tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81453176612476129872024-03-20T06:33:37.741-07:00Polygarble CreationsPolygarblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12737385253422636998noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145317661247612987.post-14668520771518358972015-09-06T13:50:00.001-07:002015-09-06T13:53:34.513-07:00A New Career Direction...Well it's been quite a while since I've posted, I've been rather busy of late!<br />
<br />
I have recently moved in a new career direction in the form of audiobook narration. I love reading and have recorded readings for YouTube but didn't think it would go any further than that...<br />
<br />
...Until my partner discovered <a href="https://www.acx.com/" target="_blank">ACX</a> and began narrating audiobooks himself. He suggested I give it a go so I set up my profile, uploaded a sample from my YouTube channel and started to audition.<br />
<br />
It was such a simple process I just fell headfirst into it.<br />
<br />
In August I recorded my first audiobook <a href="https://www.acx.com/titleview/A11OES34K1ZJ99" target="_blank">'Collection Of 8 Wonderful Bedtime Stories for Young Children'</a> by Renee Sandy.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuY268hKScKYg7BjIacP4q2Rbc1_6WsV7GPkdA4ghsBWj20IhCYmT_LMZONujPNfVJ9Gbikz6g2aW1NHNiUuNckThCfga0_0ekh17goppvVPbimopo95DYtirFzuWtte2TlWJby9UnyP0/s1600/8+childrens+stories+thumb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Collection of 8 Wonderful Bedtime Stories for Young Children" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuY268hKScKYg7BjIacP4q2Rbc1_6WsV7GPkdA4ghsBWj20IhCYmT_LMZONujPNfVJ9Gbikz6g2aW1NHNiUuNckThCfga0_0ekh17goppvVPbimopo95DYtirFzuWtte2TlWJby9UnyP0/s320/8+childrens+stories+thumb.jpg" title="Collection of 8 Wonderful Bedtime Stories for Young Children" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
It was a wonderful experience. I loved working with the author, dicussing accents and vocal style and thoroughly enjoyed producing the final audiobook!<br />
<br />
Since then it has snowballed quite a bit, I currently have two further solo audiobooks in production, one collaboration with audiobook narrator <a href="https://www.acx.com/narrator?p=A26CJWWKRIR7XJ" target="_blank">Ian Gordon</a> and have auditioned for several others.<br />
<br />
I'm really loving it and hope it continues to grow.<br />
<br />
Check out <a href="https://www.acx.com/narrator?p=AYCNDD0ZHRKXN" target="_blank">my profile</a> and listen to my samples!<br />
<br />
I'm also giving away 25 free downloads to my audiobook 'Collection Of 8 Wonderful Bedtime Stories for Young Children' on my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Polygarble" target="_blank">Facebook</a> page, pop on over to win a free download.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/OnayTES12xw/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OnayTES12xw?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/en/blog/6408401" title="Follow Polygarble on Bloglovin"><img alt="Follow on Bloglovin" border="0" src="http://www.bloglovin.com/widget/bilder/en/widget.gif?id=6408401" /></a>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/Polygarble" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy0zltsWVIzhSZEEBQaor-M1eniKx8YtEBF1jC60bov_T1VJ1ZUvAsvFdj0BW6JvtW5wVM1WUnBhOFiBVl9Pj7tcB4T8BGpQVnH6bvh_-Fs48bNqPX-BMJMHUt7bVnszpXVie7AIs_0CE/s320/Facebook.png" /></a>
<a href="https://twitter.com/polygarble" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj01cmLKoBPY7eYXWbmp_HIe86eFpHbw0gHjpVQ3sF5KVyasUpZuzeV3PugN4cOxTt4bm_njRzhQ2mAqLGk_zkFCpWMM_eVshyphenhyphenIeQhBPuS7RHl72JRj8Dt0iFZZ2pOg06jJAuXmKaOvK8/s320/Twitter.png" /></a></div>
Polygarblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12737385253422636998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145317661247612987.post-90352729563755386402014-10-27T09:57:00.003-07:002014-10-27T09:57:37.486-07:00My Tour of America Revisited and My Journey 'Home'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;">
<img alt="Sydney Harbour Bridge" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitccpXzJqAU6Rt4tLkU2VvzALan1NP4hN0rj4B5xxs5FZgzBr3PavAhepkMveLVsVHVQhZP3YTircvjiIVZRhHZalVUApwUx6YpZy5Ntrat55sGIWJI5t3EmLYBBc-pOzVNFkOxQXsyGI/s1600/wintryday+(16).jpg" height="420" title="Sydney Harbour Bridge" width="640" /></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Back in the UK now after 12 months working and travelling in Australia. </span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I had a fantastic time and learned a lot about myself but I'm glad to be back in the UK (for now) settled and working on a multitude of new projects including music and writing. </span></div>
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEholkoQt4_nWCssrmL6jrDl3VtnZ14PN1rUt-jnrj8Xv784E2VI4-Swf6iRaBy49pDYstD2nyxIpj0DQ_Ifb-E7yb7dtSdGuL-na4adotd_HZul0GTaszzLnVd50JVeWCROcJtvVVFJOok/s1600/wintryday+(13).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Sydney in Winter" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEholkoQt4_nWCssrmL6jrDl3VtnZ14PN1rUt-jnrj8Xv784E2VI4-Swf6iRaBy49pDYstD2nyxIpj0DQ_Ifb-E7yb7dtSdGuL-na4adotd_HZul0GTaszzLnVd50JVeWCROcJtvVVFJOok/s1600/wintryday+(13).jpg" height="131" title="Sydney in Winter" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkJj78vB9Xpr47LJluvQVoQV3v4pBH6RoSH1bwjsj3HOmxANeyLpRjaXWss9IFwQQP-VJKN3TLCHK1RBpAYe9SIVp4uGHjCxPT9hS1D3346FtkkDd_VRlkXnUpQzOxCRTAUPh6zAlH7mE/s1600/wintryday+(11).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Sydney in Winter" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkJj78vB9Xpr47LJluvQVoQV3v4pBH6RoSH1bwjsj3HOmxANeyLpRjaXWss9IFwQQP-VJKN3TLCHK1RBpAYe9SIVp4uGHjCxPT9hS1D3346FtkkDd_VRlkXnUpQzOxCRTAUPh6zAlH7mE/s1600/wintryday+(11).jpg" height="131" title="Sydney in Winter" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkJj78vB9Xpr47LJluvQVoQV3v4pBH6RoSH1bwjsj3HOmxANeyLpRjaXWss9IFwQQP-VJKN3TLCHK1RBpAYe9SIVp4uGHjCxPT9hS1D3346FtkkDd_VRlkXnUpQzOxCRTAUPh6zAlH7mE/s1600/wintryday+(11).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Once I'd made the decision to head back to the UK I knew there was only one way I could go - through the USA. After my tour of the west coast in 2013 I was hooked.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This time my partner and I decided we weren't going to do things by halves: we would fly into San Francisco, drive across the states and fly out of New York. A little ambitious but it was so worth it! Simply put, this was the most amazing experience of my life so far! </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I've decided to revisit the <i>My Tour of America</i> posts and write about my extended trip across the 27 States I managed to pop into on my way back 'home'.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">To get a general idea of the grandeur of the trip, here's a rough map of the route my partner and I took:</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="450" src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m77!1m12!1m3!1d26338979.416972224!2d-113.25461443222686!3d36.307275931675115!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!4m62!1i0!3e0!4m5!1s0x80859a6d00690021%3A0x4a501367f076adff!2sSan+Francisco%2C+CA%2C+USA!3m2!1d37.7749295!2d-122.4194155!4m5!1s0x87356bc602c3eb2d%3A0x6be9d8fbbeac6d06!2sBryce+Canyon+National+Park!3m2!1d37.593038!2d-112.18709!4m5!1s0x87220addd309837b%3A0xc0d3f8ceb8d9f6fd!2sAlbuquerque%2C+NM%2C+USA!3m2!1d35.110703!2d-106.609991!4m5!1s0x865c58af04d00eaf%3A0x856e13b10a016bc!2sSan+Antonio%2C+TX%2C+USA!3m2!1d29.4241219!2d-98.49362819999999!4m5!1s0x8620a454b2118265%3A0xdb065be85e22d3b4!2sNew+Orleans%2C+LA%2C+USA!3m2!1d29.9510658!2d-90.0715323!4m5!1s0x885e986b88fb1815%3A0x3c926fc1a7752461!2sGreat+Smoky+Mountains+National+Park!3m2!1d35.611931!2d-83.549657!4m5!1s0x89b7c6de5af6e45b%3A0xc2524522d4885d2a!2sWashington%2C+DC%2C+USA!3m2!1d38.9071923!2d-77.0368707!4m5!1s0x89c6b7d8d4b54beb%3A0x89f514d88c3e58c1!2sPhiladelphia%2C+PA%2C+USA!3m2!1d39.952335!2d-75.163789!4m5!1s0x89c24fa5d33f083b%3A0xc80b8f06e177fe62!2sNew+York%2C+NY%2C+USA!3m2!1d40.712783699999996!2d-74.0059413!4m5!1s0x4cb01dde1d538ad5%3A0xd679cc6f6720a8d0!2sMaine%2C+USA!3m2!1d45.253783!2d-69.4454689!5e0!3m2!1sen!2suk!4v1414012335661" style="border: 0;" width="600"></iframe>Polygarblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12737385253422636998noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145317661247612987.post-33041444620023378642014-06-23T04:19:00.002-07:002014-07-26T21:06:41.987-07:00Jaffa Cake Cupcakes<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I'm rapidly approaching my 30th birthday and, as a celebration, am hosting a small tea party. It's a 'bring your own' where everybody contributes to the food or drink (mainly to keeps costs down).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Among my contribution will be these delicious Jaffa Cake style cupcakes. For me they are the perfect desert, the cake is light and fluffy, the chocolate is crisp and the orange center is sweet and tangy. Yum!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Ingredients:</b></span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhPFwOmnhhmTnBouutD2TDdfq42AjnpaU4y2YZMlZHwE_BUOGVbjCl0XtWPT7RecVtiwho2JUuiG3iHjvNNPjMOdP_PYB30yEScKdyGXWSu7qawODyrPcJqxLO9BoWy1SgnaIfEi4uhNs/s1600/edit_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhPFwOmnhhmTnBouutD2TDdfq42AjnpaU4y2YZMlZHwE_BUOGVbjCl0XtWPT7RecVtiwho2JUuiG3iHjvNNPjMOdP_PYB30yEScKdyGXWSu7qawODyrPcJqxLO9BoWy1SgnaIfEi4uhNs/s1600/edit_1.jpg" height="195" width="320" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Margarine or softened butter (I prefer Stork or Flora)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Self raising flour (sifted)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Caster sugar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2 Eggs</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Zest of 1 orange (plus 1 tablespoon of the juice if you like)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Thick shred marmalade</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Your preferred choice of chocolate</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Pre-heat your oven to <span style="background-color: white;">200°C fan/180°C/gas mark 6</span></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Recipe:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The first part of this recipe is a basic fairy cake/cupcake recipe. Simple yet delicious, so light and fluffy. My grandma taught me this recipe and I've used it for the past 20 years.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Beat the sugar and margarine (or butter) in a bowl until creamy, you can use an electric whisk (which is much easier) but i prefer to beat by hand. Whisk the eggs into the mixture.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Little by little gently fold in the flour using a metal spoon, its important to fold the flour as it keeps the mixture light and airy.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Add the orange zest and a tablespoon of the juice if you like, don't add too much or the mixture will be too wet.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Spoon the mixture into cupcake cases (I like mine bigger so I use muffin cases).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Bake in preheated oven for <span style="background-color: white;">15-20 minutes until the cakes have risen and are golden brown</span>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Place on a wire rack to cool.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Now for the fun part...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Once cool cut a small circle out of the top, add a teaspoon of thick shred marmalade (you can use thin shred or shredless if preferred) then replace the top.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh33uGfKagk9n3ND50W0gF95k0s9with1LiuP8w3h4-zYknCmC1VQKNfXtgGadvXhXIs-sMRzKI5Jr2CJWCDhHqwFfeRmSLYz5txBkVFsQjwTEfVPTzsFVnW809bK2yRr3ozi-O5LdTEDs/s1600/edit_15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh33uGfKagk9n3ND50W0gF95k0s9with1LiuP8w3h4-zYknCmC1VQKNfXtgGadvXhXIs-sMRzKI5Jr2CJWCDhHqwFfeRmSLYz5txBkVFsQjwTEfVPTzsFVnW809bK2yRr3ozi-O5LdTEDs/s1600/edit_15.jpg" height="131" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDkdyqNzEZLQ1fUS5O7Zfm1DpBPBtY_ol_wacCvadkPi7BgXjrhLTmHlPdDLBcLnRXtYiRtyYb5KX1beYWNIN0S101WV5VNq-hsqkWjfA1s6zRfy3AUX5yg8WUqJQV_ZoJltyaDnINPoM/s1600/edit_17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDkdyqNzEZLQ1fUS5O7Zfm1DpBPBtY_ol_wacCvadkPi7BgXjrhLTmHlPdDLBcLnRXtYiRtyYb5KX1beYWNIN0S101WV5VNq-hsqkWjfA1s6zRfy3AUX5yg8WUqJQV_ZoJltyaDnINPoM/s1600/edit_17.jpg" height="131" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Melt the chocolate either in the microwave (in short bursts being very careful not to burn it) or using a <a href="http://polygarble.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/mars-bar-cornflake-cakes.html" target="_blank">Bain-Marie</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Spoon the chocolate onto the top of the cakes until they are completely covered. Then place them in the fridge to cool and harden.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWbIYivhAaB4TnmOQQCZ4PCRgrmUYnXd3AQ8m0HYPQHk1TmO1U0QcgGkiuhVzHYLaTic0dLVFfeoExzPkyg8GzxtiLQcFRYuHcRLjknEtf9G7ks4bTnLgYkavMjhIzt2d-HawR6HW4n18/s1600/edit_19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Jaffa Cake Cupcakes" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWbIYivhAaB4TnmOQQCZ4PCRgrmUYnXd3AQ8m0HYPQHk1TmO1U0QcgGkiuhVzHYLaTic0dLVFfeoExzPkyg8GzxtiLQcFRYuHcRLjknEtf9G7ks4bTnLgYkavMjhIzt2d-HawR6HW4n18/s1600/edit_19.jpg" height="131" title="Jaffa Cake Cupcakes" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUnzMqSiJcj0QxPyCorm4T7v4dm7o0MHSihTEhu03dIioNA2WkwJTmEkvWljacXFuk7VMwFIfwcBIec5hBn_9zl2DHEp2wFud7kYdWK98M7BpcGPO8DeWjUiSDlX3VWOeZHbrdTzE2ua8/s1600/edit_22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Jaffa Cake Cupcakes" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUnzMqSiJcj0QxPyCorm4T7v4dm7o0MHSihTEhu03dIioNA2WkwJTmEkvWljacXFuk7VMwFIfwcBIec5hBn_9zl2DHEp2wFud7kYdWK98M7BpcGPO8DeWjUiSDlX3VWOeZHbrdTzE2ua8/s1600/edit_22.jpg" height="131" title="Jaffa Cake Cupcakes" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg0vE2R-N-8VC1Aqwj_JdR6N_eBjOCI_gObAdCXxaGD1d4f6sUrou_hE99_f0MqGfJ2wB3xbHAu5Xf0xTl5s9wrOHuUibM00ua7Knbh9fr1JyOjKwHcIPBStJFCZoH8AcuyGhDsNIXadc/s1600/edit_30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Jaffa Cake Cupcakes" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg0vE2R-N-8VC1Aqwj_JdR6N_eBjOCI_gObAdCXxaGD1d4f6sUrou_hE99_f0MqGfJ2wB3xbHAu5Xf0xTl5s9wrOHuUibM00ua7Knbh9fr1JyOjKwHcIPBStJFCZoH8AcuyGhDsNIXadc/s1600/edit_30.jpg" height="190" title="Jaffa Cake Cupcakes" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As an alternative you can cut the top and add the marmalade while the cakes are still warm and serve with warm melted chocolate, I did this and they were delicious!</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxoxCXXJaAqvN5TexD0XBfhae_NiddWQLhohVDhuy29k4d5z5jf5JB3tadUIAw-muAS2BtwIoaWEdZHu_az61bbNwzODoLV0eLVIkSIxeUhlENRJiHlDhiDBAcwqY2RUwZrMMRx80x9xk/s1600/edit_12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Jaffa Cake Cupcakes" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxoxCXXJaAqvN5TexD0XBfhae_NiddWQLhohVDhuy29k4d5z5jf5JB3tadUIAw-muAS2BtwIoaWEdZHu_az61bbNwzODoLV0eLVIkSIxeUhlENRJiHlDhiDBAcwqY2RUwZrMMRx80x9xk/s1600/edit_12.jpg" height="211" title="Jaffa Cake Cupcakes" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you like this recipe, why not visit my '<a href="http://polygarble.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Sweet%20Treats" target="_blank">Sweet Treats</a>' page for more yummy treats!</i> </div>
<br />Polygarblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12737385253422636998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145317661247612987.post-58681624433407104582014-05-31T19:41:00.000-07:002014-06-05T20:45:20.756-07:00One Vivid Night in SydneyIt's been a while since I've talked about my time in Australia and I think I'm almost ready to discuss my next adventure.<br />
<br />
But before I do...<br />
<br />
Sydney has so much to offer, there's always something happening. Writers festivals, food and drink festivals, fashion shows, fireworks displays just for the fun of it. You really get caught up in the magic of this vibrant city.<br />
<br />
The current offering is a spectacular display of light, music and ideas all put together to form Vivid Sydney, a plethora of light shows and installations throughout the city.<br />
<br />
Highlights of Vivid Sydney 2014 are Martin Place, Customs House, Darling Harbour's fabulous light show (every hour on the hour) and of course the world famous Sydney Opera House which displays a stunning timeline of the development of architecture, civilisation and technology.<br />
<br />
My partner and I spent a whole evening wandering around this amazing event; taking photos, shooting footage. We've then edited the whole thing into a nice little video with one of our Chasing Ourselves songs over the top.<br />
<br />
Here's the link to our experience of Vivid Sydney 2014...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/gm6bi2lHCF8?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<br />
