A place I would like to visit

So for day 14 of the 30 Day Blog Challenge, the place I would love to visit is Santorini, Greece. After seeing the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants movies (haha!), I just thought it was the most breathtaking place and I would LOVE to go there!

I love all the pastel houses with blue roofs

Just gorgeous!

Have any of y'all been to Greece? I think it looks like an amazing place to visit! I would love to go for a boat ride around the islands and swim in the Mediterranean! And of course eat Greek food :)

More of the same from Mississippi today...sorry for being so boring recently! Just working a lot in the lab and hitting up the gym after work! I'm trying real hard to look good in my sundresses for tailgating season! Last night I dyed my hair a light brown color...trying to match my natural color before I highlight again. If my hair gets too light it doesn't look good with my skin tone so I occasionally dye brown to prevent having too-blonde hair! I have some great recipes for y'all too so I'll post those soon!

Later y'all!

Vacation Pictures and Days 2 and 3 of Blog Challenge!

I wanted to post vacation pictures yesterday but my dang iphoto hated me! :) So last Saturday I headed to Florida for a week to see my family and friends! I had such a great time and these are only a few of the pictures I took!

Pictures that say a thousand words...Florida or Mississippi...the story of my life!

Almost to Jacksonville Beach! After 10 hours of driving in a heat box because my A/C was broken and I was waiting on Dad to fix it for free! haha!

Home sweet Jacksonville Beach! The Jax Beach Fishing Pier is to the left

Another picture of Jax Beach! 10 minutes later I was creeped on by weird single old guys...ick

I ran on the beach every morning!

Tuesday I went down to Gainesville (I'm considering Florida for further graduate education after I'm done with my master's next May) to walk around the campus. Then I saw the football stadium, got excited for college football season, and spent the majority of my campus visit creeping on an informal practice. What can I say? I love my Gators and the Swamp!

Kisses for gators!

Fierce.

I love the Swamp...it's even more fun when there are players and people in there! Haha!

I was feelin' rebelious

Posing with player Chris Rainey

Went to Lynch's Irish Pub back in Jax Beach later that day...unfortunately not everyone made it into the picture but at least we got most in. We played trivia and lost epically.

Cousin Kayleigh and I on Jax Beach Pier

St. Augustine

Castillo de san Marcos

With cousin Juliet in St. Augustine

More Jax Beach pictures

Again, we can never manage to get everyone in one picture but here I am with Kristine and cousins Kayleigh, Juliet and Dalton.

Tomorrow I'll post pictures of my birthday weekend!

Yesterday was my first day back at lab/school for over a week so I didn't get a chance to do Day 2 of the 30 Day Blog Challenge...so here are Days 2 and 3!

Day 2: A Favorite Movie:

I have way too many favorite movies to list just one. I love Sex and the City of course, and also The Blind Side, Steel Magnolias, and The Departed. My favorite comedy movie would probably be The Hangover and my favorite Christmas movie is definitely Elf!

Day 3: A Favorite Book:

Again...how can anyone pick just one favorite? I would have to narrow it down to Pride and Prejudice, The Great Gatsby, and Memoirs of a Geisha.

I would love to hear what y'alls favorites are!

Later y'all!

Trip Up North!

I know I've been MIA for a few days...but last Thursday I headed out to...

...Rhode Island! I have some wonderful friends who live there and I was so happy to see them. I was able to go shopping, relax, and have some local food like clamcakes and chowder and Del's lemonade. Here are some pictures from the evening trip to Narragansett Beach we took.
The Coast Guard House is in the background...I love the lifeguard chairs.
Surfers were out hitting the big waves...in wetsuits of course!

From left Danielle, me, Amanda, and Brianna.
Rocky beach covered in pebbles that were smooth from the waves. I was on the lookout for an enormous clam shell like the one I found on this beach a few summers back that was still attached to its other half...but no such luck. The water was freezing too!
Here I am with my Del's lemonade...the best frozen lemonade you will ever have!

I always love visiting Rhode Island...especially in the summer with the ocean breeze! I was sorry I couldn't make it to Newport to visit but maybe next time!

