Babymoon

I can't believe it's been a month since our trip to the beach! It was our one last hurrah before our lives are forever changed by this little babe that will be joining us so soon. A babymoon as it's called today.

Our plans for this vacation: To hit the beach and pool, that's about it. My only must-haves were that it be along the coast. And not be in an area where there were things we'd like to do besides just relax. Otherwise, I really didn't care where we ended up.

So after a bit of searching and pricing out various options, Ft. Lauderdale Beach, FL won our bid.

Thanks to J's parents' timeshare, we were able to get a 1-bedroom condo a block from the beach. It was seriously perfect. Having a full kitchen was awesome. So we made one big grocery run on our first day there with plans to eat most breakfasts and lunches at our place, or on the beach.

Here's a recap of our week through iPhone pics:

Yogurt parfaits for breakfast on the balcony. And lots of fresh fruit to snack on throughout the day.

Having a blender in our room was awesome for J. Frozen mango margaritas to-go! And I may have enjoyed a virgin pina colada or two by the pool. 

We took the water taxi downtown one afternoon which was awesome. It was a little too hot to be walking around at 32 weeks preggo but we loved touring the intercoastal and hearing all about the ridiculous houses. I'd highly recommend it.

Mornings included walks to Starbucks for Green Tea - Lemonades. Afternoons included frozen (virgin) cocktails to-go by recycling our cups. 

On our last full day we headed up the coast to Lauderdale by the Sea. What a fantastic area! 

One of these fro-yo's is not like the other....oops.

We had such a fantastic trip in Ft. Lauderdale and we can't wait to go back. One of J's uncles lives there and we were able to spend quality time with him throughout the week. If only I could have indulged in a few drinks with the guys! Next time for sure. Especially when there are half-priced bottles of wine to be had. MA, get on that!

Next trip will include our little love. Crazy! (in a fantastically awesome way)

Charlotte, NC - April 2014, Part II

Continuing my recap of our trip to Charlotte (Part I here), Day 2 we attended the Queen's Cup horse races. This was the first time J or I had ever been to a horse race before. What a beautiful venue! 

And while it was not the Kentucky Derby by any means, people still had a lot of fun getting dressed up for the event. I went with a flow-y Cynthia Rowley dress I found at Marshalls while visiting my mom in St. Augustine. Couldn't have been more perfect for me that day, as it was hot. So something with a little room was ideal. 

Our tickets allowed us to park one car inside of the track which was absolutely perfect. We packed coolers, chairs, and lawn games and set-up shop in a nice shady spot to watch the races. 

The ladies

 Jackie's girlfriend on the left is also preggo, due in the next couple weeks!

There were 6 of us and 6 horses in most of the races so we each got a number and cheered for that horse in all of the races. Definitely added to the excitement, I think I may have "won" once. 

Obligatory hubs/wife photo. Love this guy!

Ok fine, here's the full view. Baby bump in full effect! (27 weeks here)

We could not have asked for better weather this day. It's 7pm in this photo and still absolutely gorgeous. It was hard not to fall in love with it all. After an extremely long winter in Boston, J loved every minute of the sunshine and warm weather in Charlotte. Showing his true American spirit right here. 

We were one of the last cars to leave the track....it was just so nice out.

But we had to get back eventually, and get ready for Day 3 of awesomeness - a day on the water! Like I said in the last post, it was seriously the best weekend. 

A view of Lake Wylie from the marina where J&A were picking up their new boat (!!)

Sisters

And brothers (in-law)

We cruised all over the lake, swam, and even fished before calling it a day around dinner time. I think it was time to finally relax a little bit. My cankles (or maybe swankles?) were begging me to put my feet up by this point. ;)

Thank you J&A for hosting us for such a great weekend!! We cannot wait to get back down there once Baby C has joined the family. 

Charlotte - April 2014, Part I

Pardon the blog silence. Life has been crazy busy lately in the best possible way. A new nephew, a babymoon, baby shower, etc.  So I have hundreds of photos to share over the next few weeks if I can get my act together.....

Starting with our trip to Charlotte last month. We had one of the best weekends visiting my sister and brother-in-law. Seriously. Trips to Charlotte will now occur in the Spring when we're sick of the weather here in Boston and it's already 80 down south. Our previous trips to Charlotte have been in the fall when the weather has already started cooling off. But going forward, we'll be making our best effort to get down there in the warmer months.

The main reason for this trip was Jackie's 30th birthday party. There was no way I was missing this! I may have been the only sober one there but it didn't even phase me. The party was awesome. A bartender, a Chipotle bar, great music, and great friends - you can't ask for a better night! I snagged a bunch of photos before everyone arrived and then put my camera down for a while to meet and mingle with J&A's friends.

Yes, I said Chipotle bar up above. How incredible is that?! And it was a huge hit! J and I both agreed we will find a reason to do this. It was the easiest set-up ever and the food was delicious (obviously).

The bartender got there a little early and prepped a big batch of fresh margaritas to serve guests as they arrived. Such a great idea. If you hadn't noticed, there was a Mexican theme going on here...Jackie's favorite food and drink of choice. 

The bottomless margaritas and wine were definitely a bit of a tease for me. But I enjoyed my iced tea/lemonade Jackie picked up for me (a major craving lately)

Isn't my sister gorgeous? 

And this is a peak at what happens when you bribe the bartender into pouring your drinks with a heavy hand. ;) Kidding, kinda (but not really). The boys had accidentally picked out matching outfits to wear to the party - J changed his shorts to make it a little less obvious. So cute, ha. (and yes, this was the best picture I could get of them!)

And some late night music once most of the guests had left. I found my way to the couch and enjoyed the drunken antics that ensued. :)

Well this was only Day 1 in Charlotte! To be continued...

St. Augustine, FL - 2014

This year's trip to Florida was perfect. After a rainy week last year, it was so nice to be welcomed by blue skies and beach weather!

Past recaps found here:

• 2011
• 2012
• 2013

The condo my mom originally rented was flooded thanks to work being done in the unit above hers....so they had to move her to a new complex. But with this new view, we were not complaining one bit!

This was my view for the first full day I was there. It was one of the best beach days I've experienced so far in St. Augustine. And man was I relaxed by the end of the day! (and a little burnt unfortunately)

Day 2 was cloudy but I didn't even care. The beach was basically empty since it was a weekday and it was still plenty warm.

Bruno loves the beach! But stole my towel...diva.

Our morning routine: Coffee, fruit smoothies, and reading on the porch in our PJs

And our (bi)nightly routine: Frozen yogurt at Coco Mango....

I did a horrible job at taking photos on this trip. It was just too easy to kick back and relax! Or go shopping....that's what rainy days on vacation are for, right? You know who made out best? Baby C of course. Nona decided it was time she picked out a few outfits for the little love.

Well Mom has secured her spot on the beach for next year thankfully. So who knows, maybe it will be Baby C's first trip! :)