Art by Juan Tobias

Juan Tobias is a great artist I happened to come upon on Flickr. His art is very varied in style and technique, but I love it all. Here are some of my favorites. Be sure to check out all his work on his Flickr.

 

Which one is your favorite? I really love the avocado, but I am biased because I just made some black bean & avocado salsa.

Dirty Librarian Chains

While browsing through different blogs, I came across a great jewelry line whose standards are in line with my own. Here's what the site has to say about Dirty Librarian Chains.

"Dirty Librarian Chains wants to take good care of the earth. The main goal that motivates designer, Susan Domelsmith, is to create beautiful statement jewelry without any additional waste through manufacturing or plating. Every piece in this collection is at least 80% carefully cleaned and inspected vintage materials. We also love the new one-of-a-kind story that is created through the combined histories of all of the distinct components within each DLC product."

And here are some of the gorgeous designs that I love the most.

 To see these beautiful pieces and more, head over to Dirty Librarian Chains.

Rangitoto Island

Another highlight of my New Zealand trip was hiking up Rangitoto Island with Ben (even though we got a little lost and didn't start on the trail we planned). Rangitoto is an island created by volcanic activity about 600 years ago. The summit rises 260 metres (about 850 feet) above the Hauraki Gulf. It was really exciting to get to see the vast biodiversity on the island, which ranged from tropical rain forest to tundra-like, lichen-covered lava formations.
Again, I am going to apologize for so many pictures; I couldn't decide which ones to share!

The pier right off of the boat.

Various views along the trail.

The crater.

Me, overlooking the crater.

Gorgeous views from the summit.

Downtown Auckland from the summit.

At the top.

Climbing through the lava caves. 

(The last pictures is my favorite)

Arriving back at the shore.

 Rangitoto from the boat.

 

 Having fun on the way back.

Arriving back into Downtown Auckland.

My New Banner

My best friend, Jen Small, is an incredibly talented photographer and was nice enough to let me use a photograph she took as my banner. Here is the image, and HERE is a link to her Flickr. Please go check her out!