Final Vacation Pics!

Hello everyone!

I am going to share with you the final pics of our vacation.  I would've liked to have included some pics from our ghost tour, but didn't bring the camera since it was at night.  I wasn't sure how they would turn out.

We toured the Fort Mantanzas.  It was the guardian fort of St. Augustine. 

We had to take a boat to reach it.

Here is a close-up picture of it.

To read about the history of this fort and the tour, click here.

My husband and youngest son toured Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum.  (My oldest son and I went shopping, instead, since we had already seen it.  Ha!)

Here is Will standing next to the heaviest man in the world.

And the tallest man ........

In the city of St. Augustine, I didn't get as many pics as I would've liked.  Here is one of several cobblestone streets that run through the city.

There were several shops and restaurants as well as bed and breakfasts off this street.

Here are a couple of bed and breakfasts that you can stay in.

Here is the "plaza de la constitucion".  It is the oldest public park in the U.S.
(I didn't get a great shot because of the cars, but you get the idea.)

Do you see all of that pretty Spanish moss hanging from the trees?  It was everywhere!

Just outside of the park,  was the Government House.  It was the capital of Spanish Florida.

There was SO much to do and see in this city!  I could've filled my camera full of pics, but just ran out of time.  We spent the majority of our time at the beach since that was  the main focus of our trip.  We've visited this city many times before and already toured some areas, so we decided not to duplicate everything again.  There were wonderful historic cemeteries throughout,  beautiful old homes and horse and buggy tours on every street.  If you haven't been, I highly recommend it! 

Hope you enjoyed the pics.

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly ~

The Lighthouse at St. Augustine

Hello everyone!

While on vacation, last week, we stopped by the lighthouse at St. Augustine.  It was close to dusk when we were there.

 

There was a house in front of the lighthouse that looked beautiful between the crooked branches of the trees that surrounded it.

 

 

I loved the way the trees looked around there!

Here is a close-up of the house. I believe this is where the lighthouse keeper lived. It is now a museum open to the public.

Behind the house is the lighthouse.

Here is an out of focus picture of my husband and sons standing out in front. Ha!  I was still getting used to my new camera at this point.

To read about the history of the lighthouse, you can click here.

 

Are you sick of my vacations photos yet?  More to come.  Not too many, though, I promise.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

~ Kelly ~

Having Fun at the Beach

Hello everyone!

 More vacation pics to share........

We went to Crescent Beach, Florida.  This is a great beach!  It's very family oriented.  Cars are allowed to drive on the beach near the back and pets are also welcome.  We didn't bring our dog because the condo wouldn't allow them for renters.  Next year, we may look for a different one since dogs are allowed on the beach and we saw quite a few playing in the waves.  It made me miss mine even more! 

Here is my crew getting all set-up on the beach.

My husband bought a boogie board to play in the waves.  It's supposed to be for the kids.  Hmmmmm............

Guess he had to test it out first. 

Yep!  It rides good.  Guess the kids can have it for a little while now.  Ha!

The kids, however, were digging in the sand trying to bury each other.

Why do boys have such a fascination for doing that?!

Will tried feeding these little guys too, until a flock of them started invading us soon after.

This is the view from the beach looking back at our condo.  There are sand dunes blocking it from the beach.

We also enjoyed using the pool.  Our room overlooked the pool.

My son, Will, is like a little fish.  He LOVES the pool!

In my next post, I'll share some of the sights of St. Augustine. 

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly ~



I'm Back!

Hello everyone!

I am back from vacation now and thought I would share my vacation photos with you this week.  You knew I would, didn't you?  We had a great time, great weather, good food and a few surprises along the way. 

The first surprise occurred the moment we got to our condo when we started unpacking.  Somehow, my camera got wet and stopped working!  Not a good thing to happen the first day of vacation! So, we put it in some rice to dry out and it eventually started working again, but not before my husband decided to buy a new one!  We didn't think it would ever be the same.  So, now it is a back-up camera.  My new camera is much nicer and I got to try it out at our first destination on our trip........Salt Water Cowboy's.  It's a seafood restaurant on the marshland.  We usually love the food there, but were a bit disappointed this time around.  The restaurant is very charming though. Here are some pictures using my camera! 

