Beagles on the Beach: Part III

**I’ll warn you ahead of time, this post includes a TON of pictures.

After we spent an entire day playing tourist in Cabo San Lucas, Mr. Beagle and I were more than ready to relax on a boat and indulge in some good food and drinks.  Finally, after waiting by the dock, it was time to board the huge catamaran that would take us to see the famous arches.

By the time we left the harbor, the sun was on it’s way down, and there was a very nice breeze to cool us off.  I still can’t get over how beautiful the water was.

 

I think I would love living in a condo lining this shore.



This tiny beach between the rocks known as “Lover’s Beach”.  If you look closely, you can see a few sailboats in the distance.

  

The rocks leading up to the main attraction were so amazing.  They looked so magnificent jutting out of the water.

 
The famous arch aka Arch of Poseidon aka Land’s End Arch.  It marks the point where the Pacific Ocean meets the Sea of Cortez.

  
Although they blend in, there are sea lions lounging on one of the rocks.  Can you spy them?

  
Please excuse the ridiculous amount of pictures that are to follow.  The scenery really was breathtaking and the sunset was stunning.  It was so, so hard just to choose a few shots to share with you :)

   

Lover’s beach, seen from the Pacific Ocean is supposedly called “Divorce Beach”.   I thought this was pretty silly, but we didn’t stop to find out. :D



A cave that I would have loved to explore and proof that Mr. Beagle was on the boat with me.

The best part of this short trip?   We were able to take in the amazing sunset in one direction….

  

   

      

..and see the moon rise in the opposite direction.

After this point, it got too dark to take any more pictures :(  So, we continued to gaze at the sunset, the moon; we ate, drank, danced (yes danced), and mingled with our fellow cruise-takers.  If you are thinking about going to Cabo any time soon, I really would recommend taking advantage of this tour.  Mr. Beagle and I agreed that it was highlight of our honeymoon.

Finally, our boat docked and we took a leisurely walk back to the mall we explored when we first arrived in the city.  Lucky for us, the This one was dedicated to Mother Teresa:">Dia de Los Muertos decorations were completely set up, candles were lit, and music was playing.  Each alter, which was dedicated to one or two people, was very elaborate in detail.

This one was dedicated to Mother Teresa & Pope John Paul II:

 

One for Michael Jackson:

   

These two were dedicated to Mexican actors:
 

 

The orange flowers used as decorations are Mexican marigolds, a traditional flower used to adorn the alters set up at cemeteries and graves on this holiday.  The flowers and candles were so beautiful at night.:

It may be a little creepy, but I love these figurines, called Catrinas.  They are prominent in Mexico, but they can also be found in various cities throughout Texas too (Austin included :D).



After a full day of touring Cabo San Lucas the day before, we somehow managed to wake up bright and early the next morning to go snorkling at a nearby beach called Santa Maria.  Several readers suggested we make this a priority during our vacation and they were absolutely right.  The water was so pretty and clear, as in you can see straight to the bottom while swimming clear!!! (I know, we get excited over the little things, but if you’ve ever swam in the Gulf of Mexico, I’m sure you understand where I’m coming from).

        

I could have stayed there all day, except 1) I’m pale and I was starting to burn and 2) by the time we were ready to leave, several boats were docking and the beach area was getting really crowded (GO EARLY, if you decide to visit this beach!)

We spent the rest of the day relaxing by the poolside until that evening, where we decided to take part in the Mexican Fiesta that was held at our hotel/condo.  Cheesy?  Yes.  Definitely.

 

     
Worth it?  Yes, and here’s why:

 
After we finished dinner, several different traditional dancers performed.  The Aztecs are shown below:

 
Unfortunately, Mr. Beagle and I got dragged on to the stage at some point after this, which would explain why I have no other pictures of the rest of the evening's entertainment.

Coming up next:  We explore San Jose del Cabo and our departure (insert sad face).

Miss Something?
Beagles on the Beach: Part I
Beagles on the Beach: Part II

Favor Food

For our wedding, it was super easy to decide on what we wanted to give away as favors.  I, for one, am a huge fan of all things sweet and knew it would be the perfect food item to send home with our guests.  (And you can read more about our choice here).

So when I came across this site today, via this blog, I knew I had to share it with y'all because I think it would make the perfect addition to any wedding (or shower, or party, or really any occasion at my house).  The idea?  Individual pies in canning jars!  I love, love, love this idea and if I wasn't already married, I might throw my original idea out the window, just so I could incorporate these instead!!!

