Zion & Grand Canyon Adventure!

For me, hitting the one year anniversary mark with my boyfriend, Justin, is a big deal.  Not only have I never been with someone this long, (actually, he's my first and only boyfriend) but I feel like we've achieved something big here.  Something really good.  =]

So for our anniversary we decided to drive out to Zion National Park and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.  =D  Road trip!!  

Monday was spent driving, eating yummy snacks, listening to some great mix cd's Justin made, and chilling in our beautiful hotel!  I saw Friends for the first time and we ate at this delicious Pizza & Noodle Co. and explored all the shops and galleries in town.  

View from a delicious ice cream & candy shop in Springdale!

Tuesday was the best day I think.  We spent the day hiking the Emerald Pools trails and the Narrows.  For those of you who don't know what the Narrows is, please goggle it right now.  You HAVE to hike it at some point if you even kinda like hiking or nature or fun!  It's beautiful!  You walk up the Virgin River, (which was really chilly) and get pretty deep in the water sometimes while enjoying this winding mountain view.  It's stunning and a lot of fun!  We even went off the path a bit to take this cool picture together--which took some serious work getting up with it being slippery and have no hand or foot holds!  That night we relaxed and enjoyed our hotel and a nice dinner at this little saloon, where they served us our drinks in big mason jars.  I felt right at home!  =P  

She was right next to the trail!

 At the lower emerald pools and waterfalls.

 Mid pools--and a beautiful view of Zion.

This is one of the resting opportunities we took in the Narrows.  Definitely bring snacks and plenty of water!

Here is the monster rock that took some skill, (on Justin's part) and Justin pulling me up as I mentioned.  Awesome photo opportunity!

Wednesday was our day to wake up and drive down two hours to the North Rim.  Justin had never been before, so he was quite taken by the beautiful scenery on the way down.  =]  We arrived by mid morning and did some hiking and taking in of the views for a couple hours.  Eventually, and sadly, we had to drive back home that night.  We stopped in a little town called Hurricane for dinner and a nice sunset walk before making it back to the big city.

The lookout points are incredible here, but be warned: they're windy!

Just contemplating life, the cosmos, and other simple things.  =]

The trip together was everything I could have hoped it would be and more.  I imagined us having so much fun together, and we really did.  I cannot wait until next years trip!  =D  Maybe we'll drive up the Pacific Coast Highway to the Redwoods!  Let me know if you have any suggestions!  

San Diego Haul!

Hey guys!

I am back from San Diego and feeling refreshed!  Well, kind of.  I feel like I was spoiled for a couple days with the beautiful weather out there and now I cannot handle the 122 degree days!  Who decided this was a good city to live in!?  >.<

Anyways, whilst I was away in good 'ol California, I picked up some goodies for myself and I thought it would be a cool idea to show you all.  =]  I did pick up a couple of extra items that I'm not going to list here, but that is in case my boyfriend or best friend see this--I don't want to ruin their birthday gifts!  ;D

First up is actually the last thing I bought on my trip, but it's a cute opener.  It is hand-carved stone hippo made in Kenya.  I, of course, bought it at the Wild Animal Park, but what a cool conversation piece and decoration for my bookcase!

Next up is the first thing I bought: a beautiful red and navy blue anchor scarf.  I found this gem in a soap and beauty shop down in Seaport Village, and it just screamed Shelby!  Anything nautical is totally my thing!  I didn't have any scarves I could wear during spring/summer/fall that weren't heavy, so I thought this would be a good start to my collection.

This hat was one of the only items I actually was seeking out on my trip.  I have quite a round face and cannot wear hats very often, but this one was so cute and didn't make my basketball head look even more basketball head-ish!  Obviously, I had to nab it!  The old Hollywood feel it has to it made me feel pretty luxurious while out on the sea as well!

To follow through on this new found summery scarf love, I bought another light-weight scarf in an adorable bookshop, also in Seaport Village.  This is the most beautiful scarf I think I have ever seen and will be perfect as a table runner or as drapery over a mirror or just worn as a traditional scarf.  The old-fashioned carriages mixed with the darker colours give this a high end feel and will be great even through fall and winter.

Next up I bought myself a simple copper ring in this pretty leaf design.  An incredibly sweet man was selling his copper jewelry on a small stand right by the water in Seaport and I thought this ring would be great for everyday wear, regardless of my outfit.  I had no idea all the health benefits copper attributes to before talking with him and went back to the hotel to do some research of my own on the topic.  Turns out this was a healthy and cute purchase!

This faux leather jacket is the last "fashion" item I bought this weekend.  It was only $30 and was super cute!  I love that it isn't super heavy, which means I can wear it in the fall and winter here in this disgustingly hot desert.  =]  I added a navy diver pin to it that I picked up touring the U. S. S. Midway that completes my cool leather jacket look.  

Now onto some trinkets and things I picked up that don't have anything to do with fashion, but I thought were cute or cool items to bring home!  The first my dad actually got me on the U. S. S. Midway and it is so adorable!  It is a coffee mug with the famous kiss picture on it of the sailor coming home from WWII.  So excited to clean this up and use it before work!

This little guy is my absolute favourite thing I've bought in a long time!  His name is Bartholomew and I adopted him at the Wild Animal Park.  He is a gentle soul of a hippo and is so soft and squishy!  I'm not sure what's up with my little hippo kick, but who knew they are so cute!  

These are a little less soft and squishy and a little more weird and quirky.  My mom got these for me at the same bookshop I bought the carriage scarf at to "put them away for when I have my own kitchen with Justin" in her words.  =]  I've been learning to cook more, so these will definitely come in handy!

The last two things I picked up on my adventure were both books, not a surprise if you know me!  =]  I collect children's books and couldn't resist grabbing these two that I have never seen pass through my store.  Both look like fun ones, so I'll let you how they are or you can check my goodreads account out!  I'm at Shelby1879.  =]

That is it for my San Diego haul!  If you liked this post and would like to see more like it, then let me know!  I don't have loads and loads of money to throw around, so these definitely won't be a weekly or even monthly thing, but if you like them I will certainly keep that in mind!  Also, if you'd like to see any photos from my trip, you can check out my tumblr or if enough people request it, I'll do a blog post here!  =D

P.S. Happy July 4th everyone!  =D

Links

Youtube: youtube.com/user/Shelby1879

Tumblr: madasahattter.tumblr.com

Pinterest: pinterest.com/shelby1879

Instagram: instagram.com/shelby1879