Dingle Peninsula (and Cork), Ireland

I had a friend text me yesterday (you know who you are!) saying,"Do you feel like your Ireland trip was a dream?  Because the pictures make it look so surreal... like something I would only imagine!"  I've been thinking about her question more as I uploaded these pictures.  Yes, actually it does sort of feel like a dream.  There were times when it was just Zack, myself, and green rolling hills ahead of us (oh- and most likely some sheep).  It was as if the countryside was completely ours to explore.  However, my friend hadn't yet looked at the photos I am posting now in this very post.  I told her if she thought Killlarny and the Ring of Kerry were dream-like, just WAIT until Dingle!  Even the name sounds like a fairytale...

Dingle is when things became a bit... foggy.  No, I'm not meaning we had a few too many Guinnesses (although Guinness really does taste that much better in Ireland).  I mean literally, it became super foggy outside.  And that fog decided to stick around the entire time we explored the penninsula.  I'm not  going to lie, at first I was really disappointed about the fog.  Things that we were supposed to be able to see (ex: some famous islands off the coast), just weren't there!  Also, how could I capture the beauty of this place, when there is a thick blanket of fog standing right in the way?  I worried that all my photos would come out just a big haze.  However, in the end, I think it really added a special effect.  Not just to the photos, but to our experience there.  It really did feel like a dream.

Ring of Kerry, Ireland

After our first night and full day in Killarny, Ireland, we could not wait to see more.  This is how excited we were:  We were like little kids on Christmas Eve, anticipating the morning so that we could just get going already.  On our second night, I woke up in the middle of the night, SO excited... I felt wide awake.  I thought, "It must be about time to get up already", so I nudged Zack, who also seemed awake and ready to go.  It was TWO thirty in the morning.  We looked at eachother in disbelief, both not wanting to believe it was only 2:30am (and I'm a girl who loves her sleep!).  This happened two nights in a row!  By our third night, we decided if this happens again, we're getting up.  Needless to say, I'm glad we didn't have any 2:30am wake ups the third night, but we did continually rise earlier as the days went on, trying to make the most of being here.  Adventure was calling and we had to follow!  

Killarny, Ireland

As we stepped off our hour and a half flight from Stansted London, and stepped onto the tarmac at Kerry Airport in Ireland, I took a big breath of fresh air.  It was beautifully calm and peaceful.  We had landed in what seemed to be a patchwork of green hills and there was a light fog that hung in the air- exactly what I had envisioned for the Irish countryside.  As we stepped inside the extremely small airport (seriously, it was one room and had only one toilet), it was as if there were multiple small family gatherings waiting in arrivals.  This may seem strange, but as we made our way to the exit, I scanned the crowd, secretly studying the pale faces of these Irish people.  I still can't put my finger on it, but something was different about these people.  They just looked so... Irish.  Whatever that means.  Whatever it was, there was something about landing in Kerry that made me feel very welcome and at home. Already, I knew this was going to a good trip.

On our first night in Killarny, we were welcomed with rain.  The next day, we found ourselves in the midst of 3 hail storms, rain, snow, and even a bit of sunshine.  That's Ireland!  Though the weather was all over the place, we were constantly amazed by the scenery around us.  With it being off season for tourists as well, the fog also added to the "eery" feeling of the countryside.  We spent the first night listening to some live Irish Folk music in one of the local pubs, and the rest of our time we spent in Killarny National Park.  We rented a car for the duration of our stay, so we were able to easily get around and went to some pretty amazing mountainous areas of the park.  We hiked one of the tallest peaks in the park (Purple Mountain) and walked the Gap of Dunloe- probably the most beautiful winding road I've ever been on.  I really feel that these photos speak for themselves.  

My Creative Pursuit Week 3

                           

 

My sketchbook travelled with me to Ireland this week!  Though my little drawings will do no justice to the photos that I will be posting this week (that I'm so excited to share with you!), these are all scenes in which we saw with our own eyes.  Ireland has some beautiful landscapes.

PS.  I decided this week that I'll be giving myself one day off of my creative pursuit every week.  Just to make it a little easier for me to keep on track :)          

My Creative Pursuit Week Two

                                   

This post is dedicated to my husband, Zack.  Since it was Valentines week, I thought "Love" would be an appropriate theme.  I am so lucky to have found so much love in my life!  Here's a few little fun things that I love about my husband:

Day 1: He always gives me the window seat.

