Things that grow on other things

You all remember how I love trees, right?  Well there is something unique about the trees around Barra that I noticed right away!  I don't know if this is a Brazil thing or a Rio thing, but everywhere you look, there are things growing on other things.  And not normal things like vines or other jungle-y items, such as this:

a typical occurrence in the jungle

I'm talking orchids and other houseplants growing on trees...

Here it is not uncommon to see orchids, and other random plants, tied to trees, and freely growing. 

No room in your apartment?  Hang your houseplants from your trees!

I love the pop of color this orchid provides!

 I have no idea what's going on with this little guy, but he looks quite comfortable...

(Sorry for the spotty/blurry photos - it was raining when I snapped the pics! Don't worry, we have a waterproof camera!)

I love these random plants growing on other plants!  I think they are so whimsical and cute.  The added vegetation makes the neighborhood look more green and luscious.  At first it was confusing, because the way they are attached, I thought they were naturally growing there.  I think after awhile the roots start to wrap around the tree and they survive for a long time!

What do you think of this "decor" idea?  Something you would try in your yard?

P.S.
Why "Alonewithmytea?"
Wanderlust
Get inspired

The Wedding Decorations

I wanted my wedding decor to be feminine and romantic.  Even though we weren't having a traditional "tea party," I still wanted it to feel like a tea party.  

My cousin, Sara, did the decorations (and all the flowers), and they turned out ah-mazing.  My favorite part about the wedding was the decor.  I told her a general idea of what I wanted (pink, yellow, soft, romantic, somewhat vintage, tea party, etc.), and she nailed it!  I couldn't have been more happy!

Photos by RuthMarie Photography (another cousin - isn't family the best?)

Gluten-free cake made by my mom and decorated by a cake shop in Brawley, and the bouquet that I tossed

The beautiful chairs that we didn't even sit in - we were too busy talking to friends! :)

P.S.
In case you missed it, my two favorite moments of the wedding: The Bridal Party, The Kiss, and our DIY "guestbook"

Thanks a bunch

I haven't had a chance to send out official thank you notes yet.  But I wanted to let everyone who was involved with my putting on my wedding - whether via planning, organizing, helping with decorations, food, transportation, money, etc - that I am truly grateful.  Peter and I had a wonderful, beautiful wedding, and it couldn't have been done without you!  Thanks from the bottom of our hearts!!!  (And we will send out real thank you notes to everyone as soon as possible!)

P.S. I did the above sketch using the iPad app, Paper (previously on my blog here and here).  The sketch evolved as seen below, and I edited the final version using the online site fotor.com.

DIY Watercolor Map "Guest book"

For my wedding, I didn't want a traditional guest book.  I knew it would end up closed, sitting in a cupboard or on a bookshelf.  I wanted something I could look at daily and remember the the loved ones who helped celebrate our day.

I have always loved maps and have always planned to decorate my house with maps.  So I decided to make a large watercolor of the world, which the guests would sign.  I decided to keep it simple, since the writing needed to be the focal point.

Read on for the DIY

Fast food in Brazil

Fast food in Brazil is filling and tasty.  Yes, they do have McDonald's and Burger King, but those are actually more expensive than "regular" food.  A hamburger at McDonald's would cost the same amount as the food you see below.

So when we eat out, we opt for Brazilian food, rather than over-priced, yucky, American fast food.  We found a place in the mall that we love.  It's called Polis Sucos and it's primarily a juice shop, but they also have yummy food.

I got the "kabob" meal.  It arrived with the meat off the stick, rice, beans, farofa, french fries, and a salsa of sorts.  It cost about $8:

Peter got a chicken breast with an egg on top, rice, beans, french fries, and a salad - for about $8:

I also got a lime juice sweetened with honey, and Peter got guarana.

I really love Brazilian food.  The meat is always flavored well, we always get rice and beans, and they love french fries here! (The french fries seem to be baked, not fried, so they don't taste greasy.)

P.S.
Why "Alonewithmytea?"
Wanderlust
Get inspired

"Like" Alonewithmytea on Facebook to receive updates in your newsfeed when I publish something new.

The Mr. and Mrs.

P.S.
Why "Alonewithmytea?"
Wanderlust
Get inspired

"Like" Alonewithmytea on Facebook to receive updates in your newsfeed when I publish something new.

Red brick

I walk by this complex every day.  And every day I stop to think about how pretty it is.  The tree is usually blooming with bright purple flowers, and I think the red brick is just beautiful.

See also: Our wedding ceremony, the kiss, the bridal party.

"Like" alonewithmytea on Facebook.

