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Simple, Clean Birth Announcement

Simple, clean black and white letterpress birth announcements? Swoon. And that name? Totally besides the point, but Jackson Dixon is so southern and absolutely precious (as is his cute little face!). I saw these announcements on Oh So Beautiful Paper by Lauren Chism and love them. The black-and-white makes them very classic – almost newspaper-esque (like these). What do you think? Too simple? Or simply perfect?

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Featured: Oh So Beautiful Paper

Design: Lauren Chism

Printing: Czar Press

Bali Travel Guide

DSC_0190If you’ve been reading Snapshots and My Thoughts for awhile now, you’ll know that my husband and I just got back from our delayed honeymoon to Bali. We were gone for 15 days and loved every minute of the trip. We had a 50/50 split between relaxation and cultural activities, so we saw the best of both sides of the island. We ate some amazing meals, especially those in Ubud and Seminyak (where we believe the best food is on the island). We stayed at the Conrad Bali, which was dream-like. The hotel is located in Nusa Dua, which is at the southern part of the island, near most of the other big name hotels. If we were to go back again though, we would stay in Seminyak at an independent hotel to be close to the beach, quality shopping and delicious food – ideally the Samaya Hotel. It’s also important to spend a good amount of time in Ubud, which is in the northern part of the island and is the heart of the culture and arts scene. My last big tip is to get a good driver. We found Panji of Bali Safest Driver on Trip Advisor, and he was such a saving grace. Don’t rent a car – the driving is out of control. Email Panji and he’ll take you wherever your heart desires, and his rate is more than reasonable. Please contact me if you are planning a trip – I’d love to help!

Best restaurants (all with good vegetarian options)

  1. Chandi in Seminyak: Our favorite meal by far – I wanted to savor every single bite and I’m craving the crispy tofu appetizer right now!
  2. Melting Wok Warung in Ubud: This small restaurant has a limited menu, but they’ve perfected each of those dishes, so you can’t go wrong.
  3. Bumbu Bali in Nusa Dua: Sign up for the cooking class and then eat at the restaurant (in that order), so you’ll appreciate every delicious bite.
  4. Sakala in Nusa Dua: A very fancy restaurant (think gastro-cuisine) with delicious meals and a very Vegas-meets-Bali atmosphere.
  5. Bella Vista in Legian: A gem cafe with a delicious menu – we found Belle Vista on Trip Advsior – the good reviews weren’t wrong!
  6. The Bistrot in Seminyak (shown below): I want this restaurant in Houston. The decor and food were both out of this world. I loved it!
  7. Rin in Nusa Dua: This Japanese restaurant is part of the Conrad, but open to all guests – Sasha liked his sushi and I loved my seaweed salad.
  8. 8 Degrees South in Nusa Dua: You feel like you’re sitting on the beach while eating tasty mediterranean cuisine – the best of both worlds.

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Must-Do Activities

  1. Visit the Tirta Empul Temple – bring a spare set of clothes so you can get into the holy water and pray
  2. Go and watch the Devdan Show at the Nusa Dua Theater – well worth the ticket cost
  3. Go to Jimbaran Bay for sunset and eat at one of the many beach-front seafood restaurants
  4. Take a Balinese cooking class – I highly recommend Bumbu Bali with Chef Heinz von Holzen
  5. Visit Padang Padang Beach where they filmed Eat, Pray, Love
  6. Go to the Elephant Safari with Bali Adventure Tours
  7. Get a massage at the Jiwa Spa at the Conrad Hotel
  8. Enroll in surfing classes at Pro Surf School on Legian Beach
  9. Shop in local markets in Ubud
  10. Try Luwak Coffee at Santi Coffee Plantation
  11. Eat dinner in Seminyak (see recommendations above) and browse in the nearby boutiques
  12. Watch a traditional Balinese dance performance
  13. Play with monkeys at the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary in Ubud
  14. Try mangosteen
  15. Play with parrots at the Blanco Museum in Ubud

