Thanks so much for all of your concern & comments after part 1 of our trip of a lifetime.  No worries, everything turned out just fine!  I’m pulling from my journal to tell you about our trip so I won’t miss any feelings I was having as we hopped from port to port.  I hope you’ll enjoy hearing about our travels…Italy & Greece were absolutely beautiful and both places inspired me beyond words.  I can’t wait to share moments of the trip with you all!

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Turns out, the Lost & Found folks in Venice were way less helpful than the Air France folks in Paris.  (P.S. it’s not a dis on either company/city; I’m sure we just caught the wrong people who were probably just having bad days of their own.)  We were told that maybe when we would look properly, it would turn up.  Matt asked if we could call the plane—”um, no, you just should have told me earlier.”  Oh, okay, well, that’s not something we can control now, so what can we do???  

In a nutshell, the folks finally got in touch with the plane.  Our row was checked, but alas, no passport.  We asked if just possibly they could check that whole section of the plane or perhaps, the floor.  You know, just any possible place on the planet it could be.  Outside, I was trying to remain calm for Matt, who was heartbroken he’d made this mistake.  That’s all it was, though.  It could have been either of us, so there was absolutely no point in making him feel bad for it.  Inside, I was screaming, crying, pouting, stomping my foot all the way through the unforgiving Lost & Found floor.

The folks with Holland America, our cruise line, were absolutely amazing, though.  A sweet lady, Agnesse, came to our aid & began talking back and forth with the airline staff.  We even filed a police report with the local police.  At least two things were known now.  One, If it was possible to find the passport, they would.  And two, with no passport we couldn’t board the ship.

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Once we were escorted to the Nieuw Amsterdam terminal, after 30 some odd hours of travel, we were introduced to the lovely Simona, an Italian goddess, really.  She quickly informed us that while we couldn’t board our ship with no passport, she would arrange for us to stay in a centrally-located hotel, and she would begin communication with the airline.  She was on it.  There was also no embassy in Venice, but we could take a train to Rome (with no passport) to see the embassy on Monday morning.  To be honest, I wasn’t too excited that we would miss the ship’s embarkation, but at this point, I was glad to have someone local (and helpful) on our side.

She assured us the process would be quick and simple, and since she lived in Rome, she would be joining us at the Embassy if necessary.  After that, we would map out where to meet the ship.  That’s right, we were going to catch up to our ship!!!

Knowing this helped us relax a little, laugh a little, and enjoy our evening together.  The water taxi took us into Venice, and the glorious sites certainly took my mind off passports, police, and the lady at Lost & Found.

We were in Venice!

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Venice can only be described easily as one word…Romantic.  Its sea-green streets and cobblestone alleys call to the poet in each of us.  The waterways inside the city are quaint & charming, while the Grand Canal boasts famous sites like the lovely The Bridge of Sighs.  Taking the gondola ride had to be the most romantic thing we did.  My favorite, however, was sitting in the Piazza outside of St. Mark’s Square to share a slice of real Italian pizza & people watch.  Sitting here with Matt, knowing we might not quite be on the trip we had planned, I knew I was here for a reason.  It’s been quite refreshing, really, to completely disconnect from our “normal life” and fall head first into a dream (even if the dream is somewhat stressful).  Relying on each other comes with sticky situations, and when we fell into bed after a scoop of Italian gelato, I knew he was mine and I was his and that’s all that really mattered.

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I awoke the next morning in our tiny hotel room, realizing, no, this wasn’t a dream.  We planned on grabbing a bite of food if we could manage before it was time to head to the train station.  Simona had called us back 3 or 4 times after checking on the plane again and again.  No passport.  She told us her last call would be around 10 a.m., and we knew it was over–it was time to book the train tickets, head to Rome, & wave goodbye to our ship.

We walked up and down winding cobblestone alleyways, popping in and out of little shops, and even buying some Venetian-made Murano glass pendents for our mothers.  We wandered aimlessly, and finally landed back at our hotel for a quick lunch.  Ravioli for me & lasagna for Matt.  It was honestly the first full meal we’d had in over 36 hours–and it was amazing.  We were just walking back into the hotel when Simona called.

Matt said carefully, “They did???  They found it?”  Glory, glory, hallelujah.

Someone had found it on the plane while it was in Paris–meaning if Lost & Found lady had let us look, we could have had it safely in hand & boarded our boat.  Oh, well.  Se la vie.

Next, we waited for Simona to see if the pilot would agree to bring it over on the next flight.  There was little to no hope of actually catching the ship, but at least this way we’d only have to fly once to catch up.  Around 12:30, she let us know–the pilot signed off and Matt’s passport was on its way to Venice.

