Floriday - Day 4

It's Valentine's Day & today turned out to be a full, jam-packed fun day with lots of things going on so this post is going to be lengthy & full of pictures. Hope you don't mind?!

 

So the first thing I do when I open my eyes in the morning is look at my phone. Seems crazy I know but I do this because 1) it is usually on silent & I want to make sure no one has been trying to get ahold of me emergently overnight & 2) when I am on call I want to be sure I didn't sleep through a call from the hospital. I know - call me paranoid.

 

So this morning I awoke, grabbed my phone & noticed I had a text message from Shane. I opened the text to see this picture of my two boys & the text message: "Happy Valentine's Day Mama"



Aw - they really do love me :) I immediately called to FaceTime with my boys & wish them a Happy Valentines Day as well. I also wanted to let them know that I had hid some V-Day surprises for them in a closet in the basement. I got to see them open them up & they both enjoyed their cards & candy.

Jilly wasn't due back from her overnight date until lunch-time so after us girls got up & moving, my sister & Erica went for a run while I drove to the beach for a little morning stroll by myself.

It was an amazing hour walking on the beach by my lonesome little self, listening to the crashing waves taking it all in, reflecting in prayer, thinking about our weekend, my very missed boys back home, my amazing friendships, my loving family & how awesome it has been to spend this weekend with my sister. Just taking the time to thank God for all my blessings, this wonderful life I live & who is in it with me.

It was a bit cloudy & chilly down there on the beach & there was hardly anyone out there so it was SO peaceful being out there by myself. I had brought along a zip-lock bag to pick up some shells to show Mason so I spent time collecting little shells & sand along my walk.

They also had some interesting jelly fish along my walk:

I later consulted Google & found out that these blue jellyfish were called Portuguese Man o' War. Interesting little tidbit :)

I returned to Jilly's house & saw that the girls weren't back yet so I jumped in the shower. As I was getting dressed I looked outside & noticed these two catching some rays one last time during our last day in Florida. LOL - tourists :)

Once Jilly returned, the plan was to head to West Palm Beach to do a little sight-seeing & then make our way to Fort Lauderdale which is about an hour drive. Since our flight was super early, Jilly set us up in a hotel by the FL airport using her Marriott points so that we could be close & not have to get up & leave at 4am.

We got packed up, had a little lunch & then headed to West Palm Beach for the day. Our first stop was at the gorgeous Breakers Hotel.



We valeted the car, went inside to check it out & it was absolutely gorgeous inside. The hotel dates back to 1896 & rumor has it that John F. Kennedy & Marilyn Monroe rendezvoused at this hotel back in the day.

Due to the girls love of wine (& mine) we were all in awe of this wine refrigerator in the wall at the bar:

And a close-up:

It was pretty amazing! After we walked around the inside we made our way outside to walk around the grounds & take some pictures. It was just as beautiful outside as it was on the inside.

As we looked around, we noticed a lot of Europeans were staying at this hotel & people who you could tell had a lot of money. Very snooty people if you will so out of curiosity we consulted Google to see how much a basic room would cost for the night. For the price of $1700/night you too can stay at this gorgeous hotel & if you are interested in a suite or ocean-view room it will run you about $3495/night. Fancy shmancy :)

Next stop was a walk around the marina. The boats all up & down this marina on the Intracoastal Waterway were absolutely amazing.

 

It was so much fun walking up & down the ramps checking out these massive yachts wondering what kind of people own them, how much they cost & which famous people owned them. They we came across the largest one of all - The Lady Kathryn V. This yacht was available for charter so again the curiosity got the best of us & we looked it up on Google - got to love Smartphones!

So while you are staying at The Breakers hotel for $1700/night & decided you & 11 of your closest friends wanted to charter this yacht for one week it could be yours for only $512,000. That is only $42,666/person - STEAL!!! Ugh - who has that kind of money?!? Crazy...

The trees next to the marina were really unique so we of course had to stop to get a few, fun pictures:

It was getting to be late in the afternoon so we decided to head to the hotel to get checked in, say our goodbyes to Jilly & got there just in time to hit happy hour in the concierge lounge. We were so thankful to Jilly for being such a great hostess & for showing us such a great time! We have already talked about making this an annual event!

Once we got to our room, we were looking out the window & noticed a nice restaurant on the water next to the hotel so we decided to get cleaned up & walk over for some appetizers & a glass of wine.

We ended up sitting at the outside bar, ordered wine with apps & enjoyed reminiscing about our weekend, going through our pics & doing some people watching. We ended up sitting there for almost 3 hours - wow how time flies when you are having fun :)

Cheers to an amazing weekend with my sister, my sister from another mother Jilly & our newest sister Erica. So much fun, lots of rest & relaxation but deep down I am ready to get back to my boys :)

Floriday - Day 3

Today ended up being a pretty uneventful & non-productive day.

