Christmas at the Beach

Oh hey! I am betting your blog feeds are all filled with 2015 this & that, so you're probably surprised to see Christmas 2014, well, I am pretty much on this really bad procrastination kick (I'm working on it though) so I am dedicating my first post of the New Year to what were my last photos of last year... seemed smart in my brain ;) So here ya go... a little recap of all things our wonderfully relaxing Christmas vacation at the beach was...

The Beach House//

Mom got there earlier in the week before the Hubs and I and the rest of the fam got there and decorated the whole place.  It felt so homey and cozy! It was the perfect place to spend our first Christmas away from Georgia and our first Christmas without my brother... For those of you who are new to the blog we lost my brother last July to a drug overdose.  This was our first Christmas ever without him & there was no way we could imagine spending it the same way we had all the years before.  The beach was our favorite place to be as a family and it just made sense to be there this year for Christmas.  

Very cool sidetone: When mom got to the beach she walked out back on the porch and saw dolphins... she knew it was my brother there in spirit saying "Hey, mom! Merry Christmas!" :)

Our favorite place to hangout - the amazing porches (yes, plural!) the one of the bed swing was right off of our bedroom! We did our reading and bible studying out there.  The beach is absolutely our place of peace and restoration.  

Every year my family always gets a new ornament related to something that we either did, enjoyed, or a place we went to.  This year instead of doing a memory tree with all of our ornaments we did a memory tree for just my brother... It was beautiful and it was so much fun to look at all of the ornaments because everyone reminded us of another great memory of him.  The top left ornament is from The Davis Direction Foundation, a local foundation promoting Heroin/Opiate Addiction Awareness efforts. I picked some of my favorite ornaments- Continuing clockwise: me and my brother- one of my favorite pics of us, then a fish bc he used to be obsessed with fishing in middle school, a hot wheels car because to say he was obsessed with cars as a kid is an understatement,  he also loved basketball and played all of the time, and the final is a red tennis shoe that says " I believe I can fly"- mom and I found it at Hobby Lobby this year and HAD to buy it because he LOVED shoes (I'm pretty sure he had more tennis shoe than me!), he loved the color red, and he is flying with the angels now :) 

everything about it was just perfect!

My ornament this year ;)

It's no secret mom & I have a slight Starbucks obsession... this tree is decked out in our Starbucks ornaments we buy every year!

What We Did// 

Puzzles, Puzzles, and MORE puzzles!

Walks on the beach with this handsome guy :)

On Christmas Eve we lit candles in remembrance of my brother.

The obligatory Christmas morning family photo in matching pajamas, of course.

We also had bonfires on the beach at night - it was the first time we had ever done that- so much fun!!

What I Wore//

(On Christmas day) 

the rest of the days I rocked pajamas and workout gear

Piko Top: Sage Clothing {exact}

Black Skinnies: J.Lo via Kohls

Boots: Target- ON SALE! {exact}

Christmas Scarf: gifted (from Kohl's)

yep, can't have outfit pics taken without a little silly face action!

What We Ate//

Breakfast//

Sweet Potato Waffles & Bacon 

French Toast w/ Cranberry Sauce & Gluten- free Sausage Cheese Muffins (used gluten free Bisquick)

Pumpkin Oatmeal Casserole & Bacon (Clean Eating)

Lunch//

Grilled Chicken BLT Salad

Grilled Chicken, Bacon, Tomato, Spinach, Sunflower seeds, hard boiled egg, balsamic dressing

Christmas Dinner Leftover Salad

Ham, cranberry sauce, tomatoes, avocado, hard boiled egg, spinach lettuce, & balsamic dressing

Dessert//

Fruit Cookie Cake 

Note: we substituted vanilla greek yogurt for cream cheese & sugar in recipe- it was delish!!

Oh and yes we ate dinner every night, but this girl was hungraaay and totally forgot to take dinner pics! oops! 

Our Last Day//

And.... for your enjoyment... just so you know who I get my weirdness from ;)

As always, thanks for reading! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season! 

Here is to a VERY belated Happy New Years! 

