Showing posts with label ocean. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ocean. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Beachy Fashion

On 4th of July we went to the beach and I tried to look cool.  I was super proud of myself for rockin' a boho cover-up and an oversized hat, rather than my usual nappy t-shirt and decade-old shorts.  So I grabbed Peter and made him take some photos of me.  For the blog, naturally.  And when I went to upload them I realized my cover-up was inside out.  And I'm not sure that the hat really matches.  *face palm*

But I'm posting anyway, because yolo.  Or something like that.

Are beach cover-ups even necessary?  Let's be honest - it was a million degrees out and I wore the cover-up for a total of five minutes while at the beach.  Three of those were for taking these pictures.  The hat stayed on for most of the time, not because it was extremely sunny but because I was bound and determined to wear. that. hat!






Pink boho kimono from Groopdealz*
Hat from Nordstrom Rack, unavailable, similar here.
Swim suit from Target
Sunglasses from about 4 years ago from Kate Spade.

What did you do for the long weekend?

P.S. Check out my first ever vlog!  I made a video of our time in Florida with my sister and her family.  Check it out here.
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* I will earn $10 store credit for each person who joins Groopdealz with this link and makes a $20 purchase.  Once you join you can then invite people and earn store credit for yourself!



Thursday, April 30, 2015

Local Tourism - Seaside, FL

You may be familiar with Seaside, Florida, if you've ever seen the movie The Truman Show.  They used the unique architecture of the town as the set for the movie, though in real life it looks completely different.

We had heard rave reviews about Seaside, and we've been meaning to go for awhile.  Spring break seemed like a great time.  We were pretty dumb, though, because we went when I had just caught a nasty cold, and Peter was fighting off a bug as well.  So we didn't enjoy it as much as we would have.  It's a two hour drive from Dothan, and when we started out I felt fine, but once we got there, the body aches and fever really hit me.  So we didn't stay for very long.

Overall I was somewhat disappointed with the town.  There are a ton of homes and condos, but not much in the way of shopping.  I was expecting more of a Laguna Beach (CA) type of feeling, but it was more of a residential place.  Also, every building is solid white or very pale pastel colors... which got a little tiring on the eyes.  I actually didn't get many pictures of the town itself because I didn't find it to be very inspiring.  The few shops that are there are very expensive.  There are some good places to eat, but again, very expensive, and only one restaurant has an ocean view, due to the high dunes that are covered with bushes.

HOWEVER, the beach is gorgeous.  The water is crystal clear, the sand is white and smooth, and the sky is vivid blue.

All photos are taken with my iphone and most are not edited because I don't have any fancy technology.  :(



Smiling through the body aches and fevers


The dunes that are covered with shrubbery

Pathway to/from the beach

We did find one small park area that was super cute.  Sadly, it was a Sunday, and most of the stores in this area were closed.




View from the second story of a book shop, overlooking the amphitheater which is a popular picnic spot





Peter's shoes make for a great hands-free beverage transporter

Crystal clear water

We went in March and it was still pretty chilly.  The highs were in the mid-60s, which is too cold to swim, in my opinion.

Even though we didn't fall in love with the town, we will probably go back once summer hits and it starts to get really hot in Dothan.  A 2 hour drive isn't bad, although we do miss the days of living a 10 minute walk from the beach!

Thanks for reading!  Sorry the posts have been so sporadic lately.  I've been super busy with work.  I am also working on a new website that I hope to launch once school is out for the summer.  The plan is to change the name of this blog (to better reflect the travel and lifestyle aspect of it) and transition the "alone with my tea" brand into something else... I've been mulling it over for a few years and have finally decided to do it... more details to come soon, I hope!

XO,
Julie

Alone with my tea

Friday, August 9, 2013

If I could do it again, but just for fun

I'm taking a break from posting about Rio... trying to get back into the regular swing of things.  Or maybe I have wedding on my mind because a) I've only been married 3 weeks, or b) my best friend is getting married in November and I won't be able to make it to her wedding.  :(  But this post is about weddings - if I could do it again, but just for fun!

I was never the typical girl that sat around and dreamed about her wedding dress.  I did, however, dream about the wedding venue and decor.  My first-first choice would be to elope on some tropical, exotic beach somewhere... Ok, maybe not elope completely, but considering the location, probably very few people would have come...

Image from here.

My second-first choice for a wedding theme was "garden tea party."  I suppose my wedding kind of fit that description, although we had to sacrifice some things due to location and budget.

(I will post photos once we get them from the photographer.)

My third (first-second?) choice would have been an evening garden party, something you'd find in Sabrina (1995), with lots of strung lights, live big band, black coated waiters, champagne fountain, and gorgeous evening gowns.  There is no way we could have afforded it, but it is still fun to dream, right?  

Scene from Sabrina, from here.

Something a little more quirky, but still beautiful:

Image from here.
Or I could have combined my first-first choice with my first-second choice and had this:

Image from here.

Well overall I was happy with how it turned out, and since it wasn't in some exotic location, all of my (immediate) family members were able to come!  I enjoyed spending time with family and friends at such a special event!  I'll post pictures as soon as I get them!


What is/was your ideal wedding?


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Sunday, August 4, 2013

Over the River and Down a Road - To Beaches and Sand We Go

Yes, the beach is very close!  And beautiful.

From the other side of the river, looking back at our apartment and the balsa we took to cross the river

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Collections

[Don't forget to help me win... I joined a new website (knock-off of Pinterest) in the hopes of winning $750 toward my wedding.  Please go vote for my "Tie the Knot" board!  Fee free to spread the word via facebook or email!  http://www.favery.com/Juliesmithmusic/660/boards/tie-the-knot]

When I was a freshman at APU I learned that my top "strength" was Input.  You can look up the Strengths Finder books and resources to figure out what yours are... but basically what it means in a nutshell: I remember things (especially details, hence the reason I've remembered my top five strengths from a test I took 7 1/2 years ago), I have collections of things (translation: pack rat)...   Over the past few years I've actually been very good about not being a pack rat - purging, organizing, donating, etc.  Anyhow, LONG STORY SHORT:

Some seashells I picked up while in Florida last summer... 







Of course I had to put a quote on one of them:

Now the question remains... what to do with them?  

Maybe candles like this?



Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Birthday and Bachelorette

This past weekend I had my birthday... I turned old.  I also spent the weekend with my friend for her bachelorette party.  We spent the weekend in Santa Barbara.  It was so beautiful.  Before that, like literally the day before, I moved to San Jose!  Here are some pictures I took with Instagram along the way!


THE MOVE:

Getting ready to pack all my belongings into the car...

Road trip!

Mid-Road Trip Nap @ Mission Bay

One of the nicest bathrooms in a WALMART I've ever seen!

Remembering the beautiful flowers Peter sent me for my birthday last year.  They were soooo beautiful!  Peruvian Lilies, I believe.



THE BACHELORETTE WEEKEND:

The future bride and I

Driving in to Santa Barbara (that's the ocean in the background)

Pelican, brief...

Awesome ceiling fans at a winery near Santa Barbara

OMG this restaurant/cafe is amazing.  And it's adorable inside.  If you're ever in Santa Barbara, this is a must!

This was the cutest succulent, and I think the photo turned out pretty good!

School starts tomorrow!  Aaaah!  


Wednesday, July 4, 2012

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