P.S.  This whole time, I tried not to even dwell on the fact that it could very well be someone else’s passport we were getting ready to welcome with open arms.  I just didn’t have the nerves left to worry about it.  There was also no guarantee the boat could wait on us.  They might be there if we got the passport, it might not.

We grabbed our bags from the front desk, called a water taxi (that cost us 180 euros), and made our way to the airport.

Oh, and Matt slipped and his brand new sunglasses fell into the canals below.  This. trip. is. cursed.

We got to the airport, and long story short, after waiting what seemed like an eternity, while holding a hand written sign for our savior-pilot, a sweet Italian girl named Elisa called our names.  Turned out the passport was waiting for us at the Air France desk.  We were getting closer, I could just feel it.

On the elevator, she and Matt seemed all excited about something, and she was saying in her beautiful Italian accent how lucky we were, that the weather was so bad.

What?!?!  Yep, the weather was too rough to leave port and the boat would not leave until 5:00 p.m.!!!!!!!!  Are you kidding me?!?  Matt and I basically jumped up and down, and grinned from ear to ear.  We might just make our trip of a lifetime, after all.  Oh, and my lost bag was actually waiting on the ship.

After waiting another nerve-crushing half-hour, Elisa begged the lady at the counter to find the supervisor.  It was 3:30.

Another 10 minutes passed, and around the corner she came and in her hands was the most beautiful manilla envelope I’ve ever seen.  Was it ours??  I think we all breathed a sigh of relief at the same time–it was Matt’s passport.

Well, Elisa saw us off in a taxi and he even got a big tip for speeding through little streets and alleys.  The terminal was closed, but the gangway wasn’t.  Folks, it was 4:20 p.m. when we boarded our ship.

We walked up to the gangway with all of our bags, and the crew just busted out laughing.  Apparently, everyone knew all about us, and could not believe the lucky streak we’d finally hit.  I wasn’t quite ready to laugh about it all, but almost.

They greeted us warmly, immediately taking our bags and asking if we’d had anything to eat.  Within a few hours, the stresses of our crazy travels were melting away, and within 15 minutes of boarding the ship, we were in our stateroom, collapsed on the bed and enjoying the view.

I thought to wrap up each port we visited, I’d tell you a few of my must-see’s in case you and yours might visit one of these places someday soon.

Favorite memory:  Sitting in the cafe in the Piazza San Marco.  A must-do for people watching and taking in ancient architecture.

Food:  Pricey, but good.  Try to grab some pizza off the square, and Cafe Eden is a must for gelato.

Go back to stay??  Um, well, it’s Venice, so yeah.  BUT, it was pricey and a day or two here would be great for anyone & I’m thankful to have seen it the one time.

The trip of a lifetime.  Matt and I, we were going on the trip of a lifetime.  That’s how it all started, anyway.  We began our day at 5:00 a.m., showering and packing last minute travel supplies and sunscreen.  The kids slept soundly in our beds, as they had the whole week.  Their mama couldn’t stand the thought of the next two weeks without them, so I cuddled with them every last second I could.

They awoke around 6:15, so we fixed the last breakfast of the week and readied their school supplies and bag for Nonni’s.  I got lots of teary kisses (just me crying–they were pumped about the weeks to come with grandmamas and grandaddy’s), and we were out the door by 6:45.  Our itinerary was sorta crazy, starting in Montgomery, Alabama, then stopping through Atlanta, Montreal, and Paris before landing in Venice 16 hours later.

The first two flights were rather uneventful, and despite my dread of the 7 hour flight, it was perfectly normal, too.  We had only 1 hour to get from our plane to our next gate to Venice, though, and our luck finally ran out.  When I say ran out, I mean it hit the strongest wall imaginable and shriveled up to nothing.  I have to say, I”m not a complainer in travel circumstances, but the folks at ole’ Air France were quite difficult.  We talked to 2 or 3 people, who all assured us we were doing fine on time…we were going to make our last flight.

That was also before we had to sprint one mile to our gate.  The staff had not printed our boarding passes yet, and we were escorted out of the security line and back to ticketing, all with 25 minutes to spare.  Things just went downhill from that point forward.

We went back and forth, “no, you need to head to customer service…I’m sorry the flight is already checked in.”  “you’re not checked in, you know.” well, yes, at this point, we’re gathering that.  “head on over to the electronic kiosk and print your pass.”  “oh, that didn’t work, head to customer service.”  “OOOhhh, looks like you’re not checked in.”  Really??  We hadn’t noticed.

We watched our plane to Venice clear the runway about 20 yards away from us, having arrived with plenty of enough time to spare.  Yuck.  Oh well, we felt like our luck had been too good to catch so many perfectly normal flights, anyway.  We happily grabbed a Coke and a snack & waited a few hours to catch the next flight to Venice.

