The Weekend When 2017 Arrived

Happy new year everyone! 

I've never taken a true "staycation" before but the past week off of work has been pure bliss with lots of relaxing, shopping and adventures with the sis, and ringing in 2017 with new friends/neighbors on NYE.

FRIDAY

K and I took my sister to Islands of Adventure at Universal Studios. It happened to be the coldest day of the year in Florida so we tried to fit in as much as we could before the sun went down.

 
We waited 2 hours in line to go on Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride but that was definitely a must for my sister to get the full experience. We didn't get to taste butter beer because the lines were crazy. K went on the Incredible Hulk Roller Coaster while Leah and I opted for some browsing through the stores. 

We caught the Grinchmas Who-liday Show which was cute but I couldn't keep my eyes open for all of it.
 

We went on the Adventures of Spider-Man 3D ride and a few others but the lines were over an hour for most of the popular rides including Jurassic Park.

K and I just signed up for annual passes so we have a whole year to cover both of Universal's theme parks. Merry Christmas to us!

SATURDAY

Since my parents were supposed to be in town for NYE, we never made any official plans so we threw a small last minute shindig for our neighbors which was low key but we had tons of fun and I love that I have really cool neighbors!

SUNDAY

We relaxed all morning and cleaned up the house. In the evening we headed to International Drive to go on the Orlando Eye observation wheel and then have dinner at one of our favorite tapas and art restaurants in the area.

 

Cafe Tu Tu Tango

It was the perfect end to a weekend full of fun and celebrations. Luckily I have today off of work to unwind and get organized/mentally prepared for the work week ahead.

If you happened to miss my NYE holiday card you can check it out here.

Cheers to 2017

2016 was a great year filled with travel, weddings, baby arrivals, celebrations with friends and all that life has to offer. I shared a recap of 2016 in three parts if you care to read my life's happenings and whereabouts throughout the year.

It was a fun one!

one  /  two  /  three

Wishing you all the best for 2017!

Christmas Vacation Scenes

Our house was beginning to look a lot like Christmas. K and I spent weeks decorating and organizing the house for the arrival of my parents and sister to spend our first Florida Christmas together until we got the news that my dad was in the hospital. So to make a long story short, only my sister made it to Florida. I was really upset at first but we made the best of it and decided to take a road trip to K's family on Christmas day.

 We celebrated early at home on Christmas Eve opening gifts with my mom via FaceTime and cooking a smaller version of Christmas dinner.


 
  
I wanted to get that out of the way before backing up a few days when my sister arrived in Orlando. We were all disappointed by the news but decided to make the best of it and planned a few extra things to keep us busy.

Last week Friday we visited the Pulse Nightclub memorial site and then went to see the Christmas lights at Wall Street downtown Orlando before heading to the Amway Center to watch the Magic vs Lakers game.

I'm happy to report the Orlando Magic won and my sister had a blast at the game!

On Christmas day, we made our way to Florida's west coast with my sister to spend Christmas with K's extended family.

My MIL absolutely spoiled us with gifts but most of all she spoiled me with 3 gorgeous Pandora charms to add to my small yet growing collection.

We stayed Christmas night at a hotel near the water and woke up to beautiful weather on Monday so we walked around the riverfront before grabbing lunch and making the road trip back home.

On Wednesday night we had tickets to go see Dancing With The Stars live at the new performing arts theater downtown. My cousins drove into town (to take my parents place) and we all went our for some dinner before the show.

 

We had amazing seats quite close up to the stage and they put on a fantastic show staring Laurie Hernandez the winner of Season 23 (also US women's Olympic gymnast).

It was pretty difficult snapping any quality photos with the fancy lighting and the movement of dancing but I'll share some more of the fun details next week.

To wrap up, it was a far from traditional Christmas this year but it all worked out. My Dad is doing much better and technology helped us stay connected with my mom all weekend long. 

Today we are on to another adventure.

Happy Friday and enjoy the weekend!

2016 Year Recap: Part 3

September

K and Lola share the same birthday on the 5th so we showered Lola with some doggie treats and then shortly after traveled to Nashville to celebrate K's birthday on Labor Day weekend.

We had such a blast exploring "Music City". I've never been a huge fan of country music but on Broadway Street you really hear some great talent which made me become an immediate fan.

The girls and I planned out Kate's baby shower and we decided on the perfect theme based around her love for travel (which we both have in common).



I shared all the cute details of her travel-themed baby shower which was probably the cutest baby shower I've attended to date! Not being biased or anything.



I traveled to Bradenton to go to my SIL's bachelorette party and it was so much fun. We did an Oktoberfest Craft Beer Tour through Sarasota and it was so surprised by all the local breweries we visited and that I never knew existed.

October

Many relaxing weekends were had compared to the months prior. Our Bahamas cruise was planned for early October but Hurricane Matthew swept in and the cruise got cancelled.

We started decorating our home and I shared some furniture and decor style I picked out for our home.

I shared some delicious recipes for Fall along with some cute swimsuits with coverage (in anticipation for our company cruise) and fun tips for hosting brunch at home.

We attended my SIL's wedding which was beautiful and had amazing food!

 
I got to meet Kate's baby fashionista and loved every moment of snuggle time with her.

November

We hosted a housewarming party for friends.

I talked about starting a series called "Never a Dull Moment" and shared our Family Vacation Edition which came with many mishaps and misfortunes sprinkled into all the fun.

We drove up to St. Augustine to celebrate a good friend's birthday and enjoyed exploring Florida's oldest city and all the good food and history it has to offer.

December

Our company cruise to the Bahamas got rescheduled for early December so I shared the details of that trip and cruising on the Majesty of The Seas ship and exploring Nassau.

We started decorating for the holidays and I also shared some girl friend gift ideas.

My birthday is in December so K planned a weekend getaway to Islamorada in the Florida Keys which was an amazing little vacation.

The following weekend Kate and the girls planned a birthday brunch to celebrate my 33rd.

My job threw a company luncheon to kick off the holidays and gifted everyone with Citizen watches which was a huge surprise.

We celebrated Christmas with family in Florida and this was the holiday card we sent out to family and friends this year.

Wrapping the year up and looking back, I'd say 2016 treated me very well and I'm looking forward to new adventures in 2017!

Read my previous 2016 Year Recaps:

Part One  /  Part Two