The large family

My favorite part about our wedding was that my whole family could be together.  This is no easy feat, with some living in Brawley, some in Florida, some in Northern California!  

I am so grateful that everyone was able to make it and participate in some way.  My sisters and sister-in-law were bridesmaids, two nieces were flower girls, one nephew was the ring bearer, another nephew escorted my grandma and mom, the other nephews helped with pre-wedding stuff, an my other older nieces helped with handing out the bubbles and supervising the guest book (map) and gifts.

It was so fun to spend wedding week with my beautiful family!

Me and Peter and my large family:
Grandma, Mom, Dad, Brother + Sister-in-law + Nieces and nephew #1-4, Sister + Brother-in-law + Niece Nephews #5-8, Sister (+Brother-in-law not pictured) + Niece and nephews #9-11, Sister

See also: Our wedding ceremony, the kiss, the bridal party, the best dad, ever.

"Like" alonewithmytea on Facebook.

View from Parque Lage

You may remember our trip to Parque Lage.  This was the view from one of the trails.  I'm not sure what part of the city it is, but I thought it was a pretty picture.

The best Dad, ever

I'm very lucky to have such a caring, loving, happy, friendly, and funny dad!  Who else could have put up with 4 crazy girls?!

What do you see?

So... we opened our carton of ice cream, and immediately cracked up laughing... Well... what do you see?  I would tell you what we saw, but we need to keep things G rated around here...

lopsided ladies

save the ta-tas

Are we just immature, or would you laugh, too?

You might also like: Our wedding ceremony, the kiss, the bridal party.  More wedding photos coming next week!

"Like" Alonewithmytea on Facebook to receive updates in your newsfeed when I publish something new.

Don't forget to take my blog survey, found on the left sidebar.

The Bridal Party

The Bridal Party

Date: July 20, 2013

Location: Ventura Cove, Mission Bay Park, San Diego, CA

Dress: David's Bridal

Bridesmaid dresses: Whatever they wanted in pink

Peter's suit pieces: Express

Groomsmen clothes: Gray pants, yellow tie or bow tie

Jewelry: My mom's pearl necklace and pearl earrings

Makeup: Done by me

Hair: Done by my sister

Photography: RuthMarie Photography

Kite Surfing in Barra da Tijuca

Last Saturday was Brazil's Independence Day, so we celebrated by sleeping in, and then headed to the beach.  It was mostly sunny and beautiful.  However, it was also cold and windy (remember - it's still winter here), so we didn't stay long.  We had a snack (similar to this one) and enjoyed watching the kite surfers.  Now Peter totally wants to start kite surfing.  Gotta admit, it looks fun, but on that chilly day, I was glad to not be in the water!

The Kiss

It started out innocently enough...

Photography: RuthMarie Photography

Parque Lage - one of the most beautiful places in Rio de Janeiro

This past weekend we spent a beautiful day in Parque Lage.  I think it is one of the most beautiful places in Rio de Janeiro.  You can have a picnic, feed the monkeys (not sure if you're supposed to), explore the princess tower, look at a small aquarium, look at the beautiful art from the art school - all while under the gaze of Christ the Reedemer.  It's a lovely (and best of all, free) park!

I made a short video to remember the day by.  I didn't include everything in the video because I wasn't sure if I would run out of memory on the camera.  This video mostly contains footage of friends having a picnic and monkeys sharing a banana! 

I will post pictures later!  In the meantime, enjoy the video!

The Wedding Ceremony

I am finally publishing photos from our wedding!  Yay!

To everyone who helped out - Thank you!  It turned out great.  We all had a fun time.  Peter loved the lawn games (more pics of that in the next couple days).  I loved being able to chat with friends.

In hindsight, there are a couple of things I would have done differently.  But I guess there's no use thinking about it now.  As you can tell in the pics, we were just very happy to finally start our lives together.  I guess that's all that matters!

Date: July 20, 2013

Location: Ventura Cove, Mission Bay Park, San Diego, CA

Dress: David's Bridal

Bridesmaids: Whatever they wanted in pink

Peter's suit pieces: Express

Groomsmen: Gray pants, yellow tie or bow tie

Jewelry: My mom's pearl necklace and pearl earrings

Makeup: Done by me

Hair: Done by my sister

Photography: RuthMarie Photography

Things I love about married life #1

Eating cereal together at 12:30am.

Sometimes I like eating a midnight snack. It's nice to have someone join me :)

P.S.

Things you can send

Julie and Peter's Honeymoon

I am officially in my "late 20s"

Details about living in Barra

"Like" Alonewithmytea on Facebook to receive updates in your newsfeed when I publish something new.

Don't forget to take my blog survey, found on the left sidebar.