2021 30A Spring Break Beach Trip - Days 3, 4, & 5

I recapped the first couple of days of our spring break trip to 30A here if you missed it, and today I’m picking back up on day three…

Tuesday, March 30 (Day 382 of Quarantine)

Tuesday morning, we started the day with leftover donuts in the condo.  After the whole chair debacle from the previous day, we decided to go ahead and pay for chairs for the last two days of our trip so we could have a designated area to ourselves.  We didn’t want to run the risk of someone renting the chairs near the ones we’d set up on our own and have to stress out about moving somewhere else.  It stunk to pay for them, but it was worth it for the peace of mind!

We made our way down to the beach mid-morning, and it was very chilly.  Since it was so chilly, we decided to start the day with a walk to try to warm ourselves up.  Thank goodness I’d packed some sweatshirts for all of us because we ended up needing them a lot during the trip!

The rest of the morning and early afternoon ended up being mostly cloudy and verrrry chilly.  During the brief periods when the sun was out, it was perfect, but the second the sun dipped behind the clouds (which was more often than not), it was cold!  The cold didn’t seem to bother the kids too much, but they did stay out of the water a little more than usual.  Jacob even took the time to play football with Brian… usually he’s too busy playing in the water to play ball! 

I spent a lot of the day huddled under my towel, and Brian snapped this picture of me.  Haha.

We lucked out yet again Tuesday, and there was nobody remotely close to us anywhere on the beach the entire time we were there.  It was so nice to be able to stretch out and not have to worry about getting too close to someone else or getting in someone else’s way!

We headed to The Hub for an early dinner around 4:30 beach time, and by the time we arrived, the clouds had burned off and the sun was shining.  We were hoping to avoid the crowds as we’d done last summer by eating early, but the basketball playoffs were on, so there were more people there than we expected.  Thankfully, we were able to find a table away from everyone else, and dinner ended up being fine.

By the time we were done, there were loads of people pouring in, so we were happy to get out of there.  We did make one quick stop in a new candy shop on the way out, and then we grabbed some ice cream on the way out, too.  We couldn’t pass up that Pirate’s Bounty ice cream… it’s so delicious and The Hub is the only place that has it!  If you haven’t ever tried it, it’s M&Ms and Oreos in caramel flavored ice cream and it is absolutely divine.

On the way out, we walked by Luke Bryan's cigar bar, and there was a cardboard cutout of Luke just inside the door.  The kids, of course, know him from American Idol and wanted to take a picture with it, so the bartender let us come in for two seconds to get the picture even though the kids weren't supposed to be in there.  Haha.  I snapped the picture so quickly that I didn't even realize Jacob had his eyes half-closed.  Bummer!!

We got back to the condo in the early evening, but there wasn’t much of a sunset because more clouds had rolled in, so we watched some American Idol while we waited for dusk.  Olivia had been begging to go crab hunting and they don’t come out until just before dark.  We ended up walking around for about 30 minutes searching, but we never saw any.  I was wondering if maybe they weren’t out because of the weather… it was SO COLD once the sun set!

After we gave up, we all went back to the condo, got in some snuggly PJs, and then watched American Idol until it was time for bed.

Wednesday, March 31 (Day 383 of Quarantine)

Wednesday morning, we woke to sunny, blue skies, and I could already tell it was going to be a perfect weather day!  We headed down the road for another round of donuts, this time from Donut Hole.  If you’re ever in the area and you decide to try it, the Dutch Crumb donuts are my favorite!!  And Brian and several other people I know swear by the Red Velvet… I guess I need to try that one sometime!

We ate those in the condo, and then headed straight to the beach!  It was our last day there, so we wanted to squeeze out every second of beach goodness.  We headed to our designated chairs, and once again, there was nobody remotely close to us on the beach the entire day.  I couldn’t believe it!  I still don’t know how we managed that three days in a row!! 

The weather was goooorgeous all day and we stayed outside all morning and afternoon with the exception of eating a quick lunch in the condo.  B and I don’t usually drink on the beach because it’s normally SO HOT and alcohol and heat do not mix well for me, but the temp was so perfect that we decided to grab a couple of beers to take back down to the beach with us.  The kids played their little hearts out and B and I relaxed, and it was the perfect beach afternoon.

None of us really wanted to head in to shower and get ready, but we knew it was necessary to make it to the restaurant early so we could beat the crowd.  We opted for La Cocina in Seacrest for some Mexican food, and we were soooo disappointed to find out that they had changed their name (and possibly ownership??) so they were doing things differently there. 