They are completely customizable with flavors, so you can make a variety if you so choose.  Plus, who doesn't love canning jars?  Still need more reasons?  They're super easy to make.  Don't believe me?  You can find the tutorial here.  And if you wanted needed (we all know how little time brides have to DIY) to simplify even more, you could just use ready-made pie crusts and canned fruit fillings instead of making them from scratch. 

The best part?  You can make them ahead of time and freeze them!  Canning jars were meant to be easily
stacked and stored.

Once you're ready to serve them, just take them out of the freezer, pop them in the oven (canning jars are made to handle high temperatures- see the tutorial for details on this), and an hour later, voila they're done and ready to eat!

I know I would love to receive (or give) one of these as a gift!  Are you making edible favors?  If so, what'cha making?

A Wedding Isn't Always Sunshine and Unicorns

When I saw this post on A Practical Wedding today, I felt like someone knocked the air out of me.  Not only could I completely relate, but I wished someone would have discussed such a question on this topic while I was planning.  I'm always at odds on how much is too much to be shared on the internet, but I would like to share my experience if it will help someone out there.

My mom passed away four months before my wedding, and it was the saddest, most painful experiences I've gone through yet.  What made it worse, was that I was in the middle of planning what was supposed to be "the happiest day of my life."  I went through a mixture of emotions:  saddness (the most obvious), anger that my family was having to go through this after we had been through so much with her illness, guilt for not moving my wedding date up so she could be there, when she wanted to be there so badly, numbness when I couldn't feel any worse.  After all that, I really thought there was no way a wedding would suddenly clear everything away with one sweep and transform one day into a joyous occassion.
In the weeks leading up to our wedding my emotional well-being continued to decline.  I wept frequently- while I opened rsvps from people my mom was looking forward to seeing at the wedding, at the bridal shower she was supposed to attend, as I printed our programs-noting her name under "those who have gone before us".  In addition to the emotional drama I was going through, I had put off a number of key projects until the last minute (= little sleep) which amounted to me being a huge ball of stress on the day before our wedding.  At our rehearsal, there were several moments when I almost lost it- seeing my MIL wear pink in honor of my mom (her favorite color), when my dad gave me away "on behalf of" my mom, the strong feeling that there was something missing.
Finally, after the day arrived that I had both longed for and dreaded, and I was standing next to Mr. Beagle, my husband, all seemed right (or as right as it could have been) in my heart again.  Our loved ones surrounded us, my father was genuinely smiling a smile that I had not seen in a long while, and for one day, the cloudy sky broke open for a ray of sun to shine on us.  As Meg so elliquently wrote, "..I really believe that weddings are about hope..".  They really, really are.  In a way, I wonder if experiencing our wedding after my mom's death was life's way of letting us know that.  It was in no way as good as it would have been with her present, but it was the best day it could have been without her.

Life happens and it isn't always pretty.  Sometimes it's hard to see or believe that, when, like me (blogger/internet junkie), you're surrounded by gorgeous images from picture-perfect weddings.  Just know that you're not alone if you're going through something similar or have already been down that road.  On that note, I'll leave you with this quote Meg left on her blog:

"Every one of us is called upon, probably many times, to start a new life. A frightening diagnosis, a marriage, a move, the loss of a job... And onward full tilt we go, pitched and wrecked and absurdly resolute, driven in spite of everything to make good on a new shore. To be hopeful, to embrace one possibility after another - that is surely the basic instinct... Crying out: High tide! Time to move out into the glorious debris. Time to take this life for what it is." - Barbara Kingsolver, High Tide in Tucson

Beagles at the Beach: Part II

After we spent a full day relaxing by our pool and along the beach by our hotel, we were ready for a little more adventure in the next day of our trip.  We browsed through a few of the activities the hotel suggested and settled on a "Sunset Cruise" that departed from the marina in Cabo San Lucas later that evening.  To ensure that we were able to find departure point (and be there on time), we decided to go into the city early in the day to play "tourists".

