2012 Part 2

The end half of the year started with eggs. I've turned back into little Lauren and have a new love of boiled eggs. Mmmmmm eggs. Now I have boiled eggs almost every day (with soldiers if I've been good).

I took part in my first Vinyl Toy custom show – Dragons. Sam has been working in the Designer Toy world for a while now and I'd been dying to have a go, so I bit the bullet (that's a saying right?) and just DID it. I loved it! My Dragon started as a Kracka and ended up like this:

After a few months of saying no, we made a pretty huge "F**k it, let's just DO IT" decision to go to America for Designer Con. In all honesty, savings could have been higher, better planning could have been made and 2013 probably would have been the smarter option, but in the end it all worked out petty well! D-con was held in Pasadena over 2 days that lead up to us staying in the West Coast for 3 weeks! We stupidly stayed in Vegas first (lesson learnt) and spent rather a lot of money on the 5¢ machines in Downtown Vegas, which to be honest, was my favourite bit. I loved every minute of it, and will definitely be going back again one day! (One bit of advice, don't try and walk to the Vegas sign... it's MILES away!)

From Vegas, our next very brief stop was Hollywood. Had a day at Universal Studios, which was a whole lot of exciting stuff for my eyes... BRILLIANT! We also ate plenty of giant burgers and 'salads'. It was then on to Pasadena for D-con. Met some pretty awesome people, saw some awesome toys and art, drank beer out of giant jugs (oooohhh) and played a weird curling type game.

If you don't really know about the Amtrak Coast Starlight, definitely have a look into it if you plan on doing the journey between LA and San Francisco. It's Art Deco style with a vintage feel that was just spectacular! We booked a roomette, which meant we got all our meals and drinks (not wine) included in the price. You are able to eat in the Parlour Car and take part in the activities on board, like wine and cheese tasting. It was such a lovely journey that I was sad we weren't staying overnight.

Our next stop was Monterey. We had a short bus journey from Salinas to Monterey with a very chatty bus driver who recommended loads of places to eat and see. We took it upon ourselves to do everything she suggested so when she picked us back up, she was pretty happy that we had ticked all her things to do off the list. Monterey is a really pretty fishing town with amazing houses that you get immediately jealous of. It was a nice middle ground to just be able to relax after the madness of Vegas and Hollywood.

Our last stop was San Francisco. Another place I would have LOVED to stay longer. We cycled across the Golden Gate Bridge, ate more In 'n Out Burgers, stood on the corner of Asbury and Haight and drank all sorts of beers. I also got some limited edition (limited to San Francisco only) Converse. Giants style WOO!

I'll do a blog post about each place, as I really want to show more photo's, but a round-up probably isn't the best place to bambard you with my holiday snaps.

I have a lot to look forward to this year; one of them is turning 30, EEEEEPPPP!  I am in the middle of making a 'must do before I am 30 list' and will post it up as soon as I do. I have some new and exciting things happening this year including a new little business (more info soon!), some exciting workshops and a lot more craft projects, can't wait to share them all.

Oh, one very exciting thing I WILL be doing is getting my driving license. It's been a long time coming, but is now the time that I will get it sorted. I actually have my theory test this morning, so I best be off! I PASSED woo hoo.

Wish me luck...

L xox