We boarded the plane, and caught a little more head-knocking-the-side-of-the-plane-and-the-seat-in-front-of-you zzz’s.  Giddy with excitement when the plane landed, we all but skipped to baggage claim.  Matt had bought me some new luggage, as mine was falling apart, and I knew within minutes it just wasn’t coming.

Okay, frustrating, sure.  Trip ruined?  No.  Our ship wasn’t going to leave until lunchtime the following day, so we would just have our bag delivered to the ship terminal in Venice.

All we needed to do was hand over our passports, and all would be on its way….oh. my. word.  (insert other terrible words/thoughts/desperation here)  Matt couldn’t find his passport.

Mind you, we take groups of 30 kids to Honduras every other year, and haven’t lost a passport.  Not one.

Within a few minutes it was clear, though.  He had no passport.

A sickening feeling began to crawl its way through me…

We were not going on the trip of a lifetime, after all.

To be continued…

My guy and I are off for a couple of weeks to hang together & soak up lots of sun and inspiration.  I’ll pop in from time to time, and I also have some wonderful friends/contributors filling in for me to bring you guys some decor eye candy.  Enjoy & can’t wait to catch up soon!

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I got the awesome privilege of spending almost a month in San Diego visiting family…Coronado to be exact. If you’ve never been here it’s a beautiful island; home to historic Hotel Del Coronado, beautiful beaches, gorgeous beach homes, quaint restaurants, and awesome boutiques and shops full of gorgeous gifts and home decor. Many people take bikes for transportation and that’s how I happened upon this little shop…Cotier! Cotier means ‘coastal’ in French; and Pat, the shop’s owner, has done an amazing job infusing her travels in Europe with her love of the coast. Her shop is filled with gorgeous coastal and french inspired furnishings, artwork, and accessories. I was ready to move in!!! Let her shop speak for itself!

Still want to see more? Head on over to my site to see part 2 (I just couldn’t squeeze it all into one post!). See something you can’t live without? Check out Cotier’s website and find out where you can visit her in Coronado, CA, or how to contact her to make purchases!!!

I’m sure the mister and I are enjoying our trip ’round the Mediterranean.  I’m probably eating way too much cheese & writing like a madwoman.

Europe = major inspiration for a writer/designer.

via

I’ll still be popping in a few times a week while we’re gone, and I wanted to tell you guys about my trip to New Orleans a couple of weeks ago.  I was headed there for my Chalk Paint (TM) training workshop with Lisa from Annie Sloan Unfolded.

That’s the cutie there on the right.  Lisa’s the gal who started it all for Chalk Paint here in the U.S. & I was thrilled to train with her!

The office was BEAUTIFUL & I’m kicking myself for not snapping more pics while I was there.  Annnd, I wanted to take pics of her house, but I just couldn’t bring myself to ask such a stalker-like question since it was my first visit.

Um, and P.S., while we were having dinner with Lisa, my daughter totally peed on her floor.

Yep.  We’re here from Alabama & we’re leaving pee on your floor.  You’re welcome for that.  Oh, and we’re going to eat approximately 32 packages of fruit snacks/crunchies while were here.  And we’ll pull out 4 baskets of toys.  Oh, yeah, and we’re sort of going to have one of our most bratty days ever while we’re here.

Yeah, that’s all.

In all seriousness, the kids were terrible, Ava did pee on the floor, and they both did eat half of Lisa’s kids’ snacks, but Lisa & (her husband) Scott were awesome about it.  They couldn’t have been more generous hosts–both at their office and in their home.

I’ll owe her forever, I think.

On the morning we began our training, Lisa had the room all set up with lots of paint colors & brushes–my kind of day, I tell you.

Oh, this shot.  I just can’t take ENOUGH paint brush shots.  That oval shaped one on this side is one of the new Annie Sloan brushes & let me tell you–they are wonderful!

They are so dense, which lends perfectly to holding lots of paint.  They work really well for a more textured finish since you can use so much paint at one time.  Brushing with them is cutting my paint time, no doubt.  (I do have these available in my store now and they’ll be available online soon!)

The kids were at the office for a while, until the leap pad & painting all over Lisa’s floor wan’t entertaining enough.  Matt graciously took them to the mall & back to our hotel room for naps.

Thank the Lord for Daddy.

We covered most of our material that day, not moving from the conference table minus washing our brushes, etc.  It was lovely–who doesn’t want to sit and play with paint all day???

Oh, is that just me?

The next morning we branched out of the conference room & Lisa took me on a mini-tour of New Orleans.  We (luckily!) got to stop in one of the local stockist’s shops, Creative Finishes Studio.  Jane was sweet enough to meet us there and it was a pleasure to meet her & her daughter!  Plus, her wall of Chalk Paint colors was swoon-worthy!