The food seemed to be about the same, but when we arrived they were doing happy hour which meant they had a limited menu.  Boooo.  Their taco salad is one of my favorite Mexican meals ever, and their margs are THE BEST, so I was disappointed that the taco salad wasn’t available and the margs tasted different... for happy hour I’m sure they use the cheap liquor, so that’s probably why.  Boooooooo. 

My tacos ended up being delicious, though, and a margarita is a margarita no matter what, so we still enjoyed it.  When we return this summer, we’ll just have to make sure we don’t get there so early so we can have access to the full menu.  We were able to sit indoors with literally nobody else in the room with us the entire time, so at least our goal of beating the crowd was accomplished.

After dinner, we walked to Rosemary Beach to hang out for the evening.  We headed straight to our favorite little courtyard to take some pictures, and a young couple was kind enough to take a family picture for us.  I love how it turned out!!  It was so wonderful to be able to get one since we’d skipped family pictures the first night in Seaside!

After pictures, I ducked into a souvenir shop to grab a picture frame for our travel gallery wall, and then we went to Sugar Shack to grab dessert.  It was bonkers in there as usual and I cringed when we walked in.  Sugar Shack is a tiny little candy and ice cream shop, and they have every candy you can imagine, including a bunch of old-school stuff that’s hard to find these days.  There were tons of people packed in there (most of who were wearing masks, thank goodness) so we couldn’t get out of there fast enough!  The kids opted for candy as they always do, and B and I both got the Banana Pudding ice cream.  It’s SO DANG GOOD.  Another favorite flavor that we haven’t ever been able to find anywhere else!

We took our ice cream and candy back to the courtyard to eat, and then we walked down to the big grassy area by the ocean.  The kids ran around for a long time and they ended up making friends with a couple of other kids who then played tag with them.  As we were sitting there, big dark clouds started rolling in because a thunderstorm was on the way.  We waited as long as we could (with our eyes on the weather radar), and then we left just in time to walk back to the car and get inside the condo before the rain came down.  I took a picture from our deck of the storm rolling in off of the ocean… it’s always so cool to see that.

We spent the rest of the evening watching American Idol, and then we all went to bed early… some of us fell asleep earlier than others… 

One thing’s for sure… we all got ample sleep on this trip!!

 

Thursday, April 1 (Day 384 of Quarantine)

Thursday morning, we were up and at ‘em to get packed up and head home.  The rain had moved out and it was a GORGEOUS day, but a cold front had rolled in after the rain and it was FREEEEZING outside and so windy.  It was supposed to be like that all day, so it was definitely a good day to leave, even if it was beautiful!

We normally eat at Big Bad Breakfast on our way out of town, but we decided to skip that this year since we had leftover donuts.  We ate those in the condo, and then hit the road.  We were home in time for a very late lunch, and we were reunited with our sweet girl who we missed so much!

I spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking, putting everything away, and doing laundry, and then we spent the rest of the evening enjoying takeout with dinner, cracking open a couple of beers, and celebrating because we still had a three-day weekend ahead of us!!!! 

And that was our 2021 Spring Break trip!!  We love you and we’ll see you again in just a few weeks, 30A, but there’s no place like home! 

Happy Monday, y’all!

*Linking up with My Glittery Heart, The Other Side of the Road, and The Sirois Family for Hello Monday.

Five on Friday - Floor Pouf, Round Jute Rug, Cutest Koozies, Best PJs, and a Fantastic Read

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Hey, y’all!  I have so much goodness for you today in this five so let’s get right to the point!

O N E – Floor Pouf

When we turned Olivia’s baby nursery into a big girl bedroom a few years ago, we moved the rocking chair into our master bedroom, and I created a little reading nook there.  I’ve spent a fair amount of time in my nook since then, but I haven’t been able to get totally comfortable because I can’t put my feet up. 

I received this floor pouf for my birthday this year, and I could not love it more!  It has completed the space, and it has become one of my most favorite spots in the whole house to snuggle up and read. 

When I added the pouf to my birthday wish list, I wasn’t sure what to expect since it was from Walmart, but it ended up being such a great choice!  It’s very sturdy, but it’s soft and comfortable under my feet.  It’s just the right height, and it’s just large enough to serve its purpose.  I love the texture and depth it’s added to the room, too!  My exact pouf is sold out right now, but this one is from the same place, and it's nearly identical to mine.