Cabo San Lucas is about 30 minutes travel time from San Jose del Cabo (which is where we were staying).  Originally we were going to take a bus there (because it was a lot cheaper than taking a taxi and we did not rent a car), but while we were waiting at the bus stop, a local who had just dropped off his friends at the airport and was on his way back into the city offered us a ride.  Normally this is not something I would recommend, but we happened to come across the right person at the right time.  Our "driver" actually lived and worked in Texas for a while and we had a pleasant conversation with him to make the drive shorter.  After paying him what we would have been charged for the bus trip and tipping him (on a side note-in Mexico, tipping is expected for most services), we were dropped off by the huge mall that sits on the edge of Cabo's marina.

There was a really pretty waterfall in the center exterior of the mall.



As we exited the mall to head toward the marina, I noticed this:

Although I didn't stop for any coffee at Starbucks during our trip, I felt a little better knowing their caffinated beverages were within my reach. :)

The marina was packed tightly with boats of all sizes.

And pelicans were in abundance.  We saw a seal lion also, but only for a second (hence the lack of pictures).

After walking for about twenty minutes and taking in all the sights, we finally decided to stop at one of the many eateries along the water's edge for lunch- chips and salsa, followed by fish tacos.

I'm really not much of a "fish" person, but I tried my best to be open-minded on this trip because of the
selection and variety of fish that was available.

After lunch, we explored the remaining length of the walk around the marina.  There were interesting sights such as this large Dia de Los Muertos ("Day of the Dead") statue and a large display of Mexican fighting masks.

By the time we reached the end of the marina walkway, it was still early afternoon and it was hot.  We decided to make our way back to the mall and hide out in the cool air conditioning (and for me, shade) until our tour departure later that evening.

On the way back to the mall we saw this sign:  "Not For Sale"

This was pretty much the only hill near the marina that was not built on.  We found out later there was some activism geared toward preventing builds on it (a nerdy tid-bit, but I found it interesting).

Once we got back to the mall we found more Dia de Los Muertos statues.

One of the shops showcased a model of a tequila distillery.

After we soaked up some much needed AC and gave our feet a rest, we wandered to the upper floors of the mall.  They had a few really good look-out points to the marina.

I completely forgot to pack a shawl/sweater/cover up and hat for this trip.  Since my skin color is "pale and burns easily", we had to pick a few items up while we were in the city (or I would have turned into a tomato).  These items, along with my 70 spf sunscreen were my life savers and  I am happy to report that I came back home with zero sunburns :)

We also had a chance to preview the set-up of some of the Dia de Los Muertos decorations for a celebration later that evening.  I loved the all of the colorful decor.

Real flowers and food were used to decorate each of the shrines.

Up next:  A boat ride and arches!

Beagles at the Beach: Part I

Since I'm still sorting through and organizing our wedding pics (!!!), I decided to start recaps our honeymoon in the mean time.

We had originally considered postponing our honeymoon to sometime in 2010, but I am so glad we decided to go soon after the wedding (we left the following week).  We were in dire need of some rest and relaxation and it was nice to take a break from "real life", even if it was just for a week.

If you remember (or if you don't), Mr. Beagle's parents graciously gifted us the use of their timeshare in San Jose del Cabo (about 30 mins. away from Cabo San Lucas).  We left Austin on the Saturday after our wedding a.k.a. Halloween.  Arriving at the airport in San Jose del Cabo was very overwhelming for me.  As soon as we left the customs area, we were I was immediately bombarded by Timeshare salesmen trying to coax us into stopping to talk to them.  I assume this because they target Americans/non Spanish speakers/women... so after several confusing moments where I thought they were persons we needed to meet, I latched on to Mr. Beagle's arm and we walked quickly to the airport exit.  We were aware that salesmen were aggressive in the airport, but I had no idea they would be so pushy and persuasive!  Fortunately this was the only location where we encountered this behavior and once we exited the airport, it was relatively easy to find our prearranged transportation to our hotel.

I didn't take many pictures of our hotel/condo, but here's a shot I snagged from their website:

source

After we arrived to our temporary home, we settled in, ate some food at the onsite restauraunt, and crashed.  We were so exhausted from a day of traveling and time changes.

The next day we woke up bright and early to eat breakfast at the hotel restaurant.  We found out they serve a buffet every Sunday morning, which was soooo good.

We nommed on pancakes, fried potatos, migas, and beans.  The green mixture in the above picture tasted similar to enchiladas without meat.  They also served a variety of cereal and breads for those not wanting a buffet of Mexican food.  Mr. Beagle ate their menudo, which I decided to pass on.  The coffee in Mexico is made with cinnimon and is very sweet- Mr. Beagle enjoyed his, and I (who normally drinks coffee as black as can be) did not.  They also had a variety of agua frescas.  We tried the papaya which was not very good (or must be an acquired taste), but the orange was so delicious. 