 

Isn't this restaurant just charming?!  By the way, these pictures have not been edited at all.  They are straight out of the camera.

I took this picture of my husband and sons in front of the restaurant sign.

Now, let's go inside.  The inside was charming too!

Have you ever seen pictures hung on the ceiling before?  Me neither!

 The walls were clad in wood planks painted white.  The ceiling was a dark grey metal with painted white timbers used as beams.  The chairs were all willow.  Look at the view we had while we ate.

Not too shabby huh?  I think my new camera is a keeper.  I'm looking forward to using it at home now.  For those that are interested, it is a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V.  It's a step up from my last Sony camera.  It functions similarly, so it's not too difficult to figure out. It takes amazing video too!

So, over the next week, I'll share more vacation photos.  We went to the beach everyday, swam in the pool, went out to eat, shopped in St. Augustine, toured Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum, took a ghost trolley tour, toured the old fort on the Mantanzas River and visited the lighthouse on the island. 

Now, I'm catching up on piles of laundry and kissing my dog, Max, whom we left behind and I missed like crazy!! 

Looking forward to getting reunited with all of you too.  We had a weak Wi-Fi connection at the condo, so I could only visit everyone sporadically.

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly ~

I'm Heading Out

Hello everyone!

I'm heading out tomorrow for a week long visit to Crescent Beach in Florida.

 

I plan on playing in the ocean with my kids and husband and lying on the beach with something good to read and drink.

We will be very close to St. Augustine also.  So, we will be trekking across this bridge to enter the oldest city in the U.S.

We may even take one of those buggies for a tour of the city!

We have visited this city often and feel very comfortable here.  Looking forward to going back.

Hopefully, our wi-fi connection will work at the condo we're renting.  Then, I can keep up with everyone while I'm away. 

Have a great weekend!

Thanks for stopping by.

~ Kelly~

A Little Texture and Shine

Hello everyone!

I am happy to report that we have finally started getting rain here.  Yay!  Not a lot, but a little.  I'll take whatever we can get.  It has still been very hot, but slightly cooler than we've been.

This week, I've been busy tying up loose ends so we can get ready for our trip to FL.  I'm looking forward to a change of scenery and some fresh salt air.  We leave this weekend.

In the meantime, with shopping for new swimwear for the family etc., I've also been adding to my white dish collection.......again!  Seems when I get on a kick, I just keep going.

I am trying to fill this wall hutch with some interesting pieces.  I think I'm finally happy with the result.

I added a gravy boat, tureen, and a couple of small pitchers to the plates that I already had.

I also stumbled upon this wonderful grey willow basket on sale that just had to come home with me!

Ever since I moved my tureen out of here and placed it in the glass cabinet, I have not had a good replacement for it.

Finally, I do!  I love these grey baskets and the grey sideboard with the scripted lampshades was just the spot for one.

Hopefully, I'm done changing this thing around for a while now!  Ha!

Now, onto un-fun stuff like cleaning and packing.

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly ~

Linking to:  Wow-Us-Wednesday



Random Bits of Happiness

Hello everyone!

Just thought I'd share a few things around my home that are making me happy right now. Sometimes, it's the little things that make a difference. 

First of all, the one thing making me the happiest right now, is receiving these pretty little fabric swatches from Amy at Maison Decor.  She won these on Ebay a few months back and came up with a wonderful way to display them that ended up being featured in Romantic Homes Magazine.  These fabric swatches are from Rachel Ashwell of Shabby Chic and once graced her studio in Soho, NY!  How cool is that?!  Amy decided to share some and sent these to me.

Aren't they pretty?  I placed them in a small white bowl for now.

Thank you Amy!!!

I also managed to add to my white pitcher collection too.

Our vegetables from the garden are growing and giving us plenty now!

Everyday, we keep finding more and more.  Tomatoes are still green, but I think I'm going to try making some fried green tomatoes soon. 

I've really been enjoying reading my newest Jeanne d Arc Living Magazine!  The July issue is wonderful.

Just look at this incredible living room!

I also ordered this book.  It has been around for a while, so I got an extra good deal on it!

I love all of the soft images in it.

So that about does it for today!  It's still hot as Hades around here, but expected to get down into the 80's later this week.  Woo hoo! 

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly~