Blues Clues

Has anyone tried the new Ocean Spray Blueberry juice drink?

Because I'm in love.

I can't get enough of this stuff!!! The light version is so very calorie friendly, too!

Viva Espania!!!

Our trip to Spain was, in a word, awesome.

It's the last trip we scheduled during our year abroad, so we kept it simple: have fun. No sight seeing, no traveling around to various cities, no jampacked itinerary.

Instead we stayed four nights in Malaga at a resort smack dab on the beach.

And when we weren't lounging in the pool...

Or by the beach...

We were at a friend's nearby villa partying the day away.

Now that's a vacation!!!

Much of Spain that we saw reminded me of Mexico, but a nicer, classier Mexico. We struggled through communicating with the stilted Spanish we could recall, which seemed to work well enough.

We also got to enjoy some taaaaasty food, like paella! I ordered the "mixed paella" at a little seaside cafe for lunch one day and it was so good. Thick yummy rice mixed with chicken wings, pork, fish, shrimp and calamari - it was fresh and I loved the slow-baked flavor.

After we enjoyed eating at Hard Rock cafe in Venice so much, we took a taxi into Marbella (about 30 min away from Malaga) to grab some dinner at the Hard Rock there. Loaded nachos, ribs and fries, get in my tummy!

I think the highlight of our trip, though, was watching the World Cup final around so many excited Spaniards as they cheered their country on to victory. The pub we were at literally exploded when the clock wound down and Spain was declared the World Cup campiones!!!

Mass street parties and craziness ensued post-World Cup!

Minus Paris CDG airport losing our bags on both flights, it was a fantastic super-fun trip. The perfect way to cap off our year!!

Don'tcha just love when life's a beach?

Phantom Faces

Ahoy, ahoy there mates.

I still have a juicy fun-filled recap of our trip to Spain last weekend that I need to finish and post. Man, it was so crazy when the soccer team pulled off their World Cup victory! But more on that very soon, I promise.

Since we returned from Spain, I've been a little busy with work (aside from freelance writing, I'm the sales and marketing coordinator for an Aberdeen-based events company).

We've been making last-minute preparations for about 200 clients going to the British Open at St. Andrews throughout the weekend.

So my day today looked a little something like this:

For those of you that don't know, that's the Old Course at St. Andrews behind me

with the well-known, and quite legendary, Swilkin bridge in center view.

Not bad, eh?

I didn't think so either.

I'm still looking out for ole Tiger Woods so I can snap his photo, then give him a right punch in the jawbone for being such a skank.

Apparently word on the street is that he's been practicing in the wee hours of the morning to avoid extra publicity. Harumph.

Anyways, since I've slacked in the blog-writing department for the past few days, I'll leave you with a bit of reading to do in another medium.

This nice little travel feature on our weekend trip to London came out in the latest edition of Upbeat, your local Aberdeen Airport magazine.

I had a lot of fun putting it together. And you might even see a familiar someone....

Yup, that's the husband! The editor asked me to send in a couple of my pictures from the trip and that one, as well as the one of Trafalgar Square, are both my own works of art.

Click on this image once and then twice to zoom in and read:

There's just something nice about seeing things in print... it never gets old.

Now time to "tee off" for another day of work on the green!

One last trip...

We are one day away from our final trip while living abroad. It won't be our final trip to the UK/Europe forever (we intend to take a return vacation to Italy and also Greece), but it marks the end of our adventures from Scotland.

And I'm actually a little sad about it.

I mean, I'm excited about the trip, don't get me wrong! We're headed to Malaga in Spain and I've been dreaming of the beaches there for weeks now.

This is our hotel, image courtesy of Expedia.com:

Looks pretty suave, right?

This trip involves no major sightseeing, no strenuous schedule and no hopping cities. Just a nice leisurely sun-soaked holiday in the sand. Does Spain have umbrella drinks?

I pulled out my tatty looking suitcase (it's taken a beating since we moved here), and the beach towels are washed and ready for their Spanish debut.

This trip marks the last time I depart the Aberdeen airport headed for an exotic destination, anxious to know what awaits. Now we're only about 30 days away from our flight to Texas.

My, how time flies.

I remember when we first arrived in Scotland and how freaking excited and nervous I was all at the same time. And I definitely remember listening in awe as our cab driver rattled on about the new Donald Trump golf course and resort that's destined to go in just outside of town. (I could've sworn the guy played William Wallace in Braveheart, if he'd looked a little more like Mel Gibson. He sounded just like him!)

I also remember nearly crying with excitement when our shipment from the US arrived and I could add a little bit of Texas to our home here.

Boy, we've come a long way.

There will be time to reflect later, when I've done the last load of laundry in the tiniest washer ever and when I've packed up all our things and returned the flat to it's "original" state. And most of all, when we walk out of our Scottish space and head home. Truly home.

But right now... there's one more adventure to be had! Let the fun begin!

Shopper's Lessons

So hopefully most of you know about my FIRST EVER GIVEAWAY!!! It's the turquoise-related post I made last week, and on the docket was a pretty turquoise coral bracelet and matching earrings.

If you noticed I said "was", well, let's just say I've learned my lesson about giveaways.

And rule #1 is to actually have the product you want to giveaway in hand, before you announce you're giving away said product.

Because when I went to the store the next day to pick up the bracelet and earrings... the bracelet was GONE! There simply were no more left. Popular, I guess.

*Sigh*

So instead I picked up the same coral bracelet but in a natural hue:

But I did manage to snag the turquoise earrings I'd promised:

And there's still one day left in the competition for you to enter!!

1.) You must be a follower.

2.) Go to this post and leave a comment.

3.) The competition ends tomorrow night and I'll annouce the winner of the bracelet/earrings Wednesday morning!

In the meantime, I've decided to postpone my sweaty, painful, endurance-challenged trip to the gym till tomorrow and walk over to Union Square to return an item and browse a couple shops.

I swear it almost feels like I'm in a normal (and by "normal" I mean slightly more American) mall, until I turn around and see this:

Nothin' checks your reality more than granite buildings and the stinky smell of the fish harbour.

And then I see this and think of Hobby Lobby in the US and all the fun, crafty things I can't wait to buy there. The selection here is not the same. Or maybe it's the demand that's different.

31 more days until we are back in the US of A!

Until then, please make me a happy camper and be sure you've entered my giveaway contest. It'll be the only time I can mail you something from Scotland!