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Area Guides

  1. Ubud: The yoga-crowd of Bali resides here. There are hippie coffee shops, yoga stores everywhere, gorgeous temples, elephants, and a monkey forest. What more could you ask for? You could easily spend 3 days in Ubud.
  2. Seminyak: Sasha and I loved Seminyak and would choose to stay in one of the gorgeous hotels here and eat all the delicious food nearby. The boutiques have high-end shopping that I was drooling over!
  3. Nusa Dua: This is the more touristy part of the island, so activities and food nearby are price-adjusted (i.e. more expensive!) accordingly – we ended up taking cabs north almost every evening.
  4. South Kuta: Home to Padang Padang Beach, where you must go to see the breath-taking beaches and rock formations (surfing here too). You’ll also find Jimbaran Bay, where you should go for a romantic seafood dinner!
  5. Legian: Just north of Kuta and south of Seminyak, this is a total surfer spot (i.e. Australians everywhere!). Sasha did his surfing classes in Legian, and we ate at Bella Vista – definitely worth coming here if you want to surf or see gorgeous beaches.

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Map by Kate Evans

Love to travel? Check out my other guides to Paris, Durango (Colorado), Austin, Houston, Washington, DC. I’m also working on ones for Istanbul, Athens, and San Francisco. More to come soon!

Shapshots of 2013

For the past four years, I’ve made an annual Shutterfly book that covered all travel and adventures for the year. I just finished my 2013 book yesterday, and it was extremely tough to keep it at 111 pages! I literally had to delete 6 pages in order to complete it. What an amazing year! We went to SF/Napa three times (more pictures here), Durango, Dunton Hot Springs, Boston, New York City, Miami, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Minneapolis, and Bali. We remodeled a house that became our home, got married and are now expecting a baby girl in 2014. I’m almost sure that fits the definition for ‘whirlwind.’

How was your 2013? What are you most looking forward to next year?

Click here to view our 2013 in snapshots (pictures below by Ryan Ray).
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Click here to view my 2012 book. Click here to view my 2011 book.

Annual Christmas Card Photos

Since our family moved to the States in 1997, we have taken Semple family pictures every single year. I love this tradition, and I’ll make sure that my own family continues it. I had the honor of being asked to take our good friends’ Christmas photo – I was so thrilled. We took the pictures in the Houston Arboretum at Memorial Park (I am obsessed!). I took about 400 and narrowed it down – my favorites are below. Isn’t “Mister P” precious? He’s 15 months old now – see his 6 month photos that I took here and him at the hospital here. I love this family.

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Making a Pass at Provisions

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After hungrily lusting at Provisions for far too long, Sasha and I finally had a double date  there on Saturday. Housed in the old Gravitas building (and the even older original Antone’s PoBoy Deli location), this dual-intentioned restaurant (both The Pass and Provisions) tickles all audiences’ fancies, with an elaborate sit-down 7-course meal dinner at the former, and a more relaxed dish-sharing atmosphere for the latter.

The walls are covered with repurposed floorboards from a nearby gymnasium, which gives Provisions a very retro, cool vibe. On one wall, the original lightbulb-ringed Antone’s sign is on display, which is a nice commemorative touch to the building’s original tenant. The entire middle row of tables is adjustable, so you can make one long, communal table or have a dozen two-seaters. In addition to the restaurant’s decor, the unisex bathrooms have a looped soundtrack of Julia Child, whom I adore (partially due to my love of Meryl Streep, who played her in Julie & Julia).

The Pass and Provisions was recently named the #6 best new restaurant in America by Bon Appetit magazine, and I now see why. While not the most vegetarian friendly menu in Houston, our waitress was more than happy to remove the duck eggs from the Brussels sprout appetizer, which was one of the most delicious Brussels sprouts dishes I’ve ever tried. I ordered the Arugula Cress Salad, which was very tasty, but definitely an appetizer sized dish (cue another bowl of Brussels sprouts being ordered for the group).

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Owners Terrence Gallivan and Seth Siegel-Gardner

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Authentic gymnasium wood floors act as wall panels

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The communal table in the middle of the restaurant

Provisions-910x606The Antone’s sign on the far wall

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