Life Laid Bear

In the wind

This week has been a little hectic, busy, and one of the best I have had in a long time. We are slowly but surely making some progress on the house, and in turn my life is feeling a little less cluttered and my winter funk is retreating (thank goodness for small miracles). We have been getting out of the house a little more, taking walks (ice cream might have been involved), and lots of cleaning and planning are happening. It feels so good to be in this place. Good things are happening!

We are taking the weekend to head to Orlando and spend some quality time with some really good people. I have got a good attitude, Till has her doggles, the hubs is happy and Luke has his head in the clouds.  Mega Con and Disney, here we come! 

Have a relaxing weekend, folks!

A California Adventure

Well more like a very short San Diego adventure but that isn't a great title. I spent two days last week out of my little Southeastern bubble and took a trip across the country. 

 

My mom was attending a conference for work and asked if I wanted to join her. We stayed by the bay (here) and while she was working I spent my days eating, exploring, and shopping. The weather was exceptionally beautiful and unlike Florida there was no rain in sight.

Seaport Village was just a couple steps outside of the hotel, so I spent a day walking around the quaint shops and exploring the bay. 

If you are ever in that area stop by Frost Me and grab an italian soda. Did you know that it actually tastes better with half and half added. Fun fact I brought back. 

Other places I loved in San Diego

Nightlife - Gaslamp Quarter

Shopping - Fashion Valley Mall

Donuts - The Donut Bar

A long weekend in DC

Last Thursday we headed to DC for a long weekend. We were expecting a really busy weekend. But when we arrived, we were pleasantly surprised to find out that everything we thought was wrong. The people were friendly, the lines were nonexistant, and we had such a great trip. 

We stayed at the Dupont Circle Hotel, and really loved it. Dupont is the perfect area of town to stay if you don't want to be right downtown, but still want easy access to the metro. 

 

We were able to see most of the major sites in DC, but we spent most of our time walking around and enjoying a new city. 

 

Up until this past weekend, I had never stepped foot into a metro. So it was so weird when Kyle told me it was deep underground (we got the hang of it quickly and realized it is the best way to travel). 

On the fourth, we hiked down to The Lincoln Memorial to see some fireworks. We were told the memorial is best at night, and I truly believe it now. It was a truly amazing sight to see. Fireworks going off in DC is something you should do atleast once in your life. 

I stood at Lincoln's feet for a long time. Just thinking about this great country. I was so humbled watching all of the people around me feel pride for our country. That night was one I will never forget. 

We love you DC, and can't wait to come and explore some more! Thank you for your warm welcome, and your beautiful weather. 

Cruising

This past weekend I went on a very last minute cruise. On Wednesday, I got the call to see if I was interested and then Friday morning we were walking onto the boat. It was a fun weekend of relaxing and spending time with family and friends. Kyle wasn't able to go because of work, so I was flying solo for the weekend. 

We did a quick four day cruise to The Bahamas, and I just love cruises. I love watching the water, feeling the rocking, and eat at all times of the day. 

It was so nice to have a couple days to just relax and enjoy. I love spontaneous trips, but boy am I glad to be home and in my own bed. 

May your work week be short, and your coffee strong! 

 

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. 

 

Savannah is for lovers

This past weekend we set off for a short but sweet anniversary trip to Savannah. This was also where we went for our honeymoon! It was wonderful. Savannah is wonderful. It is easily one of my favorite places for a short weekend away. It is roughly about 4 and a half hours away from Tallahassee, so it makes for a short drive. 

We stayed at The Marshall House, which is in the absolute best location. It is on a main street that made it easy to walk everywhere. We didn't have to get back in the car once, which was the idea. We had a balcony suite so you just hoped out of the window and you could see over the street. 

In most parts of Florida, you cannot have open containers in general (Key West excluded). No drinks on the street and you can't take anything to go. So it is always a surprise when I go somewhere and they ask you if you want a drink to go. We had to take advantage! The first night we were there, we grabbed a drink (blue moon for him, and peach sangria for me) and set off to explore. 

When we vacation, all I really want to do is eat and mosey around all day. I don't want to do tours, or any real activities. I really just like walking around and picking a place that looks good to go in. Savannah is perfect for that. Their are great restaurants tucked away and always something going on. The locals and tourists seem to mix together and we just love it. 

