florida, part I

Jason and I hopped on a flight to Florida this past weekend to attend my brother-in-law's high school graduation.  Besides celebrating this special event, we knew we wanted to get in some much needed beach time.  So one morning we decided to sneak off to the sand and have a little ocean-side date.  The beach was nearly empty, and after snapping some photos, we just sat next to each other, talked and enjoyed each other's company as we listened to the waves break on the shore.  

Our lives have been pretty hectic and out of whack for the past month or so.  It was almost as if God gave us this moment to get out of the fast lane and regroup and reconnect as a married couple.  It was truly amazing and incredibly refreshing to have this time.  We even managed to sneak in some beach yoga.  For real.  Just what the doctor ordered.

a beach photo

This is probably my favorite photo from our trip to the beach. (can you spot me?)

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

the beach

One of my favorite things about the beach is how care free it allows you to be.  No need to dress up or do your hair or put on any makeup.  Just throw something on and enjoy the breeze.  While we were on vacation, we enjoyed many walks on the beach and it was wonderful.  It was nice to feel like we didn't have a care in the world.  We had no deadlines, no appointments, no homework and no housework to attend to.  We got to do whatever we wanted, when we wanted.  Beach at 9am? Yes!  Nap at 3pm? Sure!  Snack all day long? Okay!

Now we are back home and I am back to work today.  That song Back to life, back to reality is playing in my head and I hate it because I know it's true.  Don't you think it would be nice to always be on vacation?!  If being on vacation was my job, that would be amazing.  A girl can dream, right?  Maybe one day we'll at least have a beach home.  Maybe :)

panama city beach

We are back from the beach and we had a fabulous time.

It is always an adventure when we take a road trip to a new place.  Driving through small towns and back roads and charting unknown (to us) territory.  We felt a little like Lewis and Clark at times.  Only we were going South instead of West.  And we were using a Garmin GPS instead of a compass.  After a half day of driving, saving a turtle, stopping at a sketchy gas station, getting a little turned around (only once) and lots of awesome singing along to the radio, we made it to Panama City Beach.

Most of our time was spent on the beach soaking up sun and enjoying the ocean breeze.  I also quickly got absorbed into The Help (a must read); I can't wait to see the movie now!  We saw a dolphin family (we counted 5), two stingrays, and lots of fish.  From the balcony of our condo, we had an amazing view of the beach and the gorgeous sunsets...oh I miss it already! 

We did some exploring at Pier Park where we enjoyed a little shopping and yummy fro-yo.  We were hoping to go out on the pier, but we discovered that they charge you (lame-o) so we decided to just walk along the beach instead.

All in all, we had a wonderful time.  Neither of us had been to Panama City before, so we were glad we are able to check it off our list.  This only means one thing my friends; time to plan our next getaway.  Any suggestions?  Places you have been and loved??

butler beach

While in St. Augustine, we spent a lot of time here - at Butler Beach.

This beach easily took a top spot on one of my favorite places.  It was perfect.

Jack can now add beach dog to his list of reasons why he is so awesome.

I wish I could be back at the beach right now.

This exact spot needs to become an annual trip for us.  I am already looking forward to it :)

home sweet home

We're back home.

We all miss the beach already; Jack especially.  

This was his first time to the beach and he loved it.

His favorite thing to do was jump over the waves.

It's been decided; we need a vacation home in St. Augustine.

More photos to come :)

p.s. a huge thank you to my guest bloggers during pet week! i hope you all enjoyed it!

tybee island

Before we headed home on Saturday, we made a short trip to Tybee Island.

It was refreshing to see the ocean, even if we didn't get to dip in. And the gorgeous weather made it all that much better.

I think the next time we go to Savannah, we will have to set aside a whole day to spend at the beach.

There is something about the ocean that is just so amazing. I would love to have a beach house someday. But only if it was a second home, because I wouldn't want to live there during hurricane season. So maybe we should get one in California...but then there are earthquakes...hmmm. Stupid natural disasters.

urban outfitters blouse and sunnies, f21 cami, ae jeans, toms shoes, holga camera

california girls weekend adventure part III

On Saturday we went to church and listened to an inspiring sermon at the ReLive church service. Afterwords we met up with my cousin Sarah and her 3 adorable boys. We ate at Eureka Burger and I had their original burger and the most amazing sweet potato fries I have ever had. They poured honey over them and the combined tastes were out of this world. Seriously. The service there was great and I must say that I was impressed with all the places I ate at while I was in Redlands. And if you know me, you know I am serious about my food.

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After lunch, we got changed and headed out to Huntington Beach. We had originally planned to go the day before, but the weather forecast wasn't so great. Saturday was supposed to be in the 70's and sunny, but needless to say, we didn't see much sun while we were at the beach. To tell you the truth, we were pretty darn cold the whole time we were there. We just walked around and checked out the shops and then peaked at the beach. We did not even go further than the beach wall - once our feet hit the sand, we felt satisfied enough.