Venezuela!

Well friends, thanks for being so patient as I was travelling to Venezuela. I arrived safely after a long and expensive trip from New York to Toronto and finally Caracas. I got here at about 11:05pm Monday night and my Dad and Aunt were waiting for me at the door. I met two wonderful Venezuelans while at the airport in Canada and got into Venezuela quite smoothly! The main difference that I noticed right away was the heatwave that they're having in comparison to the cold early Spring rain storms we were having in the Northeast. It is very hot down here and we are in the middle of a drought so there is a lot of rationing of water and some rationing of electricity (Venezuela uses mostly hydroelectric power so if the river is not full....well, you get the picture). Here where my grandma lives thankfully the electricity is not being rationed but right now during Holy Week the government has decreed that all business take the week off to save energy so we'll see how long that lasts.

I love Caracas and hope that next week (since Holy Week is pretty much a deadzone here, most people go to the beaches during Semana Santa) I will be able to look around more and check out some more shops and things for crafting ideas. Yesterday I would have had a tutorial for you all except that I am not yet fully settled here and am still trying to get back into the swing of things. I did, however, find a small piece of a string of faux blue pearls that I think I might keep around for some kind of future project. Here they are:

I still have a ton of people to see and reconnect with, yesterday I visited with my friend Maria Mercedes and her girls, I also visited with my friend Merlyn and of course I went out with my parents walking around a bit. Being the Wednesday of Holy Week all grocery stores are packed because tomorrow everything closes for the weekend so I can't really tell you much about the shopping for today but I promise that next week will be a normal posting week!

Thanks so much for reading!

Cheers!

Fantastic Friday: Socks for Happy People and more...

Spring Poppies by Susan Hazard

Today is the official launch date of Socks for Happy People's 3 lines of fantastic socks and I can't wait to hear how their first day went! Having been communicating with Tom and Rich since last September (when I met them on Twitter) I've been excited about this moment and now it is here, upon us and the excitement just keeps growing! Check out this video of their fantastic What Lies Beneath Line:

What do you think? I love all of the socks in this first launch collection and can't wait to get a pair on my feet!

Still working on my packing, I have about 2-3 days left to do it all and I've not been very successful of late. I was however able to get a CD notebook and finally take that load of heavy plastic cases off and will be leaving the frightfully large CD carrier for my Dad to enjoy!

Other than packing and getting a few last minute things here and there I've been enjoying my sweet little nieces and trying to give them as much love and affection as I can before I leave. I am going to miss them both a lot!

Cheers!

Why another two day hiatus?

Hello friends and fellow readers! I know I've not posted anything in a couple of days and I feel terrible about that but I've been busy packing for a move. On Monday, March 29th I will be embarking on yet another journey to Venezuela. I was there last year for about 4 months, from the end of March to a little past mid-July 2009. As much as it hurts to leave the United States, I believe this move is the best thing for me at this point in my life and when opportunity knocks you've got to grab it by the horns, so to speak. I am not saying good-bye but saying I'll keep in touch from way over there!

I will continue to bring you tutorials, consumer reviews and all the other things I've posted to you about just that I will be in Caracas instead of NY. In the meantime, my room looks like a tornado ripped through it because I have stuff strewn around while I pack (my method is a bit odd but it works for me). I am waiting for a movie I bought from Amazon.com to come in yet (I hope it gets here either today or tomorrow, they said Friday at the latest) and I need to reorganize a few things. The movie I bought is called Blame It on Fidel and it is such a great film! I had the good fortune of watching it on the Sundance Channel in January and really wanted to share it with my friends and family.

The film really makes you think about your own values and where they lie. It's thought provoking and informative. I am really happy to own it on DVD and the fact that I am going to be able to share it with my parents when I arrive in Venezuela is a plus, I'd been telling them about it because I really wanted them to see it. Anyway, a couple of other films I bought previously need special mention here as they too are quite good; Because I Said So (Widescreen Edition) and Sideways (Widescreen Edition). I'm a huge fan of Diane Keaton and a movie all about California wine country can't be bad, right? Watching Sideways always puts me in a mood for good wine!

So, in short, I've a lot of packing to do yet and still have "work" to do taking care of my nieces. Somehow it will all work itself out and I will be ready! LOL!

Until tomorrow!

Fantastic Fridays: Socks for Happy People announces product launch!

