What We Wore While Cruisin' Round-Up & V-day Stuff

Everywhere I turn, I see red and pink and hearts and all things Valentine-y and I love it! But not here. =(  I've barely had time to toss the rest of my cruise outfits into a post for you, much less put together a sweet V-day post. 

Worn on our excursion

Shirt, skirt, turquoise swimsuit & sandals: All from . . . Target! =)

Leather wrap watch: Shoedazzle

I did do some lovey-dovey stuff this weekend, though! I made these V-day cards for Little Guy's class.  Mine didn't turn out nearly as cute though, so no pictures. ;)  I also bought all the ingredients and thought about making marshmallow pops like I did for the Harvest Party, only this time I'd dip them in chocolate and coat them with pink sprinkles and red hearts. But alas, homework trumped fun V-day projects and it didn't get done. Oh well, maybe I'll be able to make a few with the kids tomorrow night for dessert. It'll be more fun letting them decorate their own anyways, right?

Worn to Dinner & A Show

Dress: mark from Jackie Giardina

Belt: Aldo

Shoes: Shoedazzle

I also went on a fun little pre-V-day date Saturday night.  Can you guess where we went? Yes, it wasn't even up for debate, we went to Carrabbas. =)  I thought about wearing something like this or maybe even this, but ended up wearing this because I didn't have time to change before we left for our early evening date. Yeah, we almost always go out to dinner with the grandmas and grandpas, so that we can get back home in time to tuck the kids into bed. =)

My sister, at the same dinner & show

Dress: Cato

Belt: Maurices

And I'm not sure where she got all those fantastic bangles

Anyways, our experience at Carrabbas was fantastic.  Being that it was Valentine's Day weekend, they were swamped. It was 5:45 p.m. and we still had to wait about 40 minutes to be seated!  Once we were seated, however, we got our food so quickly.  Our waitress was absolutely the. Best.  Hand down!  If you're ever in Pensacola, you have to go to Carrabbas and ask for Deb.  She's amazing! And of course, the food, was simply delicious. So go visit Carrabbas now and say hi to Deb and you'll see . . . I wasn't lying! =)

If I don't "see" you tomorrow (I never know when I'll have time to blog these days...), y'all have a Happy Valentine's Day!

I'm linking up with Monday Mingle, of course, because those girls are pretty amazing!

My Carnival Cruise Experience

Thursday afternoon, we set sail out of New Orleans with Carnival Cruise Lines headed to Cozumel, Mexico with a group of about 30 ladies, mostly who are members at Curves!  We were truly elated to be on board the Elation. =)  Cheesey, I know, but really, the Elation was fantastic and did not disappoint!

I'll break it down into three separate categories, the three F's: Food, Fun (On Ship), and Fun (On Land). =)

Food

When I went on my honeymoon cruise 7 years ago, the buffet lines were eh-ok.  The dinners in the formal dining rooms were delicious, but the portions were really small, so I was expecting more of the same.  However, I was pleasantly surprised!  Not only was I blown away by the buffets that I sampled (Italian, Mongolian Wok and Pizza), but the meals in the formal dining room were absolutely delicious. 

Now, I've read a few negative reviews that the food on cruise ships is not impressive.  Welll, I don't know what those reviewers ate, but I loved what I tried.  The fish & roasted veggies from the Italian buffet was so tasty (pictured below) that I actually forgot to take a picture before I devoured it!  The pizza was deliciously cheesy and greasy and exactly what I wanted after a morning in the sun! The pork & veggies stir fry with teriyaki sauce was delicious and healthy. 

The dining room menu had a wide variety of choices.  It had such a wide variety that I was forced on more than one night to order three different appetizers, plus a main course, and dessert. 

Oh, and don't even get me started on how amazing the desserts were!  All in all, I was very impressed with the food that was served on the ship!

Fun (On Ship)

The Elation had plenty of fun activities for the days we were "at sea."  They had many group activities that my little core group (made up of me, my sis, my mom and my aunt) avoided because we're more "lay out and enjoy the sunshine" types than "join the crowd for crazy fun" types. 

