V is for Vacation

We've got a plan, a reservation, and in a few weeks we're heading for Oyster Bay--aka Bremerton, Washington. No more virtual vacations, folks, this is gonna be the real deal. What's cooler--we're trying a different approach, skipping the pricey, impersonal hotel route, and going with a home stay.



See, I'm one of those people who actually looks at, and occasionally clicks on, the ads on Facebook. This time I discovered a very nifty *new* service called airbnb. What, you ask, is an airbnb? From the website:

Airbnb is a marketplace where you can list & book anything from a couch to a castle by the night. With a reach of over 4000 cities in 131 countries, Airbnb is a global movement empowering everyday people to travel.

We're staying in a bungalow on the water. We have the entire lower level of the house, the garden, two kayaks, daily breakfast, jet tub, laundry, movie and book library and free wireless. Just up the road are restaurants, cafes, yoga, antique shops and the ferry to downtown Seattle. All that and the beauty of Puget Sound for about half the cost of a regular, mid-price chain hotel room. No kidding.

The folks we're staying with sound neat. He is the founder of a software company, an outdoors organization, and an avid mountain climber. She is a photographer and fiber artist who takes budding photographers on local photo walks. If we want to learn how to bake sourdough bread, that's an option as well.

Getting away is always good and we're overdue for an adventure. I'll let you know how the airbnb service pans out, and if it's as good as I suspect it might be we may just have found our new way to travel.

Magic Moments

One of the best things about a vacation is the photographs we bring home. Whenever we feel the need they are at ready to transport us back to those happy moments in time. Our trip to Disneyland last month was short but sweet and I'm slowly editing the many moments we captured while we were there...here's a few for you to enjoy over the weekend!

Images 1-4 and 7 are by my husband, Chris, and 5 and 6 were from my camera lens.

Check out more Disneyland pics and our full photo gallery on Flickr.
©Pfeiffer Photos, 2010 ~ all rights reserved.

Crunch Time

Popping in to mention that I am on a short hiatus finishing up a BIG project for a final at school. My Etsy vintage shop and both blogs are on hold until after Wednesday. Next week we're flying off for a few days in the sun at The Happiest Place on Earth {aka Disneyland} for a much-earned winter break! Can. Not. Wait.

The photo/art/design and vintagey goodness shall return when the dust has settled...just thought I'd let 'cha know...

Enjoy the Season!!

Design Inspiration: Stradbroke Island Beach House ~ Brisbane, Australia

Anna Spiro, Interior Designer (Black & Spiro) and author of the blog, Absolutely Beautiful Things, decorated her vacation home with all the things she loves. I love her style, what do you think?

For more photos and info on renting the Stradbroke House visit HERE.

Images copyright Anna Spiro, 2009.

Swamped

swamp (verb). 1 a: to fill with or as if with water : inundate , submerge b: to overwhelm numerically or by an excess of something : flood [1]

I am swamped. Next week is finals at school and I have projects to finish galore. Eight sculpture pieces to finish and decorate. Seven drawings to sketch, paint and ink. Two presentations to prepare and polish. Then maybe, just maybe, I can get to the business of finishing up the Christmas shopping. Wrapping. Mailing. Fulfilling orders from our Etsy shop. And sometime after that perhaps the house will get cleaned again, the laundry mountain will be scaled down, and we'll head for a weekend off at the coast in two weeks. Hot clam chowder and winter storms are calling us.

On a happy note...we received a gift basket from Harry & David filled with pears, apples, cheese, sausage and treats today from Chris' folks in (early) celebration of our second anniversary. YUM!

Two new photos are posted below from our recent journeys that took us through Carver, Oregon...enjoy.

Have a super weekend, everyone!

t 2 b: Carver Pioneer Chapel and Carver Luthern Chapel by Tina - Pfeiffer Photos 2008

[1] Mirriam Webster Online 2008.

photos displayed are copyright pfeiffer photos 2008 - all rights reserved.

Happy Labor Day!

"The end of labor is to gain leisure." ~Aristotle

Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September. The holiday originated in 1882 as the Central Labor Union (of New York City) sought to create "a day off for the working citizens". Congress made Labor Day a federal holiday in 1894. All fifty states have made Labor Day a state holiday. Traditionally, Labor Day is celebrated by most Americans as the symbolic end of the summer.

Labor Day has been celebrated on the first Monday in September in the United States since the 1880s. The form for the celebration of Labor Day was outlined in the first proposal of the holiday—a street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and [spirit] of the trade and labor organizations," followed by a festival for the workers and their families. This became the pattern for Labor Day celebrations. Speeches by prominent men and women were introduced later, as more emphasis was placed upon the economic and civil significance of the holiday. Still later, by a resolution of the American Federation of Labor convention of 1909, the Sunday preceding Labor Day was adopted as Labor Sunday and dedicated to the spiritual and educational aspects of the labor movement.

