Beach Pics

Sorry for the delay in blogging about our girl's beach trip, we got back last Tuesday evening and I have been very busy with work and my cousin's wedding festivities. We had her bachelorette weekend in Atlanta this past weekend and the wedding is this Saturday and I will be traveling to LaGrange for it.

I'd say this collage sums up our trip -

The top beach pic was taken within hours of arriving. This is pretty embarrassing but when we landed in Tampa we took a cab straight to the liquor store, haha. We did not have a car and there were no stores around the hotel. So liquor store to hotel to the beach. Priorities people!

One of several beverages we picked up, Skinny Girl Cucumber Vodka -

 

We drank it with club soda, very refreshing and low cal!

Sheena and I are obsessed with oysters, Allison not quite so much she can take them or leave 'em. That was one of about 5 orders we had over the course of the trip, delish.

Above bottom right pic taken at our hotel's rooftop bar, a fun beachy atmosphere that has a big countdown timer to sunset, gives out free shots and blares "When the sun goes down" at sunset :)

We were very lucky with the weather, didn't rain any during the day

We indulged in lots of fresh seafood, at one meal instead of each ordering an entree we ordered about 6 different appetizers of seafood. So many great spots all around our hotel.

No we did not plan to all wear teal dresses :) Our waiter asked if we had been in a wedding haha.

Our calamari and chocolate lava cake from that dinner, so good. For our entrees I had parmesan crusted salmon (yum), Allison had shrimp and grits and Sheena had lobster ravioli that was heavenly.

Some of the maid's handiwork in our hotel -

Do you think the right one looks like a swan or a snake? It's definitely a swan but Allison yelled, "Snake!" right when she spotted it haha.

Our last full day on the beach -

Of course Allison and I rented a tent and slathered ourselves in our fav sunblock -

Sheena was brave to go on a beach trip with us albinos, lots of "Can you put sunblock on back?" requests and Sheena was shocked at the amount of sunblock I would use haha.

Sunset on the rooftop bar with frozen pina coladas and strawberry daiquiris, ahh vaca

Our last night we went out to dinner and drinks (we stayed within a .3 mile radius of our hotel the whole trip) and met a new friend at one of the bars, this really drunk lady from Norway (I think?) and Allison was the only one who could understand her and carry on a conversation with her haha.

 

 One last stop at the rooftop bar, we grabbed lunch there before heading to the airport

 Bye, Clearwater Beach! Thanks for a fun girl's trip :)

Aannnd one more embarrassing story from the trip, so we definitely missed our flight the way there.... One word: Marta. It was absolutely miz. It was running on some kind of glacial schedule and long story short it tooks us 2 HOURS to get from Buckhead to the airport. I was so anxious because 1. Obvi about to miss my flight to my much anticipated beach vaca 2. I forgot to eat or grab a Luna bar that morning and we all know how that goes when I forgo eating 3. So many people scared me on the train, one man got on and was yelling racist comments and stuff like, "This is MY train!" and I thought we were all about to die and then this homeless man in a wheelchair started quizzing Sheena and I with number and word problems. I turned to Sheena and said, "This is what hell is like." But thankfully we got put on a flight all together just an hour later than our scheduled flight. Everyone with Airtran was very nice and accommodating and said people had been missing their flights all morning because of Marta! Ridic. We were very fortunate and happily boarded our plane with food in tow and arrived just an hour later to sunny Florida :)

Trip to Kiawah and Charleston

I had a wonderful time in Kiawah with Sarah, I got to spend 3 full days there. I got in Friday afternoon and one of the first things we did was take a long bike ride and see the beach! Then we went to pick up my race pack and got some dinner at a pizza place on the island -

 My beer wasn't nearly as big as it looks in that pic :) It was a local beer that was very good! For dinner I had a creamy mushroom pasta dish and this healthy fried cheese that was amazing, I figured I could eat what I wanted ;)

 A pretty tree in the center of where all the shops and restaurants are in Kiawah that I decided to go stand in :)

 Up at 6:30 the next morning to run the Kiawah Half! So nice staying at Sarah's fam's house on the island and not having to deal with shuttles and driving from far away like so many of the other runners.

  Waiting around for the race to start, and I would just like to share the self restraint I showed in not snapping a pic and sending to Sarah of the man standing in front of me who had so much back and arm hair I almost gasped when I saw it, but then this pin came to mind (I know I need a pin-tervention) and thought it would be mean.

 

 Sarah took these as it was starting -

 

Only pic I took during the run, on mile 10 -

Another one Sarah took -

And a blurry one of me running by haha, I was so fast you couldn't even get my picture ;)

My only goal was to run the whole 13.1 miles and I was able to, but I definitely could feel my lack of training and that I'd been sick earlier that week. Things that motivated me during the run: Pandora, Sarah cheering me on and picturing her furiously riding her bike around to get to all the different stations :), the beautiful scenery which I'm sad I didn't take more pics of but it was not at the top of my priorities at the time, perfect weather and my number one motivation was looking forward to sitting on the beach with cocktails that evening!

