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Sanibel Island

Mondays after vacation are really the hardest type of Monday. We got back from Sanibel last night and had such a great trip! The weather was only in the 60s, but we had lots of time for coffee runs, walks on the beach, shopping, and pedicures.

Coffee from Sanibel Bean is some of my favorite. I especially loved their tropical blend coffee paired with a cinnamon-raisin bagel. The coffee shop is a quick bike ride from our condo and also a favorite place to stop for an ice cream cone.









The above picture is from Bowman's Beach, a new spot we decided to spend an afternoon exploring. The beach is huge and usually crowded on hot days, but once we walk about a mile down you have the whole beach to yourself.
A huge storm hit the island on our first day there. After the storm passed, we went for a late night walk and came across this huge Horse Conch. After a little cleaning we put it on display in our condo and it looked amazing. At Bowman's beach we also stumbled upon a pool filled with tons of little fighting conchs, still alive and all hanging out together.









I was so happy I got to see my friend Ali on Saturday! It's been so long! She is working in Fort Myers so we were able to get together for lunch, a walk on the beach, hot chocolate, and lots of girl talk.






These pretty purple sea urchins covered the beach during our trip. I've never seen any before and was amazed by how lovely they are! My mom and I called the little spikes sprinkles, they reminded us of little beach donuts.

This map of Sanibel is outside of Bailey's grocery store. We were here just about every day getting coffee from their amazing coffee bar or picking up sandwiches for lunch.
How fun are these parrots! There are several different birds outside of Jerry's grocery store. Sometimes you can hear them saying "Hello" or whistling at you as you walk by.












Caesar is there of the left and was definitely the most rambunctious bird I've ever met. He'll climb right over to you and poof out his top feather. I always caught the little guy on the right napping! My kind of bird!


Bailey's coffee bar! Best vanilla latte!



After dinner my mom and I like walking around the shops on the island. The stores are linked together by beachy boardwalks and are practically an oasis to walk around. Fountains are palm tress can be found all around,
This art shop is one of our favorites to pop into while on vacation and is filled filled with pieces from local artists, especially blown glass and quirky paintings. The stairs are hand painted and so colorful. 

Coming back to work today was definitely a struggle but I was happy to get back in my comfy bed. It feels nice to get back in the routine of things again, but I already cannot wait for more sunshine.

Golden

Oh my goodness I am just so obsessed with J. Crew's Gemma flats. I think they are just so perfect and they come in so many colors. Last week I was at the store and saw these on sale, I immediately fell in love.


Gold Gemmas!! Metallic is most definitely a neutral, so they go with just about everything!
Will I be wearing them to work every day of the week? You bet :)


Vacay

One week from today my mom and I are going to be in Sanibel, FL. I can't wait to get out of the gloomy Cleveland weather and finally find the sun. Sanibel is really a happy place for me. There's nothing that I have to do or worry about when I'm there. It's all bike rides, walks on the beach, reading, and laying by the pool.


The warm weather has me thinking about bright, island-y dresses and fun summer sandals. As much as I love a good sweater, I'm ready to start thinking summer clothes. I picked up these Tory wedges because I just couldn't resist.
Tory Burch Vacation Espadrille Signature Orange Wedges
The perfect vacay sandal! I can't wait to pair them with sundresses during the day and a pair of white jeans at night (I'm so excited to break out the white jeans again!).


As I browsing around online I saw that Gal Meets Glam also has the same pair! I love her outfit for inspiration.

2016 Goals

I'm really looking forward to the upcoming year, there are so many things I want to do and accomplish, big things that I've never done before. I want to make some major investments and lifestyle changes, and really broaden my horizons. I would like to travel and definitely make some new friends.

 :

Lately I've been striving to really make myself happy. I want this to be a year full of personal growth and most importantly happiness.

GOALS FOR 2016
1. Finish Harry Potter series
2. Read 15 books
3. Travel to 5 new places
         1. Put-In-Bay
         2. Ireland
         3. Cape Cod
4. Save up 30k
5. Buy a home (Got an apartment, does that count?)
6. Get a dog
7. Make 2 new friends
          1. Amy
8. Go one month without shopping
9. Blog on a regular basis
10. Start planning lunches and dinners (and actually cook)
11. Work on my skiing skills
12. Discover/learn a new hobby (working on photography)
13. Go to bed and get up earlier to be earlier to work
14. Start going to more challenging yoga classes and practicing at home (Starting going to Vinyasa flow yoga on 1/10)

I might also create monthly goals and continuously add/check things off this list. We'll see :)