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We all have our happy place. The place where all is right in the world. The place where you can clear your mind and just enjoy life. The place that brings a smile to your face. The place whose beauty you never take for granted. For me, that place is the beach.

Atlantic Ocean, Georgia

Growing up in Pennsylvania with not a lot of money to take big vacations, the beach was just a place I saw on TV or in pictures from my friends. The ocean was just a picture, the sound of waves something I only heard when I put my ear up to this huge shell my grandmother had at her house. The first time I ever saw the ocean was when I was in high school, after we moved to Georgia where the ocean was about five hours away.

My first experience was at Savannah and Tybee Island.

My mom, sister and I(me in the pink.) Savannah, GA

I will never forget the first time I stepped out onto the beach and felt my sad under my feet as I walked towards the waves crashing in. It sounds cliche, like the song, but it is amazing how small you feel standing next to the ocean. How truly beautiful and amazing it all really is.

I fell in love with the beach and the ocean on that trip, and my love for it has only grown stronger over the years. There have been several beach trips since then. My mom and I took a trip to Orange Beach on summer when I was in college, just the two of us. We had such an amazing time. I remember laying on the beach with her, dreaming about how one day we wanted to own one of the houses down there and we could visit as often as we liked.

One summer, I went to Destin and Panama City with some friends. We spent all of our days beach side and all of our nights scoping out the cool restaurants in the area, listening to Matt Nathanson in the car as we drove around. Every time I hear a song off that album, I am instantly calmed by thoughts of the beach.

Perfecting beach selfies before selfies were a thing.

Chris and I try to visit Gulf Shores Alabama every summer….at least once.

Yup. The beach is my happy place. I love to just get away for a few days, hear the waves crashing in, watch the sun rise, and sit in the pool and think about absolutely nothing,

Where is your happy place?

Somehow we are back at Monday already. Is it just me, or is this summer flying by? Oh wait…it isn’t even really “summer” quite yet. My bad.

Friday – I met with my Friday Lunch Club, we decided to go to Which Which, can’t really go wrong with a sandwich…ya know? After work, Chris broadcasted live from our basement, so I spent the evening cleaning house whilst dancing around to his tunes.

Saturday – We tackled the jungle backyard. All that rain we have had over the last two weeks really got things growing back there. I am pretty sure the grass was like a foot tall. I learned that I am in better shape than I thought I was, which is always nice. Usually it is the other way around for me. Last summer when I cut the backyard, I was out of breath pretty quickly, but I was totally fine back there. It wasn’t til I hit the side yard that I had an asthma attack….which was due to my allergies and had nothing to do with the physical labor. So yay for non scale victories!

After all that labor in the hot sun, we headed down town to meet up with some of our friends for a well deserved beer! We met up at On Tap, and I ordered the Fox Barrel Blackberry Pear Cider and some Irish nachos. It was delish!

Our friends had to head back to Huntsville after awhile, so Chris and I went to World of Beer and chilled on their patio for a bit. We made friends with some soccer fans. (I dont really give two shits about soccer, sorry NOT sorry.) And one of my new favorite summer brews, Tim Tab Raspberry happened to be the beer of the month. Score!!! Our WOB finally opened their kitchen, so Chris and I snacked on their shrimp appetizer. I thought I didn’t like shrimp, but Chris informed me I do like shrimp…just good shrimp. Theirs was DELICIOUS and I know it will become our staple when we need a snack there!

Sunday – I meal planned and grocery shopped, then came home and made this salad for lunch with kale and broccoli slaw. It was so good!

I learned that you have to watch your water glass, or you will be sharing with Olivia.

And that Olivia is well aware of what our Sundays usually look like:

And so went another weekend! What did you do this weekend? I hope everyone has a great week!

Favorite Song:I spend way too much time picking my song every week. There is just so much awesomeness that it is hard to pick just one! Yesterday I listened to Baby Bash on my way to work and it reminded me of UWG and torturing Jamie and Justin into listening to the song over, and over and over again!