And here are just a few of the shots I took using my Nikon D5100 with an 18-200mm lens.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnm06aNBArXXpOGICUJ9T8K1-un26WteBiFl5jNtboYwk2XK9oYh1ctSl0pP9d9CGtaSMZsGtpj9dhR3jmJ119FQ8gq332T7g9giqadxciRalOYA3t2ZcAIIyxWYGyEc_o8ytfxkzR_lU/s1600/edit_3.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img alt="Opera House Vivid Sydney 2014" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnm06aNBArXXpOGICUJ9T8K1-un26WteBiFl5jNtboYwk2XK9oYh1ctSl0pP9d9CGtaSMZsGtpj9dhR3jmJ119FQ8gq332T7g9giqadxciRalOYA3t2ZcAIIyxWYGyEc_o8ytfxkzR_lU/s1600/edit_3.jpg" height="262" title="Opera House Vivid Sydney 2014" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho7Wavf25e86k-w-jZqNrSMW1YhqHlYQwRDEuLhKuzM3M9xf0iXSS_nktb5aDQ0dvcXgcoX9TtEjZED2zuC1fHEAOT8vs-J72LYvA2HueywW13IXXlRcAVTPsnqjAtsDW-KgdtaOi2ZqU/s1600/edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Opera House Vivid Sydney 2014" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho7Wavf25e86k-w-jZqNrSMW1YhqHlYQwRDEuLhKuzM3M9xf0iXSS_nktb5aDQ0dvcXgcoX9TtEjZED2zuC1fHEAOT8vs-J72LYvA2HueywW13IXXlRcAVTPsnqjAtsDW-KgdtaOi2ZqU/s1600/edit.jpg" height="211" title="Opera House Vivid Sydney 2014" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir_d0Sb8qbK7NMyZYrrrIbeaaOg6XDZwDf7-xQTPyBmYFb6k7DNTGJ2Q5mw2Gatp-QL7IFfRDN-mox6-4D2eCfSxGmuxNfk-PILg_RIvZ7iAy8usBTjEKJ0JjJ2XTU2P2In_YwndWE6X4/s1600/edit_4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Opera House Vivid Sydney 2014" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir_d0Sb8qbK7NMyZYrrrIbeaaOg6XDZwDf7-xQTPyBmYFb6k7DNTGJ2Q5mw2Gatp-QL7IFfRDN-mox6-4D2eCfSxGmuxNfk-PILg_RIvZ7iAy8usBTjEKJ0JjJ2XTU2P2In_YwndWE6X4/s1600/edit_4.jpg" height="211" title="Opera House Vivid Sydney 2014" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
For more information on this years Vivid Sydney visit their website <a href="http://www.vividsydney.com/events/lighting-of-the-sails" target="_blank">here</a> or follow them on twitter <complete id="goog_1069768457"><a href="https://twitter.com/VividSydney" target="_blank">@VividSydney</a> for highlights and traffic updates.</complete><br />
<br />Polygarblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12737385253422636998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145317661247612987.post-62110225073694966492014-03-10T04:19:00.000-07:002014-03-13T02:02:23.308-07:00Traditional Golden Syrup Flapjack<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj77TyV5cRtAATkwcvqBKStMu8VFDVLqrc-MiGVFFISPGV9MGUXeq7AbUhcBPoxTxrkj127ZlQNprYpkmHAqZQSjrpaWvDlEVLdgR-KprvjM6kdV9mc3CS64Lv0b7jY_XT2AXzbVjhhuo0/s1600/edit_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="traditional golden syrup flapjack" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj77TyV5cRtAATkwcvqBKStMu8VFDVLqrc-MiGVFFISPGV9MGUXeq7AbUhcBPoxTxrkj127ZlQNprYpkmHAqZQSjrpaWvDlEVLdgR-KprvjM6kdV9mc3CS64Lv0b7jY_XT2AXzbVjhhuo0/s1600/edit_1.jpg" height="197" title="traditional golden syrup flapjack" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I always knew when mum had been making flapjack while I was at school, I'd come home to find the whole house smelling of syrup and butter... yummy.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The recipe for flapjack is so simple I truly believe anyone can make it. Just follow the easy steps below and you can't go wrong...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Ingredients:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">350g rolled oats</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">175g unsalted butter</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">175g brown sugar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">175g golden syrup</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A handful of raisins (not traditionally included in flapjack but I love them)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Recipe:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Preheat your oven to 180 degrees and line a baking tray with grease proof paper.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Melt the butter in a pan on a low to medium heat, be really careful not to burn the butter.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As soon as it's melted, remove from the heat, add the sugar and syrup and mix well.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Add the oats and raisins to the butter/syrup mixture and mix until completely covered.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Spoon the mixture into a baking tray and flatten with the back of a wooden spoon or spatula.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now pop it in the pre-heated oven and bake for 25 mins.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Remove the tin from the oven, don't worry if the flapjack looks too soft and sticky, it will harden once cooled</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Score the flapjack into squares - this will make it easier to cut once cool.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once cool cut into the marked squares and store in an air-tight container, or eat. I know which I'd rather do!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYn6ppsN7Su7c2ZJnbuhHJdc75I0ORfbrVcg-whrm0fmQTtt3zZDeGilUKwyqkIxpJ3orl4Yw3DkMMDVKIFIAQz-I37OEminPklPA5WndRnHKKS28xsreInLtaQdbImb7cmuZw7OYA52M/s1600/edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="traditional golden syrup flapjack" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYn6ppsN7Su7c2ZJnbuhHJdc75I0ORfbrVcg-whrm0fmQTtt3zZDeGilUKwyqkIxpJ3orl4Yw3DkMMDVKIFIAQz-I37OEminPklPA5WndRnHKKS28xsreInLtaQdbImb7cmuZw7OYA52M/s1600/edit.jpg" height="211" title="traditional golden syrup flapjack" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>If you like this recipe, why not check out the 'Sweet Treats' tab at the top of the page for more yummy treats!</i></span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/en/blog/6408401" title="Follow Polygarble on Bloglovin"><img alt="Follow on Bloglovin" border="0" src="http://www.bloglovin.com/widget/bilder/en/widget.gif?id=6408401" /></a>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/Polygarble" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy0zltsWVIzhSZEEBQaor-M1eniKx8YtEBF1jC60bov_T1VJ1ZUvAsvFdj0BW6JvtW5wVM1WUnBhOFiBVl9Pj7tcB4T8BGpQVnH6bvh_-Fs48bNqPX-BMJMHUt7bVnszpXVie7AIs_0CE/s320/Facebook.png" /></a>
<a href="https://twitter.com/polygarble" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj01cmLKoBPY7eYXWbmp_HIe86eFpHbw0gHjpVQ3sF5KVyasUpZuzeV3PugN4cOxTt4bm_njRzhQ2mAqLGk_zkFCpWMM_eVshyphenhyphenIeQhBPuS7RHl72JRj8Dt0iFZZ2pOg06jJAuXmKaOvK8/s320/Twitter.png" /></a></div>
Polygarblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12737385253422636998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145317661247612987.post-52237042408277973082013-11-30T22:41:00.003-08:002014-06-23T04:20:18.151-07:00Chocolate Tiffin Recipe (no bake)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqC840GVAjM6_nyPu0SxoplGlwy5XgaLkVDTu43H4cOnx5Ch8a1U1UtS-Em9lkzAVnNYvgUmJYjD-moQLCF1Io6M9b5N4hAh3htHlOs2dHB9PoeCpIYqzkQUbAQUcWYwurIBdQQLijbgk/s1600/tiffin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Chocolate Tiffin" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqC840GVAjM6_nyPu0SxoplGlwy5XgaLkVDTu43H4cOnx5Ch8a1U1UtS-Em9lkzAVnNYvgUmJYjD-moQLCF1Io6M9b5N4hAh3htHlOs2dHB9PoeCpIYqzkQUbAQUcWYwurIBdQQLijbgk/s320/tiffin.jpg" height="245" title="Chocolate Tiffin" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I first discovered chocolate tiffin at a Costa Coffee cafe in the UK and fell in love with it instantly. I've made this a few times and think I've finally found the perfect balance of ingredients.</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This recipe serves around 10 depending on how big you cut the squares (the bigger the better in my opinion).</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's really simple and requires no baking, just a cook-top and a fridge (or log fire and cold box if you happen to be camping).</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ingredients:</span></b></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">125g butter (or hard margarine) cut into small chunks</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3 heap tbsp cocoa powder</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3 heap tbsp golden syrup (I like to add an extra squeeze for good luck)</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 tbsp caster sugar</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">200g broken digestive biscuits (ideally you want mainly small chunks with some crumbs)</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 handfuls sultanas or raisins</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">200g of your favourite</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> chocolate for topping</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You'll also need; a saucepan, small-medium size baking tray lined with either grease-proof paper or cling film and a medium size bowl.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Recipe:</span></b></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Melt the butter, syrup, sugar and cocoa powder over a low-medium heat, stirring regularly until smooth, taking care not to burn the mixture.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once smooth, remove from the heat, add broken biscuits and sultanas (or raisins) and mix until the biscuits are well covered.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Spoon the mixture into your lined baking tray and press down to flatten, you can make the tiffin as thick as you like, it doesn't have to fill the tin completely.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Allow the mixture to cool a little now while you melt your chocolate, you can either do this in a microwave (spurts of 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between to ensure the chocolate doesn't burn) or over a bain-marie<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">as shown in my </span><a href="http://polygarble.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/mars-bar-cornflake-cakes.html" target="_blank">Mars Bar Cornflake Cake</a> recipe.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now simply pour the melted chocolate over the mixture and pop it in the fridge for 1-2 hours. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then cut the tiffin into chunks and eat!</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOhNTYMMlwl3E0oArHbDPNVXS6UqUXLLj79Tzpu0b_RGFFrzWJL6bBq1P16znJLryvMCjTo4DP3MT4Ypv8TQj73Vod6f6McbNx8vrc6E5dLG4jTBWU7T34D21FYK584BsKWWj3hKmMPqc/s1600/tiffin2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Chocolate Tiffin" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOhNTYMMlwl3E0oArHbDPNVXS6UqUXLLj79Tzpu0b_RGFFrzWJL6bBq1P16znJLryvMCjTo4DP3MT4Ypv8TQj73Vod6f6McbNx8vrc6E5dLG4jTBWU7T34D21FYK584BsKWWj3hKmMPqc/s400/tiffin2.jpg" height="282" title="Chocolate Tiffin" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This photo is a last minute addition - I've just had a piece and yep... Best recipe yet! Delicious!</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHTH8XHzn0YfQm4va3Do9fp5x7neTYRyEk5xsuB2jyOx2bXVXY_3uwU-jjI90j45YfQe6fttqvBKH1SBMPiokXlMQMqvz7xdEP4Q_BN87g7WGoZjxCOMuhEaiQZt3zuDyGQi6_nwEjjWo/s1600/tiffin3-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Chocolate Tiffin" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHTH8XHzn0YfQm4va3Do9fp5x7neTYRyEk5xsuB2jyOx2bXVXY_3uwU-jjI90j45YfQe6fttqvBKH1SBMPiokXlMQMqvz7xdEP4Q_BN87g7WGoZjxCOMuhEaiQZt3zuDyGQi6_nwEjjWo/s320/tiffin3-1.jpg" height="219" title="Chocolate Tiffin" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you like this recipe, why not check out my new recipe for <a href="http://polygarble.blogspot.com.au/2014/06/jaffa-cake-cupcakes.html" target="_blank">Jaffa Cake Cupcakes</a>!</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></i></div>
<br /></div>
Polygarblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12737385253422636998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145317661247612987.post-83584263830991734022013-11-20T01:33:00.000-08:002013-11-20T01:33:36.054-08:00Chicken Teriyaki: simple and delicious!<div style="text-align: center;">
The first meal I made in my mini kitchen (that wasn't soup from a can or cereal) was chicken teriyaki. It's so simple to make and absolutely delicious!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN97yH6ap3XU6ugGNnMQALC_NSHYQqvhGvPB8UzFIAHVWP0hR0tdPKRz-tifJOMO6T_XQKMHj7do3jq1t9A8PjFk49q96X9Jf0G5n2_Y9uqc8QpUX9P0eN2__22jJVoXXFP-Nc7u5Ijng/s1600/DSC_0002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN97yH6ap3XU6ugGNnMQALC_NSHYQqvhGvPB8UzFIAHVWP0hR0tdPKRz-tifJOMO6T_XQKMHj7do3jq1t9A8PjFk49q96X9Jf0G5n2_Y9uqc8QpUX9P0eN2__22jJVoXXFP-Nc7u5Ijng/s400/DSC_0002.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
The below recipe serves 2.<br />
<br />
<u><b>Ingredients</b></u><br />
1 large chicken breast<br />
2 Tbsp Vegetable oil<br />
One small onion cut into medium sized pieces<br />
1 Yellow pepper cut into medium sized pieces<br />
Handful of mushrooms<br />
Pinch of salt<br />
Pinch of pepper<br />
<br />
For the sauce:<br />
2 Tbsp sake<br />
4 Tbsp soy sauce<br />
4 Tbsp mirin<br />
4 Tbsp sugar<br />
grated ginger<br />
<br />
<br />
<u><b>Recipe</b></u><br />
Mix the sake, soy sauce, mirin, sugar and ginger in a bowl. Cut the chicken into strips or pieces and poke with a fork.<br />
Place the chicken in the sauce and mix well so the chicken is fully covered, marinade for 15-30 minutes (or longer if you have the time although it doesn't need much more than an hour).<br />
Once marinated, heat half the oil in a frying pan and place the chicken strips (or pieces) in the frying pan, fry until they begin to cook. Then pour the sauce into the frying pan and cook thoroughly on a medium to low heat.<br />
<br />
In a separate frying pan (or good saucepan - which is what I used) heat the remaining oil and add the onions. Once the onions have started to brown add the yellow pepper and mushrooms, the pinch of salt and pepper and fry for 3-4 minutes (until they begin to soften).<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
All that's left to do now is serve and enjoy!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
As stated above the recipe, follow these guidelines for 2 people, increase measurements accordingly.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
You could just as easily make this with pork or turkey depending on your preference and it's so versatile it can be served with rice, noodles, vegetables (like I did) or salad. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I really hope you enjoy this as much as I did!</div>
Polygarblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12737385253422636998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145317661247612987.post-14975555358545344372013-11-13T01:57:00.000-08:002013-11-13T03:49:44.379-08:00I'm back...<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well that lasted little over a month!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I decided, although I had other projects to work on, I couldn't abandon Polygarble, I missed her too much.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As you'll be aware (I rambled on about it enough) I've recently relocated to Australia, I'm currently living in a little studio apartment in the Sydney suburb of Potts Point. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's taken a while to settle in and has felt very much like an extended holiday up to now with lots of visits to restaurants and cafes and I have decided its about time I cooked for myself again (plus I'm swiftly running out of money).</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm a great believer that you can cook a really tasty meal in whatever kitchen you have available to you. In my mini kitchen I currently have an electric cooktop (2 burner) and a microwave oven.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Over the coming months I'll be experimenting with a variety of recipes, which I'll share with you, these may be particularly useful for (but are definitely not limited to) travellers and holidaymakers staying in self catering apartments, short stay hostels and those using camping equipment. They'll be tasty but super simple so wont be time consuming. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I hope I can inspire you to whip up a storm in your mini kitchen.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />Polygarblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12737385253422636998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145317661247612987.post-38063732321564568212013-10-11T01:46:00.003-07:002013-10-11T01:46:34.657-07:00Farewell For Now...<div style="text-align: center;">
I've been a little 'off the radar' recently with my relocation to Australia.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I'll be putting Polygarble on hold for the foreseeable future while I concentrate on my work with Chasing Ourselves. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