T W O – Round Jute Rug

I also received this round jute rug for my birthday, and it was the absolute perfect addition to our foyer.  Our foyer is wide open and there’s hardly any wall space in there, so it has been very hard to style.  Since it’s been so tough to figure out what to do in there, it’s basically been neglected all these years that we’ve lived in our home.  I wanted to find something to warm up the space a little bit, and this rug did just that. 

The rug itself is GORGEOUS, well-made, and surprisingly soft on your feet, and it’s made by Safavieh, so I’m confident it will hold up well over time.  If you’re in the market for a new rug, look no further than this one… it is a showstopper!  It ended up being the perfect piece to liven up our space a little, and I couldn’t be happier. 

 

T H R E E – Super Fun Koozies

Every year, the kids’ school holds a spring auction, and each class is responsible for curating a themed basket to be listed in the auction.  The class moms are responsible for collecting contributions and putting the basket together, and this year, the other fourth grade class mom and I decided on the theme “It’s 5 O’clock Somewhere.”  I shopped up a storm for our class basket and I had way too much fun, y’all! 

We included ingredients and supplies for Moscow Mules, a couple of bottles of wine, some beer, a bottle of champagne, a bunch of fun bar cart supplies AND a bar cart for our contribution.  I wanted to include some fun koozies, and I came across these at Target and thought they were perfect!!  I love them so much, I also grabbed one of each for myself since they’re only $3 each.  I just wanted to share today in case any of you want a fun koozie to take to the beach or the pool this summer!  They're actually on sale for just $1.95 each as I'm putting this post together!

F O U R – Target PJs

Confession, I am the pickiest PJ person everrrr.  I can only sleep in shorts and a tank top with spaghetti straps, and the smaller and more fitted, the better.  Fabric must be soft, but I don’t do satin or silk or flannel.  And I like for them to match… I don’t want to mix and match my own random tanks and shorts. 

There are tons of PJs out there that fit this description, but the problem I always have is that the shorts are always too long or baggy or swingy… y’all know what I’m talking about? 

My favorite PJs that I’ve been wearing for the last four or five years were from Target, but they’re worn out, so I’ve been searching for some new ones for about a year now.  I tried several sets from Target that I didn’t love and had to return (mostly because of the baggy shorts issues), and I also tried a couple of sets from Amazon.  One set from Amazon is pretty good, but the shorts still aren’t just right.

I recently read a post about PJ recommendations and loads of people were recommending the Stars Above brand from Target.  I decided to give them a whirl, and sure enough, this set is amazingggg.  The fabric is the softest ever, and they fit all of my other qualifications… most importantly that the shorts fit perfectly.  Added bonus for these… THEY HAVE POCKETS! 

While I’m not completely in love with the colors and patterns that these come in (leaves, yellow paisley, and black), they are so good otherwise that I ended up getting them anyway.  I’ve been wearing them for a few weeks now and I truly love them.  Target for the win, y’all!

 

F I V E – Everybody, Always

This book was on my reading list for the month of March, and friends, it was fantastic.  Bog Goff is a total gem!  He had me laughing, he had me crying, and he has me all kinds of inspired since I’ve finished it.  Apparently everyone else feels the same way because the book has 4.8 stars with over 5K reviews on Amazon.

The main message of the book is simple – that we should love everybody, always. 

While that is quite a simple statement, following through with this task is obviously a lot more complicated than that, because loving everybody, always, doesn’t just mean loving the people who are easy to love… that’s the easy part!  Loving everybody, always also includes loving the difficult people – the bad drivers, the social media trolls, the people who stir the pot and hurt others to cause divide.

In this book, Bob Goff takes us on his personal journey of learning to love everybody, always, and his stories are truly incredible.  He has done tons of unbelievable things in his lifetime – including a ton of good for humanity – and he sounds like a true joy to be around.  We need more people like him in this world. 

This book really changed the way that I “see” people and I’ve found myself extending grace and kindness to everyone – especially the difficult people – more often than I used to.  I’m obviously not perfect – I mean, I just threw my hands up and scowled at a dump truck driver who pulled out in front of me the other day – but this book has made me more aware of the negative thoughts I have about other people, and it has truly made me want to do and be better. 

This past year has been especially difficult with all of the divide in the world, so I couldn’t have timed reading this book any more perfectly.  I wish everyone would read it and take it to heart… the world would be a much better place.

Friday Funnies

On the Blog This Week

  2021 30A Spring Break Beach Trip – Days 1 & 2

Our Week – The One with Quarantine, Week 57 (Millionaire Bash and G-Day Game)

Ruffle Hem Blue Floral Tank

Happy Friday, y’all! 

*Linking up with A Little Bit of Everything for Friday Favorites.