travel – This is my hobby.

Risking it All for No Reason in Cozumel

I’m pleased to report that I escaped our annual spring break cruise unscathed — sunburn and illness free.

My favorite parts of this annual vacay, aside from the nightly family dinners, are the times we get off the boat.

This trip’s highlights were our port visits to Falmouth, Jamaica and Cozumel, Mexico.

Unfortunately, we missed the port at Grand Cayman due to bad weather. That would have been a good one and our first time visiting that island.

As veteran cruisers and island explorers, we no longer book shore excursions through the ship.

Vince’s deep dives on reddit and chatgpt prepare us to create our own experiences on any island we visit. In Jamaica, we promptly left the port via taxi for an hour and 20 min drive to Dunns River Falls.

But one small part of a truly massive/long waterfall situation

I would not highly recommend bringing a three-year-old to climb a gigantic, slippery waterfall, even if she is turning four in less than a month.

It was a long hike up literal rushing waters, but thankfully, we had an expert guide who helped us carry Elaine through the toughest spots and our little adventurer actually climbed some areas herself!

Our 17-year-old also joined us and was thrilled by the experience. His favorite thing about cruising is unlimited burgers and ice cream and running around with fellow fluffy haired teens. This was his first year truly embracing an excursion/getting a little adventurous and he loved it.

In Cozumel, Vince found a beach club off the beaten path that wasn’t overrun by tourists.

We booked two oceanfront cabanas for $60 apiece for the whole day, the snorkeling was fab (stingray sightings!), and the food was delicious.

The day would have been perfectly peaceful had I not decided (in a completely random and unhinged way) to launch myself off the edge of the jagged rocks near our cabanas.

I guess I felt like I could just….handle the might of the ocean surf…???? rather than walk further down to a dock with stairs into the ocean like a rational person.

Newsflash, girlie: you are not Moana, you are a real human lady (nearing 40), and the ocean is not your friend.

Needless to say, the ocean kicked my ass, and I deserved it. I survived with some bruises, a few bloody scrapes, and a lotta shame.

Despite my narrow escape from drowning, this cruise was the best one yet. Here are the rest of my vacay lewks!

Dress snagged on sale from Anthropologie

Family matching swimsuit from RuffleButts, pants from Old Navy

Vince orders family matching suits every year for our cruises

Shell necklace souvenir purchased at the Cozumel beach club gift shop

Mom is wearing a t-shirt, shorts, and sneakers found at Goodwill West Palm Beach

Swimsuit purchased at a resort gift shop in Temecula, shorts thrifted

Love this dress! Sourced from Goodwill West Palm Beach

I purchased this dress at a nonprofit fundraising event – it’s from a boutique in West Palm Beach

Daddy Daughter matching! These are from Kenny Flowers.

We take our annual family photos on our spring break cruise too!

Cruise ‘Fit Checks

I’m coming to you live this week from our annual spring break cruise.

I’ve never envisioned myself as a big cruise person, but at this point I’ve taken 11 voyages. This is due to being married to a cruise person.

My main issue with cruises is the number of people on them. I consider myself an extrovert and love making new friends but there are just too many people on cruises.

During spring break cruises in particular I often feel like I’m on a massive floating mall. Navigating through the sunburnt masses to snag a spot at the buffet does not make for a relaxing time.

I also worry about germs (again — lots of people on here, using the same tongs), and a cruise has taken me down more than once.

But, my husband loves them and I do see the travel benefits. Living in South Florida, cruising is an affordable way to bring the whole family on a week-long, all-inclusive adventure.

The fluffy haired teens run around with other fluffy haired teens all night long and then sleep on the beach the next day.

I enjoy not having to think about what we’ll eat or where we’ll go each day. And, it’s a trip that is perfectly suited for each age group in our family — from grandmas to teens to the toddler. There truly is something for everyone on this ship.

We’ve all agreed our fave part of cruising is the family dinners.

I look forward to the port days when we can explore gorgeous islands, and of course there’s the family bonding. And the spectacular people watching — iykyk.

Y’all know if I’m gonna be on a cruise, I’m gonna dress the part. In the spirit of spring break cruisin’, here are some ‘fit checks so far:

Night One Dinner – top and pants from Goodwill

Baby girl’s cute little skort from Goodwill

Night Two, Elaine and I wore matching Lilly Pulitzer dresses (professional photo captures of us together — will share later!)

Mom’s Night Two dress and purse from Goodwill

Repurposed my Night One pants for Day Three Pool Day, J.Crew swimsuit is secondhand

On Day Four, we visited Jamaica and I wore a Lilly Pulitzer swimsuit and a skort from Costco

For Night Four Dinner & a Show, I wore a Farm Rio set

For Night Four Dinner & a Show, mom wore a dress and sandals from Goodwill

In a big girl bed for the first time on this trip!