We are taking our music, film and photography on the road and have created a Chasing Ourselves blog which I hope you'll have a peek at. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://chasingourselves.wordpress.com/">http://chasingourselves.wordpress.com/</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
This isn't goodbye, I'll be writing for Polygarble again and will keep you posted through my facebook, twitter and google+ pages when I do.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
So with a few photo's of my Polygarble life, I bid you farewell... For now!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9XDY1CH5NdaW-wGLsJLFY87lmA6o-KbVCCMZZC_-1QGsU6bXvmkVetCx-tQsN_BMJGGm6hZJp-Ve2wUlb-iHIkJ0tWjK7B2URYBbqzX9A90IUMFPUcgEU0RORWCudLP5FOQcKEIR5Moc/s1600/DSC_0206+-1-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9XDY1CH5NdaW-wGLsJLFY87lmA6o-KbVCCMZZC_-1QGsU6bXvmkVetCx-tQsN_BMJGGm6hZJp-Ve2wUlb-iHIkJ0tWjK7B2URYBbqzX9A90IUMFPUcgEU0RORWCudLP5FOQcKEIR5Moc/s640/DSC_0206+-1-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB46_aYaOszEovjDfe74yn77sVUesjW5MvMHw15_a4yTKEBfhSmlK6Vfr6zd6ybsamrA_1R4TLuqE1dhom0nAEoc-PXwDNFhpP5jBUDxguM_uT5E9xNre9F3w17IqAwU50UnZkYFzhbvk/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB46_aYaOszEovjDfe74yn77sVUesjW5MvMHw15_a4yTKEBfhSmlK6Vfr6zd6ybsamrA_1R4TLuqE1dhom0nAEoc-PXwDNFhpP5jBUDxguM_uT5E9xNre9F3w17IqAwU50UnZkYFzhbvk/s320/photo.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7QYqtkplC9pwXf8VfFIyDNZkXBDneT3PonkulCqaTAoX0Y1izH0VJ0FtOat4EZNiFy8GXh7j2B7AxD6RSsmW5G2vzCTJgGAHUEiYMtYPdylfxKDYhagunBCHL8RXTnhIHW1sTWRz1khI/s1600/photo+%25284%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7QYqtkplC9pwXf8VfFIyDNZkXBDneT3PonkulCqaTAoX0Y1izH0VJ0FtOat4EZNiFy8GXh7j2B7AxD6RSsmW5G2vzCTJgGAHUEiYMtYPdylfxKDYhagunBCHL8RXTnhIHW1sTWRz1khI/s320/photo+%25284%2529.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2APHiRNeBeHQ8VEiCGBGzo74z7FSDADmXutWs1ozNQgE6hB3ttrNw0oUiGlv3uuomSYbyCj1xsNJofhmWWMMv0a_0oSr9q01ZwIWg9G2F8vdSeiTlpOEdtxH6pl-N8MzNjdGTfPBKlAk/s1600/rivi-apr-20+%252818%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2APHiRNeBeHQ8VEiCGBGzo74z7FSDADmXutWs1ozNQgE6hB3ttrNw0oUiGlv3uuomSYbyCj1xsNJofhmWWMMv0a_0oSr9q01ZwIWg9G2F8vdSeiTlpOEdtxH6pl-N8MzNjdGTfPBKlAk/s320/rivi-apr-20+%252818%2529.JPG" width="209" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVYQ96U6ZZOAyjY0xDJKlNBifTGkIA9XjXHRxnvab2aZ5mQXXM16f-9mDhJ7N8VBIph3X1im9UoRQXlKhE05c3cKJ4gvlZY0hWZE2flMefszmX1ojrhC4bVGzO_oU9DBL5QYtOvkNGqUg/s1600/jen+outfit+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVYQ96U6ZZOAyjY0xDJKlNBifTGkIA9XjXHRxnvab2aZ5mQXXM16f-9mDhJ7N8VBIph3X1im9UoRQXlKhE05c3cKJ4gvlZY0hWZE2flMefszmX1ojrhC4bVGzO_oU9DBL5QYtOvkNGqUg/s320/jen+outfit+1.jpg" width="161" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKTEYlh31dgN8PqOS4gyPAVOpKUM_A2byHBFz27GLmGwgbmXrbvmg3QKe-GNw8EHmh87TnCruKTgsL0Rx5Qfsa0hEMPp62zFlkGJqshsrx8U7lXgNIVNJiPz0MwaOjr8h6X3lvwbX8kGs/s1600/jen+makeup+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKTEYlh31dgN8PqOS4gyPAVOpKUM_A2byHBFz27GLmGwgbmXrbvmg3QKe-GNw8EHmh87TnCruKTgsL0Rx5Qfsa0hEMPp62zFlkGJqshsrx8U7lXgNIVNJiPz0MwaOjr8h6X3lvwbX8kGs/s320/jen+makeup+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrt0nP6gU_H-8Fm2bMooMJRulPhgXwZ_40UfYdsuj0wlVyiUKS8oXAE70mfjtOwRp5gSwpah6rJ-MZe2RiaPpxbGY6Sl7w5xJde7EyB0tnRvE12SiQVpcrkRaaMUEkppDYdsZxiv8hUlk/s1600/sanfran+%25289%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrt0nP6gU_H-8Fm2bMooMJRulPhgXwZ_40UfYdsuj0wlVyiUKS8oXAE70mfjtOwRp5gSwpah6rJ-MZe2RiaPpxbGY6Sl7w5xJde7EyB0tnRvE12SiQVpcrkRaaMUEkppDYdsZxiv8hUlk/s400/sanfran+%25289%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl_F-FUahhcftLd5ktZKmo1P73CGEbuiW11_dJLygTYDQv8UQo9TWa2uSIcgDgMaNosBHUL1vw1BarvkRBvLOpHjDyKBfSN4RaSaAAuEcM_-9vmwceC1_u2GycZ9J0muFIDPHPqOwGCy4/s1600/Hollywood+sign+edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl_F-FUahhcftLd5ktZKmo1P73CGEbuiW11_dJLygTYDQv8UQo9TWa2uSIcgDgMaNosBHUL1vw1BarvkRBvLOpHjDyKBfSN4RaSaAAuEcM_-9vmwceC1_u2GycZ9J0muFIDPHPqOwGCy4/s640/Hollywood+sign+edited.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1-F8AtiWGLWc855DZzKk3MO5YKPfis5qA1fIzUntGaKlVct5D4OGWu6pAb-cF2km0nZBYx8A6pKbJFmqdGI1OF3Ki4Aw8Kcmv3-efC4tvu2aOoQyglm68UBVNj2M1XIrXiVtvt9HNGVE/s1600/hollywood+%252813%2529+edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1-F8AtiWGLWc855DZzKk3MO5YKPfis5qA1fIzUntGaKlVct5D4OGWu6pAb-cF2km0nZBYx8A6pKbJFmqdGI1OF3Ki4Aw8Kcmv3-efC4tvu2aOoQyglm68UBVNj2M1XIrXiVtvt9HNGVE/s320/hollywood+%252813%2529+edit.jpg" width="320" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTBk0f0mjpHpvUx317ldCFT9pRX_u2zBOTlFi-PsHRVv2vIMtkURdyssBZTWeob3yKMKHiyYhavEpxD2wQ6viUn2CM04O2YPtelAqlxxMHJkGKeOOYW9BCHi_rcqo6neCsVAUEovH3bFI/s1600/vegas+%252854%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTBk0f0mjpHpvUx317ldCFT9pRX_u2zBOTlFi-PsHRVv2vIMtkURdyssBZTWeob3yKMKHiyYhavEpxD2wQ6viUn2CM04O2YPtelAqlxxMHJkGKeOOYW9BCHi_rcqo6neCsVAUEovH3bFI/s320/vegas+%252854%2529.JPG" width="209" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj82kbmPQnB0bbVpBgejf4KhGeR3CFmuDukUKAea-wAt5A7bGdQhPsTreV2sSzjFVP9JZRfgbjajtKzrhZVWjj6JJlk7rIIFGiJBcBmVQ5EaswDEtdAb-dEAb602eQFVQAv0HTaPu-CucI/s1600/grand-canyon+%252839%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj82kbmPQnB0bbVpBgejf4KhGeR3CFmuDukUKAea-wAt5A7bGdQhPsTreV2sSzjFVP9JZRfgbjajtKzrhZVWjj6JJlk7rIIFGiJBcBmVQ5EaswDEtdAb-dEAb602eQFVQAv0HTaPu-CucI/s320/grand-canyon+%252839%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
Polygarblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12737385253422636998noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145317661247612987.post-67354478990139726592013-09-07T07:03:00.001-07:002014-05-30T23:34:42.406-07:00The Big Move - Arriving in Sydney<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So we finally arrived after a laborious 13+hour flight. Rushed through immigration surprisingly quickly and ushered ourselves swiftly into a taxi. We were literally shattered, hadn't slept much on the plane due to lack of space and it was incredibly uncomfortable.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All we wanted at that point was to get to our guest house, shower and sleep as quickly as possible.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However nothing prepares you for Sydney. Anyone you know who's been will tell you what a spectacular sight it is but you'll never fully appreciate it until you see it for yourself. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Only one word sprung to mind... </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">WOW!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifluJlb1hRVXrIk1ISkVbrt-uKJ-2SQ-8RJkGPVqkafy8Ozg-eNIiSH6xsvcyTexU4y_adZQdGeHrRVd7mxrDG2_2WC7YZR_UMpRLo6iMlOxzOi0cGjHCrQKQuFsViIZArBtTVrLnCSj8/s1600/5thsep13+(16)+-1-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Sydney CBD" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifluJlb1hRVXrIk1ISkVbrt-uKJ-2SQ-8RJkGPVqkafy8Ozg-eNIiSH6xsvcyTexU4y_adZQdGeHrRVd7mxrDG2_2WC7YZR_UMpRLo6iMlOxzOi0cGjHCrQKQuFsViIZArBtTVrLnCSj8/s640/5thsep13+(16)+-1-1.jpg" height="288" title="Sydney CBD" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The harbour bridge and the opera house are set against high rise buildings and multiple bays and coves. Being the main tourist attractions in Sydney they are instantly recognisable but no less incredible than you would imagine.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAQ1Zts6k5xERE0caIyUinngBHF4cNJ3ZG_M_2rgLoZGizCQW0yWQTdIpHAL2NN1z4HSX8DhUWv3MMj5v87KxguKnjfqbd7vbQBUJX1fZu2Xv61mYZQ2sbTvgWrYJmU5fFlLXbQZAJtUA/s1600/DSC_0206+-1-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Sydney Opera House" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAQ1Zts6k5xERE0caIyUinngBHF4cNJ3ZG_M_2rgLoZGizCQW0yWQTdIpHAL2NN1z4HSX8DhUWv3MMj5v87KxguKnjfqbd7vbQBUJX1fZu2Xv61mYZQ2sbTvgWrYJmU5fFlLXbQZAJtUA/s400/DSC_0206+-1-1.jpg" height="198" title="Sydney Opera House" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiP4FQKLkd0hicG2-Er25SAi6WQANLyF618X0aF8cpYLAptJumRL7ZlIZJQQPeV04Oyqdhw58ZGGiy6cUe3xkW6V8KzqOuaSoSkanv2UIXJ7eJJVHJVJ-RC5WHymJ0oB8GY6geW9VBsms/s1600/5thsep13+(7)-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Sydney Harbour Bridge" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiP4FQKLkd0hicG2-Er25SAi6WQANLyF618X0aF8cpYLAptJumRL7ZlIZJQQPeV04Oyqdhw58ZGGiy6cUe3xkW6V8KzqOuaSoSkanv2UIXJ7eJJVHJVJ-RC5WHymJ0oB8GY6geW9VBsms/s400/5thsep13+(7)-1.jpg" height="193" title="Sydney Harbour Bridge" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After wandering through Sydney centre for the last few days I began to get the same feeling I had when I visited Hollywood, it has a similar sense of creativity and success. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm so excited to be starting my travels here.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/en/blog/6408401" title="Follow Polygarble on Bloglovin"><img alt="Follow on Bloglovin" border="0" src="http://www.bloglovin.com/widget/bilder/en/widget.gif?id=6408401" /></a>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/Polygarble" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy0zltsWVIzhSZEEBQaor-M1eniKx8YtEBF1jC60bov_T1VJ1ZUvAsvFdj0BW6JvtW5wVM1WUnBhOFiBVl9Pj7tcB4T8BGpQVnH6bvh_-Fs48bNqPX-BMJMHUt7bVnszpXVie7AIs_0CE/s320/Facebook.png" /></a>
<a href="https://twitter.com/polygarble" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj01cmLKoBPY7eYXWbmp_HIe86eFpHbw0gHjpVQ3sF5KVyasUpZuzeV3PugN4cOxTt4bm_njRzhQ2mAqLGk_zkFCpWMM_eVshyphenhyphenIeQhBPuS7RHl72JRj8Dt0iFZZ2pOg06jJAuXmKaOvK8/s320/Twitter.png" /></a></div>
Polygarblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12737385253422636998noreply@blogger.com0Sydney NSW, Australia-33.8674869 151.20699020000006-34.711976400000005 149.91609670000005 -33.0229974 152.49788370000007tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145317661247612987.post-2572544764045882342013-09-01T14:24:00.000-07:002013-09-07T07:10:35.508-07:00The Big Move - Leaving<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I won’t bore you with the details but this last 12 months has been a bit of a rollercoaster for me. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I made the decision in June this year that I wanted to travel and my first stop is Australia. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'll be leaving the UK on 3rd September and starting in Sydney. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ve never done anything like this before, I didn’t think I wanted to travel. Thought I was happy in my comfortable job at my local council, would get married and have a few kids and that would be it.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then I met my current partner and things just changed. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My little tour around America opened my eyes to a whole new way of travelling. I've only ever been to places like Spain, Greece, France etc on ‘summer holidays’.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So we’re relocating to ‘The World’ with Sydney, Australia as our first new home.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We have no plans past the first week, which 12 months ago would have terrified me, but not knowing what will happen is actually making me more excited. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The possibilities are literally endless!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Packing has been an interesting experience, how are you supposed to pack for 'forever'?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Only have a certain amount of baggage allowance, not knowing what you'll need.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">15 lists and 3 weeks of sorting later and I think I'm almost there.</span></div>
Polygarblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12737385253422636998noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145317661247612987.post-79251642308304566752013-08-07T13:26:00.003-07:002015-01-29T08:05:05.243-08:00My Little Tour of America - National Parks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In-between the city stops on the USA tour we also visited
three National Parks. Deciding </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">which ones to see was tough considering how many
national parks California has to offer.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first park we visited was Yosemite National Park.
Yosemite is stunning. What seems like infinite forests of Pine trees stretching
as far as the eye can see…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDN_PEm8doMlKdJeqHIkve-AUJS6Pu3H5LMIua2ooTrbhStcg5CojaJt5J1TQCw7VWuIYJVOk1AnpOevKGk_uoQcEZQMwBplDuDJ8DEIRp8zCuWxrXbRpV8cFFOdJHdo7rdYnjhDX2g20/s1600/yosemite+(3)+panorama.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Yosemite National Park" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDN_PEm8doMlKdJeqHIkve-AUJS6Pu3H5LMIua2ooTrbhStcg5CojaJt5J1TQCw7VWuIYJVOk1AnpOevKGk_uoQcEZQMwBplDuDJ8DEIRp8zCuWxrXbRpV8cFFOdJHdo7rdYnjhDX2g20/s640/yosemite+(3)+panorama.JPG" height="339" title="Yosemite National Park" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It also plays host to amazing waterfalls and towering
mountains. It’s truly extraordinary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3erOzkXe0eRrnkFp3Cyqjel0qJPJAqirwwoTkFSoDE35S6TLVuQO97jjF630YCC5dddqYxiM0nJ-C7oqSei18uqV2jtSx9U47AZphD5TEhDqTbZZ93XsXfXp17Jo-KmhOQToi_c4d6y4/s1600/yosemite+(107).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Yosemite National Park" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3erOzkXe0eRrnkFp3Cyqjel0qJPJAqirwwoTkFSoDE35S6TLVuQO97jjF630YCC5dddqYxiM0nJ-C7oqSei18uqV2jtSx9U47AZphD5TEhDqTbZZ93XsXfXp17Jo-KmhOQToi_c4d6y4/s320/yosemite+(107).JPG" height="320" title="Yosemite National Park" width="211" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s also where I saw my first wild Black Bear. Despite
the name; around 95% of the Black Bears found in the Sierra Nevada are actually
brown, as was the beautiful creature I found myself catching a glimpse of foraging
for bugs in a fallen tree…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLSB9gG0Eu_jmTZ1VPqDtIZSYTlicddyv9h3G582u-lwgeYg3AvPkflGoGsn00hjrVb8jipd-q5cZ0zL5t_-CANyfTYiXKXZXbvQr4epfbWD55bXvlUB6_K8rcYpFkLRyF0BCygrHN3gQ/s1600/yosemite+(10)+close.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Yosemite National Park Bear" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLSB9gG0Eu_jmTZ1VPqDtIZSYTlicddyv9h3G582u-lwgeYg3AvPkflGoGsn00hjrVb8jipd-q5cZ0zL5t_-CANyfTYiXKXZXbvQr4epfbWD55bXvlUB6_K8rcYpFkLRyF0BCygrHN3gQ/s400/yosemite+(10)+close.jpg" height="217" title="Yosemite National Park Bear" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The second park was on our way to LA – Sequoia and Kings
Canyon National Park. Although mostly forest and mountains it is very different
to Yosemite.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sequoia is named after its stunning Redwood population –
Sequoiadendron Giganteum or Giant Sequoia. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2bQo2MCRtrOKe4xxBSEGHFu0QZFoHdBiKGq3ZE0WG3QOdPiFwZqQaJcd4GqBkVjfKeTLJOl-F8TCY3lRaEy3w6k2kWhnrE0u8ntQ-TFR5GRCTfS3lmekmc70X-_shecEZRmIjzjE8dG0/s1600/sequoia+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Sequoia National Park" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2bQo2MCRtrOKe4xxBSEGHFu0QZFoHdBiKGq3ZE0WG3QOdPiFwZqQaJcd4GqBkVjfKeTLJOl-F8TCY3lRaEy3w6k2kWhnrE0u8ntQ-TFR5GRCTfS3lmekmc70X-_shecEZRmIjzjE8dG0/s320/sequoia+%25282%2529.JPG" height="320" title="Sequoia National Park" width="211" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wow do they live up to their name, they literally tower
above you making you feel tiny in comparison. The national park is home to the
largest tree in the world by volume, General Sherman.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzHkoIdpoPZs1PBLEU60nR6shGU4bNz3UZFhd-WTkODJ2fewiyfvjfuXPDOBR_MWmG-AgDXah7wIyqVZ_2E01WAMHWSBjCNTOTKlta0S9B3pHM6_S3GTtRVwoS-BWUYVeCofgprxRN7kY/s1600/sequoia+%25288%2529+full.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Sequoia National Park" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzHkoIdpoPZs1PBLEU60nR6shGU4bNz3UZFhd-WTkODJ2fewiyfvjfuXPDOBR_MWmG-AgDXah7wIyqVZ_2E01WAMHWSBjCNTOTKlta0S9B3pHM6_S3GTtRVwoS-BWUYVeCofgprxRN7kY/s640/sequoia+%25288%2529+full.jpg" height="640" title="Sequoia National Park" width="248" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The final park we visited was an easy decision. Grand
Canyon National Park - simply breath-taking.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTSSQTmX5B6TaIPNBI9JLCsjLFpr0I1zI4az1ncOQRHjF_c4Tva9oQwK1YdXoo8mvRXUYRtxHo93ZTsRF0bbMfka75kqC60UCWFIB90GDSvuhRvyXDAigQIm4Ybf9BqgYHqCLERrZ3nE0/s1600/grand-canyon+(1)+panorama.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Grand Canyon" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTSSQTmX5B6TaIPNBI9JLCsjLFpr0I1zI4az1ncOQRHjF_c4Tva9oQwK1YdXoo8mvRXUYRtxHo93ZTsRF0bbMfka75kqC60UCWFIB90GDSvuhRvyXDAigQIm4Ybf9BqgYHqCLERrZ3nE0/s640/grand-canyon+(1)+panorama.jpg" height="364" title="The Grand Canyon" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Grand Canyon isn’t in the middle of the desert as I’d
imagined. When I had previously thought of Arizona I thought ‘flat’, ‘vast’, ‘dry’,
when actually the national park is surrounded by beautiful forest. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The canyon itself is incredible. Beautiful canyons carved
