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Fabulous Florida Vacation

vacation

September 23, 2011

As promised, I wanted to recap this past week’s shindigs before I lost my mind and failed to remember the fun details…I’m telling you, pregnancy brain has taken over!
We left Nashville bright and early last Thursday. Jeff was so sweet to drive the entire way so Lauren and I {mostly me} could get a little shut eye before we got to the beach. As soon as we checked in, we plumped our happy selves in the sand for the rest of the afternoon to take in some perfect weather! That night, we ventured to Old Florida Fish House for a big dinner and then fun at the bar…this lady had a double gingerale–fancy, huh?

Prime time relaxation
 Boys doing their thing in the water
 Gorgeous sunset!

The next day, we spent ALL day at the beach…a little roasting that had to be done so we could officially enter fall with some “color”–I think we overdid it just a tad bit though. Then it was off to Great Southern in Seaside for a late dinner…my favorite meal of the trip! The shrimp n’ grits yaya was TO DIE FOR and the key kime pie–WOW! Afterwards, we headed to our favorite outdoor party place–Bud N’ Alleys and even ran into some old college friends…such a small world! A fun night and I was so proud of myself staying out the wee hours of 1AM.

Yes, the hair is straight…needed a little change for the evening.
Jeff said it was like he had a new woman for the night-HA!
 Justin, Whitney, and Lauren at Great Southern for dinner
 Ashley and Andy Davis…love them!
 Best calamari ever!!
 Check out that virgin strawberry daiquiri…woo hoo!
 Lauren and her birthday boy–OLD MAN!
 Out at Bud ‘N Alleys for the late night!
 Shenanigans 😉

Saturday, we spent 1/2 the day at the beach and the other 1/2 tuning in for all the football we could handle. A sad day for any VOL fan, but I was glad to see us come back–we’ll get them next year just you wait! For the final night with our friends, we went to Shades and then dropped the partiers off at the bar before Jeff and I called it an early night…this lady was just plain exhausted!

I turned the camer wrong…oops! Yummy cookie cake
 Steamed Old Bay shrimp and blackened grouper from the fish market!

Sunday morning, we grabbed breakfast and then drove to Destin to meet up with Mom and Dad, who had arrived the day before. We took it easy, resting, relaxing, and reading while rotating on who would play with Jeff to keep him entertained. That night, we ate dinner at The Crab Trap, another favorite of mine, then stayed up late playing cards.
Monday and Tuesday’s lineup was more of the same…fun, food, and sun! Mom and I hit up the outlets and scored some great finds and then met up with the boys for dinner to celebrate my Dad’s birthday at Old Bay Steamer–our go to local seafood dive. Amazing!

Lunchtime at The Back Porch
 Mom and Dad
Crab Trap…so  much seafood and perfect weather, too
 I’m 28 and ordered a Shirley Temple!! And yes, it was GOOD
Dinner at Osaka…like I said, I was having so much seafood I needed a break

 My little camera ham posing for the monthly calendar–hehe
 Ahhh…life on the beach is the best

All in all, we had a great time for our last beach vacation of the year…we feel so fortunate to have such great friends and family to spend our free time with and cannot wait to do more of it very soon–next stops, Hilton Head for Thanksgiving and NYC the week before Christmas.

  1. Shirley Temples have been my drink of choice when everyone else is ordering their good 'ol cocktails!

  2. Kate says:

    No belly bump pictures! I expected a slew of them… bummer 🙂 Annnd, girlfriend.. why did I think you were like 24 or 25??? 28 though? Honey – you look fab-u-lous!!!!!

  3. CMae says:

    From the itty bitty lil pic that I could see of your bikini I can see that I LOVE IT!! old? new? do tell! 🙂

  4. Nicole says:

    What a great way to end summer!!

  5. What a fun filled vacation!! I still order Shirley Temples too!! Also, oh my, I need to keep reading; I haven't been by in a while and clearly need to read about this baby news!

  6. Kindra says:

    looks like a blast and the shrimp looks delish!

  7. Yay! My best friend's boyfriend Jim owns that restaurant Great Southern. She hosted a large and beautiful bachelorette brunch for me there. The shrimp and grits are to die for! Wish I was on 30-A now.

  8. Shari says:

    Looks like a fabulous trip. These photos are SO cute. 🙂

  9. TayFrizz says:

    Where oh where did you get that reddish/orangey dress with the blue necklace? Love! So glad you had a relaxing time at the beach 🙂

  10. awe looks like such a great trip…to cute!

  11. What a fun trip you had, and you are just beaming! I'm so glad ya'll had a little escape. Have you been to Hilton Head before? Even though I live in Charlotte now, I grew up in SC and love the SC beaches. My girlfriend got married at HHI and it is just such a gorgeous place.

  12. I'm liking the virgin daiquiri! And your straight hair I do believe that might be a first I've seen you with straight hair!

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colorful life + style blogger | native nashvillian | wife and mom to two darling little ladies | bringing you all the happy you can handle

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