Spring Break 2011
... and the WORST trip to IKEA EVER!!! :(

First of all, I want to thank all of you for the most wonderful comments and warm wishes regarding our MODKID HQ. We are thrilled about this new adventure and are working tirelessly to make it all come together. Of course, since not everything always works out how you'd expect it to, we signed the papers just days before we were supposed to leave for our Spring Break trip.... something we had planned a long time ago. We couldn't cancel it because reservations were made and other family members were meeting us there too, so that would've been just plain rude. Plus, the kids deserved a fun trip (Jon and I did too, but in all honesty, we just wanted to move into the office right away).

So, we packed our bags and headed to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, where it was all about fun in the sun — a far cry from the 30 degree weather we left behind...





On one particular day, the sun was out and the skies were clear but it was just a tad too cool to go in the water, so we took a nice walk on the beach and I took the opportunity to shoot some photos for a new pattern coming out in April (yes, folks... it's SNEAK PEEK TIME!) :)





Another day, we found out that Savannah, GA was just a short 35 minute drive from our resort so we decided to make a day of it. Jon and I had visited before on our 5th wedding anniversary, but we really wanted to go again with the kids and my parents.



A rare shot with me in it...



I just adore the architecture in Savannah. All that exposed brick and stone make my heart sing. The history and culture is palpable in every nook and cranny of this place.





Loved this dragon lamp post!



The kids loved it too... thank goodness!







Then, as I tweeted our location, a sweet tweep told me to check out Savannah Bee Company and boy, am I so glad she did! This place was AH-MAZING! Honey tasting, bath soaps and other products made with wax, a place for the kids to play and watch movies...it was just so cool!



And of course... bee and honeycomb imagery EVERYWHERE (you know I felt right at home!)





On our way back home we spent the night in Asheville, North Carolina, a town that Jon and I have been wanting to visit for quite some time now. It was everything we expected and more!

The night we arrived, we had dinner at a wonderful Thai restaurant with a relative I had never met before! This is Josephine, a cousin of mine from my paternal grandfather's side of the family.



The next morning as we drove through the picturesque Historic Biltmore Village in search for a place to eat, we accidentally ran into Waechter's Fine Fabrics. I immediately recognized the name because they appeared in an episode of "On the Road with Austin and Santino" in which I had spotted several of my MODKID patterns made up into store samples. What a treat!

Sydney looked out our car window and shouted... it's mama's fabric on the window! They had a wonderful display of knits right on the front window!



Inside, the place was a sewist's paradise!





We even got our picture taken with the owner, Joyce Yarling, holding one of their fine creations... a Sydney Hooded Dress made with dupioni silks, created for the Holiday issue of SEW WOW magazine (pages 109-110)



The nice ladies at Waechter's told us to eat at Books and Breadboard. What a lovely cafe! Wonderful service, food and presentation. (You know I'm a sucker for nice packaging!)





The rest of our day was spent galavanting through Asheville. We drove by the Biltmore Estates, visited the Grove Arcade and spent some quality time at a park across form the Courthouse.







Photo opps galore!



It was the perfect trip!

So here's the part where you feel sorry for me:

When we got back home, Jon and I headed to IKEA so we could get some things for the office. I had a specific list (on my iPhone notes app) and a budget in mind. We were so proud of ourselves for keeping to the budget while still staying true to our aesthetic. When, BAM! My iPhone4 gets stolen practically in front of our eyes! :( I say "practically" because I did walk away from it momentarily while I looked at a piece of furniture, but it was gone in a flash! As soon as I turned around and saw it was gone, I yelled over to Jon to call my phone. He did and the jerk actually answered it! Jon heard some muffled voices for a few seconds (like they had their hand covering the speaker and were trying to decide what to do) then they hung up. We called it like a thousand more times and never heard a response so they must've turned it off immediately. JERKS! I spent some quality time with IKEA security and visited the Lost & Found and few times, exchanging numbers just in case, but nothing.

And before you all start telling me about Find My iPhone and Mobile Me or any other tracking device, let me just say that I was stupid enough not to turn on the Find my iPhone setting on my lost phone so there's no way to track it. I also did not have it passcoded (yes, stupid, I know!) We have tried everything under the sun to find it, believe me! Of course, after we figured out it was a lost cause, we deactivated the service and changed all my passwords, etc. so at least the jerk can't get into my accounts or use the phone. They can still sell it in the Black Market but oh, well, what can I do? In the meantime, I'll be using this lovely replacement because I'll be damned if I'm gonna spend another $700 on a new iPhone just 2 months before the iPhone5 is released!



In case you're wondering, that ^^^ is my old iPhone 3GS that broke right before Spring Quilt Market, last year. And the year before that I had a broken booth. Hmmm... hope there's no correlation! I can make & receive calls with it but the screen is way too damaged to type on it so I can't email, tweet or text. :(

Anyway... that was my sob story! Now, make me feel better by voting for Flora & Fauna at the Modern Madness game over on FatQuarterly. I am so proud of my girl, F&F, for making it into the Sweet 16!!! :)

xoxo