Hawaiian Cruise: Hilo – Waterfalls & More

On By ArlynnIn Vacations10 Comments

I have to admit, that I was pretty excited to wake up on the morning we were to be in Hilo and look out our balcony door and see something *other* than an endlessly stretching ocean. 😉  We had greatly enjoyed our 5 sea days, but, I was more than ready to place my feet on solid ground for a little while.  Here was our view when we awoke that morning…

12974442_10208780267254461_2392938538496706035_n

Before I get started telling you about our Hilo excursion, I want to let you know one thing that I neglected to mention in my other posts.  As you travel to and from the Hawaiian Islands, in our case from Vancouver, you will lose 3 hours going and then you’ll gain that 3 hours coming back.  In your first Princess Patter of the trip, you will have this nifty little cheat sheet (I hung this up on our wall along with our Itinerary) so that I’d have it to reference.

PP Time changes

Princess is very good at placing these little “clock” reminders on your bed on nights that you need to adjust your clocks and watches…

13043663_10208832996412657_7596719164361692754_n

Okie dokie, now moving on with our morning on the day we arrived in Hilo.  There was a bit of business that needed to be conducted on this morning.  Because we had sailed out of a ‘foreign’ port and were entering the United States, we had to go to an Immigration Inspection…OH joy, joy! I know it is a necessity, but, I will admit, I was a wee bit frustrated that we, as Americans, had to go through this process.  I know, I know, it is a necessity and I’m grateful for the stringent USA rules…They help to keep us safe. 🙂  We had received a letter in our mailbox the day prior to docking in Hilo that required us to meet in the Princess Theatre at 7am and they simply took us row by row and scanned our cruise cards, took a look at our Passports, and then gave us this card (that we had to keep with us while in all Ports)…

IMG_1694

Okie dokie…We were ready to embark on our day!! YaY!!  Let me show you the Princess Patter for the day we were in Hilo and then we’ll head off on our Waterfall excursion…

PP HIlo 1

PP HIlo 2

PP HIlo 3

PP HIlo 4

There are many excursions that you can take while in Hilo, and to be honest, we had reserved an all day excursion before we set sail.  Unfortunately, my stupid feet and ankles were so swollen that there was no way that I could have done all that we had had planned to do.  The first thing that we did to help my feet was my hubby insisted that I purchase these pretty pink shoes in one of the shops on board (before we docked of course) because my poor feet wouldn’t fit in the sneakers that I had brought along.  These shoes also came in black, dove gray, and a charcoal gray color…I’m such a girlie girl, and I knew that some of my outfits would match nicely and hopefully help me look ‘pretty in pink’. 😉

IMG_1693

IMG_1695

These shoes were admittedly pricy ($68 I believe), BUT, they were SO comfy cozy and perfect for me.  (My feet did finally shrink back down to normal after I drank a copious amount of water and kept tight shoes off of my feet–days later).  Here is the outfit that I paired with these cute shoes:

IMG_1360

Here is an example of the excursion paperwork that you’ll get when you get on the ship, you’ll have plenty of time to go through it and read about all of the excursions available at, in this case, Hilo.  Some of the excursions fill up pretty quickly because a lot of people (like us) pre-reserve online via the Cruise Personalizer, but, trust me, there are still some available after you board the ship.

IMG_1690

We were very lucky in that we were able to switch our excursion from an all-day event that would have really taxed my poor feet, to one that was a bit less strenuous and a 4 hour adventure.  Here is the excursion that we ended up taking, and it was lovely…

IMG_1691

We simply went to the Shore Excursions office on board and they were so accommodating and wonderful–GREAT crew on the Star!! We even were refunded a bit of money because the excursion we chose to take was a bit less expensive than our original choice.

All righty, it was time for us to leave for our Excursion, so off we went (Cruise card, Passport, and Immigration card in hand), the first place that we saw when we got off of the ship was a big warehouse type building that had all of the different excursion guides standing there holding signs.  You showed your excursion ‘tickets’ (that I didn’t take a picture of) and you were pointed to your ‘holding area’. While we were waiting to depart on our adventure, we had a little bit of entertainment.  These 4 ladies were quite talented and welcomed us with a bit of ukulele music and hula flair. 🙂

DSCN0783

Our little tour guide Jessica came to collect us and she led us out to our mode of transportation for the day, a 15 passenger van. 🙂

DSCN0798

Jessica was a very sweet lady and she was full of information about Hilo and was filling our heads with all of that wonderful info as we started our tour…

Our first stop was at Onomea Bay, so pretty and calm…

1V4A3695

Our next stop was Akaka Falls State Park.  We traversed about a mile down many steps and then back up many steps (they do have an easier/shorter trail to get to the Falls, but, I of course wanted to do the stairs–silly me…it was challenging with my bad knees, but, I soldiered on to the falls… Jessica told me that she didn’t believe me when I said I bad knees because I motored along pretty quickly…go me). 😉  The trail runs through a rainforest and was just breathtakingly gorgeous.

Here are some pictures that we took along the way to the Falls:

DSCN0810

DSCN0809

DSCN0808

1V4A3712 (1)1V4A37561V4A3757 (1)DSCN08111V4A3738

Akaka Falls finally came into view…JUST beautiful!!

1V4A3744

Akaka Falls drops 422 feet!! WOW!!!  I was mesmerized and again reminded how small we are…It was majestically gorgeous.  We were allowed to view the falls for quite a little while and everyone took pictures and selfies and sat in a little gazebo type thing before making the trek back to the van.  Yes, my knees were aching a bit, but, it was well worth the little hike…and it was good exercise for me too. 🙂

Once we got back out to the van, Jessica provided us with nice cool rags and a snack.  She had this wonderful tasting juice (along with other choices)…gosh, I really enjoyed drinking that down, so refreshing. 🙂

IMG_1373

After we were finished our snack and drink, we piled back into the van and our next stop was Rainbow Falls:DSCN0818

DSCN0814

DSCN0816

The walk to Rainbow Falls was much less strenuous, pretty much, it sits right next to the parking lot.  There is a set of steps that you can go up and look down on the top of the Falls…The hubby did that, I chose not to traverse up more stairs. 🙂

IMG_1374

1V4A3765

While I was sauntering around and viewing Rainbow Falls–so so pretty…I came across Hawaii’s State flower…The yellow Hibiscuses

1V4A3781

It was now time to depart Rainbow Falls, at this point, I said to myself that I was really glad that we didn’t do the all-day excursion…I was pretty bushed honestly, but I was a happy, happy lady because I was seeing HAWAII!!! WHAT? I was so lucky. 🙂

Jessica took us back to ‘town’, and gave us the opportunity to sample some local Macadamia Nuts that are made right there on the Island…And we bought a bag of them as well. 🙂

12961561_10208780507700472_6859870919625194310_n

We were then given time to walk around town a bit and do some shopping and exploring.

DSCN0825

12718111_10208780508580494_4691062149027213008_n

I thought this was just the prettiest Christmas ornament…

12987215_10208780506060431_4541002984524979165_n

Here is the Farmer’s Market…Unfortunately, we were there on a Sunday and not all of the venders set up their wares on Sundays…Most of what was out on our day was food…But, it was interesting to see.

DSCN0823

One of the most beautiful sites that we saw on Hilo was the Banyan trees…They are huge and gorgeous and EVERYwhere on Hilo. Also, a lot of the Banyan trees have been planted by famous people such as Amelia Earhart and Babe Ruth.

1V4A3782

Back up for a second to Akaka Falls, I give a bit of commentary about the Banyan trees and you can also see some more of those lovely steps that lead to those Falls. 🙂

We also saw a little piggy running by…lol…I definitely chucked at that site. 😉

1V4A3790

The only other critter we saw was this little fella…

1V4A3800

It was time to load back into the Van and head back to the ship…I clicked off one last picture before heading back…

DSCN0828

Here is a picture of the ship from the Van…

DSCN0788

And when we got back to our ship, I was able to click off this picture…How pretty is the Star Princess?  I’d say very, very pretty. 🙂

DSCN0830

We greatly enjoyed our day in Hilo, we learned all about the “Big Island”, we saw a gorgeous waterfall while walking through a lush rain forest.  We saw a Rainbow as we gazed upon another set of waterfalls, and we ‘felt’ Hilo and it’s folk (sweet as can be) as we did a little exploring and shopping on our own.  All in all, a wonderful day!!

We got back to the ship and I sat out on our balcony for a while before we headed off to dinner at the buffet…This was my view:

1V4A3802

It was time to sail away from this beautiful place, the sunset that evening did not disappoint…

1V4A3834

1V4A3828

Aloha Hilo, I hope to gaze upon you once again one day…

Our next stop was Honolulu, here is a sneak peek and link:

Hawaiian Cruise – Honolulu: Arizona Memorial & Mighty Mo

1V4A3972

Until next time, y’all take good care! ❤

~Arlynn ❤

One more thing. 🙂  Here is a video that I created of our day in Hilo after I had finished writing my Hawaii Blog—I also have a YouTube Travel Channel (Arlynn’s Travels):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOs53DrZecw&t=4s

Hawaiian Cruise: First Day On Board & 10 Sea Days

On By ArlynnIn Vacations24 Comments

I’ve tried to wrap my brain around the very best way to describe this Princess cruise for all of you wonderful folks out there and I think I’ve come up with a way to do so without confusing you too much and not getting bogged down with every little detail.  This cruise was a long one and we had 10 sea days on our Itinerary, 5 days while in transit to the Islands and 5 days after visiting the Islands while cruising back to Vancouver.  I *was* going to write one post per sea day for you, but, I decided against doing that for fear that it might get a little tedious for all of us.  So moving forward my blog posts will go as follows:

  • First, in this entry, I’ll cover the first day on board and all “At Sea” Days
  • Next, I’ll write blog posts for each Island (4 separate posts)
  • Then, I’ll write a “Ship Tour” entry
  • And finally, I’ll write one last blog giving my all-over impressions of this cruise

Once again, here was our Itinerary:

Screen Shot 2016-04-22 at 9.42.58 AM

So let’s get started with our very first day on board.  Embarkation, as with every cruise we’ve ever done through Princess went off without a hitch, they truly do run like a well-oiled machine and they are quite efficient.  The first things that you are handed as you step up to your Princess Representative in the embarkation center (usually a large cruise terminal) is your room card and a little map of the ship (folded up to be the same size as your cruise card):

Here is my room card, as you can see, I have a sticker on my card, that simply tells the waiters that I purchased a “Soda & More” package which includes unlimited fountain soft drinks, plus mocktails, juices, and complimentary hot chocolate throughout your cruise. It also includes milkshakes and specialty ice cream at the ice cream shoppe on board.

IMG_1671

I will usually carry my cruise card in my pocket or dare I say stuck down in my bra (which doesn’t look too attractive or appropriate when pulling it out to show it to your waiter <yikes>!!!) 😉  SO, this time, I purchased a blingy lanyard on board and the cashier punched a hole in my card and I was good to go.

IMG_1670

Here are some pictures of that spiffy little map:

IMG_1665IMG_1664

IMG_1666

IMG_1669

Okie dokie, so we were ready to go and find our Mini-Suite and to get started with our cruise. Here is a link to a video I created, it is a pretty detailed stateroom tour showing you every aspect of the Mini-Suite aboard the Star Princess.

We had made some purchases via our “Cruise Personalizer” on Princess.com months ago, so these little cards were waiting for us on the bed when we entered our Stateroom:

IMG_1673

As you can see, these cards specifically indicated that we had purchased the “Unlimited Soda & More” package and an “Internet Cafe” package.  Obviously, my soda and more package had been taken care of already with my cruise card, but, when we got to our room, this nice cup was there waiting for me as well:

1V4A3598 (1)

We needed to carry the Internet card to the Internet Cafe and we worked with a Princess fella to set up our onboard account and we got a little education on how the internet worked.  NOTE:  IF any of you ever get an Internet package, when you are finished browsing, never forget to “Logout” (!!!), because if you do forget, your minutes will tick right away while you are out and about enjoying dinner, dancing and whatever else suits your fancy. 🙂  I cannot stress how important it is to make sure you have logged out.

Screen Shot 2016-04-17 at 6.49.08 PM

Here is a little tip for you, as you can see in the picture above, it instructs you to go to “logout.com” in your browser bar.  Well, I would do that, but, there were times where it did not tell me that I was logged out, in those instances I went back to the screen below and hit the logout button at which time my remaining minutes would appear which gave me the assurance that I was indeed logged out.

Screen Shot 2016-04-17 at 6.49.18 PM

All that said, the Internet is not too awful slow, there were times that I couldn’t log on, but  honestly that very seldom happened.  I actually managed to upload some pictures to my personal Facebook page every day, I was pretty happy about that.

Okay, moving on through our first day–Next was our Muster Drill–A bit of business that has to be completed before the ship can pull away from the dock.  Your muster drill “Station” is stamped on your cruise card…

IMG_1671 (1)

And you can always find where you are to go on the back of your Stateroom’s door:

1V4A3571

A little info about the Muster Drill for you.  First, on every single Princess cruise that we’ve been on the Muster Drill has always taken place inside…no lining up on outside decks.  All of the Muster Stations are located on Deck 7-The Promenade deck (where the lifeboats are hung from) and all stations are located in and around the restaurants/bars/venues on that deck.  On your first Princess Patter that should be either on your bed or in your little mailbox outside your stateroom door when you arrive will tell you what time the drill will be happening…it is mandatory that you go to this drill, so set your watch.  My suggestion is that you start heading to your particular muster station no less than 30 minutes before it is set to begin (take a crossword puzzle book to work or book to read).  This way, you’ll be assured to get a seat—AND—don’t forget to take your life jacket which can be found on the closet shelf, you must have it with you and demonstrate that you can put it on correctly. Your cruise card will be scanned while at the drill so that they can be assured that you’ve participated. 🙂

(Of course, this is the one time that I didn’t have my handy-dandy camera around my neck, so I have NO pictures to share with you of the drill itself…erg to me eh?!!)

Okay, NOW that that business is ALL over, you can start to enjoy your cruise.  I always want to get unpacked and of course we want to eat..haha…So that is how I finished out our first day, I unpacked and put everything in its place (you can see all of the “Must Haves” that I spread about our room here at this link).  And then we hit the buffet for dinner.

1V4A4290

Bye bye Vancouver…see ya in 15 days! 🙂

1V4A3583

Here is a little video that I have loaded on my You Tube travel Channel (Arlynn’s Travels) of our sail away–just going under the Lion’s Gate Bridge:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WmGdeEQCfU

SEA DAYS (10 in all):

As you can see by all of the information that I just imparted, I can tend to get bogged down in the details.  I’m thinking y’all don’t need to see every single thing that we did on every single sea day on our cruise, so I am just going to try to give you the ‘feeling’ of some of the things that we did…

First, I’ll start by showing you my Sea Day outfits as that has been a huge request from some of you lovely ladies out there. 🙂  Again, I am NO fashionista, and I am admittedly a plus-sized girl, BUT, I do love to try to look nice and stylish.  I am one of those people who really tries to adhere to the “smart casual” dress code onboard.  There are times when a bathing suit is worn to and from the pool and such and of course that is fine, but, you will rarely see me in inappropriate attire in any of the eating venues.  As well, the hubby and I do not participate in formal nights, but, we will usually do one of the specialty restaurants on those evenings and yes, we do dress a little nicer than “smart casual” no matter the evening we go to those venues.  SO anyway, here is my “AT SEA” wardrobe.

The first 5 days as we traveled to the Hawaiian Islands

As you will see, I dressed warmly for the first 3 day as it was *quite* chilly, and then my outfits started to ‘lighten up’ as we neared the more tropical climate:

And here are the 5 outfits that I wore after we departed the Hawaiian Islands, as you can see, I started out very tropical and then moved back into the warmer outfits with scarves to pretty up those plain shirts, ending the cruise how I began it in that pretty little coral jacket (I just love that jacket!!):

Okie dokie…I’ll now try to give you a little sampling of some of the things that we did on Sea Days while on board.  As I mentioned in my first blog in this Hawaiian Cruise series “Hawaii: Packing, Dinner with Dear Friends, and Embarkation”, we were a bit skeptical seeing all of those sea days looming ahead of us.  We’d only done Alaskan cruises before this cruise and there is literally only one ‘at sea’ day on the Southbound Voyage of the Glaciers cruise (btw, I’ve done an entire series of blog post describing that Alaskan cruise. Here is a link to the first entry and there are links at the end of each one that will take you to the next post/day).   Honestly though, we did okay with all of those sea days.The first thing I’ll show you is the Princess Patter for one of the sea days:

Scan

Patter 2

Patter 3

Patter 4

The sea days were all similar in nature, of course some things would change as the days passed, i.e. the entertainment for the day, or the movie playing on the big screen on deck, or the dress code among other things.  They also offered Hawaiian themed seminars with the Naturalist on board Sherry:

DSCN0592

And they have a married couple Brian and Rowena who host different classes, i.e. ukulele at sea class, or a lei making class (I tried to get into that one, but honestly, it was a MAD house, so I figured it would just stress me out and I have every confidence that being a crafter, if I want to make a lei at some point that I can certainly do so without instruction). Brian & Rowena are very talented though, along with teaching the classes, they would perform in the Piazza at times as well:

DSCN0609

We had ice cream almost every day… DSCN0649

Yes, the first few days at sea were very chilly…

1V4A3587

And a couple of them were quite wavy and rough…fun times for us though as we don’t suffer from seasickness…thank goodness. 🙂

We still managed to make it to the buffet though…Several times. 😉

DSCN0678

We also went to the Portifino Dining Room (for Anytime diners) for breakfast…Honestly, they never had anything on the menu for dinner that met our fancy—Don’t judge please, I’ve heard others rave about the food, and I’m sure it is very good, if it is something that you like to begin with. 🙂  As a whole the food on board any Princess ship is very, very good.

Definition of “Anytime Dining” is as follows…Pulled straight from Princess.com:

“Anytime Dining allows you the freedom to eat with whomever you wish, and whenever you like – just as you would at a fine restaurant – between 5:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. You can have a table for two one evening and join a group for a festive meal the next. The choice is yours”.

Here was the breakfast menu in the Portifino which is one of the Main Dining Rooms set aside for Anytime Dining:

DSCN0563

And here was my breakfast one morning:

DSCN0564

There was always duty-free shopping to do onboard, here is an example of the flyer that would come with the Patter each day:

Star Shopping 1 5Star Shopping 1 3

Here is a smattering of just some of the things that I purchased while onboard:

More ice-cream you say? Yes please!!

DSCN0720

How about a milkshake (‘free’ for me because of my Soda and More package) YUM!!:

DSCN1088

We enjoyed some absolutely gorgeous sunrises and sunsets…

I got my fingernails done…

DSCN0667

We watched an ice carving demonstration. 🙂

1V4A4294

We enjoyed walking around the gorgeous Star Princess…Here I am sitting on the side of the aft pool:

DSCN1005

And here is one shot of the Piazza:

1V4A3605

And, we relaxed:

DSCN0652

Last but not least, our Stateroom Steward “Bobby” went above and beyond for us on this cruise.  He was absolutely excellent! I was so surprised when we arrived back in our Stateroom after dinner on our 1st sea day heading back to Vancouver, Bobby had taken the time to make us this:

1V4A4276

Bobby probably heard me squealing after I entered the room and saw this little fellow.  I ran to find Bobby and I thanked him profusely–This was the very first towel animal that we’ve ever received on any Princess cruise…I was over the moon…It’s the little things you know?!!

As each day passed, Bobby kept getting more and more creative with his towel creations…Here are some of the others that he made for us as we sailed back to Vancouver. 🙂

And, yes, as is Princess’ practice, we still got our chocolates every evening:

13043663_10208832996412657_7596719164361692754_n

1V4A4375

We also went to see the comedian on board “Steve White”, watched a couple of movies, among many other little things at different venues.  Sea Days aren’t so bad after all!!! 😉

Hilo, Hawaii was our first Port of Call, so that is what I’ll tell you about in my next entry.  Here is a sneak peek and link:

Hawaiian Cruise: Hilo – Waterfalls & More

1V4A3765

Until next time, y’all take good care! ❤

~Arlynn ❤

 

 

 

Hawaii: Packing, Traveling, Dinner With Dear Friends, & Embarkation

On By ArlynnIn Vacations12 Comments

What? It was finally time to pack?!! Really?!  I was doing the happy dance at that prospect, I had been planning, gathering, and organizing for months and months readying us for this wonderful 15-night Hawaiian cruise through the Princess Cruise line. 🙂

So let’s not waste any more time with me chatting aimlessly away, let me show you quickly what my packing looked like.  As I mentioned in my “What’s In My Carry On, My Must Have’s, & Packing Tips and Tricks” blog entry, I had all of those spiffy packing cubes and a packing envelope to utilize, and utilize them I did to the fullest capacity.  I was able to take twice as many outfits than I usually take and they came in completely handy considering that we were embarking on an ‘ever weather changing’ type of cruise.

Here is our Itinerary:

Screen Shot 2016-04-22 at 9.42.58 AM

As you can see, we cruised out of Vancouver, B.C. and we had 5 sea days on the front and back ends of this cruise, so I knew I’d need some warmer clothing to cover what I figured would be cooler days.  I’d also obviously need warmer clothing once we got to the more tropical (gorgeous) climate in Hawaii.

So here is how I got everything packed up–You can take a look at my “Hawaii Cruise Wardrobe Choices” to see exactly what I packed.

I started with my tops, I packed them into the “Eagle Creek Packing Folder“:

IMG_1204

IMG_1205-1

I fit a plethora of tops in that envelope, I know I had over 20 of them in there, along with a light-weight knit blazer.  I was thrilled!!

Next, I utilized one of the large packing cubes for all of my slacks and capris:

IMG_2277

I utilized the other packing cubes for all of my unmentionables, socks, and pjs…Here is what my large suitcase looked like, it all fit beautifully!

IMG_1208

I then packed up my smaller suitcase with all of my Must Haves using great care to wrap some of the breakable items in bubble wrap and/or paper towels to pad everything nicely…Have y’all seen how those airport folks toss your luggage around? Yeah, I didn’t want to have my perfume broken or a bottle of fingernail polish shattered, so I did take some time to make sure everything was nicely and succinctly packed. 🙂

IMG_4702

So, I was all ready to roll!  Our flight was at 7am the next morning and we had to leave our house at about 3:15am in order to get to the airport, get parked, go through security, and well, y’all know the drill.  Our daughter Christin came over to our house and moved in…bless her heart, she took great care of our home and our dogs while we were away.  She and I sat up and chatted until it was time for me to jump into the shower at about 2am…I was SO excited, I could not sleep…thankfully, my hubby was able to snooze a bit before we left for the airport.

Okay, so it was *finally* time to leave our house and head to the airport; I was completely ready, but, I had to say my last goodbye to these three sweet pups…When they look at you like this, it makes it really hard to walk out:

IMG_1196-1

IMG_3464

12512651_10208716534661186_1725114469679225430_n

BUT, I managed to muster up the strength to leave these sweet things and so the hubby and I headed out for our grand adventure…BUT, wait, we had to drive through a bit of snow when we were on our way to the airport…Snow? In April?!  UGH I guess stranger things have happened, but, not many around these parts..haha…

So, we finally made it to the airport, through security, and we were waiting to board our flight…and, I remembered I hadn’t taken a picture of my outfit–one thing that I’ve promised y’all I would do…SO, what did I do, I went and found a full-length mirror in the bathroom at the airport and took this…LOL…I can hear y’all chuckling right now. 😉 A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do you know?! 😉

IMG_1219

That was my traveling outfit…I’m so glad I had that light jacket on because it was freezing on the plane and it was quite chilly when we got to Vancouver.  I also dressed a little nicer than I might have otherwise done because we were going to be meeting my dear friend Liz and her hubby for dinner that evening and I knew this outfit would carry over to that event nicely. 🙂

Thankfully, our flights–we had two, we had a bit of a layover in Denver–were uneventful, everything was on time, and the weather was perfect for flying.  Gosh those rocky mountains were just gorgeous too…

IMG_1240

IMG_1252

IMG_1254

We landed at the Vancouver, B.C. airport at around 1:30pm (losing 3 hours as we traveled across the USA) and then Princess took over. 🙂  I love using Princess transfers because even through they might be a bit pricey, using them takes the worry out of how you are going to get from point A to point B.  So we gathered our luggage and then made our way to customs–pretty painless process, and then we found our Princess rep right there waiting for us, she took us straight to a taxi and handed the driver a voucher to show him where he was to take us and that also served as his payment.  IMG_1260

We did tip him when he got us to our destination, the Four Seasons Hotel (accommodations also arranged through Princess):

1V4A3522

Our room was lovely and very well appointed:

1V4A3515

1V4A3514

1V4A3509

The hotel’s ‘bell-hop’ for lack of a better word delivered our suitcases almost immediately:

1V4A3507 (1)

And here was our view:

1V4A3503

It was time for us to head out to meet Liz and her hubby for dinner, they were staying at a hotel down the street (bless their hearts, they had taken one of the B.C. Ferries over to Vancouver from their home in Victoria and stayed the night there JUST so that we could spend some time together—how sweet was *that*?!!). 🙂

WAIT:  Before I continue on, Liz took this picture of our cruise ship the Star Princess before they left their home on Vancouver Island (Victoria). Yes, she *can* see the cruise ships come and go from her back deck…how awesome is that?!!

12670649_10153386670606962_3945489551562003222_n

Okay, to continue on, the hubby and I decided to walk on over to their hotel. 🙂  It was SO good to see Liz again, I just hugged and hugged her. 🙂

DSCN0520

And we sat and chatted for quite a long time before heading to a lovely Italian restaurant for dinner:

DSCN0523

IMG_1263

Then off to dinner we went we dined at Al Porto and boy was it ever delicious!

After dinner the hubby and I went back to our hotel and fell straight to sleep…As I mentioned earlier, we had lost 3 hours flying across to that coast and we were pretty bushed. 🙂

1V4A3504

When we awoke the next morning, we were excited, first because we were meeting Liz and her hubby for breakfast at our hotel, and second,  we’d then be off to our cruise ship to embark on our Hawaiian journey…Here is my outfit for this day’s adventures:

1V4A3519

1V4A3527We had a lovely time with our now VERY dear friends at breakfast.  It was so nice to be able to spend some good quality time chatting and enjoying one-another’s company.  My hubby and I are very blessed and lucky to have them in our lives…<3

1V4A3531 (1)

1V4A3534

It was time to say goodbye to Liz and her hubby…OH the bittersweet feeling I felt, and yes, I was a bawling baby when they were driving away and Liz’zy was blowing us kisses…

1V4A3539

I know we will see them again…hopefully sooner than later!!!

***Thank you for coming over to Vancouver Liz, I loved seeing you, hugging you, and getting to spend time with you–you are very special to me!! MWAH!!

Before long it was time for us to meet our motor coach (another Princess transfer) out in front of our hotel:

1V4A3547

While we were at breakfast, the Princess folks had come and collected our luggage and they had secured our bags along with all of the others’ bags that would be transferred from the hotel to the ship that was moored up at Canada Place not too far away. 🙂

1V4A3544

Princess is so efficient and organized…honestly, they leave nothing to chance and take such good care of you. 🙂

We were off to find our cruise ship now, here was our first glimpse of the Star Princess, I took this from the motor coach:

1V4A3552

The embarkation process was pretty painless, although we were among the very first travelers on board the ship, so we had to wait in a holding area for about 1/2 hour before we were able to board:

1V4A3556

Here we are in line waiting to take our first step onto the ship:

1V4A3561

The very first place we went was to our Stateroom, Mini-Suite D620–I’ve created a video tour of our room, here is the link if you’d like to take a look-see…I tried to be very thorough in my description. 🙂  Here are some pictures:

1V4A35651V4A35641V4A3566

And here I am standing on our nice-sized balcony (that yes, is open to above, there is no covering over it–which is fine with us). 🙂

IMG_1307

And it was time to set-sail toward Hawaii–We’d be “at sea” for the next 5 days and I will admit that I wasn’t quite sure what we’d be doing for 5 days at sea (not to mention the 5 at sea days returning…haha), but, I think you’ll see as we move through my blog posts that Princess definitely fills up the hours nicely. 🙂

DSCN0538

DSCN0551

DSCN0543

Here is a video of us leaving Canada Place and I also give a quick Stateroom Tour of MiniSuite D620:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0KiQKwvO_k&t=8s

I have a much more intricate room tour here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMOgpsi_TRM&t=30s

1V4A3583

Bye bye land, we would not see one iota of land for the next 5 days…

DSCN0560

I cannot tell you how excited I was to finally be on that cruise ship and on our way to the beautiful Hawaiian islands. 🙂  For my next entry, I will describe those sea days. 🙂

Sneak Peek and link:

Hawaiian Cruise: First Day On Board & 10 Sea Days

1V4A3654

Until next time, y’all take good care! ❤

~Arlynn ❤

Short Synopsis of Past Pets & Then Brushed & Beautiful (Highlighting Sophie, Samson, and Gracie)

On By ArlynnIn My Dogs2 Comments

Our three pups, Sophie the Newfoundland, Gracie the Golden Retriever, and Samson the Newfoundland (Brown) add so much joy to our lives on a daily basis; we could not be more loved than we are by these three loyal creatures. ❤

1V4A3501

I love having dogs in my life and have had a least one for pretty much every year of my entire life.  I had a gorgeous German Shepherd as a child, her name was Nikki, and she is what awakened my deep seeded adoration for anything with 4 legs. 🙂

Here is a picture of Nikki:

SCAN0009

My hubby and I have had many dogs in the 30+ years that we’ve been married.  Here is a collage picture of all of the pups that we’ve had the privilege to be loved by and to love. ❤ They include:

  • Shelby – Golden Retriever
  • Sadie – Husky
  • Tori – Rhodesian Ridgeback
  • Keisha – Toy American Eskimo

We had one more *very* special girl that I didn’t include in that collage, her name was Maddy and she was a Bernese Mountain Dog.  Here is picture of Maddy:

IMG_6290

I will take just a second to explain why this precious girl touched our hearts so very much! She had many health problems throughout her years on this earth and unfortunately she only lived to be 6-1/2 years old.  It all started out with horrible hip dysplasia (at 6 months of age…so, so young…can we talk about backyard breeders?  Well, that is a whole different subject that I’m pretty passionate about but will not lament upon here…just know, that all of Maddy’s health problems stem from poor breeding). 😥  Anyway, we had both of her hips replaced…two separate surgeries 6 months apart.

