myretroperspective

Yes, I did just make a reference to the little mermaid. But how can you not sing along to that soundtrack when you're scuba diving? This post is a little rewind to Bali. Partially because I miss it and partially because it's starting to get cold here. We went to Bali with the intention to scuba dive once or twice. That was before we found out how ridiculously cheap it is! At 30 bucks a pop we were able to go a whole lot more than we anticipated!   Kind of kept expecting them to form animals or words. If you open your mouth then these tiny shrimp start to clean your mouth.   We were able to dive a ship wreck right off the coast. The USS Liberty was an american cargo ship that was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine in WWII. Too expensive to haul back to the states, it was decided to beach the huge ship. Then in 1964, Mt. Agung volcano exploded, over 10,000 ft tall, killing a thousand villagers. the lava made it’s way to the beach and pushed the beached cargo ship into the ocean. ...

I love hanging out in Los Angeles so when I have a chance to head west--I do! I was in LA on a philanthropic mission but I did have time to meet friends for dinner and meetings with my American Express prepaid card in hand. I also met two of my Haute Travels followers while in town. On this day, I just wrapped a meeting with a swimsuit designer who creates sexy suits for curvy girls. While walking through the lobby of The Beverly Hilton, I noticed the flowers matched my dress so I had to pose for a picture. Being in Hollywood means that you can’t help but notice that some people are supper skinny. But for girls who rock their curves, we also turn heads because we tend to be more secure in our skin and our confidence shows. When I walked through the lobby of the hotel… heads turned and people smiled. I think the color of my dress along with my glow brightened their day! And that’s HAUTE! What do you think about a confident woman?

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After a long day of writing and consulting, there’s nothing like a little me-time in the bath. As you can imagine, I’m a product junky but only if I love it. I was sent a few products by Rhone Botanicals and Skincare to sample. I have to say… I really like the Dead Sea Salt face and body scrub with Eucalyptus. It’s amazing because it can also be used as aroma therapy without applying it to the skin. Eventually, I tried the scrub on my legs and arms to remove dead skin cells revealing a smooth, soft new layer giving me a special glow. The great thing about the Dead Sea… it’s been a healing source since the beginning of time. These products improve blood circulation and detoxify the skin. The scrub really improves the appearance of dry skin and dark spots. I’m a fan of products that offer 100% pure ingredients like unrefined Dead Sea salt and Shea butter that nourishes as it cleans and heals the skin. Rhone’s natural skin products offer a lesson in wellness that allows you to relax and r...

If you’re a girl who indulges in shopping sprees you will love the new American Express prepaid card. It makes life easy because you can set your own budget. I recently decided to test the new reloadable card, while boutique shopping in Atlanta. The card allows you to keep your spending in check. It’s easy to go over the limit that you place in your mind but never actually stays there… however; with the new card by American Express sticking to your budget is easy. You can even go online and track your spending, while reloading for free. The best thing about the new prepaid card… it’s safer than using cash and credit cards. You’ll never have to worry about identity theft because the card isn’t linked to your credit or bank accounts. Plus, it offers fraud protection and your funds will be replaced if your card is ever lost or stolen. As you can imagine, I found a number of items to take home along with the security of knowing that I stayed within my budget. If you’re looking for a great ...

That title is for my dear Florida State friends, but really it has nothing to do with football, and everything to do with my recent attempts in DIY decorating. We live pretty much right in the "design district" of Atlanta . We also benefit from a wonderful iPhone app created here in Atlanta called Scoutmob . Scoutmob highlights a different restaurant or retail location each day but unlike groupon or livingsocial- the deal doesn't expire for months. So you can show up and use it with your smart phone on the spot and it's free. We mostly use it when we want to try somewhere new to eat in town- especially ethnic food. We used it with our (now former because they moved) neighbors Mark & Lindsey at an Ethiopian place last week. When Lewis & Sheren Fabrics (about a mile from us) appeared on Scoutmob- I knew this was an offer I could not pass-up. Fifty percent off on whole-sale fabric up to $100?! All I had to do was narrow down the hundreds of choices of p...

This past weekend was Chuseok, or Korean Thanksgiving. Koreans travel from all over the country to meet with family, usually at the grandparents home. For us, it means we get a long four day weekend. We heard that most people in Seoul leave the city to go to family's homes so the city is far less crowded than usual. Also, there there are big names such as Van Gogh and Monet on exhibit at the Seoul Art Center this month. We decided to head out early (and by early I mean 5:40 am) Saturday morning to beat any holiday traffic there might be. Thank goodness i have the gift of being able to sleep anywhere and got a nice long nap in on the bus. Our first stop was the art museum. It was so amazing to see paintings that I have admired for so long in person. Pictures truly do no justice to these pieces of artwork.   T hey have really tall ice cream cones in seoul (and hubs took the time to show me the "correct" way to point) A short side note. Starting the Wednesday before we left ...

We rented boats to take us out for a sunrise boat ride on our last day. It was the perfect view of Agung Volcano Our second hotel that we stayed at with a full breakfast served in the alcove to the left. It was a scuba diver's paradise with full service scuba training center and just a short walk to the beach for a dive. Tanah Lot is claimed to be the work of the 15th century priest Nirartha. During his travels along the south coast he saw the rock-island's beautiful setting and rested there. Some fishermen saw him, and bought him gifts. Nirartha then spent the night on the little island. Later he spoke to the fishermen and told them to build a shrine on the rock for he felt it to be a holy place to worship the balinese sea gods. The Tanah Lot Temple was built and has been a part of balinese mythology for centuries. The temple is one of seven sea temples around the Balinese coast. Each of the sea temples were established within eyesight of the next to form a chain al...