DIY geometric photo frame

Well isn't this fun... my very first Do-it-yourself post on the blog!  For those of you who are thinking, 

"I thought this was a travel blog- why is this turning into arts and crafts?", do not worry.  I adore travel, and there most definitely will be more travel posts on the way.  In regards to all these creative posts lately, what can I say...  I just do things like this!  And I know there are some of you out there that appreciate this kind of stuff.  So, why not share the love?

Remember last spring, when I posted about our apartment on Lowell?  I took photos of some of my favourite decor items in our small little apartment.  The reason I did that was not only to get the blog rolling, but because I knew we wouldn't have any of that stuff once we moved to England.  It was kind of a way for me to savour all the little personal touches that I loved.  When we moved overseas, we said goodbye to our favourite wall frames, wine rack, and antique atlas.  Though they are just material items, I couldn't help but feel a little bit sad knowing that there's no way we would have any of that stuff in England.  And there was no sense in buying any of those things once we arrived here.  When you know it could possibly only be one year of living here, and when money is tight, the need is just not there.

Slowly however, I've been finding ways to make our bedroom a little more "homey".  This little project I whipped up in no time, and spent very little money on, so that's why I'm sharing.  If you have a few bucks in your pocket and can draw a straight line, you can easily do this! 

Reflections & Shadows of Thetford Forest, England

Photography homework #2: Capture some interesting shots of reflections and shadows.

I am so glad we decided to head up to Thetford Forest Park last Sunday.  Not only did I find some beautiful spots to complete my homework, we were able to do a two hour hike through massively tall pine trees.  Nothing compares to the stillness we felt around us in this beautiful nature reserve.  As you scroll down through these photos, I hope you can find yourself in a place of stillness.  Take your time, and remember to take some deep breaths in.  Enjoy.

My Creative Pursuit Week One

                              

   

Well, one week down.  For the last seven days, I have completed an act of creativity each day.  I've added photos of each creative act below, along with a brief description.

I've decided for my first month to concentrate on drawing.  

Drawing has never been my strongest point, although I do enjoy it.  I can't remember the last time I sat down and purposefully drew something.  Aside from doodling while I'm on the phone, this is something I've never taken the time to do on my own time. It was while I was in college for Interior Design that I found I really enjoyed drawing by hand.  We spent a lot of time working on perspectives of interiors and were taught the fundamentals of drawing. I learned how to do quick sketches, how to render through shade and shadow, and how to add colour and detailing.  However, by my final year, everything was digital.  Though I learned how to create digital perspective drawings through computer programs like Autocad and Revit (which is really cool!), my pencil crayons and markers were packed away never to be taken out again.  I wish I could dig them back out, however since they are back in Canada, they are probably still gathering dust.  I luckily found a good deal on a brand new tin of pencils and a nice little sketchbook.  It excited me to bring my purchases home and get started!  Let the drawing commence!

Day 1: Cambridge Cycle Bridge

This drawing almost made me give up on my whole pursuit.  I drew this before I introduced my Creative Pursuit on the blog, so there was still time to abort the entire plan.  I thought "hmm... I could quit right here and now and no one would know...".  Needless to say, even though I was not particularly proud of my first drawing, I realized it's not about how good it is anyways.  I had made my decision to pursue creativity, and for once I really wanted to stick to it.  I realize I chose something with way to much detail for my first drawing.  After I had figured out all the lines and angles, I did not have the time or energy to put in anymore detail into the rest of the drawing (hence that sad looking house below the bridge).

Why did I draw this, anyways?

My Creative Pursuit

At one point in your life, whether you can recall it or not, you were most likely presented with a big box of crayons in front of you.  Next to the box of crayons, laid a wide open blank piece of paper, sprawled out in front of you.  You (yes you!) most likely took those crayons in your little fingers, and began fearlessly and confidently filling that blank space with colours, shapes, letters, lines, and whatever you pleased.  Whoever was with you, most likely praised you for diligently creating one brilliant masterpiece after another.  This kind of stuff was clearly encouraged as it was a stimulating activity for both your imagination and your fine motor skills.  You didn't care that someone could be watching you over your shoulder and you weren't worried that the end result would not be "good enough".  You let your imagination take you away.  You drew, painted, designed, built, and even sang and danced.

Let's fast forward a few years.  As you grew up, you realized that there were better drawers, painters, singers and dancers out there.  You began to look at things more analytically and realized that this just wasn't your thing.  You really weren't a creative after all.  You were encouraged to explore other areas of interest and pursue a different path in life.  Some of you might have gone the other way.  Your drawings, paintings, singing, and dancing may have excelled and you stuck out from the crowd.  Because of this, you were encouraged to keep going with this and maybe even took art classes. Unlike your classmates, you had an artistic talent that others would "ooh" and "aah" over.