Weekend in Orlando

Today I'm linking up with the above lovely ladies for Funday Monday to tell you all about our weekend in Orlando/Universal Studios! Link here/here.

We drove to Orlando on Thursday night to avoid waking up at 4am to make it to the parks when they opened. We were so glad that we did this because as you know you walk 10 miles every day in a park and those extra hours of sleep we got by driving down on Thursday was well worth it. 

On Friday, we got up, grabbed a quick chick-fil-a breakfast and headed to Islands of Adventure first. I had heard that the Wizarding World of Harry Potter gets packed quick, so we wanted to go ahead and do that as soon as we could. To say that Universal has Hogwartz and Hogsmeade themed is an understatement. It was just like you stepped into the movie. I'm not a die hard Harry Potter fan, but it was very neat to see everything that they had, and yes we even tried the butter beer...it's interesting to say the least!

Tarl got the regular and I got the frozen, the frozen is much better than the regular!

After we finished at Harry Potter, we headed over to Universal Studios. We paid the extra when we booked the vacation and got the Park Hopper...I cannot stress enough to do this if you are planning a trip! 

Out of the two, Universal Studios was both of our favorites. We loved the themed cities, Beverly Hills, 

New York (yes, I finally got to go to NYC!), Springfield (The Simpsons), and even San Francisco.

It was beautifully decorated and they had rides for each specific city. 

When we're on vacation we enjoy ourselves with food and snacks. If we see something that we want, we go for it. We don't wait until 5:00 for drinks either...after well, it's 5:00 somewhere, right?

We had reservations at The Melting Pot on Friday night, so after we saw Universal, we went and got ready for dinner. I wore my white skinnies, Vince Camuto pumps, Victoria's Secret Keyhole tank, and my gap coat...dinner was amazing as usual!

We enjoyed our hotel so much. It was enormous and it was even warm enough on Saturday to enjoy the Pool Bar and laying out with the sun basking down on us. The hotel was only one mile away from Universal and we had a pretty cool view of the park, although the pictures do not do it justice.

Tarl and I have a mutual love for The Melting Pot, but it is definitely something to save for. We had saved for this vacation, and had no set plans for dinner on Saturday. While laying out by the pool, we both agree'd to go back for round 2 and that's just what we did. It was just as good the second time around!

As much as we both enjoyed Universal Studios, we also felt like we had cheated on Disney a little bit, so we went to Downtown Disney on Saturday night before dinner and walked around. It definitely gave us a small taste of our week trip planned there in September, and put us wanting to go into overdrive!

We are now counting down the days! (198!)

While in Downtown Disney, I snagged this lavender bath bomb from Basin and used it as soon as we got home last night. The scent was amazing, and it made my skin feel silky smooth. It was just what I needed after the walking around and going non-stop all weekend.

Here are some more pics from our trip...

We got these pics from my mother-in-law on Saturday. She took the girls on a small little vacation of their own. They rented a hotel with an indoor pool and hot tub so they could enjoy swimming, although it was cold out where they were! Cadence loved it!

As much fun as we had, we were both ready to come home and see our girl. We enjoyed the last bit of the sunshine yesterday (the one thing I love about this time change!) by sitting around with my parents.

See y'all in a few...

I had completely prepared to post today and schedule a post for tomorrow but my internet had other ideas and decided not to work.

We are off to sunny Orlando.

Happy weekend lovelies and I hope to give a full recap on Monday.

P.S. Like the new blog look?

Do you have 30 minutes a day? (no excuses!)

*These are solely my thoughts and personal experiences. I am not being paid to speak about this....just blogging :)


Let me first start off by saying that I am not some crazy health nut, nor do I claim to be. I do enjoy eating healthy, not because I choose to, but because it's tasty to me. I'd much rather have Italian dressing on a salad, than ranch, and I'd much rather enjoy a salad for lunch than fried chicken. Fruits are often times my dessert in the evening in lieu of a cupcake. I guess I lucked out in loving these healthy alternatives.


Don't get me wrong, there are many times I pair those strawberries with my homemade fruit dip, and do eat fried chicken, because fried chicken is a southern staple and it's just plain delicious, but ultimately I enjoy eating things that are more healthy for me.


Although eating right is an important part of getting healthy, exercise is just as important, and exercise is one thing that I just don't do. I work 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. I have a five year old child, a house and a husband to manage. So by the time the laundry is done and the kitchen is clean from dinner, the absolute last thing I want to do is go for a jog, unfortunately it's caught up with  me.