 My dad emailed me my results: I finished in the top 43% overall (1194/2758)/Top 42% (103/244) in my age, gender group/Just under 10 minutes/mile

I would also like to add a disclaimer: I ran with my phone and had my Nike running app going, at first the mile markers were the same as my app but then they started getting more and more off, my app would tell me I'd run 11 miles when I'd just past the 10 mile marker, soooo my app told me I actually ended up running 14 miles in 2 hours and 9 minutes and 28 seconds. The app has never been wrong and it displayed the map, so who knows! But what's weird is that Sarah and I found a guy on Twitter who'd run the half and posted his Nike app results that were exactly 13.1 miles and the same map as mine. Sarah asked if I could've gotten off the path somehow haha, not likely I was always with lots of people (No repeats of the 3-Day!). When I told my dad about it he said I was just that much closer to running a full marathon next year. Yay.

Wore my metal to lunch, I think it would make a pretty Christmas ornament.

 Burger, fries and hush puppies hit the spot! We ate outside on the water it was so nice!

 

(Scary biker man with long fingernails took this for us)

 After lunch I took a nice, long nap! Shower + Yummy lunch + Long nap = :D

Then had some wine on the beach that evening. The beach at sunset is my absolute fav I was so happy!

We literally sat out there until dark, the stars were so bright and pretty I even downloaded a star and planet app that told you the names when you held it up to them, haha. Then we watched the movie The Cabin the Woods that was weird and creepy but entertaining. (Brit you would have loved it!)

On Sunday we made the 45 minute drive into Charleston for lunch and shopping. The second Sunday of every month they block off King St, lots of people out and about -

 We had lunch at Blossom and when I checked in on my Foursquare app people had left comments recommending their red velvet bread pudding, I immediately asked our waitress if they had it. Sarah had like 2 small bites and I inhaled the rest in record time. Allison please make this for my birthday next year :)

 Bichon in a Santa costume spotting!

His name is Charlie and he was very heavy. Full view of his outfit -

After a grueling day of eating and shopping (got some Christmas shopping done and maybe a few things for myself) we stopped for happy hour at the bar at Fleet Landing. When we told the bartender we were on vacation he made us these -

Then hit up Wet Willie's before heading back -

We ate dinner that night at King Street Grille on the island, when we got home we were so exhausted and asleep by 10.

 Monday can be summed up with these pics -

I woke up, drank coffee, read, ate breakfast, read some more then took a 2 hour nap, haha. Then we went on a long bike ride and walk on the beach. Finished the day sitting on a pier taking in this view -

That night we cooked chicken fajitas at the house and watched the movie Silent House which was very disturbing. Another early bedtime and then hit the road early the next morning. A very relaxing and fun few days! Chels, Brit, Caris and Rachel we missed you! Who wants to run the full with me next year?!

Long weekend in Kiawah

Very, very happy to be heading to Kiawah Island, SC tomorrow! I am using a few vaca days I have left to use by the end of the year and meeting Sarah at her family's house there. I've never been during the winter but Sarah says it is very pretty and peaceful. I plan on walking and sitting on the beach, reading books on the porch, watching (and making?!) movies, eating some good food (shocking) and doing some Christmas shopping in Charleston.

Oh yes and running the Kiawah Island Half Marathon Saturday morning. I am not as prepared as I'd like to be having gotten sick earlier this week and a busy schedule not allowing me to go on many long runs. I did a 10 mile run over Thanksgiving weekend out at the Big Creek Greenway Trail and felt fine, so hopefully I'll be good for 13.1, we'll see in a couple days!

 Sarah is going to ride her bike along the trail! Here is the course trail for the half and full, *maybe* next year I'll do a full marathon. I'm going to be missing my company's Christmas party Saturday night which I am sad about but given my choices at last year's party this is probably a good thing. Several damage control texts sent out the morning after last year.

Sarah is already in Kiawah since she works remotely and had a 10 hour drive, her breakfast this morning, so relaxing :-)

Just hope the Kiawah monster leaves her alone...Yes I know I'm one of 3 people who fines that funny ;-)

Girl's Trips

An early Christmas for you, a new post! I'll attempt to not have such a long blogging hiatus next time. Between the holidays and starting my new position at work blogging hasn't been at the top of my priorities the last few weeks if you haven't noticed ;-)

Rachel and Autumn came to Atlanta for a visit and the Kentucky vs. Duke basketball game a couple weeks ago, as usual we went all over the city and had so much fun!

They got in on a rainy Monday evening and I thought Cafe Intermezzo would be the perfect spot for drinks, dinner and dessert. We all got a different champagne cocktail and piece of cheesecake. Autumn and I split salad, the black bean burger and pumpkin cheesecake. Whenever Rachel comes in town I give lots of special thought to where all we will eat. Now don't get mad Rachel but you know you are a picky eater and drinker. A few things she doesn't like: Coffee, tea, wine, beer, diet sodas, tequila, any exotic or different flavor combinations, I'll stop there you get the point. Rach gets annoyed at my affinity to pointing this out to people ;-) But I try to think of places with a fun atmosphere that will have good quality, plain food. While driving around town Rach said, "Atlanta has so many restaurants, how do you ever decide where to eat?!" It's just so hard.