Her pieces were beautifully painted and seeing these stacks of sample boards always get me going.

Jane has a workshop coming soon–if you’re local to New Orleans, you should look her up and go!  I can’t wait to host my first workshop & teach some of you gals some fun tips & finishes.

After we stopped by Jane’s shop, Lisa drove me to The Bank, an archictectural salvage stop of New Orleans.  Cypress everywhere–I scored a great window that I cannot wait to use!

The trip was a ton of fun & so informative.

Even if my daughter did pee on Lisa’s floor.

In honor of Mother’s Day, I thought maybe I’d write a little “what we might tell ourselves in 30 years” kind of post.

You guys know I’m passionate about the present, so it seems fitting to think about what my wiser, more mature self might tell my I’m-so-tired-I-can-hardly-see-straight self.

So, let’s just get started.

Honey, relax.  Take deep breaths & enjoy yourself.  Sometimes that’s simply a choice.

Miss Mustard Seed

It’s okay to be tired.  It’s okay to be worn down, fed up, & even annoyed.  It’s not okay to take it out on them.

Changing diapers in the middle of the night is so monotonous.  So is opening every wrapper, tying every shoelace, zipping every zipper.  Try to remember that very soon they’ll be driving themselves to their own job in their new hometown.  You’ll miss the zippers and the shoelaces.

Just A Girl

Teach them to explore every single thing that gets their blood pumping.  Try not to think so much about the most practical solution.  Listen to their dreams & help them get there.

It’s okay to fuel your own passions.  As a matter of fact, it encourages them to go for it in life.  Make sure they know they’re a part of that passion.

Haven by Hayden

Try to say yes as much as you can–there will lots of  ”no” moments.

Pack a second change of clothes for them.  Yes, almost every time.

Do the fun stuff.  Build forts, read books to them, play tea party.

Home Stories A to Z

Try not to raise your voice so much.  It doesn’t really make them obey you any more than they would if you were controlled and firm.  Plus, it raises your blood pressure & gives you more of those fine lines you love so much.

Go on and accept your body.  Workout, walk, drink green smoothies.  Sure.  But don’t let your vanity consume you.  It sorta stinks, but youth is wasted on the young, you know.  You have stretch marks, cellulite, and occasionally, love handles hanging over your used-to-be-favorite jeans.  It’s alright–you also helped create/nurture/love your children into being.  You earned some bumps and bruises.

The Pennington Point

You know how you go to the kids’ school plays, etc. and wonder what all the other moms think of you/your child/your outfit/your children’s outfits??  Quit worrying about it.  They’re all thinking the same thing.

If there’s something you still want to do, just do it.  Share your dreams with your children & make them a part of your journey.

Reach out to more moms around you.  It’s really incredible to have friends around you.  You’ll each travel through highs and lows.  Having each other will make it so much easier.

Definitely, hands-down, no doubt date. your. husband.  Treat him right.  Enjoy him, laugh at his ridiculous jokes.  Tell him he’s the most amazing man on the planet.  Love him.  You’ll get to enjoy the most wonderful reward after your children are grown.  Hanging with your best friend/love of your life after you’ve outgrown a lot of insecurity & immaturity is going to be the best, most satisfying thing you’ll experience on this earth.

Stick to your guns on the fruit & veggies thing.  It matters.

Dear, did you really think a boy would never ask your daughter out??  And your boy would only have eyes for you?  Again, with the deep breaths.  Instead of panicking, help guide them to be the person they are looking for–and they will surely find them.

Remember as you’re so busy in your world of busy-ness that your mama is getting older, too.  Enjoy her and tell her how much she means to you.  Take her parenting advice (even if you would do some things differently) & thank her for it.

Begin using anti-aging potions at 25.  No matter what they tell you.

Put on some clothes, for goodness sakes.  Don’t work in your pajamas everyday.  It’ll make you feel frumpier than you are.

Cuddle with them more times than you think is necessary, smell their freshly shampooed hair, and kiss their little noses a few times too many.  It’ll all fly by so quickly.

The list of lessons my older, less spastic self would relay to the current me is probably many miles long.  I suppose she would also tell me that I’m doing a great job–to hang in there and “just keep swimming.”

It also has to be said–Matt and I are so very thankful to you, our two mamas, for all of the bandaids and the meals, the prayers and the wedding planning.  We’re beyond thankful for your super-power grandmom genes.  We are crazy about the way you love us and love our babies.

On that note, Matt and I are hopping out of town for a bit and we’ll be taking the next couple of weeks off.  After arranging house sitters, baby sitters, blog sitters, etc., we’re off to Europe.  It’s a dream come true–and I plan to soak up as much inspiration as possible.

Maybe I’ll finish that book, after all.

See you folks soon!