Sarchi, Costa Rica

Sarchi is a town in Costa Rica that is very famous for making ornate oxcarts.  It is right next to my husband's hometown, Grecia, so we spent a few hours shopping there on our last trip.

The oxcarts that Sarchi is so famous for are a very important national symbol of Costa Rica.  They have been handmade there for over a century, and they helped build the country because they were used for transporting coffee to the market.  The oxcarts are very beautiful, and colorful.  I couldn't bring an oxcart back this time, but I did get a nice orange tray for serving food that looks really nice.

One of the artisans, painting an oxcart wheel.

  

The famous oxcart "factory", if you can call it a factory.  See if you can find Nancy!

Nancy, with one of the oxcarts.  This one had a design with toucans and tropical birds.  Unfortunately, I have not yet seen a toucan while I was in Costa Rica.  Maybe next time.

Another oxcart photo.

If you ever visit Costa Rica, be sure to visit the town of Sarchi.  They have lots of other beautiful handcrafted items in addition to oxcarts, and you won't be disappointed!

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En Vivo Desde Costa Rica

Feliz año nuevo a todas...este año, mi esposo y yo llegó a Costa Rica para celebrar el año nuevo (porque mi esposo es Tico).  Pasamos alguno tiempo en el hotel Tango Mar.  Fue muy bonito y la attencion tiene no igual.  Mientras estábamos allí, nosotros subimos al tope de Cocolito Falls, una cascada que cae directamente en el mar.  Supestamente, es una de solo siete en el mundo que cae directamente en el mar (no se si es la verdad, pero es que nos dijeron).  Claro, Nancy llegó conmigo.  Aqui son los fotos, disfruta!

Nancy, con bamboo 

Nancy en el tope de la Cascada

La Cascada

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Biltmore Estate

Afner's hermanos were here visiting a few weeks ago, and as a special treat, I took them to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC.  It's the biggest private residence in America, and it also has the most visited winery in the nation.  And by "private residence" they mean palatial castle, and by "most visited winery in the nation" they mean they give out a loooooot of free wine.  Of course, Nancy got to come along.  She just got a new dress, Fiesta en el Jardin, so I let her wear it for our day trip.

Nancy likes to travel in style.

The front of the Biltmore.

Me, Papito, and Patricia

One of the really neat things about the Biltmore Estate is its history. It was built over six years and was finished in 1895.  The architect modeled the house after three châteaux built in 16th-century France. There are Renoir originals in the house, Napoleon's chess set, and even more fun, some really neat vintage dolls.  Photography inside the house is absolutely forbidden, but when you see a beauty like this, well, even a goody two shoes like myself cannot resist.  That explains the bad quality of the photo.

Nancy with an antique German (or possibly French) doll

This doll is a part of an exhibit inside the house called "If These Walls Could Talk".  It was Cornelia Vanderbilt's doll from the turn of the century.  Cornelia was born in 1900 and was the only child of the Vanderbilts.  Nancy was very excited to get the opportunity to take a picture with such a distinguished doll! 

After you exit the house, you can tour the gardens.  We didn't do too much touring of the gardens, but we did stop for a picture of Nancy in the garden, wearing en el Jardin. 

Nancy enjoying the garden and the beautiful mountain view

The next stop on our tour was the winery.  The winery was originally a dairy, but in 1971 they began the transformation.  I must say, the winery is definitely more exciting than a dairy.  Can you imagine tasting milk?  Well, maybe ice cream.  At any rate, nowadays you can taste wine, and as much of it as you want.  Oh yeah, and you also get to take a tour.

Nancy was the only one small enough to squeeze through the bars to get to the barrels.....





The wines are good, and not very expensive.  We tasted a lot of different things, but ended up buying a few bottles of their Christmas wine.  It was a great day, and we had lots of fun with Patricia and Andres.  If you're ever in North Carolina, be sure to make time for a trip to the Biltmore Estate!

Este es el fin!

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Renaissance Nancy

This time of year in Charlotte, there is always a Renaissance Festival which is always a lot of fun.  I decided this year I would take Nancy along.  For the occasion, I asked my friend Diana to create a custom Renaissance dress for Nancy.  The result was stunning!  Please visit her Etsy Shop where she has several cute designs for Nancy, you won't be disappointed!

Nancy, who was serenaded by Shaxpeare (his name, not mine)

Nancy and I getting ready for the big joust

My friend Deni, showing Nancy some love

I didn't get to take as many fun pictures as I wanted to, because there was so much to do that day and so little time to do it in.  Everyone had a good time, and Nancy got to experience some Renaissance Merriment.

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New Nancys

Today, my newest shipment of Nancys arrived.  Yay!!

Two Ion Fiz, Two Nancy en Cole, Two Nancy Novias, One Nancy Gold, and One Nancy Espejos

I was very excited to receive the new shipment of Nancys today, thanks to El Corte Ingles.  My friend and I placed a large order so that we could ship the 50 Euro shipping cost, which works out really well for us.  Nancy Ion Fiz is just STUNNING in real life.  I love her!  The Nancy Gold was made in China, and I am very disappointed with the quality.  The panties are not even sewn together all the way in the bottom.  I will take more photos later of this quality issue, but I hate that for the trouble the quality is so bad.

In heaven!

Do you have Nancy Ion Fiz?  How do you feel about her?  How do you feel about the quality of the new Nancys?  I definitely am not a fan, but they are still cute girls.

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American Girl Place

Once again, I've taken quite some time to update this blog.  It feels...neglected.  Not to worry, I am back on my regimen and have several posts already planned.  That being said, this summer, Mom, Afner, and I visited American Girl Place in Atlanta, GA.  We booked the American Girl Package at the Marriott right beside the mall.  It was only $99 for the night, and it was well worth it.  I received several goodies upon my check-in.  Not pictured are the free cookies I got.

Doll Bed                                                                                                 Book, magazine, and letter

I debated for a long time over which doll to take with me, but I ended up taking Sonali, so she could get her ears pierced.  Julie ended up coming along as well, because she is Mom's favorite, and Mom wanted to have a doll with her.  The displays in the store were all really nice.   The lady who pierced Sonali's ears was also very nice, and promised to take good care of Sonali.  She was actually surprised to see Sonali, because she said they hadn't seen a Sonali in the store in a very long time, and it was very rare to see her.  This was surprising to me because I think Sonali is one of the prettiest dolls they've released in a long time.  There were TONS of Kananis in the store and in the hotel.  Every little girl had or was buying Kanani.



The Store Front                                                                                             Meet Kanani!

Julie Display

Addy Display.  I bought the dress on the far left.

Choosing Goodies

Josefina Display.  I bought the dress on the far right.

Kaya display.

Overall, I would definitely rate the experience an A.  The hotel package was great, and it was very close to the store.  I could actually see the store out my window.  I hope I can go back soon and pick out some Mary-Grace and Cecile dolls.

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