Home Sweet Home. We’re back in San Diego after a very long trip back home from Aruba. Two, almost-five-hours-each, flights. With a couple hour layover in Atlanta. With a four year old, but she did great. Braids and all. She’s the only four year old who has the Delta 10 minute safety video nearly memorized word for word, complete with being able to gesture where the four rear exits and four front exits and the two exits over the wings are located. Not kidding.
Always entertaining.
After being awake 24+ hours at this point, two suitcases that I unpacked, a midnight grocery run for some produce, and fruit that I was chopping at 2am so that tomorrow gets off to a semi-normal start, and oh yes, sleep to get, the best I can do is show these beautiful calla lilies that I saw on our last day at the beach in Aruba. Same day as Skylar’s braid session.
I love calla lilies! I saw these as we were walking across the Hyatt hotel’s parking lot and thought they were just gorgeous.
Just sitting there on a cart, in the blazing hot, midday sun and 90F weather + humidity.
A woman told me they were being delivered for an event.
It’s kind of sad that after the event they were probably just discarded, but hey, at least I got a few pictures of them.
And I’m sure everyone at the event enjoyed them while they lasted.
Such delicate, beautiful flowers! To me, they scream “Wedding Flowers” or fancy bridal shower flowers. I wouldn’t know. My “wedding flowers” were of the plastic variety but I am totally okay with that!
And in Operation Memory Stick cleanout, here’s another beach shot from our last day.
Hot and windy, tired but blissed out. A perfect day. One I will always remember!
I’m glad you enjoyed my last post, Blogging 103, and based on the comments, the discussion of self-hosted vs. free WordPress was helpful as was purchasing your own domain name.
Stay tuned for Blogging 104 in the near future, and fill me in on any additional topics you’d like me to address in addition to what I mentioned I’d likely discuss.
And now, for the comforts of home:
1. My own bed! Not that my bed in Aruba isn’t “my own” since I do own my house there but my bed in San Diego is far more comfortable and I can’t wait to climb into it!
2. A shower with American-level water pressure.
3. My DVR and a whole bunch of Real Housewives and mindless E! Channel shows waiting for me. After the laundry, unpacking, mail sorting, grocery running, back-to-work, back-to-real-life flow, happens.
4. My iMac desktop. Even though I want to toss it out the window and get a new one, the bigger screen size is just so much better than my Macbook.
5. Being able to talk on the phone. We have a cell phone in Aruba that we use and do have ways to call that USA that aren’t horribly expensive, and yes, there’s Skype and email, but just picking up the phone and making a 30 second call without having to think about it is nice.
6. My Vita-Mix. The Magic Bullet was fine for smoothies, but it’s no Vita.
Oh yes, I also have a stash of Fudgy Nutella Brownies with Cream Cheese Frosting waiting in the freezer.
And I am going to dig into them the minute I hit publish! A major Comfort of Home!
Questions:
1. Do you like calla lilies? Or what is your favorite flower?
I love them and actually have a flower post coming up with tons of Caribbean flowers I saw. I really like lilies, sunflowers, of course roses are beautiful, and so are hibiscus, Bird of Paradise, and all kinds of lovely flowers that I don’t even know their “proper” names.
2. What are your comforts of home?
3. Any weekend plans?
I hope you all have something lovely planned for the weekend.
It’s back to work for me. And laundry, and mail and parcel sorting, errands to run, and just trying to re-establish a flow after our trip.
TGIF though!
I love calla lillies. One of the most beautiful flowers out there, IMO! :) Glad to hear you made it home safe….
calla lilies are my fav! i have a tattoo in the works, like ive been thinking about it for a few years now, it will happen soon!!
Welcome home girl! I am glad to know you are all back safe and sound. Love Skylars hair & that first photo of her is wonderful. You have to blow up that picture of you and her for your home – precious!
My favourite flower is lilac. I love the look, the smell, and the colour.
My comforts of home include my bed, my computer and my couch. I also love my shower too, like you do – the pressure is great, and I can always have a hot shower.
This weekend the hubby and I are hanging out at a cultural festival with friends, trying foods from around the world, watching the entertainment, etc..
have fun w/ the festival. I love things like that!
I love these photos!
Thanks for sharing….
In the second pic of your daughter and some of the pics yesterday, did you do anything to the color? They were SO COOL! Like black and white with little hints of color – loved it.
I love the cala lillies, too – one of the most beautiful flowers ever : )
Have a safe trip back! Thanks!
read the last post, Braids, and yes, many of the pictures I played with the effects in editing. Fun!
New commenter here! Just had to post on my love of calla lilies…they were my wedding flower and I love them so much that I named my first daughter Calla!
Love your flower pics!
