We’re on the road again this morning, having spent last night in Memphis at BB Kings (squee!) and heading over to Stax before we leave for Nashville.
Been too busy to blog much and I’m doing lots of driving, but i will update with pics on Sunday, we’re in Nashville for two days so a bit more time to do things 🙂
Morning world! Have been busy but in a good way the last few days, with the HAI conference (we all did Sunday and Monday, Dad did Tuesday as well) where I somehow found myself at a technical briefing for an Agusta engine. Was only female and only person under 45 in the room, got some very odd looks!
Also did a Walmart trip for essentials like another card reader, and dinner at Pappadeaux where i had the most gorgeous tilapia, followed by the biggest slice of chocolate cake I’ve ever seen. And I’m a chocolate cake expert :p
Yesterday we dropped Dad at the train station and headed for the mall. Despite me doing lots of driving, neither parent has yet had a heart attack.
Found a Michael’s and spent ages drooling over all the gorgeous craft stuff, and then TJ Maxx as it is over here, then the mall proper. Which is so enormous you practically have to drive round it, and all the security guys use Segways to get around.
I mainly wanted to do Sephora and Macys, which we did, and i have a few beauty goodies to blog later on 🙂 And a rubber duck in a cowboy hat, because I failed to bring one with me. (failed to take one on R2R too, come to that – I’m slacking).
Picked up Dad and went to the stock yards for antique shopping, dinner and business discussions, then home for drinks and bed!
Today we’re heading for Cabelas, which is a hunting, fishing and camping store with a zoo of stuffed animals, then lunch somewhere in Fort Worth with a friend of Dad’s and dinner out this evening with all our Texan friends 🙂
Photo post coming shortly, but had to share my haul from the trip so far –
Sharpies, icing mold, puzzle keeper Mod Podge, Hard Candy mascara, craft magazine and a helicopter cookie cutter;
Crochet headband, horse brooch/pendant, live laugh love pendant, sparkly brooch, boot mug, Rolls Royce thermal cup, boot decoration destined for my Christmas tree;
Pretty scarves! Mum and I may have got a teensy bit carried away…
Today was the first day of the conference, where we met lots of people and saw the launch of the new Bell 525 Relentless helicopter. Bell put on a reception last night which we attended, and which turned out to be held on field level at the Dallas Cowboys stadium. So drinks, dinner, a band, a bar and two helicopters all on the actual pitch – was amazing! Photos coming…
This eve we went for dinner and witnessed happy birthday texan style – you get to sit on a western saddle while they sing at you (but bit the normal happy birthday!
Now absolutely exhausted so having an earlyish night! But still having a fab time 🙂
Some photos from this morning’s shopping:
Love how wrangler advertise with a western saddle, a cowboy’s bum and that ‘fits over boots’ is a key selling point:
The tab won’t let me rotate this one, but top ten chat up lines for cowboys… Made me smile!
And last but by no means least, my gorgeous boots – was massively indulgent and bought two pairs, but as they’re my birthday present I didn’t feel too guilty!
This afternoon and evening we met Gary, an old friend of my dad’s, who gave us a guided tour of the stock yards and surrounding area. I have managed to leave my card reader at home so can’t put pics up till I get a new one, but it was glorious… Saw longhorn cattle being herded up the street, found the candy store with barrels and barrels of sweets, drank and signed the walls in the White Elephant Saloon, had dinner at the Texas Pit Barbecue and came back to Billy Bob’s – the world’s biggest honky tonk and somewhere legendary to me, as dad has often talked about it when he’s been here before.
So all in all a fab day – keep half-thinking I could live here. Four separate people told me they loved my boots, which was nice!
Signs spotted today: We Buy Ugly Houses.com * Strip Club for sale * Speak your mind but ride a fast horse * Someday I’m going to marry a cowboy but first I want to be one * Live well, laugh much, love horses.
We’re here, its fabulous, but I’ve been awake for 24 hours so will blog tomorrow! Posted the ones I wrote on the train! Night, y’all 🙂
On board the plane… Love how the foil cover has the London skyline and everything is very carefully British. Excellent.
Writing this post on the plane, strangely… Have discovered a wonderful thing called ‘airplane mode’ which means I can use my technology on board, which is rather lovely!
Up at daft o clock and in trying not to fall over on the ice outside, I forgot to take a photo of our suitcases 🙁 I did however make it in one piece to mum and dad’s in poppy last night (it was a bit hairy and involved a lot of sliding sideways, mind you…)
Arrived at the airport (Heathrow – no idea why autocorrect just turned that into Athens :s), sorted out some niggles with the car parking, and went airside for breakfast. I was massively impressed by Wetherspoons’ pretty plates…
Then some speed-shopping round the duty free for chocolate and perfume – all the essentials :p I could happily have bankrupted myself on cosmetics but had already decided to ignore them and save myself for America’s beauty emporia and drugstores. And hell, Walmart too – I’m after stuff I can’t buy (or buy easily) at home.