by the Colorado River over nearly two billion years make you feel like you’re standing
upon an alien landscape.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And it’s so quiet – even though there were groups of people
less than 200ft behind us we couldn't hear a single thing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb-DQMbxXmik9a5aYKsYvMLiQmL6MJkmiuBD_MuEfHZJqP-6MH-UkJOSJJuFslU_cenEqRylArsa6RZPyJm3N0fPgG3_MDPsO1FW34UJCVn5DVqpsvvPxzkn74ipK9MfW836Rw_gn-GTU/s1600/grand-canyon+(12).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Grand Canyon" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb-DQMbxXmik9a5aYKsYvMLiQmL6MJkmiuBD_MuEfHZJqP-6MH-UkJOSJJuFslU_cenEqRylArsa6RZPyJm3N0fPgG3_MDPsO1FW34UJCVn5DVqpsvvPxzkn74ipK9MfW836Rw_gn-GTU/s200/grand-canyon+(12).JPG" height="131" title="The Grand Canyon" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKKEABTHNGO7FrknQxRzJoDB0AZxMRoJld7bK91wu8LYrUyMvG7QIfDEp7-jgD4VDhnhjFXZVIHB2gjgu7gLgurrBfQHYLDurCVgLFORNdKVi1Pd6D3gp0yYJol_qCOKSzgIxoto2JUYg/s1600/grand-canyon+(39).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Grand Canyon" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKKEABTHNGO7FrknQxRzJoDB0AZxMRoJld7bK91wu8LYrUyMvG7QIfDEp7-jgD4VDhnhjFXZVIHB2gjgu7gLgurrBfQHYLDurCVgLFORNdKVi1Pd6D3gp0yYJol_qCOKSzgIxoto2JUYg/s200/grand-canyon+(39).JPG" height="133" title="The Grand Canyon" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We had planned to stargaze in a few places during the
trip but knew that, if the sky was clear, the perfect place to see the stars
would be The Grand Canyon. We were so right!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZI-9Z1-R5AyKphuWGLKk7UaoHHe-w6QcIcZdmsgWfP7PPw49-ntMjP1vqBURP35apB4hW9tQrlOz0jUKXbQd0A85xcmOUkwom4-nfaj6mqCh58qtwWHj4qTKCU_Jso8Z4xncRIqpAU4U/s1600/canyon-stars+%25283%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Grand Canyon" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZI-9Z1-R5AyKphuWGLKk7UaoHHe-w6QcIcZdmsgWfP7PPw49-ntMjP1vqBURP35apB4hW9tQrlOz0jUKXbQd0A85xcmOUkwom4-nfaj6mqCh58qtwWHj4qTKCU_Jso8Z4xncRIqpAU4U/s320/canyon-stars+%25283%2529.JPG" height="211" title="The Grand Canyon" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1cJhB9V1ioCbOcKs1_WXnT03-vx1pkpOUYENnWx7ymXqMEP6nkW03RJaFFfNruVLSEdFVNz4FHLm-JN23nOWTHPt9bq2h3nL05j2pIXp4ubF3HbPNiu3kVFVu5cnHnFO_1dbPydgMc8s/s1600/canyon-stars+%252818%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Grand Canyon" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1cJhB9V1ioCbOcKs1_WXnT03-vx1pkpOUYENnWx7ymXqMEP6nkW03RJaFFfNruVLSEdFVNz4FHLm-JN23nOWTHPt9bq2h3nL05j2pIXp4ubF3HbPNiu3kVFVu5cnHnFO_1dbPydgMc8s/s320/canyon-stars+%252818%2529.jpg" height="211" title="The Grand Canyon" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/en/blog/6408401" title="Follow Polygarble on Bloglovin"><img alt="Follow on Bloglovin" border="0" src="http://www.bloglovin.com/widget/bilder/en/widget.gif?id=6408401" /></a>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/Polygarble" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy0zltsWVIzhSZEEBQaor-M1eniKx8YtEBF1jC60bov_T1VJ1ZUvAsvFdj0BW6JvtW5wVM1WUnBhOFiBVl9Pj7tcB4T8BGpQVnH6bvh_-Fs48bNqPX-BMJMHUt7bVnszpXVie7AIs_0CE/s320/Facebook.png" /></a>
<a href="https://twitter.com/polygarble" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj01cmLKoBPY7eYXWbmp_HIe86eFpHbw0gHjpVQ3sF5KVyasUpZuzeV3PugN4cOxTt4bm_njRzhQ2mAqLGk_zkFCpWMM_eVshyphenhyphenIeQhBPuS7RHl72JRj8Dt0iFZZ2pOg06jJAuXmKaOvK8/s320/Twitter.png" /></a></div>
Polygarblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12737385253422636998noreply@blogger.com3United States37.09024 -95.71289100000001323.559518 -116.36718800000001 50.620962000000006 -75.058594000000014tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145317661247612987.post-57372640135829046222013-07-27T12:37:00.003-07:002015-01-29T08:05:18.066-08:00My Little Tour of America - Las Vegas<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The final city (booo!) on my tour was Las Vegas.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNt5kbjAnCfpH66iLpYatogOC4WFxZ84wKZRW1BSIlOiLHgdvqwy-bVNnCL14DV8uW_Tr_OChbhTftrsB2tgDwnrG7UOnuHt2bws5uKqPcCbYv-f1ge_A4cDg1T3_yPtiPcTma0cvh8Sc/s1600/vegas+(23).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Las Vegas at night" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNt5kbjAnCfpH66iLpYatogOC4WFxZ84wKZRW1BSIlOiLHgdvqwy-bVNnCL14DV8uW_Tr_OChbhTftrsB2tgDwnrG7UOnuHt2bws5uKqPcCbYv-f1ge_A4cDg1T3_yPtiPcTma0cvh8Sc/s640/vegas+(23).JPG" height="420" title="Las Vegas at night" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s quite a surreal place, all those mini ‘cities’ within walking distance from each other. It really is like being in a different world. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The casinos are like something out of a film, </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">girls in what I called 'casino attire' walking around taking orders for drinks, selling cigarettes and cigars from a tray and then you've got the high stakes $100,000 minimum bet rooms – I often walked past wondering who might be hanging around in there!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The law in Las Vegas states you can smoke in any area there is gambling which, although I don’t smoke, didn’t really bother me. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had a little gamble myself – put $1 in a machine and won $25. I instantly claimed my voucher and cashed it while I was up!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp4ZFEg70CiUSci1KUm5ha5a59076-n5mVvwC5UIlpN7YBXeT4wGOvpoc3AaIX7kFPYaBXkFOU5uObsDSqHOIf0YQgsBdoib9gtp9RkPaeD7CjZnkjx1MSoDAzG8CSE1pJ5WzsYo9djr8/s1600/vegas+(59).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Las Vegas casino" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp4ZFEg70CiUSci1KUm5ha5a59076-n5mVvwC5UIlpN7YBXeT4wGOvpoc3AaIX7kFPYaBXkFOU5uObsDSqHOIf0YQgsBdoib9gtp9RkPaeD7CjZnkjx1MSoDAzG8CSE1pJ5WzsYo9djr8/s320/vegas+(59).JPG" height="211" title="Las Vegas casino" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I stayed in Bally’s which was basic but lovely, our room was huge and looked out over Paris and Bellagio. The Bellagio fountains are fabulous!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Unlike a lot of 'resorts', in Vegas you can wander through all the hotels as they all have casinos, shops and restaurants. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I couldn’t possibly name all the hotels I visited </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">but here are some of my favourites…</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9soslEBRvIa_XSEvP6DRnSDWCUKsenhjJwSPiwrz8lBDLP90rA-nM5OHipg7k6cUlOVAhI0VcrG5Vq05VrKzxYp5fFNef0RihOp60Q-XNrdm-CnCE0ksKV4bC2XcuWMccRb_XIzZbhzo/s1600/vegas+(11).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="Paris Las Vegas" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9soslEBRvIa_XSEvP6DRnSDWCUKsenhjJwSPiwrz8lBDLP90rA-nM5OHipg7k6cUlOVAhI0VcrG5Vq05VrKzxYp5fFNef0RihOp60Q-XNrdm-CnCE0ksKV4bC2XcuWMccRb_XIzZbhzo/s320/vegas+(11).JPG" height="320" title="Paris Las Vegas" width="211" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7I0Uj2trNr9SjWoZGtbysFRO-YVxWUpqxEMzjnQqSPEPGBG34q1GLJLeq_mmCzoXI4gJWv-lG_uATJRBt2YbNFT1wwYcs_S7yIuWzX1lO3gEZ8gKgUQhkVFDd3wFZTvfiay_mqSFkqpw/s1600/vegas+(54).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Paris Las Vegas" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7I0Uj2trNr9SjWoZGtbysFRO-YVxWUpqxEMzjnQqSPEPGBG34q1GLJLeq_mmCzoXI4gJWv-lG_uATJRBt2YbNFT1wwYcs_S7yIuWzX1lO3gEZ8gKgUQhkVFDd3wFZTvfiay_mqSFkqpw/s320/vegas+(54).JPG" height="320" title="Paris Las Vegas" width="211" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Paris</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzLzJeSSb4yFiXNH7nsHT32BzPKbbLImL1uvodiBDc6r0XSopuMfm5SuKNXoIzPqt5z3fEqK0EzfqSPCy5IWDhDnVSWe2bCeZvY7mLxmQFhr9r_vXQCwDbPMNDRWRlU8dx8Kzj1ScU6Dc/s1600/vegas+%252815%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Venetian Las Vegas" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzLzJeSSb4yFiXNH7nsHT32BzPKbbLImL1uvodiBDc6r0XSopuMfm5SuKNXoIzPqt5z3fEqK0EzfqSPCy5IWDhDnVSWe2bCeZvY7mLxmQFhr9r_vXQCwDbPMNDRWRlU8dx8Kzj1ScU6Dc/s320/vegas+%252815%2529.JPG" height="211" title="Venetian Las Vegas" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcTimiqMHcd35_k9lqqmV0OFOvL0BS-CxcpGWlnKyrMeQHIHRTR0XhIautDLuliPyzHbi-DGN6V3Rb7zp0wYfI6Z8UUBmhgehuADF9u_-kJN576P1Wgcae4nUlngjoCjTLRFjVwc0zuoM/s1600/vegas+%252818%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Venetian Las Vegas" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcTimiqMHcd35_k9lqqmV0OFOvL0BS-CxcpGWlnKyrMeQHIHRTR0XhIautDLuliPyzHbi-DGN6V3Rb7zp0wYfI6Z8UUBmhgehuADF9u_-kJN576P1Wgcae4nUlngjoCjTLRFjVwc0zuoM/s320/vegas+%252818%2529.JPG" height="320" title="Venetian Las Vegas" width="211" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Venetian</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigdFGgj1Xai0qKRzeqarRt36MDKm40hmuAoWxoQjrpdAX4w5v47EQyAW4-PCtsOmWPUy-m6snBUJh5AnKHNBPKKZPPZ3p9cjjywuQjBhyphenhyphen6VdtFQIXvGySt6ySawAUztvXfqdQNB29QNcI/s1600/vegas+%252839%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="New York New York Las Vegas" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigdFGgj1Xai0qKRzeqarRt36MDKm40hmuAoWxoQjrpdAX4w5v47EQyAW4-PCtsOmWPUy-m6snBUJh5AnKHNBPKKZPPZ3p9cjjywuQjBhyphenhyphen6VdtFQIXvGySt6ySawAUztvXfqdQNB29QNcI/s320/vegas+%252839%2529.JPG" height="211" title="New York New York Las Vegas" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWCWhUfICcu2pRFsP8uZushB7CqtwBN4ncsnImLdp0jVjWNA0LHXAbeBk9QgvDF9k0auC-gd7Q7fOYKXnEoH_yonfF7-7ynO2Y1AB6Kq_cjGANB30VhzEnH0ixG_2bvdCV3FO43-8oWYQ/s1600/vegas+%252849%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="New York New York Las Vegas" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWCWhUfICcu2pRFsP8uZushB7CqtwBN4ncsnImLdp0jVjWNA0LHXAbeBk9QgvDF9k0auC-gd7Q7fOYKXnEoH_yonfF7-7ynO2Y1AB6Kq_cjGANB30VhzEnH0ixG_2bvdCV3FO43-8oWYQ/s320/vegas+%252849%2529.JPG" height="320" title="New York New York Las Vegas" width="211" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">New York New York</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJJw-7qJjOUvW1GAJYVTXKws1PWD251tdXUegvG1-xpzsipjs3Vjgs98MMCqqXZxml9vC3ilXG7C5arzsHoRPbSkS4KV6c2M7dkPJJuiG71YZlzD8cl4rTidtk0P7ne8xg1cluuaDPyBA/s1600/vegas+%252820%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Treasure Island Las Vegas" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJJw-7qJjOUvW1GAJYVTXKws1PWD251tdXUegvG1-xpzsipjs3Vjgs98MMCqqXZxml9vC3ilXG7C5arzsHoRPbSkS4KV6c2M7dkPJJuiG71YZlzD8cl4rTidtk0P7ne8xg1cluuaDPyBA/s320/vegas+%252820%2529.JPG" height="320" title="Treasure Island Las Vegas" width="211" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu4LrI7XLgX7YP8jbL8gv_7JTcqflA8LvxsS5ff5b5uvjhyphenhyphenj9X4CT6KQ_bp9Z_JU6hDQV2lZNqQjlBB4xHo5JUVIldNFsbzFjeHf5xXEApBdHstVJv-bKU0T2q6IfGd_6wl__6LQBZxb4/s1600/vegas+%252841%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Luxor Las Vegas" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu4LrI7XLgX7YP8jbL8gv_7JTcqflA8LvxsS5ff5b5uvjhyphenhyphenj9X4CT6KQ_bp9Z_JU6hDQV2lZNqQjlBB4xHo5JUVIldNFsbzFjeHf5xXEApBdHstVJv-bKU0T2q6IfGd_6wl__6LQBZxb4/s320/vegas+%252841%2529.JPG" height="320" title="Luxor Las Vegas" width="211" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Treasure Island Luxor </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ1lle6pZzSOy17HJKnm1q76iAl18zaD_9yiG24Q49x4kkETZMjy9RcAcqN041GXPlMW7PNEFvhAYVY0mxCdgH0uGNXXzRsjx7SWXO1WmQsuA2CfLYGXkYmn_axtjsOl2zAmEIbvd1Y40/s1600/vegas+%252813%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Bellagio Las Vegas" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ1lle6pZzSOy17HJKnm1q76iAl18zaD_9yiG24Q49x4kkETZMjy9RcAcqN041GXPlMW7PNEFvhAYVY0mxCdgH0uGNXXzRsjx7SWXO1WmQsuA2CfLYGXkYmn_axtjsOl2zAmEIbvd1Y40/s320/vegas+%252813%2529.JPG" height="211" title="Bellagio Las Vegas" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl79GJjpZpprc8SjCP5BolmX4bo5yWSwLuE5azGJlwBo4IPt87fKLNP6hWplReLw8__QsSd0T4LInVxU0kK75Lmp30Q9J9LC80rYE-tWh3VLxAp-GbL1lWeD9cYM2I7DK67Xoc_PxZi-c/s1600/vegas+%252865%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Bellagio Las Vegas" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl79GJjpZpprc8SjCP5BolmX4bo5yWSwLuE5azGJlwBo4IPt87fKLNP6hWplReLw8__QsSd0T4LInVxU0kK75Lmp30Q9J9LC80rYE-tWh3VLxAp-GbL1lWeD9cYM2I7DK67Xoc_PxZi-c/s320/vegas+%252865%2529.JPG" height="211" title="Bellagio Las Vegas" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bellagio</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Las Vegas is like nowhere else I’ve been.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I thoroughly enjoyed my visit, it was rather hot (a mere 30 degrees) and was very busy as it was Memorial Day weekend but this just added to the crazy atmosphere.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/en/blog/6408401" title="Follow Polygarble on Bloglovin"><img alt="Follow on Bloglovin" border="0" src="http://www.bloglovin.com/widget/bilder/en/widget.gif?id=6408401" /></a>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/Polygarble" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy0zltsWVIzhSZEEBQaor-M1eniKx8YtEBF1jC60bov_T1VJ1ZUvAsvFdj0BW6JvtW5wVM1WUnBhOFiBVl9Pj7tcB4T8BGpQVnH6bvh_-Fs48bNqPX-BMJMHUt7bVnszpXVie7AIs_0CE/s320/Facebook.png" /></a>
<a href="https://twitter.com/polygarble" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj01cmLKoBPY7eYXWbmp_HIe86eFpHbw0gHjpVQ3sF5KVyasUpZuzeV3PugN4cOxTt4bm_njRzhQ2mAqLGk_zkFCpWMM_eVshyphenhyphenIeQhBPuS7RHl72JRj8Dt0iFZZ2pOg06jJAuXmKaOvK8/s320/Twitter.png" /></a></div>
Polygarblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12737385253422636998noreply@blogger.com4Las Vegas, NV, USA36.114646 -115.1728160000000135.7048665 -115.81826300000002 36.5244255 -114.52736900000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145317661247612987.post-82134704319051003512013-07-21T09:50:00.002-07:002014-05-30T23:41:03.925-07:00The 'Great' British Summer<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lovely weather we're having! </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This start to the 'Great' British summer has been an excellent preview of my pending relocation. On the 3rd September I'll be taking Polygarble to Australia. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although I've been busy with preparation, this beautiful sunshine has allowed me to take my breaks outdoors...</span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikJHGvTkAP0Rh6EdxKqw3XcaXArI84yQ1t0MCOA9K9TYFzZsqjMVk-U1K1Nv4Kk690NxhrngZvujtj45cZF5gUgN5JcMdafj962o8HYquyEts6ZQqCWfHOMMqPQAuebTEjBCX0ajQdLCo/s1600/DSC_0018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Garden" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikJHGvTkAP0Rh6EdxKqw3XcaXArI84yQ1t0MCOA9K9TYFzZsqjMVk-U1K1Nv4Kk690NxhrngZvujtj45cZF5gUgN5JcMdafj962o8HYquyEts6ZQqCWfHOMMqPQAuebTEjBCX0ajQdLCo/s200/DSC_0018.JPG" height="131" title="Garden" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXfItpPkzaxPYNVTT0cnS6EirfhA2xoWXogKE690ATWbE_yAg9K26rTF9yYmKaSQWGKPSjtY0DtBs166qgADL24LtRAgjXzROqyGqxYjljzOLyvwMaTegVGDfDSVfc4oe1r2cZcZDFLHM/s1600/skipbol+%25284%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Skipton Canal" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXfItpPkzaxPYNVTT0cnS6EirfhA2xoWXogKE690ATWbE_yAg9K26rTF9yYmKaSQWGKPSjtY0DtBs166qgADL24LtRAgjXzROqyGqxYjljzOLyvwMaTegVGDfDSVfc4oe1r2cZcZDFLHM/s200/skipbol+%25284%2529.JPG" height="131" title="Skipton Canal" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd2pFYrTKgOj9yGMp9fWrIt0wyWrzBM98fVz4_BHIZefxUUnWdg2PZLyhOlA6e9BzDLptD6V9AEYP5R7UdkS30JUf2SozpllcMjlpJpgajkYqGmJLFfguggHpdTYwq0sNs57h_XxgPSjk/s1600/skipbol+%252810%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Swan on Skipton Canal" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd2pFYrTKgOj9yGMp9fWrIt0wyWrzBM98fVz4_BHIZefxUUnWdg2PZLyhOlA6e9BzDLptD6V9AEYP5R7UdkS30JUf2SozpllcMjlpJpgajkYqGmJLFfguggHpdTYwq0sNs57h_XxgPSjk/s320/skipbol+%252810%2529.JPG" height="209" title="Swan on Skipton Canal" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP1BTZwOLV-hGpi2OTB_-TdhbeeMUT-IdI-itWrBs6BL1nZH8pbUgNHUQ1Xxdq6zN6_EwAnDDCu4I1_tmgfKRVCF6S7tBirpfLvQreTNnZJyttyUH6l9nIWSPki0FBJufJxbXlKaygGvk/s1600/skipbol+%252833%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Bolton Abbey Skipton" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP1BTZwOLV-hGpi2OTB_-TdhbeeMUT-IdI-itWrBs6BL1nZH8pbUgNHUQ1Xxdq6zN6_EwAnDDCu4I1_tmgfKRVCF6S7tBirpfLvQreTNnZJyttyUH6l9nIWSPki0FBJufJxbXlKaygGvk/s640/skipbol+%252833%2529.jpg" height="262" title="Bolton Abbey Skipton" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb_3uzxpCH8Q-FqVW4Nx9U4uRUF-A1X1eQtAShIF0_fLQtysBZkJelsK0SNOgCzrjXhA-vfMnnBYzYSP1scpWb0O_iRz6_CLwjGRMpFdGmDlsKSz8sWlIierUD1-9zNr24fGYO5J2Vg0E/s1600/skipbol+%252835%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Bolton Abbey Skipton" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb_3uzxpCH8Q-FqVW4Nx9U4uRUF-A1X1eQtAShIF0_fLQtysBZkJelsK0SNOgCzrjXhA-vfMnnBYzYSP1scpWb0O_iRz6_CLwjGRMpFdGmDlsKSz8sWlIierUD1-9zNr24fGYO5J2Vg0E/s320/skipbol+%252835%2529.JPG" height="211" title="Bolton Abbey Skipton" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1kqvpxLA84ETURPesmiUDbJjsEP_VOhnXiKRb5lXl1yiPNkkRESFy1zQYLWJSp2a71oD5bSthdPUgq7GOiTGEK2-QF_ZrGt-Wjx0AAOmACBJVJnqKfOaZV9hEJeLydNr8IXWCzpXVOq0/s1600/skipbol+%252817%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Canal