St. Martin and St. Maarten!

A lot of people have been asking me about my most recent cruise with Carnival. I decided to write about each island that we visited. All of the ports were amazing. We did the southern Caribbean. It was my favorite cruise I've been on yet and this was my fifth cruise!

The awesome thing about cruises is you get to decide which islands you would like to come back and visit. My husband and I would love to pay off our house early and purchase a condo in the Caribbean. A cruise is the perfect way to explore that idea! ;)

St. Martin (French side) and St. Maarten (Dutch side) is an island split between two nations! A tour of the history of the island is a MUST if you visit! 

While I enjoyed both the French side and the Dutch side, my favorite was St. Martin (the French side). It's more known for its tranquil beaches and fashion boutiques while St. Maarten is more known for its nightlife and casinos (still lots of fun!) 

I will start with the French side, St. Martin! 

The open air market in St. Martin was breathtaking! There were local artisans selling art, jewelry, pottery, clothing, you name it! The open air market was located right next to the water which made it even more breathtaking.

Our next stop was Bikini Beach. It was like a dream and I didn't want to leave! Although this was located on the French side, it was not a nude beach. (as some of the beaches are on the french side)That is definitely something to keep in mind when booking an all inclusive resort on the French side.

Bikini Beach was such a lovely quiet beach. I loved the contrast of the purple and gray umbrellas with the turquoise water and bright blue sky! 

Next: St. Maarten (Dutch side)

We stumbled upon this gem of a cafe! It's called Cafe Chocolate & Vanilla. It was complete with checkered board flooring, a vintage crystal chandelier, ghost chairs and an ocean front view of the Caribbean! We shared a delicious cookies & cream waffle cone while we enjoyed free wifi! :) It was a dream!

We randomly stopped on the side of the road to take a picture of the view in St. Maarten. There isn't a bad view on the island!

Question: Would I come back to visit St. Martin/St. Maarten?

Answer: Yes! I would visit this island again in a heartbeat! I would love to go back to St. Martin and stay in an all inclusive resort. 

Question: Would I possibly buy a condo here?

Answer: Yes!! This port was definitely my favorite (if not my favorite, St. Thomas was high on the list too!) I love that you have a low key part of the island and also an upbeat part of the island. It really is the best of both worlds!

Top: TJ Maxx

Shorts: Charlotte Russe 

Crossbody: DSW 
Handsome Stranger bag: Kate Spade

Travels & Kendra Scott!

Hey everyone! Sorry I have been out for a while. It's been crazy here! I have been out of town every.single.weekend. this month including 10 days in the middle. It's good to be getting back in routine today. My husband & I went with his mother to California on a business trip to help out & babysit the kids while she was away for the week & to give her a break. First off, California is AMAZING!! We are already planning our trip back! We got to see so much stuff, but we definitely want to go back & see more. It will also be a totally different experience with just the two of us, versus babysitting 4 kids! hehe (:

While we were in Beverly Hills, I spotted the Kendra Scott store! It was so awesome to see all the beautiful, colorful, bright jewelry all in one place! Talk about eye candy! I was in heaven! (: Kendra Scott only has three store locations: Beverly Hills, Austin, & Dallas. It was definitely a treat to have the pleasure to shop inside the store, the two girls working there were very friendly & helpful! I'll definitely be back when I'm in Cali again. 

                                            
                                        

                                                  

{source}

 
{Kendra Scott}

 Calvin bought me this pair of beautiful earrings as an anniversary present {our 5th anniversary was May 26th!} I absolutely love them & him too! ;) They came in the cutest dust bag too!

I have the earrings on in this picture, click on the picture to enlarge  (:

I promise to be back blogging more, I've missed it! Until then, I'm going to start unpacking & doing laundry! Have an awesome Memorial Day!

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

Near the end of last year, my husband & I visited Gettysburg, Pennsylvania while we were attending a conference. It was an amazing little trip. We definitely want to go back because we didn't have enough time to explore the battlefields, trails, tours, antique stores, & diners!

While we were there, we dined at the Dobbin House Restaurant. It's the oldest house {now restaurant/tavern} in Gettysburg, built is 1776. I highly recommend it! The food & service was awesome. Not to mention the amazing history & decor! It was crowded & we were on a tight schedule or I would have taken more pictures. At least now we definitely have an excuse to return! ;)

My gorgeous husband overlooking the battlefields.

Have you ever visited Gettysburg? What do you recommend visiting/touring?

Tybee Island and Savannah Resturants!

Earlier this year in March, my hubby & I visited Tybee Island & Savannah Georgia. And yes, we did fall madly in love with the area! I would seriously pack up & move there now if I could! A beach cottage on Tybee and/or a cute little townhouse/condo in Savannah, yes please!

It was definitely a place where you could just . . . breathe & take in all of the beauty. A huge difference then the crazy fast paced life in Hampton Roads/Virginia Beach where we live.

First, I thought I would give you all the run down on the food. Oh the FOOD! They seriously have the best seafood & restaurants I've ever been too!

Up first, is a cute little place called the Crab Shack in Tybee.

Beautiful views!

I wish I had taken better pictures of the inside, it was so cute! I loved all of the lighting. I'm sure it's even more adorable at night time.

I had a shrimp salad sandwich & she-crab soup. She-crab soup!! Oh my goodness, it was amazing. I almost didn't order it because I normally don't like things like that. I'm so thankful I did, it was DELICIOUS!! Notice the hole in the middle of the table near the hot sauce... after you are frinished eating, you just throw your paper plates down the shoot. Too cool! For some reason I didn't get a picture of Calvin's food, you can see it in the background a little bit. I guess he had already dug in!

The next place was the Shrimp Factory in Savannah. They give you these amazingly delicious blueberry muffins with honey butter with pecans to dip it in. Yummmmmm!!

I got a crab cake patty, rice, with two hush puppies. Very very good! I think Calvin ordered the same. =)

A+ for the Shrimp Factory from us! =)


The last place was the Old Pink House in Savannah. So beautiful, quaint, & historic!!

I ordered a shrimp roll with a summer salad.

Calvin ordered a fish sandwich with a summer salad =)




I would definitely recommend all 3 of these snazzy restaurants!!