BERMUDAHHHHHH....

Just a couple weeks ago, after an EXTREME case of buyers remorse we hopped aboard Royal Caribbean's EXPLORER OF THE SEAS.  As with most vacations, having a family of five is way more expensive then a family of 4 because you need two rooms.  Alas, we put the thought of our empty wallet aside and planned on having a great time. Believe me, we DID!!!  There were about 50 people in our group and that made the trip that much more fun.  It was AWESOME for our kids to have other kids their age on the SAME vacation!  Can you imagine being in high school and going on a cruise ship with a BUNCH of your friends?  Life time memories. Totally!  It was our first cruise ever and our first time out of the country.  Bermuda is GORGEOUS, it's beaches were incredible and the people there were so delightful.  

Just about a week before we left, my beloved camera decided to die. URGH!!  Taking photos was one of the things I was incredibly looking forward to on this trip.  I shipped it off to a little old foreign man (I found him mentioned on a bunch of Canon message boards) in NJ to get an estimate.  Luckily for me, my wonderful friend Stephanie was going on the trip with us so she let me accost her camera when my shutter happy fingers got too twitchy.  Thank GOD for Stephanie!  Enjoy some of the shots I took...

Achilles Bay Beach, if you look closely, our ship is in the distance on the left

My "nephew" Gavin and my daughter Peyton at Horseshoe Bay Beach

Minty painted houses of Bermuda

Cole, Callie and Peyton with Achilles Bay Beach behind them

The dockyard in St. Georges township

Fort St. Catherine

Choplins Cove

Tobacco Bay

Achilles Bay

Road down to Tobacco Bay Beach

Dockyard at St. Georges

Great Stuff By Paul

I remember seeing an article about this FABULOUS store in Country Living a few years ago and since then I've been dying to visit Great Stuff By Paul in Frederick Maryland!  Unfortunately the 3 hour drive kind of put a damper on my enthusiasm a tad.  WELL, luckily my wait was finally over!  My husband's band had an overnight gig in that area so we made a little weekend vacay out of it!  We stopped by the store to do some exploring on our way home.  It's a
VISUAL treat for sure!  I wish I had a limitless credit card to take there!   Here are some of the shots I took...

The color on these church doors is stunning!

Endless shabby armoirs...l

I think this green table would make a FABULOUS kitchen island!

Bread Trays

LOVE this table, would be GREAT in a large kitchen!

I love the color and detail of whatever these carved wooden thingies are!

Dough troughs, these could be made into a cool table or would look awesome on a large sofa table , with a collection piled high inside!

This candle-stand was apparently used in the move "The Last Airbender"!

I'm in love with these tables!