Summer Vaca

I'm back at it blogging again. August was a blur for me. I worked a bunch, traveled to DC for a medical conference and then Joe and I traveled to Europe for our friends' wedding. I thought I'd share some pics and travels stories.

We flew from Paris by way of STL through DC. We barely made our connecting flight in DC. Luckily the plane had TVs with movies, music, TV shows to help us make the 7 hour flight fly by.

We made it to Paris at about 11am on Wednesday and proceeded to walk around discovering some of the sites . . . .

I just have to say that the French are not known for their food . . .this was our first meal

With little time to explore Paris, Thursday of our trip, we hit up some of Paris' well-known hot-spots: La Tour Eiffel, La Louvre, Notre Dame and our personal favorite was the Moulin Rouge Show: Ferie. C'est magnifique!

Our favorite thing about Paris had to be the show we saw at the Moulin Rouge called: Ferie. If travel plans take you to Paris, I think this show is a must. Joe even enjoyed it too!

Next we traveled to the south of France to a town called Avignon. Our friends Allison and Rene were married in the town called Chateauneuf de Pape at a winery named Chateau Fines des Roches. It was absolutely picture perfect. The wine and food were amazing and we got to meet lots of great new people from all over the world!

Seriously . . . .is this place not just gorgeous?

After celebrating the wedding, we took several trains including an overnite train to make it to Rome.  Below is a picture of our digs on the overnite trains. It was kind of dirty but definitely an experience. I'm not sure I could convince Joe to do it again.

Rome was FANTASTIC! We absolutely loved taking in the sites . . . .the Colosseum, Vatican City, Trevi Fountain and of course ate lots of pizza, pasta and gelato!

Above, our first meal in Rome - a welcome change from the food in France.

We also took a day trip from Rome to the Island of Capri. Capri is known for it's lemons, and  shoes. Sandals are made in mere minutes by a man with just a few leather straps, some nails and a sole.  Of course I needed a pair!

We also took a tram ride up to the top of the island that had amazing views!

We had a fabulous time in Europe!

Meet Ollie

So, I know I posted last week about our garden. We're currently trying to grow some tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. This past week, little green tomatoes started growing. We got VERY excited; however, then we started noticing that something ie. birds were eating the baby tomatoes right off the vine before they had a chance to grow!

Enter in the newest member of the Kolchinsky fam:  Ollie!

Only $12.95 at Lowe's tonite.  He looks fierce!

Hopefully he will keep away whatever is eating our garden!!

I'll keep you updated!

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Project of the week: Beaded Flower Tutorial

When I got married last year, I found an amazing necklace at this bridal store. It was insanely expensive so I went about making a knock-off version for my wedding. Here's how it turned out:

I decided to blog a tutorial of how I made it.

Materials

tear-shaped or round shaped beads for the petals

accent beads - round works great!

thin wire

1.  Thread 5 petal beads through the wire.

2.  Then thread the wire back through the beads the other direction. See below:

3.  Pull the wire taught and shape the petals around to form a circle. 

4.  Twist the two wire ends together

5.  Next, pull one wire up through the middle of the petals and thread 3-4 (whatever your preference) accent beads. Then pull the wire back through the bottom of the flower and twist the two wires together.

After that, you are done!

You can attach this to pretty much anything you want - bracelets, necklaces, shoes, headband, make it into a pin!

You can beef up your beaded flower by adding additional rows of petals. 

Take a the extra wire hanging down from the bottom of the flower and thread the petal bead. Then, twist the wire together. The wire makes it pretty malleable to position it behind the original petals. Keep adding petals. 

I also made one out of pear-shaped, gold-tinted beads

I recommend hot-gluing a flat bead to the back of the flower so the wire isn't itchy!

Thanks for checking out my blog!

Man vs Food at the Lake

My husband's parents own a condo at the 31mm at the Lake of the Ozarks. He grew up boating and swimming and skiing. He loves the lake. I mean LOVES the lake. During the summer, every chance we get, we head to the lake. This past 4th of July weekend, we invited my brother and sister and their fiances down to the lake to spend some time together. We had a fabulous time -boating, riding the waverunner, skiing and tubing.  Oh, and there was plenty of bbq and eating.

There are tons of what I call "on-the-water-dives."  We headed to one of these "dives" called Larry's on the Lake. They have their own version of the Man vs Food challenge.

It's a five-pound burger with a plate of fries and onion rings. While we were there, someone decided to take the challenge. 

Sadly, he was only able to get halfway through!

We definitely have our favorite lake hangouts. If you're looking for any recommendations, 

here are a few:

Best Mini Golf:  Pirates Cove

Best Breakfast on the water:  Paradise

Best Ice Cream:  Andy's

Best Tenderloin Sandwich & Pizza:  Fish & Co.

Best Breakfast on land:  On the Rise Bakery & Bistro

Best Mexican:  Mexicaliblues

I also picked up an old desk/work station this weekend that was Joe's parents. I'm planning another furniture makeover project so stop by again soon for my re-do!