Hello friends! Sorry for the two day hiatus, been busy cleaning and packing for my next big move but wanted to bring you all this news which is something I've been waiting to hear for some time and am really excited about! Socks for Happy People has just yesterday announced the launch of their line of eco-friendly happy socks! The website and the ability to buy socks from this fun company will begin on Friday the 26th of March. Tom Minter and Rich Taylor are great friends of mine and I am so happy to announce this launch on my own blog in hopes that you too, if you haven't already, will join in the fun and celebration of this much anticipated product.

Besides going to the website to enter to win the entire collection, which I recommend you do as the contest is still open, you can join the party on facebook on the Socks for Happy People Fan page, follow them on Twitter: @Socks4HappyPPL, check out the Flickr group: The World's Largest Collection of Sock Pics, and of course, you HAVE to check out the blog which is where you will see for the next few days the products revealed starting with today's Affirmation Sock post!

So, stop hesitating and go already! Check it all out and feast your eyes on the coolest socks around!

Have a happy weekend!

New, New, New! I ♥ New Things!

Just a quick post because today was a very long day and there was no time to do any tutorials! The blog has yet another brand new look! I found this blog background after visiting my friend Jenny's blog: Coffee and Cream. She got her background from The Cutest Blog on the Block's website and I just had to peruse their themes! Since I've been loving the woodland themes I chose this little brown and pink birdy one!

A few other new things I'm loving today:

Cannelle et Vanille: a blog by Aran, a Basque Expat who makes some delicious sweet treats and has incredible styling talents and did I mention her photos are amazing??

Color never looked as good as it does on DoreDoris, a Swedish blog by an incredibly vintage family! I love the stuff they find!

The different variety of crafts in Venezuela is really great! I found this blog, Manualidades, while searching for some craft magazines I'd seen the last time I was there!

I always enjoy finding new blogs to leaf through and the like! One more that is new and I love: Poppytalk is a Canadian blog based in Vancouver, BC and is one of the most gorgeous blogs I have ever seen.

Check them out and let me know what you think!

Cheers!

Monday Musings: Favorite Crafting Supplies

When it comes to crafting there are some supplies that I really believe I could not live without and I long for the day when I can get my collection of supplies out of storage and back in my hands for proper use! A few years ago I bought a set of pens that I absolutely love and do not know how I ever got along without them! The Staedtler Triplus Fineliner pens are perfect for journaling which is why I originally bought them. The pack I got comes with 20 colors:

Their fine point is great for detailed doodles as well. Also from Staedtler, the ergosoft coloured pencil set is a great choice for coloring in doodles or small embellishments for scrapbooking or journaling. This is the set I bought at Arte Real in Venezuela:

I use pretty much whatever I can get my hands on when crafting and since I am environmentally conscious I try to reuse as many things as possible, from yogurt cups to cereal boxes and right down to the empty toilet paper rolls (I once used toilet paper rolls to wrap loose strands of ribbon on them to keep them from getting tangled). Another thing I love to use when crafting is wrapping paper. Some papers have such gorgeous designs that are perfect for embellishing.

Stickers are of course part of my supply list as is ribbon, cardstock, glues, other adhesives, paints, and much more! I use old expired catalogs for inspiration and sometimes even to cut things out from. A simple gum wrapper to me has much potential. Another of my favorite supplies is Mod Podge:

I absolultey love that stuff! When I am in the US that is what I use, when in Venezuela the equivalent is OroColor's OroPeg:

Another thing I often use for crafting is tissue paper and whenever I get a gift which has tissue paper in the wrapping I save that stuff for later use! It is handy in so many ways! What are some of your favorite crafting supplies?

Fantastic Friday: Photography I ♥ thee!

January 17th/Day 11,
originally uploaded by Nadia Marie.

I took this photo of the Stella McCartney boutique when I was last in Manhattan. I was already wanting to write a post about photography when I opened my Flickr account and found I had a message. I thought it was from one of my friend's so went to open the message and saw that it was Amanda Brooks from the Schmap New York Guide letting me know that my Stella McCartney boutique photo was chosen for the April 2010 edition of the Schmap Guide's short-list. This does not mean that it will necessarily be in the final edition of the guide but the fact that it is even being considered is a huge honor for me, so I had to share, of course!

I do hope that the photo will make the final cut but if it doesn't I am still honored to have been considered. ☺ I hope to soon be letting you know that it was included in the Guide!

Cheers,

Nadia

PS: Click on the link below the photo for a better view as seen on my Flickr page.