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Adventure

TRAVEL FAVORITES

Been blowing up my IG with photos of Costa Rica times so I thought I’d do something a little different recapping our trip on here.

While we explored Jaco, I mostly lived in a swimsuit and coverup but did get dressed up once and got showered up a few times. See below for my favorite pieces I had on the trip and all the way at the bottom is the quickest recap I’ve ever done~!

TOWEL

TANK / SHORTS

 DRESS / MULES (in black, brown is sold out)

DRESS / BAG (in lighter color, saddle sold out)

SUIT / (in black, green is sold out)

Couldn’t track this down to link but, I’m eyeing this ROMPER and THIS ONE in both red and mustard-gimme all the romps!

SLIP DRESS

Quickest trip recap I’ve ever done….and go….

We spent 6 days in Jaco, Costa Rica with Dustin’s family-there were 11 of us total! It was a super packed out week with a detailed itinerary keeping all of us on track for the activities we signed up for ahead of time. Organized by his awesome mom who made sure everyone had plans they could afford and were going to enjoy mixed with family activities (ie future Christmas card photos) and overall a trip of a lifetime.

On the way to our villa we saw dozen’s of crocidiles from a bridge-super spooky! That same day Dustin surfed-not near the crocs! He totally crushed it. I knew he would with his snowboarding skills.  The following day was Easter Sunday church followed by a sunset cruise.  Monday the guys and I went deep sea fishing- but sadly didn’t catch a dang thing! Next was zip lining through the jungle (I totally went upside down because they told me everyone did it before me, false! whatever-YOLO!), riding ATVs to a waterfall with his folks, cruising out to Tortuga Island where we snorkeled, hiked around and road a banana float that slung us off and visiting a monkey preserve and private beach. Aren’t you a little bit tired just reading that!? For the most part we cooked and ate in but one night got out for a fancy meal to celebrate a few of our birthdays.  We woke up early and went to bed early. The wildlife was WILD. We had two huge red parrots living outside our room, the ground was littered with crabs, frogs, iguanas-you name it! We saw sloths, fed monkeys, harassed crabs and the last night was frightened to see a 6f’ croc on the beach near our house! The vegetation was also out of this world. I could go on for days about the plants like the giant monsteras and species of palms I could never have imagined.  We only got a small taste of the Costa Rica and are set to go back and explore the Caribbean side.

Check out my Insta stories for more to all the above ~

 

CUBA | VARADERO

Our Christmas was very low key. We had gotten all of our celebrating out of the way the week before so the day of, we were basically just chilling wanting it to hurry up and be over so we could jet off to Cuba to explore and ring in the New Years with our buddies Blake and Sara– fellow photography lovers and travel enthusiasts.  We’ve known them for a few years now but hadn’t traveled together until connecting on the urge to visit Cuba and booking back in June. Political turmoil and suspected threats on our diplomats had us on the edge of our seats whether we’d be able to go or not, but, we can say we’ve been to Cuba and back and lived to tell about it! Kidding, mostly.  There were a few dodgy moments, but we had a blast and the colorful island is truly one-of-a-kind and luckily it turns out, Blake and Sara are a traveling dream team.

Follow the classic car while I take you through our travels around Varadero, a resort town in the province of Matanzas, Cuba.

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ADVENTURING IN ASHEVILLE


For Valentines I surprised Dustin with a getaway trip to Asheville for camper hangs, breweries and bar-b-que! We left work early on Friday and made it around 4 in time to see the Silver Bette in the daylight, just look at how adorable she is!

I didn’t feel like fooling with my DSLR so I snapped all weekend long using my Iphone, not mad how the photos turned out either! Here goes our full recap, with first a tour of our home away from home on wheels –

Our Spartan was manufactured in 1955 by the Spartan Aircraft Company who made their start making war planes during WWII. After the war Spartan began making these huge luxury rolling caravan’s. The first Spartan Camper was made in 1948 and the last Spartan was manufactured in the early 60’s before the company closed it’s doors for good in Tulsa Oklahoma. The Bettie is similar to an airstream, but with MUCH more headroom and space inside and with even more history! –Air Bnb post

Bette had a full kitchen complete with retro pots and pans for cooking. Not pictured is the old school crimson fridge with the most adorable ice box (aka freezer) inside!

