Seize the weekend.

Last Wednesday afternoon, my vacation was a day away, and I was stuck in the office dreaming about sights like the picture above. The temperature inside the office made things worse, since I was bundled up like it was the middle of January. Case and point below:

Why do office buildings always have to be so chilly? 60 degrees Fahrenheit is not a comfortable working temperature. Thankfully, Thursday afternoon I was saying goodbye to Atlanta, Georgia and hello to Amelia Island. Myself and a few other lovely ladies packed our bags and got outta town for a few days. This is a yearly trip usually reserved for my birthday (which is today - chea!), but we decided to take advantage of the holiday and seize the weekend.

On the morning of the 4th, I woke up around 8am and decided to go on a morning walk along the shore. Meredith's family beach house is about a 10 minute walk from the nearest beach, so took it as an opportunity to get a little exercise... to help work off all the food I knew I was going to be eating the next few days. The walk was almost just as gorgeous as the beach. Almost.

Environment: improved.

A couple of sting ray shells and dead jellyfish had washed ashore, which was eerie, sad and cool all at the same time. I had never seen real ones so up-close before. After the walk, we threw on our swimwear, packed some snacks, grabbed our beach towels and prepared to lay under the sun all afternoon. By the time we returned, around noon, the beach was packed with cars, trucks, families grilling out and kids at play. So we just picked a spot to settle and get comfortable.

Britney made me a special mason jar filled with "hippie punch," decorated for my birthday. It looks so cute I hardly wanted to drink it, and it was some of the strongest punch I've ever tasted. I'm a lightweight, so I stuck with my wine all weekend and sipped on the punch here and there.

Around 4pm, we headed back to the house to grill up some meats and stuff our faces with some side dishes. Meredith barbecued chicken, steak, hot dogs and sausages. 

And Coldstone Cookies n' Cream Ice Cream Cake for dessert.

By the time we got done with our second and third helpings, the sun was starting to set. We watched a movie to pass the time, and once it was nice and dark, we headed back to the beach for fireworks. There were lots of other people who had the same idea, so we lit some of our own and watched everyone else light theirs.

The rest of the weekend was more laid-back and relaxed. We spent more time at the beach, ate more food, watched more movies, and drank more wine.



I'm so grateful my sister, Meredith, made my celebration so special. Now I have to start brainstorming how to top this when her birthday rolls around in January.

'Til next time, Amelia Island!

♥