It wasn't until this past weekend that I realized how out of shape I truly am. I ran with Cadence in our yard and was winded within just a few feet. I'm blessed enough to have a pretty awesome metabolism which keeps my weight at around 125-130, and at 5'6 that's average/thin. This does not mean that my abs, legs and arms are hard as steel though...it means nothing when you don't work those muscles!


Two years ago Tarl and I started P90X. We lasted 30 days and gave it up. We thoroughly enjoyed our time together working out and by day 15 felt so much better and had more energy than ever before, but ultimately the workout times did not fit our schedule. One workout alone was 1 1/2 hours and that just wouldn't do and I be damned if I was going to wake up at 5:30 in the morning and do it, because that just wasn't going to happen, so we quit.


Lo and behold Beachbody just came out with P90X3, a 30 minute workout for 90 days that offer the same results that P90X does...score!


We purchased yesterday and cannot wait for it to arrive. I'm ready to get these abs, ass and legs toned for summer. So for 30 minutes a day, six days a week, for 90 days...when you think about it, it's not that bad at all. In the evenings it takes me a half hour to scroll through Instagram alone...so I'm making the time, no excuses!


If you're interested, you can visit Beachbody's website here.

This makes me want to...

This makes me want to re-decorate my entire home. I am absolutely smitten with these gray colors and neutrals with pink undertones!

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This makes me want to go to the Bahamas, like yesterday, at least until it warms up here. High of 78 yesterday and high of 47 today...isn't that just ridiculous? This coral color block top with the navy and white stripes, adorned with that gold pocket just screams lowcountry summer. I need this in my wardrobe!

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This makes me want to go and max out my credit card now. I mean how gorgeous is this Pave Link Bracelet? I can just picture it as the most perfect arm candy paired with a watch and some other thin bangles...what do you think? I actually use the term "max out my credit card" lightly, as this bracelet is a steal at $68 off Nordstrom right now. It also comes in Hematite, Rose Gold and Silver, but my personal favorite is the gold below.

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This makes me want hair extensions. My hair is finally get some length to it, but let's face it, hair grows very slowly and extensions just seem like such a lovely idea right now. I'll also take her tan and that navy dress as well.

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In other news, a new blog look is coming soon...stay tuned!





weekend



Link up here/here

This weekend was filled with non-stop fun. It all started on Saturday morning when Tarl and I celebrated six years of marital bliss. Believe it or not Cadence was conceived on our wedding night (true story!), so she is just as much a part of our anniversary as we are. She completes our family and we wanted to do something that all three of us could enjoy.

We adore farm life and animals, so we took a drive to Sea Pines on Hilton Head Island and went to Lawton Stables where you can ride horses, pony rides for kids and a petting zoo. Our favorite by far was the tamed deer named Callie whom they rescued locally. We see deer daily where we live. Crossing the roads or running in pastures, but to see one up close and personal and to be able to pet it was definitely an experience that we will never forget.

Once we left Lawton Stables, we headed to Harbor Town, also in Sea Pines. We walked the river front after we got some delicious homemade ice cream.

Once we got back to town, we went to our local hardware and feed store and that is when we saw the cutest little baby ducks you ever did see. Naturally we had to have them and Tarl cannot say no to his girls. Luckily, we live on a small farm of our own and have plenty of room for them to play, swim and grow. 

We got two yellow ducklings and two brown ducklings. Naturally, Cadence named each one. Fuzzy, Goldie, Drake and Brownie. 

Once we got our new ducklings situated we enjoyed the rest of the beautiful day by playing at our local park and letting Cadence blow bubbles (for hours!).

That night we enjoyed a nice dinner. I finally got to wear my new coral earrings that I purchased last year. Their cheap but oh so pretty. I got two compliments while at dinner on them. Speaking of coral, Peach Daquiri by Essie is my new favorite shade. I bought it this weekend when I went to Target and am absolutely smitten with the deep coral color. 

On Sunday we decorated for Easter. Everything is up except my Easter printout. I still have to frame it and put it up, but other than that, we are ready for Peter Cottontail. We also got in the spirit by dyeing eggs a little early. The neatest thing is the fact that Walmart now sales synthetic eggs. They feel and look just like a real hard boiled egg, except you can leave them out as decor. You can dye and decorate them just like real eggs too! I bought a dozen for each of us to do, and put the finished product in a hurricane vase for a pretty Easter decoration.

While decorating we noticed Hector the cat outside playing with something. Wouldn't you know, a turtle was walking through our yard. We put him in the pond and he was so happy to be swimming around.

Once Cadence fell asleep, we ended the weekend with just the two of us cozied up around a fire.It just doesn't get better then that. 

The real celebration for our anniversary is this weekend when we have our trip planned in Orlando. To say I am excited is an understatement and Friday cannot get here soon enough!

Happy Monday!