.

People Who Love to Eat

... are always the best people. A quote by the famous foodie Julia Child or as known in her time gastronome, the study of food and culture, focusing particularly on gourmet cuisine which is exactly what Julia did with her love of French food.

If you have been reading my blog for awhile then you know I love Julia Child. She is an inspiration and she changed the way of cooking forever. I did not use one of her recipes today *sigh* But I did watch Julie and Julia. The first time I saw this movie I fell in love with it. A tale between two women from two different time periods. Julie connects with Julia and makes her a part of her life. Julie's life is then changed forever. I have seen this movie more times than I can count and each time it gives me the same feeling I felt when I first watched it. It touches my heart and makes me happy.

In a recent interview I was asked if I could have dinner with one person, dead or alive, who would I choose. At the interview I really could not think of someone. I just listed off a couple of people. If I were asked that question now I would choose Julia Child. And I would leave the cooking up to her *wink*



*Pho taken from the web

Another thing you know if you've been reading my blog for awhile is that that I love guacamole. It is packed with flavor and some pretty good health benefits, such as healthy fats and vitamin E. Today I am putting it on tacos, shrimp tacos to be exact. Tacos are one of my favorite foods and I could eat them any time. My favorites are from Jimmy Hulas and Tijuana Flats. But today I whipped up some fresh guacamole and put together some shrimp tacos.

They were so good; I wish I could share them with you. I won't judge you if you tried to grab them through the screen. I mixed the shrimp with Frank's Red Hot Sweet Chili sauce. I love me some sweet chili sauce. Then I topped with shrimp with my fresh guacamole, a tomato and jalapeno mixture with garlic, sour cream and lettuce. A little yet yummy dinner.

xo

*Shine like Glitter*
Julia is such an inspiration to me.
Her life was something most of us dream about.
She did not want to be a stay at home wife, like so many women she saw in France. Instead she went out and made her dreams a reality. And did things beyond her dreams... like her own TV show.
I have been working on making my own dreams a reality.
I know I still have a ways to go, but it feels good to be working on them.
I hope you all do the same.
How was your Saturday? What did you do? Share with me in the comments

Life is Too Short

Life's too short, eat more cupcakes.

I have a sweet tooth that would make a baker happy. I love sweets. I crave sweets probably more than the average person. On this note I am a strong believer in eating dessert first. Do I always do it? No, but I believe it should be done. I've been reading Sweet Designs by Amy Atlas. Find her here and here. She is also a dessert fanatic. After reading through her book I've decided to eat my dessert first as often as possible. To me dessert is usually the best part of the meal, but let's be honest by the end of the meal I am too full to enjoy dessert afterwards. And I know I am not the only one to feel this way. By eating my dessert first I get to enjoy my favorite part of the meal. *grin*

This morning I woke up, got ready, stopped at the grocery store and got myself a carrot cupcake for breakfast.

Life is too short and nothing is guaranteed. The only guarantee we are promised is God's love for us and one day he will return to this earth. We are given this life to enjoy, to live to the fullest, so why not enjoy the little things. Like eating cupcakes for breakfast! *wink* Because there are no guarantees in life I am not guaranteed that I will make it through the entire meal (if I haven't eaten too much already) to enjoy dessert. But by eating my dessert first I would be satisfied and if I were to die before the end of the meal I would die happy.

xo

*Shine like Glitter*
"Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first." - Ernestine Ulmer
The quote above starts out Amy Atlas' book.
It is a quote to live by.
A statement that I am going to try to live by.
Live life for you, lovelies.
Eat your dessert first.
If you aren't a dessert person, which by watching New Girl I found out exist, do what makes you happy. Just like Ulmer says life is uncertain. Just like I said nothing is guaranteed.

Hello 2015

I know, I know we are already into the second week of 2015 and I did a new year post (if you did not see it you can find it here) but I want to touch back on that post.

This post is going to be different than posts I've done in the past. This is going to be a sharing post. I am going to share with you my thoughts and parts of my life, like an online journal (which is what a blog basically is) this post is going to be a little more personal so if you are not interested in that I recommend you turn back now. Otherwise keep reading.

In my new year post I mentioned that I have been doing more Yoga. That is true. I attended a yoga class on Wednesday nights at the gym I go to, which happens to be a rock climbing gym. Yes, if you did not know, I also started rock climbing in 2014. My brother got me into the sport back in June, shortly after he got back to the U.S. I am enjoying it and it is such a good workout. I do not like going to the gym... at all. I do not find it fun or enjoyable. However I believe that it is important to stay physically active and to be healthy. So instead of going to the gym I go rock climbing, do yoga, and walk. I should also mention I hate running, it is not for me. On top of my physical activities in 2015 I intend to incorporate some workouts that include legs and abs. Now for the yoga class I go to it is very laid back and fun. We work on certain problem areas and do a mix of power yoga and stretching yoga. Some classes, however, are just stretching classes; which can be nice if you've had a very stressful week. I also like to do yoga on my own at least once a week but I aim for two.

