Vacation {Nags Head, NC}

Well friends, I'm back! Last week was honestly a whirlwind and this past weekend was even more so. I haven't been this tired in a long time, but I somehow peeled myself out from under the covers this morning and to work on time. This is about the time I wish coffee came in IV form! ;)

I decided to (mostly) unplug while we were on vacation to really unwind and it was seriously refreshing. Vacation blog posts are always difficult to write because I can't really break it down by day; every single day was a good mix of the beach, pool, sight seeing, swimming, laying out and eating LOTS of food! So I'll just recap the highlights for ya!

We arrived Saturday a bit before dinner and luckily everyone was more than okay with ordering pizza, so we did just that! But not before taking a quick dip in the ocean! I hadn't seen the beach in YEARS so I was more than ready!

Our first day was a solid day. Lots of sunshine, pool time, and good food. That night Caleb and I tried out a gourmet seafood buffet and OH MY WORD. The crab legs. So good!

 Most nights ended with a walk on the beach, good conversation in the hot tub, or night fishing off the shore.

Tuesday was pretty gloomy so we used that day to explore a little. Caleb and I parted ways for a little day-date and headed to a fun OBX restaurant! After that, I hiked down to the beach to watch the guys boogy board and totally get eaten by waves. It was awesome.

The rest of our evening was filled with dinner at home, more hot tub time, and some ladder ball!

Wednesday was another beautiful day at the beach! I finished "Love Does" on our trip and I HIGHLY recommend it! We got so fortunate that the beach was NEVER busy or crowded. We truly had it to ourselves most days!

One of my favorite nights of the trip is when a few of us went to Sooey's BBQ in Kill Devil Hills. Guys, BEST RIBS OF MY LIFE. The entire experience was so fun! I mean, we even took a picture with the whole staff!

We went for a quick trip to the sand dunes and they did not disappoint. So gorgeous!

Other highlights worth mentioning: spending so much time w/ my nephew and best friends...that we had the coolest pool floats in the city... DUCK DONUTS...finding a giant yellow beach "chair"...and getting a good base tan!

Also waking up for sunrise at Jennette's Pier!

One of our last evenings there we made it a point to take some family pictures! I'm so glad we did because I think this might be my new favorite picture of Caleb and I! Thanks for the capture, Erin!

We had a great vacation with Caleb's family! Thankful for the time we got to spend together!

Trying to decide on travel plans.

Caleb and I have been saying since this past summer that we need to start looking at vacation plans for 2015...that has yet to happen. We always joke we'll just hit up another all inclusive, out of the country resort...however, there's something inside of me yelling BE CRAZY. As busy as Caleb and I are most of the time, you'd think I'd crave a relaxing beach vacation...and while I would love that, I also kind of want some adventure.

If it were up to me we'd probably either do a week at Disney in Florida (and visit some beaches while we were there) or a road trip along the East Coast and see a TON of states in about 7-10 days. The other day, a co-worker said to me "You really want to go to Disney for vacation? But you don't have kids"....uh, really?!? Sorry I'm a grown adult who loves all things Monsters Inc, Toy Story and Frozen!! Actually, no, I'm not sorry ;)

So if that happens, you know I'll be asking for tips/advice from all of you, especially from my SIL who went back-to-back years...she's a pro! Caleb and I have only taken one long vacation together, and that was our honeymoon in Mexico - so I'd like to see a little more of the U.S. together. I would love to rent a car and just hit the road with a very loose agenda. Have a couple hotels booked, but just see where the road takes us, literally! Traveling is so much fun, and yes, while we ARE aggressively paying off our debt (finally), we both agree that vacations are a necessity. In the big picture, we'd only get out of debt a month or two earlier and we're paying for them all in cash - so to us? It's 100% worth it.

Where are some fun vacation spots you've been too on the East Coast? I need some fun ideas to present to Caleb! We're open to West Cost stuff, too! 

Last days in Hilton Head!

Happy "finally, its the end of the week" day ;) I'm here to finish my 2nd, and final vacation recap post.

Thursday, we took a late lunch due to some schedule differences that morning. We went to the AMAZING Salty Dog Cafe. Our best friends got us a gift card to use there for our 1st anniversary, so we were pretty excited. We scored 2 shirts and I got myself a peach colored hat. I'm obsessed.

