Operation: Relaxation

This week, I spent 3 days in St. Simons, GA and 2 days in Jacksonville, FL while on vacation with Brittany and Christina. I think we would all agree that we enjoyed the true beach relaxation experience. We spent 5 days laying on the beach, swimming, eating, drinking and talking about every single subject under the sun. Being true girls. Honest to goodness none of us had a care in the world. I know we were fully relaxed because my biggest concerns were mildly hilarious and not actually concerning at all.

Christina started our vacation off with a happy face donut from Ike and Jane:

And here was my perfect view for 5 days:

And here...is a brief list of what "worried" me most while on my beach vacation:

1) Which useless magazine should I read? People, Vogue or Self? Answer: All.

2) Where should we place our umbrella and chair set-up so that the tide doesn't wash our things away? Answer: On dry sand. Some answers you have to learn the hard way.

3) Do I have on enough sunscreen? Answer: most likely, no.

4) What should I have to drink? Margarita, wine, beer or sangria? Answer: all.

5) Even after washing it, why can't I get the margarita taste out of my Tervis Tumbler? Answer: my Tervis Tumbler is telling me it would rather be filled with margs as opposed to ice water.

6) Should I order crab cakes, crab legs, shrimp or mahi-mahi at dinner? Answer: Order one each night.

7) Should I eat cheese dip, Brittany's bean dip or Rachel's spinach artichoke dip as an appetizer? Answer: Eat them all.

8) Which bathing suit should I wear? Answer: rotation...but ensure that no strap tan lines happen to prepare for Amy's wedding!

9) What book should I read after finishing the fairytale book about wanting to be a princess? Answer: still undecided, but strongly considering reading The Help before the movie comes out.

10) Cheese Puffs or Double Stuffed Oreos for a snack in the car? Answer: both.

And here are the wonderful friends that helped me have these less than worrisome worries for 5 days. We've already decided another version of this vacay will have to happen again.

The second half of Operation: Relaxation took place in Jacksonville, FL while we were visiting my dear friend Rachel. Rachel JUST moved into her new condo the day before we came to visit. Like always, she welcomed us with open arms and we had a great time. Rachel and Noah took us to a fun bar that was right on the beach. We decided that if this magical bar could be transplanted to landlocked areas (aka: Athens and/or Atlanta) it would do great business.

Rachel's new condo is absolutely beautiful. Here was the view from her porch:

Yes, she gets to live here! I L-O-V-E my new apartment in Atlanta, but I am seriously reconsidering where I need to live on a day to day basis.

A funny part about our visit with Rachel was the MASSIVE construction project taking place on the beach below us. Personally, I felt like a 5 year old little boy because I was enamored with the bulldozers, claws and pipes. We couldn't go on the beach Saturday morning because they were busy "dredging" (aka: getting sand from a mile offshore in the ocean, digging a giant hole on the beach, connecting giant pipes to shoot the sand into the hole and then filling in the hole). Saturday afternoon they opened up the beach, but there were still large pieces of construction equipment moving around even larger pipes. If you look closely in the picture, you can see the bulldozer behind Rachel. Nonetheless, the construction provided additional entertainment for our trip.

I can honestly say that I am still in 100% relaxation mode and I hope to continue this mode for my remaining 2 weeks of summertime. I am so thankful for wonderful friends to travel with and to visit. I am so excited to finally officially embark on my new adventure of living with Kate (now that she is finally moved in) in Atlanta. Apparently, she and Dennis have already started making new friends, so I think it's going to be a great year.

Here's to living everyday like it's summertime....