While I was in RI I was able to pick up a few items from the MAC To the Beach collection and I also got to see Dave Matthews Band in concert...they put on an amazing show, as usual. I LOVE seeing them in concert they never disappoint me! Posts to follow later this week about the makeup and the concert (with lots of pictures!! I took a ton!!)

Later y'all!

Vacations on my Mind...

I am really in need of a vacation! While I am thrilled to be done with my first year of grad school, this semester really wore me out! I've been daydreaming about beaches and umbrella drinks for weeks! With that in mind, here are a few of my favorite tropical vacation spots!

St. Augustine, Florida

While North Florida may not be considered a "tropical" destination, it can be fun to see what kinds of places your state has to offer! St. Augustine is only located about 45 minutes from where I lived in Florida, and I've grown to love it even more over the years. Part of Florida's "First Coast", this historical city is the oldest continuously occupied European established city and the oldest port in the United States. I've enjoyed shopping on St. George Street, seeing the Castillo de san Marcos, and visiting Flagler College, where my cousin Jim went to school.

Here I'm standing by the Intercoastal Waterway. You can see Castillo de san Marcos in the background. One day, while running with my mom, we spotted a manatee in the water pretty close to where I'm standing in this picture!
Here is a picture of Flagler College. It is so beautiful! Could you imagine going to school here everyday?

Belize City, Belize

Belize is a country I visited as a port of call on a cruise. While I'm not sure how it would be as a vacation spot on its own, I did enjoy visiting here very much. The native guides we had told us about the poverty and living conditions in Belize, but they were so proud to share their culture it made me love my visit.
A picture of river tubing in Belize...my dad is in the baseball cap on the left.
Me in the rainforest on our walk to get to the river tubing.

Cozumel, Mexico

Another location I visited on a cruise. This was a little more of a touristy place than Belize was. The water was also more of the crystal clear, turquoise waters you look forward to in tropical locations.

Here is a silly picture I took while snorkeling! We also went kayaking, which was a lot of fun!

Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

Yet another place I visited on a cruise (what can I say, I love cruises!). This was definitely a fun place to visit. Seven Mile Beach is a popular attraction, as well as snorkeling, swimming with stingrays, and scuba diving.
With my fabulous friends, Amanda and Brianna, at Seven Mile Beach!
Here we are again, snorkeling with stingrays (which were enormous)!

Jamaica

The last place I talk about that I went to on a cruise, I promise! Jamaica was a ton of fun. I could definitely take a vacation just to Jamaica. We were in Ocho Rios during our time in Jamaica. My friends and I chose the kayaking/Dunn's River Falls excursion for this port of call, and we had a blast.
Here we are posing in front of the turquoise water!
Amanda and I kayaking over to Dunn's River Falls!
The three of us in one of the lagoons in Dunn's River Falls. The Falls are about 1,000 feet high, and shaded on both sides by lots of trees and vegetation. The Falls are almost like giant rock stairs, with lagoons built in. We climbed it wearing special grip shoes and a human chain formation, since the water is incredibly strong. We had several areas where we could float in the lagoon or slide down a rock slide.

Key West, Florida

My favorite vacation spot of all time. I did visit the first time on a cruise, but I also spent a spring break here and loved every second. It is very pricey to stay here for an extended period of time, especially if you fly in and out of Key West. Cabs are also expensive if you stay on the opposite side of the island from where most of the action is. Regardless, I LOVE Key West.
A view of the private beach at the hotel we stayed at.
If you visit Key West you have to have Key Lime pie! I absolutely love The Blonde Giraffe's chocolate covered frozen Key Lime pie. It is absolutely to die for.
Relaxing in a hammock overlooking the ocean.
Sunset at Mallory Square.
"Scoot Riding" around the island.
The Southermost Point-a touristy but must see for all Key West visitors!
Isn't the water beautiful? I also went jet skiing, kayaking, and parasailing. All amazing, but I didn't want to bore y'all with too many pictures! Anyone who is visiting Key West I have tons of tips and ideas of things to do! And don't forget to visit Kino Sandals!

Later y'all!