~ xoxo ~

Danielle

101 in 1001 Days Update

September 2014// 101 in 1001 Days Update

As I update my list I am recognizing a few of things: 1. Since June of this year I have been busy.  I am grateful for the opportunities I have had.  2. I am reminded of how short life is & living a full life is the ultimate goal of the list. & 3. I feel like I am cruising right along… I still have about 3.5 years to complete the list.  I’m feeling confident.  Here’s to 11 more updates to the list!

#31: Officially become members at Browns Bridge.//

We are officially members of a long-term married couples group!! We both are SO excited!

#46: Visit 10 states and document through pictures.//

July & August 2014 // Florida

September 2014// California

#48: Visit 10 new cities with Josh. (3/10)//

Savannah, GA 7.4.14

San Francisco, CA 9.4.14

Sausalito, CA 9.5.14

Santa Cruz, CA 9.7.14

{See Savannah pics here & California pics here}

#58: Discover 10 new favorite restaurants (3/10)

Copita {Sausalito, CA}

#60: Make 10 recipes off of Pinterest. (5/10)

Our favorite lunch// BLTA Wraps

{no mayo for me, we sub ranch for mayo}

Carrot Fail// Healthy Carrot Fries

{turned out squishy and gross. Sad face.}

The Hub’s favorite// Southwest Burgers

{I make them with grass fed beef rather than turkey}

Easy Peasy //  Veggie Chicken Dinner

The best salad// Pizza Salad

{seriously amazing for pizza lovers! We do add chicken because, well, we like meat}

#68: Pay for the car behind me at Starbucks.//August 2014

{Confession – I got pulled over for speeding but the cop let me off with a warning (thank you!) so I stopped at StarB to spread the good karma love… I will def do this again!}

#70: Collect a Starbucks mug from every state or city we visit.

Florida// July 2014

California// September 2014

#74: Go on a date day with my brother (paid for by me)//

I obviously cannot do this, but He & I had a Starbucks date the week before he passed so although it isn’t an entire date day like I had hoped, I will forever remember that morning.  #74 will always remind me to never take moments, people, and life for granted. Life is just too short!

#77: Read 20 new books. (2/20)//

The Chance {Karen Kingsbury}// June 2014

The Best of Me {Nicholas Sparks}// July 2014 – btw they are making this into a movie! Cannot wait!

#88: Try 10 new things. (3/10)//

April 2014// We joined a wine club at Talk of the Table.

July 2014// Priceline.com {Booked Savannah hotel, $100 cheaper /night and VERY pleased!}

Sept 2014// Mint Mojito Iced Coffee {Philz Coffee in Palo Alto AMAZEBALLS!!}

Sept 2014// Rented a car! Perks of being 25 I guess.

#96: Buy 3 new board games and play them! (1/3)//

Bananagrams // July 2014 {It’s not a board game per say but it is super fun if you like Scrabble, I totally recommend it!}

As always, I would love to check out your 101 in 1001 list.  Please share in the comments below! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Happy Friday!

-xoxo-

Danielle 

San Fran Trip Recap

We’re back!

But first, I just want to take a minute to send my love & prayers to all those who lost loved ones on this day 13 years ago.  And a HUGE thank you to all of the firefighters, police officers, and military men & women who work everyday to protect us against such threats now & in the future.  THANK YOU! #neverforget

Warning: picture overload 

Day 1// Explored Fisherman’s Wharf & downtown San Fran

Highlights

Our ride around town.  

The Hubs enjoyed driving the Stang around... me? Not so much.  Let's just say I don't plan on driving anything but my little SUV for... well, forever. 

 Outfit//

Sweater: Forever 21 {similar}

Jeans: American Eagle -old {love these}

Shoes: Converse {exact}

Crossbody: Old Navy {similar}

The Hill from H-E- double hockey sticks! 

Dear Giant Hill, my feet despise you! that is all. 

Explored Pier 39 – It was definitely the most popular of the piers along Fisherman’s Wharf. 

Top pic: San Fran skyline & the cutest seals! Can you spot them?! Also pictured: Alcatraz & Carousel on pier. 

Dinner: Press Club in downtown San Fran. 1 word: AMAZING! 

A little wine tasting flight && some delicious eats.  We shared the lamb burgers & Duck sausage and Quail Jambalaya.  HIGHLY RECOMMEND BOTH.

 

 Day 1 Side Notes: We ate lunch at Fisherman’s Grotto on Pier 39.  We weren’t impressed & I was disappointed bc we could have probably chose 1001 different and much better options.  Lesson learned. 