Favorite Purchase: Bracelets for 75% off! When I was shopping with my mom last weekend, we stopped in Private Gallery. I love looking around in there because they have such a great selection of jewelry as well as some cute clothes from time to time. They were having a 75% off sale on a lot of accessories and I found these two bracelets! Combined, I spent $10! The gold one alone was $24 full price, so getting both for $10 was a huge win for me!

Favorite Olivia pictures: Chris downloaded a cat app on his iPad that has interactive fish swimming around. Livy was so freaking adorable trying to catch the fish on the iPad!!! Favorite Funnies:       Go link up with the ever fabulous Amanda and tell me some of your favorites!!!

Every year there seems to be the “song of summer.” The song that is played to death by all the top radio stations, the song that you most likely remember when you think back to that summer. Even if it isn’t the song you would pick to call your summer song, it is inevitably “the Song.” (Hello, Blurred Lines, how I hate thee.)

While I was in my car the other day, and heard Iggy’s “Fancy” for the 3rd time in the same hour…it got me thinking what song would be “the” summer of 2014 hit. Will it be something we have already heard, like Fancy? Or will it be a new song that is about to drop in the next few weeks?

Some of my favorite summer songs might now be the most traditional. When I think of the summer after my senior year of college, I can hear Good Charlotte, Sum 41 and Newfound Glory. One year when I was in Destin for a week, we listened the the Matt Nathanson “Some Mad Hope” CD the entire trip, so anytime I hear any song off that album I immediately think of Destin. Last summer on one of our beach trips with my SIL “I Love It (I Don’t Care)” came on when we were in the condo and she deemed it the beach trip song, and so it was! Every time I hear that song I immediately think of our relaxing trips in Gulf Shores.

Then I thought, how fun would it be to go back and look up the songs of summer for the past 25 years!? I think I might make a playlist with these songs just for fun! I love you Spotify!

This list is the most played/requested songs for their respective summers.

–Hearing a sigh on the phone always cracks me up. It speaks so much more than actual words. I especially love it when I am calling rent comps for work and go through my whole spill about who I am and what I am doing…they can’t freaking wait to get me off the phone!

–I cant stop biting the skin around my nails. It is a huge problem! Last week I bought some Burt Bees cuticle cream and last night night I painted my nails. I am hoping these efforts will help break my habit!

—Chris was talking to me on gchat yesterday and he was all “Do you have your post ready for tomorrow?” I was all “no.” He was all, “Mine is epic I cant wait to link up!” Seriously? A monster I tell you!

–I hate birds. Like, I think they are so disgusting and creepy. Well, I was leaving work the other night and pulled out into the alley behind my building. A freaking bird is just chillin in the middle of the alley. I honk, no movement. I honk again. Nothing. I roll down my window and am all “Yo bird, MOVE!” Still nothing. REALLY?! No matter how much I hate the damn things, I am not going to purposefully run one over. So I get out and throw a stick in its direction, careful not to hit the bird. FINALLY it gets the hint. I mean, come on! Also, I am a ridiculous person.

–I am old. You want to know how I am old? I had to Google what “Turn down for what” actually meant because I didn’t understand from the context clues in the song.

–I signed in to my Starbucks app the other day and realized I hadn’t been to Starbucks since March 16. Obviously, I run on Dunkin’ when I have coffee out. Mainly because it is $2-4 cheaper.

–I go through phases with food. When I find something I like, I tend to eat the crap out of it until I am just so sick of it that I don’t have it for a long time. This goes for meals as well as snacks. Oops.

–I need to see my hair girl ASAP. Buttttt I know I am going to the beach next month and my hair ALWAYS turns super light when I am there so I am thinking there is really no point in having my highlights redone right now. Can I go a month looking like the hot mess express? Jury is still out.

Confessions in ecards: