Part 2: Day 3 - Day 8 - Croatia

Stunning.  Croatia. is. stunning.

Granted, we only saw a very, very small part of it, but still...I imagine the other parts are just as beautiful as what we saw. 

After leaving France, we flew to Frankfurt Germany and then into Split, Croatia.  Everything went smoothly, no lost luggage (that was to come later!!) or any crazy difficulties, other than no free wi-fi at the airport.  The only thing we were wondering was how we would know who was going to pick us up at the airport?!!

Luckily, we were attending our friend's wedding and sure enough, the groom's brother and girlfriend were on our flight.  Sweet!

We got off the plane and the bride's uncle was there with a sign, with all of our names on it, waiting to whisk us away to the resort to meet up with everyone else.

We stopped to take a few pictures on the way.  Excuse how we look and take note of the amazing backdrop!

We headed to the resort, which was about 45 minutes away, just outside of the town of Sibenik.  We were ready for some mid-trip relaxation with friends.

We stayed at the Solaris Resort at Hotel Ivan.  The place was quite huge, but tons of fun with lots to do.  The rooms left a lot to be desired, but luckily we only slept and showered there, so it was ok.  I feel sorry for whoever had the room after us, because of the lake that was forming from the leaky air conditioner.

For the most part, we just hung out at the resort.

However, we did visit Krka National Park.  This is where the stunning part comes in. 

Yep, the people on the boat were stunning too!  ;)

We went into town one afternoon/evening with our new friends from Australia.  Shoutout to Jemma and E, if they're reading!  We just strolled through the town, figured out how to use Croatian bank machines, got some ice cream in the ghetto, shopped, ate, drank beer in the mall and saw a Croatian superstar perform in concert.  Whew.  It was a good day.  Check. 

No, my husband is not a midget.

Fast forward to the whole reason we were in Croatia; our friends' wedding.  The bride was stunning, the church and whole ceremony was beautiful, and the groom didn't look too shabby either ;)   We had an awesome time and are so glad we were able to be there for Shane and Morana!

I should mention - this man with the flag led all the guests through the town to the church, instead of us just being dropped off at the church.  I guess it is a Croatia tradition.  I was in the front, behind the flag man,, and I felt like a celeb!

The day after the wedding, it was time for us to leave and head to Greece.  Good-bye Croatia, we'll be back!



The ^#@%^! No-Sew Window Valance Project

Can you tell I was frustrated?!  I think I was frustrated right from the get go, because I was not planning on doing this project.  I went to the States the other day and hit up Joann Fabrics and Crafts, specifically looking for fabric that I could use to finish something I've had on the go for awhile.  I don't know if you've ever been to that store, but they have some beautiful fabrics, far better than anything I could find here.  However, they also have so many!  Not good for someone like me.  Luckily, I was with three friends and I felt pressure since we were headed to the mall, so thanks Steph, Sara and Nora!  :)  I managed to decide which fabric I wanted within about 15 minutes.  Had they not been there, I can pretty much guarantee I would've been there, deciding, for a good 2 hours.

So this was the fabric I chose.  I actually saw this same fabric in blue tones on someone's blog a little while ago and thought it was pretty funky.  They had the exact same fabric that I had seen, but I chose this one because with these colours, the white petals seemed a bit more white than on the blue, and I needed to have some white on the fabric.

At $39.99 per yard, I wouldn't say this fabric was a great deal, especially when you forget coupons and don't want to turn your phone on in the States and get charged ridiculous roaming fees, just to get the coupon you forgot, because you are cheap!  I decided to go with half a yard, because my non-math brain thinks of things in halves and wholes.  I questioned whether half a yard would be enough, but didn't even think to get 3/4 of a yard, or anything larger than just half a yard.  It wasn't enough.  Hence why I decided to do a window valance.

This is what our one kitchen window has looked like since we moved in three years ago.

Just plain, no window covering like all the others have.  I usually do have a little plant sitting in the window, but I removed it when taking the pictures....you know, for effect.

I don't sew, but after looking online and seeing numerous things on Pinterest that use Heat 'N' Bond, I thought, I can do this! 

I started by pinning each side of the fabric, so that the part that would show when hanging would be 15 inches long.

Then, I ironed all of that down, so that I'd have a nice crisp line.

I cut strips of Heat 'N' Bond and followed the instructions to a T, tee??,.  I followed the instructions just the way they said. 

Again, and again, and again.  Heat 'N' Bond was NOT working, AT ALL!

I gave up on that.  Then my husband called and I was telling him what I'd done.  He said he had some double-sided tape in the garage.  I figured it was worth a shot.  The hardest part was getting the paper backing off.



I stuck everything down.

Put the rod through.

It all seemed to be going well and I started bunching it evenly on the rod, since I gave the hubs a choice; bunchy or straight.  He chose bunchy.

And this is where it all started to fall apart.  In the middle section, the fabric part that folded over the rod was shorter than the rest and kept lifting from the tape, so every time I'd try to bunch that section, the tape would get stuck to the rod.  It just wasn't working out. 

So, I decided to hang it up straight and see how that would look.  This was the result.

Right now, it's just folded back, which is why you can see some extra fabric hanging down in the front.  I think it could be worse, but it's definitely not great.  And I won't even say what the hubs said about it.  I am going to take it down, take it to my mama's and sew it there.

Moral of the story; Pinterest = false confidence, right Cougs?!