a beach-y good time

Posted on August 26, 2014 by mhayes24

Just in the nick of time, we made it to the beach before the end of summer. My all-time favorite place is St. Augustine, FL, as you may well know if you know me or have been reading here for long. We took several friends down for a long weekend at my grandmother’s beach house, which is where I grew up vacationing. Being there brings back so many wonderful memories of a lifetime of beach trips with family and friends, and I’m so happy we made it back again this year.

We went down mid-week so that we’d have time to hop over to Jacksonville to visit my grandmother. She treated us and my cousin to a lovely lunch at her country club, and then we headed back to the beach to soak up a couple hours in the sun. We got to eat at some of our favorite local restaurants and have drinks at the Tini Martini Bar, which has a fantastic view of sailboats and the Bridge of Lions – especially at sunset! The majority of our trip was spent laughing, lounging on the beach, and just enjoying the company of some of our dearest friends. Can’t go wrong with that combo.

I don’t think many more words are needed, but be prepared for a photo over-share of our beach-y good time!

Yes, that is a SHARK that joined the beach party! We think he was about 4-5′ long and was less than 10 yards from the shore. He popped up a couple times one afternoon, and thankfully we never saw him again.

Bridge of Lions in downtown St. Augustine

This is the face I get when I’ve taken one too many photos.

Dinner at our favorite spot, Columbia

Castillo de San Marcos

beautiful Flagler College downtown

If only every morning could start with a walk on the beach…

…and if only every evening could end with this view.

Cap’s on the Water

4 years + a beach trip to celebrate

Posted on June 11, 2013 by mhayes24

As I’ve mentioned in a couple of my last posts, we took a vacation to St. Augustine, FL last weekend in celebration of our 4th anniversary. St. Augustine is one of my most favorite places in the world. My mom’s family has had a beach house there for over 30 years, and I grew up going there every year. We have so many cherished memories of spending time there with our family and friends. And one of the very best memories is having gotten married there on 6.6.09! I love the historic downtown and cobblestone streets, great seafood restaurants and funny biker bars, private beach and orange sand covered in colorful tiny shells, and really just everything about the area. So what better way to celebrate than bring 8 friends and a baby with us for the long weekend?

The trip started off a little rocky with crazy rain all the way to FL from the impending tropical storm Andrea. When we got to the beach house, the waves were some of the craziest I’ve ever seen there, and the tide was almost up to the walkway. I was more than nervous that we’d all be spending our trip cooped up inside, but the sun miraculously came out on Friday morning and saved the trip. So we stocked up on lots of food and drinks to entertain ourselves with for a few days of uninterrupted beach time bliss.

Craig and I arrived earlier than everyone else on Thursday so that we could celebrate with dinner at The Columbia, our favorite spot downtown. There are several locations throughout Florida, but we’ve made a tradition of eating there every time we visit. Their white sangria made tableside, cuban bread, and Chicken Salteado dish are my absolute favorites.

Our morning view from the back deck. Doesn’t get much better than this.

Our baby friend LOVED his first beach trip!

I think the guys really wanted to hang out in his pool with him.

The family beach house.

The boys found the toys.

Such a beautiful little face!

Dining on the deck at Cap’s on the Water. Oysters, fried gator tail, tasty cocktails, fantastic weather, sunset watching, and swordfish that wasn’t on the menu. Such a fun night.

Neon!

The last night called for a homecooked seafood feast — sausage/shrimp app,
grouper, mahi, swordfish, grilled corn, and salad — all prepared by the guys.
Best meal of the trip!

Last weekend flew by way too quickly, but I guess that’s what happens when you’re having a great time, right? We couldn’t have asked for better weather, more laughs from playing late night games, better food, or more fun. I’m so happy we got to spend our anniversary weekend with some of our favorite friends. Till next time!

a seaside affair, part II::

Posted on May 2, 2013 by mhayes24

Travis + Anna’s wedding day in Seaside!
4.27.13

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I loved the font and slanted text on their invitations and programs.
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Such a gorgeous setting for a ceremony.
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Here comes the beautiful bride!
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Anna’s wedding colors were coral and turquoise – the bridesmaids matched the ocean perfectly.

Our very own starfish! I took mine home.

Reception at Bud and Alley’s

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Mr. and Mrs. Bussey!