Mum and Dad rather wonderfully distracted me from my sudden nerves at take-off, Mum by modelling the headphones and giving us the giggles!
And now I’m ensconced in my seat, Manic Street Preachers and some rather good country music on my in-flight entertainment playlist (I must get myself an mp3 player…) writing this post and about to settle into reading the Peach Keeper.
And yes, that is brandy and coke. It might be 11.30am here but it’s five o clock somewhere….
In February I’m off on a road trip round the southern states with my parents. We’ve been meaning to do this trip since waaaaay back in 2000, but somehow it’s taken this long to find time when all three of us can go!
We’re flying into Dallas Fort Worth, and will spend time there at the HAI conference (working) and at the stock yards and Billy Bob’s (not working!).
We fly home from North Carolina ten days after arriving. In between, while visiting our friends along the way, I want to see Nashville because last time I was there, I was too busy competing to see much of the city.
Parentals reckon we should see Sun Studios, which they did once before… And in between, I’m open to suggestions!
Is there anything I should see? Special places to go? Bars I should try? Things I should do?
This will have to be quick, because I should have been in bed half an hour ago… oh, how I have really not missed the 5.30am starts at all over the break!!
I’m starting 2012 in an incredibly happy, uplifted and motivated frame of mind. I am surrounded by people I love who love me, I have my little haven of a flat and my much adored Poppy-car, changes at work in the last couple of months of 2011 mean I’m much happier there than I thought possible to begin with, and I’m ridiculously lucky that my main stresses are usually that I have too many people and fun things to fit into my social life. Terrible, isn’t it?!
But genuinely, I’m very lucky and well aware of this fact. I’m also intending and hoping for 2012 to be my best year yet… full of all the things I love to do, all the people I love to see and empty (or emptier, at least) of things that make me sad and stressed out. I’m not completely in la la land, I know that various things will be impossible and hard and tearful through the year, but right now things are rosy and I intend to make the absolute most of that.
Things I am muchly looking forward to this year:
Julia’s wedding ~ this is the big one, my best friend and twin soul is getting married on 7th July and I CANNOT WAIT! I’m honoured to have been chosen as one of her bridesmaids and I’ll do everything I can to make sure her big day is perfect.
USA road trip ~ a road trip round the southern states with my parents that we have been talking about doing for close to ten years, we’re flying out to Texas on 9th February and I’m so excited I can barely breathe!
CAE 2012 ~ Camping Auto Extravaganza with the ROC boys and girls is always a highlight of the calendar – this will be my third one, and each one makes me marvel that a bunch of people who only met each other because of their cars can be such very good friends and have such an awesome time.
Neverwhere ~ one of my favourite books by the awesome Neil Gaiman, and my best friend Lou of Contrariety Rose has been working on the costumes for the play for months and months. I’m off to see it on 20th January and am very excited!
Goodwood Revival ~ another one of those things I’ve been threatening to do for ages, Lou & Paul said they’d like to go and much to my surprise so did Rob when I mentioned it the other day… and dressed vintage too! So I’m hoping we’ll get to do that in September… fingers crossed!
My 26th birthday ~ not a traditional landmark I know, but I feel like I’m hitting my prime, and will be taken more seriously once I’m in my late twenties, and I’m hoping to celebrate with lots of friends and lots of family.
Unofficial Ireland rally with Rat Patrol, Team Allegro and Bucket of Doom ~ Assuming we actually manage to get this organised, I would completely adore to see the others again. I am perfectly prepared to abandon the idea of a banger and just go in Poppy if that’s the only way I can afford to go (as the £250 banger car spending limit would probably pay for most of my petrol and camping costs, lol). I’ve missed those guys!
And last but not least, launching Teasets to Typewriters, rejuvenating Ducking Fabulous jewellery as part of that and hopefully becoming involved with a new website, What Simon Said, with a friend I met on the rally and have kept in touch with via Twitter. I have many, many goals this year… some of them are listed on the 2012 Things page of this site, which can be found on the tabs at the top.
So, enough photo-free waffling from me – it’s been wonderful blogging and tweeting and ‘meeting’ people (I’m mostly looking at you, @craftyguider,@fairlyairyfairy, @meanyjar, @CraftyThINKer, @MissJimJams, @ShhimUK, @LucyMoose ) in 2011, and I hope the friendship and support continues into 2012 and beyond! Happy 2012… enjoy it!
xx
I'm Carla, a quirky thirtysomething with a penchant for unicorns and glitter. I believe in magic and make-believe, and the gorgeous rebellion of making your life absolutely your own. And I'm a proud multipod!
I am a photographer and catalyst for small business owners, and a real life mermaid. I photograph people as they truly are, help women see and step into their brightest and best selves, add a sprinkling of magic to the mundane, and am a happy ambassador for stationery and slow living.
Proud to be both girly and geeky, when I’m not writing, photographing or daydreaming, you can find me dancing burlesque, riding my bicycle Bluebell, growing herbs and collecting typewriters.