Es Vedra & Christmas in July.

Howdy friends! 
Remember that one time that I decided on a whim that a huge bloggy gift exchange would be totally awesome? And that I would call this huge bloggy exchange Christmas in July? Well... I'm makin' it happen, and two awesome girls have offered to help me out. You can visit them here and here (and you can see their pretty faces in the picture below).

Anyway, I'm going to open up registration for this on Monday. There will be more details then, but until then, just know this: 

It's a blogger gift exchange with a budget of $10-$20. Everyone is welcome to participate, and if you're international, you will be matched with someone on the same continent so as to reduce shipping costs. 


So... make sure you come back on Monday to sign up! This is just a heads up to let you know that it will be happening!!

Moving on... 

Once upon a time, I went to Ibiza, Spain and told you about a few of the things we did. I skipped a lot of other things, though, and I'd love to document them, so here's one of them. 

Es Vedra

Es Vedra. Some say that it's right next to the tip of the lost city of Atlantis, jutting out of the ocean. Others say that it has spiritual powers. Even if neither of these things is true, it's still an amazing sight, one that is definitely worth the hike (which, by the way, is not long or difficult at all). Fun Fact: It's the 3rd most magnetic place on the face of the earth.

The 1st time we went to Es Vedra - Day 4 in Ibiza

We visited Es Vedra twice, both times at sunset. The first time would have been good, but it started to rain right before the sun started to set, so we missed out. We had heard such good things about this location at dusk, so decided to come back on our fifth day in Ibiza. We did not regret it - not one bit.

Husband took this amazing shot.

Es Vedra was probably one of my favorite things about this little island, and there was definitely something magical about it. 

What is your favorite natural landmark??

How to Travel [in Europe] on the Cheap [Part One]

Hey guys! 

[insert cool picture here to get your attention]

Mike took this picture in Ibiza, and I love it. 

Before I get to the main subject of this post, I have another little huge favor to ask of you all. I may end up bribing you with a gift card that would be awarded if I win. Obviously if I don't win, I can't afford to shell out the dough for that. But I digress. If you have a minute, could you please go here and vote for my video?


It's a bit complicated, so here are the instructions:
1. Click the link (so easy a caveman could do it!)
2. Click "log in and vote." (to the right of the picture)
3. Click the "log in with facebook" button, and then "allow." (You can delete it after you've voted)
4. Once it takes you back to the video, move the slider to the right from the number 0 to the number 5, and click "vote." 


That's it! Easy, peezy. If I can get into 1st place, I would win $5000, and that would help me out a lot with my student loans and this master's program. And... it might just allow me to treat one of you voters to a little something special (worth at least $50 if I get first overall, $30 if I get first voter, $40 for second $20 for second voter, and $30 for third $15 for 3rd voter... keep in mind that's an at least, so it could be more). So... just in case I'm lucky enough to win, if you did vote, tell me you did in a comment.

Anyway. 


So. I thought it would be fun to share some tips for cheap travel here on the blog, for all of you who want to get the most out of your money while on vacation. These tips will be pretty specific to Europe, since that's what I know.

By the piers in Ibiza, Spain

1. Take all forms of transportation to your destination into consideration. You may find that a flight is cheaper than a train ticket, or maybe bus is the way to go. A favorite of ours is Ryanair - they have flights for as little as 10 EUR each way. Is it glamorous? No, but if you're looking for glamour, you're probably not too concerned with price.

2. Look into youth hostels, even if you're married. Many times, youth hostels offer private rooms for as little as 30 EUR. If you're single? You can travel for even cheaper. I've seen hostels for as little as 5 EUR a night if you stay in a dorm-style room. In Scotland, they have castles that have been converted into youth hostels - how cool is that? Bonus: You might meet people from the same place as you, or from countries you've never heard of.

A youth hostel that I lived in for 3 months in 2009 while I was here for an internship

3. Don't eat at restaurants. This may be a little easier said than done, but it is possible. When we were in Scotland, we ate out (on our dollar) twice. Two times in seven days. In Ibiza it was the same - twice. That's four times in 15 days. How did we manage that? We bought pre-made sandwiches at the store in Scotland, and in Ibiza we had a room with a kitchen. We bought food and cooked it ourselves. Sure, it requires more effort, but you will spend at least 50% less than you would eating out for every meal. Bonus: You can have picnics!!

