Vacation Time!

Just wanted to share a few pics from our trip to St. John / St. Thomas (US Virgin Islands) a couple weeks ago. We had been looking forward to our Caribbean getaway for a long time and we weren't disappointed. We had such a great time! There was plenty to do and see, but it was also one of our first vacations together where we didn't feel like we had to be going non-stop to see everything. We were really able to relax which was great.

Below is a picture at the Westin - our hotel in St. John.

One of the stops on our island tour. Just taking in the beauty all around.

This is overlooking Trunk Bay on St. John.

The next day, actually on the beach at Trunk Bay.

After Trunk Bay, we took a cab to Caneel Bay. This beach didn't have as good of snorkeling, but was much more private.

After a couple days on St. John, we took the ferry back to St. Thomas. This was the view from our hotel room there.

Shopping in downtown St. Thomas. This one is for Dad :)

We took a lot of video clips while we were there as well. When Jonathan has a chance, he's going to edit them together and post it.

Snow!

We finally got a decent snow storm here in Huntersville. The last one managed to cover Charlotte but only graze us. We still had to go to work of course, but we got to go in a little late at least. Here are a couple of pictures I snapped last night. They're a little blurry b/c I was hand-holding the camera w/ a longer shutter speed since it was dark.

IKEA Comes to Town

This week marked a major milestone for Charlotte (and me)--the opening of our very own IKEA. Yes, I know they are big and evil, but they also do some pretty amazing things when it comes to designing and selling furniture for the masses. If you've never been you should definitely check it out, clearly.

Melinda and I met Joanna and Mom and Dad on Thursday to give it a look-see. Wednesday was the actual grand opening, but it was still pretty lively on Thursday evening. It was also very cold and windy (for Charlotte); we felt great sympathy for the poor parking lot attendants. We managed to get through most of the store in under two hours which is a new record for us. But we skipped some stuff so we'll be back again soon :)

She looks like she's smiling, but she's really thinking, "It's freezing, you idiot--let's go inside!"

The classic Poäng Chair

The Family Table

So I finally finished re-finishing the dining table. For those who haven't seen it in person yet there's Before and After pics below. My parents originally bought the table in 1975 (?) in Georgetown. It was our family dining table for as long as I can remember. So it has hosted more than a few family meals. Sometime in the mid-nineties (?) my mom gave it a trendy multi-layer "distressed" finish. But over the years "distressed" morphed into "tired". So it was time to restore it to it's original glory (whilst retaining the character and imperfections it has gathered over the years.)