Life Laid Bear

A Beach Weekend

Living so close to the beach, you would expect to find me there more often than I really am. It's the porcelain skin and whatnot. You know those times where you come off of the beach looking as red as a lobster. Well that is me all the time. So when my mom booked a cabin just 30 minutes from our house, I had to say yes. Of course with SPF 75 in hand. So this past weekend, we headed out with my parents and Kyle's parents for a short but sweet beach trip. The cabins were beautiful, the weather was perfect and the company was excellent. 

Easter Weekend at the Beach

Have you ever had one of those weekends when things just worked? A weekend of relaxation, no running around, not working too much, or really much of anything important. Those are my kind of weekends. And this was our past weekend. Our two families decided that over the Easter weekend, we would all get together and rent a beach house near St. Augustine. It works for our families, it is how we like to get away. So we got away to an adorable cottage style house by the beach. 

We had a couple days of yucky weather, but one day of really good beach weather. That is all you really need. Just one good day of perfect weather to sit on the beach with snacks, drinks, and good company. The other days looked a lot like this. Relaxing on the front porch with 4 pups and 9 family members. 

 

We had a couple of really great family dinners locally, and everywhere we went was absolutely delicious. 

The weekend was over too quickly, but it makes it easier to come back to the work week if you had a relaxing weekend. So we are back to real life feeling great, and looking forward to the next family weekend and hopefully getting off the sofa sleeper. 

 

Floridians and cold weather

 I cannot speak for the other 19 million people in Florida but in my neck of the woods when the cold hits, it is a lot like what I would expect a zombie apocalypse to be like. The stores are stocked with cold weather items and people stock up on scarfs, coats, boots and socks. The heat goes on, coffee sales go up, and it looks like we live in the Arctic.

I am no exception to this rule.  I wore boots for the first time yesterday, turned my heated mattress pad on, and even decided to invest in a small space heater for the bathroom. It's sad I know, but so true. I am not ashamed.

When the weather shifts here, it is sudden and unexpected. If I watched the news more I wouldn't be caught off guard, but what can you do. I could have sworn to you it was just 90 last week and now we are expecting nights of 30. That is a difference of 70 degrees guys. 70! 

So for those of you who are up North in the frigid cold, I commend you for doing this. My blood is too thin. 

Despite all of the complaining about the cold mornings, I am really enjoying being able to dig into my cold weather clothing and doing some night biking this weekend. We also plan to have our first fire tonight. So looking forward to all of the "firsts" of this holiday season. 

So the point is have a safe, warm and cozy weekend everyone. 

Let's talk weather

 

 

I can't say that the weather is ideal during this time of year, but it is definitely feeling like it may cool down soon. Living in Florida has its perks. The sun is great, the beaches are close, and there is no need for heavy coats taking up room in your closet. But it is also unbearable for about two months of the year. This month has proved to be one of them. The evenings and nights are finally starting to cool down some. And these guys are loving the nice break in the heat and so are we. The windows have been and the pups heads have been out of the windows as we drive. I couldn't resist the opportunity to catch them in action.

Happy Monday for those of you getting back into the work week!

Weekend Trip & new addition

This past Friday we headed over to Jacksonville to spend the night with my parents before I went to Orlando to try on some bridesmaid dresses and meet the other bridesmaids. It was a really nice drive, and of course the pups were in tow. They are so silly on long drives. Long being a whole two and a half hours. 

Side note: Have you tried the Starbucks Valencia Orange? So good!

Can I see mommy?

 

This little one insists on sitting right in my lap the entire time. 

The trip is pretty much a straight shot down Interstate 10. And is 99.5 % all trees. So the scenery is a little lacking. We don't mind because we talk about a whole bunch of nothing, and play silly games. By the time we are done, the drive is already over. On Sunday, we went to Repticon because I have told Kyle for almost a year now that he could have a bearded dragon. So well... we ended up coming home with a new addition to The Williams Family.

Her name is Kilgharrah. I am a huge fan of the BBC version of Merlin, and of course the dragon from that shows name is Kilgharrah. Which means "The Great Dragon". It just sort of fit like a glove. So help us in welcoming our new member to the family. We are one pet away from a zoo over here. 

Wakulla Springs

This past week we got to spend some much needed time with our good friends from out of town. You may remember them from this very exciting post. They got to stay for a couple days so we filled Tuesday with a trip to Wakulla Springs for their boat tour of the springs. 

The boat tour was about an hour long, but we really got a lot of information that I would have never known. And I live in Wakulla. I felt so uncultured leaving. The tour told us about the type of animals that were native as well as some of those that were not. We say a bunch of aligators, of course from a far. 

It was an absolutely beautiful day. We didn't get in the water, mostly because it keeps a constant temperature of way too freaking cold all year round. So we passed on that chance, but they do have a nice swimming section. 

Afterwards, we stopped by the lodge and had some ice cream and sherbert. We ate entirely too much Mexican during the time they were here and loved every second. 

The day was beautiful, they are beautiful, and we had a beautiful time. 

Oh, Crape Myrtles

I have never been one to say that I have a "green thumb", I can't keep a fern alive. How I have managed to keep two dogs and a husband alive this long is beyond me. So when we moved into our house in September on 2011, I had to do some major research on how to take care of the seven Crape Myrtles that line the front of our yard.

When I was done with the research, let's just say I was already looking for ways to rip those babies out. They seemed so hard to take care of. You have to trim...all the time. You have to cut them in the winter. After that you keep trimming. And then comes a magical two seconds where they bloom and everything is just peachy. Then you do it all over again.

No. Thank. You.

So I eventually put my big girl pants on and decided not only would I keep them, I would have the Crape Myrtles that the whole neighborhood envied. (The ballots are still out on this one)

Two blooming seasons later and I am so happy with my decision to keep them. They have been such a joy to watch bloom, and really not too difficult to keep up with. This year they are just beautiful. I had to share. 

Did you know that some people call them Crepe Myrtles? Instead of Crape Myrtles. Well Southern Living does atleast. They must not really be from the south, because if my grandma calls them Crape Myrtles....that is what they are. 

sick baby girl

This weekend we have a sick baby girl. Tilly just happens to be the world's cutest sick puppy. When she is feeling bad she really just wants to jump in mommies lap, cuddle up on something soft, and sleep the day away. Of course, I don't mind staying a little longer in bed to comfort her. Especially with all the rain we have had here lately. I feel like we are the Seattle of the south.

Today she is doing so much better than yesterday night, but still very sleepy. I don't blame her, this rain would make anyone want a nice long nap. 

So today involved lots of cleaning and BBC shows. It doesn't get much better than that for a Saturday. 

rainy fourth of July in florida

Are you wondering what's with all of the rain? Yeah so am I. Rain you are ruining my weekend plans of being on a beach. 

So for now, we are listening to the rain and watching it make the pups oh so sleepy. I forsee a nap in our future. 

first day of summer

Happy first day of summer from Florida. It is guaranteed to be a toasty one! I hope your weekend is filled with sun, sand, and laughter. And of course, always remember it is always 5 o'clock somewhere.