Turks and Caicos Part 2

So here we are, the first full day in Turks and Caicos. We slept in, ate breakfast in our room, and then headed out! I am the early riser so naturally I was up for two hours before the hubby and I started jumping on the bed waking Jonathan up. Naturally, he asked why I didn't go without him, but I wanted to experience every inch and every moment of this trip with him (cheesy, yes, but I couldn't help it!)

 The days were spent with sleeping, swimming, napping, eating, snoozing, and reading... did I mention we slept a lot!?!? I think our lives finally caught up with us and when we were not enjoying the gorgeous water one or both of us were passed out under the umbrella. I am not exaggerating when I say we did this almost the entire time. We didn't know how exhausted we were until we left the country and finally relaxed.

 So our first major outing was to see the local hot spot was to the Conch Shack. It was exactly that! They had live music on Thursday nights so we ate conch and listened to the band. I could not resist getting a conch shell as a souvenir. (Now what to do with it now, I have no idea but I am open to decor suggestions.)

 The guys above were great sports. They kept laughing because Jonathan was trying to coach them on how to take awesome pictures with us. I can't tell if the guy on the right was laughing or was ready for us to leave... I got them to take a ton of photos so he was more than ready for me to leave!

On the trip I took something along the lines of 200 pictures and these photos do not do the vacation justice. I was so happy Jonathan made this happen for us. When I say I married my best friend I mean it. He's a wonderful travel companion and I am so lucky to have found someone like him. I will cherish memories like this forever. Thank you hubby dearest!

All in all I would recommend this trip again and again. To be perfectly honest I want to go back again next summer! Please send me a comment if you would like more information or click here to visit the resort we stayed at. It was called the Somerset on Grace Bay and the package we received included airfare for a great price (we flew from Atlanta to Miami, but for a little more Atlanta flies direct). One neighboring resort was Villa Renaissance and the vaulted ceiling and pictures above were taken when we ate dinner there. Maybe Jonathan and I will go there next! (wink wink)

Our cab driver told us Will and Jada Pinkett Smith and Reggie Bush stayed at the Somerset.... not sure if that is true but it made me feel like we were pimpin' at the time! haha, probably not the same room though.

Turks and Caicos Part 1

 You saw that right! Jonathan and I finally decided to take that trip we have been talking about. In the middle of August we went to Turks and Caicos for five days. I am sure a lot of places are as beautiful as this one in the Carribean, but Grace Bay in Turks and Caicos is by far the most stunning I have ever been to.

 We arrived on Wednesday afternoon and were practically giddy when we pulled up to our resort. Jonathan did a lot of research online and saw this one had great reviews. This was a little nerve wrecking for me since I like to go by word of mouth or know of someone that has stayed somewhere before. Luckily, the reviews were on the money!

It was not all inclusive (we decided we are not the all-in type), so we went to the grocery store and bought snacks, drinks, and beachy food for our stay. It worked out really well since it is really safe there and you can walk to other resorts and eat at the beach bars for lunch. Plus it gave us an opportunity to check out other delicious restaurants for dinner. One of our favorite things to do when we travel is check out the local "hot spots". (more on that next post)

 The picture below is our resort from the beach... it was fabulous and all the research the hubby did was perfect! We got an amazing deal because we went in the "off season". It worked well for us because school was back in and we were able to get affordable trip insurance. (Hurricane season started before we left, but that's the risk you take).

 The water was absolutely stunning. It was so clear that you could walk out to your chest and still see your feet below. Kicking up the sand particles was mesmerizing for me. You could see it shimmer and glisten in the water before settling back down... ahhhh I could have watched it for hours.

I can say I enjoyed this trip more than our honeymoon three years ago. For starters, I did not have to worry about the laundry list of things to do when I returned. We are settled in our home and our careers. We knew Dax was safe with my parents. We had internet access, but did not have cell service, which made us actually relax. No distractions, no obligations, and being in such a gorgeous place forced us to let go and unwind.

 Of course after a few glasses of the local beer (Turks Head Lager) we managed to do a little tresspassing on the private dock so I could get a picture with this sign. I don't know why we thought it was so funny. Maybe because we finally arrived or maybe because of chilled lager, or maybe it was because we finally jumped the gun and took our adventure!

Post 2 coming soon!

A Quickie

Here's a quick project that took little to no time. Remember the group of old lamps I was saving in the basement?

 I took the maroon one with the "genie in a bottle" shape and gave her a little face lift. First, I wiped her free of all dirt and dust. Then I taped the cord and other parts that I didn't want painted. I took a spray paint can of Kilz (primer) and began to prime. The key when using spray paint is layering. This way you don't get those dreadful drip marks.

After the base is dry it's time to apply your color. I found this amazing shiny brown from Rustoleum. It added some metallic without being over the top in the den. Then I pulled out my $14.99 linen shade and voila... lamp for less than $20!

PS I don't think I ever mentioned that I am lucky to have a working bench in our garage and a husband who lets me leave unfinished projects around.

Something new, something not blue

Remember this post? It was right after we bought our home and decided we weren't "yellow people." Actually, I like yellow. It was a lot when you consider how light and yellow our kitchen cabinets are, which makes for one YELLOW kitchen. So the hubs and I took many trips to the home improvement store to try and figure out what colors we should paint the kitchen.

We love green. I mean love love love green. The problem is it's everywhere in our home. So when Team Nelson decided to go for it and paint the kitchen an icy blue we didn't realize what would happen. What was originally cool and neutral ended up Smirf blue on our walls. I couldn't get anything to work. Fabric was totally out of the question because inothing worked in my Smirf world. After making excuses about the paint needing something else, I stopped kidding myself and admitted the paint was not working. It didn't work in the space for us or go with anything else in our home.

So I found a fabric I loved and decided to start over. Her name is Lulu Corn Yellow Kelp by Premier Prints and it caught my eye the moment I saw it. Apparently it caught other shopper's too because fabric.com sold out within two days of my discovery. Luckily for me Alabama has a great store on the coast that also has a website. My mother-in-law went by to check out my selection and graciously picked it up and offered to begin sewing for me!

So we have fabric and finally settled on Notre Dame grey from Valspar. It had the same affect we tried with the blue, but it was lighter, and definitely the new neutral. I cannot tell you how much I love it.

So cheers to the new kitchen! Thanks for making my mornings happy, my evenings calm, and being one more thing checked off my "mental list" for the house. (Below is a picture of the photo wall I did). I am really proud of this and it was a lot easier than I thought it would be!

Until next time,

guest room mirror

Hey hey! I hope you are going well and you are enjoying the summer. I have been busy the past two weeks with some home projects and I have been eager to share this one with you. Our guest bedroom needed to get uncluttered and have a space where our visitors could get ready. I knew I wanted a mirror with a unique design and finally found a piece I love.

I found this mirror for $50 I loved the shape and the price when I learned it was marked down to $23 since there was a small scratch on the frame. I have learned that a lot of retailers will take futher discounts on floor models or scratched items to try and move them out of the store. I didn't mind because I knew I would be painting it a high gloss white for the guest bedroom. So I took my time taping off the mirrior and protecting the glass before priming.

After it has been primed I put a couple of coats of spray paint on it. The key when applying spray paint is to do it in layers when the piece is dry so that you do not get any of the drip marks. Even coats can help you get the shiny clean look you are looking for.

I am really pleased with the end results. I decided to go with black and white pieces and minimized the amount of clutter I had on the dresser. The room has random pops of blue and there are even some blue books under the horse figurine.

I know this is our guest room, but it happens to be one of my most favorite rooms in the house. The pops of white and light linens just make this room look so peaceful. I hope it makes our guests feel welcome and want to curl up on this comfy bed with a book and relax.