Cinnamon Shores R&R Cafe is open!

It's here and I can't wait to go!!

R&R Cafe-Cinnamon Shores-Port Aransas, TX

I warned you that I would talk about Cinnamon Shores a lot. I just love the area and it just keeps getting better! The R&R Cafe is walking distance from all houses and condos in Cinnamon Shores and has coffee, snacks, and, as you can see from the pictures....delicious gelato!

It looks great and I'm looking forward to my first of many, many, many visits to the cafe when I head to Port A in August! Check out more pictures at http://www.cinnamonshore.com/community-overview-map/community-photos/?album=3&gallery=22.

See you tomorrow for Vacation Friday!

Coastal dining

When B and I registered for our wedding, we did not register for fine china (not really our style), but we did register for nice, everyday dishes that will hopefully last us a lifetime! We decided on dishes by Vietri. We love our dishes and now I want more. I had no idea when we first ordered them how many beautiful blue and other coastal dishes they sold.

Like these cute blue turtle dishes...

or these GORGEOUS Organica dishes...

Vietri has dishes in beautiful colors and unique designs that come in a variety of fun shapes and sizes. We have green dishes, so I might think about adding these one day...

Or, I just might go a completely different direction and make these work with what I have...somehow...just because I love the Bellezza Fish design so much. Fish dishes?? Really...who could ask for more?? :) This table setting looks so inviting.

Don't you wish you could create a registry for everyday life? Then, if anyone ever asked you what you want for your birthday? Christmas? Anniversary? You can simply respond, "here's a link to my registry." That would be amazing!

I look forward to eating a wonderful seafood meal served on one of these delightful fish plates one day!

Beach Cruisers

One of my most favorite accessories for a beach house is a beach cruiser! Beach cruisers come in a variety of styles...bikes, golf carts, land cruisers, jeeps, or the most infamous surfer ride...the woodie! Not just anything can be a beach cruiser. For something to become a beach cruiser, it must be painted a beachy color....my personal favorite is teal or seafoam green with a white top....and they must be equipped with a surfboard rack and/or a rack to carry all your beach necessities.

I can't wait to own one of these fun cruisers one day!  In fact, I'm not sure I'm patient enough to wait until I have a beach house, I might just have to get one to cruise around my neighborhood:).

Check out this crazy cruiser. It's called an Amphicar and it's part car/part boat!

Happy Cruising!!

Beach houses for sale!

I'm an avid TODAY show viewer and last Friday they had a great real estate segment on beach houses under $400,000! Not that $400,000 is cheap, but it's fun to look at the different areas and the great houses available for less than I would have imagined. I can now add to my list of beach towns to visit before I decide to move to the beach:). I especially love the look of the house in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

The cool, calm green color and large porches make it look so inviting! However, I will move into any of the houses, if they offer it to me for free!

Which house do you like best?

Hope you had a great weekend and had some fun in the sun!

B's Vacation Friday!

My sweet husband is my number one blog supporter. He always has new ideas for posts, comments about my posts everyday and always says how happy he is that I started it. We were chatting last night and he has been telling me about his dream vacation in Panama for quite a while now. I told him he should be my guest blog today for VACATION FRIDAY and he agreed. Please welcome my first guest blogger, my husband, Brad. He is taking us on his dream trip to TROPIC STAR LODGE in PANAMA!


Topic Star Lodge, Pinas Bay, Panama

Panama has been a sport fishing mecca for quite some time. With over 250 International Game Fish Association world records broken, Tropic Star Lodge in Pinas Bay stands as the poster boy of all that Panamanian fishing has to offer. This has been a dream trip of mine for quite some time as it has all of the attributes of a great fishing adventure; foreign travel and culture, beautiful scenery, and world class fishing.

A typical itinerary for this trip would be to fly into Panama City and stay a night to sample the local flavor. The following day, take a short, fifty minute flight to Pinas Bay and then hop on a panga for a short boat trip to the lodge. From then on, it is fishing, kayaking, swimming, beach-strolling and exploring jungle rivers until you have to head back home.

Huge Black Marlin almost to the boat

Panamanian Sailfish all lit up

Sailfish

Tropic Star can be a great trip for the whole family. A wonderful initiative they offer to help introduce the outdoors to the next generation is the kids club event. Every June through August, this event allows any kid under 16 to fish for free with a paying adult. 

Rooster fish

When I make it to Tropic Star, my focus will be on offshore action including the blue and black marlin, mahi mahi, sailfish and tuna. You can bet I won't miss the incredible inshore fishing as well though, which includes huge rooster fish, snapper, grouper and amberjack to name a few.

A happy customer with a beautiful Mahi Mahi

Fishing isn't the only thing Tropic Star offers, take a hike to a mountain waterfall or head over to White Beach.

Tropic Star Waterfall

Tropic Star White Beach

I'm not sure when it will be, but I can't wait to one day make this trip. To experience the wide array of activities and incredible fishing Tropic Star and Panama has to offer will be one for the highlight reel. -Brad



Thank you, B, for the wonderful post on Tropic Star Lodge. It looks amazing and I look forward to going with you one day. However, if we have a black marlin that close to the boat, I assure you I will be standing inside the boat....taking pictures, of course! :)

Hope you all enjoyed my husband's dream vacation and another great coastal escape on this edition of VACATION FRIDAY!



Have a great weekend!

Coastal kitchen dreams...

We are in the very beginning stages of thinking about a kitchen update. I get so excited about it, but must calm myself down because it most likely won't happen until the beginning of next year, but I can begin gathering ideas, right?! I dream of a beautiful, bright coastal kitchen....like this...

or this...

But here's the deal...we aren't going to be in this house forever, so I should probably tone down my coastal love a bit so we can actually sell the house one day! Or, does everyone love blue and green as much as I do? Probably not in Austin, TX...So, how do I find a kitchen with little bits of coastal that won't scare off the future buyers of our house years from now?

Maybe just use a cool backsplash?

Still too much? What about some colored cabinets? They can be painted easily...right?

Or, I guess I can stick with white. No one is scared of white. Or maybe they are...

If you have any ideas/suggestions, please let me know! All I know for sure, is I want a window seat to use as part of our dining area. I love the look of it and we need to utilize space wherever we can. Our kitchen is small! I love this window seat...

If only we had that much space and a beach in our backyard:). I do love the colors and might use this as inspiration for my smaller version window seat.

Happy coastal dreaming and see you tomorrow for VACATION FRIDAY!!!

In love with all things Lilly...

I received the Garnet Hill magazine the other night and sat down on the couch, with a glass of wine, and browsed pages full of clothing, accessories, and bedding that I adored! I dog-ear pages with things I like in magazines and keep them around until I have some extra spending money. When I was finished with this magazine...I had dog-eared 99% of the pages! What really caught my eye was the Lilly Pulitzer Laguna bedding collection.

This is the first collection I have seen with the two colors (blue and coral) and prints (COASTAL prints) that I love most! The brightness, the sweetness, the teal with the coral...mmmmm....I LOVE IT! I especially love it paired with the white, bamboo-looking furniture.

The ribbon reef sheets are the perfect addition to quilt and shams! I just want to curl up in this beautiful bedding with a cup of coffee, a magazine and look out my window at the beautiful water. One day...one day...when I live on the beach:). A girl can dream!

Don't forget about this cute Laguna Hooked wool rug. I want to put this in my bathroom or laundry room to give it a little sparkle.

Lilly Pultizer fulfills all my cravings for bright, coastal colors and I love her for that!