time with family

 

happy monday once again! see, i'm getting better at keeping y'all informed about my amazing life, right?

my weekend actually started on friday because i decided to take the day off from work (which had been incredibly frustrating all week) and go check out a couple of beaches i'd been reading about.

as you know, i keep trying to find the perfect beach/town that is within easy driving distance so that i can run there whenever i need a beach fix but also that would be fun to take the kids on the weekends.

unfortunately, the first beach i got to - sunset beach - wasn't at all what i was looking for. you can probably tell by the fact that i wasn't really smiling in this picture that i wasn't feeling it.

it's on the gulf side which automatically means it isn't really going to have waves but it was also just a little round circle of sand so it wouldn't even be fun to walk and by 11 in the morning on a friday it was crowded so i didn't even feel comfortable sitting on a bench to chill because i could barely see the water through all the beach chairs. too bad because it was an easy drive.

i went to visit the next beach about 4 miles away and it was more of the same, just bigger, and there you even had to pay for parking. i didn't even stop to take a picture, i just drove on.

i was going to check out a third beach about 40 minutes away but i changed my mind and just headed back home feeling rather discouraged because this little outing did nothing to take away my beach cravings.

on the way back, however, i decided to stop at a hawaiian bbq place i've wanted to try forever and that didn't disappoint at all.

taz and i loved hawaii and ate at a few hawaiian bbq/plate lunch spots when we were in the islands and also had a favorite one in california but i haven't been able to eat that way in florida until friday so it was a little taste of "home" for me.

then friday night we decided to take the whole family out and that was fun and, because i didn't order much because i was still stuffed from lunch, it wasn't even all that expensive; normally i cry a little when we see how much it costs to feed the 4 of us.

we went back to the place with the koala ducks and i got 2 more so now i have one in my studio, one in the car and one in the bedroom. i had a whole thing for koalas when i was a kid and this koala duck has reignited that obsession so i see a trip the zoo in my future because we're lucky enough to live near a zoo that actually has the little furry guys.

saturday morning we were up bright and early for a daytrip to visit my sister and now i get to finally share the most exciting news ever - she and her husband bought a house in florida!

They currently live in alabama and this florida house is going to be their retirement place BUT they aren't really at retirement age yet so they're going to go back and forth. my sister works from home so she can work anywhere and will spend more time at the retirement place than her husband will for now. 

the reason this all is really great news for me is that it isn't too far from where i live so we'll be able to see each other way more often. like saturday, we went to see the house then had lunch then came back and ran around in their (new) golf cart and then we drove home, all in one day.

i haven't lived in the same state as family since my parents and i moved to virginia when i was in elementary school so having my sister so close (we can call up on a weekend and decide to get together for a cookout or shopping or a movie) is a game changer for me.

plus the house is amazing! it's big and beautiful, has land and the wrap-around front porch of my dreams. the kids love it too, j stared at it when we drove in and declared he never wanted to leave and that was even before he got driven around in the golf cart.

i have these stools that i bought for my old house and there really isn't a place to use them in my current house but my sister has an overhanging kitchen peninsula where they would be perfect so i'm going to bring them to her the next time she's down there. it's something she can really use (forever or until she buys ones she loves but barstools are way down on her priority list) and i'll get the pleasure of seeing them so it's a win-win.

we're going to get together soon and go thrift shopping for furniture and decoration for this new house and that will be super fun. i think we have similar styles and i have all sorts of ideas about this place.

i really want to decorate the bedroom i've chosen for myself and chris and make it a sanctuary for when i'm up there. i know i'll have to let her granddaughter use it when she visits this summer but the rest of the year - it's mine!

speaking of things that are mine - i got to spend some time in my studio yesterday, making a few pair of earrings for an upcoming trip and it was lovely. we bought c a sewing table of her own that will fit perfectly in her room and then she can either decide to start using the sewing machine or not - it's up to her.

but i am making great use of my studio and i was definitely inspired yesterday. in fact, the earrings i'm wearing in the picture at the top of this post are my own design combining 2 stones i really love - turquoise and pearl.

i sought refuge in my studio yesterday after a full weekend of peopling (this includes my own family) which was so much fun but i was drained and my battery needed recharging. and i wasn't the only one - charlie was quite happy to jump up on the trunk and take a nice long solitary nap away from children.

all in all, it was a fun 3 days and i look forward to more fun outings with my sister and her family for years to come.

but for now, i have several days with just christopher to look forward to as we're going to spend a whole week together on a road trip that we're calling our honeymoon since we only had a couple of days right after the wedding. it's not the beach but it's just as fun in my book.

can't wait to share pictures and tell you all about it!