I actually really think Caleb should've bought that hat! ;)

Wishing I had purchased every one of these now.

Then it was time to walk over and grab a late lunch..finally!

Once we got home, I went for a quick run! It had been WEEKS since I'd hit the pavement, and it was awesome. It wasn't that fantastic of a run, but it sure felt fantastic to run under the beautiful "spanish moss" on those trees! ALSO, can we talk about my dream home?! Yeah...I'm still drooling. I had to stop and snap a shot on my run.

That night, Caleb told me his hear had really been bothering him. Poor thing, he seems to get some kind of horrible thing each vacation (last vacay he got horrible food poisoning that put him out for two days) and this time? Ear infection. Luckily we got him to see a doctor immediately and she got him a prescription written within minutes. He's finally beginning to feel better!

Once we got home we had yummy homemade creamy seafood lasagna. Do yourself a favor and make it right now! Friday was spent literally all day at the outlet malls buying pretty things for great prices, stuffing our faces with Chickfila (duh), and a late night trip to Kroger with my favorite Grandma.

Saturday morning it was time to leave, and we booked our hotel on the way home right in the heart of Gatlinburg, so we got to do some exploring!

To be honest, I love Ben & Jerry's - even though its overpriced, so we splurged at the store. Everyone else got milkshakes (and didn't exactly love them). Me? I stuck w/ regular vanilla with cotton candy crumbles, and yep...I could eat that every day and be happy as a peach.

We truly had such a great trip. It was awesome not having to set an alarm, to eat whatever I want, and to totally unplug for 7 days. I didn't even take as many pictures as normal...I guess unplugging can be good for the soul. Who knew?! ;)

Thanks for reading, friends. Have a fun weekend!!

Left my heart in the Carolina's!

It's no secret that I'd up and move my entire life to Hilton Head the second I had the chance. Not only did most of my vacations growing up consist of that place, but its also the spot Caleb chose to propose to me...and some of my happiest memories began on that little beach. So to say I was looking forward to this vacation was an understatement. The whole week was fun, and so relaxing. Just spending time with some of my favorite people was all I needed to get away from real life for a bit!

Sunday was amazing... I even got to meet an amazing long-time blog friend (Hiiiii Anna! More on that to come later!!). Later that day we left for dinner at my favorite place ever. Not only am I crazy about their crab legs, but they have the best hush puppies on the planet! If you've never had Crazy Crab...run, don't walk, there!!

Monday & Tuesday we woke up, headed to the beach, and flopped like beach bums pretty much the whole day. Tuesday for lunch though, we headed to our FAVORITE wing joint; Wild Wing Cafe...but not before a little family photo shoot action.

My amazing grandparents.

Aunt, Uncle, and cousins!

Might be my new favorite picture of us!

We HAD to stop by our favorite fudge shop on the island... I'd do just about anything to get my hands on their peanut butter fudge. & don't worry guys, the "TON of fudge" was on sale for only $12,000 instead of the usual $15,000 that week.

That evening, I tried Mellow Mushroom for the first time! We got all kinds of specially pizzas, and really liked them all.

Wednesday was also spent at the pool and ocean...all dayyyy! My aunt woke up early and made everyone french toast...are you jealous, Becky!?? ;)

My brother. He's almost 7 years younger than me, crazy huh!?

Thankfully none of us burned all week! (typically, its one of the 3 of us!)

After soaking it up on the beach, we headed back for lunch and I stayed at the pool outside all by myself for a solid hour. It was awesome. Funny back story, LAST 4th of July (yes, 2013) I bought a book...and it took me an entire year to finish. I'm happy to say I finally finished it that day. It was AMAZING. Also this dragon floatie was creeping on me all week... ;)

Then my family came out to join me!

That evening, Caleb and I had our very own date night out on the town...everyone went out to dinner together, and while we waited for them to return so we could take a car, I started my NEW book (its my first Jodi Picoult book...yes, I said first. I'm obsessed!). Once they got back, we dolled up and hit the town! {side note, Caleb definitely left his razor at home that week! Whoops!}

Since this post is already extremely long, I'm going to cut it off here, and talk about our awesome last few days tomorrow. The gist of this post though? Hilton Head completes me... its a serious struggle not to pack our bags and hit the road every month to get there. Now what are you waiting for, book your next getaway!! ;)