walk" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1kqvpxLA84ETURPesmiUDbJjsEP_VOhnXiKRb5lXl1yiPNkkRESFy1zQYLWJSp2a71oD5bSthdPUgq7GOiTGEK2-QF_ZrGt-Wjx0AAOmACBJVJnqKfOaZV9hEJeLydNr8IXWCzpXVOq0/s320/skipbol+%252817%2529.JPG" height="320" title="Canal walk" width="211" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3dsebXSSV8Rm9wuIK0OHXrIw9909ZVgQX1LIU7tPI8Y9sRQGoV4NsggsUmwMLc7dj6jkmass7-2A7O28M_SG84smn_i7wZxpjXW1I4gI81CccBsq6ARSF1vQlAAYUNNAINNM7I8XwOCY/s1600/skipbol+%252839%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Purple Foxglove" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3dsebXSSV8Rm9wuIK0OHXrIw9909ZVgQX1LIU7tPI8Y9sRQGoV4NsggsUmwMLc7dj6jkmass7-2A7O28M_SG84smn_i7wZxpjXW1I4gI81CccBsq6ARSF1vQlAAYUNNAINNM7I8XwOCY/s200/skipbol+%252839%2529.JPG" height="131" title="Purple Foxglove" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGrP4XehUD1a-yCfBhhCwFtef_kjVv4TFY6S2NUbEMTm_BIrpqkxQVb8hWfUC-tcK3AjUQMbTSRvizV3itxw0E3sJb-ByvGuasH1AxllvGr_Vf87SLUdT33y18Byj9Mzw0VFqU68aPmpg/s1600/skipbol+%252826%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Brook in Skipton" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGrP4XehUD1a-yCfBhhCwFtef_kjVv4TFY6S2NUbEMTm_BIrpqkxQVb8hWfUC-tcK3AjUQMbTSRvizV3itxw0E3sJb-ByvGuasH1AxllvGr_Vf87SLUdT33y18Byj9Mzw0VFqU68aPmpg/s200/skipbol+%252826%2529.JPG" height="131" title="Brook in Skipton" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZhbrzzGQ4bVJpiyCB9gLQQHlT0fz28Uit2owVoomYH4ypHhBtsTMvEO-p6k8sgYpcCCoU-UxpPsGTlW_qFlq4qE1bUkKSYk1WQHTcYwjITp2uCGzZf-8U-3UD2hgVPcSMaBvlZczY-WI/s1600/skipbol+%252853%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Bolton Abbey" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZhbrzzGQ4bVJpiyCB9gLQQHlT0fz28Uit2owVoomYH4ypHhBtsTMvEO-p6k8sgYpcCCoU-UxpPsGTlW_qFlq4qE1bUkKSYk1WQHTcYwjITp2uCGzZf-8U-3UD2hgVPcSMaBvlZczY-WI/s320/skipbol+%252853%2529.JPG" height="320" title="Bolton Abbey" width="211" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfI9Jdyxm-H6T8_OyKBBVsKgwSBEM6gKJ8RODPkAWRvKgcurI8C9yxEx19nDaVeqzx_gw-68HOHIR6rI3LEu-2BYrWXBMnytxjeqAaGOTRLgOmwMA2xw6ufD-tbntaT4iV0b85C6VhFS8/s1600/DSC_0021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Garden" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfI9Jdyxm-H6T8_OyKBBVsKgwSBEM6gKJ8RODPkAWRvKgcurI8C9yxEx19nDaVeqzx_gw-68HOHIR6rI3LEu-2BYrWXBMnytxjeqAaGOTRLgOmwMA2xw6ufD-tbntaT4iV0b85C6VhFS8/s320/DSC_0021.JPG" height="211" title="Garden" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8lerFi6K7yP-caY0R-7YafD820OUhREXWGwacCvOe41luC0BHATk9thi__Ng_wZ2hrdeYm1ZUoKA2exHgGXxLA_lcUv8fCryMEGaiOJ-zHTZ6-Sj_GphK3__byvfnZ7n_sWFBttito1k/s1600/DSC_0014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="My mums lovely Golden Retriever Gypsy" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8lerFi6K7yP-caY0R-7YafD820OUhREXWGwacCvOe41luC0BHATk9thi__Ng_wZ2hrdeYm1ZUoKA2exHgGXxLA_lcUv8fCryMEGaiOJ-zHTZ6-Sj_GphK3__byvfnZ7n_sWFBttito1k/s400/DSC_0014.JPG" height="263" title="My mums lovely Golden Retriever Gypsy" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'd love to know how you're enjoying your summer, British or otherwise!</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/en/blog/6408401" title="Follow Polygarble on Bloglovin"><img alt="Follow on Bloglovin" border="0" src="http://www.bloglovin.com/widget/bilder/en/widget.gif?id=6408401" /></a>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/Polygarble" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy0zltsWVIzhSZEEBQaor-M1eniKx8YtEBF1jC60bov_T1VJ1ZUvAsvFdj0BW6JvtW5wVM1WUnBhOFiBVl9Pj7tcB4T8BGpQVnH6bvh_-Fs48bNqPX-BMJMHUt7bVnszpXVie7AIs_0CE/s320/Facebook.png" /></a>
<a href="https://twitter.com/polygarble" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj01cmLKoBPY7eYXWbmp_HIe86eFpHbw0gHjpVQ3sF5KVyasUpZuzeV3PugN4cOxTt4bm_njRzhQ2mAqLGk_zkFCpWMM_eVshyphenhyphenIeQhBPuS7RHl72JRj8Dt0iFZZ2pOg06jJAuXmKaOvK8/s320/Twitter.png" /></a></div>
Polygarblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12737385253422636998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145317661247612987.post-18012279618798528092013-07-16T11:59:00.002-07:002015-01-29T08:05:27.216-08:00My Little Tour of America - Los Angeles<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The second city I visited during my little tour of West Coast USA was Los Angeles.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQPn-B3XcJ5NyqTchv7j-Sg2qMNB0NRDbuYv-59MPWQLQdTSg0nt0OJwchNEU936rdA_IR6l3tiFpLTWx8pVnxFzYUy_JmS2QydD54eJKtjaWWft2tsx_goH74z0FhQypk6WUK2NZFWyU/s1600/ontheroad-3+(19)+edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Los Angeles" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQPn-B3XcJ5NyqTchv7j-Sg2qMNB0NRDbuYv-59MPWQLQdTSg0nt0OJwchNEU936rdA_IR6l3tiFpLTWx8pVnxFzYUy_JmS2QydD54eJKtjaWWft2tsx_goH74z0FhQypk6WUK2NZFWyU/s640/ontheroad-3+(19)+edit.jpg" height="304" title="Los Angeles" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s hard to say because my trip was so varied but I think L.A. (Hollywood in particular) was my favourite part.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It has such a good vibe. There's an abundance of creativity all around you. I felt as though I was really in the heart of where ‘it’ was all happening.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Being around people having business meetings in cafés, reading through scripts, working on creative projects </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">was really exciting and although you're merely a tourist it feels like you're part of it and not just an observer.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtZZxczxIISohNkaAuVPrfdXsLx1X2HTdH9vtVn0p-Nuszzmc8kTXgBuaTPUorZfWi7VnnrWCYPOG5x_8XXGXFBBScFMpbDLKorOl4tnI5RbRCVavn7jG7in7xV9U42scDqhB67CEzY-Q/s1600/Hollywood+sign+edited+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Hollywood" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtZZxczxIISohNkaAuVPrfdXsLx1X2HTdH9vtVn0p-Nuszzmc8kTXgBuaTPUorZfWi7VnnrWCYPOG5x_8XXGXFBBScFMpbDLKorOl4tnI5RbRCVavn7jG7in7xV9U42scDqhB67CEzY-Q/s320/Hollywood+sign+edited+2.jpg" height="172" title="Hollywood" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There’s something really inspirational about the Hollywood sign. You can feel, for a split second, like you've really made it.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Graumans Chinese Theatre; now known as TCL Chinese Theatre and often referred to as Mann’s Chinese Theatre, was incredible. Seeing some of my favourite film stars/directors hand and footprints immortalised on the forecourt was truly inspirational.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuKs1nITeiEXkWLexEcEeBjM3D7BHwBd4rRIKM4XfWfTMLRFRRbNjal78UmcjmTZ_LuLITUMOlNfs9ZNaa2L1LV-VH0Ozn3SG3L-ywZ9IHZL4SSXfF7BEiXOeN0I-oiDuvPrwenBViP5M/s1600/hollywood+(13)+edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Grauman's Chinese Theatre" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuKs1nITeiEXkWLexEcEeBjM3D7BHwBd4rRIKM4XfWfTMLRFRRbNjal78UmcjmTZ_LuLITUMOlNfs9ZNaa2L1LV-VH0Ozn3SG3L-ywZ9IHZL4SSXfF7BEiXOeN0I-oiDuvPrwenBViP5M/s320/hollywood+(13)+edit.jpg" height="211" title="Grauman's Chinese Theatre" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">L.A. is host to so many creative establishments, for example...</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Paramount Studios, Capitol Records, House of Blues and many more.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4AazH0NAdhvw9RXCz_ZaecSjDvUV8F_NMdrBolCfAJxotk7uwU1-_9Ewx2g46iw14OAAzAQVLLpSWUgToJhRVyg8H69U3RG859T_gXlgWQL1IBW2uNdFm9N8C6wO6Lv1blt4RqMQBVIw/s1600/hollywood+%252827%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4AazH0NAdhvw9RXCz_ZaecSjDvUV8F_NMdrBolCfAJxotk7uwU1-_9Ewx2g46iw14OAAzAQVLLpSWUgToJhRVyg8H69U3RG859T_gXlgWQL1IBW2uNdFm9N8C6wO6Lv1blt4RqMQBVIw/s1600/hollywood+%252827%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Paramount Pictures" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4AazH0NAdhvw9RXCz_ZaecSjDvUV8F_NMdrBolCfAJxotk7uwU1-_9Ewx2g46iw14OAAzAQVLLpSWUgToJhRVyg8H69U3RG859T_gXlgWQL1IBW2uNdFm9N8C6wO6Lv1blt4RqMQBVIw/s200/hollywood+%252827%2529.JPG" height="131" title="Paramount Pictures" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwkgOrSkpRy8d2xYYP_0_IKNT9ZSO4hEgIxV6MIfL0PWfTyKXkq2faN0IES53Ms_hiUfOc2JObo31W2FU3WDLZm1wM9U0OKJx9Rj-gJuSJG2AsGuLw20ra2dhOe83V7p0wTj32XpASlfA/s1600/hollywood+%252811%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Capitol Records" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwkgOrSkpRy8d2xYYP_0_IKNT9ZSO4hEgIxV6MIfL0PWfTyKXkq2faN0IES53Ms_hiUfOc2JObo31W2FU3WDLZm1wM9U0OKJx9Rj-gJuSJG2AsGuLw20ra2dhOe83V7p0wTj32XpASlfA/s200/hollywood+%252811%2529.JPG" height="200" title="Capitol Records" width="131" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimWlr_-NIIHe3dM4gC8c69VEhw7rji1h2nv7BM_ZOAPGkgAFjqg3I9cT1aMOGutvvmm3sZPLf0fKB75EABYc52MLYCpcD8foVt8pqdwgnUQWRWxRo5RJCpvCg2jeG0rd-f9swuTjM6kSg/s1600/hollywood+%252833%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="House of Blues" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimWlr_-NIIHe3dM4gC8c69VEhw7rji1h2nv7BM_ZOAPGkgAFjqg3I9cT1aMOGutvvmm3sZPLf0fKB75EABYc52MLYCpcD8foVt8pqdwgnUQWRWxRo5RJCpvCg2jeG0rd-f9swuTjM6kSg/s200/hollywood+%252833%2529.JPG" height="131" title="House of Blues" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This amazing place gives you hope that one day, in whatever creative outlet you're pursuing, you could have your star on the Hollywood walk of fame or your hand/footprints outside Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While in L.A. I also visited Santa Monica and Venice. I got the bus from Hollywood to Santa Monica then walked along the beach to Venice, it’s quite a walk but well worth it, Venice Beach is lovely.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMoBaB04PKbvgIyA9grW_aXx3D3PzTVVuqJc2qMinPx98xPTGnBed-FoMW7d4aV0KMRbYaLYQ6onNvbW0EAjdd5XqS7Cs3DyTmR05hiq-kSXXOMRRDqpzcnDVtf-rdB7GavOx1GxeuV80/s1600/san-ven+(1)+panorama.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Santa Monica" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMoBaB04PKbvgIyA9grW_aXx3D3PzTVVuqJc2qMinPx98xPTGnBed-FoMW7d4aV0KMRbYaLYQ6onNvbW0EAjdd5XqS7Cs3DyTmR05hiq-kSXXOMRRDqpzcnDVtf-rdB7GavOx1GxeuV80/s640/san-ven+(1)+panorama.jpg" height="204" title="Santa Monica" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPHth-bqLSUd1CTHOkTEFtabmHikz43vK5YHcKHZCof0CPbtWlVz6g5-AFYTEoTX8jARfl9uFrhSHPj5ZWzBGu2-udYHVXH42tQM3gU04QB2q6xAmdbIwoMKA8QdH-JVFbifmkoBuXBHg/s1600/san-ven+(6).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Venice Beach" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPHth-bqLSUd1CTHOkTEFtabmHikz43vK5YHcKHZCof0CPbtWlVz6g5-AFYTEoTX8jARfl9uFrhSHPj5ZWzBGu2-udYHVXH42tQM3gU04QB2q6xAmdbIwoMKA8QdH-JVFbifmkoBuXBHg/s200/san-ven+(6).JPG" height="131" title="Venice Beach" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSXD68OYDuinqPxJhOQA7BDA9irDvhPDkv0EhxT73wC0NdLxyN7YjpipPG1CkAb4WkUHjWKBZ7U2k6DGYk1YdNbtuciyz0y5PY3Dx1ezV-mDc7b2JrqqYbVmpuYhCUGG1gyvEAvUlWzRQ/s1600/san-ven+(19).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Venice California" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSXD68OYDuinqPxJhOQA7BDA9irDvhPDkv0EhxT73wC0NdLxyN7YjpipPG1CkAb4WkUHjWKBZ7U2k6DGYk1YdNbtuciyz0y5PY3Dx1ezV-mDc7b2JrqqYbVmpuYhCUGG1gyvEAvUlWzRQ/s200/san-ven+(19).JPG" height="131" title="Venice California" width="200" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finally, on my way out of the city, I stopped in downtown L.A. and had lunch at Philippe The Original, home of the French dip sandwich. I'd seen it on Man V Food and just had to try it.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It lives up to its fantastic reputation, the sandwiches are incredible, I had Turkey and it was easily the best sandwich I’ve ever eaten, and the blackberry pie – out of this world. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I strongly recommend it!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibhZTDhFCVHXRP9xwBeTsAMFanmi7DcixLv-DFMLSoJu7G0-ca8EMr29tZpLlXb7U9IiJnp22bJNDckeHR85vQeBe6MBScB64FmFTzRmaZo109reqNFZ3l9BBQ-0byHaa4ynI0dFCYf1E/s1600/philippe+(4)+edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Philippe The Original" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibhZTDhFCVHXRP9xwBeTsAMFanmi7DcixLv-DFMLSoJu7G0-ca8EMr29tZpLlXb7U9IiJnp22bJNDckeHR85vQeBe6MBScB64FmFTzRmaZo109reqNFZ3l9BBQ-0byHaa4ynI0dFCYf1E/s320/philippe+(4)+edit.jpg" height="211" title="Philippe The Original" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/en/blog/6408401" title="Follow Polygarble on Bloglovin"><img alt="Follow on Bloglovin" border="0" src="http://www.bloglovin.com/widget/bilder/en/widget.gif?id=6408401" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/Polygarble" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy0zltsWVIzhSZEEBQaor-M1eniKx8YtEBF1jC60bov_T1VJ1ZUvAsvFdj0BW6JvtW5wVM1WUnBhOFiBVl9Pj7tcB4T8BGpQVnH6bvh_-Fs48bNqPX-BMJMHUt7bVnszpXVie7AIs_0CE/s320/Facebook.png" /></a>
<a href="https://twitter.com/polygarble" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj01cmLKoBPY7eYXWbmp_HIe86eFpHbw0gHjpVQ3sF5KVyasUpZuzeV3PugN4cOxTt4bm_njRzhQ2mAqLGk_zkFCpWMM_eVshyphenhyphenIeQhBPuS7RHl72JRj8Dt0iFZZ2pOg06jJAuXmKaOvK8/s320/Twitter.png" /></a></div>
Polygarblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12737385253422636998noreply@blogger.com16Los Angeles, CA, USA34.0522342 -118.243684934.0522342 -118.2436849 34.0522342 -118.2436849tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145317661247612987.post-38551290254907486152013-07-10T13:11:00.001-07:002015-01-29T08:05:34.775-08:00My Little Tour of America – San Francisco<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My little tour of West Coast USA was the first trip of this kind for me. I used to be a beach, hotel pool, resort type of girl but have been introduced to a whole new way of holidaying and I have to say – there’s no going back. Moving from place to place, 2-3 days at a time, getting to see so much in one trip is an amazing experience.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The tour began in San Francisco…</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7bA_nxFSwJcFC5dk8Xp6yRM9B1aL_Mt_POZoeZgJZVUzSz7arquTkae-jEo71KAt07Rbe43Ss8lMZEsusEFK6b4DwOkMPRDBlpWHUGQLfEBQpaAhNryhxf9a4LTSdJOw-8tx-OLBjebA/s1600/sanfran+(71)+panorama.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="San Francisco" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7bA_nxFSwJcFC5dk8Xp6yRM9B1aL_Mt_POZoeZgJZVUzSz7arquTkae-jEo71KAt07Rbe43Ss8lMZEsusEFK6b4DwOkMPRDBlpWHUGQLfEBQpaAhNryhxf9a4LTSdJOw-8tx-OLBjebA/s640/sanfran+(71)+panorama.jpg" height="235" title="San Francisco" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A beautiful city with an abundance of culture. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6MRTITMCVV6-nIPAKJl2EGW2mRZznUkOqdI8chu58nqNXVEgzgL8g6mW6gDTqXbQduCCTmutE3wyu_uitN-JXSsCuwe5UjMcqOHg2PGjqJkb8R5xct1A6oC_eGmafI-6v-Hi_yas1MeU/s1600/sanfran+(9).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="Chinatown San Francisco" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6MRTITMCVV6-nIPAKJl2EGW2mRZznUkOqdI8chu58nqNXVEgzgL8g6mW6gDTqXbQduCCTmutE3wyu_uitN-JXSsCuwe5UjMcqOHg2PGjqJkb8R5xct1A6oC_eGmafI-6v-Hi_yas1MeU/s200/sanfran+(9).JPG" height="131" title="Chinatown San Francisco" width="200" /> </a> <span style="text-align: center;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrSjz04x_eqvEkMwB54HMug-UhhFPMMYRAuAgr2sDO7dwRCNkJpTK_yNVMp4dje5W9_coyOEQuIy3WFJhcPavwO32M8z7EhzF_KNHVp6V7VziQU-rQ8vNt_MM9SYsYclQNlQ9yCGME-Mg/s1600/sanfran+(58).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="St Peter and Paul" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrSjz04x_eqvEkMwB54HMug-UhhFPMMYRAuAgr2sDO7dwRCNkJpTK_yNVMp4dje5W9_coyOEQuIy3WFJhcPavwO32M8z7EhzF_KNHVp6V7VziQU-rQ8vNt_MM9SYsYclQNlQ9yCGME-Mg/s200/sanfran+(58).JPG" height="200" title="St Peter and Paul" width="131" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chinatown St Peter and Paul Church</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkM5cVzkk_ng-wokl_e3Trvwj3v6LamLF-dqK1BjtYxBic_lZzkuav2TRYDEGXymfeFX7P2rjeG41JKyVDp-m6BeSrpngB0Hdd89TxErFAo7P_gv4AECjrtax6YAsxvs3D38AP7uVX6yU/s1600/sanfran+(81).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="San Francisco Bay Fog" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkM5cVzkk_ng-wokl_e3Trvwj3v6LamLF-dqK1BjtYxBic_lZzkuav2TRYDEGXymfeFX7P2rjeG41JKyVDp-m6BeSrpngB0Hdd89TxErFAo7P_gv4AECjrtax6YAsxvs3D38AP7uVX6yU/s200/sanfran+(81).JPG" height="131" title="San Francisco Bay Fog" width="200" /></a><span style="text-align: center;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9btvobc4QULRpjhYe6pvbH9Y5h8PIlrLeEjVOSrsOlx0upwIOOmG8zHtaIHLauTtJmQRkyrd9PeMnTnj0EBbgE96c2mHEoXxRBS9yDB6K2CCtIaMk1DLr8ULRzmSLW47tDsdBXpJf4RU/s1600/sanfran+(98).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="Pier 39" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9btvobc4QULRpjhYe6pvbH9Y5h8PIlrLeEjVOSrsOlx0upwIOOmG8zHtaIHLauTtJmQRkyrd9PeMnTnj0EBbgE96c2mHEoXxRBS9yDB6K2CCtIaMk1DLr8ULRzmSLW47tDsdBXpJf4RU/s200/sanfran+(98).JPG" height="131" title="Pier 39" width="200" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> The Bay Pier 39</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This was also the first time I had experienced an ‘American breakfast’. It consisted of bacon, eggs, sausage, hash browns, pancakes and maple syrup all on the same plate. It was amazing! Probably a good thing I don't live there, I’d be huge. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi83-HFBI53ZWa3s-TcujxPuyXu8YHIRXhsMvui2rFBWFzs0XfNc2zCYCKGw9yvX6yRBn_HJZugMKPuhqtvjS46MPXtGB1UhcoRALamtnkmXqK_717sb0GXp9uyn6B9XEAT27rtO8xvdg/s1600/sanfran+(91).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="American Breakfast" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi83-HFBI53ZWa3s-TcujxPuyXu8YHIRXhsMvui2rFBWFzs0XfNc2zCYCKGw9yvX6yRBn_HJZugMKPuhqtvjS46MPXtGB1UhcoRALamtnkmXqK_717sb0GXp9uyn6B9XEAT27rtO8xvdg/s320/sanfran+(91).JPG" height="320" title="American Breakfast" width="211" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While there I took a Segway tour of the city and learned more from the young tour operator than I could from any book or website. It was great to quickly and easily move around the city hearing about China Town, the gold rush, Little Italy, Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe and so much more. Fabulous!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also visited Alcatraz Island home to Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, what an experience that was. For the most part it’s grim; derelict buildings where the prisoners, guards and the guard’s families lived for months, even years. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And the yard the prisoners spent their daytime, surrounded by a huge wall with amazing views of San Francisco just out of sight.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMwzzFfshnCzmhaC8sgRNwh4W2Hc9eDcWhimpG1wulqIY8xe4ymwKbF8P40bijCAxk3BqERsIfYFd-7Ku39dEEmJY6G0oXO0i8aK1ioY0FR8pBhyphenhyphenjYl0xlM63WplCGZiTLTdI3Xt2lfZg/s1600/seg-alcatraz+(23).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMwzzFfshnCzmhaC8sgRNwh4W2Hc9eDcWhimpG1wulqIY8xe4ymwKbF8P40bijCAxk3BqERsIfYFd-7Ku39dEEmJY6G0oXO0i8aK1ioY0FR8pBhyphenhyphenjYl0xlM63WplCGZiTLTdI3Xt2lfZg/s200/seg-alcatraz+(23).JPG" height="131" title="Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixOJ5k170dXGOQAa3Fh9i_jqomRtQ7R2rKjCb2eeYnF4VzNzKrX0lB79zudq9wX3IjY6AKvbyno9oyYTk6juuAcTQAKX3awk2VbOMiwk1jV8BsimVYrBryRMW-t_gajXSiTTQ7Sn0vKXk/s1600/seg-alcatraz+(36).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixOJ5k170dXGOQAa3Fh9i_jqomRtQ7R2rKjCb2eeYnF4VzNzKrX0lB79zudq9wX3IjY6AKvbyno9oyYTk6juuAcTQAKX3awk2VbOMiwk1jV8BsimVYrBryRMW-t_gajXSiTTQ7Sn0vKXk/s200/seg-alcatraz+(36).JPG" height="200" title="Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary" width="131" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVnsgEReB6bi1bbzcZOo92sB310tiou10ZVfUDf4KAZIcbD1a5CJAyAKo4_nMmShZgTPsnkH1tRXTIeuqlJiA48x4Jyx6KeH_JhHw0564kVoklsAJkfz3HuL4r_hM7kmnqahDJBW4f13U/s1600/seg-alcatraz+(71).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVnsgEReB6bi1bbzcZOo92sB310tiou10ZVfUDf4KAZIcbD1a5CJAyAKo4_nMmShZgTPsnkH1tRXTIeuqlJiA48x4Jyx6KeH_JhHw0564kVoklsAJkfz3HuL4r_hM7kmnqahDJBW4f13U/s200/seg-alcatraz+(71).JPG" height="131" title="Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary" width="200" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then in contrast there are beautiful gardens and nesting sites for many different species of birds e.g. seagulls, cormorants and snowy egrets (no I’d never heard of them either and they make a very strange noise!). </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjboFM3mjRTEtR2S4w9HzPJDfDN-mfrEMvwOIYAWBq8mjwuzHpP4S4Lj9_7ldIyx5DcFARQbXaNb-mAmGDvvARdQpygpZTgRlCiCBCGGlHpYSR4zhvNSeGpVaaWeps_8mSUQ9S6onH1UZs/s1600/seg-alcatraz+(66).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"> <img alt="Alcatraz Island" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjboFM3mjRTEtR2S4w9HzPJDfDN-mfrEMvwOIYAWBq8mjwuzHpP4S4Lj9_7ldIyx5DcFARQbXaNb-mAmGDvvARdQpygpZTgRlCiCBCGGlHpYSR4zhvNSeGpVaaWeps_8mSUQ9S6onH1UZs/s200/seg-alcatraz+(66).JPG" height="131" title="Alcatraz Island" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt8c_bsrsFx5wFUCxs61b9XLcPrEzDs8kmtA9X4W5WvOTAAygtPUijmzGhPkwuY3eGZr_bUdkYBf6iIbxvZ_rLTJva_mjUx7M3KUDGmY7BygJ3gMGOnEWVnXjgyBEqzmo_S_YrhH46ckQ/s1600/seg-alcatraz+(64).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Alcatraz Island" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt8c_bsrsFx5wFUCxs61b9XLcPrEzDs8kmtA9X4W5WvOTAAygtPUijmzGhPkwuY3eGZr_bUdkYBf6iIbxvZ_rLTJva_mjUx7M3KUDGmY7BygJ3gMGOnEWVnXjgyBEqzmo_S_YrhH46ckQ/s200/seg-alcatraz+(64).JPG" height="200" title="Alcatraz Island" width="131" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiugcX6o2UgsS-i3g0IoUSZiIvKRnFPn5M7dVWUKX2Td4IqWfUZWeB1TGpWXvdQQ5ptkl-tB2CbhpYVACaJwZH-8M0m01iHSMuMUA_nUWLa8K3bg1u4jQoJrkKmvmRuryTnuFNwmGNr4SU/s1600/seg-alcatraz+(68).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Alcatraz Island" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiugcX6o2UgsS-i3g0IoUSZiIvKRnFPn5M7dVWUKX2Td4IqWfUZWeB1TGpWXvdQQ5ptkl-tB2CbhpYVACaJwZH-8M0m01iHSMuMUA_nUWLa8K3bg1u4jQoJrkKmvmRuryTnuFNwmGNr4SU/s200/seg-alcatraz+(68).JPG" height="131" title="Alcatraz Island" width="200" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And finally, if the notorious San Francisco fog has lifted, there's the Golden Gate bridge…</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_xnBwarjHCXknTzB7_hLdnLnLLOernF2om19kbo8OcJxO_Rh0wTneblJLkiShpjPFx634ZQnnJ_hfC6HxaGQ9z_kV0tLEbadKzBmdp7DZ8AqbgrPg5XOM69gfXqM_DZDtzzBNuIMfwsk/s1600/seg-alcatraz+(48).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Golden Gate Bridge" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_xnBwarjHCXknTzB7_hLdnLnLLOernF2om19kbo8OcJxO_Rh0wTneblJLkiShpjPFx634ZQnnJ_hfC6HxaGQ9z_kV0tLEbadKzBmdp7DZ8AqbgrPg5XOM69gfXqM_DZDtzzBNuIMfwsk/s320/seg-alcatraz+(48).JPG" height="211" title="Golden Gate Bridge" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All in all San Francisco is an amazing city, and a wonderful introduction to the West Coast!</span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/en/blog/6408401" title="Follow Polygarble on Bloglovin"><img alt="Follow on Bloglovin" border="0" src="http://www.bloglovin.com/widget/bilder/en/widget.gif?id=6408401" /></a>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/Polygarble" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy0zltsWVIzhSZEEBQaor-M1eniKx8YtEBF1jC60bov_T1VJ1ZUvAsvFdj0BW6JvtW5wVM1WUnBhOFiBVl9Pj7tcB4T8BGpQVnH6bvh_-Fs48bNqPX-BMJMHUt7bVnszpXVie7AIs_0CE/s320/Facebook.png" /></a>
<a href="https://twitter.com/polygarble" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj01cmLKoBPY7eYXWbmp_HIe86eFpHbw0gHjpVQ3sF5KVyasUpZuzeV3PugN4cOxTt4bm_njRzhQ2mAqLGk_zkFCpWMM_eVshyphenhyphenIeQhBPuS7RHl72JRj8Dt0iFZZ2pOg06jJAuXmKaOvK8/s320/Twitter.png" /></a></div>
Polygarblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12737385253422636998noreply@blogger.com2San Francisco, CA, USA37.7749295 -122.4194155000000137.7749295 -122.41941550000001 37.7749295 -122.41941550000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145317661247612987.post-70486511410391972762013-07-03T12:32:00.001-07:002014-05-30T23:40:09.384-07:00Birthday fun...<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love birthdays (especially my own), always a great
excuse to get together with the family and consume copious amounts of food, cake and in my
family’s case, wine. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkWbBTpDxpdtrtaqJwSCGltR66nQdLxssnG5wO9CLTmWVlGX94e5JJPyzPHrcpXUOu-NZG9pwC6bIYLF1pnu6-OrHw888N8gTsnAdwnf_8eR-koHcRVxKrWfLmyMYZzPWj1BtD3eWbtAA/s1600/DSC_0172.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Family time" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkWbBTpDxpdtrtaqJwSCGltR66nQdLxssnG5wO9CLTmWVlGX94e5JJPyzPHrcpXUOu-NZG9pwC6bIYLF1pnu6-OrHw888N8gTsnAdwnf_8eR-koHcRVxKrWfLmyMYZzPWj1BtD3eWbtAA/s320/DSC_0172.JPG" height="211" title="Family time" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl0ddzaREzq1il7pFGgw5EVCSm95BKfj55TJE68P4yyOQiCiQ6gE_u3yAAlzENgaDxtuytTLIPf_WEP7FOLqDmN0b_jviZREzOZot21uUXekTAhPh1qX0BNgi8lzwJ56NrAdBpzokQZiQ/s1600/DSC_0175.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Family time" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl0ddzaREzq1il7pFGgw5EVCSm95BKfj55TJE68P4yyOQiCiQ6gE_u3yAAlzENgaDxtuytTLIPf_WEP7FOLqDmN0b_jviZREzOZot21uUXekTAhPh1qX0BNgi8lzwJ56NrAdBpzokQZiQ/s320/DSC_0175.JPG" height="211" title="Family time" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj_aRRNziUG-SDXmDkLcfj96M0b4ouh5pENrb7-X4OTexE3cWpifDwo911ddj0vatDYZO4YywGoZCosEOUI45UdZ8m-lkSCxbUpqbFn6BrXHUDR8m92R8r1powvBzxw5y3MGEumhe90gA/s1600/DSC_0177.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj_aRRNziUG-SDXmDkLcfj96M0b4ouh5pENrb7-X4OTexE3cWpifDwo911ddj0vatDYZO4YywGoZCosEOUI45UdZ8m-lkSCxbUpqbFn6BrXHUDR8m92R8r1powvBzxw5y3MGEumhe90gA/s320/DSC_0177.JPG" height="211" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNJdEdFGJmFHwWUUco64ZPCl4aq7lTqy_UrLB01fDah2gU34j0zS32AmxIOUizhIvNg2kgFN7c2fB7ArEwhGPxwBu4IQH1DSl96Hs2EzttFLMJsADtIvBtuBdRxJTZKI_NNbyTtUPO78s/s1600/DSC_0182.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Barbeque" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNJdEdFGJmFHwWUUco64ZPCl4aq7lTqy_UrLB01fDah2gU34j0zS32AmxIOUizhIvNg2kgFN7c2fB7ArEwhGPxwBu4IQH1DSl96Hs2EzttFLMJsADtIvBtuBdRxJTZKI_NNbyTtUPO78s/s320/DSC_0182.JPG" height="211" title="Barbeque" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXIrfeuUl2QsliAjTVr6nrW_M6TOatzhlFeSqmnIP0W3HlCmAfskX_eyuJHwTFTfQBNFKTw_B5JcjjzZ3E9jJkQtu9wUitDyFDContAILOmDofrqCTgEoBqw2wWfzyxfRhTZo8SLdkQXk/s1600/DSC_0188.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Family time" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXIrfeuUl2QsliAjTVr6nrW_M6TOatzhlFeSqmnIP0W3HlCmAfskX_eyuJHwTFTfQBNFKTw_B5JcjjzZ3E9jJkQtu9wUitDyFDContAILOmDofrqCTgEoBqw2wWfzyxfRhTZo8SLdkQXk/s320/DSC_0188.JPG" height="211" title="Family time" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1RUK2tdEp-t-e7o5GIdqxcZeBIN69f8adSrgu8ZeLQN73vW1DHShkzr8a6x-6yLysYjMDwbuPcr_wyqVBhiR0qs-zEHm3CupWyF8JcCnfEJ6V3GneE086CDkqv8DyXIchvXrzhiJuSsM/s1600/DSC_0190.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Goofing around" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1RUK2tdEp-t-e7o5GIdqxcZeBIN69f8adSrgu8ZeLQN73vW1DHShkzr8a6x-6yLysYjMDwbuPcr_wyqVBhiR0qs-zEHm3CupWyF8JcCnfEJ6V3GneE086CDkqv8DyXIchvXrzhiJuSsM/s320/DSC_0190.JPG" height="211" title="Goofing around" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFb2hB66Ipmhz4xoicG7xPl3nVKz8gFTPr-9JamoORFsYh12FM6wV4OCukFmgoQKlWjGhFkekM83eySlH-QyoIUrOA118Cpa9Q4QRO9XyYQd2xALZgUMK9z5QtaLp93wjG40WX1fau2_I/s1600/DSC_0192.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Greek salad" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFb2hB66Ipmhz4xoicG7xPl3nVKz8gFTPr-9JamoORFsYh12FM6wV4OCukFmgoQKlWjGhFkekM83eySlH-QyoIUrOA118Cpa9Q4QRO9XyYQd2xALZgUMK9z5QtaLp93wjG40WX1fau2_I/s320/DSC_0192.JPG" height="211" title="Greek salad" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl4L7ukluInZywg5eQGWBQSpWZWOxkeDppsTLx01XpIA2FiOB7y0-dDTTrSeM4RtIIBcvl6p21bEAe1HOl5lEz2wzY4sWTquGG4hStO5Th3ax2PVpb6naGmK1rZZJBA60RaYRMJuhEitQ/s1600/DSC_0193.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Marinated chicken" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl4L7ukluInZywg5eQGWBQSpWZWOxkeDppsTLx01XpIA2FiOB7y0-dDTTrSeM4RtIIBcvl6p21bEAe1HOl5lEz2wzY4sWTquGG4hStO5Th3ax2PVpb6naGmK1rZZJBA60RaYRMJuhEitQ/s320/DSC_0193.JPG" height="211" title="Marinated chicken" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7VZiyxwKoQShwzl5KiB2uJeza4N22gtUqVX9e1rpNc1xmpZPradYtVlHcQN5Ls1wf1aabxqUgrliKhPlnyYqIVhsPlf8ocziqX286mMqq_2elnGCtzjU2a3AxYH8LnzlE-niMmQ0AvE8/s1600/DSC_0194.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Barbeque" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7VZiyxwKoQShwzl5KiB2uJeza4N22gtUqVX9e1rpNc1xmpZPradYtVlHcQN5Ls1wf1aabxqUgrliKhPlnyYqIVhsPlf8ocziqX286mMqq_2elnGCtzjU2a3AxYH8LnzlE-niMmQ0AvE8/s320/DSC_0194.JPG" height="211" title="Barbeque" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnamg9Tcm5OLnMMXxovqct6G3ZluwsMDZ6FUEWBdr8ugXjLxQoZ98EC__lPuzqUyXDVhCGDPC8C7-zvBvmXyUGQByri5WS80ozJTTxXLybb2WdGwyZuzT_aQ0lYsASljtsjTvNBWroNWw/s1600/DSC_0195.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Home Baked Ciabatta" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnamg9Tcm5OLnMMXxovqct6G3ZluwsMDZ6FUEWBdr8ugXjLxQoZ98EC__lPuzqUyXDVhCGDPC8C7-zvBvmXyUGQByri5WS80ozJTTxXLybb2WdGwyZuzT_aQ0lYsASljtsjTvNBWroNWw/s320/DSC_0195.JPG" height="211" title="Home Baked Ciabatta" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfoewWESl06EKGSScMbN0iDDNYjY29M-nydER8Mf6i7J79ETJo3K8TM_w6vxCDDRiu-qRX0jJ4tZeHduxapO5VpUAT_RS-HcwHl1NuC3aXWW-NMCitzm49epvA5-PSYCuzjpCJG3MgO1I/s1600/DSC_0196.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Healthy Barbeque" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfoewWESl06EKGSScMbN0iDDNYjY29M-nydER8Mf6i7J79ETJo3K8TM_w6vxCDDRiu-qRX0jJ4tZeHduxapO5VpUAT_RS-HcwHl1NuC3aXWW-NMCitzm49epvA5-PSYCuzjpCJG3MgO1I/s320/DSC_0196.JPG" height="211" title="Healthy Barbeque" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
Polygarblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12737385253422636998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145317661247612987.post-31855156217381015372013-07-02T12:41:00.002-07:002014-05-30T23:38:58.951-07:00The Solved Case of Too Much Make-up (put to the test)<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As promised in my 'Case Solved' post, this post is mainly how I put to use the excellent advice I was given, with pics!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I used the BB cream for day and night, even in the national parks, it gave really nice coverage, wasn't heavy and even in the Vegas heat wasn't greasy.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">During the day I went for light coverage with a touch of the combined bronzer/blusher and mascara, wore the lip gloss during the day in the cities but not in the national parks – it was way too windy and dusty!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisoLbKYIRqkoGJIXRzASAJf9_k4uiVhZzbl5nHT0nBtrP8KBMuNKV37QMzF8Z-TgJioxeregT_qYlFV9nGhNtINBuL97EMUJoAyRHfdb2GyouYXjEEz3nWzhX_7FZXzImXXclGaPS82xA/s1080/jen+day+makeup+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="Light day makeup" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisoLbKYIRqkoGJIXRzASAJf9_k4uiVhZzbl5nHT0nBtrP8KBMuNKV37QMzF8Z-TgJioxeregT_qYlFV9nGhNtINBuL97EMUJoAyRHfdb2GyouYXjEEz3nWzhX_7FZXzImXXclGaPS82xA/s320/jen+day+makeup+3.jpg" height="208" title="Light day makeup" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim0v_n0u299ysqSmNBuTTiVJHOzksUqoYK4luyNJQdyjkJiohm3wp88ZUHS_9DyvpMY_Wekb6bd_9gV_4iR2WSEBlSwTBJI-jZ3Iquoe1MFrGi7JWLMihjPSwj3RMY9F5wUx_fAybGI5A/s1080/jen+day+makeup+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="Light day makeup" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim0v_n0u299ysqSmNBuTTiVJHOzksUqoYK4luyNJQdyjkJiohm3wp88ZUHS_9DyvpMY_Wekb6bd_9gV_4iR2WSEBlSwTBJI-jZ3Iquoe1MFrGi7JWLMihjPSwj3RMY9F5wUx_fAybGI5A/s320/jen+day+makeup+1.jpg" height="209" title="Light day makeup" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq3h9oJRG3JX3T5yL9vArXTGgNHLx3dzh0HsWy8iY0thlYYXGp1BjCL_8F_jObJ_0EdIah9-J4CA7t8py2LQyUKKWBZxl-6BYhG4akgf2YnWogzhVXoLGNwzFblMtfFSxakehualzL2eI/s1215/jen+day+makeup+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="Light day makeup" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq3h9oJRG3JX3T5yL9vArXTGgNHLx3dzh0HsWy8iY0thlYYXGp1BjCL_8F_jObJ_0EdIah9-J4CA7t8py2LQyUKKWBZxl-6BYhG4akgf2YnWogzhVXoLGNwzFblMtfFSxakehualzL2eI/s320/jen+day+makeup+2.jpg" height="320" title="Light day makeup" width="283" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the evening I applied slightly more of the BB cream (but not much more) and added more blusher, eyeliner and the lip gloss. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwQAXnSqDw9eLLVa1UulSrH9hsr9ki0JMAVVEhGyBniRkRgCmTFk9NWmVYVO9OXjn0O6sBWBOOGb1ZjltmohLW_wChUE0zNWB3vXlcd2pwePVESUNG6Z83XJjuNoxwOMMqMrCayhNZ1iQ/s1080/jen+makeup+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="Evening makeup" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwQAXnSqDw9eLLVa1UulSrH9hsr9ki0JMAVVEhGyBniRkRgCmTFk9NWmVYVO9OXjn0O6sBWBOOGb1ZjltmohLW_wChUE0zNWB3vXlcd2pwePVESUNG6Z83XJjuNoxwOMMqMrCayhNZ1iQ/s320/jen+makeup+1.jpg" height="209" title="Evening makeup" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGYElsPZLwzLjpRnn7gqmtjovq5v3DLkidi6l9PFamH1kC6REs2H6CqfdNVv8EZqgo7Z7mpIlBLqPI7VNfxqy-R2wkzVZrsVXhmCt7TK7TD6ORpR_Gr0y2UQzU53aJWK_lmtrIXr13fYw/s1080/jen+makeup+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="Evening makeup" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGYElsPZLwzLjpRnn7gqmtjovq5v3DLkidi6l9PFamH1kC6REs2H6CqfdNVv8EZqgo7Z7mpIlBLqPI7VNfxqy-R2wkzVZrsVXhmCt7TK7TD6ORpR_Gr0y2UQzU53aJWK_lmtrIXr13fYw/s320/jen+makeup+3.jpg" height="209" title="Evening makeup" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhegnJjAZVeWKLuz3WmRxDIYMAc5-jIN6HrwoG8Xel-Xk6pFr2xPCO4sQTepk8q6alKKWhafGRgMywXItiNIw6VR4io4-0ykLMWejxmoSBAuJjkWRNCouS1-YQc_rfMK3N8AxJU_Mr9Qog/s1080/jen+makeup+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Evening makeup sepia" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhegnJjAZVeWKLuz3WmRxDIYMAc5-jIN6HrwoG8Xel-Xk6pFr2xPCO4sQTepk8q6alKKWhafGRgMywXItiNIw6VR4io4-0ykLMWejxmoSBAuJjkWRNCouS1-YQc_rfMK3N8AxJU_Mr9Qog/s320/jen+makeup+2.jpg" height="209" title="Evening makeup sepia" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was so glad I'd only taken a small amount of make-up, I didn't have to change the products from day to night and didn't have to worry about choosing a lip or eyeliner colour.