Cute pics, glad you made it back to San Diego safely. Not sure I’d do a midnight gorcery run! :-P
1. They’re okay, but my fave are sunflowers.
2. Bed, Vita-Mix, and plenty of fresh produce.
3. Hopefully a food fest if the weather behaves.
Hi Averie, love calla lillies! How could someone not!? And your posts are always so informative- even the little things I pick up on are so helpful. I was just wondering whether I should opt for a Vitamix or Magic Bullet (currently have an Omega 8003, a great juicer but not a blender), and you seem to have answered my question. It looks like a MB would be unecessary with a Vitamix, unless you think otherwise. Great post!
the MB is a waste of money if you’re already getting a Vita. I received it as a gift and for traveling it’s fine for smoothies but I would never try to compare a Vita with a MB. It’s like a Mercedes and a bicycle. Just two very different things :)
I’m glad your home. Wow, that was a long trip! I think you left around the time I went to palm springs which feels like ages ago to me.
Mostly, I miss the people from home. My friends, my dad, people I work with…My bed isn’t some super quality mattress so I don’t really miss that. and I rarely watch tv and I don’t have a dvr anyhow so I cant say a miss that. I do miss LA weather though! No where in the world can compare!
I love love love those flowers! So gorgeous :)
Welcome home! I think some of my comforts would be the same – my bed, my food / appliances, my DVR, etc. I’d also have to say a major comfort of home is my dogs! If we traveled that far we’d probably have to leave the doggies at home.
I love traveling and all, and just like you I have a other places I can call home, but nothing beats the comfort of your own home (the one where you spend the majority of your time!). I love all the things I have in my pantry to create my own dishes. Thats always more difficult on vacation when I have fewer ingredients.
Those flowers are gorgeous!! I’m partial to roses :D
Love Skylar’s braids!!!
So glad everything went smoothly! Skylar is such a cutie and I love that picture of you two! I think traveling when you’re younger is often times a lot easier since there’s no travel stress and it’s pretty exciting to fly on a plane, be in an airport, and visit a new place. Skylar’s quite the world-traveler by now! :)
Calla lilies always make me think of Katherine Hepburn:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qSvxdhVuPI&feature=related
Welcome home :) What a tan you have got ;)
My comforts of home is:
-My food! Really important :) Even after only a few days away from my own food, I miss it so much! I always bring some things with me (like nutbutters, and chocolate), but I want all of it :)
-My bed! I LOVE my bed!
-And I love that my appartment is so central in Oslo!
oh the best thing you said was that your DVR has a whole bunch of E! and real housewives shows taped! oh theyre so good I could watch for hours! those and also sex and the city!
i am so glad you had a great time in aruba! now back to the american level water pressure :)
I’m actually not a huge fan of flowers. I think they are pretty, but my husband knows not to buy them for me. I’m not a fan of getting a present that dies. I have some fake flowers on our dining room table, and that’s good enough for me!
I love getting to sleep in my own bed again and basically just be around my stuff! It sounds so superficial, but I like my stuff, lol.
The best comforts of home are cuddling up on the couch and drinking some warm tea :) and those Nutella brownies are making me hungry– they look really good.
Calla Lillies are my absolute favorite flower ever. They are just gorgeous. Beautiful!
You know my weekend plans…not really looking forward to it, but it is what it is. I’ve got some fun plans on the way…two weeks from now, I’ll be settling into a new house!!
Welcome back, chica!
Safety briefing memorized at 4? Great, she can help in case of an emergency ;)
Like the picture of you & Skylar on your last day at the beach in Aruba. Once again you are keeping it real.
Glad you all made it home safely, even if a little exhausted.
last comment…admiring what bloggers do and still live our lives..thank you for knowing this, Beth!
and yes, always REAL.
Welcome home!!! Trips are great, but coming home to your own bed is always SO nice!! :-)
coming home is always sweet… your own bed, your own stuff, that’s the only thing that keeps me smiling coming home after a wonderful holiday! plus, now that I am a Vitamix owner, I completely get how you would miss it! I’ve been using it every single day since I bought it :)
I love stocking up on groceries when I get home too, feels good to start from scratch!
My weekend is starting off on a fabulous note, I’m off to the spa with my mom today! 3+ hour spa date, I’m SO looking forward to unwinding after a ridiculous, crazy, stressful week at work…
Guess what I made this morning? Something for you! Mailing it off later today :)
I love going on a holiday but I also love coming home, sleeping in my own bed, sitting in my own garden, watching a movie in our own couch…
It’s funny, when I saw those lillies, they made me think of weddings too, immediately. I adore freesias, wonderfull flowers, but poppies too, because they’re so wild and have this thin paperlike leaves:)
thanks for linking me in your post on your site…i popped over there last nite but too tired to comment.
Wow. I admire your midnight run to the store!
Your daughter is beautiful!
I love being home. There is nothing like sleeping on your own bed and pillow.
This weekend I need to get caught up on laundry and ironing … so behind
nothing to admire…it was either that or don’t eat. lol
1. I loveeeeee peonies – like it’s borderline wrong how much I love them. I wanted them as my wedding flower, but since they bloom in spring, and I got married in October, the timing didn’t work out :( I told the hubby that if we get remarried it’s going to be in May so I can have peonies! haha
2. My comforts of home are just being in my own space, using all my own things. I’m so hard with change, that it’s always nice to come back to what you know!
