poser

i've been designing hotels for some time now, and in our presentations we always place images of the chic people that we imagine to be the future visitors of our creations.  the happy couple, the model-like business man, the chic single girl with that handbag we dream of but just can't afford.  people have a a way of bringing a space to life. after all, they are the reason we design. 

i find myself thinking of the spaces i've completed and wondering, are there really people there?... sitting in the perfectly positioned chairs covered in the fabric hand-picked by me, or are they just empty, statuesque, as people pass? 

who uses these lobby seats?  today it's me.  i've been living at this hotel for quite some time now and the lobby, over time, stopped being the lobby and became my living room.  why sit in a hotel room when i can be down here? the hotel room is stagnant. this place has energy, with the clanking of pool balls from the billiards tables in the corner, and the bustle of people coming and going. 

i used to think the only people that sat in the lobbies of hotels were those that posed in our renderings, illustrating how we dreamed the space would be used... but now i know them.  they are me, and somehow that makes it all worth while.  

sky

my coworker took this photo from the fire stairs of our construction site office yesterday. the sky was amazing!

when i lived in arizona, pretty much every sunset looked like this... out here at least from what i've experienced having only lived out the summer season, the sky has never looked like this.  it is usually a cloudless very muted blue with haze that makes the visibility not so great.  the past couple days the sky has been crystal clear and you can see further and see more details, the light quality has just changed. 

we are finally changing seasons and if this is a sign of what fall-winter will look like, bring it on!

boo!

signs of fall and US holidays halfway across the world!

i couldn't resist buying a pumpkin for the office when i saw the display at spinney's yesterday.  they had the traditional orange pumpkins and also white "ghost" pumpkins!... so i'm sure you all know which one i went for!!!

...  it reminds me of home, fall holidays, adult apple cider, and sweaters with boots!  a girl can dream can't she?  even when it is 38 degrees Celsius outside!

hiatus

can someone please tell me how on earth we are already a third of the way through october?!

i clearly neglected this blog while i was gone!

my time in arizona felt like someone was holding down the fast forward button.  knowing that i'm not able to go home for a long time after this visit left a bit of a cloud over my head.... a whirlwind of shopping for things i can't get here, various appointments, parties, wedding celebrations, and brunches with family friends and relatives, all the while feeling my way through a mean dose of jet lag and trying to cram in as much QT with everyone as possible.  i love my family and friends there so much.  i needed more time.  i settled down into my seat on the plane back and i felt sad.

then i remembered a tip from a well traveled friend:  always have the next trip planned.  you have to have something to look forward to.

now, this doesn't cure my current homesick blues or negate the fact that i still have to stay out of the states for a while (tax purposes), but it does give me pause to remember that there is a whole world out there to explore.

i guess the only questions left are where? and who's with me?

happy birthday to me.

happy birthday to me.  happy birthday dear... me.  happy birthday to me!

this lovely cupcake is from crumbs bake shops in nyc.  go get one!

yes.  that's right,  today i am another year older, and hopefully that much more the wiser. 

i had an amazing time in nyc... i packed a lot into 24 hours!

i had dinner with friends at wildwood barbecue, i highly recommend the pulled pork sandwich!  and rounded out the night at corner bistro, one of my favorite little joints in the all of manhattan (if i hadn't already downed a pound of pulled pork... i would have enjoyed on of the famous corner bistro burgers, they are delish!)

i got up relatively early after my night out, jet lag aside, and headed out to find a legitimate ny bagel (something you absolutely cannot get in abu dhabi) and some iced coffee.  murray's bagels was my spot of choice!

next i was off for a couple hours of shopping, the only rule was that i had to stick to stores i don't have access to in abu dhabi or phoenix!  so i stopped in tibi, where i usually want one of everything!  and after lunch at macaron cafe with one of my lovely friends from work, i hit up a very new and very stylish boutique in williamsburg that one of my lifelong friends just opened called life:curated.  girl is talented, you must go see!

with not enough time on the clock i headed to the airport, scottsdale bound.  i'm so happy to be here with my family and am looking forward to a day of birthday fun, bachelorette craziness, and a weekend of wedding!

so here is to a great start to a new year of my life!  

who says

you can't go home...

this week my travels take me to a couple of places very close to my heart, starting with new york.

the last few times i flew through JFK, i left myself just enough time to make my connections and type out a few emails in the lounge before boarding. it was painful to sit so close to the city i love and not be able to just go... so this time i planned a little layover. i'll be there just long enough for dinner with friends and a day of shopping!

expectations

this weekend in abu dhabi, the ADNEC is hosting the Abu Dhabi Int'l Hunting & Equestrian Exhibition.  since my hotel is attached to the ADNEC, i had no reason not to check it out!  


now, i'll be frank with you here...  i'm from indiana, and when someone says the words "hunting expo" to me, i have visions of guys in bass fishing and beer tshirts (and a select few with the infamous mullet haircut) checking out the latest in day-glo orange hunting outfits and fish-finders.  not that there is anything wrong with that (except for the mullet part)... but you might be able to see why when i walked into the expo yesterday i was stunned by a completely new and different picture of what a "hunting expo" could be.  


here is what i saw:  

 extreme dune buggies

 falcons everywhere.

one of my favorite finds at the expo, falcon headdress fashions.   the crafsmenship of these items is pretty amazing, it is like a designer handbag for your falcon's head!

 extreme taxidermy

 camping.  arabian style.  i would love to go on one of these trips! 

around the "campfire".  now, i have a few friends that don't like camping. I think if i promised them a trip to the desert that looked like this they would be singing a different tune!