Last Week’s Thrifted ‘Fits

Sweater from Goodwill Denver, Dress from Goodwill West Palm Beach, Bag from Stone Button Studio

Top from The Nearly New Thrift Shop West Palm Beach

A Beary Unexpected V-Day Moment

Valentine’s Day is for lovers plus everyone else in my house.

Vince and I celebrated the holiday with a little staycation in Ft. Lauderdale but came home on Saturday night to take our baby girl out for a date (the boys were away celebrating their mom’s birthday).

We took her to the mall to pick out a new Build-A-Bear stuffie (her first Build-A-Bear is a red monkey — when you squeeze its hand, Vince’s voice says, “Happy first Valentine’s Day Elaine, I love you!”).

Baby E chose a beautiful, sparkly fairy bear and dressed her in a Rapunzel dress and tiara.

While filling out the bear’s birth certificate, we asked Elaine what to name it and she quickly yelled, “SALIVA!”

…….

“What was that, sweetie?”

Elaine smiled up at us and cupped her hand to her lips.

“SAAAALIVAAAA,” she stage whispered.

Saliva it is and shall ever be.

We all know how hard updating government documents can be — if this bear knows what’s best, she should accept her fate and introduce herself as “Sally” to those who don’t know her.

Anyway, as I was saying… Valentine’s Day is for everyone in my house, including the grandmas.

So I pulled together a little V-Day lunch for the family and naturally filled the table with thrifted finds, which I’m happy to tell you all about:

The weather was perfect, so we sat on our back patio for a lunch made of Buccan sandwiches, chips, and salads — all mouthwatering and highly recommended.

Earlier in the week, Elaine and I decorated construction paper hearts, which we stuck into a fun floral photo holder thingy I thrifted from Goodwill, and that served as our centerpiece.

Goodwill items included:
-The adorable heart taper candles
-Disposable napkins
-White dinner plates
-Floral placemats
-Amber goblets

I went to a luncheon last week and they were giving the centerpieces away at the end, so I salvaged and deconstructed one for the table.

The painted leaves are so cool, right? I stuck the roses and greenery in a crystal vase that was thrifted and gifted from my mother-in-law. She also gifted the pink serving platter I used for the sandwiches and the white tablecloth.

The heart straws and gift bags are from the dollar store! I love shopping there for holiday themed items.

It was a busy, sweet weekend!

Last week’s thrifted ‘fits:

Anthropologie bag from Goodwill West Palm Beach, Earrings from Stone Button Studio

Top and MANGO tote bag from Goodwill West Palm Beach

Date night purse from Goodwill West Palm Beach

Kaftan/Swim Cover from Goodwill West Palm Beach

Baby’s sweet dress from Goodwill West Palm Beach

Things I left at Goodwill:

Picture a palm leaf sticking out of this — so coastal chic!

This shell lamp base had a different shade on top, but I found this other hand painted one and thought they looked cool together. I’m currently lamp rich, though, so had to leave this behind!

Goodwill’s Got My Back

I’ve mentioned before that my daughter’s room is my favorite space in my house.

The entire room is collected whimsy.

The shelves and walls are full of thrifted, gifted, or passed down items. A major moment is the gallery wall above her dresser.

The largest piece here is a painting we bought on our baby moon in Jamaica. The artist added Elaine’s name in the corner, which is such a sweet touch.

I also have a framed photo of Elaine’s name written in script across beach sand.

This photo was created by my favorite shopkeeper, Inge, of Stone Button Studio. She texted it to me when she was unable to attend our baby shower.

Recently, the frame fell off the wall and cracked.

Just a few weeks later, I found the perfect replacement frame at Goodwill.

Now, I think it looks even better!

Goodwill’s always got this girlie’s back. 😉

>> Check out this post for an in-depth look at baby girl’s room decor.

Last week’s thrifted ‘fits:

I was able to put my Goodwill sweater finds to good use over the weekend we spent in Chicago.

Red cardigan and boots from Goodwill West Palm Beach

Beaded belt and boots from Goodwill West Palm Beach

Closer look at the beaded belt detail; the dress ins’t thrifted, it’s Anthropologie!

Baby’s pants are thrifted from Goodwill West Palm Beach and her top is thrifted and gifted from a friend

H&M Sweater, GAP jeans, and boots from Goodwill West Palm Beach

Seeing snow for the first time! Baby’s coat is consigned from Kid to Kid in Palm Beach Gardens.

Dominica Souvenir Haul

I’m still crashing back to reality after spending the past week in literal paradise.

We immediately started back to work, so my house is a disaster. Bags are unzipped and halfway unpacked, stuff spilling over the sides.

The laundry is a mile high, I have 31 unread text messages and a few voicemails, and I don’t have the courage to peek at my gmail inbox until I’ve cleaned up my work mail.

During weeks like this, I ask myself: how long is too long for a vacation?