Today, Labor Day is often regarded as a day of rest and, compared to the May 1 Labour Day celebrations in most countries, parades, speeches or political demonstrations are more low-key.
Forms of celebration include picnics, barbecues, fireworks displays, water sports, and public art events. Families with school-age children take it as the last chance to travel before the end of summer. Some teenagers and young adults view it as the last weekend for parties before returning to school.

Since 1966, the annual telethon of the Muscular Dystrophy Association has been held on Labor Day weekend. The telethon, hosted by Jerry Lewis, raises tens of millions of dollars each year to fund research and patient support programs for the various diseases grouped as muscular dystrophy. Labor Day weekend also marked the annual running of the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. The race was run at any time during the weekend from 1950-2002. In 2004, NASCAR began racing on Labor Day weekend at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. Chicago's Taste of Polonia, the city's largest Polish-themed festival celebration of Polish cultural heritage, traditions, and customs on the grounds of the Copernicus Foundation in Jefferson Park. Bringing in crowds well over 30,000 each year.

And, finally, a bit of Labor Day humor--for all the parents out there, here's a quote just for you:

"Labor Day is a glorious holiday because your child will be going back to school the next day. It would have been called Independence Day, but that name was already taken."

- Bill Dodds, American humorist


Have a safe and happy Labor Day Weekend!


This description (mainly borrowed from Wikipedia) of Labor Day applies to the holiday as it is observed in the United States but many countries observe Labour Day on a variety of dates throughout the year, and have their own traditions for celebrating.

copyright pfeiffer photos 2008 - all rights reserved

Inspiration Tuesday

"Hi, my name is Tina and I'm a Disney fan."

Yes, it is true, I like Disney. More specifically, I admire Walt Disney and his creations, Disneyland and Walt Disney World.

I never visited Disneyland as a child; my first experience was that of a 27-year-old adult. The world of Disney opened my heart and eyes much like a child's. A feeling of safety, of joy and of wonder is a good experience of any lifetime. The video included at the end of this post is one of my favorites on YouTube. I love it because it's a such a great collage of video clips from another ordinary persons adventures at Disneyland. Notice I said adventures? That's what it's about when we visit Disneyland...it's not just another amusement park, it's a place for wonder and adventures for everyone!

Chris and I have no children and because of this our family does not understand why we would choose Disneyland as a favorite vacation destination. Many adults think that Disneyland is just a place for kids to have fun. Because it is an amusement park, the singular attraction must be the thrill rides. Disneyland is about so much more than the rides and is definitely not just for kids. From the moment you walk onto Main Street, USA, you are believer. Deny it all you want, but take a ride on the Disneyland Railroad to Tomorrowland and you'll be whirling around on the Astro Orbiter faster than a 5-year-old can say "Mickey Mouse"!

Admittedly, arguments have been made against Disney's mass-marketing and commercialism but for those who look past the corporate mechanics, Disney is about more than media, consumer products or theme parks with rides. It is about entertainment, and teaching by entertaining is an effective way to bring knowledge.

Some would say that a vacation to Disney equals a very high price tag. As an almost all-inclusive destination, however, the Disney experience provides a lot of bang for the buck. Where else can you go that has so much to do--theme parks, shopping, dining, adult nightlife, interactive theatres, history, world cultures (EPCOT), technical innovations, world-class architecture, Broadway quality stage shows, elaborate parades, top-notch fireworks and laser displays, award-winning golf courses, water parks, and Cirque du Soleil, La Nouba--all in one place?

Once upon a time, drawing a tiny mouse, an idealist believed that he could change the world so he bought an orange grove and built his dreams. Disneyland and Walt Disney World embody altruism, idealism and capitalism at it's best--the very epitome of the definition of Americanism. It is a source of joy and imagination. At Disney, the bad is forgotten and good seems to conquer evil. Wide-eyed excitement is seen in the faces of children and adults from all walks of life. You can see that they seek the same thing as you--fantasy, adventure and a magical experience to take them away from their everyday lives, if only for a few hours or days.

Different cultures become one as we forget the troubles of the real world all around us. It is a place where people of all ages visit to have fun in a world that is sometimes much too serious. Serious is good, but so is fun and a balance of both is the best. Walt Disney built a place that helps us to laugh, to think, to dream, and to do--not just in Anaheim, but wherever we are--no matter what race, religion, gender or age you might be.

Disneyland's cultural impact on society has been woven into our daily lives, from learning to use your imagination to innovative technologies that could improve society. The greatest influence of the parks that Walt built have been in his positive view of the future. Disney managed to find ways to appeal to kids and to the kid in all of us. He used money to create magnificent parks and ground-breaking films that have generated millions of careers and made people's lives richer. Walt summed it up best in his dedication speech on opening day, July 15, 1955:

"To all who come to this happy place, welcome! Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams and the hard facts which have created America with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world."

Color photos displayed in this post by Chris & Tina of Pfeiffer Photos copyright 2008. Black and white photo of Walt Disney is copyright protected and used by permission.