After we could not stuff any more food in our faces eat any more, we spent the rest our Sunday relaxing at the pool (uh, happy hour starting at 2 anyone?), exploring the hotel and beach area, and researching some possible activities that were available.

Although we weren't able to swim in the beach by our hotel because of strong rip tides, it provided us with a gorgeous view.  The beach was not really a smooth sandy, beach, but it felt more like tiny bits of rocks. Walking barefoot is not recommended. :)

...Stay tuned for part II where we venture into Cabo San Lucas.

Last Minute Project: Cake Topper

I guess I should back up a second here.  Before I start talking about our cake topper, I should really discuss our cake first.  I wanted something simple, tiered, no fondant.... that was pretty much the extent of my criteria.  I have seen our baker's handy work at the wedding of a good friend that I attended:

So I knew that our baker would do a wonderful job no matter what I specified, but I really wanted to keep it simple.

-------------------------------------Now back to our original story-----------------------------------------

 
Once upon a time, long ago, when I first started reading Weddingbee, I fell in love with a certain Bee's wedding.  Actually, I really fell in love with her cake.  So, using her cake as inspiration, I found this really cute salt & pepper shaker set:

Look familiar?  They should.  I was so inspired by Mrs. Cookie's idea to use these as cake toppers that I high-tailed it over to my nearest Target to search for them (of course, I lucked out and found them). Remember her beautiful cake?

source

After I bought them, I put them away in my craft room and didn't look at or think about them much until about the month before the wedding. When I started doubting my decision to use them atop the cake.
So I went back to the drawing board to find an alternative cake topper.  I absolutely love this book and was immediately smitten with this picture:

I really liked the idea of using bird cake toppers and I thought fabric ones would go perfectly with our theme (if you could call it that).  Instead of using the pattern and materials shown in the book, I bought some felt and thread on one of my many trips to JoAnns and created my own pattern.  After cutting, tracing, stitching, and stuffing, I came up with this:

You can't really tell from the picture, but I added different shades of purple felt for tail feathers.  I used embroidery thread to make the stitches and I had some left over polyester stuffing to fill the inside of the bird.

The original plan was to make two of them, sew in some floral wire (16 gauge) into the bottom of each bird, and stick them in the top tier of our cake.  However, being the indecisive girl that I am, I changed my mind yet AGAIN and ended up going with something completely different.  But you'll have to wait for my recaps to see what it is :) ( I know, I know... the suspense!!)

Did you use a traditional bride and groom cake topper or did you use something a little out of the ordinary?

Last Minute Project: Bathroom Basket(s)

When I first saw our venue, I knew I wanted to include a cute basket full of goodies in the women's restroom.  Women are pretty easy to figure out as far as needs go:

I ended up finding some cute baskets on sale (for half off!) at JoAnns.  The cloth covering inside the basket was originally beige and of course I just had to dye it purple- I used Rit dye and followed the instructions on the back of the box.  To get the purple color shown, I mixed one part purple dye and one part black dye.  It looks lovely, I think.  I attached a small tag on one end that encouraged guests to use the items, neatly arranged all the items, and I was done (quick and easy).
As far as the goodies go, I included a few packages of gum, mouthwash, dental floss, hair ties, a tide pen (a serious life saver for me), tums, tampons, deodorant, ibuprofen, oil absorbing sheets, and hand sanitizer.  I also picked up two bottles of lotion at Bath & Body Works while it was on sale one day- Cherry Blossom (which I loooovve) & (I think) Sea Island Cotton.  At the end of the night, most of the products were used so it was a project that was totally worth it.

I really didn't think the men would enjoy such a basket in their restroom, so I left this instead:

Tums, ibuprofen, mouthwash and gum.... and three containers ($4 each at Target) of mints, lifesavers, and starbursts. This was a big hit among the men (seriously, I got so many comments about "the candy in the bathroom") and a good male alternative (IMO) to standard bathroom basket.
Overall, the project cost was around $50 (this includes the containers, 2 baskets (since I originally thought I would put one in each restroom and then changed my mind), two boxes of dye, and all of the medical/dental/beauty/food supplies).
Are you including any little "extras" for your guests at your reception?