A deserved break

My company has a fantastic perk. Work seven years and earn an 8 week sabbatical. 8 glorious weeks of paid vacation. Mine starts in two weeks!!! I can not wait. They have been working me to the bone for the last couple of months, this will be a welcomed break.

I plan to spend my time traveling and relaxing.

• Oregon, almost 2 weeks. I would have loved to spend an entire month back home, but other events (friend's wedding in Seattle and travel to London) defined my time at home. Time will be spent catching up with family and friends.
• London, for a week with one of my besties. My friend Jack and I have a little reunion once a year. Because we live in separate states, we meet up in a random city and explore it. (I still need to tell you about our time in Chicago.) We decided to kick things up a notch this year and go international. 
• Edinburgh, 2 days. It's not much, but since it's just a 4 hour train ride from London, I just can not pass up the opportunity to check things out.
• Paris, 5 days. I have been to Paris before, back in 2005 (seems like so long ago!). I have seen most of the major touristy things like the Louvre, Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower (from afar), walked along the Seine, Pantheon, and walked down Champs Elysee to check out the Arc de Triomphe. So my plan is to use Paris as a home base and make day trips out to Versailles, Givenchy (pronounced jee-von-shay), do a little shopping at the outlet mall, and just relax and live like a Parisianer. 

Instagram @hungc

When all the traveling is said and done, I hope to make a dent in my to-do list that includes:

• editing photos, like the one's from our honeymoon
• blogging on a set schedule
• cooking
• putting all the clothes in my closet to good use (aka, actually wear them)
• knocking down my sewing/mending pile

Of course I have a wish list of things I hope to accomplish:

• blog while traveling
• a little soul searching
• making an inventory of crafty things to sell. Many of you have told me that I should sell my crafts. What better time to then now? Let me know if you have any ideas on what I should name my shop.

10 days until vacation starts and 13 until the official start of sabbatical!

August 2012

Instagram: @hungc

1. Impromptu date night in Boston brought us to Brewer Fountain on Boston Common. I just HAD to get into the city to pick up a skirt that I saw on Wendy's Lookbook. Since I was there, might as well grab a bite to eat, right? (The red skirt was more maroon in person, so I grabbed it in beige-pink, I'm having mixed feelings about it.)
2. We spent some quality time with the family at a summer picnic. I thought dirt cake in "terracotta" cupcake molds (a christmas gift from Jake's aunt) would be the perfect outdoor treat for all. 
3. I FINALLY got my lazy bum to the bookstore to do some research on my upcoming trip to the U.K. 
4. My car finally decided to tell me why it has been sputtering on and off for the last couple months. As it turns out, the exhaust valve is either broken or needs to be cleaned out. No biggie, but I need to get that fixed so that I can pass inspection at the end of August. Oh wait...
5. I started working on my next sewing project: soft baby blocks. I have completed 3 of 6, and then realized that I should put a cat toy inside to make it more interesting. 
6. Can you spot the point of failure? Hint: this Asian is not good with chopsticks. We do not dine in Chinatown much. Part of it is because Chinatown is sketchy. And part of it is because I don't know who's who and what's what. But, when my townie-Chinese friends say, let's eat in Chinatown, I'm all over it. 
7. Randomness spotted at Dave and Buster's.
8. My car hit 161,616 miles! 12 years and counting.
9. Fabric for quilt number 2 purchased from the ubber talented Holly at Bijou Lovely. 
10. (not pictured) We celebrated our first wedding anniversary by stuffing our selves silly with food. OK, maybe that was just me.