Rachel!: November 2008

Miami

Seth, my darling boyfriend, flew me down to Miami this week to relax on the beach while he was hard at work at a User Conference. Needless to say, I had a blast!!

We stayed at the beachfront Alexander Hotel on Miami Beach. It was gorgeous-- and very pink!

This is the view from the room's balcony. The pool you see is one of two and there are also two jacuzzis and a waterfall and tiki bar-- and that's before you even get to the beach!

Relaxation.

These are Seth's and my footprints-- we took a walk all the way to South Beach on Thursday night. It was so sunny and warm and nice, we walked for a couple hours!!

On our walk we encountered many gooey, beached jellyfish...

...most of them were cool and blue and looked like this...

...but some of them were just these big blobs with pink spots. Eeew.

We walked on the boardwalk most of the way back and saw these huge aloe plants-- I almost wish I had gotten a sunburn so I could have broken open a leaf!

Even though the sun doesn't technically set over the Atlantic in Miami Beach, the sunset still makes some beautiful colors over the ocean.

Turkey Cookies

I made these awesome gingerbread turkeys for Thanksgiving... I hope they last until then, they're so delicious!

Rainbow

It was super rainy for a while on Saturday, but then the sun came out. I was minutes away from home (without my camera) when a huge double rainbow appeared in the sky-- it was so pretty! I rushed home and grabbed my camera and got this pretty picture of what was left from our balcony. It was gorgeous!

Gross.

I jammed my finger on Saturday playing football... Seth may tell you I was "catching the football wrong," but I would argue that I did not catch the football at all. Anyway, this is what it looked like a short while after it happened.

And now it's so much grosser! My finger's so fat and the bruise is making it's way toward my other fingers and my palm like a little jerk. Sigh.

Fall Decor

I'm finally posting some pictures of our Halloween/Fall decorations! In doing so I realized that almost everything I've decorated with are gifts and it made me so happy-- thanks for all the pretty things (Mom, Grandma, and Aunt Susan)!!

Our Door (I finally got an over-the-door wreath hanger, which means I can finally hang a Christmas wreath in December too!!!)

Jack-o-lantern Garland

My newest witch (thanks, Grandma!) and a light-up pumpkin my mom sent last year! (And by the way, that's "The Perfect Autumn Pumpkin" room spray that my friend and long time employee of Bath and Body works, Lotisha, gave me... AND in the background is a fresh loaf of cardamom bread, yummy!)

My kitchen, of course, is always fall themed...

...these are all leaves from Grandma and Grandpa's yard!! Aren't they pretty?

The pumpkin creamer is from Grandma, the pumpkin salt and pepper shakers are from Mom, and the acorns were a little gift (read: impulse buy) for myself! (Note the time on the clock-- 12:50 in the afternoon, I got Tuesday off and it was lovely!)

This is my rotating display shelf (nothing as fancy as Grandma's shelves in the kitchen or display cases downstairs, but it does just fine for now). This fall we're featuring a beautiful pumpkin shaped pie dish from Mom, a hand-crafted leaf from Aunt Susan, a pumpkin tea kettle bought at the Ann Arbor Art Fair with Mom and Grandma the year Aunt Susan was in the show, and a cute witch and pumpkin with dangling legs from Grandma-- it's all so pretty!

And finally as a centerpiece on my table I've got the basket Aunt Susan gave me filled with the cinnamon scented pine cones I got (read: stole) from my mom! Looks pretty and smells good too!!

Only a few short weeks before it's Christmas decorating time!!!

Kaw 2

Hey Dad... remember when we watched that Sci-Fi Channel Original Movie "Kaw" when you came to visit me and Stephanie? Well, I think they just did the remake of it at my apartment. Check it out:

Kaw 2: Rachel and Seth's Apartment

Those crows or ravens or whatever they are were EVERYWHERE on Tuesday afternoon and they were so loud, just like in the movie! I hope they don't get too smart-- yikes!!