Good-Bye Seaside...

At the very tip-top of our cozy beach condo, was a rooftop nook that had a view to die for! It was a bit tricky to get to with a hot beverage, as you basically had to climb through a tiny trap door of sorts. But as we fell asleep the night before, we made a pact, that no matter what, we were starting our morning up on the roof! I hit my head, spilt some hot tea, but we made it and even brought our blankets! 

We had a late afternoon flight, so that gave us enough time for a morning bike ride! From the very first year that I stepped foot in this quaint little town, I have wanted to attend church in the beautiful white chapel! Well, we decided to ride by to see if service had started and as we got close, we could hear singing. It was magical really, and neither of us could resist the little wooden pews, filled with people in flip flops, so we found a bench and I finally got my wish! It was the most perfect way to end our trip and there is no way I'm not making this a new tradition!

After church, we had brunch at Bud & Alley's,  complete with pimento cheese and a beautiful view.  We turned in our bikes and then had just enough time to pop into a few Watercolor boutiques on our way back to the airport. Saying farewell to a place we love so dearly is never easy, and this year felt just a little bit harder. We needed this trip and it was really the first time this fall I felt myself let go and smile. Let go and love, let go and let God. 

*We have been navigating a pretty hurtful and hard friendship situation- I try not to be annoyingly vague, but also.... well, privacy. At the same time, this does serve as my personal journal, so I stand within my belief that these words are mine to share.

Seaside Day 3...

Every Saturday, the Farmer's Market pops up in Seaside! This outing is a must for this gal! It is so quaint in all the fresh produce, fruit tarts, kids running amuck on the lawn kind of way! Weather was a beautiful sweater with shorts morning and we even snagged two chairs where we sipped mimosas and people watched until the beach finally called our name!

We spent all day down on the beach! We walked for a good bit, spotting jellyfish, getting our feet in the sand and then we read... and napped. The salty breeze, the sun warming my legs, the waves in the background, well, I'm borderline narcoleptic anyways, so there was zero chance I was staying awake in that scenario! We both walked away with slight sunburns, beach waved hair and sand in our shoes!

From the beach, we grabbed a drink from the taco joint and browsed the shops a bit before heading back to the room to freshen up for dinner. Brittney and I love the parmesan oysters from the Shrimp shack so we split gumbo and oysters while enjoying a nighttime water view! We ended up at Bud & Alleys again before calling it a night and ending with Netflix and cereal on the couch!

Seaside Day 2...

Our tiny Sweet Pea of a condo had a little balcony right off the kitchen. It, of course, had the most perfect water view that was just begging for a morning tea date! You know me, I almost couldn't sleep-in over the anticipation of this book-tea-view combo! This is how we started our day!

After tea and coffee, we threw on our Halloween ensemble, and got our first time ever Seaside massages at The Spa. I'm not going to pretend these massages were up to the Vegas massages standards we have come to be spoiled by, but it was relaxing and successfully gave my face sleep lines that I got to showoff over breakfast!

From here we hopped on our bikes and headed to Watercolor. Bike riding to brunch at Scratch is another tradition that I look forward to every single year. It was my typical avocado toast and a strawberry peach popsicle mimosa for the win! 

From here, we swapped our bikes out for the jeep and cruised over to Santa Rosa to hit up Lulu Lemon. We always do this and for some reason this store seems so much better than all the other LLL's! We then headed over to The Hub and Rosemary Beach where I got to visit my favorite little tea shop and The Hidden Lantern Bookshop! 

Spot a teeny tiny little art gallery? Snap a picture! Fall in love with a local artist mural... snap another picture! Find more chalkboards... keep snapping! In case you can't tell, I am like a one man show paparazzi! I just can't help myself!

After our day of shopping, we spiffed up for a new little dinner spot called Aja 30A. It was yummy lettuce wraps,  California rolls, crab wonton and tasty drinks! We ended the night at Bud & Alleys, right across from our condo, where we got to catch-up with our old bartender friend, Danny!