Us and our sandwiches on a beach in Ibiza

4. Research the transportation options in your destination. Are you going to be using public transport? Renting a car? Going by bike? Using your own two feet? Do your research. In Scotland, it was cheaper for us to rent a car because we wanted to see the whole country, and that's not cheap by rail. If you're planning on taking the bus, look at the routes. Are they walkable? For most of Europe, the answer to that question is probably, "YES!" You just have to quit being a lazy American. Many cities offer bike rental, so if walking isn't for you, check that out. You may be surprised by what you find.

We rented a scooter because it was discounted if you paid online, and it gave us access to the whole island.

5. Don't pay entrance fees to things like ruins. This is a huge one, guys, and it's one that I've learned the hard way. Basically, a ton of castles are ruins, and what you see on the outside is pretty much what you will see on the inside. This is the one time that it's okay to judge a book by its cover. If you're traveling alone, this can save you (on average) 5EUR per castle. If you're with someone else, it'll save you 10. If you've been to Europe, you know how many castle ruins there are, and you know that it all adds up. 

Dunnottar Castle, Scotland

I have so much more to add, but this is getting long! Stay tuned for more (whenever I get around to it).

Pretty Things.

Hola! 
I thought that this was an appropriate greeting since I'm going to share some of Spain with you all today!

We did a lot of hiking while we were in Ibiza, and I thought I'd let the pictures speak for themselves! I don't really know exactly where we hiked, but I can tell you that that island has some of the most breathtaking views I have ever seen in my life (and I feel like I've been a lot of places and seen a lot of things).

So. Without further ado, I give to you some of my favorite photos from our second day on the island (I would give you photos from other days of hiking... but that would be exactly one bajillion photos, and I just don't think you could handle that right now).

This is one of ten pirate watch towers along the coast, built between the 16th and 18th centuries.

These caves were so cool! It was awesome to listen to the waves crashing through them, even though the water looks so calm!

The water was beautiful. It really was that blue. Can you believe it? 

I loved this shell! 

I think these are torn swim trunks - IDK, I just thought it was a cool photo. 

This is actually the only photo I edited, and I love the way it turned out. 

You can tell how far we went from where we started, and this was only our halfway point! 

Anyway... I decided to sort of split up trip posts, that way you aren't totally overloaded. 

OH!! My new nickname is "The Sheep-Whisperer." I have a video that explains it all, I just need to condense it. It's pretty awesome, you won't want to miss it. ;)

AND!! I have a question for you guys - lots of people made fun of Husband and I, telling us that vacations are for relaxing. What do you guys think? Do you get out and enjoy the sites, hiking, and all that, or do you spend your time shopping and chilling out? 

Linking up with Imprintalish for Loves on a Thursday

WIWW & Ibiza Castle

Linking up with the Pleated Poppy and Rolled up Pretty. 

Dress: F21 Shoes: Four Star Necklace: c/o hooked goods Bracelet: tourist shop in Ibiza, Spain

HEY!!! Wow, it's so good to be back. I missed you guys!! Thanks so much for all of the kind comments and emails while I was gone, and thanks for showing so much love to my guest posters!! Oh! Thanks for helping me reach 400 followers, too! I'll have to think of a fun giveaway in honor of reaching that milestone!! 

Anyway, I actually won that necklace that I'm wearing in a giveaway - it's so fun and I just love it. You should all definitely check out Margot's shop, because her stuff is really fairly priced, and these necklaces are awesome. 

Anyway.... I'm sure you all are not just here to hear about necklaces and cool stuff like that, so I'm going to tell you all about part of our trip to Ibiza, Spain! 

The first full day we were there, we went on a loonnnngggg hike up to the castle. I'll tell you more about that hike later, but today I wanted to talk about the castle, which is the main attraction in Ibiza Town. 

This photo was actually taken from the pier, but you can see the castle up at the top of the hill. 

