Holiday Getaway

How is it already January 8th?!!??  The last few weeks have gone by so fast, and we did virtually nothing over the holidays to prepare for baby Daly.  It's not panic time yet, but I feel like it's getting close!

While I had great aspirations of finishing the nursery and arranging folded onesies into our new nursery cabinet between brisk strolls around the neighborhood or prenatal yoga, the reality is that we were out of town a lot and I ate my weight in chocolate.

But I was able to squeeze in a mini-vacation with the daddy-to-be, which was a great distraction from my extremely long to-do list.

Since we were already in Mississippi visiting family, we thought we'd first stop into New Orleans for a friend's wedding and brunch the next morning at one of our favorite spots, Antoine's.  This is a special place for us, because this is where we dined the night we were engaged.  Out of tradition, we ordered the Baked Alaska for desert, which really turned some heads and sparked a great deal of jealousy amongst the fellow patrons.  Some people just know how to order...

After brunch, we headed to The Grand at Point Clear for a few days.

Photos courtesy The Grand website

Neither of us had been to The Grand, and I must say, it was rather magical.  We arrived just in time to see the gorgeous blood-red sunset on the water before heading to dinner.  When we returned from dinner, the hotel's holiday lights were all lit up and it was beautiful.

While we were down there, we stopped into downtown Fairhope and found some great boutiques.  My fav was "lulu & me", a fantastic fabric and home decor boutique where I found some beautiful fabric for the nursery.

They also had these charming paper mache candelabras in the window, which I fell in love with.  I may have to try to recreate these on my own.

And by far the best restaurant we went to on our stay was The Wash House. 

 If you go to the Fairhope area, you must, must, MUST go to this place.  I wish I had taken photos of the amazing food we ate, but it's rather romantically intimate in there and I didn't want to spoil the mood for other diners.

It is located in a sort of backyard barn, and the inside is cozy and whimsical, with light-wrapped branches hanging from the ceiling and a brick fireplace.  And the food was absolutely amazing.  

The trip was short, but it was such a treat being able to spend time away from the real world with only my husband for a few days before we begin the marathon to April and then a new life with baby.

I hope your holidays were peaceful and relaxing!

Paris Market

As I mentioned in this post, my husband and I took one last summer jaunt to beautiful Savannah.  We saw the river, toured some lovely homes, and visited the SCAD Museum of Art, which, by the way, was fantastic.  

We loved roaming around the squares and finding unusual little stores tucked away in the side streets.  But I have to say, that my favorite store is definitely the Paris Market.

 

While this magnificent store is not off the beaten path (it's actually on the prominent Broughton Street), it still has funky little treasures and trinkets that feel fresh and yet classic.

And the exterior is just as glamorous as the interior...

 

Check out these presh cafe chairs and tables...

 Oh, and did I mention they have a little coffee bar with delectable snacks inside?  Because they do...

 

Cancun Re-cap

We had so much fun in Cancun, and I am already trying to get back there....

The hubs, my sisters, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, a few close friends and myself stayed at an all-inclusive.  It was so beautiful, we didn't even leave the resort....except for one morning to go to the a Mexican market, which was fun but hot and sweaty and we couldn't wait to get back to the pool.

A view from the girls' suite

It was so nice to get away with loved ones and spend time together without cell phones, obligations, or responsibilities, and to meet some new people at the swim-up bar, wear matching sisterly outfits (yes, even swimsuits), or just take a nap in the beach cabana.

Julia with Rojo the parrot

The hubs and me enjoying some R&R time

There was a delightful poolside lunch spot with fantastic seafood-shrimp tacos, ceviche, tostadas- and of course, an ocean view.

Julia and Poncho have a staring contest at the Sea Corner grill.

And at night we would try a different restaurant, or one night we all piled into the luxurious suite that the single ladies splurged on, ordered a ton of room service, and had a dance off!

The whole group at dinner...Nevermind Joey's terrible mustache....

The best news?  No one got burned.  And, as you can tell from the above photos, with a group this pale that is nothing short of a miracle.

Even while we were away, we had a lot of brainstorming going on for our product development and I was excited to return home and start making some samples.  We have been busy, busy getting together our ideas for Over The Moon, and it currently looks as if a hobby-lobby-bomb has exploded in my den.  

Back to work!  Thanks for reading!