3. No work this weekend (I worked the past 4 weekends in a row!) so farmers market is a MUST tomorrow morning and maybe a hike!!!
oh i’d say that calla lilies are one of my favorites!! they’re so simple and beautiful! as for comforts of home, there’s quite a bit ~ my list looks pretty much the same as yours, but i would have to add my dog in there ;) have a wonderful week-end averie ;)
xo~ kristina
http://beancakes.wordpress.com/
I always hate to think about flowers being wasted after an event. While I am not yet ready to be done with vacation, there are a few things I’m really missing from home: my bed, my pillow, my shower, my furbabies.
I love calla lilies — they are so simple but I think that is what I like about them.
Comforts of home: definitely my bed and my pillow! And everything else: the food I keep there, having everything near by, and my bathrooms — I am much more comfortable at home than anywhere else, so I love to come home!
Weekend plans: another wedding to attend tomorrow, it is outside at a winery so hopefully the weather cooperates.
It’s always nice to come home after a long trip. My bed never compares to anything on the road.
Orchids are my fav but calla lillies are a close second.
Glad you made it home safe! SO awesome that your little lady does so well with traveling. The callas are gorgeous. I am a big fan of them as well- such an elegant flower. Plans for the weekend? A little up in the air. Hoping to get in a few good workouts, relaxing& a date night with Josh
You and Skylar both look so beautiful! I can’t get over how much she looks like you already!
Those flowers are gorgeous. I love tulips and daisies and any “yellow” flower, haha. But I get sort of when I get flowers because they die. I’d rather have a plant most of the time!
welcome home, averie! :-)
i love flowers. my absolute favorite ones are … tulips! when they’re in season, i buy myself two bunches each week; it makes our home happier during dreary months!
my comforts of home are our bed (we call it the nest) and being able to cook and eat food that I want to (i.e., fresh, low sodium, healthy, etc).
weekend? spending it with my husband, with the highlight being bicycle shopping!
have a great weekend!
xo
Those lilies are beautiful! I love flowers, but I don’t like bouquets. I like planted ones, so I tell the boyfriend not to get them for me (keeps us both happy, they’re expensive!). I’m not sure what my favorites are. Tulips have a really simplistic beauty. My mom has these gorgeous flowers growing up a trellis at her house but I forget what they’re called!
My favorite comfort of home is eating my own food. Sometimes I get agitated when I’m not in my own routine.
This weekend is my first half marathon! And hopefully visiting a farm animal sanctuary after!
Enjoy the brownies and SLEEP!
I love lillies, Lori loves yellow roses.
glad you guys made it back home safely, enjoyed seeing all your pictures from the beach
my plans this weekend is get organized and unpack all my boxes
have a great weekend averie
I love calla lillies! They were my sister’s wedding flowers!
Wow! Those flowers are gorgeous!!! So glad your home safe and sound!
Your daughter is gorgeous and I loved reading how she has the safety video memorized…oh flying…
;-)
Welcome back home! The callalillies are so pretty. Vacations are always awesome, but home is the best place ever. Enjoy your comforts at home this weekend :)
Woohoo! Home Sweet Home!
1. Orchids are my favorite and were also my wedding flowers :)
2. Nothing says “home” to me more than my sweet pups cuddling with me on the couch.
3. Relaxing, reading and then shooting a food event.
Those brownies look amazing! Want one.
Your flowers are so beautiful!
So happy you are home safe. :)
thanks lauren! hope you ordered your cards. i still have to order mine..soon!
Those brownies always look soooo good!! Do they keep well in the freezer? I’m always scared to put baked goods in there!
yes just fine! I keep a stash of TONS of baked goods in the freezer so at a moment’s notice i can pull out whatever i feel like. My grandma’s trick. Worked for her for 90 years :)
I’ve never seen lillies like that before, but they are beautiful. I love flowers! :)
welcome home, averie! glad you made it back safe and sound. long trip.
the hyatt – best gardens/grounds on the high rise strip, IMO. i sometimes go and just hang out in their lobby to absorb the calm and peaceful (and posh!) atmosphere.
i love lily of the valley, lilacs, magnolias for their amazing scent.
weekend is quiet – work!
all the best as you get back to routine!
yes the hyatt has the best stretch of beach of all the hotels and the best grounds, in our opinion, too!
I love calla lilies! Lilies were the flower of my wedding! The star lilies are my favorite! We’re at the airport headed to California and Disneyland for the weekend! Can’t wait for some California running. Much better than Texas running this time of year!
enjoy CA this weekend!
1. My favorite flowers are chamomile (I guess I’m the only one)
2. Tea with lots of milk & honey. (Can drink that everywhere, but for some reason I only do it at home).
3. Meet friends and eat, eat, eat :-)
Yay, welcome home!! :)
1.) Roses (red!) are my favorite.
2.) My room, my loved ones, my upbringing.
3.) You know my plans ;)
have fun/#3 !