{Travel Treasures}

I'm a big fan of souvenirs as reminders of places I loved
visiting. It's also nice to collect things with a story of some
kind. I've got enough small nick knacks to last a lifetime
though. So, I've almost officially made the switch to bigger
pieces, jewelry and ornaments as reminders of my stay when
I have the chance to go somewhere. My trip to Sedona the
other week included some splurging! I was in a shopping kind
of place. :)


These bowls now have a home atop our kitchen cupboards.
They are Navajo designed but not Navajo made, which I
think is code for "they cost a lot less that way."
The ladies I bought them from were so wonderful. I
appreciated them telling me about the baskets. It's
better to know what you really have then think you have
something you don't -- a lesson I've been learning in my
own life lately.


The same ladies sold me this gorgeous rug. I don't normally
do the southwest thing, but the texture and color of these
rugs was so lovely, I couldn't pass them by. This rug was
handmade in a Mexican village. Each area there specialises
in one product. They deliver the rugs to the store in Sedona
instead of shipping them. Since the store owners don't pay
for shipping, they kindly pass that savings onto their
customers. So, it was very reasonably priced. I still haven't
decided where to put it.


I love this lamp!! I found is so accidentally while out
walking the dogs. We went to this grassy area which
just happened to be encircled by a bunch of shops. I
spotted this through the window and knew it had to
be mine. I've been looking for a lamp to go on our living
room end table since I bought it at a garage sale
in May, but I hadn't seen the right one. This lamp has
three settings -- you can light the top bulb by itself,
the night light below or both of them together. It was
made by a family run company called Ariel out of Texas.
Their warehouse and factory took a beating in the hurricane
that hit the Galveston area this year. They were never
able to recover from it. So, they decided to shut their
doors for good.


I don't know if I love the lamp or this blanket more.
It was actually in the room where I stayed. The colors
are "my colors" and the size and weightiness of it
were perfect. So, I asked if they had any for sale,
and as luck would have it, they did!


This is what the inside looks like. I've bought a lot
of blankets over the years, and this one is by far my
favorite. So nice. It just feels like heaven on, and
it's big enough for two. If you're in the market for
an awesome blanket, check out their site. They have
other colors, as well.

The very last "souvenir" I picked up in Sedona was a
pricker that impaled itself into my heel. Neither David
nor I could extract it. So, I went to the doc to see if she
could dig it out. She said to soak it 2-3 times a day in
really hot water. I'm trying to do that, but it still
bothers me, especially when I wear shoes that go around
the back of my foot. No fun!