Weekend Update

This weekend it monsooned.  All day Friday and Saturday.  Sunday morning we received a short respite and it was beautiful for a few hours.  I took advantage of the fact that it was Choop-a-loop's 3rd birthday yesterday, February 24th.  If you haven't met Chip around these parts, you're a newbie.

Chip welcomes you to his crazy mom's blog...that sometimes looks like a shrine to him and his sister, Daisy.

Happy Birthday to my beloved Chip.  He's been with us since newlyweds, through thick and thin...ever faithful.  We love you, Chip!

Yes.  I made him a paper hat.  Judge away.

Folks, this was all we got to "do" this weekend.  Our cable TV was out since Thursday and it took until Sunday for a technician to come out and replace our cable boxes!  We got to watch the Oscars, but more of that tomorrow!

As I write this, it's currently monsooning again.

Is it Spring yet?

When I stayed at the Ritz Carlton

So this is how the other half lives (or the 1% if you wanna look at it like that).

All kidding aside, our time at the Ritz Carlton was lovely.  I was so smitten I just had to share this with you all.  B, his mom, and I went to Amelia Island (not too far from Jacksonville) for a quick getaway before she had to leave. When we arrived, the staff greeted my formally by my married name, and we were served champagne in the lobby.  Now THAT's the life!

The lobby had some of the most fragrant and beautiful flowers.  Their scent traveled through all the hallways.

The view from our balcony was absolutely breathtaking!

Our room was gorgeous! B even received a personalized note, a bottle of wine and snacks for his birthday...straight from the General Manager.  What a thoughtful gesture.  I guess this is one of the things that sets the Ritz Carlton apart--the amazing hospitality!  I just loved it!

We had lunch on the terrace below.  Oh what a treat!  I enjoyed a Raspberry Lemon Drop, while B ordered his gin + ginger, and his mom ordered a Blueberry Lemonade.  We got very...happy, to say the least!  I even went "blueberry" fishing in her cup.  I swear the blueberries were marinated in moonshine.  They were strong!  The asparagus and sausage pizza was one of the best pizzas I have ever had.  And the shrimp...OH the shrimp cocktail!  For the first time in my life, I tasted freshly caught shrimp.  People, these were never frozen!  The difference in taste is unbelievable!  The BBQ pork sliders looked amazing, although I can't vouch for them as I didn't try them.

Then we enjoyed a walk on the beach.  Brr!  It was chilly!

I stayed true to the kid at heart and, amazed at the size of the sea foam, I did what any crazy normal adult would do...play with it as if it were a bubble bath!

We later had a wonderful dinner, followed by creme brulee and key lime pie.  I didn't get any pictures of that!  We had a great time playing casino!  This morning, we had breakfast in their dining room, and I went around taking pictures like a fool!

The glass sailboat was definitely my favorite piece of art decor in the dining room!

Happy Birthday, my love.  Here's to many more!

Weekend Update

This weekend was great!  Unfortunately, I am horrible at documenting shiz with my iPhone camera (cuz that's all this girl got).

It was my birthday on Saturday.  Yay!  I love birthdays.  I don't even care if I get a year older (ok, I'm lying...maybe a little )

We went to one of my favorite places here, Mellow Mushroom, and I had my signature Cosmo with a new pizza flavor {to me}, Kosmo Karma.  It was a delicious feta + mozzarella blend, with roma tomatoes and a deliiicious swirl of pesto.  Bellissimo!

My mother-in-law got me the leopard print pajamas I have been drooling over.  Love her!  Get me anything leopard print and you have a gold star in my book.

Last, but certainly NOT LEAST, I found my faaaaaaavorite Pinot Noir at Food Lion of all places.  I tasted this bad boy out at a nice place in Maryland and I have looked for it everywhere.  Bridlewood Winery is in Cali, so that's a long hike for me.  I got so excited that I cleared their shelf, on a Sunday, no less.  Clearly this heathen hath no shame.

I apologize for the lack of #selfies, but I'm sure no one is heartbroken.  Moving on...

Also, this gal (gal? Seriously who talks like this?) is working on a blog design for one of her sponsors.  I am soooo excited to do the big reveal when I'm done.  This will be the second blog I design (after mine, which needs a facelift anyway) and it is looking really good people.

Don't forget to enter this awesome giveaway I put together for my birthday!  Win over $200 of ad space on 25 blogs!  Sweet!

In case you haven't heard, Sarah is putting together Designers' Week all next week, January 21-25.  Not that different from Designers' Week in the fashion world, this is to showcase the work of BLOG designers!  So if you're itching for a new blog design, you're gonna have TONS (seventeen) designers' work to pore over.  Excited yet?  I know I am :)

That's my weekend.  What did YOU do?

 

Northern Belle's Holiday / Birthday Gift Guide

It's no secret...I've been eyeing some things for Christmas. My birthday is in the first half of January, so let's kill two birds with one stone, right? I get asked every year what I want.  Honestly, I never know what I want.  What ends up happening is I feel guilty asking for anything but relatives want to buy presents, anyway. So let me make it easier on them by showing them what I want on here :)

1. Silver Nautical Monogram Bracelet ($68) with initials (LHA) and Rachael Cable Cuff ($30) from Swell Caroline (bottom two).  Who doesn't like stacked bracelets?

2. 1-inch Silver Monogram necklace ($59) from the Marinette Jewelry shop on Etsy with initials (LHA). As you can see, monograms are a huge thing for me this year!   It will be the first time I get to use my married name in a monogram!

3.  Monogram iPhone case ($16.99) from Simply Monogram on Etsy with initials (LHA).  My iPhone needs a makeover!

4. Double Wall Clear Acrylic Wine Tumblers ($24.99) from WineDummies.  If you know how much wine-o's we are (AND how clumsy we are!) you'd know these are the PERFECT gifts for us!

5.  Soma has awesome undergarments, robes and pajamas.  A gift card allows the gifter to not worry about what I'd like...and save some embarrassment to boot!

6.  I'm such a flip-flopper.  I couldn't decide between a white or black iPhone so I went with black.  A year after owning it, the white iPhone looks nicer and nicer.  A white skin for the front of my iPhone will do another tiny makeover! SkinIt ($14.99)

7.  I think I love coffee almost as much as I love wine (see #4).  This monogrammed coffee mug will make my life complete! Marley Lilly ($24.99).

Stay tuned for a gift guide for men!