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Simple and much less time consuming.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here’s a few more snaps for good measure…</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq1YbTu1W68eD8yLBd91kE83MgTYJuvP40DDTpcPq0H7MXLVpE-_owmLH-TTPCpiKuoB2my75ojHx2oBxNi6dBv95C3kC3GW6GL3t1JzdDBS5ZCLoO2mF_HpA_SdhcfBsbL1Ggkoq27VU/s1600/jen+day+outfit+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="Floaty blouse" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq1YbTu1W68eD8yLBd91kE83MgTYJuvP40DDTpcPq0H7MXLVpE-_owmLH-TTPCpiKuoB2my75ojHx2oBxNi6dBv95C3kC3GW6GL3t1JzdDBS5ZCLoO2mF_HpA_SdhcfBsbL1Ggkoq27VU/s320/jen+day+outfit+1.jpg" height="320" title="Floaty blouse" width="148" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdnj6CMMX3_VmipPYlSxhHdRJhCbpRHiIkzV_ltEeI5BVoL4r9zU4_a5vkuGH-Z0DJJJ9INGtLatqXIm4fC0zAni7AsWJzsOgsfgEiPJu3fvPZ1KOc1qAn9sTnqKMtBXatwgcHaeHBr8k/s1600/jen+day+outfit+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="Casual day outfit" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdnj6CMMX3_VmipPYlSxhHdRJhCbpRHiIkzV_ltEeI5BVoL4r9zU4_a5vkuGH-Z0DJJJ9INGtLatqXIm4fC0zAni7AsWJzsOgsfgEiPJu3fvPZ1KOc1qAn9sTnqKMtBXatwgcHaeHBr8k/s320/jen+day+outfit+2.jpg" height="320" title="Casual day outfit" width="191" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0peoe7E4uUsiyfj-FBqjWLOeHQ8MID4ZO2A38nRiByZhO_pQYqOYo0f_lP1Fip5Oa9QUJLiMXJy2Jqt1zpOWVUSMNqua_37_kRwRwqx8CgW8YVlm1N0-pdzuXI7L1WgdFsPgrRguEY6g/s1600/jen+outfit+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="Floral dress" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0peoe7E4uUsiyfj-FBqjWLOeHQ8MID4ZO2A38nRiByZhO_pQYqOYo0f_lP1Fip5Oa9QUJLiMXJy2Jqt1zpOWVUSMNqua_37_kRwRwqx8CgW8YVlm1N0-pdzuXI7L1WgdFsPgrRguEY6g/s320/jen+outfit+1.jpg" height="320" title="Floral dress" width="163" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Polygarblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12737385253422636998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145317661247612987.post-7337917733819104592013-05-09T11:24:00.000-07:002013-09-01T12:32:58.791-07:00Holiday Countdown #4 Case Solved!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thanks to all the lovely bloggers on twitter who helped me with my make-up dilemma, in particular:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://twitter.com/mrsnickih">@mrsnickih</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://twitter.com/beautyvillager">@beautyvillager</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://twitter.com/FaceValueBlog">@FaceValueBlog</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They had some great suggestions for the essential items i should take with me. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here are the items I tried and have decided to take with me...</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb-J_IGG42o5NWhSe70uIga8z06jfIJYLXM6U0-A_dwO66XDmr2eW-7XOs7Rhmq-2UG7yQCGM24EqZW_vgSk2fioNSHc1kcKc5VqQLEbb202-d9wuobmMkIjxNoMfJbOfZ1ocC8oa-8Pc/s1600/bb+cream+medium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Garnier BB Cream" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb-J_IGG42o5NWhSe70uIga8z06jfIJYLXM6U0-A_dwO66XDmr2eW-7XOs7Rhmq-2UG7yQCGM24EqZW_vgSk2fioNSHc1kcKc5VqQLEbb202-d9wuobmMkIjxNoMfJbOfZ1ocC8oa-8Pc/s200/bb+cream+medium.jpg" title="Garnier BB Cream" width="163" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Garnier BB cream in medium.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Moisturiser, SPF and foundation in one.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Its not too heavy but has good coverage. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My skin felt really soft, and not at all greasy.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYmOjczEMjbwgN9gNTWA769UDfDXzedh_pHDJqfJ9eNlnL1NHJXmbG-QZy-COcbWiQr56cWOtZuD0HYNs9BOc713sn5ywOtWY6Z6EDymq8Jg84a2TyS8ZtjZVK67y4tGm2yxC-wFlATFw/s1600/mascara.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Number 7 Mascara" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYmOjczEMjbwgN9gNTWA769UDfDXzedh_pHDJqfJ9eNlnL1NHJXmbG-QZy-COcbWiQr56cWOtZuD0HYNs9BOc713sn5ywOtWY6Z6EDymq8Jg84a2TyS8ZtjZVK67y4tGm2yxC-wFlATFw/s200/mascara.jpg" title="Number 7 Mascara" width="163" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Number 7 Extreme Length waterproof mascara in black.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Great colour, light but not too thin. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Stays on well even after lightly rinsing my face but doesn't pull your eyelashes out when removing like some other waterproofs do.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKDllpnKxSKA5l4O77LVkLRTr2OgAQ1obusKbA69tMkBCCKK9mb69dfZ5GifKy0ZuYGCo54LWZEsinaj85v9GNvkVoX-XEo6Pz3iWqJMvS0q2srYluSGLV1ylGZa-ZzqyKS9Y1AVG566g/s1600/blusher+light+skin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Rimmel Match Perfection Blush" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKDllpnKxSKA5l4O77LVkLRTr2OgAQ1obusKbA69tMkBCCKK9mb69dfZ5GifKy0ZuYGCo54LWZEsinaj85v9GNvkVoX-XEo6Pz3iWqJMvS0q2srYluSGLV1ylGZa-ZzqyKS9Y1AVG566g/s200/blusher+light+skin.jpg" title="Rimmel Match Perfection Blush" width="163" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rimmel London Match Perfection Blush for light skin.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Its a bronzer and blusher in one. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not too heavy on top of the tinted moisturiser. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Really handy for the transition from day to evening make-up.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSMbb8nKwvXbQbPWRos14SqlBNEYkFVg1uk6AoH5VHbuV8gpL3MpAxdVaEv5HQWsbGma9OAa_Jf2co14pZQaJl_1UzqlgeIFRq8apxEwxkxanaprt35ZIwP-4np6CgqPaKWB9GuVIveK4/s1600/eye+pencil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Liz Earle Eye Pencil" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSMbb8nKwvXbQbPWRos14SqlBNEYkFVg1uk6AoH5VHbuV8gpL3MpAxdVaEv5HQWsbGma9OAa_Jf2co14pZQaJl_1UzqlgeIFRq8apxEwxkxanaprt35ZIwP-4np6CgqPaKWB9GuVIveK4/s200/eye+pencil.jpg" title="Liz Earle Eye Pencil" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Liz Earle Eye Pencil in Black.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Really nice shade, not too dark and is quite creamy so can be blended really easily.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Long lasting.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBQCDjV3PK4UQkh4mUCrefGKzrV0tQyb_VGWR1-2xSdsg-ALjfmkvkVhG3FYhSZ0qfe89Fgnk3N7gHezjfLlUqXn3inkDFH-YbsFatxqBeeIQT3we4cWMdUtrKrJag-eiMIYe0jEA8RFg/s1600/juicy+tube.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Lancome Juicy Tube" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBQCDjV3PK4UQkh4mUCrefGKzrV0tQyb_VGWR1-2xSdsg-ALjfmkvkVhG3FYhSZ0qfe89Fgnk3N7gHezjfLlUqXn3inkDFH-YbsFatxqBeeIQT3we4cWMdUtrKrJag-eiMIYe0jEA8RFg/s200/juicy+tube.jpg" title="Lancome Juicy Tube" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lancome Juicy Tube in Fraise </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love Juicy Tubes, not too sticky but they last well and they taste great (sounds odd but it's true!). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This one has a great tint.</span><br />
<div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I now have a small make-up bag with just the above items in. Plenty of 'holiday make-up' pictures to follow!</span></div>
Polygarblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12737385253422636998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145317661247612987.post-44573423712467591012013-05-04T15:03:00.000-07:002013-09-01T12:33:24.569-07:00Holiday Countdown #3 The Case of Too Much Make-up!<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now to pack...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's now 1 week away from my trip and the levels of excitement are getting silly!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I decided now would be a good time to get all my clothes, toiletries and essentials together.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Choosing what make-up to take is really hard. My trip involves cities and national parks and I don't want to take too much.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So I've taken to <a href="https://twitter.com/JennyAGill">twitter</a> and enlisted the help of the wonderful <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23bbloggers&src=hash">beauty bloggers</a> on there...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I posted the question:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Help! <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23bbloggers&src=hash">#bbloggers</a> Going on a trip that involves cities and national parks, don't want to take too much make-up, what should my essentials be?"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Stay tuned to see what advice I'm given and what make-up I've decided to take!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1DzToANm0Vzqsv_0H0trQ2ndJ61rMuq2XCK59klNgHHsp6mzcQvgILB7pVRZV0iv0m1l5S0w0cyHAKr1XZGbLIgkz6ATvUQGaFtnua4XQ4b1HfbShq0alY0FUyBrVxawGFO_8tjQghRQ/s1600/makeup1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1DzToANm0Vzqsv_0H0trQ2ndJ61rMuq2XCK59klNgHHsp6mzcQvgILB7pVRZV0iv0m1l5S0w0cyHAKr1XZGbLIgkz6ATvUQGaFtnua4XQ4b1HfbShq0alY0FUyBrVxawGFO_8tjQghRQ/s320/makeup1.jpg" title="" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
Polygarblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12737385253422636998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145317661247612987.post-61515565466003915452013-04-24T12:10:00.000-07:002013-09-01T12:33:43.885-07:00Stripes... Should you or shouldn't you?<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In preparation for my holiday clothes shopping (yes I'm well aware I've rabbited on about it quite a bit) I've been checking out what's 'in' this coming fashion season.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It would appear that stripes - be it vertical, horizontal or diagonal - are going to be a massive trend this spring 2013.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCIRGmxd-eAGS-Y9YflmKCkEkukEllh_Ki15EBLusubViK6prPnume1tcN_kUv6VnQPoXfb3dLElHVPXEZshks6-zlk1XsUTOwHzQkmJVjNoYXV3qEouWjm1dymQ9UD1YT989ayJHdOvU/s1600/stripes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Stripes" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCIRGmxd-eAGS-Y9YflmKCkEkukEllh_Ki15EBLusubViK6prPnume1tcN_kUv6VnQPoXfb3dLElHVPXEZshks6-zlk1XsUTOwHzQkmJVjNoYXV3qEouWjm1dymQ9UD1YT989ayJHdOvU/s320/stripes.jpg" title="Stripes" width="273" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">photo taken from <a href="http://renetajstyle.com/">renetajstyle.com</a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's a widely held notion that horizontal stripes make you look wider than you actually are, and that 'fat' people shouldn't wear stripes. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As the below articles show, there has been much debate:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/9336938/Horizontal-stripes-really-do-make-you-look-fat.html">http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/9336938/Horizontal-stripes-really-do-make-you-look-fat.html</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2164030/Yes-stripes-DO-make-look-fat-Unless-theyre-narrow-black-horizontal-Confused-Heres-make-work-you.html">http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2164030/Yes-stripes-DO-make-look-fat-Unless-theyre-narrow-black-horizontal-Confused-Heres-make-work-you.html</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What we should be saying is 'do you really care what other people think?'</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm a great believer in the idea that you should wear what makes you feel good regardless of what other people think of you in it. And if you want to wear horizontal stripes then why should anyone tell you you can't?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's all about perception and how you view yourself.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The key is to dress to suit your body shape. A fitted bodycon style dress is probably not going to look great if you're naturally wider around the middle. And a plunging neckline isn't going to help if you're lacking in the bust department, stripes or no stripes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you're really not sure then turn to that trusted friend who'll always tell you the truth but if you haven't asked for that opinion, don't take any notice.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yes vertical stripes are going to give the illusion that they elongate your figure and horizontal stripes may give the illusion that they widen your hips - but do you care? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Slip into the striped dress and look briefly in the mirror (don't stare for too long - us human beings have a tendency to over think things), then ask yourself "do I feel good in this?" If the answer is yes then think no more about what anyone else will think of it when they see you in it and have the confidence to wear that dress with pride... it probably cost you a pretty penny in the first place.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin0pGrBMGfOZLXYygRFC-Ayf9AbBs6QmqAA21qF2InhVK-l9GV4AtgPN8DkyXP0AEeuyrGwuE7f4fWhMZZHGBWC_oy5EzKS0TRzUXQ8LTpHhngoC8imOv7ZIbijAcnfJvSNJvIDlcORD8/s1600/kendal-ian+(42).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Slouchy Striped Jumper" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin0pGrBMGfOZLXYygRFC-Ayf9AbBs6QmqAA21qF2InhVK-l9GV4AtgPN8DkyXP0AEeuyrGwuE7f4fWhMZZHGBWC_oy5EzKS0TRzUXQ8LTpHhngoC8imOv7ZIbijAcnfJvSNJvIDlcORD8/s320/kendal-ian+(42).JPG" title="Slouchy Striped Jumper" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf2pBtCWLEJm_aiZVx6dt17C5WATrZqnwDMwkUFEfY7SDt_Q8IjvqfkSDbkM5sr4PiX0mO0QaqkgoN-Pq6JL3cFtpvUtfvk3jmY2n115E8codeV-sfQAov03tEXpVIdwGfHy9gJOWq38w/s1600/belgium-ian+(45).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Striped Jumper" border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf2pBtCWLEJm_aiZVx6dt17C5WATrZqnwDMwkUFEfY7SDt_Q8IjvqfkSDbkM5sr4PiX0mO0QaqkgoN-Pq6JL3cFtpvUtfvk3jmY2n115E8codeV-sfQAov03tEXpVIdwGfHy9gJOWq38w/s320/belgium-ian+(45).JPG" title="Striped Jumper" width="320" /></a></div>
<span id="goog_745239960"></span><span id="goog_745239961"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij2k_AZe9EuEDUMvay0vxNLuC9i7Bl3Ks6bx8lSG6VlXts3lxqqNlyh1CzfM1p6ocgesTacUCT4PWl3D5A7wDix1iA8lIoxxx7aFtprjJ1ImT6Y-UM5EQ4Z2kf2rLFE2XfP7Z3ECqyxNk/s1600/rivi-apr-20+(18).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Striped Tee" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij2k_AZe9EuEDUMvay0vxNLuC9i7Bl3Ks6bx8lSG6VlXts3lxqqNlyh1CzfM1p6ocgesTacUCT4PWl3D5A7wDix1iA8lIoxxx7aFtprjJ1ImT6Y-UM5EQ4Z2kf2rLFE2XfP7Z3ECqyxNk/s320/rivi-apr-20+(18).JPG" title="Striped Tee" width="211" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Polygarblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12737385253422636998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145317661247612987.post-71930425102356217212013-04-21T12:27:00.001-07:002013-09-01T12:41:06.241-07:00Owl Obsession<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Whilst browsing through Accesorise online today I came across this beauty and suddenly realised, I'm obsessed with Owls.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikMpgM_9vGNNdawMT3UZrKxehWPAYOLqwR2u7d1R612OOwGwyjV-THw4ikAZ08NzhiwtuSP3rCP1b02dRy5DRjCaQqSp4wgeiVgyE1dLuMcYqRX4351JakluUnvOzBuUmdDLdOq2CrA-Y/s1600/Danielle+Owl+Cuff.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Accessorise Owl Cuff" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikMpgM_9vGNNdawMT3UZrKxehWPAYOLqwR2u7d1R612OOwGwyjV-THw4ikAZ08NzhiwtuSP3rCP1b02dRy5DRjCaQqSp4wgeiVgyE1dLuMcYqRX4351JakluUnvOzBuUmdDLdOq2CrA-Y/s200/Danielle+Owl+Cuff.jpeg" title="Accessorise Owl Cuff" width="156" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Danielle Owl Cuff - Accessorise</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I seem to have Owls everywhere!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jewellery...<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyfrWme6xeXBUxhNjwklPgoXT-Xc5A2bPb-b0LK6JI_bH-2YaHITt4Th90BjZRsmxiW84y797tjy0i3TjzEIK737gOD3ELKZBa5rw6MP8_8yhxn3LNR6pupn0nATMI-OSB-9a085DN7RI/s1600/photo+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Owl Earring" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyfrWme6xeXBUxhNjwklPgoXT-Xc5A2bPb-b0LK6JI_bH-2YaHITt4Th90BjZRsmxiW84y797tjy0i3TjzEIK737gOD3ELKZBa5rw6MP8_8yhxn3LNR6pupn0nATMI-OSB-9a085DN7RI/s200/photo+4.JPG" title="Owl Earring" width="149" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnEm9_mSEOip8Sa45uAHXQPS94NiLrcgueJMl2NihCsxZsFCFQmrMcMKSUic4ueLfO48Q3tju7-NOdfzRBimSkuZ99I5MhTG-SoRVysD-eM-PjjqELvmkq6WR6ensBYUdFMGjorT0a30I/s1600/photo+5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Owl Necklace" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnEm9_mSEOip8Sa45uAHXQPS94NiLrcgueJMl2NihCsxZsFCFQmrMcMKSUic4ueLfO48Q3tju7-NOdfzRBimSkuZ99I5MhTG-SoRVysD-eM-PjjqELvmkq6WR6ensBYUdFMGjorT0a30I/s200/photo+5.JPG" title="Owl Necklace" width="149" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bags...