Insta Tuesday - Catch-up! (warning: this is a pretty long post,so be prepared!)

I love doing these linkups, but I am terrible at getting them done on time! It doesn't help that we just got back from a 9-day vacation on Sunday and I have been feeling a little bit overwhelmed since we got home. We had this vacation planned for a while and then I got offered my new job so it was a little crazy getting in after a 10-hour drive on Sunday then having to get up and start a new job on Monday. Anyway, I know that I have been slacking when it comes to updating about my vacation so I'm going to do it via Insta Tuesday since I took quite a few pics. Hope yall are ready, there are a lot!!

We started our trip at about 4pm on Friday afternoon.

About 4 hours later, we made it to the Sunshine State! About 3 more hours and we made it to my mom and dad's in Port St. Lucie. It only took us just over 7 hours to get there. Take that Google Maps.

**Side note: About 45 minutes into our trip, S reaches for his wallet just to find that it wasn't in his back pocket. He immediately turns around saying that he thinks he left it at home in the pocket of his work pants. NOT the best way to start our trip! The first couple hours out of town are the worst, too. So, we drive allllll the way back home just to find out it had actually fallen out of his pocket and was stuck in the cushion of driver's seat. Two hours wasted right off the bat. Good thing we were able to make up some time doing 80-85 since the speed limit is 70 :)

I was really excited to see my mom and dad and we had a great time with them. It was kind of nice to be able to drive to see them instead of having to fly home. It was the first time that we saw their FL place and it was super cute.

We had several dinners on the lanai, you cannot beat having a screened in patio! We cooked out a bunch and on the last night, S and I cooked din for my parents. Everyone but me had surf 'n turf (filet mignon and scallops); I just had scallops because I don't eat red meat, but it was still delicious.

S and my dad took a fishing charter morning so mom and I went on a shopping trip! I got a few more really cute pieces to wear to my new job.

I found a copycat recipe online for Olive Garden's berry sangria. It was awesome :)

One night, we ate at this cute little cajun place that my aunt recommended. I had the bbq shrimp and it was pretty tasty! I think that was the first time I ever really had authentic cajun food. S and I also checked out this cute little place in Jensen Beach called Dolphin Bar & Shrimp House. We enjoyed some happy hour snacks and a couple drinks overlooking the Indian River.

In addition to eating yummy food, we played tennis, swam in the pool, and went to the beach.

After spending a week in Port St. Lucie on the East Coast, we drove three hours south then west across the Everglades aka Alligator Alley to Naples.

We opted to stay at the Hilton instead of with S's cousin, which was fine with me. It was totally worth it. Even though we weren't right on the beach, we still had a really pretty view from our room.

Naples was gorgeous!

This girl was driving me crazy, who does this??! Everyone knows you're not supposed to feed the seagulls! She deserved whatever she had coming to her, and by that I mean poop on the head.

On Saturday, our second to last day, S and his cousin went to play golf at his cousin's country 

club. I went and did some shopping at one of the most beautiful outdoor shopping centers I've ever seen then went to the club to hang at the pool. Waterside Shops:

This little guy wanted to hitch a ride home from shopping with me :)

Country Club:

Sunning myself at our hotel pool.

Because we decided to go to Naples at the end of the week, it added a few hours onto our drive home. We also stopped in Orlando on the way to have lunch with my cousin at Bahama Breeze. All in all, we had a great vacation and I came back feeling refreshed and ready to start my new job. Today was my third day and so far so good! You probably saw the pics that I posted the other day about having my own office...it is awesome. Hope I didn't miss out on too much and you all had a great week!

Wednesday Walkabout :)

This week is dragging! 2 1/2 more days until vacay and I can't wait to get out of this office. Why does it seem like the people you work with drive you a little extra crazy the last few days you work somewhere??! Makes me want to really give them a piece of my mind since I don't plan on seeing them ever again haha.

 

 

Ok, nice Kelly is back now...I have been being good for sooo long, trying not to shop too much and pay down my credit cards. I did however, end up giving in last night because I REALLY needed some new fall stuff for my new job. I don't think I'll be able to get away with wearing a lot of what I already have because it's probably a little too casual. Ann Taylor Loft was having a 40% off sale on full-priced skirts and tops and additional 40% off sale/clearance items so I headed there last night after S's softball game. Check out what I got!

