Showing posts with label shopping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shopping. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Travel Tuesdays: Apalachicola Style

Lately, I've been gushing over my recent travels, all while giving away basically no details.  Sorry, y'all!  It has really been a whirlwind two weeks.  Great weeks, but oh-so-crazy.  I live in Florida...the Florida panhandle, to be exact.  And, while I don't live at the beach, I live very near the beach.  Panama City Beach, just so we're clear.  So, when spring break rolls around, the locals find any and every reason to hightail it out of here.  Not that we don't love all of our visitors.  Truly, we love y'all.  Does wonders for the economy.  But let's be real:  things get kind of weird.  Which is why I've been a little MIA lately.  However, I have no travel plans for the next several weeks, which will give me plenty of time to get you all caught up!





When my sister, Olivia, had spring break a couple of weeks ago, she headed in town to spend it with family and a few friends.  My mom and I both decided to take a mid-week day off from work to head over to Apalachicola to shop and sightsee with her.

Apalachicola is a pint-sized town, located on the Apalachicola Bay and at the mouth of the Apalachicola River.  It is famous for the Apalachicola Bay oyster.  I know...oysters are a love 'em or leave 'em kind of item, but, around here, we are a love them family.  We've been scarfing them down regularly, thank you very much.

We destroyed these this past Friday night.

Apalachicola has relied on its prime location along the Gulf for a long time.  In fact, it was once the third largest cotton port in the United States.  Today, it's fishing and shrimping industry keep it on the map, along with the many historical homes and buildings that line the waterfront and are scattered throughout the town.  Many of these buildings have been or are in the process of being restored, and it was so fun to walk around and visit the little shops in the area.



The highlight of the day was, of course, lunch!  We ate at the Owl Cafe, a very well-known, prominent spot in the middle of downtown.  The lunch hour fills up quickly, and we had to wait a while to be seated.  Always a good sign when looking for a great place to eat!  I ordered gator and pork sausage served over grit cake, which is basically just pan-fried, block-style grits.  I cannot even begin to describe how delicious it was!  If you're ever in town, I highly recommend it!!








We spent the rest of the day wandering through town, shopping and chatting.  It was perfect.  We ended the day by driving over to St. George Island, which is a few miles down the road from Apalachicola.











Summer is only a short nine work weeks away, and I'm counting down like crazy!  I'm hoping to get more great day trips like this under my belt!

This is just trip number one.  More to come!!



Helene in Between

Thursday, March 21, 2013

What Not to Wear...and Me





I'm literally sitting here on my bed, blogging and watching What Not to Wear.  I really love this show.  I do.  Until I realize that there are days I could legitimately be placed on the show.  It would probably be the highest rated of all time because, girls, they'd have their work cut out for them.

Okay, I'm maybe being a little dramatic here, because, as my lovely friend Karen would say, some of these lovely ladies are "busted."  I don't know if I'm quite there, but I'm definitely stuck in a style rut.  I honestly could not tell you the last time I really went on a real shopping trip.  I wear the same ten or so outfits to work.  Every.  Single.  Week.

Over the past two-and-a-half months, I've dropped 18 pounds.  Yay!  But, I still have more weight I'd like to lose.  That means I'm not really wanting to spring for a lot, since I'm hoping to fit into smaller sizes soon.  Plus, I'm really committed to saving my money this year and just haven't allowed myself to go crazy and change up my wardrobe.  With a trip to Atlanta in a few days, I'd like to allow myself to throw a few more pieces into the mix because I'm sure, at this point, my coworkers are starting to wonder.

To get a few ideas, I've been doing a little online shopping.  There's no way I could afford all of these lovely little things, but they are my inspiration for my upcoming trip.

Loft 3/4 Sleeve Colorblocked Cardigan



Loft Diamond Eyelet Cotton Dress



J.Crew Cashmere Raglan Sweater



J.Crew Linen City Mini


J.Crew Fan Fringe Necklace



C.Wonder Cotton Boatneck Peplum Top








(James and Leigh) Newport Beach Maxi



Vineyard Vines Seersucker Scallop Hem Margo Skirt



Loft Marisa Casual Cropped Pants




Loft Curvy Skinny Ankle Jeans


Where do you shop in Atlanta?