After that, one health problem cropped up after the other, to name just a couple, allergies to *every*thing & what finally took her from us MegaEsophagus.  I will not go into detail about that awful condition here, just know, it was a fight to keep Maddy healthy and aspirating pneumonia, a complication from MegaE, is what finally took her from us.  All that said, she lived a very full and loving life with us–she touched our hearts from the moment we said hello to her till the moment we had to say goodbye. ❤ Maddy gets her own collage here:

 

***We MISS you Maddy-Girl***

All righty–There you have it…My life with my dogs in my past, very full, very loving, and wonderfully enriched because of what they gave to me through the years.

Back to the present day now:

Yesterday, my hubby and I sat down to brush our 3 beauties because dontchaknow it is “BLOW YOUR WINTER COAT” (Spring) Season here in our house.  I was getting quite sick of chasing those doggie hair tumbleweeds around the house with the vacuum (I vacuum at least 2 -3 times a week at this time of year).  SO, we managed to get our creaky bodies down onto the floor with them (not as easy as it used to be…lol. 😉  <~~~ Only half kidding there. 😉  And we went to work on them with all of the tools needed to brush out undercoat, de-matt those matts that we came across, and a pair of scissors might have been in use as well to trim up some “Angel Wings” that Samson likes to grow…You can see said wings in the picture below (that big swath of hair right in front of his back leg):

10013551_10208497169537195_3690865558595710906_n

Anyway, here was the end result…

IMG_4679

People ask me all of the time how we get our pups to pose to prettily…Well, the big secret is NILLAS (Vanilla Wafers). They LOVE Nillas…W-e-l-l…let me rephrase that, the girls Gracie and Sophie LOVE Nillas…Sam could take or leave them–He is NOT food motivated at all as you will see in the following pictures. 😉

So, here comes the Nillas–Gracie and Sophie are quite excited, Sam, eh, not so much…lol…

IMG_4685

The “WAIT” command was given, Gracie and Sophie were listening but focused on those Nillas…Sam, well, he was napping. 😉 

IMG_4692

Then, Sophie just couldn’t contain herself any longer and she scarfed her Nilla right up and down the hatch it went.  Gracie was still in wait mode, bless her heart. And Sam, well, he had now entered REM sleep. 😉 

IMG_4689

These three just fill my heart with love and make me giggle each and every day–I do love them so very much!!

IMG_4700IMG_4694

IMG_4697

AND one more picture that might put a little smile on your face today…

IMG_1148

OH dear me…Yes, the word “challenging” does come to mind. 😉 😉

***Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unopened***

Until next time, y’all take good care! ❤

Arlynn ❤

 

 

 

 

Pick A Theme & Carry It From Room To Room

On By ArlynnIn Country Decor Ideas4 Comments

I’ve spent a ton of time here in my Blog showing you how I transition from one Season/Holiday to the next via my decor.  But, I have not shown you how I came up with my generic/every-day decor and how I made it work through-out our home.  When we were building our new retirement home…

IMG_4512

I spent the months that it was being built trying like heck to figure out how I was going to decorate.  In my other home, I admittedly went a smidge overboard with my decor–in other words, I filled every single wall/corner/shelf that was blank and available.  Don’t get me wrong, I think I did a good job, I just think I didn’t need to do quite as much…less is more and all of that you know?! 😉  SO, I knew that I loved “country” decor, but not the primitive everything looks really old kind of country–I do love that look too, but, I didn’t think it would be appropriate for this home.  Okay, so I was getting frustrated trying to hone in on exactly where to start, after all, I was going to have to recreate the wheel so to speak–start from scratch–pull my hair out and…well you get my drift.  One day, I finally sat myself down and listed the things that I love and things that I’d used throughout my many years of decorating that always turned out nicely.  My list included:

  • Pip berries (garlands and picks),
  • Lanterns
  • Gerber daisies
  • Fleur-de-lis
  • Baskets
  • Willow Tree Figurines
  • Dickens Houses
  • Wooden Plates
  • Mini-lights

That was rather an eclectic little list I had going, but, as you’ll see, my “theme” became all of those things rolled into one cohesive design that has worked out beautifully in this home.  I will highlight the back part of our home in this entry where I’ve used burgundy, khaki, & cream as my major color scheme.  The staircase separates the family room/kitchen/eating area from the living and dining rooms that sit on the front of our home.   I’ll do a separate post describing those rooms at another time; I use khakis and creams in there as well, but my main accent color in those rooms is a soft green.

IMG_3442

Instead of explaining each and every  decor element, I think I will just show you some pictures and give you links to my blog entries that will show you how I put certain things together.

Let’s start out with the kitchen, as you can see by the pictures below, I incorporated lanterns, baskets, wooden plates, and dickens houses among other things to create the Above The Kitchen Cabinet Decor…

IMG_7558IMG_7559

I love to work with those kitchen windows; I’ve incorporated wooden plates, gerber daisies (wooden and silk), pip berry picks…Here is my The Ever Changing Kitchen Window Decor post:

1V4A33191V4A3318

Moving on into the family room area, our staircase is such a focal point, and my daughter actually gave me the idea to hang pip berry garland wrapped in white lights onto the railing.  Talk about warming up a large space, adding that lit garland and then making bows to go at the swag points has become one of my favorite design elements in the house (we do switch it out for Christmas with pine garland); the entire idea started by me using burlap and swagging it onto the staircase).  Here is a link describing all of the different ways in which I’ve switched up the Staircase Railing…My most recent design is pictured below…

IMG_3338

I made all of those bows, and then I made a swag our of pip berry picks and gerber daisies to attach to the bullnose…IMG_3417IMG_3365

Version 2

IMG_3367

The fireplace is another focal point; I typically decorate the mantel and hearth.  I have utilized, a pip berry garland, dickens houses, willow tree figurines, wooden plates, and a few other accent pieces to pull it all together.

IMG_3345IMG_3359Version 2

I made the wreath that is hanging on the mirror above the mantel…If you’d like to try one for yourself, here is a link as to how I created it…

IMG_3327IMG_3412

Creating Cozy Corners is another little design trick that I’ve honed over the years…I implemented my little trick on either side of the hearth as shown above, and also in the corners on either side of the credenza as shown below…

IMG_3401

IMG_3358

IMG_3403 (1)As seen in the picture above, I have found that adding Rod-Iron Scroll’y’ Pieces and Accent Lighting to my space helps to pull everything together nicely…

IMG_3406

Lanterns are some of my most favorite things with which to work…I use them to create table centerpieces and have them scattered about throughout our home…

IMG_3429IMG_3430IMG_3361

I found that flour-de-lis candle holder in Hobby Lobby and I used it much like I do my lanterns…IMG_3394

Here is the Powder room, I have tried to decorate it in much the same way as I did the kitchen and family room areas as it is close by.  I just made this wreath right after Christmas, I tried to pull in all elements of my decor, i.e. gerber daisies, rod-iron (owls), pip berries (I used a pip berry garland)…OH goodness, why don’t I just give you a link, here is how I made that Burlap, Pip Berry, & Rod-Iron Wreath. 🙂

IMG_3629

IMG_3630IMG_36321V4A3317

Lastly, one other way that I pull all of my decor together is my incorporating some of the same accent elements into my little flower arrangements, for this decor theme, I’ve used pip berries, gerber daisies, and that same burlap ribbon that I used to make the staircase bows.

I made these little arrangements for the kitchen window decor:

IMG_1123IMG_1124

I made this basket arrangement to sit up on a shelf in the family room:

IMG_1125IMG_1126

And one more, I made this arrangement to sit on a table in the family room:

IMG_1101-1

My goal is to always create a warm, cozy, & welcoming space and I think I’ve accomplished that goal nicely–I sure stressed for a long time while trying to pull it all together in my head though.  It wasn’t until I got moved into this home and started to work with the different spaces that it finally all came together into one cohesive design.  I hope that I’ve helped to maybe give you an idea of how to incorporate your favorite things into your home decor and in turn how to make one cohesive design–You can do it, all you need to do is to start compiling a list of the things that you love. 🙂

Until next time, y’all take good care! ❤

~Arlynn ❤

 

Hawaii Cruise Wardrobe Choices

On By ArlynnIn Vacations20 Comments

I cannot believe that our Hawaiian cruise is now behind us…<sigh>.  We plan for months and months for our cruises, and then *poof* they’re over with way too soon.  OH well, there is always the next one in the queue huh?  I always like to have the next one to look forward to and to plan for.  Those of us in the cruising world keep a close eye on our “Countdown”…And I do have one of those sweet “Countdown’s'” clicking away at the moment…YaY!   We will once again be cruising with Princess Cruises; we are loyal to them and are now considered “Platinum” members of the “Captain’s Circle”…Woohoo, go us! 😉

Just as I mentioned in my Alaska Cruise Wardrobe Choices blog post, I am no fashionista, but, this plus sized girl does like to try her best to look put together and most importantly to *feel* pretty.  My wardrobe for Hawaii ended up to be quite varied as we began and ended the cruise in Vancouver, B.C which at that time of the year (April 5-19) temperatures were on the chilly side. We cruised for 5 days at sea on our way to Hawaii, then we were in the Islands for 4 days, and then we cruised back to Vancouver for 5 days.  So that said, I knew I needed some clothes to keep me warm and some clothes that were more suited for the tropics.  OH goodness, way to confuse a girlie girl! 😉  All that said, the little voice in my head was whispering “Don’t overpack, don’t overpack, don’t O-V-E-R-P-A-C-K!!!”. 🙂

Okay, enough of my ramblings…Let’s get started…

Here are the suitcases that I took…Yes, yes, I took two <~~~Don’t judge! 😉  One was for my clothes (purple, 29″ spinner–checked compliant), and the other one was for cosmetics (27″ spinner–checked compliant), my “must haves”, and an extra Vera Bradley “Weekender” bag so that I could use it for a carry-on bag on the plane on the way home; it held the clothes that we wore on our last day of the cruise, our last morning toiletries, etc…We also had to put our suitcases out in the hallway on our last night of the cruise so that they could be taken and readied for our trip to the airport the next morning.  Here is a link if you’d like to take a look at my blog covering What’s In My Carry-On, My Must Haves, and Packing Tips & Tricks.