I love, love, LOVE ankle length pants. I think they are super cute and perfect for the fall in South Carolina.

Classic black slacks.

Lots of cute skirts!

I am not usually one to venture out into vibrant color land in the fall/winter, but I just loved the cut of these pants and they are Kentucky blue!

 

My last purchase isn't for work, but to go along with the Kentucky blue theme, I thought this would be a really cute top for the upcoming college basketball season :)

 



I still need lots of tops to mix and match so I'm hoping that my mom will want to do a little shopping while we're on vacation ;)

 

Happy Wednesday Walkabout! Leave a comment if you're a new follower or stopping by!

Linkup! @

What is a Walkabout? It's a blog link-up party, every week here and

with our co-hosts! Simply put your blog address or a specific post in

the linky, visit some other people, and make some friends. Easy as

that! I can't wait to talk to everyone!

PS: You only have to link up with ONE of the co-hosts!

The Rules

1. Please follow at least ONE hostess, and let us know you're a new follower and how you follow!

Chantal -

Scattered Seashells

Jane - Taingamala

Sarah - G.I. Joe's Wife

Jamie - Handling With Grace

Getting excited for next week!

This month has been so busy and I'm kind of looking to some downtime when S and I can hit the beach or do whatever we want, whenever we want. His grandparents are arriving tomorrow and will be staying at his place until Tuesday morning so it looks like that's not going to be happening until at least the first or second weekend of June. Luckily, he is handing over his bedroom to them and will be staying two miles down the road at my place with me on those nights. At least we'll get a little quiet time in.

We are both getting very excited for our trip to CT next week. I am especially excited for him to get to meet my dad and brother and to take him to NYC since he has never been before (he's actually never been north of Virginia! On the East Coast anyway..) We are also planning a night out at Foxwoods Resort & Casino and I reserved us this room at the Great Cedar Hotel:

Fancy!

He's been dying to go to the casino, so I am taking him! I am also going to take him to Mystic Seaport and we are going to check out the Groton Sub Base and possibly tour the USS Nautilus. On top of all that fun, we will get to have din with my cousin, Amanda, and her hubby, Joe; have some drinks with friends, and cookout with extended family on Sunday. Its going to be another whirlwind of a weekend, but hey, we can't all get 30+ days of leave every year ;)

The weekend after we get back from CT is my friend Gingham and Tim's wedding. I'm really looking forward to it and this is the ABS Allen Schwartz dress that I bought for the occasion -

I'm going to wear the same great Badgley Mischka shoes that I wore for the sub ball (they match perfectly!) and remember how I said that I am awesome at finding deals? Well....This dress was originally $335, marked down to $99 on 6pm.com. I had been eyeing it for a while and was about to buy it one day when I decided to wait just another day or so. The very next day, I went online and to my surprise, it had been marked down AGAIN to $66. They have free shipping and there was no sales tax so I got a $335 dress for $66, score! It's a gorgeous, light, flowy dress in person and very well made. I need to get it hemmed, but I'm not too worried about paying for that considering how much I originally spent, couldn't have found a better deal.

I had also been shopping for a set of pearls since they are of course, all the rage in the South and what could be classier than a pretty set of pearls. I had found this set a little while back on Macys.com, but it was on backorder and I wasn't able to get it in time for the Sub Ball so I ended up borrowing some from a friend. When I knew I had time, I decided to go for it and purchase them on sale for $39 (regular price - $120) and I got a 25% off 'friends & family' discount code, which made them only $29.25. They are beautiful and I'm so excited to finally own my very own. I'm not the biggest fan of the earring, however, the bracelet and necklace match the set of Honora pearl earrings that S bought me for my birthday :D

Soo that is my life for the next couple weeks! Does anyone else have anything fun planned in the near future?

Side note: I have been thinking about starting to do some restaurant reviews and reviews of other attractions in the Charleston Area. We have so many amazing places to eat and so many fun things to do and I would love to share!