However, our days at sea were accompanied by clouds and wind.  On our final day at sea, as our ship was getting further and further away from the Caribbean, it was getting chillier and chillier.  So, we ventured inside to see what we could find.  We ended up playing a game of Win, Lose or Draw and then participated in a Scavenger Hunt.  And let it be known that we won . . . both!  That had nothing to do with me, really. We simply had a very talented artist and some pretty talented scavengers in our group. =)

The ship also had different performances and shows each evening.  Now, if I'm being completely honest, most of those shows started entirely too late for my taste.  I mean, a show that starts at 9:00?  Really???  If you know me at all, then you know that I'm usually in bed watching Seinfeld by that time! ;) 

My favorite performance was given by Erin and the Elation Band.  This girl is so talented!!

We snapped a picture with her because I just know that she'll end up being famous someday. ;)

Fun (On Land)

Finally, we get to the part y'all are really interested in.  Mexico!!  (Said with a spanish accent) If you didn't use the spanish accent, go back and try again! It'll make the whole experience that much better. ;)

We had loads of excursions to choose from, but we ended up choosing the Mayan Ruins & Beach excursion. I guess some people like a little history lesson with their vacation. ;)  We had a fantastic tour guide, who was really funny and informative . . . at the same time.  I know, it takes true talent to inject humor into a lecture about ruins that are as old as time. 

This iguana seriously tried to attack us! Or it ran away in fear, but to me, it felt like it was running right for me every time it so much as twitched! ;)

After the trip to the Ruins, we went to a little private beach. The water was beautiful!! 

I'm sure I'm biased, but I still think the white sand in the panhandle of Florida is prettier. ;)

And that's about it, y'all! I had a great time, but I'm happy to be home, sleeping in my own bed and getting up all hours of the night with my munchkins. ;)

Have any of you ever cruised?  How did you like it?

Stay tuned for more fashion related posts from Days 2 and 3! =)

What We Wore While Cruisin' - Day One

Guess what I learned this week?  All the busy stuff that stresses you out? It doesn't just disappear when you go on a little vacation. It waits for you and then smacks you in the face as soon as you get back! ;)

Don't get me wrong... I thoroughly enjoyed my little vacation, but oh my goodness, have I had a lot to do the past few days! And it's still piled up.  I was able to squeeze in a few minutes to put this post together though...

Get ready for a whole lot of pictures! =)

Dress, Belt & Sandals: Target

Shirt: Thrifted

This is my Aunt in her stylin' cruise clothes! =)

And this is my mom, who broke her foot and ankle, just a few weeks before the cruise!

You guys know my sister...

Tunic: Maurices

Leggings: Target

Amazing shoes: I don't know... =)

Tank: NY&Co

Black Skinnies: Old Navy

Shoes: TJMaxx

Headband: Three Bees Creations

So, all of these are just from Day One. I was going to do one big post, full of pictures, but I just don't have time for that! lol  Stay tuned to see what we wore on Day Two! =)

I'm linking up today with Monday Mingle!

Wednesday's Want: A Stylin' Suit for My Cruise

Yesterday, I asked a specific question on twitter and facebook. Where should I shop for a reasonably priced swimsuit? I'm setting sail for the beautiful land of Mexico in a few weeks and every girl needs a new suit for a cruise, am I right? ;)

Thank you to Faith, Bonnie, Bessie and a few of my friendly facebook followers for your suggestions! The general consensus was Target. So, I did what any self-respecting blogger would do. I browsed Target's site for a few cute suits and put together two different looks on polyvore. =)

And now, I'm depending on YOU to tell me which way to go.  Vibrant and sassy beach chic or the one that sort of has a hippie vibe?

Beach Chic? by tiffhaze featuring faux jewelry

I'm really bad at naming these sets! I called this one beach chic, but maybe it should be called something else. Any ideas?

 

Hippie Vibe by tiffhaze featuring roman sandals

And this one, to me has sort of a hippie-ish feel to it...

So, what do you think?  Which one "suits" me best? ;)