travel tuesday: seychelles

The Seychelles are a string of islands off the coast of Africa, northeast of Madagascar, southwest of the Maldives.

The Seychelles have no indigenous population but are made up of people who have immigrated there. Their language is a creole based off of French.


With as clear water as the Seychelles seem to have I can only imagine that the snorkeling and scuba diving is amazing!

I thought it was interesting to learn that the Seychelles society is a matriarchal society rather than patriarchal.

Fairy Land on Mahe in the Seychelles

Deepam Cinema in Victoria, the capital city.

The Seychelles were first inhabited (at least the first recording) around 1609 by the British. They were used often as a post for pirates until the French took control around 1756.

how big is to big?

I was looking at a photographer's blog yesterday and they had some darling pictures of a baby but they baby had a massive flower headband on. I am not a fan of this trend of large flowers/bows on babies/little girls, no offense if you are.


For a visual take this flower and put it on a baby and you have perhaps a bit larger than most but the general idea (I did find some this big). This started a quest to see if I could find any headbands with small bows on them, true accessories rather than focal point. I gave up after about 200 pages of searching. Here is the best that I found.


These are actually ones my sister-in-law made for my niece. I think they are darling. Simple. Small.




newborn headbands, again small, simple, sweet.



This was my one exception to the rule (my own personal rule against flower clips) I like the 1920's flapper vibe.

This is my favorite kind of bow. Simple, small, sweet. No headband though thus not ideal for hairless babies. Not what I was looking for but closer.

Some people sell just the headbands. This is a little wide for my liking but at least you can put a bow that is proportionate to a baby on it.


this headband is close to what I had in mind. Still, perhaps the bow is to large?

I came to two conclusions after all of this.
1- It is a good thing I will likely only ever have boys, I am way to particular about this kind of stuff.
2- If you want the small bow headband mix you have to mix and match or make it yourself.

So this brings me to the question of the day. How big is to big for a baby/little girl bow?

swiss miss

I was blog hopping today and found a new blog swiss miss that had these fun things.



sky planter- grow things in your house upside down with little mess? Sounds ideal, but perhaps to good to be true?

I love this tulip USB port. awesome.

mirrors

built in mirrors, do or don't?

favorite things

I am very intrigued by the favorite things swap. I have never tried it before but it sounds like fun. Pick out three of your favorite things, mail them to the person assigned to you. Open package sent to you. Sounds fun to me.

cups

How awesome is this cup closet?

photo found via design to inspire

grilled black bean quesadillas

I found this recipe on more than burnt toast today. I think I am going to try it tonight using what I have, substituting for what I don't and maybe adding some grilled chicken into the mix.

grilled black bean quesadillas
4 whole wheat flour tortillas
1/4 cup black beans, cooked and lightly mashed ( I most often use canned to simplify the process)
8 red and yellow pepper strips, grilled
2 tablespoons roasted corn ( for a quick solution use frozen corn)
2 tablespoons tomato, chopped
2 tablespoons green onion, chopped
1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup (8 ounces) fat-free mozzarella cheese, grated
1/4 cup goat cheese feta (optional) ( I use cojita when available)
Pinch of cumin
Pinch of chili pepper
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Salsa
******************
Preheat grill to a medium setting. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.

Thinly spread 1/4 cup of mixture on top of tortilla, fold in half. Lightly spray the top and bottom tortilla with cooking spray. Place quesadilla on grill and allow one side to brown 4 to 5 minutes. Flip quesadilla and brown the other side for a few minutes. When cheese is melted through, remove quesadilla and allow to cool slightly and cut into wedges. Serve with your favorite salsa, sour cream and guacamole.

Makes 2 quesadilla's.

photo via flickr

stars

I love these stars from Pottery Barn. I think I would put them on a bookshelf for this kind of display.

wedding dog

I fully realize that this is random and rather dorky. I love boxer dogs and when I saw this wedding at Style Me Pretty with a boxer dog who is not only the ring bearer but wearing a scarf I had to laugh. I love it.

shoes at target

I was at Target this weekend and I saw these gladiator sandals for $20. I am not sure I am bold enough to wear them though. Maybe.

I really liked these braided sandals too.

The jury is still out on these very colorful sandals.

carribean shish kabobs

2 teaspoons crushed garlic

1 tsp salt1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves1/8 tsp black pepper4 TB olive oil4 TB red wine vinegar1/2 tsp lemon juice
3 chicken breastspineapple chunksgreen pepper chunkscherry tomatoesonions
mix together garlic, salt, oregano, black pepper, olive oil, red wine vinegar and lemon juice
cut up chicken into small chunks (that you can easily skew if doing kabobs) and put in the marinade for atleast one hour
cut up the green pepper and onion into small chunks
Grill for 10 - 20 minutes until cooked through.
*Note: I have skewered these and broiled them in my oven as well and that worked. As you can see from the pictures I went the lazy route and did stir fry which takes a lot less time and still tastes great. But for a fun dinner party or barbecue - skewer them - they look so fun and festive.

bookshelf

I love the way this book shelf is organized with books horizontally and vertically and the eclectic feel the doodads give it.

photo found via design to inspire

pb chair

I don't know what it is but lately I have had an obsession with navy blue. I love this chair.

giveaway on we chirp

I am very excited to be doing a giveaway on We Chirp this week. You can see it here.

steak sandwiches with goat cheese and arugula

I was perusing Martha Stewart's website today and found this. It looks soooooooo good.

no bake dessert

black and white ice cream tart

see more here

father's day

hand stitched hanky

black and white striped tie


I only actually know one or two people who still wear cuff links but they seem to be a pretty standard Father's Day gift and these ones are cool.

travel tuesday:utah hot springs

Utah has natural hot springs all over. I don't know how well known they are though. There are hot springs that have been turned into large swimming pools and then there are the real hot springs that are out in the middle of no where. I want to go to the real hot springs. Here are a few of the more well know locations.

Mystic hot spring


Diamond Fork hot springs upper pools


Diamond Fork lower pools


Meadow hot spring

pantry beauty

I love the way this pantry is set up. Particularly the spices and liquids.

photo found via elements of style

moon over

I bought this painting on Friday. After getting my first mini painting last week I fell in love with them. My husband says they look as though they belong in a mouse's house. I can't wait until this one comes in the mail.

current bathroom trends

Just as an FYI you can probably expect to see lots of home and design posts for the next while. My sister is buying a home and planning some renovations, simple and other wise, for said home. I scour the Internet for ideas for her. Without further ado I present trends for a bathroom in a home where there are children and not unlimited funds.

Bead board. Bead board is the white wood along the bottom half of the wall (at least that is what my friend called it.) I don't really know how much it would cost to buy this but since my friend used it in her renovation I assume it is at least somewhat affordable. And I love it.

Clear glass showers. Perhaps this is a more expensive trend. But it does not scream childless house so I think it still counts.

Framed Mirrors. Some square, some not, they are all over the place. I think I like them.

pictures via better homes and gardens

hande made ceramic bowls

I love these colorful prep bowls. And they aren't even outrageously priced!