After our fun evening that lasted well into the wee hours of the morning, we all slept in & awoke around 10am. Just in time to grab brunch, put our suits on, pack a bag for the beach & we were on our way.

There was a little more of this that occurred:



And then the group photo happened:

Hey - there is no shame in our game :)

The weather was absolutely perfect, the beach wasn't crowded & it was a perfect way to spend the afternoon after a late night.

Jilly ended up leaving us around 3pm as she had a pre-Valentine's surprise over-night date with her boyfriend so we stayed for a couple more hours & soaked up the sun. We headed back to Jilly's place, lounged around for a bit then got showered & went out to dinner at a local bar & grill called The Thirsty Turtle. The place was packed when we got there & we had over an hour wait so we grabbed a glass of wine & bellied up at the bar until they called us for our table.

Once we got seated we all ordered delicious seafood dishes & then at the end we shared a dessert - Peanut Butter Pie. It was pretty delish!

After dinner we had talked about heading to another local bar but we all agreed we were tired & heading home to put on PJ's & veg on the couch sounded amazing so that is what we ended up doing.

Turns out while we were being couch potatoes, Jilly was all dolled up & texted us that they were enjoying an Andrea Bocelli concert at the Hard Rock Casino in Fort Lauderdale - lucky girl!

Floriday - Day 2

We all woke up late & enjoyed a lazy morning sipping coffee & eating breakfast. Had the TV on listening to the weather to see what kind of day we were in for & this was the forecast:

Hellz yeah :) When I left KS it was a chilly 30+ degrees & even colder in WI where my sister lives so this was perfect weather for laying at the beach. And that is exactly what we did.

We first went & got some exercise before we headed to the beach - my sister & Erica went running while Jilly & I walked. Everyone met back up at Jilly's place, fixed a quick lunch, got suits on, grabbed towels, sunscreen, a cooler full of beverages & we were on our way.

The view as we headed down the walkway to the beach!

 

And finally the toes were in the sand, a beverage was already drank & all was right with the world!

 We spent the entire afternoon at the beach & it was so peaceful & relaxing. Great time hanging with the girls, catching up & sharing so many laughs. It was exactly what this Mama needed!!

We started packing up from the beach around 4:30pm & on our way to Jilly's we made a quick stop at a fresh fish market to buy some shrimp & scallops for our meal we were going to be making. Once we got back to Jilly's, we opened a couple bottles of wine & we all helped prepare an amazing meal to eat before we went out on the town. Salad, prosciutto wrapped asparagus, Spanish shrimp/scallops over jasmine rice - oh my goodness it was delicious!!

After we stuffed our bellies full everyone got showered & dressed up for an evening out in Palm Beach. I would say us ladies clean up quite nicely....

 

We headed over to Palm Beach, valeted the car for the evening & made our way to the Blue Martini where we had the BEST time! We had so much fun we damn near shut that place down :)

We walked in & were lucky enough to grab a little high-top table & saw that the most amazing band was playing. They were called REMIX & played everything from RnB, Rock, Motown, Classic Rock, 80's, Reggae, Salsa, Country, Merengue, Hip Hop - you name it they played it!

Pretty soon the cocktails were flowing, the entire place was singing along to the band, we were meeting the people around us & having a super fun time.

I may or may not have become slightly obsessed with this band after sitting there listening to them for 3 hours! Turns out the female lead singer Laura Vivas was on Season 3 of The Voice for Team Christina & got booted off during the knockout rounds. Found this little tidbit of info out thanks to google!

Here is a little taste of what we saw: https://youtu.be/-yor-twt4_E
Ugh - they are SOOOO good!

The band stopped playing around 11pm & just when we thought the fun was over the dance music started! We had several drinks by this point & were having way too much fun to head home so we hit the dance floor along with everyone else.

 

There may or may not have been table dancing that occurred with the locals.

Then the group we were hanging with started having "dance-offs' in the middle of the dance floor & before we knew it, it was 2am & that place was still hoppin'!

 

By 2:30am these girls decided to call it a night. We left the Blue Martini & headed to the valet to get our car but when we got there the place was closed.....and they had our car. We kind of had a freak-out moment when we all looked at each other & asked "how the hell are we getting home?" Then Jilly spots a tiny little sign that read "to retrieve your car after hours please call this number" so we did what the sign said & within 10 minutes our car had arrived. Thank goodness!

 

We all started to wind down during the 45 minute drive home & by the time we got home, put jammies on & stopped talking & giggling it was well after 4am. This Mama hadn't been up on a Friday night that late since college but I didn't care. The night we had & the memories we shared were well worth it!



