9.04.2012

Impulse Buys and Rafting

When I got home from my trip to the States in May, Stephen had a little surprise for me. I am not sure if all guys are impulse buyers...but Stephen does have that tendency. He has reigned in his compulsion for random things, but it slips out from time to time. In a moment of weakness, or should I say brilliance, Stephen purchased a 2 person inflatable kayak from the local grocery store....yes, grocery store! 

I know what your thinking, "are you sure an inflatable boat that that comes in 15 pieces and that was bought from a grocery store can really act as a life saving device while rafting down a river?"  My thoughts exactly! I was a bit apprehensive, but thought why not....I mean it did cost 25.99! 

So the adventure began the night before as Kristy Spanjer and I inflated the boat with a tiny electric pump on our back balcony outside (sorry neighbors!). The next morning Stephen and I packed a lunch and finished the 15 part inflation sequence. We lowered our kayak over the balcony to our awaiting van (of course we used our handy-dandy extension cord to lower the boat...who needs rope when there is the threat of electrocution). 


To our delight (and the horrified expression of our landlord who informed us that many drownings occur in the Rhein River due to current changes) the Kayak was a "prefect fit" in our 9 passenger van! To make the whole experience even more fun and really test our boat we decided that Rob should drop us off at our put-in location. We strapped our boat to the back of his truck and only had to make one stop as it almost flew out and could have killed any amount of poor drivers behind us!


After our multi-test examination you can see our 25.99 inflatable kayak was quite an impulse buy. It floated like the best of them and was surprisingly comfortable.


We stopped about half-way down the trip on a rock island for a picnic and just enjoyed the beautiful summer day!


The total trip was about 3 hours floating down the river and was not so life threatening, thankfully.




If you come and visit us in the summer we will be sure to take you "rafting." We are experts in the field of inflatable kayaks now!

8.27.2012

Take you to Rio, Rio

I know the Olympics are over...but I read an interesting article by Design Week about the Rio 2016 logo that was recently introduced. It is the first time a 3D sculptor had been included in the branding. The article helps shed light on the process of creating the logo as well as the symbolism behind all of the elements: color scheme, shape, feeling..etc.

Picture taken from Design Week. 

Picture taken from Design Week.

SInce we are talking about Rio, I thought I would share a favorite animated movie soundtrack of mine...."Take you to Rio." Stephen and I watched the movie a while back and although the movie was not our favorite we liked this song!





8.20.2012

Happy Birthday!


Just wanted to say H A P P Y  B I R T H D A Y  to three of the best friends a girl could have. 



They have been there from the beginning when warm-up suites and scrunches were cool, 



 and when we lived in t-shirts and sweats.


They laugh at your jokes that to anyone else are not actually funny,



and endure your interesting fashion choices (....all in the name of JT!).


They go to questionable music concerts with you ("I love you Zach!")


and always come to your birthday parties!


They help you experience the best of moments 


and keep you grounded, reminding you of who you are.


They are willing to lend a hand


and you can always count on them to be there. 

Love you Christy, Hil, and Em: wish I could be there to celebrate your birthdays with you!

8.18.2012

Home.

Got to admit I heard this song on the Olympics broadcast of the girls gymnastics and liked it. To my surprise it was the last american idol winner....who knew!?! Here in Germany we are out of the loop, especially when our version is called: "Deutschland sucht den Superstar".....you know DSDS!

Anyways, hope you enjoy the song as much as me. It has helped my withdrawals from the end of the olympics! 



8.17.2012

MAGIC!

Just wanted to give you a little magic today in the form of a sitting ninja—we saw this guy in freiburg a while back and were mesmerized for a good 10 minutes. Can you figure out how he does it? 

Disclaimer: Don't feel bad if you a stumped...Stephen figured it out and I made him tell me the answer! 


7.27.2012

It's starting!!!!!!!

Just a reminder that the Olympics starts today!!!!!!!! Sorry I have been MIA lately, we have had a lot of visitors and random events. Back with pictures soon!

Here is a link to the schedule for each event and medal ceremonies.

The horrible logo....but I still love the Olympics!


Girls gymnastics starts on Saturday with the qualifiers and the team finals are on Tuesday!

Picture from US Gymnastics Website!
I hear William and Kate...."my friends"...will be their!

Picture from PopSugar website.
Hope you are rooting for the USA....even though we live in Germany we are decked out in red, white, and blue!

6.12.2012

Design Miami: Basel 2012



THE GLOBAL FORUM FOR DESIGN

Hall 5, Messe Basel, Switzerland
 June 11-17, 2012
 Maria Pergay/Demisch Demant Gallery (Picture from Design Miami Website) 

Gallery Seomi (Picture from Design Miami Website)

(Picture from Design Miami Website)


Hoping to talk Stephen into taking me to this...wish me luck!