Keys Bound After All!!!

Our friends went ahead down to Islamorada on Sunday. We had cancelled on Saturday but they braved it and of course, it's beautiful. So Sunday we decided to make a mad dash of packing and we are on our way as I speak! Yahoo!

We haven't been away on a 100% relaxing trip in quite a while so we really needed the trip!

Boat, food, drinks, 8 fishing poles and related gear (including Lallie's Barbie pole), drying rack, 16 bathing suits, 7 pairs of flip flops, 12 towels, toys, 6 hats and more, more, more.

Of course, Lallie too!! And my coffee.....yawn! We left at 6 am which will put us there about 10 am due to rush hour traffic through Ft. Lauderdale and Miami.

So.....see you next week!

Happy Tuesday Y'all!!

Keys Trip Update: So Sad

As Husband put it this morning on facebook:

Hotel booked - check.
Boat ready - check.
Bait and rigging - check.
70% chance of tropical cyclone Debbie forming over the Keys - check.

Anyone know how to un-check that last one?

Hoping that things really do turn around in the next 24 hours but one thing is for sure.....I refuse to pay a small fortune to spend an entire week sitting inside in a confined area in the Florida Keys with a four year old while it rains and pours outside when I can do that for free at home (sorry for the long-winded statement.  Phew!)

So, we have until tomorrow morning to un-check the first box and bail out (for a mild fee).  Until then, we're hoping that things really do make a turn for the better and this thing becomes even more disorganized (for everyone's sake...not just our sake).  

Upside:  At least Husband and I have flexible enough jobs that we can reschedule our vacation for anytime so we're looking at something in the middle of July. 

So I'll close with this thought:  On behalf of all Gulf Coast residents and vacationers - While we love your name (Debbie...who doesn't love a Debbie?) and can certainly appreciate your brute force and weather-iffic powers.... we kindly ask you to leave and dissipate sooner than later (and preferably before tomorrow morning for my own selfish reasons).  Please and thank you.

Happy (and hopeful) Friday Y'all!

The Keys...

We are headed to the Florida Keys with another family!  Islamorada to be exact.  We cannot wait for a vacation away from work and school and in a very relaxing place. 

I will probably not fix my hair or wear makeup the entire time we're there.  We'll live in bathing suits and tunics (well, Husband won't wear a tunic) all day every day and we'll grill out every night (with the fish Husband catches!)   Of course, I'll be covered in sunscreen all day, as will Lallie, as we don't want to age that beautiful skin, right?  

I will certainly be doing lots of this!

We never go all the way down to Key West for a couple of reasons.  Islamorda is the place for the fishing AND it's about as far as we're willing to go with the boat.

Let me explain.  It's a process just to get the boat to the Keys.  First we have to remove the boat from the water a week before for maintenance and upkeep to make sure it's in fine shape.  Husband usually takes it out of the water in March or April right before boating season....so by time June rolls around, it's in great need of a good cleaning and maintenance.  SO, in order to complete said maintenance, we have to remove the boat from the water lift (at a friend's house), get it onto the trailer, drive it home, work on it (ehmmm....Husband works on it), drive it back to the dock, get it off the trailer, put it back on the lift (all because we can't keep it in our driveway for more than a couple of days due to the HOA).  Then the day we leave, we do the whole process over again to tow it to the Keys in about a 3.5 hour drive (that would normally be 2 hours without the boat) and then get it off the trailer again before we can start relaxing.  It's a process.

So you see....by the time we GET to the Keys, it's already been a process and right about Islamorada when Husband says...."Okay, I'm done.  Let's get this sucker in the water!"  And after all of this, Husband is thinking....  THE FISH BETTER BE A BITIN'!!   And I hope they are too because Husband is planning on taking Lallie and I on our first fishing trip.  Yes, I live in Florida with a boat for years and I've never gone fishing with Husband.  Until this point, I've been pretty much freaked out by worms and fish and the whole thing.  But I'm ready now, even if it means shoving a hook into the shrimp while it squeals and ....well nevermind.  Freaking myself out again. 

Moving on...we'll get there just before check-in time at our resort which leaves us just enough time to get in a sunset Keys cruise!   

Happy Wednesday Y'all!

A week from today....

This time next week, my family and I will be waking up to this.....

....and we will be taking our boat out onto these waters...

....where hopefully the fish will be biting.

I plan to FINALLY master the art of water skiing....

....and get in some snorkeling...

....and when we're all tuckered out from all the water sports, we'll close out the day with this, glass of wine in hand.

Vacation, here we come!!  

Any thoughts as to where you think we'll be?

