Showing posts with label relaxing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label relaxing. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Honeymoon Part II: The First Full Day

Hi there and happy Thanksgiving Eve!

I've never been one for the Thanksgiving Eve celebrations, as none of my family flies/drives in from out of town, spends the night, and then wakes up together in the morning for a big brunch. I wish we did that--how fun would it be to have a huge sleepover with your family? Therefore, tonight will be spent hitting the gym and then relaxing with Andy. I love long weekends--especially when they involve holidays!

I found some jeans last night--not just one, but 3 pairs! This is a rare find in my world since I have the hardest time finding pants and usually can't wear them until they've had a trip to the tailors'. Luckily boots are in season so I can stuff my unhemmed pants into them and get by until next week when I have a chance to drop them off.

Honeymoon Part II


For those just catching up, you may check out my previous recap here.

On our first full day on the island, we headed to the beach directly after breakfast. I've seen the ocean before when I went to California a few years ago, but had never been in the ocean since it was winter and freezing cold!


The sights around us were spectacular! We wandered around the beach at our resort before hiking over to neighboring beaches. 


First up, a black sand beach! This was so neat in contrast to the tan, fine sand beaches that we went to throughout the week. This sand was composed of coarse little pebbles that were red and black in color. It was an interesting sensation to walk on, that's for sure! 


As we waded along the shoreline, snapping pics and taking in the moment, we almost got taken out a few times by some surprise waves that crashed upon the shore! Our clothes got a little wet but it was definitely worth it!


The water was so crystal clear and beautiful--especially with the black sand shining through. It was a perfectly sunny day with temps in the high 80s. A little humidity ran through the air, but the ocean provided a nice, refreshing breeze--making the temps perfect for scurrying around on an adventure.


Next up was "Big Beach" as the locals call it. This is a very popular swimming beach due to the huge stretch of coastline, perfect sand, and excellent swimming spots. Ironically, as soon as we arrived, it was being evacuated due to a recent shark sighting with is pretty rare since the water depth was only about 6 feet in the designated swimming area.


We had fun playing in the sand, wading by the shore, and walking barefoot on the beach. It felt so great to take each day for what it was worth and just fly by the seat of our pants rather than have a planned out agenda.


Later on in the week, we went swimming at big beach and had so much fun just standing in the huge waves and being pulled out to sea and then back again. I didn't follow Andy's advice about not turning your back to the ocean and definitely wiped out by surprise a few times!


On our way back to the resort to change and grab lunch, we saw a lot of food trucks on the side of the road. Most of them advertised fresh fruit and fish tacos, but when we saw this bright bus, we just had to stop! The owner of this truck was a true hippie surfer and ran this truck to support his surfing passion.


A lover of popsicles, Hawaiian shave ice is right up my alley. I chose the Pink Lemonade and Watermelon flavors while Andy enjoyed a root beer float while we walked the remaining stretch back to our room at the resort.


This stuff was amazing! Seriously, one of my favorite things that we enjoyed that whole week!


After a quick lunch in the room, we decided to enjoy the remainder of the afternoon relaxing on the beach to combat our jet lag. I relaxed with a few magazines while Andy snapped pictures of the ocean, waves, and surroundings.


This definitely beat sitting at the office on a Tuesday afternoon! The sound of the waves and the warm sun on our faces was so relaxing--especially after the wedding craziness that took place the week prior.


After awhile, we headed back inside to shower and change before setting out for an outdoor mall to grab dinner. Most of their malls in Hawaii are open-air and it was so nice to be outside while you were "inside!" Definitely not an opportunity that could be had in Minnesota, where it is winter basically 8 months out of the year.


This mall was filled with all kinds of fun shops and restaurants--including a few we had never even heard of.


I was ecstatic when we found a ROXY store! I love this brand and later on ended up purchasing a shirt on our last day when we revisited the store.


We enjoyed a relaxing dinner at a cheeseburger joint. Grilled cheese and chicken wingsfor him, and a salad for her!


This cobb salad was exactly what I was craving and we ended up going back to this restaurant later on in the week for the same dinner round two--it was that good! We actually had the same waitress the second time and she remembered us--haha!


We ended the evening with a sunset walk on the beach--taking more pictures and reflecting on our day. It was a great first day and were were so happy that we had many more days of our vacation to follow!

Stay tuned for the next recap! 

Until then, enjoy your day relaxing if you have it off, otherwise, enjoy your "Friday" today! I work today but I'm hoping we maybe get let go a little early due to the holiday and the fact that most people are out of the office today--clients included. Hey, a girl can wish, right?!

Do you have the day off today?

What are you most looking forward to about Thanksgiving? I'm so excited to see my cousins and Andrea's new puppy!

Do you have a hard time finding jeans?

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Fun with the Fam

Hi there!


On Friday night, my mom and Andrea picked me up from work so that I wouldn't have to wait around for my dad since my car was still being serviced. Upon picking me up from the office, we hit up Starbucks for iced coffees and then swung by the auto shop so that I could pick up my car. It feels great to have my own wheels back!

My parent's 1st cell phone from the 90s!