Day 2//Palo Alto & Sausalito, CA

Highlights

Philz Coffee! 

Philz was the ONLY coffee shop I experimented with that I actually liked in all of San Fran... a little disappointed, but the Mint Mojito Iced Coffee did not disappoint! So delish!

Drive across the Golden Gate Bridge 

Sausalito 

One of Josh & I's favorite places we visited. So quaint, cute, and beautiful!

Dinner: Copita (Sausalito)

HUGE thank you to Cassie over at Living on Cloud Nine for the recommendation!

Ate: Oyster and Mahi Mahi tacos.  Both were INCREDIBLE!

Drank: Josh ordered a spicy margarita (sorry, can’t remember the name) that he really liked.  Me, some fruity margarita, it was good, but I’m probably not the person to ask bc I am strictly a wine girl. 

Sausalito Wear//

Shirt & Necklace: Francesca's {Both in stores, not online yet}

Skinnies: Jennifer Lopez via Kohls {exact}

Crossbody: Old Navy {above}

Day 3// Around town & back to Pier 39

Highlights

This was the Hubs last day at his seminar so on his lunch break I found a little park near by for us to eat lunch and play around.  Lunch was gyros & the park was Bedwell Bayfront Park.  

Outfit//

Jacket: Forever 21{exact}

Sweater: Francesca’s {similar}

Skinnies: Kohls (link above)

Sandals & grey Tee: Target - old

He loves me...

He loves me, maybe. 

Dinner: Crab House on Pier 39 (Fisherman’s Wharf) Absolutely the BEST crab we have ever eaten.  We were SO full & if you ever eat crab, that is hard to do! We did get calamari for an appetizer (good, also) & we tried one of their signature cocktails, but like I said before wine girl…couldn’t drink it! Ick!

Oh and we may or may not have gotten dessert THEN also shared a strawberry Nutella crepe! Oops!

The view, sigh. :) and obviously, our cutest outfits of the week ;)

Day 4// Day trip to Santa Cruz 

By far our FAVORITE place in Cali!

Highlights

Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park

So awesome & humbling... If you ever want to be reminded of how small we are & how BOG God is, just stand next to a Redwood. Incredible!

The view looking up.

Clovers were all over the place... reminded me of my brother :) 

Then we stopped by the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk for some fun! 

We rode the Skyride across the boardwalk to see everything! Both scary & cool. Def recommend going if you like roller coasters!

Ended the day with wine tasting that did not disappoint! If you ever in Santa Cruz you have to go to MJA Vineyards! The owner/ winemaker is from Hawaii & every wine we tried was truly unique and fabulous! They also sell Kona coffee…basically it was perfection!

Oh and their tasting pours are VERY generous! You have been warned.

We were only a short walk to the beach so off we went! 

So breathtaking! Those waves were awesome & it was so fun to watch the surfers.  

Santa Cruz Wear//

Tank: Express {exact}

Jeans: American Eagle -old

Sunnies: Tom's {exact}

If When we go back to Cali, we would definitely stay in Santa Cruz.  The speed of living was much more laid back than San Fran & much more our style.  We would venture into San Fran, but really Santa Cruz had the nature, the beach, AND the wine.  Win-win all the way around for us!

Day 5// Last day

Highlights

We just walked around a mall in the suburbs of San Jose for a couple of hours & I found some awesome jewels from Michael Kors. I made sure the Hubs knew they were now on my wishlist.  Hello, birthday next month ;)

Airport wear//

If you follow on Instagram you have already seen this, if not here ya go...

Shirt: Forever 21 {similar}

Vest: LOFT- last year

Boyfriend Jeans & Flats: Express {jeans-old shoes- same}

Bag: Kate Spade {available in outlets}

Jewels//

Necklace: Francesca’s {in stores}

Earrings: Kate Spade {exact}

Thank you to everyone who made incredible suggestions for what to do and where to eat! We wish we could have done it all! 

On our list for next time: 

- Ride bikes across Golden Gate Bridge

- Take Ferry over to Sausalito/ spend more time exploring Sausalito

- Napa Valley wine tastings

-Zipline through the Redwoods

Have you ever been to San Fran? What did you do? What's on your list for next time?

-xoxo-

Danielle