Happy Monday Y'all!

Hello!!!

Honestly, I just haven't had much of anything to say or talk about the past few days.  

Okay, honestly I haven't even been on blogger since Friday of last week so I have some serious reading to catch up on this weekend.

In the meantime, Husband and I are celebrating our 10th anniversary tomorrow.  It will also be our 11th year living in Florida.  Not sure why, but this anniversary is much more surreal than any of the others we've had in the past.  I mean ten years!  It feels so short yet so long.  We've accomplished so many things as a team and it seems like we've come quite far over the decade.  Yet, at the same time it feels like just yesterday that we met and college seems not too far in the past.  

It feels that we've accomplished way more than we should have in ten years.....that the things we've done should have taken longer to achieve.  I know that sounds very vague to the readers who don't know me personally, but it's true.  It's also got me thinking that I want to the next ten years even better than the last.  I guess that's where the saying "It only gets better from here" originates!

Anyways, we're heading out to dinner tomorrow night.  It is South Florida so we're pretty casual around here but I do want to dress up a little.  I've been loving the romper look lately but I'm shorter, so long pants rompers don't work for me

I ran across this little number at Forever 21.  Wouldn't this look casual yet classy for an anniversary dinner with some turquoise jewelry and black wedges?   For $15.50, I might just have to run down there to pick it up!  :-)

Happy Thursday Y'all! 

I Spy a Lilly Sale!

Lilly Pulitzer ladies and girls is going to be on Rue La La tomorrow at 11 am!  Don't miss out!

Need an invite?  Click HERE!

Happy Wednesday Y'all!

Hey, It's Okay....

Melissa over at Dreams and Colors posts these things called "Hey, It's Okay...." every once in a while.  I'm borrowing this idea today.   This is not a "debbie-downer" post as I'm sure we all have these days, I guess I just need to get it off my chest.  I'll throw in a few happies too.... :-)

It's okay...... that it's one of "those" days.  

It's okay..... that work is stressing me out.  I have this one particular project that just won't resolve itself and with my being the ultimate problem solver and not being able to solve this one, it's really weighing on me.  It's been going on for over a year now and it's SO frustrating.  I'm not one to usually bring work home, but I have been lately. 

  

It's okay.....that parenting is weighing on me lately.  Lallie (bless her little heart) is wearing me out (and Husband).  It seems to be non-stop whining and crying and snippiness.  It's not like this all the time, of course, but more often than not lately.  The four-going-on-five phase is really trying us and considering I'm personally a control freak, it's especially tough.  I understand this is a phase and her exerting her in independence (and showing off some learned behaviors from school).  I need to learn to let-it-go and work through it rather than against it.  

It's okay....that I'm emotionally exhausted because I'm trying to be the source of happiness for everyone and everything.  My *trying* to be responsible for this happiness is turning out to cause the opposite.  I need to learn that I'm not the source, but rather a product of the happiness. 

It's okay....that I have to clean the house on Wednesday  because Gloria doesn't come until Monday and we have guests coming (having Gloria clean the house is really fabulous...I'm so glad that after ten years we have her I am tres thankful!)

It's okay...that I have no idea how to put the little thingy over the "e" in "tres" through blogger.

It's okay....that considering I studied French in high school and college, I can't remember for the life of me what that little thingy over the "e" is called.

It's okay....that I'm spying a $30 chest of drawers that I found on Craig's List and thinking about restoring for my closet re-do.  It's also okay....that I have no idea how I'm going to re-do said chest of drawers because I'm a horrible painter.

It's okay....that my hair is long and stringy and really needs a haircut and highlight but I just despise going to the hair salon (yes, you heard that right). I'd much rather spend my time getting a massage, facial or nails done than my hair.  

It's okay....that I don't like hair salon appointments because I despise awkward chatting with someone I hardly know about personal issues (yes, I go to the salon so little that I don't really know my stylist....call it weird if you will but that's just me).  I don't like how they like to *dig* for material.  Forget it, I'm not sharing!  Maybe I should just go more often, which Husband really doesn't mind my going more often, so that I don't have to worry about the awkward chatting.  Hmmm....food for thought.

Anyways, sweet Anna over at A Sweet Southern Mess posted a few things this morning and I thought I'd share a couple.  Every once in a while you run across that blog post that just feels like it was meant for you.  If you want to see it all, click HERE.

Source: etsy.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

In the meantime, I ask for prayers and patience for the first four "It's okay" issues above.

Y'all have a Happy Tuesday!

Here's a weekend recap from the SLPS household.  Can you believe I only took one picture of Lallie and my mom?  And it wasn't a very good one, I don't think mom would like me posting it to the world. 

