A Lil' Reminder of Warmer Days

My mom knows how much I love sea turtles.  They are such graceful, majestic sea creatures with the cutest lil' faces.  She gave me an adorable key ring from Brighton.  Now, every time I grab my keys to head out the door I'm reminded of my favorite sea creature, the ocean and my family.  Check out these other beachy key rings.  Which one do you want/like?

Marvels Turtle Key Ring from Brighton

Malibu Anchor Key Ring from Brighton

Beach Multi Mix Key Ring from Coach

Juicy Couture Tropical Key Ring from Nordstrom

Leather Mermaid Key Ring from Coach



My parents visited my brother and I a week ago in San Francisco. We had a great time exploring the City, wine tasting in Sonoma and Napa, and taking in the beautiful sights of the Bay in Sausalito.  Here are two of my favorite pics of their visit!  I'm already counting down the days until I visit them in October.

Mr. H and I spent the Fourth of July holiday in Yosemite National Park.  It was our first visit and we had the best time! Our proudest moment of the trip was hiking the strenuous 3.5 mile trek up to the top of Nevada Falls at the top of a mountain....our legs were soooo shaky walking the 3.5 miles down.

Fetching Collars for the Beachy Dog

I've been meaning to purchase new dog collars for Toby and Bella.  While at a cute pet shop in New Smyrna Beach I purchased the collars pictured below, and what do you know....the collar I bought for Bella was featured in this month's Coastal Living Magazine!



Top: Pink Palms Collar
Bottom: Sea Turtle Collar



The collars I purchased are from the Sanibel collection at http://www.upcountryinc.com/ for $21 each.  Be sure to join me at The Beach Cottage for Wednesday's Linky Party!

Florida is like my second home...

Hello!  It's been a while since I've posted anyhing, but I've been a bit busy.  I hope you had a great holiday weekend!  Mr. H and I spent the weekend exploring Yosemite National Park....it was amazing!! Then we watched the famous fireworks show last night in San Francisco....incredible show!

So, I've been meaning to post pics about my recent trip to Florida.  My parents are from Florida and I was born in Orlando...we go back to the sunshine state once a year to visit our family who live there....it really feels like my second home.  I'm without a doubt a water and sun baby....if only I could own a cottage right on the Florida coast...man, that would be my dream!  I spent several days with my grandmother, mom, sister, and grand-dad in Florida and we ventured to our favorite coastal town, New Smyrna Beach, for 3 day trips.  Here are a few pics of the places and peeps I love... 

Bathing beauties....my grandmother and mom looking pretty on the beach.

It's a tradition for me to eat a hot dog on the beach....there's something so yummy about it....maybe the mix of sand, sun and sea?  Or maybe I'm just weird! Hehe

New Smyrna Beach

Me and my sis partaking in our favorite activity...sunbathing!

I could stare at this view 24/7.

Where my toes should be....

Entrance to New Smyrna Beach from Flagler Avenue.

Small festival held on the streets at New Smyrna.

Looks like I need this bench....it has The Coconut Life written all over it!

The ladies of the family all dolled up for a delicious seafood dinner.

We spent a day exploring Winter Park which is a suburb of Orlando.  We took a scenic boat tour of the Winter Park lakes.

I love this photo because it reminds of the Southeast....look at all of that moss hanging from the trees.

Lone Tree in the lake...

The lakes of Winter Park are connected with canals like the one pictured above.

Smile and pretend like you're not melting in the hot, Florida sun!  But hey, I'm not complaining....this NorCal transplant will take the heat any day!

We stopped for lunch and a bit of window shopping at the cute shops in downtown Winter Park.  This was a French restaurant called Paris Bisto....my crepe was yummy!

Another day on the beach.  Clearly, we're not the only ones who thought it was a perfect day to spend at the beach.

Soaking up those rays!!!

The water felt amazing....a cool 80 degrees.

Me and my sister pictured with my Granddaddy on Father's Day.

How are your summer plans/trips going?  Even though it's not beach related, I'll try to post a few pics from my recent trip to Yosemite.  Have a lovely day!