The castle was built in the 16th century, and offers beautiful views of the city. and the island. 

Part of the castle

 The church on the castle grounds

 View of the piers and town from the castle

Looking up at the castle

Walking down from the castle, there are narrow cobblestone streets filled with shops and bars. I can only imagine how packed this place is in the summertime! I'll share more about the downtown area and piers later - we did all of that on a different day. 

Ibiza Castle was awesome, and we could have easily spent a full day just wandering around. Unfortunately, the castle was under construction, so it was hard to get good photos. I actually had to hardcore edit the photo up top!! 

In other news, I'm now back to doing design work, so if you need anything done, shoot me an email!!  I did finish a blog design while I was gone, though - here's a quick screenshot! 

Favorite Things Friday [Ibiza Edition]

oooohhhhh Happy Friday the 13th!!


It's forecasted to rain all day today, so we're not really sure what the plans are, but hey - I might get the chance to edit some of our five billion pictures, so that would be nice!

Anyway. Favorite Things. 


1. Clear blue water. It's probably one of the most beautiful things ever. Am I right, or am I right?

2. Hiking. Oh, man. The past couple of days have helped me to rediscover how much I love hiking. Me+TheGreatOutdoors=Love. 

3.The Sunrise. So beautiful. This is not the greatest picture - I took it off our balcony (I didn't want to run down to the beach in my underwear). I'm planning on getting some good ones tomorrow, though.

4. Nature. When I look at all of the beautiful things nature has to offer, I am stunned. Seriously - just go look out your window, and look at the world around you and tell me that it's not amazing.

5. Okay, so this isn't a Spain thing, but it's still cool! A picture of a professor from my alma mater has become a viral internet meme! Seriously, people. There's this 68-year-old professor at University of Nebraska-Lincoln who skateboards to class. Every. Day. Not even kidding. I always chuckled as I was walking to class and he'd whiz by, but who knew that his photo would become a meme?!

both photos via

What are some of your favorite things this week?? 

Ibiza Sneak Peek + Happy Thursday [Go Make Some Delicious Food AKA a Recipe Post]

Howday peeps! Hope you all are having an awesome week! 

Yesterday Husband and I relaxed on the beach for an hour or so, then decided to take a hike. We hiked a little over 7 miles up some cliffs to see this: 

Don't let the picture fool you - those caves were at least 25 feet tall. 

and this: 

and of course I had to take a picture in a not so safe spot. 

And now my skin tone rivals that of a lobster. 

In the attempt to relax and ignore my blog, I've asked a few people to guest post for me over the next week and a half. They are all fabulous, and each guest post is different and fun! Trust me - I would never send you to a bad blog. I genuinely enjoy each of these ladies and am glad I get to share them with you!! 

First up is Lori. She is super cool and currently working on being the best wife ever by making totally awesome and delicious food. She is sharing a couple recipes with you today, and I have the feeling that you will all be walking running sprinting full speed to your kitchen to try these bad boys out!! 

************************************************************************************

hello, lovelies! i'm lori from a crazy walk on the safe side. 

and i am truly sorry that you came here for alyx but {since she is on an awesome vacay} you got stuck with me instead. but since we obviously both like alyx, maybe you and i can be friends, too?

so a little bit about me... i am a southern girl in my mid-twenties enjoying newlywed life. and since the hubs and i recently moved cities {and i have yet to find proper employment}, i have had LOTS of time to perfect being a stay-at-home wife. while i still let the laundry pile up, and put off cleaning the bathrooms way longer than i should, the one thing i am honestly proud of is my mad skills in the kitchen.

seriously though... i am not quite at the stage where i can whip up an impressive dinner without a recipe to {at least somewhat} follow... but i'm learning. and {most} everything has been quite yummy and gotten the stamp of approval from the hubs.

so today, alyx asked me to share a recipe with all of her lovely readers! {i'm trying to butter you up... did ya catch that?}.... 

after seeing several versions of green monster smoothies floating around pinterest i thought that spinach would taste terrible in drink form i thought 'why not give it a try?' this is my mixture... and i actually LOVE it. i've had it for breakfast almost every day here lately!