IMG_1050

The first outfit I picked out was my traveling outfit…It also served as an out to dinner outfit as we were meeting our dear friends Liz and Mike who traveled to Vancouver from Victoria on the day that we arrived.  We went out to dinner and had a nice long visit that evening…I was SO looking forward to that meet-up.  This is the outfit I chose, comfy, but still a bit dressy (and it didn’t wrinkle…an important little detail considering we were going to be traveling and sitting in a jet for the better part of that day).  It is a navy blue maxi skirt, pretty paisley blouse, and a knit navy blue jacket; it traveled beautifully.

IMG_0908

Of course we left our house at around 3am and I forgot to take a selfie of my outfit before we left…SO, I improvised and took one of myself in the airport bathroom—OH Lawdy, the things that I do for my Blog…hahaha. 😉

IMG_1219

Next, when packing I picked out the outfits that I’d wear on our way to and from (not in) Hawaii…I knew that it would probably be pretty cool (and it was) for the first few (at least) days that we’d be at sea–10 sea days in all 5 going and 5 coming back home.

First, I chose this pretty coral jacket:

IMG_0862IMG_0866

And here I am on Embarkation day in that jacket, I was standing on the balcony of our MiniSuite D620  <link to a descriptive Stateroom video of our Mini that I have on my YouTube channel>. 🙂

IMG_1307

Next, I knew that I had to take some of the most comfortable black stretchy slacks ever, I took 3 pairs of those as they fold up nice and small for packing and do not wrinkle. I was so sad last year when I couldn’t find these pants any longer–admittedly, mine are getting a wee bit worn, not horrible, but, enough where I’d like to have some back-up pairs.  I do believe I’ve found them again though, at Dressbarn.com, and I’ve ordered a pair up for myself.  I will let y’all know if they are these exact pants–Dress Barn had done away with them for a while.  I’m hoping that these are indeed my very favorite, here are a couple of links… Roz & Ali Plus Slim Leg Pants & Roz & Ali Slim Leg Pants  . Anyway, I paired those pants with different colored 3/4 length sleeved shirts.

IMG_0923

I threw in a few light-weight scarves too, they didn’t take up any space and didn’t add hardly any weight, but, they added a little interest and cuteness to those plain shirts…

I just love scarves btw…Here I am in that coral top with a different scarf–I am with our pups–Gracie the Golden, Sophie the Black Newfoundland, and Samson the Brown Newfoundland:

1V4A0147

Here I am on board the Star in two out of the three shirts w/scarves pictured above (you already saw me in the corall’y’ one paired with that sweet little coral jacket):

I had figured as we got closer to Hawaii, I would be able to switch over to some warmer clothing options. 😉  Here are a couple of the outfits that I wore…

I did take one comfy lounge around outfit–leggins with a over-sized crocheted top…I did not wear that crocheted top–Ummm, yeah, I put it on, and yeah, I took it right back off again…Definitely NOT as attractive as I thought it was in the dressing room in the store…UGH, I hate it when that happens.  So yes, I did carry that top up there along with the tank top that I was going to wear underneath of it and I never wore it. I did wear the leggins one day when I was doing laundry–paired them with a short sleeved top–nope, no pic of that loveliness. 😉 lol

IMG_0909

We did go to the Crown Grill one evening, I changed into this outfit:

IMG_0877

IMG_1343

Okay, so those outfits got me to and from (sea days) Hawaii.  I did wash clothes on this trip as I needed those black pants for our return trip.

Now for the outfits that I’d chosen for while we were in Hawaii…

Hilo:

IMG_1361

Honolulu

IMG_1396

Kauai:  Here are those ‘lovely’ orange capris — Ummmm, NOT so much…See my Kauai Blog post to read about how lovely they were NOT after I’d had them on for like an hour…lol. 😉

IMG_1425

I changed out of those orange ‘beauties’ and put this dress on for dinner that evening:

IMG_1476

And for the last Island that we visited, Maui:

IMG_1489-1

And here are the outfits that I chose and what I wore for trip back to Vancouver—

I was feeling quite tropical on this our 1st sea day:

IMG_0926

IMG_1568

And the 2nd sea day heading back to Vancouver, it was still lovely and warm outside:

 

IMG_1166

IMG_1573

3rd & 4th returning sea days…back to those spiffy black pants, solid colored tops, and scarves–I did wear my coral shirt on the 5th and last sea day:

And the outfit I wore home:

IMG_1633

I did bring these two tops along to pair with my handy dandy black pants just in case we decided to go to a formal night (we really never do…and didn’t this time either)—My goodness though, those black pants are the best, so versatile!

IMG_0879

Of course I took a bathing suit and instead of a “cover-up”, I threw in an old  black maxi-skirt to cover my not so lovely bottom…And no, there were no pictures taken…nope. 😉

I took some P.J.’s and slippers…

IMG_0973

And that did it for the clothes…With my new packing cubes and sleeve, I really was able to easily fit all of that in my one large suitcase.  Just to say once more, our daughter Christin got me these two new packing helpmates for Christmas–She knows I am a notorious over-packer so these really came in handy! (I’ve written an entire blog post describing: “What is in my Carry-on, My Must-Haves, and Packing Tips & Tricks” I have links to YouTube videos in that post showing how these two packing tools work.

Now, let’s talk jewelry…Christin also got me a pretty Thirty-One bag for Christmas, it is specifically made for carrying jewelry.

Here is the jewelry that I took and I wore most of it:

And now for the shoes—Always such hard choices for me!

I found these cuties at Target:

IMG_4608

Okay, I took WAY too many shoes..WAY too many.  Of the shoes pictured above, I wore, the black and blue slip-ons, one pair of the flip-flops, and the pair that I got from Target.  For those of you who have read my Hawaii Cruise Series blog posts, you know that my feet swelled very badly while on board.  That never happens in my every-day life, but, man oh man, I had a time of it on the ship (it had to be the food and all of the traveling)…the swelling finally went down when I drank a copious amount of water and sat with my feet elevated above my heart for pretty much one entire sea day.  ANYway, before we went off ship on one Excursion, my hubby encouraged me (made me…lol) purchase these, what I now tout as ***the most comfortable shoes I’ve ever had on my feet***!! I purchased them in one of the shops on the Star (paid too much for them), but, I was desperate.  Here is a link for Skechers Performance Go Walk 3 in black (as I’ve ordered myself a 2nd pair for our next cruise…and for every-day use as well). Here is a picture of the pretty pink version that I bought on board:

IMG_1695

Admittedly, I am a bit of a clothes horse, BUT, believe it or not, this is WAY paired down for me…honestly, when we cruised in Alaska last summer, I literally took two outfits for each day of the cruise…I did NOT need that many clothes.  For once in my life, I did not overpack!! (I did take a few short-sleeved shirts that I didn’t take pictures of btw…) I found that my clothes were dressy enough to go from day to evening except for the couple of nights that I wore the maxi skirt/polka-dot shirt and then the maxi dress to go to the specialty restaurant–my choice to dress up a bit, not mandatory for those restaurants (we didn’t do formal night as I mentioned above).

I guess now my next cruise post will be when I start preparing for our Canada and New England cruise—Hmmm, I’m thinking those black pants are going to come in handy once again! 😉

Until next time, y’all take good care! ❤

~Arlynn ❤

***IF you are interested…I have written an entire Series of Blog posts describing our trip.  In said posts, I’ve included tons of pictures along with my commentary about the ship and the ports.***

Here is the first link in the series–There is a link at the end of each post that will take you to the next link in succession. 🙂

Hawaii: Packing, Traveling, Dinner With Dear Friends, & Embarkation

***By the way,  we arrived at our almost Platinum status (before this cruise) with Princess Cruises by cruising 4 times in Alaska.  If y’all are at all interested in seeing what our Alaskan cruises were like, I’ve written an entire Alaska: Voyage of the Glaciers cruising series.  Here is a link that will take you to the first entry in the series; there is a link at the end of each entry that will take you to the next entry in the series (pretty much a entry per day of the cruise).   I’ve also written a blog entry describing my Alaska Cruise Wardrobe Choices . :)***

One more picture of me and my pups…I just love them!! ❤

1V4A2947

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cruising: What’s In My Carry-On, My Must Haves, and Packing Tips & Tricks

On By ArlynnIn Vacations43 Comments

I am writing this post to try and help those of you out there who might be new to cruising, or even those of you who might have cruised before, but, like to make a little list of things to start gathering before your cruise.  I will include what I usually put in my Carry-On bag, my Must Haves for on the cruise ship, and I’ll even include a section with some packing tips & tricks. 🙂  I’ve implemented these little helpful hints on our cruises that up to this point have  been to Alaska (4 times w/3 more in the queue), Hawaii, and Canada & New England. 😉 So enough chattering from me, let’s jump right in and get started…

I’ll begin with showing you my carry-on bag and what I normally will keep with me on our journey on the jet, or even in the car.  Then, once at our destination, I’ll have the bag with me if I want to take it on excursions and so forth.

This is the bag that I used for our Hawaii and Canada and New England trips and it worked like a charm, it is a Vera Bradley’s Campus Backpack in Midnight Paisley.  I’m sure I looked like a girlie-girl carrying this through the airport and beyond, but, I didn’t care…I’m pretty comfortable with myself and don’t really care what others think. 🙂  I love Vera for its versatility, structure, and usability–I have searched for something that better suits my needs to no avail; I have made my way back to my old stand by in my Vera.

IMG_4668

I put all of my Captain’s Circle Pins on it too–I’m such a geek! lol

DSCN1124

So let’s see what will be in my Carry-On. 🙂

My 13″ MacBook Pro–We loaded some movies onto this and it became the holder of 1000’s of pictures that we took.

IMG_4669

My earphones to use on the plane or in the car…

IMG_4612

My Kindle Paperwhite — Here is a link for the case:

IMG_1090 (1)

A wallet with cash, credit cards, and our passports…

IMG_1139

It also has a little chain attached; pretty if I want to use it on the ship to carry a lipstick, tissues, etc… with me to dinner…

IMG_1140

One of these pocket folders that will hold our cruise documents and travel insurance papers.  I’m taking the other two folders in my checked luggage as well, I will use them to store our Princess Patters and any other info I collect from the ports etc…to be used in future blogs or possibly any Scrapbooks I might get the urge to create…

IMG_4652

Here is a little video I just made with the folders that I just ordered and will be using on our next cruise:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nR5LTwckZc
I always bring a little notebook to be utilized for journaling and taking notes about wherever we are at any given moment in time.  I am a stickler for facts being correct…

IMG_4655

A little catch-all bag (Vera Bradley medium cosmetic bag) with possible necessities for the flight…

IMG_0788

A crossword puzzle book and a few pens; I love doing crosswords, it gives my brain a work-out. 🙂

IMG_4656

Okay, so that about does it for my Carry-On, I’m betting I throw a couple of other things in there as well, but, let’s move on to a few things that I always take with me on a cruise.

“My Must Haves”:

***These are, as the title suggests “MY” Must Haves–I realize that they might not be everyones***

First of all, I was just shown these wonderful luggage tags specifically designed to hold Princess (and other cruise lines) luggage tags.  I ordered these from Amazon.com here; they just arrived and they are so very thick and nice, I know they are going to work really well.

IMG_1945IMG_1953

I take Clorox wipes, and the first thing I do when I get to our Stateroom is wipe down the door knobs, light switches, desk area, tv remote, sink, toilet, balcony railing/chair arms/table, etc…Can’t be too careful. 🙂

IMG_4603

I take my own shampoo.  I LOVE Princess Cruises, but I do not love the shampoo/conditioner that they have on their ships.  Their’s is housed in a nifty pump dispenser hanging in the shower (they also have shower gel…it’s not bad), but, it makes my hair go FLAT–I’m a Southern girl, I do not like flat hair. 😉

Here is what I’m referring to…This is the pump duo that was in our Mini-Suite on the Star:

DSCN1026

So I take this shampoo with me, this is my every day go-to brand…

IMG_4634Two bars of soap, yes, I take my own soap…I like it much better than the shower gel they provide.IMG_4654I also bring travel sized shower gel and lotion…IMG_0797A little hook <~~link~~ to hang around the towel rack in the shower.  It will hold my shower cap…lol…I know, sounds silly, but, I have color treated hair and I do not wash my hair every day, so a shower cap is a necessity for me. 🙂  (OH brother, I feel like I’m baring my soul here…LOL). 😉IMG_4639Disposable shower caps…Aren’t they purdy? 😉 😉IMG_4640While we’re talking about the bathroom, let me show you this cute little toothbrush holder that I found online…Love it!  You can find one here:IMG_4631I also bring hand soap, I do not like having a bar of soap sitting on the sink at all times–one of my little quirks (I have many obviously…lol)…IMG_4630This room spray is the BEST stuff!  Just to let you know, there are no exhaust fans in the bathrooms on the cruise ship, so I find that having this “odor eliminating” room spray makes it a bit more pleasant to exist in our space..at times…ahem, you get my drift. 😉IMG_4667

*****Just to let you know I used to have a picture of a surge protector here, but have recently found out that you are not allowed to use one on Princess ships…Here is the blurb from Princess’ safety information that you can find in your Cruise Personalizer (Go to your “My Princess”, then to “Print Boarding Passes”, then scroll down to the “Safety PDF” link).  And I quote:

“The use of extension cords fitted with surge protection devices are prohibited in staterooms. The use of non-thermostatically controlled kettles and water heaters, together with the use of irons, is not permitted in your stateroom; please do not bring this type of equipment with you.”

When I find a viable option, I will post something in here…For now, I’m planning to take a regular extension cord, or power strip with no surge protection–I definitely suggest taking *something* because there aren’t many outlets available in the Staterooms.*****

I hardly ever need to take Tums…BUT…I always need to take them on our cruises.  The food is so different, richer, and there is so much of it that I invariably over-eat and need a little relief…

IMG_4607A flashlight is nice to have, even in a balcony cabin–I just feel more secure knowing that we have one in one of the bedside tables just in case the lights go out for any reason…IMG_4672We carry a travel 1875 hairdryer with us…It would take me 20 minutes to dry my hair with the hair dryer that they provide (hung on the wall at the desk area beside the bed).IMG_0783Now, I know that a lot of people baulk at the thought of doing laundry while on vacation, but, I find that doing just a little bit makes me feel better–I hate to see piles of dirty clothes just laying on the floor (of the closet of course), and I like to save myself a little time when I get home.  So yes, I do do laundry while on board…don’t judge…;)  That said, it isn’t cheap to do laundry on board, it costs $3 to wash and $3 to dry—in tokens.  Then, if you don’t take your own detergent and dryer sheets, you have to spend more $$ to purchase them out of a vending machine type thing that also requires tokens.  OH you retrieve the tokens from the token vending machine that is in the laundry room using your cruise card as payment.

(Here is the laundry room on the Star Princess):

Image 3 (3)It is free to use the irons and ironing boards:Image 2 (5)

Can anyone say “cha-ching cha-ching” though?  I take tide pods, and Downy dryer sheets:

Did you know that the walls in your Stateroom are metal? Yep, they sure are, so I take a couple of clip magnets to be used to hold…oh, I don’t know, that day’s Princess Patter for instance…

IMG_0784

DSCN0976

I purchased a package of large clips, they can be used to hold your beach towel on your chair, or possibly to hold your curtains shut (especially in Alaska when it hardly ever gets dark) If you’d like some for yourself, here is a link:

1V4A3663

Binoculars…is a thought…We don’t usually take them because we tend to use the zoom lens’ on our cameras:IMG_0786A pair of scissors…One never knows when one might need to cut a tag off of something, or a string…IMG_1018A sweet little sewing kit…

IMG_1052A pop-up laundry basket…This will easily fit into the closet in the stateroom…I’ll put a Downy sheet down into it to help with any ‘interesting’ smells..;)

A first-aid kit…IMG_1051A portable suitcase scale…Handy to have so that you can switch things from one bag to the other to try and distribute the weight sufficiently. IMG_1019Zip-lock bags of varying sizes…A tip another traveler gave me just recently. I can see me using these for a variety of things. 🙂  IMG_1142.JPG

Dramamine and Bonine just in case of really rough seas–we’ve never gotten sea sick, but, I always take them just in case.   I’ve also heard folks speak about “Queasy Beads”, but, I am not in the know about them, I’m sure you can Google them though. 🙂

IMG_1063

Sunscreen…

IMG_1064

I love this little (3.25″ x 0.5″ x 2.75″) travel clock, it works like a charm!  I am one of those people who, if I wake up in the middle of the night, I want to be able to see what time it is.  I found this on Amazon here, it is a Marathon Atomic travel alarm clock with an auto night light feature.

91Zr9K0OYhL._SL1500_

I purchased a lanyard when I was on board this last time, and I found that I loved using it! The gentleman at the counter in the Sundries shop punched a hole in my cruise card for me:

IMG_1670

Cameras and Tech’y’ Stuff

Here are our cameras, and these are definitely my very most important “must haves”:

IMG_0785We just purchased that sweet little Sony video camera for this trip.  In addition, we’ve got a couple of zoom lens’ that usually go along with us..Also, don’t forget your download cord.

My hubby just purchased a 256 gb SSD (solid-state drive) and he has been loading movies onto it for us to watch on the laptop on the plane.

IMG_1062He said that he *might* take an external hard drive as well (1T) just in case we really do go crazy with our picture taking and need another place to store them…IMG_5333We will also be taking this device charger–It will charge anything with a USB cord attached, great to have on the plane especially if there is no place to plug in…You can find one here:IMG_1057I love to have this little camera around my neck as I walk around the ship–I probably look a site, but I love to have this with me to catch anything that might meet my fancy to photograph.

img_5320img_5311-1

AND, I take my Selfie-Stick…LOL…I can hear you chuckling now! BUT, I love to take pictures of us as a couple and it is easier to accomplish that task with a selfie stick…IMG_4610Here we are on our last Alaskan cruise…Can I just say that I am married to my soulmate…We’ll be married for 34 years come May…I love him more now, than the day we said “I Do”…so blessed and lucky to have him…:DSCN0107

Packing Tips & Tricks

Now, let’s move on to some new packing tips and tricks that our daughter Christin provided for me…in the form of MANY Christmas presents.  My goodness, she spoiled me ROTTEN; she did her research on YouTube and came up with some great options for me to use when I go to pack!

Here is what she gave me:

The first item is called an “Eagle Creek Pack-It Folder” organizer…Here is a link for a YouTube video demonstrating how it is used. 🙂IMG_4649

IMG_4650

Here is how I put this envelope to use; I had upwards of 25 tops in that envelope:

Next, she gave me this “Shacke Pak” Packing Cube Set with laundry bag.  I have a YouTube Travel Channel and I have created a video where I show you how I utilized my packing folder and cubes on our last cruise. Here you go if you like to take a look:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VRpWtPDjtw&index=1&t=168s&list=PL7IYwAf6RPtyP5V9ZA9UGyEx8XIFJM1vv

IMG_4644

IMG_4645

And here is what my suitcase looked like after utilizing that envelope and packing cubes:

IMG_1208

IF those wonderful gifts weren’t enough, she spoiled me even further and gave me a couple of awesome “Thirty-One” bags…With my initial embroidered on them…what?!!  SO nice. ***THANK you Christin for ALL of your gifts!!***  Here they are:

This one is for make-up:IMG_4659IMG_4660IMG_4661And this one is for jewelry:IMG_4662IMG_4664And…The gifts kept coming:

Pill boxes…I can use one for my carry-on and one for in the large suitcase…

IMG_4653I will actually not use this nice little carry-on kit <~~similar~~ for the things in my carry-on bag as I don’t have that many fluids to carry with me, but, this will come in really handy on the night before we disembark the ship.  As most of you who have cruised before know who don’t self-disembark (meaning some carry their own luggage off of the ship), your luggage is retrieved from outside of your door the evening before you leave.  I will use these bottles to put shampoo and my hair gel in, and whatever else I’ll need for my morning routine on the last morning on the ship.