There was a TV but we didn’t bother turning it on, just listened to classic rock on the little radio on the left.

After we explored and unpacked we went to Haywood St. for pre-dinner drinks and apps at Oyster House Brewing. We split a dozen raw oysters, a new acquired taste of my adult tongue, and each had a beer before going to our dinner destination Buffalo Nickel.  We had deviled eggs, Dustin’s all time favorite food, they were yummy and got his seal of approval. For dinner I got the pumpkin ravioli that had lump crap, cranberry, brussels petals, mushrooms, brown butter, sage and lemon-HELLO DELICIOUS! They made the sage like kale chips, not sure how but it was very impressive. Dustin got the North Carolina shrimp- tasso ham, October beans, shellfish tomato broth, grits and fennel. He said it was the best shrimp and grits he’s ever had! I had a bit and would agree, wow!  After dinner we moved over to the game room side and played some pool and darts with locals. A restaurant with games is a winner in my book!

The following day we started with brunch at Sunny Pointe Cafe which came highly recommended.  We were warned about the wait but were told it was worth it. So we toughed out the hour and something wait and they were right, WORTH IT!

HELLO BEST HEUVOS RANCHEROS EVER!

Savory black bean cakes served with Snow Creek chorizo sausage, feta cheese, roasted tomatillo salsa, and herb tossed spuds topped with two free range eggs any style, cilantro crema, and crisp tortilla strips.

Seriously though. That dish went above and beyond. We also really liked the biscuits and gravy and had a bunch of leftovers that we threw all together (with some bbq) and had for brunch Sunday. Have I mentioned breakfast/brunch is by far my favorite meal?

Also, this bloody mary was gorgeous. Dustin said it tasted real good too. I can’t mix tomato juice and coffee but if I could I would have been all about it. Server said they picked the ingredients from their very own garden!

Going out of order here but keeping with the food theme…Buxton BBQ! I had seen this pop up a few times during my web searching and could tell by the menu and graphic design work, it was up our alley. We ate an early dinner here after brewery hoping. After the huge brunch we skipped lunch and were about starved and that’s when we spotted the HASH FRIES. A mound of waffle fries topped with bbq hash, buttermilk gravy and pimento cheese! We died and went to a smothered-n-covered heaven! We sipped local brews before our dinner came which looked something like this:

When it comes to bbq joints Dustin and I both usually get a pulled pork plate. Then I usually order the beans and whatever else sounds good.  We knew our dinner would be fantastic after the devouring of the hash fries and it really was, especially the brussels sprouts!

If you can believe it, we had made room for dessert. It just didn’t feel right leaving without trying the banana pudding pie. Despite the full belly ache that followed, it was so worth it! What made it stand out was the salted graham cracker crust. Mmmmm

We sat at the bar to avoid waiting which gave us THIS view. Open ceilings, exposed bricks, unenclosed kitchen-like being in a big loft!

Now on to brewery hopping!

Not in order but here’s where we went and how we felt about it –

Lexington Ave Brewery – Dustin fell hard in love with their “Thumper” Belgian Tripel. He said it was his all-time favorite of the trip.

One World Brewing – This was an accidental discovery when we were walking to a different destination and HAD to seek warmth. Glad we needed the heat because this little underground brewery was a good find! We both enjoyed the farmhouse ale.

Bhramari – New to the brewery scene and was only serving one of their own beers, the Carolina Common, producing notes of caramel and sweet corn. Tasty! This was another spot we stumbled in for warmth. We are never strict schedule followers so popping into unplanned breweries was fun to us!

Catawba – Is next door to Buxton BBQ and has the same open floor plan with lots of different seating areas, some made of old barrels. We were too full after the BBQ so we split the White Zombie White Ale but at dinner had tried the Farmer Ted Cream Ale which made my top picks list.

Funkatorium- The funkier side to Wicked Weed and the East Coast’s first ever sour dedicated taproom! This was our favorite stop! I wish we had gone there earlier (it was the last stop of Saturday night and I was tired) but when we return it’ll be our FIRST revisit location!

Wedge- We got a small flight of 4 and gravitated towards the smoky ALT bier “sticke” which is a Dusseldorf style. The tasting room is small but the outside area is it’s selling point. Too bad it was a high of 22 degrees otherwise we would have been all about the corn hole!

