La Vendée
2:45 AM
Hello everyone! I recently saw this Destination Vendée 2013 video from Vendée Tourisme. Watching this made me miss my husband's hometown in France as I recognized popular sites here from previous posts like the coastal town of Les Sables d'Olonne, Marais Poitevin, La Vendée countryside, Noirmoutier Island and the popular Medieval Park, Puy de Fou voted as "World's Best Park" in LA. The attractions will transport you back in time of the Knights of the Round Table and the Vikings. This short film makes me want to book plane tickets to this beautiful and green western region of France with over 700 chateaux, country houses and castles close to the Atlantic Ocean with its seaside resort and islands for a quiet retreat immersed in nature, culture and history.
Can you imagine yourself having a lovely vacation here one summer?
Bon week-end!
Love and light,
Arni
{P.S. Thanks so much for your sweet birthday wishes. Hugs}
Birthday Weekend
2:13 AM
I'm one lucky girl to be blessed with friends and family that I love dearly. I was driving last Thursday morning thinking how time just sped by. The same time last year, I was in Seychelles celebrating my birthday. This year, I was surprised by new colleagues with an ice cream cake at the office followed by a dinner-turned- birthday-party at Maria Bonita, an authentic Mexican restaurant in Jumeirah organized by friends. Friday was spent enjoying the exhilarating rides with family at Yas Waterworld water theme park. Big hugs and thank you.
Thank you all so much for the sweet comments on my previous post. To celebrate this weekend, dance with me to some old, mostly 90s tunes.
Hope you're all having a great weekend!
Love and light,
Arni
Adventures in the Work place
3:02 AM
Who says adventure is limited to far off islands and invigorating cities? The office jungle has enough adrenaline rush to push us to the edge if we let it. Adjusting to a new group of colleagues, new rules, new procedures are all equally adventurous as discovering a new country.
Wishing this is how all offices look like. {Source} |
Lost in translation while in meetings with all the acronyms people throw at each other as they all spoke in codes, I had to scratch my head, wondering, what PDS, HYG, HMN, and all the jumbled letters of the alphabet meant.
Like a small cub, joining the animal kingdom, trying to blend in and getting to know everyone, I daresay, I'm blessed to have great colleagues and bosses that are approachable enough to be my mentors. However, there's no such thing as a perfect place so we are bound to meet someone who will test our tolerance and patience, especially those who think they're in the higher food chain ready to devour anyone who gets in their way.
I've learned so much in my first week and the more days go by, I'm having longer sleep. I can see spending longer hours in the office is inevitable as piled up responsibilities and weeks ensue. We all try to avoid working late, but we have to accept that this is a big part of Interior Design and Architectural lifestyle, especially here in the Middle East. We have a popular saying here when someone asks, "when's the deadline?" The answer is always "Yesterday." A client gave me this answer once and I was crazy enough to jokingly reply, "Too bad for you, I don't have a time machine. "
Jf only, we can cheat and have a peek of the future. I wonder how that would be like?
What's your most adventurous memory and experience in the work place?
How did it go? What did you learn from it?
Love and light,
Arni
The Long Beach of San Vicente
1:44 AMLong Beach |
San Vicente's 14 kilometer long white sand beach is best explored on a motorbike. We rented one from the kind owner of Peace and Love Resort. Riding behind my husband, enjoying the tropical breeze, it was a perfect morning to visit the countryside. {Read about the prequel here} Every now and then we got a glimpse of the above sea view as we drove along the main road parallel to the beach.
Beach 1 Access |