I think the sweet spot is 5 nights. We left for 8 (Vince’s preference) and the effort to catch up has brought the tension back to my (now perfectly tanned) previously relaxed shoulders!

I have, however, found pleasure in unpacking our souvenir haul, which I’m happy to share with you now.

I was so tempted by the hand woven baskets for sale throughout the island, but didn’t have much room in my suitcase to bring one back.

Luckily, the resort greeted us with a little welcome basket full of goodies I can add to my basket collection.

My favorite items in the welcome gift where the patchouli oil and soap. I used the entire bottle of oil during our stay — not only does it smell great, it’s also a mosquito repellent!

The resort didn’t have more, but I plan to scour the internet in search of more of this elixir.

Of course, I searched for shells on every beach we visited. I didn’t have much luck, but did find a piece of brain coral and an old conch.

I purchased a necklace from a vendor stand at Champagne Reef during our second day trip.

On our first day trip, we visited a chocolate factory, where we learned about the entire process of chocolate being made, from fruit to bean to tasty, hand-packaged treats!

We bought a bag-full of different flavored chocolates to share with family and a book about the factory owner’s great grandmother who shed her life in London society to live a simpler life on Dominica.

I grabbed a belt with shells on the buckle from the resort gift shop, along with two children’s books for Elaine on island lore.

Naturally, we all got t-shirts and Elaine selected several hand-beaded items from the duty free shop at the airport on our way home. My fave is the parrot she’ll put on her backpack (she already has a little pegasus from last year’s visit).

The guide we hired for our day trips, Dave, was so wonderful. When we met his family, we learned that his brother is a chef and makes amazing cakes but is currently out of work and recuperating from a car accident at home.

When Dave picked us up for our ride to the airport, he brought two cakes his brother made for us, plus some coconut fudge (he heard us gushing over it after we bought some at a stand during one of our day trips).

Pretty sweet bonus souvenirs. 🙂

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Last week’s thrifted ‘fits:

>> Thrifted items I’ve tailored for the perfect fit in this instagram reel! <<

Oversized button up and sunnies from Goodwill West Palm Beach

Striped pima cotton button up from Goodwill West Palm Beach

Scarf, Lucky Brand tank top, and Madwell jeans from Goodwill West Palm Beach

Holding Off the January Scaries in Dominica

This week, I’m coming to you live from the island of Dominica.

In 2024, Vince and I discovered that our favorite way to vacation is visiting islands in the Caribbean.

It started because Hawaii is on my bucket list, but a plan we had to visit fell through, so Vince started researching islands closer to us that gave similar vibes.

We wanted hikes, waterfalls, beaches, and tropical rainforests.

After diving down several reddit threads, the French Antilles quickly surfaced as the ideal location — these tropical islands are only a 3 hour flight from Miami and offer what we wanted and more.

So far, we’ve explored Guadeloupe twice and are now on our second visit to Dominica.

(We’re taking advantage of having a pre-school aged child. Once kindergarten starts up for Elaine, we’ll only take long trips on school holiday breaks.)

Dominica, in my opinion, has the most stunning beaches I’ve ever seen.

It’s technically not part of the French Antilles, but it’s sandwiched between the French islands Guadeloupe and Martinique.

I know, I live in Florida, and we have nice beaches, but these beaches are secluded, provide excellent shell hunting opportunity, and the water is crystal clear for snorkeling, an activity I only recently got brave enough to try.

There’s also something about traveling to a beach — on vacation I can’t be distracted by laundry and my never ending list of errands like at home. So, beach times just feel different here for that reason too.

There is no thrifting on the islands, of course. My collecting hobby translates into shell and souvenir hunting.

I’m not big into t-shirts and refrigerator magnets. I’m drawn to woven baskets (obvi) made of local materials, handmade accessories and caftans, and any children’s books written by islanders we might run across.

I love spontaneously stopping into a shop during a drive or discovering an outdoor market with locally made goods.

Should I share a souvenir haul at the end of this trip?

Here’s one of my highlights from this trip so far:

We hired a guide for the first time to take us on a jam packed island day:

-A visit to the Red Rocks
-A tour of a chocolate factory
-Lunch in Calibishie (we stayed in this tiny beach town on our last visit)
-A quick beach dip
-A waterfall hike

On the drive back to the resort, our guide mentioned we’d be driving by his mom’s house and asked if we’d like to stop by for some “coconut jelly” (coconut water).

We got to meet his mom, step-dad, and brother, and he grabbed coconuts from the backyard tree for the freshest most delicious water!

Our guide told us the only Caribbean island that holds a candle to Dominica’s beauty is St. Lucia, so it’s on our list.

For now, we’re holding off the January scaries just a tad longer and soaking up island life. No thrifted outfits this week, friends, just swimsuits, robes, and hiking shorts. 😉