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They had some of the most delicious food I’ve ever eaten at a wedding.
Tenderloin, scallops, GIANT crab cakes, cheese grits, collards… mmm.
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Somehow, we ended up across the street at the BBQ food trailer with the bride and groom after the after-party.
I love this photo of them dressed to the nines…. eating half-frozen corn dogs while the rest of us chowed down on some late-night BBQ.
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Anna + Travis, thank you for including us in your special weekend! It was a trip I’ll always remember. Cheers to you!

a seaside affair, part I::

Posted on April 30, 2013 by mhayes24

Last weekend, we took a trip to Seaside, FL for two friends’ wedding. We and our friends rented 3 cottages right in the middle of “town,” if you can call it that because it’s so small. We had the most amazing time — gorgeous weather, pretty houses, great seafood (and food trailers), a beautiful wedding, and the best group of friends. I did come to the realization that I have a problem, though. I officially take an obscene amount of photos, especially when weddings and vacations are involved. I took 200 pictures last weekend, for crying out loud! There are far too many favorites to share, but here’s a glimpse at Travis + Anna’s wedding weekend!

Our pretty yellow cottage with bright blue doors and 4 balconies and porches.
With views of the ocean and only a 1-minute walk to everything in town.

The Meltdown…. I had the exact same thing for lunch 2 days in a row, and I contemplated getting it on the 3rd day.
I love a good grilled cheese — and add bacon to that, and you have my heart!

Beautiful, beautiful beach. Our playground for 3 days.

Shameless plug…. the La Totale Bag from Stella & Dot is the perfect beach bag.
Water bottle holder, lots of pockets, wipeable lining, and waterproof on the outside.

View from the top!

Craig got his oysters at the Great Southern.

Hanging out with the bride at Bud and Alley’s.

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Why can’t we do this every weekend? I need to win the lottery.

Because there were far too many photos from the actual wedding, stay tuned for part 2 this week!

restaurant review:: Lola’s Burrito Joint in Jacksonville, FL

Posted on December 5, 2012 by mhayes24

You already know that we went to Jacksonville, FL last weekend for a covert mission… to surprise our mom with a big party for her 60th birthday! We got into town on Friday and had to sneak out to dinner (while looking over our shoulders the whole time, as our mom was staying with our grandmother nearby). My cousin Alli suggested a great pizza place called Pele’s Woodfire over in Riverside. It was so yummy! But on to Lola’s…

We also had to entertain ourselves for lunch on Saturday in between setting up for the party in the morning, antique bar cart shopping, and picking up food for the party that afternoon. We happened upon another Riverside restaurant, Lola’s Burrito Joint. Our waitress said it’s only been open about 6 months. It’s very Day of the Dead-ish with motorcycle-riding skeletons hanging from the ceiling and more skeletons airbrushed onto car hoods hanging on the walls. They also have 50+ beers on tap. The menu was pretty overwhelming, but our waitress was very knowledgeable and explained every section and gave her personal favorites.

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There were so many choices…. I could have ordered 10 different things and been happy with any of them. Our waitress raved about the Mexican Street Corn, which is deep-fried (husk and all) and coated with fresh cilantro, Cotija cheese and Lola’s Adobo. Everyone but me got it as an appetizer, and it’s AMAZING!! Apparently customers call it “crack corn” and we all agreed that it is the perfect description. We also had the queso and chips, which I could have eaten for my meal… love some cheese dip!

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Here are some of our other faves from the menu::

Tiajuana 2-Steppers (Top-Shelf & Grilled… like a burrito, but pressed and crispy on the outside)
I got the Philly “Wizza” Steak (grilled peppers/onions/mushrooms, diced tomatoes, and covered with Jalapeño cheese sauce). It was good — the meat was a little hard to eat in a burrito. The cheese sauce was definitely my favorite part. My brother got the Havana Nights Better that a Cuban, and I think I may have liked it better than mine.

Senora Gloria’s Empanadas (Hand pressed and made to order)
I didn’t try these, but I was told they were the most AMAZING thing ever. 🙂

Ragun Cajun (seasoned gator, cabbage, diced tomatoes, cheese with Cajun Ranch sauce)
I didn’t try this either, but Craig liked it, as well as the other tacos he tried. I just thought it was fun that they had gator tacos, along with lamb and other interesting meats.

I also got a side of refried black beans – they were hot and cheesy and so good!

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All four of us raved about the food, especially that “crack corn.” I wish I’d gotten my own so I could have had more than a couple bites. But there’s always next time!

celebrating 60 years of mom!

Posted on December 4, 2012 by mhayes24

My mom turned 60 on December 3rd… and what better way to celebrate than with a bunch of family and childhood friends? She is from Jacksonville, FL, and we still have a lot of family (and her friends) there, so it seemed like the obvious location for her party. The only problem is that my parents live about 4.5 hours away… so we had to come up with a plan to get her there on her own. Good thing my aunts and grandmother are good schemers! Mom was under the assumption that she was going to Jax last weekend for a little family welcome party for her aunt and uncle who are moving back to FL from CA. They aren’t moving until January, but she was none the wiser and agreed to come up to see everyone. She also thought my dad was going to be out of state for work all weekend. he he he

My aunt Lynn is a very talented watercolor painter, so she graciously offered to paint an image for the invitation. We went retro with the theme – the party was actually held at my mom’s childhood home, where my aunt and uncle now live. I scoured etsy.com (which is essentially like an online handmade marketplace) and found some great party decorations, like this felt birthday banner. I love the festive colors and the fact that I can reuse it on my mantle for every birthday in coming years.