This weekend was Lallie's spring dance recital.  She was thrilled to be dancing to Octopus Garden in a pink and purple costume.  After all, those are her favorite colors!

 

I think this picture is just hilarious.  Husband was trying to get a cute shot with me in the background and Lallie wanted to do nothing but be silly.

That night, to celebrate Lallie's end of the year recital, we went out to a new local fish restaurant.  It was fantastic and Lallie loved it so much she actually cleaned her plate (yes, decked out with her pearls again!  She never leaves home without them!)

I finally got a chance to try out my new Lilly Pulitzer Goldie belt.  I paired it with a white skirt and sequin gold wedges (both old) with an Old Navy tank.  I was happy to finally show off my tan.  I'm pretty pale so this is actually about as tan as I'll ever get.  Suits me just fine I think. Not sure I would want to get much darker, don't want to age that skin!

Sunday, we lazed around in the pool nearly all day (gosh I love South Florida :-)  Don't you just love my Tervis Tumbler?  It's a throw back to our great home state, Kentucky!  Ashleigh got these for me as a gift one year, we love them.

Sunday, Lallie showed off her sunflowers.  They are SO tall!

 

Our tomato garden is finally seeing the end of its days.  We're not ready for it to go and it keeps on producing tomatoes.  We haven't purchased one since October and we've harvested at least 500 tomatoes!  The cherry tomatoes haven't been producing for some time, but the bigger ones (I forget their names, Husband knows) just keep growing and growing!  They look dismal, but I assure you, they're just fine.  Thank goodness too because imported tomatoes from the grocery store are AWFUL!

 

And to close out the weekend, Lallie showed off her Miss America pageantry.  She LOVES to dress herself and put together the most heavily accessorized outfit she can find.  She insisted on leggings and a sweater (even though it was 95 degrees outside).  She had on gloves with an emerald ring, multiple bracelets, pearl necklace (of course!), a hat and sunglasses.  And everything went surprisingly well together.  I wouldn't be the least bit embarrassed by her outfit (though I might have to explain WHERE exactly she gets her impeccable ability to accessorize from.....I wonder!)   

Happy Monday Y'all!

Donuts, Closet Re-Do and a Dress!

Happy National Doughnut (or Donut) Day y'all!  I had heard tidbits here and there all week long that it was coming up, but it didn't really hit me until I drove through Dunkin Donuts this morning for my coffee and was told "you get a free doughnut today!"  What a way to start out!  I chose a French Crueller (or however you spell it).  I LOVE them and as an added bonus, it was covered in chocolate.  (Of course, Lisa, I didn't eat it....okay, I did, but it was just ONE!)  :-)

In other news, today is the last day of my mom's visit.  We haven't seen her since just before Christmas so it was a great week.  Lallie got to spend several days, just the two of them, which is always fun for any grandparent.  We will miss her too (my Daddy wasn't able to come this time).  We are hoping to get to North Florida very soon to see them and their new house.  They have completed tons of renovations to it and I can't wait to see the finished product.  Maybe I'll be able to show you some before and after pictures.

Speaking of before and after....I've been thinking about starting a monthly series called $100 makeovers.  I have several areas of my house that I'd love to makeover and I'm pretty sure I can complete each area for less than $100.  It would start in July as June is a very busy month for us (i.e. family visits, Vacation Bible School, our annual trip to the Keys, yahoo!!!)  And my first area would be my closet.  It's a disaster!

Excuse my horrible attire!  Husband and I were being silly and this was actually the best picture!  You can see that my closet is horribly organized.  Here you can see my stack of Sweet Valley High books in the bottom right corner, the two boxes in the top corner that I don't even KNOW what's in them (they've been there since we moved three years ago), a slew of bags on the floor, lampshades galore...and that's only this side of the closet!

 

My current favorite part of the closet has to be this shoebox with Denta Toothpicks, random headbands, a book that's been packaged and ready to mail to Ashleigh for over a year now, a jewelry organizer among other things.  My jewelry box is a mess and I'm not even sure what's in the blue box. The best are the two pillows that need to be thrown out, stuffed into another box that has been sitting there since we moved (I think it has a ten year old Tivo system in it???)

Yeah, it's not good.  I'll be collecting ideas over the next few weeks and then blogging about the transformation come July!  I'm excited!  

Who wants to do this with me and then link up?

Last but not least, a dress.  Look how cute this dress is?  I love it and it's only $63!  Not a bad price for a dress!  Get it HERE.

 

Happy Friday Y'all!