A trip down to Alys Beach...

     One of my favorite things to do while spending time at the beach, besides eating and drinking ad nauseam, is taking a bike ride to all of the communities along 30 A.  The other day Big D and I trekked down to Alys Beach on the bikes and it is such a gorgeous place.  The community is like something out of Greece where everything is built in white stucco and it is really quite gorgeous.  The homes tend to be built around an inner courtyard, and I'm dying to go through one of these gorgeous homes!  It is only 10 percent built up at this point on a 20 year plan so it looks to be one of the larger communities along 30 A.  Sadly I only had my iPhone with me that day and you can tell by the pics that there is some kind of sea haze on my lens, so the pics look as though I used some kind of filter.

update…just realized my excessive overuse of the word gorgeous.  Must remember there are a whole host of words to effectively describe said gorgeousness.  Like for instance exquisite, delightful, dazzling (not really my kind of word, but you never know), sublime, stunning, impressive, aesthetically agreeable, enchanting, lovely, and my personal two favorites: bewitching and fetching.  Words in my opinion that aren't used nearly enough.  Now go forth people and start using them as much as possible...  

 Love the rosemary growing out in front of this home...
They have these adorable outdoor seating areas…
Beautiful pathways…

Love the driftwood horses…


There is a wonderful pool and restaurant for the owners and guests called Caliza, they also serve dinner to the public.  I'm dying to go down here for a drink one night…so swanky!!












Heavenly gelato in Seaside...

     What's better at the beach than a scoop of gelato on a hot day?  We stopped for a scoop at the famous Heavenly Gelato and Ice Cream in the heart of Seaside while perusing the shops around town.  None for me sadly!  This one was for my youngest who is now in fact bigger than me.  It's a long incredibly boring story, but I can no longer have dairy and haven't for the past eight or nine months and yes people, it is no fun, no fun at all!!!  No more butter.  No more milk shakes.  No more mochas.  No more milk chocolate, fresh mozzarella, extra cheese anything, Doritos!!  Are you kidding me?…no more Doritos!!! Cheese Nips, cheese dips, a la mode whatever!!  Truly, the no cheese part is the worst, but c'est la vie, there are worse problems to have…so instead I live vicariously through my kid's food choices!!





 Yum, biscotti gelato!!!!

A beachy 4th of July with the sand and symphony!

   

The house was decked out in Red White and


 Blue too…

     We were lucky to have a nearly perfect 4th of July this year with some of the god awful humidity rolling out to make way for warm summer temperatures which made it the perfect weather to spend the whole day outside.  Last year during the weather from hell, the 4th was a giant bust because of the monsoon like weather we got!  This year has certainly made up for that disaster!  We started off the day heading in the golf cart to the annual Seaside 4th of July parade when upon arrival we sadly discovered everyone was going in the other direction as in the parade was over!  Ugh!

This is us arriving apparently an hour too late…

Clearly punctuality at the beach is not my forte.  So icksnay the parade and head to the glorious beach…

In the evening it was time to head back down to Seaside and listen to a concert by the symphony and watch the fireworks…


People were ready to be festive!




It was a lovely night!!

Summer continues at Beach Cheeky and Kitchen nook updates...

     OK, it does not suck to be at the beach people.  I feel ridiculously lucky right now, and I am soaking up every minute of the views, sea air and sandy feet and floors!  Thankfully Hurricane Arthur is no where near affecting our 4th of July festivities!  The weather is hot, hot, hot and being close to water is an absolute must.  I see people jogging at 3 in the afternoon in 95 degree temps and 75 percent humidity and I'm like WTH giving them my best Keira Knightley impression…Have you gone mad?  
     This is the busiest time of year for the whole area up and down 30A which can make traffic a bit tricky and parking even worse, but I love the hub hub and all the activities that go along with the beach this time of year.  Last night we went down to Seaside for a few Mojitos and a walk on the beach where a group of people were having a bon fire.  It was a gorgeous night for sure!
     In other news the kitchen nook table did finally arrive and the thing is huge!  Thankfully it fits just fine and we love using it!
The table was made from cypress and I love the finish...




The dogs are loving the laid back beach life too…


Who doesn't want a nap?