lori's green monster:

handful of frozen mangos

4-5 fresh strawberries

1 large banana (when they're really ripe and turning brown on the outside, cut them up, put them in a ziploc and freeze them)

milk

ice

couple of handfuls of fresh spinach

2 tablespoons of splenda, or some agave nectar

blend and adjust milk, ice and spinach until you get the desired consistency and color, and ENJOY!

cauliflower crusted pizza:

{from eat.drink.smile}

1 cup cooked, riced cauliflower

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp crushed garlic

1/2 tsp garlic salt

olive oil (optional)

pizza sauce and your choice of toppings*

{i
used fresh mozzarella, spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, feta and garlic... i
cooked the mushrooms on the stove top in some sherry beforehand}

directions:

take a head of fresh cauliflower, remove stems and leaves, and
chop the florets into chunks. add to food processor and pulse until it
looks like grain. do not over-do pulse or you will puree it. place the riced cauliflower into a microwave safe bowl and
microwave for approximately 8 minutes (depending on the strength of your microwave). there is no need to add
water, as the natural moisture in the cauliflower is enough to cook
itself.

one large head should produce approximately 3 cups of riced
cauliflower. The remainder can be used to make additional pizza crusts
immediately, or can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week.

pizza crust:

preheat oven to 450 degrees. spray the pan with non-stick cooking spray.

stir together 1 cup cauliflower, egg and
mozzarella. add oregano, crushed garlic and garlic salt, stir. transfer
to the pan, and using your hands, pat out into a 9" round. brush olive oil over top of mixture to help with browning.

bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.

remove from oven. add sauce, toppings and cheese. bake approximately
3-4 minutes until cheese is melted.

*Note that toppings need to be precooked since you are only broiling for a few minutes.

i hope you give these recipes a try! and please stop by and say hello to me over at my blog. i would love to meet some new people :)

WIWW in Ibiza and a Giveaway!!

linking up with The Pleated Poppy. 

Sunglasses [3,90 EUR], Pants [6,90 EUR], Shirt [$3]: F21 Sandals [$10]: Target

HIII!!! You can also find me here today, sharing a story about pink polka-dot panties. I bet you're super excited to go read it, right? Right.


Oh, and let me tell you about those sandals for a second - I hiked [yes, hiked] six miles in those puppies today. I think there is crack in the water here. Anyway. 

So. I'm sure you have all seen the My Memories Suite digital scrapbooking software that has been sweeping through the blog world as of late. I have, too. I've entered a few giveaways trying to win it, but never had any luck. I was pretty stoked when I got an email asking if I wanted to review it and choose one lucky winner to give another copy away to. I agreed, of course! 

The opinions below are 100% my own. I was not given monetary compensation, just a free copy of the software to review and keep for personal use. 

Because I like lists, and I like multiples of five, I'm going to clue you in on my five favorite things about this software: 

1. It's so easy a caveman could use it! Seriously! I'm pretty sure that even my computer illiterate great grandma could use this (okay, so I don't actually have a computer illiterate great grandma, but you get what I'm sayin').

2. It came with a ton of fun templates. Like, slap your picture on and you have a beautiful scrapbook page within seconds kind of templates. Not even kidding.

3. It comes with a bazillion embellishments. I really like page embellishments on the rare occasion that I scrapbook. I think it's awesome how many this program comes with! 

4. Fonts. If you're a font junkie like me, this program is awesome, because it lets you use all your cute fonts! 

5. SO FAST to make pages, AND you can get it made into a bound book!! I created that page above in less than 5 minutes! Imagine how many hours would be cut off of your scrapbooking time! a lot. If you're anything like me, you have approximately twenty (I tend to exaggerate, so twenty actually means three) unfinished scrapbooks laying around. This removes that mess and takes way less time! 

My Memories is offering my readers $10 off this software PLUS a $10 coupon to the My Memories store - that's a steal, people! Just use this code: 

STMMMS71034

If you're not into discounted things, you SHOULD be into free things, so why not try your luck and enter the giveaway? 

a Rafflecopter giveaway