In my new year post I also mentioned that I attend church on regular basis. God and going to church have always been a part of my life, but there are times when I questioned the whole thing. When I went off to college I started to slip away from church, even though I did attend try attend church on Sundays. In my mind I had other things to worry about. When I moved back to Florida again it was hard to attend church because of the different jobs I had. Finally around the middle of 2014 I decided that church and family were more important. I told my job that I was not able to work on Sundays anymore, even though I usually made pretty good money on Sundays. Now every Sunday (well just about) I drive down to Mount Dora to attend my church with my family. It has been a wonderful influence on my life and has been helping guide me in the right direction.

This year I want to grow in my spirituality and my relationship with God. This week I decided to do a scripture of the day. I sit with my bible in the mornings, when I get up, on the floor of my bedroom. I say a prayer for the day and ask for God's guidance. Afterwards I flip through the pages with my eyes closed, stop on a page and with my eyes closed still point somewhere. Wherever my finger lands is my scripture for the day. That scripture will help guide me through my day. Now this may turn into a scripture of the week, but for right now it is a scripture of the day.

Now with those things being said 2015 is going to be a selfish year for me. What do I mean by that? This year is going to be all about me. It will be about figuring out who I am. It will be about finding out what I am meant to do. It will be about bettering myself physically and mentally. Physically through rock climbing, yoga, walking, working out, and eating better. Mentally through yoga and my relationship with God. This will be my year!

*Shine like Glitter*
So far 2015 has not turned out how I wanted it to, I still believe it will be a good year.
I mean there are still 349 days left. I've still got time.
This has been a really personal post for more to share with all of you.
It was not easy, but since this year I am really focusing on myself and bettering myself I've decided to share my journey with you.
Not all of my posts will be like this but from time to time you can expect a post like this one.
I hope it does not defer you from reading my blog and following along, but that it will help you in your own life.
You are always welcome to share with me your thoughts on whatever.
I will be here to lend a guiding hand. Or turn to God.

Ahoy it's a Baby Shower

For the past few months I have been planning a friend's baby shower, along side her mom. Event planning is my career choice, but paper crafting is something I really enjoy doing. So for me they go hand-in-hand.

When we were planning this I consulted my friend on a theme, but she didn't really have one in mind. However she did give me some ideas of what she wanted. Mostly she just wanted a themed party (since she is having a boy) with different shades of blue. I thought about incorporating some blue camo into the mix, since she is sort of into camo. But it just never worked out. I decided to put the theme aside for a little bit and focus on the rest of the party, mainly the menu and the games.

About a month before the party her mom made up an evite and sent that out to the guests. On the evite she had used a sailboat and the word ahoy. I thought that would be perfect for a theme. I decided to then go with that.

Everything at the party really came together in the end, it looked great and the ladies really seemed to enjoy it.

I made a sailboat garland with the baby's name on some of the boats. Now my friend has some decoration she can use for the baby's room.

My friend wanted her guests to write a message on some diapers for her, which I thought was a cute idea. I made up a sign and put it on the front of a blue basket, which her mom had, with the diapers inside. On the side I took two stacks of diapers tied blueish/grey twine around them and tied stars on the ends.

This is a diaper tower a couple of our friends put together for the mommy and her baby boy! How cute!!

I love these little tags I made to write down the different foods and drinks. They were really easy  to make and came in handy.

After the party it was time to set sail and head home. It was a fun experience putting together this celebration for my friend and her baby boy (who I cannot wait to meet).

I want to give a thank you to her mom and to her for allowing me to be apart of this celebration and allowing me to help plan it.  Thank you ladies!! I had fun doing it.

*Shine like Glitter*
I know I normally do this section title in green (since it's my favorite color) but I thought for this post it should be blue *wink* 
Just like any party you never know how they are going to turn out. You don't know if they are going to be good or if they are going to have times when you think to yourself "what do I do now?"
I had a couple of times like that, but I just took a deep breath, consulted a friend and moved on!
I think the party turned out well. Her mom told me I did a good job. A lot of people thanked me. And it just boosted my confidence.
A big thank you everyone who came to Tiffany's baby shower to help her celebrate!!