Thirsty Monk – Not sure how many beers they actually brew but they were only serving 3 of their own that day. I got the blonde and Dustin got the barley wine style ale.  He likes this type of beer a lot and thought theirs was on point. The blonde was easy drinking. They have a lot of other people’s beer on tap but not sure we’ll go back. Feel like there’s better breweries to hit up.

Wicked Weed- This place is popular! The first attempt of visiting was a flop because they were at capacity and had a long line of people waiting to get in. Waiting in 20 degree temperatures with a wind chill that made it feel like the teens-no way jose! We went back the next day. I tried the Orange Peel-named after the neighboring music venue-and thought it was just OK. Dustin got something aged in bourbon barrels and liked it a lot. Now that I’m thinking of it, I don’t think Dustin met a beer he didn’t like, HA! My coworker had an old friend that worked there that I tracked down and he gave us some samples that were tasty.  Next time it’d be nice to fully experience this spot as well.

Of all the beers we tried we felt like the most unique were the sours from Funkatorium so we brought home three! The La Bonte with figs, the Oaxacan that’s aged in tequila barrels and the bourbon oblivion.  How cool is that carrying case!?

Aside from breweries, we popped into a few boutiques I had found after researching online. In downtown we went to Old North, a rad shop for men and women.  We found Dustin a handsome short-sleeved gingham shirt that’ll be real nice when it gets warmer. Also went into the best antique shop I’ve been in a while, Lexington Park Antiques. You could seriously get lost in there for hours!  Horse + Hero has fun art and for cute gifts hit up Whist and Duncan & York.  My favorite non-beer stop was Flora, a flower and plant boutique that also specializes in wedding and event styling and floral design. JUST LOOK!!! >>>

We popped in on Valentines Day.  I picked out a small planter and air plant. When we were checking out I was asked “want me to doll this up?” YES PLEASE! The gal filled the planter with rocks for the air plant to rest on and then handed me the above bag with a sweet corsage attached. Man, I just love places that go above and beyond! It’s currently drying out because it’s too pretty to toss. Flora is a must visit! As well as Asheville, but maybe when it’s a little warmer!

 

2015: AT A GLANCE

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This year has been a great one, I mean afterall I did get married and go on an amazing honeymoon!

There was a lot of fun stuff that went down before October 31st, so I wanted to recap 15 blogged about highlights. Here we gooo!

(Above) That time we got a custom stamp by a local maker and made our own save-the-dates, not pictured is our also diy’d wedding invite. Lots of work but worth the beautiful outcome!

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Big highlight was going to New Orleans with two of our favorite couples and not having planned it on purpose but it happened to be Saint Patrick’s Day weekend!

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After a long time of gawking behind a computer screen, a wish of mine came true when I attended my first Kinfolk supper in Nashville!

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Hair finally got long enough for a milk maid braid, whoop! Also, wore last year’s Kate Spade sunglasses Christmas gift approximately 322 days of 2015 :P

One thing I noticed while going through this year’s blog posts was that there wasn’t a ton of outfits but more lifestyle which is the direction I want this blog to go in. So far so good, however, I need to post a lot more this coming year!

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Watching my friend elope at Hangout Music Festival was a memorable day!

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Having a press pass at the Fest and getting super close to my favorite bands was also awesome!

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Friends rented a party bus and 22 of us hung out and partied on Lake Lanier till way past the sun going down!

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My bridesmaids threw me the dreamiest boho bridal shower. Just look at that backdrop!

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Dustin invited a bunch of us to Daufuskie where we tried to catch alligators and got a really big kick out of it, captured here by our friend Cristi!

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Our mode of transportation while on the island. We have some fun (and dangerous) memories on this thing!

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Feel like I’m getting the hang of this whole cocktail recipe and styling thing.  Need to keep it up, practice makes perfect!  This was the best of all of them, see full post here.

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Realizing I spent a good bit of time in Nashville, because: COURTNEY! Becoming close with this lady has been awesome. She’s always up for a good time, fashionable, ridiculously kind and generous and really really healthy which has rubbed off on me!

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Hit up several vineyards in 2015. Not surprising if you knew me because I love me some chardonnay!