DSCN1118

OH I also will carry this extra bag a Vera Bradley Weekender Carry-On Bag in my smaller suitcase and will utilize it as a carry-on bag for the plane trip home.  It will hold our dirty clothes from the last day on board, our morning toiletries, and anything else I find that I need to stick in it for our trip home.IMG_0798A couple of last thoughts…

First, excuse my awful nail polishing job–lol–but I wanted to show you that I always take my nail polish in a separate plastic’type’ bag…JUST in case something breaks in the plane.  I take a larger bag for my perfume and any other full-size breakable items that I take with me…I will usually wrap them in paper towels or a bit of bubble wrap so that they are padded.IMG_1141And last but not least, I always bring a cross body purse to take on excursions…This time I’m bring a Vera Bradley Mailbag Crossbody. IMG_1089

I took this sweet little “Petite Double Zip Hipster” purse with me on our last cruise, it worked beautifully for our excursions.  I purchased mine in red, unfortunately, at this moment in time, they do not have the red available. But that link will take you to the colors that are available from Amazon (which I find to be less expensive than the Vera site…usually). 🙂  Here I am carrying this bag:

IMG_1543.jpg

And here I am with Chris’ look-alike…bwahahaha…JUST kidding. 😉 🙂 We had a good laugh with this fella though:

IMG_0042.jpg

All righty, that about does it for now…OH wait!!  I *JUST* remembered something!!  I also take a little kit of cold meds, pain reliever,  etc…It is much cheaper to have that stuff already with you than it is to buy it on board.  They do have a small “Sundries” shop on board all Princess ships though…Here it is on the Star Princess:

Image-1

ANYway, I hope that this little post will help you when start to ready yourself for your upcoming trip.  I know that my must haves are not the same as your must haves, but I’m hoping that mine spark a thought of something that you might not have thought of or realized that you might need. 🙂

Until next time, y’all take good care! ❤

~Arlynn ❤

PS–Here are a few links to some of my cruise blog posts:

This is the first post in my Alaska series, there is a link at the end of each post that will take you to the next post/day of the cruise.  I include tons of pictures, information about and links to excursions (from our latest trip to Alaska and also from past trips):

Alaska: Voyage of the Glaciers – Southbound

Here is a link to my Hawaii blog series, again, there is a link at the end of each post that will take you to the next post/day of the cruise:

Hawaii Cruise: 15 Night Roundtrip Out Of Vancouver–Star Princess

Here is a link to my YouTube video of me narrating and giving a detailed tour around our Stateroom on the Star Princess:

Tour of Mini-Suite D620

And 3 more links…Some of you ladies like to see my wardrobe choices for our cruises, so here are a few links, one for Alaska, one for Hawaii , and one for Canada and New England showing you my choices:

Alaska Cruise Wardrobe Choices (1)

Alaska Cruise Wardrobe Choices (2 and most recent)

Hawaii Cruise Wardrobe Choices

Canada and New England Wardrobe Choices

Alaska Cruise Wardrobe Choices

On By ArlynnIn Vacations28 Comments

Goodness knows, I’m no fashionista! 😉  BUT, that said, I try really hard each and every day to put together outfits that help this plus sized girl look and more importantly *feel* pretty.  Some days I’m more successful than others, but, trust me, the effort is always put forth. My daughters laugh at me and ask me why I don’t stay in my pjs just one day and not worry about putting my make-up on and dressing like I have someplace to go.  I tell them, and they know this better than anyone, that staying in my pjs, while it seems like an awesome idea, just isn’t in my nature to do…not to mention the fact that I always have to be ready to go on a moments notice. 🙂

All that said, I’ve been asked over and over again what clothes I take on our Alaskan cruises, so in this little post, I’ll show you the wardrobe that I put together for last summer’s (2015) Princess Cruises “Voyage of the Glaciers Cruise” (Southbound–Whittier/Anchorage to Vancouver, B.C). Let me start by saying that summertime in Alaska is absolutely gorgeous and the temps can vary anywhere from the 30’s when viewing the glaciers, to the 50’s in the morning and evening hours, to the 70’s and yes, sometimes the 80’s when in port and on land and rain is always a possibility.  So it is important to take a variety of clothing with you…yes, yes, I know, how in the world does a girl take a “variety of clothing” without over-packing?!!  Welllll, honestly, I’m *still* working on that! lol I thought I had it all figured out this past summer, but, if I’m candid, I definitely overpacked. 😉 🙂

Okay, let’s get started with my wardrobe choices for our Alaskan cruise, I did a lot of layering, I do think that is the key to packing for Alaska…

First, I took one light rain resistant jacket in navy blue.  I found that this was my most worn piece of clothing:

11427754_10206697531627372_6755602333032916621_n

IMG_8184

I thought I would need one outfit for the daytime hours and then I’d certainly change for dinner in the evening, so I took 2 outfits for each day of the cruise (and this was my 4th cruise…OH brother, I need help!!).  I think I dressed for dinner twice because honestly, the clothes that I took were dressy enough to go from day to evening (except for the formal nights and we decided not to dress up for them and instead went to one of the specialty restaurants).  Here are some pictures of some outfits that I took, I did NOT wear all of them…

~~I took several pairs of black (stretchy) slacks…trust me, give yourself room for expansion…lol…well, I needed it anyway… 😉 I took tops that I could wear with said slacks…I wish I could provide a link for those black slacks, but, unfortunately, they are no longer made.  WAIT: I ***think*** I just found them again, I just ordered a pair, so I’ll let y’all know if these are indeed them…In the meantime, here is a link for ‘plus’: Roz & Ali Plus Size Slim Leg Pants and here is a link for ‘regular’ sizes Roz & Ali Slim Leg Pants.

IMG_8020

I took these tops to pair with jeans (3!!! pairs)<~~~DID NOT need 3 pairs of jeans.  In addition,  I didn’t wear that striped beauty in the middle (because when I tried it on after partaking at the food venues for a few days, it made me look w-i-d-e, lol), but I did wear the other two; the polka dot sweater ended up going with black slacks. I only wore jeans once and that blue and cream floral sweater is what I paired with them.  I don’t often wear jeans, if you are a jeans sort of girl, by all means, you might want to throw a few pairs in.  🙂 IMG_8013

I took this outfit just in case we decided to go to a formal night…didn’t wear it…haha…IMG_8017I did wear it on Thanksgiving Day though!  Go me, the outfit didn’t go to waste…:)

Anyway, I digress…lol…Back to the cruise wardrobe…I took a few maxi skirt/dress options…yes, I carried both of those jackets up there with me…silly me, I didn’t need both of them…erg.  I didn’t wear the black dress, or the striped maxi skirt outfit…:/

IMG_8319

Now, here are some pictures of the outfits that I did wear on the cruise.  The red and white  striped sweater, the pink, and the purple tops were bought literally the day before we left so I didn’t take time to click off pictures of them as possible outfit choices.  As you’ll see, I wore mostly those comfy black, stretchy slacks, they paired nicely with all of the tops that I bought and washed up nicely (yes, I did do laundry once on board):

***Note:  I did not take a bathing suit this time around, but, there are hot tubs and pools on board and it will definitely be warm enough to climb/jump into one, so you might want to throw a bathing suit into your suitcase–you could always use (and many do) the robes that your Steward will gladly bring to you if asked as a coverup. 🙂 Also, I saw capris and some shorts as well, I didn’t take any with me, but, the opportunity to wear them might definitely crop up. 🙂

Shoes

OH gosh, this choice is so hard for me every single time I travel anywhere.  These are the shoes that I took to Alaska, I did wear all but the floral ones.  I could have used a pair of flip flops or sandals…might want to think about tossing in a pair of those as well. 🙂 IMG_8025I found these spiffy pink shoes while on board in Hawaii (after my feet swelled so much I couldn’t get them into my sneakers), and have now ordered myself a pair of black ones as well, *that’s* how comfortable they are.  Here is a link if you are interested:IMG_1695

One other thought, if you have an excursion off of the ship, be prepared for possible wet weather, so you might want to throw in a pair of rain resistant slip-ons.  I love these shoes from LL Bean, I do realize that they might be a little dressy, but I pair them with my black slacks that I wear instead of jeans (I dress those slacks up and down as needed).  I find that these run true to size, although, they are a bit stiff at first, so I’d definitely get them home and wear them around for a bit before whisking them off to Alaska, here is a link:  LLBean Coastal Rain Skimmers:

Unknown.jpeg

 

We didn’t feel one raindrop fall on this cruise, but, I was glad that I had that light jacket, I wore it almost every day at some point in the day.  I purchased the purple hoodie in Anchorage before we boarded the ship and was glad that I had it as well.  As you saw in the pictures above, I did take several scarves, they came in handy to dress outfits up a smidge as well as provide a bit of warmth, especially while viewing Hubbard Glacier and while in Glacier Bay. (BTW–You can always wait until you get to Alaska to buy your rain jacket and/or hoodie…Maybe you want one with “Alaska” embroidered or stamped on? Regardless, they have tons of that type of garb in the stores on land and in the shops on the ships—Not to mention, on Glacier Bay day, they have a sale that they usually set up on one of the upper decks with tons of Alaska themed coats, hoodies, sweatshirts, hats, gloves, etc…)

All in all, I know that I took way too much with me and hopefully, I learned a few good lessons.  I probably wore literally HALF of what I took with me…<shaking head at self>…

I thought I would continue on in this post and tell y’all about some of what I deem are “must haves” for a cruise, but, I think I’ll save that for another day…:)  ***NOTE***, I have now finished my “What’s In My Carry-On, My Must Haves, and Packing Tips & Tricks” <~~~link. 🙂

I hope that this has helped any of y’all who might be heading to Alaska in the future…If anyone has any questions, please don’t hesitate to leave them in the comments below and I’ll do my level best to answer them. 🙂

I have written several entries describing this last Alaskan cruise and post land tour to Victoria, B.C. and also an entry describing a land tour that we added to one of our cruises back in 2012.  Here is a link entitled Alaska: Voyage of the Glaciers – Days 1 & 2 to my first installment in the series, there is a link at the end of each post that will lead to the next entry in line (pretty much one entry per day of the cruise)

Until next time, y’all take good care! ❤

~Arlynn ❤

I’m going to go ahead and put a link to a Mini-Suite tour that I took and narrated while on our Hawaiian Cruise.  We were on the Star Princess and I know that she also sails in Alaska during the Season…

Mini-Suite Tour D620 on the Star Princess

 

 

 

 

Lady Friends Craft Day: Crocheting, Embroidering, and Burlap Wreath Creating

On By ArlynnIn Special Occasions, WreathsLeave a comment

Lady friends <~~~ I am one very lucky and blessed lady to have these 2 lady friends in my life.  We’ve been friends for a long, long time now; all of our kids went through high school marching band together and we three along with many other wonderful volunteers worked diligently and tirelessly for the Band Parents Association.  Oh the memories that those years evoke…<sigh>… Let me introduce these two lovelies to you; Karen is on the left of this picture and she was our hostess for this craft day, and Katrina (Trina for short) is on the right, and I’m in the middle.

IMG_4574   The one thing about time is that it marches on, all of our kids are now out in this big world of ours and they are all thriving and doing well.  The three of us try our best to get together and continue on with a tradition that we started years ago called “Craft Day”.  We all *used* to be avid Scrapbookers, and in years past that is usually what we did for our “craft” on Craft Day, but, we’ve kind of moved away from Scrapbooking and are honing our skills in other craft forms.  These two ladies are very talented and can craft in many different arenas–and dare I say, I might be able to do so as well. 😉  Regardless, when we get together now-a-days, we bring with us whatever craft we’re working on at that moment in time.  For yesterday’s Craft Day, Karen was crocheting, Trina was embroidering, and I made a large wreath for the inside of my front door.

The first thing one must do before one begins crafting is of course EAT lunch. 😉  And as the sweet Southern women that we are, Trina and I brought something to share.  Karen provided the YUMMY chicken wraps…my gosh they were good.  This is what she did to prepare them.  She cooked up a few boneless, skinless chicken breasts and a couple of bay leaves in her crock pot.  After a couple of hours, she shredded up the chicken and mixed in this luscious caesar salad dressing…

IMG_8520…and set out shredded lettuce, shredded cheese, and wraps for us to create our own tasty wrap. 🙂

I had brought my Fruit Salad to pair with the wraps…I did want to let you know that I added some grapes to the recipe that you’ll find in that link (need to update that actually).

IMG_0732IMG_0734

And Trina brought all of the ingredients and made us dessert…Boy oh boy was it ever tasty!! NOT so wonderful for our diets, BUT, who doesn’t splurge once in a while…I know I sure do! 🙂  Here is what Trina made:

IMG_6513

IMG_4573

Okay, so now that our bellies were full, let me show you what we were working on as we wiled away the afternoon hours chatting and enjoying each other’s company…

Trina was embroidering, she is in the process of working on about 13 different ‘squares’ that will all be combined into a quilt that she is creating…wow, wow, wow!!  She called it “Redwork” that can be stitched in any color. She told me that she is using a variegated blue DMC floss and doing a backstitch.  You should see this lady work her magic! She is a-m-a-z-i-n-g!!!  This talented lady has made some of the most gorgeous quilts that I’ve ever seen, she has a gift that is unsurpassed!

That is going to be one awesome quilt!

IMG_4576

Here is an example of what the final quilt will eventually look like:

IMG_6518

Karen was crocheting, let me tell you a little bit about what Karen does for others, she has such a giving heart and works diligently to improve others lives, she is a very special spirit!  She crochets for two different groups, one is her church group and it is called the “Prayer Shawl Ministry”.  Here is an example of some of the things that she makes for them…some things include blankets and little hats for premature babies at local hospitals…well, let me show you what she showed me that she works on for this wonderful ministry:

IMG_2849

IMG_4590 (1)

IMG_8878IMG_2410IMG_1674

Here are a couple of things that she is working on right now…A little washcloth (or this can also be used for a preemie’s blanket…bless their little hearts… ❤  (It was about a 8″ square…)

IMG_4571

And here is a lovely blanket that she has started as well (she has one of the prettiest crocheting stitches that I’ve ever seen):

IMG_4572

Karen also helps with the “Hand’s Up” ministry, here is a link to their Facebook page if you are interested in seeing what wonderful things they do for the community.  Karen has been making winter toboggan hats for the homeless–in sports team colors.  Here is an example of all of the hats that she has finished…this is her second batch, I believe she told me that she has already made 20 and they’ve all been given out already. 🙂

IMG_4569

OH so many wonderful things that this lady does for her community!! Such a loving, giving, heart…WTG Karen, you are touching so many lives!

As for me, well, I created a wreath for the inside of my front door.  I will not bore you with every detail here in this post, but, if you’d like to see how I create this type of burlap wreath (with a rod-iron scrolly piece and pip berry garlands), here is a link describing the process…

Here is a list of the supplies that I gathered for this wreath:

  • 24″ Work Wreath
  • One Wrought-Iron circular piece
  • 1-1/2 Rolls Burlap Runner
  • 2 Pip Berry Garlands (purchased from the Pip Berry Barn)
  • 1 Bolt of Burlap and White Polka-Dotted Ribbon
  • A Wooden Birdhouse
  • 3 Wooden Daisies
  • 3 Cream Burlap Daisies
  • Small bunches of green and cream silky flowers

I did a little preparing before I left to go to Karen’s house as this process can take a little while–not to mention a little bit of concentration…here is what I completed and then put into my trunk to take with me to her house:

IMG_4542

The first thing I did was to attach the burlap to the wreath form…

IMG_4553Then I used floral wire and attached the wrought-iron scrolly piece to the form being careful to center it…(on the back side of the form)…IMG_4556This is what I had completed and carried with me to Karen’s house…IMG_4557I gathered up the rest of my supplies…IMG_4565In addition, I hot glued pipe cleaners to the backs of the bird house and wooden daisies…IMG_4562IMG_4564

IMG_4563

Then I packed all of that stuff up readying for transport.  I finished putting the wreath together at Karen’s house starting with attaching the pip berry garland to the outer ring’s pipe cleaners–I added the garland right on top of the burlap

IMG_4566Then I made a bow and attached all of the rest of the decorative pieces where I thought they looked nice:IMG_4568

Here are the three of us holding our crafts for the day:

IMG_4582 (1)

Here I am holding Karen’s precious little Gretchen…What a sweetie pie she is!!!

IMG_4587

We felt like we had a pretty productive day!  It was getting late in the afternoon and Trina and I knew that we had to head on out to our own homes (quite a distance away), so HUGS were given all around, and we talked about setting a date for us to get together with our spouses in the coming weeks–all 6 of us will go out to dinner very soon….What a wonderful day we had!!!

***THANK you Karen for opening your home and welcoming us with your sweet outstretched arms!!! ❤ ***

After I got home, I carried in my wreath (which ended up to be quite heavy by the way…haha) and hung it on the back of my front door…Here it is in place:

IMG_4596

IMG_4595And here it how it looks in the light of day…IMG_4598IMG_4600IMG_4597

I must say one more time how very blessed I feel to have these two lovely ladies in my life…still after all of these years.  Lasting and endearing friendships are the very best kind and they should always be nurtured and well cared for.    There is one lady that used to join us for our Craft Days but has moved away now; we miss her terribly!  Kathy if you’re reading this…MWAH ❤ .  I so wish that she still lived around here so that she could join us once again…<sigh>, maybe one day. ❤

Anyway, I will close for now–Not sure what I’ll be posting next as we are fixin’ to go on an Hawaiian cruise at the beginning of April so I’m deep into “planning mode” for that trip…haha. 😉 I plan on blogging that trip though for my “Vacation” category  (AND I’m so grateful to our daughter who will be house/pup sitting while we’re away…)…***Thank you Christin!!!***

Until next time, y’all take good care! ❤

**In crafting there are no mistakes, just unique creations**

~Arlynn

 

 

 

Rebuilding My Lil’ Red Wagon Decor

On By ArlynnIn Country Decor Ideas, Wreaths2 Comments

Our weather has been crazy around here as of late.  One day it is 20 degrees and then the next day it is 60, no wonder everyone is sick!  We had an awful storm go through here last week and it decimated the decor that I had in my Little Red Wagon (<~~~Link to show you all of the different ways I’ve decorated up this wagon in the past).  This is what it looked like before the wind lifted everything out of the wagon and broke some lantern glass and carried some of the other accent pieces through the yard and beyond…sheesh!

IMG_3561

Regardless of the mess I found after the storm, I had already planned to redo the wagon decor for the rest of the winter months.  I wanted to get rid of the pine ‘Christmassy’ looking garland as well as create a new small wreath that would pair nicely with the front door wreath.

Here is a quick synopsis of how I put together that small grapevine wreath…

Supplies:

  • One small grapevine wreath form
  • One pip berry garland (it was one I had leftover from another project)
  • Gerber Daisies
  • Metal three tiered sign w/chain
  • Red and burlap chevron wired ribbon
  • Old Boyd’s Bear (that I literally just found while I was cleaning out some stuff in my basement)

IMG_4469

This little wreath went together very quickly…I started by hot gluing the pip berry garland onto the wreath form

IMG_4471

Then I used a pipe cleaner to attach the 3-tiered sign onto the form…

IMG_4473

I glued the bottom “Laugh Often” section to the wreath…

IMG_4472

After that was completed, I made a bow out of the ribbon and I tied the bear onto the wreath with floral wire (I didn’t want to glue him on just in case I might want to use him for something else in the future).  Then I placed the gerber daisies where I thought they looked nice and glued them into place.

IMG_4475

Here is the finished wreath…

IMG_4477

So, now, let’s move out onto the front porch and I’ll show you how I built that wagon decor…I started by collecting a few items that I thought I might use…

IMG_4481

Then I placed the blanket into the wagon…

IMG_4482

I put a large picture holder that would hold that little wreath into the left corner…

IMG_4483

Then as often happens to me, I totally got into the creative process and FORGOT to take more pictures of each step! Grrrr…As you can see though, I have a white crate sitting on top of a milk can sitting behind the wagon, I love to use that to add interest and a little bit of depth to the project.  Then I started building the rest of the decor starting inside the crate with that wooden heart, moving into the wagon and placing the bigger bear on a little stool in the right back corner and adding metal star stands and garland, metal butterflies, a solar lantern, and a tuft of reddish berries. 🙂 When creating these types of grouping, I usually build from left to right, back to forward, and then up and work my way down…to the ground this instance..I hope that made sense…lol. Here is a link to one of my posts that describes how I put together groupings like this, it is entitled How To Create Cozy Corners & More. 🙂

In the end, this is what I came up with…

IMG_4493

And here it is paired with the front door wreath…

IMG_4493 (1)

I also wrapped a string of brown corded white lights around the wreath and wrapped a strand around that pip berry garland that I have draped over the white crate.  (If you are interested in purchasing brown corded white lights, here is a link to Factory Direct Craft, that is where I always get mine. 🙂

Here is the wagon in the evening hours…

IMG_4502

IMG_4503IMG_4506

You can even see it from a distance, it just add a bit of warmth and coziness to the entranceway. 🙂  As y’all know by now, I’m all about warming up my spaces and trying to make them as welcoming as can be. 🙂

IMG_4508

Until next time, y’all take good care! ❤

~Arlynn ❤