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I really wanted some cute decorative cookies as party favors, and I happened upon a website for Ali’s Sweet Treats in Miami, FL. I’d originally planned to do something decorative with icing… until I realized I could put mom’s face on them! I chose this photo of her as a child because it’s been hanging in our house for as long as I can remember, and it just looks so sweet — like the cookies. See what I did there?

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MyPublisher.com is my favorite way to make photo books. I found the website on the Young House Love blog last year, and I’ve been a photo book-making fool ever since. It’s such an easy site to use, and you have endless options on layouts and styles. All you do is upload your photos to the site, and then it can auto-populate them into the book — but I always choose to create my own layouts because it allows me to group photos together in a specific way. MyPublisher is ALWAYS having some sort of sale, so you can get great discounts on books whenever you make them… and if you don’t see one when you’re ready to buy your book, then just save it and wait a few days — one is bound to pop up.

Here’s the photo book I created for mom’s party as a guest book for everyone to sign. I borrowed photos from her albums (under the guise of looking for wedding slideshow photos) when we were home this fall and scanned them so I could do a “celebration of 60 years” book::

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In keeping with our retro theme, my aunt suggested serving “Not So Shirley Temples” — a grown-up twist on the classic — because this was their favorite drink during summers spent at the local country club.

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Mom’s favorite people::
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Mom, her brother, and her sister::

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I love that after all these years, mom is still so close with her childhood best friends::

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Cousins::

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The Birthday Girl::
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We wanted to have something fun for the guests to do, so we created a photo station. I borrowed this great red/white striped curtain from a neighbor (it just happened to perfectly match our theme), and bought some funny disguises and mini chalk boards on sticks on etsy. I bought some chalk markers in neon colors for guests to write messages. I also have a stash of costumes and props from my sorority days in college, so I threw in a fireman’s hat, feather boas, masks, etc. And my aunt had a TERRIFYINGLY realistic snake to add to the mix. It was Lauren’s favorite, by far. The photo area was so fun – I just wish we’d gotten more photos!

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This absolutely should have been our family Christmas card photo this year::

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Two of my favorite ladies — my mom and grandmother, Nana::

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Mom’s cake was from For the Love of Cake, a relatively new bakery in Riverside. My cousin Alli recommended it, and it was a bit hit! They perfectly re-created the red Mary Jane’s that my Aunt Lynn designed for the invitation. You can’t see it in the photo, but the cake was sparkly, too!

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Happy 60th Birthday, Mom!! We love you so much!

And here are some out-takes from setting up the photo station before the party…. enjoy!

beach vacay in the old city

Posted on July 25, 2012 by mhayes24

Last week, we took a much-needed vacation with my parents to one of my most favorite places in the world — St. Augustine, FL. My mom’s family is from Jacksonville (Andrew and I were also born there) and we grew up visiting mom’s family’s beach house. I have so many fond memories of summers spent at the beach house with cousins and friends. We have photos of me as a baby crawling along the beach EATING sand. Maybe that’s why I love the beach so much now.

We are lucky if we can make it once a year now with jobs and busy schedules, but when we do, it’s like Heaven. You can walk out of the house and right onto the almost completely empty beach. You can hear the waves crashing on the shore from the front 2 bedrooms. I always try to stay in one of those rooms because of that and the front row view of the beach. This house burned to the ground when I was very small, and my dad (along with a team of other people) re-built it — it’s now aptly named “The Phoenix.”

We brought Coco this time, and it was her very first trip to the beach. While at the lake last month, we found out the Coco does not under any circumstances like moving bodies of water. So walks on the beach near those big, crashing waves were not her idea of a good time. Any time we’d go near them, she’d pull as hard as she could (and she’s quite strong at 90lbs.) and sit down so she couldn’t be pulled near the water. We finally convinced her to check out the water when the tide went out in the afternoon. Then she was all about splashing and biting the water… until tiny little waves rolled in, and she wanted nothing to do with them again. Who would think that such a big, “scary” looking dog would be terrified of moving water?

We took the opportunity to drive into Jax to visit my cousin Alli and her 3 kids, as well as my grandmother, Nana, for lunch one day. We haven’t seen them in 2 years since we last came down for our 1st wedding anniversary. It’s amazing how time goes by so quickly. I love getting to visit with Alli — I always thought she was so cool growing up, and she’s still pretty awesome now. 🙂 The kids were in full-on playtime mode when we got there, so Craig and I took turns admiring all of their toys and reading some books with them — Craig also got the brunt of some of Tripp’s karate moves. He’s such a good sport!