We stayed up way past our bedtime and I most definitely insisted that we take a few rounds in the neighborhood before parking our bikes.... I am pretty sure it was well after midnight when we finally took a load off! What a fun little night out we had!

Seaside 2024...

This cozy, fall getaway makes year 4! 

Each year, looks a little different and I'd say this year did more so than any other. God has a way of rearranging relationships, taking us through storms, and landing us in places far better suited for His glory. As we shut certain doors behind us, we get to open new chapters, embark on fresh adventures and create new memories.

Of all the years we have visited the little beach paradise, this was the year that topped them all. This year was freeing. We shared so many laughs that were healing for us both, we ate good food, we took our time, we watched movies and savored a trip that started a new journey for this friendship that I hold so very dear. 

Old habits die hard, and so without question, we started at Pickles for pimento cheese and fried pickle burgers. From there we strolled the square and shopped the boutiques that we love so much. We were both craving a quiet ending to our first day, and so got pizza to-go from Bruno's in Watersound. While we stuffed our faces with some of the best pizza and garlic knots I've ever had, we turned on Netflix for a little true crime with the Menendez brothers. Our day was perfect and exactly what we both needed!

And don't worry I went ahead and took pictures of every cute chalkboard I saw because I just knew you would want to see them!

A Spooktacular Seaside Sunday...

This may have been my most favorite day of all!

We slept in, porch sat, and then threw on our matching Halloween sweatshirts. We hopped on our bikes, cruised around the neighborhood a bit and then rode down to The Perfect Pig for french toast and mimosas in South Walton! I can't even count the number of people who commented on our pink sweatshirts as we cruised down the sidewalk! The weather was beautiful, we had one last day to soak up, and we were all smiles in our little beachside, Halloween paradise!

Beanie assured us, that The Perfect Pig was just a bit down the way and that we could TOTALLY handle the ride. On the way there, we were in high enough spirits, that we pulled up huffing, but made it. Now, on the way back, that was another story. Two of us (not naming any names) actually had to stop and take a break, haha- it really wasn't pretty for those two!

Once we arrived back in Seaside, we got in the jeep and headed to Rosemary. Rosemary beach is one of my favorite little seaside towns and we always spend an afternoon there. We stopped by all our favorite shops, took a peek at the water, sat down for some pretty pink sips and finished with me getting what I really come to Rosemary for, The Hidden Lantern Bookstore browsing while tea sipping from the tea shop next door. They had a whole table featuring Halloween books and don't you worry, I scooped up several spooky reads!

For dinner, we went to a fun little joint called Aj's- live music, oysters, good company! And after that was probably the best part of the entire trip!

I'm pretty stubborn when I have a good idea and know it. I was insistent that we all throw in our Sanderson Sister costumes. I had this vision of us on our bikes, capes flying behind us as we pedaled down the lamp lit streets. In fact, it was an idea that no one really was that excited about besides me. But, the girls rallied and in the end, my Halloween wish came true. 

One by one, we got ourselves witchified, and hopped on our bikes. We came up with the plan to ride around a bit, while playing the movie theme song (duh) and then head to Bud & Alleys for a drink, saying we had been to a  costume party if asked. It was going fabulously perfect, until Bean got her cape tangled up in her spokes! Hahahaha, it really just makes the story that much better, because it ended up taking a little Seaside Security patroller to get us out of our tangle. When he radioed his partner to bring some scissors to help a bike rider, the partner immediately replied back "Is it one of the witches?"... "Yep, the blond one!" It was hysterical and we were just a hooting and a hollering over the fun of it! We got the cape out of her spokes with only minor gear grease staining and showed up at B&A with giggles and smiles. We embraced our spooky spirits and almost spit out our drinks when a guy from the table over asked if we were real witches!

At the end of the night, both Tiz and Bean admitted that they were so happy they threw on the costumes! What a day! Bike riding, shopping, bookstore browsing, dressing up.... it was just almost too good to be true!

And, the next day, our fun came to an end and back to reality it was! I think it's safe to say, we are all already looking forward to next year!