 The next day I took off work and enjoyed a day of brunching (Flying Biscuit by Piedmont Park, Rach has eaten there before and approves ;-) and shopping. We strolled the shops in the Virginia Highlands and went to Paris on Ponce. Rachel even put on one of her famed dance routines to an audience of one (me) -

Autumn responding to us telling her to strike a sexy pose -

After a full afternoon of shopping we took a snack break at Belly in the Highlands (Why yes that's a red velvet cupcake in my head) -

And fun fact: This is where some scenes from the movie "Life As We Know It" with Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel were filmed. And not so little known fact: Rach and I love celebs!

 Rach loves coke, too! Since I listed some things she doesn't like I'll list some things she does like: Dr. Pepper (regular), milk, orange juice, mini Hostess chocolate doughnuts, chips and salsa and chocolate chip cookies (what she got at Belly).

Then we went to cheer on the Cats at the Ga Dome that night! Autumn let me borrow that cute scarf and I bought that top at Festivity that day. Brit gave me those earrings for my birthday :-)

 I don't think I've been to a UK basketball game since I was a student, only football. Even though we lost and all the Duke fans around us were so awful and annoying it was great to see them play in person, and we are a very young team so will only get better!

 I'm due for a visit to Nashville soon!

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A few days later I headed up to Lexington for Brittany's baby shower and our annual girls' Christmas get together. I got in Friday evening and Sarah and I had dinner at one of my fav restaurants in Lex, where else Jalepinos, it was as delish as always. As you can see we definitely indulged with queso dip, chicken fajitas and margaritas -

 I stayed at Sarah's parent's house and got in lots of cuddle time with their lab, Bufford, he refused to get on the couch with me tho -

 Saturday morning was Brittany's shower at Chelsea's to celebrate baby Bradford who is due in just a little over a month! Chels made this adorable sign -

Lots of amazing food, we had mini ham sandwiches, Chels made 2 different kinds of quiche, a cheese and strawberry jelly ring and rosemary cashews, Caris made her coffee cake and muffins and Sarah and I made blueberry cheesecake cookies :-)

 Caris's baby boy, look how much bigger he is from the last time I saw him just a few months ago!

 Always ready for a photo op :-)

Brit opening her presents, she got lots of great stuff. When she opened each gift the giver had to share some baby advice, when it was my turn my advice was to dress her baby in socks that will fit him. I'm telling the story here about a photo up in my parent's house of me standing up as a baby wearing knee socks that were too tight on me, making my legs looks like big sausages. My mom says the socks in the size above wouldn't stay up. Anyways this pic has caused my brothers to make countless sweet comments over the years about my pudgy, baby legs jammed into these socks.

 After the shower we went to Chelsea's family lake house in Austen, Ky. It's so funny because we did the exact same thing last year, had a shower for Caris and then all went to the lake house. Wonder what next year will have in store!

We had our Christmas gift exchange and everyone outdid themselves this year. Chels made us books filled with pics from trips, holidays and birthdays over the years that we poured and laughed over, Caris made us adorable packs out of rice and cheerful chevron fabric that can be heated or frozen to use for aches and pains and some super cute gift tags and stamps, Sarah gave vintage classic novels and pretty note cards, Brit gave the cutest measuring cups made of teacups and some of owls and I gave handmade lavender pouches and candles from an antique market in Roswell. I love our gift exchanges!

 And of course we played our annual game of charades -

We never cease to amuse ourselves by watching each other do ridiculous things!

 One of the favs this year was Sarah turning into a spy, she suddenly morphed into a scary spy peaking at us through a window from outside, she had to stop because it made Brit too upset, haha.

The next day we went for a walk around the complex. Weather was perfect. I wanted Baby V strapped to me for extra exercise! That's Chelsea's sweet 2 month old baby in the stroller :-)

Baby V loved looking out the window! We had a couple deer spottings.

Also tradition on our girls' weekends is to indulge in lots, and I mean lots, of decadent food. Chels made biscuits and gravy casserole that I wanted to stick my face in. Chel also made salted Nutella fudge! (If you click on the link you can see my request for her to make it, haha) And as you can see many cups of coffee are consumed as well.

Playing our fav game, Dutch Blitz!

Baby V is so sweet and fun to have around, one of the rare times he was on the floor and not in my lap :-)

Baby model!

 ♥♥♥

The other Baby V with his Auntie Sarah

 Tickle!

 This random stray cat loved Chelsea but sadly the feelings weren't returned, "Git!!!"

 Ruffin' it sans makeup

The backyard

 Another girls' weekend essential

Cheers to many more girls' weekends and celebrations to come! And next year we'll have yet another bouncing baby boy in tow to join in on the fun! I can't wait to tell these little boys how I remember them coming with us on our trips as babies :-)