While we waited for my dad to get home from work and Andy to drive down from his place, I was trying to figure out if I could switch my phone to Andrea's old phone since mine keeps shutting off randomly throughout the day. Andy and I are getting iPhones as soon as the new version comes out, so I've been using my current phone until then. When my mom heard about my predicament, she said she had a phone I could use! I started laughing so hard when she brought out this old clunker!

Andrea had a few of these gems hiding in her purse. Remember when these were quite the rave at school?!


Later that evening, we headed down to my aunt's house for a family get-together. I was so happy that Andy was able to join us as well! Andrea's husband, Andrew, however, wasn't able to make it due to work but hopefully he can come next time! My dad recently sold his old car and got a new one--fully equipped with a DVD player! The drive to my Aunt's house flew by thanks to Despicable Me! I think I liked this movie even better the second time around!

My Aunt was hosting a pizza party and it was great to see everyone since I don't think we've seen them since Easter! Time really flies!

Andy and I really enjoyed playing on my Aunt's new iPad while we waited for the pizza to arrive! 

After dinner we went for a walk with my Aunt, sister, and mom! 




A cute little bed and breakfast that we walked past! Wouldn't you love to sit on that swing and read on a summer day?!






My Aunt lives right by a huge waterfall! How fun is that?!







After our walk, we headed back inside for coffee and fruit pizza! How cute are these coffee mugs that my Aunt brought back from her trip to England!?

One of my most favorite desserts ever!

Time for another date with the gym before braving the heat to accomplish a ton of wedding tasks with my mom! Hope you are having a great Sunday! 

What is your favorite dessert? 
Do you often go on family walks?
Favorite flavor of Warheads?!

Saturday, July 23, 2011

With this Ring...

Hi guys!

Don't you just love waking up to a sunny morning?!



So, it sounds like I'm not the only twenty-something that enjoys watching kid shows... Good to know!

Last night Andy picked me up and we headed down to the Jeweler's to choose our wedding bands. As soon as we got there, the jeweler cleaned my ring and reminded me that since my hands are so tiny, my wedding band will have to be a special order.

Ah! I totally forgot about this since Andy was the one who placed the special order for my small engagement ring. He said that we should be okay if we ordered it that night, but we would still be cutting it close with our wedding date coming up quickly! Yikes!


Since I wanted my wedding band to closely match my engagement ring, choosing one was quick and easy because we had a design to base it off of. Andy's ring, however, was harder to choose! First of all, he's not used to jewelry so we didn't know where to start. We knew we wanted a simple band for him--no funky designs or diamonds on it. However, it was still a challenging task that we both enjoyed. After trying on rings, we chose the perfect one and placed the order for both of our bands. Andy's ring just needs to be sized and we should have it soon!

I ended up choosing a thin white gold band with tiny diamonds around it while Andy chose a thick, simple white gold band with subtle details.


I woke up this morning, glanced at my phone and saw that my alarm was about to go off. I laid there for a few minutes before suddenly realizing it was Saturday, not Friday! YES!

Even though I couldn't fall back asleep, the fact that I could ease my way into the day excited me. I've started it off with reading blogs in bed, chatting with Allie on Twitter, and making some breakfast.


On the menu for a sunny summer morning: cinnamon sugar topped toast, cubed watermelon, and a big glass of iced coffee. Hit the spot!

Next up on the list is hitting up the gym, possibly dropping off some library books, stopping at the grocery store for milk, bread, and bananas (you know...the staples!), and then we're off to print our wedding invitations!

I think I'll take it easy at the gym today--doing a quick strength training session (legs, chest, and abs), followed by some low-impact cardio because my calves are still super sore from my workout on Thursday evening. At least being sore from the gym means you're getting stronger!

Do you like simple or elaborate jewelry? 
Favorite way to ease into the day?
What is on your to-do list for this weekend?

Friday, July 15, 2011

Simple Summer Days

Alright guys, I'm back! Work has been crazy lately--early mornings and crazy deadlines have been keeping me pretty tied up! These photos are from a couple of weekends ago when I stayed at my my parents' house over the 4th of July

While browsing through these tonight, the majority of them screamed "summer" to me and I thought I'd give you a glimpse of a summer weekend at home looks like.

Coffee, berries, toast with almond butter, and the morning paper out on the deck before the heat sets in

Anyone else love the Dear Abby's?... Most of them are so dumb but  that's never stopped me from reading them!

Swinging at the park with my mom before we went for a walk around the lake





We practiced our sprints!

Duckie family!


Cooling off with a fresh fruit smoothie after our run


A juicy peach mixed with mint from the garden



Something that I always look forward to about staying at my parents' house is the fact that life slows down--even if it is just for a weekend. When I'm at my place during the week, the days whiz by so quickly as I bounce from work to the gym to the grocery store to running errands, etc. When I head out of town, I remember how wonderful it is to wake up without an alarm clock. To savor coffee rather than slam it down before running out the door. To ease into the day and embrace it...

After all, that's what life is all about. Not deadlines, traffic jams, and multitasking.

What screams "summer" to you?
Do you ever mix herbs with fruit? 
Favorite berry? 
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