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Loved our weekend getaway before the wedding. Georgia in the Fall is something else!

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2015 had several collaborations with brands, which is my favorite part of blogging. The best was with Williams-Sanoma when Dustin and I staged a camping adventure in our friend’s backyard. Since then we took out all the gear for a real trial and give everything from that post a seal of approval!

Obviously, these are the just some of the highlights and there was definitely more to our lives than what hit the blog. For example, we see a lot of music but I rarely blog about it because I usually don’t bother shooting but this is one of our favorite things to do!

And this doesn’t include some of our personal highlights, the low points that is reality and little moments I take in privately.

2015 was a solid year!  2016 has some competition!

Have a safe and happy New Years Eve!

OUR HONEYMOON | MISC

In between the adventurous outings we took we also did some low key stuff around Tulum.  Like, starting each day with a big ole breakfast!

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This particular feast was at Ahau’s restaurant.  Before this trip I was never one to eat beans in the morning but after having smashed black beans with most of our meals, I’m sold!

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Our first beers of the trip in the shuttle from the airport  // A church on Cozumel

Where we watched the sunrise our first morning // Workin’ it in Tulum

Beach finds // Roadside dream catchers where I found the one we took home. Between Tulum and Coba there are several small roadside villages that had the best handmade souvenirs. This is where I’d suggest to shop for blankets, dream catchers, ceramics, baskets.

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Lunch at Ahau. Dustin got the octopus and really enjoyed it, the tacos were O-K, they could’ve used some Cholula or salsa but all they had was the habanero FIRE sauce. Their drinks never disappointed- we especially liked the house margaritas.

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This shipping container boutique called, La Troupe, was loaded with bohemian pieces-both for the home and your closet. It’s right down the way between Casa Jaguar and The Hartwood.

In addition, there were a lot of great shops connected to hotels as well as restaurants, for example, Lol Tulum inside Posado Margarita.

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Besides the stands in route to Coba, the locals selling around the road along the hotels (Quintana Roo 15) were also excellent spots to shop for souvenirs.  This is where I bought a good quality traditional Mexican blanket for a fair price.  When I looked in downtown they weren’t as nice and often not even made in Mexico.

Dustin enjoying a Coco Loco, which is a coconut filled with all the boozes!  //  Ahau seating  + happy hour

The enchiladas at Ziggy’s sounded good, but with added fried eggs, even better!   //  The coolest shop in downtown Tulum, she shooed me away after snapping these photos, oops!

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The best tacos we had were at Mateo’s! Crispy baja style mahi, mmm, making me hungry just thinking about it!

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Obsessed with all the tropical plants, especially cacti!  Years ago when I went to Hawaii I plucked a little cactus while hiking to take home. But at the airport they had an agriculture check point making sure people didn’t leave with wildlife and so I had to toss it. Learned my lesson and didn’t attempt this trip!

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Dustin surprised me with this Triangl swimsuit a few months ago to bring on the honeymoon. He did good right? So many textures and stitching, it’s the most unique swimsuit I’ve ever owned. If you’re interested, just know, they are made for tiny Australian surfer babes..I had to size up and still feel like I’m squeezing in!

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At one point, while sitting on the beach we were approached by two small children who were peddling bracelets, wool animals and fruit. I bought my mom a souvenir and the below bracelet I’m wearing. They were the cutest, however, a hotel staff member came over and told them to leave and at first I thought “oh come on, cut these cuties a break” but then we found out the little boy had stolen a man’s wallet the week prior!  Either way, they were freaking adorable!

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Until 2003 Volkswagen was manufacturing the old style beetle in Mexico.  They were everywhere!  We thought it was so neat we talked about renting one for day but we got used to getting driven and didn’t want to drive ourselves, worrying with GPS  // Once again, happy hour!  // Outside the Tulum ruins  // Hipster cactus

 

So this is all the cushioning between the thrilling adventures I shared in the last post. Seriously, from 8am – midnight(ish) we were going nonstop!  Dustin joked we needed a post-honeymoon vacation and as funny as it sounds, he was right. But instead, started back at the jobs the following morning after arriving back to a much colder ATL >>>

Next up is pretty photos of Casa Jaguar, Have a good weekend!