Oh how I love & miss this girl!!!!

 

Besides, we get to sleep in. No little Mister to wake me up & all that is on the agenda for tomorrow is the beach! Nighty Night!



Florida - Day 1

Today this Mama is headed out of town for a much needed & much deserved girls weekend at the beach! I am flying out this morning & will meet my sister, her girlfriend Erica & my bestie Jilly in Fort Lauderdale.

Once we all meet up from our flights, Jilly's car service from work will drive us to Jilly's home & I can hardly wait to get there!

First things first - a little Starbucks treat while I wait to board my flight:

We all got in to Ft. Lauderdale around 1pm & were at Jilly's by 3pm. Her condo is located in a gated community that is absolutely gorgeous & less than 1 mile from the beach! This is what I saw when I looked up from her patio:

 

 Jilly's condo

 

Round-about & fountain in front of her condo

There were palm trees everywhere & everything was SO lush & green! I definitely wasn't in Kansas anymore!!

We got settled into Jilly's place, changed clothes, opened a bottle of wine & chilled on her patio in the sun & warm weather. It was heavenly!

Later in the evening we met Jilly's parents at the restaurant The Dive Bar & had dinner on the water along with some fresh, delicious seafood & sushi.

It was a bit chilly sitting outside but the view & the food made up for the chills.

Before we left,  Jilly & I posed with her Dad for a quick pic! Her parents are very special to me & consider me another daughter in the family! It was so awesome getting to see them & catch up with them. 



After dinner the girls decided we weren't quite ready to head home so we went to a local bar & grill called the Double Roads Tavern to listen to some live music & have a few cocktails.

Oh how I miss this girl!

 

This local bar was a fun place & was packed with people young & old - definitely good people watching! All the light fixtures hanging from the ceiling were actual drums which I thought was kind of neat since my hubby is a drummer. Had to snap a pic & send it to him :)

My poor sister & her friend Erica had been up since 3am so they were exhausted & I was pretty worn out myself so we didn't stay too long. Just long enough to get a couple of pics taken:

Me & my sister

 

And so we called it a night by 11pm & headed back to Jilly's for a good nights sleep! So glad my sister convinced me to take this little getaway with her! We all needed the break!

Tomorrow these girls are headed to the beach :)

 

Valentines Day Prep

Sadly this year I am not going to be here for my baby's Valentines party at daycare or Valentine's Day itself but it's for a good reason. This Mama is headed to Florida tomorrow for a much needed girls weekend :)

So since I won't be here I needed to get Mason's Valentines for his friends & the teachers gifts ready early. For the kiddos, I ended up making the same Valentines that I made last year but instead of the ten I made last time I had to make 24 this year.

Mason had so much fun helping me put the bubbles & Blow pops in all the baggies & then helped me staple the message to the baggies. Yet another Pinterest-inspired idea:

For the teachers I turned to Pinterest for some ideas & came across this super cute idea:

It is hand soap from Bath & Body Works that I put into a cellophane bag with candy at the bottom & attached a little note that said "Hands Down - You're the best teacher around!" I think they turned out SO cute!!



 

I also couldn't forget my two favorite Valentines so I made each of them a little V-Day package with candy & cards & hid them in the closet for them to open up on Sunday which is Valentines Day.

Hoping my little man has a super fun Valentine's Day party on Friday at daycare & can't wait to FaceTime with him & here all about it!!



Disney LIVE!

A couple of months ago I had heard that Disney LIVE! was going to be in town & thought it would be a super fun family outing. I went ahead & purchased tickets & invited my Mama friend Leann & her family as well.

I ended up taking a half-day at work, went & picked up Daddy & Mase & made our way to the Silverstein Eye Center Arena for an afternoon of fun.

I was unsure if Mason would sit still & pay attention to the show but I was pleasantly surprised to find that he couldn't take his eyes off the stage.

It was so much fun watching his facial expressions & the excitement in his eyes as he watched all the Disney characters come to life on the stage.

 

The Buzz Lightyear laser show was super cool & Mase loved watching all the lights.

His 2nd favorite part of the performance was when the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse characters came on stage:

Our friends Leann, Jamison & their little girl Olivia met us there & sadly she wasn't feeling so great so they ended up leaving the show early.

During the intermission we got some snacks & a drink & Mason got his first taste of cotton candy. He thought it was the best thing ever! We also ended up getting suckered in to buying Mase a souvenir - a Mickey Mouse guitar that was crazy expensive! Ugh - spoiled little stinker!

 

We had such a great time all together & I am so glad I ended up getting the tickets! It was an awesome show with singing, dancing, lasers & audience participation with all the Disney characters & seeing the expression on my son's face made it all worth it!!