The number one place that I have to go when in Savannah is Gryphon. It is a tea room in the heart of downtown Savannah. We also get a pot of tea and scones. There scones are to die for! If you are ever in the area, stop by!

If you ask Kyle one place he wants to go, he would 100 percent say Zunzi's. This place is amazing! It is a small hole in the wall type joint. A combination of Swiss, South African, and Dutch. It is a little off the main strip and somewhat hard to spot. Just look for the line of people and you found it. After we ate, I think I continued to say this is heaven for almost an hour. 

 

We had a wonderful, relaxing, peaceful weekend full of food, fun, and some really good laughs. This guy has my heart in his hands, and I can't wait to spend a thousand more hand in hand with him. Savannah, we miss you already. 

Sundays are for the dogs

Seriously, Sundays are my favorite. You may also see me saying that about Saturdays, but really Sundays take the cake. They are the days that we spend a little bit longer getting out of bed. That day that we linger a little bit longer getting out of the shower. We spend a little more time reading, and drinking coffee. The pups love these days. We love these days. 

So today, we are doing a whole lot of nothing except spending time snuggled with the pups taking cat naps or in our case dog naps (but you get the point right)

* In other news, I am starting to get back to business as usual in my blogging world. We will officially have a working office this coming weekend. I couldn't be happier. We also have a wedding this Friday that we have been looking forward to since July. I talked about it here and here. There will be some minor changes around here in the next coming weeks. Please excuse the mess while I am updating. 

Miami - you win

Oh Miami, what a wonderful weekend we had in your city. We had a weekend full of great food, great drinks and great people watching. Everything was great except the lack of sleep but don't they say ypu can sleep when you are dead? They must not have known how grumpy I am when I wake up. My sleep cycle officially hates you and so do my feet. So I would say it is Jessica - 0 and Miami - 1.

This past weekend, four of the wedding party and one beautiful bride to be made the trek down to Miami for a bachelorette weekend. My dearest friend Lauren is getting married in January and we wanted to take a long weekend and celebrate her. Celebrate her we did! She was decked out in bride gear from the get go. So many people were nice enough to say congratulations! Thank you citizens of Miami for that. 

We stayed in a great location right on the main strip in Miami. The beach was just one street behind our hotel. Which made it so easy to walk everywhere (leading to the feet hurting issue stated above). 

 

Miami will forever be known now as the best place to people watch for me. Almost all of the resturants have outdoor seating so that you can look out at the beach or just watch the enormous amount of people pass by. We watched this batman guy dance for our restaurant for a good 15 minutes. He was definitely the highlight of my morning. Of course, you can't forget the beautiful bride. 

We went to some great places and danced our little hearts out. Now we are on to the wedding. 

Weekend Getaway

Sorry for the silence this week, me and the girls are heading to Miami for a long weekend to celebrate a fantastic woman and her upcoming wedding. Happy weekending to you all and we will be back to business as usual next week.

Tilly did not want me to go so she decided she was going with me.

wedding round up

The weddings are over and the new Mr. and Mrs. are both at home and settling into wedded bliss. So here are some not so great quality photos of the past two weekend weddings. Love is in the air ladies and gentleman! 

I was not looking at the camera, but everyone else looks adorable. These are my great co workers. 

1. My dress and his tie matched, how cute right, well I think so at least. 2. Hairstyle that I wore to both weddings, because well.... that's really the only updo I know. 2.5. And introducing Miss. Seahorse, she has been with me many years. You may see her occasionally.  

Second wedding weekend, and more awesome co workers. 

1. The man of the hour and handsome groom. A Dub I miss you. Denver needs to send you back to us. 2. Carrie Link for you all. She is fabulous, enough said. 

Please disregard the squinty eyes. It was mega bright outside.

This past weekend we not only got to see one of our good friends marry the love of his life, but we also got to spend some much needed time with my mom at the beach. The last part of the month is going to have to be really rad to beat these two weekends.

P.S. Dress one is a Guess dress found on sale at Dillard's and dress two is actually a romper found at Anthropologie.