</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLybYEAg6j27YdR-WKI5afwVQADxXmxdCeq3IpFG494q1GDppuEdU16B0eQ9CXLSLxPG8zG90KwkxAf170n-exQ4nUC5w_LgorMqisRlzX6s_Pmhpsx3Aptjvw_IEll03IzAl98woNlq0/s1600/photo+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Owl Bag" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLybYEAg6j27YdR-WKI5afwVQADxXmxdCeq3IpFG494q1GDppuEdU16B0eQ9CXLSLxPG8zG90KwkxAf170n-exQ4nUC5w_LgorMqisRlzX6s_Pmhpsx3Aptjvw_IEll03IzAl98woNlq0/s200/photo+1.JPG" title="Owl Bag" width="149" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cushions...</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFJ1CyFV0AsRqmkH5YCDDvfAEzBa4LumCQavsgvJ8NNpHTSnz8HO6RNNnOY24chgnlXWpQrbUA6DnUeug9IE2whRfkSdqktZYQby2348Bh6MzKMFk0a_t0BV1utvIfDljBd9s1F3LeJLo/s1600/photo+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Owl Cushion" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFJ1CyFV0AsRqmkH5YCDDvfAEzBa4LumCQavsgvJ8NNpHTSnz8HO6RNNnOY24chgnlXWpQrbUA6DnUeug9IE2whRfkSdqktZYQby2348Bh6MzKMFk0a_t0BV1utvIfDljBd9s1F3LeJLo/s200/photo+2.JPG" title="Owl Cushion" width="149" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8YUlHtrbgkPdJIyeY8TRT3s2ATULqv4TU__WMQyqOXGBqGzs1gi6ozRqBca5kR_85stSjpLnSp5NOei9mHVkgpPrwfuAQaXe2oqdFSV-7LsLKMJMUSzrc15t7hQOexRx3GLcbmCsPXS0/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Owl Cushion" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8YUlHtrbgkPdJIyeY8TRT3s2ATULqv4TU__WMQyqOXGBqGzs1gi6ozRqBca5kR_85stSjpLnSp5NOei9mHVkgpPrwfuAQaXe2oqdFSV-7LsLKMJMUSzrc15t7hQOexRx3GLcbmCsPXS0/s200/photo.JPG" title="Owl Cushion" width="149" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">General Household items...</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgtnyzMxA754PYde_afWYxuW-kkThsx12NG3fTAhwNdtz6sxEPPvXwe6lXcIj7mn-r017vRl1Bs7GhZFdeIXDVl70sxG0G0m8w183ZpLY2C2fhnZUawE8Avj8kj1EzX7-ha02Ar0EPn-4/s1600/photo+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Owl Trinket Dish" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgtnyzMxA754PYde_afWYxuW-kkThsx12NG3fTAhwNdtz6sxEPPvXwe6lXcIj7mn-r017vRl1Bs7GhZFdeIXDVl70sxG0G0m8w183ZpLY2C2fhnZUawE8Avj8kj1EzX7-ha02Ar0EPn-4/s200/photo+3.JPG" title="Owl Trinket Dish" width="149" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm not sure where the obsession comes from. I just think there's something about them as an accessory, whether that's something you wear to complement an outfit or have to decorate your home.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Polygarblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12737385253422636998noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145317661247612987.post-23070763453260161602013-04-18T13:27:00.002-07:002013-09-01T12:34:26.056-07:00Hidden Gems<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In preparation for my holiday I decided to get my suitcase out of the loft, I'm not going for 3 weeks but the excitement is killing me so I thought I'd get started on my packing (I'll re-pack about 10 times in the next 3 weeks).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While in the loft (which is a little bit like a rubbish tip) I came across an absolute gem... A lovely retro red box that I discovered contains a collection of 45rpm vinyl records from the 50's and 60's.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr6_Xtfk296xgLpoP11jFAm1fxbvzcLrznoUGpdo9IcIFwqvwu-l07Zge-NIf9wWIvh2UNbbGNrOwMNgyKmGJvLtVCCjN7kMER9sKWSmK47E7l6YfchZCHYYB4px2FFjByDvJfWpH6Pe4/s1600/DSC_0001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Box of 45's" border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr6_Xtfk296xgLpoP11jFAm1fxbvzcLrznoUGpdo9IcIFwqvwu-l07Zge-NIf9wWIvh2UNbbGNrOwMNgyKmGJvLtVCCjN7kMER9sKWSmK47E7l6YfchZCHYYB4px2FFjByDvJfWpH6Pe4/s320/DSC_0001.JPG" title="Box of 45's" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These records belong to my mum and they're awesome!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTwWJBL1n29dVXmen6xjxczkOh2tuDHo64FL3u-RcOySdnU4te6vKaKs-YGv1MVuU1G12K0ibCOT91UvnuL7pQYlBYRlF4hLvzy5UbwSKMDLvkjEWwxxHspD3mSz8QSh8Me72AFtTNURM/s1600/DSC_0002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Box of 45's" border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTwWJBL1n29dVXmen6xjxczkOh2tuDHo64FL3u-RcOySdnU4te6vKaKs-YGv1MVuU1G12K0ibCOT91UvnuL7pQYlBYRlF4hLvzy5UbwSKMDLvkjEWwxxHspD3mSz8QSh8Me72AFtTNURM/s320/DSC_0002.JPG" title="Box of 45's" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are some real classics in there:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sonny and Cher</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Beatles</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Rolling Stones</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Dave Clark Five</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Roy Orbison</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And loads more.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsan7jTf4etKpddmZukoyxgJEYniuS_6QjIXps2hSbJbeRdyxkLab2DXdqiRvF5nghqKCUqpjhwISFWQ-u40ro_27LOSvPg_fOIbAB_MhkVhlZXBqqozSC-QZuNJPe0rWc8DcTT6IL3yQ/s1600/DSC_0017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Decca, Parlophone 45's" border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsan7jTf4etKpddmZukoyxgJEYniuS_6QjIXps2hSbJbeRdyxkLab2DXdqiRvF5nghqKCUqpjhwISFWQ-u40ro_27LOSvPg_fOIbAB_MhkVhlZXBqqozSC-QZuNJPe0rWc8DcTT6IL3yQ/s320/DSC_0017.JPG" title="Decca, Parlophone 45's" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They don't have the covers and have my mums name written all over them so wouldn't be worth any money but they're still a great find amongst all the rubbish that's in my loft!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's interesting to think what other things might be hiding up there, I'll have to have a good dig around when I have a little more time.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRjC2vYJha7Tv0Dtwfq41oYa0BGFTBlOGBdpuZnYkJLHEM6m4WQ227zs2D-ZmT7G2CeJynG5H68mVZkGyOnkGWdbPcsq6cyJT-jz1sosEgLLIi2WhNTNcpM_DhW_DYIfPs5m8qUmTteuY/s1600/DSC_0027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Parlophone 45's" border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRjC2vYJha7Tv0Dtwfq41oYa0BGFTBlOGBdpuZnYkJLHEM6m4WQ227zs2D-ZmT7G2CeJynG5H68mVZkGyOnkGWdbPcsq6cyJT-jz1sosEgLLIi2WhNTNcpM_DhW_DYIfPs5m8qUmTteuY/s320/DSC_0027.JPG" title="Parlophone 45's" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'd love to know what hidden gems you've found 'stored' in your loft, leave me a comment and let me know...</span><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Polygarblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12737385253422636998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145317661247612987.post-57780366297877686382013-04-15T12:58:00.000-07:002014-05-30T23:39:36.883-07:00My Red Rose<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On a shelf in my room I have a photograph of my grandparents wedding. I don't really remember the first time I saw the picture I just know I was very young. They had red roses at their wedding and I remember thinking they were very 'pretty' (in the way young girls see weddings and pretty flowers).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC0SoNI3vHy_SyujgEvfLhrPsBUnRsZsJ661NerfcUYeXKXxHx6fmctEsUotEGQRbR7jdsslcI3FNPETL0dOHYTbXE-axTXuzaaTd2Whdsk_N2kakIX2-Q1NE0TkqY3tCRU3jkz3K2_wQ/s1600/002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC0SoNI3vHy_SyujgEvfLhrPsBUnRsZsJ661NerfcUYeXKXxHx6fmctEsUotEGQRbR7jdsslcI3FNPETL0dOHYTbXE-axTXuzaaTd2Whdsk_N2kakIX2-Q1NE0TkqY3tCRU3jkz3K2_wQ/s320/002.jpg" height="230" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I recently discovered this picture in a drawer at my mum's house and the meaning this classic flower has for me came flooding back.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My grandfather died when I was 15 years old and we had red roses at the funeral. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Soon after he died I started to write a diary, he'd been my main father figure and I missed him tremendously, and like many other teenagers, I needed an outlet.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the diary I put the front of a sympathy card someone had bought for me which had a poem about a rose passing through to the other side of a wall (The Rose Beyond The Wall - Author Unknown) and although it had religious connotations (I'm not a religious person) it gave me a great deal of comfort at such a young age.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also in the diary I'd included a dried, pressed rose from the funeral (I pressed flowers a lot with my grandma when I was young - it was lots of fun).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The instances of the red rose popping up had little significance to me when I was young and I think it's partly because of this (and partly because I've moved a few times and am a bit scatty) that I have no idea where the diary is. I must have lost it or thrown it away by mistake during a move.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's only recently that I've discovered the real connotations this stunning flower has for me. It has cropped up at a few poignant moments of my life, my grandparents wedding, their funerals (we also had red roses at my grandmother's funeral), my favourite painting (Salvador Dali's Meditative Rose) and now more recently in my private life.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The more recent instance I feel has allowed me to truly appreciate why this flower means so much to me. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The significance of being close to someone. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The emotion it evokes. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The understanding that you can be so close to someone - geographically (living in the same area, possibly have a similar group of friends etc), not meet them for decades, and then when you finally meet realising you have this 'thing' (in this case a red rose) in common and that the significance of that item is shared. Knowing that this significance needs no explanation - it's just there and you both understand it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I adore the notion that you can have something so specific in common with someone you've never met.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Throughout our teens and into adult life we're bombarded with the idea that roses are romantic, that they represent love and define a relationship yet they have little actual meaning for many people.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Take St Valentine's Day for example. Specifically, roses given as a gift - just because its Valentine's Day. I'm a strong believer that you shouldn't need the excuse of Valentine's Day to show your appreciation or love for someone, but if you're going to give a gift on that day surely there should be more thought involved - not just roses because they were on display in the florist.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The roses received in this instance will simply die and be thrown away with the rest of the household rubbish without a second thought.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Like anything else - unless they actually mean something to you they have no importance, they are just 'pretty' flowers as seen through the eyes of a small child when looking at a wedding photograph.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdtNYuBAdbPtAyapbd-NGnOG2h41bytaEfZcav8SYj6wCGhBhHCaBfgg8MNynDZe5vk5AL3LtXzlnjd0iaB56QzLmaHfHeSn77ZpfXKjE3h6Ae9vo7YSjCfm7cfO_KHEFk6ikR89pci-Q/s1600/salvador+dali+meditative+rose.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img alt="Salvador Dali Meditative Rose" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdtNYuBAdbPtAyapbd-NGnOG2h41bytaEfZcav8SYj6wCGhBhHCaBfgg8MNynDZe5vk5AL3LtXzlnjd0iaB56QzLmaHfHeSn77ZpfXKjE3h6Ae9vo7YSjCfm7cfO_KHEFk6ikR89pci-Q/s200/salvador+dali+meditative+rose.jpg" height="200" title="Salvador Dali Meditative Rose" width="155" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Salvador Dali Meditative Rose</span></div>
Polygarblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12737385253422636998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8145317661247612987.post-53305360974337659712013-04-09T12:44:00.002-07:002013-09-01T12:35:56.999-07:00Holiday countdown #2<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Who else thinks it's really unfair when you go shopping with a huge list of things you want, come away with only 3 things off that list and the person you're with, who says "I'm only going to pick up a few bits", comes back with 2 huge bags full of clothes and shoes.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not fair!!!</span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here are some of the things I did pick up...</span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbUkigtZWS5Ui1F4eu-ZeA8yB5NsHiGUS-_2_k9WVT6JNqHWLfvQ0uTxLtpWk74t8YgsWp-78NzCqGKVR11ahFCJQ7vBIMB8r1JTNv8c1UyKbHKUyxl9yaRUP-M-Rh7DT2fThLIwrM7ao/s1600/bird+dress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Mila Loves London Bird Print" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbUkigtZWS5Ui1F4eu-ZeA8yB5NsHiGUS-_2_k9WVT6JNqHWLfvQ0uTxLtpWk74t8YgsWp-78NzCqGKVR11ahFCJQ7vBIMB8r1JTNv8c1UyKbHKUyxl9yaRUP-M-Rh7DT2fThLIwrM7ao/s320/bird+dress.jpg" title="Mila Loves London Bird Print" width="177" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Mela Loves London at New Look</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2yb66bhcT22tg-6Mra4MvUG0JHpfqd2esOdb9m0H1qpMvHIZOTEtnu2EFiAbMbPO3n8m5I4LjL3K9_T5o7tngPXAnkda7Dj7a4Dr59bn9var1KTI1lvr5gWO2dzgLRUhxc6CaOi0lcuY/s1600/scarf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="H&M Flower Print Scarf" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2yb66bhcT22tg-6Mra4MvUG0JHpfqd2esOdb9m0H1qpMvHIZOTEtnu2EFiAbMbPO3n8m5I4LjL3K9_T5o7tngPXAnkda7Dj7a4Dr59bn9var1KTI1lvr5gWO2dzgLRUhxc6CaOi0lcuY/s320/scarf.jpg" title="H&M Flower Print Scarf" width="168" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> H&M</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOeTsvBAtn0x_Yxq9uOvtTyZBYCzSJnvdum5sr4lAejRlbNxP-wzUJ_DeApFFwsihxOM8SqQNdi7jMdnYxtdVXDUGr2XUTlQtdXbr0BrwFsc95Mr8wX9vRM20Cosu5ulEsJpaS3B03Gmw/s1600/shorts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="New Look Denim Short" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOeTsvBAtn0x_Yxq9uOvtTyZBYCzSJnvdum5sr4lAejRlbNxP-wzUJ_DeApFFwsihxOM8SqQNdi7jMdnYxtdVXDUGr2XUTlQtdXbr0BrwFsc95Mr8wX9vRM20Cosu5ulEsJpaS3B03Gmw/s320/shorts.jpg" title="New Look Denim Short" width="286" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> New Look</span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had already bought this dress...</span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8_cIzVx0Bxqo-gixCv9basjhIWOPpjOFnDWCGySaIWZ5euriXP1Ot2ywa8gEg0GXZoVy2qcqdydzik9bxevfwdjMjGPMG2AE4xm8Zin6ITP76bS6AZ7tucUpE-hfY465JAYe2gTDfrbI/s1600/flower+dress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="New Look Floral Dress" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8_cIzVx0Bxqo-gixCv9basjhIWOPpjOFnDWCGySaIWZ5euriXP1Ot2ywa8gEg0GXZoVy2qcqdydzik9bxevfwdjMjGPMG2AE4xm8Zin6ITP76bS6AZ7tucUpE-hfY465JAYe2gTDfrbI/s320/flower+dress.jpg" title="New Look Floral Dress" width="177" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> New Look</span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And this bag...</span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ4ARDuKDO2dsEWacY_QR1FAGhkmFQA4XUNs0ZQzlmvogVKxQsnlIOMVkPEy6n7H5FZX5nYTpHio6N46Bwxel9VHDhYcWDTD8FLDY9i0CdguMD8dzNsPTsQmC8ObuWTZDmtNiA6PEWRlU/s1600/bag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="George Floral Bag" border="0" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ4ARDuKDO2dsEWacY_QR1FAGhkmFQA4XUNs0ZQzlmvogVKxQsnlIOMVkPEy6n7H5FZX5nYTpHio6N46Bwxel9VHDhYcWDTD8FLDY9i0CdguMD8dzNsPTsQmC8ObuWTZDmtNiA6PEWRlU/s320/bag.jpg" title="George Floral Bag" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">George at Adsa</span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh yes, and the slightly less exciting but very essential walking boots...</span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV58o5GxO0RfPVp1dii7WKJGLYJAmQzA0YGcTt25xbNrt3voCkf61ZGzrIb7HPmxhvnvl6NxxYzPdb4270RYPOQiLcuGuqyGTTh1FJBIfEPV7aKqZ4-YWFF8Hkub9ozvk-6UfR0vFSyRk/s1600/boots.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Karrimor Walking Boots" border="0" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV58o5GxO0RfPVp1dii7WKJGLYJAmQzA0YGcTt25xbNrt3voCkf61ZGzrIb7HPmxhvnvl6NxxYzPdb4270RYPOQiLcuGuqyGTTh1FJBIfEPV7aKqZ4-YWFF8Hkub9ozvk-6UfR0vFSyRk/s320/boots.jpg" title="Karrimor Walking Boots" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Karrimor</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ah well, I'll just have to go again next week and hopefully be able to cross some more items off my list!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Polygarblehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12737385253422636998noreply@blogger.com1